Vildana Selimbegović (, July 27, 1963) is a Bosnian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, editor-in-chief of the daily ''

Oslobođenje ''Oslobođenje'' (; 'Liberation') is a daily newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina based in the capital city Sarajevo. Founded on 30 August 1943, in the midst of World War II, on a patch of territory liberated by Partisans, in what was otherwise a ...

''.

Early years

Vildana Selimbegović was born in

Travnik Travnik is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, west of Sarajevo. As of 201 ...

in 1963. She finished elementary school and high school in her hometown. She completed journalism studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

in early 1987. Then she began her journalist career at Sarajevo's Vecernji novine in 1989. She initially worked for the Sarajevo Chronicle. Then she began reporting for the domestic political section. She was the youngest journalist in the newsroom, and for the next year and a half she followed the union strikes.

Works

Since the beginning of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, she has been reporting for Večernje novine from the front line of the

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...

. During that period, she made about 1,000 field reports from all over

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. During 1997, as a journalist for ''Dani'' magazine, she published excerpts from secret court records from the 1994 trial. At here, the defendants described in detail the murders in Kazani. As a result, she received a death threat on the street and on the phone, and the bomb exploded in front of the office. Through her actions and efforts, she helped to memorize the crimes in Kazani. It is one of the initiators of the erection of a memorial at that site. In 2017, Selimbegović has 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 projec ...

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 ...

Dani

From 1994 to 2008 she worked at ''Dani'' magazine. She was editor, assistant editor-in-chief, deputy editor-in-chief, executive editor, deputy director, and on two occasions editor-in-chief (2000–2003, 2005– 2008). As the editor-in-chief of this magazine, she was the first woman in that position in a media outlet since the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since October 2008, Selimbegović has been the editor-in-chief of ''

'', the oldest daily in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Awards

For her professional work and engagement, she was twice named Journalist of the Year in the selection of Women 21 (1997 and 2001). In 1998, she was awarded by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Government for her works to the development of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

and respect for

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. In 2015, she was awarded the SAIS Award for Investigative

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

in the USA. In 2017 she received an award from the

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

n association Giavere for her help about respect for human rights, and in the same year she was named Journalist of the Year in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

References

Other websites

Heroina: Vildana Selimbegović
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selimbegović, Vildana 1963 births Living people Bosnia and Herzegovina journalists Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language