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Winners of the Fifth Annual Virtus Award are Announced
 
December 3, 2011
Vladimir Marinkovic, the Executive Director of Sunce Company of Kragujevac, is congratulated by Ambassador Mary Burce Warlick for winning the 2011 Virtus award for small- and medium-sized companies.

Vladimir Marinkovic, the Executive Director of Sunce Company of Kragujevac, is congratulated by Ambassador Mary Burce Warlick for winning the 2011 Virtus award for small- and medium-sized companies.

This year's winners of the 2011 VIRTUS Corporate Philanthropy Award were announced today at a ceremony held on the premises of the Serbian National Parliament. The annual award was presented for the fifth time, in several different categories, recognizing the companies and enterprises that made the most effective contribution to the public welfare through material or other types of support for non-profit campaigns or civil society organizations in 2011.

The VIRTUS competition is organized by Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), with the financial support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and in the partnership with the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). The VIA Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and numerous other partners have also supported the award's presentation.

The 2011 VIRTUS Corporate Philanthropy Awards winners are:

  • Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad, for contributions at the national level
  • Holcim d.o.o, for contributions to the local community where the company operates
  • Sunce Marinkovic, for the small- and medium-sized enterprises
  • Telenor d.o.o, for long-term partnerships between the business and non-profit sectors
  • B92 Radio Broadcasting Company a.d, for the most innovative project of the year
  • Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad, volunteerism award

Interest in the VIRTUS Award has not decreased despite difficult economic circumstances and limited budgets, which is a proof of the raised awareness and the significance of corporate responsibility through paticipation in socially responsible campaigns. Through their positive examples, these companies show that socially responsible operation and long-term investments in the development of local communities and society represent the road to the sustainable development.

Award presentations were made by Her Excellency Mary Burce Warlick, the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, His Excellency Michael Davenport, the British Ambassador to Serbia, Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, the Chairperson of the Serbian National Parliament, Rasim Ljajic, the Serbian Minister of Labour and Social Policy and Ivana Cirkovic, the Director of the Serbian Governmental Office for Cooperation with Civil Society.