The works on the construction of the roundabout in Dusanova Street, which began on February 23rd, would be finalized ten days before the deadline for completion. The value of the works on the roundabout is about 9 million dinars, while the value of the entire contract for the reconstruction of Dusanova Street and the construction of roundabout is 23 million. The Contractor is the Company TRACE Nis. According to the Mayor of Nis Darko Bulatovic, who visited the works, the efforts were made to complete the works as fast as possible so that this street intersection was available for traffic. He pointed out that the quality of works was at a high level which was confirmed by the supervisory authority. On this occasion the mayor said there would be works on the critical junctions in the city respecting the proposed solutions of the professionals. The complete works in Dusanova Street have been financed by City Land Development Programme for 2016.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovicv and his Excellency the Ambassador of Finland Pertti Ikonen planted in the park in front of City Gardens in the Fortress of five new birch trees in honor of the Finnish jubilee, the centenary of independence.

In Serbia, the centenary will be celebrated by a series of events presenting the Finnish culture, art, business, as well as the way of living. One of the projects is the planting of 100 trees in Belgrade and other cities in Serbia, aimed at promoting environment-friendly behavior. Finland is ranked the greenest country in the world, with around 65 per cent of Finland’s total land area covered by forest. Forests are like water in Finland: ever-present, including in the major cities. Finnish forest management relies exclusively on tree species native to Finland. The most common and economically important trees are spruce, pine and birch.

“This year Finland celebrates 100 years of independence which is a great occasion to talk about nature conservation, one of the core values of our society. Finland is among the cleanest and greenest countries in the world and we want Serbia to be the same”, Ambassador Ikonen said.

Planting of trees in Serbia is sponsored by Lindstrom, EuroCons, Agromarket (Fiskars), KPA Unicon, I&F McCann Group and other companies supporting the program of celebrations for Finland’s 100 years of independence.

Ambassador Jan Lundin and his team were present at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection, and the City of Nis, represented by State Secretary Stana Bozovic and Mayor Darko Bulatovic.

The MoU concerns the preparation of technical documentation related to the project of building a system for collecting and treating waste water in Nis. This project is one of the biggest infrastructural projects within environment protection, and Sweden is funding the development of the technical documentation.

The project of collection and treatment of wastewater for the City of Nis includes construction of a new collector, restoration of existing, afterwards, the city plant for waste water treatment, as well as additional treatment of sludge. Complete project and technical documentation for the plant and sewage will be funded from the new support programs of the Swedish International Development Agency to the environmental sector in Serbia, PEID, “Preparation and development investments in the environment ”, which starts on 25 July 2016 and is worth almost 3 million EUR.

Mayor Darko Bulatovic said that the project was important for the citizens of Nis and announced that the construction of facilities for the wastewater treatment plant would begin in 2019.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Nis City Council member Sasa Zivic spoke today at a reception at the City Hall with participants of the International Symposium “Living with Autism-from the perspective of the patient, parents and professionals” held in Nis. Mayor Bulatovic said that the local government will do everything in accordance with its capabilities to facilitate the social inclusion of people living with autism and participate together with the professionals in creating programmes that could help them achieve maximum individual progress. He pointed out that autism represented a condition that required greater care of society and all of us have to develop tolerance and raise awareness of the children, but also parents and the community in general about the need and importance of cultivating love, understanding and acceptance of diversity by providing support to those in need. Andy Shih who heads the association “Autism Speaks” pointed out that it community involvement was extremely important and the existence of high-quality multi-sectoral collaboration to ensure that people with autism may become members of the community who can contribute to its development. There are more than 500 people in Nis with diagnosed autism. Most of them are children. Their parents founded the association trying through its activities to improve their quality of life.

On the occasion of the International Go Tournament NIS OPEN 2017to be held on March 18th and 19th March in Nis honorary organizing committee met today at Nis City Hall. This tournament will mark 45 years since the founding of the first Go Club in Nis. The tournament will bring together more than 100 go masters in different categories and from several European countries. Nis City Council Member Branislav Kacar said on this occasion that City of Nis supported sports clubs and events that bring together participants from the country and from abroad.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic congratulated to all his fellow women citizens International Women’s Day. “The obligation of all of us who participate in the public life of the City of Nis, in decision-making processes and local policy creating is to create a society of equal opportunities for women and men. By what we are doing we will continue to affirm issues of social status of women and encourage activities that will continue to contribute to creating a society that gives everyone an equal chance. Today, all of us should be reminded that we need to ensure a better place in society for women and greater visibility in city management bodies. We have educated, valuable, dedicated and very brave women who must have the right to freedom of choice, equal working conditions and wages for the work they do, a life free of discrimination and violence, and the measure of success should not be gender but good ideas and hard work.”

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic accompanied by World Bank’s representatives and Novak Djokovic Foundation visited the primary school Milan Rakic to see the last phase of reconstruction and adaptation works being carried out in the old school building with the goal of opening the new kindergarten for over 100 boys and girls, 3-6 years old, from Medosevac and neighboring places. The Novak Djokovic Foundation provided funds in the amount of EUR 86,000 for the full reconstruction of the façade and interiors and equipping of the facility with modern furniture, didactic materials, books and toys, based on the project funding application the Foundation received during its 2015/2016 Call for New Projects.

The reason for the World Bank’s visit is the implementation of a new EUR 47 million Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Project in Serbia. The ECEC project will support an increase in preschool facilities and the availability of qualified teachers, and include measures to enhance access of vulnerable groups through a targeted grant scheme for participating municipalities. The Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care Project builds on the Early Wins for Lifelong Returns partnership to promote early childhood development that was launched by the World Bank and the Novak Djokovic Foundation in August 2015. This partnership combines the Bank’s deep knowledge and programs on ECD with the commitment of Serbian tennis champion Djokovic to bringing attention to the social and economic benefits of ECD programs for children around the world.

Despite the constant efforts the city authorities invest in order to provide best possible conditions for education and development of children attending preschools in Nis, this kind of help and support are always highly appreciated. We hope the construction works will be finished within the scheduled time-frame and that modern and fully equipped kindergarten for kids to learn, play and enjoy will very soon replace old, ruined and deserted facility – said Bulatovic.

The Faculty of Occupational Safety in Nis marked its 49^th anniversary.Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Nis City Council Member Branislav Kacar attended the ceremony and congratulated the teachers and students on this significant jubilee. The Faculty of Occupational Safety is one of the 13 faculties of the University of Nis, which has been working successfully for almost half a century and which has so far educated many generations of engineers of health and safety and other related disciplines.

According to the Republic Bureau of Statistics, at the beginning of 2017, the total tourist traffic in Nis increased. In January this year there was an increase in the number of tourists by 32% compared to the same period last year. 21.4 % were domestic tourists while the number of foreign tourists who come to our city is 41 % higher. In January, there were 7% more of overnight stays than in the same period last year, while the number of domestic tourists spending the night in Nis decreased by 15% while the number of foreign tourists spending the night in Nis increased by 30%.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic with his associates visited the works on the reconstruction of the Health Care Center, the roof repairs, repair and replacement of waterproofing, repair of facades, replacement of worn-out carpentry and joinery, aluminum windows, refurbishing toilets, complete replacement of water and sewage installations, repair and servicing of air conditioning and landscaping are planned . “Thanks to the support of the Serbian government 106 million dinars will be invested in the reconstruction of the central building of the Health Care Center. I am convinced that the realization of this project would help achieve better energy efficiency, and therefore significant savings on energy costs and the employees will have better working conditions for providing adequate health services to patients, “as Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic said. According to the director of Health Care Center Milorad Jerkan  theworks are proceeding according to plan, and they will be carried out in stages and will last 150 days. During this time the institution is operating at full capacity. The deadline for completion is July 7^th