By: Ekrem Dupanović
Impressions from the Third Session of the Creative Republic of Bihać are still in the air. All who were on Friday at the Museum of AVNOJ in Bihać – those who spoke and those who listened alike – still comment and share compliments. They are unanimous – the Creative Republic of Bihać is a great idea that should be developed and nurtured.
Today we publish the impressions of some of the speakers, and tomorrow we will hear from some of those who sat in the audience and enjoyed the great presentations.
Vladimir Čeh: No smaller place, no greater conference
This might be a headline which should attract attention. At that, in this case, it would be true.
At the well-organized gathering, in the hall which brings up strong associations, I met some dear and hard working people and meet up with an old acquaintance. A warm welcome, interesting lectures and good panels. I brought home with me a bunch of beautiful impressions. I previously stated directly into the eye of a camera that I feel at home in Bihać, in the Creative Republic, where no one asked me for my passport, and for which I needed no visa. Just my name.
The night before the meeting and the morning after it were dedicated to my anti-war exhibition of war posters that demystify those who send a message and at the same time lay the groundwork for advertising communication in the Gutenberg’s galaxy. It drew quite an attention. It was nice to see Bihać plastered with our posters, the “bullet-poster” by Slavimir Stojanović, and the finger which pointed at the viewer, calling them to the exhibition – from the most famous poster from the First World War.
On Thursday evening, at the opening, we listened to praise and made statements for the cantonal and federal television stations.
On Saturday morning our hosts organized the “author’s tour of the exhibition” for lecturers and organizers of the event. The result was 1: 1. I must admit that as much as they liked the exhibition itself and my story about it, as well as the book about the exhibition which I presented to them on this occasion, so did it felt good to hear their praise.
Because, it doesn’t matter how much you are praised, what matters is who praises you.
Ejub Kučuk: I enjoyed my entire day in Bihać!
I did not know what to expect when Nino Kasupović invited me to the third session of the Creative Republic of Bihać. Bihać is a long way from home for us in Sarajevo J And yet, I didn’t have the heart to say no, because I know how hard it is to do something in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is not known for large companies and advertising achievements.
I didn’t regret it! Regardless of the fact that this trip came at a time when we prepare several major campaigns, events and presentations for important pitches. Nino and his crew have gathered a phenomenal group of people, and they proved to be great hosts. Always with a smile “from ear to ear”, they bring great energy, motivate you to do your best, constantly calling for socializing. Although I had planned that I will use every moment to work on my presentations, I stayed long time with other presenters, chatting on the eve of the Session. Great anecdotes, stories from different eras of the profession in the region, the funniest situations with clients … :). We had to do our presentations from 4.00 to 6:30 am.
And then came the day of the Session. They say that Imelda Ramović had a great presentation, but I didn’t manage to get to the Museum of AVNOJ so early. Vladimir Čeh gave such a good presentation on “Sex in Advertising” that even today I can’t decide what was better: the narrative, which perfectly led you through the topic and dynamically followed the frequent change of slides, or the selection of ads that Vlado decided to show us. Just perfect! It would be unbecoming to comment on myself, but I made an effort not to disappoint, because the night before the conference I got a message on Facebook: “I took the day off to listen to you tomorrow in Bihać. Do not disappoint me, haha :-)”. When Slavimir Stojanović (Futro) began with a presentation whose casualness perfectly suited his personality and phenomenal work – I must say Ekrem – I felt honored to have come to this conference and I to have had the opportunity to speak among two such masters. I’m not the only one who can’t decide what was better: Slavomir’s work or his personality. I believe that many in the audience thought “when I grow up, I want to be Futro”. I apologize to Davor Runje for bailing from his lecture, but famine was threatening with dizziness, and the return to Sarajevo, after a sleepless night, was coming dangerously close. I’m sure he was perfect, as are his projects. The conference was masterfully concluded by Kamilo Antolović who prepared formidably for the panel that led to the end of the day.
TL;DR: I’ve toured many conferences in my life, and it mostly happened that I could highlight 15-20 minutes out of a couple of days that some of them last. In Bihać I enjoyed the entire day! Kudos to the organizers and many thanks for inviting us. MITA Group will most certainly support the future Sessions.
Slavimir Stojanović: Next year I’ll return to lead a three-day Brandshop
There are those moments in life when, completely unexpectedly, you feel that you belong somewhere, that it’s your natural habitat, warm and soft environment, inspired by people and their good eyes. Well that’s exactly how I felt a few days last week on the third jubilee Session of the Creative Republic of Bihać. Whether it was because of my personal feeling of the historical weight of this small, beautiful and unobtrusive place, or because of the disarming enthusiasm of the organizers Nermin Kasupović and Admir Čavkić, or because of the talented conference participants from around the region and their inspiring lectures … I simply found myself in a safe territory, both in spirit and body.
After a few days of continuous laughter with masters of jokes and comedy, Vlado Čeh, Ejub Kučuk, Saša Ostojić, Sanda, Mirena, Imelda, Davor, Nino and Adi, I am now – I can say it freely – a proudly vertical resident of the Creative Republic of Bihać. And of course, next year I promised to lead a three-day Brendionica (Brandshop) at the fourth, still Jubilee Session, with the aim to bring together talented world from the region, and from year to year to expand the creative territory.
Kamilo Antolović: A footprint and impression
It was a pleasure to answer the call of my dear Nino and to participate in part of the program of the Creative Republic of Bihać!
One would say “Bihać, you’ll see no creative”, but I was wrong; I saw an extraordinary enthusiasm, good organization, great topics and speakers … but also the “eyes that light up” with many participants! Bravo! Just keep going!
What particularly intrigued me was the thought that Bihać wants to impose itself as a center of creative thinking, not only in the communications industry, but also in the business world, and that such positioning had grown from a local (God forbid I say provincial) into the regional business meeting. The road ahead is long, but it’s important that the first steps are going in the right direction … My support is always there!
Participation of experts in marketing from Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo; actuality of topics, especially in the development of interactive digital technologies; and the nifty representation of local resources turned out to be a good approach which may in future years outgrow the industry of market communications, and become an even more important business meeting, especially in the promotion of the Creative Republic of Bihać!
