October 14

By laying flower wreaths at the Monument to Liberators at the central city square and at the memorial complex Bubanj, the anniversary of the liberation of Nis in the Second World War was marked. City of Nis delegation, led by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic paid their respects together with the delegations of the Serbian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the Nisava District and the Association for the Conservation of the Traditions of the Liberation Wars of Serbia. Nis was freed on October 14, 1944, when the 22nd Division of the People’s Liberation Movement entered the city and attacked the German troops from the south.

The “European Local Democracy Week” (ELDW) is a pan-European event which aims at boosting local democracy and citizen participation. It is an initiative coordinated by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. Local authorities from all the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe, and their associations are invited to register and organize public events to promote and foster democratic participation at grassroots level. This year main theme of ELDW is “Local Democracy: Building Trust”. Trust   between   people   and   authorities   is   key   to   the   good functioning  of  democracy,  and local  authorities  play  a  crucial  role  in strengthening   public   confidence   in   the   democratic   system   of governance. Open government is a simple but powerful idea that government   will   work   better   for   people   if it   is transparent, participatory and accountable. These three concepts have now become the cornerstones of good democratic governance. Through this practice, citizens can understand and   influence   the   workings   of   the authorities and   hold   them accountable. The main purpose of open government is to ensure better decision making, greater public trust, reduced corruption and more effective public services. Open  government  includes  various  practices,  such  as open  data  initiatives,  access  to  information  laws,  political  rights, whistle-blower   protection,   public   consultation   and   engagement processes, among many other. Since the right of citizens to participate in the conduct of public affairs at local level is enshrined in the preamble of the European Charter of Local Self-Government of 1985, and detailed in its Additional Protocol of  2009,  it  is  fundamental  for  an  established  and  functioning  local democracy  to  promote  education  for  democratic  citizenship  among young people and children. Moreover,  by   engaging  children  and  youth,  local  authorities  will understand  better  their  needs  and  will  be  able  to  develop  more targeted responses for and with the younger generation, thus building a  more inclusive  democratic  local  community.

The first activity planned within ELDW is the presentation of the Youth Council is directed towards presenting the way how young people can approach the Youth Council and get involved in resolving youth issues. The Youth Council is commissioned by the local Assembly. The purpose of the Youth Council is to support, complement and monitor activities directed at youth policy development and implementation. Youth Council is a mechanism which enables young people to take an active role in decision making, and for networking and inter-sectoral cooperation of institutions dealing with the young people. The presentation will be followed by the debate in which the members of the Youth Council and Youth Office will try to provide information and answers to the questions of the general public.

City of Nis Office of the Mayor organizes the visit of the members of the pupils’ parliament and senior classes of the primary school Njegos to Nis City Hall. They will have the opportunity to see what the Mayor does, how he makes decisions and ask him questions. The Mayor will provide information what the local government is doing for children and how problems are being solved or new activities being implemented.

Youth Office of the City of Nis is organizing the Youth NGO Fair in order to enable them to present their activities to the young and the way of cooperating with the local authorities and attracting young people to take part in their projects. The local government is supporting the young by supporting the work of youth NGOs. Youth Office improves youth politics in the area of education, sports, free time, increasing employment, information, health, culture, gender equality, preventing crimes and violence. Some of the services which the Youth Office provides are: financing youth projects, providing career guidance, organizing internships, supporting volunteering, providing free seminars for increasing youth competences, informing the young, etc.  Youth Office administrates the Public Call for financing projects for the young intended for the civil sector each year. Since 2012 until now there have been more than 160 projects financed through youth NGOs.

Open data can be viewed as raw material that enables the creation of practical solutions in the public and private sectors and forms a new generation of entrepreneurs and social innovators. City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects will present the concept of Open Data, good practice examples in Serbia and worldwide, as well as examples of reuse of those sets of data in order to create an added value and better and more transparent services provided to the citizens. The general public will also have the opportunity to have the insight into the open data of the City of Nis, as the result of the project ” Open Data Appear on the Map” which has been realized within the national program “Open Data – Open Opportunities”, implemented by the UNDP Serbia and the Office for IT and e-Government, supported by the UK Good Governance Fund and the World Bank. The presentation will be followed by the workshop which will provide the participants with the hands on experience to use the open data. The workshop participants will be representatives of local companies and star-ups, students and other individuals who will develop concrete solutions for the territory of the City of Nis.

October 12

Switzerland has been pioneering support to the development and modernization of local assemblies in Serbia. Most recently, through the project “Strengthening the Oversight Function and Transparency of the Parliament – Phase 2”, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Switzerland supported the introduction of digital platforms to modernize the work of local parliaments. Nis City Assembly Speaker Rade Rajkovic and Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with UNDP Resident Representative Francine Pickup and Swiss Cooperation Office Representative Sascha Müller as part of the implementation of the E-Parliament project. The City of Nis Assembly is the first in Serbia to use software version adapted to the work of Nis parliamentarians. The system ensures greater efficiency of the Assembly’s work, saves money and allows for more users to simultaneously search for information, while having access to documents at all times. In addition to these benefits for the members of the parliament (MPs), e-parliament also makes the work of local assemblies more transparent and accountable for citizens. Apart from the development of the e-parliament, Nis was supported in preparing amendments to the Rules of Procedure regarding the City assembly’s transition. The Rules of Procedure will enable Nis City Assembly to adapt its work to digital way of working, as well as electronic voting, thus significantly reducing the time and cost of assembly sessions. Overall, the Swiss Government and UNDP assistance for the Nis Assembly encompasses 78 tablets, as well as expert support with a total value of 150,000 EUR. It is estimated that the City of Nis will thus save over 2 million dinars annually, which is the amount of savings in printing assembly materials. Also, by eliminating the need to print and submit documentation from the session to each Member individually, significant savings will be made. “Strengthening the Oversight Function and Transparency of the Parliament” Project is supported by Switzerland with 1,7 million EUR with the aim of achieving a more transparent and efficient work of the National assembly and local assemblies across Serbia.

October 9

Finnish ambassador in Serbia Mr. Kimo Lahdevirta visited Nis. He met with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the two officials discussed the possibilities of Finnish companies investing in IT in this area and improving cooperation in other areas with this Scandinavian country. Ambassador Lahdevirta said that Finland operates in Serbia through several companies, and especially emphasized the example of the brand “Kone”, which deals with the installation of lifts and escalators and has a business center in Serbia. After the meeting with the Mayor, the Ambassador Lahdevirta spoke about the priorities of the Finland chairing the EU Council in the second half of 2019.  During the presentation of the priorities of the Finnish EU Presidency the Ambassador also emphasized the importance of enlargement of the Union as well as the unity of the entire continent. “If we want to succeed in the future, I think we must all be together, not only EU member states but all European countries,” said Ambassador Lahdevirta. Finland took over the rotating six-month presidency of the EU Council from Romania on 1 July this year. Priority issues include strengthening shared values ​​and the rule of law, competitiveness and social inclusion, taking on the role of global leader in the fight against climate change, and overall protection of citizens’ security. After the presentation in the EU info corner, he officially opened the exhibition Finnish Innovative Design in the Officers’ Mess Building, which was realized in cooperation with the organization Young Ambassadors from Nis.

October 7

As part of the “Joy of Europe” even the reception was organized for the children participating in the festival. The participants of this traditional event were received by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic who welcomed all guests and children performing in Nis. The reception was also attended by the director of Children’s Cultural Center of Belgrade Mr. Minja Saturday and the director of the Center for Tradition and Spirituality from Nis Mr. Miljko Petrovic. Joy of Europe is the largest and oldest international event for children’s creativity, celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. At the beginning of October, children from European countries arrived to Belgrade to sing, act, and, above all, to socialize and have fun.

September 25

The conference entitled “Localization of Sustainable Development Goals – Achieving 2030 Agenda” was organized at the City Hall in Niš, by the Cabinet of Minister without portfolio responsible for demography and population policy Mrs. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, in cooperation with the German Development Cooperation Agency and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. In the introductory part of the conference, on behalf of the City of Nis, the participants were greeted by the Head of Nisava District, Dragana Sotirovski, and the Speaker of the Nis City Assembly Rade Rajković.  The Minister without Portfolio Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic spoke about the actual localization of the sustainable development goals in her presentation. This activity aims at raising awareness of the 2030 Agenda and localizing the sustainable development goals by linking with local strategies and other planning documents. Monitoring of sustainable development indicators at the level of local self-government is of particular importance and cooperation between local governments and non-governmental organizations in pursuit of the sustainable development goals. The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the environment and ensure peace and prosperity for all, based on the success of the Millennium Development Goals. Sustainable development is based on the cooperation of the economic, social and environmental aspects, and the achievement of all 17 sustainable development goals is interconnected and at the local level involves the partnership of local governments, civil and private sector, as well as citizens.

September 25

International Conference Opportunities for Expanding Economic Cooperation between Russia and the Balkan Peninsula within the Current Political Situation was held at the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Nis, organized by the Balkan-Russian Economic Forum. At this conference 28 experts from the field of international cooperation and economics presented their opinions. Alexei Vladimirovich Kuriniy, the Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation attended the conference.  On behalf of the City of Nis Deputy Mayor Milos Bandur greeted the guests and emphasized the importance of such gatherings and the importance of improving economic cooperation with Russia. This conference was supported by the Gorchakov Fund of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as by the City of Nis and the RDA South.

September 20

City of Nis marked the European Mobility Week with traditional program on main city square. This European initiative encourages cities to introduce sustainable transport measures and urges people to change traffic behavior – opting for alternative modes of transport instead of cars. European Mobility Week is a manifestation promoting alternative modes of transport in relation to motorized transport using fossil fuels. The aim of the European Mobility Week is to make efforts to reduce the use of passenger cars and to improve conditions for public transport, movement of cyclists and pedestrians through promotional events and the implementation of at least one sustainable measure of sustainable urban mobility.

September 18

The delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Slovenia visited Nis, where it met with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. In a cordial and friendly conversation, they exchanged views on the promotion of cooperation between the City of Nis and this former Yugoslav Republic. Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that cooperation was at high level, but that it could be improved further. He particularly referred to the establishment of air traffic on the Nis-Ljubljana route and the fact that the planes were mostly full, which greatly facilitated the further development of cooperation. On the Slovenian side, expressions of gratitude were expressed by Predrag Bakovic, the Member of Parliament and the President of the Friendship Group with Serbia.

September 16

A new cycle of information campaigns within the support for employment and self-employment provided by Help’s project “Supporting Socio-Economic Stability in the Western Balkans 2019-2020”. The first in a series of presentations was attended by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, Help’s Manager for Economic Development Masa Bubanj and Chief of the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects Milan Randjelovic. Based on the new project for providing support in equipment, all young, unemployed with a sustainable business idea that will provide a regular source of income for themselves and their families can compete.Priority is given to crafts and services and processing in agriculture. The new project cycle brings the opportunity to support at least 30 new micro and small businesses with grants in equipment with an average value of € 2,400.00, with regular business and professional training to increase the sustainability of business activities. The cost of direct costs for equipment to be supported in Nis under this project is € 72,000.00, with the City’s participation of 40%. In cooperation with the City, Help has so far supported 483 beneficiaries with grants for micro and small business equipment and seven cooperatives since 2005 through economic empowerment projects totaling € 1.9 million. The sustainability of supported businesses is more than 80%.