The team SPEAR of the University of Rijeka has won the “Fierce Women Award” 2022, which is awarded for the third consecutive year by the portal Voxfeminae.net and the social enterprise Fierce Women to prominent individuals and organisations that have distinguished themselves through creativity, action and achievements in the past year.
For a significant contribution to gender equality, justice and social balance in Croatia in the past period, there were over 80 nominations from individuals and organisations from various fields: from human rights, environmental protection and animals, science and education, culture, health and social entrepreneurship.
The interdisciplinary team formed within the Horizon 2020 project “Support and implementation of plans for gender equality in academia and research” (SPEAR), in which the University of Rijeka has been a partner since 2019, consists of Rector Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Sanja Barić, Sanja Bojanić, Brigita Miloš, Daria Glavan Šćulac, Ana Tomaško Obradović, Matija Miloš and Ivana Klarin. Over the past three years, the team and its collaborators conducted qualitative and quantitative research and, by sharing knowledge and experience with 10 other partner institutions from 9 European countries, created the Gender Equality Plan, which was unanimously approved by the University Senate in May 2021. This made the University the first academic institution in the country and in the region to implement a gender equality policy, and the plan became an inspiration for many Croatian and foreign institutions in developing their own gender mainstreaming policies.
The K-Zone Association jury, which for more than a decade has worked to research, record and disseminate knowledge about women’s achievements in the fields of culture, politics, human rights, art, science and feminism, recognized the importance of adopting a plan to promote gender equality in all areas. The University’s activities: scientific, artistic, teaching, institutional, and social, impact the quality of life and work at the University, as well as in the broader community in which it operates.
In addition to the Rijeka SPEAR team, it is important to mention the other winners of this year’s Fierce Women Award. Jasenka Grujić, a specialist in gynecology and obstetrics, is a fierce woman who openly advocates for the right to abortion and the regulation of conscientious objection in the context of women’s reproductive rights, for establishing a registry of doctors who do not want to perform abortions, for more affordable abortions and free contraceptives. Activist Ivana Crnoja is one of the founders of the association “Victory” (Pobjeda), which with only two employees, six members of marginalized groups and with the help of hundreds of volunteers has successfully revived the Osijek animal shelter, through which 350 dogs pass every year. Journalist Marina Kelava is one of the founders and long-time executive director of the portal H-Alter.org, winner of the award of the Croatian Journalists Association for Environmental Journalism “Velebitska degenija”, photographer and long-time volunteer of the Green Action Bicycle Repair Shop (Biciklopopravljaona Zelene akcije). This year, the prize was also awarded to members of the PaRiter association from Rijeka, which uses activism and advocacy to highlight systemic injustices and promotes women’s and human rights and reproductive justice.
This year, two more nominees for the award were from Rijeka: Sandra Grozdanov from the Center for the Culture of Dialog (CeKaDe) and members of the SOS Center for Nonviolence and Human Rights.
The public event on May 4, 2022 in Zagreb acquainted the general public with the achievements and activities of fierce, hardworking and committed women, and at the same time kicked off the sixteenth Vox Feminae Festival, which will be held in May at various locations in Zagreb.
Congratulations to all the winners!
The presentation of the “Fierce Women Award” and the public presentation of the winners were accompanied by: Novi list, Jutarnji list, 24 sata.hr and the portal Voxfeminae.net.