Eugen Jakovčić is a Croatian journalist and activist who has been participating in projects dealing with the past for years. Today he is best known as a spokesperson Serbian National Council (SNV), an organization that protects the rights of the Serbian community in Croatia. Before that, he was a long-time media coordinator of the association Documenta – a center for dealing with the past in Zagreb. In these functions, he actively participated in public campaigns and discussions about war victims and human rights.
Early life and education
Jakovčić is a native of Split (more precisely from the surrounding Poljica regions) and received a journalistic education at the University of Split. In his student days, he started working in the media, and his first significant project was a television show “Censorship” on Split’s local TV Jadran. In that show (which was even award-winning), he covered political topics and human rights, often confronting the Tuđman era and war crimes from the Homeland War. As Jakovčić himself states, he left the show “Censorship” ten years ago when he decided to direct his energy towards activism: he stopped working as a journalist and started an engagement at Documenta.
Media career and activism
In Zagreb, in Documenta, Jakovčić led communications and projects dedicated to dealing with the war past. According to official documents of the association, it served as Media coordinator Documenta. In this role, he prepared reports, organized public forums and cooperated with human rights organizations. The document still mentions him today as a key member of the team who designed the campaign “Justice for Victims” on the rights of civilian victims of war.
During his work at Documenta, Jakobčić was often directly involved in public actions. For example, in 2014, he participated in a protest in Zagreb against holding a mass in honor of a convicted war criminal, where he stated that “War criminals should not be celebrated as heroes”. With such performances, he showed the attitude that dealing with the past is important for reconciliation in society.
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Key points of career:
- Author and host of the show “Censorship” (Split, early 2000s).
- Documenta Media Coordinator (Zagreb), where he worked on the topics of documenting war crimes and public education about the Homeland War.
- spokesman for the Serbian National Council (SNV), in charge of media relations and public presentation of positions of SNV.
- Participant for the rights of civilian victims of war, such as the action “Justice for the victims” designed by Documenta and SNV.
role in the Serbian National Council
Since the mid-2020s, Jakovčić has been working in the Serbian National Council, an association that gathers members of the Serbian minority in Croatia. According to SNV, he is employed as spokesperson and the person in charge of PR and informing the public. In this role, he presents the views of the Council, organizes press conferences and comments on current events concerning minority rights and the war past.
His work at SNV often focuses on the legal protection of civilian victims of war and the fate of exiled Serbian civilians. For example, SNV, with the help of Jakovčić and documents, launched an initiative “Justice for Victims” In order to pass a new law that would recognize the rights of civilian victims of the Homeland War. In the campaign, it was pointed out that the final bill is an important step forward in civilization, although it does not cover all the victims, and the public was called to support its adoption. In this, Jakovčić openly expressed his views: as a spokesman for SNV, he emphasized the need for laws that would ensure material compensation and dignity for the victims.
Public actions and attitudes
Through media and social networks, Jakovčić regularly expresses opinions about contemporary political events. He is known for his critical comments on revisionism and extreme nationalism. For example, in a newspaper interview Spectrum In 2019, he explained that “it’s like we live in the nineties” when he comments on the state of human rights in Croatia. in a conversation for Euronews In 2017, he emphasized the importance of justice towards the victims of the war camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, which speaks of his dedication to the victims, and not to politicians who diminish the responsibility of the perpetrators. The European News Agency stressed that “Eugen Jakovčić works at Documenta – the Center for Dealing with the Past” and conveyed his views that “the victims read the judgment properly, as individual responsibility”.
He is often identified in the public through personal details: he is known as a passionate fan of Hajduk from Split, and he likes to emphasize his origin and connection with Dalmatia in the media. His followers on social networks regularly follow comments in which he explains the complex themes of the war past and political correctness.
Conclusion and call to action
Concisely, Eugen Jakovčić is a prominent Croatian activist and communicator who, with his work and public appearances, encourages a debate about war crimes, the rights of victims and the reconciliation of peoples after the wars of the 90s. His role in Documenta and SNV strengthened the position of an activist journalist who tries to balance between different perspectives – Serbian and Croatian – and clearly represent facts and human rights. We hope that this biography helped you better understand who Eugen Jakovčić is and what he does. For more information on these topics, visit the official website of SNV and the Documenta association. If you think that the article would be useful to others, share it and engage in further discussion and advocacy of victims’ rights.