Veran Matić is the recipient of the Award for Contribution to the Advancement of Victims' Rights.

The Management Board of the Company has decided to award the main award, the Award for Contribution to the Advancement of Victims' Rights, which has been presented since 2009, to Veran Matić, with the following justification:

“Veran Matić is the founder and long-time editor of B92, a radio and television station that changed Serbia. He edits the portal javniservis.net, leads the Serbian Philanthropic Forum, the B92 Fund, and the Association of Independent Electronic Media. As an envoy of the President of the Republic of Serbia, he dealt with the issues of the missing persons in the wars with the Republic of Croatia, led the Commission for the Investigation of Journalist Murders, and coordinated activities related to the protection of journalists. He has received numerous international and domestic journalistic awards. He initiated a series of humanitarian and socially important actions, including a campaign for building safe houses in Serbia. After the May atrocities in 2023, Veran contributed to preserving the culture of remembrance through a series of articles about the children who perished at the Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School and the young people who lost their lives in Mali Orašje and Dubona, laying the groundwork for the memorialization of these events. Through a series of personal initiatives and alongside the B92 Fund, he addressed the needs of direct and indirect victims from Mali Orašje and Dubona, utilizing personal and community resources to meet those needs. His support for victims continued in various ways even after the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024. With this award, we want to express our gratitude to Veran for everything he has done, but also to highlight the significant impact and changes that public figures and individuals can make in raising awareness regarding the prevention and response to violence, which Veran has demonstrated many times in his past work.”

In his acceptance speech for this esteemed recognition, Veran Matić dedicated the award to all victims and those who strive to ensure they are not forgotten:

“I dedicate this award to everyone who, through their empathy and solidarity, peaceful protests and rebellion, and daily activities, seeks to ensure that victims are not forgotten; to establish accountability in all cases that are deliberately suppressed by the official side, to impose penalties, and to determine just compensations.

Justice is important for healing and for the healthy foundations of a future society.

The persistence of students, high schoolers, and citizens who support them, insisting on accountability for the murder of 16 civilians in Novi Sad, should inspire society as a whole to refocus on the innocent young victims of mass shootings in Ribnikar, Dubona, and Mali Orašje, as well as the killed, missing, wounded, raped, displaced, and permanently disenfranchised during the wars of the 1990s in this region.

We must not forget those who suffered in various ways during the first and second decades of the 2000s – from victims of femicide, nearly 250 in the last 10 years, to more than 50 who “died of natural causes” in the floods of 2014, as well as too many other tragically lost lives to mention them all in this brief speech.

Solidarity and rebellion from society is the least that can be done - therefore, the rebuilding of shattered and marginalized institutions, and the genuine transformation of an autocratic regime into a democratic and humane, empathetic society is the goal we should all strive for,” said Matić at the award ceremony.

Among previous awardees are Brankica Janković, the Commissioner for Gender Equality, Zorica Mršević, Maša Dakić, the Romani Center for Women and Children Daje, Rodoljub Šabić, and the Autonomous Women's Center, Brankica Stanković, and others.