I didn’t even get to look back, and a year has already passed since I bravely stepped into the challenge and started working as the Director of the Anti-Doping Commission, a new independent legal entity. Inspired by the great love for the values ​​that anti-doping represents, the world that my dear colleagues and support Dr. Mira Jovanovski Dašić and Dr. Aleksandar Vujičić introduced me to, I tried month after month to establish the foundations of our national anti-doping organization within international standards, giving my contribution to the fight to protect the integrity and health of our athletes.

In this way, in a short time we showed that we are a valuable member of the world anti-doping community, finding our place among those who never have too much talk and action in preserving and improving what has been achieved in the field of anti-doping.

The need to strengthen communication and visibility of anti-doping activities was highlighted during the recently concluded UNESCO Conference, whose participants agreed that cooperation between national and regional anti-doping organizations, as well as with sports federations and other main actors, should be continued. In addition to continuing the harmonization of the anti-doping environment through WADA consultations on national compliance, UNESCO continues with intergovernmental dialogues at the level of the competent Ministries, as well as the Council of Europe.

The best domestic and foreign experts, members of the anti-doping community, as well as numerous personalities and organizations that recognize these values, have given their trust to the newly established Anti-Doping Commission and me through cooperation, and the result is the outstanding ratings we receive, given that we are someone who it just includes on these new legal grounds in the important anti-doping story. Infront of me are new tasks, new projects, new challenges, and I look forward to the process through which we will become better and more aligned with European and world guidelines and recommendations, changing in accordance with new knowledge.

Athletes are always our priority – and that is the only thing we will not change in the future. Continue to be with us, together we will achieve the set goals, and thank you for your trust!

Director of the Anti-Doping Commission, Dr. Olivera Prodanović

Anti-doping education is a key component in preserving the integrity of sport, and anti-doping values ​​are inextricably linked to Olympic ideas, it was assessed at the meeting of the director of the Anti-Doping Commission, Olivera Prodanović, and the sports director of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, Katarina Bulatović.

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“Anti-doping is not just a rule, but a moral and ethical obligation towards all athletes and sports fans. The Anti-Doping Commission remains committed to its mission of protecting the health of athletes and clean sports competitions. Through education, cooperation and joint efforts, we want to work together with the Montenegrin Olympic Committee to create a fair, honest and safe sports environment for everyone, said Prodanović.
The interlocutors agreed on the necessity of intensive anti-doping training for athletes and their supporting staff in order to ensure compliance with anti-doping rules before the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024. This training will contribute to protecting the athletes’ integrity, as well as their health, enabling them to compete at the highest level and achieve their sporting goals.

“Our common goal is to support our athletes in achieving their sporting dreams, with full respect for anti-doping rules, in order to preserve the integrity of sport,” said Bulatović and pointed out that the area of ​​anti-doping is important for the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, not only to protect the reputation of Montenegrin athletes. it already provides access to international sports competitions.

Compliance with anti-doping standards, it was stated at the meeting, ensures that our athletes are competitive on the global sports scene and compete at the highest level, which creates pride and inspiration for future generations of athletes in Montenegro.

The Anti-Doping Commission and Montenegrin Olympic Committee have expressed their intention to continue good cooperation and compliance in the implementation of activities in accordance with international agreements and standards.

THE ANTI-DOPING COMMISSION

Director of the Anti-Doping Commission Dr. Olivera Prodanović participated in the Ninth Conference on the International Convention Against Doping in Sports organized by UNESCO on 25-26. October in Paris.


The aim of the conference is to propose modalities for further improvement of the Convention, which are aimed at the needs and expectations of UNESCO member states, but also at adapting to continuous global sports changes and challenges.

The report on the implementation of the International Convention against doping in sports was also discussed, in which, among other things, it was stated that Montenegro, through the full implementation of the Corrective Plan, made significant progress in the previous period in terms of compliance with the aforementioned Convention.

“Through dedicated work and full implementation of the Corrective Plan, Montenegro has achieved significant progress in complying with the Convention. Our country remains committed to preserving clean sport and the fight against doping. We look forward to further cooperation with UNESCO and the international community in order to jointly improve global efforts for fair and clean sport,’ said director Prodanović.


The conference was also an opportunity to establish the necessary contacts of the Anti-Doping Commission with numerous anti-doping subjects, important for mutual cooperation with the aim of harmonizing Montenegro’s contribution to the preservation of anti-doping values. Potentials for further concrete steps in the implementation of joint initiatives were discussed with the exchange of ideas and experiences.



On behalf of Montenegro, the Minister of Sports and Youth Vasilije Lalošević and the head of the Department for International Cooperation Miloš Lalević participated in the conference, as well as the Ambassador of Montenegro to France H.E. Ivan Ivanišević and Tanja Raspopović from the Embassy of Montenegro in Paris.

Minister Matar Bâ from Senegal was elected President of COP9 of the UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention for a period of two years.

Lalošević na konferenciji UNESCO-a u Parizu

The anti-doping system in compliance with international standards and the preservation of sports for the benefit of athletes is the common interest of all active in that social area, it was announced after the meeting of the Minister of Sports and Youth Vasilije Lalošević with members of the Anti-Doping Commission’s Council Dr. Aleksandar Kujović and Dr. Aleksandar Radović, as well as with the Director of the Commission Dr. Olivera Prodanović.

The interlocutors said that the state provided preconditions for the work of the Commission, and that now the focus is on increasing the number of educations, along with the implementation of planned doping controls.

The importance of compliance with international standards in the field of anti-doping was pointed out, which will also be the subject of the IX session of the International UNESCO Conference against doping in sports.

In order to implement the requirements of the Article 9 of the Anti-Doping Convention, Council of Europe developed an Anti-Doping Questionnaire: Implementation of anti-doping policies. This annual questionnaire was completed and submitted for the revision on 31. 8. 2023., as another necessary condition for compliance with internationally accepted anti-doping values.

29. 8. 2023. – Prof. Dr. Milica Vukašinović Vesić, Director of the Anti-Doping Agency of the Republic of Serbia and Mihael Cepić, President of the Central European Anti-Doping Organization, Dr. Eli Handžiska and Tatjana Blaževska, representatives of the Anti-Doping Commission of North Macedonia, and Dr. Olivera Prodanović, Director of the Anti-Doping Commission of Montenegro, at a meeting aimed at intensifying cooperation in accordance with the signed memorandum of cooperation between CEADO and WADA. The next steps in the development of the fight against doping in sports in North Macedonia and Montenegro were discussed at the meeting.

In order to meet the requirements of Montenegro’s compliance with the anti-doping requirements according to the International Standard for Compliance with the Code by the signatory, it is also necessary to answer a comprehensive WADA questionnaire, for which the deadline was 28. 6. 2023. After a detailed review of the completed questionnaire with over 260 questions, WADA provides a corrective action plan for NADO.

The Code Compliance Questionnaire is a tool developed by WADA to measure compliance of NADOs to the mandatory requirements of the Code and International Standards. It was developed in collaboration with a number of ADOs and other organizations such as INADO, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO. The Questionnaire is issued to assist NADOs in providing responses and data to a series of questions. All NADOs should answer the questions honestly in order for WADA to conduct an accurate review of their anti-doping program.

NADOs have 3 months to complete and submit the Questionnaire and are required to answer questions based upon their anti-doping programs for the calendar year (January – December) of the requested reporting period, defined in the Questionnaire. The Questionnaire is available in English or French.

In anticipation of the upcoming XXXIII Olympic Games, which will be held in July 2024 in Paris, anti-doping activities are at a high level of attention, appreciating that the period before the Olympic Games is of crucial importance. Namely, the period before the Olympic Games requires the coordinated efforts of numerous participants in the anti-doping field, whose primary goal is for the participating athletes to be subjected to a proportionate testing program before arriving in Paris.

In this regard, the International Olympic Committee has delegated its responsibilities regarding the implementation of the anti-doping program for the Olympic Games to the International Testing Agency (ITA), with the support of WADA to ensure that effective testing is carried out globally through the coordinated efforts of all anti-doping organizations.

All actors in the anti-doping field are obliged to make their contribution in the period before the Olympic Games, and their mutual coordination, work and discipline will represent a cornerstone for healthy sport, fair play based on the deterrent and preventive nature of anti-doping activities.