Based in Zagreb, Croatia, Barbara Matejčić is an award-wining freelance journalist, non-fiction writer, editor, researcher and audio producer  focused on social affairs and human rights in the Balkan region. She was awarded European Press Prize (2004, and she was the European Press Prize finalist in 2021) and Investigative Journalism for Europe award (2024). She lectures at the Journalism Studies at University of VERN’ in Zagreb. She writes for Croatian and international print and online media and produces multimedia projects. Her work was featured at Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, TV Arte, Austrian weekly Profil, Italian weekly L’Espresso, German daily Neues Deutschland, Dutch weekly De Groene Amsterdammer, Balkan Insight, among others. Barbara cooperated with distinctive international organizations, institutions and think tanks such as the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Roma Education Fund, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, European Stability Initiative, European Trade Union Institute, UNHCR, UNICEF.

She was a winner of the 2013 Krunoslav Sukic award for promotion of peace, non-violence and human rights for her journalistic work about war trauma, reconciliation and peace building initiatives in the ex-Yugoslavia. In 2014 she won the Croatian Journalists’ Association award as the best print journalist in Croatia for her features about post war societies in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was awarded for the best coverage of LGBT issues in the last decade in Croatia (2000-2010).

Her non-fiction book “Kako ste?” [“How are you?”], published by German Heinrich Böll Foundation (first edition 2015, second edition 2016), looks at the fate of so-called second-class citizens who are often invisible to most of society.

She was selected for several European fellowships („Milena Jesenska“ Fellowship, German Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”, German Foundation Heinrich Böll, Austrian ERSTE Foundation and German Robert Bosch Foundation).

Barbara holds a degree in Croatian language and literature from the University of Zagreb.

HRV

Barbara Matejčić slobodna je novinarka, istraživačica i audio autorica fokusirana na društvene teme i ljudska prava. Piše redovito za tiskane i internetske medije u Hrvatskoj i inozemstvu. Surađuje s Dokumentarnim programom Trećeg programa Hrvatskog radija, s istraživačkim, medijskim i ljudsko-pravaškim organizacijama te s umjetnicima, znanstvenicima, aktivistima. Dobitnica je međunarodnih nagrada European Press Prize (2024.) i Investigative Journalism for Europe (2024.) Nagrađena je za najbolje pisano novinarstvo u 2013. godini nagradom „Marija Jurić Zagorka“ (Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo, 2014.), dobitnica je Nagrade za promicanje mirotvorstva, nenasilja i ljudskih prava „Krunoslav Sukić“ (Centar za mir, 2013.) te priznanja za najbolje praćenje LGBT tematike u Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 2000. do 2010. (Zagreb Pride, 2011.). Dobitnica je nekoliko europskih stipendija za novinarski rad. Predaje na studiju Novinarstva Sveučilišta VERN’ u Zagrebu. Diplomirala je Hrvatski jezik i književnost na Filozofskom fakultetu u Zagrebu. Rođena je u Splitu, živi u Zagrebu.