March 30^th

10^th Festival called Science is Not A Bogey Man started at the Faculty of Electronic today. It was organized by the Secondary Grammar School Svetozar Markovic. The festival was officially opened by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović who, on this occasion, congratulated the jubilee of promotion of science and knowledge. He emphasized that the festival became the brand of our city and one of the most prestigious city events. Bulatovic pointed out that Nis was the capital of science and knowledge of creative young people these days. He said that the City of Nis more than ever invested in young people, in their education and progress. “The city has started the first phase of the construction of a science and technology park and allocated 50 million dinars for it. After the construction of Student Creative Center, the place where all students and all talented people can exchange experiences and ideas, we expect two more phases of construction. After that, I sincerely believe that Nis will have all the necessary conditions for the development of science, “Bulatovic said. For the past decade the science festival has become the largest in its field, i.e., the promotion of young talents and science, not only in southern Serbia, but also in the country and the region. The festival was visited by more than 140 000 visitors and about 8 000 participants took part in it. It offers to its visitors the possibility to have a look at the world of science in a completely different way, reveals them an interesting way of learning and enables participation in interactive settings, as well as socializing with many renowned and well-known scientists.

March 30^th

Public debate on the Law on Climate Changes draft, which represents the answer to climate change and the consequences of these changes, was held today in Nis City Assembly Hall. Minister of Environmental Protection Mr. Goran Trivan, who presented the law, said that one of the priority tasks of our state would be, among other things, afforestation of the terrain. Trivan pointed out that, in his opinion, this was one of the most important laws to be adopted by the current parliamentary convening because it applied to all sectors of society. Trivan pointed out that this law was important because our country belonged to the regions that would be most affected by climate change, as the central annual temperature here was likely to grow fastest. According to the Minister, it is necessary to work on raising awareness, but also to undertake actions on a global and national level that can mitigate the effects of climate change. The change in land use, poor waste water management, forest damage, etc. led to an increase in carbon dioxide concentration by 40%, an increase in average annual temperature by one degree in the last 100 years. Also, it was emphasized that the role of local governments in climate change is very important, and for this reason it is important to hear what this law is lacking from the perspective of those working on the local level. Public hearing was attended by representatives of the city, city municipalities, public utility companies scientific and educational institutions, expert inspections and services and civil society organizations.

March 29^th

The Fair of Tourism and Active Rest has been officially opened today in the Cair Hall. The opening was attended by high officials and a large number of fellow citizens, as well as a large number of exhibitors. Director of the Tourist Organization of Serbia Marija Labović welcomed all the guests with congratulations to the hosts on the excellent organization. “It is a great pleasure for me to be here today. I wish you many more years of successful work and that next one, jubilee 20^th fair is really special. I believe that it will really be so, because when we look at what results we achieve in tourism in Serbia, we can rightly expect this event to continue to live “, Labovic pointed out. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic welcomed all the distinguished guests and exhibitors. “This year I would say that it is a little bit easier than last, because we intensifying our activities in one of the important branches of the economy, such as tourism, and it seems to me and we begin to understand its significance, not only because we are good hosts because we know what we have and what we have to show but because tourism is significant for our entire city and region, “said Bulatovic. He announced significant progress and greater investment in this segment and added that extra efforts would be dedicated to make Nis powerful regional touristic center of the south-east of the country. Assistant Minister of Tourism Renata Pindzo said that it was a great pleasure to greet the present guest and exhibitors on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and our line ministry. “I truly believe that this fair is just another opportunity for Nis to present and show to all of Serbia what it possesses, its exceptional nature, extremely valuable cultural and historical heritage, but above all that something for which it is most famous for  – the hospitality, “she stressed .

March 19^th

The Forum was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, prof. Dr Zorana Mihajlović, Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria Tomislav Dončev, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Marko Čadež and representatives of the economic sector of the two countries. The opening ceremony was attended by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović. The results of the work of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Investment Agency of Bulgaria were presented, as well as the plans for future cooperation between the Serbian and Bulgarian economies during 2018. Economic cooperation with the Republic of Bulgaria takes place mainly through commodity exchange. According to its scope, Bulgaria is one of the most important trade partners of the Republic of Serbia.

March 19^th

On the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the Association of Greek-Serbian Friendship Agios Mateos from Corfu visited Nis. The reception was held at Nis City Hall on the occasion of the concert of the choir from Corfu. Nis City Council Member for Culture Jelena Mitrovski met with the guests from Corfu who, on this occasion, reminded everybody of the traditional ties between the Greeks and Serbs and the great historical events that connect this region inextricably with the island of Corfu.

March 16^th

The members of the City of Nis Security Council, headed by the President Mayor Dark Bulatovic, met today in the City House with representatives of civil society organizations in order to improve the draft of the Security Strategy. The assessment of the representatives of the civil sector is that this I strategic document of a good quality, that it contains all the real problems that the City of Niš faces in terms of security and that it is necessary, through the action plan, to define priority activities whose implementation would have an effect on the increase of the security levels in different areas defined by the strategy. The participants of today’s meeting agreed that the strategic document must be sustainable and accompanied by certain financial means that have to be defined by the budget. Among other things, at the meeting, it was said that the goal of the City and the OSCE, which jointly drafted this document, was for this document to be realistic and to take into account the citizens’ proposals which could be heard at the public hearings as well as the proposals of the civil society organizations that worked on this document.

March 15^th

The reception was organized for the Ambassador of Belarus in Serbia H.E. Mr. Valery Brylev at Nis City Hall. After the meeting with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, the presentation of Nis economic potentials was held and the possibilities for cooperation in numerous fields with Belarus were discussed. The meeting was also attended by Honorary Consul of Belarus in Belgrade, Dragomir Karic. Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that the meeting was very comprehensive and that significant infrastructure projects were being presented to the ambassador. Ambassador Brylev was very optimistic with the respect to the economic cooperation between Nis and Belarus.

March 8^th

The obligation of all of us who participate in the public life of Nis is to create a tolerant society with a democratic culture, in which women will be equal with men. Being a woman, mother, wife and associate in modern society is everything but easy. We have strong, educated and powerful women, who must have the right to freedom of choice, equal working conditions and the same pay with men. Our activities will continue to advocate for a better status of women in socio-political life, for better conditions in the labor market, as well as for the full realization of personal and human dignity, said Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. “The vision of modern, European Serbia is not possible without powerful and strong women! Only with you we can prosper more. Therefore, my dear friends, I invite you to build our Nis together; Nis as a developed metropolis with a democratic platform and social sensitivity to the gender, but also to every other diversity. I express my utter commitment and concern for you, because I will always support you and your ideas.

March 7^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and his associates met today in the City House with a Chinese delegation led by His Excellency Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia Li Manchang. The meeting focused on the possibilities of establishing cooperation between the City of Nis and Chinese investors, and at the same time, on the projects that were currently in the implementation phase. On this occasion Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that such a working visit was extremely important for our city and that there were many areas in which cooperation could be established. He particularly stressed that it would be particularly important for the city if some of the Chinese investors were interested in the Keles Landfill. His Excellency Ambassador Munchang noted that there were several projects related to which the cooperation could be established, such as landfill. “There is great interest from the Chinese side, but this is the beginning and we have to do it step by step. Twice more Chinese tourists have visited Serbia since January last year; I expect this number to be even bigger. In this regard, discussions are under way to establish a new direct line with China. Our friendly relations should help us to cooperate better in all areas, “Manchang said.

March 1^st

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Ms. Zorana Mihajlovic met today with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the Director of Nis Airport Constantine the Great Vladica Djurdjanovic to discuss the present activities of the airport and plans for the future. “The state and the City of Nis, as the owner of the airport, have done a lot in the past few years to help airport in Nis develop and to reach the number of 320,000 passengers today,” Mihajlovic said. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the continuation of the investments in Nis Airport was important for Serbian aviation sector. “The Government of Serbia and the City of Nis will continue to invest in this airport in the future, because it should be an alternative airport for Belgrade Airport Nikola Tesla both for existing and new routes in the future,” Mihajlovic said. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for their support stressing the importance of further investment in the development of the Nis Airport. Airport Constantine the Great should be, in full capacity, the alternative airport to Belgrade Airport Nikola Tesla as we have agreed today. It is in the interest of the state and the City of Nis, and above all the citizens of Serbia, to have even better coordination with the line ministry, the Belgrade airport and the company Air Serbia as Nis City Mayor said on this occasion.