Katarina Jonev Ćiraković

Expert in cyber security and the protection of children online Katarina Jonev Ćiraković is a recognised expert and long-standing educator in the field of children's safety on the internet and social networks, with extensive experience in education, research and international cooperation. She is the author of two reference publications for parents and professionals: “Children's Safety on the Internet and Social Networks – A Guide for Parents” (2019) and “The Impact of Mobile Phones on Child Development” (2024). In 2025 she published a book for children about online safety and how to recognise the potential risks of the digital world, entitled “Digital Adventures”. She is also the author of the higher-education textbook for healthcare workers “Monitoring and Data Protection in Healthcare”.

She graduated in international relations from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the age of 23, and completed her master's degree in public international law at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. Her master's thesis, “Cyber Security and International Relations”, was the first academic work at that faculty to address cyber security through the lens of international relations, and received the highest mark (10). She is currently a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Political Sciences, on the International and European Studies programme. She worked at the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security as a teaching assistant in Public International Law, and today lectures at the Medika Health School on the subject “Data Protection in Healthcare”.

Since 2015 she has worked intensively on cyber-security policy, with a focus on international regulation, cyberspace and its impact on children and young people. She has published more than 50 scientific papers, and her research covers cyber terrorism, digital violence, cyber warfare and the safety of vulnerable groups in the digital environment. She belongs to a rare group of authors in the region who systematically study the impact of cyber threats on children and young people. In 2016 she worked as an associate of the Swiss-based international organisation DCAF on a range of projects.

As an educator, since 2016 she has delivered over 500 talks for children, parents and teachers across the Republic of Serbia, as well as in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Croatia. In 2017 she launched her own project, Cyber Atis, aimed at developing digital literacy and preventing digital violence among young people. Besides primary and secondary schools, she also works with a large number of sports clubs and federations, pre-school institutions and cultural centres. She has taken part in a great many projects at local level or in cooperation with various ministries and institutions.

She was director of the first national conference “Children's Safety on the Internet”, held in 2019 at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Telecommunications, UNICEF and other relevant institutions. She also addressed members of parliament at the founding of the Parliamentary Network for Digital Security in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2021.

From 2016 to 2019 she served as President of the Supervisory Board of the “IT veštak” association. For her contribution to promoting the development of the information society she received the E-razvoj association's award for 2019, for exceptional personal engagement and commitment. She holds numerous awards and is a member of several professional and international organisations. As Serbia's ambassador within the Swiss “Justice Initiative”, she takes an active part in international projects to prevent the sexual exploitation of children online. She also works closely with the Government Office for Combating Drugs, regularly taking part in its gatherings and conferences.

She is the youngest and longest-serving scholarship holder of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia (1997–2011), speaks four world languages fluently, and writes regularly for Serbia's most widely read media on digital safety and responsible internet use. She is also the author of a blog on children's online safety, www.katarinajonev.com