propulsion

Every Serbian summer comes with the same offerings: Arctic-like heatwaves and unlimited ice cream and watermelon. Inevitably, media becomes flooded with stories detailing how Serbian tourists were shocked, scammed, or shortchanged at various global destinations. It’s easy to empathize with these unfortunate compatriots who invested all their hopes (and savings) into those seven to ten […]

I tried hard to find any historical connection between us—former Yugoslavia—and them. (Back then, they went by Upper Volta.) But there wasn’t one. They formally shook off colonial rule in 1958, but weren’t quick to embrace “peaceful coexistence,” so they missed the 1961 Belgrade summit where non-aligned nations launched history’s coolest Cold War indie brand. […]

When the acting director of the Anti-Money Laundering Directorate stepped off the tram near Beograđanka that morning, heading up Resavska Street to work (he was, after all, just a civil servant—not some municipal cop who’d ride a Range Rover), he certainly didn’t plan to explain the obvious: that the sky is blue, the next two […]

I watched the final episode of “Jutro će promeniti sve” the other night. It left me heavy-hearted all evening. Unassuming yet monumental for our television, for our generation. The way Vlada Tagić and Goran Stanković laid bare their souls—heart, fears, rawest emotions—then, with their team of genius creators, turned it into a golden landmark of our time through a format never […]

In the heart of the Balkans, where the spirit of Sarajevo and Belgrade intertwines with our business endeavors, lies a tale of deep-rooted affection. These cities, where we’ve grown and created wonders, have long been the backdrop to our fleet of vehicles, proudly bearing the “VW” emblem – a symbol, if not of Balkan patriotism, […]

The ceiling above every desk, hallway, meeting room, restaurant, and lounge in Facebook’s offices worldwide looks the same—a tangle of massive ventilation ducts wrapped in aluminum foil, snaking cables, routers, switches, bare lighting and sound wires, all held together by an exposed metal skeleton. This industrial-chosen aesthetic carries the signature of Frank Gehry, the starchitect […]

When the former finance minister recently warned that reaching EU living standards would require us to “transition from walking barefoot on stones to taking flight,” his blunt metaphor drew sharp rebukes from officials but resonated deeply with business leaders. Suddenly, everyone grew alarmed by his prophetic calculation: at our current pace, we’d need nearly two […]

The company I run will celebrate its tenth anniversary this January. Of course, I remember everything—how the idea first came to us, what others told us (“Don’t do it, kids, are you out of your minds?!”), how we knew nothing yet thought we knew everything. That’s just how it goes. I remember it all, but […]

One thing’s for sure: your kids—whether you’re their parent or teacher—aren’t reading this article, nor do they care about public media portals or other news outlets (all research confirms this). So relax, and let’s talk about where Gen Z and younger kids spend their time, how they entertain themselves, where they get their information, what […]

If you believed every word of this headline without bothering to fact-check it—you’re not alone. Half of citizens almost never pay attention to media sources, and two-thirds only read the headline and a bit more, according to a CeSID study conducted for Propulsion and USAID as part of the New Literacy program. Let’s be clear: we’re not digitally illiterate, but we’re far from excelling. The younger the […]

If nearly 60% of citizens believe spin, disinformation, and propaganda plague our media landscape—as revealed by CeSID’s ongoing New Literacy research for Propulsion and USAID—then who exactly is doing the spinning? Over a third point to the most-watched national TV channel, followed by public broadcasters, two tabloids with their online portals, and one (barely watched) national frequency. […]

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will cost a staggering $11.5 trillion—yes, thousand billion dollars. Right now, 800 million people worldwide live below the poverty line. An equal number suffer from chronic malnutrition, 6 million children die annually before their fifth birthday, and 620 million remain illiterate, according to the UN’s Bosnia and Herzegovina office. Poverty, hunger, healthcare access, and education are […]