Under the auspices of Germany’s international cooperation agency GIZ, the WISE Serbia women’s network is launching the 2024 Female Leader in Sustainable Energy contest. The call is intended for women who are professionally active in the energy sector in the Republic of Serbia and who achieved outstanding results. The contest is open until September 10.

The Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award was established in 2023. Under the auspices of Germany’s international cooperation agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), the Center for the Promotion of Sustainable Development (CPOR), which founded the WISE Serbia women’s network, selected the first winners. Minister of Mining and Energy in the Government of the Republic of Serbia Dubravka Đedović Handanović was the laureate in the decision maker category, Executive Vice President of CWP Global was selected within the category of women in business and investment, and the Elektropionir energy cooperative Cofounder Ana Džokić was handed the award in the citizen energy category.

Starting this year, there will be one recipient. The goal is to recognize female leadership in the energy transition process and the strengthening of the role and significance of women in the energy sector. With their dedication and their outstanding results, the candidates are contributing to the acceleration of the energy transition process in Serbia as well as to the promotion of the sector among younger women.

Important information about contest

The contest is for women from Serbia or abroad who are professionally active in the energy sector in the Republic of Serbia.

In addition to the option for the candidates to apply on their own, there is a possibility for companies, organizations and project teams to propose a colleague for the award if they believe she contributed to the sustainable development of the energy sector and achieved notable results.

There are no limitations within the contest with regard to the women’s profession or occupation. The contest organizer encourages women from different groups to apply: decision makers at the national or local levels, those employed in the public or business sectors, members of the academic communities, women active in the citizen energy sphere, nongovernmental sector, international organizations, consulting firms and legal offices, the financial sector and the media.

The application needs to be emailed by September 10, 2024, to info@wisesrbija.org. It needs to include:

1. Nomination letter presenting the candidate and listing the significant results and achievements nominating her for the selection.
2. Professional résumé.
3. A short nomination statement to present the shortlisted candidate to the wider public (on the Balkan Green Energy News website and social networks). The statement can be written or in a shorter video form.
4. Photo portrait in high resolution.
5. Contact info – email address, phone number, social network accounts that the candidate is actively using.

After the applications are received, the selection will be conducted in two rounds. In the first round, members of the WISE Serbia Advisory Board will select the shortlisted candidates, and the second round will be a public vote on the wisesrbija.org website.

The 2024 Female Leader in Sustainable Energy award announcement ceremony will be held in the autumn at the conference of the WISE Serbia network of women in sustainable energy.