The eleventh Media contest of Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) "Different from others" on local self-government practices for journalists of local, regional, and national media, was organized within the project "Sustainable and inclusive services at the local level", financed by the Government of Sweden. Topics of this year's contest were Environment, Local economic development - Women's entrepreneurship, Disaster risk reduction and Gender equality, as well as a special topic introduced this year, which relates to monitoring the activities and impact of SCTM on local governments in Serbia.
There were 44 journalist reports in the contest for awards, and decision on the best seven was made by an expert jury consisting of: Lana Gedošević, Livia Vranić Varadi, Olivera Petrović Stojančić, Hana Salihagić, Vladan Samardžić, Srđan Bošković and Zoran Sekulić.
According to the jury, the best journalist reports were prepared by:
• Ana Filipović Gogić (TV Pirot) - "Strategy Pirot - smart city"
• Danilo Kocić (Media center 016), "The example of the City of Leskovac - priorities in 2023"
• Marija Vukićević (TV Prva) - "Healthy snack"
• Branko Đurić (Radio Television of Serbia) - "Romanipen"
• Sanja Đorđević (Storyteller online portal) - "Parks that save lives"
• Bratislav Ilić (TV Prva) - "Soaps from paprika waste"
• Marija Miladinović Lisov (Radio Television of Serbia) - "Fast fashion takes an ecological toll"
By announcing this contest, SCTM wishes to emphasize the importance and role of local authorities in these areas, with the aim to improve the quality of services they provide to the citizens. Highlighting the importance of media reporting on these topics, raising citizens' awareness, but also providing support to journalists, who dealt with topics that are not always attractive, was significant as well.
The authors of the best reports will be awarded with laptops, and the awarding ceremony for the winners of media contest will be organized on November 29, 2023, at the 51st SCTM General Assembly.