November 15^th

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attended today’s signing of the contract for the implementation of three projects for the improvement of IT and scientific-research infrastructure in the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade. The contracts for the construction of the extension of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Nis, the Scientific and Technological Park in Nis and the building for the Verokio Institute of Physics in Belgrade were signed by RS Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Mladen Sarcevic, Minister without Portfolio in charge of Innovation and Technological Development Nenad Popovic, Director of Public Investment Management Office Marko Blagojevic, Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Director of the Institute of Physics Aleksandar Bogojevic. Financing works on the construction of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and the Scientific and Technological Park in Nis are part of the support of the Government of Serbia and the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and IT Development. The total value of all seven projects is greater than 50 million euros.

This year the annual UN Climate Change Conference was held in the former West German political capital – Bonn. This is one of the largest conventions under the auspices of the UN, which gathers the representatives of all UN member states at the highest level, the representatives of the NGO sector and the activists. The main topics of this year UN Conference in Bonn (COP23) were the levels of the implementation of the previous major agreements on climate change in Rio, in Kyoto and in Paris, as well as the latest challenges that include extreme weather conditions such as wildfires, floods, storms and tropical heat waves.

What is significant for the city of Niš is that for the first time, since the UN Conference on Climate Change has been held, equal participation has been taken by the representatives of the regions and the leaders of the local self-governments worldwide, within the special Climate Summit of the local and regional leaders, as the official part of COP23. The Chairman of the Niš City Assembly, M.S. Rade Rajkovic, at the invitation of the Mayor of Bonn, and since being a representative of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, took part in the Conference and the Summit held from November 11^th to 13^th, 2017, whereas he was the sole representative from Serbia and the region.

Activities at the Summit were made up of the official and informal parts, whereas the key topic of the discussion was the way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is largely released by the combustion of coal and oil. Research suggests that the increase in the average air temperature of over 2 degrees Celsius over the coming years would lead to catastrophic consequences and negative climate change.

At the Summit, attended by over 1000 delegates and over 330 political leaders from over 80 countries worldwide, the Chairman of the Niš City Assembly, during his address, as well as in the conversations with the mayors from several dozen cities worldwide, stated that the City of Niš was ready to deal with climate change and that all necessary steps would be undertaken in order to increase energy efficiency and ensure the sustainability of the energy system in the city. This is only possible through energy efficiency projects, which would contribute to the significant reduction in exhaust emissions, with the aim to make the city of Niš a pioneer in the field of climate and the environmental protection in the region.

At the Summit, the Chairman Rajkovic stated that the city of Niš had the opportunity to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy sources, which included energy savings, the introduction of cleaner and renewable energy sources, recycling and treatment of water pollution, electrification of public transport, economical public lighting and other preventive and practical models for eco-friendly environment. In addition, everything mentioned, could be achieved through the international forums, exchange of experience and project financing, stated the chairman in his address.

Moreover, the Chairman Rajkovic discussed those and similar problems related to one of the biggest threats to humanity – climate change during the bilateral meetings with his colleagues on the sidelines of the Summit.  The Chairman of the Niš City Assembly also talked about the willingness of the City of Niš to deal with climate change and concrete co-operation with other cities and countries with the California Governor, Mr. Jerry Brown, with the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr. Macui Kazumi, with the Mayor of Bonn, Mr. Ashok Sirdharan, with the Special Envoy of the Kingdom of Morocco in UN, Mr. Hakim El-Haite, as well as with many other political leaders and experts in this field from Africa, the USA, Asia and Europe.

Special guest speakers at the Summit were Bertrand Picard, the world leader in the Solar Impulse Project, as well as the former California Governor, and present chairman of the R20- Regions of Climate Change Action, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

November 13^th

On the occasion of the publication of the second volume of Collectd Works by Branko Miljkovic, entitled Poetry II the City of Nis and the Nis Cultural Center organized an open press conference for the media and the public. Literary and cultural significance, both for Nis and for Serbian culture, of the new edition of the Collected Works by Branko Miljkovic is reflected in the fact that this will be the first edition of the complete opus by Branko Miljković published after 1972. The new edition of the Collected Works by Branko Miljkovic will be published in 6 books, 2 of which have already been published. The works will include the entire poetry of Branko Miljkovic, his translations, literary reviews and essays, as well as the theoretical-critical volume of this documentary material. This extraordinary cultural undertaking was officially started in February 2015, by signing a protocol on the publication of Branko Miljkovic’s Collected Works, between the City of Nis, the Faculty of Philosophy, the National Museum, the National Library and the Nis Cultural Center, as an executive publisher.

November 13^th

Armistice Day is commemorated every year on  November 11^th to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning—the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. The date was declared a national holiday in many Allied nations. At the Military Cemetery in Nis, on this occasion, flower wreaths were laid by the city delegation at the gravestone monument at the Serbian part of the cemetery and at the gravestone monument where British soldiers were buried.

November 8^th

Nis City Assistant Mayor Nebojsa Randjelovic met today with the Ambassador of Order of Malta in Serbia Alberto di Luca and the Ambassador of Taiwan in Budapest Andrew Chang who came to Nis on humanitarian mission to help a girl from Nis who at the second week of her life got a viral infection which turned into a cruel and rare disease.
Since then, the little girl has undergone several operations but the most difficult one has yet to be performed at the clinically appropriate time and not when a public hospital might be available. Therefore, there was a need to contact a private hospital where it would be possible to intervene timely for this complex and expensive operation. Ambassador Alberto di Luca, having confidence in sensibility and solidarity of the Government of Taiwan – with whom he already collaborated in the year 2015 and 2016 when they supported the humanitarian “Make a WISH” Projects – has asked Taiwanese friends for help, once again. So, today in Nis, in the presence of the Ambassador Andrew Chang who came expressly from Budapest, they confirmed their decisive support for the delicate operation to be performed.

November 8^th

The Urban Planners’ Exhibition is  a  traditional  annual  manifestation  held by the Serbian town planners  association,  which  is  the  review  of the most significant, current accomplishments in the area of spatial and urban planning, urban design and their realizations. Entire or partial setup of the Exhibition will be presented in  other cities in Serbia and abroad after premier exposition in Belgrade. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic welcomed the participants of the 26^th Urban Planners’ Exhibition. “I sincerely believe that, in the future, as a team of scientists and associates, willing and able, together with the best experts and with full IT support, you will perform all the tasks from the domain of spatial planning, urban planning, but also environmental protection as an inseparable part of modern urban activities and thus continue the tradition of your predecessors who have shown through their work that the City of Nis has top experts in this area, “said the Mayor Bulatovic at the opening ceremony.

November 7^th

Two young people – Tamara Klaric and Bogdan Stevanovic – have done something that deserves not only applause, but represents also a motive for all of us to help those who are facing some health risks. On Monday, October 30^th, Tamara and Bogdan walked from Belgrade to Nis (slightly more than 200 km) to raise funds to complete the construction of a children’s chemo-oncology department at the Clinic for Children’s Internal Diseases in Nis. Supported by the National Association of Parents of Children with Cancer (NURDOR), Tamara and Bogdan, resisting wind and bad weather, reached Nis on Monday, November 6^th. Nis City Deputy Mayor Milos Bandjur met Tamara and Bogdan at Nis City Hall. He thanked them on the behalf of the City of Nis for the shown humanity. During the campaign called symbolically Step Forward Tamara and Bogdan made more than 256,000 steps, and invited all citizens and organizations to support them in this important venture by sending text messages to number 1150.

November 7^th

The construction of new production facilities of the IMI factory started. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic visited today with his associates the location where this factory is being built. It is expected that the first workers will be employed during 2018. By opening a factory at the location “Lozni kalem” 1,200 workers will get job. The investment is worth more than 33 million euros, and the Serbian government will subsidize each new job with about 6,800 euro. The factory in Niska Banja will produce electronic components for the automotive and information technology industries in Europe and countries where Ayala and IMI have their production facilities and business partners.

November 6^th

This year’s City of Nis Youth Day was marked in a spectacular way, with the first concert by Dejan Petrović in Nis. 10,000 young people enjoyed the music of this great artist and his band Big Band.  The stage was set on the unusual location on the River Nisava. “Young people are the most important resource of Nis and the city administration seeks to show how important it is that young people stay here, in Nis, by creating adequate conditions for work, improvement, advancement and beautiful life. One of the segments of decent life is access to various manifestations, cultural, sports, such as this concert is“    as Nis City Council Member for Youth and Sports Branislav Kacar said.  According to Nis City Council Member Branislav Kacarthis is only the first in a series of cultural events that the city will organize.

Here you can watch a video from the spectacular concert of Dejan Petrović in Nis

November 6^th

High school students from the Dutch town of Roermond are visiting the Law and Adminsitrative Secondary School in Nis. Nis City Deputy Mayor Milos Bandjur met with the visiting and host students. He welcomed them on the behalf of the City of Nis and briefly introduced them to the rich history of the city. Law and Adminsitrative Secondary School in Nis has been implementing similar projects for many years, within which the pupils are socializing with their peers from Europe during their study visits.