BELLSPIRATION CLUB - Luka Radičević, Serbia/Slovenia: Life is what we manage to get and make out of it!(Part 1/4)

1) Dear Luka, would you be kind and tell us who Luka really is, what he dreams about, what he likes, and what he's doing in life? For the readers of the Bellspiration blog, introduce yourself, so that we can all get to know you.

While Luka is usually told that he looks a bit older, people rarely tell him that he behaves accordingly. Let’s clarify something right now - I am far from "goofy", I just think that a person should be happy and have fun in life, both with serious and less serious things. A high school teacher who knew me only from the hallways told me at graduation that whenever she saw me on the way to the classroom, I was smiling. It was then when I realized how powerful and influential cheerfulness and kindness are, and how easy it actually is to make someone’s day. That is me - honest, positive, and open to new opportunities, always doing my best and never giving up, regardless of the circumstances. I believe that if I have an opportunity to help other people, I also have a moral obligation to do so, and I dream of a world in which the majority of people feel the same way. If we look at the other side, what Luka is doing - he is a 4th-grade bachelor degree student of International Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. After graduating from the English bilingual class in grammar school in his hometown, Niš (Serbia), this 22-year-old went to study abroad in pursuit of his childhood wish. At the faculty, he occasionally assists in research work, and he portrays his love for science through the role of a demonstrator at the science center "House of Experiments" in Ljubljana. He wrote and adapted a mini-linguistic experiment based on the automatic reading hypothesis for the science center, while he is currently working on a scientific play "Language-ology". With the help of the science center and a regional organization ’’Balkans, Let’s Get Up!’’, and with the goal of bringing (social) sciences closer to people and popularizing science in general, Luka is now actively working on opening a science center in Niš, his hometown. With the same goal, he occasionally writes science-themed articles for the youth portal "YouthVibes.rs". Luka is the author of seven published scientific papers and a short proceedings' chapter, and he is currently a part of four more research projects in the field he is studying. One of the interdisciplinary papers of his research team was awarded at a students' scientific conference. His work in science and the development of local communities is why he has been chosen as one of this year’s fellows of the Studenica Foundation. He fell in love with research work as a long-term linguistics student at Petnica Science Center, where he published his first two papers and helped elementary school students as a junior research associate at a couple of seminars. At the same time, he was an active member and later on a student-coordinator of the Debate Club of his grammar school, on behalf of which he participated in an international competition. He continued improving and using the skills acquired therein selecting and training speakers within TEDxLjubljana. Luka still hasn't stopped justifying the award for the activist of the generation he received from grammar school "Svetozar Markovic" in Niš. He deserved the award by being engaged in several school sections and clubs, as well as the program development coordinator of the youth association "Aktilum". Within the association, he volunteered for several years at the Children's Internal Clinic in Niš, where he soon became the leader of one of the volunteer groups. Luka was chosen as one of last year's mentors within the national program "When I grow up, I will be..." in Serbia. Although he sees himself in science, he occasionally tries his luck in entrepreneurship. With his team in Ljubljana, he won the second prize at the local round of the global hackathon "Climathon", proposing a solution for sustainable mobility in Slovenia. In addition, he is the founder and president of the Group of Friendship and Cooperation with the Republic of Serbia within the student organization for international relations called "Globallis" at his faculty. In his work, he tries to strengthen the connection between Serbia and Slovenia, and would one day like to represent Serbia as an independent expert within one of the international governmental organizations.  He is currently an active member of the Organisation of Serbian Students Abroad - its Local Branch in Slovenia and Sector for Internal Affairs. About a month ago, he began his internship at Catalyst Balkans as a Data Research and Verification Intern. In addition to several international projects which he is a participant of, Luka is a part of the project of the Head Organization of Youth in Serbia called "Youth Dialogue with the Prime Minister 2.0", through which he had a chance to represent the youth of his country and let the Prime Minister know which issues youth encounters in relation to informal education. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Sports Association of his faculty. Furthermore, he is a voluntary blood donor, and in his free time he does humanitarian work – he collects money for those who need it most by running half marathons and other races.

2) What is "Success" by your definition and how to achieve it?

Success nowadays, in an increasingly globalized world in which we are overwhelmed with information, is simply to be happy and make someone else happy. I believe that the meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to pass that gift on, use it and make the world a better place than it was before we came along. I know that an individual cannot change the "frozen lake", but every change starts with a little step. That is why I do everything I do and, no matter how cliché it may sound, I believe that success is doing what you love and loving what you do because only then can a person actually fulfill their maximum potential. As for me personally, I am proud of the fact that I can call two cities my own - Niš, where I was born, and Ljubljana, where I live. In my career, I want to make the best use of this fact and will not consider myself successful if I fail to connect these two cities and two countries with a common history, whatever it may be. Life is what we manage to make from it. 3) Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a member of the Bellspiration Club and for sharing your experiences with us in the coming weeks and inspiring us! What are your expectations from the Bellspiration Club?

Thank you for the invitation, Belma, it is a pleasure to be among such people. I hope my story inspires someone. Regarding my expectations from the Bellspiration club, I think it will be a valuable experience through which I will connect with as many young activists as possible, leaders in their local communities, and we will support each other and channel positive changes together. Accelerated digitalization and the fact that the world is, as they say, a global village, often make us forget about what is "ours". I am glad that there are initiatives such as the Bellspiration club, which brings young people from the region together and promotes regional cooperation, which has much more potential than people actually think.

CONTACT:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lukatalks/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/lukatalks98 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/lukaradicevic Academia: https://uni-lj.academia.edu/lukaradicevic

Some interesting links about Luka:

https://niskevesti.rs/12400-luka-radicevic-nis-ima-perspektivu/
https://niskevesti.rs/niski-talenti-luka-radicevic-spaja-ljubljanu-i-nis/
https://www.festivalnauke.org/start/evropa-u-malom/slovenija/muzika-ceslja-novcica-i-balona