Winners Announced for the Social Impact Award (SIA) Competition 2026

This year's final was particularly significant as it marked five years of the Social Impact Award (SIA) program in Montenegro, during which 268 ideas with social impact were submitted, supported by over 600 young people. It all begins with a much more important sentence: 'Maybe I can do something about this.' Our shared task is to ensure that this sentence does not remain just a good intention – that afterwards there is a mentor, program, institution, company, or donor who will listen to the young person and say: let's see if this can succeed," said Radović. "That is precisely why this program is important – because it encourages young people to connect, collaborate, exchange ideas and opinions, ask questions, seek answers, not fear failure, and be active participants in the process rather than mere observers, to identify challenges and propose solutions. Awards were given to the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, Five Group company, Secretariat for Entrepreneurship and Investments of the Capital City Podgorica, Coca-Cola HBC Montenegro, the Montenegro Chamber of Commerce, the Development Bank of Montenegro, NELT MNE, and Erste Bank. The SIA Final traditionally also marked the end of this year's Festival of Science and Innovation, whose slogan 'Science travels, innovations connect' aligns with one of the key ideas of the SIA program itself – connecting youth, knowledge, institutions, companies, and the community around innovative solutions for social challenges. In addition to the main sponsors, SIA program partners include the Central Bank of Montenegro, Coca-Cola HBC Montenegro, One Montenegro, Grawe Non-Life Insurance, the Development Bank of Montenegro, and XEnergy, with support from NELT MNE, MFI Alter Modus, the Montenegro Chamber of Commerce, and The Chedi Luštica Bay.