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LOCALIZATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS – ACHIEVING 2030 AGENDA

 

September 25

The conference entitled “Localization of Sustainable Development Goals – Achieving 2030 Agenda” was organized at the City Hall in Niš, by the Cabinet of Minister without portfolio responsible for demography and population policy Mrs. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, in cooperation with the German Development Cooperation Agency and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. In the introductory part of the conference, on behalf of the City of Nis, the participants were greeted by the Head of Nisava District, Dragana Sotirovski, and the Speaker of the Nis City Assembly Rade Rajković.  The Minister without Portfolio Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic spoke about the actual localization of the sustainable development goals in her presentation. This activity aims at raising awareness of the 2030 Agenda and localizing the sustainable development goals by linking with local strategies and other planning documents. Monitoring of sustainable development indicators at the level of local self-government is of particular importance and cooperation between local governments and non-governmental organizations in pursuit of the sustainable development goals. The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the environment and ensure peace and prosperity for all, based on the success of the Millennium Development Goals. Sustainable development is based on the cooperation of the economic, social and environmental aspects, and the achievement of all 17 sustainable development goals is interconnected and at the local level involves the partnership of local governments, civil and private sector, as well as citizens.




INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE BALKAN STATES

 

September 25

International Conference Opportunities for Expanding Economic Cooperation between Russia and the Balkan Peninsula within the Current Political Situation was held at the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Nis, organized by the Balkan-Russian Economic Forum. At this conference 28 experts from the field of international cooperation and economics presented their opinions. Alexei Vladimirovich Kuriniy, the Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation attended the conference.  On behalf of the City of Nis Deputy Mayor Milos Bandur greeted the guests and emphasized the importance of such gatherings and the importance of improving economic cooperation with Russia. This conference was supported by the Gorchakov Fund of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as by the City of Nis and the RDA South.




TRADITIONAL CAR FREE DAY IN NIS

 

September 20

City of Nis marked the European Mobility Week with traditional program on main city square. This European initiative encourages cities to introduce sustainable transport measures and urges people to change traffic behavior – opting for alternative modes of transport instead of cars. European Mobility Week is a manifestation promoting alternative modes of transport in relation to motorized transport using fossil fuels. The aim of the European Mobility Week is to make efforts to reduce the use of passenger cars and to improve conditions for public transport, movement of cyclists and pedestrians through promotional events and the implementation of at least one sustainable measure of sustainable urban mobility.




SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISITING NIS

 

September 18

The delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Slovenia visited Nis, where it met with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. In a cordial and friendly conversation, they exchanged views on the promotion of cooperation between the City of Nis and this former Yugoslav Republic. Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that cooperation was at high level, but that it could be improved further. He particularly referred to the establishment of air traffic on the Nis-Ljubljana route and the fact that the planes were mostly full, which greatly facilitated the further development of cooperation. On the Slovenian side, expressions of gratitude were expressed by Predrag Bakovic, the Member of Parliament and the President of the Friendship Group with Serbia.




NEW INFORMATION CAMPAIGN WITHIN HELP PROJECT IN NIS

September 16

 

A new cycle of information campaigns within the support for employment and self-employment provided by Help’s project “Supporting Socio-Economic Stability in the Western Balkans 2019-2020”. The first in a series of presentations was attended by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, Help’s Manager for Economic Development Masa Bubanj and Chief of the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects Milan Randjelovic. Based on the new project for providing support in equipment, all young, unemployed with a sustainable business idea that will provide a regular source of income for themselves and their families can compete.Priority is given to crafts and services and processing in agriculture. The new project cycle brings the opportunity to support at least 30 new micro and small businesses with grants in equipment with an average value of € 2,400.00, with regular business and professional training to increase the sustainability of business activities. The cost of direct costs for equipment to be supported in Nis under this project is € 72,000.00, with the City’s participation of 40%. In cooperation with the City, Help has so far supported 483 beneficiaries with grants for micro and small business equipment and seven cooperatives since 2005 through economic empowerment projects totaling € 1.9 million. The sustainability of supported businesses is more than 80%.




COOPERATION BETWEEN CITY OF NIS AND CITY OF SLIVEN

September 13

 

The representatives of the City of Nis attended the international meeting in Sliven, Bulgaria, within the project “United Europe – Security, Solidarity and Stability”, supported through program “Europe for Citizens”. The project was implemented through the partnership of Sliven, Nis and Bydgoszcz from Poland. After presenting the cities of Sliven (Bulgaria), Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Nis (Serbia), the Mayor of Sliven Stefan Radev, Assistant Mayor of Nis Marina Kostic and Assistant Mayor of Bydgoszcz Joanna Zataj Ross signed the letter of intent outlining the goals of future cooperation between these cities. The event was attended by the first advisor at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Sofia Ms. Gordana Bozic, a member of the Nis City Council Slavoljub Savic, the director of PUC Medijana Dragoslav Pavlovic, who presented Nis potentials prepared by the Nis City Office for Local Economic Development and Projects, the president of Sliven City Municipality Dimitar Mitev, deputy provincial governor of Sliven district Kamen Kostov and the representatives of administration, educational and cultural institutions, universities, chamber of commerce, local and regional development agencies, cultural centers, non-profit organizations and the media of these three cities.

During the visit three forums were implemented in the fields of culture, youth and economy. On the second day, at a cultural forum, the participants presented the cultural, historical and tourist heritage of their cities. The Secretary of the Secretariat for Culture and Information of the City of Nis Aleksandra Radosavljevic presented international events that are of great importance for the City of Nis with short films about those city events. Tamara Ciric, from the Secretariat for Culture and Information, presented the cultural and historical heritage of our city with the support of all present representatives of Nis cultural institutions. The conclusion of the cultural forum is that there are good grounds for successful partnership and cultural cooperation between the three participating cities. The presentation of the members of the Nis Youth Council discussed strategic documents on the basis of which youth policies are implemented in Nis, with the aim of improving the position of young people in the city and preventing young people leaving Niš, such as scholarships for the best students and athletes, etc. This topic was interesting for all three cities because they all face the same problem of young people leaving to live and work abroad. Nis Economic Delegation was led by the Speaker of the Parliament of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Nis Mr. Andrija Radojicic and the Director of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Nis, Aleksandar Milicevic. Current economic trends tourism and traffic potentials of the Nisava, Pirot and Toplica administrative districts are presented. Within the business meetings, which were also organized within the business forum, the economic and investment potentials of Nis and the region were presented, as well as the planned investments that are underway. A delegation of businessmen held meetings with businessmen from Sliven, Sofia, Yambol and Bydgoszcz, and visited the most prominent companies operating successfully in Sliven.




CITY OF NIS AT INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF OLD CITIES

 

September 10

The delegation of the City of Nis participated in the Second International Forum of Old Towns in the Russian city of Ryazan, which was held under the auspices of the Committee of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Ryazan region. The requirement for participation in this Forum was that the city was over 500 years old. The main topics of the Forum were architecture, history, cultural heritage, theater, photography and gastronomic tourism, and the first session of the Association of Old Towns was held during this event. Representatives of the City of Nis participated in the work of the Forum on three topics – possibilities and directions of cooperation of ancient cities, Nis cultural heritage during its two thousand years of existence and implementation of measures for the improvement of squares, river banks, streets, pedestrian zones, parks and other public areas. The organizers pointed out that the holding of this Forum should serve to strengthen and develop cultural links between cities, regions and countries.




RECEPTION FOR THE PARTICIPANTS OF ART COLONY SICEVO 2019

 

September 9

Nis City Council Member in charge of culture Jelena Mitrovski received participants of the Art Colony “Sićevo 2019” at City Hall today. Sićevo Art Colony is the oldest art colony in the Balkans. It was founded in 1905 by the idea and dedication of Serbian painter Nadezda Petrovic. Because of their extraordinary beauty, the landscapes of Siceva are an inspiration not only to painters but also to writers and all nature lovers. This year, the colony brought together 11 participants from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Bulgaria and Montenegro. The works will be presented by: Vukasin Stankovic and Vladica Ristic (Nis), Nikola Vukosavljevic, Aleksandar Cvetkovic and Milica Rakic ​​(Belgrade), Pavle Popovic (Kraljevo), Milena Tosic (Vranje), Mihaela Ivanova (Bulgaria), Boris Eremic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) , Biljana Kekovic (Montenegro) and Giuseppe Gonela (Germany). The 55th edition of the Art Colony Sićevo is organized by the Gallery of Contemporary Arts, supported by by the City of Niš.




DAYS OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA IN NIS

 

September 9

The manifestation of Republika Srpska Days in Serbia for the seventh consecutive year began with a festive academy on the Grand Stage of the National Theater in Belgrade. The event, which will promote culture, economy, science and art in the 21 cities of our country by September 10, was opened by Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On this occasion he asked for support for the event to be called “Days of Republika Srpska and Serbia” in the future. The name, as Dodik has explained, refers to the unity that must be nurtured, adding that Republika Srpska has all the elements of statehood and meets all the criteria for being internationally verified as a state. In Niš, the Speaker of Nis City Assembly, Rade Rajković, met with the Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly, Nedeljko Čubrilović, and his associates. They discussed the improvement of cooperation between the city and Republika Srpska, and it was pointed out that the cooperation so far was excellent due to personal commitment of the two presidents. The delegation led by National Assembly Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic visited some of the most important monuments of history in Nis: the archeological site of the Mediana, the  Skull Tower and the monument dedicated to duke Stevan Sindjelic. The well-received and applauded theater performance by National Theatre from Banja Luka was a successful end to both the visit of the Republika Srpska delegation “Days of Republika Srpska in Serbia” event.




55thART COLONY IN SICEVO

 

September 3

 

2019 Sićevo Art Colony was opened for the 55th time. The colony was officially opened by Nis City Council Member Jelena Mitrovski, who emphasized that this art event was of great importance for Niš and that it has been gathering significant artists from Serbia and the world over the years. The founder of the colony is the famous Serbian painter Nadezda Petrovic, who in 1905 brought together colleagues from studios in Munich: Jakopič, Grohar, Vesel, Vučetić and Meštrović. Thus, she and her colleagues from Croatia and Slovenia formed the First Yugoslav Art Colony. Niš artists renewed the idea of ​​a colony in 1964, and ever since it has been held continuously in Sićevo. This year the colony will bring together 11 participants from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Bulgaria and Montenegro. The works will be presented by: Vukasin Stankovic and Vladica Ristic (Nis), Nikola Vukosavljevic, Aleksandar Cvetkovic and Milica Rakic ​​(Belgrade), Pavle Popovic (Kraljevo), Milena Tosic (Vranje), Mihaela Ivanova (Bulgaria), Boris Eremic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) , Biljana Kekovic (Montenegro), Giuseppe Gonela (Germany).