Original #English by Original Magazin

ANNA WINTOUR BORIS BECKER ARIANNA HUFFINGTON JIM YONG KIM KARLIE KLOSS JOHN GALLIANO RICHARD BRANSON

O IGINAL MAGAZINE SPECIAL ISSUE

FREE SAMPLE

/16

EXCLUSIVE COLUMNS BY

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

MY OLYMPIC DIARY

JELENA DJOKOVIC

MY SUMMER IN ECUADOR +

The best young faces, successful artists and up-and-coming entrepreneurs share their inspirational stories from Serbia and beyond

built for the challenge

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL ISSUE

photo by Nebojsa Babic

28 / BORIS BECKER The beautiful thing about being a teenager, so young, is you live in the moment, you live in a present day trance. You don’t think about tomorrow. Tomorrow is far away. You don’t understand the pressure. Pressure you put on yourself

38 / JIM YONG KIM Your IQ is pretty steady throughout your life. The one thing you can actually change is your willpower and diligence

46 / JOHN GALLIANO I cannot stress enough how important it is to surround yourself with friends and people you deeply trust who are like-minded and share your vision

34 / ARIANNA HUFFINGTON Life‘s a journey of learning not to listen to what I call the obnoxious roommate living in your head, the voice that puts us down, the voice of self-doubt. The more I got close to being there, to trust myself, to speak up, all those things became easier

6 / SIR RICHARD BRANSON 8 / BELGRADE‘S BEST MUSIC 22 / NOVAK IN RIO 50 / JELENA IN ECUADOR 56 / SERBIA‘S NEW DESIGN 72 / TONI MORRISON 80 / NORDEUS 86 / PETNICA 90 / LAZAR DZAMIC 104 / THE POWER OF COMICS 108 / SAVAMALA

44 / KARLIE KLOSS arly childhood education is the E foundation of all future learning and is invaluable to preparing people to be better able to learn and create in our ever-changing world

48 / ANNA WINTOUR The best advice I can give is to find someone you respect and try to learn from him or her. There is no substitute for experience and hard workexperience it firsthand, so they feel included and see how fulfilling one’s job can be

Impressum Founder / Novak Djokovic Foundation Magazine Director / Jelena Djokovic Magazine Assistant Directors / Aleksandra Radujko and Nebojsa Mandrapa Publisher / NIP Nedeljnik For Publisher / Veljko Lalic Editor in Chief / Marko Prelevic Managing Editor / Ana Mitic Director of Photography / Igor Pavicevic Director of Graphic Design / Milos Sindjelic Proofreader/Editorial Intern / Elizabeth Brewer Staff Writers / Zorica Markovic, Branko Rosic, Jovana Radovanovic, Veljko Miladinovic, Miljana Neskovic, Slobodan Maricic, Margita Milovanovic, Ksenija Pavlovic General inquiries / original@nedeljnik.co.rs Marketing / marketing@nedeljnik.co.rs Print / Rotografika Subotica

COVER STORY The mission of the magazine has been, from the very beginning, from the very first meeting of Team Original, to promote young artists from Serbia. Our door is always open, and our pages are always open for talented individuals. We let them express themselves freely. These are just some of the artists that were featured in Original.

Our first cover was designed by NIKOLA VELICKI, one of the most talented illustrators and an assistent on Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade.

The outrageously talented Luka Drobac designed the cover for our third issue. He is a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade and looks up to Gendy Tartakovsky and Hugo Prat. He had a tip for future students and artists: „Don‘t ever let yourself feel disappointed with your paintings. Just keep working and you‘ll find new motivation!“

The artist responsible for the cover of Original #2 was SANJA MILENKOVIC, born in Nis in 1983, who lives and works in Paris and Milano. She has a degree in painting from the Academy in Milano and a Ph.D. from Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera.

For our issue number 4, we bravely tried the technique of silk screening, by Ana Radosavljevic, also a student at Faculty of Fine Arts. We know the importance of great design, but we also know the importance of a great promotion. Original Magazine will continue to publish the works of young Serbian artists and we wish them a lot of success in the future. And maybe one day soon, when someone from Serbia conquers the world and wins the Golden Lion at Venice Biennale, or a Plastov Award, or the Hugo Boss Prize, they‘ll remember us and give us an interview... ®

FOREWORD

Jelena Djokovic

MAGAZINE DIRECTOR

HELLO MILANO, HELLO WORLD!

WHAT A PRIVILEGE IS TO SHARE OUR MISSION, VISION AND DREAM WITH YOU. Just a year ago, the first issue of the Original was launched in Serbia. We launched it with a dream of awakening the youth of Serbia. Our youth seemed quite lethargic and depressed about their future. They felt forgotten and insignificant in the face of the economic crisis, lack of jobs and opportunities... It was all pressing and not allowing them to reach their full potential. It is needless to say how important it was for us to bring the world to the little country of Serbia, to our future leaders of the society. Anna Wintour, Boris Becker, Richard Branson, John Galliano, Karli Kloss, Arianna Huffington, Jim Kim.... they all shared their words of wisdom with our readers. All of a sudden, the youth of Serbia didn‘t feel so forgotten and insignificant. No other media outlet in the whole region of former Yugoslavia had such important, exclusive interviews. When you are so small, it is quite difficult to get the opportunity for the exclusive conversation with truly successful people. What a wonderful journey this has been since. Just like our readership, we grew, learned, and improved. With a philanthropic idea in mind, people with good hearts unite and make things happen. WHEN WE WERE CREATING THE ORIGINAL, we have set ourselves on a mission to use every opportunity at our disposal to capture the minds of readers with a meaningful and powerful message. Making it different from what they are used to see every day. Each article, survey or interview of the Originalmagazine has this idea in mind. We want to enrich our readers’ minds with a plethora of messages that

tions of finding and nurturing the true, authentic brand within yourself. You can create your own opportunities with the right mindset and the right attitude.

demonstrate what life is all about. To us, life is about learning, failing, winning and losing, loving, letting go, accepting, being grateful and compassionate, being appreciative and open minded, respectful and forgiving. Success can be defined through a different formula than the one that is pushed to us (fame and money), and we have proven it with every single article and conversation we have had! The power of thought is big. We want to help you fill your mind with positive thoughts that can move you forward at any point in life. Our belief system lies on the founda-

EVERY ACTION YOU TAKE IS ONE STEP TOWARDS CREATING the dream brand. You are the brand that others will love, respect, pay for, and cheer for. Be authentic. No matter where you live or how you live, you are here on this planet to grow and learn. Every day is another chance to challenge yourself to become the best version you can be. Take it! After all, the future is created now. Make sure that you chose the right tools to build and fill your future with love, peace and happiness. Our dedicated team at The Original is working every day on crafting those tools for you. We are here to share with you the stories of people who have been on quite unique journeys in life. Their stories can give you different understanding and appreciation of what it takes to get “there,” what paths to avoid, and which ones to take. What lessons they’ve learned, where they’ve failed. It is quite simple. You are your own’s best chance at living a successful life, full of love and harmony. You have the power. You have the means. We are giving you the tools. Believe in yourself and go for it with all your heart! Go ahead. Dare to be Original! ®

EXCLUSIVE COLUMN

Sir Ričard Brenson

AN ORIGINAL EXCLUSIVE

PRESSURE IS A PRIVILEGE Learning to harness pressure‘s positive aspects is a valuable skill in tennis and in everyday life. When we are faced with exciting scenarios and situations, dealing with the stress that they bring can lead us to be more alert, alive and attentive. It can help to improve our performance. And remember: When the stakes are higher, the rewards are greater - and the journey is more enjoyable

THE OTHER DAY SOMEONE ASKED ME HOW I DEAL WITH PRESSURE. Without thinking over my response, I said that pressure is a privilege - which really is a great way to think positively and proactively about any challenge. I later looked up „pressure is a privilege“ to find out which bright spark had coined that phrase. It turned out, very aptly, to be the title of a book by the legendary tennis player Billie Jean King. With 39 Grand Slam titles to her name, including 12 singles wins, King certainly knows a thing or two about handling pressure! I recently hosted this year‘s Necker Cup tennis competition on Necker Island, during which amateurs play against the world‘s leading tennis stars and legends, including Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova and Marion Bartoli. For those of us who love playing tennis but never made the grade as professionals, the Necker Cup is a unique opportunity to test one‘s mettle against the sport‘s very best (plus all the proceeds go to supporting good causes like Virgin Unite). EVEN AMID THE FUN, friendly atmosphere of the Necker Cup, you can still feel the pressure to perform well. After all, who wouldn‘t be at least a little apprehensive when preparing to serve to Novak Djokovic or partner with Rafael Nadal?

Learning to harness pressure‘s positive aspects is a valuable skill in tennis and in everyday life. When we are faced with exciting scenarios and situations, dealing with the stress that they bring can lead us to be more alert, alive and attentive. It can help to improve our performance. And remember: When the stakes are higher, the rewards are greater - and the journey is more enjoyable. I learned to perform under pressure while dealing with something that has caused me much stress and anxiety over the years: speaking engagements. These days, I give speeches and attend events all over the world, yet I started out as a very nervous public speaker. I struggled with it from the first time a teacher told me to stand up in front of my classmates at Stowe School and recite a poem. Being dyslexic, I really had a tough time whenever we had to do this. What‘s more, our headmaster used to ring a gong whenever we paused too long or made a mistake, and then we were forced to march off the stage to a chorus of boos and jeers. I found myself being gonged offstage with depressing regularity. Rather than give up on public speaking, I eventually learned to convert the intense pressure I put on myself to do well into positive energy. Since I‘m not gifted at reading off formal speeches, I treat the occasion as an informal conversation, which I am good at. Today, I can happily share my thoughts with audiences by handling speeches and public appearances as one big discussion, whether I am in a room with two people or 20,000.

THERE IS SUCH A THING AS TOO MUCH PRESSURE. YOU NEED TO BALANCE HIGH-PRESSURE PERIODS WITH PLENTY OF TIME FOR REST, REFLECTION AND RECUPERATION, OR ELSE YOU WON‘T BE ABLE TO SWITCH OFF AND GET PERSPECTIVE. THIS IS PARTLY WHY WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND SPENDING TIME AWAY FROM THE OFFICE IS SO IMPORTANT

OF COURSE, I STILL FEEL NERVOUS WHEN I ‘ M O N S TA G E , and I still stutter over a word or two, and I even forget my lines sometimes, but as long as I remember that it‘s a conversation rather than a performance and I try to have fun, things usually work out OK. These days, I love putting pressure on myself to keep the crowd engaged, as it helps to keep my standards high. That said, there is such a thing as too much pressure. You need to balance high-pressure periods with plenty of time for rest, reflection and recuperation, or else you won‘t be able to switch off and get perspective. This is partly why work-life balance and spending time away from the office is so important. In the business world, pressure can come from many different directions at once. Maybe you suddenly need to deliver a high-stakes presentation, a supplier hasn‘t delivered on his end of a deal, or an employee is failing to live up to expectations - whatever the situation, you might find yourself suddenly shrinking under stress, rather than thriving under pressure. But if you take a moment to be mindful and recognize that pressure can, indeed, be a privilege, you may be able to manage the outcomes in a smarter manner. The only way to get better at tennis is by practicing, over and over again. The more times you serve, the more technically proficient you will become. More importantly, you‘ll become more confident. The same can be said for thriving under pressure as an entrepreneur. Practice makes perfect - or as Billie Jean King once said, „Champions keep playing until they get it right.“ ®

OPEN ERA

THE BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

The house of music and optimism Photographs by Marko Djokovic

1 OPEN ERA

The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, a cultural institution with a 92-year-long tradition, became one of the best national orchestras in the region in the past 15 years. Established on the European scene, and recently overseas too.

Its specific image and energy affected its prominence as a carrier of social changes. Thus, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra soon attracted many renowned classical musicians, among whom the famous Zubin Mehta stands out.

OPEN ERA

It initiates, actualizes, and supports actions important to civil improvement, tolerance promotion, regional and international cooperation. In honor of ethnic and religious variety, five New Years were celebrated with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra by holding concerts!

It’s one of the rare orchestras in the world, which dedicated a whole series of concerts to women conductors. In the 2013 -14 season, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra wore “high heels.”

Besides the fact that the Orchestra stands out with an authentic musical character, it’s prominent by its eccentric and often provocative promotion of classical music.

OPEN ERA

The atmosphere at its concerts is often atypical for classical music concerts. Thanks to a quality, but authentic repertoire, the concert seasons are sold out far in advance.

They take special care of attracting a younger audience. Thus, they began a series of concerts called “Bizarrte” in the 2011 -12 season, dedicated to peculiar musical phenomena and eccentric concepts.

8 OPEN ERA

The merriest concerts in the Belgrade Philharmonic orchestra are reserved for the youngest ones. Two times a year, series of concerts for pre-school and elementary school children are held. Besides concerts, the doors of the Philharmonic hall are opened every month for the little ones. Then, they get to meet the musicians, learn about the instruments, and listen to the orchestra rehearse.

9 10

The first American tour of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra turned a new page in history. The American audience had standing ovations that lasted several minutes at the end of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s concerts at the Symphony Center in Chicago, Severance Hall in Cleveland, the Strathmore Music Center in Washington, and the last concert at Carnegie Hall, in the heart of New York, which marked a real triumph.

A generation of musicians that made a strenuous walk of the Philharmonic Orchestra’s rebirth, faced many challenges, but never lost its sense of humor and its smile. Optimism is a constant state of spirit of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, which is shared with the audience every Friday in different parts of the world. WWW.BGF.RS

BE SUCCESSFUL

Eight things job recruiters notice in your resume on first sight* *and four totally unimportant things

By Margita Milovanovic

HEN THE RECRUITERS SIFT THROUGH A MOUNTAIN OF CANDIDATES’ RESUMES (OR CVS, WHATEVER YOU PREFER), WHICH VITAL INFORMATION DO THEY FOCUS ON? We received a comprehensive, interesting and very useful answer to this question from an engineer of the Human Resource sector of Facebook – Umbra Benjamin – a recruiter with prior experience in companies such as LivingSocial, Google and Expedia. First of all, Umbra pointed out that the criteria differ from one recruiter to another, and also that the nature of the job you’re applying for has an important role in selecting the information about you. Also, Umbra doesn’t go through piles of lined resumes because she hates paper; she does it all online. She works on older employees’ recruitment, so it is important to point out that the process automatically looks different than in the cases of employment of younger people who just crawled out of their colleges and schools – that determines how much experience will matter, or even if it will matter at all. Umbra also helped us systemize the input on CV writing into a few segments, and to point out the mistakes that shouldn’t be made to jobseekers in a most concise and simple way possible, as well as some small and useful catches which could help you win the workplace race. How do you read a CV, and what’s important in that resume?

Previous job and work experience Umbra said that, first of all, it’s important to determine the current status of the candidate and why he or she is even interested in the new job. Are they giving up? Or were they, perhaps, fired? Were they just a few months on their current or previous job? Is their last job experience related to the position they’re applying for?

These pieces of information can be very informative. They can tell if your consistency in work and readiness to confront business challenges is adaquate, as well as your ability to solve conflicts and other business dilemmas. However, they can also imply that you’re irresponsible, unable to adapt to different business environments and that you’re not skilled enough to take the pressure and other difficulties you may encounter.

The status of the current or previous company “I won’t lie,” told Umbra, “I am a snob when it comes to companies. But not because I think that some companies are better than other (although that is the case), but it comes to how fast I can determine the general references.” She added that it’s especially difficult to do that when the candidate’s previous experience is related to unknown companies that are not familiar to the recruiter. When it’s impossible to determine the company’s status, then your curriculum vitae must be read more carefully and in greater detail, which isn’t usually a problem; unless it’s badly written and full of grammatical errors. But when it gets to that point, Umbra had already lost her interest in you.

General experience This segment of the resume analysis de-

BE SUCCESSFUL

als with the questions of whether you’ve had any progress in your career, whether you possess a sense of responsibility, and whether your stated skills are concurrent with the demands of the company you’re applying for.

Key words Umbra performs the search of keywords in your biography using the Ctrl + F command and types all words that could imply that you possess the experience in the exact work branch you would like to work – business intelligence, MBA, Javascript…

Breaks If you’ve made a break in your career, no matter how long it lasted, Umbra says that she doesn’t have a problem with that. She doesn’t mind about them, as long as there’s an explanation. Maybe you’ve taken a few years off to raise your children (“Hats off for that!”) or you’ve tried starting your own business and failed miserably, just say it without hesitating, explain what happened and it will all be ok. The absence of any explanation can be far more problematic.

Presence on the Internet Umbra said that checking the personal domains on the Internet like your Twitter account and such is one of the inevitable steps in this process; she herself almost always clicks on a link leading to one of the profiles or sites of the candidates, and that is one of her favorite things in this job. Umbra isn’t concerned about your Twitter scribblings too much, rather she’s interested in your followers and the people that you’re following.

Logistics Location, qualifications for working in the country and similar technical stuff.

Umbra does this job in a matter of seconds. However, if she likes the candidate, she will look into his resume much carefully. If she decides to speak with the candidate by phone, she will certainly process his resume thoroughly, or, likewise, she won’t consider it too much if you haven’t passed the basic check-up. ®

Skills every young person should master Julie Lythcott Haims, the author of the New York Times bestseller “How to Raise an Adult”, a long-time Stanford dean, responds to the question of which skills should every 18-year-old have.

1. An 18-year-old must be able to talk to strangers: With the faculty, deans, advisers, landlords, store clerks, human resource managers, coworkers, bank tellers, health care providers, bus drivers, mechanics—in the real world. We teach kids not to talk to strangers instead of teaching the more nuanced skill of how to discern the few bad strangers from the mostly good ones. Thus, kids end up not knowing how to approach strangers—respectfully and with eye contact—for the help, guidance, and direction they will need out in the world.

2. An 18-year-old must be able to find his or her way around: In a campus, the town in which her summer internship is located, or the city where he is working or studying abroad. We drive or accompany our children everywhere, even when a bus, their bicycle, or their own feet could get them there; thus, kids don’t know the route for getting from here to there, how to

bosses, and others. We step in when things get hard, finish the task, extend the deadline, and talk to the adults for them.

7. An 18-year-old must be able to earn and manage money: cope with transportation options and snafus, when and how to fill the car with gas...

3. An 18-year-old must be able to manage his assignments, workload, and deadlines: We remind kids when their homework is due and when to do it—sometimes helping them do it and sometimes doing it for them. Thus, kids don’t know how to prioritize tasks, manage workload, or meet deadlines, without regular reminders.

4. An 18-year-old must be able to contribute to the running of a household: We don’t ask them to help much around the house because the check-listed

childhood leaves little time in the day for anything aside from academic and extracurricular work. Therefore, kids don’t know how to look after their own needs, respect the needs of others, or do their fair share for the good of the whole.

5. An 18-year-old must be able to handle interpersonal problems: We step in to solve misunderstandings and soothe hurt feelings for them. As a result, kids don’t know how to cope with and resolve conflicts without our intervention.

6. An 18-year-old must be able to cope with ups and downs: Courses and workloads, college-level work, competition, tough teachers,

They don’t have part-time jobs; they receive money from us for whatever they want or need; thus, kids don’t develop a sense of responsibility for completing job tasks, accountability to a boss who doesn’t inherently love them, or an appreciation for the cost of things and how to manage money.

8. An 18-year-old must be able to take risks: We’ve laid out their entire path for them and have avoided all pitfalls or prevented all stumbles for them. Thus, kids don’t develop the wise understanding that success comes only after trying and failing and trying again, or the thick skin that comes from coping when things have gone wrong. Remember: Our kids must be able to do all of these things without resorting to calling a parent.

DOSSIER

MYTH-BUSTING

MILLENNIAL GENERATION

We’re lazy and unhappy? No, it just seems that way The dominant generation, which should be moving the world right now, is considered the laziest and completely hopeless generation. The one which failed compared to its parents, but also the one that’s going through the hardest economic crisis the modern world has ever encountered. Unlike Serbia, where that generation are the children that grew up during the war and after it, and that are constantly facing transition, crises, the world millennial generation had its own set of problems. Maybe even more similar to ours than we’re willing to admit. Worldwide research shows the aspirations and wishes of all those born between 1980 and 1995, who are also called the Generation Y, in the whole world, even in the Balkans

By Margita Milovanović

HY BE ANCHORED TO YOUR DESK FOR EIGHT HOURS WHEN YOU CAN REPLY TO THOSE EMAILS FROM A CAFÉ? That’s not laziness, that’s just working smarter. According to the researches, about half of millennials globally have shunned work, and even potential employers, that conflict with their beliefs. Millennials value and practice a slightly different principle of “mentoring” – they mainly see it as a chance to teach their older colleagues a thing or two, compared to the established pattern in which they are the only ones receiving knowledge. They are also more likely to be innovative, and to put much of their efforts in the creative development of new, alternative ways of working and mentoring others. One shouldn’t disregard the fact that this generation will make up a half of the global workforce by 2050. Despite avoiding generalization, all millennials are unbreakably bound by a single unfortunate circumstance – a serious and harsh economic crisis; they were the pioneers, but also the lab rats of the technological revolution and they are integrated into the phenomenon of the global network more than any other generation.

On a daily basis, a great number of people openly speak about hardships that befell this generation in all corners of the planet. For example: the lack of perspective in Mexico, the social and political disturbances in Romania, the taking away of the right to vote in the Philippines and the growth of unemployment in Spain. Add Serbia to it, add the refugees… WHEN YOU TYPE “GENERATION Y IS” into Google, the results are: “lazy”, “idiotic” and “miserable”. They are actually often accused of and labeled as being the Generation that is preoccupied with themselves, narcissistic, politically apathetic and unable to function normally without a smartphone. Eternal adolescents without the ability to show loyalty and affection. But, there are plenty of cases in which this Generation is perceived in a completely different way: the embodiment of creativity, flexibility, open mindedness, and a strong sense of social responsibility, along with concerns for the environment.

DOSSIER

rism and war, many have developed differently. On a daily basis, a great number of people openly speak about the hardships that befell this generation in all corners of the planet. For example: the lack of perspective in Mexico, the social and political disturbances in Romania, the taking away of the right to vote in the Philippines and the growth of unemployment in Spain. Add Serbia to it, add the refugees…

OK, FOR STARTERS, WHO ARE MILLENNIALS? Millennials are people who have between 20 and 35 years-old, i.e. the people who are born between the years 1980 and the end of 1994 (although some definitions include the ones born by the year 2000). We also call the Generation Y, because their time came immediately after the Generation X (born between the years 1965 and 1979). When you type “Generation Y is” into the Google, the results are: “lazy”, “idiotic” and “miserable”. They actually are often accused of and labeled as being the Generation that is preoccupied with themselves, narcissistic, politically apathetic and unable to function normally without a smartphone. Eternal adolescents without the ability to show loyalty and affection. But, there are plenty of cases in which this Generation is perceived in a completely different way: the embodiment of creativity, flexibility, open mindedness and a strong sense of social responsibility, along with concerns for the environment.

HOW DO THEY SEE THEMSELVES? They have a much more negative self-image than many other generations. Almost 59 percent of Millennials described their generation as narcissistic and obsessed with themselves, while 30% of people from Generation X and 20 percent of so-called baby boomers said the same thing. Many members of the Generation Y do not want to identify that way. Almost two thirds of actual members don’t feel that way, while almost 33 percent of them aren’t even aware that they belong to the Millennial generation, as they identify with members of the Generation X. WHAT ARE THEIR PROBLEMS? It’s funny to think that Millennials have a unitary and unique character. However, many issues of economic and political significance reunited them in a certain sense. Many live in countries in serious economic recession, and they were treated like guinea pigs for the purpose of the technological revolution. By Spending many years living under the veil of terro-

HOW DO THEY MAKE MONEY? The free young people really have gotten significantly poorer compared to their average counterparts. It is illustrated best by the information that they’re, on average, even poorer from those with children and those with stagnating available incomes. In as high as eight wealthy countries – USA, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Spain, Italy, France and Germany – all these young single people are getting progressively poorer over the past 20 years, and, now, more than ever, it is harder and harder for them to ever make a living on their own and become independent. The phenomenon of marriage and parenthood postponement is more and more prominent with the younger generations and is deemed very influential; the number of average years for marriage has risen, which automatically means that people are staying single longer. They focus on their careers and would rather expand their circle of friends and acquaintances than bear children. Millennials are quite often faced with a number of prejudices that they are aware of and which they also refute. No, they aren’t too comfortable living jobless with their parents. And yes, they do feel useless, ashamed and like failures. And likewise, when they get a job, they directly confront the stereotype they are being labelled with: they’re a bunch of sloths expecting everything served on a plate. However, the truth is somewhat different. First of all, one shouldn’t disregard the fact that this Generation will make half of the global workforce by 2050. Despite avoiding the generalization, the fact is that all millennials are unbreakably bound by a single unfortunate circumstance – a serious and harsh economic crisis; they were the pioneers, but also the lab rats of the technological revolution and they are integrated into the phenomenon of the global network more than anyone else. ®

DOSSIER

DIGITAL ––––HAMLETISTS There’s an old saying – “it’s important to have choices in life.” They say that we’re as free as the choices we have. But, have I chosen the right college, after so many question marks after which a full stop was necessary? Did I empty my batteries by contemplating the trivialities? And how much, in fact, are our choices rational? To what degree are they really ours? In the developed world, young people just don’t follow the taken paths on the social table: they take surviving, even relative wellbeing for granted. Has the idea of what we want to be and the imperative of “becoming your own person” turned against us, making us more possessive, instead of giving us more freedom? Professors, students and experts have spoken about it for Original

By Marina Todorovic

DOSSIER

“S

IGNAL” OR “SENSODYNE?” WITH OR WITHOUT FLUORIDE? And if you want the pudding, green tea or pumpkin flavor, you type “breath palette toothpaste” on Amazon. Adidas or the lined “just do it?” Adidas it is. Zara or Mango? Facebook or Twitter? Or LinkedIn? Or Pinterest? Ello? Snapchat maybe? You’re tired already? Have a headache? “Kafetin” or “Andol?” Or “Brufen?” Or a soothing eucalyptus gel? You should buy the thing a cake increases serotonin levels? Long ago sugar, today – maltex, fructose, brown non-refined, stevia, maple syrup, barley malt, rice malt… Of course, each and every one come in a “twins variant” – inorganic and organic. And education – Philosophy or Philology? Or drama studies? Or engineering? Or the Faculty of Natural Sciences? There’s an old saying – “it’s important to have choices in life.” They say that we’re as free as the choices we have. But, have I chosen the right college, after so many question marks after which a full stop was necessary? Did I empty my batteries by contemplating the trivialities? And how much, in fact, are our choices rational? To what degree are they really ours? In the developed world, young people just don’t follow the taken paths on the social table: they take surviving, even relative wellbeing for granted. Has the idea of what we want

to be and the imperative of “becoming your own person” turned against us, making us more possessive, instead of giving us more freedom? However, how much, even with modern progress and over-encumbrance with tech-gadgets, did we advance from Shakespeare’s heroes and the Hamlet’s – to be or not to be? If you feel a bit confused with all those questions, maybe reading the manuscript “The Tyranny of Choice” by the philosopher, sociologist and law theorist Renata Salecl will help you. You’ll understand that emotions of anxiety and guilt when being bombarded by choices in today’s consumerist world – are truly normal, and that you aren’t alone. THIS AUTHOR STATES A SCENE FROM EVERYDAY CONSUMERIST LIFE as one of the keys to writing this book: “I stopped by a deli in Manhattan so I could buy some cheese for a gala-dinner. There were enormous shelves – classic cheeses, matured cheeses – soft, blue, hard Dutch, crumbly English, world-class French cheeses – each and every one attracted me and lured my wallet. The choice was hard. First I was overwhelmed by a geek urge. I started studying the labels. If my first mistake was entering that store without a precise idea of what kind of cheese I wanted to buy, that geeky attitude was another mistake, because the rhetoric on the package had made the dizzying amount of choices even harder. Why is one sort of cheese different

from a hundred other sorts surrounding it? Each of them had sophisticatedly and obviously lured with its qualities. (…) The most advertised cheese brings comfort, because it removes the uncertainty of discovering something new.” Mrs. Salecl had just decided to describe one of the seemingly most irrelevant choices, in order to debunk the capitalist individualist notion, deported primarily from America, from Manhattan – about “an individual who’s master of his own life, free to decide every detail.” On the TED website, you can find a transcript of the class held by the psychologist Barry Schwartz, the author of another book called “The Paradox of Choice,” which explains the global store and the same explosion of myriads sold to us in it. In his discussion with the audience, Schwartz depicts his supermarket which can be applied anywhere. Just like Renata Salecl, he also describes his own consumer field-trip, which encumbered him: “I wear jeans almost all the time. That was a time when only one type of jeans was made, and you’d buy them, they’d de horrible, so uncomfortable, but if you’d wear them long enough and wash them so much, you’d start feeling good in them. And so I went to buy a new pair, and I said: ‘I want a pair of new jeans, this is my size.’ And the salesman said: ‘Do you want a loose, slim or relaxed fit? Do you want the type with buttons or with a zipper? Do you want

THE MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSIONAL CHOICES OFTEN HAPPEN AFTER WE’VE FINISHED OUR EDUCATION. ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL DECISIONS WE MAKE IN LIFE IS – ARE WE GOING TO WORK FOR A LIVING OR FOR SELFDESTRUCTION. I’M CONVINCED THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T LIKE QUESTIONS LIKE: WHAT DO I REALLY WANT, WHO AM I EXACTLY, ETC. LOTS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS ARE POSTPONED TO AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE. DIJANA PLUT, PSYCHOLOGIST, MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION COLLEGE

DOSSIER

the stone-washed or acid-washed? Do you want them to look washed? Do you want them to go over the boots or to be tight, blah blah blah…’ He wouldn’t stop. After recovering from the astonishment, I said: ‘I want the type that was the only type once.’” THIS TYPE OF CONVERSATION REALLY ISN’T WEIRD TO PEOPLE of Y or Z generations, because we’re used to such “shopping-mall” interactions. Barry Schwartz, by explaining the “then and now” gap, speaks of how he changed his relationship to the students he teaches to: “It’s all about choice today. I teach highly intelligent students, and I give them 20% less tasks than I used to. It’s because they’re less conscientious, not because they’re less smart. It’s also because they’re over-encumbered with the questions like: should I marry or not? Should I do it now or later? Should I first have kids or a career? All these questions are extremely cumbersome. And they will search for answers to them, no matter if means they will or will not do the tasks I gave them or will they pass well on my exam.” In her work Tyranny of Choice, Renata Salecl gave an answer to how hard it is to a young person, a student, a “future runner” on the job market to be his or her own person and make adequate choices: “In the developed world, young people don’t follow the already taken paths on the social table: they take surviving, even a relative well-being for granted. Thus, today’s mission is – self-invention. To postmodern experts, life itself is a sort of a piece of art. The idea of what we want to be and the imperative of ‘becoming your own person’ have turned against us, making us more possessive, instead of giving us more freedom.” Dijana Plut, a psychology professor, and an instructor at the Media and Communication College, gives the following guidelines and provides a different insight: “Although choosing isn’t easy, I still vote for choice. Some choices are hard and bring us discomfort. I think that our young people don’t have as much open possibilities as their peer the author writes about have. I don’t see a problem in the fact that our young are smothering in a world of walls without a choice. Still, those who have open options are really afraid of making a mistake at first. But previous experience gives us insight that mistakes can be made, and that brings us relief.” She points out: “The most important professional choices often happen after we’ve finished

with our education. One of the fundamental decisions we make in life is – are we going to work for a living or for a self-destruction. I’m convinced that a lot of people don’t like questions like: what do I really want, who am I exactly, etc. And lots of most important decisions are postponed to an uncertain future. That’s “running away from freedom”. Fleeing to hedonism and apathy. The ability to make a choice isn’t fatal, it’s the fear of confronting it.” In her book, Renata Salecl also asks a question – why are we suddenly more content when someone appears with a bird’s eye control of the situation, or when some authority tells us how things should be and helps us make choices? Professor Plut explains: “The process of verbalizing the dilemma is important. When we articulate our problem when talking to our friends, a lot of things become clearer. Different points of view – a very empowering experience.” By thinking through the effect of authority on decisions, through the prism of parent-child relationship, Mrs. Plut suggests: “A wise parent follows his child and supports it in necessary places, and in the not-so-necessary places, he just lets it walk. Furthermore, it’s never too much to make a “pros and cons” analysis for some decision. The important ones should be made after the “cost-benefits” analysis. And you should know yourself, your own strengths and weaknesses.” THE ANALYSIS OF THE CHOICE FAIR BY THE PHILOSOPHER SALECL, mentions a term of English slang, “hooking up.” From the multitude of meanings of the phrase, Salecl sums that the today’s “hook-up” culture is based on uncertainty, and adds: “It may have been

“IN JAPAN, SOME STORES BECAME FAMOUS JUST FOR LIMITING THE CHOICE FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS. ONE SUCH FASHIONABLE STORE IN TOKYO SUBURBS HAS INDEFINITE WORK HOURS. POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS COME TO THE SHOP AND STAND IN LONG QUEUES AT ITS ENTRANCE; WHEN THE STORE IS FINALLY OPEN, IT OFTEN HAPPENS THAT THE SALESMAN DOESN’T WANT TO SELL THEM THE PRODUCT THEY WANT, WILLINGLY. THE CUSTOMERS DON’T FEEL OFFENDED, QUITE CONTRARY, THEY’RE THRILLED AND REPEATEDLY FLOCK TO THAT STORE”

made up to liberate young people from commitment.” She explains that today’s “let’s go out for a drink” doesn’t mean you should pull out your scheduler and write an appointment (as she had done the first time she came to USA, sitting with a company that in a moment shouted: “Let’s grab something to eat.”) She figured out that the appropriate answer would be: “Great, call me when you have time.” Maybe that laid-back attitude in certain life segments had led to the state that a young individual runs away from responsibility, as the author describes in her book: “Choice brings responsibility. And it’s connected to fear of failure and guilt. (…) To a modern chooser, anxiety doesn’t come from a multitude of choices but also from the fear of loss. (…) Discomfort and shame are often connected to someone’s feeling of identity. (…) A professor once decided to allow the students to ask the questions they want to answer themselves, before the exams. Students didn’t quite find it easier or liberating.” ADDITIONALLY, MRS. PLUT CONFIRMS YET ANOTHER NOTION, brought up by Mrs. Salecl in Tyranny of Choice, about the fact that our decisions are sometimes irrational and the product of the marketing machine which creates a reality similar to the theater of absurd. An excerpt from the book literally describes this reality: “In Japan, some stores became famous just for limiting the choice for their customers. One such fashionable store in Tokyo suburbs has indefinite work hours. Potential customers come to the shop and stand in long queues at its entrance; when the store is finally open, it often happens that the salesman doesn’t want to sell them the product they want, willingly. The customers don’t feel offended, quite contrary, they’re thrilled and repeatedly flock to that store.” A professor on the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, who is an instructor of philosophy of mathematics and logics, Kosta Došen, gave his point of view on this subject. When asked to what degree the theoretical logics can help us in everyday life choices, he answered: “In modern age, its application is often mediated by computer technologies. Logics is important to both the mind and language discipline, and a precise and established thinking and expression, which are manifested in science the most, but encompass all of consciousness. Through discipline, precision and wisdom, which are nece-

DOSSIER

It’s all about choice today. I teach highly intelligent students, and I give them 20% less tasks than I used to. It’s because they’re less conscientious, not because they’re less smart. It’s also because they’re overencumbered with the questions like: should I marry or not? Should I do it now or later? Should I first have kids or a career? All these questions are extremely cumbersome. They will search for answers to them, no matter if means they will or will not do the tasks I gave them or will they pass well on my exam. BARRY SCHWARTZ, PROFESSOR, THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK “THE PARADOX OF CHOICE” ssary to us in life, logic helps us. More than knowledge itself, good habits, which made the acquisition of that knowledge inside us.” According to his own experience with students, and regarding the subject of confusion during choice-making and evading of responsibility, professor Došen (contrary to the aforementioned Barry Schwartz) gave a critical opinion: “Students expect that they get a work subject from their professor, and more than just the subject, all served on a silver platter. But that’s more a question of being lazy, not the question of choice.” And where logic can also be an apparatus, by quoting a sentence from the Renata Salecl’s book: “A society that values choice is based on the idea that we have to stop any kind of risk, or at least anticipate it,” the logician Kosta Došen explains by a communicational discourse: “IT CAN TEACH US TO EXPRESS IN A WAY WE DON’T EXPOSE OURSELVES TO THE RISK OF OUR WORDS BEING MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS, AND BY OURSELVES.” Students have also expressed their thoughts about the laboratory we inhabit and in which new products are constantly being made and poured from one test tube to another, and the means of combatting it. How many choices do they make in a single day, and which seem irrelevant under our loops of review? aAs well as, what choices have made them regret and is one of those regrets their choice of universities.

A final year student of the Faculty of Phylology in Belgrade, Miloš Tešić, described his own confrontation with the marathon “or-or:” “Everyday choices are numerous. If it’s ten degrees outside – should you ride a scooter or take a bus ride. Either endure an hour of the cold, or ten hours of swinging. But, if you have electricity, you don’t think about sitting in the dark… At the football session – should I kick it or not… People choose when they have to or when choosing is in their interest. Roughly taken, the material interest. Hardly anyone would choose climbing scaffolds, if they can climb the Eiffel Tower.” By linking to the Professor Došen’s answer, my question was: Is he sometimes too lazy to choose? And the soon-to-be philosophy graduate answered: “Laziness is never alone. If there’s interest, there’s no laziness.” Miloš interprets the rationality of choice: “It explains how deep is someone in the way in which people expect of him to think, both the expectation of others or himself, and how many resources are there to accomplish himself in those expectations. How choices are tough and dilemmas are cumbersome, depends on your distance from the point B.” A student of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Gordana Bojanić, said the following about her daily choices: “When I choose what I’m going to eat for breakfast, then I choose my mood. And

since I know that the first thing I’m going to grab in the morning is my phone, my phone wallpaper says ‘I choose joy today.’ Then I choose a pocket book or a comic book of a kind, because I’m I find it extremely cute when I notice that I’m not the only one reading in the bus, and that I’m in a company of curious fellow travelers. I think that not being curious is the most terrible thing that can happen to a young person. The most important choice I’ve learned is to sharpen my knowledge and not pave the paths of other people. I did that once, and then I realized that the place they’re now maybe isn’t the place I wanted to be.” MRS. SALECL FINISHED HER TYRANNY OF CHOICE BY IMPLYING THAT we can either accept or ignore the name of this book, but that we first have to understand the things we’re being offered so we could prevent mistakes. While Berry Schwartz in The Paradox of Choice calculates by saying that some choice is better than no choices isn’t questioned, but also that it doesn’t imply that too much choice is better than a few choices. “There’s a mysterious amount of choices. I don’t quite know how high it is. But I’m pretty sure we’ve long passed the limit to which our choices made our lives better.” Modern Hamletists, for starters, should maybe stop delaying the answers to those two questions by the psychology professor Plut – “What do I really want and do I choose to work for a living or for self-destruction?” ®

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

Novak in front of the sculpture of his backhand at Rioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Museum of Modern Art. The author of the sculpture is Brendan Murphy

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

O I R M O R F RY

A I D S ‘ K A V O N

Y D O B Y R EVE T NEEDS IF RS D THE N I F TO WITHIN D L GO

get ad to l e r t e ad w ysica the ro han the ph ful d n a t , ate es nt urselv re importa sons. I‘m gr ical o in h med n mo d les d wit e foun is quite ofte oth tears an oaches and ctions b n e t eir c our a face an of ll of b dals c on the sur , distant, fu athletes, th ether. With My injury e m d ect. rrific long erge s an s tog Award ards to em to Rio was ith all the te se moment , also of resp e a different aw ad m ut tw ho also those self. The ro ment spen re all t full of fight b it also gave a h s n. I‘m es o w it ld t , o t u m u d r n o b y y a c e , r rew eve Gam on m t we ersist ames ch and grateful tha ple to be p for these G ave gained the Olympic it is to a e r o o f t t h t m ung pe had se ge tha uldn‘t portan nnel. I‘ perso ed many yo f the goals I elieve I co rtant messa us how im o Ib pir po ind we ins ack in terms gth, which e a very im city to rem t e n b s s e set me tive and str orld could ity as the ho w c n e u le t p r o pers e wh oppo that th seized its y p p a s h a . . Rio h nature carried rmony with OKOVIC J ha live in y NOVAK D nb Writte

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

I I grew up in a country that has incredible athletes in team sports. We were celebrating basketball, volleyball, water polo, handball, football players, and I, like many others, had been watching their matches and competitions throughout the Olympics. I rejoiced with all my heart at their victories. In the last few years, we started to assert ourselves as individual athletes as well. Even though I chose to play an individual sport, I also got the opportunity to feel what it means to be a part of the team by playing the Davis Cup and competing at the Olympics. I‘ll admit – that feeling is irreplaceable. To have somebody with whom you can share the pressure you feel, the stress, fear, pain, victory and defeat. It‘s a big deal. In our private lives we have families, partners and friends that are there for us when things are tough, but also when everything is wonderful. That‘s the same in both sports and life – everything‘s better when you‘re a part of a team and have somebody to lean on to. Don‘t reproach me for generalizing, but I believe that we were all completely bedazzled and illuminated by the achievements of our gold, silver and bronze athletes. Those playing water polo, volleyball, basketball, track and field athletes, kayakers, taekwondoists, shooters, wrestlers... My heart is full of love and respect while I watch and fondly remember them. So many world-class athletes from our little Serbia. Sports represent what‘s purest about us. It‘s wonderful that our athletes represent us all over the world. People across the globe watch while we‘re decorated with the brightest medals. Even when accolades are missing as a confirmation of one‘s quality, I never forget the human greatness of each individual that deals with a defeat. I pay special attention to them, because I know those are moments that either break us – or bring us above it all and make us stronger. In the moments of respite I‘ve always wondered: do we really compete only for medals during our lives? Are awards and accolades the only measure of quality? To what sort of quality do we aspire? Do you really think that the guy with the recognition is better than you or anyone else? I don‘t. Precisely, I claim it not to be so. I‘ve experienced it. I am convinced that each day we live through is a confirmation that we‘re worth it. That we‘re significant for the larger picture and the good of mankind. Each small pawn that plays the game of life

Even when accolades are missing as a confirmation of one‘s quality, I never forget the human greatness of each indiviudal that deals with a defeat. I pay special attention to them, because I know there are moments that either break us – or bring us above it all and make us stronger

is important for the collective whole. I‘m also a small pawn. I have a significant role in this game. Sometimes I falter, sometimes I play well. But what‘s most important – I always wake up in the morning and feel thankful for the opportunity to do something good. Something significant. This was the third time I participated at the Olympic Games. Everybody was telling me: “Third time lucky! Come on, Nole, you can do it.” I can‘t lie to you and say that I didn‘t hear them, or that I wasn‘t listening. That would be dishonest, which is something that I promised myself I don‘t ever want to be. I heard them and I was preparing strategically with a lot of zeal for my quest. Honestly, looking at the year I had and the success I achieved, I was very confident and motivated. I felt happy that the Olympic year came about at this particular moment, when my game was at its peak. “When will I do it if not now,” I thought. As a result, I subordinated my schedule to it. I had the support of my family and my team. My coach, Boris Becker, also subordinated everything to that goal and joined the Serbian delegation. I also listened to the colleagues around me, who didn‘t have the same experience of the Olympics that I felt, who saw that additional week in an already overcrowded schedule was a complete nuisance, and were looking for ways to avoid it. I completely understood them, too. If you look at things through the prism of ATP ranking points, the financial motivation and physical fatigue, then they are completely right. Yes, our schedule is quite overcrowded,

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

Members of US Olympic women’s gymnastics team, featuring the sport’s superstar, Simone Biles. Below, Novak with the most decorated Olympian ever, Michael Phelps

we rarely grab a week or two to be with our familes and friends, at home in peace. Each opportunity we have to take a rest is precious for our private and social lives, as well as our bodies and recuperation. We don‘t get money for participating, nor ATP ranking points, therefore the external motivators for moving forward are not too obvious. Moreover, they don‘t even exist. It‘s only logical that a week with their family and friends sounds much more tempting compared to more tournaments. Yes, it all made sense, looking at it from that point of view. I understood them. However, I always choose to observe things from a different perspective.To seek the essence of the problem by getting to the bottom of it. I learned that is the only way to find true motivation and consistency in both life and in work. Everything else I‘ve tried has given me only short-term results and, more often than not, hard lessons. I‘ve read a lot and thought a lot about it. It all comes down to one thing: “If we find the essence outside of the world of material goods (which only serve as external motivators and movers) and rise above it spiritually, we‘ll become truly rich.” That wealth is inexhaustible and shines brighter than all the medals and accolades we can accomplish. However, it‘s one thing to read, and another to apply. For so long I‘ve been seeking my formula of success, and it didn‘t yield immediate results. I‘ve had periods of doubt, questioning and was a step away from quitting. Then after years of hard work I got some new energy and power. You know the rest. I think this is the story of most Olym-

I also met American gymnasts who won medals in their disciplines immediately after that. Maybe I even brought them luck, and from them I certainly learned a couple of flexibility and stretching tricks

pians. Everybody had to find the gold within before they put it around their neck. I believe this to be the essence of Olympic spirit. That‘s what gets me excited each time I think of athletes which prepare for years on end for competition against themselves and their demons, but also against other competitors, the crowd, and the favorites. They have one shot every four years. Always under different conditions and in different surroundings. Sometimes young and fresh, and sometimes older, more tired, but more experienced.

OLYMPIC VILLAGE, SOCIALIZING AND IMPRESSIONS When I got to the Olympic village, I felt as if I had an adrenalin shot. Thousands of athletes were staying there, and in every moment they felt excitement, jitters, anxiety, desire... They created a strong vortex of energy, happiness and exhilaration! Needless to say, that energy carried me, and I felt like I was literally flying! I think all athletes felt like that. It was truly a privilege to be one of those 11,500. I think none of us felt small and insignificant. We were all peers, both by excitement and by treatment. We all went home with a medal, without even climbing on the podium. I‘ve read about ten of those who were singled out as the most famous participants. I was one of them, and I have to say I disagree with that. I respect everybody‘s opinion and I don‘t want to

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

sound falsely modest, but believe me, I felt like a boy in Disneyland while I was watching all those athletes pacing through the village. When you feel like a little boy, then everybody around you is grand and important. I didn‘t hesitate to stop and say “hi” to all the different top athletes. We are all in a way brothers and sisters, and I promised myself long ago that I‘ll stay faithful to my principles and I‘ll work on not allowing my ego to get the best of me. There are days when I get “hooked” on to that drug, but some big lesson always catches up with me, and puts me back in my place. I met Michael Phelps and we talked a bit about the competition, when we were performing and how we are preparing. It was a very spontaneous and pleasant meeting. After all, we were all walking about the village and approaching one another with no hesitation, but always out of respect. I also met American gymnasts who won medals in their disciplines immediately after that. Maybe I even brought them luck, and from them I certainly learned a couple of flexibility and stretching tricks. I became acquainted with the oldest athlete at these Olympics. Ni Xialian is 53 years old and she plays table tennis. She hails from China, but she‘s playing beneath the flag of Luxembourg since 1989. I‘ve had the pleasure to meet her in the mess hall where all the athletes staying at the Olympic village were eating. She was sitting next to me and naively I thought that she was a coach, but after that we exchanged stories and I enjoyed learning from her experiences. Because of tough competition to get on the Chinese national team, she was forced to seek support in Europe so she could continue and play the sport that she loves. That pressure of success and proving yourself appears in all walks of life, not just in sports. Love and persistence in what you do is crucial in separating the successful from the unsuccessful. Each national team had their flags on the balconies, and we shared the building with Bulgarians. I slept in a two-room apartment with Viktor and Ziki. Viktor and I shared a room. One night Viktor couldn‘t sleep because a mosquito was buzzing around his ears. He jumped up in the middle of the night and started making pirouettes on the bed while he was spinning around, while spraying the mosquito repellent. I was dying of laughter, sleepy as I was. After that, neither of us could

We were all completely bedazzled and illuminated by the achievements of our gold, silver and bronze athletes. Those playing water polo, volleyball, basketball, track and field, kayakers, taekwondoists, shooters, wrestlers... My heart is full of love and respect while I watch and fondly remember them. So many worldclass athletes from our little Serbia.

sleep, but because of the chemicals and not because of the mosquito! The Zika virus campaign lasted for a long time and because of it many athletes dropped from competing in Rio. A shame, but there it is. Fear is always our biggest enemy. Our delegation came there with a fierce antidote. For every Zika mosquito, we had a strong repellent – our Ziki (Nenad Zimonjić). That‘s something not every national team could say they had. I‘m telling you, we Serbs are a special group of people. Organizing any large event which involves various languages, cultures and customs is an enormous challenge. Each delegation found something which was the opposite or different from the deal they had with the local organizer, but in the end we all had a good laugh, because what else can you do? You need to feel some compassion toward them as well. To create a small town on such a short notice is a great success. Some oversights here and there are completely normal and acceptable. We tried our best to hang out and get together after our daily obligations. Mostly we gathered in the evening in our building. Basketball players both male and female, girls from the voleyball team, swimmers, shooters, rowers... We all had a great time socializing. One thing‘s for certain – we never lacked laughter in our delegation. We know we‘re small, but our smiles were big.

REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAM AND THE FOREST OF OLYMPIANS Sport consolidates both soul and body. At the physical level, we compete and prove ourselves, we push the limits of endurance and strength, and there are days when pure physical power is more than enough to bring us victory. The real truth is that our biggest foe is our essence, our ego, our thoughts and fears. When we succeed in calming our spirit and our minds, then we can compete in the proper sense on this physical level. I always like to think of an iceberg in the ocean, as an example, and a reminder of everything I believe in. That example is widely applicable. What can be seen on the surface isn‘t even a tenth part of the power we have within. What is important is that we dig deep and find the strength on the inside, and not on the outside. Just look at the example of the Refugee Olympic Team. Ten athletes from South Sudan, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia got the opportunity to compete in Rio. If they stayed

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

at the surface of the ocean with their thoughts, those thoughts would probably hobble them in their quest for meaning, and along with the will for competition and work. They lost so much during the war, it‘s very hard to recover from physical and psychological mutilation. Yet, because they dug deep, they found strength and motivation. They motivated the whole world with their example of persistence, tolerance, forgiveness and picking themselves up after crushing defeats and setbacks. We all applauded them and were happy because of them competing and their results. Don‘t forget, the whole world is watching the Olympic podium. That‘s the most beautiful stage for promotion of the finest human values. I planned on meeting them. Everyone was staying in a different building and I asked around about them. My injury set me back in terms of the goals I had set for these Games, but it also gave me a different perspective and strength, which I believe I couldn‘t have gained on my own. I‘m also happy that the whole world could see the very important message that these Olympic Games carried. Rio has seized its opportunity as the host city to remind us how important it is to live in harmony with nature. At the Opening Ceremony, each participant got a single seed to plant for the future, in order to create a forest of Olympians. I know that years back many hosts competed in the amount of money that will be spent in building Olympic infrastructure and the promotion of their culture. After those Opening Ceremonies we‘re all talking about the acrobatics, colors, fireworks, celebrities and budget. The thing that athletes in Rio talked about is that simple act of planting a seed of a tree in a flowerpot. Such a small gesture, yet such a mighty message.

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS NOT TO WIN BUT TO TAKE PART” The famous saying “The most important thing is not to win but to take part” sounds like an oath you leave behind when you become a professional athlete. Unbelievable but true. I grew up with that buzzword. Surroundings, expectations of the environment, of yourself, everything‘s pulling you to say: “I don‘t care about only taking part. I put in so much effort and worked so hard

to be satisfied only with taking part. I want to win and I have to win because if I don‘t, then my coming here was for nothing.” One of the beautiful things in life is that it always gives us another chance, to restore our knowledge, to learn something new, to fix some of our mistakes... the Olympic Games are a brilliant reminder of that! Just when they seem too distant, they get closer and put us back on our road. Each four years they remind us of the essence. Several years ago I read a Novak with the great article in Politika daily, a oldest Olympian Serbian newspaper, whose topic was the sentence “It‘s important in Rio, Ni Xia Lian to take part,” about how and when it came to be. At the fourth Olympic Games in 1908. as a consequence of unsporting behavior of American and British track and field athletes, Americans were disqualified, which caused quite strong reactions from the public. After that, the bishop of Pennsylvania, Ethelbert Talbot, made a speech in the Cathedral of St. Paul in London, where all the athletes and organizers were present and sad these very wise words: “... The Games themselves are better than the race and the prize... Our prize is not corruptible, but incorruptible, and though They lost so only one may wear the laurel wreath, all may share the equal joy of the contest.” much during Later on, president of the International Olympic Commitee, the war, it‘s Pierre de Coubertin, gave a speech, which in a somewhat changed very hard to version repeated the essence of the Games: “The important thing recover from in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part. The important thing in life is not triumph, but the struggle, the essential thing physical and psychological is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” That‘s how today, everyone who has the honor to be an Olymmutilation. pian, is reminded of the essence of participating, of the opporYet, because tunity to meet with so many different people from new cultures, they dug deep, languages and beliefs. What left the biggest impression on me was that the Games in they found Rio went by in a spirit of mutual respect. They reminded us of strength and basic values that make us all human. Brazilians are a bunch of motivation. merry and grateful people, who are also very expressive and enerThey getic. Their energy reminded me of how equal we all are. Although, we all came here wearing different marks on our chemotivated the sts, we all played under one flag and belonged to a single spirit – whole world the Olympic spirit. with their One thing‘s for certain – awards and medals can often be foexamples of und within ourselves, and the road we tread to get those awards to emerge on the surface is quite often more important than the persistence, physical reward itself. The road to Rio was long, distant, full of tetolerance, ars and lessons. I‘m grateful for each and every moment spent with forgiveness all those terrific athletes, their coaches and medical personnel. I‘m and refusal to grateful that we could share all those moments together, and that with our actions we inspired many young people to be persistent, throw in the full of fight, but also of respect. towel Until the next adventure – stay Original! ®

EXCLUSIVE

lessons on life by

BORIS BECKER

ALWAYS REMEMBER CHOOSE WHAT YOU LOVE . FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

WHERE YOU COME FROM BE RESPONSIBLE TO YOURSELF AND TO THE OTHERS.

AND YOU'LL KNOW WHERE DON‘T JUST TALK DREAMS, WORK ON THEM.

YOU'RE GOING TO AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE.

PROFIMEDIA

By Nebojša Mandrapa

EXCLUSIVE

“

I ALWAYS FELT MOST AT HOME AT THE TENNIS COURT. So the week after I won my first Wimbledon trophy, we finally went back to Germany and the Mayor in Germany, you know, with my father approval, had a big rally. And I felt a little bit like The Pope, because we had this openroof carpet and I was waving at everybody in front of 50,000 people

OU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW I GOT THE NAME BORIS? Well, my mother gave it to me. In Germany it is customary for mothers to bestow their child’s name,” said Becker while driving in the back seat of the car. The former No. 1 tennis player in the world visited Belgrade for the first time after 25 years. The rain was pouring on the 25th of September, a black van slowly drove through the crowded street. The car was stopped at a red light, near the bus station in Karadjordjeva Street. A park on his right side was swarmed with tents, squeezed under the trees, where hundreds of migrants paused for a rest before continuing their journey towards EU. Becker looked at those people for a minute, and he suddenly started to talk… “Refugees. I’m a son of a refugee. My mother is from the former Czech Republic. She was in one of those trains after WWII. I feel with them, I understand what they are going through because my mother was sleeping in tents. People don’t know that about me. So, we have to find a solution and Serbian people should be proud of your government who allow refugees to come through and find places, because we are all sons and fathers, mothers and daughters of refugees. We forget that sometimes.” The car pulled over in front of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre, just before 7 PM. More than 700 people waited for the start of his lecture, which Novak Djokovic Foundation organized for students and other guests that night. For the next two hours Becker talked about his early childhood and the time he spent in the small German town of Leimen. He explained how his love for tennis prevailed over other sports he was also fond of – such as football, basketball and swimming. He reflected on his journey from a talented young boy, to tennis champion, who won his first Wimbledon title at the age of 17, therefore becoming the youngest champion of the prestigious tournament. „Well, I grew up in a, a town, little town, not as big as Belgrade, in West Germany called Leimen. It has about 10,000 people. I did have a room, and my childhood tennis hero was Bjorn Borg. I said that one of these days I would like to be as good as him. My basketball hero was Michael Jordan, but I’m not the only one.“

EXCLUSIVE

„I was fortunate that I was born and raised in West Germany so we had opportunity to do all of the sports. You know, we had choices, we had freedom, and we could do whatever we wanted. My parents were hard-working people. And they gave my sister, who was 4 years older, and myself access to all the sports available. So I picked up my first racquet when I was 3 years old, but I was playing football, I was playing basketball, I was swimming, all sorts of things. So my parents weren’t crazy about tennis as some of these parents these days where they really train their child to the point where there is only tennis left in them. That wasn’t the case when I was growing up.“ When he was 6 years-old, Boris met the most influential coach in his life.

„He is from Slovenia, Boris Breskvar, and he, he spotted me, and he picked me up. And, and, fortunately my father was building a tennis club where we practiced. He spotted this young crazy guy, who didn’t like to lose very much and he said why don’t you come to professional training and then until I left home I was 15 years old. He was my main coach and he taught me how to serve, he taught me everything I know today.“ Boris won his first junior tournament when he was six.

„I really felt comfortable competing to one another, and I was good at sports, including football. And, and then I got a little bit older, 8-9, the Federation started to take notice of this, this crazy guy. He’s not with the best technique, not the fastest, but somehow he keeps on winning. So I was put in a squad with the best 10-year olds to be supported by the Federation and I failed. I wasn’t good enough. So I was very disappointed and I had to stay in my home town, and I had to train harder and I had to start beating even

more people. So, by the time, once I was 12 years old, they had no choice anymore. I was still slow, I was not technically as good as I should be, but I kept on winning the last point and this is all what is about tennis.” He had to do well at school with his academic endeavors, besides excelling at sports.

„I was good at math, I could count pretty well. I was good in geography because I always imagined that one day I will be traveling a lot, but don’t ask me about physics, don’t ask me about chemistry, maybe a little bit of biology I’m OK. I did what I had to do. It wasn’t too difficult for me, but I was always in love with sports.“ Everything happened very fast, starting from an early age.

„There wasn’t much time to dream. I was the German-man champion at 14. At 15 years old I had the best managers in those days coming to my father’s home trying to sign me up. And again, Leiman is about 45 minutes from the Frankfurt airport. So, so it’s not a short trip, you have to fly and take the car. And probably the most famous manager of all times, McCormack came to my father and they had a long lunch. And then he asked my father how big the check was supposed to be to sign me. And my father politely showed him the way out, saying ‘My son is not for sale.’ So, that was the end for Marc McCormack and he had never heard a ‘NO’ in his life. So, the next one was Jon Tiriac, two weeks after. He was smarter, he befriended my mother. My mother has been very famous for her cooking skills, so he couldn’t care less about any contract. They had a long lunch, and we had a beer or two and he charmed my mother. By the afternoon, my father said ‘Didn’t you come here to sign a contract with my son?’ He said, ‘Well, of course.’ And my father asked, ‘What are your arguments?’ He said ‘Well, I have my own son the same age as Boris, and I would look

Boris at his very first Wimbledon, which he won, aged just 17. The Ladies' singles champion that year (1985) was Steffi Graf

after your son the way I would look after my own.’ He wasn’t from America, he was from Romania, and had different values, maybe. And so they shook hands and that was the beginning of a long, 10-year old relationship with him. He taught me everything I needed to know about tennis. My parents felt good that I left home, I left school at 15 and a half. And then I started dreaming because in his squad there was Guillermo Villas, Nastase, and Lecont. And for me to be practicing with that type of players made me dream, made me want to be as good as they are. Obviously, winning Wimbledon 2 years later, so I fast forwarded it and I did. But, he was the first one that gave me chance to train.“ Becker won Wimbledon Grand Slam as a 17-year old youngster, thus becoming the youngest champion ever of such a prestigious tournament.

“Well, like everything, it has two sides. It has a wonderful side. One of my goals, you know, becoming a professional, was always that one day play on the Wimbledon Central Court. So, I started my first Wimbledon when I was 16. I played to qualify. I qualified, I reached the third round and I broke my ankle. That’s the same ankle that is damaged now. It’s been 30 years. That is my Achilles heel as you say. So, then they had to carry me out, with a stretcher and I still made it to the Wimbledon Central Court. Fast forward a year, I got a little bit better. I was already ranked in top 30 at the world. I needed to play a warm up tournament in Queens. They called me the dark horse. Then they put me on the first round, I played against an American named Hank Fista and he wasn’t ranked either, so we played Monday

PROFIMEDIA

Boris said his childhood was filled with sports.

EXCLUSIVE

evening. In those days we didn’t have a roof. I was so excited, Wimbledon Central Court, one of my dreams coming true. Of course, I lost a first set. And then the second set, I was in trouble, but thank God – there came the rain. So, we had to finish on Tuesday and I relaxed a little bit, I calmed down and started to concentrate better and was able to win. I played two days on Wimbledon Central Court, not only one. That was the good news. I went through the tournament. You know, the beautiful thing about being a teenager, so young, is you live in the moment, you live in a present day trance. You don’t think about tomorrow. Tomorrow is far away. You don’t understand the pressure. Pressure you put on yourself. In those days we didn’t have internet. There was no social media so you couldn’t really read online about how great or bad you are and my English was very poor then. The London Times and Telegraph, I saw only the pictures. So it was very easy for me just to live under the bubble and I think that my coach did a very god job of protecting me, of keeping me in the bubble. And we kept the same routine every day, the same practice I was. I believe in routines even today.” One thing lead to another…

“You still are not waking up. You still think it’s just another tournament, but all of a sudden, I am so full of matches and that’s the first time I was really nervous. I was sitting on a change, over. You could see in an old video that my hands are trembling, I’m trying to hold my hand with the other one and I was really getting nervous. And I started to serve for the match. And, of course it was double fault. And I just started praying to God ‘I need couple first serves,’ because I don’t know how to toss the ball it goes all over the place. So, then I had 3 big serves. 40-15, first match point double fault. I looked up again, ‘Please God another one, I need another serve, and then this is over.’ I did. At that moment I realized that my life changed, instinctively. The applause from the crowd was unbelievable. In the Royal Box you had the President of Germany coming down. He’s never been on a tennis tournament before. You had the London Royal Family, or the English Royal Family there. And so it was a very very moving time for me. And, and the same people that looked at me normally going to the locker room, looked at me a lot longer, like I’m some kind of a ghost or some guy from Mars, so just it was never done before and that’s when I felt that my life was

very different. You can imagine the press conference. Players today can talk in two, three or five languages. My German was all right, but my English was poor. Everybody still wanted to speak to me so I used my twenty five words of English back and forth. And then my coach took me to Monte Carlo and for one week he taught me how my life had changed and that from now on I’ll be one of the most famous sportsman.” Boris learned that whatever he does in life, it can have consequences.

“I was too young to go to the night club. Of course, I sneaked into the casino of Monte Carlo, of course I only had water, but I started to feel the other side of being famous. Meaning, you lose your private life and you have to be careful not to lose your personality of it. You still should be allowed to do what you want to do, within a reason. But my love for tennis was too strong. You know, I always felt most at home at the tennis court. So the week after, we finally went back to Germany and the Mayor in Germany, you know, with my father approval, had a big rally. And I felt a little bit like The Pope, because we had this open-roof carpet and I was waving at everybody in front of 50,000 people. Leiman only had 10,000 people. So everybody came from the other cities and just started to clap and just started to pay their respects and that’s when it really kicked in that the life that I knew before that moment in final was not coming back.” Becker won 49 titles in singles, 15 titles in doubles, and he was number one in the world. He became a world champion two times in Davis Cup, an gold Olympic medalist, and he won six Grand Slam titles, along with many other accomplishments.

“Well, looking back, you are not satisfied. I won three Wimbledon, but I lost 4 finals. Looking back you always want to do better, but I must admit that I wasn’t the most gifted athlete, but I had a lot of power, and a lot of will, competitive spirit, but I really had to work on my tennis. In a physically way, If I had 25% more flexibility, I would have won a lot more tournaments, but I didn’t. I usually would start matches slowly, because the other guy was just technically bit better, my backhand was not good, so I had to work mentally and physically to overcome those hurdles. I tried everything and it wasn’t because I got nervous or because I wasn’t trying enough, or because…just there were better

players on the day. And sometimes you have to accept that you give everything you can and there’s the other guy called Sampras, or Agassi, or long rivalry with Stefan Edberg, Lendl. I wish I won a big title of clay, but clay was even more difficult for me with my style. By the time I came up to the net, usually the passing shot was already passed me. So, I really had to bluff my way in the kick and drop shot and everything. On the other hand, I was very proud to represent my country on the Davis Cup. Nikola Pilic picked me in 1985, I was a young teenager, it was my first time and I felt it was a great opportunity for me, and I played as long as I could. And we were lucky enough to win it in 1988, and 1989. I was qualified for 4 Olympics, but I got injured 3 times, so the only time I was able to physically play was in Barcelona in 1992.” The German then talked about his daily routine while he was a pro, the differences between modern tennis and the sport during his time.

“Ivan Lendl has been the first professional tennis player, in my opinion. He brought in the diet. He brought in the physical trainer. He had the whole team. Again trough a lot of dedication, a lot of hard-work, and a concentration, he started winning all the majors. From 1985 to 1988, he was untouchable. And because he really understood tennis as a whole job. It wasn’t just showing in half an hour before and then playing the match. And because he was the number one, everybody wanted to do what he did. So we, we did, maybe it wasn’t scientifically as it is now, but we started training a little bit longer, spending more time in the gym. We started doing stretching, now it’s called yoga. And he kept on beating us, so we wanted the same thing. And I think that’s when tennis became a lot more professional. I am amazed what Novak other guys do today because they sometime spend more time working tennis in the gym, and the all other things you do off the court than on the court because it’s physically so much tougher than it was in my days. The styles were different, you know, and I started with a wooden racquet. You know, my first racquet as a professional was made, you know, out of wood. I was 15 years-old, so the power was a bit less, you couldn’t hit a winner 3/4 ft. behind the baseline, you had to come to the net. That’s why in those days, everybody had to chip and charge to win a point quickly. Only then when the racquet technology changed, late 80s and early 90s

EXCLUSIVE

each other. If we understand one other, we can work with each other. If we don’t understand, we don’t. And we know what happened before when we, we don’t. So, it is very important to be open-minded.”

players started to hit harder. Players started to hit with more top spin. That’s when you started having counter punches.” Boris managed to keep his name as a true and powerful brand so many years after his tennis career ended.

“We’re called old at 32 or 34, which is partially true. But, the only thing we really know is playing our sports. While you play your sport, you have to start learning other things about what you want to do after, what you are good at and what you want to be remembered for. And it doesn’t come alone, it starts with a great team, it starts with an important mentor, it starts with your family. And I always felt that my life is not finished after 32. That’s when I stopped. It was half time and I feel that the second half of my life is as important as the first half. So I, I was, I was giving myself time, 2-3 years afterwards to learn, to try different things, where am I good? Am I good in television? Am I good in sports? Am I good in coaching? Am I good in real estate? Am I good at finance? So, I gave myself a number of things that I want to do, but you have to be prepared to get criticism because everything is compared to your Wimbledon triumphs, which is stupid, but this is the world we live in. You know, when you’re such a famous guy as I am, everything is charged by it, but you have to have a string network of people and believe in your abilities that you eventually find something that you’re comfortable with. They need to find out what’s, as values, what’s important for you. What would you keep teach your kids. So, for me credibility is very important, you have to be authentic, you have to be real. You have to remember tomorrow who you are and you can’t play a role. Eventually, if you play a role, people will get it, you will lose these guys, so you have to be yourself. You

have to want to be the best at what you do. That doesn’t mean it’s always possible, but you have to strive for it. You always have to remember where are you from in order for you to know where do you want to go.” Becker nowadays invests money in different business ventures, including real estate.

“I like business real estate and I like to invest money in business, in people, because I can deal with people. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the stock market. It’s a fascinating thing. Not easy to understand, because I didn’t trust a 28-year old telling me why the stock is falling and going cause he does know. So I studied, I read a lot of books, I’m in finance now. I have an office in Munich. But again it’s about people. You really have to trust people, in order to trust people, you have to understand them. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a while. We live in a very interesting time. Because of the internet and social media information we have America’s close, Asia’s close, Africa...You know, it’s not what it used to be, and you can follow all the markets. You know, you would call Serbia an emerging market and emerging markets are booming because they need everything. So that’s fascinating for business into this part of the world because you’re hungry, you’re growing, you want to be better than you were last year, or five years ago. And I believe that Novak Djokovic Foundation is also very much about this, to give young people the chance to grow, and to learn and to dream. And that works very well in business. Language is important. I was told before that maybe was translation necessary, or not necessary. But I’ve been assured that you understand my English, hopefully, because this is, this is... Communication is the key, if we understand one another, we can work with

“But there is a catch – if you speak about them, they don’t come true. You have to dream them, you have to think about them. However, I can say that I’d like to stay around Novak. As a team we can accomplish much more. Novak hasn’t reached his peak yet, physically, mentally, at the stage he can win a lot more. On the other hand, I am a family man. I have four children. Don’t ask me too much about it, but I love them, I love them a lot. And they are really close to me. And I learn, I really learn from them. My oldest son is 21. I’ll give you a story about him. So, he’s mixed race and he was…he went to school in Miami with my first, you know…he’s the son of my first wife. And he was very, very talented in basketball, which is my second favorite sport. And this I was a bit too short, a bit too slow, I was never able to make it, but I thought, ‘My son is bigger, he’s got the skin color, he’s got the swagger, he should really do it, the first Becker in the NBA.’ I said, that was one of my dreams. So he was 16 and he made the German National Team. He was so good at school that they scouted him and he was asked to quit school in Miami, go to Frankfurt and become a full-time basketball player, go to school and play for Germany, and train in the afternoons. So, when he was invited, he said ‘Dad, dad, I need to talk to you.’ OK, fine. And he said, ‘Dad, I love you very much, but your dream of making it in the basketball for me is much bigger than my dream. I prefer music.’ And I say ‘What?’ He said ‘Dad, I like basketball, and I know I’m very good at it, but my passion is music. Remember, dad, what your parents gave you when you were 15. The opportunity to play tennis. I just want the same opportunity that your parents were giving you.’ What are you going to say to this guy? So he, he finished school, he makes his own money. He’s got his band. His band is called The Bakery, which is Becker in English – the bakery. He started touring, he’s having his first album by the fall. He’s making his mark. But you know what he is? He’s credible. He is successful and would want to do it again tomorrow, and that’s all you can ask for. But it was difficult for me because, obviously, I wanted him to be, to be in tennis.” ®

PROFIMEDIA

“Life is much better with dreams,” he adds.

EXCLUSIVE

Breaking Away With

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON Exclusively for Original Magazine, in her first interview for a media in this part of Europe, one of the most powerful and most influential woman in the world reveals the truth about her path to success and remembers her amazing life story that is still writing itself

By Ksenija Pavlovic

INTERVIEW

REAKING AWAY IS AN ART, and Arianna Huffington could easily teach a symposium on it. I was on my way to AOL in Downtown Manhattan - my mind was fluttering, Where is the Huffington Post stationed among these mighty skyscrapers? The wind dropped on Manhattan, and the rain was raging across the skyline, as some powerful howl, a clear message to life that no matter what happens, you have to ride out storms. The Huffington Post’s ambience was akin to a movie set, but not like the one in the Devil Wears Prada. Arianna’s milieu is the spiritual law of truth. The famed hallway of the American letters offered connection and spiritual integration, the nakedness of life experience. I first heard of Arianna in 2006. While residing in my student apartment in Gower street in London, I turned on the BBC radio. Although I did not know the name of the woman being interviewed, her intellect was so too powerful to ignore, such that I had to tune in and listen to her. At that time, Huffington Post was only a year old and already reaching millions of visitors. Arianna’s life story is the one of conquesting freedom. By breaking away from Greece at an early age, by breaking away from a great love she had with one of biggest intellectuals of the second half of the last century, Bernard Levin, her life unrolled in a free fall over the Atlantic Ocean to the cold New York concrete from which she conquered the whole world. The break away from a prevalent culture of burn out, Arianna’s story is the one of a great awakening. “I think breaking away is a great thing.” she declared in an illuminating laughter. “There are several break away points that really changed my life”, she revealed in an exclusive interview for the Original.

// BREAKAWAY ONE: THE POSTCARD FROM CAMBRIDGE

In terms of the first breakaway point in my life, I remember seeing a picture of Cambridge, and something made me feel like I wanted to go there. Remember, I was living in a one-bedroom apartment. My parents were separated. I was living with my mother and my sister with virtually no money, and I spoke no English. But the connection with this picture in the magazine was so strong, and I knew I needed to be there. And that’s when my mother, an amazing figure, said, “Let’s find out how you can go there.” We found out that I’d have to go to the British Council , get my certification, take my entrance exams. In the end , I got what they called an “exhibition,” a

Our reporter Ksenija Pavlovic

form of scholarship. But it how it all started, she was the only person in my family and in my immediate surroundings who said let’s do it. Everyone else said don’t be ridiculous. This was my first breakaway, and it changed everything, because I suddenly was in a very different playground and I then fell in love with the Cambridge Union. A Greek student would soon become the first president-elect of the Cambridge Union. She would also be the first non-British student in the history of this organization. At first glance, she might’ve appeared to be brimming with confidence, Arianna reveals how she felt behind the optics. I had no confidence, I had zero confidence. I think what prepared me was my love for seeing hearts and minds be moved by words. I loved that, I could spend hours just listening to people, and I did. Then I wanted to learn to debate like this myself, but I had no confidence. I literally would stand up and have to read everything that I said, and gradually I would have had lines, and gradually I would be able to speak without notes. But it was a process. I literally trained myself, but it was not like I was this confident person. I just loved it. I think that my love for it came from the fact that my family discussions around the kitchen table were always part of my life. I studied classics in my school so the whole idea of the Socratic dialogues

EXCLUSIVE

and discussion were very key. But I think also, it was my own family who ignited my love for words.

// BREAKAWAY TWO: A

LOVE LETTER TO LEVIN

Arianna first met celebrated British intellectual and columnist of the London Times, Bernard Levin in 1971 on a „Face the Music“ panel. By her own confession, she had an intellectual crush on him. He was twenty years her senior, but love knew no barriers. On their second date, he took her to see Wagner’s opera at Covent Garden. When he died, Arianna remembered the moment when just before the curtain went up he whispered to her: „That‘s the opera I want to hear just before I die.“ Despite having a very intense, loving relationship, Arianna had to make a difficult decision and break away for the second time in her life. Finding strength to walk away from the man she loved was not an easy decision. I think that was really a question of my values. And my longing was for children. He was very clear that he did not want children. For me, having children was so important. I was already 30, and I knew if I stayed with him, I was already in love with him, I would just stay, and not have children. I have a lot of girlfriends who don’t have children and are very happy, and it’s not like every woman wants to be a mother, but I did want to be a mother. It’s been the most fulfilling thing in my life, despite all the problems, with my daughter getting involved in drugs, she’s been sober now for years, but despite all that, it’s definitely been the best thing in my life. I can still feel how tough and painful a decision to break away from Levin was. He wasn‘t just the big love of my life, he was a mentor and a role model as a thinker. The biography of Maria Callas I wrote is dedicated to him. In December 1980, Arinna left London for New York City. If Levin had married her, she probably would have stayed in Britain. However, life had a better, more unpredictable plan.

// BREAK AWAY THREE: BURNOUT CULTURE

Fearlessness doesn’t mean the absence of fear, it means you keep going even if you are afraid. I don’t think there‘s a single human being who is completely absent of fear, but it doesn’t stop us On April 6, 2007, Arianna found herself in a pool of blood in her study. Only two years before, she had already founded the Huffington Post, and her new venture was achieving meteoric success. Time Magazine proclaimed her one of 100 most powerful women in the world. While her life was rolling out in perfect media light, she knew that the wake up call for her life had arrived. She knew that it was time for her to start listening and acting on the message she received. From that moment on, her life has become a platform for wisdom, harmony and personal strength. I think the third break away is breaking away from the culture of burnout. I said: No more! When I collapsed from sleep-deprivation I decided to make that my mission, to break away from the prevalent

culture, which is if you want to succeed, you have to sacrifice your wellbeing, your sleep, be always on, work 24/7. It’s a delusion, but it’s very prevalent. Learning to listen to the whisper of the lessons life wants us to pay attention to and learn is probably one of the greatest of all skills one needs in life. However, when years before Arianna miscarried a baby while being pregnant in the fifth month, she continued to work eighteen hours per day. Although this event was some kind of a wake up call, she was not awaken then, sort of mirroring the rule of life that the teacher shows up only at times when the student is ready. You’re right. Great point. I was working around the clock, I wasn’t putting on weight during my pre-

INTERVIEW

gnancy, all that was happening, they didn’t tell me that that’s why I lost the baby, but…it did not wake me up. That’s a great point. I think that now, I’ve very sensitive to it. I think the first way to find out you are going off course is even before it happens. You have all the physical symptoms: being in a brain fog, mentally, feeling more like tired or exhausted and dragging yourself through your day. But there is also something very important that I’m now very very conscious of, which is feeling robbed of joy. Sort of joy goes out. So if I‘m sleep deprived, I can be here with you and not feeling present, not feeling ‘hey this is great I‘m having a conversation with a really interesting person’, it becomes another box to check. And when life becomes another box to check, there’s a real problem. I feel that what I’m working on now, getting people to change the way they see their lives and the way they prioritize. As they say on airplanes, putting your own oxygen mask on first. I think that’s a huge cultural shift. And I think it’s a global shift. I think now the world has adapted a lot of these Western culture and values of always being on and working around the clock. So I really feel that this is a great moment of cause-correcting. In Huffington Post, Arianna introduced and enforced the rule for her employees not to answer emails over weekends, and she encouraged them not to eat lunch in front of their computers. Her life mission has become completely focused on redefining what success is. Both for herself, as well as for others. I think if you see success as in my book Thrive, in terms of money and power, this is like the two legs of the stool. It’s perfectly OK to want these things, to want to be successful, but let’s have a full definition of success, which is the third leg. And this third leg is our wellbeing, our capacity to tap into our own wisdom and wonder at life and its mystery, and giving. All these things are all part of what success is. I think the key to finding the right balance is a combination of

being connected with myself through whatever happens. For me, that requires getting enough sleep, meditating, being connected. And if I‘m disconnected, everything is affected. I’m not connected all the time, nobody is, that’s part of the journey, how quickly do you reconnect. If you are in a warzone, in a concentration camp, what is interesting is that some of the greatest thinkers, like Viktor Frankl have showed us that even in the middle of the most horrible circumstances, if you remain connected, you can have a resilience and an ability to understand things that are horrifying to us, because you are connected to that immortal and eternal part of ourselves. Which is something I deeply believe in. I believe we are not just our bodies and our minds and personalities. But in our everyday lives, often people think the house is burning down when it’s not. We always take the slightest thing as the house is burning down. And that’s a big problem. Because we live in crisis mode.

// BREAKAWAY FOUR: A NEW NORMAL

Arianna’s personal life has been revealed through her books and columns. There is not much that has been left unsaid. However, I asked her why she decided to speak publicly about details from her personal life that some other celebrities would rather hide. How did she come to the point of complete transparency both with herself and the media? I think that when we are vulnerable, and express what has been something difficult for us, it helps others express. For example, when my daughter was struggling with drugs, the only thing that kept me from talking about it was waiting for my daughter to be ready to talk about it, which took her a year. If she had decided not to talk about it, then I wouldn’t have talked about it, because it’s her story, so I would never have violated her decision. Arianna usually considers doubt to be a form of atheism. She recalls the moments in her life when her faith has been severely tested. Life‘s a journey of learning not to listen to what I call the obnoxious roommate living in your head, the voice that puts us

WHEN LIFE BECOMES ANOTHER BOX TO CHECK, THERE’S A REAL PROBLEM down, the voice of self-doubt. And for me that’s been a journey. The more I got close to being there, to trust myself, to speak up, all those things became easier. The more I dissociated myself from this negative voice, the faith got stronger. Even launching The Huffington Post, the day it came out, we had terrible reviews. And it would’ve been easy to say ‘hey this is a mistake’, it’s not working. My second book was rejected by 36 publishers. There were many moments when you are shaken, but the question is, can you keep going on? I wrote this book on becoming fearless in which I did say that fearlessness doesn’t mean the absence of fear, it means you keep going even if you are afraid. I don’t think there‘s a single human being who is completely absent of fear, but it doesn’t stop us. I really think that when we all look at our lives, we see that life‘s a dance – between making it happen and letting it happen. It’s not like I made everything happen and I got here, it’s really a lot of good things happened that I did not create by being open to them or taking risks at the right time. Or going into a bank to get a loan when I had run out of money and the bank manager said yes. You never know. I think like in fairy tales you have these helpful animals that come out and help the hero or heroine, we all have that in our lives. And when we believe that, life becomes much easier and less full of fear and anxiety about the future. Arianna’s life is one of order, unbridled rejection of both doubt and anxiety. It’s a new normal. ®

EXCLUSIVE

DR. JIM

PRE SIDEYONG K NT O IM F TH E WO RLD BAN K

IA D E M N A BI R E S R O F W E I V R E NT I T RS I F HIS

INTERVIEW

By Ksenija PavloviÄ&#x2021; Photo Grant Ellis/World Bank & Profimedia

EXCLUSIVE

In an exclusive interview for the Original, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank offers wise words about how to do the impossible. As a global leader who cares deeply about humanity, he reveals that the stories his parents told him shaped his sense of commitment for the greater good and the many moral choices he would later make in life

At seven o’clock on a frosty Wednesday morning I made my way from New York City to the HQ of the World Bank Group in Washington D.C., to meet Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. Near the Farragut Square, I found myself at a hub for global change, a financial institution that is working around the clock to free the world from poverty. As I entered the hallway, I stepped into the silvery elevator where the protocol officer took me to the top floor. There, in an open, translucent space, with a coffee bar and a meeting area for the World Bank Group employees, Dr. Kim’s staff waited for me, informing me that President is working around the clock and is in backto-back meetings since he will only be in Washington D.C. for the next 48 hours. A few minutes after, in an elegant dark grey suit, entered the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim. After uncomplainingly posing for a photographer, he sat straight in his chair turning his laser focus on the subject of our conversation. The dream of ending poverty and inequality glimmers in every aspect of President’s Kim philosophy. His life story reads as an inspirational memoir. From his first job as a waiter at the Octagon House restaurant in Iowa to becoming the key player in leading the change in international development, one thing Dr. Kim knows for sure is that optimism is a moral choice.

Through struggle, soul searching and victory of conquering opportunities, President Kim has dedicated his life to global causes and the pursuit of excellence. As a global leader who cares deeply about humanity, he revealed that the stories his parents told him shaped his sense of commitment for the greater good and the many moral choices he would later make in life.. „My mother‘s grandfather was the first Christian in the family, but for ten, fifteen generations before her grandfather, they were all Confucian scholars. They were equivalent to PhDs. They were court scholars, so they worked literally in the court of the King, so scholarship was part of her family all along. My father‘s family was not as scholarly, but my grandfather had some education. He was a musician, a violinist. My father escaped from North Korea after the borders closed when he was 19, and he came down to the South to get an education, specifically to become a dentist. My mother came to this country when she was 18, as one of the top students in Korea. She got a top scholarship to come to America. She ended up, interestingly, going back to her family roots and getting a PhD in Confucian philosophy. She studied at a place called Union Theological Seminary. It had some of the most prominent intelle-

YOUR IQ IS PRETTY STEADY THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE. THE ONE THING YOU CAN ACTUALLY CHANGE IS YOUR WILLPOWER AND DILIGENCE

ctuals of that period. These were the people who were the most open to these ideas, and she passed those ideas to us very early on. When I was eight or nine years old, I was reading and watching televised speeches, for instance, of civil rights leaders. I was very impacted, on a very personal level, by the sense that we should be tackling some major fundamental issue. In other words, we shouldn‘t be doing something that‘s ‘of the moment‘, but rather focus on something that‘s eternal. That‘s something that‘s always gotten me the most excited. I was most focused, most able to work for long periods, if I had the sense that I was working for something that was eternal. I had these two influences in my life: my father, a dentist, who was incredibly practical, who taught us to work, get a degree. He used to say to us, ‘You have to be practical. You‘re a Chinaman‘ living in this country. No one‘s going to give you anything.‘‘ In fact, there‘s a story that I tell after my first semester home from Brown University, I told my dad that I‘m studying politics and philosophy, and he said, ‘After you finish your medical school residency, you can do whatever you want.‘ That‘s actually what I ended up doing, except I first got to medical school then I started a PhD program in anthropology. So I‘ve always had both of these elements in me. My father was right in the sense that it‘s one thing to have big ideas about equality and it‘s another to take those ideas and make them actually work on the ground. My parents grew up in the middle of nothing, and the entire country was destroyed. When I was born, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world and I think in that sense, one of the reasons why I identified so much with Novak and Jelena Djokovic is that, like my parents, they grew up in war. That‘s the situation we came from. „We know that inequality and poverty are major issues around the world. I think that if you look around, and look at the history of the last 50-to-100 years, when countries have tried to equalize outcomes, it hasn‘t worked very well. I think those systems have

INTERVIEW

The signing of the agreement with Novak Djokovic Foundation

fallen apart. If you look at the countries that are socialist, you‘ll see that most have stopped trying to equalize outcomes. They really tried to use market forces to grow the economy, and they‘ve been spectacularly successful. Two good examples are China and Vietnam. Those two countries have done very, very well in reducing extreme poverty. I think what you have to look at then is to try to equalize opportunity. That‘s what we‘re very committed to doing at the World Bank Group. „I‘m so excited about Novak and Jelena taking up the early childhood development, because, in my view, one of the greatest sins that all of us are committing every day is allowing the persistence of childhood stunting. Childhood stunting is a proxy-measure for under-nourishment, under-stimulation, or in some cases having grown up in a toxic environment. We know the lack of early childhood development interventions for these children literally means they will have fewer neuronal connections in their brains. I mean their grey matter, their brain infrastructure, will not be fully developed. There are countries that have 20, 30, 40, sometimes close to 50 percent rates of childhood stunting. That‘s extremely serious. We know the ability to compete in the global market of the future will require everyone to be able to engage the digital world. So if we allow this to continue, some countries are allowing almost half the population to grow up in a

IF YOU'RE CYNICAL AND PESSIMISTIC, THAT WILL BECOME A SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY. BUT YOU HAVE TO PREVENT YOUR HEART FROM HARDENING

way that will not allow them to become part of the digital economy of the future. „To have someone like Novak Djokovic and Jelena, have the two of them, stand up and say that this issue of early childhood development is the most fundamental issue related to poverty and inequality. If you‘re not committed to ending childhood stunting, then you‘re not really committed to addressing inequality.“ To understand how Kim ended up on top of the World Bank, one must understand what‘s determining his mindset. If we look at all the studies on achievement, what‘s now overwhelmingly clear is that intelligence

plays a really small part in it. It has nothing to do with intelligence, it has everything to do with diligence, persistence, willpower, affirmed Dr Kim. Can these be learned?, I asked. „Absolutely. It‘s really difficult to permanently change your IQ. Your IQ is pretty steady throughout your life. The one think you can change is your willpower and diligence. And there‘s a book that I recommend by Roy Baumeister called Willpower. In this book, he shows that willpower is like a muscle that you build. If you don‘t work on building it, it atrophies just like a muscle.“ From 1993 until 2009, Kim taught at Harvard Medical School, led the World Health Organization‘s HIV/AIDS Department, and served as a President of Dartmouth College. In March 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated him to become the President of the World Bank Group. Kim‘s election was one of the great markers in the history of this financial institution. Although, as physician and anthropologist, he did not have a background in finance, his work with poor communities and true devotion to tackling the most daring problems in international development made him the best candidate for the role. President Kim has ticked off most of the list of his achievements since he became the 12th president of the World Bank on July 1, 2012. However, he believes there is much more to do. ®

DISCREET HEROES

Helping others is a luxury for the soul Satish Sikha, a former fashion designer who became one of the biggest humanitarians in the world, speaks exclusively for the Original about how one event, one simple opening of a store, made him change his life. Besides the fight for environmental conservation and parallel to his travels, Satish Sikha has been working hard in India all these years. He provides homeless children with food, education and healthcare. The Satish Sikha’s Happy Kids Healthy Kids foundation is located in Hyderabad, and provides homeless children with all necessary services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

By Miljana Neskovic HE HONORARY DOCTOR, Satish Sikha, who was born in India, was taken to Canada by his life path, where he eventually became not only a very successful fashion designer, but also a successful businessman. He was popular for his haute couture lines of evening and wedding dresses. Before long, his pieces came to the stores of the big fashion store chain Hold Renfrew, which is considered the Canadian version of the popular American stores, Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue. The business grew. In one moment, the always-smiling Indian was the CEO and the president of three joint corporations: Sikha Inc. (investments and consulting services), Sikha & Tsufa Inc. (high fashion line based in Toronto) and 5th Element (an exclusive Italian restaurant and club, the official partner of the International Festival of Toronto). It was the year 2007 when Satish decided to abandon the world of material wealth and commit to completely different goals. “When I lived in Canada, my business was very successful”, he starts the story for The Original. “It was time to open one of my luxury haute couture store in Yorkville in Toronto. I chose one ill little girl from the children’s clinic to be my guest of Honor. Her name was Alison. She was the main guest and she cut the red ribbon. The event was very successful, excellently covered by the media in the newspapers and on TV, so the business instantly got off pretty well. A year after the opening, my phone rang.

“Mr. Sikha, there’s something I’d like to tell you,” told the mother of the little girl who opened my store on the phone. ‘Alison had told me that the opening of your store was the happiest moment in her life. I wanted you to know that.’ After she told me that, Alison died’,”Satish Sikha remembered, making a little pause. “I always loved helping those in need of help. It makes me happy. But, the call from Alison’s mother really moved me. What have I done? I made that little girl happy, but I couldn’t help her. Could I really? I asked myself what I was doing with my life and if all that luxury surrounding me really was worth it.” Then, Satish Sikha started working on his new project. Its focus was children’s health and the fight against global warming. As soon as next year, Mr. Sikha left Canada to travel the world.

DISCREET HEROES

“The first thing endangering the health of all children of the world and their future is global warming,” explained Mr. Sikha. “I started the Green Silk Fabric project. The eco-friendly green silk fabric travelling the world was a great symbol for the messages I wanted to send. One 50-year-old tree produces the same amount of oxygen as 1,000 one-year-old trees. Everyone should plant at least one tree in their life, so we can have a chance to live a healthy life. I wanted to start something big, something that would get the humanity’s attention in order to raise awareness about this problem. The fabric grew with every journey. Today, my green silk fabric is about a kilometer long, it visited 73 countries and it unifies the signatures and green messages of various popular persons from all those countries. Serbia is among those countries.”

That little girl named Alice made me realize how I felt helping others. She helped me find my path. Today, I feel that my life has value. You know, there are two types of luxury. Body luxury is a commodity. It encompasses buying good cars, houses, clothes and enjoying the things bought.

ses, so we provide them with those. I try to provide everyone with as much carefree childhood and education as possible, which their future depends on. We already have about 5,000 volunteers, so we provide food for about 10,000 families in need every day. With time, the organizatiMR. SIKHA’S ECO-FRIENDLY FABRIC IS MADE OUT on became larger and larger. There are a OF ABOUT A METER OF LONG PARTS, which have lot of poor homeless people. The word of been sewn into one long fabric by hand. my helping spread very fast, so volunteers Every piece has its own message. It grows flocked. Unfortunately, I’m not that strong with its every journey. Today, it is the lonfinancially, so I can’t provide the homelegest eco-friendly fabric in the world. With ss with a permanent home. We’re on the the Green Silk Fabric project, Satish Sikha field every day and we try to cover every has made it to the Arctic and the North location in need. We pay special attention Pole, in order to send an adequate image to the ill and mentally impaired children,” of global warming to the world. Besides said Satish Sikha. His previous accomplithe fight for planet conservation and pashments brought the title of the honorary rallel to his travels, Satish Sikha has been doctor of the Eco Asia University, which working hard in India all these years, he was awarded in April 2015. where he provides homeless children with According to him, even though he has food, education and healthcare. His Happy a foundation, he never acts on its behalf. Kids Healthy Kids foundation is located in When humanitarian work is the case, Mr. Hyderabad, and provides homeless chilSikha invests his own money in his own dren with all necessary services 24 hours name too. Of course, there are always pea day, seven days in a week. ople who can and want to help. Over the “I organize health camps for children years, Satish Sikha made numerous contacts living in the streets of Hyderabad or in his travels, and has slowly built a network children who are very of pediatricians, surgeons poor, and they consist and various specialists who of regular health checks come from all around the and free medicine for world to India to treat poor ONE 50-YEAR-OLD them. Furthermore, we children voluntarily or perTREE PRODUCES THE provide 10,000 little ones form surgical interventions, SAME AMOUNT OF from the streets with if necessary. He’s made a OXYGEN AS 1,000 three meals a day, privatremendous success. Howete education, books, clotver, he singles out one fight ONE-YEAR-OLD TREES. hes and toys. Some have as especially hard. EVERYONE SHOULD parents, some don’t. We “In a very poor village in PLANT AT LEAST ONE help all children growing India, there were 5,000 chiTREE IN THEIR LIFE, up in bad financial and ldren born with birth defesocial circumstances. cts in a very short period,” SO WE ALL CAN HAVE Some of them are in remembered Satish Sikha. A CHANCE TO LIVE A need of wheelchairs “Contaminated water was HEALTHY LIFE and similar apparatuthe cause of it. As that

village’s population is poor, the pregnant women had to drink that water. Hence, children with serious health conditions were born. I took the responsibility of providing those kids with care. Surgeons came from Europe, Canada… The children received healthcare, food, clothes and all that was necessary, but that just wasn’t enough. The problem lay in that contaminated water that endangered the health of all inhabitants of that place, even the still unborn children. During my work, I’ve tried to help business people. In return, they help the children in need of help in any way they can. I used the media space I have in India, and, with the help of friends from different spheres of society, started pressuring the public. We had to raise awareness somehow that a whole village was drinking contaminated water. We came out victorious in 2013, when a water purifier was installed, and thus one of elementary conditions of a healthy life and a healthy growing up for the children.” Although, he committed the first part of his life to making luxurious clothing, Satish Sikha travels around the world in a whole new attire. “It’s simple: I’m absolutely focused on something I want to do in my life. The human brain is like a computer. If you want to increase its speed, you have to shut down all unnecessary windows,” concluded Mr. Satish, with the smile that he always carries. “That little girl named Alice made me realize how I felt helping others. She helped me find my path. Today, I feel that my life has value. You know, there are two types of luxury. Body luxury is a commodity. It encompasses buying good cars, houses, clothes and enjoying the things bought. Furthermore, helping someone is luxury for the soul. That satisfaction is a priceless luxury, which everyone can afford, to a smaller or greater extent. I’ve learned that by helping children and being at their service.” ®

INTERVIEW

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW KARLIE KLOSS FOR THE ORIGINAL By Ksenija PavloviÄ&#x2021;

CONFIDENCE COMES FROM WITHIN

INTERVIEW

arlie Kloss, an American supermodel has been named one of the best thirty models in the world by the French “Vogue” magazine. She has recently started a philanthropic initiative “Kode with Klossy,” which aims to give young girls a chance at changing the world through computer science. Both a Victoria‘s Secret angel and a best friend of Taylor Swift, she speaks exclusively for the Original about the life lessons she learned from the legendary Diane von Furstenberg, and sends a powerful message to millennial youth to use their voices in order to drive positive change.

In what way, if any, have you had to accommodate your lifestyle as a model once you have started your studies at NYU? Have you ever feel that due to celebrity perceptions others may have about you, you have had to work much harder than your peers in order to prove yourself in the academic setting?

In the classroom, everyone is a student first and foremost. We‘re all curious about the world and exploring new ideas together. I did not feel any different. Novak Djokovic Foundation’s mission is to tackle inequities in access to high quality early childhood education among children from disadvantaged backgrounds. What are your thoughts about the causes Novak Djokovic supports and in what way, if any, does this global issue resonate with you?

I’m so impressed with the work that Novak and Jelena Djokovic are doing to increase access to early childhood education. Early childhood education is the foundation of all future learning and

BEING IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY WHEN I WAS A YOUNG TEENAGER WAS SUCH A WHIRLWIND EXPERIENCE. I WAS REALLY LUCKY THAT MY FAMILY TRAVELED WITH ME A LOT IN THE BEGINNING

is invaluable to preparing people to be better able to learn and create in our ever-changing world. Now let‘s talk about how you got started with coding. When did you realize you could make a difference through computer science and why?

I became interested in increasing access to computer science education after I started taking coding classes and saw how valuable and powerful it is in shaping our world. When women are given the opportunity to explore and create with code, they expand the conversation and innovations available to all of us. What is the idea behind a charity initiative: Kode with Karlie, and why do you find a coding education to be empowering for young girls and women?

is the language that shapes the world we live in and increasing women‘s access to computer science education creates a pipeline for new voices and leaders while we build the future. What is driving your passion for making a positive change?

KARLIE KLOSS, E UP CLOS st 3rd, 1992

Born: Augu

but: Scene Big time de 06. 20 magazine, eets John ards she m Soon afterw s muse. hi es m d beco Galliano an from 2013 cret Angel Victoria‘s Se to 2015 ury in this cent 30 models . ris Pa One of top gue magazine Vo according to y College rdisciplinar Attends Inte YU. Gallatin at N g, she also programmin Apart from ee cookies -fr ilk m ee and All has gluten-fr ‘s Kookies). r her (Karlie to es named afte go s ie ok from the co . the money d the world New York an in es iti char

Diane von Furstenberg taught me that it’s your true privilege and duty to use your voice to help and support people. When we work together to provide education opportunities for everyone, we empower people to use their voices for others and accelerate the pace of positive impact. Where does your confidence come from?

Confidence is something that comes from within and it’s something that‘s always a work in progress. I feel my best and strongest when I‘m fueling my life with healthy, positive energy - which can be anything from the food I eat to the people who I spend time with. What were the major life lessons celebrity taught you?

Being in the fashion industry when I was a young teenager was such a whirlwind experience. I was really lucky that my family traveled with me a lot in the beginning. My mom, dad and sisters really helped me stay focused on school and normal high school stuff. What have you learned about yourself so far?

Everyone’s path is different and there are so many things in life that you can’t predict. I’m still learning more about myself every day and am constantly exploring who I will become in the future. ®

EXCLUSIVE

JOHN GALLIANO Passion and hope are everything. They will push you forward. Even in the darkest of hours

Probably the biggest name in the world of fashion knows how it is to be on the top, but also, how it is to be on the bottom. The man who went from growing up on Gibraltar, falling in love with books in London, to the sky-high society of Parisian fashion, managed to lose almost everything in a single night. But then he came back, stronger than ever. In an honest and shocking letter which he exclusively wrote to the readers of Original and the young people of Serbia, John Galliano reveals how a person should deal with misfortune and discouragement in life, as well as how to always find yourself

EXCLUSIVE

WAS JUST A YOUNG BOY OF ONLY 21 YEARS OF AGE, but when I showed my graduation collection in my final year at Saint Martin’s School of Art, it was purchased by Brown’s, and overnight I became a sensation and was thrust into the fashion industry. Born on the tiny peninsula of Gibraltar, my humble beginnings meant I was quite naïve to the many magnificent treasures of the world when my family moved to London when I was 6. However, my curiosity led me to discover the beauty available at my fingertips in museums, cultural events, and especially the library, a place where one could transport oneself into another world and delve into its secrets just by cracking open a tome. Eventually I made my way to Saint Martin’s where I honed my craft and surrounded myself with like-minded people. However, nothing and no one could have prepared me for the journey that lay ahead.

WHEN I STARTED, I WAS LARGELY UNAWARE OF the fashion business. I had no clear goals, and I must be honest, no strategy. It was all very spontaneous; I just wanted to create beauty! In this endeavor, finding creative solutions to creative challenges was at the heart of my work. I was carried along by the creative wave. As I dove headfirst into the deep end of the fashion industry, I had to learn from all of the trials and tribulations that came my way. From setting up my own namesake label to moving it to Paris, with every obstacle I encountered, the lessons I learned were worth more than their weight in gold. It was my passion that drove me forward. I eventually became the first Englishman to helm a French couture house, first at Givenchy and then at Christian Dior. Since that time, fashion has evolved greatly. Notably, from the beginning of my tenure at Dior to the end, the role of a “Creative Director” was established within the fashion industry. When I entered the storied ateliers of Dior, there was no global vision or coherence. Bit by bit, I gained more responsibility at the house and ultimately oversaw all the ventures of the brand including developing a visual language for the advertising and bringing together the formerly separated Dior Couture and Dior Parfums, combining the brand’s fashion and beauty identities under a single global vision. However, I remained first and foremost a couturier. I cannot stress enough how important it is to surround yourself with friends and people you deeply trust who are like-minded and share your vision.

DON’T LOSE GRIP ON WHO YOU ARE, AND ALWAYS BEAR IN MIND THE THING THAT DRIVES YOU FORWARD AND INSPIRES YOU. WHATEVER HAPPENS, ALWAYS COME BACK TO IT, SO YOU CAN REFUEL YOUR CREATIVITY

LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ABOUT THE THINGS YOU DO BY ATTENDING GOOD SCHOOLS AND GETTING EXPERIENCE THROUGH WORKING WITH THOSE WHO INSPIRE YOU. KNOW THAT IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM; THE CREATIVITY LANGUAGE IS UNIVERSAL WHEN I FIRST BEGAN, I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THE WORLD OF FASHION BUSINESS IS EXACTLY. I DIDN’T HAVE CLEAR GOALS, AND TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST, I DIDN’T HAVE ANY STRATEGY WHATSOEVER. EVERYTHING WAS UTTERLY SPONTANEOUS; I JUST WANTED TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL THINGS! IN THAT ENDEAVOR, FINDING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR CREATIVE CHALLENGES WAS AT THE HEART OF MY WORK. THAT WAVE OF CREATIVITY IS WHAT CARRIED ME ON EVEN SO, BECAUSE OF THE SUCCESS AND TODAY’S EVER MORE DEMANDING INDUSTRY, I lost my spiritual path. It can happen to anyone. My recent sabbatical from the industry allowed me time to reflect and for emotional growth, and most importantly, I was able to reconnect with myself. I learned the importance of maintaining balance in life. Mistakes help us to grow, and I am fortunate to have rediscovered my path and to have the opportunity to create beauty once again, now at Maison Margiela. To young designers, my advice would be to boldly chase your dreams without hesitation. Go and learn as much as you can about your craft by studying at a great design school if possible and by gaining experience through apprenticeships and working with those who inspire you. Know that it does not matter where you come from; the language of creativity is universal. I came all the way from Gibraltar to London to the world of haute couture in Paris. Anything is possible. Believe in yourself and do not let the naysayers hold you back. If I had listened to the people who tried to discourage me, I would not be where I am today. Do not lose sense of who you are, and know what both drives and inspires you. Whatever happens, always make sure you return there to refuel your creative drive. And most of all, you must be passionate about your work. Talent and genius are nothing without extremely hard work. Passion and hope are everything; its flames will drive you forward even in the darkest of times. Good luck! ®

UPOZNAJ SVET

REMAIN TRUE TO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN Exclusively for The Original, Anna Wintour opens up about what it means to be a working mother and why she looks up immensely to Hillary Clinton

Ana Vin tur

EXCLUSIVE

THIRTY YEARS AGO, WHEN SHE BECAME THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of the British edition of Vogue magazine, Anna Wintour embarked on a journey that would transform many women’s lives. Strong-headed and uncompromising in her pursuit of the highest ethical and aesthetic standards, she gave a breath of life to the most iconic fashion bible on both sides of the Atlantic. Starting out as a weekly magazine for high-society New Yorkers, the American Vogue kept on living up to its glory under Wintour’s leadership. The most-watched woman in fashion has always been in touch with the generations of women who looked up to the strong and seductive voice of Vogue, not only to inform themselves on the latest fashion trends, but also to seek inspirational messages given by role models Wintour has been known for featuring in the magazine. From the iconic Condé Nast building on Times Square in New York City, Anna Wintour keeps sailing through what are, at times, tumultuous waters. With her signature bob hair cut and unbreakable fortitude, Wintour commands the strength of Margaret Thatcher, sophistication of Audrey Hepburn, and an intellect of Hillary Clinton. Looking at the world through her dark sunglasses, she is known for guarding her privacy with integrity and making no excuse for who she is. One of the key questions every single working female has struggled with throughout her life is whether or not a woman can really have it all. The challenge of balancing out a career and family life, is one that Anna Wintour — a British born mother of two — has successfully conquered. As a family oriented woman, she insists that it is important for children to understand that mothers can have rewarding professional lives while being successful mothers at the same time. Last year, for Wintour’s 66th birthday, her daughter Bee Shaffer publicly acknowledged her mom’s strength and stamina by stating in a birthday note that Wintour is a kind of a woman who “has always smiled through the drama”. Women are used to multitasking, to spending part of their lives developing their careers and the other part raising their family and caring about the kids. What is Anna Wintour like as a mother? Is Vogue your third child?

I feel it is important to try and include your children in your work as much as possible. That way they can experience it firsthand, so they feel included and see how fulfilling one’s job can be. I always made a point of taking them with me whenever possible and introducing them to the people I work with. I think it’s important for children to understand that women can have rewarding professional lives while fully loving and caring for their family.

The best advice I can give is to find someone you respect and try to learn from him or her. There is no substitute for experience and hard work

Your name always appears on the list of the most powerful women and people in the world. What does the word power mean to you? Do you feel that with great power comes great responsibility, and what is their responsibility to society?

To me, power means doing the best job that I can. I feel so fortunate to be able to get up every morning and come to work. To repeat a somewhat overused phrase, “With much power comes much responsibility.” While it’s a bit of a cliché, I do feel a great responsibility to give back, particularly to the fashion world, which has given me so much. Through initiatives like the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit, we have been able to support the next generation of American fashion designers and preserve the history of our industry. What is the importance of teamwork in a big system like Vogue? Do you always act as a captain, or do you think that “democracy” is far more motivating?

I like to hire people with a strong vision and point of view and then delegate to them. I trust my team to make important decisions. Of course I am involved along the way and enjoy being part of the conversation, but I truly believe in supporting those who work for me. One piece of advice that you gave to young people was “Get a job, even though it’s not your dream job.” What concrete advice would you share with them vis-à-vis getting a job?

The most important quality in a young person looking for a job is adaptability. Young people today need to be diverse in their skill set because jobs have become so multifaceted. The best advice I can give is to find someone you respect and try to learn from him or her. There is no substitute for experience and hard work. You endorsed Barack Obama in the elections you be engaged in the upcoming presidential election in some way, and do you believe that a woman in the White House would change things for the better?

I am very excited about Secretary Clinton’s campaign for president and will be supporting her wholeheartedly. You also said that it was very important to have a mentor, to have someone to look up to. Who has been your mentor? What are the traits that a good mentor should have?

Secretary Clinton is someone I look up to immensely. Her exceptional and enduring career has been truly inspiring. She has the ability to evolve with the times while remaining true to what she believes. This is one of the greatest keys to success. ®

EXCLUSIVE

JELENA DJOKOVIC ON HER TRAVEL TO THE VALLEY OF LONGEVITY

AN ESSAY FROM VILCABAMBA

HOW I FOUND PEACE IN ECUADOR and in myself

THIS SUMMER, JELENA ÐOKOVIĆ WENT ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUMMER VACATION, AND THE MEDIA AND FANS ALL AROUND THE WORLD WONDERED WHERE SHE HAD DISAPPEARED AND WHAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR IN THE DISTANT, INACCESSIBLE ECUADOR. FOR THE FIRST TIME, EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE ORIGINAL, SHE DESCRIBES HER EXPERIENCES FROM VILCABAMBA IN DETAIL, WHERE SHE MET PEOPLE OF INCREDIBLE FATES AND LIFE STORIES IN TWO COMMUNES PROUD OF LIFE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE, BUT ALSO WITH LOVE AND RESPECT THEY TREAT EVERYBODY WITH, INCLUDING FOREIGNERS LIKE HER. THIS ISN’T ONLY A REPORT BUT ALSO HER TRAVEL IN THE VERY CENTER OF MIND AND SOUL. THE PATHS WHERE A PERSON REACHES THEIR OWN SUBCONSCIOUS ARE ALWAYS THE HARDEST AND THE BEST TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS JELENA DJOKOVIC

EXCLUSIVE

W HEN I STARTED STUDYING IN MILANO, I LEFT ALL my “juvenile” spontaneity and curiosity behind. I started living a very programmed and predictable life in order to accomplish all of my planned goals. I never even thought that I would now, as a mother, decide to revive that spontaneity and embark on a beautiful adventure, by myself. Why not? After all, we’re always by ourselves. The sooner we accept that, the easier we’ll be able to live with others. With support from my closest friends, I began my journey over the ocean to a small village also known as the Valley of Longevity. My route was pretty long: London-Miami-Guayaquil-Loja, then a three-hour car ride to my final destination – Vilcabamba, Ecuador. I spent 30 hours travelling, slept on a bench at the Guayaquil airport while waiting for my connection, because the plane from Miami was five hours late. I felt like a teenager! There, a pretty little adventure on the road already. I stayed at a guest-house of a wonderful Russian family, and had no regrets. There was so much warmth, love, care and respect given to a stranger. I guess I’m only used to getting that kind of treatment from fellow Serbians. Most of the local inhabitants live in very harmonious relations. Vilcabamba is a special place. Everyone told me that people either love that village or they run headfirst. The ones who stay are mostly the ones who want to return to the basic values of life, to turn to nature. All that can be found in Vilcabamba. People there are mostly Americans and Canadians who are fed up with corporations and the reality TV scene. They start communities with their own rules, and whoever wants to live there, must contribute to the community by helping in the garden and animal farming, along with building

houses with natural materials. They are all in sync with nature. They all are filled with love and respect towards other members. I’ve met interesting people with specific life quests and stories.

A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKED ME IF I HAD GONE ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, BUT MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AND GROWTH HAVE NO SPECIAL DESTINATION OR DETERMINANT. IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME. IN VILCABAMBA, I HAD MORE TIME TO MYSELF AND MY NEEDS, BECAUSE THE CONCEPT OF TIME DOESN’T EXIST. I USED MY PHONE ONLY AS A CAMERA

YVES, TWO DOGS, A CAT AND THE GREEDY EDISON Yves is a forty-year-old who bought an arid piece of land on a mountain two hours walk from Vilcabamba 13 years ago. He did this in order to create a small community, which would recover the land. He lived by a set of rules: the land mustn’t be accessible by a car, it mustn’t have electricity, it should be close to a mountain water spring and it has to be infertile. He vowed then, with his girlfriend at the time, to devote the next 15 years of his life to that land and make it fertile for plant and animal farming. In 15 years, he promised, he would leave that piece of land to the community, and continue travelling all over the world and support similar initiatives. His girlfriend left him after only two months of living in a tent. He was alone. “I sat on the mountain, with my two dogs and my cat. I gazed upon beautiful sunsets and sunrises and had a marvelous view, and everything that came to my mind was that I have completely lost my mind, and who cares about the view. This is so hard! Hands full of blisters from digging, sunburns, back pain... what was I thinking?!” said Yves. Since he had made a vow and committed to recovering the land, he continued his adventure. He named it Sacred Suenos – Sacred Dreams. Luckily, lots of young people from all around the world came to volunteer in his community and help him build the houses. Now, his community consists of eight members and many volunteers who stay a week or two, some of them even staying the entire summer. Some give up in just a few days, and some give up while climbing the mountain… Two hours of mountain climbing is a strenuous challenge, especially with bags and backpacks. No won-

AN ESSAY FROM VILCABAMBA

“Everybody fought and hated each other in the kitchens [where] I once worked… The food we made was full of such energy. I couldn’t take it. I wanted to go somewhere and try living on raw food, in harmony with the nature and the environment. And all my roads led to Vilcabamba.” PAULO, A SHOEMAKER FROM ITALY der some of them give up before they even climb the mountain. A few years ago, some philanthropists supported his vow and helped him buy additional adjacent land. Now, the community has two projects – growing organic fruit and vegetables, making goat cheese, but also reading books and creating technological inventions. Here, people glorify the work of Nikola Tesla and try to replicate some of his ideas, while blaming the system that such an innovative genius couldn’t get the attention and respect of the world while he was alive. Thomas Edison on the other hand? They call him “the greedy one.” Yves left Canada when he finished his advanced studies, and now he can’t go back, doo to the fact that he refuses to pay his tuition loan to the bank. When he needs money for some projects in the community, he teaches English or travels to California, where he works on marijuana plantations illegally.

HIPPIES, SHAMAN AND A VERY PECULIAR SHOEMAKER The second community I visited is a hippie-community founded by an American, Tom Osher, who changed his name into something short and intelligible –Mofwoofoo. It is a bit of a wealthier commune. The land they live on is in Vilcabamba, next to the Ciamba River. He named his communion Shambala, but then he changed it to Ciamba la Bamba. There’s a stage for parties and acrobatics, a studio for music recording, a small lake with a sandy beach, a school for children without teachers, orchards and vegetable gardens. They even grow spirulina! They either live in tree-houses or in Indian huts. They mostly don’t have windows, since the weather is so nice during the whole year so they just don’t need them. Ten years ago, this village was one of the most attractive villages to people who wanted to spend their retirement in a place with lovely weather, healthy nature and low prices for quality food. But, when the International Travel magazine published a report on this village, the locals raised the price of land, and now, it’s not that cheap to buy a house in Vilca anymore. However, people still come. People often organize “Raw Food Retreats” – camps where people eat raw food only, which grows well over the year. They have coffee, cocoa and banana plantations, as well as coconut trees, avocados, oranges, ginger, pineapples, kiwi, and pomegranates. People also come for their own spiritual journeys. Various shamans live in the village, and some even offer a potion named ayahuasca, with a special ritual. When people drink it, they enter a state of trance and hallucinate, since their senses are very sensitive.

EXCLUSIVE

Some people have stated that they experienced communication with angels and other higher life forms. Many who try to take a shortcut to a divine place take ayahuasca. The experience is not remotely pleasant, for it is followed by diarrhea and vomiting (the motive behind it is parasite cleansing). People in Vilca are saying that shamans have even sexually abused women who come to that ritual, because, when they take that potion, they lose control over their bodies for the next six hours. I had a very pleasant experience with a shaman called Carlitas. He is an artist and paints frescoes and icons in churches, as well as private houses of wealthy Ecuadorians. I spent a few hours with him, talking about his skills and their use. He was very kind and polite. When he watches people, he said, he watches them very shyly, because he can see many things even he himself doesn’t want to see, and probably those people don’t want to show them to him either. He spoke to me in Spanish, I spoke to him in Italian, and we understood each other well. He can interpret mandala, so he understood a drawing I had made that morning. He talked to me about the openness of my chakras, and gave me advice on removing some energy blockades through meditation. Then I met a shoemaker named Paulo. He’s originally from Venice, and he embarked on the journey around the world thanks to his culinary skills. He worked in restaurants as a pizza chef, but that didn’t fulfil him. “Everybody fought and hated each other in the kitchens I once worked… The food we made was full of such energy. I couldn’t take it. I wanted to go somewhere and try living on raw food, in harmony with the nature and the environment. And all my roads led to Vilcabamba,” said Paulo. Besides changing his diet and profession (he became the local shoemaker), he embarked on a spiritual adventure and started making “silent retreats” named Vipassana. You meditate for ten days, ten hours a day, without any communication with other people. You only eat breakfast and nothing else. During that period, he is devoted to inner peace, life in the present moment and being thankful for everything that surrounds him. I was completely swept away by his devotion. He went as many as 29 times to do those meditations. The math is easy – he didn’t speak for 290 days in total! There were times when he would make four Vipassanas

EVERY JOURNEY IS A CHANCE TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, BUT ALSO ABOUT OURSELVES. I WANTED TO BE IN NATURE, WITHOUT THE BURDEN OF NAMES AND EXPECTATIONS. I FOUND THAT THERE. COULD I HAVE FOUND THAT SOMEWHERE CLOSER? OH, YES! I HAVE IT IN ME NOW, AND I DON’T PLAN TO LOSE IT. I CARRY THE PEACE I FOUND ON THIS JOURNEY EVERYWHERE, AND I CAN FIND IT ANYWHERE NOW: IN EVERY CITY, VILLAGE OR COUNTRY. MY PEACE LIVES IN ME AND DEPENDS ON ME. I WANT THE SAME FOR ALL OF YOU.

in a row! It was particularly astonishing with him being Italian, they tend to be pretty chatty.

AN ESCAPE FROM THE WORLD AND GUINEA PIG DIET While strangers come to spiritual journeys and deal with healthy life, the locals are still trapped in an age we surpassed twenty years ago. A year and a half ago, they got their first Internet connection, but they’re not too “obsessed” with world events. No airplanes fly over Vilca, and you lose three hours for every trip – so they don’t care much about the dealings outside their village. Calling Vilca a village would be condescending. In fact, Vilca is a widespread community. I often spent my summer vacations by my grandma’s and grandpa’s, in a village of about 3,000 inhabitants, while Vilca has as much as 7,000 inhabitants and a constant influx of new people. Nature, however, is so lush and beautiful, you don’t even feel the presence of people. Not until 20 years ago did they have so much processed food packed in plastic packaging, and their diet was pretty healthy. Everything they’d eat, mostly fruit and vegetables, they’d throw away on the ground because it was biodegradable, so they never developed a habit of throwing litter in a garbage can. Now, when they eat chips, sweets, conserved food and drinks, they still throw everything on the ground, believing in the concept of biodegrading. Even in buses, you can see signs like “Don’t throw away the garbage in the bus. Throw it through the window.” Seeing a driver slinging a bag full of garbage through the window, on the road, while moving, is not a rare sight. They still believe that a big stomach is a reflection of “wealth” and not of inappropriate diet, so men, women, even dogs proudly “wear” their obesity. They affectionately call them “gordita” (which translates to “a plump girl” in Spanish). I was astonished by the fact that the Ecuadorian specialty is grilled guinea pig. While we buy them for our kids as pets, they serve them as a gourmet specialty. I really had no intention of trying that. Truth be told, they don’t eat many animal products. They mostly eat raw food from their gardens, seeds and nuts. One taxi driver complained how the first pharmacy shop in the village opened some ten years ago,

AN ESSAY FROM VILCABAMBA

when foreigners started coming. Before that, they used herbs and teas for medication, and lived simple lives, so they rarely got sick. Now they have access to alcohol and processed food, so the consequences in form of diabetes, obesity and cardio-vascular problems are more and more obvious. Few people have a car of their own. That’s a luxury because of high taxes and import fees; that’s why everybody commutes in taxis or buses, which are inexpensive. As a result of the lack of cars, there is consequently little to no air pollution. There are also no cinemas or theaters, and no shopping malls. There are also only a few restaurants, which I didn’t visit. Honestly, I had no need to, because I had plenty of choices in the garden of the house I stayed in. A typical day of an inhabitant consists of working in the garden or field, and around the house. Some farm chicken, goats or cows. They often sell meat by the road, on tables or on a wire, but it’s consumed once a week, not more than that. What’s fascinating is that so many of them use “compost” toilets. They use all the manure as a fertilizer for their gardens, and they also degrade their food with sodium bicarbonate and use it as a fertilizer. When they see horse or donkey dropping by the road, they feel happy and collect it for their gardens. They even practice the concept of “hen tractors” in some communities: while hens strut on the yard, they claw the land and thus turn it over as tractors do, only without polluting the environment. They also relieve themselves and thus fertilize the land. They first enclose them in a small part of land and leave them to “work,” and then eventually move them around the field. If you don’t mind the clucking – there’s plenty of benefits from these feathery workers. Tourists can ride horses in the mountains or rent bikes. I went to a small zoo that had just a few cages – small monkeys, an ostrich, birds of peculiar looks, and that was it. Children play in the streets or in the backyards. They also have a large football field and an outside gym. Young people mostly go on long walks in the mountains or by the river to swim. The weather is nice the whole year, so they never have to be inside. They also watch films, instead of going to cinemas. When someone asks them if they want to travel – most of them say they’re happy in their village. The guy who drove me once said that he would probably like to visit Tuscany someday, but that he is happiest when he’s home.

ENDLESS GREENERY AND SPIRITUAL UPLIFT Vilca is surrounded by the Andes from all sides. Its altitude is 1,500 meters and the temperature varies from 18 to 28 degrees Celsius during the year. When I travelled to Ecuador, I looked for an accurate weather forecast for Vilcabamba, but since there’s not a single meteorological station in the village, I didn’t get it. I prepared for rain and temperatures between 13 and 22 degrees, which was a big mistake. I spent two beautiful weeks on 27 degrees Celsius, with a lot of sunshine, and not enough shorts. After just a few days in Vilca, I went on a conquest of the Mandango Mountain top, also known as the “Sleeping Inca.” When you look at the mountain from afar, it does look like a pharaoh sleeping. The mountaintop itself seems incredible, like a secret Inca temple, unnaturally and supernaturally attached to the mountain. The Podocarpus National Park stretches along a large part of the Andes surrounding Vilca, and one day, I went from the sunny Vilca

by car, to get closer to the Andes from the other side of the Amazon jungle, so I could see the magnificent waterfalls. It takes three or four hours minimum for every trip via very bad and curvy roads. The Amazon rainforest is rich with rains and a cooler climate, so I gave up on the primary plan of swimming at the waterfall. It was magnificent. There was such a lovely and peaceful energy. The dark-green trees and plants, along with a bunch of orchids surrounding you. The greenery is lush and immensely green. A complete rest for your eyes and soul. I closed my eyes and let myself go to the sounds of nature. I heard everything: the rain, the waterfall, the leaves’ rustle and the birds… And the butterflies! I saw so many beautiful butterflies, of all colors! Those are all untouched rainforests where microbes originating from the ice age live. At the highest point of the park stands a Tundra with 14 lakes filled by melted glaciers. They say that “glaciers’ milk” contains metal colloid minerals. During the rain season, the lakes overflow and all the water flows through the Tundra and descends to the waterfalls. When it reaches the valley, the locals collect it and use it for personal use. Hence, they proclaimed that the Vilca water is one of the cleanest and healthiest waters in the world – that’s one of the reasons this valley is considered the Valley of Longevity. Every day had its own charm. It’s not a typical place for a vacation, especially because it’s so hard to reach. To me, it contained everything I wanted, and I made beautiful friendships I want to maintain with great love. A lot of people asked me if I had gone to a spiritual journey, but my spiritual journey and growth have no special destination or determinant. It happens everywhere, all the time. In Vilcabamba, I had more time to myself and my needs, because the concept of time doesn’t exist. I used my phone only as a camera. It was on only when I could find a Wi-Fi connection. In that sense, I was spiritually uplifted, because I didn’t have any distractions of a technological nature. I had plenty of time to work on myself, my beliefs, to get some sleep, read lots of books and recharge my battery. I came back filled with love and energy, which I selflessly share with my family now. Every journey is a chance to learn something new about other people, but also about ourselves. I wanted to be immersed in nature, without the burden of names and expectations. I found that there. Could I have found that somewhere closer? Oh, yes! I have it in me now, and I don’t plan to lose it. I carry the peace I found on this journey everywhere, and I can find it anywhere now: in every city, village or country. My peace lives in me and depends on me. I want the same for all of you. The sooner we find a way of being in harmony and love with ourselves, the easier it will be to live in a harmonious community with others. ®

BE CREATIVE

Stevan Ivić

TRENDS SHOULD BE SET, NOT FOLLOWED If we know creativity is increasingly valued, and that governments are fighting to keep and attract talented people, how is design in Serbia different from the one abroad? Is there a distinctive “Serbian design”? The Original brings you three stories of young designers: how do Jovana Momčilović, Elda Stanković and Stevan Ivić make their name in design. All collocutors of the Original agree with the notion that it’s necessary to create a climate in the society, a system of value which would evaluate good design. We must wait for it. Until then, the wind at the backs of those at the beginning, who are fighting for their spot on the scene, can be provided by their elder colleagues

By Maja Vukadinovic,

PhD in Cultural Studies, exclusively for the Original

IS SAID THAT A GOOD DESIGN SELLS EVERYTHING. And it’s all around us – from morning coffee cups to high-tech products. We admire the works of artists on design festivals and buy pieces signed by local designers on specialized markets more and more often organized in our country. We are attracted to them by the logos on posters, the package often affects our buying choices in supermarkets, we’re constantly bombarded by perfectly designed photographs on billboards, commercials, internet… In abundance of everything that characterizes the modern visual culture, laymen can hardly discern the things we talk about when we talk about modern design, especially the world-class one. Professor Zoran Blažina, the dean of the Faculty of Applied Arts and a distinguished graphical designer with local and international references, says that design isn’t just a mere aesthetic category, on the contrary, it has the mission of making the world a better and more humane place. “That mission can be also defined as utopic, because it often

Art by Elda Stanković

BE CREATIVE

opposes the interests of the political establishment. Quality design anticipates time, it is a result of abstract thinking and lucid ideas, combined with state of the art technologies”. Miloš Ilić, a graphical designer with a vast international experience and a professor on the Faculty of Applied Arts reminds that the spectrum of creative work not covered by design was never bigger. “We live in a world where mass production is substituted with mass innovation, and where design, quite naturally, holds a central place in the new Art by Jovana Momčilović economy. The designer isn’t that individual who creates something at his desk in isola- DESIGN ISN’T JUST A MERE tion anymore. Now, the designer is at the AESTHETIC CATEGORY, ON center of convergence of various disciplines THE CONTRARY, IT HAS and technologies.” If we know creativity is increasingly va- THE MISSION OF MAKING lued, and that governments are fighting to THE WORLD A BETTER AND keep and attract talented people, how is design in Serbia different from the one abro- MORE HUMANE PLACE ad? Is there a distinctive “Serbian design”? Professor Zoran Blazina, To professor Blažina, things are quite clear: the difference lies in capital investments and dean of the Faculty of Applied infrastructure that follow the design in Ser- Arts bia and developed countries. He adds that the difference also lies in the freedom of people who are deprived of everyday existential and other fears in developed countries and the state of spirit of a people worn out by decades-long political fear manipulations, which ultimately creates a certain style cramp present in the creativity of Serbian designers. “There is no specific Serbian design, there are, like everywhere else in the world, strong creative personalities capable of producing their own original creative signature. We follow trends, but we need to set them, and that’s impossible, because we don’t have an industry, trade, capital flow, power, prestige nor the understanding of design’s necessity. From the aforementioned, one could suppose that we don’t even need design, on the contrary, because being a world-class designer means being a visionary, and we’ve always lacked vision in this part of world. In the sea of uncertainty, one thing is certain – we possess talent. The design scene is alive, and good, young and educated Art by Elda Stanković designers are not giving up. Graphical designers are welcome in marketing agencies. platforms. Behance and Upwork are among It’s a useful experience and the first step in the most popular. Some of them even comthe career to many. A lot of them dream of pete with their colleagues from abroad on starting their own studios one day, and that these platforms while studying, and if their takes experience. work is special and good enough, they have Thanks to technological innovations in good chances of working directly for clients business models, many of our young desifrom all around the world. gners work for the entire world on various

Such is the story of Jovana Momčilović, who has three jobs and dreams of free time. As a true digital nomad, Jovana came with a laptop to the place of our meeting, and showed us her daily schedule with a smile. “My morning job is for a British company called Track IT Solutions. I have a contract to 30 hours a week with them for three years already. From 17:00 to 21:00, I work for a marketing agency from Houston. There are ten of us in the team, while three of us aren’t from the US. I mostly work on websites and corporate identity for them. My third job consists of working 80 hours a week for the Rambler On company. Since it’s an extensive job – logo design – I’ve hired two of my colleagues to help me”, said Jovana. The “Made in Serbia” talents rank high on global platforms because they are exquisite designers, and they’re also hard-working. One mustn’t forget the fact that we’re considered cheap labor in the world card shuffle. Jovana said that the average price for graphical design is 23 dollars per hour, our people work for 10, while people from India work for 2 dollars. Clients will rather hire a Serbian designer, who will solve the eventual problem by “winging it” if necessary, than a less expensive Indian who will give up. Elda Stanković is a student who assists in classes on the Faculty of Applied Arts and plans on committing to an academic career. She had chances of working for clients, tried to compromise, but… “To free artists, graphical designers, it is very hard to come by clients who value, respect and understand their work. In order to illustrate the designerclient relationship in the best way possible, people often cite the example where the client doesn’t advise his surgeon before the surgery, while that’s not the case when working with a designer. Client knows best and has lots of advice for his designer. I’m certain that a young designer can only build his identity on individual projects, rather than cooperating with a client.” “To succeed in design doesn’t always mean that you’re rich and famous or a celebrity. So many big artists have gone through history and their own lives without even being notices. However, they knew, they were filled with pleasure of creative enthusiasm”, Zoran Blažina advises. In a similar manner, Miloš Ilić says that it’s very important for young people to realize that their real context doesn’t revolve around being the best in Serbia, but being the best in the world. Only if they aim that high, do they have a chance of living up to their full potential. ®

CREATIVE GALLERY

The New Stamp of Serbian Fashion The designers whose models are very well known, among the passionate fans of Serbian fashion – Svetlana Jaćović, Vlada Savić, Mihano Momosa, Tamara Radivojević, Marko Mitanovski and Ines Janković – tried to detect the sources of their endless inspirations in their interview for Original, as well as mark some of the crucial moments of their careers, but also to make clear, with their success, that it’s still possible to create fashion in Serbia

Svetlana Jaćović Svetlana’s collections are clear, precise and specific, and they possess a great deal of femininity. She started creating fashion and art when she was just 13. It was clear that she would enroll in the Faculty of Applied Arts, which she eventually did. She started a brand named after her graduation in 2005, and had lots of notable fashion shows and exhibitions in Belgrade. She is a regular participant of humanitarian fashion events. “If I would describe myself in a single sentence, I would say: often black and white without shades. But I love colors”, explained Svetlana and added that she considers the people surrounding her her biggest success, regardless of her fashion victories. “I couldn’t choose my family, but it’s truly a real, always safe harbor filled with unconditional love. And there are also friends who you don’t choose, you rather recognize one another. That exactly is fortune and success. That constellation of people in my own universe. And all my successes wouldn’t have been made without such an environment.”

CREATIVE GALLERY

Vlada Savić FOTO MILOŠ LUŽANIN

FOTO MARKO TODOROVIĆ

“My aesthetics is based on the artistry which I started building in college, as well as an artistic sensibility and my fashion visions that I follow”, the young designer stated. “Fashion always looks to and works for the future, so I consider the designer’s work as a visionary one, and that exactly is what additionally inspires me in my work.” Vlada’s fashion is contemporary, and its aesthetics are based on geometry – a reduced color palette with strong accents and well-researched forms. The successful balance between original

and wearable makes this young creative person’s models beloved among the women wearing his creations. Last year, he had the chance to promote his work at the famous London Fashion Week. He also had a notable fashion exhibition at the Milan Fashion Week where he represented Serbia at the Grazia Next Glam Awards for young designers. At the Belgrade Fashion Week, he won the prestigious “Boris Nikolić” Award, as well as a reward for the best show. “I aim to make a brand orientated towards high pret-a-porter”, said Vlada. “The brand, which will have its studio and shop in Belgrade, and a worldwide market.” That has already started to come true, in a way. He already exports his collection to several showrooms in Europe, and he constantly receives inquiries of market expansion from Middle-eastern countries.

“My dream, however, isn’t megalomaniacal”, he added. “I just want a small brand which will further fuel the love towards the work and fashion visions which will make a modern woman happy”.

CREATIVE GALLERY

Tamara Radivojević An established designer of an authentic artistry, she successfully designs fashion in the middle of Belgrade, and has been doing so for a long time now. “I consider the compliments of clients or people whose work I deem inspirational, regardless of their popularity, my biggest success”, explained Tamara Radivojević, who already has plans for some new fashion victories. She is currently working on a concept of a new brand, which she would like to start next spring. “I don’t like the direction our market dictates things lately. Thus the new brand.” The crucial moment of her career was the fashion show where she presented her original collection for the spring/summer season of 2007. The opening of a shop and studio was also significant in her career, and happened a few months before the show. Of all the fashion awards she has won in the meantime, she values the “Boris Nikolić” Award for the contemporary fashion expression the most, and it carries the name of her beloved colleague and a great designer. She describes her design aesthetic as a combination of personal approach to fashion and the effects of the market. “I see fashion as a field of design primarily. The pretentiousness and the drama that often follow it get on my nerves”, said Radivojević. “My pieces are exactly that – the pieces that you can wear for years, because they aren’t determined by trends. They are envisioned as small design-investments.”

CREATIVE GALLERY

Mihano Momosa “It’s hard to say which success was my greatest one. Every step contributed to the development of my brand and myself, and every success is the biggest the moment it happens”, explained Mihailo Momosa, who easily brought the spotlight on himself with his very first show. His fashion expresses his romantic style, as well as his modern design. “My aesthetic direction is determined by my feelings”, said Momosa. “The way I personally perceive love is materialized in the models I create. Surely, all of my collection are mirrors of my feelings. The romance that can be seen in my every collection speaks volumes of myself too”. While his pieces have been gladly worn by numerous women who are considered as notable persons of t cultural and public life in Serbia, magazines like Vogue Ukraina, Elle Arabia, Buro 24/7 and many others wrote about Momosa’s work. The young author points out that one of the crucial moments in his career was the moment he started his own brand named “Mihano Momosa” and made his own collection. What followed was the start of a showroom in Paris and the assembling of the team that today enables the brand “Mihano Momosa” to work freely and further fulfill expectations. “Constant development is my goal”, explained the designer. “Every goal is reached sooner or later with determination. The aspiration towards constant growth and development is what’s self-imposed on me as a wish and as a goal, and also what contributes to being even better than myself.”

CREATIVE GALLERY

Marko Mitanovski Not long after his graduation fashion show, in Belgrade in 2008, it was clear that Mitanovski is capable of creating a very powerful fashion. Today, he is a Serbian designer stationed in London. Mitanovski’s fashion is amazingly close to pure art. It’s remarkable by its sculptural form, aesthetic dramatization, artisan’s construction, and the precise use of geometrical approach in production. “I find my inspiration in nature, birds, reptile skeletons, historical costumes and architecture”, said Mitanovski. “I usually work on the phenomenon of fear”. In 2009, he presented his work for the very first time at the Lon-

don Fashion Week, organized by Fashion Scout. Ever since, the pieces with the Mitanovski signature were shown at the Balenciaga Museum in Spain, and at fashion shows in London, Paris, Slovenia, Croatia, Ibiza, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Monterrey Fashion Week in Mexico, the Fonlad Digital Art Festival in Portugal. Of course, there are also regular showings in Belgrade. Some of the leading fashion magazines and publications all around the world have shown interest in Marko Mitanovski’s pieces: Dazed, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Grazia, L’Officiel, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Vision, Time Out, Q Magazine, Hello! magazine, Wonderland magazine, I-D magazine, The Star paper, La Republicca, along with others. After his pieces caught the ever-watchful eye of Lady Gaga, they were immediately worn by numerous divas of keen taste. (Skunk Anansie, Sophie EllisBextor, Katie Melua, Paloma Fa-

ith, Cher Lloyd, Immodesty Blaize, Steve Strange (Visage), Little Mix, Bishi, Broken Hearts). In his new collection, which has photographs that were made in London and are now presented in the Original, the designer was inspired by amorphous shapes of nature formed by volcanic lava. “Volcanoes have a zillion totally opposite associations”, Mitanovski pointed out. “I was interested in them because of that – so powerful, ruinous, destructive, yet so magnificent and beautiful. I wanted to find the connection between the volcanoes and the phenomenon of pain and fear, which I covered in my collection. In a certain way, this collection represents the visualization of the cathartic liberation of pain, among all inspired by Munch’s painting “The Scream”. Because of that very reason, faces in pain and fear symbolically appear in some costumes – like a liberation of fear and pain.”

CREATIVE GALLERY

Ines Janković

“I graduated from the Faculties of interior design in Rome and Firenza”, said Ines, “Although it was never my passion”. After a brief career development in the field of interior design, Ines went to Milan where she graduated from the famous Instituto Marangoni. Then, it started the fashion career of the creator whose name is written on fashion pieces beloved by women of public life, as well as always packed fashion shows. “I’ve always favored the ‘wearable’ fashion”, said Ines. “I was inspired by women of pure and sophisticated aesthetics and posture”. Today, her style is distinctive and flawless in the very influential spheres. Her pieces are full of authentic femininity, not at all corny, and the very sophisticated aesthetics. Shortly after the first “Ready to Wear” collection, came a collecti-

on of jewelry designed by her. “I will set higher goals every year, and in search of luxury craft, we produce this collection in Italy now”, said Ines. With her team, Ines Janković is in the constant process of brand expansion. After starting her own studio and production, she plans on presenting and expansion of the INES Atelier outside European borders. “Fashion is a social phenomenon imposed through trends, media and other movements, and it represents the direction of the masses”, she explained as her point of view of the world in which she creatively found herself. “By choosing a certain direction, you can single yourself out and say something about yourself without uttering a single word. Fashion isn’t necessary, but it surely represents a sphere of art in which anyone can partake”. ®

BEHIND THE CURTAINS

TO CREATE IS LOVELY, BUT TO LAST IS EVEN MORE SO

BEHIND THE CURTAINS

Jelena Stokuca, magician from the shadows of the Serbian theater has probably had more professional endeavors than birthdays. Her costumes are characterized by an eclectic style, the magic of fairy tales, and a sense of humor similar to that found in Tim Burton’s films. Theater shows cannot exist without costumes, just as actors would often say that their characters truly come to life when they are in costume. She speaks for The Original because she is a hero from the shadows, who makes the thoughts of directors and writers come alive. She is one of our most renowned artists in this field. She also teaches in a school and passes her knowledge on the younger generations

Interview by Jelena Paligoric

NE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT EXCITES YOUNG CHILDREN IS HOW CERTAIN THINGS ARE MADE IN THE THEATER. Where did the princess get that beautiful dress? How are crinolines made? How are a witches cloak and a prince’s suit made? Jelena Stokuća, a magician from the shadows of the Serbian theater has probably had more professional endeavors than birthdays. Her costumes are characterized by an eclectic style, the magic of fairy tales and a sense of humor similar to that found in Tim Burton’s films. Theater shows can’t exist without costumes, just as the actors would often say that their characters truly come to life when they are in costume. She is a hero from the shadows, a heroine who makes the thoughts of directors and writers possible, she speaks for Original. She is one of our most renowned artists in this field, and besides her successful career, she works in a school and transfers her knowledge to the younger generations. She started as an assistant to the theatrical legend Dejan Mijač, and she completed her postgraduate studies in Boston. She recently completed a project on the great stage of Madlenianum, the iconic “Great Gatsby” directed by Ana Radivojević Zdravković. Jelena Stokuća spoke for Original about the substance of her calling, challenges, and successes. How does the creative process of costume designing for a theatrical show look like? What about costume designs for films or television? What are the differences?

The creative process of costume designing for the theater, film, and television depends on the type of project, as well as the concepts and period in which the plot is situated.

The first part of preparing is when you read a piece or a scenario and explore the period and the characters. Based on a multitude of information, which you absorb while you explore, you chose the most adequate moments that you deem

appropriate for the characters that you’re dealing with. Then, you adapt those pieces of information to your ideas and your concept. Naturally, the team of authors consists of the stage manager of the play, or the di-

BEHIND THE CURTAINS

rector of the film, or the television project, the scenographer and the costume designer. Together they create the visual identity of a show, film or a TV project, which further dictates the kind of acting, music, and choreography. Certain functional moments have to be taken into consideration and taken care of so that they can help create the characters. Only then can I tell you about the difference in costume design between the theatrical, film and television projects. In theater, you must pay attention to the functionality and durability of the costumes, while on film and television; you can film something once, put it on, feign it, take it off and be carefree about how it will be taken care of. You must pay attention to how a certain material is filmed, how it behaves in front of the cameras, which colors love to be photographed, which ones to avoid. After all, it is pretty similar on stage, too. Sometimes they ask that the costumes be “film-like” – perfect and persuasive – because otherwise even the smallest errors are apparent. This brings us to the next circle in creation, when materials, details, stitches, cuts and workshop rehearsals are made. What follows is the very process of costume creation. Then, your ideas come to life. Every part of the costume making process has a unique charm to it. The best feeling happens when the costume design is part of an excellent performance. How do you deem the beginning of your career? Do you clearly re-

member the creation of costumes for the show “Leonce and Lena”, what was the thing that made you remember it, and what was your first professional show?

I am very satisfied with the beginning of my career as a professional costume designer. I was lucky to have assisted one of our best costume designers, Biljana Dragović, on the “Dead Souls” show, directed by Dejan Mijač, which had a lot of influence on the development of my costume designing skills. After that project, Dejan asked me to design the costumes for the “Leonce and Lena” show, which was coproduced by the Budva Grad Theater and the Drama Theater of Yugoslavia. It premiered on the “Queen’s Beach” in Budva, in a lovely setting, accompanied by a marvelous team of actors. That was my first professional show. I was aware that I was working with Dejan Mijač, and that I should design the costumes the best that I can, so everything could go off without a hitch. Just a few days after the premiere, I went to Boston, to pursue my postgraduate degree. You have international experience, what’s the difference between working in Boston and working in Belgrade?

In Boston there is a completely different system of functioning. The thing is, wherever you are, the impulse of something good is always the same. When a good idea is recognized, everybody tries their best to make it real. The difference in work is that everything is planned so far in advance in the US. The

process of costume creation is quite different. , First, it is made on canvas, then you try the cuts, and asses the amount of material, so that you can easily and precisely determine the budget. You are able to create more possibilities of costumes through this process. I really enjoyed the way people at the University of Boston would bring together the students of drama, music, direction, scenography, costume design, light design and production. Everyone had to go through every workshop in order to get familiar with the different work processes. That way, the actors had to go through the period of tailoring, where they sat and sewed with sewing machines, then they had to attend the costume designers‘ and sculptors‘ rehearsals and partake the whole process. That kind of a system gives you a sense of how much time and energy it is necessary to make something and that it should be appreciated. Project-wise they also had interesting projects, which I enjoyed working on. However, there were some projects where I had fantastic work conditions, but where the project simply wasn’t interesting. What matters there is meeting and working with artists from all around the globe who inspire you and encourage you to think differently, as well as those who teach you something completely new. What’s your opinion on the young people and art in Serbia?

Every period has its own milestone. Today, young people have a different mindset. They grew up in different conditions, and

BEHIND THE CURTAINS

I teach my students to read and work on themselves: to be organized, to think. If they’re already spending their time, let’s make it proper, let’s give it our best so that we can know we did everything in our power to make it right. I teach them how our job functions, to find joy in the task they’re performing, and to play. To work, but also to take some time for themselves

sometimes, under very peculiar influences. The state of culture has changed a lot. Talented and extraordinary young people exist, and I believe in them. I am sure that they’re finding their way out of this labyrinth. What was the work process of the “Great Gatsby” show like?

“The Great Gatsby” – a project that, by only hearing its name, provokes a vision of something glamorous and sublime. The stage manager, Ana Radivojević Zdravković, instantly caught my attention when she initially said that she wanted a different concept that was out of the ordinary compared to previous productions and films. The plot is set between the two world wars, in the Roaring Twenties, but that didn’t stop us from making a breakthrough and connecting it with the modern times. There are “princes and princesses” in every social class – among the rich and the poor. Some of them are searching for love, for status, or for money and we sought to present these characters in interesting visual forms.

What professional task do you consider your greatest challenge?

I work as hard as I can on every project that I accept, and each and every one of them is the biggest challenge. You get your next project thanks to successful previous work. I look forward to various projects, where I can challenge myself and do something completely different. You committed yourself to pedagogic work, what do you teach your pupils?

I teach my students to read and work on themselves, to be organized, and to think. If they’re already doing something and spending their time, let’s make it proper, let’s give our best so that we can know that we did everything that was in our power. I teach them how our job functions. I teach them to find joy in the task they’re performing, and to play. To work, but to take some time for themselves. They are young, but when they go to college, only then do they realize how important the process they’ve been through really was.

What are your future plans? What awaits you next?

I plan on spending time with my dearest. I also plan to continue working and being excited about my projects, as well travelling internationally. What should crown the work of every costume designer?

I’ve never thought about it. I think that it’s nice to work on projects that are interesting, to enjoy yourself when working, creating, and most importantly – to last. Which artists have influenced you the most?

In almost twenty years of working there were a lot of artists that influenced me throughout different phases of my life. I have been influenced by painters, musicians, older colleagues, directors, and fashion designers. I was fascinated and inspired by the work of some artists, and they pushed me to think outside the box and pursue new ideas. ®

BE CREATIVE

MAKADAM M

Milena Radenkovic is a young entrepreneur from Belgrade who started the “Makadam Concept Store” last year in the historical heart of the city, at the Kosančićev Venac. When she returned from her journey along Provence, she realized that she wanted to collect work from different artisans, artists and designers in one place. Thus further contributing to Serbian culture and tradition. She welcomed us in a good mood to her shop, offered us coffee and eagerly awaited for our conversation to start.

BE CREATIVE

The charm of an authentic Serbian tradition By Sofija Šajnovic

obblestone road was under foot. The view pointed out at the Karađorđeva Street and the Sava. Belgrade’s homes, their beautiful facades, mostly decrepit, yet again so impressive in their decades long preservation of the city’s spirit. Peace and quiet. Kosančićev Venac and macadam road, a sort of a stone road, but also something more than that. In the tucked away streets of this part of Belgrade, close to the Duchess Ljubica’s Konak, the Orthodox Cathedral, the Mihajlo Petrović Alas’ home and other city landmarks, there’s a certain new place. A place, which preserves the Serbian tradition in a modern and different way, while discovering new and interesting people. “I’ve always wanted to start my own business, and the idea of “Makadam” grew inside of me for a long time. However, it took almost a year of thinking and research to make everything clearer”, explains Milena Radenković, the owner of the “Makadam Concept Store”, which is situated in the historical heart of Belgrade, on the Kosančićev Venac. Although she graduated from prestigious colleges of economics in Milan and London, the University of Bocconi and the London Business School, her need for creativity prevailed. She brought a whisker of imagination to her economic knowledge. „I’m very creative by nature, and given my background in economics and my love towards my country and its traditions, I’ve decided to collect pieces of work from va-

Photo Igor Pavicevic

rious artisans, artists and designers in one place.” You can find just that in her store, but Milena hadn’t always known that this would be her job. When she returned from her studies, she started working at her family’s wine making company. “I’ve made tremendous experience there”, explained Milena while recollecting on her past hardships, but also added that without that background, it would’ve been much harder for her to start her own business. The idea of “Makadam” was made alive on her journey around southeastern France. “My eyes opened in Provence. I realized how they cherish their artisan work, culture and design in an extraordinary way, and that we lack something like that in our country”. She points out that crafts are especially valued in the West and that the whole industry of luxury products rests on artisan work.

My eyes opened in Provence. I realized how they cherish their artisan work, culture and design in an extraordinary way, and that we lack something like that in our country

BE CREATIVE

“Makadam” is a concept where everything is originally from Serbia, while other, similar shops try to copy western trends

“When I returned from Provence, I was in complete darkness, I didn’t know anything about the crafts in Serbia and I thought that we don’t have anything of that sort”. However, Serbia has got quite a tradition for excellent artisans, talented artists and designers. And when you enter “Makadam” for the first time, it’s obvious that she’s out of the darkness she talked about. She said that she was persistent in her will to start her own business. “I think that it’s important to communicate and accept the advice from older and more experienced people. Since I’ve started my business, I’ve encountered only positive reactions”, she pointed out. In Milena’s concept store today, you can find earthenware, pottery, jewelry, bags and

pillowcases made of parts of Pirot carpets. You can also find handmade hats, natural cosmetics and glassware from a Serbian glass factory in Paraćin. “Decorative glassware from the Paraćin factory isn’t made anymore, and you can find old stockpiles of it in our store, because today, they only make industrial glass”, explained this 29 year old as she started the story about filigree jewelry sold in “Makadam”. “The Čivljaku family has been making jewelry for a long time using an ancient technique”. They make extraordinary necklaces, bracelets and earrings by weaving silver threads, what we had the chance to see for ourselves.

BE CREATIVE

“I GOT IN MY CAR AND SET OFF. I’VE MADE A STRATEGY AND WENT DOOR TO DOOR, BECAUSE I COULDN’T REACH CERTAIN PEOPLE OTHERWISE. THEY WOULD PUT IN A GOOD WORD ABOUT ME WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS, THE NEIGHBORS WITH SOMEONE ELSE, AND SO ON…” SHE MADE CONTACT WITH ETHNOGRAPHY MUSEUMS TOO, AS WELL AS DIFFERENT ARTISAN ASSOCIATIONS, AND SHE CALLED DIFFERENT ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS INDIVIDUALLY

E V E RY P R O D U CT I N M I L E N A’ S S H O P CA R R I E S A S P E C I A L STO RY and energy, but they were hard to come by in the beginning. She didn’t have any references or contacts, and many of them immediately refused to work with her because of some bad experiences in the past. When we asked her about how she got to the items that are now displayed in her store, she told us: “I got in my car and set off. I’ve made a strategy and went door to door, because I couldn’t reach certain people otherwise. They would put in a good word about me with their neighbors, the neighbors with someone else, and so on…” She made contact with ethnography museums too, as well as different artisan associations, and she called different artists and designers individually. However, she says that it’s much easier now because people are calling her, but there are also those who offer her all sorts of items, so she has to carefully select the best. “I have pretty high standards, and the items must be of extraordinary craftsmanship, made of natural materials and they have to be of some use.” She states the pieces of work by a famous Serbian potter as one of the products she’s particularly proud of. “My trip to Zaječar was very interesting. I went to see a certain 80-year-old gentleman then, our best potter, Veljo Ðorđević, whose pieces of work can be also found in the Museum of Ethnography”, recalled Milena. “I spoke to him for a very long time, he explained to me what the craft represented earlier and how much it was important”, she told us when holding a rakija jug made by the artisan. She also explained that the whole interior of the “Makadam” was carefully designed so that every item and piece of work stands out, but also that the visitors could experience the traditional craft shops in an easy, modern way. Since “Makadam’s” opening last June, Milena has travelled less because she has had to commit to the store completely. “I’ve visited only a small part of Serbia, but now, when I’m better organized, I plan to continue my travels and my search for new products”, she explained while pointing out that the things you can find in Serbia are incredible. Parallel to searching for the products, she thought about the name of her concept store. “I wanted the name to represent the

location where the store would be, but also to make it easy to pronounce for the foreigners.” In the competition between “Kosančićev Venac” and “Kaldrma”, “Makadam” came out victorious. “That’s a kind of stone road that isn’t exactly the cobblestone road present all around the city, but it bears a similar symbolics”, said Radenković. After all that, she can finally move into the family workspace at the Kosančićev Venac 20, which her parents have “rented to her”. AUTHENTIC AND ORIGINAL PRODUCTS AREN’ T THE ONLY THING MILENA’S SHOP has to offer. After you’ve made a purchase, you can sit in the bistro within the “Makadam”. Excellent coffee and a chocolate cupcake are just a small part of what you can find on their menu. “Here, you can try some of the tasty domestic delicacies or carefully selected authentic wines, rakijas and beers”, said Milena, the creator of this concept and pointed out that she wants to support small agriculture workers. You’ll only have to decide if you’re going to drink in the intimate ambient of the store or perhaps on the cobblestone road under the leaved treetops. We could notice that both tourists and the local people visited this place equally, and when we asked her what’s the thing that attracts the foreigners, Milena said: “Everything. They’re simply bedazzled by the price and quality mix, because things like this cost four to five times more in the West.” The term “concept store” isn’t an unknown word to the foreign people, while in Serbia, it’s something completely novel. “Makadam” isn’t the only store like that in Belgrade, but it is unique, according to the hero of our story. “Makadam” is a concept in which everything is originally from Serbia, while other similar shops try to copy the western trend”, she explained. As the end of our conversation drew nearer, we asked her about her future plans. “I have a lot of plans”, she said. “I was recently on a business trip to Montenegro, where I would love to expand my business to, but when Serbia is the case, I’m planning on opening a “Makadam” store at the airport, for starters”, said this young entrepreneur enthusiastically. ®

AN ICON

TONI MORRISON

I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE

As the first African-American Nobel Prize winner iin 1993, she has gone down in history. Her worldview has made her immortal. The greatness of the dark-skinned lady with silver dreadlocks and a fixating look doesn’t only lie in her work. She not only explained the black tragedy, but also wrote an incredible odyssey. One about how talent, perseverance and morality can shape what you do for the planet. By Miljana Nešković

oni Morrison recently complained to a group of her friends how journalists from all around the world were calling her all the time just to ask her how she was doing. “They try to be polite, but I know the reason to their calls. They want to know when I’m going to die!” said Toni, laughing. “I play their little game then. I say – I’m not feeling too well. My arms hurt today, and I’m feeling chest pain. But me? I’m not going anywhere.” She can’t go anywhere. As the first African-American Nobel Prize winner iin 1993, she has gone down in history. Her worldview has made her immortal. The greatness of the dark-skinned lady with silver dreadlocks and a fixating look doesn’t only lie in her work. Morrison did a lot more. She explained the black tragedy. Although, she went down in history by fighting for gender and race equality, Toni Morrison admitted that she has had difficulties with both topics. She has understood and felt the consequences of racism, but she couldn’t understand the racist feeling enough to write about it. “I once saw a news report where some white women tried to turn over a school bus full of black children”, said Toni. “I don’t know how I could think of turning over a bus full of white children. I couldn’t understand that feeling, that anger. And I really tried to. Here’s what I did next: I imagined how things would be if horses could speak, and if they started demanding their rights. You know, I rode horses. They are excellent workers. Magnificent runners. But, let’s assume they just… wanted more. Let’s assume they wanted to go to school. Let’s assume they wanted to sit next to me in the theater. I started developing that ‘I like you, but… You’re cool, but…’ feeling. Let’s assume they wanted to sleep with my children then!” she laughed. “I had to surpass species boundaries, but it worked. I experienced that ‘you can’t sit next to me’ feeling.” HER NOVELS “A MERCY”, “SONG OF SOLOMON” AND “BELOVED”, ARE Considered gems of the literary world. Since her first novel “Bluest eye” - about a little black girl who, living in a “white man’s world”, yearns for blue eyes – all her stories are deep, heavy, filled with dialogues, marked with three-dimensional characters and left to chance of the philosophical potential of the reader. Morison writes about the fates and demons of ordinary people forgotten by both society and history. In “Beloved”, which was subsequently made into a film starring Oprah Winfrey, Morison follows the story

AN ICON

about the demons of a black girl who escaped the slavers’ clutches with her children, and a few years later, in her madness, killed her two-year-old daughter to protect her children from going back to the plantation. Over the years, her writing often surpassed literary boundaries. Her characters are often black women who have all the features of heroes and mythical characters. Such reading is easily interpreted not only as art, but also as socio-political commentary. Still, Morison doesn’t lead a decades-long war against racism through her stories, often inspired by true events, but by directly displaying it as a bad thing. She grinds it with the confessions of those whose life was destroyed by racism. African-Americans have been portrayed as “Invisible Men” (the famous novel by Ralph Ellison) through black literature. “Invisible? To whom? They’re certainly not invisible to me!” explained Toni a few years ago in an interview for The Guardian. “I really felt that when I started writing ‘Bluest Eye’. I decided then that I wouldn’t try to explain black lives to [the] white audience. I won’t write about my own experiences from an outsider’s perspective.” THE IDEA FOR THE STORY ABOUT A LITTLE GIRL FEELING so ugly that she prays for blue eyes in the night, because of the state of the society, was born when Toni, as a child, met a girl who made a confession about wanting to have blue eyes. She remembered the little girl’s innocence and desire. “I wanted to explain how an eleven-year-old came to that position.” As an Ohio-born child, Toni was aware of herself and the power of her dignity. Her parents have always been fearlessly resistant to the external influences of the society. Being extremely poor, they often gladly accepted the state’s help in the form of welfare. “One time, my mother got a meal full of some bugs that way”, Toni recalled. “She wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt regarding that matter. And the office wrote back! The woman sorting those wretched meals came to our home, and my mother said: ‘You’re the one giving us food full of bugs?’ She was the type of woman who tore eviction notices from the door.” Through her storytelling, Toni Morrison didn’t change the world, but she did impact a big part of it. She made that by being sincere and by using her extraordinary storytelling. “I’ve always known how to write”, said Toni Morrison in her most recent interview for The New York Times. “I didn’t believe that I would manage to find a way of happily sur-

In February 2015, Toni Morrison turned 84. She didn’t care much about her birthday, not until she received a phone call from the office of President Barack Obama regarding the banquet in her honor. When asked by a group of reporters about the location of the lunch, she responded: “Well, it’ll be in their house! In the White House! But, that won’t be a lunch exactly, it will be a dinner. They said: ‘You know, Toni, this will be a very unformal setting. Don’t stress too much. If you want, you can come wearing jeans’”, she made a brief pause, then continued: “Jeans! Never in my life have I worn jeans, and I sure won’t wear them in the White House! Please…” viving, if I hadn’t possessed a specific way of thinking. For me, that’s writing. It is a way of control. Something just mine. Work protects. It’s a major kind of protection. Emotionally, even intellectually, work protects me from the world.” In February 2015, Toni Morrison turned 84. She didn’t care much about her birthday, not until she received a phone call from the office of President Barack Obama regarding the plans about the banquet in her honor. When asked by a group of reporters about the location of the lunch, she responded: “Well, it’ll be in their house! In the White House! But, that won’t be a lunch exactly, it will be a dinner. They said: ‘You know, Toni, this will be a very unformal setting. Don’t stress too much. If you want, you can come wearing jeans’”, she made a brief pause, then continued: “Jeans! Never in my life have I worn jeans, and I sure won’t wear them in the White House! Please…” She gave up on explaining, as it was impossible. It was like no one could understand her story and her path. NO ONE PROBABLY CAN. Toni Morrison is an institution and a legend. Thanks to her writing, the world recognizes the vast powers of her soul and intellect. As a young girl, she worked as a maid. Her mistress would always scold her because she never did anything right. Looking back, she understood that her mistress was right. She couldn’t use the vacuum cleaner, because prior to that work, she only knew of brooms and mops. Today, she has a stellar editorial career in the publishing house called Random House.

Even as an editor, she was highly responsible for promoting the black literature. She taught literature at some of the most prominent universities, such as Princeton and Yale. She’s a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winner. She has won other great literary awards, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has written ten novels. She tried reading novels written by people who lost their children, but they just got on her nerves. “Those are books about the death of a child, but all of them revolve around their authors. And those people who tried to console me constantly consoled me. They talked about me. I never heard a consolation word about him. They told that everything is about life, but it’s not, it’s about death. I don’t want it to end. That’s such an American view on things. I want what I have. A memory. And work.” Authors usually hire actors to record their novels. It takes multiple hours to read a novel in the studio. But, Toni doesn’t do that. “That simply doesn’t suit the way I want to hear my sentences”, she explained to the journalists who attended the recording session. She read the novel “God Help the Child” in its entirety by herself in the studio. When the sound engineer asked her to repeat a sentence because of a noise, she answered: “You know what, let’s do the whole chapter again.” ®

AN ICON

Malala Yousafzai THERE COMES A MOMENT YOU HAVE TO DECIDE:

DO YOU KEEP QUIET OR DO YOU STAND UP

People all around Pakistan have turned to prayers for her life when they heard the news of her being shot. She survived. She kept on fighting for equality. Even though she’s still a teenager – she just turned 18 – this extraordinary visionary is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize today. However, according to her, the Nobel Prize is something nice, but it isn’t her goal. She spoke about it in the new film “He Named Me Malala”, directed by Davis Guggenheim.

By Djurdja Petrovic

“O

UR VOICES ARE OUR GREATEST WEAPON. One child, one teacher and one book can change the world”, said the 18-year-old Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai. She wears a black scarf on her head, and her face wears a smile that gives away wisdom that, only sometimes, comes with age, and Malala has only turned eighteen. Everyone knows her life story. Even as a teenager in Pakistan, she advocated for little girls to be provided with education like a true spokesperson. The Taliban sent her life-threatening messages because of that. On an October afternoon in 2012, while she was riding the school bus, one of them entered the bus, shouting: “Who is Malala?” He shot her three times. One bullet shot her in the head. People all around Pakistan have turned to prayers for her life when they heard the news of her getting shot. She survived. She kept on fighting for equality. Even though she’s still a teenager, this extraordinary visionary is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize today. However, according to her, the Nobel Prize is something nice, but it isn’t her goal. “My dream is simple”, she explained in

a recent interview for the British media. “I want that every child gets quality education and the possibility to make its dreams come true. But that requires great amounts of work. Because of that, the Malala Foundation works hard every day on a sustainable development. Besides elementary education, we want every child on this planet to be provided with high school education. That is my mission and I will accomplish it. At least I will do my best.” The fight of this extraordinarily enlightened and intelligent young woman has been defined long ago – she wants to make the world a better and more reasonable place. Today, 60 million little girls can’t attend schools. Malala’s goal is that every child in the world has the conditions to learn and make their dreams come true. “There comes a moment when you have to decide if you’re going to keep quiet or you’re going to stand up”, she said in one of her speeches. She first wrote a book on her mission and her assassination attempt, which she miraculously survived without permanent consequences to her health, called “I am Ma-

AN ICON

I think that people should understand that the word “Islam” means “peace”. The first word of the Holy Book Qur’an is “Read”. Our religion comes down to reading, learning and gaining new knowledge. All that is not limited as something that only men or only women should do, not at all. In Islam, you believe that God sent you to Earth to learn and discover. I am where I am now because of that lala.” Last month, the world could see the premiere of the documentary screening of Malala’s story.

It’s not about people seeing the film. I want people to move and do something. I don’t want “He Named Me Malala” to be just a film, I want it to be a movement.” In the film, the author made it perfectly clear what makes this young girl so extraordinary, yet so common at the same time. She is one of “us”, and the proof that everyone can start the changes. In the film, to the question: “Have you ever felt furious about everything?” she responded negatively without a shred of hesitation. And she truly thinks that way. Some things are impossible to fake.

THE DAVIS GUGGENHEIM’S FILM “HE NAMED ME MALALA” opened this year’s Into Film Festival in Great Britain. In the dedication during the closing credits, the author pointed out that he was “inspired by the book ‘I am Malala’”. Inspiration is the right word. Malala shows such fierceness and wisdom, such tranquility and eloquence, yet such self-confidence and immunity to all sorts of deceits. No matter how old you are, you simply can’t avoid being deeply inspired by her appearance. FIRST OF ALL, SHE CLEARLY DESCRIBED THE GREInspired by the premiere of the “He NaAT ROLE her father played in her life through med Me Malala” film, a meeting was arranher book, primarily when it comes to forged between Malala and Emma Watson, the ming her beliefs on gender equality. two young women with such different life “My father is a fighter for women’s ristories, yet so close in their strives and battles. ghts, for equality, and he calls himself a Emma, who seriously stood out in her actifeminist”, Malala told in the interview vism in recent years, took with Emma Watson. “He is the part of being a host the living proof that men can and interviewed Malala, and should fight for rights of for whom she admitted women. If we want gender that she is one of her bigequality, men have to stand gest role models. up for it. If men have taken “It’s interesting that I some right just for themselves don’t like to see myself on and if we complain about it, the big screen. I can’t even it won’t be enough if only stand my voice”, Malala women stand up against it..” admitted in an interview As she admitted herself, the with Emma Watson. “Stiterm feminism had always ll, when I watched the been ambiguous to her. She film, how Davis Guggenwasn’t sure if it’s a positive heim carried out the story or a negative movement, and in the direction of spreashe wasn’t sure that she could “IT’S INTERESTING THAT I ding the word of educacall herself a feminist. The DON’T LIKE TO SEE MYSELF tion all around the world speech by Emma Watson, ON THE BIG SCREEN. I left a strong impression on as Ambassador of the UniCAN’T EVEN STAND MY me. His dedication to the ted Nations in New York last VOICE”, MALALA ADMITTED IN AN INTERVIEW WITH cause made me make this year affected many women, EMMA WATSON. “STILL, film. It covers the way we including Malala. WHEN I WATCHED stood up for education in THE FILM, HOW DAVIS the harsh times of terroON HER 18TH BIRTHDAY, ON JULY 12TH THIS GUGGENHEIM CARRIED year, as a part of her actirism. I hope that this film OUT THE STORY IN THE DIRECTION OF SPREADING vities in the fight for global will inspire additional peTHE WORD OF EDUCATION education, Malala Yousafzai ople to join the campaign LEFT A STRONG opened a school for Syrian that’s carried out through IMPRESSION ON ME refugees in Lebanon. The the Malala Foundation.

school, equipped to receive about 200 girls from 14 to 18 years-old, was financed by the Malala foundation. During the opening ceremony, Malala made a speech only she could make and, for the umpteenth time, shamed the world’s most powerful people. “Today, on the first day of my adulthood, in the name of children of the world, I demand that leaders invest in books, not bullets!” July 12th is considered Malala’s day, since she made a speech on her 16th birthday in the United Nations regarding the availability of education for children everywhere. It was her first speech after the assault, which she made in front of more than 500 young fighters for the right of education from all over the world. O N E O F T H E ST E R E OTY P E S S H E E N C O U N T E R E D D U R I N G H E R F I G H T for the right of women’s education was the established opinion that women’s education is a Western concoction and that her people’s religion forbids them to change the educational system. In her conversation with Emma Watson, Malala also talked about religion, which she considers an important part of her being: “I think that people should understand that the word “Islam” means “peace”. The first word of the Holy Book Qur’an is “Read”. Our religion comes down to reading, learning and gaining new knowledge. All that is not limited as something that only men or only women should do, not at all. In Islam, you believe that God sent you to Earth to learn and discover. And I am where I am now because of that. People interpret religion the wrong way. To me, Islam is a religion of peace which wishes kindness upon whole mankind. It comes down to brotherhood, kindness, patience for others, understanding… I don’t know why people went mad, started killing each other and created terrorism. We can all live a prettier life and be good people. Why is it so hard to love other people?” ®

BE BRAVE

ORIANA The Journalist Named Courage

FALLACI By Zvezdana Babel

She had always worked and lived on her own. She was rebellious, but also gentle. She spoke of journalism as a beautiful, but also terrifying experience. She feared no thing and no one. To others, she looked strong with a big personality, but she was of small stature. She was aware of the passage of life, but also of might, although she didn’t fear powerful people. She has interviews with important rulers’ who rarely agreed to speak to the media and got details from them, which they hadn’t told anyone before. There lied her uniqueness and ability

BE BRAVE

H E WAS B R AV E . S H E WAS F EA R L E S S . She was a revolutionary who wasn’t afraid to ask the questions nobody else dared to, and was also strong enough to have her own opinion. She was her own. She was wise. She was passionate, and yet so vulnerable in the times they tried to break her. She was Oriana Fallaci, one of the most popular journalists of our time. She was born in Florence in 1929. Her warrior’s spirit was apparent in her early years, when she was in the War with her father on the side of the Italian Partisan movement, “Giustizia e Liberta”. Then, for the first time in her life, she faced all the brutality of real life in the period of war. She wasn’t shot then, but at the time of demonstrations in Mexico in 1968, she was shot three times. She was dead, at least in the witnesses’ eyes, but one priest saved her when he saw her breathing, after they had already brought her to the morgue. She had a burning desire to live, and that wasn’t the end of her. She fell in love with journalism when she was only sixteen. She wrote her first article on a piece of paper from her notebook.

of copies, because in it, Oriana didn’t just write about her fears, trepidations, love towards an imaginary child, but she also wrote about morality, individuality, and responsibility. With that book, she showed she wasn’t just a great journalist, but also an equally successful writer.

SHE BEGAN HER CAREER DURING THE WAR PERIOD WHEN SHE WROTE for the L’Europeo newspapers. Ever since, her love for this profession was stronger than anything else. Between offspring and journalism, she chose the latter, and was judged by everyone else. However, deep down, she wanted a son, and penned the book A Letter to My Unborn Child due to her deep unfulfilled desire. She feared that she would give birth to a girl, and she would be unable to protect her from humiliation, abuse, and potential sexual predators. On the other hand, she believed that she would bring up a male child more easily because she would teach it how to fight for itself, by itself, in the world that was cruel. She hoped that her son would be good, fair, and rough only to those unrighteous and violent. She didn’t want him to stand to take orders from anybody. “My child, I’m trying to explain to you that being a man doesn’t just include having a tail in the front. It means being a character.” Those were her words, honest as always, and a bit provocative. She didn’t hesitate to watch her writing and she was special because of her unfiltered work. The original name of this book is Lettera a un bambino mai nato and it sold millions

She spoke to almost every world leader, but Josip Broz Tito refused to be interviewed by her. She mostly wrote and worked in the period from the 1950s to the 1970s, and during that time, nobody wasn’t even close to her in that profession. “I’ve always loved life. He who loves life doesn’t need to adapt, isn’t submissive and despises every attempt of control. He who loves it always stands by the window, with a rifle in his hand, ready to defend it. The conformist who lowers his head and obediently executes commands isn‘t a human being”, she often said. She talked with Yasser Arafat, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Gaddafi. She was the first western woman who spoke to the leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Khomeini. The interview was interrupted when she took off her burqa. She couldn’t take wearing it like in medieval times.

SHE PROVOKED ADMIRATION BECAUSE of her male energy, but the other part of her was feminine. She easily wrote articles and enjoyed preparing for the people she would interview. She believed in herself, was self-confident, and wasn’t superficial. People waited on her interviews for months. However, she never wanted to be someone’s editor, she just wanted to write, not just for the money, because that would mean to her she wrote by request and that she was in a deal with a publisher.

a disturbance. Many disliked her because of her different view on both the world and life, but they also feared her and respected her. She spoke of her books as if they were her babies, but she hated writing novels, because she enjoyed interviews and reports more. The struggle with editors was harder than the struggle of reaching a statesman for her. The editors shortened her texts and she often felt that when someone removes a part of her text it is as if someone took a part of her own self. She didn’t like to be denied her freedom and space in the newspapers and refused to be standardized. She often considered life as a death penalty of its own. She even received a one year ban from writing. She didn’t like being interviewed, she hated elections (she said that Berlusconi was an idiot) and she despised pe-

I’VE ALWAYS LOVED LIFE. HE WHO LOVES LIFE DOESN’T NEED TO ADAPT, ISN’T SUBMISSIVE, AND DESPISES EVERY ATTEMPT OF CONTROL. HE WHO LOVES IT ALWAYS STANDS BY THE WINDOW WITH A RIFLE IN HIS HAND, READY TO DEFEND IT. THE CONFORMIST WHO LOWERS HIS HEAD AND OBEDIENTLY EXECUTES COMMANDS ISN‘T A HUMAN BEING WITH FREE THOUGHT

SHE REPORTED ON THE WARS IN VIETNAM, Pakistan and Lebanon. Her stories were deep, truthful and shocking. She was in South America, Asia and the Middle East. She spoke to the Arab leaders as her equals, and was described in the book called Inshallah, which caused quite

ople without a political stance. She remained known for her typewriter and a dangling cigarette. She wrote in a Spartan manner. Writing from 8 o’clock in the morning to 6 or 7 o’clock in the evening with little to no breaks for eating or resting. She slept badly in the night and was tense, grumpy and dissatisfied if she didn’t write the intended amount of text she had planned. She even ignored holidays because of writing, and also got sick and lost weight because of nonstop work. She never married, but she only loved one man, Alekos Panagoulis, a greek poet and political activist. He died in a car accident in 1976 under suspicious circumstances and Oriana took it very hard. The same year she lost the man she loved, she also lost a child that she had with him. During her career, she wrote for many respectable newspapers like The New York Times, The Times, The Washington Post, and after 9/11, she wrote columns for the Italian papers Corriere della Sera. She lived in New York when she found out that she had a terminal illness, which inspired her to do an interview with herself. It was published as an addition to the same newspapers. ®

BE SUCCESSFUL

SEE THROUGH THE NATURE Ilija Demenescu, Bachelor of Architecture with Honors, and Istok Radovanov, Bachelor of Law with Honors, started a private company “Pray Eyewear” last year. Contrary to the professions they’ve been educated for, they decided to start a business in woodworking. In their own workshop, these young entrepreneurs from Zrenjanin make unique wooden prescription glasses and sunglasses. By Sofija Šajnović

N THE CENTURIES-LONG HUMAN HISTORY, wood has been of tremendous importance to life. It was an indispensable part of every building due to its good qualities. It is simple to work with and easy to shape, it has multiple uses, and the final product produces a unique aesthetic ambience. From weapons and land-working equipment, to wooden cottages and magnificent furniture, and fashion details – wood is everywhere around us. We just have to know how to use it properly. It seems that the two lads from Zrenjanin have succeeded in it. Ilija Demenescu and Istok Radovanov have started their own business in 2015, the “Pray Eyewear” company, and have put wooden sunglasses on the Serbian market. “We’ve shown interest in this since 2012, interest in making the first models of glasses and exploring our abilities”, spoke Ilija, who gave the interview without his business colleague. “Someone has to work”, sad he laughingly, and this time, it was Istok who had to stay in the workshop. What’s interesting is that the two of them have earned a Bachelor of Architecture with Honors and a Bachelor of Law with Honors respectably, so we couldn’t help but to ask them how come they know to operate the woodworking machines. “We do know, but in the beginning we didn’t. We learned

everything from the internet”, said Ilija and added that he often likes to joke about calling himself a carpenter. Not every single job is easy in the beginning, but it’s clear that these guys enjoy what they’re doing. Every model is handmade in their workshop in Zrenjanin, and by combining the artisan skills and modern technology, they make one-of-a-kind products for both men and women alike. When we asked about the production process, Ilija didn’t quite want to reveal all the details, which is expected, given the competition that they have recently received. When they appeared on the market last year, they were the only ones offering this type of wood product. The situation is a bit different now, but they don’t mind. “A healthy competition is always welcome, and I’m a competitive type”, said the 27-year-old modern artisan. “We first design the frame, (the shape of the glasses), we then have to meet certain technical specifications. Then, we cut them using a laser, and after that, we tie wood plies, that is, we pressure glue it before the

From the very beginning, their goal was to present the unbreakable bond of man and nature. Every model is handmade in their workshop in Zrenjanin, and by combining artisan skills and modern technology, they make one-of-a-kind products for men and women alike final processing“, said Ilija briefly about the production process and pointed out that it takes approximately 8 to 10 hours to make one pair of glasses. Istok and Ilija currently make the glasses on their own in their workshop. However, they plan on hiring additional workers, since their workload is getting bigger by the day. “We plan on training some people and hiring at least two more”. ®

The Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel THE RADISSON BLU OLD MILL HOTEL IS THE FIRST DESIGNER HOTEL IN BELGRADE. BESIDES MEETING TOURIST AND BUSINESS CLASS REQUIREMENTS, IT OFFERS A UNIQUE AESTHETIC PLEASURE. GUESTS ARE BOUGHT BY THE STORY OF THE TRADITION AND HISTORY OF A HOTEL LOCATED IN THE FORMER “OLD MILL” WHICH WAS COMPLETELY REFRESHED BY MODERN INTERIOR, SO EVERY CORNER IS A PLACE FOR EXPLORATION. THE HOTEL ITSELF KEPT THE EXTERIOR OF AN OLD MILL. IT IS SITUATED NOT FAR FROM THE SAVA RIVER BANK, BUT ALSO IN THE VERY HEART OF THE CITY. THAT GIVES IT AN EXCELLENT POSITION ON THE CITY’S MAP.

ARTIST RESIDENCY The Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel has started its own art project called “Radisson Blu Artist Residency” in cooperation with the world renown performance artist – Marta Jovanovic, when it presented itself as an artist residency within which the renown artists from the country and abroad live, create and demonstrate artwork made during this experience in the very hotel.

H E G U E STS CA N L I V E T H E “ O L D M I L L” S P I R I T F R O M T H E 1 9 T H C E N T U RY, which is reflected in every detail of the interior, dominated by natural colors and materials (such as oak, stone, bricks, copper and fabric) in combination with the most modern design. The “Old Mill” building is officially a cultural heritage monument and is under state’s protection, while the architects tried to use everything during its reconstruction – every brick and every piece of wood left over from the former structure built in 1902. The unique hotel ambience, which revived the former city industrial zone, was created by the prestigious Berlin Graft Architects project office. They preserved the authentic heritage of the old facility and spiced it up with a mix of industrial-chic aesthetics. The rooms are decorated with frescoes by the “Strauss & Hillegaart” art society. This is also the first hotel in Serbia to receive several design awards and a Green Key eco-label, a sustainable tourism promotion label. With a unique hotel restaurant called OMB Larder + Lounge, that offers a fascinating combination of flavors and aromas, is a place in which all pleasures are brought together. The hotel cuisine concept promotes Serbian national dishes along with fresh, local products, as well as modern culinary techniques and a rich and innovative menu. The restaurant follows the Slow Food concept, created for hedonists, epicureans and all true lovers of good food who enjoy every bite of their meal, and their gastronomic pleasures consider a lifestyle. It’s a concept alternative to fast food and it preserves the traditional and regional cuisine, and takes care of the local ecosystem.

THE HOTEL RESTAURANT’S FOOD IS ALSO UNIQUE BY ITS “ZERO-KILOMETER” philosophy which insists on local dishes, such as lamb from the Stara Mountain, Mangalica pig meat, cheese, local craft beer and other products with a specific taste of Serbia.

THE ATMOSPHERE IS REMINISCENT OF OLD MILLS, with industrial-chic aesthetics, offering a pleasant and comfortable ambient for a perfect Slow food meal. One of the apexes of dessert is a type of ice cream made in a special “ice laboratory” with liquid nitrogen, at the temperature of -190 degrees Celsius. OMB Lounge offers an exciting new palette of cocktails made of fresh fruit and world-class drinks, which go excellent with tasty snacks and light meals such as burgers and pasta. This sophisticated place is perfect for business meetings or a mere spontaneous friendly chat, and it is expanded on the spacious square just by the hotel in the summer. The Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel Belgrade is a part of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the largest hotel companies in the world. It specializes in services for business people, with its 236 hotel rooms, including 14 suites, a modern conference center and other high-class content. This hotel is a story about Belgrade and Serbian tradition, which makes it a true oasis for enjoying both history and the future, which reflects in a spectacular world of gastronomy.

EXCLUSIVE

INTERVIEW

S, PANIJA U E ORDA IT KOM N O Z I V NJA SRPSK U L K E K S USPEŠNI NAJ

E G A R E V A G N I E B NOT MUCH S ’ S T S I – A SUCCE OF

ost he m y t f o ne db ger, o , endorse ow a n a lM th try otbal the indus ić. But jus k on o F n at or of ve p Ele e history emanja M mpany w they o T t N th co ou do w ab games in tball star erbian IT nd what o om n k o A S o fo ers fr s ne ? e g s o w n n d s i i y s a r i v e d n e b c Ev ports and Ser es the lea their suc et those a at Nordeu s r a l popu Mourinho ? How do secret to ry? We g t people ust rtan Jose me to be hat is the IT ind ost impo n a a W c i vic erb eus em sis? esko N Nord to-day ba ential of S , on of th a iljan t ić By M a day out the po Milutinov o b say a Brank

Knowledge is the only thing no one can ever take away from you. Besides knowledge, the thing that some in this line of work sometimes lack, and it holds them back, is self-confidence

A EXCLUSIVE

A lobby of a modern business building, one of those built in the new century and in a new part of Belgrade. Water from the umbrella is flowing down onto the shiny concrete. Luckily there’s not too much of it, since it’s only a hazy day. It’s not a real downpour. Neon light is no less gray than the light of day on the outside. This building, among others, is the Belgrade headquarters of the Nordeus company. That is where I’m headed. The receptionist gives me a tablet computer. He tells me to enter my data and to make a selfie at the end of the check-in. I make one. My face is a lot like the weather forecast. “Go to the such and such floor,” the gentleman at the reception explains. Branko Milutinović, Milan Jovanović and Ivan Stojisavljević worked together at Microsoft in Sweden. Their working conditions there were the stuff of dreams for most young people, but they dreamt of making video games. They returned to Belgrade and founded the Nordeus company in 2010. That’s how, in their workshop, the game Top Eleven Football Manager came into existence. Soon, it became number one among Facebook games, and these guys became a very important part of the fledgling Serbian IT history. Today, Nordeus has 170 employees in Dublin, London, San Francisco, Skopje and Belgrade. Upon entering the “Serbian dream company“, I’m welcomed by Marija, visibly immune to the meteo-economic depression happening outside of her business oasis. She is offering me a tour of the floor. I discover green walls decorated with healthy plants, pinball rooms, ping-pong and pool tables, Lego panels, colorful mailboxes for personal notes and a humorously designed, but powerful library. Glass panels covered with animated action heroes serve as walls that separate spacious offices. Nordeus world. It’s even better in person. Branko Milutinović, the frontman of Nordeus, has given only several interviews during his career. He mostly answered reporters‘ questions via e-mail. As Marija explained to me, he liked the idea behind the Original and he decided to spare the time for a face-to-face interview. After the tour, Marija places me in a room for smaller meetings, designed after cartoon scenography. There’s a powerful screen on the wall, some gadgets and an A4 sheet of

Young people shouldn’t only rely on traditional teaching systems. Knowledge has never been more available and it’s free of charge, more or less. This should in no way be interpreted as “Abandon college!“ On the contrary. I have a master’s degree from a world-renowned school. But anyone who wants to achieve something should work on themselves, and explore additionally, so they can see what can be achieved with the knowledge gained in a more formal way

paper somebody scribbled on with crayons, along with some hearts and smiley faces. Branko appears in a polo shirt, and brings his own voice recorder, so he can have a spoken version of our conversation for himself. He has the appearance of a professional athlete on vacation. He’s mildly tanned, has no bags under his eyes and his hand gestures are like he’s just returned from Tibet. Some ten years ago, it would’ve been a completely surreal experience to meet the CEO of a successful multinational corporation who doesn’t have huge amounts of stress – manifested through occasional tics – piled upon his shoulders. He maintains a haughty attitude, along with similar hints of personality disorders easily spotted at first sight. No, a new era has brought new people. Branko Milutinović, stable, successful and healthy – it’s not a myth. He is an actual character. Kids today see your job as the ultimate dream job. You are in the business of creating and testing games – pleasures that most “mere mortals” must take away from their everyday obligations. Are you really having as much fun on the job as it seems?

It’s not that we’re only having fun, we do work a lot. But mostly, we feel good. Some internal research confirmed that, and I feel like that as well. I think that people aren’t stressed out here. There’s a great difference between stress and pressure imposed by your business responsibility. Everyone who’s knowledgeable about psychology probably understands the difference. I think there’s no stress here. That means that yes, sometimes there’s fun, sometimes there’s not, but again – there’s no unnecessary stress. What are you working on right now?

We’ve been working on new games for quite a while. This year, some fruit of our labors should become visible on the global market. Our further plans are – self-improvement and becoming better, and for our results to match that. It’s quite simple really. You’ve subjected the complete space and work environment to yourself and creative work. What are your experiences in the field of getting the most out of your own creativity, and from the creativity of your colleagues? What is, in your experience, the most important thing as far as managing and leadership are concerned? What are, perhaps, managers of our region lacking as far as attitude toward human resources is concerned?

Creativity is very important. However, it’s only a small part, albeit an essential one, in the jigsaw puzzle of good results. Other than creativity, knowledge and will are both important. We are people that really value the concept of an idea. But it happens, and I’ve encountered this before, that people see an idea as the most important and the most expensive. That is a Serbian theory in a way. Therefore, no one will give his idea away, everyone has an idea and they hold onto it, because someone might hear of it and steal the idea. Creativity is crucial in our industry, but many other things are equally necessary and crucial. Basically, we’re trying to keep the people the focus of our company. Sometimes we succeed. I hope that in the future we’ll get better and better on this point. No resource can be more important than people and their knowledge. People are in the first place, after that it’s a thousand empty places, and then come money, equipment and all the rest. Pe-

INTERVIEW

ople are the most valuable because everything else is more accessible. In accordance with that principle, we’re focused on a lot of things. First and foremost, there has to be recognition and acknowledgement. People need to be aware of the purpose of their labors, aware of the fact they’re valued and aware of the results. They also need to be awarded in a way. I’m not talking about “carrot on a stick“ methodology, that’s a completely different recipe. Next up is empowerment. People need to be given freedom to do what they think and in the way they think it. You enable that through work and through working space, food, salary, through the fact they don’t have any worries as far as their own existence is concerned and other similar professional insecurities. This can also be enabled by not interfering, but by offering the education needed to overcome certain challenges. Simply, everything needs to be geared toward giving everyone a shot at succeeding in what they want to do and what they can do. Basically, that’s how it goes. You need to give people some kind of support, but constructive feedback as well. Help them understand what is it they are doing well, and what they can do better on their own. Also, on that road, a huge amount of trust is required. People need to be ready to have complete faith in someone else’s capabilities, to believe in intentions that are good and pure. It’s very important that people trust the management, their colleagues and in the fact that decisions being made are for the best interests of all of us. Trust is very important and a lot of effort needs to be invested in order for it to remain constant. Once when you’ve lost somebody’s trust – it’s very hard to reclaim it. When you set interpersonal relationships this way, people don’t ask for vacation not to work, but to rest, recuperate and get back with their energy levels restored. Hence, our paradigm is quite the opposite of the way things are run here. You are a graduated electrical engineer, computer science department. It’s a profession that’s in short supply worldwide, meaning there’s almost no unemployment among your kind. And yet, there are exceptions. How does someone become an exception in such a sought-after sector?

It’s not up to me to pass judgment on anybody. The rules of my profession probably don’t apply to all occupations, but there’s always demand for electrical engineers. That sequence of events

leads to the fact that even people in Serbia are employed. I think our profession lacks those people who have some alternative jobs, because they can’t find employment. Especially, because anybody who can’t find a job in their own country, can find it online in 20 minutes and move away. When things are put that way, it’s the level of knowledge that probably makes the biggest difference between people. In this business, knowledge is of prime importance. My late father, who survived various wars and what have you, spoke of knowledge as the only thing no one can ever take away from you. Besides knowledge, the thing that some young people in this line of work sometimes lack, and it holds them back in a sense, is self-confidence. How did you decide to return to Serbia?

The number one reason was separation from the family. If you’re in any kind of possibility to develop and provide for yourself here on a similar level that you would abroad, I think there’s no reason to make such difficult compromises. Believe me, when I tell you – whoever remained here, in my line of work, has no other meta-reason for staying here. What I mean is, the fact that somebody went abroad doesn’t in the slightest mean they are more capable than a person who stayed in Serbia, or that they’re making more money. Quite the opposite. Many of the most highly capable people have remained. That’s precisely the reason, their ability to realize things and earn for a living here. I have to emphasize that I’m talking about the microcosm of my profession. In this exact line of work, when you possess knowledge, the world is yours. We have products just like everybody else does, but our market is more open because there are no physical barriers. Like the ones that exist, for example, in the production of furniture. How did you reach Mourinho?

We wanted to position our game as number one in the world. At that moment, it already was, but we tried to coordinate all our business decisions with that message. If we needed a partner, a cover face or a promotional figure, as the best we wanted to go to the best. Love him or hate him, nobody will say that Mourinho isn’t by far the best. That’s a fact. That’s how our logic worked. Now, how did we pull it off ? Well, that’s in the domain of our business affairs. ®

BE VICTORIUS

STRAWBERRY ENERGY ENERGY ON STRAWBERRY FIELDS, FOREVER

A team of young people under the sigil of strawberry made green energy available to as many as 13 cities in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. The cream to that strawberry was the recent installation of the smart Strawberry benches in the financial block in London and the public support by the charismatic London Mayor, Boris Johnson. In an interview for The Original, Miloš Milisavljević, the CEO of Strawberry Energy, said that their goal is making renewable energy sources available to everybody, and in the exact moment when energy is most necessary to people – in a rush

By Djurdja Petrovic

trawberry Energy is a young company from Serbia, which workshop unearthed a product already known as the Strawberry Tree. Furthermore, that’s the first public solar mobile phone charger ever. This smart graphical platform, ideal for public spaces such as parks and squares, provides free mobile phone charging using “clean energy”, as well as Wi-Fi and information on the quality of air in the given location. Miloš Milisavljević, the CEO of the Strawberry Energy company and our collocutor, started developing a concept that will make energy sources available to everybody, and in the exact moment when energy is most necessary to people – in everyday rush. “A part of the Sun in your pocket” is one of the foundations of the Strawberry brand, and it stands for providing people with the ability to charge the batteries of their mobile devices when they are outside using the Sun’s energy, and therefore bringing a small part of the Sun with them. Besides the fact they improve the life of people living in ur-

ban areas, the efforts of the young people of Strawberry also greatly contribute to public energy consumption reduction, as well as to raising the awareness on the importance of using renewable energy sources and ecological behavior. The first Strawberry Tree was installed in October 2010, at the city square in the municipality of Obrenovac. With this invention, the Strawberry Energy won first place in the category of public energy consumption reduction at the “Sustainable Energy Week 2011” event in Brussels. Today, the team of young people under the sigil of strawberry made the green energy available to as many as 13 cities in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. The cream to that strawberry was the recent installation of the smart Strawberry benches in a financial block in London and the public support by the charismatic London Mayor Boris Johnson. But, all that is just the beginning of the Strawberry’s adventure, which aims to travel the world.

You started the Strawberry idea when you were just a student. How did you decide to start your own business? Have you had second thoughts?

In my case, it was spontaneous, but also a little naïve. I didn’t even know what I was getting myself into. I think that’s a good thing, because I deeply respect the thoughts of a great entrepreneur who once said: “Only the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” The desire to start my own business, in my case, was the result of my interest in technology and my passion for inventing things. How did the Strawberry Tree come to life? How did all of its successors come to life? Do you remember the moment you successfully tested your product for the first time?

The development of the first Strawberry Tree lasted just over a year, and with it, our team developed too. Given the fact that we were still students at the Faculty of Electrical engineering in Belgrade then, we figured out that we would need the knowledge and experience we didn’t have to successfully make products. Thus, I began looking for people who were able to help us in different aspects such as mechanical engineering, architecture, marketing, etc. We slowly built a team. I remember the first prototype we made. It consisted of metal bars welded in such a manner that they kept the solar panel from being carried away by the wind on my friend’s balcony in Belgrade. It was connected by cables with very humble and basic equipment placed in the attic. We charged our first mobile phone using solar energy only. We were thrilled. Those were the good times. When could you say “we did it” for the first time?

That’s hard to tell. When you’re working on your own idea and experiencing all that, you’re always focused on the things that are going to come, the problems that you’re solving. You have to take a lot of baby steps, and have little ups and downs, in order to achieve any kind of success. I looked forward to every little improvement and success, when I managed to “buy” and form a starting team, and when we bought our first equipment and built our first

BE VICTORIUS

When you look around, you’ll see that our cities are packed with obsolete infrastructure, such as phone booths nobody uses anymore or regular benches that are the same as they were 200 years ago. We see an immense potential in that

working on?

Although we have local partners in several European and American countries working with local installations, we will mostly focus on London and the UK in the following period, due to the fact that we’ve recognized their great potential. We believe that it’s a great stepping stone for further expansion on the global market. Our main desire is to develop technologies and devices that will make the cities smarter, more modern and pleasant to modern-day humans. When you look around, you’ll see that our cities are packed with obsolete infrastructure, such as phone booths nobody uses anymore or regular benches that are the same as they were 200 years ago. We see an immense potential in that.

prototype, and when we attracted the first client, and when we installed the first Tree, and when we first exported our product abroad, and so on, and so on. When I look back now, I think that the time we installed the first Strawberry Tree in Obrenovac was the first time we could say that we succeeded. In that moment, we finally changed the world, even by a small margin. You installed the benches in London. To what extent does this step represent the turning point in your further work, are there any indicators?

Yes, we successfully installed the first se-

ries of the Strawberry Smart Benches in the financial block in London in late October. Today, we are working on installing additional devices across London, and soon all around Great Britain. London represents a great turning point for us, because we entered the market of one of the largest global metropolises for the first time. Many of us are overjoyed by the fact that the people and the institutions of London think highly of our products. In no time, we became one of the most prominent tech companies dealing with the notion of “smart cities” in Great Britain. What ideas are you currently

With your invention, you achieved the modern generational dream, in a way – you’ve created and actualized a world-changing idea. So far, hat exactly do you consider the biggest success of the team you’re leading?

Thank you for such a big compliment, but we still believe that we are at the beginning. From the very start, our main motivation was helping people through the use of technology, and to solve some of the simplest everyday problems, and thus contribute to making the city life just a little more comfortable and enjoyable. We are very proud of the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have had the chance to use our devices, as well as to see the clean energy sources. I think that the biggest success of this team is the fact we managed to overcome all problems and develop the company to the point we’re at now through our dedication and perseverance. ®

BE SMART

etnica. Sounds like Rivendell, the home of small elves – smart, swift, dedicated. Deep in their unusual jobs, and incomprehensible to an ordinary human being. Petnica is something similar – an independent, non-for profit scientific research station. It was initially created in response to the dull public education system. The schools might teach us details, but they don’t teach us in practice – how to research, how to become independent, how to persevere in a project, and how to criticize ourselves. Science needs practical work, devotion, research, and true dedication. All that is learned at Petnica. In the small village of Petnica, near Valjevo, there is an oasis for all those who love to look into the secret worlds of both science and knowledge. Although it is open and available to anyone, and has more than 30 years of experience, there are still people who don’t know what Petnica is. It was initially intended for both students and teachers. Every attendant learns through research and is eventually capable of realizing small scientific projects. In a society of people alike, he or she learns the methodology of work. There are no grades, diplomas, certificates, discounting, or “using connections”, just full-blooded knowledge. “The research station Petnica is a very unusual school”, said the man who dedicated his life to the development of Petnica, its director, Vigor Majić. “It’s an independent organization with the goal of helping students, and thus teachers and schools as well, to understand certain segments and ideas of natural and social sciences in a better way. To make it simple, what Petnica does is a special form of additional classes for students who yearn for more than mere demands of the regular school teaching programs.” HOWEVER, PETNICA MUST NOT BE COMPARED WITH SUMMER CAMPS – although they are an important segment of this research station – nor with popular science. Its goal is to solidify someone’s opinion on science, not change or shape it. “Our goal isn’t to make, say, physics, interesting or appealing to someone who doesn’t like it, because of the simple reason that it takes a lot more time to change someone’s attitude, so we leave that task

PETNICA

An Oasis of a Better Serbia Every attendant learns through research that realizing small scientific projects is possible. In a society of people, he or she learns the methodology of work. There are no grades, diplomas, certificates, discounting or “using connections”, just full-blooded knowledge. “The research station Petnica is a very unusual school,” said the man who dedicated his life to the development of Petnica, Vigor Majić. “It’s an independent organization with the goal of helping students, and thus teachers and schools as well, to understand certain segments and ideas of natural and social sciences in a better way. To make it simple, what Petnica does is a special form of additional classes for students who yearn for more”

By Zorica Markovic to schools and teachers. Our programs are pointed toward the children who already have a pronounced interest and fondness towards science and research work, and the formation of such an interest profile happens in early years of life in the family and school. Only then comes Petnica. We are an upgrade for curiosity, independence, perseverance and initiative which in children are formed by their family and school. Our programs are demanding and strenuous for anyone who doesn’t truly love that kind of content. Petnica covers

PETNICA IS STILL NOT RECOGNIZED AS THE LARGEST SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT IN LOCAL EDUCATION OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS. NOBODY ELSE HAS EVER DARED TO BREAK UP WITH THE PARADIGMS OF A CLASSIC SCHOOL.

a wide spectrum of activities and different fields of modern science, for example astronomy, chemistry, electronics, psychology, geology, archeology, biology etc. Humbleness aside, it must be said that Petnica as an institution is absolutely the leading center for professional work with young talents in science in Europe.” Parents cannot “shoulder” their children into Petnica with money or “connections”. The only connection here is the children’s imagination and curiosity. Sometimes a CV is not the best indication of a child’s intelligence due to the fact that the system “killed [the child’s] motivation,” and a good CV doesn’t necessarily mean that person is ideal for science. “I personally believe that a talented person must have a plethora of intellectual qualities that also encompass the ability to fight the system or find and create the environment in which he or she will be most successful. I must point out that the success doesn’t have to be of scientific nature. Our goal is to help young persons to understand science and use it as a tool in their professional work and career, in whatever field they choose, not to create scientists.”

BE SMART

Our admission rate is s competitive due to the intellectual curiosity demonstrated by applicants to our admission panel. That’s also the reason why a lot of people return to Petnica, as young associates who have proven themselves successful and talented students and future professional science workers, and who are trusted to be instructors. If teachers are a part of the systematic problem, they can also be the solution. Petnica’s program helps to solve this problem by working in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Serbia, and encompassing seminars meant for knowledge and innovation that help teachers in elementary and secondary schools to learn new methods of teaching scientific classes. “We try a lot to meet our teachers with our activities, although that’s very hard, because there aren’t any adequate specialized media in Serbia – magazines, sites or TV programs meant for teachers. It is true that the development of potential requires continuous work, but the teachers have learned that during their studies, and if they don’t show the willingness or competence

IT IS KNOWN THAT THE MOST BRILLIANT CHILDREN ARE OFTEN THE BIGGEST INTROVERTS, AND THAT THEY’RE AFRAID TO EXPLORE THEIR OWN POTENTIALS, IDEAS, AND POSSIBILITIES. MAJIĆ HAS A MESSAGE FOR THEM: “THOSE CHILDREN HAVE TO STOP BEING AFRAID OF EVERYTHING FIRST – THEIR PARENTS, TEACHERS, THEIR STATE, PRIME MINISTER, PARTY BOSSES, BOOGEY MEN, THUNDERS, GODS AND DEMONS, AND WHATNOT. ONLY THE ONES FREE OF FEAR CAN PROPERLY STUDY THEMSELVES AND THEIR POWERS AND WEAKNESSES, AND FIND THE BEST WAY TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT” to do so, an institution like Petnica can hardly change them. That needs to be the task of the institutions that have bigger influence than Petnica, for example the Ministry or the universities educating the teachers. In the previous year, we were visited by larger organized groups of teachers and school principals from Croatia, Slovenia,

Macedonia, even Israel, with the goal of learning something from the ways of work with children applied in Petnica. We haven’t had a single such group from Serbia.” IT’S POPULAR AND INDEPENDENT, BUT PETNICA ISN’T SOMETHING THAT CAN FUNCTION WITHOUT FINANCIAL SUPPORT. EVERY INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE COSTS MONEY. “It is very nice but also extremely hard being independent. The expenses of mere maintenance of the facilities and equipment are huge and are getting even bigger. The absurdity lies in the fact that the state is the formal owner of the buildings and a big part of equipment, but still refuses to provide any financial support for the legal obligations of maintenance, insurance, security… The truth is, we don’t have a state yet, rather some tangled bureaucratic apparatus that plays the role of a state, but truly doesn’t understand what a state is and has to be. If we had a state, we wouldn’t have the decade-long locks on the doors of the key cultural institutions, and not a single penny invested in the education technology in the past 25 years, our healthcare system wouldn’t be ruined by party nepotism, and our universities wouldn’t be ruled by incompetence, nepotism and infinite vanity. All that produces envy of everyone who’s successful in something. It’s really hard to think of future in that kind of environment. We fight very hard to keep the activities in Petnica.” The hardest part was, and still is, convincing the state administration that what Petnica does warrants federal grant money. Due to the humanitarian work that is done by helping children learn to succeed, this program should be formally recognized. ®

NEW EDUCATION

HOW A COLLEGE CHANGED A CITY New experiences bear new ideas, new ideas bear new research fields and they need new researchers”, said dean and Professor Doctor Rade Doroslovački of the Faculty of Technical Sciences (FTN) while starting a story about it. He‘s bringing to an end a project of building a Science and tech park along with a team of associate deans and directors of 13 departments. It will be the most beautiful building in Novi Sad, 26.000 square meters large, which awaits the start of the second phase of works, and which will drastically change not only the appearance and the content of the city, but also its significance to business, science and economy

By Zorica Marković

NEW EDUCATION

OVI SAD BECAME A GLOBALLY FAMOUS POP-CULTURE CITY the moment the EXIT festival beat its competition with the strength of spirit, energy and charm only typical for the peaceful streets of Vojvodina. Novi Sad is not only the city of EXIT, Ðorđe Balašević, culture in general, it is also a place that’s been on the map of engineers, programmers, mathematicians, mechanical engineers and many more for a long time. As a geyser of super talented young people who are becoming extremely sought-upon professionals at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, trained to work in all possible and impossible conditions. Those are the students who will, in the decades to come, will surely change and develop our country and region. Developing from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1960, the largest college in the country, often rated as the best in the country by students, Faculty of Technical Sciences (further on: FTN) hasn’t only changed from within. It also changed Novi Sad. In the past decades, it grew into three directions: class, science and cooperation with the economy, which was recognized by many freshmen who today come from all around the region, full of joy because they’re going to learn at this very college and spend the best days of their lives in the capital of Vojvodina. The people watching them from aside say that the first thing they notice with professors, researchers, students even administration workers, is dedication to changes, work on themselves and the institution that should outlive them and remain the leader among universities of the region as far as science and research work are concerned, and maybe overtake some important universities on the world list of education facilities. “New experiences bear new ideas, new ideas bear new research fields and they need new researchers”, said dean and Professor Doctor Rade Doroslovački of the Faculty of Technical Sciences while starting a story about it. He‘s bringing to an end a project of building a Science and tech park along with a team of associate deans and directors of 13 departments. It will be the most beautiful building in Novi Sad, 26.000 square meters large, which awaits the start of the second phase of works, and which will drastically change not only the appearance and the content of the city, but also its significance to business, science and economy. The science and tech park will provide the city with the ability

to compete with the greatest world university centers. Building it will enable the researchers working at the Faculty of Technical Sciences to transform the results of their researches into products, services, processes or software which will find its way on the market. BESIDES THAT, IT SHOULD MAKE THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS FACULTIES more prominent in the international and domestic economic and research environment, but also help entrepreneurs in the high-tech field to accomplish better results on the world market above all, in cooperation with the faculty. The goal is, as we were told at the faculty, to provide a vast number of best students with jobs in Novi Sad instead of abroad after their studies, as well as to connect PhD studies with practical activities. They predict that several thousands of young engineers who studied at the FTN will work in the new, modern and attractive facility. “The project engineers of the future beauty of Novi Sad are the professor of the Architecture and Urbanization Department of FTN. The facility will be divided into two parts: companies will have 16,000 m2 at their disposal, while the faculty will have 10,000 m2, and thus, an ideal climate will be created, in which the students will literally move into the economy from their school desks and through scholarships, later getting jobs. This kind of a concept will surely keep a lot of young people in Serbia, which is its goal.” Innovation and originality of the idea was recognized by the largest companies in the world, which decide to invest into new young experts, consideration and chance above all, which are hard to come by in this part of world. Novi Sad used exactly that to reduce the number of those who have decided to build their careers in an environment richer in chances and money. “Companies like Schneider Electric DMS, RT-RK, Levi 9 and many other have so far prevented 4,000 young engineers from going away, who kept living in Novi Sad after their graduation”, explained dean Doroslovački. How significant it is to practice science today in Serbia, speak a number of projects in which FTN participates. Here, young scientist “teach computers to think”, and the researchers participate and work with FTN in teams all around the world. These young creative people with great ideas exactly are the ones who were recognized by much more experienced and older colleagues from all around the world thanks to one of their

FTN IN NUMBERS: 13 DEPARTMENTS 13,000 STUDENTS 1,200 EMPLOYEES 4000 ENGINEERS FOR COMPANIES 88 COMPANIES WITH ROOTS IN FTN 200 NATIONAL PROJECTS 150 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS projects – Marko the Robot. Thanks to a team of young robotic engineers led by Professor Dr. Branislav Borovac, Marko the Robot has become the best friend to challenged children. It started as an auxiliary therapeutic device, meant for rough and fine motor skills’ exercises. The people who worked on it say that it will soon be able to be used in speech exercises, and that it will be situated at the Children’s Hospital of the Vojvodina Clinical Center in Novi Sad, after the first prototype is built and all functionalities are provided at the end of the year. “Marko was brought to life in cooperation with our colleagues from the Faculty of Medicine, Academy of Arts and with support of the Ministry of Science and Technological Development”, said Professor Borovac, which confirmed that good ideas unite the city. The most important thing is giving young people a chance to see, learn and gain experience at other universities of Europe. If we don’t practice science, the appearance of the FTN and the University of Novi Sad won’t be prominent in the scientific public all around the world. It is extremely important to participate in international project as much as we can, and thus provide additional mobility, joint PhD dissertations and apply our knowledge and results in the economy, which is an absolute trend in the world”, explained Professor Dr. Dubravko Ćulibrk, the chief of the International Cooperation Department which is the manager of the “QoSTREAM” FP7 project. The Faculty is like a small city. It’s not just a place of sitting and listening to classes, and then running to dorms, and memorizing everything, then preparing for the next monologue by a professor. On the contrary, a lot of them are open to exchange of ideas, as well as problems with their students. Thus, the traditional coffee with the Industrial Engineering and Management Department director in the “Mašinac” club became famous. ®

EX CATEDRA

DON’T RELY JUST ON CREATIVITY, IT’S ONLY A NECESSARY SPARK Is it possible to be creative, even if the majority of our childhood has been influenced by logistical thinking? Can we learn creativity? Can it be fixed or is it written in stone? How do you change it and with what? Lazar Dzamic, a marketing expert who has been living and working in London for 15 years already, the author of A Flower Shop in a House of Flowers – the book about an iconic comic book and the phenomenon of its popularity in ex-Yugoslavia – shared the experiences he made in the best agencies in the world with the employees of Google ZOO, where he is a boss. By learning from the best, he learned the best, and he is ready to share that knowledge with the readers of the Original.

Interview by Zorica Markovic ou’re one click away from anything these days, there isn’t a piece of information, field or knowledge you can’t access on the Internet in an instant. They have a privileged position because knowledge is easily accessible to them. I think that the problem lies in the mental view, in the fact that they have to understand that things don’t grow on trees, and that they have to work hard. If I wanted to be an architect, how can I be as creative as possible? If there’s anything else that can be summed up by Google’s principle, it would be a set of several characteristics people working at Google need to have. One of them is people mustn’t be afraid of the chaos and undefined situations. It is a natural digital environment, that can also be unstable and horribly fast, because changes happen all the time. Lazar Dzamic, a marketing expert who has been living and working in London for 15 years already, the author of A Flower Shop in a House of Flowers – the book about an iconic comic book and the phenomenon of its popularity in ex-Yugoslavia – shared the experiences he made in the best agencies in the world with the employees of Google ZOO, where he is a boss. By learning from the best, he learned the best, and he is ready to share that knowledge with the readers of the Original. Let’s demystify the story: are you born a creative person or do you become one? How can we develop creativity?

I think that both cases are true. Some of us, and I don’t consider myself a naturally creative person, but I have worked on it, are simply born with the ability of looking at the world with a slightly different set of eyes. That literally could be genetic, it could be a set of circumstances, environment and family people grew up in, which stimulate an open worldview and the permanent question of “Why should I do it this way, why shouldn’t I do it differently?” A psychologist once said that creativity is nothing more than being able to asso-

EX CATEDRA

ciate extremes; that means that the diapason of associating and connecting completely opposite things in our lives. That’s why Edward de Bono, one of the past leading experts on creativity, referred to it as “rivers of thought,” meaning that when we stay inside different ways of thinking and habits, we aren’t capable of seeing beyond them. That ability of seeing beyond the usual “rivers of thought” is the thing that makes up the essence of creativity. Some are naturally more gifted, and some work a lot on that. I am a true example of it, I still work on broadening my horizons permanently, having a spectrum of associative angles as broad as possible, and making my associative network as broad and big as possible. I realized that it helps me find more interesting points of view, different answers to some old questions, but also to some new ones. I have to admit that I vote for lots of work, because in today’s world that’s abundant with incredible amounts of information, nobody can rely solely on his creativity. If you look at even the greatest geniuses, you’ll see plenty of work behind their talent. One of the greatest designers of the 20th century, Milton Glazer – whose one of the most prominent proteges is Mirko Ilić, who also shares the office with him – holds the sign “Art is Work” above his office. Which means that without lots of work, our creativity remains a mere potential spark, which will hardly burst into big flames of creativity and accomplishments. How do we develop creativity then? How do we think and look at a situation differently, how do we create that association bond?

The modern generation is very lucky, because, when I just think about our sources of information, stimulations and associative network... We didn’t have the Internet, all we had was books, magazines, television and radio – old media, slower and more limited, much more regulated than the media today. You’re one click away from anything these days, there isn’t a piece of information, field or knowledge you can’t access on the Internet in an instant. They have a privileged position because knowledge is easily accessible to them. I think that the problem lies in the mental view, in the fact that they have to understand that things don’t grow on trees, and that they have to work hard. If I want to be an architect, how can I be as creative as possible?

First, you start researching online, who the popular architects today are, and who were before, what they’re famous for, what new thing they’ve given us. After some time, you start developing new thinking patterns. And the more time you spend in that territory, the more you realize that the influences are very diverse for creative people – and that someone was inspired by music, child’s play, foreign cultures, science fiction, as was the great architect Zaha Hadid. To be creative, we have to “open our minds,” read and listen as much as possible, immerse ourselves in as many different influences as possible in order to broaden our associative map. You first need to invest a lot of time in it, and then search for as various influences for your creativity as

minds to different influences and ask ourselves – how can I apply something to this. For example, there are plenty of forms in biology – how can I apply those forms to architecture… That’s what Zaha Hadid did. In a way modern technology could be applied to architecture, what British architect Norman Foster, and many others did, primarily English architects. In marketing, the main influence isn’t marketing, but pop culture – music, film, art, fashion etc. Our association zone must be vast. There is no breakthrough without exposing ourselves to different spheres of influence. To understand what creativity exactly is. We can, for example, read books on creative thinking and innovative thinking. That gives us a sort

Is there a Balkans’ creativity? I’m not sure. Creativity is creativity, but the product of such creativity will be somewhat different . Our topics, for example, will differ from those of an English creative person, but the mechanisms are quite similar possible, and to connect the not connectable angles and territories. Thus, you can make a new breakthrough in the creative mind. Could you reveal some of the most important steps on the path of a creative mind’s development?

In creativity’s development, the basics are having an attitude, an open mind and accepting that we don’t know something. Creativity starts when we accept that we don’t know something, that we don’t do something well enough. That’s an inferior position: “I want to do better than now and I’m working on it.” Then, I want to get to know the territory I want to change things in, to know which the main vectors, players, stories and knowledges are. If you want to be an architect, you have to know the architecture’s technique very well. If you want to be an innovative chef, you have to know the traditional cuisine very well, not just experiment, because if you don’t know the basics of the trade, you’re going to have a problem. When we realize what the territory of tradition is, which we all play on, then we have to open our

of dictionary and apparatus we can apply to everyday life, as some practices that can stimulate us until we develop a habit. What are the advantages of creative people from ex-Yugoslavia? Is there a certain Balkans’ “gene”?

I thought about that a lot, and I have to admit that I’m not that prone to generalization, because there are similar minds everywhere. If I deal with that kind of a generalization, maybe I’d say that we’re more flexible in chaos, because the socio-historical conditions we grew up in, because of that lack of structure and that general unpredictability which is far more prominent here than in some societies. Lack of order can be an advantage, and it also can be a flaw in some other sense, but it greatly depends on the personal expression of these characteristics in a specific environment. Is there a Balkans’ creativity? I’m not sure. Creativity is creativity, but the product of such creativity will be somewhat different because of our cultural and historical conditions. Our topics, for example, will differ from those of an English creative person, but the mechanisms are quite similar. ®

PHENOMENON

SELF-PUBLISHED, BUT REALLY One click and you’re a (rich) writer

“Self-publishing”, or authors publishing books from various fields by themselves, therefore avoiding publishing houses – from the hydraulic drills’ configuration manuals to crime fiction – is a new phenomenon in literature. After the success of several authors like E. L. James, many others – some of who write more than readable stories, which can satisfy even the “high criteria” used in publishing, are switching. The writers are treated differently by the publishing houses

he new book of the Fifty Shades of Grey series didn’t meet the highest literary critique criteria, said one newspapers’ title after E. L. James published a sequel to the most popular erotic saga of this decade. There’s something wrong in its very setup. The thing is, the critique of “high criteria” surely didn’t take the new work into consideration, but although it’s the highest level of a thing pejoratively called trash-literature, there’s hardly a person unfamiliar with Fifty Shades of Grey on this planet. Put aside the question of whether we should sound the alarm – is this pale and unconvincing playing with primal human impulses becoming the mainstream literature of the 21st century – it’s obvious that the story has its fans.. However, besides all its triviality, one can learn a thing or two from the story of the shades of grey – alas, not the thing that first comes to the readers’ mind! E. L. James has shown that a person can make quite a

By Veljko Miladinovic lucrative business out of this self-publishing project. “Self-publishing”, or authors publishing books from various fields by themselves, therefore avoiding publishing houses – from hydraulic drills’ configuration manuals to crime fiction – is a new phenomenon in literature. After the success of several authors like E. L. James, many others – some of who write more than readable stories, which can satisfy even the “high criteria” used in publishing, are switching. The writers are treated differently by the publishing houses.

It’s all Internet’s fault, of course As e-books have gained popularity, the whole printing and marketing logistics only the publishing houses could offer became obsolete. To write a book, to turn it into a format suitable for book readers costs almost nothing. All it takes is for the book to be interesting so enough people will buy it.

Of course, everything done on the Internet still brings the stigmata of frivolity and “child’s play.” The global network provides capabilities even for those who like the traditional means of presenting their work. There are more and more Internet platforms offering that ability too. Amazon has one of the most developed self-publishing programs. But it’s not the only one. There are also Kobo, Smashwords, selfpublishing.com, etc. The possibilities are numerous. To become famous on some platforms as an author, or to print your own book requires relatively small amount of money. For example, it is possible to send a text in PDF format, to choose the cover design, and a copy of your own book is delivered to you in just a few weeks. If you don’t like something, you can make the changes in the PDF. Then, using the same platform, those books are sold on request. That is, a customer applies for a copy of the book, the printing press is activated, and the book is delivered to the customer, while the Internet service responsible for the book’s sale charges a fee. However, most of the people who had

( POP ) KULTURA

TEXT BOX The most successful Amanda Hawking She is one of the first authors who made over two million dollars by publishing e-books, the so-called “young adult” novelettes. Way back in 2011, she became famous with her novel series My Blood Approves and Trylle Trilogy. She sold over 9,000 books a day.

YOUNG ADULT Heroes who grow up, but never grow old By Jelena Paligoric

Hugh Howie The sci-fi author started with so-called short stories. When he decided to expand his work into a novel, he became incredibly famous over Amazon and Kindle. He allegedly chose a contract worth about half a million dollars over a “seven-digit” amount, in order to keep the rights to sell e-books on the internet.

E. L. James Certainly the most popular self-published writer. Maybe even the only author spoken about in the “serious” literary critics’ circles, who, as people of taste, have the obligation to point out to the millions of fans that the thing they’re reading, and then watching, has absolutely zero quality. That didn’t stop the aforementioned millions to buy her books and watch the film made by them.

experience with modern self-publishing say that creating the reader base is the most important thing. One of the personifications of the self-publishing’s success that Amazon loves to point out in the process of self-promotion is Mark Dawson, the author of the crime fiction series about a hitman called John Milton. His income from the e-books’ surpassed the six-digit margin. However, there is a “catch”. Dawson still isn’t considered a writer, he’s rather an internet entrepreneur in other people’s eyes. Most of the articles on the phenomenon of “self-publishing” are still written by modern technology and IT experts. The literary critiques still like to feel the book, which only confirms the notion that writing books and being a writer aren’t the same. ®

hen Diablo Kodi came to the theaters with the movie “Young Adult,” together with Reitman in 2011, the whole world started talking about the phenomenon. Taking Charlize Theron for the main character was an excellent production choice. Thus, a movie about a teenage writer with a messed-up life became the chorus of a generation – are we ever going to grow up? The phenomenon of the young adult novel, or writing books that focus on adolescents and their problems, is probably the only perpetually profitable type of literature, alongside erotic novels and crime fiction. The explanation to that lies in the nature of growing up – each one is turbulent in its own way. And each and every one, even the happiest ones, have their problems that go from tumultuous falling in love to the first problems in school and with parents. That genre, despite the conventions it breaks, brings quite a lot of space to dream of craziest situations. After Diablo Kodi, Lena Dunham may be the only one to have succeeded in that, commercially and globally. The TV show “Girls”, especially its first season, with Lena being virtually a complete author, talks about adolescent and totally messed up teenagers from New York. The “Girls” see the world through the eyes of a teenager, but encounter the dilemmas of a grown-up. Lena put that state of being torn between graduation and moving away, unstable and sporadic relationships in her first movie “Tiny Furniture.” Even though the encyclopedic frame of the genre itself addresses audiences between 12 and 18 years of age, this limit expands to some in their mid-twenties. Thus, the pioneers of this genre are certainly “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, “The Catcher in the Rye”, “Oliver Twist”, “The Lord of the Flies.” The topics present in all these novels are sexuality, identity, adventure, various types of

teenage depression, sometimes parental harassment, sometimes peer harassment, and experimenting with toxic substances. The essence of every young adult novel or content is to point to the problem through character identification. It carries an enormous amount of responsibility, because teenagers are the most brutal and sincere audience. Hence, Lena Dunham became an icon, celebrating her imperfect body in the show “Girls,” directly addressing all young girls who aren’t size XS. Although, this genre is found on the shelves labelled “entertainment,” exploring it will bring you to the classics of world literature. The biggest value of this genre may lie therein. The world literature classics with elements of growing up are present in many books, starting with “The Jungle Book,” through Mark Twain, and all the way to the adventures of the wizard hero Harry Potter. People have long debated the question of if Tow Sawyer is proper school material, and now his adventures seem as songs of the summer, because, in the meantime, children of his age became so much more problematic and brave. Joanne Rowling was rejected countless times before the first Harry Potter book saw the light of day. The characters in all these classics are timeless, just like teenage years. They used slingshots before, now they use tablets and iPhones.

SIX YOUNG ADULT NOVELS YOU MUST READ IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOURSELF: “THE CATCHER IN THE RYE” J. D. Salinger “I’M NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL” Lena Dunham “THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME” Mark Haddon “ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING” – Louise Rennison “THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER” Mark Twain “THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY” Jasminka Petrović

LET GO OF APATHY

Its name was simply:

Travis Kalanik and Garrett Camp are unlike most millionaires. When they can't get a taxi, most of the millionaires would have a nervous breakdown and hail a chopper. Travis and Garret, on the other hand, are people that can find a business opportunity in every moment. Instead of looking directly into the headlights of the taxis, they saw a light through the snowflakes, which revealed a new business idea. It was revolutionary. One that would split the planet, turn the entire business of transporting passengers in cars upside down and cause riots from Los Angeles to Belgrade.

By Marko Prelević WAS THE WINTER OF 2008, colder than previous winters, and the snow in Paris was knee-deep. It was so cold that Travis Kalanik and Garret Camp were blowing in their hands, trying to get warmer while waiting for a taxi. Arrival of a taxi in Paris at this time of the year was equal to, let‘s say, a castaway looking at the sails in distance. Garret and Travis were feeling like castaways in another city. It‘s not like they didn‘t have any money – they were actually millionaires. Camp sold his startup StumbleUpon for 75 million dollars just a year earlier, and Kalanik sold the rights to his company that makes web-based content Red Swoosh for 20 million dollars – but in that moment, it wasn‘t helping

them. A taxi was nowhere to be found. Most millionaires would most likely have a nervous breakdown or call a chopper. But Travis and Garret are different than most. They are a special group of people that can find a business opportunity at every moment. Instead of looking directly into the headlights of the taxis, they saw a light through the snowflakes, which revealed a new business idea. It was revolutionary. One that would split the planet, turn the entire business of transporting passengers in cars upside down and cause riots from Los Angeles to Belgrade. The solution was simple; all it took is for someone to think of it. Garret Camp first envisioned that a car of your choosing could be hailed by a simple tap on a phone screen. Kalanik wasn‘t so sure of

the idea but he gave Kamp the go ahead to start a new company: UberCab. Garret and Kalanik are like all great duos in the history (art or factual history), something like Wozniak and Steve Jobs, one is full of ideas and the other one is venturesome and can make things move. UBERCAB WAS AN APPLICATION THAT, first in San Francisco, enabled its users to hail and most importantly pay for the fare in one swift screen touch. In 2010, you could‘ve been driving around Bay Area, and today Uber – the „Cab‘‘ part was removed in the meantime – functions in over 300 cities and is worth around 50 billion dollars, which makes the most successful startup in the world. The company now employs around 200,000 drivers in the United States alone, and the company takes

LET GO OF APATHY

20% of the profits from them. The users download the application and hail a cab from their smart phones. GPS tracks the closest driver immediately – and these are private, not special taxi vehicles – and send him or her to the designated address. When America was conquered, it was not a great surprise that the first destination for a worldwide expansion was Paris. Three years after that surely faithful night, cars that can be called from the app started driving through Paris. London invasion performed equally successful in June of 2012, despite the opposition from the old cab drivers. Forbes magazine first labeled the word ‘‘invasion‘‘ while writing about the success of Uber, and it is truly not an exaggeration. Uber represents a victory of free capitalism, and it‘s being won with military precision and efficiency worthy of true conquerors. This is a classic example of „disruptive innovation,” when a business finds a way to disrupt the existing market. It was an open declaration of war, and the fronts were the streets of big cities. In America, which somehow always welcomes innovation with its’ arms wide open, only a few cities protested and allowed cab drivers to file charges against unlicensed Uber drivers. In London, however, black cabs stopped the traffic in April and June of 2014, as well as May this year, while Paris folk, with temperamental attitudes, set cars on fire and physically assaulted Uber drivers. Shortly after, a few EU countries acted quickly, so Uber is now banned in some cities in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Apart from representing illegal competition to existing cab drivers, it is not necessary for the driver to take any sort of test for knowing the city, or to have any sort of license except for a driver‘s license. The fares have gotten a lot cheaper too – officials protest against Uber as there aren’t any driver‘s controls or passengers safety controls.

was removed after initial reactions of the Belgrade‘s drivers. Soon Facebook had a support group for Uber‘s branch in Serbia with arguments including: high cost fares, unpleasant drivers or bad cars– but it is still not progressing since this past December, when the company’s representatives had officially landed in Serbia for negotiations with the Ministry of Construction and Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia.

LAST SPRING WE GOT HINTS THAT UBER MIGHT OPEN A ''BRANCH'' IN SERBIA. IN ONE MOMENT THE UBER SITE HAD OPEN CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL DRIVERS TO APPLY FOR THE JOB, BUT SHORTLY AFTER THE POST WAS REMOVED AFTER INITIAL REACTIONS OF THE BELGRADE'S DRIVERS. SOON FACEBOOK HAD A SUPPORT GROUP FOR UBER'S BRANCH IN SERBIA WITH ARGUMENTS INCLUDING: HIGH COST FARES, UNPLEASANT DRIVERS OR BAD CARS– BUT IT IS STILL NOT PROGRESSING SINCE THIS PAST DECEMBER, WHEN THE COMPANY’S REPRESENTATIVES HAD OFFICIALLY LANDED IN SERBIA FOR NEGOTIATIONS ONLY, THAT DIDN‘T STOP THE COMPANY FROM EXPANDING – take Moscow for example, no one uses „regular‘‘ taxis there any more, instead, they all use Uber and a few variants of it (of course imitations appeared just as fast). It kept expanding, all the way to Balkans. Zagreb has been conquered, but Belgrade is still holding out. Last spring we got hints that Uber might open a „branch‘‘ in Serbia. In one moment the Uber site had open career opportunities for local drivers to apply for the job, but shortly after the post

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE PHENOMENON OF UBER? APART FROM ITS ACCESSIBILITY, IT IS ABOUT A TRULY INNOVATIVE APPROACH SINCE THE PROGRESS WAS NOTED IN THE CITIES THAT HAVE A WONDERFUL NIGHTLIFE AND UNSTEADY WEATHERLIKE BELGRADE: TWO NECESSARY INGREDIENTS FOR THE INCREASED DEMAND FOR TAXIS. THE BEST COMMERCIAL WOULD BE WHAT ENGLISH PEOPLE CALL ''WORD OF MOUTH'' AND SERBIANS ''PREPORUKA'' (ENG.: RECOMMENDATION), BUT NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE TRULY BRAVE, SOMETIMES CRAZY BUSINESS IDEAS, WHICH KALANIK DUBS AS '' PRINCIPLED CONFRONTATION”

THE MEETING DIDN‘T SEE A WHOLE LOT OF „POSITION HARMONIZATION,” but some sort of compromise was reached. Serbia informed Uber that Serbia‘s laws do not allow entrepreneurs or companies to perform passenger transportation without adequate licenses, so according to the acting regulations, Uber cannot register their company or their business in Serbia. Shortly after, Uber responded that their services, in agreement with Serbian authorities, would only perform with existing professional drivers that own adequate permits. We already talked about war, and the one Uber is waging doesn‘t always have to be frontal and bombardment. As Kalanik and Camp are well aware of, it’s sometimes enough to infiltrate some of your men behind enemy lines in order to achieve victory. Apart from its accessibility, it is about a truly innovative approach, since progress was noted in the cities that have wonderful nightlife and unsteady weather just like Belgrade: two necessary ingredients for the increased demand for taxis. The best commercial would be what English people call „word of mouth‘‘ and Serbians „preporuka‘‘ (Eng: recommendation). None of this would be possible without the brave, sometimes crazy business ideas, which Kalanik dubs as „ principled confrontation.” His idea is that Uber grows and expands so fast all over the world before the legislators can react to it, and after it already becomes too late, because the citizens would get used to cheaper and comfier rides, even from unregistered drivers. Expansion continued with new offers: many American cities now have UberX, which has cabs with 40% lower prices than regular cabs. In the first portion of 2015, 46 % of all fares in great metropoles were over Uber, which is a giant leap from 15 % just a year earlier. ®

A HERO

It’s not about seizing the chance,

IT’S ALWAYS THERE

IT’S ABOUT KNOWING IF THAT’S THE CHANCE YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR All Branislav Trifunovic’s projects have a message, and they are his fight and his way of showing us what he thinks of the rotten system, of false values and of hypocrites. He is a director, an actor, a producer, and a humanitarian. He is one of the founders of the “Lice Ulice” magazine, which helps the most vulnerable people of Serbia, and a fighter for children, their better life, a life that the previous generations didn’t have. An accidental meeting with eight young and talented persons from Novi Pazar, full of revolt and the will to change the system, just like Bane, was so inspirational that he decided to help them direct and set a show called “Beton Mahala” that rocked the country. Can the young change the system? Bane Trifunović spoke about it for the Original in the peaceful Savamala, the first morning after the terrorist attack in Paris.

By Zorica Markovic, photographs by Igor Pavicevic, and the show “Beton Mahala”

rebel with a cause, that’s Branislav Trifunovic, one of the best actors today. His path could have been immediately labelled as “Sergej’s younger brother,” which is what would please many evil spirits, but you can write anything else besides that next to his name. He had a certain style, which he used as a shortcut to win the cinema audience with the film Pogled sa Ajfelovog tornja, which dealt with serious topics. A charismatic visage, an actor with an attitude, all make him one of the most wanted Serbian artists. All Branislav Trifunovic’s projects have a message, and they are his fight and his way of showing us what he thinks of the rotten system, of false values and of hypocrites. He is a director, an actor, a producer, and a humanitarian. He is one of the founders of the “Lice Ulice” magazine, which helps the most vulnerable people of Serbia, and a fighter for children, their better life, a life that the previous generations didn’t have. An accidental meeting with eight young and talented persons from Novi Pazar, full of revolt and the will to change the system, just like Bane, was so inspirational that he decided to help them direct and set a show called “Beton Mahala” that rocked the country. “Beton Mahala,” a show by eight nonprofessional artists, made some powerful people ban them to play it with some pretty lame excuses and accusations. It turned out that the show is the most sincere and best thing that happened in the year. The children endured both the strikes from the local media and the looks of neighbors, but they eventually won. Almost all of them enrolled in drama at the FDU and in Novi Sad. Can the children change the system? Bane Trifunović spoke about it for the Original in the peaceful Savamala, the first morning after the terrorist attack in Paris.

HEROJ

Do young people truly think they can change society, and some people stronger and more powerful than themselves? That was the idea, right?

I don’t think they can, I think they have to change it. Nobody asks “Can you?” but “What exactly are you going to do?” I was fortunate to encounter eight young people who maybe didn’t articulate their thinking before this show, but they filtered it through that show, as well as their identity. Those kids, who were 16 to 21 years old then, wholeheartedly wanted to speak about the things that bothered them. The premiere we had in Novi Pazar, one of those two played shows, is the most exciting thing they’ve ever seen, what I’ve seen, personally, regardless of the amount of shows and premieres behind me. I think that young people have to be more active in, not politics, but in changing conscience, primarily their own, and then their neighbors’, friends’, and to act according to the values they’re fighting for. You’ve given a chance to these young people, but not all “grownups” have the same consideration for new generations. How can a young person stand out if he or she doesn’t get a chance?

People whom it doesn’t suit are ruthless, and they see it as an attack on their positions. I think that I shouldn’t be afraid of those people or think about them as persons who could destroy our lives, even if they could, maybe. By showing fear, we only make them bigger. They are officials who must do their job, the job we’ve elected them for. Every sphere of the corrective idea can only be good. The fact they’re bothered with it should worry no one. Those people mention the young all the time in their campaigns, and when the young finally say something, they’re considered dangerous. That speaks volumes of their hypocrisy, and I fight hypocrisy. These children have figured out that it can’t go any other way. Would you understand when they would come to you and say: enough is enough, I’m leaving the country?

Of course. We’ve talked about it in the show. And when we decoded these most painful topics, one of the most shocking scenes we’ve seen is the very scene of leaving. Because they remembered all their friends who left, both for education and the things happening here. Leaving Pazar is still hard for them, they have the need to come back as soon as possi-

ble, and to gather and see each other. I don’t judge anyone for leaving; I understand each and every one of them, just as I understand anybody who stayed. That’s not a question of judging how much nerves you have to have in order to endure all those things around you. You’re a great activist. How much does the people’s apathy bother you?

I generally have a problem with apathy, but that hand raising, that head turning, makes a person look like a vegetable. I can’t say that it gets on my nerves, I’m more sorry when I see that life got a hold of them, and nothing happens. I don’t think that humans are robots, I think that they’re someone that should take use everything that’s given to them to change the world around themselves, without any aggression, but to try to change something, if they already think they’re on the right path. Speaking of apathy, the Serbs have shown that they can be shaken, for example, the last year’s solidarity during the floods. Or, your brother, Sergej, who calls people to help a sick

A HERO

child in a broadcast of “Big Brother”.

The floods were a good example, but that came to a halt when it all was over, even though these people are still in need of help. Just as Sergej has done by entering the “Big Brother,” I think that the people need a big push to do something. People have lost empathy, we’ve become numb, we react only to some horrifying images, especially us here, who’ve been through a lot – there are still dead people on the front pages – that’s become normal. There’s a book called The Notebook about two kids who try to get used to pain by hurting themselves every day. That being said, I think that we’ve stopped feeling pain, because our endurance threshold is very high. Speaking of population and limits, and being “nowhere,” what’s your opinion on the story of our important geo-strategic location as the source of our constant problems?

About 15% of people in Serbia have a passport. That’s a pretty interesting number. The people that had to go have already left. We’ve always pushed that story that everything is happening to us because of our location, but when you have to complete that highway passing through Serbia, you realize that the foreigners have easily decided to go through Bulgaria and to go around us, and that story instantly becomes invalid. We’ve obviously fouled ourselves so much, shot ourselves in the foot and looked for someone to blame it on. We have to be friends with ourselves first, and then being there or here, or standing in someone’s way won’t be a problem. That social conscience is very low, and when we make a consensus on any question – and we never can – when we make a deal with ourselves, then we won’t have any problems.

I generally have a problem with apathy, but that hand raising, that head turning, makes a person look like a vegetable. I can’t say that it gets on my nerves, I’m more sorry when I see that life got a hold of them, and nothing happens. I don’t think that humans are robots, I think they’re someone that should use everything given to them to change the world around themselves, without any aggression. But, to try to change something, if they already think they’re on the right path

A HERO

We don’t have a consensus on culture either, so we have different outbursts regarding reality shows. Can this country afford the fact that the creatures from reality shows create its general values?

That’s up to the state. Three of five national emitters have reality shows. We have a convicted criminal who spent more than half of his life in prisons, and who’s being made a star, and who even gets a prolonged freedom because he’s on a contract with some house… even the Minister of Justice defends it. That’s all closely tied. They need the realities, because, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, they are used for sending various messages, mostly political. And just like the Spanish telenovelas of the 90s, they’re a substitute for the real life. And having as much as three reality shows right now isn’t a coincidence. How do you respond to people who defend it by saying that realities exist everywhere?

I agree with them, but they exist on cable TVs. Not having an alternative is also a problem. It brings a much smaller profit and nobody cares about the fact that they’d need to raise a whole new audience in five years. We’ve brought ourselves to talking about how “Big Brother” is the most decent reality, what’s insane – that’s a reality show too. I think that’s just a part of a bigger experiment, not just here, but we also live in some kind of an experiment globally, which tests our levels of endurance. Nobody wants to look to the fact that we need to make a new audience. When I remember the 90‘s and why rock and roll lost the battle, it’s because folk music shows that looked glamorous emerged. And rock and roll had some ragged half-drunks who played in the murk. Is there a book everyone should read at one point in their lifetime?

I think that every lifetime has its own book. I think that people need to find them themselves. I cared much about some books then, from Russian fairy tales, Vasilisa the Beautiful, to The Little Prince, or James Joyce. I can’t stand people rambling and giving advice. Everybody should have their own way. I think that people should just read. What’s happening with “Beton Mahala” now, after it being banned in Novi Pazar?

We play all around Serbia, we’ve won at

a great festival in Macedonia, we’ve played in Kotor, in Sarajevo… We’ve played over 20 shows in those seven months, which is great, and wherever we play – Dimitrovgrad, Paraćin… it always ends the same. With standing ovations. The number of people encourages me. And the children who rocked the “Mahala?”

They’re so sincere… Every time you see sincerity, it has to “go over the top”. The fact they say that religion divides them and brings them closer, and speak about love, education, leaving, where they’re going to live, those are the things that seem trivial, but they are of utmost importance. Those are the universal truths you can’t fight against. And when they say it all in an hour-long show, you begin to wonder how you’ve let it all happen. That’s the main moral of the show. You won’t give up on children?

We can’t afford to give up on them. When you have a child who thinks, you should help it think. What upset me the most about that Novi Pazar, regardless of all the threats and intents of stopping the show, is that I went to the Tourism Fair in Belgrade, after two and a half months of trying to get the show back, because I knew some people I tried to reach were at the stands, and I approached them and saw their children singing on godknows-what shows on the big screens, and that that was advertised. I was further infuriated by it, that I’m now certain we should play that show even more now, in spite of everything and everyone. Those children who sing are more important to them than the ones who think. Novi Pazar is just a part of the specimen,that has nothing to do with the city, but with us. We’ll smother every child who thinks, and it will eventually leave the country, because it won’t be able to find a job. That’s maybe the spirit of the Mahala, being shamed for being different than the neighborhood.

These people don’t understand that this show glorifies Novi Pazar. We go to Dimitrovgrad, which is also a multinational environment, and people tell us that it’s the best show they’ve seen in 11 years of the festival and that they now want to go to Novi Pazar. They won’t get it, ever. That is in honor of Novi Pazar. When you have such a city with so much history, diversity in a small environment, that’s historically more important…

You often play in these different shows. Are you used to it?

That’s not a problem for me anymore. The time we live in, especially for the theater that’s built on shaming the politicians, I think that it’s necessary that it starts speaking of anomalies. It shouldn’t just entertain. I’m much happier when I play shows that are active, that call for some changes. Especially when we’re in shambles,that can only help. I would feel bad playing comedies. I would be really uncomfortable, I rather play shows that are hard-hitting and in your face, that make politicians play, retreat and react… Because that means they’re hurt. What do you hold against your profession? Do you have the right to hold anything against it?

I have the right to hold things against it, it’s mine, they hold things against me too. I think that it’s anemic, and so barren; we’re old-fashioned. We were much braver in the 60s and the 70s, even though it was during different times. The Bitef festival, theaters – we were braver, we were ahead of our time, and now we’re centuries behind the things happening in the world and we’re determined in refusing all things new, without even trying them. The theater became duller than it was to me, and I hope that’s not the case with the audience, after all, the theaters are full, but I would love to see different and braver shows. The students had a surprise this year by going out to the streets. If we exclude the protests and the fights, and compare it to different times, with the 68-ers and the 90s, what does it all look like?

I remember when I was a student, we wore “Otpor” T-shirts and stopped classes at the universities and walked the streets. We believed in it so much, we weren’t afraid of anything. As Svetislav Basara would say, I’m not paranoid, I’m right. It seems to me that, whenever those protests are the case, since we grew up with different services, it gets turned to where it suits them best. Just as with gay pride, they threaten: “We’ll kill,” and suddenly, nobody shows up. Somebody takes care of it all and says: yes or no. I firmly believe it. When those things are the case, those things are channeled to where it suits them. I call for students to react on bigger things, not on whether the GPA is this or that, that’s OK, but it’s pointless. They should demand something for the greater good. ®

100

SERBIAN SPORTS

↙THE SECRET

OF SERBIAN WATER POLO Written by Slobodan Maričić A swimming pool. In the upper right corner, time is rushing like it’s trying to catch a train. On the left side, a man in a blue cap feints once. “Milanović...“ That was a ruse. “Milanović...“ The last hundredths of a second are throwing their luggage onto the wagon and waving goodbye from the window. “Goooal, goooal,” shouts Milorad Đurković while water polo players are waving their arms around hysterically, and not because they want to keep themselves afloat. It was the beginning of a reign that has no end in sight. It all culminated in Rio, where the Serbian water polo team finally managed to get that last gem in their crown – the gold medal. But just how did water polo become a trademark of this country, together with basketball and a tennis racquet in the hands of Novak Đoković? The Original gathered several generations of our golden “Dolphins:” Aleksandar Šoštar, Slobodan Nikić, Aleksandar Šapić, Vladimir Vujasinović, Jugoslav Vasović, Nikola Jakšić...

NOT TO WHAT BE DOING WE HAD

SERBIAN SPORTS

MENTION WOULD WE IF ONLY THE SEA...

101

“There’s no more time for anything,” says Mladen Delić while the ball is falling somewhere around the center of the field. The screen says 1983 – Split. „There’s no more time, 45:38,” he’ll later be imitated by generations upon generations. You can hear the audience rising. “Vujović...“ Imagine a little grandpa in the stands, neither standing nor sitting because of the anxiety, waiting for what’s going to happen. “A chance... Goal!“ The roar caused by the contact of the ball and the inner side of the net is heard. “Madness! what is this?” Delić shouts and mutters something I never could understand. The music starts in the background. The screen is showing the stadium at Ljutice Bogdana 1. Augenthaler hits it the way he hits it, the ball is round, what else can it do, it goes where it goes. Milojko Pantić calmly communicates the result – “Twoooo, twoooo...“ The music in the background is getting louder and louder. The sky has opened, and the screen is already showing a boy running, shooting for three and scoring. “Oh, my – something, something – Djordjevik,” an Englishman shouts. The screen says: Juventud – Partizan 70:71. A swimming pool. In the upper right corner, time is rushing like it’s trying to catch a train. On the left side, a man in a blue cap feints once. “Milanović...“ That was a ruse. “Milanović...“ The last hundredths of a second are throwing their luggage onto the wagon and waving goodbye from the window. “Goooal, goooal,” shouts Milorad Ðurković while water polo players are waving their arms around hysterically, and not because they want to keep themselves afloat. “Yugoslavia is the world champion,” he says. Back then, in 1986, like the famous opening credits of Memories always remind us, which is, of course, their goal, Yugoslavia became the world champion in water polo. Two bronze medals were won after that, as well as two golds at the Olympic Games, but that was the first time a World Championship was won. No more or less, but in the last second of the fourth overtime. That was the goal which, the Internet says, threw Yugoslavia into a trance, and my father nods as if to confirm that it’s true. Two years later, at the Seoul Olympics another gold medal was won. A first medal for a – back then – young and talented goalkeeper Aleksandar Šoštar. “What separates our national team is great

102

SERBIAN SPORTS

effort, not just now but during a longer period of time. Nothing can be achieved over night. There is meticulous preparation, individual work with every player so he can give his best, and we are reaping the benefits of that now. Tradition and school. From the time of old Yugoslavia our coaches and experts are the ones that should take credit for that, and that’s keeping us where we are right now,” states Šoštar, a nine-medal winner with the national team. Water polo in the region was always looked after by top-notch experts, beginning with Vlah Orlić, Nikola Stamenić and Nenad Manojlović, through Dejan Udovičić and Igor Milanović, all the way to the “young guns,“ Dejan Savić and Vlada Vujasinović. Guided by their leadership and heritage, everything was conquered. It will be easier to count what wasn’t conquered, which is beautiful in its own peculiar way. Our national team players didn‘t win any medals at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. At the World Championships in Melbourne in 2007, they were fourth. In Barcelona in 2013, seventh, as well as in Florence in 1999. Other than that, they slipped through two World Cups, two Mediterranean Games and a World League – counting only the ones where they participated. They slipped through, for that land far away from the sea. Aleksandar Šoštar emphasizes the attitude that making winning medals a regular occurrence is a big mistake, and its a great achievement when you get in the top two, three or four. “The water polo players have won everything there is to win, and when they come second, it feels wrong. It’s a great burden to bear, but they’re used to it. It’s not the fairest thing in the world, but when you’re good, you need to live through that. People think ’it’s normal to be number one’. It isn’t. It’s not normal to be number one anywhere, that’s only an additional burden. Every medal is an exceptional success,” he says. Nine competitions have managed to slip

through as it were, but from let’s say 1990, 36 medals overall were won. The last one, in Kazan, came about in a superior way. Croatia was leading in the final 2:0, but in the end they lost 11:4. On the Internet a video became pretty popular, where the Croatian national team coach Ivica Tucak crosses himself, because he simply cannot believe the saves Mitrović is making. “What happened in Kazan... Nobody was ever that superior,” emphasizes Šoštar. Water polo players have become the pupil that gets so many high marks that people aren’t surprised anymore when it happens again. He’s not a nerd, oh no, he’s the cool kid who does it all effortlessly – sports, academics, girls, messing around, you name it. Excellent marks are the norm, an everyday thing. But, when the problem kid in the backbenches gets the highest mark, not to mention when it happens at New Zealand... “We’ve done our assignments up until now mostly flawlessly, and thanks to Dejan Savić we’re far from being lazy to renew the material every once in a while. It can truly be said that with the professors we have, we’ve been representing for quite a while the most successful school in Serbian sport,” says Filip Filipović. In the meantime, water polo performances brought about the following conversation between Aleksandar Šapić and a Croatian customs officer. „I know you from somewhere, which sport was it?“ „Water polo.“ „Yeah, yeah. As I recall, you used to sneak in quite a few of them against us?“ „Yes I did.“ „Beat it, I don’t want to look at you!“

Just like Serbia never lacked for water polo experts, it doesn‘t lack talented water polo players, either. A certain Milan Gale Muškatirović was one, Dušan Mandić as well, and all those in between who swam out everything they had. But, we need to listen to the first ones, and nurture the second ones

“For the last X number of years the question ’what do you expect water polo players to do’ has become almost rhetorical, the answer is always – ’we’re expecting gold.‘ To be told that, it bothered me too back when I was playing, and it definitely doesn’t feel good for the guys that are playing now. We constantly get good results, and water polo players have practically taught people that you basically win a gold medal by going for a swim and then it simply drops from the heavens. It doesn’t work that way, it takes a great effort,” says Aleksandar Šapić, once a terror of opposing goalkeepers. According to Filip Filipović, what separates our national team from others is the atmosphere and a sense of comradere within the team. “They’ve been together for a long time. There are some older and some younger players, but Andrija and Filip have been playing together their whole lives. Besides, coach and his staff are leading the team just the way they should. In our team the boss is the boss, which is important. As far as the result is concerned, to tell you sincerely it doesn’t interest me all that much, what truly piques our interest is coming in August. I know the strength of our squad, we’re certain to end up in one of the top places. We’re playing at home, we have the stimulus, but the Olympics are our primary goal,” stresses Vasović. The national team players themselves, both the most decorated and the youngest, answer identically when asked what separates the Serbian team from the others.

SERBIAN SPORTS

“What separates this generation is the atmosphere that exists between us, the fact that we know each other so well and how much we hang out together privately. That’s one of the reasons,” says Slobodan Nikić (born 1983), winner of 27 medals among which there’s so many golden ones that a smaller country might use them as their national bank reserve. “It’s not the player quality that separates us from other squads, although the players are the best and I am honored to be playing with such champions, but what truly elevates us from others is the atmosphere and the friendliness within the squad. We’re like brothers, that’s the difference between us and everybody else,” adds Nikola Jakšić (born 1997), a future federal reserve. However, the national team record holder with 981 goals in 385 appearances stresses one thing before the great atmosphere – high quality. “We have three finest players in the world in their positions – Prlainović, Filipović and Pijetlović. That’s something nobody has ever had, which is three players in the three key positions, left, right and center. We also have a smoothly combined team. By circumstance, the team is assembled in such a manner that we have both team leaders and those who aren’t, but they’re great playing second fiddle. We’re talking about players which don’t have their energies crossed. You can’t play like the Brazilian football team, where every player is in charge. A good atmosphere is obviously caused by the first thing, and everybody is content with their place on the team,” says Šapić. “The national team today is a product of the work put in some three or four years ago. With all due respect for everybody, VK Partizan is the finest exponent of it all. However, if something doesn’t change, if clubs don’t find their place in the sun... In two to three years there will be a changing of the guard, while the playing pool is getting smaller and smaller, so there can easily be a drop off in quality,” says water polo great Aleksandar Šoštar. Furthermore, at that time, Vanja Udovičić and Filip Filipović found employment

We have three finest players in the world in their positions – Prlainović, Filipović and Pijetlović. That’s something nobody has ever had, which is three players in the three key positions – left, right and center. We also have a cohesive team. By circumstance, the team is assembled in such a manner that we have both team leaders and those who are great playing second fiddle in Kragujevac, while the Montenegrin national Zdravko Radić was tending the goal. Besides them, the coach of Radnički was the former national team coach of Serbia, currently coach of USA, Dejan Udovičić. Barceloneta was unfortunately the better team in the final, but a second place in Europe is nothing to sneeze at. In four seasons, Serbia had three different clubs in the Champions League finals. Water polo profited off the economic crisis. The regional Triglav League counts ten members. At the moment of writing, Partizan is fourth in the league, Red Star is eighth, Vojvodina ninth and Radnički tenth. “It’s a lot. It’s too much. The results are worrying, but it seems they are realistic at the moment,” wrote Andrija Prlainović on social networks after heavy defeats of eternal rivals – in only three days, Primorje beat Red Star 16:3, and after them Partizan 15:3. What’s more, national team coach Dejan Savić stated in a press conference that he’s worried and that his appeals, as well as those

103

from people at Red Star, Partizan and Radnički didn’t reach the right people. “Nobody recognized the difficulty of the situation. What’s interesting is that the results of the national team can be extraordinary on one hand, but they also warn that the state the clubs are in is catastrophic and it can all hit us on the head like a boomerang,” Savić said then. Slobodan Nikić says that there’s definitely a problem, but not just in water polo, and that it’s obvious that both the current situation in the country, and the economy is affecting club sport. “I definitely wish things were different, that the whole national team is playing in Serbia. It’d be great if everybody watched us at home, just like in Hungary for example, but obviously some things need to coincide as far as politics is concerned. Eg. for laws to be changed, or that large companies are complied to assist sport, and pay smaller taxes that way. I don’t know, I’m not a law expert. Just look at how much sporting success we had in 2015. Besides everything that’s happening, that’s the one positive thing. Our people only see that as positive, they watch it for an hour and they immediately feel better. Water polo players play for their land, for their country, they set an example for young people and it’s truly a pity there’s not much funds allocated for them from the state budget,” says Nikić. There’s only one national team member playing in a Serbian club – the teenager Nikola Jakšić, states Jugoslav Vasović. “WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE STATE we’re in today. In a year, two, or a few, but pay we will. At the moment there is a single national team member playing in Serbia out of 13, and that’s only because he’s just begun and is 18 years old. If you ask me, that’s unacceptable. We have great players of our own, with them and some juniors we can easily make some really good teams.“ Just like Serbia never lacked for water polo experts, it won’t lack for water polo talents either. A certain Milan Gale Muškatirović was one, Dušan Mandić as well, and all those in between who swam out everything they had. But we need to listen to the first ones, and nurture the second ones, and they will all in the future be guided by what the volleyball player Marko Podraščanin wrote on Twitter after Kazan was conquered: “I left my flag in front of the Parliament, I can’t carry it to and fro anymore!“ ®

104

HEROES

BE LIKE ZAGOR The authentic Balkan's (all right, Italian, but still) superhero conquers America There’s something about those comic books… In the big and vast “CRAAACK” next to something cracking, an even bigger “SWOOSHHH” above a sword swinging just a few inches above the main hero’s head and the “SMACK”, “THUMP” and “TONK” of the buddies who come after several close contacts of two fists with the loose jaw of some bad guy. In the drawings, in the speech bubbles, in the paper, in its smell… In the darkness of Dylan Dog, in the heat of Mister No, gunfights of Tex and detective tasks of Martin Mystère. Everybody knows who the comic book symbol in this part of the world is – Za-Gor-Te-Nay, the Spirit with the Hatchet. That’s why the death of his father, Gallieno Ferri, saddened the Balkans. But, it also gave an impetus to some new people along with some new ideas: one of “ours” has made what seemed impossible before – he “sold” Zagor to Americans.

By Slobodan Maričić

OMEBODY KNOCKED WILDLY AT THE DOOR. “Uncle Felipe! Aunt Maria! Open up,” said one child, while the other looked back to see if somebody followed them. Soon, the doors opened and in them appeared a plump woman wearing big round earrings. It was crowded inside. There was a beautiful girl, three pirates, hosts, one peculiar fat little man with moustache and a muscular hero in a red shirt with a yellow sign on his chest. The girl’s father, a pirate by profession, was kidnapped, so the hero in the red shirt decided to help her rescue him and briefly leave the forest, his home, unguarded. After all, the old pirate Jean Lafitte did save his life once… The children were scouting, and since they determined there were no enemy so-

ldiers nearby, the gang moved on. They got on their horses, and our brave hero led the gang, screaming “Let’s go!” They’re following a group of archaeologists who not only kidnapped Lafitte, but also wanted to find an ancient city in the jungles of Yucatan, and, of course, steal the ancient treasure. There, a few pages later, stands a whole educational story about Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, its development, Montezuma, and the thing that happened when his country was swarmed by white people who rode four-legged animals and fired thunder out of their hands. “When I say I’m going to rescue your father, I mean that I’ll do it without killing the soldiers who are following them to the internment camp,” said Zagor. “I agree! I don’t like killing innocent people either,” answered fair Denise. How could somebody who read this story and similar stories as a child be a bad man?

HEROES

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE COMIC BOOKS… IN THE BIG AND VAST “CRAAACK” next to something cracking, an even bigger “SWOOSHHH” above a sword swinging just a few inches above the main hero’s head and the “SMACK,” “THUMP” and “TONK” of the buddies who come after several close contacts of two fists with the loose jaw of some bad guy. In the drawings, in the speech bubbles, in the paper, in its smell… In the darkness of Dylan Dog, in the heat of Mister No, gunfights of Tex and detective tasks of Martin Mystère. Everybody knows who the comic book symbol in this part of the world is – Za-Gor-Te-Nay, the Spirit with the Hatchet. Zagor first came out long ago, in 1961, and seven years later, it came to Yugoslavia and entrenched itself in the hearts and minds of kids, but also of grownups all around the country. That Italian comic book, made by the drawings of Gallieno Ferri and the scenarios of the even more famous Sergio Bonelli, it was more beloved in Yugoslavia than in Italy. Dušan Mladenović, editor in chief of the “Veseli četvrtak”, a publishing house that publishes Zagor and the rest of the Bonelli’s crew, said that he often asked himself why that was so. “Unbelievable, how could Zagor ‘survive’ in Yugoslavia of all countries, and be the most popular comic book even today. It’s more popular than superheroes even in this period of the rise of that culture, films and shows. Not even the French comic books, which were always present, could make such a popularity,” Mr. Mladenović pointed out. According to him, the catch is that Zagor, i.e. his creators Bonelli and Ferri touched the essence of the subconscious of the Balkan people. “Zagor is a man living in a forest, in a swamp… He’s an eternal righteous man, always on the side of the oppressed. He is a symbol of adventure, wild undertakings, and a story bigger than life. Why did people exactly identify with Zagor, and not

105

with some other hero from Bonelli’s shelf ? That’s hard to discern, Zagor may be the very symbol of a person from the Balkans,” said Mr. Mladenović. In Yugoslavia, Zagor was published by the “Dnevnik” from Novi Sad in two editions: The Golden Series and the Luno’s Magnus comic book. The first published episode was “Violence in Darkwood.” It came out in both series in the beginning, it came out as a part of LMCB from 1971 to 1975, while from 1975 to 1992, the stories from Darkwood were signed by the Golden Series. The current main scriptwriter of Zagor, Moreno Burattini, said that people from ex-Yugoslavia love comic books based on esotery and unusual characters, which Zagor is popular by. “You should keep in mind that Zagor isn’t a classic genre comic book, but a combination of various genres, such as western, horror, or sci-fi, and it’s obvious that such a concoction of different backgrounds suits the readers from around here. That’s a permanent phenomenon,” said Burattini. Zagor survived quite a few things here, and almost half a century after its first visit to the Balkans, the man who drew the first cover pages, Gallieno Ferri, died. “Rest in Darkwood Ferri. He left us to-

106

HEROES

day, after he lived an exquisite life, beloved as one of the few true creators of dreams,” said Mr. Burattini that day. If it weren’t for Ferri’s drawings, Zagor wouldn’t be as popular as today, said Mr. Mladenović. “We were so sad when he passed away, because one great individual had left us. Bonelli, for example, hadn’t worked in the past few years, but Ferri literally drew until his dying day, both cover pages and episodes. Zagor has almost 600 episodes, with side-series… Every cover page was drawn by him,” our interviewee pointed out. And it all began just like all greatest and best stories – by accident. Ferri, at least, became an illustrator by accident. “I did it as a hobby, because my father insisted on me being a surveyor. However, I saw an ad for an illustrator one day. I secretly applied and met Bonelli later in Milan. It all began like that, he said on the Book Fair in Belgrade in 2008. THE REST IS HISTORY, LIKE THE POPULAR CLICHÉ STATES. Then began the story of Patrick Wilding, a.k.a. “The Spirit with the Hatchet” or Za-Gor-Te-Nay, who lives in the Darkwood forest and tries to fight both a series of enemies and his faithful friend Chico. “It evolved from classic comic books. Of course, connoisseurs know which period is golden, which one is silver and which one is bronze. Somewhere from the American odyssey later called Zagor’s odyssey – somewhere between the 100th and 200th edition – that’s the very classic of the comic book. Zagor reached its apex there,” he said. “There are also episodes for those who are slightly on the darker side of mind,” said Mr. Mladenović, and the part with horror stories was taken care of by, none other than Tiziano Sklavi, the author of Dylan Dog. The “Madness Demon” episode is a nightmare within a nightmare, within a nightmare. At the end of the episode, Zagor commits suicide, which was pretty shocking – how could Zagor do such a thing. Then it turns out that it wasn’t “our” Zagor exactly, but some Zagor from an alternate dimension,” said Mr. Mladenović. Alfredo Castelli, the father of Martin Mystère, also worked on many comic books about Zagor, but two or three pieces weren’t quite well accepted by the readers, which put him, as he said, to danger of being expelled from Italy.

Ferri was a guest on the Book Fair in Belgrade in 2008. His arrival caused a lot of attention, and the Fair’s conference hall was full. Inside there were some who claimed to be the Spirit with the Hatchet, at least by their costumes. When he made his entrance, Ferri was greeted with loud applause and cheer. Even the Dirty Inspector Blaža, the host of the conference, fell into his arms. ACCORDING TO HIM, THAT’S THE REASON THAT EVEN 40 YEARS LATER, PEOPLE STILL PROVOKE HIM FOR THAT “SIN.” “They’re probably right, I always was, and still am, as a reader, a great fan of Zagor, and if someone forced me to ‘save’ just one Bonelli’s character, I would choose the Spirit with the Hatchet. I think that he has a lot of realization possibilities beyond the comic book (films, cartoons, books for young people, etc). But, that may seem odd to many, I’ve never liked writing comic books about Zagor, and that’s probably obvious,” Alfredo said to Croatian media on one occasion. Three characters greatly influenced Zagor’s inception… one was a Phantom. He lived in an imaginary forest, but he wore a peculiar purple suit. He was later played by Billy Zane. There once was a Superman. He could

fly around the Earth backwards and turn back time, move hills and mountains, and he wore a big sign on his chest. There was a Tarzan. The King of the jungle, the conqueror of a Jane’s heart, and a vine-climber. Zagor shares the forest part with the Phantom, his chest sign with Superman, and vines as a means of transportation with Tarzan. Zagor was also influenced by Il Grande Blek, Captain Miki and Mandrake. However, the idea for his name was Ajax, but it didn’t happen, because they figured out that there was a dish soap already named that. Zagor has two things they don’t have – one is the Tomahawk, a piece of oval stone tied to a wooden handle with a rope, which messed up many bad guys’ plans. “That hatchet is a universal weapon, when Zagor throws it, it doesn’t rotate, it

HEROES

rather flies in a straight line, and when it has to cut – it cuts, when it has to be dull to knock-out somebody – it’s dull. It’s needless to ask if something is possible in Zagor’s world,” Burattini said once. The other thing is Don Chico Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales. To friends, just Chico, the loyal and completely useless Mexican, a lover of food and sleeping. THE INTERNET STATES THAT THERE ARE FOUR REASONS TO SUCH ZAGOR’S GREATNESS – the first one is nostalgia. The second is that these are quality and palatable stories, the third is genre diversity and the fourth – a moral of the story and the fact that it’s an adequate read for young persons to adopt the ethical code of the Spirit with the Hatchet. “The moral to the story in all comic books is strong, from Mister No, Tex, Martin Mystère… Bonelli was a world-class scriptwriter, he wrote the best comic books, he is the father of Zagor and Mister No, the classics of the European comic books,” said Mr. Mladenović. Five years ago, Sergio Bonelli passed away, and this April, he was joined by Gallieno Ferri. Now emerged the question of who was going to finish those episodes started and left unfinished by Ferri. Who would be bestowed upon such an honor? “Hyperproduction is a problem; when our favorite authors stop working, then follow the critiques towards the new comic books. Nostalgia really matters here, the fans are used to the hero’s looks, and then come the new illustrators,” said the editor in chief of “Veseli četvrtak.” Ferri was a guest on the Book Fair in Belgrade in 2008. His arrival caused a lot of attention, and the Fair’s conference hall was full. Inside there were some who claimed to be the Spirit with the Hatchet, at least by their costumes. When he made his entrance, Ferri was greeted with loud applause and cheer. Even the Dirty Inspector Blaža, the host of the conference, fell into his arms. “I have to say that I was shocked, I didn’t know that people of Serbia love Zagor so much. There were a lot of people wanting an autograph on their books, as well as lots of children. Although I’m not that young anymore, you rejuvenated me, I became like Zagor,” Ferri said then. Then, Ferri received a yellow shirt from the fans from Niš, with the sign of Supermike, Zagor’s archenemy. In the lower part

of the shirt stood the Serbian coat of arms, and on the back, “To Mr. Ferri, from the fans from Serbia,” was written. “He left such an impact on all of us and on hundreds of people who came just to see him, get an illustration or touch him so they don’t have to wash their hand for some time… He was very normal, very humble, not carried away by the fame as some other illustrator of such a great comic book might be. He loved the hero and, primarily, his fans,” said Mr. Mladenović. Ferri then said, among other things, that he looked like Zagor in his youth and that he was always an athletic type, and that he was sorry, because of the things he lived to see during his visit, that Sampdoria beat Partizan a few days earlier, and he also advised young illustrators that they have to live every character they draw and express his feelings, because they are “scriptwriters, actors and illustrators in one whole.” “I like to think that our children look like Zagor, because he’s a good hero, he fights for freedom, he doesn’t like wars, he likes peace and a healthy life,” said this Genovese. HOWEVER, AFTER BALKANS, Zagor might conquer America as well. Since the publishing house “Epicenter Comics” will soon present the Spirit with the Hatchet to Americans. The founder of that publishing house, Igor Maričić, whose surname is incidentally the same as the surname of the person writing this article, said for the Italian website “Sergio Bonelli editore” that he was born in ex-Yugoslavia, where he spent the first years of his life, that his mother brought him a copy of Tex when he was six and that was it – he was “addicted” to it. “Just three weeks after that moment, I had a fateful moment. That was the day I saw the hero in a sleeveless shirt with an eagle on its chest in a kiosk. That is the beginning of my love towards comic books, that lasts to this day, and it’s maybe stronger than in my childhood. I never thought that I will be the one to have the honor to publish Zagor in English for the first time in history. That, aside from becoming a father, is the biggest honor in my life,” said Mr. Maričić. Comic books had a great influence on him and many others, even whole generations. Therefore, someone listening to Darkwood Dub can turn the pages of comic books in probably the most popular comic book store in Belgrade – Darkwood.

107

Everybody knows about Zagor, even those who aren’t into comic books. He is the first comic book phenomenon in this part of the world. He went beyond those circles, because a lot of people think: when I say comic book, I really mean Zagor. However, the fact that Zagor came to us that fateful summer when comrade Tito said that students are right, then survived, and now maybe also landed on US soil, is indeed an important thing, but also a problem for the future – the core readership now consists of an older audience. “Comic books, as a medium, are meant for all generations and somehow should primarily have a younger audience – children under 18, for example, should read comic books. That’s totally different with us, the comic books are read by those between 20 and 40 years of age”, said Mr. Mladenović. Burattini said that he was aware that new technologies slowly push out various forms of communication, among which are comic books. He also added that they are going to survive, maybe in cooperation with those technologies. “Comic books can be easily read on both laptops and tablets. True values last forever and can’t disappear that easily. As you can see, the theater also lost the function it held, say, a hundred years ago, but it still exists, hence, I believe that comic books won’t die out as long as there are people willing to read them,” said the Zagor’s scriptwriter. According to him, “Zagor will survive as long as there are those fond of adventures that lead to dream lands, entice the imagination and make people look at things beyond the frame of everyday events.” That’s why primarily reading with children, and then adults, is of utmost importance. To know what’s right, and what’s wrong. To read that episode “In the jungle of Yucatan” and learn that the innocent must not be killed, and after all, to embark on a quest for the ancient Aztec city with their hero to liberate the old pirate and stop the evil guys from carrying away the ancient treasure. Don’t let us be the ones to stop Zagor, when the crazy scientist Helingen, Supermike, Mortimer, Skal and others haven’t succeeded in that. “Supermike? Where? Ay caramba y carambita!” the plump schmuck with funny moustache would exclaim, partly thinking about potential danger, and partly about his next meal. ®

108

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY

109

SAVAMALA A NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A

FRIENDLY LAMP GENIE

ALMOST EVERY TWO OR THREE MONTHS, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES OR TV REPORTS BY WORLDWIDE MEDIA ABOUT MIKSER, KC CITY ETC. SHOW UP. THIS HAS MADE A PRESTIGIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD OUT OF A FORMER ABANDONED CITY BLOCK, AND IT IS NOW A “MUST SEE” IN MANY WORLD TRAVEL BROCHURES. THAT’S THE LATEST PROOF OF POSITIVE REPUTATION AND GLOBAL IMPORTANCE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD INTERSECTED BY TRACKS OF THE STREETCAR NO. 2 IN THE SHADES OF THE BRANKOV BRIDGE. WHAT’S SO MAGICAL IN SAVAMALA THAT’S ATTRACTIVE TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE COMING FROM WORLD’S CITIES, WHERE URBAN CULTURE IS BRANDED AS A NORMAL THING FOR DECADES NOW? TO THAT QUESTION, EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE ORIGINAL, ANSWERS ALL THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR BELGRADE GETTING AN EASTERN EUROPEAN VERSION OF ISLINGTON, VESTERBRO, SOMA AND KREUZBERG

By Branko Rosic

Theorists have often characterized mass movements in Rock and Roll music as a way to collect money from young people. Every movement has its fashion and trends. Conspiracy theorists have long concluded that punk was not a movement against the establishment, but a mere concoction by salesmen of musical instruments – this music genre promoted scarce knowledge in playing musical instruments, which meant that anybody could form a band and record an album. This ultimately meant excellent sales of instruments and amps. Thus, every movement is alike, having its fashion, stores, and music. When our grandmothers finally got accustomed to hipsters, the English and American magazines claimed that this movement is dead after just a few months. Yuccies (Young Urban Creatives) have been chosen as their successors, and many people were designated as flagbearers of the movement, like the owner of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Just as it was made official, people started making all kinds of determinants of that movement, thus establishing the ideal neighborhoods for yuccies. On the list consisting of twenty ‘hoods in global competition,

Photo Kosta Djordjevic

the Belgrade Savamala stands high in 2nd place. Right next to the London, Islington, Vesterbro in Copenhagen and the Soma in San Francisco. This entry to the “Global Yuccies ATP list” is the latest proof of the positive reputation and global importance of the neighborhood intersected by tracks of the streetcar no. 2 in the shades of the Brankov Bridge. Almost every two or three months, media from all over the world report on Mikser, KC City etc. show up, which made a prestigious neighborhood from a completely abandoned city block, and it is now a “must see” in many world travel brochures, and not only for the yuccie group. The City Culture Center was one of the first contents brought to a devastated area with the most beautiful buildings in Belgrade covered in spider webs and rubble. Dejan Ubović, the director of the KC City said that love at first sight, a

110

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY

WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING IS THE COMBINATION OF DECREPIT BUILDINGS ALONG WITH MODERN CLOTHING, CYCLISTS,TRUCKS WEIGHING 10 TONS, UNWRITTEN HISTORY AND AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, AND ULTIMATELY, THE FAMOUS GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE THAT IT IS THE LAST NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE BALKANS OR THE FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD IN EUROPE. FURTHERMORE, I THINK THAT PEOPLE, AT LEAST THOSE WHO THINK AND EXPLORE, NOT THE RICH TOURISTS FROM CRUISE SHIPS, TRAVEL TO DISCOVER SOMETHING THEY DON’T SEE EVERY DAY DEJAN UBOVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF KC CITY marriage of pure emotion was born seven years ago in 2009. Truth be told, Savamala wasn‘t meant to be its birthplace (we first meant it to be the Old Fair), but then Josip Randeli‘s storage happened. He was a flooring trader from prewar Karlovac in Croatia. Sometimes things are great because they happen randomly. „From the KC City, Savamala received the first breath of life and the transport of people down by the river. To be honest, my greatest pleasure is the fact people started to come down by the Brankov Bridge entirely because of music, art, and film... If we had opened a bank or a shop, I‘m sure that the situation wouldn‘t have been the same,“ Dejan Ubović described the coming down by the river, after which nothing was the same. What’s so magical in Savamala that’s attractive to the young people coming from world’s cities where urban culture is branded as a normal thing for decades now? “I always found that recognition of a city by its blocks very interesting. Rarely do we witness those very toponyms being the first reminders of a city, the territories with invisible but clear borders that have all the attributes of recognition in a subcultural sense. Thus, we all know about the lively multi-cultural Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin that became all too

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY

poshy recently, and the dangerous El Raval in Barcelona, where you have to watch for yourself, but also about the too expensive Södermalm in Stockholm.” “Does Savamala have an identity? What makes it interesting is the combination of decrepit buildings along with modern clothing, cyclists, trucks weighing 10 tons, unwritten history and an uncertain future, and ultimately, the famous geographical perspective that it is the last neighborhood in the Balkans or the first neighborhood in Europe. Furthermore, I think that people, at least those who think and explore, not the rich tourists from cruise ships, travel to discover something they don’t see every day. Savamala is exactly that. Down by the river somewhere, a dirty block where trucks pass by, near the bus station where you can always be surprised by something old or new. Now, regarding the magic in the very KC City, one of my favorite things is the moment the Bucharest train passes two meters behind the backs of some travelling musicians from some American or unknown Neverland,” Ubović summed up the magic of Savamala, which brought it a prestigious spot on the maps of urban pilgrims. THE MIKSER FESTIVAL HAS BEEN CHANGING BELGRADE’S IMAGE FOR YEARS. In its nomadic quests, they created interesting events in different city blocks, including the Žitomlin silos in Dorćol. A few years ago, they descended to the Brankov Bridge’s shade – Savamala, where the Mikser festival prolonged its duration to 365 days in a year. A building covered in black, with a glowing label “MH” became the location of the most interesting city events. Ivan Lalić, the CEO of Mikser festival talks about the magic of Savamala for the global media and tourists too. One of the most recent pieces of Savamala’s phenomena is the fact that there are foreign tourists that make their stay in Serbia’s capital only in this piece of the streetcar 2’s circle – in the vicinity of the streetcar tracks in Karađorđeva Street. According to some data, they don’t go further from the district of Mikser and the KC City. Rade Milić, the president of the board of directors of the Urban Development Center, believes that the authenticity of the location is what brings people to a certain place. Their desire to explore and see something special motivates them. This is related to the modern person’s search for authentic places. That’s the charisma of the place and the creative strength of a certain location, which

is recognized at Savamala. Designing new, creative industries related to the needs of a modern person is a winning combination. The spaces that are both art galleries, debate rooms, as well as good places for night life meet the needs of modern people. Creating an authentic city image should be an important segment of the city’s urban policy. He said that the transformation of this location didn’t happen spontaneously. The people who made decisions, using the experience collected on their trips to developed metropolitan areas all around the world, have made a visionary plan of this city’s neighborhood’s revitalization. “THE STRATEGY THAT PROVED ITSELF SUCCESSFUL ENCOMPASSED culture, which is in the service of the city’s economic development. The cultural strategy consists of the preservation of authenticity – the historical heritage, a free expression of creativity while providing new consumption places. The municipality started taking care of the complicated ownership and legal relations, freeing this location up and letting the creative people shape it as they pleased. You can only build a successful story on these persons’ very creativity, which foreign people recognize before we do. There are many creative people in our city, who can succeed with their work, but they don’t have connections with the political monopolies ruling the cultural scene. The Štab Gallery, KC City, Mikser and Nova Iskra are real examples of a good and thought, through space transformation planning. These locations, as places of alternative culture, are in tourist brochures as a part of an authentic urban menu of Belgrade today. Unfortunately, Savamala is the only example of rehabilitation of an urban environment in Belgrade we have left”, Milić explained the gentrification of the devastated square meters in the coastal part of Belgrade. The first steamboat docked the Sava’s banks in the 19th century. Many taverns in the part of town, looked like modern-day stock markets, because of all the ruckus happening. That was the place of the first theater and first bohemians of Belgrade. Lots of marks in the Savamala area represent the witnesses of the Belgrade’s industrialization in the 19th century. Afterwards, this area housed the first “Zadrugas” that affected the process of modernization of the whole society. A significant and authentic space is dug in, in the slope between the Karađorđeva Street and the Kosančićev Venac. They are the big lagums – storage spaces made by digging

111

into the rock since the long-gone 18th century. There are thousands of square meters of unused subterranean space. There’s even an underground staircase connecting these two Belgrade blocks. Ljudmila Stratimirović, the director of KC City, said that the magnetic pull Savamala towards young foreigners lies in the fact that they are probably searching for something different, authentic, and more laid-back than the main pedestrian shopping zones that all look alike in the big metropolises. A lot of them want to discover something special, something hard to find immediately. They aren’t and don’t want to be ordinary tourist, on the contrary, they want to discover the real spirit of the town they’re visiting. Because why would they even travel if everything is the same everywhere. And they can do that only in the places where creativity has made a breakthrough. “The KC City is the first independent culture center, not just in Savamala, but also in Belgrade, Serbia and the region. Savamala was our choice by accident. It’s the part of town where I grew up, but that wasn’t the reason. It was hard getting any kind of information regarding the empty lots; riding bikes and searching through the whole wide downtown area of Belgrade, we just noticed a building that was empty and derelict. Savamala instantly got a kind of content, and the area became interesting to others,” said the art director of KC City. When asked if Savamala would get a logical evolution similar to gentrification, in order to attract artist first, then restaurants and ultimately real-estate agents, Ljudmila answered: “It probably will, and everything is moving towards it, and it is a faster process here than in other countries, but we will see how things are going to unfold. It has always been like that, and everyone wants to be close to artists, creative people and bohemians, because they are interesting, laid-back, and aren’t focused on some imposed social values. No wonder the most interesting content is far away from shopping malls and main pedestrian zones and business blocks,” stated the art director of KC City. Upon the request of not only the city, the citizens flocking to Savamala for both the cultural events and the magnificent sausages and beer in some of the taverns, but also the yuccies from all around the world, because they already pinpointed Savamala as one of the pilgrimage sites on their maps. ®

112

TASTE & SMELL

FOOD TO BOOST YOUR BRAINPOWER,

concentration and clear your thoughts By Maja Volk

e own the most sophisticated computer in the universe, and yet we let it get contaminated with viruses, toxins and bugs. We still don‘t know how to use it in its entirety, and scientists believe that neuroscience will be leading in 21st and 22nd century. It is only now that we discover, little by little, what is the purpose of various parts of our brain. And every day we find out something new. The main question remains how to stimulate and how to feed this big consumer of energy and oxygen - the brain takes away 25 percent of our energy and 25 percent of the oxygen our body produces. But we still don‘t feel how vital of an organ it is. For our organism, it is more important to satisfy the heart, the lungs, the kidneys... The brain somehow almost comes last. That‘s why you can get the headaches - it‘s the lack of oxygen, the fatigue, the drowsiness, the lack of concentration. The brain regenerates in your sleep, and when you‘re younger, you tend to sleep less. WHILE AWAKE, YOUR BRAIN ERADIATES TOXINS, which accumulate over time. That is why you are not even able to count properly when you‘re sleepy. And when you‘re a student, you usually cram whole night and do not even get a minutes sleep. That is totally wrong, but it can be worse if you keep yourself awake with stimuli like energy drinks and coffee. Coffee will ruin your brain in the long run. So if you wish to learn faster, if your want to be more efficient, if you wish - and you should wish - to take care of your brain, then you need to get it the best food there is, as well as lot of sleep, physical exercise and sensory stimulation. So let‘s begin with the food - the best fuel for your cells, especially neurons. Your brain consists of a lot of fat, so it needs fatty acids like omega 3, 5, 6, 9... So, it‘s: avocados, nuts, coconut oil, raw cashew nuts, sunflower, sesame, flax, all cold-pressed oils. Acids can combine with proteins to form new cells. This is why we need: hemp seeds, which is the best source of amino-acids, goji berries (that are both protein and fruit at the same time), some grains like quinoa, buckwheat sprouts, raw peas (thawed only), almond, hazelnuts, walnuts, chia seed, flax... Vitamin K, potassium, iron, zinc are essential for the good mood, but also for the endorphins, dopamine and serotonin in the brain. The best choice is raw cocoa, locust bean, raw cabbage, bananas... Add to this the foods that affect the blood flow. Those are cinnamon and everything spicy, chili peppers, garlic, wild garlic, rocket salad, pepper, horseradish, radish, ginger... There are even additional superhelpers, like oils from Indian plants brahmi and ashwagandha, which soothe your mood and enhance your concentration. You will be calm, yet powerful! You can ensure you have enough B vitamins by taking fruity yeast, but not meat or brewer‘s yeast. Coconut water has the same composition like blood plasma. In World War II it was administered intravenously to the wounded, like a blood transfusion. Sensory stimulation can also be very valuable. It is well known that smells can soothe, especially the smell of strawberries, like lavender, lemon, cinnamon... ®

TASTE & SMELL

Fast and stimulating meals:

GORILLA SHAKE n n n n n n n n n n

Tablespoon of coconut oil Scoop of raw cocoa powder Scoop of Peruvian maca A handful of dried goji berries 5 date palms or a tablespoon of honey Half a teaspoon of cinnamon Pinch of cayenne pepper Banana A handful of almonds or cashew nuts A cup or two of hot water Put all the ingredients in the blender and in no time you‘ll have a drink for the soul and the brain!

GREEN SMOOTHIE FOR GREAT EFFORT n 2 bananas n Whole peeled lemon n 5 tablespoons of honey or 5 date palms n A handful of raw spinach or large leaf of kale n 3 cups of water n Half a pear n 1 orange n Half a liter of coconut water Put all ingredients into a large blender, pour coconut water and you‘ll be able to endure all day

ENERGY PELLETS Put some nuts, hazelnuts, goji berries, a teaspoon of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of Peruvian maca, a teaspoon of cinnamon, 10 date palms and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a blender. Make a compact mass and then form little pellets. Roll them in cocoa, poppy seeds or sesame ... Put in the fridge and later carry them with you!

113

CHIA SEEDS

Their name means „strength“. It is believed that Maya and Aztecs relied on it for energy

OU JUST CAN‘T ESCAPE FROM CHIA SEEDS. It‘s like they‘re in every article about cleansing of organism and raising of your energy levels. Sure, they are healthy, but do we know for sure how to obtain them and how to use them? Chia seeds are the edible part of the exotic fruit called Salvia hispanica, which grows in Mexico. Both white and black seeds are extremely rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but also in calcium, carbohydrates, antioxidants, protein and fibers.

The popularity There are practically no restrictions for consumption of chia seeds. Most nutritionists recommend them to daily intake that can really raise the level of complete health after a while. It is best to take a teaspoon of chia seeds every day. Do take a lot of water because the seeds are very rich in fibers. High fiber cocentration appears to have beneficial effects on digestion. But they are best for the immune system. Chia seeds contain seven times more vitamin C than oranges, five times more calcium than milk, two times more potassium than bananas, and even three times more iron than spinach. That is why they will get you healthy skin, hair and nails, and have a positive impact on glucose levels.

The usage Chia seeds, when mixed in water, can be a great substitute for eggs. You can also use it as a seasoning. They will go fine with almost every dish, especially with the cereals in the morning. You can add them to soups, salads, even deserts. And your dough for bread or muffins will taste even better with them.®

HOW I GOT HERE

TaïgKhris Professional vert skater, entrepreneur, TV and social media star

CHILDHOOD I never went to school, not one single day! Probably because of that I was a kid with million „whys“. I wanted to learn firsthand, from people with experience, and I was never shy to ask questions. I was always free to try different things and my parents encouraged me to follow my dreams.

RECORDS People know me as the „guy who jumped from the Eiffel tower“. Wherever I go, that‘s how they introduce me in the room. That‘s great and fun, but that was a fast achievement, and it is already in the past. Every day is a new day and actually, I am quite excited about starting my every day from scratch.“

FIRST COMPANY One thing about the extreme sport is that it breaks your body and regularly puts you in bed. I was injured for one year, so I had to find a way to reinvent myself while waiting to heal. I had many different ideas in mind. One of them was to start my clothing brand because that‘s what athletes usually do. But then, I realized that my name is more appealing to the kids and maybe I will better do if I sell it to some companies that do stationary. Notebooks, pens, backpacks and all those „back to school“ necessities. I started calling all the image buying companies and telling them „I am the world

champion of roller skating and I am in my hospital bed. I would like to sell you my image for stationary“. They all hanged up on me saying „sorry, you are not famous enough.“ And it was true. I wasn‘t famous enough at that time but I had to do something. So I decided to do it myself. I called the market store Carrefour and convinced the receptionist lady to connect me with the national buyer of stationary. I got him on phone and said exactly the same words as I did to all the other companies. This time it worked and I managed to have 3 orders of 350,000 euros that year.

OUCH! I had my knees operated 3 times, shoulder 2 times, the wrist 2 times. I broke my hip, ribs, fingers, and the neck almost 2 times. I broke every bone in my body!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP After his stationary business went bankrupt, Taig launched On/Off application in 2015, a start-up aiming to reinvent the world of telecommunications. It was valued at 25M euros and he raised 4.8M euros to grow it worldwide.

LANGUAGES aig learned all by himself to speak English, Italian, Spanish and Greek by memorizing words of each language from the dictionary. His name means „capable“ in Arabic

REINVENTING HIMSELF Each time Taig broke his bones and ended up in hospital bed , he found a way to reinvent himself. He knew he couldn‘t skate forever so he started multiple businesses, wrote a movie script, starred in several TV shows and finally, became a very successful entrepreneur!

TION

EDI N A I ERB

9, Broj

6. 01 l2 Ju 0, j1 Bro

. 2016 Jun

r 2015. Broj 1, Oktoba

Broj 5, Februa r 2016.

Broj 2,

LA NIK

ita

g pa

rlam

ić

a je

icija

lim

a EU

AG ’N/

zita

-PR

—

END

RJU

A ZA TEST

NJU

JOR

K TAJM

SELMAN

u Indiji.

Uprkos ustavom

Kin

/15

8:3

sti, pritisak

Ko li

o propadaju snovi

PLANETA

sredine ne

Zašto dozvolja vaom bogatstvu Indijkam arktičk a da rade. krajnjeg severa Neke koje su podigle Zagreva nje glas platile ke je energets su veliku cenu namamilo otkrili i Rusiju. Ali kompanije negostoljubivo su krajnje STRANA 8 okruženje AM

ko ti a crta novi to Put se b pi le svil adne vrednosnje Eki rzmn d e, ali Gube li zap ost u svetu? ni partneri, pa o oge države, je nautajuGr Pda lipos riku Peking ima sve enzab SSSR-a. Ali pljee čnik jačanj svoju privlačn ao je vrhundrevn bliski ac kolapsomviziju jeodno ijeuh– la rinutije a decen n dn

SVET

ički

ež

. St

Če

rč

ila

rp H kriv e ko arva ih jo m H k ot Oba la na edni se ds Pre

7_ je a žrt 95ogo 10 pitom , mn ogo 8 mn NA STRA

DIZAJN

garantovanoj /29 12 jednako

u NA rk nje SL va oca Njujo na g OV 1 li AS utoNASLO u ei STRAN og VNA ko . NA .indd DAN posta re” o p tn enih Hus nijs riju AA6SVET NA da 0x50STRA vi su célèb atn odsu ađ aka iz ke isto RAN DA NA Slono “cause otinja kao tunettesu_5 i i on ov ET ud:vig ovc SV er inog a pr ju Bar vela enilao ST novi vanje živ HolivDEiCzlik za Nev bam sam bici je od prom čita T teć Spasa vljeno , preNY me O a pi a am ja ga rd i š nije va RS dra pra S

ANDREA

SVET DANAS.

BRUS ZA

NJUJORK

TAJMS

STRANA 5

8:36

9/15

12/2

nda

SVET DANAS

Slonovi u Mjanm aru ostaju bez posla Zbog

0.ind

50x5

ka om Putanje DEC poTursk u od isa svile. SaN Zapada dostig Istorija posled i uspon S NYT ri ju daci m iBIZNIS svojim ostali pova 7_R jorkSTRANA napori dai diktatu Globalni uticaj vrednosti neizbežan? njeni 1095 m zemlj br3zistvom promena ama koje leže et poika oživi u drvnoj nih aZAJNbogat ka revanšizmu ljanja laem, o tržišt stare bez industriji, sv razmiš DI do trgov blizu zagrljaj zapad tarizma, zaokret Rusije brojneom je nnKina enh re načinu nezapo je & aračke zaRestora ilj putev e NO ka e izaziv brinu lagodn zemlj postala problem slenost je da ad Ban g dodira STI a G je snažan partner. će akogeopo da laNOSTposta ak kineskog autori – protivteža su tom ” ici za vredne LIČ formusu ji k id, om, glihade znač ljudsko Ali radnike – da naruče zn ET litičke ših e mogure lik slonove. Toliko islama lina nla u San nj dn larolekazavis up ne je S ioMušterij UM eh IS moćn o jebri pojedu NA vi ni a sk ija ešod odmora nije radikalnog kov mer Žize od najlep a, da ndupotrese, jer se biog j usple ZN partn DA no dobro za njih hranu, nji p A svo Posi i iki po et tv razv na siplate sretnu ET neera STRANA STRAN A zit a u, a da zo Jed sveta ost el e umje žr za A 22 i& BI aš tu aš” i seFrancisk 7 3 eg SV apr gu a V NJA rnu se10le nekol eričk sovuVAC “Kal a pris “Kal ima 10 Br žen je uporn16 oruđ ao ija AN OVA ističk baš nikoga al R ipre STRANA za PUT st sm d to iko da dugu RANA je am t” Ko NOi suovi nem cija, ortist ANA š tur ja po mik ST ba pi m rt an ST što os N ril a nk Ne he m uto u n ln na sp R - po . N as vo tnici ije i e za rad gl Poš og sa će a ST fil prT I DIZAJN NOVAC & BIZNIS nako je osta j pret a umeren Meka rašivi pu relikv ijskoj budu moć jihov dnom UMETNOS oš o do zb i okre im vre ta vlja ke ažu m ust Štadoba NAUKA lo dina la d“sanam inauticaNajbolj lo nađu a ve ik nam st i Saud Ne iza se se mračno če jedan u da va go g će op ćn sko slatke, do bi etn la ns e sl na cs .aviokom dil kaže gu pla že NA 23pande su lju goa panija le dugo em je ost obRumun mo o Donal pra pros o &istiDIZNAJN h 17 a done je nva o um ivni Crvene zu da ći 15 ji RA na ta n ekstr se prik ho du Trampu zne alskfilmasistražuje . e. i veja ka ta nesna viso Novi A manje OST log brijiETN pra ji ST vat Puni rvencij apjoskš i no s ko ka an alze romskog m Političk A ra atlo senegka o zao svetu ali ih je sve da im istoriju AN je ino Be hr mu i stil predsed i, kiignorisa AN Arabi u ce UmUM ete, etor desetkovane a st STgRbio ijk u a hrle 24ija h pl nu no obla is S inte ohiji, iarEUkokjeonje kood ničkog HR 3. kandid i h š kše Životinje su čk a je ber rek - ata liči na njegov 196 del ropstva slav u pork lja e šuma i bolestim NA st o, ao eutsplsija eavi imSTRANA na Ste 5. do ebSa nd oRAn NANA6 3 poslovn U stival like eDi nestankom se em Met uš d STRAN ima, pa a ST st njihov20 tr us zeja DA i stil a, u ji sv, b sp putvrmam od 194 o sve je ukmu Fe e ob sk Vil A9 STRANA 16 je ii uST STRA g sv aaRko mu na zdisl ET š nik SV RA ira RANA toa dr od ET sv lijan kakočel ba sterda dizajn NA ST SV u goadičist k retn i Sirij rziju ge ita svi da je Am 3 Bo e je e dvero ku alo p lizam reta rb Ddžruihristu Ira se že Ta kođ e i kat nij ob lo poljo a pr ter ka ays.rs od am UMETNOST tu a ljaju ita ok pos otiv rita je d leg & DIZAJN zi rb Jeda priv an av ap p qatarairw la Um Meta Dejmo a B koji sna bo av dst lni k ičkih bran n vr redn žnih k , naBIZ ponovo na lu aj na a re ra list a koji i po lo glas ika NIS NAUKA & zadatkPa izm nalda e ASna se TEHNOLO u Od gađ du, a Kin ku p libDAN GIJA na obra ba n an gr Do avio Najbo I u Marsov n faš d pr jez đu Vulkan u moru u T acioi uspo a retorikaću i porast do apa ivn isto SVE kom lja tipa. To cu igra pametn koji dom ju ze statu čki se in nije gluma dustogodaj n aln antsk Belu ku a širomti na pa man sade lekar mlju s onih lja k Jedna od Z sert om vere Gli ob SvSTRANrij najveći Au22 e men svet nija m , ret i za e ave gazi japlanete leži na h tajni ji pore aslin a i advopod A lisk ak kih Antiimigr leđ je vi u trc ih pok sta re u a še dnu. Naučni z ST e ka ka Pr a slatk onih rani razotkrivaju B ubit listič Trampnalističkbuardilai su a ci je oiz RA ko bi ta STRANA h pi revi vođa im pi koji NA 15 dobi nacio e proi Ig sveg su i g pu ćim okre ća rop oč 3 su ni 7 dira či o li Ev uNA ti p ću ju pl zato a. RA jene ek ičke 5 eo

lit

lo osta a vo p lizm Koesodaakmeknta o je on r d ve Kak štei fu p 21. žarialn veti lob ži i g re tn e p ra eć sle a n Po ožd m ob

ST S Riju al oj lit i, A NA i u ud a pr po st AN DA m igre ica, zbog đeno R ble jske dm ti i ga ST Pro pi o se d pa ta, za zika

ra sa Olimkolik . G nkro ru ne tovi ba a i vi go ize, al kr imin kr

20 15 .

Prkosne žene na radu

Nov em bar

ette_

vign

DŽO

qata ra

irw ays.r s

Prin A stva c nord ra no ijs ke

an mor ove aju da ST RA NA

Re ne vo kuhi i po Re džep kral urba novo jevs nje i ne je os zatv tvo fa rm mišl ara jav “Nom e a ST u” RA kao NA deo 23

Every month with

Š HA

NER

/TH

E NEW YOR

K TIM

LIČ

Idri s

Elba Sv es afrič tra ni igra “N kog glum brut etfli go alno ac ksa” spod u ul oz ST ara ra i RA NA ta u hi tu 18

All the News That's Fit to Print