July 4^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, with his associates, visited the works on the reconstruction of the Summer Stage in the Nis Fortress. There are ongoing works on the part of the stage for the audience, where, after the completion of construction works, new chairs will be installed. According to the Mayor Bulatovic these works will be completed in 15 days, and, after that, the reconstruction of the wardrobes and toilet facilities will be done. Summer Stager in the Fortress, which hosts one of the most prestigious acting festivals, will be finally reconstructed. The reconstruction works amount to 15 million dinars, and funds have been provided by the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, within the framework of the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia to our city.

June 22^nd

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, prof. Dr. Zorana Mihajlovic, visited the renovated building of the Nis Airport Constantine the Great, where, for less than a year, 70 million dinars were invested in the expansion of the terminal building and procurement of new equipment. Deputy Prime Minister Mihajlovic together with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Airport General Manager Vladica Djurdjanovic visited reconstructed counters for check-in for the passengers and baggage. On this occasion Deputy PM Mihajlovic pointed out that, two years before, this airport had 1,225 passengers, and with great joint team work, the number of passengers this year was increased to 140,000. “Last year we had a total of 122,000 passengers, and to date, this year there are 140,000 at the Nis airport. This is really a success, “Mihajlovic said, adding that efforts would be made in the coming years to increase the number of passengers at the Nis airport to 550,000 by 2020. In the past two and a half years, cargo transportation increased the volume six times. As of now, Nis Airport has 11 lines – Basel, Malmo, Memingen, Eindhoven, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Bratislava, Milan, Stockholm and Zurich. Constantine the Great is a regional airport, and Nis is very important for Serbia and the Western Balkans. It is up to us to take advantage of the strategic location of Nis. Many talked about the leadership position of this city, and we are trying to show it through the results, “said Deputy PM Mihajlovic.

She added the government invested in the airport in Nis during previous period and that it would continue to do so, and the plan was for the total investments to be around 6.5 million euros. About four million euros will be invested in the tower and expansion of the terminals and an investment of between 2 and 2.5 million euros is planned for landing and launching devices under the bad weather conditions. “These investments are important because the Nis Airport should be an alternative to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. It is our interest to increase the number of passengers and to use Nis as a cargo center and we will succeed in that, “said Mihajlovic.

Mayor Bulatovic said that nobody invested in Nis airport as this government for the past few years. “Constantine the Great Airport would not survive without the support we had from Deputy PM Mihajlovic and her ministry. Thanks to the state, we managed to get on our feet and jointly create the conditions for the airport to develop and to be, not only Nis airport, but also the entire southeast of the country and beyond airport, “said Mayor Bulatovic. He said that the reconstruction of existing capacities would be continued as well as the upgrading. Currently, the works are being carried out on further reconstruction of terminal infrastructure, the construction of the missing hangar and parking space, worth 7.5 million euros. 30 million dinars were invested in the airport building, which was made 30 years before, in the repair of the roof and facades and in the increase in the number of counters, from 2 to 4 while 40 million were invested in equipment, first of all in the new X-Ray Inspection Devices for passengers and hand luggage. The second phase of the reconstruction begins in 2018, with the aim of increasing or doubling the capacity of the terminal.

June 22^nd

The Vice President of the Government of Serbia and the President of the Gender Equality Coordination Body, prof. Dr. Zorana Mihajlovic, presented in Nis the keys of the car, which would be used for the transportation of women and children victims of domestic violence in this city who are accommodated at the Safe House in Nis. Mihajlovic said at a press conference held at Nis City Hall that over five years more than 500 women passed through the safe house, and that every tenth of them was over 60 years old. “This is especially worrying, because they are our grandmothers, aunts, mothers, who suffered violence,” Mihajlovic said. She said that the Ministry supported 10 projects in safe houses, for which 10 million dinars were allocated. “We also plan to donate computers, which will no longer be used in the Government, as a gift to safe houses, and we will try to involve other ministries. This is especially important for children in safe houses, because we want to help them have better conditions to grow and develop despite the difficulties they face, “Mihajlovic said.”It is the task of all of us to help, to have as little as possible women and children staying in safe houses, and to create conditions for them to live freely again,” Mihajlovic said. She added that the car for safe house in Nis was donated by RS Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, and that it was used car which was serviced and it would be of help in the daily functioning, primarily when safe house dweller need to go to court or the social care center. The keys to the car were delivered to Mrs. Sonja Scekic, the director of the Safe House in Nis.

Mrs. Scekic thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for her donation to the institution which provided 24-hour protection to victims of domestic violence, adding that the promise made during her previous visit to the Safe House in November 2016 was fulfilled. “The Deputy Prime Minister is constantly taking care of safe houses. Besides the donation in cars we have signed the contract for the project “Protect Yourself with Greenery” which would enable the green fence to be made around the safe house. Mrs. Scekic added that expressed concern was at the same time the message to all women who might be suffering the violence, to report it because they were not alone, they had the support and the state cared about them.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic thanked, on the behalf of the City of Nis, to the Deputy PM Zorana Mihajlovic, for the donation, and pointed out that he was extremely pleased because the Deputy Prime Minister had the opportunity to learn more about all the projects implemented in Nis with the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia at a meeting with the management of the city and city municipalities.

June 19^th

Gallery Serbia will be temporarily moved to the Officers’ Mess Building until the City of Nis finds the best solutions for this institution of culture, said Mayor Darko Bulatovic during the visit to the renovation of one of the hall at Officers’ Mess Buildings. The Depot, for now, remains where it is, in the building at King Milan Square, the Mayor added. This was a necessary solution because the Gallery of Contemporary Fine Arts remained without the exhibition space Gallery Serbia because the building on King Milan Square was returned to the heirs of the former owners. “This is an optimal solution, the building is air-conditioned, representative and can be adequate for the exhibitions planned by the Gallery. In the following period, we will make the final decision whether the City will buy a new, adequate space for the Gallery and the depot, or it will be a completely new building. We are considering and looking for the best solution, “said the Mayor. The first exhibition in the new space is expected on June 27^th. It is the exhibition of painter and professor from Belgrade, Sinisa Zikic.

The Officers’ Mess Building was renovated in April last year, and it was opened officially by an exhibition of prints by famous French artist Anthony Matisse. This building is famous for Nis Declaration of 2014. The building is under the protection of the state as a historical monument, the City of Nis and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia allocated just over 100 million dinars for its renovation.

  June 19^th

17 talented secondary school students and 85 university students received the City of Nis scholarships for which the city allocated 14 million dinars from the city budget. The amount of monthly scholarship is six thousand dinars.

The contracts on scholarships were delivered to the secondary school and university students by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, who, on this occasion, said that the knowledge must be invested into. He stressed that this year the scholarships were higher than the previous year and that the goal of local self-government was to increase their amount. “We will strive to invest in the next few years even more in what the pillars of family, community and society as a whole are, and that is certainly education,” said Mayor Darko Bulatovic at the scholarship award ceremony. He also announced the Vidovdan awards for students who won the highest positions in republic and international competitions.

June 19^th

The best pilots from 30 countries of the world, from all continents, came to Nis for the World Cup in Paragliding, in cross-country flying, which will be held until June 24^th in Nis. The best pilots, 130 of them, will compete in racing on altitudes up to 3,500 meters.

“Here are the best pilots of the world, our dear guests. We are honored that we can be their hosts. We will do everything that is necessary, and we have already done a lot of things during the preparation period for this cup, so that the competition can be held to everyone’s satisfaction. In addition to the impressions that they will have from the angle from which they observe the world, besides the adrenaline, which undoubtedly this sport provides, as I am informed, the greatest impression is of the beautiful nature of the south of Serbia. We have something to boast about and be proud of. I am sure that our dear guests will have the best memoires of the beautiful nature”, as Mayor Bulatovic said. He added that the local self-government did everything that was necessary in order for this competition be organized in the best possible way.

“During the past year, we had many activities, many high level organizations of global and European significance; we organized the stay of the RS Government in Nis. And now everything is much easier. We are pleased to be the hosts and organizers of all the contents that this city needs and which we have been missing for decades” as Buylatovic said.
The Paragliding World Cup was organized by the Aeronautical Association of Serbia, supported by the line ministry, the City of Nis and the City Municipality of Pantelej.

June 19^th

The representatives of Serbia will fight at the Naissus Boxing Night that will be held at the Nis Quay Amphitheater on June 30^th, as it was announced at the press conference held at Nis City Hall. The goal of this event is to get the boxing back to Serbia, since it has been neglected recently, despite the great tradition that this sport has in our country, said Nenad Borovcanin, the former champion of Europe. He added that Nis was a city with a great tradition in martial arts and, after Krusevac and Zajecar, the citizens of Nis will have the opportunity to enjoy the ultimate fighting of our national team.
Branislav Kacar, the member of Nis City Council, pointed out that Nis would have four representatives in the opening and main battles. Otherwise, this international event was held last year and the amphitheater at quay was too small to receive all those who wanted to enjoy the top boxing.

May 25^th

Marjan Cakarevic, the poet from Belgrade, is winner of the 46^th prestigious award that bears the name of the prince of poetry Branko Miljkovic. Cakarević was awarded for the book “Tissues” published by Povelja from Kraljevo. The award was presented by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. This year’s laureate has so far published five books of poetry. At the awards ceremony at the City Hall the young actor from Nis Milos Unic read the verses by Branko Miljkovic and the winner Cakarevic accompanied by choir singer Evica Radevska and Marija Dinov Vasic at the piano.

May 24th

“Football Club Radnicki Nis is the city club and therefore we are extremely concerned about the latest developments in connection with obtaining euro license. As the City of Nis administration we have always tried to help Football Club Radnicki to overcome financial problems in the previous period in order to be able to compete in the national football league and to respect all the laws of our country. For this reason we are concerned because of the fact that some football clubs, which are record holders in long-term debt and whose bank accounts have been blocked for years, found virtually “overnight” money and unblocked the accounts. We think that it would not be a good idea to ignore the laws of our Republic, and that it is necessary to respect the rules continuously, not just when it suits individuals. Football is not just a game on the field but and fulfilling legislative obligations.

As the City of Nis we are concerned with the possibility for the club who has been working “illegally” for years to obtain the license. If this really happens, it will definitely reward contempt of the state and its laws. The data at our disposal show that Football Club Radnicki Nis paid around 9 million in taxes to the Republic of Serbia, as well as 30 million dinars for the arrears of the past in the last two months.

City of Nis  will continue to support sports and athletes, and we sincerely hope that the respect for the laws of the country is above all,” as Nis City Council Member Branislav Kacar sis in his press release.

May 24th

Nis City Council Member Branislav Kacar was the host at the reception organized for the members of the Table Tennis Club for people with disabilities Nais who, competing for the Serbian national team, won 6 medals and four cups at the first international tournament in Podgorica. Besides the Serbian national team the teams from Croatia FYROM and Montenegro participated in the tournament. According to table tennis players, the conditions for training in Nis and the past problems have been overcome.

According to Branislav Kacar the conditions were fulfilled for Table Tennis Club for people with disabilities Nais to compete for the funds allocated by the City of Nis. He congratulated the athletes on the excellent results and promised that the city would help to further improve their conditions for training and announced the reconstruction of table tennis home the following year, as well as adopting toilet facilities for the people with disabilities, which currently posed a problem. In addition, through the Sports Association of Nis, the sports equipment will be donated and the City will help with the trip to the competition in Germany this July.