November 24^th

The representatives of the Serbian Academy of Science sand Arts Branch in Nis presented to the Mayor Darko Bulatovic and his associates, as well as to the members of the City of Nis Business and Economic Council the results of the Project Economic Activity and Performance of the City of Nis Economy of the and its Importance for the Economic Activities of the Region of South and Eastern Serbia“. This project was implemented in order to improve the cooperation between the Serbian Academy of Science sand Arts branch in Nis and the City of Nis, with the aim to link all official databases through the research for a period of 6 months and propose possible incentive measures. The project results are directly aimed at ensuring that their beneficiaries are policy makers at the local and national levels and at contributing to better economic development at the local level. This project will provide a valid research basis, which would be adequate assistance to find a relevant political response that would mitigate the consequences of negative demographic

November 23^rd

The 54^th Nis Book Fair was officially opened by Academician Milosav Tesic, who, on this occasion, said that the book was the most noble and most humane work of humanity and that it survived precisely thanks to fairs and publishers. However, Tesic added, the book was under great pressure from electronic information systems that were pulling mankind into the virtual world. This year’s book fair is attended by our biggest and most important publishers and bookstores. The Book Fair, which will last until November 29th, will be accompanied by numerous promotions, literary meetings and talks, book signings by our distinguished writers and other accompanying programs.

November 22^nd

The European Union defines public administration reform as one of three pillars of enlargement for the countries of the Western Balkans, together with the rule of law and economic governance, and therefore, for several years now, public administration is the fundamental reform area in our country. The Council of Europe and the European Union recognized the challenges that local governments in the Republic of Serbia face in their development and supported the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government in initiating and implementing the project “Human Resource Management in Local Self-Government”. The overall objective of the project is to improve the efficiency and administrative capacities of local self-government units through the establishment of a professional training system and the improvement of the human resources management in order to reach a greater degree of efficiency and citizen satisfaction with the work of local self-governments. The project was launched in early 2016 and it would be fully implemented by the end of 2017 in partnership with the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. The total budget of this project is 2 million Euros and it is funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe launched a public call for city and municipality administrations and 20 pilot municipalities have been chosen (Bač, Belgrade, Bujanovac, Čačak, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Loznica, Medveđa, Niš, Novi Sad, Pančevo, Raska, Savski venac, Smederevo, Stari grad, Svrljig, Trstenik, Valjevo, Zrenjanin) to participate in the project related to the improvement of the human resources management. So far the chosen cities and municipalities have adopted human resources management policies; a set of training for employees in the field of human resources management was held; the rules on internal organization and job classification and other relevant documents have been improved; municipalities and cities for the first time started the process of analyzing the needs for professional development and planning of employee capacity development.

November 20^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and his associates met with the scout delegation led by the president of the European Scout Region, Kevin Camilleri. On this occasion, Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that the City recognized the value and significance of the City of Nis Scout Association. Through the planned implementation of the scouts’ activities, morally sensitive and socially responsible individuals are created, whose capacities can be of great importance to the local and wider community. The work of scout organizations is very important in the development of the intellectual, spiritual and social potentials of young people, and therefore their efforts to lead and educate the youth will have support and help of local self-government, said Mayor Bulatovic. During the discussion, the significance, success and continuity of the Scout Association of the City of Nis was emphasized. Through the 106-year-long history tens of thousands of young people passed through City of Nis Scout Association and today they are “professional, honest and responsible members of our community, but the most important thing is that they are good people.” President of the European Scout Committee, Kevin Camilleri, praised the work of the City of Nis Scout Association which fostered a very successful and long cooperation with the European Scout Committee. The success of the Scout Association of Serbia was also pointed out by the Head of the Scout Association of Serbia Tanja Jankovic.

November 20^th

The novel If You Look Long Enough into Abyss by Enes Halilovic was awarded with the prestigious literary award Stevan Sremac. The award-winning novel was selected by the jury as the best of the submitted novels, and characterized it as a real Greek tragedy in the Novi Pazar way. The writer Enes Halilovic described the biography of the heroine Neira Bugarin with the quill pen dipped in the torment and ruin of his native region. The book is written without the desire to calculate, or to humor, without the need to exaggerate this or that literary strategy on its pages. The testimony left in the novel If You Look Long Enough into Abyss is there to excite, shake and inspire to thinking. On behalf of the City of Nis the award was presented by Nis City Council Member for Culture Jelena Mitrovska. This is the second literary award for this writer, since in 2012 he received the Branko Miljković award for the book “Poems of Disease and Health”.

November 17^th

Nis City Council Member for Culture Jelena Mitrovski opened the second Nis Salon, a significant exhibition within which 12 artists presented their works. On this occasion Mitrovski emphasized that such cultural manifestations were a kind of confirmation that our city affirmed contemporary arts. “Culture is undoubtedly the best and easiest way to communicate among people, and the language of fine arts is universal. As a local self-government, we strive to nurture art, encourage young people to love it, but also, thanks to cultural events like this, reach all art lovers”. She added that the artists, whose works were exhibited, by the quality of their work, set a strong foundation for even more ambitious plans. “This is a good indication of the long and successful tradition of the Nis Salon. As the City, we give full support to the organization of such events, “concluded Mitrovski.

November 20^th

On the occasion of the 45^th anniversary of the founding of the Academic Choir of the Student Cultural Center of the University of Nis, the gala concert will be held on Wednesday, November 22^nd at the Officers’ Mess Building in Nis with the performances of the Chamber Choir of the University Adam Mickiewicz from Poznan, Poland and the Nis Symphony String Orchestra. Nis City Council member for Culture Jelena Mitrovska met today with the representatives of the Polish Choir, the founder and the conductor of the Chamber Choir Krzysztof Szydzisz, the guest conductor from Ecuador Fernando Hill Estrado. On this occasion, Mitrovski said that the concert was the part of the bigger project that had yet to come to life and that the work of the Student Cultural Center Academic Choir was important not only for the University of Nis but for the whole city. She added that it was the great honor that the city could host such renowned choir and conductors.

November 16^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, with his associates, met with the delegation from the French region of Gironde, headed by the delegate from the Council of the Department for European Affairs and Decentralized Cooperation Jacques Respaud. During today’s meeting, the new modes of cooperation between the City of Nis and the General Council of Gironde were discussed. In particular, the projects dedicated to young people as the most valuable resource of the city were discussed as well projects in the area of culture and local development. A three-week visit by Toni Radev, a comics author from Nis to Gironde was announced, during which the children of the Alfred Mogen college from Gradignan and the elementary school Ivo Andric from Nis, with the support of Radev, will work on the realization of the French-Serbian comic edition on the topic of human rights. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic pointed to the importance of the interactive relationship of the two cultures in order to present the historical, national and spiritual identity of both countries. In particular, he pointed out the policy of boosting the tourism potential of Nis, which would stimulate the development and growth of the economic, industrial and infrastructural capacity of the city. Having that in mind more intensive research and promotion of the spiritual and material culture of Nis will contribute to a better positioning of the city on the map of world tourist destinations.

November 16^th

The representatives of the Traffic Safety Agency donated 20 seats for children of the members of the Association of Persons with Disabilities and the Association of War-Disabled War Veterans. Agency data show that car seats for children are not often used in Serbia or that 90% of parents use them in the wrong way. The introductory lecture was held in which the common obligation of all segments of the society to take care of the safety of children in traffic was emphasized.For this reason, the mission of the entire society, and especially parents, is to show children in a comprehensible way what safety is, because it is a prerequisite for their happy childhood.

November 15^th

The following year, in the spring,

The construction of the Science and Technology Park, a project about which is being discussed in Nis for the last decade will start in spring next year. The press conference was held at Nis City Hall on the occasion of signing the contract for the implementation of this project.  Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic emphasized on this occasion that today was a great day for Nis and all of its citizens, because this project, worth one billion and 850 million dinars meant that the city and the state were investing in knowledge, science, development, young and talented people. He thanked the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, for the great support that the City of Nis received from the republic authorities, so that the Science and Technology Park could become a reality. “With this project we will start to value the advantages that we have for the purpose of developing the city and solving the problems, but at the same time, this decision is obliging us to do even more and justify the trust given by the state, “concluded Mayor Bulatovic. According to the Deputy Head of the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects Ivan Petkovic, the contracts signed today in Belgrade actually allowed the City to start the realization of the second and third phase of the project, since the first phase-Startup Center was already completed. The Republic will allocate 5.2 million euros for the addition of annexes at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, while the City’s contributions amount to 6.5 million dinars for the relocation of access infrastructure and the obtaining of the operating license. He pointed out that the state would allocate 10 million euros for the construction of the Science and Technology Park building, which would extend over 14,000 square meters. Also, the Science and Technology Park will be equipped with modern equipment. The Dean of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Nis, Prof. Dr. Dragan Jankovic, emphasized that this investment would be paid off very rapidly and would show its true significance, not only for the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, but for the City of Nis as well.