Interview with Goran Licanin

The Serbian Legacy Foundation was formed in 2014 with the aim of preserving Serbian history, traditions, and culture. The Foundation reminds us of the best moments in Serbian history, hoping to inspire the generations of the present, as well as the future, in bringing back the dignity and national values which time has repressed or forgotten.

SAN: What motivated you to create an organization such as this?

One morning I simply realized that there were people all around me who were slowly dying, and whose wisdom and experience would never be passed on. I am afraid that their passing will create an insurmountable chasm in our understanding of the culture, traditions, and history of the Serbs. When I distanced myself from big notions such as “an area of national interest,” “strategically vital,” and similarly strong emotions which often cloud the mind and keep you from realizing your ideas, it occurred to me that this was a project, and that is what I know how to accomplish, I love to work and I’ve worked all my life. That same day I decided to start this foundation.

SAN: Does it appears that, after decades of wandering through a geopolitical fog, Serbia’s prospects are very modest?

I think that it is necessary to raise an awareness and appreciation for Serbia as a country in which you live and a country from which you come from. Only in that way will our people begin to love their own country and to act towards it in a civil manner. And then we’ll see what changes and wonders are possible. With stories about our great figures, our renowned and our less well-known accomplishments, and with daily indications of our culture’s wealth, historical inheritance, and past economic accomplishments, we can demonstrate the incredible role of Serbia in what is Europe today, but also the whole world. I think that we are not aware of our cultural wealth, and that we do not have the capacity to preserve it. Unfortunately, others are, and that is why Serbia has not had peace throughout the course of history. I would like it if a month could go by where we weren’t mentioned at the meetings of the UN.

SAN: Do you believe that emphasizing positive examples is a good way to encourage the process of each individual taking on the responsibility of developing the collective?

Emphasizing positive examples is important as a factor in keeping people away from bad behaviours, and these bad behaviours stem from our moral surroundings and the extent to which the legal system is respected within them. Regarding both of these factors, I believe that we are capable of influencing the capacity to which we preserve the experiences of our ancestors who, through their accomplishments, built everything which we love, and which graces us with its presence today. Events throughout history indicate what solutions and methods have had effects on us. The negative things are also a part of our history and I hope that, in the future, we will be able to recognize and avoid them in time.

SAN: The instantaneity of consumer culture has inundated the world, leaving little space for the progress and preservation of local and traditional values. How would one attract media attention in the face of such powerful, counteracting forces?

People are the key to everything. It is extremely important to find people who share the same values as yourself. That is the essence of the Foundation’s idea. It is individuals that create the media. They’re the ones who work there, form collective cultural movements, trends, and the current understanding of what has value. And an idea is, besides love and human instincts, the strongest form of motivation.

SAN: You are gathering the stories of individuals, their photographs, and the news articles which people saved through the online portal “Da se ne zaboravi” (“So that it might not be forgotten”). Why are those personal stories important?

The history of Serbia is not in museums and books, but in our photo albums, desk drawers, attics, and basements. One day the generation which succeeds us will forget the stories which we had experienced ourselves or had heard from our parents, they will throw away the family photographs and documents because they won’t understand their worth. And with that, they will discard the very part of history which is connected to each of those photographs, each of those documents. There is nothing worse than the memory of even one person being lost. Except for it happening to an entire nation. That would be the point of no return.

SAN: You are working on promoting a potential community centre that would rouse the pride of the community’s members towards the society in which they live, can you say more about this project?

We have a number of messages that are being sent through the project Naj@Srbija:

- Get to know, and fall in love, with your country and history.

- You don’t have to leave your home and country to be successful.

Throughout its history, Serbia has had its highs and lows. But precisely because of that, we can see such achievements! Ones which are world-renowned, and if they were able to be accomplished in spite of the extensive effort that was necessitated by a period which lacked developed technology and worldwide communication, they are truly possible now. We wish to encourage people to set themselves on paths which are well-trodden and to continue to places that are proven attainable. It is also important to set good examples, so that the rubbish and superficiality can be differentiated from true quality, competence, and professionalism.

SAN: At one period in our country, national and spiritual matters were mocked as anachronistic. Today, many of our people view them as a ballast in light of the negative portrayal of Serbs in the world media’s propaganda during the Yugoslav wars. What was the initial motivating approach behind your attempts to bring back awareness about the value of Serbian cultural heritage?

I am of the opinion that we, as a nation, are not aware of the wealth of our cultural and historical inheritance. Many subjects were not well-represented in schools, for a variety of reasons, and we are not aware of our traditions or the guardians of our national identity. We wish to bring these things to people’s attention in a way which accommodates them to the mentality of the modern man or woman, and to make the knowledge of one’s own history and culture, not only necessary, but especially valued in any area of society. Even if among adolescent peers. What is playing the guitar but a form of art? Or knowledge of poetry, the acquisition of wisdom through proverbs and sayings… And there are even more children that communicate through sport, an intimacy and play which is much greater than that virtual intimacy on the internet. There, they can be someone else, or whoever they want to be, perhaps out of fear of what others would think of them. Since we are always orienting ourselves in such a way as to receive acceptance from others, let us look towards Goethe, who leant the Serbian language so that he might better acquaint himself with the great works of our epic poetry and prose. Serbian culture might not be complete in all areas, but it is rich, ancient, and recognized around the world.

SAN: What are the programs and projects that you have initiated with the aim of guiding youth through a promotion of traditional values?

Currently we have initiated two projects which are part of the segment “Legacy for Children:”

The book “Serbian Proverbs through Comics,” and “Serbian Proverbs through Songs” – which involves the participation of a children’s choir as well as celebrities which children find interesting. We hope to bring our children even closer to their heritage through the very mediums which they find most captivating.

SAN: You say that the Foundation does not distinguish between nations and nationalities, differing faiths and political predilections, how is that reflected in the Foundation’s work?

Our body of work does not only cover the accomplishments of Serbs who lived in and beyond the borders of Serbia, but even those people who felt themselves to be Serbian despite their origins and religious affiliations. Meša Selmović, Ivo Andrić, Branislav Nušić, and Vladislav Hiršl all chose to be a part of our heritage themselves. It is our pleasure to mention them and uphold the memory of their works and their love for Serbia and its people.

SAN: We have the impression that people today only reluctantly exert an effort to do something for the good of the collective. Are people interested in the project, and how many of you are actively involved?

That is a good question, and, I would agree, a very accurate impression. Among Serbs there is no developed culture of “doing good for the collective” as there exists in other social surroundings. We only react in situations that threaten the physical survival of the individual or the group. This can be explained in Serbia, perhaps, by the fact that even a rudimentary existence is a constant struggle, and that economic disasters have provoked the underdevelopment of our value system. In some of “our” value systems, financing a soccer club or concert is considered a worthier endeavour than the preservation of cultural and historical heritages. We have forgotten how Yugoslavia was once built on the foundation of ideas and “youth work action.” Currently, the Foundation has about twenty active individuals. There are many more who sympathize with our core idea and the work that we aim to accomplish.

SAN: How would you prevent the Serbian legacy, both as an idea and as a movement, from falling prey to politicization, labelling, and manipulation in practice?

Financial independence, objectivity, and working on projects which are apolitical and absolutely neutral.

SAN: How are you financed?

Currently, the Serbian Legacy Foundation funds every one of its own operations and independently works with its own resources, without any government aid or financial support from another organization.

SAN: A major part of realizing the Foundation’s goals is gathering a greater number of partners, and you perceive the citizens of Serbia and its surrounding area, now living abroad, as key partners in accomplishing your goals. How can we contribute to the Legacy Foundation?

As someone who has lived abroad for 15 years myself, I believe that we all have an important role in preserving the awareness, culture, traditions, and history of Serbia. Everyone should do what they can and feel comfortable doing. As we have been mentioning: anyone can share their content or ideas with the Serbian Legacy Foundation, promote the results of the Foundation’s work, participate in some of our projects by directly working on them or donating any resources. Merely familiarizing yourself with your own traditions and history, and respecting them, is the biggest contribution any of us could give.

SAN: You have been working with the systems, technologies, and the management of information since 2002. You have your own consulting firm which operates on an international scale. Could you briefly describe yourself and your career?

It comes down to hard work, persistence, and luck that I attended valuable schools, that I worked in valuable firms with valuable people, that I worked at some of the largest companies in the world, and on projects for some of the biggest nations in the world.

SAN: You worked for quite some time in Russia. Were do you spend the majority of your time today?

Most of my time is spent in Serbia these days, but due to my work obligations I travel multiple times throughout the year, beyond the borders of both Serbia and Russia considering that my clients, international companies, are often not based out of either of the two.

SAN: Has the young generation in Russia also completely accepted the Western, mass media culture as their primary focus? What is the situation of Russian culture?

In the last few years, a healthy national consciousness has developed in Russia, following which there were numerous positive social changes as well. An increased amount of respect has been devoted to tradition and history, and the government has had a large role in this. They have become aware of the cultural and historical value which is so deeply embedded in their country’s ‘image,’ but it too is still fighting, as we all are, with the ghosts of the past. For all governments have had their roots in the sword and the flame.

SAN: “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that it was impossible” is a phrase that inspires you. What motivates you, and what gives you the energy to face newer, bigger, and more difficult challenges?

I probably don’t see new challenges as necessarily ones that are big, difficult, or impossible. I simply take them up, and work on them, and try to enjoy them as much as I can. It is important to not succumb to the comments that people make around you, for where would civilization and technology be today if every explorer and scientist “knew” that something was impossible. Today, the phrase “impossible to accomplish,” is among the most uttered in our society.

SAN: We see that you are familiar with the NLP method (Neuro-linguistic Programming). Is it true that the goal of this method is to make the person you are communicating with more willing to talk with you?

In the first place, we must be in a situation of good communication with ourselves, and only after that can we extend this to others. It is important to get to know yourself first, and to accept who you are in order to get to know and accept the world around you.

SAN: Will each successive generation become increasingly tied to the virtual world and less tethered to the world of reality? How do you imagine the life of future generations will look like, and where will the place for tradition and history be then?

As someone who has a technical knowledge of this topic, I think that we still haven’t achieved something which we can truly define as a virtual world. I think that the kind of world that is currently prevalent is one which is preoccupied with virtual values and reality shows. Everyone wishes for their potential and for their very existence to be valued, regardless of accomplishments and achievements, they wish to live some different life as they imagine it would be through the eyes of another and not their own. Where does that lead? I believe that future generations will be shallower due to the dynamics of life, and an increasing dependence on artificial intelligence and internet searches. These generations might have heard everything, but they will really know nothing. Where, then, will we find a place for tradition and history? I fear that the most banal science fiction films will become prophecy. The minority, those who have an “alternative” perspective, will become the guardians of tradition, as for history – there is the question of which history we really know now, but what is certain is that if we forget it, it will only repeat itself.

SAN: The Serbian Legacy Foundation wishes to revive the idea of what it means to “be human” through its work. How would you say one can retain one’s humanity in today’s profit-oriented world?

Faith in oneself is one of the basic postulates. A time of profit demands both an intellectual and a social globalization which essentially annihilates what it means to be human: one’s individuality and one’s microcosmic existence within a society. The individual will always remain civilization’s most important resource.