Interview: Ivan Radak, winner of the European Young Journalist Award 2010

I enjoy writing about the European Union

When you hear in public about the EU or European banks granting certain resources to Serbia, it usually means money allotted to large state projects, such as roads, bridges, reforms or the budget, and, reasonably so, great attention is paid to that. I wanted to show the readers that the money gets to the so-called ordinary people, that is, that the projects concerning their immediate surroundings are being financed


By MILENA STOŠIĆ (milena.stosic@wavemagazine.net)
from Niš, SERBIA
Translation: MILICA MARAVIĆ


European Young Journalist Award (EYJA), established by the European Commission - Directorate General for Enlargement, is awarded for the third time this year, in Istanbul, the European Cultural Metropolis for 2010. This pan-European competition awards national winners from 36 Member States, candidate and possible candidate states of the EU, its subject matter being the enlargement of the European Union. Journalists, younger than 35 years of age, have the right to participate.

Members of the Serbian jury - professor Miroljub Radojković of The Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Đorđe Vlajić, a BBC Serbian radio journalist and Tanja Miščević, professor at The Faculty of Political Sciences and the former CEO of The EU Integration Office, this year gave the award to Ivan Radak, a journalist and editor of the economic section of a daily paper "Danas", for his article entitled "Brussels not thrifty about good ideas". With regard to that, the national winner of Serbia, spoke exclusively for the WAVE magazine about the importance of the competition, the award he got, his motivation and his upcoming travel to Istanbul.

Ivan started his career as a journalist six and a half years ago, writing for the economic section of "Danas". However, he gets the most pleasure out of writing about the European Union.

- It did not take extra motivation to write the awarded article, since it is my pleasure to write about the European Union and the integration process of Serbia. Unfortunately, I used to do that more often in the past; while today I am obliged to do with the economic section more. Every Saturday "Danas" publishes a supplement entitled Plave strane (Blue Pages) dedicated to the EU themes, and it is a sort of escape for me, from all the economy talk.

The article "Brussels not thrifty about good ideas" presents some of the most interesting international cooperation projects of Serbia. What were your guidelines when choosing which stories to cover?

- When you hear in public about the EU or European banks granting certain resources to Serbia, it usually means money allotted to large state projects, such as roads, bridges, reforms or the budget, and, reasonably so, great attention is paid to that. I wanted to show the readers that the money gets to the so-called ordinary people, that is, that the projects concerning their immediate surroundings are being financed. I chose the ones which might be interesting to a large reading audience, such as - friendship of Serbian and Romanian tennis clubs members, fire protection of Vršačke Mountains, program for drugs protection of the young in Bor, education for children about Palić Zoo animals, employment of women in the south of Serbia. I believe that many people were not aware of such projects, which are financed by the EU.

How do you see this award in terms of your career and profession? What does it mean to you?

- This is another confirmation that those six and a half years spent being a journalist have certainly been meaningful and that I am really developing and advancing. The day I was notified about the award I was very anxious and angry about a problem I had, and then I had a call and a lovely female voice informed me that I was the winner, that I am the best at something. The feeling, when somebody tells you you got the award, it is the best feeling a man can have! Since I had a similar experience with the award I got in 2008, I knew how to enjoy myself. All the bad things of the day just vanished.

The award is not going to get me "promoted" to a higher position in "Danas" since I am already the editor of a section, but it is not bad for my CV, and maybe some future engagement

To what extent is the European Young Journalist Award acknowledged as relevant in Serbia? Do you think it is promoted enough, concerning that the topic of the EU enlargement itself is ever present and current?

- I think that the award is not promoted enough in Serbia, and even less acknowledged by the media. In that sense, the support it gets from your WAVE magazine is certainly encouraging for young journalists. Previous winners were not adequately represented in the media either, therefore it would be too much to ask on my part that someone should publish the news about the award I was given. Of course, there is always the old problem of some quasi competition among the media, who usually do not publish the news about the awards given to editorial staff other than their own. However, it should not discourage the journalists in Serbia to apply for the competition in the following years, since it is not so insignificant to get a European award, see your article in the book compiled from all the awarded articles, and, as I have already said, it is not bad for the damn CV as well.

This year, all national winners shall be presented with the award in Istanbul. What are your expectations regarding the journey there?

- Since journalists from all Member States and those who wish to become members of the EU will be present there, my goal is to see how they think about the EU, what they like about it and what they disapprove of. It will certainly mean a lot to me once I start writing new articles about the Serbian integration process. Apart from that, since I am still a university student of history, who left his studies once he got to preparing for The History of Byzantium exam, I hope that visiting Istanbul, former Constantinopole, is going to give me at least some motivation to pick up my studies, since nothing else seems to help.

Apart from the European Young Journalist Award Ivan Radak was also awarded The Best Young Economic Journalist of Serbia award in 2008, by the National Bank of Serbia. He wrote extensively about economy, covering almost every topic, had interviews with the current Prime Minister, a few ministers, both domestic and foreign, and is very much pleased with his journalistic career up to now. However, he does not fit in a stereotyped role of sterile economic topics author, maybe not so appealing to the young, which is certified by the fact that - in his own words - he is "a music addict, loves football, as well as films which have nothing to do with Hollywood".

- I would like to write a book, but judging by the amount of time I commit to that, it will probably happen in, say, a hundred years time - Ivan jocularly concludes his interview for the WAVE magazine.



(Published: 10.04.2010.)