The Chamber of Commerce of Serbia will grant scholarships to 20 high school students from socially disadvantaged families throughout Serbia, joining the scholarship program of the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, it was announced at today's press conference at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, where the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia Marko Čadež and Vlade and Ana Divac invited companies to engage in this support.
"Giving scholarships to talented students from low-income families is not just an act of gifting, but a bet for their future and education that will help them continue their education, develop their talents and become successful," said Marko Čadež.
"I’m calling on companies to respond in, as large a number as possible, and support talented students to get an education and acquire knowledge that will enable them to have a better future," emphasized Čadež.
Since 2017, when the program was founded, the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation has been awarding monthly scholarships to high school students across Serbia who come from socially disadvantaged, single-parent or poor families. So far, in eight years, more than 900 scholarships have been awarded to talented young people as a kind of support on their way to achieving their life goals.
"In addition to the fact that our scholarship recipients are from families with low incomes, it often happens that they also have a family member who is suffering from a serious illness, or even struggling with some health issues themselves. And all of them are excellent students, mostly with all A's. And that's why I think it's very important to help such talented children," said Vlade Divac, co-founder of the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, and thanked all individuals and companies from Serbia and the diaspora for their donations so far.
The number of applications for Divac scholarships is increasing every year. Until recently, the annual average was between 400 and 600 applications, while this year 830 applications were received, of which 101 scholarships for the 2024/25 school year have been awarded so far.
"Thanks to this generous donation from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, 20 more young people will receive our monthly scholarships for the current school year and I am very grateful to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and I hope that more companies and organizations will follow this example," said Ana Divac, co-founder and President of the Board of Directors of the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation.
"We were happy to respond to the call in 2022 to join this program, and since then every year we allocate 440,000 RSD for scholarships to talented high school students and students whose families are unable to provide them with sufficient financial resources to continue their education. We will continue to support this program in the future, and we invite other companies to support Divac scholarships," said Desanka Landauer, marketing director at McDonald's Serbia, who made it possible for eight young people to receive Divac scholarships.
Bearing in mind that education is one of the most important prerequisites for a successful life, monthly scholarships give talented young people from vulnerable categories the opportunity to better focus on learning and fight for a better future on their own. In addition, this support gives their families the opportunity to redirect their small income to solving other problems, such as monthly bills, medicines for sick family members, and the like.
The psychological incentive for these young people is also significant, because by recognizing their talents and good results in school, they gain the necessary self-confidence and motivation to achieve even better results.
Divac scholars, in addition to achieving exceptional success in school, also win prizes in science or sports competitions, and often volunteer and help others in the community in which they live.
At the press conference, Nikola Milković, a student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, a former scholarship holder of the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, shared his experience and emphasized that this support helped him overcome material limitations.
Read more about the scholarship program at www.divac.com/stipendije.