Welcome to the series #EVERYDAYHEROES in which we introduce exceptional members of our network. Through pop culture, we discovered that heroes fly, have superpowers, come from another planet, and wear capes and costumes, but there are other, real heroes. Heroes we are surrounded by every day, who raise their voices in times of injustice and fight for the rights of all of us. Who look the same as us, who express their superpower by fighting every day for a better and democratic society. Everyday heroes, that we have to talk about. Follow us on our Instagram to catch the next interview among the first ones.
Another Everyday Hero is Malik Sakić from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Malik Sakić, I was born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the very end of the war in 1995. I graduated in Business IT from the College of Computer Science and Business Communication in Tuzla, I currently live in Bratislava, Slovakia, where I am pursuing a master’s degree in economics and management, as a Slovak government scholarship holder. For more than 5 years, I have been working intensively in the field of marketing and communications, as well as project management. My career so far has been filled with work in political organizations and various non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for more than a decade I have been directly involved in the political activism of young people in B&H. In my free time, I like to read books, watch movies, and research history. Since I arrived in Bratislava, one of my favorite free time activities is walking the dogs at the dog shelter every Sunday.
What do you consider your biggest success?
I think it’s really hard to define one thing as your biggest success, especially in the world of political activism. But something I am most proud of is continuously motivating and empowering young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to engage in politics and to get directly involved in everyday social and political life, I worked with young people from all political parties and helped them get into political positions because I want to see as many young people in politics as possible. In my political party, I additionally ensured the election of young people, by lobbying for an internal party document that enables young people on every ballot to be elected to parliaments and councils equally with their older colleagues. So I think empowering young people in my environment is something I’m most proud of.
What does the word DEMOCRACY mean to you?
The word democracy is something that we definitely hear every day, but I think that everyone has their own definition, for me, democracy represents continuous work and struggles for a better future. Unfortunately, every day we witness direct attacks on the sovereignty of many countries and attacks on democracy itself, precisely because democracy is the best political system we have, it will always be attacked by extremists. This is precisely why democracy will always be a struggle, even when it is not under attack, we must fight every day for a better future and for the coming generations. Democracy is a daily inspiration for me, mostly because of the people who gave their lives for it, and today we have the opportunity and privilege to fight for a better future with our minds and education.
Who do you consider your Everyday Hero and why?
I don’t have one hero, I have hundreds, even thousands, of young people who bravely stand up for human rights, democracy, and equality. We have dozens of examples of our young colleagues who, even in countries where they can face huge consequences for their activism, still bravely stand up and raise their voices, because they know that fighting for a better tomorrow is the only correct way. My heroes are young people who have courage and young people who don’t want to give up.
What does the concept of Everyday Hero mean to you?
The Everyday Hero concept is a really positive example of representing successful young people, and I will forever be grateful for projects like this, mostly because young people today don’t have a lot of public space, and they have a lot of positive stories to share. I would like to thank you for this concept and I think that in the future it will bring hundreds of positive stories of Everyday Heroes from all our countries.
Why did you become a member of EDYN?
I became a member of EDYN in 2019 as one of the first ambassadors, back then it seemed to me like a perfect opportunity for networking and getting acquainted with various political issues from all over Europe, and the reason that I am still a member of EDYN today is the fact that the whole the story became one big family, the fact that I met a large number of friends here, that my life has changed completely since my membership in EDYN, but also the opportunity to progress and work and learn with the help of EDYN.
