01.06.2018.
Best at the literary contest “Letter to a soldier-warrior”
Head of the Human Resources Department of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Colonel Savo Iriškić, received the winners of the literary contest titled “Letter to a soldier-warrior” at the Banjica 2 barracks, today, which is a campaign aimed at promoting the Armed Forces and the military calling. On that occasion, the authors of the best works were presented with prizes - vouchers for a weekend stay in the facility of "Javor" on Mt. Tara.
Colonel Iriškić, who received today's delegation of students of secondary and elementary schools on behalf of General Ljubiša Diković, Chief of General Staff, expressed satisfaction that hundreds of students participated in a competition aimed at bringing the army closer to the people, especially the youth that represents the future of Serbia. He introduced the boys and girls to the role, the purpose and tasks of the Armed Forces, and wished them to have a good time at Mr. Tara.The preliminary designer of the competition, Colonel Srećko Kuzmanović, Head of the General Staff Department for Morale, expressed his satisfaction that it was another action aimed at promoting the military calling that was well received.
- We envisaged to organize for students fun and recreational activities in Mt. Tara, as well as visits to cultural and historical sites, but also to bring them closer to the army through various activities, Colonel Kuzmanović said, adding that he expects that next year students throughout the country will show even more interest and that the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with the Ministry of Education will provide more awards for the best.Jasmina Đelić, Head of the Division for coordination of school departments of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Development, congratulated the children who participated in the competition, expressing gratitude to the parents and teachers who educated their children, ready to participate also in tasks that will not be rewarded by a grade. She pointed out that the teachers were those who developed literary creativity in children and developed love for literature and art. She underlined that it was a pleasure to cooperate with the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, who were the expert holders of the project, expressing the belief that there will be similar projects also in the future.
- Although I am a literature lover, the fact that I recently enrolled in the Military Academy was an additional motive to embark on writing the work that exalts the patriotism and pride that I feel as a citizen of Serbia. I did not expect the prize, but the recognition is certainly nice, Kristina Radović, one of the prize winners , a fourth-year student of the Vuk Karadžić High School of Trstenik said.
Finding that one of his ancestors was Lazar Mutap, the man who took part in building the modern army, was an inspiration to Lav Lukić, a student of final grade at Nikola Tesla primary school from Rakovica, to give his recognition by his work to all the ancestors who gave their lives for Serbia to be a free country today.High school students and elementary students from the territory of Serbia who collected the sympathies of the Board members by their writing today, after the reception at the General Staff, visited the memorial room and the religious service area of the Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces, and after lunch, young lovers of written word set off for Mt. Tara.
After the campaign throughout Serbia, each municipality sent one work that was rated as the best in the category of high school students, ie the elementary school pupils, and the expert commissions of the ministries of defence and education, science and technological development selected the 20 most successful papers among the 127 received.
This year marks a significant date, 100 years since the end of the First World War. Bearing this in mind, the aim of the Letter to a Soldier-Warrior campaign was to encourage young people to express their feelings towards the Serbian Armed Forces today through their literary works, as well as to show the piety to their ancestors, participants in the First World War.
