Unit Members : Inclusion

Dragana Jovanović Arijas

Dragana Jovanović Arijas has been performing the duties of the SIPRU Manager since 2018. She is responsible for planning activities and coordinating SIPRU initiatives in the relevant areas, as well as for initiating cooperation and promoting joint action with interested partners at national, local and international level.

She has been a member of SIPRU since 2016. In the beginning, she worked as Roma Inclusion Coordinator, focusing on the development of the strategic framework and monitoring the measures for the improvement of the status of the Roma community in the Republic of Serbia. By being engaged in civil society organisations and international human rights organisations, she has worked on improving the position of various vulnerable groups (Roma, persons with disabilities, children and young people) through the development of services in the local community, and the implementation of prevention and intervention programmes at the national level.

Dragana Jovanovic Arijas graduated from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. She gained experience and knowledge of children’s rights and interculturalism by participating in the „EmPower” programme of the Pestalozzi Children Foundation in Switzerland.

Aleksandar Rončević

Deputy Manager and Policy Adviser / Team Leader on Project From Education to Employment – E2E
a.roncevic@gov.rs

Aleksandar Rončević is responsible for the growth and development of innovation in youth employment through the management of a grant scheme aimed at local actors, who can be agents of change for the position of young people in local communities. By developing innovative models of youth employment, he is seeking to provide decision-makers with concrete and proven solutions to challenges faced by young people. He is working closely with the line ministries and local self-governments on the programme “Education to Employment” to make innovations sustainable and part of the systemic solution. He joined SIPRU in 2015.

Given his experience gained in public administration reform and sustainability of externally funded programmes and projects in the Republic of Serbia, he is providing expert and technical assistance to the SIPRU management in the process of institutionalisation.

Aleksandar Rončević graduated from the Department of International Studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. At the same Faculty, he subsequently obtained the Master’s Degree in Political Science in International Politics.

Biljana Božović

Adviser to the Manager and Financial Coordinator
biljana.bozovic@gov.rs

Biljana Božović is responsible for the financial monitoring of the programme and providing support to the members of the Team in contracting and financial implementation of project activities. She is also monitoring the expected results of the programme in relation to the planned budget. Biljana Božović has been a member of SIPRU since 2017, first as a Programme Assistant, and then as the Financial Coordinator.

While working in the organisation Leader Plus she gained experience related to the administration of rural development, tourism and social inclusion projects. She was also engaged at the SeConS Development Initiative Group as an interviewer and researcher on various researches, which focused on socially vulnerable groups and evaluation of local self-government programmes.

She graduated from the Department of Political Sciences at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade.

Dragana Malidžan Vinkić

Education Coordinator
dragana.malidzan@gov.rs

Dragana Malidžan Vinkić is in charge of supporting capacity building of national and local institutions in the field of inclusive education, aiming to ensure access to education for all children/students at all levels, as well as to ensure their right to education with additional support and individualised access. She joined SIPRU in 2016.

She is providing expert support to line ministries for preparing, implementing, and monitoring relevant strategic and legislative instruments related to inclusive education and human capital development, as well as to civil society organisations and educational institutions in the preparation of project proposals. By applying different learning models, she organises training courses for professionals working in the education system.

Dragana Malidžan Vinkić participated in all key processes of introducing inclusive education in the Republic of Serbia, and she worked as a national trainer within the DILS project of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.

Dragana Malidžan Vinkić graduated from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade, acquiring the title of Professor of Serbian Language and Literature.

Jovana Ilić

Gender Equality and Human Rights Coordinator
jovana.ilic@gov.rs

Jovana Ilić is responsible for strengthening the capacity of the national and local institutions in the field of gender equality and human rights, with special focus on the rights of persons with disabilities and the LGBTI community in the Republic of Serbia. This includes the provision of expert and technical assistance to the government ministries and other institutions at the national and local level in the preparation, coordination, implementation and monitoring of strategic and legislative instruments pertaining to the issues of gender equality and the rights of persons with disabilities and the LGBTI community. Moreover, her efforts are also aimed at empowering civil society organisations in these areas, as well as in their involvement in decision-making processes on the national and local level. Jovana’s duties include communication activities aimed at raising the public awareness of the topics addressed by SIPRU and the results achieved in the field of social inclusion in Serbia. She has been a staff member of the SIPRU since February 2019, initially as the Programme Assistant.

Previously she worked in the research organisation SeConS Development Initiative Group as an Office Manager and Researcher. She participated in the preparation of projects and applied research, coordinated the implementation of field research and gained experience in implementation of qualitative research methods and techniques in various fields. She volunteered in several civil society organisations.

Jovana Ilić graduated from the Political Science Department of the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade. She is currently in the process of obtaining a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, Local Self-Governments and Public Policies.

Slavica Denić

Roma Inclusion Coordinator
slavica.denic@gov.rs

Slavica Denić is in charge of providing support to capacity building of national and local institutions to ensure the development and implementation of a strategic framework for the social inclusion of the Roma. She is providing expert support to line ministries and government institutions. Furthermore, she is supporting civil society organisations in the development, preparation and monitoring of strategic and legal acts in the field of Roma inclusion. She joined SIPRU in 2018.

She gained her work experience in Radio Television of Vojvodina, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the Provincial Secretariat for Economy, Employment and Gender Equality.

Slavica Denić graduated from the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad. She obtained her Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies of Management in Education at the University of Novi Sad, where she also gained her PhD in the field of Gender Studies. She is the author of several scientific papers on the topic of social inclusion of Roma man and women, with a particular focus on the education of the Roma population.

Ivana Maksić

Local Development Coordinator and Manager for the LIP 2 programme
ivana.maksic@gov.rs

Ivana Maksić is responsible for monitoring social inclusion in local communities and for the implementation of the grant scheme “Programme of Local Initiatives for Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction – Support to the Development of Innovative Social Inclusion Models – LIP 2”.

Furthermore, she is providing support to relevant stakeholders at the national and local level, especially with regard to capacity building in the area of preparing and implementing policies and projects related to social inclusion at the local level, monitoring policy implementation, and improving the collection, analysis and use of data for the creation of local policies aimed at improving the accessibility of different services for vulnerable groups.

She gained her work experience at the National Association of Local Governments – the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities and the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs. She was a participant in the International Programme of the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD), which was dedicated to managing change aimed at achieving balanced local socio-economic development.

She graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade.

Boban Gledović

Social Inclusion Adviser
boban.gledovic@gov.rs

Boban Gledović is in charge of the coordination and expert support in the processes of capacity strengthening of national and local institutions for the preparation, monitoring and implementation of youth employability and employment policies. By supporting the institutionalisation and sustainability of innovative youth employment models within the “Education to Employment (E2E)” programme, he strives to contribute to the increase of youth employability and employment. Boban cooperates with the line ministries in the area of planning and implementation of the most significant initiatives in the field of youth employment/employability policy. He has been a member of the SIPRU team since 2020.

He acquired work experience through the development and implementation of the employment policy framework in Montenegro, as well as through the coordination and implementation of donor projects in the said area.

Boban Gledović graduated at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Montenegro. At the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade, he completed the Master’s studies and earned the academic degree of a Master Economist for Economic Analysis and Policy.

Lazar Muždalo

Coordinator for Employment and Economic Development
lazar.muzdalo@gov.rs

Lazar Muždalo is tasked with cooperation and support for the capacity building of institutions at the national and local level in the field of economic development, with particular focus on policies and practices in the domain of employment. This form of cooperation involves providing support in the planning, drafting and monitoring of the implementation of public policies and various activities and initiatives at the national and local level in these and related areas. Furthermore, he is tasked with coordination and provision of support in the drafting and implementation of various surveys and analyses of the impact of public policies, strategies, plans, and initiatives in the fields of social inclusion, poverty reduction, employment and social welfare. In addition to this, Lazar also performs duties regarding regular SIPRU activities in the fields of economic development and employment, such as initiating and providing support in the implementation of analyses and studies undertaken by SIPRU, coordinating of the collection and analysis of statistical data on poverty, inequality, and other data relevant for social inclusion, as well as monitoring and providing support for the work of institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders at the national and local level. He joined the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit in January 2021.

He acquired his work experience at the Centre for Social Policy (CSP) think-tank, where he worked since 2016 as a researcher in the fields of social welfare, healthcare, and education at the local and national level.

He graduated from the Faculty of Economy of the University of Belgrade, where he completed master academic studies.

Miljana Đurčević Cucić

Coordinator for European Integration and International Cooperation
miljana.cucic@gov.rs

Miljana Đurčević Cucić is in charge of providing expert and technical support to the processes related to European integration and international cooperation that are relevant to social inclusion and poverty reduction, especially in negotiating Chapters 19 and 23. This includes providing professional and technical assistance to ministries and other institutions at the national and local levels in the preparation, monitoring and implementation of strategic and legislative instruments related to European integration and international standards. She also provides support to national and local institutions to access financial instruments available within the EU accession process, prepare for Structural Funds, and achieve more effective use of international development funds for inclusion. She joined SIPRU in June 2021.

She previously worked as an advisor for human and minority rights in the Ministry of European Integration and as an independent advisor for European integration and international cooperation in the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government. Through her work with the non-governmental sector and her volunteer engagements, she works on providing assistance and support to vulnerable groups. She gained additional research experience in the sustainable development and poverty eradication when she was elected to the title of Researcher at the Faculty of Political Sciences, the University of Belgrade in 2018.

She graduated from the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences, the University of Belgrade, after which she completed a Master Academic programme and obtained the professional degree of Master of Political Science for European Integration. At the same faculty, she is currently attending her PhD studies with her research work focusing on the diplomatic activities of the European Union in the international practice of sustainable development.

Ivana Poljak

Economic Analyst
ivana.poljak@gov.rs

Ivana Poljak is tasked with providing expert and coordination support with the aim of capacity building for the creation of quality and inclusive national and local policies. This involves the development, drafting and monitoring of relevant strategic and legislative instruments at the national and local level, and the drafting of statistical analyses and socio-economic trends. Furthermore, she provides support to line ministries in planning and creating social inclusion policies, initiating analyses for policy improvement, and collection and promotion of relevant data.

She has acquired her work experience at the Centre for Social Policy, where she has worked as a researcher since 2016 in the field of social welfare, labour market, education, poverty and inequality.

She graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, where she is currently attending master studies in quantitative analysis. She joined the team in March 2021.

Violeta Ružičić

Programme Assistant
violeta.ruzicic@gov.rs

As Programme Assistant, Violeta Ružičić has been involved in a series of activities conducted as part of the projects implemented by the SIPRU. She has supported the SIPRU’s internal organisational and administrative functioning, as well as the organisation of various events and procurement procedures. Violeta joined the SIPRU in 2020.

She gained previous experience in similar activities as an employee of companies operating in the area of promotion and sale of products and services.

Violeta Ružičić is a final-year student of International Marketing at the Faculty of Business Studies, Megatrend University.