Damjanović: We want young people like Lazar Đuković from Montenegro to cooperate with the world

Together with her associates, the Minister of Science in the Government of Montenegro Dr. Sanja Damjanović hosted young researcher Lazar Đuković from Budva, a student of “Danilo Kiš” secondary school, who recently won the prestigious global award, second place for green innovation in a competition organised by “Action for Nature”.

At the very beginning of the meeting, the minister commended Lazar’s talent and his invention, stressing that she was very glad that he had already attracted the attention of the public at the age of 15 and that his work would contribute to solving the global problem of environmental sustainability. “Lazar is a great example of how the younger generations can also contribute to solving great challenges. In terms of creativity and ideas, Montenegro can also be a ‘big country’. I learned that the Swedish Ministry of Science has also expressed interest in your work. I think you need to cooperate with the global community because that way your work will have increasing value and impact. In the period behind us, we have tried to create conditions for young people to work from Montenegro in a stimulating environment, while being connected with Europe and the world”, Damjanović said, expressing her firm belief that Lazar had a bright future as an inventor.

Đuković is one of the seventeen young environmental activists from all over the world who were presented the award of International Young “Eco-Hero” by the “Action for Nature (AFN)”. It is an award given to environmentally conscious youth aged eight to sixteen, for their creative initiatives designed to address critical environmental challenges.

For his exceptional project in the field of renewable energy sources, Lazar won second place in the category from 13 to 16 years of age. His motivation came from the fact that it bothered him that his grandparents living in the village of Ilino Brdo had issues with the lack of water and electricity supply. Lazar used his knowledge to construct a solar energy collector, thanks to which the entire Đuković house is now supplied with electricity, along with several neighbouring houses. “I became interested in this project three years ago when I applied to participate in the Open Science Days festival, and since then I have not been able to stop making inventions”, Lazar said.

Another invention that makes Lazar proud is a water pump that works without electricity, solely on the principle of pressure and thrust. A large number of different inventions are being developed in his workshop in Petrovac.

Young Đuković is full of enthusiasm and calls upon the young people to give their contribution, because he believes that there are many problems that need to be solved and that the effort is worth it. He himself is a volunteer in the Youth Club Budva, through which he learns about numerous competitions and often participates in them. In addition, he is very successful in school and sport.

Representatives of the Ministry of Science, State Secretary Saša Ivanović and Director-General in the Directorate for Innovation and Technological Development Branka Žižić, introduced Lazar and his father to the support provided by the Ministry of Science with regard to the development of start-up ideas and intellectual property protection. Director of the Science and Technology Park Velibor Bošković invited Lazar to take part in STP support programmes, offering him the support of the STP team in case of any dilemmas he may have in his future career. A message to Lazar was that the academic path of education can and should go in parallel with the entrepreneurial path, and that his creativity would be his guide.