The Whole World is Our Home

IRENA PETKOVIĆ The Whole World

is Our Home

SETTING OFF ON A TRIP AS THE PANDEMIC STRUCK, WHICH THEY BELIEVED WOULD END IN A LITTLE WHILE, IRENA AND BOJAN ENDED UP BEING STUCK IN VIETNAM WHICH TURNED FROM A DREAM INTO REALITY

LIVING HAPPILY IN THE HERE AND NOW

“When you decide to live a nomadic life it comes with a curse—you’re always missing something. In Serbia, we’re missing everything but the people, and in Vietnam, we wish we could teleport all the people we love and care about there. Vietnam has certainly taught us to live happily in the here and now and make the most of it without thinking about the past unnecessarily.”

Agraduate of the School of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Irena Petković (26), together with her partner Bojan Ralić, created the alter ego, brand and business called Queen of Compass in Vietnam two years ago. Through that, they made their travels their life.

A BUSINESS TEAM

Irena and Bojan travel and create marketing content for clients in the tourism and hospitality industry. As a business team they have the same goal—to create the best and most creative brand presentation. At the same time, both of them have their own preferences. Bojan enjoys portrait photography and capturing spontaneous moments, while Irena enjoys the food, everyday life and culture of a nation. After Vietnam, their goal is to do the same all over the world. “For years I’ve been swimming upstream in the rivers of art, photography, painting, graphic design and creation. After graduating from university, I realised that it wasn’t enough. Even though art is what I always thought I was, it turned out that I was so much more than that. I’ve enjoyed working in the marketing, organisation, and tourism industry. I’ve learned that I feel equally passionate about all these industries, and I’m always looking for something that could unite all my passions. My greatest passion— the need to explore and travel—had to encompass it all. Queen of Compass shows it all under a magnifying glass,” says Irena.

LIVING NEXT TO A BEACH

It all started with an online post, a note about everyday life in Vietnam and as a wish to present the country. Then, it turned into a need to show to those who are curious to know more what it is like to be an immigrant in Vietnam, and through their own experience, help them organise their trips in the future more easily. “Before long we knew that this was slowly becoming our main preoccupation, and soon it became our business,” explains Irena, who set off on a trip through Southeast Asia with Bojan in early 2020 thinking that the situation with the pandemic would end in a little while. “Without much worry, our plan was to stay in a few countries for a month and finish the trip with a visit to Indonesia, where we planned to stay a little longer. We were travelling through Vietnam when Indonesia closed the borders, and shortly afterwards Serbia followed. We ended up being stuck in Vietnam not knowing that Vietnam would turn from a dream into reality.

Life in Vietnam is fateful, unplanned, but highly desirable. As the pandemic struck, we found ourselves in the city of Da Nang where we had been based for two years. Da Nang became our home, more than Serbia, which is where we’re from. Living in Da Nang, next to the beach, comes with all the benefits of a comfortable and peaceful life. Travelling around Vietnam for several years allowed us to gain a real insight into how we wanted our everyday life to look like, and we were guided by that vision. We’ve built a business we love, the food is an everyday blessing for us—it is fresh, available, and of premium quality. Tropical life, freedom and perpetual exploration of something new and inspiring—that’s our life.” There are a few more things that swept them off their feet. Vietnam is blessed with astonishingly gorgeous natural beauty—despite having seen a lot in two years, they feel like they have only just scratched the surface and seen the important sites. People captivate you with their inner peace and positive outlook on life. Family is sacred to them and their friends are part of the family. Since they are avid foodies, their palates are satisfied on a daily basis thanks to the availability of fruit, seafood specialties, light vegetarian food, traditional Vietnamese cuisine, and Korean barbecue specialties. On top of that, eating out is incredibly cheap.

FAITH IN HUMANKIND

Irena and Bojan have visited many countries, but Mallorca is their first home outside their home country, Serbia, and a place they are always happy to return to. Morocco is their first real adventure, and a place they always wish to go back to. They believe that Thailand and Sri Lanka are the jewels of Asia, and the next time they revisit these two countries they plan to stay longer. Italy, and the Italian Alps, is a place where they would build a home. “It often seems to me that I could write books about our adventures and the anecdotes that happened to us along the way. Travelling for us has always been like life in miniature: obstacles, quick problem solving, important acquaintances, unreal landscapes, excitement, research, and lessons. There’s one common feature in all the challenges we’ve faced and that’s the people. The way they’ve helped us in distress and made us feel at home has restored our faith in the human

race time and again. All these people will always have a special place in our minds and hearts, and they’ll always be the stars of the stories that we’ll be telling at the table.” Travelling has defined who Irena and Bojan are and changed them for the better. They viewed each culture they got to know, each acquaintance they made or problem they faced along the way as a reflection of themselves. Perpetual curiosity and research has led them on a journey of seeking knowledge and of self-discovery and continuous introspection. “Travelling helps us become more open to change, differences become the norm, not fear. We become a lot more patient than we used to be and we pay more attention to the memories we look back on later on in order to validate the fullness of our lives. All this helps us gain a greater understanding of others and therefore of ourselves. When we understand ourselves, we’re at peace with ourselves and we live in harmony with our needs, and we’re happier,” says Irena in the end, revealing that they want their future home to be in Spain. In their dreams, they see a house not far from nature and the beach, with neighbours they are close to, the warmth of Spanish humor and the sophistication of Spanish cuisine… but all this will only be possible after they find success and fulfilment as digital nomads, young entrepreneurs travelling the world, creating content and exploring new places.

ODRŽIVI RAZVOJ / SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

VODIČ

ZA LJENJIVCE

ZA SPAŠAVANJE SVIJETA

UJEDINJENI NARODI OBJAVILI SU VODIČ ZA LJENJIVCE ZA SPAŠAVANJE SVIJETA, SPISAK SUPER LAKIH STVARI KOJE SVAKA OSOBA, ČAK I ONA

NAJLJENIJA, MOŽE UVESTI U SVOJU RUTINU KAKO BI DALA SVOJ DOPRINOS I OMOGUĆILA OSTVARENJE ODRŽIVOG RAZVOJA – RAZVOJNI CILJEVI I AGENDA 2030. DAKLE, PROMJENA POČINJE OD VAS. OZBILJNO. SVAKI ČOVJEK JE DIO RJEŠENJA

STVARI KOJE MOŽETE UČINITI SJEDEĆI NA KAUČU

Uštedite energiju tako što ćete svoje aparate uključivati u produžne kablove i gasiti kada ih ne koristite, uključujući svoj računar.1

2

Zaustavite slanje bankovnih izvoda na svoju kućnu adresu i plaćajte račune online ili putem mobitela. Bez papira. Nema potrebe za uništavanjem šuma.

3

Podijelite, nemojte samo lajkati. Ako vidite zanimljivu objavu na društvenim mrežama o globalnom zagrijavanju i ženskim pravima, podijelite je kako bi je i vaši prijatelji vidjeli.

6

Prijavljujte online nasilnike. Ako primijetite nasilje u prepiskama ili na određenim online platformama, prijavite nasilnika.

7

Budite informisani. Pratite lokalne vijesti i budite u toku napredovanja u ostvarenju globalnih ciljeva online ili na društvenim mrežama.

8

Podijelite svoja iskustva vezana za ostvarenje globalnih ciljeva koristeći hešteg #globalgoals na društvenim mrežama.

4

Budite glasni! Zatražite od lokalnih i državnih vlasti da se uključe u inicijative koje ne škode ljudima ili planeti.

5

Gasite svjetla. Vaš televizor i računar osvjetljuju prostor u određenoj mjeri, pa ugasite ostala svjetla ako ih ne trebate.

STVARI KOJE MOŽETE UČINITI DOK STE U KUĆI

Sušenje na zrak. Dozvolite odjeći i kosi da se suše na zrak umjesto da koristite fen. Ako koristite veš mašinu, pobrinite se da je maksimalno popunjena.1 Zakrpite pukotine na prozorima i vratima kako biste poboljšali energetsku efikasnost domaćinstva.8 Kratko se tuširajte. Kupanje u kadi zahtijeva desetine litara vode više od tuširanja koje traje pet do deset minuta.2

9

Zamijenite stare aparate energetski efikasnim modelima i sijalicama.

3

Jedite manje mesa, peradi i ribe. Više je resursa potrebno za uzgajanje stoke nego biljaka.

4

Koristite zamrzivač da biste zaledili hranu koju ne možete odmah pojesti kako se ne bi pokvarila. Tako ćete uštediti hranu i novac.

10

Ako ste u mogućnosti, u svoje kuće ugradite solarne panele. To će vam umanjiti račun za struju!

Nabavite tepih. Tepisi i ćilimi održavaju kuću toplom i potrošnju manjom!11

5

Đubrivo – korištenje ostataka hrane za đubrivo može smanjiti efekat staklenika i omogućava reciklažu hranjivih tvari.

6

Recikliranje papira, plastike, stakla i aluminija sprečava nastanak deponija.

7

Izbjegavajte predgrijanje rerne. Hranu stavljajte u rernu u trenutku kada je upalite osim onda kada želite postići preciznu temperaturu.

12

Uklanjajte snijeg ručno. Izbjegavajte bučne grtalice koje ispuštaju izduvne gasove i fizički se aktivirajte tokom zimskih dana.

13

Upotrebljavajte šibice. Za razliku od plastičnih upaljača, za njih nisu potrebni naftni derivati.

STVARI KOJE MOŽETE UČINITI VAN KUĆE

Kupujte domaće. Podržavanje lokalnih proizvođača stimuliše zapošljavanje i sprečava potrebu za prelaženje velikih udaljenosti prilikom isporuke.1

2

Kupujte pametno – planirajte obroke, koristite spiskove za kupovinu i izbjegavajte impulsivnu kupovinu. Ne nasjedajte na marketinške trikove koje vas tjeraju da kupujete više hrane.

3Koristite bicikl, gradski prevoz ili pješačite. Automobil sačuvajte za prilike u kojim treba da vozite veći broj ljudi. 4 Upotrebljavajte trajne posude za vodu i kafu. Tako sprečavate gomilanje smeća, a možda čak uštedite novac koji biste inače potrošili u kafićima.

5

Koristite vlastite kese kada idete u kupovinu. Odustanite od plastičnih kesa i nosite svoj platneni ceker.

6Kupujte „vintage“ stvari. Novo nije nužno bolje. Pogledajte šta možete iskoristiti od robe dostupne u second hand radnjama.

Održavajte svoj auto. Ispravan auto će emitovati manju količinu štetnih gasova. Darujte ono što ne koristite. Vaše humanitarne organizacije će vašoj staroj odjeći, knjigama i namještaju dati novi život.

7 8

9

Vakcinišite sebe i svoju djecu. Kada štitite svoju porodicu, također doprinosite javnom zdravstvu.

10

Iskoristite svoje pravo glasa za odabir vođa u svojoj zemlji i lokalnoj zajednici.

STVARI KOJE MOŽETE

ČINITI NA POSLU 6 7

Oglasite se protiv svake vrste diskriminacije na radnom mjestu. Svi su jednaki bez obzira na spol, rasu, seksualnu orijentaciju, društveni položaj i fizičke sposobnosti.

8

Organizujte No Impact Week na poslu. Naučite kako živjeti na održiv način tokom barem jedne sedmice.

Ako imate voćku ili jelo koje nećete pojesti, podijelite ga s nekim ko hoće i traži pomoć.1

9

Velika količina smeća kojeg stvaramo na zemlji završava u okeanima.

Analizirajte i mijenjajte svakodnevne odluke. Da li možete reciklirati na radnom mjestu? Da li vaš poslodavac nabavlja od proizvođača koji su uključeni u ekološki štetne prakse?

2

Da li sve vaše kolege imaju pristup zdravstvu? Istražite koja su vaša prava na poslu. Borite se protiv nejednakosti.

Mentorišite mlađe osobe. To je veoma inspirativan, pažljiv i efikasan način savjetovanja mlađih kako bi izgradili bolju budućnost.

Žene zarađuju između 10-30% manje od muškaraca za isti posao. Nejednakost plata opstaje. Iskažite svoju podršku za jednakim platama za isti izvršeni posao.

Pobrinite se da vaša firma koristi energetski efikasne sisteme grijanja i hlađenja; smanjite grijanje, podesite termostat na niže tokom zime, i na više tokom ljeta. Da li vaša firma ulaže u čistu i dugotrajnu infrastrukturu? To je jedini način da se zaštite radnici i okoliš.

3 10

11Budite svjesni svojih prava na radnom mjestu. Za uspostavljanje pravde, veoma je zgodno znati na šta imate pravo.

4

5 12

Korporativna društvena odgovornost je bitna! Ohrabrite svog poslodavca da radi s organizacijama civilnog društva i da nađe način da pomaže lokalnim zajednicama da ostvare svoje ciljeve.

Materijal ustupio UNDP u Bosni i Hercegovini