April 26^th, 2016

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic attended today’s celebration of the fifth anniversary of the foundation and work of the Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center (SRHC) in the City of Nis, and on this occasion the international forum, with guests from the Russian Federation, Armenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Hungary, was organized.

The Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center is an intergovernmental humanitarian non-profit organization situated in the City of Nis, established on the basis of the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Russian Federation on April 25^th, 2012 in order to provide humanitarian emergency response in Serbia and other Balkan states. The following tasks are lying upon this unique Center: – participation in activities for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations, including firefighting; – humanitarian assistance to people affected by emergencies; – implementation of joint projects and programs in the Republic of Serbia and other Balkan states, including projects and programs for humanitarian demining; – training and skills development activities in the field of prevention and elimination of emergency situations; – testing and demonstration of firefighting and rescue technologies.

So far, the Center has participated in providing assistance and in the elimination of emergency situations on the territories of the Republic of Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.

Today’s meeting was attended by the Russian and Serbian government officials, by the Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation – Mr. Oleg Bazhenov, by the Serbian Minister- Mr. Aleksandar Vulin, and by the Head of the Sector for Emergency Situations – Mr. Predrag Maric.

The State Secretaries of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Social and Veterans Affairs – Mr. Nenad Ivanisevic and Mr. Vladimir Ilic announced funding of several projects at the meeting held in the Assembly of the City of Niš with the Chairman of the Assembly, Mr. Rajkovic yesterday; for their implementation the City of Nis would receive nearly 200,000 euro through the German Development Bank Program. These projects, mediated by the aforementioned Ministry, are primarily concerned with the social welfare and problems of the Roma.

In addition, the President of the City Assembly, together with the State Secretaries, announced the Social welfare services Fair, which would be held for the first time in the City of Nis, on May 4^th, 2017. The aim of this Fair, which is organized by the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Social and Veterans Affairs, will be to raise the awareness of the importance of social welfare services and to promote the institutions of civil activism and volunteerism. This will be a unique networking opportunity for the representatives of both public and private institutions within the social welfare system, with the idea to better inform citizens on their rights and the types of services in the field of social welfare.

November 23^rd, 2016
The Award Committee of the City of Nis, chaired by Mr. Rade Rajkovic, the Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, adopted the Action Plan, as well as the text of the Public Call for proposals for awards for the highest award of the City of Niš, “11^th January Award”, which will be released  on December 1^st, 2016. The Committee is made up of the Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, The Mayor of the City of Niš, of the representatives of the Army, of the University and of the Church.

“11^th JANUARY AWARD ” is delivered for the outstanding achievements that contribute to the promotion of the city in the field of economy, art, science, medicine, architecture and urbanism, journalism, education, sports and in other areas of importance for the City of Niš. The president of the Committee, Mr. Rade Rajkovic, stated to strengthen the award criteria from this year on, and the fact that the award will not be politicized at any rate.

Furthermore, at the press conference dedicated to this topic, the Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic, announced the date of the next session of the Assembly, on Wednesday, November 30^th, and listed some of the most important issues, such as the decision on the Budget Review and the decision on the Maximum number of the employees.

November 4^th, 2016
The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic met today with the President of the Association of European Cities of Culture (AVEC), with the Deputy Mayor of the French City of Arles – Mr. Christian Mourisard.

This meeting, according to the Chairman Rajković, represents the succession of a long-term cooperation between the City of Nis and the City of Arles, as well as a good opportunity to exchange experiences in the field of preservation and presentation of cultural and historical heritage. This issue in the City of Nis will be approached with great care, taking into account the potential of the overall economic development. This is primarily related to a better tourism offer towards a growing number of foreign visitors, who will have a chance to see and learn a lot about the history and culture of this region in the City of Nis.

In addition, the current city authorities will particularly insist on having the best professionals from cultural institutions work on such tourist offers, whose continuity of work will not depend on periodic changes in the local self-government, stated Mr. Rajković.

Furthermore, the A.V.E.C network (Alliance de Villes Européennes de Culture) was established in 1997 as a European network of historical cities and districts with the common goal of establishing a European region based on a respect for the culture including both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, which stands for the identity of cities and regions.

November 1^st, 2016

The City of Nis has hosted a two-day seminar designed for new councilors of local self-governments of the cities and the municipalities from throughout Serbia. The seminar, which will be held today and tomorrow in the Officers House, has been organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic, delivering a welcoming speech, expressed his satisfaction regarding the fact that the City of Nis would host such a meeting. He recalled that all the authorities in the city were constituted within the legal deadline, and that the permanent working bodies were formed so as to reflect the councilor composition of the City Assembly.

Speaking about the efficiency and transparency of the City assembly mandate, the Chairman stressed out the upcoming activities related to the establishment of E-government, to the improvement of the communication by electronic means, as well as the introduction of electronic registration and voting, which will contribute to the work efficiency of city councilors. Likewise, a practice of good public relations with the media and citizens will be continued and improved, which will make the work of Nis City assembly transparent, whereas the citizens will be timely and accurately informed on everything.

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic, has pointed out that this seminar represents the technical support to the representatives of local self-governments and extra motivation to constantly improve the system within they work.

October 13^th, 2016

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic , the Mayor of the City of Niš, Mr. Darko Bulatović and the representative of the OSCE mission, Mr.  Stefan Wredenmark attended the opening of a seminar intended for the Security Council of the City of Nis, organized by the OSCE, Media and Reform Center and the City of Nis.

One of the main objectives of the local authorities is to provide safe and quality life of all the citizens of the City of Nis, in cooperation with the relevant institutions and citizens.

The Security Council of the City of Nis has been established by the new city government willing to continue and improve the initiatives related to better and safer life of the citizens The Council is intended to be a mechanism of communication and consultation of local authorities, police, judiciary, health and of other important factors relevant to local security.

The members of the Security Council of the City of Nis are familiar with the methodology of strategic planning of local security, with the methodology of local security evaluation and with the defining of the objectives and priorities.

October 12^th, 2016

On the occasion of the “Venezuelan Culture Week” in the City of Nis, the Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rade Rajkovic organized office reception for the Ambassador of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venuzela in Serbia, Her Excellency, Dr Dia Nader de El Andari.

The Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rajkovic, on behalf of the citizens of Nis, thanked Her Excellency, Dr Dia Nader de El Andari, for her efforts to organize this event in Nis and to enable our citizens to better learn about the culture of Venezuela. This will certainly contribute to the rapprochement of our countries and to the creation of better prospects for cooperation.

As far as cooperation is concerned, said Mr. Rajkovic, it can be developed primarily in the fields of culture, education, tourism and sports, whereas a mutual interest is to find a way for cooperation in the field of economy.

Showing gratitude for the welcome, Her Excellency, the Ambassador Dr Dia Nader de El Andari also pointed out to a number of areas in which the cooperation could and should be developed. She also emphasized that her mission is to help Serbia establish its Embassy in Caracas as soon as possible and pleasurably accepted to organize the exchange of cultural and artistic programs in the future.

Apart from the Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš, Mr. Rajkovic, The Chairman of the City Municipality Mediana, Mr. Milan Krstic and the Director of the Tourist Organization of Nis, Mr. Uros Parlić, also welcomed Her Excellency, Dr Dia Nader de El Andari; they also had the chance to present, in general outline, the values of Nis, which the guests from Venezuela could find interesting.