2018
- To commemorate the days of the City of Nis dedicated to its patrons Saint Emperor Constantine and Empress Helen, an exhibition was opened in the hall of the town hall called “Great Places of World History” by Pierro Bordin, the founder and the director of the Art Carnuntum Festival and Symposium. The exhibition is part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage and the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations’ adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris in 1948. The City of Nis has been collaborating with Art Carnuntum for 9 years. At the Imperial Conference at Carnuntum in 308 the last Tetrarchy was proclaimed. Two years later in 311, Galerius enacted the Nicomedia Edict on Religious Tolerance on behalf of all four tetrarchs. This edict inspired Professor Pierro Bordin to organize a series of events in this honor with Nis Exhibition being one of them. The exhibition “Great Places of World History” is a journey through time to the roots of our common European culture and history. This is much more than a project on a historic event that happened over 1700 years ago. The exhibition takes us to a place where past and future meet, brings people together to celebrate our shared humanity — so that we could overcome religious, national and geographical boundaries together as good friends.
- The place-making workshop was organized by the World Bank, the Republic of Austria and the Urban Partnership Program in Nis. In addition to the representatives of the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade, the workshop was attended by the associates of the Chief Urban Planner of the City of Belgrade, representatives of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of RS, employees of the Urban Planning Institute of Nis and Novi Sad and other experts from professional and educational institutions in the field of architectural and urban design. On this occasion, a place-making planning technique aimed at activating open public spaces was presented. Participatory urban planning was discussed, as well as the economic, social and cultural impact of place-making with the aim of creating added value for the built environment. The importance of involving residents and other space users in the planning process, gathering ideas on the use of public spaces and activating citizens and local businesses in the collective development of urban projects was emphasized. The focus of the workshop was part of the Nisava River banks in the central city area, and participants, through site analysis, teamwork and application of the presented methods, made proposals for the activation and development of the subject scope.
2017
- The first Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Austria in Serbia was opened in the office building of the Austrian-Serbian company Tagor (in the complex of the former Electronic Industry) and the first Consul is the owner and the director of this company Mr. Goran Jovanovic. Although it is headquartered in Nis, it will cover the Nisava, Zajecar, Pirot, Toplica, Jablanica and Pcinja districts.
2013
- As part of the continuation of cooperation with the Austrian Federal Agricultural Cluster, a delegation of the Nis City Administration for Agriculture and Rural Development visited the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environmental Protection and Water Management of the Republic of Austria and agreed on the ways of further development of mutual relations. As part of the visit, the administration representatives visited the INTER-AGRAR agricultural fair in Wieselburger Messe, held working meetings with the heads of leading institutions in the field of cattle raising and veterinary medicine, such as BIOMEDICA GROUP, AMA Agrar Markt Austria , NOE GENETIC and ZAR.
2012
- The symposium entitled “The Austrian Road to the High-Quality Sector of the Dairy Industry” was held in Nis, organized by the City of Nis, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia, the Austrian Agricultural Cluster, the Cheese Cluster South and the association of cattle breeders “Nis Chance”. The opening of the symposium was also attended by His Excellency Dr. Johannes Eigner, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Serbia and Anton Wagner, President of the Agricultural Cluster and President of the Austrian National Association of Cattle Breeders. The overall objective of this symposium was to strengthen the capacities of professionals in the field of dairy production, as well as to enhance cooperation with Austrian partners and create an environment for the exchange of experience and knowledge.
2011
- At the invitation of the Embassy of Serbia in Austria the delegation of the City of Nis paid a two-day visit to Vienna. The aim of the visit was to present to local businessmen the advantages of Nis for starting and developing a business.
2010
- The City of Nis and the City of Vienna signed an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Disaster Protection and Crisis Management in Vienna between the competent services of the cities of Vienna and Nis. This agreement provides for the exchange of experience in the work of fire services, emergency services, and crisis management services. Vienna and Nis experts in these fields will regularly maintain contacts and hold joint exercises to make the exchange of information as efficient as possible. Expert visits, training and joint participation in expert-specific events and exercises are also planned.
- Delegation for Crisis Management of the City of Vienna met with Nis City Mayor Milos Simonovic and the representatives of Nis Crisis Management to continue activities in establishing cooperation in the field of emergency response. The cooperation with the City of Vienna in the field of crisis response began six years ago with the Nis delegation visiting the Austrian capital in May last year. After the adoption of the City of Nis Security Strategy, which is expected by the end of June, and the signing of the Protocol on Cooperation in Crisis Management in Nis and Vienna, the City of Nis is expected to join the Association of Safe Cities in Europe, which significantly increases the rating of the City of Nis for FDI.
- Artistic Director of the Carnuntum – Petronell Archaeological Park near Vienna, Pierre Bordin participated in a conference organized in Nis entitled Directions and Modalities for the International Cooperation of the City of Nis in the Field of Culture. The conference is part of the project “Development of the Program Basis and Promotion of the Nis City Office for International Cooperation in Science, Education and Culture”. The first day of the conference was dedicated to the opinions and suggestions of the city’s important partners – the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, cultural attachés of embassies and cultural centers in Serbia, the representatives of the donor community and local experts in the field of cultural policy. The second day of the conference was dedicated to the presentations and exchange of experience in the field of research, protection, valorization and promotion of the cultural heritage of Constantine’s cities: Trier (Germany), Arles (France), Milan (Italy), Izmit (Turkey), Carnuntum – Petronell (Austria), York (United Kingdom) and Nis (Serbia). The City of Nis expects this conference to be the beginning of networking of all Constantine’s cities with the intention of all participating in the organization of the great Christian Jubilee-marking 1700 years since the Edict of Milan was adopted.
2009
- The representatives of the City of Nis participated in the symposium held at Carnuntum – Petronell Archaeological Park, 40 km from Vienna, Austria. The symposium was the first step in establishing an international network of cooperation between the cities and historic sites of the Carnutum emperors, including Nis, as well as in organizing joint artistic events for the upcoming 1700th anniversary as part of the international artistic project “Empires of Carnuntum that Changed the World 308 -313 / 2008-2013 ″. This project was established with the support of the Department of Culture and Science of the Government of Lower Austria, with the aim of following historical events from 1700 years ago, beginning with the establishment of the fourth (and last) tetrarchy, which also included Constantine the Great.
- Study visit of the City of Nis delegation to the Crisis Management Services of the City of Vienna renewed the cooperation between the City of Nis and the City of Vienna in the field of protection from disasters and crisis response, which started in 2004. The cooperation aims to share information and experience in the work of fire services, emergency medical services, police forces operating in emergency situations and civil protection services.
2003 – 2005
- In May 2003, the City of Nis embarked on the implementation of the More Beautiful Serbia Project, a temporary employment and vocational training project implemented jointly in the Republic of Serbia by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Policy, National Employment Service, UN Development Program in Nis, Belgrade and Novi Sad, the governments of Canada, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece, as well as the local governments of Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis. The project aimed to train unskilled and unemployed people to work in construction jobs, thus enabling them to find employment more easily. Towards the end of January 2004 trainings began for builders, painters and carpenters, which were designed so that the unemployed person could successfully complete the job they were trained to do immediately after graduation. The training was completed by 81 unemployed persons and was conducted by the National University Pavle Stojkovic from Nis. The target group for this training was unemployed persons, 18 to 40 years of age, and with primary education. The project “More Beautiful Serbia” envisages that, primarily, small and medium-sized enterprises will be engaged in the execution of the works, which, on the basis of the contract on entrusted work, will have an obligation to employ certain percentage of the workers from those who have undergone this training. In Nis, 11 facades will be reconstructed under this project. The Dutch government provided $280,000.00, the Austrian government provided $100,000.00 and the participation of the City of Nis was $197,000.00.