City of Nis E-Newsletter No.48

IN THIS ISSUE...

NUMBER 48 | YEAR 4 | DECEMBER 2012ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

CCIITTYY OOFF NNIIŠŠ

T he Office for Edict of Milan wil lbe the place that wil l coordinate

the events with the state, variousinstitutions, the city and the citizens.Our objective is to position Serbiaand Nis onto the map of world events.We wil l be open to al l ideas andsuggestions from al l those that wantto help. We want to send the messageto the world that we are the countrywith rich history and we expect ourfuture to be as rich, as Mrs. SlavicaTrifunovic said.

I n his address to the guest at theopening Nis City Mayor Zoran

Perisic said that Edict of Milan JubileeCelebration was the chance topromote Nis to the world. We want

Nis to become the tourist destinationto which every tourist would wish tocome again and again. This citydeserves that. We wil l be given thatchance next year, a chance to makeNis recognizable destination, thecenter South from Belgrade. Edict ofMilan Jubilee wil l be celebrated inmany places in the world and that iswhy we have to make efforts to makeour celebration the best, as MayorPerisic said.

S erbian Parl iament PresidentNebojsa Stefanovic said in his

speech that Nis would wholecomplete Christian world and it wouldsend the Christian message offreedom and love. >>>

OFFICE FOR EDICT OFMILAN JUBILEE

The Office for Edict of Milan Jubilee Celebration has beenopened officially. The office will coordinate events marking thejubilee. The official opening was attended by Serbian ParliamentPresident Mr. Nebojsa Stefanovic, Nis City Mayor Zoran Perisicand Councilor to RS Minister of Culture Mrs. Slavica Trifunovic.

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Youth Coordination OfficeOpened

Women’s Ehf Euro 2012 LocalOrganizational CommitteeFormed

Assistants to the MayorPresented

Newly Appointed AmericanAmbassador in Nis

Help for Young Entrepreneurs

New USAID Sustainable LocalDevelopment Project DirectorVisited Nis

Scots Donated a Fire Engine

American Donation for NisGerontology Center

Ambassador of Austria in Nis

Free Zone South CapacityBuilding

Austrian Way to High QualitySector in Dairy Industry

Premiere of the DocumentarySecond Meeting in Nis

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www.ni.rsElectronic Newsletter | № 48 | Year 4 | December 2012

H is Holiness Irinej, SerbianPatriarch, along with Mr.

Tomislav Nikolic, the Presidentof Serbia, presided over thesession of the OrganizingCommittee for marking the1700th anniversary of the Edictof Milan. Prime Minister IvicaDacic, Ministers of theGovernment of Serbia, Nis CityMayor Zoran Perisic,Ambassadors of Russia, Italy,France, Great Britain, Turkeyand Greece, representatives ofreligious and local communitiestook part in the session.

T he Organizing Committeedecided that the celebration

should begin on January 17, 2013with the concert of the SretenjeMonastery Choir. Thecelebration regarding the 1700thanniversary of adopting theEdict of Milan wil l last unti l 28October 2013 and it wil l havemany aspects - spiritual ,cultural , educational and tourist.

O n this occasion HisHoliness Irinej said that Nis

would connect East and West, atrue place that united al lChrisitina rel igions. PresidentNikol ic said that the forthcomingfestivities were both thecelebration and the duty.

>>> It is up to us to be worthydescendents of the Constantine theGreat. I think it is time for Nis to wakeup, for this part of Serbia to become al iveagain. Serbia exists outside Belgrade. Nisdeserves the support to become not onlyeconomic but also cultural , educational ,and pol itical capital of this part of Serbia,as Serbian Parl iament President Nebojsa

Stefanovic said.

T he City of Nis wil l be the host of thecentral celebration of this important

jubilee during next year. The citizens canparticipate actively in the preparation ofthis most important event in 2013 bysending their proposals to the Office forEdict of Milan Jubilee Celebration.

YEAR OF 2013 - OFFICIAL YEAROF EDICT OF MILAN CELEBRATION

N is City Mayor Zoran Perisic, in hisaddress to Assembly Members, said

the Republ ic of Serbia wil l help City ofNis with 120 mil l ion dinars which wil l beal located from the budget reserves forthe project of covering of 1 1 000 m2 ofthe Mediana archeological site.

I n addition to this decision theOrganizing Committee, led by Serbian

Patriarch Irinej and Serbian PresidentTomislav Nikol ic, has adopted theprogram of events. During the month ofJune several musical performances by

international ly recognized musicians andartists wil l be held. Representatives offoreign embassies and diplomats wil l beactively involved in the organization ofanniversary celebration.

A s Mayor Perisic announced, thecelebration wil l begin on January 17

with the concert of the SretenjeMonastery Choir at Nis National Theatrein Nis. The celebration wil l last unti l 28October 2013 and it wil l have manyaspects - spiritual , cultural , educationaland tourist.

A ccording to the Mayor Perisic al levents should be organized and held

in a spirit of tolerance and it would beimperative to secure the safety ofcitizens during the Jubilee celebrationsince big number of tourists is expectedto come the fol lowing year.

N is City Assembly President Mile Il icsaid that this Parl iament was given

the historical honor to declare the year2013 the year of celebrating Edict ofMilan Anniversary and stressed that itwas a celebration of general interest inthe organization of which al l citizensshould be involved.

Nis City Assembly adopted unanimously the decision to declare the yearof 2013 the Official Year of Edict of Milan Anniversary Celebration. The

Assembly also adopted the decision to establish the award Constantine theGreat– the award for tolerance.

CELEBRATION OFEDICT OF MILAN

STARTS ON JANUARY 17

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N is City Mayor ZoranPerisic spent a day in an

official visit to Rome to presentthe plans for the celebration ofEdict of Milan Jubilee.

T he presentation was held atone of the most beautiful

museums in Rome. BesidesMayor Perisic, SerbianAmbassador to Rome Mrs. AnaHrustanovic addressed thegathered audience. MayorPerisic and AmbassadorHrustanovic also discussed themodes for extending thecooperation between the City ofNis and Serbian Embassy inRome.

MEETING IN ROMEDEDICATED TO EDICT

OF MILAN JUBILEECELEBRATION IN NISPROTOCOL ON THE RAILWAY

BYPASS PROJECT SIGNED

T he funds for the preparation ofproject documentation referring to

the construction of a single track l inerai lway bypass around the City of Nišwere secured by EU within the scope ofcompletion, modernization andsustainable development of the Serbianrai lway transport system within the Pan-European Corridors X, in order to meetthe required EU capacity levels andqual ity standards relevant to the TEN-Tnetwork. The tender for selection of theconsultants for preparing the projectdocumentation wil l be launched in March2013 and the expected date for projectimplementation is June 2013.

T his is important day for Nis becauseit marks the beginning of relocation

of the railway from the city center withthe assistance of EU, said AmbassadorDegert adding that transport was of vitalimportance for Serbia from the aspectsof efficiency and security.

T he project wil l be implemented inthree phases: first the Feasibi l ity

Study wil l be prepared together withgeneral and prel iminary design, thensecurity relevant studies andEnvironmental Impact Assessment Study.Tender documentation wil l be developedin accordance with EU PRAG or IFIrequirements and Yel low Book FIDICcontract conditions ready for publ icprocurement process. The financialestimate wil l be done in the end.

M inister Mrkonjic pointed out thatthe construction of Nis Railway

Hub was one of the most importantprojects on the Corridor X and that hehoped that in four-year-time Nis wouldget the rai lway infrastructure itdeserved.

T he problem with the regulation ofrai lway transport which has been

present in this city for so long shouldmotivate maximum engagement from al lof us so that we could leave to futuregenerations more functional , morebeautiful and cleaner city as MayorPerisic said.

The Protocol on cooperation between the City of Nis and RS Ministry ofTransport on the implementation of Nis Railway Bypass Project

Documentation Project was signed today by Nis City Mayor Zoran Perisic andRS Minister of Transport Milutin Mrkonjic. The signing ceremony wasattended by the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republicof Serbia, H.E. Ambassador Vincent Degert.

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DON’T WAIT FOR THE JOB– GIVE YOURSELF ONE

N is City Mayor Zoran Perisic saidthat Phil ip Morris proved once again

how generous this company was andavoided the cl iché in the manner ofwhich some other companies in ourcountry act.

D ON’T WAIT FOR THE JOB – GIVEYOURSELF ONE Program is one of

the major donor programs of Phil ipMorris in Serbia. It has been launched inorder to help reduce the problem ofunemployment and encourage self-employment through smal l and familyentrepreneurship. Through this programthe funds are al located for purchasingequipment needed to start or improveone’s own business. In addition, thebeneficiaries can use the advisoryservices from economic experts who wil linstruct them in the fundamentals ofsmal l business running, said Mil ivoje

Jovanovic, manager of NGO Eneka. Thepotential beneficiaries can submit theirappl ications from December 3 toFebruary 28, 2013.

W e are very proud that we couldintroduce 58 new entrepreneurs

who have started their own companiesthis year and thus provide for themselvesand their famil ies. I hope that theirexample wil l motivate the rest of ourfel low citizens who are thinking aboutstarting their own business to apply,"said Jelena Stevanovic Preradovic,representative of Phil ip MorrisDepartment for Community Relations.

M ore information about program canbe found at:

www.pokrenisezaposao.rs

A t Nis City Hall, the NGO Eneka presented at 58 new entrepreneurs whostarted their own businesses in 2012 with the help from the Program -

DON’T WAIT FOR THE JOB – GIVE YOURSELF ONE. Also, on this occasion,Eneka announced the beginning of a new cycle in the national frameworkwhich would provide assistance for starting another 100 small and familybusinesses in Serbia during the 2013. The program is implemented throughthe donation of Philip Morris Company.R S Government Office for

Cooperation with Diasporaand Serbs in the Region,together with local self-governments, will support theopening of the local Offices forCooperation with Diaspora andSerbs in the Region in thetowns in Serbia.

A t the initiative of therepresentative of the Office

for Cooperation with theDiaspora and Serbs in theRegion Mr. Rastka Jankovic, wemade a decision to establ ish theOffice for Cooperation withDiaspora at the City of Nis,which would be the l ink betweenthe home, in this case, Nis, andthe Diaspora," said Nis CityMayor Zoran Perisic.

T his is just the first step inexpanding office network in

order to connect people in thecountry and abroad, particularlyin the areas from which many ofour citizens l iving abroad. Officefor Cooperation with Diasporaat the local level wil l work withthe Government Office forCooperation with the Diasporaand Serbs in the Region in theimplementation of joint projectsin the fields of economy andculture, said Rastko Jankovic,Advisor to the Director of theOffice for Cooperation with theDiaspora and Serbs in theRegion.

OFFICE FORCOOPERATION WITH

DIASPORA IN NIS

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EXPANSION OFCITY LANDFILL

B y changing contractual obl igations,i .e., by introducing Annex to the

Contract between the City of Nis and theInvestor, the Ital ian Company Amest, theconditions wil l be fulfi l led to expand theold landfi l l and, then, to construct theregional one on the territory of theDoljevac Municipal ity by the end of 2014.

F or the past two years, nothing hasbeen done specifical ly on the

rehabil itation and closure of the Bubanjlandfi l l , so there was a potential danger

of having the landfi l l closed and thewaste disposed at Leskovac landfi l l . Afterthe modification of General RegulationPlan, the Company Amest wil l get 200square meters for the construction of aplant for the methane extraction onBubanj landfi l l and recycl ing center atthe fourth cel l of the landfi l l . New landfil lKeles wil l be located in Doljevac, and,according to the action plan prepared byRegional Development Agency South, itwil l be a continuation of the existingones.

Nis City Council Members adopted unanimously the conclusion thatreferred to the expansion of city landfill and that would be a matter of

urgency before the Members of Nis City Assembly. This matter was earlierwithdrawn from the Nis City Assembly’s working agenda. The issue wasresent for Nis City Council consideration in order to have the Contractrevised to the best interest of Nis City.

EUROPEAN FOLKLOREFESTIVAL IN NIS

1 8th European Folklore Festival of theDiaspora wil l take place from May 17to May 19, 2013 in Nis. The organizer offestival in Nis is Students’ CulturalCenter Nis – SKC and the Folk DanceGroup ORO in cooperation with theTourist Organization of Nis andsponsored by the City of Nis. SKC andFolk Dance Group ORO won thenomination for this great event two yearsago with the idea to bring to Nis over2000 young people in the year ofcelebrating Edict of Milan anniversary.

E uropean Folklore Festival bringstogether young folklore dancers of

Serbian Diaspora l iving al l over theEurope. This Festival is the CompetitionFinals for the Serbian Diaspora folkloredance groups which gather our people

who cherish the tradition and folklore oftheir country of origin. Every year, in theSerbian Diaspora national competitionsof folk dance groups are held and thebest are chosen for this great annualevent that each year moves to anothercity or another country.

S tudents’ Cultural Center incooperation with Tourist

Organization of Nis and the City of Niswant, in the year of Edict of MilanJubilee, to bring over more than 50 folkdance groups from abroad and over2000 young people who wil l have theopportunity to compete with each otherbut also to participate in the arts andcultural programs and get to know thecity, the people and history of Nis.

Nis City Mayor Zoran Perisic met at the Nis City Hall with the delegationof the European Folklore Festival Council. During the meeting they

discussed the most important questions about the organization of theEuropean Folklore Festival in Nis in 2013.

T he Preliminary Round ofthe EHF EURO 2012 in

Serbia came to an end onDecember 8. With the groupmatches between Sweden andFrance and the encounterbetween Denmark and FYRMacedonia EHF EURO 2012 bidfarewell to host city Nis,Serbia's third largest city.

L ocal Organizational Commi-ttee was happy that they

have been able to host asuccessful tournament here inNis, just l ike they did with theMen´s European championshipback in January. 750 people wereworking with the event here,300 of them being volunteers,and their effort and commitmenthave been essential to thesuccess. Local community provi-ded great support.

N is City Vice Mayor Ljubi-voje Slavkovic hosted the

reception for the representativesof EHF and competing teams atNis City Hal l . On this occasionHelga Magnusdottir from EHFExecutive Committee thankedthe City for the warm welcomeand good organization of thechampionship.

I t is important to Nis as a cityto host events l ike this as Nisis an extremely sports happycity with a long tradition forsports, also at top level . Eventhough the EHF EURO 2012 isover in Nis, it is far from beingover. Six teams have made it tothe Main Round in Belgrade:Norway, Serbia and CzechRepubl ic from Group A; France,Sweden and Denmark fromGroup B. The two best rankedteams qual ify for the semi-finals(15 December) in Belgrade.

MEETING IN ROMEDEDICATED TO EDICT

OF MILAN JUBILEECELEBRATION IN NIS

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City of Nis E-Newsletter No.48