In your opinion, what are the main differences, and what are the similarities between the studies of marketing in Serbia and in the European Union?

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1 2007 No 391, November 26, Cedomir Nestorovic, ESSEC With whom to go into the world? Mirjana Prljevic, Paris "The fact that Emir Kusturica, Goran Bregovic or Novak Djokovic became world brands proves that work, perseverance and talent undeniably win," claims the professor of international marketing and geopolitics of the leading school for management in France. Cedomir Nestorovic was born in Paracin, and has been living in France for 37 years. He completed his education in Paris: graduate studies in economics and languages at the Sorbonne, and postgraduate studies at the Institute for Political Sciences in Paris, at the department for Eastern Europe and Soviet Union, where he also did his PhD. For a few years, he worked as a consultant for the enterprises interested in those markets, and for more than ten years he has been a full professor at the ESSEC, the leading school for management in France. At the ESSEC, he teaches international marketing and geopolitics. In your opinion, what are the main differences, and what are the similarities between the studies of marketing in Serbia and in the European Union? Cedomir Nestorovic: There are not differences between the countries, but between the types of education institutions: on one hand, faculties and, on the other hand, schools. The faculties are the same in Serbia and in the EU. Their field of activity is education and scientific-research work, while primary activities of schools are education and practical work. The schools have introduced scientific-research work, primarily for the AACSB certification (American accreditation of the best management schools in the world), which entails the publication of papers in the most important journals. In Serbia, as in the EU, state faculties are financed through the budget, while schools are private institutions that are self-financed and unlike faculties, can have additional sources of income and independently determine scholarships and the number of students they admit. Therefore, work conditions are not the same. Schools have higher funds. An example: in order for students of marketing to work on a case study in a school such as

INSEAD, 3-4 Euros should be paid per a copy. If there are 500 students in a year, 2,000 Euros should be paid for just one exercise, and at least 3-4 exercises are needed for one subject only.

2 INSEAD, 3-4 Euros should be paid per a copy. If there are 500 students in a year, 2,000 Euros should be paid for just one exercise, and at least 3-4 exercises are needed for one subject only. These are amounts that even the faculties in France cannot pay. Besides, school managing boards comprise the representatives of enterprises and commercial chambers who can develop curriculum according to their needs. As far as faculties are concerned, curricula go through the Ministry of Education, where there are no economic interests. The faculties and schools have a completely different approach to studies so it is impossible to compare the two systems. I$LAM: Islam also enables great incomes Do you think that regular studies of economy and/or marketing pay adequate attention to the practical application of acquired theoretical knowledge? C. Nestorovic: At management schools - yes, at faculties - no, due to the abovementioned differences. This is not only because faculties insist on scientific-research work, and do not have money to purchase case studies, but also because practical training in enterprises is not required for the students in France during their education, while it is an important segment in management schools. In my school, for example, practical training is compulsory from the first to the last year of studies for the minimum of six months to two years. Finally, in management schools there are several hundreds of part-time teachers who are permanently employed in enterprises and give students the most recent examples from the practice, while the possibility to engage professionals at faculties is very limited. This year, the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade celebrated its 70th anniversary, and one of the leading business schools in France - ESSEC, where

3 you teach, its centenary. Since you have been teaching at both schools, can you draw some parallels between them? C. Nestorovic: The very fact that an education institution celebrates 70 or 100 years of work deserves attention. However, it is not the same when a state faculty or a private school celebrates a jubilee. A state faculty has the support of the state, which is quite understandable, while a private school is exposed to the pressure of competition and does not receive the help of the state. By the way, the ESSEC was formed by Jesuits a century ago so the school was a member of the Catholic faculty in Paris for a long time. Today, the catholic influence is quite weak. Other schools have formed chambers of commerce, so they have the support of para-state institutions, while the number of 100 percent private schools, such as the ESSEC, is quite small in France. For many years, the ESSEC has provided a very strong database about the former students of schools who can later take part in financing certain projects or help students to find practice or job. With such a long tradition, entrepreneurial elite is focused on the schools such as the ESSES, and the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade can also pride itself on a great number of former students who are in managerial positions not only in Serbia but abroad as well. Do you think students in Serbia dedicate enough attention to permanent personal and professional development? C. Nestorovic: As far as I know, students in Serbia read professional literature and keep abreast of new trends; naturally, as much as they can, although their means are often restricted in comparison to their peers in Europe. For example, a new book can cost up to 100 Euros, which is a lot in Serbia. However, Serbian students have become true experts in using the Internet. Databases are no longer too expensive so the faculties in Serbia can provide the access to them. It is true though that all the important things are mainly published in the English language, which is not an obstacle, as our students know English better that, let's say, French. Are graduate students from Serbia prepared for work or professional development when they come to France for work or studies? C. Nestorovic: As in other countries, the students who graduated from a technical faculty have the advantage as they speak the language of the profession which is the same everywhere. When it comes to social sciences, where marketing belongs, things are different. There are two different approaches to marketing, American and French. While the approach in the USA is more of strategic marketing, in France advantage is given more to operational marketing. If the American model is implemented in Serbia more, then some misunderstandings may occur in France. But, students from Serbia are mostly eager for professional development and spare no effort to master the syllabus. However, there were some cases when Serbian students wanted to implement theory without a creative approach to the problem. Nevertheless, their future employers mainly want a certain dose of creativity, which our students either do not want to apply or are afraid to step away from the pattern they learnt.

4 Branding of Serbia What advice would you give to students and marketing professionals in Serbia? C. Nestorovic: The conditions in which students and marketing managers in Serbia work are specific so I can hardly give any advice to them. However, on the other hand, they should not resort to the alibi that nothing new is being offered. If marketing experts in Lebanon or Israel work in unstable environment where war is part of everyday life, then you cannot use the excuse in Serbia that nothing new is offered which could become successful in the world market. The fact that Emir Kusturica, Goran Bregovic or Novak Djokovic became world brands confirms that work, perseverance and talent undeniably win. You have built your reputation with decade-long successful work and teaching in marketing, primarily geopolitical. However, it seems you have now become famous for the knowledge you now pass on with the book Marketing in Islamic Environment and the lectures on the same topic... C. Nestorovic: I have been teaching international marketing at the ESSEC for many years, and social-cultural environment is an important element of international marketing. In such a context, religion is the most important limitation factor of expansion in some markets. A few years ago, I developed the lectures on the topic Religion and Marketing where I dealt with the main religions and their influence on marketing. Students asked for a textbook in that subject, as there wasn't one. I told them, however, that it would take me 30 years to write one. Therefore I decided to choose one religion and its relations towards marketing. Islam imposed itself as it is the religion which permeates everyday life of Muslims and determines their behaviour, which is very important for marketing. This religion is being developed more than any other. Moreover, this is also about high incomes. For example, the development of halal food or the market of Moslim s pilgrimage in Mecca provide the opportunity to place products and services measured in billions of dollars. I now use that book to teach the subject Islam and Marketing at the ESSEC and the Institute of Political Sciences in Paris, which is a revolutionary change bearing in mind the strict republican rules separating the state from religion in France. To what extent is interreligious dialogue present, successful or possible today? C. Nestorovic: It is hard to achieve interreligious dialogue as religions are not in equal position. While the Catholic Church has at its disposal an incredible network of educational institutions, which can educate best experts on Islam or Orthodoxy, the opposite is not true. Namely, in Rome, there is the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic studies (PISAI) which is one of the most competent institutes for studying Islam, and some of my Muslim students want to study there. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican runs more than 32,000 schools and higher education institutions which, of course, cannot be compared to any church or religion.

5 On the other hand, Islamic faculties are more focused on studying the Koran or Muslim religious laws while little attention is devoted to studying other religions. Last month, Saudi Arabia decided to set aside 10 billion dollars for higher education, but not one dollar is intended for learning about other religions. As far as Orthodoxy is concerned, in Western Europe, the most famous is the Institute of Saint Sergey in Paris, but it also does not dedicate much attention to other religions and churches, just as the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. In general, the Catholic Church, due to its historic reasons and means it has at it disposal, can always provide competent personalities for interreligious dialogue, which is not the case with the others, especially in post-communist countries where for a long time there was a negative attitude towards churches and religion in general. What is somewhat positive in the Balkans is that the Catholic Church, Orthodox Church and Islam co-existed so they empirically got to know each other and they, perhaps, do not need special researches. Orthodoxy and marketing What are you preparing for the future? C. Nestorovic: I am going to continue with the researches in the domain of religion and marketing and in a few years I will, most probably, have written the book "Orthodoxy and Marketing". How significant is marketing for popularizing religions? C. Nestorovic: Marketing has always had a decisive role in propagating religions, especially monotheistic and universal ones. For example, a product is defined as the Holy Book or the Hope of Afterlife, and price is given in the form of financing holy places or churches, places of worship.... The same places were used as a distribution chain of products and services, while advertisement or communication are generally known as the means to propagate a religion. Even now, religions and churches use marketing, as tele-evangelists from America or teleislamists in satellite televisions from the Middle East. We come to a paradox that the Wholy Country came closer to American consumers who cannot or don't want to visit Jerusalem. Thus right next to Disneyland in Florida, the complex Holy Land Experience was built, designed as an amusement park that represents Jerusalem two thousand years ago, where Jesus Christ appears everyday and goes through golgotha at strictly defined intervals! On what occasions were you able to talk about this, that is to present your views and attitudes? C. Nestorovic: I talked to cardinal Tauran, who is in charge of the dialogue with Islam in the Vatican, then with the rector of the Great Mosque of Paris, as well as with the representatives of Islamic Community of Serbia and representatives of Serbian Orthodox Church. All of them are intrigued by linking religion to marketing. Although all of them

6 have unconsciously used marketing to propagate religion, it has never been written. Apart from that, PISAI from Rome has already invited me to hold a public conference on Islam and Marketing, and I have received the same invitations from Algeria and Egypt, so this topic is gradually imposing itself. It is so popular that some websites in France dealing with halal food talk about my book and my lectures on their own initiative. THE END

Uganda, morality was derived from God and the adult members were regarded as teachers of religion. God remained the canon against which the moral

Uganda, morality was derived from God and the adult members were regarded as teachers of religion. God remained the canon against which the moral ESSENTIAL APPROACHES TO CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: LEARNING AND TEACHING A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF RESEARCH AND POSTGRADUATE STUDIES UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY ON MARCH 23, 2018 Prof. Christopher