Boban Stojanović (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Бобан Стојановић; born 1978) is a Serbian activist. He has participated in events and actions promoting the rights of the LGBT community.

Career

Born in the Serbian city of

Zaječar Zaječar ( sr-Cyrl, Зајечар, ; ro, Zaicear or ) is a city and the administrative center of the Zaječar District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the city administrative area has a population of 59,461 inhabitants. Zaječar ...

, Stojanović has campaigned for various social issues over the past twenty years. As a youth, he was involved with organizations countering violence against women. During the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

, he refused to serve in the military and instead volunteered at various refugee centers. In 2005, he founded an organization promoting LGBT rights called the Queeria Centre. He was also involved in advancing the Serbian Anti-Discrimination Law, which was passed in 2009. In 2017, he signed the

Declaration on the Common Language The Declaration on the Common Language ( sh, Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku / ) was issued in 2017 by a group of intellectuals and NGOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia who were working under the banner of a project ...

of the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...

and

Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordin ...

. Stojanović was executive director and one of the founders of the

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Pride Parade, which was held for the first time in 2001. He has spoken at various seminars concerning LGBT issues, as well as being a presenter at

Tedx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

Belgrade. Since immigrating to Canada in 2016, he works at Calgary's "Center for Newcomers", helping new arrivals from the LGBT community. In 2017, Stojanović spoke at the ''Prairie and Northwest Territories LGBTQ+ Newcomers Settlement Conference''. That same year, he also participated in the "Coming Out Monologues" performance held in

Bow Valley Bow Valley is a valley located along the upper Bow River in Alberta, Canada. The name "Bow" refers to the reeds that grew along its banks and which were used by the local First Nations people to make bows; the Blackfoot language name for the ...

Honours and awards

In 2014, Stojanović had the honour of being an International Grand Marshall at the Montreal Pride Parade. In 2015, he received the "

David Kato David Kato Kisule ( – 26 January 2011) was a Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement and described as "Uganda's first openly gay man". He served as advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities ...

Vision and Voice Award" for being one of the top five gay activists in the world. He was also nominated twice for the Global Exchange People's Choice Awards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stojanovic, Boban 1978 births Living people People from Zaječar Serbian gay men Canadian gay men Canadian LGBT rights activists Canadian people of Serbian descent Serbian emigrants to Canada 21st-century Serbian LGBT people 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Serbian LGBT rights activists Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language