Jelena Silajdžić is a film producer, art promoter and human rights activist from Bosnia Herzegovina. She is the co-founder and executive director of

Slovo 21 Slovo 21 (''czech for'' ''Word 21'') is a Czech non-governmental non-profit organization founded in 1999 in Prague. The executive director of the organization is Jelena Silajdžić. Description Slovo 21 organizes educational a cultural projects ...

, a non-governmental non-profit organization that focuses on the integration of Roma and immigrants in the Czech Republic. In 2000 she was awarded the Nansen Refugee Award in recognition of her work.

Life

Silajdžić studied journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo, graduating in 1977. She first worked as a journalist for '' Oslobođenje'' newspaper, then became a film producer. After the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and just before the outbreak of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she moved to Prague in 1992. Here she began to devote herself to activities drawing attention to human rights and the integration of Roma and immigrants, and the production of cultural events. In 1999, she founded the non-governmental non-profit organization

, which is promotes tolerance and mutual understanding. She also established the

Khamoro World Roma Festival The World Roma Festival or Khamoro is an international Romani festival held annually in the city of Prague, Czech Republic. It belongs to the most prestigious Roma projects on an international level with top international Roma musicians performin ...

Film production

Before leaving for Czechoslovakia, she worked for 15 years as a film production company at Forum Sarajevo. She participated in the creation of 20 films, 6 TV series and 150 documentaries. Among her collaborators was the director Emir Kusturica; in 1988 she participated in the production of his film ''

Time of the Gypsies ''Time of the Gypsies'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Дом за вешање, Dom za vešanje, Home for Hanging) is a 1988 Yugoslav coming-of-age fantasy crime drama directed by Emir Kusturica. Filmed in Romani and Serbo-Croatian, ''Time of the Gypsies'' ...

'' (''Dom za vešanje'').

Awards

* In 2000, she received the Nansen Refugee Award for exceptional assistance to refugees from the Balkans. * In 2000, she received a special thanks from the International Romani Union for her work with the Roma minority. * In 2021, she received the International Trebbia Awarded.

References

External links

Slovo 21

International Trebbia Award
(photograph)
Poprvé romská kultura získala prestižní ocenění!
(interview) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silajdzic, Jelena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Bosnia and Herzegovina women film producers Bosnia and Herzegovina film producers Bosnia and Herzegovina human rights activists Nansen Refugee Award laureates