July 17

Since March this year the City of Nis has been working on the Open Data – Open Opportunities Project which has been implemented by the City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects in cooperation with the organization Palgo Smart. It is a project implemented nationally by the United Nations Development Program and the RS Office of Information Technology and Electronic Administration, supported by the United Kingdom Good Governance Fund (GGF) and the World Bank. By participating in this project the City of Nis contributes to the fulfillment of the strategic commitment of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the Strategy of Development of Electronic Administration in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2015-2018 and the Action Plan for Implementation of the International Initiative Partnership for Open Government in the Republic of Serbia. At the press conference, held at Nis City Hall the results of the previous project activities implemented by the City of Nis were presented. Although the City of Nis, with this project, only makes the first steps in publishing data in open format, this project has achieved exceptional results, due to which the City of Nis has become the first local self-government in the Republic of Serbia that opened data sets of the entire City Administration, all organizational units at the secretariat level, a total of 17 secretariats and 12 public utility companies. By engagement of a working group formed of the representatives of all secretariats and public enterprises, 34 sets with more than 100 data sets are open and they are available for review, download and re-use on the National Open Data Portal (https://data.gov.rs ). From the large number of data published in open form, the public transport data are especially important for citizens which they can use through the Google Transit Service, then data on education, primary and secondary schools, agricultural land city heating energy data, water quality, parking zones and parking lots, spatial and urban plans, business premises owned by the City, construction and use permits, legalization and City of Nis Budget for 2019. All data sets were published with full respect for the rules regarding personal data protection, which is regulated in the Republic of Serbia by the Personal Data Protection Act as well as with the legal framework applicable in the territory of the European Union through the General Data Protection Act (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR). Upon completion of the activities in this project the City of Nis will continue to work on further opening of data from its own competence, their maintenance and optimization of their use through membership in the national working group for open data, together with other state institutions, technical community and civil society organizations, academic institutions and experts dealing with open data. In a wider context the City of Nis recognizes the huge potential that open data have to create new opportunities for the development of the economy and employment, as well as new values ​​through new information, analyses and services. Since more than 150 companies engaged in advanced technologies have been active operating in Nis since November 2018, open data will be of particular interest and importance to new generations of entrepreneurs, startups and new companies, for future residents of the Scientific and Technological Park, which will start operating next year, as well as teams working from other common working spaces in the city. Open data is a prerequisite and key component of the future concept of the City of Nis as a smart city, which will enable better quality of life for citizens, from transport and education to water, waste and energy management. Finally, with this project, the City of Nis continues its strategic commitment to position itself as a city of advanced technologies, and its citizens are recognized as actors and bearers of technical and technological changes in the world.

July 16

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the manager of the German organization HELP-Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V. for economic development Ms. Maša Bubanj signed a new cooperation agreement for the project “Supporting Socio-Economic Stability in the Region of the Western Balkans 2019-2020”financed under the German Development Cooperation. The project objective is to increase the capacity of economically and socially vulnerable population groups and to improve treatment programs in institutions for the enforcement of criminal sanctions and reintegration processes and their full involvement in society. The value of the Project for the City of Nis is 72,000 euros, of which the City co-finances the project in the amount of 28,800.00 euros and the Government of the Republic of Germany with funds in the amount of 43,200.00 euros. The project will be implemented in the territory of the City of Nis until December 31, 2020. The project is based on educational and economic support to the local development of the City of Nis, with the implementation of mechanisms for strengthening the development of micro businesses in the city. The main activities will concentrate on the direct opening of new jobs, through the help to small businesses in the form of grants, organizing business and vocational training. HELP-Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V. will support the implementation of existing local development strategies and support the sustainable development process as a whole. Within the project, at least 30 micro businesses in Nis will be supported in their intentions for starting or developing business activities. Support includes: donation in equipment or material with an average value of EUR 2,400.00; organization of business and professional training according to users’ needs.

July 15

Nis City Mazor Darko Bulatovic met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in Serbia, H.E. Mr. Mochammad Chandra Widya Yudha. The Mayor welcomed the Indonesian ambassador and expressed his satisfaction with his first official visit to the City of Nis. He announced a new working meeting between the business delegations from Nis and Indonesia and possible concrete forms of cooperation. The Ambassador thanked the Mayor for hospitality and expressed his satisfaction with the good relations between the two countries. He stressed that he hoped that the fruitful cooperation of businessmen from the two countries would continue in the future as well, and that this would have a positive effect on the strengthening the cooperation in the tourism sector. The both officials expressed mutual interest in improving relations and establishing closer cooperation in the fields of culture, sports and economy. The Ambassador invited all businessmen from Nis to a large trade fair in Jakarta, which would be held in October this year.

July 15

Nis City Council Member Jelena met with the participants of a big concert organized by the Youth Philharmonic Naisus from Nis, which would be held at the amphitheater in Memorial Park Bubanj.  “Such musical events are very important for our city and we always want to help when it comes to organizing them,” said Jelena Mitrovski. “The concert in Memorial Park Bubanj has already become traditional one and attracts the attention of the lovers of the classical music and the public at large. The City of Nis will try to support such events and make them happen as many as possible for the benefit of all citizens. The concert in Memorial Park Bubanj is almost a unique musical spectacle and the guests who will now present themselves to the audience make it even more unique. In addition to the members of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Belgrade Soloists will perform as well as special guests – soprano Sanja Kerkez, soprano Natasa Rasic, tenor Paolo Atogoneti and bass Federico Beneti.

July 4

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic signed the MoU with the Roma Education Fund for the implementation of measures and activities related to the improvement of the position of Roma within the framework of the “Improving Young Roma Employment” Project, Phase II. The Project is supported by the German financial cooperation program and implemented by the German Development Bank KFW on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Germany-Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. The objective of the project is to promote employability and increase the competitiveness of members of the Roma national minority in the labor market. The project includes practical assistance, creating effective and efficient mechanisms necessary to combat discrimination and the creation of conditions in which Roma can exercise all rights with a focus on access to the education system and employment. The project includes 150 members of the Roma national minority from 76 local self-governments. Young Roma from Nis can compete for one of the 150 internship vacancies with 53 employers within the second phase of this program in all of Serbia. Education is free for students, including travel and accommodation expenses. Training courses will be held in Belgrade. Until now, in the first phase of this program, 780 boys and girls of Roma ethnicity participated, 186 underwent internships with different employers. 182 were paid during their internships. According to the last census, 6996 members of the Roma national minority live in Nis, while according to unofficial data, this number is much higher.

July 3

The Delegation of the European Union to Serbia and the EU Info Corner in Nis presented the report of the European Commission on Serbia for 2019 at Nis City Hall. The basic conclusion reached by the Commission is that Serbia has progressed in the field of economics, but not enough in the area of the rule of law and media freedom. The aim of the presentation was to bring together relevant stakeholders at the local level, which implies the participation of representatives of the business community, academic community, institutions, civil society organizations from Nis and southern Serbia. The participants were able to ask questions and actively participate in the discussion on this year’s European Commission Report on Serbia. The key findings of the Report were presented in Nis by the Head of the European Integration Sector in the EU Delegation to Serbia, Ms. Radica Nursdorfer. The economic aspects within the process of European integration of Serbia were the focus of the presentation. “There are many areas that have been assessed as positive, but there are also areas that can be further advanced”,  said Radica Nursdorfer. “The economic assessment is positive and the figures show that Serbia has made significant progress in the field of economy. The areas where most work needs to be done is the rule of law and freedom of the media, as the smallest progress has been made here. Poor progress in the field of the rule of law in many ways slows the speed of accession. If we want to talk about statistics, there are more chapters in which Serbia has progressed this year compared to last year, and fewer chapters where it stagnated”, said Ms. Nursdorfer.  The speakers before the discussion were Ivan Pavlovic, from the City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects and Prof.dr Boban Stojanovic, the professor at the Faculty of Economics in Nis and the President of the Nis Society of Economists. “The report is mostly moderately critically oriented, but it is important for us that there is not a constant regression on this path to the European Union,” said Professor Stojanovic. “In the economy, it is essential that there is fiscal stability, solid maintenance of external debt, a surplus in the budget, and all other preconditions for Serbia’s stability and progress. However, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises could be faster and the stagnation of domestic investments has been noted. ” “The local level is very important for economic development, and City of Nis has the highest results regarding the raising capacity of local self-government units in the process of European integration, and thus adequately responding to the needs of the economy, and on the other hand there are investors who are looking for competitive local self-government like Nis. The number of open companies in the city has increased, the unemployment is reduced, and the economic growth rate has increased, “Pavlovic said. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions and actively participate in the discussion on this year’s European Commission Report on Serbia. The most important conclusions of the report can be found on the website of the EU Delegation to Serbia.

July 1

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic hosted the reception for the representatives of the FIBA, the officials and representatives of all teams, the participants of the Women’s EuroBasket 2019 – Group C (Hungary, Turkey, Italy, Slovenia). On this occasion Mayor Bulatovic emphasized that the City of Nis was honored by the opportunity of hosting the Women’s EuroBasket 2019 and thanked everyone involved in organizing such a serious project that has so far passed in the best possible way. The City of Nis justified its role as a good host and organizer. Mr. Luc Vergoossen, the representative of FIBA, spoke on the behalf of FIBA officials and thanked everyone participating in the organization of the group C competition in Nis on excellent organization and great hospitality.

Emerging Europe, intelligence and networking platform that translates the region to the world and the world to the region, has announced the names of the 120 companies, organisations and individuals who have been nominated for its 2019 awards. The City of Nis has been nominated for Emerging Europe Award in the category of City FDI Promotion Strategy of the Year. This category assessed strategy of city/municipal investment promotion departments or agencies (in this case City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects)  in 2018 evaluating their creativity, effectiveness and success. City of Nis will be competing for this prestigious award with the cities of Debrecen in Hungary, Galati in Romania, Klaipeda in Lithuania, and the cities of Krakow, Lodz, Poznań, Wroclaw and Sosnowiec in Poland. This is another confirmation that the team of professionals working on attracting foreign direct investments performs their work in the best possible way, with the strong support of city leadership, but also that this teamwork and dedicated work is recognized not only in Serbia, but in Europe as well.  The winners of the awards will be announced at a special ceremony to be held as part of the Emerging Europe Leaders’ Meeting and Awards, which takes place on June 27-28 in London at the headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

June 28

The visit of the Bavarian business delegation to Nis was organized by Bavaria’s state ministry for the economy and the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The delegation was comprised of the representatives of 10 companies from different fields, together with the representatives of the Bavarian Ministry Mr. Martin Grossman and Ms. Ursula Heinzel, whose mission of the visit to Serbia was getting to know the potentials for Serbia’s cooperation with this German province, which was considered to be among the richest and most developed region of Europe. This was also the main topic of the discussion of the guests from Bavaria with the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović and Assistant Mayor Milos Milosevic, the Head of the City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects Milan Randjelovic, the director of the Nis Regional Chamber of Commerce Aleksandar Milicevic and the Head of the Association of Businessmen Naissus Dragan Milosevic who presented all the potentials and advantages of this part of our country. Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that, that due to the support of the Government and President Vucic, Nis was developing faster than all other parts of Serbia, and that the fact that Nis was industrial, technological, transport, scientific-educational, as well as the cultural and sports center of this part of our country made it attractive partner for cooperation. “Only the fact that direct flights from Nis  to seven different destinations in Germany provides unprecedented opportunities for increasing the volume of cooperation, both in the economy, as well as in tourism, culture, higher education and all other important segments of life,” Bulatovic said. The Head of the Bavarian delegation Mr. Martin Grossman said that he was impressed by what he saw and heard about Nis and its surroundings, where there were already several large German companies, and that this visit would certainly result in further linking and getting to know future partners because, as he said, the first step must always be getting to know potential partners and gaining confidence, which would, of course, lead to an increase in trade, economic, and any other cooperation between Bavaria and the South of Serbia.

June 26

The beginning of the International Exercise on Disaster Consequence Management Serbia 2019 was marked at the Serbian Russian Humanitarian Center in Nis.  The exercise is jointly organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, with the participation of about 700 representatives of rescue units from Serbia, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Hungary, Turkey, Cuba and the Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Center. In the next three days, they will demonstrate their training and equipment for disaster response and disaster consequence management in several locations in Nis and the surrounding area. The ceremony of the beginning of the exercise was attended by the Deputy Minister of Civil Defense and Emergency Situations of Russia Alexander Chuprian and State Secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Interior Milosav Milickovic who pointed out the importance of prevention, joint exercises and training, bearing in mind the changing weather conditions, climate change, and challenges we were facing which did not distinguish the state and administrative boundaries. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and his deputy Milos Bandjur, as well as a large number of high officials of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Emergency Situation Sector, the Gendarmerie, and the Mountain Rescue Service, the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations and specialized units from Serbia attended the opening ceremony. After the opening ceremony, the demonstration exercise of the members of the Emergency Situations Department of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia was shown, and the following days of the specialized team would demonstrate their skills and training at several locations in Nis and the surrounding area.