It so happened that our first news coverage came out in French, showcasing Tajtana Brkic, professor at Red River College, and founding member of Square Metre for Peace. If you speak French enjoy, if not, please see below the English version.
English version of the article:
The Johns Hopkins University map has been a part of our daily lives since the start of the pandemic. In an attempt to show COVID-19 from a new perspective, with the help of other women, Tatjana Brkic produced a hope map as part of the Square Meter for Peace project.
Tatjana Brkic’s optimism is inspiring and inspires.The professor at Red River College directs her research with one certainty: “Businesses can solve social problems."
This is why she supports research initiatives on companies and on social innovation projects. She is also an entrepreneurship mentor at HEC Paris (1).
The eternal optimist looks back on her intellectual journey.
“I was born in Serbia, a country that was part of the former Yugoslavia. I have traveled to Italy, France, Germany, Canada.
“Well, almost everywhere on the planet. I like to say that I am a citizen of the world.
“While traveling, I have come to realize that some people's problems are often the same as others. I therefore developed the conviction that there was a need to support each other and to launch economic collaborations that could lead to job creation.
“The private sector has an important role to play in spurring social innovation.
“Each culture can and should even contribute something to another. We have to realize that, even if we see the opposite in the media, there are more good people on Earth than bad people.
“In tragic situations, it is possible for humans to bring out the worst. But you have to share the positive and nurture hope.
“For me, small businesses are the leaders of tomorrow. Their survival is intrinsically linked to the communities around them.
“That’s why small businesses should strive to meet present social needs."
A project open to the world
It is with this thought that Tatjana Brkic set up Square Meter for Peace. She comes back to the basic idea of the project.
“Square Meter for Peace is an initiative of a sub-committee of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg, an institution that works as a facilitator for peace at the local, national and international levels.
"It is about giving a concrete dimension to an idea as abstract as peace in the world. It should be made a global idea, but not an ideology.
"We therefore imagine that each country would voluntarily provide one square meter of its territory, which can be represented by an organization, an institution, a work of art. It doesn't matter.
"As long as this something highlights the fight against global social problems." We started this project in the spring and COVID-19 has arrived."
For Tatjana Brkic, there is no question of being discouraged by the new situation. Quite the contrary: COVID-19 inspired her.
"This pandemic is one more opportunity to move forward with the project. As the word suggests, pandemic involves an international dimension. The new coronavirus is a problem that affects us all.
“26 women took part in the Square Meter for Peace project. They come from different socio-economic backgrounds, cultures and continents.
“By asking ourselves how we could bring a little positive in this crisis, we decided to create a map where would be listed all the companies which carry out positive initiatives to fight against COVID-19.
“For example, in Winnipeg, Local Futures enables clients to support small businesses. You donate money to a business, and that money will flow back to you in the form of discounts. This is a concrete example of social innovation.
“Afterwards, we would like all companies that do social innovation to be able to take part in the project, not just in the context of the pandemic."
Tatjana Brkic supports her point.
“From a business mentoring perspective, this Square Meter for Peace card could allow future entrepreneurs to find resources to build their business plan and also to transport business models on an international scale.
“The support of a mentor would help foster international opportunities.
“The goal is to stop thinking that companies are always in competition.
"On the contrary, we have to think about business models that work together, that exchange knowledge and know-how.
"It is this principle of acting together that we can translate into the formula at least two.
This formula becomes the principle, the implementation of which makes it possible to tend towards social peace. "
(1) Paris Business School.
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