#MeTheHuman: Marija Bulat – stepping out from comfort zone

#MeTheHuman: Marija Bulat – stepping out from comfort zone

#MeTheHuman series is about meeting humans from our region, especially those committed to working for and with youth, extraordinary, brave, some whom you might know, some others you will get to know. Through 12 questions we’ll tackle into their public and private persona, discovering their values, recommendations, aspirations.

Marija Bulat is a Local Branch Officer in Serbia of the Regional Youth Co-operation Office. Her commitment to youth empowerment and participation in Serbia and internationally has had immense impact on the state of the youth sector and of youth policy in her country. Marija, and the team she has led over the last five years, have managed to institutionalise a National Youth Council that functions in accordance with international standards of youth policy in Serbia. A scout. A trainer. An advocate for youth voice.

Which quality she appreciates in a human, when she felt excluded and with which historical personality she’d had a dinner – find out in the first edition of #MeTheHuman:

1.Who are you when no one’s looking?  A silent person.
 2. What is the quality you most like in a human? Ability to understand diversity. And even more – to act upon it.
3. What spells adventure for you? Every step out from my comfort zone. An if it involves having fun at the same time, then it’s a go for me 🙂
4. If you were imprisoned and were allowed only one book to read, what would you choose and why?  Probably something like “Best meditation techniques”. In order to preserve my mental health.
5. Have you ever felt excluded? (When? Why?)  Many times under the strict visa regime that we had until 2009, and also today whenever I’m asked for additional clarifications about my travel just because I don’t have an EU passport. Freedom of movement is one of the fundamental human rights and it should’t be restricted based on citizenship.
6. If you could change one thing about the culture you live in, what would it be? Why?  Gender roles that are strongly embedded in our culture. What is a role of a women and what is a role of a man. Not to mention lack of sensitiveness towards transgender persons. One can be whatever he/she/it wants in its life regardless of the gender or sex. I think that these gender stereotypes that we are facing in our culture have caused lots of personal and social deviations and have often led to discrimination, even violence.
7. If you could come up with the world’s best invention, what would it be?  Something related to time, but I’m not sure it should be a time machine in general as it would make a lot of mess in this already messed up world. So rather something more simple that would allow us just to turn back time up to 30 min whenever we are running late 🙂
8. What’s the best way to earn another person’s respect?  To listen to that person with full attention.
9. What’s unforgivable?  Unwillingness to forgive.
 10. If you could have a dinner with any person in history, who would it be and why?  Nelson Mandela. Although I don’t think one dinner would be enough to ask him about all the achievements that he made during his lifetime. I would be particularly interested to listen his advises on how to rise after falling and continue fighting for the cause.
 11. What is for you a ‘must see’ place in the Western Balkans region?  National Park “Tara” in Western Serbia.
 12. To which song you are keep coming back to?

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