Ivan Đorđević, PhD (PI), is Senior Research Associate at Institute of Ethnography SASA, and Adjunct Lecturer by courtesy with the Global Health Studies Program at Northwestern University, USA. He holds a PhD in cultural anthropology from University of Belgrade and his work focuses on issues related to disadvantaged Roma communities in Serbia. He has led and participated in many research and policy-informing projects supported by UNICEF, World Bank, WHO and other organizations, related to improvement of position of Roma in Serbia, with the special emphasis on women’s rights.

Slavica Vasić Mitrović is a co-founder of "BIBIJA" - Roma Women Center (1998), a pioneering organization focuses on human rights, women's rights, and empowering Roma women in areas of education, health, economic empowerment, and political participation. As a founder of the Roma Women Network in 2004, she played a pivotal role in uniting 35 Roma NGOs and initiatives in Serbia. With over two decades of experience, her work has spanned over various government roles, civil society, and grassroots activism. She received the EU Award for Roma Integration in 2019, dedicated to individual Roma women grassroots activists.

Lada Stevanović PhD is an anthropologist, principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnography SASA in Belgrade. She researches history of patriarchy and hegemonic mechanisms that affect powerless and marginalized groups. She published two books: Antiquity and myth/us (2020) and Laughing at the Funeral: Gender and Anthropology in the Greek Funerary Rites (2009). As one of the PIs for the project The Status of Women Scholars and Scientists in the Labour Market and in Society in Serbia (UNESCO Participation program project / IE SASA), she received Anđelka Milić Award (2021) of SEFEM.

Bojana Bogdanović, PhD is an anthropologist and Senior Research Associate at Institute of Ethnography SASA. She worked as a Senior Curator at the Open Air Museum Old Village Sirogojno (2004-2017). She focuses on research of gender, urban anthropology, political anthropology, memory studies and heritage studies. She has participated in projects supported by the Serbian Ministry of Science and Ministry of Culture, the Government of the Republic of Romania and the World Bank. She is the author of three books and over 40 scientific papers published in Serbia and abroad.

Miloš Rašić, PhD, is a research associate at the Institute of Ethnography SASA. His research focuses on migration, identity and cultural heritage. His book Imagined Homeland: Clubs, Identity and Integration of Serbian Guest Workers in Vienna, was awarded for the best book in ethnology and anthropology in Serbia (2022). He has led and participated in various research and policy-informing projects supported by World Bank, UNICEF and other organizations. In 2024 he was recognized as excellent researcher by Ministry of Science, Technological development and Innovation of Republic of Serbia.

Milena Jokanović, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate and lecturer at the Department of Art History, Faculty of Philosophy. She holds a PhD in art and museum studies, as well as two MAs in art history and cultural policy and management. She coordinates projects focused on alternative approaches to heritage interpretation, with emphasis on the importance of other’s perspectives and empowerment in the context of cultural heritage. She participated in the project “Transformative Grassroots Leadership Training,” aimed at supporting community-led processes of Roma women’s empowerment and leadership.

Marija Đorđević PhD is a culturologist and a Research Associate at the Faculty of Philosophy. She holds a BA and two MAs in art history and museology and she gained her PhD at University of Hildesheim in 2019. Her main research interests are making, keeping and contemporary use of cultural heritage, with a focus on emancipatory practices as intangible, performing heritage. She published the book Yugoslavia commemorates – site, body, and action for spaces of performing heritage (2021). In 2023, she was a part of the project “Transformative Grassroots Leadership Training” (IE SASA / World Bank).

Svetlana Ilić is a pedagogical assistant in primary school "Jovan Cvijić” (Belgrade) providing continuous support to Roma students and their parents, with a goal of preventing early school dropout particularly of Roma girls. From 2001 she has been engaged in various projects with Roma Women's Center BIBIJA, including issues of education, health, economic integration, child marriage and early development, primarily focusing on work with women and girls. She attended various trainings dedicated to the protection of women, and the economic empowerment of Roma women.

Svetlana Marinković has been employed as a pedagogical assistant in primary school since 2009. She is a long-time activist in Roma Women's Center BIBIJA. She has participated in various seminars and training programs, including those offered by the Ministry of Education, Red Cross Serbia, OSCE, UNHCR and other international organizations. Her engagement in NGOs, such as the Women's Roma Center in Rakovica and Bibija, highlights her commitment to community service and empowerment.

At a time when the grassroots, student-led civil movement in Serbia shines as a beacon against the backdrop of authoritarianism advancing across the world, recognizing and celebrating the transformative power of Citizen Science projects such as HEROINES is crucial. The HEROINES project—short for Heritage of Emancipation: Empowering Roma Women through Networks of Solidarity—is a Citizen Science initiative led by the Institute of Ethnography SASA in close collaboration with two community-based partners, the Roma Women's Center Bibija and the Successful Women of Kostolac association. The Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority and are still routinely victims of prejudice and social exclusion. The project’s primary aim is to understand the process of emancipation of Roma women in Serbia through participatory research and data collection of rarely shared oral stories and individual experiences in three urban areas, the capital Belgrade, Kostolac, and Pirot. The project uses community mapping methodology to interpret and reflect on the data collected while recognizing the importance of community voices to take control of their own development and offer new ways to shape their own future.

The jury members were impressed by the inclusion of Roma women at all stages of the processes and the deep partnerships with the Roma community-based organizations, which have decades of experience in Roma female activism. This showcased the strength, resilience, and achievements that have often been excluded from the discourse. The team have published about their methodology in Serbian and the jury would encourage them to continue publishing about their work internationally, so that their work can reach a larger audience and serve as inspiration on how research institutions can develop partnerships with community-based organizations and together co-produce new knowledge that would be difficult to obtain by other means. The community mapping methodology developed in this project represents an innovative contribution to the Citizen Science landscape. While its core principles could inspire similar efforts elsewhere, it is not easily replicable without the long-term commitment to building relationships and establishing trust within communities. This makes the project a role model—not simply for the method itself, but for the process of co-creation it embodies. The approach is particularly impactful in contexts where individuals are often socially or geographically isolated and where opportunities for collective knowledge production are limited.

The project’s partnerships have been key to enabling a highly transformative impact, with achievements of great relevance both for the involved communities and for broader societal reflection. Importantly, the project also contributes a distinct and enriching perspective to the scientific discourse on this topic. Such efforts are especially commendable in countries where historically marginalized groups remain underrepresented or rendered invisible in public discourse. In such contexts, fostering diversity of voices and strengthening representation in knowledge production are essential. This project demonstrates how these goals can be meaningfully advanced through the combination of scientific methods and sustained, community-rooted collaboration, carried out with remarkable dedication over the long term, despite limited financial resources.