Competition Results Competition Results In accordance with the previously defined provisions for the literary contest for the "Professor Borivoje Jelic" award, we are pleased to announce the competition results along with the jury's explanations. Winners of the "Prof. Borivoje Jelic" Award The jury, composed of: Professor of Serbian Language and Literature: Mirjana Strbac Writer and Poet: Lela Markovic Poet: Radmila Grujic noted that a total of 10 works were submitted on the given topic. Each jury member independently reviewed the submissions and made their decision without influence from the other members. Professor Mirjana Strbac Professor Mirjana Strbac selected the three best compositions, identified by the pseudonyms ČIČAK123, KALIFORNIJA, and LEPTIR28, with the following explanations: FIRST Place The author under the pseudonym ČIČAK123 employed a contrasting approach to create a very distinctive work that stood out in style among the others. There is a noticeable influence of Becković's recognizable dialogical tone, seamlessly woven into ČIČAK123's original style. The thought process is clear, and the idea is consistently and comprehensibly developed and brought to conclusion, making the work complete. The sentences are meaningfully structured, with original linguistic and stylistic solutions. The author is nostalgic and lyrical without falling into sentimentality. The approach to the theme is personal and emotional, with the moral clearly expressed in the work, which does not maintain an essayistic detachment. Spelling and stylistic rules are largely adhered to. SECOND Place The author under the pseudonym KALIFORNIJA approached the theme in a more essayistic manner. The work is sufficiently personal, yet sufficiently detached to provide an objective view of the theme. The sentences are beautiful, simple, rounded, and unpretentious. They reflect a clear thought process by the author, who has previously contemplated the theme of family. The work is complete and polished; it contains several beautiful thoughts ("...for the eyes of memory never go blind," "we will love others the way we were loved"). Spelling and stylistic rules are respected. THIRD Place The author under the pseudonym LEPTIR28 balances between essayism and lyricism. The narrative broadens from the immediate family to the homeland as an extended family, which is a fine observation. The sentences are rich with stylistic expressive means, giving a warm and personal tone to a work that is essentially essayistic. Thoughts are well-rounded and clearly expressed in sentences. Spelling and stylistic rules are respected. Professor Strbac also highlighted the works 517, followed by ZASTAVA and DETELINA, as deserving of attention. Regarding the work titled 307166690, Professor Strbac noted that it is "youthfully playful, simple, and witty," with "a well-executed idea and thought from start to finish." According to her assessment, this work would have been among the top three if not for some spelling errors. Writer Lela Markovic Writer Lela Markovic selected the three best compositions, identified by the pseudonyms KOSEM, DETELINA, and 517, with the following explanations: FIRST Place – Prose Work Under the Pseudonym KOSEM This composition is well-developed, authentic in its expression, observations, personal impressions, and conclusions. The introduction to the text resembles pillars through which the reader enters the theme of family. The author analyzes society, the neglect of true values, and the significance of the words father, mother, brother, and sister, while also describing family members in a way that encourages us to see them in the actions and character of our loved ones. The author discusses the forgetfulness that has overtaken people, addressing its causes and firmly stating that those without heart and compassion were not nurtured by their mothers. The writer of this work strikes a good balance between a general analysis of the problem and a proper (and evidently personal) experience of family, making the work relatable to many. By emphasizing the importance of a mother instilling love, empathy, respect, understanding, and modesty in her child, and a father instilling strength, self-respect, faith, and reverence, the author points to the path and solution that leads to eternal spring, as they put it. The conclusion is very impactful, a kind of gradation of several personal conclusions that make the work effective, as it leaves readers with valuable lessons, such as: "We are the mirror of our family; do not let that mirror give a distorted image. Let this vast world of ours be fragrant with the same, that heavenly scent. You, parents, dedicate yourselves, and you, children, show yourselves. Let's sow in our fields what will not attract weeds, let's sow what will remain beautiful forever and what will make that field special." The composition radiates love for family. The work is written in a clear and beautiful handwriting. SECOND Place – Prose Work Under the Pseudonym DETELINA This work is characterized by the freedom of expression and the personal experience conveyed in the composition on this theme. The piece is structured around a description that begins with the family tree, which the author likens to a family house with its residents, and its canopy full of fruit. Through beautiful descriptions of family members, the author emphasizes their attachment to the family, while also highlighting the importance of each member in the family constellation of roles. These descriptions deepen the beauty of the work and testify to the love and understanding of family bonds, for example: mother – guiding star, father – just, brother – always there to protect his sister, uncle – who always shows that with a good joke and a smile, one can go through life with one's head held high, no matter how difficult it is... Even the best friend is considered a family member – a sister by spirit. In conclusion, the author emphasizes that the family is there to teach "the most beautiful and most important thing: to be a person with a pure heart," and that this lesson must be passed on to future generations, while once again highlighting the significance of a healthy family as the foundation of a healthy society. The composition radiates love for family. The work is written in a clear and beautiful handwriting. THIRD Place – Prose Work Under the Pseudonym 517 The work begins authentically and beautifully, from the author's perspective, as a world seen through the author's eyes from birth: "I cried as loudly as my weak voice allowed. Where have I arrived?" It continues with reflections on a diseased society and its manifestations, "insidious, unpredictable, without beginning and without end..." The author emphasizes the lack of awareness of true values in people, while pointing out the presence of "envy, hatred, rejection, the need for material above spiritual, self-interest and insincerity, dullness." Then, in contrast to all these societal flaws, the author describes the presence of a mother to hold close and a father – strong and secure. The author concludes by underlining the importance of their role in the struggle to preserve the family and pass on this lesson to future generations as a way for the world to "eventually heal." Among the other works, LEPTIR stands out somewhat in terms of the score given by writer Lela Markovic. Poet Radmila Grujic Poet Radmila Grujic selected the three best compositions, identified by the pseudonyms 517, ŽUTA RUŽA, and KOSEM, with the following explanations: FIRST Place – Pseudonym 517 The student is very literate. The composition is extensive and filled with healthy emotions. Through a personal experience of illness, the author reaches significant conclusions: A) The "new age" illness has affected our society. Although it is physical, it reveals its diseased spiritual nature, essentially its cause: a disrupted value system due to human insensitivity, dishonesty, and attachment to material things. The consequences are the fear and loneliness of a person who becomes part of this. However, the human soul rebels against it. B) There are also strong people, stronger than any evil, who triumph with love and cheerfulness, who are the foundation of society and humanity: FATHER and MOTHER. They restore health, first spiritual and then physical, instill hope in the future lasting health of the child, and give them the strength to fight against everything unhealthy in their environment and society. This is the value of the family, as it is the only force that can overcome seemingly invincible evil. SECOND Place – Pseudonym ŽUTA RUŽA This work is linguistically very expressive, with beautiful descriptions, but the sentences are not always tidy. The student speaks in the second person, as if in a dialogue with a classmate. They speak emotionally about the family, where the father and mother are the main support for the children. The author emphasizes that the family should be pious and live according to God's will. THIRD Place – Pseudonym KOSEM The work is written clearly. The student begins with the assertion that "there is no force" that could destroy the walls of the family, only to fall into contradiction later: "we have forgotten this." Overall, the work is inspired by faith in God, and its conclusion is optimistic, calling on parents to become saints, urging children to show themselves as holy as well, and ending with a call: "Let us sow what will remain beautiful forever!" Given that the works under the pseudonyms KOSEM and 517 already stood out in the first round of voting by the commission members (with two votes each), it remained to select the best among the five remaining works (ČIČAK123, KALIFORNIJA, LEPTIR28, DETELINA, ŽUTA RUŽA), which each had one vote. According to the previously adopted methodology, in such cases, a member of the Expert Council chosen by the competition coordinator is consulted. For this occasion, Professor Olivera Djokic was selected. Prof. Dr. Olivera Djokic Professor Djokic, after reading the five mentioned works, chose the work KALIFORNIJA and explained her choice as follows: The text is clear, and carefully chosen words give meaning to the family in which the child is born and where the child's maturation continues. The process of identification, the process of absorbing the parental figure, is recognized and explicitly expressed, highlighting even a possible negative model. The importance of love in the family environment and what it means when it is absent, when it is lacking, is emphasized, which reflects the modern phenomenon of the gradual disappearance of love. The work concludes with the topos of the eyes ("the eyes of memory never go blind"), and this is not accidental. Svetomir Bojanin, our esteemed child psychiatrist, often emphasized that children are increasingly becoming beings of sight. Best Literary Works Best Literary Works Taking all the above into consideration, the Petar Mandic Endowment announces that the winners of this year's "Professor Borivoje Jelic" award are the authors of the works under the pseudonyms: KOSEM; 517; KALIFORNIJA. After the pseudonyms are deciphered by the commission of the High School in Nova Varos, the works, along with the authors' names and biographies, will be published on our portal. In Belgrade, April 10, 2024.