BALKAN
CULTURAL
CO-OPERATION
CULTURAL
CO-OPERATION
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The news of Ritva's going away shook me tremendously. We met at the end of the eighties at the CIRCLE conference in Budapest. Since then, we have met in various European cities at many gatherings. Collaborated on various projects organized by the  CIRCLE network and later by the EricaArts Institute. She was a guest of Balkankult in Belgrade, and I visited her several times in Helsinki.
Andreas  and Ritva, was the most deserving for the establishment and long-term successful work of the  CIRCLE cultural network, and then the ERICarts Institute. She was an outstanding researcher of cultural politics, always considering the ethical aspects of the phenomenon.
It is a great pleasure that I had the opportunity to hang out with Ritva. I remember most of all our visits to the Frankfurt Book Fair at the beginning of the new millennium. It was a small team of associates of the ERICarts Institute: Andreas, Ritva, Danielle, Jorg, Danica and me. We visited publishers' stands, commented on some books and talked with publishers. There were also books that we wanted to have in our libraries that were not for sale. Some of those titles ended up in our bags. All this caused laughter and joy! After visiting the Fair, we continued our companionship in the evening, often in Andreas's apartment. Once, when I visited her in Helsinki, we went together to the outskirts of the city to watch the aurora borealis. What an extraordinary experience!, Ritva was a big friend.
I teach my son what my father taught me, that the only important thing in life is to be a hardworking and good (moral) person. Ritva had both qualities! When someone leaves, we first miss them - we expect them, as if they didn't answer the phone, write an email or come to visit us, we save their phone number and email address. Very quickly, the feeling of missing turns into sadness.As life goes on, memory and reminiscence remains. Interview with Ritva (Helsinki 2012)
All of us who knew Ritva should remember her as she was - noble, smart and hardworking personality. Ritva deserves it.
Dimitrije Vujadinovic
Published: 2022-07-29
Updated: 2022-12-03
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