September 7^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, and Help Senior Program Manager for Economic Development, Masa Bubanj signed the Contract for the realization of the project “Support to Socio-Economic Stability in the Region”. In this way, the successful cooperation between the City of Nis and this German NGO is continuing. “This agreement is the basis of a partnership agreement that already exists and we are committed to effectively implementing the project today and thus achieving the planned results,” Mayor Bulatovic said. The project value for Nis is 120 000 Euros, and the City participates with 48 000 Euros. The project will enable 50 micro and small enterprises to receive grants in equipment. The project will include, according to the Mayor’s words, unemployed women, convicts, persons with disabilities and socially disadvantaged Nis citizens. They will individually get help in equipment in the amount of 2,400 Euros to start their own business. He stressed that he hoped the project would be successful and that we would all be able to visit future successful entrepreneurs together. The Mayor thanked the Government of the Republic of Germany for providing part of the funds, as well as the organization Help that recognized the potential of City of Nis as a partner on the project.

September 7^th

The participants of the 52^nd Sicevo Art Colony visited Nis City Hall where their hosts Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Nis City Council Member for Culture Jelena Mitrovski welcomed the guests and reflected on the great significance of the colony itself, which represented a kind of Nis brand and they expressed great satisfaction with the number of participants of this year’s colony and wished the artists to come back to Nis again. The participants presented their impressions of Sicevo and emphasized that the quality of the artwork that was being created there was at an exceptional level and that it deserved a space for permanent exhibition. The Art Colony in Sicevo was founded in 1905, and Serbian painter Nadezda Petrovic inspired by the beauty of the Sicevo Gorge gathered her Slovenian and Croatian colleagues for the first time.

September 7^th

Dance Caravan aimed at presenting and promoting artistic dance through artistic, creative, and above all interactive programs in 15 cities in Serbia, was presented today in Nis in the presence of Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, who was the sponsor of the project. The caravan is realized by the National Foundation 4 Artistic Dance and the Belgrade Dance Festival, supported by the Art Mentor Foundation from Lucerne and the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government of Serbia. During the next four months, until December, the citizens of  Nis, Kragujevac, Pirot, Subotica, Vranje, as well as the citizens of Novi Pazar, Negotin, Kraljevo, Vrsac, Valjevo, Strpce, Uzice, Cacak, Zrenjanin and Smederevo will have the opportunity to participate in the Dance Caravan.

The director of National Foundation 4 Artistic Dance Aja Jung explained that the idea of the Dance Caravan was to offer numerous activities through a three-day program each city, popularize classic ballet and modern dances to all interested participants and visitors. The youngest will have the opportunity to get involved in educational workshops, talk to their peers who attend professional ballet schools in Belgrade and Pancevo, while parents will be able to consult with pedagogues and experts. All content is free, and the goal is to involve at least 3,000 citizens through three-day activities.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic pointed out that it was very important to start generating generations that will be creative and widely educated and would have developed political thought. “Research has shown that the main reason for moving people from smaller communities to larger cities, besides the economic, is the lack of cultural content. For this reason, the decentralization of culture, i.e. allowing access to cultural content in all areas, is of great importance for the Government of the Republic of Serbia. For these reasons, we are trying to bring the culture closer to everyone, and that is why we support projects like Dance Caravan. Brnabic added that culture and the creative industry had huge potential for economic development, employment and promotions around the world, and that the Government and the line ministry had several important cultural projects of national importance. “One of the priorities of the Government of Serbia is, opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art, in October, finally, after 10 years of waiting and the opening of the National Museum in the spring of next year. Their rich treasuries will again be available to the public, and young artists will eventually get space to exhibit their work. It is also important that the Museum of Contemporary Art will have its own space for children. For Serbia, it is also important that the City of Novi Sad is chosen to be the Capital of Youth in 2019 and the Capital of Culture in 2021. This will greatly help in the promotion of the culture of our country, “the Prime Minister said. She added that the Government would continue to support cultural projects because culture was an important segment of our society and perhaps we did not pay enough attention to it.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic said that this was a good opportunity for Nis to run  for a new, future capital of culture: “I thank the Prime Minister who is supporting all significant projects for Nis and South Serbia. I want this project to be successful and I promise that as a local self-government we will support projects in the field of culture within the limits of our possibilities and give a contribution to our country progressing in a cultural sense. The Prime Minister, accompanied by the Mayor and Swiss Ambassador to Serbia, Philip Ge, visited the exhibition of photographs and thus opened officially the Dance Caravan. Nis will be the first city in Serbia, to have free ballet and modern dance classes for children, performances, lectures, as well as the film program. The caravan then moves to Pirot and Vranje.

September 7^th

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic today announced, during the opening of the Start-Up Centre at the Faculty of Electronics in Nis, that the government will support such projects all over Serbia, as our goal is to be among the fastest growing countries. Brnabic said that the launch of the Nis Start-up Centre for Innovative Youth Entrepreneurship is an opportunity to capitalize on the great knowledge and potential existing in Nis and to bring young people even closer to the opportunities open for the fourth industrial revolution. She said that the government of Serbia financed the establishment of the center with more than RSD 50 million, and that this is only the first phase. The Prime Minister praised the project, pointing out that the job of the government is to recognize the potential and then help and support such ideas. You then need to go further, to see young people develop their ideas and to market their products and have income for their families and states, Brnabic said, adding that this money will then be placed in the development of new innovations. The Prime Minister said that the team spirit is important, because only joint forces can compensate for what was missed and become more competitive.
The center will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology, which will enable young people in Serbia to work in the same conditions as their peers in the world.

The opening of the center was also attended by Mayor of Nis Darko Bulatovic, who reminded that the idea for the center came from former Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and that it is now being implemented. Bulatovic said that this marks the end of the first phase of the science and technology park, while the second phase will be the building of a “lamella” and the third one will be the formation of a science and technology park in Nis.
He stressed that there have never been so many visits by senior state officials to the University of Nis. The Dean of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Nis Dragan Jankovic emphasised that young people should provide a place that will be inspiring for work, where they will learn about entrepreneurship and innovation.