Instead of New Year Resolution...

Just a few hours more and 2006 will be here... This is always the time when you are trying to reflect the year before and think of the new year... What will it bring? Ultimate happiness of all of us or more wars, blood, poverty and divides? Most probably it will be the latter...
For me personally, it will bring many important things... The future of my country will probably be decided - Kosovo negotiations will most probably finish, more blood will probably leak, more innocent lives will probably be lost...
And I usually think - what the hell can I do about it? Me alone? Most probably nothing... I`m too young, too unexperienced, don`t have the power to change such big problems... And that`s what is killing me... Perhaps I shouldn`t be thinking about it... Perhaps I should think about what I can do for myself - parties, chicks, travels... Perhaps I should pretend nothing bad is happening around me and leave my parents to care about big things... It`s their job, right?

Blah... not me... not ever...

There are way too many "probably-s" in this world... Probablys that we should act upon...

Check this movie below and start acting...

Happy New Year!
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What would it take to change the world?

Money? Power? Influence?

No, it just takes YOU!

National Strategy for an Information Society in Serbia

Wonderful idea... But we`re waiting for it way too long... Of course, the government is slowing down the process... Unfortunately, we`re still affraid of good things...

http://www.undp.org.yu/tareas/ict4d/nat_strategy.cfm

CSR in Serbia

Even if Serbia is not the strongest country in the world regarding the business ethics and CSR, there are still good case practices. Here`s one really awesome - a company will give away free or really cheap the land and basic infrastructure conditions in order to bring investments in this municipality, so to reduce unemployment and generally support the development of the region.

http://www.beocin-businesspark.com/ataglance.htm

I hope there will be many more similar activities soon... Who knows, I may start another blog, dedicated to CSR in Serbia... ;)

Kosovo and Metohija

For everyone interested in negotiations over Kosovo, this may be a relevant link:

http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/kosovo-metohija/

If you find other links also relevant for the topic, please leave a comment with the link...

Happy and proud... at last...

"Rekli su mi da je došla iz provincije,
strpavši u kofer snove i ambicije.
Drug je studirao sa njom,
pa smo se najzad sreli ona i ja.
Shvatih, Bože, ovo je sazveždje za nju provincija..."

This is a story about an extraordinary person... A person with so much passion and motivation... A person that inspires and gives you a reason to believe in people...

Only two years ago she was one of the members in a LC that was about to be closed... No people, no plan, no knowledge, big financial problems... Noone believed in them...
Then, love for AIESEC, stubborness and passion helped and she took over the LC, gathering a new team and motivating them to work harder then ever... to show everyone that they were wrong about them... to show everyone what real AIESEC is all about... It took only a year for her to make this LC the best in the country, with loads of motivated members and constant growth in all aspects...

Then she moved to Belgrade, to work in the MC... I noticed that she didn`t change a lot... She was still the same person I met in Nis, driven by passion, not an agenda. Always losing nerves on small, irrelevant things and on the other side making miracles... In less then 6 months, she succeded what I couldn`t 2 years before - she brought CSR to Serbia... so smooth as it was the easiest thing in the world... heh...

And on the last NatCo, she took another step and became the MCP... And even if her mandate is officially starting in May, she already started sharing her energy and passion... I`ve never heard so many young members talking about their future in AIESEC, but after her presentation during the voting procedure. So emotional, so efficient... To hell with recruitment and selection processes - just bring people to the conference and let her talk to them... :)

And I`ve never been happier or more proud... She and her LC were the reason why I resigned from my MC position 2 years ago - they worked so hard at that time to rebuild their LC from ashes and other LCs were more then unsupportive. Not only that they didn`t believe in her and her LC, but some of them were directly working against... That dissapointed me and I quit...
But now, almost all the pieces of the puzzle are at their place... Let`s just wait one more year, to give her some time to put @ SCG where it belongs... Then the puzzle will be completed... and I know it will happen...

Way to go baby... Don`t ever change...

7 years...

... passed as if it were 7 days... I still remember all the details, all the faces, all the pain...

For those that don`t know me that good, I`m talking about a massacre in "Panda", a local pub in my hometown, Pec. It happened back in 1998, during the "war" in Kosovo, when 2 masked terorists jumped into a bar and killed 6 people with automatic guns... 6 of my really close friends... I should`ve been in that pub that day, for I`ve been there every bloody day and night for more then 3 years... I missed going there only once... when I heard of the massacre, beside the pain I felt like I dissapointed them... I should`ve been there... as I always was when we partied, watched football, played cards... damn, that is one fucked-up feeling, trust me...

I thought if I should upload this pic or not, and decided to do it... I think everyone should see it and think just for a second about the life... about how easy it is to take it from someone...



BTW, in most of the western media, this was an incident, not massacre...

Rest in peace, my dear friends...

Alive...

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that I`m alive... :)
I`ll write more soon, but this is basicaly what`s up with me these days:
- still working in the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (check below), but am also thinking about other options (another job, traineeship...)
- still didn`t finish my studies (too lazy, I guess)
- negotiations over Kosovo`s status began, so waiting to see what will happen - shall we be in war again?
- The season of "Slava`s" began, so eating and getting drunk is a must almost every day... I`ll write more about Slava`s, which is unique type of celebration in the world.
- AIESEC-wise, trying to help the MC here to start CSR LN in Serbia, meeting new members in my LC and partying with them :), discussing humanitarian interventions with some cool folks at Global LNs community and that`s about it...
- just heard that I`m going to Romania next June, for Irina and Stefan`s wedding! Can`t wait to see them again...

That`s about it... Will write more soon, especially with news from Kosovo negotiations...

Another Canadian in Serbia!

More nice news today!

Stephanie Hajer will be another Canadian coming to Serbia! She got accepted for S&M MC tonight! Congrats darling!

Woohooo, getting drunk with Dave in Prague in 2 days! :)

Got a phone call from Dave (Czech MC 2 years ago and old friend), saying he`s waiting for me in Prague... Can`t wait - with him is always pure fun! :)
Will post pics if I don`t lose camera :)

One year after... Vjecnaja Pamjat

A year after the tragic March events last year in which Kosovo Serbs and Roma experienced their "Kristallnacht" despite the presence of thousands of NATO led peacekeepers and the UN Mission hardly anything seems to have changed to the better in Kosovo. Although the international community strongly condemned the ethnic Albanian riots and the Kosovo Government reconstructed under the international pressure one part of destroyed homes, only a handful of 4000 expelled Serbs and Roma have returned to their homes. They don't feel safe in a society in which ethnic discrimination has become a regular pattern of life and in which no one can grant them security and freedom. Medieval Serbian churches are still in ruins, Christian cemeteries still covered by garbage and desecrated, there is no freedom of movement and normal life - the remaining Serbs remember the tragic anniversary in constant fear of renewed Albanian violence while explosions in Kosovo cities warn that the restive province is still a powder keg.

more on http://www.kosovo.com/news/archive/2005/March_17/1.html

Prague here I come!

The bosses finally confirmed and I will be visiting Prague and Hradec Kralove for a few days nex month!!! :)
The reason is a conference LORIS (Local and Regional Information Society), where I will be representing organization I work for (check previous post to learn more about it). The conference` website is www.isss.cz/loris, if you`re interested...

So, this is where I work: Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia. It`s an association of towns in my country and it "smells" like AIESEC (with 170 LCs though :))
Click on the picture to check the website - also try clicking on the active map, which is a part of my current project (database of towns and municipalities).

Since I plan to start updating the blog more often now, I thought it would be nice to send a pic of how "the sexiest man on earth" looks nowadays :) Girls if you want wallpaper edition of it, please do not hesitate to ask :P 

IC2003 Formal Dinner, The CC Team, on my 23rd birthday... Who would imagine such a party? :)

PeckoPivo rulezzzzz :)

Just trying it out...

Kais, me and Vlada in Italy for EuroExpro...