This is a story of an unique association from St. Gallen and it starts like this: Edin Dacić, president of the Board of Directors of Association “i-dijaspora” received invitation from student association YUnited to present his work and management in Bosnia and Herzegovina on University of St. Gallen.
"I had never heard before of such association but when I have realized that students were gathering from all of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other regions of former Yugoslavia, I agreed. I was also student at the University of St. Gallen and it was very emotional for me to receive such an invitation", explains Edin Dacić his consent and a reason why he has found time between his trips and stays in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to give a lecture to the students. “I agreed because there are many parallels in my biography with these students. I am also coming from former Yugoslavia, grew up in Switzerland, studied at this university and I know great deal of how they feel”. The association has an unusual name, "YUnited", which for many may be a symbol of the nostalgia over a past times, but the students gathered in this association have a different explanation: “YU means Yugoslavia, where our roots are and because our parents came from that country when it was united, and also we were all born and raised here in Switzerland. We all grew up in the similar way, we all have the same background, so "YUnited" means that we get along and that symbolizes our club because we get together, help each other and nurture our common culture”, says Slaven Malinović, president of "YUnited".
The association was formed in the year of 2014 and until today has 35 members. The first students who initiated the association thought that because of the same origin and language, they had so much in common and therefore they could be useful to each other in their studies. “As a common ground for all of us, the Association is named YUnited and got accreditation by the University,” says Slaven Malinović, student of economics, like the majority of students at "YUnited". Basic objective of the association is for senior students to help out freshmen and younger students during their studies and mutually sharing of their experiences. They regularly gather, socialize and organize cultural and educational events, and such was the lecture by Edin Dacić from Association "i-diaspora". "We were looking for an appropriate person that runs a business in Switzerland and in Bosnia and Herzegovina or other former Yugoslavia regions, and then we found an article in the „NZZ“ about Edin Dacić and that was exactly what we were looking for, therefore we decided to invite him to our university to give a presentation on his career and challenges in running business in Bosnia and Herzegovina to members of "YUnited", explains Slaven Malinović.
Connections of these young people from the University of St.Gallen, that are coming from the country of origin of their parents, are strong and motivating.
"We are all here to help. Senior semester students are helping new students managing to accomodate, learn the best teaching methods, read seminar papers and also give valuable advice. We organize cultural meetings and go out together. Last year, we visited cultural and artistic societies that nurture former Yugoslavia traditional folk dances because our objective is to make connections, get to know each other, talk and socialize. One of our traditions is to always organize a football tournament on May 1st, to which other faculty associations are invited, and then make a barbecue and socialize” says Aleksandar Ličinar.
"Kumstvo" at the University
There are over 120 different associations at St.Gallen University, which bring together students with an interest in banking, investing, finance, various insurances or according to the canton or city they come from. At the beginning of each academic year, when student associations are being presented to new students in the main hall, "YUnited" is also present: "What attracts most of the people is the Yugoslavian flag, because it is something unusual to see at a Swiss college, and anyone who sees that flag, comes up. We also offer some of our products, Plasma, Chocolates, and this year we also made T-shirts for the first time. We explain what "YUnited" does and what is "kumstvo" or in German "götti" and how we help and organize ourselves" explains Slaven Malinović. Association's "Kumstvo" means that every senior student cares for a junior colleague, helps him with advices on what books to order and how to find them, introduces him to student life and demonstrates effective learning methods. Everyone exchanges information about internships and job opportunities during their studies or after graduation. All communication is in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian language. To the comment that they speak great, everyone laughs and adds at once: "It could be better!" Slaven Malinović says: "We try to speak our language constantly and this is a way to preserve it. All of us have an obligation to speak our language in the family, because parents do not allow German to be spoken at home (laughs)”.
All of the students at YUnited have full parental support for their activities at the Association. Jovan Bogdanović says: “Our parents have some kind of pride in having a club at the university and for bringing our students together. When they first came to Switzerland, their friends from Yugoslavia also helped them. We were born here, passed the entire Swiss school system and came to university, and our parents are pleased to see that we also speak our language and help each other. " Tanja Sarić thinks that her parents are particularly pleased "that we do not forget where we are from," and Slaven Malinović says about his parents that "they are proud that we are so engaged and connected at the university and into nurturing of our culture and friendship." For Tanja Sarić, the biggest motivation to be a member in "YUnited" is - friends!. She says “All these students are on “ić” (laughs) and, kind of, we are looking for each other and understand each other. This association is a great opportunity to meet people who are similar to us and it creates a special bond between all of us”.
Asked if they may sometimes have disagreements or misunderstandings about the different regions of former Yugoslavia from which they come, Slaven Malinović replies: "We share this common Balkan spirit, and in that way we are very, very much similar (laughs)!" “Language, traditions” says Tanja Sarić. "Food, beverage ...," the others added, laughing out loud. Slaven Malinović adds: “It is very important for "YUnited" that keeps politically neutral and our objective is to preserve our culture and to help each other, and it doesn't matter who is who, where they are from and in what project they are. For example, the University of Zurich has only a Serbian, Croatian or Bosnian club, we are the only one that gathers all. If we would contact such clubs, then we would connect with everyone at once, certainly not individually. ”
Capital for the future
After Edin Dacić's lecture on his business start, current business in Bosnia and Herzegovina, cooperation with Ikea, management of company Standard in Prnjavor and his engagements in Switzerland, as well as all the challenges he was facing in his career, students had many questions and wanted to hear more additional information about doing business in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "It was interesting and useful to see what are the economic conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we are a little used to everything in Switzerland and we think that it is same everywhere, so it is useful to hear it all", says Tanja Sarić. For Boris Šljivić it was “good to hear what it looks like when someone from Switzerland works in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we do not know much about it”, while for Slaven Malinović was “interesting to see what it is like to work in Bosnia and Herzegovina from a Swiss perspective, and especially it was interesting to hear how one can establish a company in Bosnia and Herzegovina and furthermore how it functions”. Edin Dacić brings the best impressions after meeting with students at "YUnited": “I'm really very glad to be here and I am not sorry about the time spent traveling to St. Gallen. I am especially pleased that the students have come together and recognized common interests, that they have recognized those positive characteristics from the Balkans that connect them and make them feel special. What I am really glad about is that they came together not to celebrate and commemorate what brings them together, but to help each other on the university with everything that is useful for their studies. I was particularly impressed with the way of how the older students help the younger students. They combined the pleasant with the practical. What unites them are also the values that my parents taught me. And that's why I'm particularly pleased with all of this." Student interest in information and advises on different economic sectors in former Yugoslavia was very encouraging for Edin Dacić: “They asked me how I evaluate the success of companies, why some companies succeed and some do not, about the business mentality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and how the culture affects business. I saw that they were thinking about opportunities and developments in the Balkans, that they were interested and that they were already thinking about business. These young people are very smart and open minded, and my goal is for our diaspora and the Swiss people to see how much potential there is in this new young generation".
Perhaps this story about "YUnited" from the University of St. Gallen is one of the tickets to the future. This remarkable connection among students with origins from former Yugoslavia, who remain connected after graduation, is creative and motivating for some new ideas, new thinking and perspectives in the future to their country of origin.