International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families. The day promotes increased appreciation and deeper understanding of issues and challenges relevant to childhood cancer and impacting on children/adolescents with cancer, the survivors, their families and the society as a whole. It also spotlights the need for more equitable and better access to treatment and care for all children with cancer, everywhere.

Nis is one of 40 cities in Serbia which marked International Day of Children with Cancer with more than 1,000 citizens of Nis gathering at one of the city squares. More than 1000 balloons soared into the sky supporting the campaign “I Am Fighting” carried out by the National Association of Parents of Children with Cancer NURDOR.

Anyone who wants to help the second phase of construction of oncology department in Nis, whose completion is expected later this year, can do so by sending an SMS to 1150. The new activity called old stuff for new hope as way of raising funds for oncology ward of Nis was also presented. So far, 25 million dinars were collected for the implementation of the second phase of construction of a new oncology department, but more funds are needed before this ward can become operational. The new clinic will meet all European standards for the treatment of oncology patients, it will have two floors, separated stationary part, separate day hospital, six rooms with bathrooms, beds for parents so that can stay all the time with their children during treatment. In Serbia every day a child is diagnosed with this terrible disease, every week one child loses this battle, and 500 children are treated for cancer annually.

The 75^th anniversary of the escape of prisoners from the Concentration Camp Crveni Krst was marked today. On February 12^th, 1942 the first organized escape from the one of the concentration camps in Europe happened.  On the occasion of the 75^th anniversary Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic said in his speech that this memorial complex represented the symbol suffering and resistance and that in accordance with Orthodox tradition, we can forgive, but we should never forget. Vladimir Jovanovic, a survivor of the camp, spoke evoking the memories of the days spent in this Nazi concentration camp. Scouts from Nis submitted a report to the Mayor and headed on for their traditional march along the routes by which the prisoners escaped. Nis Diocese clergy held memorial service for the victims of the camp, and numerous delegations laid wreaths at the memorial complex.

For the last seven days City of Nis registered more than 10 000 illegally constructed buildings, which were four times more than before, as Mrs. Darinka Djuran, Deputy Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, said at a press conference held at Nis City Hall. “Nis used to be the worst in the business of legalization; however in recent weeks it has become one of the best cities in registering illegally constructed buildings. Not later than March 10^th City of Nis will have a database. The deadline must not be exceeded, “said Mrs. Djuran.

According to Mayor Bulatovic the registering in 10 zones are being done by doubled teams with the help of people from all five city municipalities. So far, the achieved daily average of listed buildings is 950. He stressed that the work would be completed on time and that of the officials from the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure gave clear instructions for the work that was applied in the field.

The ministry will control the work of local governments every three months and the priority in the legalization will be given to the family houses and flats, because the Law on the Legalization was passed to help citizens to legitimize their illegal structures. By legitimizing their house the citizens will increase the value of their assets, while local governments will increase significantly the revenues.

The contract on development of the project for land property re-allotment for the railway bypass was signed at Nis City Hall by the director of company Geodata DOO PGJ Obrenovac Djordje Jankovic and by Ivan Jocic on the behalf of Nis Directorate for City Land Development. The first part of the work in connection with the relocation of the railway should be completed by the end of 2018, and the relocation of a length of 22 kilometers will cost 1 billion and 14 million dinars. The costs would be covered by the Republic of Serbia.

“We have been talking about the relocation of the railway from the city center for decades. Many political campaigns were based on this story. So many times the people from Railway Serbia Company came and talked. Today we are allocating 15 million dinars from the city budget for this project since the land property re-allotment is the first step in the realization of this most important project for our city. By the end of 2018 the construction of the bypass should begin, “said Mayor Bulatovic on the occasion of signing of the contract.

Project coordinator Ljubivoje Slavković said that most of the work would be about preparing the land. He pointed out that even 34 hectares of land were belonging to private individuals and should be transferred.

Starting from today, the workers at Nis Airport will check in baggage and passengers on 4 counters for 2 different flights at the same time. In this way, the airport services will be more operational and will provide better service to passengers who fly from Nis to some European destinations. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović visited the airport so that he could personally check the way the procedures for registering of passengers and baggage were being done airport check-in counters. “It is very important that Nis Airport continues to improve. We expect this year a record number of passengers, as many as 300 000. As local self-government we are trying to help further modernization of the airport. Some of the activities that are ahead of us are the reconstruction of buildings, purchase of new equipment, such as the new unit to supply aircraft with electricity. Together with SMATSA we will implement the project of procurement of the new control tower and new lights for night landings”, said Mayor Bulatovic on this occasion. The City of Nis invested 35 million dinars in the works on the reconstruction of the airport building while Nis Airport contributed 2 million dinars from their own funds.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic attended the draw for the matches of the Davis Cup between Serbian and Russian teams which would take place in the Sports Hall Cair in Nis from February 3^rd to February 5^th. On this occasion the Mayor welcomed the two teams with the words that Nis was the city of sports and that he hoped that the city authorities met the expectations of the selections of Serbia and Russia and proved to be a good host. He said that there was a huge interest in the matches as evidenced by the packed Sports Hall Cair at training that Serbian team had the day before. Mayor Bulatovic added that he expected the atmosphere in Sports Hall Cair during the three days of competition to be great and that the fans would give an extra energy to tennis players. “I would like to wish success and good luck to both teams. Let the better ones win, “said the Mayor.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and his associates met with the President of the Tennis Association of Serbia Mirko Petrovic to discuss further cooperation between the association and the city. On this occasion Petrovic thanked the City for its efforts in organizing Davis Cup matches between Serbian and Russian teams. He said that Nis was an exceptional host to Serbian tennis players who liked to play before the Nis audience and that he was confident that the atmosphere would be great. Mayor Bulatovic said on this occasion that an important sporting events as this one was contributed to further promotion of the sports in Nis which always was the city of sports and that he was sure that in the coming period Nis could be the host again to the best tennis players of Serbia. Petrovic, who is also CEO of Dunav Insurance Company and Mayor Bulatovic talked about other forms of cooperation. Petrović has promised to support the City of Nis in organizing events in the field of culture, science and others.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and Nis City Council Member Jelena Mitrovski met with the doyen of Serbian acting Mr.Tanasije Uzunovic and other members of the team that would be working on TV series History of Nis from prehistoric times to the present.

The series, sponsored by the City of Nis, will consist of 15 episodes, as well as two-hour specials that will be shown at Film Festival in 2018. The series is realized fully by team from Nis. The director is Boban Rajkovic, the screenwriter is historian Nebojsa Ozimic, the music was written by Borislav Mladenovic Caba, and the producers are Dragan Videnovic and Miodrag Stojadinovic. The narrator and promoter of the series is our famous actor, born in Nis, Tanasije Uzunovic. He will, with his voice and appearance, lead the story through the centuries of glorious history of Nis.

It is the master work that represent Nis and its rich history and tradition in the best light and thus contribute to further promotion of the city and show how abundant is the  cultural of our city, but so far under-exploited.

The secondary comprehensive school Svetozar Markovic in Nis got Smart Classroom of Russian Language, whose complete renovation, adaptation and procurement of modern equipment was assisted by NIS under the “Community Together” Program.

This project is unique in the region and is designed with the goal of raising the quality of teaching through multimedia learning. The classroom has the most up-to-date equipment and learning materials, such as an interactive whiteboard, which works as computer and where it is possible to watch movies and educational contents, and to conduct an electronic search of interactive content, in addition to writing. Also, the “smart classroom” is equipped with the latest literature. In addition to high school students, the teachers of all elementary and high schools from Nis, as well as students from the Department of Russian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Nis, will be able to use this classroom. Also, this classroom will also be a place where extra-curricular activities related to the promotion of Russian language and Russian culture among students of elementary and secondary schools in Nisava district will be held.
The classroom was officially opened in the presence of City of Nis Deputy Mayor Milos Bandjur, the Director of the Russian Humanitarian Mission Aleksej Polkovnikov, the Director of the Secondary Comprehensive School Svetozar Markovic in Nis, Marijan Misic and a representative of NIS.

“Dear fellow citizens, today is a great day for the citizens of Nis.

Although the Government of the Republic of Serbia, from July 2016 until today, managed to attract two large investors to Nis, which would hire more than 3,500 workers with a high proportion of highly educated personnel, and allow me to remind you that these were: Integrated Micro-Electronics (IMI), from the Philippines, which would invest over 20 million euros and employ at least 1250 workers and German Leoni, which, in new factory in Nis would invest 20 million euros and employ at least 2,200 workers, the news announced today by Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic in an open letter to citizens of Nis, that the Austrian Zumtobel would invest in Nis over 30 million euros in the construction of a manufacturing plant with the production starting in 2018 is a  historic moment for our city.

Thus the promise given by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to the citizens of Nis during the seven-day stay of the Government in Nis is fulfilles, by bringing several world-renowned companies to Nis and by returning Nis to the place it belonged to, which is the center and generator of the future development of the southeast of Serbia. The City of Nis and the citizens of Nis are thanking him for this.

The Austrian company Zumtobel Group is one of the leading in the field of innovative solutions for the lighting and production of accompanying components. With three internationally recognized brands Thorn, Tridonic and Zumtobel, and two lesser known acdc and Reiss brands, the group offers a wide range of products and services to its customers around the world. The group has 14 production facilities on four continents and sales facilities in about 90 countries, employing over 7,000 workers. Zumtobel Group is constantly expanding by taking other brands, and in 2006 the group went out on the stock market. It is known worldwide as “Mercedes in the world of the latest lighting technology”. At the beginning of 2016, the company Zumtobel donated to the City of Belgrade and the City of Nis modern public lighting with smart management.

Zumtobel Group plans to build a factory of approximately 40,000 m² and to employ a significant number of Nis citizens with a large share of highly educated personnel. For the realization of the planned project, about 10 ha of land is needed, which the Republic of Serbia and the City of Nis will provide in one of the Industrial zones in Nis. The decision-making process lasted over a year. During the six visits of Zumtobel Group to the City of Nis, we introduced to them the comparative advantages of the Republic of Serbia and especially of our city. A special accent in the negotiations was on the industrial tradition, potentials and plans for the development of the Science and Technology Park and the advanced technology industry in Nis, i.e., the advantages that the University of Nis is generating above all.

As the prime minister pointed out, “our engineers, our workers and our young innovators are becoming members of this big family” and with the arrival of these factories they have more reasons to plan their families and their careers in our city.

In the end, once again I would like to thank Aleksandar Vucic for his enormous personal effort to bring this significant investor to our city and to enable the opening of new jobs and new employment, which are a key prerequisite for higher standards and better lives of citizens.”,  as Mayor Bulatovic said at the press conference held at Nis City Hall in this occasion.