This year the City of Nis through the Office for Youth supported the implementation of 18 projects of non-governmental organizations aimed at improving the position of youth in Nis, and for this purpose, 3 million dinars were allocated from the budget. In addition, another million dinars were allocated for helping informal associations through the formation of the Resource Center with the organization Young Ambassadors. On the occasion of the City of Nis Youth Day the contracts were awarded at Nis City Hall by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic who said that Nis was the city of young people and that the city adminsitration would continue to help the young in every way. He pointed out that the biggest problem was the lack of jobs in Nis and stressed that, in only two years in Nis, the number of unemployed decreased from over 37,000 to around 26,000, while at the same time the number of employed citizens increased from 61 000 to around 77 000, and that most of those newly employed were young educated people. The coordinator of the Youth Office, Stevan Zivkovic, pointed out that at the time of the establishment of the Office in 2012, the City allocated RSD 500,000 from the budget for projects for youth, and this year this amount was eight times higher. Zivkovic pointed out that a total of 18 projects were accepted by the same number of non-governmental organizations and citizens’ associations, and that the approved funds ranged from 100,000 to 200,000 dinars per project. This year the competition did not specify the theme of the projects, and the largest number of received ideas was, according to Živković, related to the improvement of youth safety, raising the awareness of youth about ecology, media and information, EU integration and employment of young people.

September 9^th

Neda Jovanovic from Nis is the 18^th child in a row who received the help from the initiative Collect Corks – Bring Smiles within which the funds were collected for the purchase of children’s wheelchair and a bathing chair for this little girl. Little Neda suffers from cerebral paralyses and microcephaly, and this aids will make everyday life easier for her. Deputy Nis City Mayor Milos Bandjur said that every responsible government had an obligation to support an action that promotes goodness, humanity and solidarity. “The value of this action is much higher than the material value. It looks at promoting goodness in society, in activating all potential, and in raising awareness that we need to help each other,” Bandjur said. Vanja Petkovic, the president of this association, pointed out that it was necessary to collect 4 tons of caps and corks for the purchase of supplies for Neda, and that the activists of this association and the citizens of Serbia have so far collected 100 tons and helped many more children in need. She emphasized that the essence of this action was to unite everyone and through ecology and environmental protection, teach children to have empathy towards others, to people with disabilities, and to learn how to help each other.

City of Nis in the coming period will strive to help more City Scout Association which exists for 105 years. Since its establishment a large number of young people were the members of this organization. They taught them to love their country, how to find their way in nature, but primarily to how to be friends. Lately the association is facing problems with premises and funding, and the City will try to help them solve these problems, as it was said after the meeting with the Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the Nis City Council Member Milos Milosevic. City of Nis is aware of the importance of this organization, especially for young fellow citizens and is ready to help, said Milos Milosevic.

October 26^th

Public hearing on the proposal for the Strategy for Improving the Position of Persons with Disabilities in the Republic of Serbia by 2020 was held at Nis City Hall today. The strategy defines key areas of impact on the situation of persons with disabilities in terms of ensuring: accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health care and other activities that contribute to equalizing the capacity of persons with disabilities. Assistant Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Policy Mr. Vladimir Pesic said that, in order to improve the overall social and economic situation of people with disabilities, all social actors should take full part in proposing certain measures and activities, envisaged by the Action Plan that would follow this strategy. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic greeted the audience and said that the City of Nis would have role to play in the struggle for equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of social life. “We from the local self-governments have the obligation to influence the implementation of strategic documents, through the decisions that we will make”, said the Mayor, adding that the local self-government will, within its possibilities, strive to allocate budget funds in the best possible way. Respect for human rights is our priority and we will try to develop different types of services through project activities that will be put into the function of people with disabilities.