The Diplomacy & Commerce Magazine, a syndication of London’s The Economist magazine, celebrated its second birthday on Thursday 22 March in the new Bitefartcafe.
In addition to the fact that with this event the magazine marked the second anniversary of the launch, at the event the DIPLOMACY & COMMERCE AWARDS were presented for individuals, companies and organisations that highlighted humanitarian work, CSR activities, mergers of business and culture, and contributed to the improvement of business conditions, bilateral cooperation, civil society and the economic environment in Serbia.
Diplomacy & Commerce awards are awarded to eight categories, companies and organisations, as well as two rewards to individuals: to contribute to the development of civil society and the reward for improving the economy.
Members of the jury who decided on the winners were: Marko Čadež PKS, Martin Knapp AHK, Sanja Ivanić CCIFS, Mirjana Kojić CCIS, Ana Grujović SSCC, Marija Radulović HPK, Danijela Fišakov SPK, Fanina Kovačević HBA, Ruža Ristanović DC, Robert Čoban, President CPG.
President of the Color Press Group, Robert Čoban thanked all the guests and said:
“In the latest version of the film about the Orient Express, the train has been stuck in Slavonia, somewhere between Vinkovci and Slavonski Brod, because snow has fallen, as tonight in Belgrade. However, in the film we see a flat Slavonia that looks like the Italian Alps where the scenes were shot, since the director of the film obviously thought that the plain was not interesting enough and inspirational for the viewers.This is often the case with our media, especially those who address strangers, the truth is often presented as monochromatic. When we launched the magazine two years ago – our idea was the opposite – to show the Serbian economic, political and public scene exactly to the readers, foreigners and domestic ones, just as it is, with all the nuances, positive shifts and problems. Why is Orient Express the topic of this year’s event? In its several routes, this train has been connecting precisely 10 countries from the United Kingdom in the West to Istanbul in Turkey over the past 135 years. regardless of its status, all 10 countries are in Europe and all of us, alongside the railway, connect the same continent and strive towards the same values, so we invited representatives the embassy of all these countries to gather at the end of the assemblies in a joint photographic work next to the “Orient Express” poster. Since our last year’s gathering on this occasion, we have launched the Croatian edition of the magazine ‘Diplomacy & Commerce’ as well as a large number of new conferences and events. Like last year, our editor-in-chief, Žikica Milošević, will not speak to you – he will sing along with members of his band ‘Sputñik’. I wish you all a good time tonight and see you again in one of the events organised by our company! “
The awards were the following:
Special award for contribution to the development of civil society
BOŠ (Belgrade Open School)
Award for the promotion of bilateral cooperation and economic environment
Chamber of Commerce of Serbia
Award for the improvement of business conditions
NALED – National Local Alliance for Economic Development
Business Innovation Award
Eurobanka ad Belgrade
Prize for the foundation of the year
Hemofarm Foundation
Humanitarian Prize
Telekom Srbija
Alumil Yu Industry
Award for contribution to the development of artistic creativity and preservation of cultural heritage
DDOR insurance
Award for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign
Coca-Cola company
Rosa project “School of Parenthood”
Award for the best socially responsible company
Telenor
After the formal part of the program, the band was entertained by Sputñik bands, led by editor-in-chief Žikica Milošević and the Belgrade-based cover band Girls, Boys & Toys.
