October 7^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic opened today the 7^th Auto Show in Nis. This event is interesting not only for the citizens of Nis, but for all the inhabitants of southern Serbia who gravitate in this area. “The fact that we are here in the Sports Hall Cair for the 7^th time for the Auto Show is a success in itself, because in this way Nis can be compered to far richer and larger cities”, said Mayor Bulatovic. This year’s Car Show is the seventh in a row and will gather car and engine enthusiasts with a wide range of accompanying equipment. The world’s leading manufacturers of vehicles, parts and auto equipment will be presented on two thousand square meters. New models of passenger and cargo vehicles will be presented. Sellers of two-wheelers will present their latest motorcycles. Banks and leasing companies will offer more favorable loans and leasing. The general impression is that Nis has the potential to develop this aspect of the fair presentation of the auto industry.

October 7^th

On October 7^th, 1912, at dawn the Second Infantry Regiment Knjaz Mihailo started its war journey through the Balkans and First World War. In the First Balkan War, the regiment participated in the Kumanovo, Prilep and Bitola battles. In the Second Balkan War it took part in the Battle of Bregalnica, and due to the strength and vigor of its fighters, the regiment receives the “iron” epithet. In the First World War, the regiment participated in the Battle of Cerska and in 1918 it took part in the liberation of Nis, and on its war road the regiment arrived all the way to Timisoara. In honor of the Second Infantry Regiment Knjaz Mihailo, October 7^th is celebrated by the Army of Serbia as the Day of the Third Brigade of the Land Forces. Commander of the Land Forces, Lieutenant General Milosav Simovic, welcomed the guests and emphasized that the Third Brigade of the Land Forces successfully performed all the tasks in the previous period and underlined that the new duties of this brigade were securing the state border to Macedonia and Bulgaria. On the occasion of the Day of the Brigade, individual professional soldiers and technical staff received awards and recognitions.

October 5^th, 2016

A two-day conference of the Association of the European Cities of Culture (AVEC), whose full member is the City of Niš, was held in the Hungarian city of Szombathely (Szombathely)

From October 1^st to October 3^rd, the meetings of the Association were also attended by the representatives of the City of Nis, by the representatives of the Chairman of the Assembly of the City of Niš Office and the City Municipality of Mediana, which is a special member of the Association. AVEC has its own specificity, because it deals only with the areas that are of importance for the City of Niš, namely with the cultural and historical heritage and the sustainability of tourism in small towns. The concept of the sustainability of these areas is an important task for the future, through setting up and meeting the specific standards that lead to a better understanding of the historical and cultural heritage, as well as to the rapid development of tourism. The overall objective of all these aforementioned is commercial and economic well-being of the local governments that implement these standards.

Given the fact that the Association is working closely with UNESCO, the issues discussed about, at the conference in Hungary, included, among others, the possibilities for the City of Niš to apply for EU funds and UNESCO through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, within the network of the cities. Recently, the Association has expanded the area of cooperation on certain agricultural sectors which have tourism potential, such as wine-making.

The representatives of the City of Nis at this gathering had the active participation, through the presentation of the latest potentials of the city, bearing in mind the development of the air traffic and modernization of the work of the Tourist Organization of Nis. The appeal was lodged to make AVEC internet presentations and their following-publications also in the Serbian language.  The ideas and experiences were exchanged with the Mayor of Szombathely, with regard to improving the work of the museums and the cooperation of local self-governments with the Ministries of foreign affairs, culture and tourism, while the implementation of the project ideas would be especially enlarged on during the visit of the President of the Association of European Cities of Culture (AVEC), Mr. Christian Mourisard to the City of Nis, from November 1^st to November 4^th, 2016.

October 5^th

The delegation of the City of Nis visited its twin city Kursk, in the Russian Federation, on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of this city. A special occasion for this visit was marking ten years since the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation between Nis and Kursk. The guests who attended festive events had the opportunity to see an exhibition of photographs dedicated to the history of cooperation between Kursk. At the ceremonial session of the City of Kursk Assembly, the heads of the delegations of the towns of Nis, Viten and Debno were greeted with letters of thanks for the mentioned anniversaries.The friendly relations between Nis and Kursk date back to 1920, when the icon “The Sign of the Mother of God” Kurskaja Korenaja was kept in Nis. In the meantime, these relations have been interrupted by numerous wars. Many years later, on the mutual initiative of two fraternal cities, negotiations began on both re-establishment and possible expansion of cooperation in various fields. In September 2006, long-standing friendly relations between two cities finally got their legal form. The Agreement on Cooperation between the City of Nis and the City of Kursk was signed. Two years ago, a memorial plaque was placed in one street in Nis, now called “Kurska Street”.

October 3^rd

Nis City Deputy Mayor Milos Bandjur visited the students of the first year of the Nis Faculty of Law on the first day of the new school year. “You have chosen a faculty that is rather demanding, but it has a long tradition, and from these school benches bore successful lawyers, judges, professors and lawyers. A new stage in your life is before you, different from what you have before. Of course, student days bring many nice moments and hanging out with colleagues, new friendships are born that I believe will last for whole life. Standing here in front of you, I sincerely believe in fron of the future prominent members of this community, I have to remember the famous words saying, “Every man has two beginnings: the day when he was born, and the day he discovered why he was born. I am convinced that you now know very well why you were born and how you should shape your life in the future”, said Nis City Deputy Mayor on the occasion of the new school year beginning for Nis University students.

September 30^th             

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met today with the former EU Parliamentarians at Nis City Hall. “Your visit is very important, for our country and our town, especially since it comes at the moment important for European integration process of Serbia. Membership in the European Union is a priority in the foreign policy of our country, and it is also important for the functioning of large cities like Nis, because a number of investments and market opportunities opened up. This is especially important in the light of the recent challenges that await us in the negotiation process by chapters. An important message for the citizens of Serbia is that the European Union has approved the opening of chapters 23 and 24 in the accession negotiations. Bearing in mind that these are the two most important chapters on which the European Union rests, namely the respect for the rights and freedoms of all citizens and the rule of law, the opening of these chapters represents a great recognition to our government and our country of its progress in the implementation of reforms”, said Mayor Bulatovic. According to him, through the adoption of strategically important documents and action plans that are in line with the documents of the European Union, City of Nis, as a local government, wants to contribute to the acceleration of the reform process and show that we are a good partner to the Serbian government at the local level in its efforts to bring us closer to membership in EU.

September 23^rd

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and H.E. Ambassador of FYROM Vera Jovanovska Tipko met today at Nis City Hall to discuss the cooperation that would focus on culture, student exchange, tourism, but also on education and economy. “Cooperation should primarily be at the level of the chambers of commerce of the two countries, and then at a lower level”, as Mayor Bulatovic said. “There is the possibility of intensifying cooperation with the Nis Cluster for Advanced Technologies and our Cluster for  Communication and Information Technologies”, as H.E. Vera Jovanovska Tipko said at the press conference held at the City Hall after the meeting.

September 23^rd

The central city square in Nis was all about the football today since the UEFA Champions League Cup was placed in a special truck parked on the square. All fans of football would be able to take pictures of the most famous trophy in the world, made up of seven and a half kilograms of pure silver. However, the famous cup cannot be touched because only the champions of the Champions League have this privilege. Uni Credit Bank, in cooperation with Adidas, Nissan and Mastercard, organized the “Small Champions League”, th competition for the youngest footballers at King Milan Square. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović thanked the bank for cooperation on the occasion of the UEFA Trophy Tour.
“I am glad that for the second time the original trophy arrived in Nis and I am particularly pleased that Vladimir Jugovic has been back in our city after many years and that he will share his experience with us – said the Mayor.

September 22^nd

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met today in the City Hall with 9 former leaders of the city. “We have met today as a sign of gratitude and respect for people, time and citizens who supported them directly or indirectly,” Mayor Bulatovic pointed out. According to Bulatovic, today’s meeting is an example of how we should all work together and that we all should lead the city together to a better future. “My obligation as the Mayor is to learn every day and find out something new, and, from the people who were the first people in the city, there is something to be heard and learned,” Myor Bulatovic said.

September 19^th

The certificates for successfully completed U-NI 2016 professional practice were awarded at Nis City Hall. U-NI Practice in 2016 is a project implemented by the City of Nis and the University of Nis, and was carried out by the City of Nis Youth Office. The project aimed to provide young people with the opportunity to acquire professional practice, to receive a certificate of practice that is recognized by the University of Nis as extracurricular activity and 3 additional ESP points, and recommendations by mentors that could serve for better positioning in the labor market.

The introductory speech was given by Stevan Zivkovic, the Head of the Youth Office of the City of Nis, who said that the practice was initiated for the second time with the help of the Youth Office and the City of Nis. The practice lasted for a month in the public sector, and in the future it was expected that more institutions would participate. This year there were 116 positions for interns, 53 applications and 48 selected candidates. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic said that all this wasachieved due to the joint initiative and work of the institutions in Nis.

The Evaluation of the U-NI Practice Project in 2016 showed that students were extremely satisfied with this year’s practice, and public sector mentors had the expertise and goodwill to get into the work with their young colleagues. There is an idea that the following year, the duration of the practice will be extended, increasing the number of offered positions for practitioners, and potentially providing the practice in the private sector.