January 26^th

The best students in 2017 from all 13 faculties of the University of Nis were presented with the City of Nis awards for their achievement during the course of their studies. The awards were also received by students who finished the studies with an average grade of 10 during their studies. The awards were presented by the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the President of the Nis City Assembly, Rade Rajkovic. “To all of you who are the pride of this City, I congratulate on the results achieved and I believe that you yourselves know that the only investment that has never been proved to be wrong is investing in the future and knowledge. You are our future and these awards are just mere symbol of our care for you, our appreciation of our efforts and our wish to motivate you for further achievements. Constant and diligent work is the only way to get results that will last, and you have already, for the most part, shown that you can change the world around you, “said Mayor Darko Bulatovic.

The formal session of Nis City Assembly was held at the Officers Club yesterday, and on that occasion the Chairman of Nis City Assembly and the Mayor delivered “11^th January Award” for the year of 2017. Among the collectives, the winners are two prestigious secondary schools- the Grammar School “Bora Stankovic“ and Medical High School “Dr Milenko Hadzic“, and among the individuals, the winners are- the oncologist, Mrs. Sladjana Filipovic and the writer, Mr. Zoran Pesic Sigma.

The ceremony was attended by a large number of officials, and the Chairman of Nis City Assembly and the Mayor in their address, reminded the audience of the great jubilee – 140 years since the Liberation of Nis from the Turks, as well as of the importance of evaluating and recognizing the outstanding individuals and institutions that contribute to the affirmation of the city.

January 12^th

The presentation of the architectural and urbanistic project for the main city square – Trg Kralja Milana was held at the big hall of Nis City Assembly. The experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Nis City Institute for Urbanism and the City of Nis have prepared a proposal for the new look of the city center, which would give this zone a more modern and beautiful look. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, attended the presentation, and on this occasion he emphasized the significance of this project, which should create a new and more beautiful dimension of the central city square. All interested were able to see a three-dimensional view of the project that foresees the existence of a pedestrian zone all the way to the entrance to the fortress and another fountain at the location which is now parking lot. The final version will be presented to the public soon.

January 11^th

On January 11^th, 1878, the Serbian flag was placed on the wall of Nis fortress after nearly five hundred years. After centuries of slavery freedom has come. Todor Stankovic, a member of the secret committee for liberation, was the one who placed the Serbian Flag over Stambol Gate. At that time, 120 Serbian soldiers were killed and 791 were wounded in the fighting for Nis. In his address on the occasion of the 140^th anniversary of the liberation of Nis Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic said that the liberator of our city, Prince Milan Obrenovic, exclaimed in front of the fortress on that day: “This flag is a sign for us that every citizen, regardless of his religion, can count on the protection from Prince.  I salute you as an advocate of justice, as a defendor of freedom for all citizens, for all confessions.” The Mayor also emphasized that the only real freedom was the one that was free of hatred and prejudice towards others. On the occasion of this important historical event for the City of Nis, a formal session of the Assembly of the City was held, on the occasion of which the highest awards of the city were awarded. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the President of the City Assembly Rade Rajkovic, presented the awards to this year’s laureates. Previously, the highest officials of the City of Nis laid their wreaths on the monument to the liberators in the center of the city.

January 10^th

The reception for artists who would be performing at the traditional New Year’s concert in Nis organized by the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the maestro Zoran Andric was organized at Nis City Hall. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic welcomed the artists and the representatives of the Italian Cultural Center from Belgrade who helped in bringing the artists to Nis. Maestro Zoran Andric announced the possibility that the City of Nis together with the Government of Serbia would invest in the construction of a new concert hall in the following three years, and that for the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra it would be the honor to be the first to perform in the new concert hall.

January 6^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic extended his greetings on the occasion of Christmas to all who celebrate this great Christian holiday according to the Julian calendar. “Peace of God, Christ is born! Happy Christmas to all believers who celebrate this most joyous Christian holiday according to the Julian calendar. Let Christmas, a symbol of new life and salvation, but also love and family, be a guide to all of us in the way of mutual respect, tolerance and understanding, no matter which religion or nation we belong to. I wish to all of you to spend the holiday surrounded by your loved ones and I hope Christmas will bring joy, happiness and prosperity to your homes With the sincere wishes that in the period after Christmas we will be better toward each other, and honest and real to ourselves, once again I salute you with the most joyful greeting – Peace of God, Christ is born”.

During New Year’s Eve Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic visited the workers on call from the PUC Mediana who were cleaning the streets in the central zone. He also visited the Nis Police Headquarters and Firefighting Department and Health Care Institute for Emergency Medical Aid. All these services were on call during the celebration of the New Year’s Eve. Traditionally the Mayor visited the first new born baby in 2018. The first baby born this year is a girl. The rounds ended b visit to Nis City Heating Plant where the management and the employees assured the Mayor that the district heating in the city worked impeccably.

“The past year was not easy at all, but we had a clear goal in front of us, a clear policy that we implemented and that followed the measures of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, we respected the suggestions from the Fiscal Council and managed to make the first step towards the stage that the City of Nis could smoothly function and fulfill its obligations. The revenues in the budget are the highest for the past five years and we managed to stabilize public finances, “said Mayor Darko Bulatovic at an annual press conference held at Nis City Hall.

“The year that passed was marked by the reduction of unemployment, the investment in science and the beginning of the construction of the Scientific Technology Park. There are currently 27,200 unemployed people in Nis, but this number will decrease next year because we expect to open new factories. The construction on four new factories started this year: Zumtobel, IMI, the new Johnson Electric Factory, Leoni. We opened Aster Textile factory. At the beginning of next year a public invitation will be launched for the construction of Aqua Park in Niska Banja. We will continue with the preparation of the project for construction of wastewater treatment plants, the biggest environmental project in Serbia; the renovation of facades on more building in Nis is also awaiting us. We expect to continue work on the construction of the railway bypass around Nis. It is a unique project of reconstruction and electrification of the Dimitrovgrad-Nis railroad section, and the construction of a roundabout around Nis, 21 km long, with two railway stations at the Airport and Pantelej is part of this project. We will work on the reconstruction of the pedestrian bridge and the new looks of King Milan Square”, Mayor Bulatovic added.

The Mayor stressed that this was only part of the activities that were being implemented or whose realization is expected to be realized at this moment. “We are taking care of the roads in the city, we are working on increasing the safety of all traffic participants, our institutions are successfully implementing cultural events, we are allocating more funds for cultural events, for social care programmes. There is a lot of work ahead of us and we are going to work hard and every kind of criticism and suggestion is welcome because it is the common goal for all of us to make our city a better place for the life of all citizens”, concluded Mayor Bulatovic.

29Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic extended his New Year’s greeting to all Nis citizens for the forthcoming 2018 with the wish for them that the following year would be happier than all the previous ones. “I wish to toy good health, success and happiness, for our families, for our children. I wish for all of us to have lot of work and to do more than in the previous year. The City of Nis will be facing great challenges next year. For this reason we have to come together with the common goal of a better life in our city. The first steps for the City of Nis to function without major problems have been made by stabilizing public finances in the city, and we have to work more to create conditions for improving living standards and a better future for our children. We leave another difficult year behind us, but in spite of all the difficulties, I want you to remember that optimism is a prerequisite for success. My dear fellow citizens please receive my congratulations on the upcoming holidays with my wish for you to celebrate them with your families and with those whom you love the most, to share joy with them, nurture friendship. In the next year, I want to us to work even more and to build our city, to make it better, and not to lose hope despite the difficulties and challenges. Happy New Year!

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with the Macedonian sports delegation that was visiting the city as a guest of the Section of Sports Journalists in Nis, on the occasion of the event of the presenting the award to the athletes of the year from Nis, organized by the Section of Sports Journalists. The delegation was comprised of the leaders of the Association of Sports Journalists of Macedonia, Mr. Bosko Trpeski and Mr. Dejan Tanevski, as well as the Macedonian football legends Mr. Koco Dimitrovski and Mr. Blagoj Istatov. Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that the two countries had good diplomatic and sports relations, and especially emphasized that both nations achieved significant results in the collective and individual sport. He announced that the City of Nis had new plans related to the improvement of sports infrastructure in Nis, which would greatly affect the future goals of Nis clubs and their achievements. He announced that City of Nis would try to find the suitable location  for the construction of a multifunctional hall, which would create all the necessary conditions for maintaining the world’s highest sports ranking in Nis.