Edvin Kanka Ćudić (; born 31 December 1988) is a Bosnian

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who is best known as the leader of the UDIK, a non-governmental organisation campaigning for human rights and reconciliation in the

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

Biography

Born as Edvin Ćudić on 31 December 1988 in

Brčko Brčko ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. De jure, the Brčko District b ...

, the great-great-grandson of the teacher Ibrahim Ustavdić. He grew up in Gračanica and Brčko. He studied at the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

and

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

. He got a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

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 of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from

in 2012. In 2018 earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. At the age of 14, in Brčko he began to study

jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

and was very quickly introduced to

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

. Aikido began practicing in 2017 under Alen Hadžiabdić in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. In 2022 in the

Vrnjačka Banja Vrnjačka Banja ( sr-cyr, Врњачка Бања) is a town and municipality located in the Raška District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 9,252 inhabitants, while the population of the municipality is 25,065 inhabitants (2022 ce ...

he graded 1st Dan by Saša Obradović Shidoin. He is a member of the

Aikikai The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation ...

Foundations from

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. In 2013, Edvin Kanka Ćudić founded and became coordinator of the UDIK. In 2019, he was elected in Regional Council of the RECOM Reconciliation Network. Since 2021, he has been a member of the board of directors of the

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

's Center for Democracy and Transitional Justice (CDTP). In UDIK he started activism with public commemorations dedicated to the victims of past war in the former Yugoslavia (1991-2001). At that time, some war crimes were commemorated for the first time in Sarajevo, as well as in other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. These commemorations traced Ćudić to one of the most famous human rights activists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has given interviews and provided commentaries on a range of issues from his area of expertise, including

genocide denial Genocide denial is the attempt to deny or minimize the scale and severity of an instance of genocide. Denial is an integral part of genocide and includes the secret planning of genocide, propaganda while the genocide is going on, and destruction ...

, post-conflict recovery, and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

to many national and international media outlets including

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

, Berria, AFP, DW, RFE,

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...

RTL Nederland RTL Nederland is a Dutch Mass media, media network, a subsidiary of RTL Group. The media company is located in Hilversum, although the licences of its Television station, TV stations are issued in Luxembourg. History Early years The history ...

, FENA,

Oslobođenje The ''Oslobođenje'' ( sh-Cyrl, Ослобођење; ; 'Liberation') is the Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian national daily newspaper, published in Sarajevo. It is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fou ...

, Danas, HRT and Novosti. Ćudić helped to memorize the crimes at Kazani. He is one of the initiators of the memorial at that site. As a

, he collaborated with many newspapers, including Danas,

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

and

. In 2017, Ćudić signed the

Declaration on the Common Language The Declaration on the Common Language ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku, Декларација о заједничком језику, separator=" / ") was issued in 2017 by a group of intellectuals and NGOs from Bosnia and He ...

of the

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

and

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

. He often received threats related to his work.

Honours

In 2012, the Bosnian poet Adem Deniz Garić dedicated to Edvin Kanka Ćudić a poem ''I ne treba da šutiš'' (''And you should not be silent''). In 2022, the other Bosnian poet Erbein Osmanović dedicated him a poem ''

Geronimo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihen ...

''. In 2014 and 2018, in the biographical lexicon ''Ko je ko u BiH'' (''Who is Who in B&H''), Edvin Kanka Ćudić is listed among the most significant people in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, which through their works and actions contribute to a better Bosnia and Herzegovina and who make this country a happier place. In 2019, the Bosnian-born French sculptor Mirza Morić created a memorial dedicated to the killed civilians in

(1992-1995). Morić engraved the whole story called (''Maybe I should hate them''), written by Edvin Kanka Ćudić in 2011. The monument was installed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His awards include the following: * Emerging Europe Award, Young Influencer of the Year (2019) * Kemal Kurspahić International Journalist Award (2023)

Bibliography

* ''Taj maj '92.'' (Brčko, 2012) * ''Ne u naše ime: s one strane srbijanskog režima'' (Sarajevo, 2019)

References

External links

Edvin Kanka Ćudić
– ''

'' *
Edvin Kanka Ćudić
– ''Peščanik'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cudic, Edvin Kanka Living people People from Brčko District Bosnia and Herzegovina human rights activists Jujutsuka Bosnia and Herzegovina male judoka Bosnia and Herzegovina aikidoka Bosnia and Herzegovina journalists Bosnia and Herzegovina political scientists Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language 1988 births 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen