RAINBOW Award

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Dear friends,

Gay Straight Alliance (GSA; Alliance) takes great pleasure in informing you that this year we will also give an award for contributions to the fight against homophobia and transphobia, and the protection and promotion of human rights of LGBT people in Serbia. The award named “Rainbow” (“Duga” in Serbian language) was established by GSA in 2013 and it is awarded every year regarding May 17th – International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), for contributions in the previous year.

The award is so named because the rainbow, as well as the rainbow flag, is a symbol of the LGBT movement and the fight for equality of LGBT people worldwide. The rainbow represents the unity of differences and it symbolizes the hope that what follows after a difficult, dark period is a better, brighter one.

In the past few years there has been some progress in improving the position of LGBT people in Serbia in different areas. The visibility of LGBT population and its problems has increased; the legal framework for combating violence and discrimination has been improved; institutions and political factors treat LGBT issues more seriously… Although in front of all of us – the state and its institutions, LGBT organizations and the society as a whole – is yet a great and responsible work to reduce homophobia and transphobia and achieving adequate standards of respect and protection of LGBT rights, we believe there are plenty of people in various fields who are committed to these goals. Our role as a non-governmental organization, as well as the role of our colleagues in other civil society organizations, is to bring problems into view and criticize those who are responsible when those problems remain unsolved. However, our role also includes noting and observing positive actions and real progress when it is achieved and thanking those who have contributed to it, which is why we have established the “Rainbow” Award.

Even though GSA is the initiator and the organizer of the “Rainbow” Award, we want the awarding process to include opinions and suggestions from a wide range of organizations, institutions and individuals. We have therefore instituted a public contest for nominating the candidates, and the award will be given according to the received nominations.

Furthermore, the idea is to form a special jury that is independent in their work and decisions. The composition of jury will be different each year and determined before the contest for the award is announced, and it will be composed of eminent and successful individuals from various fields, from the media, academia, national and international organizations, and so on. Besides GSA activists, jury also includes activists from various other LGBT rights organizations, as well as representatives of the previous winners of the “Rainbow” Award.

We invite you to participate in this year’s award contest and we are certain that there are a lot of you who deserve the Rainbow!

Sincerely,
Gay Straight Alliance

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“RAINBOW” AWARD FOR 2016/17
CONTEST

Who can be nominated

Anyone may be nominated for the “Rainbow” Award if they have contributed, with their work, commitment, performance and results, to the reduction of homophobia and transphobia, to the protection and promotion of human rights of LGBT persons, to the improvement in the status and quality of life of LGBT people and to the promotion of equality and tolerance towards the LGBT community, in the period from 17 May 2016 to the date of the contest deadline.
The award is given for contributions in Serbia, not only on a national level, but also in local communities, cities, districts, and similar.
The award can be given for different areas of activism and the categories which can be nominated are:
– institutions and sectors/services within institutions (state and local government institutions, education and academic institutions, cultural institutions, health and social institutions, independent regulatory institutions, etc.);
– national and international organizations;
– political factors (political parties, movements, politicians);
– national and international companies, firms and public companies;
– media, media workers, production houses and similar;
– professional associations and unions;
– individuals (as representatives of above categories or individually);
– groups of citizens.

Who can nominate and how

All the above categories can send their own nominations or nominate somebody else.
Each nomination for the “Rainbow” Award must contain basic information about the nominee, as well as about those who are nominating them, and the nomination needs to be explained.
Nominations must be sent in the form which is specifically designed for this contest, exclusively to the following e-mail address: duga@gsa.org.rs
Nomination Form can be downloaded here.
You can send more than one different nominations.

Nomination deadline

Nomination deadline is on the 12th May 2017.

The Award Ceremony

Jury will first consider all received nominations and then make a short list of 3 to 5 candidates which will be publicly announced a few days before the award ceremony.
The award winner will be proclaimed on the 17th May 2017 at the Award Ceremony, and the winner will receive a statuette, especially designed for the occasion.

N.B.: “Rainbow” Award have no monetary character.

For all additional information and clarifications, you can e-mail us at info@gsa.org.rs

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PREVIOUS WINNERS OF “RAINBOW” AWARD

“Rainbow” Award for the 2015/2016 was won by Aleksandar Stojmenović, liaison officer to the LGBT community of the Ministry of Interior (MUP) of Serbia, and among the shortlist candidates were also Merlinka – Queer Film Festival, Commissioner for the protection of equality Brankica Janković, actor Slaven Došlo and web portal “E-novine”.

“Rainbow” Award for the 2014/2015 was won by Jadranka Joksimović, Minister without portfolio responsible for European integration in the Serbian Government, and among the shortlist candidates were also NGO Association Rainbow from Šabac, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, a retired major in the Serbian Army Helena (M.V.) and a journalist for the weekly newspaper “Vreme“ Tamara Skrozza.

 

“Rainbow” Award for the 2013/2014 was won by Tanja Miščević, Head of Negotiating Team for Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the EU, and among the shortlist candidates were also the Association “Generator” from Vranje, theatre director Stevan BodrožaOffice for Human and Minority Rights of the Government of Republic of Serbia and singer Marija Šerifović.

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The first “Rainbow” Award for the 2012/2013 was won by Department for community policing of the Ministry of Interior (MUP) of Serbia, among the shortlist candidates were also the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, Office for Human and Minority Rights of the Government of Republic of Serbia, theatre director Andrej Nosov and Gordana Mitrović, trans person upon whose life story a movie „When I was a boy, I was a girl“ was based.

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