“Ne biti ili biti: to se pita:

da li je većma duše dostojno

praćke i strijele sudbe bezdušne 

trpjeti, ili dići oružje

protivu mora muka, pa se njima

suprotstaviti i okončati ih?“

Dao bih sebi blagu dozu slobode predubjeđenja i iskazao kako smatram da ovaj pasaž iz besmrtnog Šekspirovog Hamleta zaista vjerno oslikava unutrašnju borbu duha mnogih pojedinaca u ovim smutnim vremenima. S istim onim žarom kojim je ovaj veliki pisac prije 400 godina ovo sve ovako upečatljivo ovjekovječio – istom tom jačinom i sada, bezmalo identične boljke, progone pripadnike sadašnjih generacija. Eklatantan primjer kako su neke stvari zaista vječne i neprolazne. Živući spiritus movens mnogih naših omiljenih djela književnosti, a koja imanentno u sebi nose vjernu preslikanost životnih neprilika, te svoj tok grade na onoj čuvenoj enigmi: kako li ćemo se mi sami odnositi prema nepravdi, kako li ćemo postupiti kada se nađemo licem u lice sa nedaćom koja svim silama nastoji da nas porazi?

Svjedoci smo burnog života na čitavoj planeti, a naročito na Balkanu i neposrednoj okolini. Periodi ratova, periodi tzv. tranzicija, nesuvisle promjene vrijednosnog obrasca, ustanovljavanje i usvajanje novih vrijednosti, a u istom i ne toliko rijetko – nepotvrđivanje i zaboravljanje starih vrijednosti, koje ostaju zatočene kao u nekom tranzicijskom vakuumu. U svemu tome, najviše iskrivljenja i nepravde trpe istorija, tradicija i nadasve kultura i kulturno nasljeđe. U svakoj prilici žustro ističem sami značaj kulture kao osnovnog postamenta za dalju nadgradnju društva. Kultura je jedno vezivno tkivo, najvažniji materijal od kojeg se gradi identitet jedne nacije. Kultura jeste nadasve složen fenomen, ali u principu, ona izražava kompletno duhovno-materijalno stvaralaštvo čovjeka. Kultura kao takva, jeste i onaj najznačajniji element u samom identitetu jednog naroda. Gradivni blok samog društva. Ono što mi kao ljudska vrsta u svojoj suštini zaista i jesmo. 

Krajnji cilj je održavanje kohezije grupnog identiteta, a koji je po svojoj prirodi refleksivan, gdje su elementi shvaćeni kao takvi upravo jer se odražavaju u svijesti njenih članova. Održanje i neiskrivljenost koncepta kolektivističke memorije, memorije koja se izražava trajno u vremenu jedne kulture i koja je u velikoj mjeri implicitna jer je uključena u njene materijalne i simboličke dimenzije. Jer po svojoj prirodi, društvene uloge jesu identiteti. Ono kako mi vidimo i očitavamo sebe u odnosu prema drugima i u odnosu na druge – jeste i ono kakvim će nas drugi posmatrati i odnositi se prema nama. Ono gdje mi griješimo jeste nepridavanje dovoljno pažnje kulturi, kulturnim obrascima i monumentima prošlosti koji su ostajali u vremenima iza nas i ostavljani nama na čuvanje. Nalazeći se na uvijek burnom Balkanu i baveći se mnogobrojnim krizama u različitim i skoro pa svim sferama društva, kultura nekako kao da uvijek padne u zapećak, kao da je tuđa briga, zadnja rupa na svirali. Ili mnogo prostije rečeno: fali nam kulture. I to se očitava u svim mogućim arenama bivstva.

Samim tim negativnim i negatorskim djelanjem – unižavamo ne samo sopstvo, već i svoju sredinu. Otuda i pojava nesnosnog broja raznoraznih društvenih devijacija koje nastoje da svakim svojim potezom doprinesu urušavanju jednog sistema održivosti. Narušenost te jedne osjetljive konstrukcije balansa između identiteta pojedinca kao jedinke i grupnog identiteta sviju nas kao jedne nacije – zapravo i jeste to što nas čini ranjivim i otvorenim za različite napade i kvazi-interpretacije. Za posljedicu svega toga imamo i devalvaciju svih mogućih vitalnih vrijednosti. 

U samom duhu ovog eseja valja istaći i da je to možda najvidljivije u kategoriji mladih osoba. Sami odnos prema omladini na ovim prostorima je, stiče se utisak, nekako efemeran u samoj svojoj idejnoj koncepciji. Omladinska politika zasniva se na tome kakav stav Vlada ili donosioci odluka imaju prema mladim ljudima. Prema Eurostatu, mladi se definišu kao lica starosti između 15 i 29 godina. Vrijednosni okvir omladinske politike je veoma važan stepen u definisanju daljeg toka postupanja. U nekim slučajevima, ove vrijednosti i principi mogu usmjeravati omladinsku politiku, ali u drugim oni mogu neopravdano izostati. U demokratskom društvu, vrijednosti omladinske politike mogu uključivati: pristup mladih ljudskim i socijalnim pravima, jednakost, inkluziju i socijalnu koheziju, demokratiju, aktivno građanstvo i učešće, razvoj mogućnosti i talenta, sigurnost, zdravlje i dobrobit.

Mnoge zemlje su definisale svoje omladinske politike, ali da li ih sprovode? Da li ove politike podržavaju mlade ljude da ostvare svoja prava? Na koje načine određene omladinske politike i šire politike utiču na interakciju mladih ljudi i kakvi su rezultati? Iako je do sada preduzet niz značajnih i korisnih mjera na unapređenju položaja mladih u Crnoj Gori od strane različitih subjekata: organizacija civilnog društva, institucija na nacionalnom i lokalnom nivou, međunarodnih organizacija, entuzijasta i pojedinaca – postoji značajan prostor za unapređenje cjelokupnog procesa koordinacije. Strategijom za mlade 2017-2021 nastoji se odgovoriti na ovaj problem i stvoriti adekvatan formalni okvir za sistematsko unapređenje položaja mladih u Crnoj Gori, u kome će svoje mjesto naći svi zainteresovani akteri.

Strategijom je definisano šest ključnih prioriteta – ključnih ishoda – kada su mladi u Crnoj Gori u pitanju, i to: 1) mladi ostvaruju ekonomsku i socijalnu sigurnost kroz olakšan pristup tržištu rada i sticanju zapošljenja; 2) mladima je omogućen pristup kvalitetnom obrazovanju; 3) mladi aktivno, motivisano i proaktivno učestvuju u procesima donošenja odluka, razvoja zajednice i kreiranja i sprovođenja politika; 4) mladi su dobrog zdravlja, bezbjedni i imaju obezbijeđen pristup adekvatnom sistemu podrške za prelazak u odraslo doba i samorealizaciju; 5) mladi imaju pristup kvalitetnim kulturnim sadržajima kao kreatori i konzumenti; 6) uspostavljen je efikasan normativni i institucionalni okvir za sprovođenje omladinske politike.

Iako se radi o dobro osmišljenoj platformi, obeshrabrujuće okolnosti realnog stanja stvari predstavljaju upozorenje svima u Crnoj Gori, ali i na cijelom Balkanu – jer je situacija vrlo slična ili identična u okviru regiona po mnogim ključnim aspektima. To se prije svega odnosi na nemogućnost mladih da se zaposle i da željeni nivo kvalifikacija prevedu u ekonomsku sigurnost i samoodrživost. Prema skorašnjim podacima mladi čine 24,87% ukupnog broja nezaposlenih u zemlji. Zajednička ocjena mnogih analitičara je da je to najvećim dijelom posljedica neusklađenosti javnih politika sa stanjem u domenu realnog sektora u Crnoj Gori. Postoji ogroman priliv univerzitetskih diploma nekih krajnje nepoznatih i posve nevažećih institucija iz regiona i one nisu u odgovarajućoj korelaciji sa samim temeljima obrazovnog sistema  u Crnoj Gori. Pa ipak, na tržištu rada, one su ekvivalentne diplomama stečenim na visokoškolskim ustanovama u Crnoj Gori. Time se stvara još veći jaz u pogledu normativnog odnosa između obrazovnog sektora i sektora zapošljavanja – što dodatno dovodi do nemogućnosti mladih da ostvare svoj puni potencijal u domicilnoj zemlji, te su stoga prisiljeni da nastave svoj život u inostranstvu. Najglasnije u prilog tome govori poražavajuća statistika iz prethodnih nekoliko godina koja iznova pokazuje masivne brojke od čak 60 – 70% mladih koji bi željeli da svoj život nastave u inostranstvu. To je nešto što je posebno pogubno za malu zemlju kao što je Crna Gora, gdje bi opet mladi ljudi trebalo da budu prva linija podrške u ekonomskom oporavku i daljem razvoju.

Iz navednog je sasvim jasno da je, poput i mnogo čega drugog u životu, ovo takođe jedan odnos koji se bazira na dvosmjernoj komunikaciji. Na stimulansu i na samoj (re)akciji u odnosu na isti. Ljudi moraju biti svjesni da samo ispravnim, prije svega moralnim i održivim smjernicama i akcijama mogu doći u poziciju da izgrade bolje društvo u svojim domicilnim sredinama; isto tako i same države moraju imati na umu da su upravo one po društvenom ugovoru čuvari interesa sopstvenih građana i da moraju djelovati prije svega u smjeru meritokratski baziranih entiteta koji će adekvatnim stimulansima mobilizirati građanstvo na akciju u društveno poželjnom smjeru, te da će nepogrješivo nagrađivati sve one koji zdušno rade u korist progresa. 

Postoji jedna fenomenalna skaska potekla iz islamske tradicije, a koja kazuje sljedeće:

„Neki je vitez sreo na drumu jednog vrapca koji je ležao na leđima, sa nožicama ispruženim ka nebu. Začuđen, vitez ga upita šta radi, a vrabac mu odgovori: „Zar ne znaš da će se danas nebo stropoštati na zemlju?“ Vitez se nasmeja i reče: „Zar ti misliš da ćeš moći nebo zadržati svojim nožicama i spasiti zemlju?“

„Svako nek čini ono što može“ – odgovori vrabac.“

Dakle, jedna izuzetna crtica koja na slikovit način doprinosi širenju perspektive. Poenta je, zaista mislim, i više nego jasna. I ovdje bih se vratio na onaj gradivni blok društva, na gorepomenutu kulturu kao jedan inherentni osnov svega. Od kulture sve potiče. Od samog našeg odnosa prema sebi, prema drugima, prema sredini u kojoj obitavamo. Odnositi se prema drugima sa dužnim poštovanjem; zaustaviti bespotrebne izlive neljudskosti; raditi na sebi i svom napretku; biti korektan u svom poslu; nastojati da se obaveze izvršavaju što cjelishodnije i dostojanstvenije; biti uljudniji u svakodnevnom govoru; čuvati životnu sredinu, baciti otpad na mjesto kojem pripada umjesto gdje nam je najlakše i najbliže u datom momentu itd. Dovoljni su samo mali korektivni potezi da se ova ustaljena dinamika promijeni; a te promjene su zaista neophodne u cilju izgradnje jednog sveobuhvatnijeg i naprednijeg društva. Jednog društva iz kojeg nam mladi neće bježati glavom bez obzira. Jednog društva gdje se neće panično kupovati karte za egzil u jednom pravcu. Samo treba krenuti od sebe, malim koracima u bolju budućnost. Znam, zvuči kao neka klišeizirana fraza, poput onih koje se koriste u predizbornim reklamama, ali ovog puta daleko od toga. Jer kao što reče jednom jedan veliki francuski filozof Emanuel Levinas: Odgovornost za drugog proističe iz odgovornosti za sebe. Ljepota je upravo u toj jednostavnosti. Odluci da se stvari jednom zasvagda zaista počnu mijenjati nabolje. Ako se to vrati na kolosijek, domino efekat će odraditi svoje, te nesumnjivo učniti progres jedinim nusproduktom pokrenutog lanca događaja. 

Lijepo je jednom rekao Veljko Vlahović: Nositi neprekidno Crnu Goru u sebi znači i dar i prokletstvo. Pa hajde da poradimo na tome zajedno, na tome da prevagne ona ljepša od dvije strane iste medalje, te da ovu našu državu zajedničkim snagama pretvorimo u jedan dar; da je pretvorimo u naš DOM!

Sa neskrivenim mješovitim emocijama, sadržanim u jednom amalgamu sačinjenom ponajviše od nezauzdanog ponosa i vječno tinjajuće nade u bolje sjutra – mogu vam iskreno reći da sam ja svoju kartu odveć otkazao. Štaviše, bespovratno pečatirao sa velikim štambiljem neodobravanja. Ostajem tu gdje jesam, gdje su mi korijeni, gdje mi je porodica, gdje mi je dom. Gdje ću, nadam se, u nekom doglednom vremenu i ostaviti neki trag boljitka iza sebe. Neki kamen temeljac za bolju i ljepšu Crnu Goru. 

A vi dragi sugrađani… da li znate šta vam je učiniti?

mr Dušan Pejaković

Omladinska politika zasniva se na tome kakav stav vlada ili donosioci odluka imaju prema mladim ljudima. Prema Eurostatu, mladi se definišu kao lica starosti između 15 i 29 godina. Vrijednosni okvir omladinske politike je veoma važan stepen u definisanju daljeg toka postupanja. U nekim slučajevima, ove vrijednosti i principi mogu usmjeravati omladinsku politiku, ali u drugim oni mogu neopravdano izostati. U demokratskom društvu, vrijednosti omladinske politike mogu uključivati: pristup mladih ljudskim i socijalnim pravima, jednakost, inkluziju i socijalnu koheziju, demokratiju, aktivno građanstvo i učešće, razvoj mogućnosti i talenta, sigurnost, zdravlje i dobrobit.

Mnoge zemlje su definisale svoje omladinske politike, ali da li ih sprovode? Da li ove politike podržavaju mlade ljude da ostvare svoja prava? Na koje načine određene omladinske politike i šire politike utiču na interakciju mladih ljudi i kakvi su rezultati?

Iako je do sada preduzet niz značajnih i korisnih mjera na unapređenju položaja mladih u Crnoj Gori od strane različitih subjekata: organizacija civilnog društva, institucija na nacionalnom i lokalnom nivou, međunarodnih organizacija, entuzijasta i pojedinaca – postoji značajan prostor za unapređenje cjelokupnog procesa koordinacije. Strategijom za mlade 2017-2021 nastoji se odgovoriti na ovaj problem i stvoriti adekvatan formalni okvir za sistematsko unapređenje položaja mladih u Crnoj Gori, u kome će svoje mjesto naći svi zainteresovani akteri.

Strategijom je definisano šest ključnih prioriteta – ključnih ishoda – kada su mladi u Crnoj Gori u pitanju, i to: 1) mladi ostvaruju ekonomsku i socijalnu sigurnost kroz olakšan pristup tržištu rada i sticanju zapošljenja; 2) mladima je omogućen pristup kvalitetnom obrazovanju; 3) mladi aktivno, motivisano i proaktivno učestvuju u procesima donošenja odluka, razvoja zajednice i kreiranja i sprovođenja politika; 4) mladi su dobrog zdravlja, bezbjedni i imaju obezbijeđen pristup adekvatnom sistemu podrške za prelazak u odraslo doba i samorealizaciju; 5) mladi imaju pristup kvalitetnim kulturnim sadržajima kao kreatori i konzumenti; 6) uspostavljen je efikasan normativni i institucionalni okvir za sprovođenje omladinske politike.

Iako se radi o dobro osmišljenoj platformi, obeshrabrujuće okolnosti realnog stanja stvari predstavljaju upozorenje svima u Crnoj Gori, ali i na cijelom Balkanu – jer je situacija vrlo slična ili identična u okviru regiona po mnogim ključnim aspektima. To se prije svega odnosi na nemogućnost mladih da se zaposle i da željeni nivo kvalifikacija prevedu u ekonomsku sigurnost i samoodrživost.

Prema skorašnjim podacima mladi čine 24,87% ukupnog broja nezaposlenih u zemlji. Zajednička ocjena mnogih analitičara je da je to najvećim dijelom posljedica neusklađenosti javnih politika sa stanjem u domenu realnog sektora u Crnoj Gori. Postoji ogroman priliv univerzitetskih diploma nekih krajnje nepoznatih i posve nevažećih institucija iz regiona i one nisu u odgovarajućoj korelaciji sa samim temeljima obrazovnog sistema  u Crnoj Gori. Pa ipak, na tržištu rada, one su ekvivalentne diplomama stečenim na visokoškolskim ustanovama u Crnoj Gori. Time se stvara još veći jaz u pogledu normativnog odnosa između obrazovnog sektora i sektora zapošljavanja – što dodatno dovodi do nemogućnosti mladih da ostvare svoj puni potencijal u domicilnoj zemlji, te su stoga prisiljeni da nastave svoj život u inostranstvu. Najglasnije u prilog tome govori poražavajuća statistika iz prethodnih nekoliko godina koja iznova pokazuje masivne brojke od čak 60 – 70% mladih koji bi željeli da svoj život nastave u inostranstvu. To je nešto što je posebno pogubno za malu zemlju kao što je Crna Gora, gdje bi mladi ljudi trebalo da budu prva linija podrške u ekonomskom oporavku i daljem razvoju.

Omladinske politike su veoma važne. Mladi su pokretačka snaga koja će oblikovati svijet i njegove principe u budućnosti. Shodno tome, njihov glas se mora čuti. Brojne inicijative velikih organizacija, UN-a i Evropske unije pokrenute su kako bi se poboljšao život mladih i kako bi im se ponudile različite mogućnosti za rast i razvoj u oblastima od vitalnog značaja. Međutim, čak i same zemlje koje su dio tog sistema moraju osigurati da se nacionalne Strategije za mlade izrađuju i usvajaju na sveobuhvatan i inkluzivan način, i što je najvažnije – obezbijediti pravilnu implementaciju tih istih strategija. Njih prvenstveno treba planirati i sprovoditi kao međusektorske omladinske politike. Jedino tako možete uključiti u proces sve ono što je relevantno, uglavnom povećanjem učešća mladih u procesu donošenja odluka i olakšavanjem mladima da se afirmišu na tržištu rada, kao i sprečavanjem socijalne isključenosti kroz jačanje osnaživanja mladih putem obrazovanja, specijalizovanih obuka i tako dalje. U nekim zemljama, mora se priznati – neznanje i letargija mladih je na izrazito vidljivom nivou i to takođe predstavlja značajnu distinkciju. Takvo defetističko razmišljanje i ponašanje je potrebno ublažiti i zamijeniti nekim pozitivnijim primjerima radi napretka na individualnom ili grupnom nivou. Određeni donosioci odluka treba da pronađu način da najprije na pravi način informišu javnost, a onda da, shodno tome, mobilišu mlade ljude i to čine u smislu aktiviranja njihovog punog kreativnog potencijala. Danas u svijetu postoji mnogo opcija i dragocjenih mogućnosti, a na svima nama je da li ćemo ih na vrijeme prepoznati i iskoristiti na pravi način.

Dušan Pejaković

“Ne biti ili biti: to se pita:

da li je većma duše dostojno

praćke i strijele sudbe bezdušne

trpjeti, ili dići oružje

protivu mora muka, pa se njima

suprotstaviti i okončati ih?“

Dao bih sebi blagu dozu slobode predubjeđenja i iskazao kako smatram da ovaj pasaž iz besmrtnog Šekspirovog Hamleta zaista vjerno oslikava unutrašnju borbu duha mnogih pojedinaca u ovim smutnim vremenima. S istim onim žarom kojim je ovaj veliki pisac prije 400 godina ovo sve ovako upečatljivo ovjekovječio – istom tom jačinom i sada, bezmalo identične boljke, progone pripadnike sadašnjih generacija. Eklatantan primjer kako su neke stvari zaista vječne i neprolazne. Živući spiritus movens mnogih naših omiljenih djela književnosti, a koja imanentno u sebi nose vjernu preslikanost životnih neprilika, te svoj tok grade na onoj čuvenoj enigmi: kako li ćemo se mi sami odnositi prema nepravdi, kako li ćemo postupiti kada se nađemo licem u lice sa nedaćom koja svim silama nastoji da nas porazi?

Svjedoci smo burnog života na čitavoj planeti, a naročito na Balkanu i neposrednoj okolini. Periodi ratova, periodi tzv. tranzicija, nesuvisle promjene vrijednosnog obrasca, ustanovljavanje i usvajanje novih vrijednosti, a u istom i ne toliko rijetko – nepotvrđivanje i zaboravljanje starih vrijednosti, koje ostaju zatočene kao u nekom tranzicijskom vakuumu. U svemu tome, najviše iskrivljenja i nepravde trpe istorija, tradicija i nadasve kultura i kulturno nasljeđe. U svakoj prilici žustro ističem sami značaj kulture kao osnovnog postamenta za dalju nadgradnju društva. Kultura je jedno vezivno tkivo, najvažniji materijal od kojeg se gradi identitet jedne nacije. Kultura jeste nadasve složen fenomen, ali u principu, ona izražava kompletno duhovno-materijalno stvaralaštvo čovjeka. Kultura kao takva, jeste i onaj najznačajniji element u samom identitetu jednog naroda. Gradivni blok samog društva. Ono što mi kao ljudska vrsta u svojoj suštini zaista i jesmo.

Krajnji cilj je održavanje kohezije grupnog identiteta, a koji je po svojoj prirodi refleksivan, gdje su elementi shvaćeni kao takvi upravo jer se odražavaju u svijesti njenih članova. Održanje i neiskrivljenost koncepta kolektivističke memorije, memorije koja se izražava trajno u vremenu jedne kulture i koja je u velikoj mjeri implicitna jer je uključena u njene materijalne i simboličke dimenzije. Jer po svojoj prirodi, društvene uloge jesu identiteti. Ono kako mi vidimo i očitavamo sebe u odnosu prema drugima i u odnosu na druge – jeste i ono kakvim će nas drugi posmatrati i odnositi se prema nama. Ono gdje mi griješimo jeste nepridavanje dovoljno pažnje kulturi, kulturnim obrascima i monumentima prošlosti koji su ostajali u vremenima iza nas i ostavljani nama na čuvanje. Nalazeći se na uvijek burnom Balkanu i baveći se mnogobrojnim krizama u različitim i skoro pa svim sferama društva, kultura nekako kao da uvijek padne u zapećak, kao da je tuđa briga, zadnja rupa na svirali. Ili mnogo prostije rečeno: fali nam kulture. I to se očitava u svim mogućim arenama bivstva.

Samim tim negativnim i negatorskim djelanjem – unižavamo ne samo sopstvo, već i svoju sredinu. Otuda i pojava nesnosnog broja raznoraznih društvenih devijacija koje nastoje da svakim svojim potezom doprinesu urušavanju jednog sistema održivosti. Narušenost te jedne osjetljive konstrukcije balansa između identiteta pojedinca kao jedinke i grupnog identiteta sviju nas kao jedne nacije – zapravo i jeste to što nas čini ranjivim i otvorenim za različite napade i kvazi-interpretacije. Za posljedicu svega toga imamo i devalvaciju svih mogućih vitalnih vrijednosti.

U samom duhu ovog eseja valja istaći i da je to možda najvidljivije u kategoriji mladih osoba. Sami odnos prema omladini na ovim prostorima je, stiče se utisak, nekako efemeran u samoj svojoj idejnoj koncepciji. Omladinska politika zasniva se na tome kakav stav Vlada ili donosioci odluka imaju prema mladim ljudima. Prema Eurostatu, mladi se definišu kao lica starosti između 15 i 29 godina. Vrijednosni okvir omladinske politike je veoma važan stepen u definisanju daljeg toka postupanja. U nekim slučajevima, ove vrijednosti i principi mogu usmjeravati omladinsku politiku, ali u drugim oni mogu neopravdano izostati. U demokratskom društvu, vrijednosti omladinske politike mogu uključivati: pristup mladih ljudskim i socijalnim pravima, jednakost, inkluziju i socijalnu koheziju, demokratiju, aktivno građanstvo i učešće, razvoj mogućnosti i talenta, sigurnost, zdravlje i dobrobit.

Mnoge zemlje su definisale svoje omladinske politike, ali da li ih sprovode? Da li ove politike podržavaju mlade ljude da ostvare svoja prava? Na koje načine određene omladinske politike i šire politike utiču na interakciju mladih ljudi i kakvi su rezultati? Iako je do sada preduzet niz značajnih i korisnih mjera na unapređenju položaja mladih u Crnoj Gori od strane različitih subjekata: organizacija civilnog društva, institucija na nacionalnom i lokalnom nivou, međunarodnih organizacija, entuzijasta i pojedinaca – postoji značajan prostor za unapređenje cjelokupnog procesa koordinacije. Strategijom za mlade 2017-2021 nastoji se odgovoriti na ovaj problem i stvoriti adekvatan formalni okvir za sistematsko unapređenje položaja mladih u Crnoj Gori, u kome će svoje mjesto naći svi zainteresovani akteri.

Strategijom je definisano šest ključnih prioriteta – ključnih ishoda – kada su mladi u Crnoj Gori u pitanju, i to: 1) mladi ostvaruju ekonomsku i socijalnu sigurnost kroz olakšan pristup tržištu rada i sticanju zapošljenja; 2) mladima je omogućen pristup kvalitetnom obrazovanju; 3) mladi aktivno, motivisano i proaktivno učestvuju u procesima donošenja odluka, razvoja zajednice i kreiranja i sprovođenja politika; 4) mladi su dobrog zdravlja, bezbjedni i imaju obezbijeđen pristup adekvatnom sistemu podrške za prelazak u odraslo doba i samorealizaciju; 5) mladi imaju pristup kvalitetnim kulturnim sadržajima kao kreatori i konzumenti; 6) uspostavljen je efikasan normativni i institucionalni okvir za sprovođenje omladinske politike.

Iako se radi o dobro osmišljenoj platformi, obeshrabrujuće okolnosti realnog stanja stvari predstavljaju upozorenje svima u Crnoj Gori, ali i na cijelom Balkanu – jer je situacija vrlo slična ili identična u okviru regiona po mnogim ključnim aspektima. To se prije svega odnosi na nemogućnost mladih da se zaposle i da željeni nivo kvalifikacija prevedu u ekonomsku sigurnost i samoodrživost. Prema skorašnjim podacima mladi čine 24,87% ukupnog broja nezaposlenih u zemlji. Zajednička ocjena mnogih analitičara je da je to najvećim dijelom posljedica neusklađenosti javnih politika sa stanjem u domenu realnog sektora u Crnoj Gori. Postoji ogroman priliv univerzitetskih diploma nekih krajnje nepoznatih i posve nevažećih institucija iz regiona i one nisu u odgovarajućoj korelaciji sa samim temeljima obrazovnog sistema  u Crnoj Gori. Pa ipak, na tržištu rada, one su ekvivalentne diplomama stečenim na visokoškolskim ustanovama u Crnoj Gori. Time se stvara još veći jaz u pogledu normativnog odnosa između obrazovnog sektora i sektora zapošljavanja – što dodatno dovodi do nemogućnosti mladih da ostvare svoj puni potencijal u domicilnoj zemlji, te su stoga prisiljeni da nastave svoj život u inostranstvu. Najglasnije u prilog tome govori poražavajuća statistika iz prethodnih nekoliko godina koja iznova pokazuje masivne brojke od čak 60 – 70% mladih koji bi željeli da svoj život nastave u inostranstvu. To je nešto što je posebno pogubno za malu zemlju kao što je Crna Gora, gdje bi opet mladi ljudi trebalo da budu prva linija podrške u ekonomskom oporavku i daljem razvoju.

Iz navednog je sasvim jasno da je, poput i mnogo čega drugog u životu, ovo takođe jedan odnos koji se bazira na dvosmjernoj komunikaciji. Na stimulansu i na samoj (re)akciji u odnosu na isti. Ljudi moraju biti svjesni da samo ispravnim, prije svega moralnim i održivim smjernicama i akcijama mogu doći u poziciju da izgrade bolje društvo u svojim domicilnim sredinama; isto tako i same države moraju imati na umu da su upravo one po društvenom ugovoru čuvari interesa sopstvenih građana i da moraju djelovati prije svega u smjeru meritokratski baziranih entiteta koji će adekvatnim stimulansima mobilizirati građanstvo na akciju u društveno poželjnom smjeru, te da će nepogrješivo nagrađivati sve one koji zdušno rade u korist progresa.

Postoji jedna fenomenalna skaska potekla iz islamske tradicije, a koja kazuje sljedeće:

„Neki je vitez sreo na drumu jednog vrapca koji je ležao na leđima, sa nožicama ispruženim ka nebu. Začuđen, vitez ga upita šta radi, a vrabac mu odgovori: „Zar ne znaš da će se danas nebo stropoštati na zemlju?“ Vitez se nasmeja i reče: „Zar ti misliš da ćeš moći nebo zadržati svojim nožicama i spasiti zemlju?“

„Svako nek čini ono što može“ – odgovori vrabac.“

Dakle, jedna izuzetna crtica koja na slikovit način doprinosi širenju perspektive. Poenta je, zaista mislim, i više nego jasna. I ovdje bih se vratio na onaj gradivni blok društva, na gorepomenutu kulturu kao jedan inherentni osnov svega. Od kulture sve potiče. Od samog našeg odnosa prema sebi, prema drugima, prema sredini u kojoj obitavamo. Odnositi se prema drugima sa dužnim poštovanjem; zaustaviti bespotrebne izlive neljudskosti; raditi na sebi i svom napretku; biti korektan u svom poslu; nastojati da se obaveze izvršavaju što cjelishodnije i dostojanstvenije; biti uljudniji u svakodnevnom govoru; čuvati životnu sredinu, baciti otpad na mjesto kojem pripada umjesto gdje nam je najlakše i najbliže u datom momentu itd. Dovoljni su samo mali korektivni potezi da se ova ustaljena dinamika promijeni; a te promjene su zaista neophodne u cilju izgradnje jednog sveobuhvatnijeg i naprednijeg društva. Jednog društva iz kojeg nam mladi neće bježati glavom bez obzira. Jednog društva gdje se neće panično kupovati karte za egzil u jednom pravcu. Samo treba krenuti od sebe, malim koracima u bolju budućnost. Znam, zvuči kao neka kliše frazetina poput onih koje se koriste u predizbornim reklamama, ali ovog puta daleko od toga. Jer kao što reče jednom jedan veliki francuski filozof Emanuel Levinas: Odgovornost za drugog proističe iz odgovornosti za sebe. Ljepota je upravo u toj jednostavnosti. Odluci da se stvari jednom zasvagda zaista počnu mijenjati nabolje. Ako se to vrati na kolosijek, domino efekat će odraditi svoje, te nesumnjivo učniti progres jedinim nusproduktom pokrenutog lanca događaja.

Lijepo je jednom rekao Veljko Vlahović: Nositi neprekidno Crnu Goru u sebi znači i dar i prokletstvo. Pa hajde da poradimo na tome zajedno, na tome da prevagne ona ljepša od dvije strane iste medalje, te da ovu našu državu zajedničkim snagama pretvorimo u jedan dar; da je pretvorimo u naš DOM!

Sa neskrivenim mješovitim emocijama, sadržanim u jednom amalgamu sačinjenom ponajviše od nezauzdanog ponosa i vječno tinjajuće nade u bolje sjutra – mogu vam iskreno reći da sam ja svoju kartu odveć otkazao. Štaviše, bespovratno pečatirao sa velikim štambiljem neodobravanja. Ostajem tu gdje jesam, gdje su mi korijeni, gdje mi je porodica, gdje mi je dom. Gdje ću, nadam se, u nekom doglednom vremenu i ostaviti neki trag boljitka iza sebe. Neki kamen temeljac za bolju i ljepšu Crnu Goru.

A vi dragi sugrađani… da li znate šta vam je učiniti?

Dušan Pejaković

Cooperation, economic relations, the availability of resources, joint decisive action – whether we want to admit it or not – these are the pillars of the stronghold that carries the weight of progress and prosperity of the human race. When I happen to think about these constituents per se, a passage from the book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow comes to mind: History provides ample evidence for the crucial importance of large-scale cooperation. Victory almost invariably went to those who cooperated better – not only in struggles between Homo sapiens and other animals, but also in conflicts between different human groups.[1] With just a few simple words, concisely and straightforward, Yuval Noah Harari gives us a premise that turns out to be a key distinction between progress and stagnation – collaboration.

When trying to deal with a certain topic, all existing aspects should be taken into account, starting from the past and following the chronology of events, all in order to give the best possible prediction of future correlations modality.

Formed on the basis of opposing principles, hitherto deeply rooted in human consciousness (division according to the directions and dimensions of generally accepted symbols and units of measurement), we have at disposal a left (wing) direction which at the same time represents a codification for the West, complementary to the right (wing) direction which represents East. Transferred to the topic of this paper, as paradigmatic representatives of their positions on the world map in this particular case, it would be the NATO Alliance and China.

For a comprehensive analysis, the entire timeline of one’s discussed entity must be considered. Hence, we should take a look back to the Cold War period; the arms race, the race for supremacy in space and all the other manifestations of the power in that specific era. Strolling down the memory lane of this particular period of history, we will inevitably come across the so-called theory of the bipolar system of international relations. These two superpowers (of course, USA and USSR are in question) represented two centers of power, the West/East and two constantly opposing socio-politically and economically different poles. At the end of the Cold War, and more so later with the collapse of the Soviet Union (the fall of real socialism and all other accompanying events on the international political scene) led to a denial of the bipolar model in the functioning of international relations and the establishment of the so-called age of unipolarism, a state in which one statehood, one center of power, independently assumes international primacy. That so-called Pax Americana[2], was set as the theoretical framework of the long-desired, and re-established theory of hegemonic stability, where America is set as judge and jury in practically all international relations and sets its infinitely deep “treasury of power” as a benchmark and a model that others should follow. The very idea of ​​the disappearance of the other polar entity was first launched by President George W. Bush in 1990 – which alongside many other authors – the famous Zbigniew Brzezinski elaborated it in his book The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997); stating – among other things – that the United States is the last world power and that even if the primacy of the United States diminishes, it’s not realistic that there’s another state able to take the place that the United States has today.[3] One today could possibly argue at the very length of that particular discourse.  Many countries, nowadays, whether non-aligned or rooted within established supranational associations, have the discretion right to choose or decide upon certain matter Or,  if you want – they have their own gravitas. Even the list of “big players” has expanded significantly so. With inclusive of (and in large part thanks to its extensive economic growth) People’s Republic of China – as one of those to which the views of many are directed nowadays.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) represents an intergovernmental political and military alliance, a system of collective defense between 30 North American and European countries, on the basis of the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949. Shared values and norms of liberal-democracy have always been recognized as being crucial for the existence of the transatlantic security community.[4] On the other hand, we have the People’s Republic of China. China has the highest population of any country on Earth. It has the second largest economy, is a nuclear power and has a permanent seat on the United Nation’s Security Council. It is also a communist country. Recalling the above-mentioned period of the Cold War, this too represents the clash of opposing ideologies, which, as it did before, dividing the World into two blocs. However, modern economic trends powered by the everlasting currents of globalization have greatly alleviated ideological differences and cooperation on many fronts takes precedence over disputes.

China’s rise as a global superpower – and challenge to US hegemony in the post-WWII era – appears unstoppable. While China’s economic rise was foreseen 20 years ago, its growing international assertiveness wasn’t. It may come as no surprise, that in tandem with its emerging economic superpower status, we’ve witnessed a more assertive China pursuing wider global interests. Why? Because it can. This is manifest in a number of guises, including in an economic sense, for example, in the form of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – which could even provide an existential threat to the EU, given China’s 16+1 agenda, and Italy’s participation in 2019 – or developing country lending. The US-China trade war is also a manifestation of this. In fact, one could see an interconnectedness across all these areas in terms of protecting China and its single party rule and projecting China’s influence abroad.[5]

China and NATO contact is a relatively recent development. NATO‐China relations were non‐existent during the Cold War and for most of the 1990s. The first direct NATO engagement with China was in 1999 when NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo campaign. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and invasion of Afghanistan next to Chinese borders, in 2002, the Chinese ambassador in Brussels visited NATO headquarter with then SecGen Lord Robertson and explored ways for engagements, particularly in Afghanistan. Since then NATO‐China have normalized engagements and developed a political dialogue to focus on exchanging information and issues of cooperative security. These issues include terrorism, maritime piracy, international security, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation, and crisis management.[6]

On the eve of the NATO Summit in London last December, the Alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed the need for a collective response to China’s emergence as a global power. “This is not about moving NATO into the South China Sea,” he stated, “but it’s about taking into account that China is coming closer to us—in the Arctic, in Africa, investing heavily in our infrastructure in Europe, in cyberspace.” At the summit, NATO heads of state diplomatically declared that China has become a concern: “we recognize that China’s growing influence and international policies present both opportunities and challenges that we need to address together as an Alliance.[7]

In Robert Kagan’s phenomenal reading – “Of Paradise and Power” – we have a lot of theoretical assumptions and evidence that support this discourse of ours so far. Since the main topic here is focused on NATO / P.R. China relations, it must be taken into account that NATO is composed predominantly of European states, in addition to, of course, members from “the other side of the Atlantic.” In one such constellation of forces, taking USA and PR China as two opposing polarities and landmarks of West and East, Europe actually comes as “buffer zone”[8] between these two predominant polarities. This is probably the very key to successful cooperation, as the leading idea that we are further developing through this article.

Both the United States and Europe have separately focused their attention on China. On multilateral trade, the European Union has worked with China in a more cooperative way than the United States. Following the 2019 EU-China Summit, the European Union and China released a joint statement that affirmed their commitment to, among other things, cooperate on the reform of the WTO. The statement also affirmed EU support for China joining the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.[9]

So, the biggest question remains – what should be done? What levels of relations need to be intensified or deepened even?

The Alliance should offer to establish a NATO-China Council. This would mirror the NATO-Russia Council whose roots date back to 1997. Its establishment would recognize and respond to the realty of China’s growing influence and reach.[10]

Asian states such as China need to consider cooperation with partners at the global level to address regional problems associated with globalization. In this regard, partnership with NATO should not be excluded. Also, if NATO is going to engage with the Asia region as part of its new strategy of addressing emerging security challenges such as terrorism, piracy and energy security, any engagement strategy should follow a balanced approach that not only targets China, India and Japan, but other interested parties via regional organizations. China’s increasing ties with NATO presents a good opportunity for the U.S. to exercise strategic leadership and lead from the front once again, and help shape the trajectory of an Asia whole and free in the 21st century just as it helped shape an Europe whole and free in the 20th Century.[11]

Even with all aforementioned put aside, the viral-gruesome and tiresome years of 2020&2021 showed us all the instability and incoherencies throughout the world. As we have had the opportunity to see, we live in a time of constant change. These changes have enormous implications for all of us. The development rate is very scattered, globally. And we can even see that some of the most developed countries in the world did not cope exactly as expected from them, in the sense of fighting this “modern time plague”. Many have overestimated their own capacities and capabilities. The only way that challenges of this magnitude like the Covid-19 pandemic can be overcome is through cooperation and cooperation alone. If nothing else, let this be a lesson for the next time something similar happens, and let the idea of ever-accessible and maximum ranges of cooperation within all possible spheres – be the basis for a new perspective of global internal relations.

Dusan Pejakovic,

MSc candidate at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Montenegro/ published book author 

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[1] Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, Harper 2017

[2] Lindsay, James M, The Globalization of Politics: American Foreign Policy for a New Century, Council on Foreign Relations, 2003

[3] Zbigniew Brzezinski, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, Basic Books (1998)

[4] Sonia Lucarelli, PEACE AND DEMOCRACY: THE REDISCOVERED LINK THE EU, NATO and the European System of Liberal-Democratic Security Communities, FINAL REPORT

[5] Stuart Culverhouse, 2020s Vision: China becomes world number on, Tellimer 2020 (available at: https://tellimer.com/article/2020s-vision-china-becomes-world-number-one)

[6] Assen Agov, The Rise of China and Possible Implications for NATO, Political Committee, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, October 2011.

[7]  Ian Brzezinski, NATO’s role in a transatlantic strategy on China, Atlantic Council official 2020 (available at: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/natos-role-in-a-transatlantic-strategy-on-china/)

[8] Robert Kagan, Of Paradise and Power (Knopf 2003)

[9]  Andrés Ortega Klein, The U.S.-China Race and the Fate of Transatlantic Relations

Part II: Bridging Differing Geopolitical Views, CSIS Report, 2020 (available at:

https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-china-race-and-fate-transatlantic-relations-0)

[10] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/natos-role-in-a-transatlantic-strategy-on-china/

[11] Ibid

1. A man of literature is different from a man of the world. Who is closer to reality?

– I think that these two entities could be viewed (as the proverb says) as two sides of the same coin. Through reading the “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow”, a phenomenal book by Yuval Noah Harari, I came across one awe-inspiring thought: it is postulated that each of us is a duality with “experiencing self” on the one hand, and “narrating self” on the other.

Against this background, I would arrange the conceptual meaning of this particular question, and still give preference to a man of literature who is able to translate all these thoughts and experiences into a meaningful stream of words, which makes him a par excellence chronicler of a certain era.

2. Literary activity these days is carried out only for earning degrees or marks for promotions. Is it an ethical exercise, although it is going on at a very high scale?

– Yes, I’ve noticed that phenomenon. On the one hand, we have visionaries who are really trying to provide a platform for all those who have not been given the appropriate opportunity to prove themselves in literature, through various literary competitions. That is one very positive thing. But many others take that original idea and add their own negative spin to the things: they use the naivety of the broad masses for some of their twisted promotional goals. The antediluvian quality of literature is becoming increasingly marginalized, and more and more space and importance is given to complete ignoramuses, which is not good for literature or for the overall culture for that matter, all around the globe.

3. What is creativity? And what is the reason, among the academia, we come across good researchers,  but creative writers are few and far between. Can you identify what is at the root of lack of creativity?

 – Creativity is a sui generis impulse embedded into the human essence. As it’s known in the domain of philosophy: Homo Ludens. The ability of a human being to play and to create some new value through that game, which later becomes part of the general cultural expression. I could not give you an exact reason for the others, but I can say from my perspective, considering that I am also engaged in academic research and literary expression – creativity is necessary for both. The only thing is that the rules, or rather, the postulates of writing for the needs of scientific research and writing itself as a work of literature, are different in their scope and intensity. Research language is rigid, strictly defined and rather technocratic (as it must be in order to have a foothold in empiricism), and yet literature gives a little more room for that primordial and liberated, free expression of the human soul that in many cases is known as “fine literature.”

4. Literature we know gives us joy while it also runs parallel to history.  Why has a poet been considered more dangerous than a historian?

Well, yes, I agree. They do not say in vain that poets were the best chroniclers of their time, from the beginning of civilization to these modern times in which we now find ourselves. History is written by the winners, as the proverb says. Sometimes, only a comparative analysis of several documented sources can lead to the discovery of a certain distortion in the theory of written history itself. These distortions can happen under the influence of various ideologies, various goals of the ruling classes and many other things. And on the other hand: many famous poets were tortured, persecuted and even condemned to death precisely because of their ability to present the ruthless truth of one particular era through unapologetic verses.

5. Gurbani says: koor nukhute Nanka, odak sach rahi. (The untruth will fritter away, only the truth will finally stay.) What according to you is the truth that survives vagaries of time?

– A really nice thought with which I completely agree. I would say that there are many immaterial things, that inanimate matter which is all around us and which we are permeated with, and which in the form of vibrant human energy can survive the whirlwinds of time. These would be: morality, love and hope. Everything else is subjected to the pressure of Father Time and somehow is being either altered, or broken, or distorted. And in the domain of material things, I would like to point out that these are again some placements of cultural expression immortalized in the earth itself, in everlasting stone, and even on paper. The written word is probably one immortal truth that will outlive everything else.

6. Identity is not only a crisis in itself, but it has plunged the whole world into a crisis.  Is identity the root cause of human strife? And Why?

 – There are certain typologies within the study of the humanities that postulate that human beings have many other identities in addition to their personal “me, myself and I” and they are expressed through affiliation with: family, social class, ethnic groups, religious groups and so on. The pressures of globalization and the instant flow of information have struck the very foundations of these settings, and a comparative analysis of our personal selves set against all others is beginning to be the dominant picture of the world. There are many theories in sociology that explain how modern times will spur the identity crisis of both individual human beings and entire groups, as well as nations – which we see happening today throughout the world.

7. How do you look at the contemporary literary scene? Do you think it can be improved upon? And how?

– I’m not a big fan of what is considered contemporary literature nowadays, in many cases. More often than not, these are some meaningless attempts to deconstruct all the fundamental postulates on which literature rests since the beginning of the written word. In linguistic theory, there are many significant examples of how the use of punctuation can change the whole course of a sentence, the whole meaning. And today we see, primarily in poetry – a forcing attempts of incoherent expressions through the omission of punctuation marks, which in the end leaves you only with one amorphous mass that has no melody, meaning or depth of expression in itself. I am someone who loves classic literature and adherence to certain non-negligible norms that have been bestowed upon us to cherish and respect.

8. You have dedicated your life to literature. Or I can say you have lived by literature. You might be feeling satisfied and fulfilled. Do you feel people who spend a lifetime in other disciplines can feel fulfilled like you?

Yes of course. Anyone who really loves what he/she does, who feels a passion for what is chosen as calling and who enjoys the whole process – can be considered a happy and fulfilled man/woman. I really think that our mission is not to be present on this Planet just to eat, drink, sleep, watch TV and work on our miserable jobs from 9am to 5pm, but also to leave some trace behind, something that will outlive us and that will testify to our identity for a long time to come. So I would say to everyone: create, make a cultural effort, and do create some new values. If nothing else, at least make an effort and work hard on yourself. Creativity and the desire to create is, indeed, a kind of ultimate life’s antiseptic.

9. A man’s greatness is measured by what he gives back to society.  These days, such thoughts are exiled from the minds of the youth. People only wish to amass wealth. Where does the poet fit in this evolving system of commercial narcissism?

 – Yes, of course. One grandiose and brutal truth. The dominant ideology of consumerism and arrogant capitalism has turned the whole world and all the people in it into one humongous “rat race”. Unfortunately, even poets these days are increasingly falling under the influence of the aforementioned constructs. It is noticeable that in this hyper-production, everyone wants to be a writer only and exclusively because they presume that they can be a bestseller author. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been in an argument with people who neglect quality to the point of nonsense and all that matters to them is whether he/she wrote 30k of words, whether it could be a novel and what marketing strategy to use in the attempt to sell better in order to earn as much as possible in the shortest given period of time. And nothing else matters to them. Shameful, indeed. It’s the beginning of the collapse of literature, I’m afraid.

10. If offered a choice, will you opt for this literary career again? What more would you ask for in such an eventuality?

– Of course I would. I certainly don’t consider literature to be a career calling that someone should choose deliberately upon. It defies the point and the purity of literature. No, this is a wake-up call that the Universe serves to you through a given talent that lies within, for whatever possible reason. And then it’s up to you to make the best possible imprint out of it in order to create an everlasting echo of one’s own personality that will resonate for a long time to come. What I would ask for: nothing more than just a little more consideration and support of institutions that aim to be defenders of culture – to finally remove all the favoritism and nepotism that is a dominant feature even in literature nowadays and to finally stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are truly worthy of the aforementioned help. Only in this way does culture have its chance to survive.

©️Dušan Pejaković

*** This is an interview that I gave for the needs of a book that will soon be out of print, named 21st Century Critical Thought. It is an international project that summarizes the opinions of prominent people in the field of culture and art, and among which are many prominent artists, eminent professors, as well as several Nobel Prize nominees in previous years. It is a great pleasure to find myself within an invaluable set of such phenomenal creators.

Our guest for this expose is a young and talented writer who is increasingly conquering space in the narrowly built upper echelons of quality literary expression realm. It is our great pleasure to guide you through life and work of this up-and-coming writer.

Dušan Pejaković is a young and award-winning writer, residing in Podgorica, Montenegro. Master’s student at the Faculty of Political Sciences (University of Montenegro), volunteer, social entrepreneur and book author. In addition to the languages ​​of the Balkan’s language area, he also creates in English, Italian and Spanish. Published so far in numerous anthologies of poetry and prose around the world. Multiple participation in literary competitions, festivals and contests have yielded a large number of accompanying diplomas, awards, certificates and accolades for this young, independent author. Through the written word, he spread the voice of his undisputed creativity, but has also left a lasting mark of his homeland and its culture, all over the world: starting from South America, through Europe all the way to Asia and India. Accordingly, he was honored by several international associations, and was proclaimed as a global promoter of literature and ambassador of culture, and was awarded many memberships and adequate representative roles in these organizations.

The viral-gruesome and tiresome year of 2020 has been extremely successful for this author. He published two books “Unrest of lucidity” (Amazon, 2020) and “Silhouette of an unfulfilled dream” (Obodsko slovo, 2020), in just a few months apart. Moreover, these two manuscripts brought him a handful of awards and recognitions both on the domestic scene in his homeland and international literary scene as well.

The 2021 starts on a similar note, whilst he purposefully and tirelessly continues his author’s saga and in the result – the third book of this author has sprung up to life, just a few days ago, so called – “Polyphony of life”.

Namely, it is a work of unambiguous authenticity and something hitherto unseen not only in the region from which it originates, but also in a much broader sense: it is a trilingual collection of poetry. Representing a definite paradigm-shift of literary expression, three individual cycles embodied in this work consists of three mature wholes, originally written in three different languages: English, Italian, and Spanish. In the end they form one exceptionally coherent literary work, both aesthetically and thematically pleasing. The themes are lively, vibrating, awe-striking and, as the author himself says – immanently close to everyone.

The book will be available in two formats, as an e-book, as well as paperback via the “print on demand” (available link: https://www.amazon.com/Polyphony-life-Multilingual-poetry-collection-ebook/dp/B08WTWYZSH/ ) on Amazon, but also through a wide range of affiliated distributors such as: Goodreads, Book Depository, AbeBooks, Google Books, etc.

The author adds, among other things, how he hopes that in accordance with such topics and multilingualism itself – this book will be highly sought after and respected by the population of readers. Moreover, how many times can you find a work like this that is made in parallel in 3 different linguistic statements? Its uniqueness should count for itself, isn’t it?

In addition to poetry and prose, Pejakovic also writes essays and analytical texts in the field of his own profession. He is currently working on a collection of short stories, a new project that has been practically completed; and adds a few words about how the pending project is now in the most demanding stage – the inevitable phase of finding possible sponsorship and/or an adequate publishing/printing arrangement. Additionally, he told us a few words about his future endeavors, and let us in with a little secret: he plans for a whole science fiction series on Amazon, in not so distant future.

We better keep an eye on this young talent, we are quite certain that he’s yet to bring his best.

The author of this article is Martin Smallridge, a co-worker of mine as we are both the co-editors of new and up-and-coming web portal – Agora24 (https://medium.com/agora24).

presudnog dana
nedostižnost želje mira –
epitom života

***

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prožeta snom
beskrupuloznost datog pira –
afinitet bivstva

***

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zaodjenula zima
srž grlene studeni –
ukoričeni mraz

staklaste tvari –
lednički šiljci vise
ukras krovova

sniježni pokrivač
tromi bijeli nameti –
nema prolaza

cika na ulici
snjegolike igrarije –
dječja radost

Autor: Dušan Pejaković

We live in the world of technology, the digital world. Out of all distinctive features of human civilization, one is inevitable and merciless – progress. Human civilization is by its nature – something that is constantly being developed and upgraded. In my opinion, technological innovations in any given structure whatsoever, headed by the Internet as the global „mother“ of all networks and achievements – if properly used, can only bring benefits to people. As in all other spheres of life, technology certainly contributed to legal science, in one hand to become more diversify and on other to make improvement in terms of serving people and being there for them in any given time. Encouraged by the power of globalization processes and the ever-increasing technology, people tend to have a „right here, right now“ attitude. Preferably, things/services should be given or provided to user instantly/on the spot and for a good price of course.

Access to Justice and Technology

The narrowest conception of “access to justice” has its origins in liberal 18th and 19th century states, and refers to an individual’s formal right to litigate or defend. It encompasses the right to “hav[e] your day in court”. Starting in the 1960s, definitions of access to justice focused on “practicing law for poor people”. The goal was to provide legal representation to impoverished individuals who could not otherwise afford legal advice. It aimed to counteract the cost, delay and complexity of the legal system. This concept of access to justice forms the foundation for today’s legal aid and poverty law clinics (Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre, s.d.). I am set out to explore the correlation of technology with this latter conception.
By reading materials and researching for this topic, I came across the abundance of articles and texts on the Internet, but they are all underlying the same thing, they all have a same point. Like any other industry providing certain services to people, legal science and its disciplines have also given much of the cake (so to speak) to new types of services based on new technologies. Old traditional ways of dealing with law in general are being slowly left behind and stored to the papers-pushing/non internet era.
„When communication technologies resolve around the home environment, one promising application – telecommuting – reflects another emerging social change phenomenon. (Kraut, Scherlis, Mukhopadhyah, Manning & Kiesler, 1996; Stanek & Mokhtarian, 1998. This “virtual workforce” is growing as corporations trim operating costs and accommodate the lifestyle choices of valued employees. (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1998)”. (William H Dutton, Brian Kahin, Ramon O’Callaghan, Andrew W. Wyckoff, 2004)
Somewhat that is also a well-known fact: economic inequality is increasing day by day as the poor are getting poorer and the richer are getting richer. Uneven distribution of the wealth in the world is mostly the main reason why most of us (and by that I mean 99.99% of all human inhabitants on Earth) do not have legal advice givers/attorneys on retainer. For example, we shall take the findings researchers made in UK. „The government’s own statistics show spending on legal aid has fallen sharply from £2.6bn in 2005-06 to £1.5bn last year. The steepest decline came after 2013 when Laspo (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act) came into effect“ (Bowcott, 2017).
In human rights terms, the cuts to legal aid constitute a retrogressive measure. They were primarily motivated by a desire to reduce spending on the justice system at a time of increased fiscal pressure, but were made with insufficient regard for the potential negative and profound impacts on the protection of human rights in the UK. There is no dispute that fewer people can now access free legal help and representation in a wide range of cases; the government’s own statistics bear this out (Amnesty International UK, 2016: 3)

Development of new legal services

For this and similar reasons, it is not a surprise that new online platforms that provide various types of legal services – spring up like mushrooms. And everywhere, too. They provide a service that can be obtained at any time, anywhere (provided you have access to the Internet and most of the developed world today has it, and at every turn). No need to schedule an appointment, wait for days, miss work, delay your daily responsibilities, travel to a law office, or wait to meet with an attorney. Just few clicks on a keyboard is all it takes. The major players in the online legal services field are LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer, LegalShield, LawDepot and a few others.
„Most online legal services currently operate on either a subscription basis, where the client pays a certain amount per month in exchange for an outlined list of services, or a pay-per service basis, where the client purchases one-time legal services. Online legal services are inexpensive relative to what typical brick-and-mortar law firms charge, which makes most small business owners immediately wonder why and how these sites can charge so much less than other attorneys. The answer is simple: They aren’t law firms“ (Bushnell, 2017). And with that, they cannot be working in full capacity as such. But in most cases of smaller legal technicalities, they should serve well enough. In support of that, thousands of customers are also talking about their positive experiences that have been in touch with such services.
We are aware that such services are still not in a position to be a worthy substitute for the established pattern of relations between legal institutes and humans. But things are constantly evolving, day after day.
In a recent study, LawGeex, a legal tech startup, challenged a group of 20 experienced lawyers to test their skills and knowledge against its AI-powered algorithm. The group included associates and in-house lawyers from global firms such as Goldman Sachs, Cisco and Alston & Bird, as well as general counsel and sole practitioners. „The task was to review risks contained in five non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The AI matched the top-performing lawyer for accuracy – both achieved 94%. Collectively, the lawyers managed an average of 85%, with the worst performer recording 67%. When it came to speed, the AI far surpassed the legal minds, taking just 26 seconds to review all five documents compared to the lawyers’ average speed of 92 minutes. The speediest lawyer completed the review in 51 minutes – over 100 times slower than the AI – while the slowest took 156 minutes“ (Wood, 2018).
All of that in the combination with the uncertain times we do live in, creates a predictable vision of what lies in the inherent capability of technology to shape our community. Take, for example, 2020, the year in which we were hit by the largest pandemic in a hundred years. Large scale disasters have ways to sneak up and create chaos when no one expects it and there is no adequate infrastructure to prevent it. Increasing divisions on all grounds, marginalization, suffocation of human rights, impossibility of achieving timely health care, increase in criminal activities in certain parts, dismissals and much more. The Social Distancing Protocol has created new modus operandi in the business world. In every sphere things have changed drastically or are about to suffer a paradigm shift.
While the traditional law and economics approach (Becker 1968) emphasizes the effects of incentives in the form of sanctions, a recent literature in behavioral science and legal studies reminds us that non-material factors and social norms play a central role in explaining individual compliance with laws (Zamir and Teichman 2018).
The workplace has changed and so employment law will grow to include more cases such as workplace disputes over working from home capabilities, safe working environments back in the office and employer’s duty of care when it comes to potential second waves and future pandemics. There will also be new definitions on flexible working and how employers judge acceptable practice. Other areas of law that may see growth are legal tech with a new need to have digital solutions, litigation, with plenty of companies in disputes with customers over cancellations and delays, insolvency with the inevitable economic drop, mental health law and family law. (The University of Law, 2020)
In a post-pandemic world, we will rely more heavily on technology, which is where the next generation of legal professionals will excel. Future lawyers will therefore need to demonstrate they can work with a multiple of software and hardware with flexibility and show their digital expertise from the application process onward in order to contribute to a wider use of existing technology. They will also need to overcome potential challenges for firms in particular areas such as maintaining their brand profile and finding new ways to attract clients and build fruitful relationships without using traditional networking events/sponsorship/hospitality, as social distancing becomes more conventional. This will present early opportunities for junior lawyers to distinguish themselves in technological and entrepreneurial manner, through finding creative (and effective) solutions to this. (Ibid)

Conclusion

As we have had the opportunity to see, we live in a time of constant change. These changes have enormous social implications for all of us. Technology has already greatly advanced the classic established patterns of all industries, and when we add to that the events that plagued us through 2020, the analysis has no end.
We can only wonder, what’s next. Perhaps as in many other industries, given the announced changes in the workforce caused by automation and the power of the technology launched by AI, legal services too would be largely transposed into the online world. Or even, completely. Maybe at first glance, this looks far-fetched and futuristic. But also, everything that has been achieved today on a technological scale, a few decades ago – was unimaginable and unexpected. Based on the current modus operandi, we can only assume the vast arial of opportunities for growth and development. But if there is one thing we can say with security, is that a symbiotic relation between legal practice and technology, embodied in various online legal services and existence of many data-bases of legal rules and regulations, really increased access to the legal system, overall.

References:

• Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre (s.d) What is Access to Justice?, url: http://www.aclrc.com/what-is-access-to-justice/
• Amnesty International UK, Uk, cuts that hurt, The impact of legal aid cuts in England on access to justice, London, UK: Amnesty International UK (p.3), 2016
• Bowcott, Owen (2017) Impact of cuts to legal aid to come under review, url: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/oct/31/impact-of-cuts-to-legal-aid-to-come-under-review
• Bushnell, Mona (2017) Can Online Legal Services Really Help Your Business?, url: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10243-online-legal-services-pros-cons.html
• The University of Law, Five ways the global pandemic will change the path for future lawyers, url: https://www.law.ac.uk/resources/blog/covid-and-future-lawyers/
• Dutton, W. H., Kahin, B., O’Callaghan, R., & Wyckoff, A. W. (Eds.), Transforming enterprise: The economic and social implications of information technology, mit Press, 2005
• Wood, Johny, This AI outperformed 20 corporate lawyers at legal work, 2018, url: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/this-ai-outperformed-20-corporate-lawyers-at-legal-work?fbclid=IwAR0OjaHh3wPO1eh5-nmQFPCTbrPQJYe3aT1aZAp9wBaT6KY1shHbdLtZGGI
• Zamir, E and D Teichman, Behavioral Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, 2018

Il pleut des cordes.

Tout est brouillé.

Pas de couleur en vue:                                                                                                                                                               toute chose dévient gris.

La mélancolie prédomine –

devient unique valve de drainage.

Quelqu’un a une fois dit :

« Peut-être le ciel pleure pour nous. »  

Qui sait, cela pourrait être vrai –

et là se trouve le secret de cette énigme:

Ce sont des petites larmes torrentielles du ciel

Tout compte fait, à quoi d’autre on a pu s’attendre?

L’auteur: Dusan Pejakovic