May 15^th

The International Day of Families was marked at Nis City Hall. The joint presentation of the family empowerment program was organized by the City of Nis and the organization “SOS Children’s Village Serbia”. The gathering in the City Hall was also attended by Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the member of Nis City Council for Social Care Affairs Ms. Tijana Djordjevic Ilic.”We have been implementing the family protection program for 5 years together with the Center for Social Work and we are trying to help empowering of this primary, but very important human community,” said Tijana Djordjevic Ilic. During the presentation of the program of work of SOS Children’s Village, it was said that the family was the basic cell of a society that provided security to an individual and that a healthy family was the foundation of a prosperous society. The Family Support Center Putokaz, which is committed to the implementation of the family strengthening program, has been already working in Nis for 5 years. By strengthening the family the society as a whole is strengthened at the same time.

EXHIBITION AND LECTURE ON CONTEMPORARY DANISH ARCHITECTURE

May 17^th

With the great support of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Ministry of Culture, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark organized an exhibition and lecture on modern Danish architecture in cooperation with the City of Nis and the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Nis. The exhibition’s authors are Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Association of Danish Architectural Firms and DANISH ™, a platform for the promotion of Danish architecture and urban planning. The exhibition presented examples of modern, sustainable architecture of well-known Danish companies. From socially sustainable projects aimed at creating interactions to environmentally sustainable emission reduction projects by converting energy from sun, water and wind to electricity. After the opening of the exhibition, students and all interested had the opportunity to hear the lecture by Jakob Matzen, a former member of the City of Copenhagen Urban Planning Team, who shared the experience in the area of ​​town planning in Denmark. Also, after the lecture, with the support of the Danish Ministry of Culture, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark the Danish documentary film “Great Architecture on a Small Planet” produced by the Danish National Television and the production company The Thin Green Line, was screened also for the gathered public. This documentary deals with examples of Danish architecture and urban planning from Copenhagen to Buenos Aires, as well as today’s challenges, such as climate change and increasing urbanization.

May 12^th

USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Mr. Brock Bierman, and the cities of Nis, Pancevo, and Cacak signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to help their district heating plants become more energy efficient. The Memorandum was signed by the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, the Mayor of Pancevo, Sasa Pavlov, and the Deputy Mayor of Cacak, Milica Dacic. The project for energy efficiency in Serbia will last two years and its value is 2.1 million dollars. The aim is to reduce energy consumption through improved heating efficiency at the local level. USAID will provide technical equipment and advisory services to Nis, Pancevo, and Cacak to increase heating energy efficiency, which will reduce the amount of fuel needed to meet consumer demand.  “The framework agreement signed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the US Government enabled us to sign this memorandum today. We are glad that USAID decided to support our city out of several municipalities they were considering. We believe that this will enable further steps in improving energy efficiency and that as a city we will make a full contribution. I believe that contributed funds will be used in the right way to improve energy efficiency, which will result in citizens’ satisfaction, as well as the savings for city district heating system, “said Mayor Darko Bulatovic. The Mayor of Pancevo, Sasa Pavlov, said that the energy efficiency and the use of alternative energy sources was a strategic determination of the City of Pancevo. Milica Dacic, Deputy Mayor of Cacak, also thanked for being selected by USAID for this project. “We are trying to awaken the ecological awareness of our fellow citizens through these projects,” she said

May 11^th

Тhe EU Info Corner Nis in partnership with the City of Nis organized the Day of European values and thus marked the Week of Europe and three years of joint work at new premises in Vozdova Street. This event open for all citizens of Nis was organized at the city center. The event is part of the EU for You Campaign. The programme prepared for the event included the performances of the orchestra Impresija, children’s choir Carolija, youth dance group Boom 018, and the students of Secondary Grammar School Svetozar Markovic. Also the civil society organizations that have been actively working in the local community on promoting European values ​​and communicating took interactive and creative approach in introducing citizens to their work. The Day of European Values is part of the European Union Delegation Campaign in Serbia and the EU Info Network in Belgrade, Nis and Novi Sad and is being implemented under the title # EUzaTebe, with the idea to promote the results of EU development aid to Serbia in the process of European integration.

May 10^th

City of Nis and EU Info Point Nis marked the Day of Europe, May 9^th, by joint activity of 3 D Mapping Projection of the flags of the European Union and the Republic of Serbia on the building facade of Nis National Theatre. The facade of the theater in Nis became canvas for the symbolic conjunction of the synergy and joint efforts of the Republic of Serbia and the European Union in bringing our country closer to a community of European nations. This joint activity of the City of Nis and EU Info Point Nis was part of the #EUzaTEBE  umbrella campaign  implemented by European Delegation to Serbia and EU Info Network’s (EU Info Centre in Belgrade and EU Info Points in Novi Sad and Nis),  together with local partners with the aim of promoting the results of EU’s development assistance to Serbia as part of the European integration process.

May 09^th

This year, for the fourth time in a row, Nis joined the march of the “Immortal Regiment”. The “Immortal Regiment” is a traditional march, in which the descendants of fighters against fascism march through the streets of cities across Serbia, carry photos of their ancestors and symbolically remind them of the glorious days of the struggle against fascism. The official delegations paid their respects and laid flower wreaths at the monument to Soviet pilots who died in the so-called Nis incident in 1944 at the Memorial Complex of Former Concentration camp Crveni Krst. The procession of the Immortal Regiment went on through city streets to the city center and monument to the liberators of Nis. Respects were paid and the flower wreaths were laid by the official delegations of the City of Nis, Nisava District, Serbian Army and Police Forces. This is the second time that the March of the Immortal Regiment is supported by local self-government. It originally began in 2012 in the Siberian city of Tomsk, but this year, the Immortal Regiment is held in more than 110 countries and 500 cities all over the world. People join the processions holding the portraits of their relatives who fought in World War II, and every year the number of participating cities grows. The history of the Serbian people is closely connected with the history of Russia, as confirmed by this manifestation.

May 09^th

At the invitation of the Mayor of Kosice, Mr. Jaroslav Polacek, the representatives of the City of Nis, participated in a joint meeting of partner twin cities organized in Kosice, from May 5-7.The occasion for this meeting was the celebration of the 650^th anniversary of the awarding of the coat of arms to the city of Kosice, thus making the city the oldest one with the official coat of arms in Europe. The meeting was also the part off the jubilee celebration of the Day of the City of Kosice. The cities of Nis and Kosice signed the Twinning Agreement in 2001. Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia, the cultural and economic center of the eastern part of the state and the administrative center of the Kosice region. Kosice is known as the Slovak city with the largest old urban city core, and it the first European city to receive its coat of arms (1369). In 2013, the city was proclaimed the European Capital of Culture, and in 2019 it was the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to be declared the European capital of volunteering. In May, the City of Kosice will host the World Ice Hockey Championship. The City of Nis presented itself to the hosts together with the cities of Ostrava – Czech Republic, Abaújszántó, Miskolc and Budapest  – Hungary, Katowice,  Krosno and Rzeszów – Poland, Vysoké Tatry – Slovakia and Uzhgorod – Ukraine.  Marina Kostic, Assistant Mayor, Nikola Lecić, Chief Urban Planner and Stela Jovanovic, expert associate at the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovakia in Serbia were the members of Nis City Delegation.This meeting was an opportunity to dicuss with the hosts the future cooperation between the chambers of commerce of two cities, the national theaters and two planning departments, with an open possibility for other forms of cooperation that twin towns can accomplish, considering the possibilities, but above all, friendship for nearly two decades.

May 7^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the President of XINGYU Company Mrs. Xiaoping Zu, the President of the Company, related to the construction of the company’s factory in Nis. Mr. Goran Knezevic, the Minister of Economy, signed the MoU on behalf of the RS Government.   XINGYU is one of the leading manufacturers of LED lighting in the automotive industry with production facilities worldwide, including Germany, Japan and China, with clients such as AUDI, BMW, LANDROVER, PSA , RENAULT, OPEL; Japanese car manufacturers: TOJOTA, NISSAN, HONDA, MAZDA; American car manufacturers: GENERAL MOTORS and FORD and Chinese car manufacturers: CHERY, GAC, FAW-CAR, GLEE. Basic production of the company is located in China. Company plans to relocate part of production to Europe due to the proximity of its customers. The greater part of production for European customers would be realized in Serbia. The company chose to invest in Serbia and selected the Nis, after almost a year of negotiations and decision-making process, taking into consideration the experience of local Nis team in the implementation of the investment projects, the scope and method of implementing them, the location itself.  During this period of negotiations, four visits of various representatives of the company were organized, from October 2018 to May 2019, and a series of activities were undertaken to collect and deliver relevant information to representatives of investors, by the Office for Local Economic Development and Projects in cooperation with Development Agency of Serbia. The company recognized the industrial tradition of Nis, development resources, and human resources, which primarily relies on the capacities of the University of Nis, the logistics position of the city and the connection to the European destinations and the professionalism and commitment of the local team and management to the implementation of a joint project.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic together with the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali met with Huawei’s management. After the meeting, Bulatovic expressed satisfaction with the fact that the City of Nis was covered by the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of Serbia and Huawei on the development of smart cities. “It was generally agreed that Nis would be the first local self-government in Serbia in which a smart city project should be implemented. In this sense, we will select three utility service companies from the seven tested in the coming period, which will be covered by the pilot project. The smart city project in the future will significantly ease the daily life of the citizens of Nis, “Mayor Bulatovic said. Huawei Vice President Li Jian pointed out that a delegation of the company would visit Nis in the next four weeks to discuss on the ground what communal services would be most suitable for the implementation of the smart city project. He added that Nis could be a good example of developing the smart city concept not only in Serbia, but also in Europe.

April 24^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic is the official member of Serbian national delegation at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which is being held in Beijing. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as the One Belt One Road or the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road is a Chinese Government development strategy involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organisations in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia in 2016, bilateral cooperation in various fields has been advancing steadily. A Serbian delegation headed by President Aleksandar Vucic signed several bilateral agreements on the first day of a visit to Beijing on Wednesday. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic attended the signing of the MoU between Republic of Serbia Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Mr. Rasim Ljajic and telecoms giant Huawei for the Smart Cities project for the cities of Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis.The purpose of this document is to develop the strategy of smart cities through the positioning of Huawei as a strategic partner for cities and local governments in Nis, Belgrade and Novi Sad. “Through joint work, through the exchange of information the platform for the development of local potentials and the building of local ecosystems in the field of digital transformation in the public, financial, educational, energy and transport sector will be provided which is of particular importance for the future development of Nis, as a great Balkan hub, “Bulatovic said after arriving in Beijing. Mayor Bulatovic will also take part in the Digital Silk Road Forum, one of the thematic forums under the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. The City of Nis together with the City of Hangzhou from China has been appointed as the pilot cities for the initiative of the economic cooperation along the China-Serbia Digital Silk Road.