As a curious and hearty girl, I spent my childhood and early youth in hometown Novo mesto, a small city in South East Slovenia. I was born on February 19, 1977 – as an interesting fact, in the same delivery room as the most famous and only Slovenian woman in the White House, American First Lady Melania Trump. Although I was a child of great love, my mother and father divorced early when I was 4 years old, so I spent most of my time with an amazing and beautiful woman who marked me for life with her views, values, hardworking hands and big heart. My mother Dragica and I have been best friends. Always and forever, she is Priceless.
Youth years were full of activities, in addition to regular school, where I excelled among best pupils, I attended piano music school, danced jazz ballet, performed in a theater group, competed in standard and latin american dances, sang in a youth choir, wrote songs and short stories in my free time, sewed for my dolls and instructed younger students with learning difficulties. The latter were also my first independent earnings, as I was constantly (un)consciously striving for the goal of becoming economically independent as soon as possible, mainly to relieve my mother, who had a hard time supporting us without any father’s or other relative’s help.
What were your early life influences?
The way of life had a tremendous impact on my development in younger period. In addition to demanding learning obligations during the week, already at high school, I continued with learning instructions, started working as a waitress in a popular bar and took my first steps in the role of a fashion model and future hostess. After the excellent graduation with the best result at republic exam, I set out on an independent life path. I moved to the Slovenian capital Ljubljana at the age of 18, where I enrolled in journalism studies. From there, I climbed the steep social ladder, first as a journalist in the print media, soon as a recognizable and young research TV reporter who pursued truth and justice, and later as the editor-in-chief of various media. In the meantime, I continued with my academic career, which in 2009 was upgraded with a doctorate in philosophy and theory of visual culture. I started lecturing at the university, I wrote books – today I am an author of 5 books, over 10 as a co-author and published hundreds of professional, popular and scientific papers and media articles. Since I have always been enterprising, I have been looking for a way to capitalize my knowledge and experience for the future. As a media expert, I started consulting for individuals and organizations in the field of strategic communication and founded my own company Status, which I still run today.
What’s the biggest setback you ever experienced and how did you overcome it?
Hardest part of my life was a feeling of helplessness that I was not given a complete family and prosperity that can be within provided. My fears were soon recognized as empty bubbles, which grow and grow and eventually crack. I realized that at a turning point in self-awareness, personal growth, when you can reflect on who you are, where you come from, what life offers you, where you go and what you dream about, you can turn your weaknesses into incredible strength, will to live, equip yourself with a solid shell and outline the most seemingly inaccessible goals. Steadiness and concern stem from a strong belief that I’m on my own, responsible for small and great results and lucky life at the end. When on this planned route, I have combined knowledge and experience and nothing or nobody could stop me.
I went out into the world with an open heart to gain new knowledge and experiences during various professional activities and travelling, getting to know places and people, which probably push me among the most liberated people of today.
What are your proudest accomplishments?
Living your dreams is the greatest privilege of life. Which is by no means self-evident, as behind it lies a tremendous amount of hard work, renunciation, revaluation, empathy, ups and downs. Among my greatest achievements, I consider – if I start from the timeline from the past – a solid family cell in which I have been fulfilled for the last decade. Before that, I am proud of all my creative excesses, such as author’s books – two scientific monographs, two manuals, a multilingual children’s fairy tale, numerous scientific and other media contributions, many creative projects in the field of strategic communication – event organization, publication production, individual management solutions, visible academic findings, international scientific and professional participation and, last but not least, an established credible public opinion. Among the special achievements are certainly gaining experience and pushing the boundaries in the fight for women’s and girls’ rights, at home and around the world. In recent years, I have crowned it with the Femmes Sans Frotnières movement, which today is an international foundation for women’s empowerment with over 300 influential members.
You do a lot of work in female advancement and empowerment, what are the biggest shifts you have observed globally?
The last hundred years in the projection of recent human history – if we disregard tens of thousands years for a prehistoric man, where some gender differences are genetically predestined – are a turning point in the development of consciousness of what gender equality means.
In some societies, the revolution and global movement of women began in the early 20th century to reach today’s conditions, where in most chapters of society they are in almost all aspects equal to men – fundamental human rights and freedoms, the right to vote, equal pay for work, access to top social and decision-making positions… In many societies, the process is still ongoing, where women are not guaranteed by even basic rights and key elements for full liberation and empowerment – access to education and economic independence. These are the two extreme realities of the same planet in the complex social relations of women: men. Whichever way we turn, we find that women have come a long way to gain empowerment, but the process is not yet finished as there is no society in the world where a woman would not have had at least one right or freedom violated. Whether you go for a negative selection in the employment rate or religious interference when deciding about themselves. Thus women have to stay vigilant in building changes for the better world.
How can female led organizations make maximum impact in this shift?
Behind every successful team and every successful entity – companies, organizations, groups, institutions – stands a woman and men. I believe in the best solutions that come from mixed teams of creators, where the key solutions are decided by women and men together. It’s not always easy, but it’s never impossible. If the organization is run by a woman, it is right to have male colleagues who work with a male view on the same issue, if it is run by a man, it must necessarily take into account the female view. Of course, this is an ideal situation, which is not always possible in practice, but unfortunately there is still too much one-sided decision-making, mostly by men. While women remain an indispensable but voiceless workforce so that these decisions can be implemented. I support a sharp increase in the number of women in the most influential positions in society. Starting with politics and economics, moving on to science, culture, sports and also civil society. This is supported by a number of women’s initiatives and organizations that highlight the need for women’s empowerment, both in small local settings and globally. As President of the Femmes Sans Frontières Foundation, I like to repeat: The world would be a better and more beautiful place, if women and men were fully respected and made equal decisions. I believe in the necessity of balancing everything that exist. Even if perfect balance cannot always be achieved, it can remain our maxima to which we are constantly approaching.
What motivates you?
Life is my biggest motivator. Every single new day, when I can create, travel, learn, get to know, share, give… when I can feed my soul, body and heart with knowledge and experience, look for new inspirations, approach to new adventures, when I push the boundaries of the possible and manage to seal my work to leave something visible behind, then I am infinitely and boundlessly motivated.
What does Women’s voices mean to you?
“Woman’s voice is an indispensable and irreplaceable resource in building a better and more beautiful society. Starting in the family, further in the local society, the wider environment and finally globally. Throughout history, women have been a pillar of strength, of collaboration, and therefore of significant progress. We have enriched interpersonal relationships and supported our families, and in the last century, our voice has also been heard in professional environments and especially from decision-making tops. The latter fills me with great optimism, as I believe that humanity will be able to improve only with clear and loud women’s voices.”
What’s next for Dr. Jerca?
I will continue my mission as an anthropologist and opinion leader to spread critical thinking in public space and shed a light on contemporary human phenomena. While working as a strategic communication consultant on various projects and manager of sustainable tourism at Lake Bled. Occasionally I will appear in my amateur acting role, tame creativity with writing, and in my free time I will play sports, hang out with friends and travel as much as possible. Of course, one of my important priorities remains connecting, supporting, representing and engaging empowered women on the global Femmes Sans Frontières platform, who with their exceptionality and openness are the best proof and model that women can do anything and without limits. We believe, that once we know and manage how to elevate ourselves, others will follow. Women for women, borderless!
