Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

Transcript of the presentation at the 35^th Belgrade Ignite “The Ball is in Your Hands” (25 May 2016, Impact Hub, Belgrade)

When I tell you I play the drums, you all think it’s ultra-mega-super cool: “Wow, a girl playing the drums!” Yet look at it from my side: most people think drummers are stupid, some people think women are stupid, and to top it off, I’m blonde… other than making my peace with the fact that some people believe these things, I also made my peace with the fact that I will not have gentle hands, that my arms will looks as if I’m a lumberjack, as well as with moving through life burdened with the 15 kg of weight of all those cymbals, snares, pedals and other drum components I have to drag around with me.

All kidding aside (though there is much truth in it), being a female drummer in Serbia is not an easy task. I come from a small community, the town of Smederevo, where until recently I was the only female drummer ever. When people heard what I do, they usually called me names and alluded to me being of the homosexual orientation. This really bothered me, being 14 years old at the time.

It also bothers me when concert organizers decide not to pay the fees for women’s bands. It bothers me when other bands place women’s bands in the background. It bothers me when the worst happens – the audience does not come to the concert expecting the women’s band to play badly.

This is precisely why I decided, together with the Femix network of women’s creative work, to organize drumming workshops for girls aged 10 to 14 years. We believe there will be less discrimination if there are more women playing so-called “male” instruments and that if children, while they are still small, are told that there are no “male” or “female” instruments, that instruments were made by people for other people. And that category, we can agree, includes both men and women.

We organized and held workshops in three cities: Belgrade, Smederevo and Pančevo. At first we were very sceptical about whether girls will apply at all, if there will be interest. We were blown away that we had 70 applications for the workshops in Belgrade, receiving enormous support from parents and their children. We were also surprised in Smederevo. Namely, barely ten people showed up for the presentation with their children, then came the first class and a shock: 20 girls! That was, for me personally, an enormous victory – after nearly ten years I returned to my home town and found there are girls there who want to do something different and have the courage to engage in music. Logically, we found more instruments and worked for five days with 21 girls.

Unfortunately, we cannot change this world in an instant, with a magic wand. Therefore I believe these small steps are very important for a more creative, equitable, diverse musical scene in Serbia and society in general. (…)

Many girls I know gave up playing because they did not have enough support. Every one of us handles criticism differently, every one of us wishes to give up at some point if they do not have the support of the people around them. Therefore I appeal to all of you: if you have around you sisters, mothers, female friends and girlfriends (…) who want to play an unusual instrument or work on something a bit different – support them in this and do not let them give up! (…)