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About Us

The Serbian Council of Great Britain (SCGB) is an independent, non-profit, and non-political organisation established to promote the interests of the Serbian community in Great Britain.

SCGB was founded in London in February 2004 after over a year of intensive consultations within the Serbian community in Great Britain. In developing our aims we sought to obtain support and advice from existing diaspora organisations and a range of prominent individuals from all walks of life. Our membership reflects this aim, with members coming from diverse backgrounds,

Our Aims

  • To act generally for the benefit of individuals who are Serbian or of Serbian descent living in Great Britain without distinction of gender, race, religion or political orientation;
  • To promote development of the Serbian community in Great Britain, particularly through co-operation with existing similar-minded organisations of Serbian diaspora in Great Britain and worldwide;
  • To advance education in, and awareness of, Serbian history, culture and heritage;
  • To assist members of the Serbian community in maintaining and developing strong ties with Serbia and other territories with Serbian historical and cultural heritage;
  • To promote good relations between individuals who are Serbian or of Serbian descent living in Great Britain and persons of other ethnic or racial groups;
  • To promote and represent the interests of individuals who are Serbian or of Serbian descent living in Great Britain in relation to governmental and non-governmental organisations in Serbia and in Great Britain.

Council Members

Petar Janković

Honorary President 

Olga Stanojlović

Chair

Maya Jordan

Secretary 

Ivan Miletić

Treasurer

Maya Atkinson

Board member

Aco Divac

Board member

Lazar Vuković

Board member

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Petar Janković

Honorary President

Petar Jankovic was born in Belgrade in 1937. He obtained a BA [Hons] degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University in 1960. From 1965, Petar has pursued a career in the City.  Petar is a leading member of the Serbian community. He is a trustee of Serbian Society for several years, and a representative for Great Britain in Diaspora Council in 2002-2003. Petar has served as the first Chairman of the Serbian Council of Great Britain from its inception in 2004 and is now its Honorary President.

Olga Stanojlović MBE

Chair

Born in Wiltshire in 1954 to émigré Serbian parents, Olga completed a history degree and teacher training at the University of Warwick. Soon afterwards, she joined the British Council, where she was Director of Education in Schools at the time of her early retirement in 2010. For her outstanding achievements in developing relations with Africa and Eastern Europe and in the field of education, she was awarded an MBE in 2001. She is trustee of a number of charities and organizations including the Father Nikolich’s Settlement Trust, the Ladies Guild of the Serbian Orthodox Church, The British Serbian Benevolent Fund, The Thames Festival and is a non-executive director of the Big Ideas Company. She has led the Council’s work on the Serbian language, represented the SCGB on the Round Table Working Group, filled the post of Secretary over a number of years and been Chair since 2015. Olga is a founder member of the SCGB.

Maya Jordan

Secretary

Maya, a pianist, holds a Masters Degree in Music from the Academy in Belgrade along with a PG Certificate from the London College of Music. Maya’s performing career has been broadened through her interest in bringing together music and musicians from different countries. She settled in Britain in 1996 and was one of the co-founders of the project ‘Sounds of the Balkans’. Since then, Maya was the Artistic Director for numerous events and projects promoting Serbian culture and encouraging artists of different origins to work together. At present she is co-founder / Director of the ‘Around the Globe Music & Arts’ and the Programme Director of the ‘Serbian Month in Great Britain’. Maya has also been involved in numerous charity projects (including ‘Magic & Toys’, ‘Ada Art’) in aid of Serbian people and children. Maya is a founder member of the SCGB and has been Secretary for last 3 years. 

Ivan Miletić

Board member

Born and raised in Belgrade and arrived in the UK in 2007 having spent ten years in New York City, US. Ivan has studied at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Belgrade University where he has obtained a Master’s degree in Aeronautical engineering. Since 1998 he has been working on projects in Engineering, Financial and Business hosting, expertise in Banking and Exchange hosting and networking in all 3 regions EMEA, Americas and Asia.  Ivan has been the Treasurer of the Serbian Council of Great Britain for 7 years.

Maya (Marija) Milanković-Atkinson

Board member

Born in Belgrade in 1947, started school in London where her parents were posted and continued in Belgrade. Maya graduated BSc in Mathematics at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics of Belgrade University and she completed her MSc at the City University Business School in London. In 1974 Maya moved to London and also lived in Italy and Sweden for a while. Maya worked in education as lecturer, senior lecturer, principal lecturer in Computer Science in Further, Higher Education at Willesden College and from 1987 the Polytechnic (later University) of North London and finally from 2001 at Middlesex University. Her work especially over the last ten years of her career was dedicated mainly to International work – setting up BSc and MSc programme overseas in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Egypt, Dubai, Malta. Whenever possible she promoted collaboration with Serbian Universities and had initiated several European funded projects and other forms of collaboration. Maya has substantial organizational and leadership experience. She retired in September 2007. Over the many past decades, Maya has taken part in activities organized by different individuals and organizations of Serbs in the UK such as the ‘Serbian Information Centre’ during the 1990s, the Peace in the Balkans meetings in the House of Commons, the initiation of the Serbian Council, and numerous cultural events. From 2016 – 2019 Maya was representative of UK to the Diaspora Assembly in Serbia.

Aco Divac

Board member

Aco has a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Belgrade. Aco spent 10 years as a researcher at the Institute for Cultural Studies, Development, Research and Documentation in Belgrade, conducting empirical research in the sociology of culture, in particular urban culture and sub-cultural issues. For the last 20 years Aco has been working with civil society and community organisations across different settings, countries and cultures. Aco is a trained Learning Mentor and Storyteller. He is Co-founder and Trustee of the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund, established in 2000 and renamed the TRAG/Fondacija in 2013. He works as a Librarian at the Kingsdale Foundation School, Dulwich.

Lazar Vuković

Board member

Lazar is a serial entrepreneur active in Marketing, Real estate, Distribution, Retail and TV Production.
Born and educated in the UK he is the UK & IRE delegate to the diaspora assembly of Serbia, Board member of the Serbian Council of Great Britain, Board member of Lifeline UK and the founder of LV Group based in London.
Lazar holds a BA (hons) in Accounting & Finance.