Vildana Selimbegović (, July 27, 1963) is a Bosnian journalist, editor-in-chief of the daily ''

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 ...

''.

Early years

Vildana Selimbegović was born in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

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 ( ), ; ''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 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 ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, 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 (; ; 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 the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina i ...

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

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. 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-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 ...

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 and the United States Government for her works to the development of democracy and respect for human rights. In 2015, she was awarded the SAIS Award for Investigative journalism in the USA. In 2017 she received an award from the

Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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