Ana Nives was running two private companies; she has a scientific master degree in EU law and international economy; she is Fin Tech educator in five countries and deals with strategic communication in fields of her interest in three languages- English, French and Italian; and has a great experience in media, hotel management, and banking. Is that all? Let’s meet Ana Nives Radović.
Ana Nives has painted from early youth. For last 15 years, she found a way that art could help those who need help. "My first humanitarian exhibition was held in 2004 in Dubrovnik. After that, I exhibited all over the world, starting with the USA while studying, and then in many European galleries. Thanks to the cooperation with the Network of European Galleries, I had the opportunity to engage in humanitarian activities throughout Europe, and one such exhibition was organized last year in Podgorica as part of the humanitarian action Teleton. Of course, I continue with these activities. The reason is that I am dealing with many other things, and the fact is that painting can accumulate money. All of us who in some ways has done enough for themselves and for the circle of people around us, we have some sort of obligation to do something for those who need it most. What is the shortcoming of the situation in Montenegro is that there are no foundations that will collect money, which will not only target it when it is necessary to treat a particular person. This is an aggravating circumstance because I believe that I am not competent either, nor any of the people who want to do such action, to decide where, when and to whom we will give money. Abroad, this is done in a different way, so we, as artists who want to act in this way, are relieved of our thinking about which specific needs we are engaged in and to whom we are directing money. We simply do, create and sell artwork. The money from sales is further allocated according to the priority basis of the decisions of some commissions, with which we, as a donor, have nothing," explains Ana Nives Radovic. She hopes that in Montenegro we will also benefit from a system that will enable anyone who wants to work for humanitarian purposes and does not know how to do it.
"The action of Teleton has shown that there are many people in Montenegro who want to engage and help, but simply have no way. The Biti Human Foundation has in some way launched this story. But we also have other parties to act on, all that needs to be grouped and organized so that we can help one who wants to help, and this does not happen at the last moment when it is often too late that some of the activities are realized, but that all this happens in time, and that money always exists, ready to wait," said Ana Nives Radovic, who also in this field, as well as in all other fields of her activities, has development ideas and a desire to help the community.
Ana's international professional career began with education in America, and she expanded to all the meridians and walked through the many spheres. How did she manage to include so many significant activities and projects in her portfolio for just over a decade?
"The first reason was that I often combined the different possibilities of cooperation, which opened up many opportunities I didn't want to miss. Opportunities that are opening to you should be recognized. First and foremost, you should not miss the opportunity to network with a number of people around the world. You should take advantage of opportunities to be there somewhere, such as participating at various conferences and so on. This is the most significant activity I have in Fin Tech, the industry combining finance and technology. It is a sphere I approached when it was in existence seven years ago. It is needed in the world market and it is being sought by an increasing number of interesting subjects. By virtue of networking with institutions dealing with this sphere - universities, institutes and other organizations dealing with it, I have found, above all, that through contacts at the business level I realize the possibility of further cooperation in terms of lectures, courses and so on. I am trying to transfer all of this here. The educational work I have been doing since 2013, in terms of lectures, seminars and so on, is now being transferred to Kotor, where I act in a different way. But I want to enable education for our staff, and above all, I mean the high school students of the Kotor Gymnasium, whose former student I was. I believe that, above all, there is a good intellectual foundation that needs to be upgraded, and all the experiences that I have could help to develop critical mass here in the sense of intellectual reflection. Bearing in mind that a very large number of young people go from the small community, the idea is to motivate them to stay, to create jobs. What I intend to develop through the Tourism Organization is to help them prepare for working on international projects and cooperation. By that, I mean international projects for the protection of cultural heritage, promotions of tourism products, and various other ways to gather additional resources that will be useful not only for the city but also for the people who want to create and work here."
Ana Nives Radovic is the first and only crypto-mathematician in Montenegro for the time being. What are cryptocurrencies and what is the use of electronic money?
"Cryptocurrencies, electronic money, and other terms that bind to this sphere often create confusion. Many of these topics are perceived as a way to make quick profits. People learned about electronic money when the value of cryptocurrency began to accelerate to grow, as they were recognized as a way to make money quickly. What people do not know is that this is not the primary purpose of the blockchain platform where everything is happening. Let’s explain it by talking about any stock trades, for example, coffee. Somebody trades on a stock market and earns some money on changing its price. But remember what the primary role of coffee is. Coffee does not serve to make someone change its price but has some other purpose in our lives. The fact that somebody is trading with coffee is not a reason to experience it primarily as something that can be traded on the stock market. We can apply this logic when we talk about a blockchain platform. The blockchain is not primarily used for earnings on the stock market; it has a completely different purpose in our lives. The blockchain is something that creates a platform for a better, not just financial and economic, but legal, social, and every other future of society. Through this platform, in a much simpler way of functioning, communication and traffic resources, you have a better insight into your business; everything that society has to do with you, as well as everything else you need to keep an electronic track. Observing blockchain as a way of earning is completely wrong. I've been in it for a long time since 2012. So far I would probably have a million, that blockchain is a tool that is perceived by an average person who is hearing for the first time about electronic money. So, it's about building a platform that is certainly based on mathematical principles, which will be in the foreseeable future, much closer to what it seemed to us in 2008 or 2013. It is a platform that will use not only financial but also other institutions, to enable them to operate more easily, which will ultimately simplify the lives of citizens and users."
Ana Nives Radovic is head of the Tourism Organization of Kotor for just over a year. How much do we actually understand and use the legacy and potential for the development of different tourist products in the right way? Ana Nives says we do not think and act strategically.
"All our potential, our legacy in this area, is viewed as something we need to bring to the short term, in the sense, that if it is well-earned from tourism, it is spent in one calendar year, until the next tourist season, and so on. There has been very little in previous years, and I hope to change that practice, taking into account the long-term investment in what is now our source of revenue. If we specifically talk about Kotor, if we specifically talk about any part of Montenegro, if we use the tourism income only to finance some current expenditures, then we are really making a big mistake, because we do very little to protect the cultural product we use as a tourism product. By the fact that we use it in this way, our heritage is being devastated. On the other hand, we have very little investment in local staff. All earnings from tourism go to current affairs, and the development, the creation of conditions for sustainability we do not care about. What I am trying to explain, when presenting the new practice I am trying to implement with the Tourism Organization, is that, thanks to the constant growth in tourism, we have to think how to use the difference we make from year to year, into something that will benefit us in the future. In that sense, one of my concrete ideas is to offer scholarships for high school students in Kotor, future university students, for education in areas we are missing in the city. Such an investment would be of great use when talking about conservation and restoration activities, for archaeological research, for the upgrading of the cultural offer of the city. We have to invest in what our potential should be in the future. Because if we look at the staff we now have, in terms of everything that is needed in the city, we see that consultants from abroad are often invited, that in Kotor, as well as in Montenegro, we do not have the capability to realize numerous projects very much needed here. We are aware that the cultural and natural heritage is the only thing that this city can valorize, but only if we are properly involved and if the devastation we have on every side stops. To do this, we have to have a deal on who will work and act on that goal at the local level. Some foreign consultant or expert who comes for a couple of days to consider a problem has a professional component that recommends him, but he does not see it as someone who is lovingly referring to our inheritance, who besides material, has another interest- interest of the community and the town itself. "
Montenegro puts tourism as the primary economic branch and bases its almost complete economy on orientation towards tourism, without thereby analyzing the endurance of a certain destination when making plans. We are interested in how much in this context the local tourism organization has room for independent decision-making and destination management.
"Destination management is a very specific and very complex set of activities, encompassing a large number of subjects and a wide range of activities. When we talk about Kotor, we are already talking about the burden of the destination. On the other hand, we need even more tourists to generate more profits. And those two things just do not go together. Luxury from the perspective of the endurance of the destination to limit the number of tourists we can not afford at this moment. At this level, we still haven’t alternatives to what is happening to us now. We have no alternative to the excursion tax, which is a key source of income in tourism in Kotor. A large number of subjects should be involved in management, but not in order to act at the expense of whoever benefits from the present situation. We all need to look for alternatives to what we now perceive as negative and what we want in the future to change. Stiff work on such goals shouldn’t be done, because no results can be achieved. If we are talking about cruise tourism, which is dominant in Kotor and which brings thousands of people to the Old Town daily, the substitute for it can be only strong hotel tourism, strong congress tourism, a tourism that promotes the destination as attractive throughout the year. There are many ways of developing a destination that is not active only during the summer months when people come to rest. And for all this, we need infrastructure. Without a large city hotel, no congress hall, with no accompanying content necessary for someone to be in Kotor in November or February, and that the goal of his arrival is not just a visit to a manifestation, which would imply a tourist tax- we can not talk about any destination management policy and its capacities. Until all these are achieved, Kotor will continue to be a vacation destination during the summer months, and during the pre-season and post-season it will only be visited by tourists, and this will be the way the city lives. Unfortunately, we must reconcile the fact that these processes will take some time, and no measures of restriction should be taken, while serious alternatives are not made"- concluded Ana Nives Radović, Tourism Organization of Kotor Executive Director.
