Lazar Simić

Mr. Simić discovered his passion for regional cooperation as early as elementary school, during his first exchange at the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Switzerland, where he met peers from across the Balkans. Together with young Albanians and Serbs, he was tasked with building a cardboard bridge strong enough to hold 10 kilograms of Swiss chocolate — a challenge they successfully completed, marking the beginning of his journey.

Since then, he has remained deeply engaged in civil society and his local community through collaborations with Local Press, Deutsche Welle Akademie, the National Youth Council of Serbia, and the Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans, where he worked as Communications Officer. His work and activism are centred on regional cooperation, media and political literacy, European integration, and intercultural dialogue.

At the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Science, Simić defended his Master’s thesis, “Multilateral Media Diplomacy in the Western Balkans: The (In)Visibility of the Berlin Process from 2014 to 2024,” which, among other topics, explores the role of RYCO. At the same Faculty, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a specialisation in European integration and served as a teaching associate in the course Contemporary Diplomacy. He speaks Serbian and English, can communicate in Italian, and is currently learning French.