My name is Snezana Milojkovic and my name means Snow White, aged 37 and I am a female K
night from Serbia and Sweden. I studied Sports and Physical at Belgrade University, Serbia and Sports Management at the International Olympic Academy in Athens, Greece. I have worked as Director, DIF Belgrade, Serbia, and Public Relations Manager, at Universidad Belgrade. Also, I worked as a Government Assistant in the Republic of Serbia and Program Manager, in the Museum of Sports and Olympics. During my studies and in my various appointments, the gender perspective has always interested me.
In Sweden, I studied to become a teacher which is my occupation today. Sweden has come very far and is forward-looking when it comes to the Gender perspective. One other passion is poetry and making mosaics from stones and shells. I have published two poetry books. Finally, I am a single mother to Jovan aged six and we live in Täby, 20 km north of Stockholm city.
Being Invested as a Knight in our Order was of great importance and pride for me due to my legacy and being a modern woman and a mother. What does a Modern Knight mean to me for me to be a Modern Knight means to be at the right place at the right time with the right people? Alone, you cannot do anything to change the world, but if you have the right people as support; nothing is impossible regardless of whether you are male or female. As a Serbian woman, I always felt that freedom is such an important thing. Our history is so hard and cruel and we lost a lot of our population during many historical wars. We fought for the Christian faith against the Ottoman troops (Turkey) from 1459 until the war 1804 to 1815.
That means that our women needed to be strong, brave and to fight for their family and land. As a Serbian woman who lives in Sweden, I feel huge freedom because in this modern country everyone has the right to choose. I was chosen to be what I really think it’s me. It was just a mosaic of possibilities for me to choose to be a female Knight and I am so proud and grateful that the Brothers and Sisters in our Order gave me that chance. How I was knighted when a friend, who also was going to be knighted, asked me if I would like to join the Order I was very honored and glad. He explained about being invested as a Dame and also knighted as Knight. When we arrived in Budapest I was proud of being a Dame, but in my heart, I was going to kneel and take the sword as a Knight. At the lunch of the Order on Saturday, I talked to a wonderful man from Australia and told him about my inner wish. He asked me if I really would like to be a Knight. After fifteen minutes, he came back to me and told me that he would try to have me invested as a Knight. That wonderful man was Chev Pascuale (Pat) Pedulla, Lieutenant Grand Master. Another wonderful man who talked to me at the lunch and took care of me, was Chev Malcolm Hitchman, Aide de Camp. The day after, at the Investiture Malcolm asked me in the church just five minutes before the Investiture act “Snezana, Knight or Dame”?
I responded without hesitation “Knight Sir”. I was then knighted by our Prince Grand Master, his Imperial Royal Highness, Brother Sandor. My dearest wish came through, I was now a full-blooded Knight. I hope to inspire with this small story of mine, I hope I can inspire more women to be knighted as Knights – modern Knights. Joan of Arc is not the only woman that was a female Knight throughout history. There are many women who feel in their hearts as freedom fighters. Freedom fighters or Knights for a better world, Modern Knights. We could all be Dames, Gentlemen, Brothers, and Sisters but we are all Knights for a better world too. I thank you, God, in the name of Saint John