Announcement
Branislav Nisovic, McCain Institute Fellow at the IRC in Phoenix.
The IRC in Phoenix began a partnership with the McCain Institute of International Leadership at Arizona State University in 2015. Through that partnership, the IRC hosted Branislav Nesovic as he helped formulate a strategy to optimize partnerships with community partners, enabling our office to more effectively utilize local resources. One year later, as he finished his program with the McCain Institute, Branislav returned home to continue creating positive change.
With its mission of promoting character in politics, the McCain Institute of International Leadership at Arizona State University works to address human rights issues, foreign policy, advocacy, and national security through a variety of programs. One of the initiatives supporting the Institute’s vision is the Next Generation Leadership (NGL) program. In an effort to uphold effective global leadership, NGL identifies character-driven leaders on a national and international scale, and invites them to study leadership in the US through experiential learning. In order to execute this model, the Institute partners with corporations, government entities, and nonprofit organizations for its scholars to have the most comprehensive experience possible. During their time at their assigned agencies, these leaders-in-training are asked to assist the organization and address their most urgent needs, as well as develop a personal leadership action plan that can be implemented in organizations in their homelands. This past year, the International Rescue Committee in Phoenix was selected as a partner of the McCain Institute, and welcomed Branislav with open arms in 2015.
According to Branislav, his time at the IRC in Phoenix was full of learning experiences, contributing to personal and professional development he had never anticipated. Working with this organization enabled him to understand the operations of large nonprofit organizations and the complexities of resource development and utilization. Branislav was charged with community assets mapping, taking inventory of the community resources used by the IRC and analyzing as to whether they were employed to their fullest potential. Another substantial portion of Branislav’s research efforts were directed towards understanding and improving community relations in the surrounding community, learning the extent of the reach of the IRC in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Prior to his involvement with the IRC and the Next Generation Leadership Program, Mr. Nesovic was ardent in bolstering his local community. He proudly sported the hats of a civil society activist as well as a policy analyst, working to resolve ethnic conflict and instigate reconciliation among the Kosovo-Albanian and Kosovo-Serbian communities. Branislav shared, “[Ethnic] reconciliation is not an easy process, and we are just starting it in my region.” He continued, “We have successfully addressed conflict resolution, but not much work has been done in the process of transforming inter-community relations, based on mutual trust, acceptance, integration, and consideration of collective needs.” His dream is to create a multi-ethnic think tank in Kosovo, enabling community members to come together and brainstorm how to cultivate more tolerant, supporting citizens despite the toxic ethnic history among its people.
Speaking with him, it is quite apparent that Bransilav will instigate significant social change in his homeland and beyond. He exudes passion when speaking of his, and many others’, desire for ethnic reconciliation to bridge the gap between historically-warring ethnicities. Thanks to the investment made by the McCain Institute, Branislav was able to gain insight into the inner workings of a large organization like the IRC, and accessed a powerful network dedicated to ensuring he received comprehensive, applicable leadership training. Equipped with the extensive knowledge of how to critically analyze organizations’ methodologies and leadership strategies, Branislav will continue to change his world, more effectively.
The IRC is honored to partner with the McCain Institute’s NGL Program and is grateful to Branislav Nesovic for the tremendous legacy he leaves behind.
Story by Alexandra Mierzwa, Development Intern