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THE WORLD’S 20 BEST CITIES FOR ARCHITECTURE LOVERS
HR Insight Team Strength Brings Greatness
TINDE LAKANOVIĆ, HR MANAGER FOR THE CENTRAL BALKAN REGION AT WIENERBERGER
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Wienerberger is composed of 17,000 employees gathered around a common vision oriented towards the company’s results, growth and development. They adjust their working conditions not only to Serbian standards, but also to those of EU countries
Thanks to the strength of its team, this Kanjiža-based company has become a stable and sustainable system that serves as an example for others to learn from, a partner that is trusted and a pillar of support that can be relied upon. Here the company’s HR manager, Tinde Lakanović, reveals how.
You often point out with pride that your employees are among the crucial factors of your success. But how is Wienerberger as an employer?
At Wienerberger, we consider the opinions of our colleagues as being crucially importance, which is why we conduct employee surveys. And based on the feedback provided by those surveys, we devise plans for improvement project. The results of last year’s survey show that satisfaction is at a high level. We have a very challenging geographical position, as our factory is close to Hungary, so our colleagues have the option of securing work in that country, where wages are significantly higher than they are in our country.
When seeking new colleagues, you look for self-motivated and dedicated people, those who are capable of thinking and acting like entrepreneurs; people who are focused on solutions and personal responsibility. Why do you value those qualities?
Our team is unified by the synergy of its experience, knowledge, youth and energy. We are proud of our large number of development programmes for future experts, through which we endeavour to provide each team member with the knowhow principle of our operations. It is thanks precisely to the strength of the team that Wienerberger is today a stable and sustainable system that serves as an example for others to learn from, a partner that is trusted and a
pillar of support that can be relied upon. Regardless of current labour market trends, Wienerberger has spent years growing beyond its limits, together with its employees, through constant advances, innovations and intelligent decisions, and has proven that the loyalty and dedication of employees are built over the course of many years. Alongside the priceless experience of working in a multinational and multicultural environment that provides opportunities for personal advancement, learning and contribution, both in Serbia and abroad, I would single out in particular the numerous benefits for employees, such as private health insurance, sporting activities and anti-stress team building exercises.
How challenging is it to work in a multicultural environment; what is your company like as a workplace and what are its advantages?
The Wienerberger team in Serbia is diverse, just like the area where our factory is located in northern Vojvodina and Kanjiža. Our products reach markets throughout the region, so our sales team adds to the diversity of the organisation of Wienerberger Central Balkan. This is something that makes us extremely proud, because it proves that we are a company where everyone is considered equal and has the same rights. The advantages of such an environment are learning and developing on a daily basis, because in our workplace we encounter different habits, customs and cultures, which functions wonderfully thanks to good leadership. At Wienerberger, we together celebrate all holidays, try traditional cuisines of different cultures and socialise while listening to different types of music.
What do you consider as being your greatest personal success at Wienerberger?
In a company and industry that is predominantly analogue and traditional, I’ve managed to implement positive practises and procedures, as well as digital tools that have helped improve the work of many colleagues in the organisation. The positive atmosphere within the team, which comprises people with over 30 years of experience and colleagues just embarking on their career journeys, is one of the successes that gives me a particular sense of pride. We really are an environment where everyone is welcome and everyone can advance.
10 Years Of Creative Mentoring In Serbia
Creative Mentoring, a programme intended for people who shift the boundaries of culture, the arts, the creative industries and the media scene in Serbia and the region, is celebrating its first great jubilee: the completion of the first ten years of its work
Since it was founded back in 2012, Creative Mentoring has matured into a unique regional programme headquartered in Belgrade, which has to date brought together more than 300 participants who today comprise a cultural, creative and artistic network of our country and region.
The main celebration event was held on 22nd October at Belgrade’s Museum of Science and Technology, which is also where it all began, and the celebration brought together all participants to date, members of the Advisory and
Honorary Council, sponsors and friends of the programme, as well as media representatives. “In Serbia, the mentoring concept was for many years associated with academic studies and formal education, while - in the context of modern professional training - mentoring has become accessible to everyone, depending on their professional objectives. Participants in the Creative Mentoring programme recognised their own need – on their career development path as artists, cultural workers, journalists or cultural creatives – to acquire certain knowledge that they cannot gain in the spheres of formal education in Serbia, but rather must acquire this knowhow from those who have already traversed the same career path. Through participation in the programme, all mentees receive the opportunity to spend a year working continuously with mentors, experts and professionals from the field in which they want to perfect their skills, which is the reason this programme is so special,” noted programme director
Dragana Jevtić.
The mission of this programme, which is completely free of charge for all participants, is to spread the idea of mentoring, to empower individuals to master new knowledge through mentoring discussions, and to support and contribute to the development of the sectors of culture, the arts, the creative industries and the media scene in the country and around the region
The mission of this programme, which is completely free of charge for all participants, is to spread the idea of mentoring, to empower individuals to master new knowledge through mentoring discussions, and to support and contribute to the development of the sectors of culture, the arts, the creative industries and the media scene in the country and around the region. The current 6th cycle is also being implemented within regional frameworks, so alongside Serbia there are also participants from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. A large number of the participants represent big names of the local and regional culture, science, business, arts and media scenes. The work of the Creative Mentoring team is additionally recognised in a broader context, as evidenced through the numerous invitations to provide support to the launching and implementing of other mentoring programmes in the region and across Europe.
WORLD NEWS
“When things feel like they are falling apart, they may just be falling into place.” ~ SARA BLAKELY, FOUNDER OF SPANX
SEPTEMBER INFLATION IN THE EUROZONE HITS RECORD 9.9 %
Inflation in the Eurozone rose from 9.1 per cent in August to a record 9.9 per cent in September, announced Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Last month, consumer prices in the EU accelerated their annual growth to 10.9 per cent, compared to 10.1 per cent in August. In September, the lowest annual inflation rates were registered in France (6.2 per cent), Malta (7.4) and Finland (8.4), while the highest rates were recorded in Estonia (24.1), Lithuania (22.5) and Latvia (22). Compared to August, year-on-year inflation fell in six EU member states, remained unchanged in one country, and increased in 20 member states.
FORBES LIST: MUSK THE RICHEST MAN IN AMERICA
The pandemic, the financial crisis and the fall of the market have also affected the richest people in the United States of America, so the 400 richest Americans from the latest Forbes list have a total of 500 billion dollars less than a year ago. Their total net worth is four trillion dollars, which is 11 per cent less than last year. The minimum net worth required to be on the list of the 400 richest Americans also dropped by $200 million to $2.7 billion. It’s the first time since the Great Recession that America’s ultra-wealthy are no richer than they were a year ago when net worth is calculated using stock prices as of 2 September 2022. Tesla founder Elon Musk tops the Forbes 400 list for the first time with a net worth of $251 billion. Despite all the turmoil in his professional and personal life, Musk is $60.5 billion richer this year, thanks primarily to an 11 per cent jump in Tesla stock. In this way, he displaced Jeff Bezos from the top position.
WIND AND SUN SAVED THE EUROPEAN UNION 11 BILLION EUROS
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a record quarter of the total electricity has been produced in the European Union using solar and wind energy, according to a study by the Ember and E3G organizations, noting that the EU saved 11 billion euros that it would have spent on natural gas. From March to September, 24 per cent of all electricity in the EU was produced from solar and wind energy, according to the published analysis of non-governmental organizations, and the most electricity was produced in this way by Spain (35 per cent) and Italy (20 per cent). The amount of electricity produced from these renewable sources was, it is specified, 345 Terawatt hours, with an increase of 39 Terawatt hours compared to the same period last year. In percentage terms, the share of renewable sources in that period in 2021 was 21 per cent.
“On the distribution of outcomes, there’s a good chance that we have a recession in the United States ” ~ DAVID SOLOMON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF
GOLDMAN SACHS
ASIA’S ENERGY SUPPLY LOOKS SECURE
As Europe struggles with a power shortage, Asia-Pacific’s power supply remains secure mainly because the region still uses a lot of coal, data has shown. With liquified natural gas supplies in the region redirected to Europe, power generators in Asia not only have less access to LNG but have had to opt out of buying more expensive LNG driven by strong demand in Europe. Europe is struggling with a gas shortage as Russia cuts its supplies, forcing many countries into an energy crisis in the lead-up to winter. The U.K.’s National Grid has warned of possible power cuts. the EU steered away from a proposed price cap on Russian gas as it laid out new measures to tackle high energy prices. Russia had previously said it would halt all fuel supplies to the EU if the bloc imposed these caps, which suppress Russian revenues and the price of commodities.
DIGITAL BANK NUBANK TO LAUNCH ITS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY IN BRAZIL
The Brazilian digital banking startup Nubank will launch its own cryptocurrency in the country next year, marking the latest move into digital assets by a large financial institution. Nubank said it will launch the token, called Nucoin, in the first half of 2023. In a press release, the company touts Nucoin as “a new way to recognize customer loyalty and encourage engagement with Nubank products.” Nubank said it plans to offer discounts and other perks to holders of the token. Nubank said it would invite 2,000 customers to take part in a forum group for guiding the development of Nucoin, “adhering to common practices in blockchain projects,” according to the firm. “In this phase, more than feedback, the proposal is to explore a decentralized process of product creation, characteristic of Web3,” Nubank said.
HYUNDAI SAYS U.S.’S NEW EV TAX CREDIT RULES DEAL ‘HUGE’ BLOW TO BUSINESS
Joe Biden administration’s elimination of tax credits for imported electric vehicles deals a massive blow to Hyundai Motor’s business, an executive for the automaker said. Jose Munoz, global president and chief operating officer, declined to disclose a specific financial impact associated with the requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act but described it as a huge blow to the automaker’s bottom line. Hyundai and others are lobbying for some of those requirements to be reversed. Hyundai and other nondomestic automakers have been vocal opponents of the new electric vehicle tax credit regulations under the Inflation Reduction Act. The law, passed by Congress in August, immediately eliminated a tax credit of up to $7,500 for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles that are imported and sold in the U.S.
CHRIS PAVLOVSKI / CEO OF RUMBLE
Rumblings On Rumble’s Battle Against Cancel Culture
The latest news from popular video-sharing platform Rumble is the launch of its new online store dedicated to official Rumble merchandise, Rumble.Store, which is being launched just a month after the platform went public on the Nasdaq Stock Market, under the stock symbol RUM. Here Founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski discusses why he created Rumble and what he believes the future has in store for the platform
Founded in 2013 as a neutral video platform that strives to create the independent infrastructure intended to render it immune to cancel culture, with the mission of restoring the internet’s roots of free access and openness, Rumble’s popularity initially grew slowly, but in recent years it has become a high-growth platform. This booming popularity prompted it to go public in September, after shareholders of special purpose acquisition company Cantor Fitzgerald Acquisition Corp. VI voted in favour of the move.
Created as an alternative to the globally popular YouTube, Rumble hosts channels for influencers and video content creators who have found themselves censored or kicked off the Google-owned platform, among others.
With a purported 78 million global monthly viewers, Rumble recently announced the launch of exclusive shows from British actor and activist Russell Brand and renowned American journalist Glenn Greenwald, though Pavlovski’s personal invitation and offer of $100 million in February this year to Joe Rogan, the world’s number one podcaster, failed to bear fruit. Nonetheless, his free-speech-centric platform does also manage advertising sales for former U.S. President Donald Trump’s platform Truth Social, which Trump founded following his shocking and highly controversial banning from social network company Twitter.
As Pavlovski wrote in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Rumble is creating the rails to a new infrastructure that will not be bullied by cancel culture… We are a movement that does not stifle, censor, or punish creativity and freedom of expression.”
As he personally Tweeted in December 2021, “Now more than ever, it’s time to lean in and restore the internet to its roots by making it free and open once again. I am personally committed to this.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the platform has also gained private financing from conservative venture capitalist Peter Thiel, as well as author and U.S. Senate candidate and “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance.
Pavlovski, a Canadian entrepreneur who is also a founder and partner of IT consulting firm Cosmic Development and a former marketing director of space exploration company Next Gi-
People from all walks of life are flocking to Rumble, because it provides them with a place to express their ideas free from arbitrary discrimination or manipulation
ant Leap, says that he launched the platform in response to the increasing censoring of free speech on the internet. As he explains, “Rumble is based on a deceptively simple concept: the internet should remain free and open. People should be free to produce and view online content without worrying about censorship or algorithmic manipulation. If someone makes a video that people like, they should have the opportunity to monetise it and build a following. Rumble isn’t in the business of picking which videos succeed and which fail; we simply provide a platform for creators and their audiences. This is how all platforms should work.”
Google’s acquisition of YouTube, back in 2006, shifted the playing field for good. The move led to the rapid, successive collapse of YouTube’s main competitors, including Dailymotion and Break.com, which were unable to cope with the combined might of YouTube and Google, as the world’s dominant search engine.
“I knew then that I wanted to go toe-to-toe against YouTube and inject competition into a monopolistic marketplace,” explains Pavlovski. “That’s why, in 2013, I started Rumble and began building the infrastructure we needed to compete with Big-Tech giants. This wasn’t an easy task, because Big-Tech companies have a huge size and reach advantage. We designed Rumble to focus on a group we thought YouTube and other platforms often overlooked: small creators. We wanted to be a place where creators knew that an algorithm wouldn’t determine the success or failure of their videos.”
The Rumble founder and CEO insists that his platform has no hidden agenda. “We exist to ensure creators have a platform to disseminate their message to those who are interested. Since our founding, we have struck back against Big Tech whenever possible.” The company even sued Google for prioritising YouTube videos in its search algorithm.
“Over the last two years, many creators and users have realised that Rumble is a refuge against cancel culture. We have grown rapidly in size, as media superstars including Dan Bongino and Governor Ron DeSantis have taken Rumble by storm,” says Pavlovski. “Whenever YouTube cancels someone like Dr Rand Paul for committing a so-called “thought crime,” we gain momentum and subscribers. We now routinely
