CorD Magazine, September 2021 issue no. 203

H.E. ADAM KOENRAAD

AMBASSADOR OF BELGIUM TO SERBIA

Democracy Thrives On A Divergence Of Opinion

NOVICA TONČEV

DRAGAN BJELOGRLIĆ

MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO IN CHARGE OF IMPROVING THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPED MUNICIPALITIES

ACTOR, DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER

It’s a Privilege To Be A Free Man

www.cordmagazine.com

SEPTEMBER 2021/ ISSUE NO. 203

Our Door Is Open

interviews opinions news comments events COMMENT

Open Balkan FOCUS

Is Ecology A New Political Issue In Serbia?

Exclusive

H.E. PÉTER SZIJJÁRTÓ

783002 771451 9

Friendship That Stands For No Double Standards

ISSN1451-7833

HUNGARIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

CONTENTS

06 FRIENDSHIP THAT STANDS FOR NO DOUBLE STANDARDS H.E. PÉTER SZIJJÁRTÓ HUNGARIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

24 SIMPLE GUIDE TO VOTE ENDING MERKEL ERA German elections 2021

26 THE DANGEROUS BALKAN STANDSTILL Feature: CARL BILDT

27 BUSINESS DIALOGUE 40 NOW IT’S A $7.75 BILLION BUSINESS 12 DEMOCRACY THRIVES ON A DIVERGENCE OF OPINION

50 IT’S A PRIVILEGE TO BE A FREE MAN 43 MUSEUMS ARE LIVING PLACES OF REMEMBRANCE

NEDA KNEŽEVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF YUGOSLAVIA Profile

56 CHILL OUT 58 SUMMER IN THE CITY Fashion

62 FACES & PLACES

Focus: Is ecology a new political issue in Serbia?

44 MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN EVER IN TOKYO

@CORD_MAGAZINE

VLADIMIR VANJA GRBIĆ, VOLLEYBALL PLAYER Sport

@CORDMAGAZINE

CORD MAGAZINE

“CorD does not criticise or critique. We are a place where people can inspire and be inspired by others”

CORDMAGAZINE

Mirjana Jovanović, Miša Brkić, Ljubica Gojgić Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić, Miloš Belčević

ART DIRECTOR: Branislav Ninković b.ninkovic@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Maja Vukadinović,

4

DRAGAN BJELOGRLIĆ, ACTOR, DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER My Life

60 CULTURE CALENDAR

18 LITHIUM ON THE ELECTION BALLOT

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Neda Lukić n.lukic@aim.rs

IVAN MEDENICA, BITEF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Art

JOHNNY BOUFARHAT, HOPIN FOUNDER AND CEO Enterpreneur

H.E. ADAM KOENRAAD AMBASSADOR OF BELGIUM TO SERBIA

16 GLOBAL DIARY

48 THE WORLD IS AT A TIPPING POINT

September

PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen TRANSLATION & EDITING MRP EDITORIAL

SALES MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@aim.rs Mihailo Čučković m.cuckovic@aim.rs OFFICE MANAGER: Svetlana Petrović s.petrovic@aim.rs

FINANCE: Dragana Skrobonja finance@aim.rs EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Maja Vidaković m.vidakovic@aim.rs PUBLISHER: Ivan Novčić i.novcic@aim.rs DIRECTOR: Ana Novčić

a.novcic@aim.rs a.novcic@cordmagazine.com PRINTING: Rotografika d.o.o.

Segedinski put 72, Subotica CorD is published by: alliance international media Prote Mateje 52, 11111 Belgrade 17, PAK 126909, Serbia Phone: +(381 11) 2450 508 Fax: +(381 11) 2450 122

E-mail: office@aim.rs office@cordmagazine.com www.cordmagazine.com www.aim.rs ISSN no: 1451-7833 All rights reserved alliance international media 2021

The views expressed in this publication are those of the presenter; they do not necessary reflect the view of publications published by alliance international media

Comment

Open Balkan

BY ZORAN PANOVIĆ

S

erbian President Aleksandar Vučić practises a rather original and successful technology of governing based on a system of mutually functional paradoxes.

Even within the framework of his party, his coalition and the formally non-partisan public figures who support him, Vučić has ideological contradictions, but these contradictions don’t exclude one another, rather - on the contrary – they give a synergetic effect to the “catch all” principle. The fall of Kabul and the dramatic scenes from the airport even awakened political passions in Serbia. In response to this event, Vojislav Šešelj – Vučić’s former political mentor and a Hague Tribunal convict – appeared on a television station with a national frequency that supports Vučić fanatically. Immediately after this, Nenad Čanak – a former outspoken opponent of the Slobodan Milošević regime – appeared on another national frequency television station that also supports Vučić fanatically, and (alluding to Šešelj) dubbed those in Serbia who maliciously comment on the balance sheet of the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan as ‘Serbibans’. Čanak and Šešelj are arch enemies, both ideologically and in the media sphere, but they function in this “catch all”.

In Vučić’s productive system of mutually functional paradoxes, both the ‘Serbian

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world’ and the ‘open Balkans’ are developing.

The idealogue of the ‘Serbian world’ is seen as Vučić’s old comrade-in-arms Aleksandar Vulin, while the ‘open Balkans’ could be conceptually connected with Marko Čadež, Vučić’s agile president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

The 1990s, and everything today associated with that time, represent the soft underbelly of Serbia and that’s an ideal cause for nationalists - Croatian, Bosniak, Albanian and Montenegrin – to play on their old card and obsession by masking their malignancy with democratic phrases - accusations levelled against Belgrade

The 1990s, and everything today associated with that time, represent the soft underbelly of Serbia and that’s an ideal cause for nationalists - Croatian, Bosniak, Albanian and Montenegrin – to play on their old card and obsession by masking their malignancy with democratic phrases accusations levelled against Belgrade that it is pursuing a hegemonic policy that’s practically encoded into the Serbian being that it is pursuing a hegemonic policy that’s practically encoded into the Serbian being.Thus, Bakir, Milo and Kurti, with allergic reactions, see only the sophisticated ‘Serbian world’ in the ‘open Balkans’, while Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama have pragmatically emancipated themselves from

that dogmatism. Zaev has done so in order to rejuvenate himself of the Bulgarians and Greeks, while Rama had done so to do likewise from Kurti. And Vučić also emancipated himself from the dark phase of cooperation with the Macedonian right, so in his tabloids Zaev is now no longer a ‘Shiptar’ (a derogatory name for Kosovo Albanians), but Milo Đukanović is emphasised as ‘Milo the Turk’.

Edi Rama dubbed the outrage among part of the public in Albania and Kosovo due to Goran Bregovic’s concert at the Korçë Beer Festival an ‘hysterical disgrace’ and compared it to Serbs insulting Duo Lipa on social networks just because she is Kosovo Albanian, thus pretty much rationalising things. No real contexts are known from the stereotype: KLA fans accuse Bregović – the musical Tito – that his song “Kalashnikov” was a Serbian war anthem of the ‘90s. The actual truth of that matter is that “Kalashnikov” was the anthem of the mass opposition protests against Milošević that lasted several months in 1996/97.

Vučić’s paradoxes in Serbia aren’t the only ones, but the other aren’t so functional.

Nationalists, even those democratic ones who oppose Vučić and his alleged betrayal of Kosovo, are against the construction of the highway to Kosovo, although they believe that some mystical force will return Kosovo to Serbia. And it is via this highway that Serbian tourists would travel to Albania, which proved to be a hit destination for them this summer.

The paradox on the other side is that many so-called liberals (including many former communists) who were thrilled about Tito’s authoritarian modernisation are simultaneously frustrated in their opposition to Vučić’s authoritarian modernisation. While Vučić is a neo-Titoist, he is just as much a nationalist.

Paradoxical, but it functions.

Interview Exclusive H.E. PÉTER SZIJJÁRTÓ

HUNGARIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

T

here is probably no other EU country with which Serbia’s bilateral relations have experienced such stellar progress as is the case with Hungary. The scope of cooperation extends far beyond minority issues, encompassing everything from investments to migrant policy and culture. Yet the friendship is confronted by controversy, with Hungary – as an agile supporter of Serbia’s accession process – facing harsh criticism from Brussels for undermining the very idea of Europe. We discussed all of these issues thoroughly with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade H.E. Péter Szijjártó, who was recently decorated with the Order of the Serbian Flag, First Class, in recognition of his extrordinary efforts in developing and strengthening cooperation and friendly relations between Serbia and Hungary. Hungary supports the fast-tracking of Serbia’s EU accession, while it is often very critical of the EU administration.

Why, then, do you think Serbia has to join the EU, and which EU should it join: the current one, or the one envisaged

by PM Orbán?

Hungary has always been clear about one thing: Serbia must be admitted into the European Union, especially given that the EU could only benefit from that. We face very similar problems to Belgrade, such as illegal immigration, geopolitical projects and our efforts to fight the virus. I believe that the difficult situation in the

Friendship That Stands For

No Double Standards Mutual respect has helped us shape a better future for our peoples. Our efforts to bring our countries and peoples together have resulted in the exceptional growth of our bilateral and economic ties and secured rights for our minorities 8

September

WARNING

If we, as the European Union, fail to integrate the Western Balkans, someone else will grab the opportunity

MINORITIES

The good relations between Hungary and Serbia aid both sides and this is also felt by our minorities, who act as a link between our two countries

Western Balkans cannot be solved without Serbia.

There is no other way; we need Serbia in order to maintain peace and stability in the region.

If the EU does not make the move for Serbia, someone else will. It is in our interest to cooperate with a strong and successful country and, honestly, Serbia has exerted huge efforts to join the EU. It would be a shame to lose such a reliable partner just because we don’t speed up the Serbian integration process. PM Orbán’s visit to Serbia coincides with the campaign to promote his vision for the future of the EU, while at the same time he has been criticised by other EU member states, with some even calling for Hungary’s expulsion from the Union.

To what extent might this controversy, from the perspective of Brussels, impact on Serbia’s accession progress?

Basically, we are under continuous attack from the institutions in Brussels, because, whatever we decide, European Institutions find a way to put some pressure on us and try to blackmail us to change our decisions and stop taking advantage of the opportunities that come from our national competences. The reason why the debate is so harsh is that the EU’s future is at the centre of the debate. There are two major approaches with regard to the EU’s future. One is a federalist type approach, which is represented by the institutions themselves and would result in a kind of United States of Europe, which we definitely oppose.Then there is another approach, which, to be honest, is in the minority and which we represent: we need a strong European Union, but a strong European Union must be based on strong member states.

This is why we do not support the notion that any other competences be taken away from the member states and given to Brussels, and this is the core of the issue. In terms of enlargement, Serbia has exerted significant efforts to become a member state of the EU and we need to give credit where credit is due.

One of the most important elements of Hungarian foreign policy is the enlargement of the European Union, as those of us who live in the neighbourhood of the Western Balkans know exactly how important the security, peace and development of the region is. We also know for sure that the best and shortest way to do this is through European integration, i.e., through the

We support the idea that a strong European Union must be based on strong member states. That’s why we are under constant pressure from Brussels enlargement of the European Union. Unfortunately, as I stated previously, this approach is in the minority in the European Union today. It is interesting how, in theory, everyone says that they are in favour of enlargement, but there are only a very few of us left when it comes to actions. How would you explain the constant growth of bilateral relations between Serbia and Hungary, and in which areas is this upsurge most visible and palpable?

Our efforts to bring our countries and peoples together have resulted in exceptional growth of our bilateral ties. We have managed to establish very high-level political discourse,

HONESTY

It is interesting how, in theory, everyone says that they are in favour of enlargement, but when it comes to actions, there are only a very few of us left with no open issues left between us. Meetings between our leaders and senior officials take place regularly and we hold intergovernmental summits, which are all signs of successful cooperation at the highest levels.

Aside from foreign policy issues, our economic ties have also become much closer. I would like to highlight the work of the Hungarian-Serbian Joint Economic Commission, which is like a vehicle to encourage bilateral trade and investments. Our cooperation is also fuelled by joint infrastructure projects, such as the BudapestBelgrade and Szeged-Subotica railways. There are institutions to support these efforts, like the Hungarian Export Import Bank, the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency and the Central European Economic Development Network, all of which have opened offices in Serbia.

Another important thing to mention is the improvement of the situation regarding Serbian and Hungarian minorities, and I’m happy to say that the situation has never been as good as it is now. Mutual respect has helped us shape a better future for our peoples. Aside from all of these areas, educational ties, scholarship programmes and cultural activities have become frequent between our countries. It is hard to imagine a more active partnership than the one we have with Serbia. You were recently decorated by Serbian PM Brnabić for your contribution to these positive developments. In which areas have you provided the most support to cooperation between the two countries?

I am very grateful for this very honourable award, for sure. However, if we want to be totally fair, I must share the recognition with my fellow ministers. Minister Selaković and Minister Joksimović are fighting courageously for Serbian membership, the Hungarian standpoint on which is crystal clear. We believe that the EU cannot be complete without the Western Balkans and Serbia, and we also know that there is no vacant space in geopolitics. If we, as the European Union, fail to integrate the Western Balkans, someone else will grab the opportunity. We have lost the United Kingdom and we do not wish to lose the Western Balkans. You can be absolutely certain that I will fight even harder for Serbia’s membership in the European Union.

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Interview Exclusive industry, the building materials industry, crop production and public utilities. The Vojvodina Economic Development Programme has so far provided development and investment support to more than 14,000 businesses. Are there any issues still outstanding between our two countries today when it comes to the status of the Hungarian minority in Serbia, or the Serbian minority in Hungary?

Among numerous impressive results are those achieved in trade, where we expect to surpass a trade exchange total of two billion euros in 2021. Which sectors of industry have provided the greatest contributions to these results?

Over the past five years, bilateral trade has increased by 50%, with 2019 considered a record year in terms of bilateral trade, and in 2020 – when COVID-19 pushed the global economy into an unprecedented recession – our bilateral trade remained on its successful path.

The trade turnover worldwide fell by nine per cent last year, while the trade turnover between Hungary and Serbia was able to grow by three per cent, and this year it has already shown a further increase of 16 per cent. Thanks to a successful vaccination programme, the economy can now return to the centre of attention.

Last year, the most important export product from Hungary to Serbia was electricity, but we also had a significant export turnover in electrical machinery, appliances and instruments, as well as crude oil and petroleum products. Processed products also account for a significant share of our exports.

What is the present total when it comes to Hungarian investments in Vojvodina and Central Serbia?

In terms of capital allocation, today Serbia is a priority target country for Hungarian enterprises. It is known that Serbia has gone through an impressive economic recovery in recent years that has led the way to growing competitiveness. Accordingly, the investments of Hungarian companies in Serbia

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I understand that Serbia does not want to be a harbour for migrants, which can strain the resources of the police and immigration authorities.

There is regular coordination between our interior ministers, so I am confident that all possible situations can be managed have risen to an unprecedented level, and the success of these Hungarian companies in Serbia will also contribute to the further growth of the Hungarian economy. Thanks to another bank acquisition, OTP has now become the second largest player on the Serbian banking market, and MOL has a 20 per cent share of the fuel market, while interest in investment opportunities in Serbia among Hungarian companies is not declining. The Hungarian government provided a total of HUF 20 billion in support of 16 Hungarian companies to implement investments in Serbia after the pandemic, and these 16 Hungarian companies are investing a total of HUF 38 billion in coal processing, the food

The political representation of the Hungarian minority is ensured by the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, both at a national level and in Vojvodina. The work of Mr István Pásztor guarantees that we can discuss all relevant issues with the Serbian government and solve any issues that might arise. We want the Hungarian minority to prosper in Serbia, so they can be an integral part of society. To support their endeavours, the Prosperitati Foundation offers funding for company development, job creation and business expansion, mainly in the agricultural sector.

As for the Serbian minority in Hungary, we offer wide ranging support so they can preserve their culture and language. To cite a good example, the Nikola Tesla Serbian Nursery, Primary and Secondary School received funding from the Hungarian government in 2016, and further funds were allocated to start a new Serbian school in Szeged, which will open in 2022. Educational institutions in Lórév, Deszk and Battonya have also benefited from government support.The good relations between Hungary and Serbia aid both sides and this is also felt by our minorities, who act as a link between our two countries. Hungary and Serbia previously had contrasting policies with regard to migrants, with the latter perceived as being more humane and friendly. Now that we are again expecting an upsurge in migrant numbers, what common positions do our countries share?

I want to make one thing clear: Hungary and Serbia coordinate and act together to stop illegal migration. Our decision to build a fence at the border was accepted by Serbia, and it steered the flow of migration away from the country. No illegal migrant can enter Hungary. I understand that Serbia does not want to be a harbour for migrants, which can strain the resources of the police and immigration authorities. There is regular coordination between our interior ministries, so I am confident that all possible situations can be managed.

At the same time, I would like to stress another important thing: the Hungarian government works together with Serbia to open as many bordercrossing points as possible in order to facilitate the legal and controlled passage of our citizens.

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Interview

H.E. ADAM KOENRAAD

AMBASSADOR OF BELGIUM TO SERBIA

DEMOCRACY THRIVES ON

A DIVERGENCE OF OPINION

The speed of EU accession is determined by the candidate-country and, in particular, by the quality and pace of the implementation of initiated reforms.

In that regard, we are looking to see tangible results and improvements in the media sphere, judicial reform to ensure an independent judiciary and the fight against corruption and organised crime ~ Adam Koenraad 12

September

By Ljubica Gojgić

BUSINESS

I would say that Belgian businesses in Serbia are looking to the future with optimism and confidence

DEMOCRACY

A democracy can only thrive if there is divergence of opinion and if those different opinions are represented in the parliament

MEDIA

I would also advocate for more pluralism in the media: for different voices on TV channels and other media outlets with national coverage

D

espite the blockades and challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, trade between Belgium and Serbia has been rising steadily, bringing good news to Belgian Ambassador Adam Koenraad.

In this interview for CorD Magazine, Ambassador Koenraad explains, among other things, why Belgium has opted to side with the group of EU member states that have taken the stance that no new accession negotiation chapters should be opened with Serbia, despite the support that his country generally gives to this process. Your excellency, the eve of this summer’s Belgian National Day was marked by a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the flooding that hit your country. How is the recovery from the damage caused by the floods progressing?

Unfortunately, the consequences of the floods have been devastating. A total of 41 people lost their lives and many more have lost their houses and belongings. The damage is extraordinary and will take a long time to repair. I have been very touched by the many words of true sympathy received here in Serbia, and the Serbian Government’s offer to send assistance. In the past, Serbia has endured similar awful experiences and this may explain your sensitivity to these events happening elsewhere. We are grateful for these tokens of solidarity and humanity. For the second year, your term in Serbia has been marked by the COVID-19 Pandemic. How much has the global shutdown impacted on the quality of your cooperation with partners in Serbia?

The first months of the pandemic were, of course, a shock to the system. At a moment when international cooperation was needed the most (e.g., evacuations of our citizens), we had to adjust our traditional ways of working in swift and unprecedented ways. However, I do feel that, after those first months, we have managed, at least professionally, to adjust quite well to this new reality.

I do hope we will be able to see a wider spectrum of political parties participating in the next election in Serbia. And, yes, it is absolutely necessary that politicians show respectful behaviour and use a positive narrative. Debates should not degenerate into slander or personal attacks, but rather should focus on ideas and programmes

Video calls cannot replace real people-to-people contacts in the long term, but technology helped us a lot. As the pandemic entered into its second year, and especially after the roll-out of the vaccination campaign here in Serbia, we were able to slowly but surely relaunch normal Embassy activities, including essential cooperation with our Serbian partners. We count ourselves lucky that this has been possible so quickly. In the CorD Magazine interview that you gave prior to the pandemic, you spoke about the significant strengthening of economic cooperation between Belgium and Serbia. Has the pandemic led to a slowdown in this trend?

No, quite the contrary. The trade numbers for 2020 between Belgium and Serbia have been less impacted by the pandemic than in other

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Interview looking to see tangible results and improvements in the media sphere, judicial reform to ensure an independent judiciary and the fight against corruption and organised crime. The annual progress report of the European Commission should be as much of a guidebook for each candidate-country as it is for Belgium to assess the progress made. In your previous interview for our magazine, during the build-up to the 2020 parliamentary elections, you recommended a “less aggressive and confrontational style of political discourse”. Now a new cycle of the interparty dialogue on fair election conditions is underway.

Do you believe it will be possible for an agreement to be reached?

countries. Trade between our two countries has been experiencing a steady rise for years and we have no reason to expect anything less for this year. As for Belgian companies in Serbia: yes, 2020 was a difficult year, but they have all managed to overcome the lockdowns and continue working and even making investment plans. I am proud to say that several of our companies have also shown their solidarity with the Serbian people through donations of medical equipment and protective material. I would say that Belgian business in Serbia are looking to the future with a sense of optimism and confidence. Whilst you’ve been in Serbia, you’ve always relayed a message of support for the country’s European integration.

However, in June Belgium joined the group of EU member states that have taken the stance that no new accession negotiation chapters, or clusters, should be opened with Serbia. What are the key reasons for taking this position?

You are right, Belgium has always been, and remains, a supporter of the enlargement process. We believe the Western Balkans belong in the European Union and are convinced that, in just a few decades, the

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It is difficult to predict what will happen in Afghanistan, but it is in the interests of Europe to have stable, prosperous neighbours. We should also not forget that most people fleeing their country have not travelled to Europe, but have been received by neighbouring countries in the region itself, with the support of the EU enlargement process has been able to transform our continent for the better. However, we also believe strongly that the enlargement process should be merit-based. The speed of the accession is determined by the candidate-country, and in particular by the quality and pace of the implementation of reforms undertaken. In that regard, we are

I am convinced it is possible. I am pleased to see the efforts made by the Members of the European Parliament to mediate between the ruling parties and the opposition parties, and I sincerely hope that a good result will come from the talks in September. A democracy can only thrive if there is divergence of opinion and if those different opinions are represented in the parliament. If they are not, the system can become stale, lacking in fresh ideas and less accountable to the people. I do hope we will be able to see a wider spectrum of political parties participating in the next election in Serbia. And, yes, it is absolutely necessary that politicians show respectful behaviour and use a positive narrative. Debates should not degenerate in slander or personal attacks, but rather should focus on ideas and programmes. How do you view the media scene in Serbia?

In past months, laudable efforts have been made by the Serbian Government to adopt a media strategy and associated action plan. Initial steps in the implementation were undertaken. However, there were also instances where the action plan was not used and critical media were attacked.

Some key issues mentioned in the last EU Progress Report also remain unaddressed. Transparency of media ownership and the allocation of public funds, especially at the local level, has yet to be established. I would also advocate for more pluralism in the media: for different voices on TV channels and other media outlets with national coverage. This is particularly important in view of the upcoming electoral campaign.

Reacting to the latest crisis following a change of government, Belgium immediately joined efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan. Do you think Europe should expect a new wave of migrants?

During past years, we have unfortunately seen that conflict and instability in the European neighbourhood leads to people having to flee their homes and leave behind their livelihoods. This is first and foremost a humanitarian tragedy. It is difficult to predict what will happen in Afghanistan, but it is in the interests of Europe to have stable, prosperous neighbours. We should also not forget that most people fleeing their country have not travelled to Europe, but have been received by neighbouring countries in the region itself, with the support of the EU. Media outlets across the region have reported on former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s statement that she expects the countries of the Western Balkans to accept refugees from Afghanistan. Given that you’ve had the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the situation in this region, do you think that the arrival of refugees could destabilise the region?

During the three years that I’ve been here, I’ve visited several reception and asylum centres: from those in the very south of Serbia, in Preševo and Bujanovac, to the Krnjača Asylum Centre near Pančevo.

Serbia’s policy towards refugees has been generous and well-organised, and the country welcomed many refugees with the support of UNHCR and the EU I do not think so. During the three years that I’ve been here, I’ve visited several reception and asylum centres: from those in the very south of Serbia, in Preševo and Bujanovac, to the Krnjača Asylum Centre near Pančevo. Serbia’s

policy towards refugees has been generous and well-organised, and the country welcomed many refugees with the support of UNHCR and the EU. I was always impressed by the dedication of the staff of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration to guarantee adequate shelter for all those people. Has the Belgian government already decided whether to accept refugees from Afghanistan and, if so, how many of them can count on being welcomed into your country?

Currently, Belgium, like many other countries, is working non-stop to evacuate from Afghanistan Belgian citizens, but also Afghan nationals who have ties to Belgium. These ties could mean: Afghan partners of Belgian nationals, children with a Belgian parent, interpreters that assisted our military in Afghanistan, collaborators of Belgian women’s organisations in Afghanistan.

We are talking about many hundreds of people.

For now, our focus is on concluding this operation successfully. We will assess the situation and look at what is possible in terms of reception capacity, but it is obvious that Belgium will not shy away from its responsibilities in this respect.

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GLOBAL DIARY

“We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will hunt you down and make you pay” – JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT

SIX ATHLETES OF REFUGEE PARALYMPIC TEAM A Refugee Paralympic Team is competing in Tokyo with six athletes taking part in a range of sports including athletics, swimming, canoeing and taekwondo. Alia Issa and Abbas Karimi lead the squad during the athlete’s parade at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo games. The Refugee Olympic Team made its first appearance at the 2016 games. Ten athletes, hailing from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo took part in the Rio event five years ago. And now, for the first time, a Refugee Paralympic Team is competing in Tokyo. The athletes, one woman and five men, competing in a range of sports including athletics, swimming, canoeing and taekwondo. Club thrower Alia Issa becomes the first female to be named part of a refugee team at the Paralympic Games. The team is completed by taekwondo star Parfait Hakizimana, canoeist Anas Al Khalifa and swimmer Abbas Karimi.

YOUNGEST WOMAN TO CIRCLE THE GLOBE SOLO Zara Rutherford (19), left Belgium on 26th August and plans to complete her journey by early November, after soaring over 52 countries on five continents. She was about 20 minutes into a flight from Iceland to Greenland when her tiny plane lost radio contact with the outside world.

As she flew about 480 meters above the Denmark Strait, staying low to dodge clouds, she listened to a podcast in which a YouTube celebrity argued that the only certainty in life is death.

“I was like, well, that’s kind of what I’m anxious about,” Ms. Rutherford said. “That was quite funny and it made me laugh. If only she knew!”

Ms Rutherford began her journey in Europe and entered U.S. airspace on the morning of the 26th. She plans to return to Belgium after soaring over 52 countries on five continents.

If she does, she would overtake Shaesta Waiz to become the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe solo in a single-engine aircraft.

LIONEL MESSI SIGNS TWO-YEAR PARIS STGERMAIN DEAL Messi left Barca (34) - the only club he has played for - as they were unable to afford a new deal under La Liga’s financial fair play rules.

“I am impatient to start a new chapter of my career in Paris. The club and its vision are in perfect harmony with my ambitions,” said the Argentina star. “I know how talented the players and staff are here. I am determined to build, alongside them, something great for the club and for the fans. I can’t wait to set foot on the Parc des Princes pitch.”

PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said: “I am delighted that Lionel Messi has chosen to join Paris StGermain and we are proud to welcome him to Paris, with his family.

Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Messi scored a record 672 goals in 778 games for Barca, the club he joined as a 13-year-old.

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“They have planes, they have the airport, they should get their citizens and contractors out of here” – ZABIHULLAH MUJAHID, TALIBAN SPOKESMAN

END OF THE MERKEL ERA On Sunday 26th September, Germans will elect the lower house of the federal parliament, the Bundestag. Although voting in person takes place on the day, postal voting has already begun. Some 60.4 million Germans over the age of 18 are eligible to vote.

Although the winning party becomes clear on the night, the make-up of the next government is only known once the winner is able to form an absolute majority in parliament with one or two other parties. So the next chancellor will not be known immediately.

Latest opinion polls suggest three main parties are in the race to win enough seats to lead a coalition government. Christian Democratic Union - Mrs Merkel’s conservative CDU has dominated German politics for decades along with its sister party in Bavaria. Social Democratic Party - The centre-left SPD has been in coalition with the conservatives and is running neck and neck in the polls with them. Finally, the Greens - The left-wing party are focusing on climate change and social justice and earlier this year was leading the polls.

AIR POLLUTION CAUSES SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS Exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased severity of mental illness, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind. The research, involving 13,000 people in London, found that a relatively small increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide led to a 32% increase in the risk of needing community-based treatment and an 18% increase in the risk of being admitted to hospital.

The researchers said the findings were likely to apply to most cities in developed nations, and cutting air pollution could benefit millions of people.

AFGHANISTAN’S ECONOMY IN CRISIS The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan for the first time in 20 years. But while they no longer have any military opposition, they now face an economy on the brink of collapse, which threatens to worsen an already devastating humanitarian crisis.

When the militant group seized power on 15 August, Afghanistan’s internal banking system froze up. Long queues have formed outside banks, many of which are closed, and ATMs that aren’t dispensing money. With limited access to cash, people are becoming increasingly desperate.

The economy was already extremely fragile, heavily dependent on aid. A nation is considered aid-dependent when 10% or more of its gross domestic product (GDP) comes from foreign aid; in Afghanistan’s case, about 40% of its GDP was international aid, according to the World Bank.

WILDFIRES RAGE HITS SOUTHERN EUROPE Southern Europe was on fire as sizzling temperatures swept across the region, causing raging wildfires in several countries. Experts have linked wildfires to record-high temperatures. Europe is in the midst of its worst heatwave in a decade due to the heat dome which is a high-pressure bubble that traps heat within a certain area. Temperatures in Siracuse, Italy, reached 48.8 degrees Celsius. The World Meteorological Organization said that it would be investigating the validity of this temperature report. If verified, it would become the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe. Greece has been one of the badly affected countries, with more than 100,000 hectares of forestry and farmland burned in less than two weeks.

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Focus

Is ecology a new political issue in Serbia?

Lithium On The

Election Ballot It is commonplace to think that citizens and political leaders in Serbia are too “green” for there to be a need for the emergence of a Green Party. However, public opinion surveys and the activities of both ruling and opposition political parties show that everyone is trying to earn nature protector merit badges and pin them on their lapels.

Those who are least involved in this are environmental leaders, who have voiced the dissatisfaction of citizens and carry authentic political capital. Will all the potential for serious political action on the environmental front end up on the dump of populism?

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t sometimes seems that minor and major battles for environmental protection are being fought in hundreds of places in Serbia – from the struggle to save every tree, to major topics like the start of lithium mining. Does the visible dissatisfaction of citizens and their activism indicate that a Green Party could be born in Serbia, or is that an

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illusion? How realistic is it to be able to make political capital out of this topic, and who is closest to validating it? Our interlocutors deconstruct this topic step by step and guide readers, voters, political parties and environmental leaders through a labyrinth leading to the political articulation of the feelings of citizens on both sides of the political spectrum.

SREĆKO MIHAILOVIĆ

SOCIOLOGIST, DEMOSTAT CHIEF RESEARCHER

PLAYING THE “GREEN POLITICS” CARD EXCLUSIVELY IS NOT A GOOD RECIPE WITH SUCH TORTUROUS STRETCHING OF THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS LOCAL INITIATIVES IN SERBIA, THERE IS THE LACK OF A SYNERGETIC POLITICAL ALLIANCE AMONG EXISTING INITIATIVES.

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oday’s social treatment of environmental problems is tethered in a triangle marked by three issues. On the one side is the real need for organised politicising of the most important environmental issues as a way to resolve them - environmental issues are political issues, if we understand politics in human discourse. On the other side, it is essential for the organisational connecting of numerous local environmental initiatives. Instead of a biased understanding of the old motto “think locally, act globally”, or vice versa, as some environmental activists insist, the point ought to be on merging opinions and actions, and on unifying the local and the global. And on the third side, we find the misuse of environmental issues with the aim of promoting political parties. With such torturous stretching of the social and political interpretations of enviVOTERS, WHETHER THEY’RE SUPPORTERS OF ronmental problems, it is understandable that, despite the fact THE RULING PARTIES OR THE OPPOSITION, THINK that there are numerous local initiatives in Serbia, there is the lack of a synergetic political alliance among existing initiaTHAT SERBIA’S PROGRESS IS CONNECTED TO tives. In this context, there appears to be promise in Nebojša TAKING CARE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. Zelenović’s “Green Deal for Serbia”, which has to date - through NONETHELESS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ONLY the Open Civic Platform “Akcija” [Action] - brought together 28 environmental organisations from around 60 towns and cities.

THREE PER CENT OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY It is important to note that in this endeavour, “green politics” is WOULD VOTE FOR A GREEN PARTY, WHICH IS A not understood only in a narrow context, nor does the overall RESULT OF THE DISTANCING OF (EVERY) POLITIactivity of the projected organisation boil down to a narrow understanding of ecology (and it is known that single-issue parties CAL LEADER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION very rarely achieve any significant success).

The question, however, is whether the support of citizens exists for solving the most relevant environmental problems, and how broad that support is. In order to determine how citizens see ecological problems, and particularly environmental protection problems, IIC Demostat has conducted five public opinion polls over the last three years. Here I will mention only two findings from the last survey (a telephone poll conducted at the end of July this year on a sample of 1,200 respondents).

The only shared determination between the two opposing views of environmental protection, given by supporters of the ruling parties and supporters of the parties that boycotted the last parliamentary elections, is the stance that Serbia’s progress is connected to taking care of environmental protection. This opinion is shared by 71 per cent of supporters of the ruling parties and 71 per cent of supporters of the boycotting opposition bloc. The juxtaposed position, which is advocated implicitly by the government and implied that we should be concerned about economic benefits regardless of the environmental damage, is supported by about a fifth of citizens.

Nonetheless, on the other hand, when asked who they would vote for if parliamentary elections were held tomorrow, only three per cent of respondents said they would vote for a green party. It is obvious that the unreasonable distancing of (every) political leader from environmental action has taken its toll. This will continue to be the case if there is a continuation of the manipulation according to which social changes are possible despite politics.

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Focus

Is ecology a new political issue in Serbia?

NEMANJA MILOVIĆ

FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF THE WEBSITE KLIMA 101 (CLIMATE 101)

BELGRADE ELECTIONS – REQUIEM FOR A LUMBERJACK? WILL SHORTAGES BE FOLLOWED BY THE INFLATION OF FAKE WARRIORS FOR THE GREEN FUTURE OF SERBIA? MANY POLITICAL LEADERS ARE RACING TO PRESENT THEMSELVES AS ENVIRONMENTALISTS, BUT THE GREEN SUIT DOESN’T SUIT EVERYONE. THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN BELGRADE COULD BE THE FIRST TEST VERIFYING THE CREDIBILITY OF THE OPTIONS ON OFFER.

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he topic of environmental protection is undergoing a genuine renaissance in Serbia today, and it is very good that this has finally happened. The development of technology (primarily social networks and air-quality monitoring apps) has led to the hard work of civil society organisations aimed at highlighting the decades-long negligence that exists in this area finally bearing fruit, such that the public in Serbia is now much better informed about the environmental situation. This fact, along with the mobilisation of citizens at the local level with the aim of fighting the construction of mini hydropower plants, has led to the formation of a genuine, modern ecological movement in Serbia.

A new political arena has opened, while all polls show that this issue is undoubtedly important to citizens, which is also why we see all political actors racing to express their stance and take a position. But this issue is still very new in our country, so it will be necessary for more time to pass before leaders distinguish themselves. In the meantime, there is the risk of a kind of inflation of ecological parties, and a possible populist approach to the entire issue.

When it comes to the formation of a green party in Serbia, I think we are a long way from having a serious party that is at the level of, for instance, what the Greens represent in Germany.

But certain parties and movements that could be characterised as green are already operating in our country. The Ne davimo FORTUNATELY FOR THE CITIZENS OF SERBIA, THE Beograd [Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)own] movement has had the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FIELD IS SUCH characteristics of a modern green-left party since it was founded, THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO HIDE THE REAL RESULTS while Nebojša Zelenović’s Together for Serbia party has made a clear shift towards “green” topics, while new political figures OF WORK, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THIS AREA are also emerging, such as environmental activist Aleksandar IS LESS POLITICISED THAN ALL OTHERS, WHICH Jovanović Ćuta. Furthermore, some of the largest opposition MEANS THAT IT IS HARDER (THOUGH NOT parties in the country presented their green platforms during the previous period.

IMPOSSIBLE) TO “SPIN” CORE PROBLEMS Similarly, the takeover of the departments of energy and environmental protection, as well as media appearances, clearly indicate that the ruling party has also recognised the importance of this topic.

Fortunately for the citizens of Serbia, the environmental protection field is such that it is difficult to hide the real results of work, while at the same time this area is less politicised than all others, which means that it is harder (though not impossible) to create “spin” that diverts attention away from important things and the causes of problems. All of this should lead to genuine competition, which could really result in improving the quality of the environment in Serbia.

I believe that the potential exists for green parties in Serbia, not only because of the increased interest on the home front, but also because of the increasingly favourable situation on the international front, where the fight against climate change is becoming an extremely important issue.

However, although their development path could be faster compared to what we’ve seen in other countries, it is still essential for a certain period of time to pass in order for these ideas to mature. The campaign and results of the elections in Belgrade could provide a good indicator of how the situation could develop further, and I expect be the issues of pollution and environmental protection to be among the three main topics of the campaign.

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September

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Focus

Is ecology a new political issue in Serbia?

ZVEZDAN KALMAR

PROGRAMME COORDINATOR, CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – CEKOR

WE NEED GREEN ACTION! A PROFOUND, STRATEGIC CHANGE OF SOCIETY TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF WE RADICALLY CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE REGARDING THE WAY WE PRODUCE AND CONSUME.

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he national and global situation that I could unreservedly define as catastrophic with regard to the state of the environment, but also the ramifications for human health, is a direct consequence of the new century’s rationalist (“I think that I think therefore I believe I exist”, though I would immediately cut short the torment of readers by answering with the question: “You really think that you exist if your existence is not established by God?”) and the nihilistic spiritual format that places man and his industrially (when we say industrial, that doesn’t necessarily refer to the machine-based or automatic production of goods and services in industrial plants and complexes, because these plants are a CONSEQUENCE of industrialisation as a central value deed, action, but it also refers primarily to the central need of man to present, or pre-self-perform, his existence as HIS OWN PRODUCT, as in I-produce and maintain myself; I am the centre of the existence of the planet and the whole universe, I am dependent only on myself and my ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INVENTIVENESS) generated needs unscrupulously at the centre of the entire movement of the planet.

Such a “mechanisation of man” leads to the need for Partybased, Leviathan, unifying, TOTALITARIAN planning-organising into a great IMPERIAL Machine that unscrupulously devours its own prerequisites of production: resources (because this planetary Machine Man represents a poem, the house rules of CHANGE IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF THERE IS A God) and human capital.

A profound strategic change of society from this one FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT AWAY FROM THE VALUE that’s catastrophically devouring resources and people in the SYSTEM UNDER WHICH WE CURRENTLY LIVE direction of an ecologically/domostroy and Eucharist-based sustainable society is possible only through an all-encompassing change of attitude towards Purposes and Existence itself, which will result in an altered attitude towards the natural environment and health.

Without cognisance of the delusion and the deep erroneousness of imperialism as the final phase of capitalism (which, as we see, has been continuing for almost two hundred years without any indication that it will overcome itself through the revolutionary awakening of the ENSLAVED, BECAUSE EVEN THE ENSLAVED DREAM AND LIVE FOR THE DAY WHEN THEY WILL ENSLAVE OTHERS, as the communists wanted, whose proponents, willing or unwilling, we all are), it will not be possible to turn to the only possible God’s economy, God’s purposes, God’s science based on social, economic, political and spiritual action.

“Yes”!, I thus think that “YES, a GREEN option is essential!”, but this option must be based on Profound Existential Cognisance that all the Leviathans of the modern age (Capitalism, Liberalism, Neo-Liberalism, Fascism, Communism, and even the latest ecologies of various profiles and attitudes that it would worth elaborating on specifically, but here in this short form that’s NOT POSSIBLE, but I think the indicators are sufficiently EMBLEMATIC) sooner or later they UNAVOIDABLY LEAD AND WILL LEAD to increasing climate change, pollution, health catastrophes, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN’T RECOGNISED THE CENTRAL PROBLEM, and that is EGOTISTICAL – A consumerist values environment that ALIENATES MAN FROM GOD’S ETHOS, intentions, PLAN, blessings, purpose, meaning.

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September

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Feature

BBC: German elections 2021:

Simple Guide To Vote

Ending Merkel Era

For the first time in 15 years, one opinion poll this week has given the centre left a lead over the outgoing chancellor’s conservatives. But one thing is clear, whoever wins will have to put together a coalition.

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hree parties currently believe they could secure enough seats in parliament to do that and choose the next chancellor. So, how will Germany’s election work?

WHAT IS THE VOTE FOR? On Sunday 26th September, Germans will elect the lower house of the federal parliament, the Bundestag. Although voting in person

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takes place on the day, postal voting has already begun. Some 60.4 million Germans over the age of 18 are eligible to vote.

The Bundestag is made up of at least 598 seats, and usually more.

Although the winning party becomes clear on the night, the make-up of the next government is only known once the winner is able to form an absolute majority in parliament with one or two other parties. So the next

chancellor will not be known immediately.

HOW IS THE CHANCELLOR SELECTED? Typically the coalition party with the most seats picks the chancellor. But coalition-building takes time as parties have to agree common ground and haggle over ministerial appointments.

When a deal has been struck, members of the newly elected parliament hold a vote to approve the new chancellor.

WHICH POLITICAL PARTIES ARE IN CONTENTION? Latest opinion polls suggest three main parties are in the race to win enough seats to lead a coalition government and pick the next chancellor.

Christian Democratic Union - Mrs Merkel’s conservative CDU has dominated German politics for decades along with its sister party in Bavaria.

Social Democratic Party - The centre-left SPD has been in coalition with the conservatives and is running neck and neck in the polls with them. Last month, one poll put the party ahead of the CDU for the first time in 15 years German Minister of Finance and Social Democratic Party (SPD) top candidate for the federal elections Olaf Scholz Greens - The left-wing party focuses on climate change and social justice and earlier this year was leading the polls. Greens leader Annalena Baerbock has not yet had a role in government but she could lead her party into a coalition.

Coalitions are known by the colours of the parties. So expect to hear a lot of talk of red-red-green coalitions if the centre-left (red) wins, or Kenya and Jamaica coalitions if the CDU (black) is victorious.

Other parties that could also feature in a coalition government include the liberal Free Democrats and socialist Die Linke. The farright Alternative for Germany (AfD) enjoys strong support in eastern parts of Germany, but is shunned by the mainstream parties because of its politics.

HOW IS THE WINNER DECIDED? When Germans go to the polls, they get two votes.

The first is a constituency vote to elect a local MP. There are 299 constituencies roughly one MP for every 250,000 people.

The candidate who wins the most votes in each constituency is guaranteed a seat. This winner-takes-all system is known as first-pastthe-post voting, similar to the election for the UK parliament.

The second vote is based on a different system - proportional representation. The remaining 299 seats are allocated based on each party’s share of the vote - and they are

GREENS LEADER ANNALENA BAERBOCK

OLAF SCHOLZ, SPD, TOP CANDIDATE FOR THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS

Other parties that could also feature in a coalition government include the liberal Free Democrats and socialist Die Linke. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) enjoys strong support in eastern parts of Germany, but is shunned by the mainstream parties because of its politics. assigned to candidates on ranked lists drawn up by each party.

WHY IS THE SECOND VOTE DECISIVE? First, a party has to win at least 5% of the second vote to enter the Bundestag. This threshold was designed to prevent small, often radical, parties from gaining power.

Then, according to Germany’s mixed electoral system, the make-up of parliament must reflect the result of this second vote.

The second vote therefore determines the percentage of seats each party will get in the Bundestag and its chances of forming a government.

SO WHY DOES THE BUNDESTAG’S SIZE VARY? This is the tricky part. The number of seats in parliament can increase if there are imbalances between each party’s results in the two votes. So the outgoing Bundestag doesn’t have 598 seats, it has 709.

Consider this hypothetical example: The CDU wins 110 seats in the constituency vote and 100 seats in the party vote. In this

scenario, the CDU would have 10 more seats than it should, according to its share of the all-important second vote. Sometimes voters back a particular candidate and then choose a different party.

So, the CDU gets to keep the extra 10 seats, which are known as “overhang mandates”.

However, the CDU now has 10 more seats than it should have, an unfair advantage.

To level the playing field, all other parties are assigned so-called balancing seats. This increases the number of representatives for all other parties on a percentage basis.

In this example, their seats would increase by 10% of their election results to correct the imbalance.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW THE RESULT? The winners and losers should be clear within hours of the vote closing. That was the case in the last Bundestag vote in 2017, when Angela Merkel delivered a sombre speech to mark her party’s underwhelming results.

But talks on forming a government can take weeks, as in 2017, when there was a failed attempt to form a Jamaica coalition with the CDU (black), Greens and FDP (yellow).

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Feature

BY CARL BILDT, PROJECT SYNDICATE

The Dangerous Balkan Standstill Even after a quarter-century of relative peace, the Balkans have yet to achieve the lasting stability that was hoped for when the region’s wars were brought to an end. And now that the EU integration process has stalled, one cannot rule out a return of violent conflict

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n the Balkans, a small war between the disintegrating state of Yugoslavia and one of its constitutive republics, Slovenia, was followed by a bigger conflict in Croatia. Within a year, a savage conflict was raging in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

Suddenly, Europe’s “post-war” period had ended.

The Balkan wars raged for a decade. The Dayton Peace Agreement ended the conflict in Bosnia in 1995, but then came the Kosovo War, which continued until 1999 and was followed, in 2001, by a serious outbreak of violence in what is now North Macedonia.

All told, the Balkan wars claimed more than 100,000 lives, displaced millions of people, and set back the region’s economic and social development by decades.

Though it had been living largely on credit, the old Yugoslavia had given its citizens a better standard of living than those of its socialist peers. The country’s long, violent disintegration changed all that.

The peace agreements that were cobbled together at the time were merely stopgap measures.

Everyone understood that lasting stability would require a wider and much more comprehensive framework. And so, in 2003, European Union leaders declared that all the region’s countries should work toward a future of stability and lasting peace within the EU.

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No one expected that to happen overnight; but nor did anyone think the integration process would be as drawn-out as it has been. Since Slovenia and Croatia’s accession in 2004 and 2013, respectively, the EU’s Balkan enlargement has effectively stalled.

The reason for this is twofold.

First, political and economic reform in non-EU Balkan countries has been painfully slow, while corruption and nationalist sentiment has become ever more entrenched.

effectively derailing the country’s EU-accession agenda.

Meanwhile, Serbia has come under the boot of an autocratic regime that flirts with China one day and kowtows to Russia the next, all while its representatives continue to put on a good face at the European Commission in Brussels. Despite enormous efforts by both the EU and the United States, the outstanding issues between Serbia and Kosovo are nowhere close to being resolved.

The EU should take the lead by proposing a new arrangement, one that includes an offer of membership in its customs union and single market Second, support for further enlargement has faded within many EU countries. Though politicians still pay lip service to the idea, new hurdles and delays tend to be greeted with relief in several key member states.

Moreover, the problems within Balkan countries are severe. A quarter-century after the Dayton Agreement, the international community has deemed Bosnia to be so politically dysfunctional as to warrant a new High Representative with wide-ranging powers (I was the first to hold such an office, serving from 1995 to 1997),

Finally, after being blocked from joining the EU by Greece (owing to a dispute over its name), North Macedonia now finds itself being blackballed by Bulgaria for reasons that go far back in the region’s history (but that lack any contemporary relevance).

Further complicating matters, the EU’s struggle to rein in the Hungarian and Polish governments’ attacks on the rule of law and independent media has dampened its appetite for taking a risk with potentially illiberal new members. When Hungary offers its enthusiastic support for Serbia’s

accession bid, many others in the EU see a hidden agenda that must be blocked.

The EU’s overture in 2003 was a courageous and wise strategic step. But now that the prospect of Balkan integration is fading, the current charade cannot continue.

Instead, political leaders must accept reality and start mapping out realistic interim steps that could improve conditions in the region without abandoning the final goal.

A good starting point is the Open Balkan initiative, which was designed to increase trade between Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia. But it is not enough.

The EU should take the lead by proposing a new arrangement, one that includes an offer of membership in its customs union and single market.

Three decades ago, the Balkan wars started with a small ten-day conflict on Slovenia’s borders.

Now, it is Slovenia that holds the Council of the European Union’s rotating chairmanship. Its leadership agenda includes a summit between all the Western Balkan countries and EU member states this October. That occasion should prompt clear and realistic thinking from all parties.

The alternative for the Western Balkans is a slide backward into violence. It has happened before. It is happening now in Afghanistan. It must not happen again in Europe.

Leaders’

MEETING POINT

MILLENNIUM RESORTS

VLADIMIR BOŠKOVIĆ, Chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank Serbia

INGRAM

Millennium Resorts Builds Two Hotels In Vranjska Banja

This Will Be An Exceptional Year

Faster and Easier To VMware Certification

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MILLENNIUM RESORTS

Millennium Resorts Builds Two Hotels In Vranjska Banja Vranjska Banja, which once represented an important location for spa and health tourism, with almost 20 hotels and a large number of villas that have today fallen into ruin, will be revived and allowed to flourish thanks to the 90-million-euro investment of Millennium Resorts Austria-Hungary.

Construction of the entire hotel complex has been divided into four phases, with the last one scheduled for completion in 2026.

Vranjska Banja once represented an important destination for spa and health tourism. Almost 20 hotels and a large number of villas for guest accommodation operated in this municipality, but these facilities have all today fallen into ruin and tourism is almost non-existent. With this project, Millennium Resorts is investing in the further development of Serbian economy and tourism, dedicated to return Vranjska Banja to the tourist map- not only in Serbia, but the whole of Europe.

HOTEL WESTIN, COVERING AN AREA OF 40,000 SQUARE METRES, WILL REPRESENT THE MOST MODERN HOTEL TOURISM SOLUTION IN SERBIA

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illennium Resorts’ investment in Vranjska Banja will have a positive impact on southern Serbia’s economic recovery and its economic and social development, as well as opening 350 new job positions.

With this project, company Millennium Resorts, a member of the Millennium Team system, is investing in the further development of the Serbian economy and tourism as a whole.

Millennium Resorts will build two hotels in Vranjska Banja that will be part of the chain of American hotel company Marriott

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- Westin 4* and Autograph Collection 5*, representing Marriott International’s largest project in the Balkans and Millennium Resorts’ largest investment in tourism, worth 90 million euros.

Both hotels will be part of a significant hotel complex that will also include the Sofka Medical Centre, holiday apartments, villas and chalets, located in the ambience of the dense forest that surrounds this spa. The Kičer restaurant will also be renovated and will offer sweet specialities made according to old recipes of the best confectioners of Ottoman Turkey and

WESTIN AND SOFKA WILL BE COMPLETED BY 2023 The first phase of the Project by Millennium Resorts will comprise the construction of the Westin Hotel and Sofka Medical Centre. Hotel Westin, the construction of which will be started soon, will represent one of the most modern hotels in Serbia, while the plan is for it to welcome its first guests in 2023.

Encompassing an area of 40,000 square metres and eight floors, it will have 190 rooms and suites, a congress centre able to accommodate 600 guests, two presidential suites of 300 square metres each, a special children’s area and a fitness and business centre.

The Spa centre, encompassing two levels, will cover an area of 4,000 square

metres and will include outdoor and indoor pools, saunas, a hammam and relax-salt rooms. Making it special and unique will be the separate part intended exclusively for ladies (rendering it exceptional in Serbia and this part of Europe), as well as 20 spa rooms that will have access to their own outdoor pool.

“The Art of Being” Sofka light medical centre will also be completed under the scope of the project’s first phase. Covering an area of 6,600m2, it will be located on the site of the existing hotel Železničar, in a building dating back to 1935 that will be partially reconstructed and adapted.

The Sofka Centre will represent a completely new dimension to the country’s spa and wellness industry, providing modern medical procedures and holistic techniques of healthy living.

The second hotel, Hotel Autograph Collection, to be housed in an existing special rehabilitation hospital, will be a five-star facility offering guests 100 rooms and suites, a spa with indoor pools filled with geothermal water and a business centre.

THE WARMEST MINERAL WATER IN EUROPE Vranjska Banja is the closest spa to a highway in Serbia, situated just five kilometres from the Belgrade-Skoplje Highway. With a new hotel capacity built with modern solutions, this excellent location will contribute to the development of Vranjska Banja tourism, offering a new level of service and meeting the needs of tourists from the country and abroad.

The water that bubbles to the surface from several springs and has a temperature of 94°C, and can even exceed 110°C, has a capacity of 140 litres per second and has positioned Vranjska Banja as the spa town with the warmest mineral water in Europe.

This water has numerous benefits and is rich in sulphur that is extremely beneficial in the treatment of all forms of rheumatism, neurological diseases, post-traumatic conditions, diseases of the digestive systems and gynaecological and skin disorders.

THIS INVESTMENT OF MILLENNIUM RESORTS WILL BE COMPLETED BY 2026

THE SECOND HOTEL, HOTEL AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION (TO BE HOUSED IN AN EXISTING SPECIAL REHABILITATION HOSPITAL) WILL BE A FIVE-STAR FACILITY OFFERING GUESTS 100 ROOMS AND SUITES, A SPA WITH INDOOR POOLS FILLED WITH GEOTHERMAL WATER AND A BUSINESS CENTRE

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LOCAL NEWS

“Serbia has a lot to show in the field of advanced technologies used in space research, aviation and related activities” – MARKO SELAKOVIĆ, SCCI HEAD OFFICE IN DUBAI AND B2B DIRECTOR OF “EXPO 2020 DUBAI”

UNIQA GROUP: PROFIT QUADRUPLED IN FIRST HALF OF YEAR – OUTLOOK RAISED FOR 2021 AS A WHOLE

ERICSSON ESTABLISHES A NEW DIGITAL SERVICES SERVICE DELIVERY HUB IN SERBIA Ericsson announced the establishment of a new Digital Services Service Delivery (DSSD) hub in Belgrade, accelerating 5G momentum in Serbia. This newly-unveiled hub will focus on network virtualization and cloud native 5G networks, benefitting the global 5G ecosystem and leveraging on the existing Ericsson collaboration with Serbian mobile operators. The announcement marks the 25th anniversary of Ericsson in Serbia and was made during an open discussion meeting about “5G for growth and innovation in Serbia” organized by H.E. Mr. Jan Lundin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Serbia, on the occasion of the visit of a Swedish parliamentary delegation headed by the Speaker of the Parliament, H.E. Mr Andreas Norlen.

In the first six months of the 2021 financial year, UNIQA Insurance Group AG (UNIQA) generated earnings before taxes of nearly €216 million. Premiums written rose by 17 per cent in the first half of 2021. This is predominantly due to the successful integration of the former AXA companies in CEE. There was a significant improvement in the investment result year-on-year as it rose from €215 million to €307 million. While write-downs on shares and fixed-income securities caused some heavy losses in the first half of 2020, in the first six months of 2021 UNIQA made gains from investments in shares and bonds in a strong capital market environment.

A1 SERBIA SUPPORTS PROJECTS INTENDED FOR CHILDREN A1 Serbia has launched the First Tariff, which together with parents supports the youngest members of the company, since the company will allocate funds in the amount of one monthly subscription for the realization of projects intended for children for each contract concluded on the First Tariff during the promotional period until the end of September. In addition, with this tariff, A1 Serbia wanted to make it easier for parents whose children are starting the school year by creating a package that provides them with a 100% discount on a monthly subscription for 6 months.

The first tariff is an excellent postpaid choice, because it enables constant and simple communication between parents and their students.

RAIFFEISEN BANK INTERNATIONAL SIGNS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE CREDIT AGRICOLE SERBIA Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) announces that its Serbian subsidiary Raiffeisen banka a.d. has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Crédit Agricole Srbija (Crédit Agricole Srbija a.d. Novi Sad and Crédit Agricole Leasing Srbija d.o.o.) from Crédit Agricole S.A. Successful closing of the transaction is subject to inter alia obtaining regulatory approvals. The acquisition of Crédit Agricole Srbija is expected to have an impact on RBI’s CET1 ratio of approximately 16 basis points. The final impact is dependent on completion accounts at closing, which is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

“Agricole Srbija is an excellent strategic fit to our bank in Serbia and the acquisition will support our growth ambition in the market,” said Johann Strobl, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International.

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“Expo 2020 Dubai is an opportunity to send a strong message to the world about a modern and innovative Serbia that people may not know” – ANA ILIĆ, SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE SERBIAN PM AND DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GENERAL OF THE SERBIA PAVILION AT EXPO 2020 DUBAI

GREAT OFFER IN THE SMALL VAN SEGMENT FROM NEW MERCEDES-BENZ CITAN The compact exterior dimensions, together with the generous space and high payload, open up a wide range of applications for the new Mercedes-Benz Citan, especially in delivery and service operations in the city. It is available in Van and Tourer variants. Sliding doors with wide openings on the left and right sides of the vehicle, as well as a low-load sill, optionally provide comfortable interior access and easy loading.

Inside, passengers will enjoy the comfortable seats of the Citan Tourer. In addition to high functionality and variability, the vehicle provides comprehensive safety equipment and a high level of driving comfort.

Placements postings

&

appointments@aim.rs

H.E. MADI ATAMKULOV, AMBASSADOR OF KAZAKHSTAN TO SERBIA

Born 27th November 1974 in Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region, Madi Atamkulov graduated from the Kazakh National Technical University, Satbayev University, the Institute for Diplomacy of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in 2003 completed diplomatic training courses at the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He began his work in the diplomatic service in 2003, serving as first secretary of the CIS Affairs Committee of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And in 2006 he became the head of the State Protocol Service and the head of this department of the Ministry.

He served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan during 2014 and 2015, and from 2015 – prior to his appointment as ambassador to Serbia – he served as Head of Protocol of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Ambassador Atamkulov holds the diplomatic rank of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary First-Class Envoy.

H.E. SANJIV KOHLI, AMBASSADOR OF INDIA TO SERBIA

As a qualified electronics engineer, Sanjiv Kohli served in industry and worked for Indian Railways prior to joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1988.

During his diplomatic career to date, he has previously served within the scope of Indian missions in Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Russia and Qatar. He has also held different positions at the Ministry of External Affairs, including the West Africa Division.

Prior to his arrival in Belgrade, he served as India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand and Tanzania.

Ambassador Kohli, who speaks Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic and English, is married to Dr Ruma Kohli and is the proud father of two daughters and a son.

H.E. KAMIL KHASIYEV, AMBASSADOR OF AZERBAIJAN TO SERBIA

Born 15th April 1968, Kamil Khasiyev studied at the Military Institute of the USSR Ministry of Defence from 1985 to 1990, before completing a diplomatic course at the UK’s University of Leeds in 1993. He also studied international security studies courses at Harvard University in 2000. He served as an Amharic language interpreter to the Military Mission of the USSR to Ethiopia from 1990 to ’91, then served as Chief military interpreter for English at the Military Education Centre (1991-92) and third secretary/attaché of the Azerbaijan MFA Department for international organisations (1993-95). His international diplomatic postings include, among others, second secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Kingdom of Belgium (1995-98), counsellor/chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Austria, Permanent Mission to the OSCE (2001-04) and permanent representative of the Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to NATO (2004-10). Prior to arriving in Serbia, he served as ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Croatia (2010-17) and head of the Department of Regional Security at the Azerbaijani MFA (2018-21).

Ambassador Khasiyev speaks English, French, Amharic, Russian and Serbo-Croat, and is a married father of two children.

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VLADIMIR BOŠKOVIĆ, CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, SBERBANK SERBIA

This Will Be An Exceptional Year Sberbank Serbia has traditionally been a link and a bridge of partnership between the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation. And this is completely understandable, given that a large number of companies and enterprises in Serbia today export their products and services to Russia, or cooperate with Russian partners.

Sberbank Serbia and the entire Sber Group are today operating with strong liquidity, which is particularly important having in mind the difficulties caused by the pandemic. The high level of our busi-

Sberbank was one of the three local banks that were the first to take part in the “My Banking Data” project

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he entire Sber group has extremely liquid operations, which it is particularly important to highlight considering the difficulties caused by the pandemic. We’ve recorded excellent pay-outs in almost all segments over the previous months, says Sberbank Serbia CEO Vladimir Bošković, speaking for CorD. Congratulations on your appointment.

We cannot help but notice that the representatives of Sberbank Europe Group

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are confident that you and your team will contribute to further strengthening the market position and improving the bank’s business performance. What will be your starting point?

- We are about to face numerous challenges, but also some excellent market opportunities. All of us here at Sberbank Serbia are committed to using our potential, experience and knowledge in the most efficient way possible in the coming period, in order to keep improving our business and strengthening our market position.

ness liquidity was highlighted once again by international ratings agency Fitch Ratings, which affirmed the investment rating of Sberbank Europe, as well as of all its members, at BBB-, thus confirming the fact that Sberbank’s business is today exceptionally stable, with remarkably good financial indicators.

In the first six months of this year, Sberbank Serbia delivered as much as 35% better financial and business results than had been initially projected for the first half of 2021. Over the past months, we’ve recorded excellent pay-outs, both in the retail and micro-client segment, and in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises. As a result, it is already safe to say that, financially, 2021 will be our most successful year since we launched

our operations in Serbia.

It is up to all of us to continue building the market image and strengthening our business. In the months ahead, the bank will continue the rationalisation and further optimisation of its operations, the efficient digitalisation of all services and the creation of even more attractive offers for all clients.

I expect that, until year’s end, Sberbank Serbia will continue providing excellent business loans with a government-backed guarantee. By the beginning of August, our bank has already disbursed and approved around 160 million euros as part of this programme. Our market share in the programme stands at more than seven per cent.

Sberbank was one of the three local banks that were the first to take part in the “My Banking Data” project. By working jointly with the Serbian Government, the National Bank of Serbia, the Office for Information Technologies and E-government, and the Association of Serbian Banks, our bank has enabled its clients, through this project, to submit their documentation and required data for a loan application electronically, i.e., in digital format, through the E-government website, eUprava. This is a big step forward for all of us, and a significant benefit for clients that will save them a lot of time while helping them get the loan they desire faster than ever before.

You are widely regarded as a highly committed manager, with a constant focus on building team spirit and employee development. What type of people do you seek?

- Sberbank Serbia has always been composed of extraordinary professionals and employees who are truly committed to their work. The bank’s executive board, chaired by Marijana Vasilescu, spent years building this team. And I, as the new chairman, have inherited a bank where business relations are harmonious and all teams are well coordinated.

It is up to all of us to continue encouraging the further development of employees at Sberbank Serbia, to keep

motivating and inspiring them to continue with their professional development and enhance their prospects. Considering the fact that nowadays one part of our team comes to the bank while the other works from home, I believe it will be important to maintain a high level of commitment, unity and motivation of all our employees in the period ahead.

I firmly believe that the key to a company’s sustainable development and successful operations is the knowhow of its employees. With this in mind, we have launched a project named “Sberbank Route to Knowledge” (“Sberbank put znanja”), with the aim of encouraging the development of our employees’ general and specific knowledge, through formal education and the practical application of the acquired skills and knowledge.

As part of this initiative, we will engage in a number of interesting programmes,

I firmly believe that the key to a company’s sustainable development and successful operations is the knowhow of its employees such as “Talents” (“Talenti”) and “Exceptional” (“Izuzetni”), the Sberbank Internship Programme, as well as our Sberbank Academy. The aim of these programmes is to provide our promising colleagues with an opportunity to advance their professional development, but also to show them that we, as their employer, truly appreciate and recognise their efforts, results and achievements. I am confident that, thanks to this project, we will succeed in maintaining our excellent staff potential, increase the satisfaction of both employees and clients and, consequently, ensure the long-term development of our business. For our executive board, and for me personally, this is one of the priorities on the journey of further development.

Sberbank is a kind of a link between Serbia and Russia, between companies from the two countries. Do you see any room for more advanced cooperation between them, and do you have a vision of how your bank could contribute to that?

Our strategic direction is to provide all Serbian companies that plan to establish cooperation with partners in Russia, or that are already doing so, with the most comprehensive support and innovative services, and to help them maximise the benefits of such partnerships. The best proof of this is the fact that more than 20 per cent of our companies’ inflows based on exports to Russia are performed through Sberbank Serbia.

Our bank will continue to organise various gatherings and conferences in the coming period, with the mission of providing opportunities for members of the Serbian and Russian business communities to come together, get to know each other and possibly consider business cooperation. Over the course of this year, Sberbank Serbia and Sberbank Russia have already organised one such conference, where local food companies presented their products and export opportunities to representatives of Russia’s largest supermarket chain, X5. This is an excellent way to establish initial contact, as it was precisely thanks to one such meeting that Modital, a company operating as part of the famous Italian Pompea Group, now exports its products - primarily socks - to Russia, which they market through the X5 trade network.

Sberbank Serbia offers a product that could be of particular interest to local enterprises and companies looking to establish cooperation with Russian partners – factoring. Our bank’s share in the total value of factoring services on the Serbian market is growing month-onmonth, which is a strong indicator that a growing number of companies recognise the advantages of this service and use them ever-more frequently, along with the numerous benefits provided by factoring in their everyday operations.

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“We connect with the aim of developing our economies, building a common economy, for the development of the region, for a better life for each of our citizens” – ZORAN ZAEV, PRIME MINISTER OF NORTH MACEDONIA

REGIONAL NEWS

REGIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM AS PART OF THE MINI SCHENGEN INITIATIVE HELD IN SKOPJE A regional economic forum was held in Skopje, attended by regional leaders of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, President Aleksandar Vucic and the prime ministers of Northern Macedonia and Albania, Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama.

“I believe that all countries should be part of this process, because it is a benefit for them and their citizens, and every day of looking back is a day lost,” the Albanian Prime Minister emphasized. President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, stated that the Mini Schengen or “Open Balkan” initiative is open to all other countries in the region that want it and that anyone who wants to join is welcome, but no reason for someone to pray, FoNet reports.

WIZZ AIR TO LAUNCH BANJA LUKAHAMBURG FLIGHTS Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air announced it will launch a new route from Banja Luka to Hamburg.

“We are happy to announce the expansion of our route network from Banja Luka by adding the second destinations in Germany – Hamburg,” said company’s corporate communications manager in a statement.

The route will be launched in December and will operate twice weekly. Earlier, Wizz Air launched flights connecting Banja Luka with Dortmund, Malmo, Eindhoven and Basel. Wizz Air is already present in Bosnia, in Sarajevo and Tuzla.

EBRD ACQUIRES EQUITY STAKE IN SOFIA AIRPORT OPERATOR The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the development of Sofia airport with an indirect equity investment in SOF Connect, the company operating and managing the airport through a concession agreement with the Bulgarian government. The EBRD’s total investment of €74.3 million will include a €58 million equity investment and a further €16.3 million contingent equity exposure.

The equity investment follows a €50 million loan to SOF Connect earlier this year to support the airport’s transformation.

SOF Connect is a joint venture between Meridiam, an asset manager specialising in public-private-partnership projects, Munich airport and Austrian construction company Strabag, which started operating in April 2021.

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“Everything that has been happening on the internet for the last year or so can easily move onto the streets” – DRITAN ABAZOVIĆ, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF MONTENEGRO

SALE OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS BANNED IN SLOVENIA The government of Slovenia has banned the sale of single-use plastic products bar a few exceptions. The relevant regulation, endorsed at the correspondence session, also prescribes the labelling of certain singleuse plastic items and their packaging to raise awareness about recycling.

Products to be banned under the regulation include plastic cutlery, plates and straws as well as ear swabs, except for those used as medical equipment. Also banned are plastic stir sticks and balloon sticks with the exception of those intended for industrial use and not for customers. The regulation, transposing an EU regulation, also bans expanded polystyrene food and drink packaging and items made of oxo-degradable plastics.

ENGLAND ADDS MONTENEGRO TO TRAVEL RED LIST England adds Thailand and Montenegro to its “red list” of destinations that require travellers to quarantine in a hotel upon their return, the government said.

Canada, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Azores were added to England’s “green list” of places that are safe to visit without requiring quarantine on return.

Changes to the lists came into effect from 30th August, the government said.

CROATIA’S WEBPOWER ADRIA INTRODUCE 4-DAY WORKWEEK Dutch entrepreneur Jan de Jong, who lives and works in Croatia, announced a four-day workweek for Webpower Adria employees starting from September. The change will not influence the change in salaries.

“Webpower Adria just gave all of its employees a raise of 20%. No, not in money, but in free time. We are introducing a 4-day work week - for the same salary! ?? In addition to that - whether my colleagues will be working from home or from the office will be entirely their own decision. ?? We are all individuals, with different preferences. If we can do our work from anywhere, then who are we to say it needs to be done from the office. ? I strongly believe in the powerful words of sir Richard Branson: “If you look after your staff, they will look after your customers.”

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Strategy For The Development Of Information Society And Security Adopted The Government of Serbia has adopted its Strategy for the Development of the Information Society and Information Security, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, thus determining the vision for the development of the information society in the Republic of Serbia until 2026 with the defining of key measures and activities. of services and business operations in the public and private sectors and that, alongside all of this, it is also very important to improve information security, primarily through the development of the capacity of competent institutions, raising the awareness of citizens, encouraging public-private partnerships and advancing regional and international cooperation.

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erbia recognises the importance of digitalisation and information security, which is also shown by the enviable results achieved in this area. The strategy encompasses two important areas: the information society and information security, the further development of which represents a precondition for the complete digitalisation of society - said Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Tatjana Matić, as announced by the ministry.

She also added that the adoption and

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implementation of this strategic document in the field of the development of the information society and information security is important in order to continue further improving the digital knowledge and skills of all citizens, raising the capacity to use new technologies among employees, in both the public and private sectors, as well as improving digital infrastructure in educational institutions.

In addition to this, the announcement states that it is essential to continue and intensify activities on the digitalisation

The adoption and implementation of this strategic document in the field of the development of the information society and information security is important in order to continue further improving the digital knowledge and skills of all citizens, raising the capacity to use new technologies among employees, in both the public and private sectors, as well as improving digital infrastructure in educational institutions The Strategy for the Development of the Information Society and Information Security for the 2021 to 2026 Period, with the associated Action Plan that details activities until 2023, was adopted by the Government of Serbia at its session of 26th August 2021.

Faster and Easier To VMware Certification

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t was more than three years ago that Ingram Micro recognised the challenges that are being faced by both its partners and end users, and brought them together in one place. In today’s IT environment, it is necessary to keep upto-date with the latest achievements and solutions, which is why there is an increased need for education.

Our courses, under the guidance of an instructor, have been developed to teach participants skills that are aligned directly with the real jobs and needs of the IT market, and participants receive effective, highquality training.

Over the course of the previous decade, you’ve certainly had multiple opportunities to hear how everyone is talking about digital transformation and the ever-increasing use of digital tools and technologies, as well as the ways these tools and technolo-

gies change modern operations, the work of employees, cooperation with partners and the user experience itself. It was more than three years ago that Ingram Micro recognised the challenges that are being faced by both its partners and end users, and brought them together in one place.

We don’t only offer specialised training for engineers with a focus on integrating, introducing and maintaining new solutions, but also maximise the use of new end-user solutions.

The Ingram Micro Training Centre recently became the only accredited VMware training centre in Serbia, so the training courses held at the centre represent a prerequisite for taking exams that enable successful trainees to acquire official VMware certification.

Our courses, under the guidance of an instructor, have been developed to teach par-

ticipants skills that are aligned directly with the real jobs and needs of the IT market, and participants receive effective, high-quality training. A complete portfolio of VMware authorised training courses will be offered in the period ahead.

Our offer includes the following training courses: VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage V7 VMware NSX-T Data Center: Install, Configure, Manage [V3.0] VMware vSphere: Optimize and Scale [V7] VMware vSphere: Troubleshooting [V7] VMware vSphere: Fast Track [V7] VMware vSphere: Optimize and Scale plus Troubleshooting Fast Track [V7] VMware vSphere: Advanced Administration Workshop [V7] VMware vSphere: Design [V7]

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“We have a chance now to repair the broken foundations of our economy, and on top of it, to build something fairer and stronger than what came before” – JANET YELLEN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY

WORLD NEWS

AMAZON PLANS TO OPEN SEVERAL 30,000-SQUAREFOOT DEPARTMENT STORES ACROSS THE US After conquering online retail and beating even Walmart in sales, Amazon is now looking to expand into the industry it notoriously disrupted, brick-and-mortar retail stores. Amazon plans to open several 30,000-square-foot stores across the US to further its reach in sales of clothing, household items, electronics and other home goods, sources say.

The first stores are expected to open in Ohio and California, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The move comes with ironic undertones as department stores and mom-and-pop shops have long blamed Amazon and other online retailers for their loss in sales.

UK CAR PRODUCTION PLUMMETS TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1956 U.K. car production plummeted to a new low last month, marking the worst July performance for the industry since 1956, according to a trade group. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that U.K. manufacturers built just 53,438 vehicles in July, marking a 37.6% drop on July 2020.

A global semiconductor shortage, factory shutdowns and worker absences amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic all contributed to the decline, SMMT said. While July was a particularly bad month, car production across U.K. factories is up 18.3% year-to-date compared to 2020, when Covid restrictions meant people couldn’t go to work. Some 552,361 cars have been built in the U.K. since January, but that’s still 28.7% down on 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

VISA BUYING A ‘CRYPTOPUNK’ FOR $150,000 Visa is the latest major company jumping into the NFT craze. The payments processor said Monday it bought a “CryptoPunk,” one of thousands of NFT-based digital avatars, for nearly $150,000 in ethereum.

An NFT — which stands for non-fungible token — is a unique digital asset designed to represent ownership of a virtual item.

Unlike bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, NFTs can’t be exchanged like-for-like with another NFTs. Proponents say this makes NFTs scarce, driving up their value. NFTs have often been compared to physical collectible items like rare trading cards and works of art.

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“We will continue to make the economic pie bigger and divide it well” – HAN WENXIU, CHINA’S CENTRAL COMMITTEE FOR FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

HACKER BEHIND $600 MILLION CRYPTO STEAL RETURNS FINAL SLICE OF STOLEN FUNDS The hacker behind the biggest cryptocurrency heist of all time has granted access to the final tranche of stolen funds.

Poly Network, a platform in the decentralized finance or “DeFi” space, was hit by a major attack which saw the hacker, or hackers, steal more than $600 million worth of digital tokens. The thief exploited a vulnerability in Poly Network’s code which allowed them to transfer the funds to their own accounts. In a strange twist, the Poly Network hacker didn’t run off with the haul. Instead, they opened a dialogue with the organization that was targeted, promising to return all the funds. And, sure enough, the hacker gave back nearly all of the money — with the exception of $33 million of tether, or USDT, which was frozen by its issuers.

AUSTRALIA’S QANTAS HOPES TO RESUME INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS BY CHRISTMAS Australian carrier Qantas expects international flights to the U.S., the U.K. and parts of Asia to resume by Christmas, CEO Alan Joyce said Thursday.

Since March last year, Australia has closed its borders to most foreign visitors and banned residents from leaving unless they had valid reasons. “We know there’s huge underlying demand. People don’t want another Christmas where they are isolated from their families, let alone internationally, but [also] in Australia,” Joyce said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” A spike in local Covid-19 cases in recent months forced Australian states and territories to step up restrictions, including limitations on interstate travel and stay-at-home notices in high-risk areas.

GOLDMAN SACHS TO REQUIRE PEOPLE ENTERING ITS OFFICES TO BE VACCINATED Goldman Sachs, leading global investment bank , said that only vaccinated people can enter its buildings starting from 7th September and applies to everybody, including employees and clients, according to a memo sent to U.S. workers. Those who aren’t fully vaccinated by then will have to work from home, according to a person with direct knowledge of the memo.

Goldman Sachs is the latest bank to require employees be vaccinated to return to offices, following similar edicts from Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.

The move comes a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, clearing the way for more corporations to mandate their employees be vaccinated.

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Enterpreneur

JOHNNY BOUFARHAT HOPIN FOUNDER AND CEO

Two-Year-Old Events Start-Up Hopin Boomed In The Pandemic

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When Johnny Boufarhat founded his virtual events business two years ago, there was no pandemic, no lockdowns and no travel restrictions. That all changed in 2020.

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he coronavirus outbreak forced a multitude of major events and conferences to be cancelled or postponed, as governments around the world imposed restrictions on public life to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The result was a boom in video conferencing software benefiting the likes of Zoom, Microsoft and Google.

But it wasn’t just U.S. tech giants that saw meteoric growth. Hopin, Boufarhat’s firm, and a handful of other start-ups including Run The World and Bizzabo, were met with heightened demand as event hosts raced to move their gatherings online.

That wave of demand quickly catapulted Hopin to “unicorn” status, with its valuation surging past $2 billion in a November funding round. Hopin’s market value then more than doubled to $5.65 billion in March.

Now, the company has bagged yet another mega investment, its fourth since February last year.

Hopin said Thursday it has raised $450 million in a funding round co-led by Arena Holdings and Altimeter Capital. The latest cash injection values the start-up at a whopping $7.75 billion, making it one of Europe’s most valuable tech unicorns.

A STROKE OF LUCK Boufarhat, 27, said a lot of his firm’s success boiled down to luck.

“I feel lucky,” he told CNBC in an interview Thursday. “You work really hard, and you make some critical decisions to get your business to where it is. But there’s also a really big part of luck that takes you there.”

The Australian-born entrepreneur started Hopin in London in June 2019 after falling ill

You work really hard, and you make some critical decisions to get your business to where it is. But there’s also a really big part of luck that takes you there. with an autoimmune disease that prevented him from leaving the house.

His company’s platform lets organizations host events online with up to 100,000 attendees, with tools for virtual talks and one-to-one networking. It proved a hit dur-

ing the pandemic, and now has over 100,000 customers including American Express and NATO, while more than 17 million users have registered for an account.

The rising valuation of the business has made Boufarhat Britain’s youngest self-made billionaire on paper, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

To put Hopin’s growth into perspective, the company had only eight employees in March 2020. Its headcount now stands at 800. All of Hopin’s employees work remotely.

“Quite a few things that had to click in place for that to happen were out of my control,” Boufarhat said of the company’s success. “It’s actually sad, we wish Covid never happened.

We were still growing fast pre-Covid but

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Enterpreneur

As we mature as a company, I think we’re going to go through a time of, not slow growth but not hyper-speed growth, and then it will come back up as we start to release new products obviously Covid was a massive accelerator for the company.”

CAN HOPIN’S WINNING STREAK CONTINUE? Hopin has snapped up a number of other start-ups including livestreaming Streamyard and video collaboration app Jamm in a bid to expand its suite of products. In three to four months’ time, Hopin plans to launch two new services focused on collaboration and digital video marketing, Boufarhat said.

The company says it now has annual recurring revenue, or ARR, of about $100 million, up from $70 million in March, and $20 million in November. ARR is a metric used by

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subscription-based software firms to calculate how much money they will likely make in a year.

Hopin was previously profitable but is now running at a loss and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future to prioritize growth, Boufarhat said.

Some investors question whether Hopin and other tech companies that have benefited during the pandemic can continue their winning streak in a post-Covid world.

“As we mature as a company, I think we’re going to go through a time of, not slow growth but not hyper-speed growth, and then it will come back up as we start to release new

products,” Boufarhat said.

But Hopin’s founder says the company is preparing for a future with “hybrid” events that take place both online and offline.

“We hosted an on-site hybrid event where there were 40 people in-person and over 10,000 attending globally,” Boufarhat said.

However, he cautioned: “From my conversations with most of these organizations, I believe that next year is the year where we’re going to see these on-site events return.”

As for an initial public offering, Boufarhat thinks Hopin will go public within the next 2-4 years. www.cnbc.com

PROFILE Foto Danilo Mataruga

Museums Are Living Places Of Remembrance Museums have always played an extremely important role in modern society, and that role is getting immense proportions under the new circumstances.

Museums exist to educate, preserve and interpret memories, encourage dialogue, but also to allow visitors to relax in a unique atmosphere that inspires harmony and pleasure. Important social issues are launched there, and the space is created for community integration.

NEDA KNEŽEVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF YUGOSLAVIA

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’ve spent the last nine years managing Belgrade’s Museum of Yugoslavia, that living place of remembrance that’s both a museum and a cultural centre, but also an open institution that encourages social memory and a culture of remembrance linked to the heritage of Yugoslavia and critical reflections on Yugoslavia. With each new exhibition, we strive to actualise the history or topic we are addressing, and to make it enticing to visitors, in an attractive, imaginative, bold and, when necessary, provocative way. The best proof that we are successful is not only the huge numbers of visitors, but also the great interest in our funds and activities, particularly among young people.

The Museum of Yugoslavia recently became the main centre for all issues related to the ideas, phenomena and practises that led to both the emergence and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, which is aligned with the development of museum activities in the world where there are more and more so-called phenomena museums: film, light, broken relationships, childhood, Europe etc.

The position I hold demands great responsibility, dedication and, above all, love

for culture. As a newly graduated student of archaeology at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Philosophy, it was a privilege for me to learn business philosophy from Aleksandar Despić, an academic who was my mentor for five years. It was while working at the Museum of Science and Technology in Belgrade that I earned my master’s degree in history and the philosophy of natural sciences and technologies, as well as the professional title of curator. I’ve spent more than two decades in the protection, management, promotion and presentation of cultural heritage through both the public and private sectors. A series of projects that I led aimed to raise public awareness of the importance of cultural heritage as a powerful resource for intercultural dialogue and sustainable development. The work in the field of culture motivates and pleases me.

My great contribution to managing the Museum of Yugoslavia is evident through the project “(Re)cognising– May 25th Museum” and the initiative to properly validate and rejuvenate the first purpose-built museum in Belgrade. It was constructed according to the design of architect Mihailo Janković, after whom the street where the museum is located has been named. It is in this very building that we are preparing the exhibition “Prometheus of the New Century”, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Belgrade Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement. Just as the leaders of non-aligned countries sent a message of peace, as they stood in front of the monumental canvas of Petar Lubarda in the main hall of the

Federal Assembly during the conference, so the Museum of Yugoslavia will, from mid-September this year, provide a reminder of the very beginnings of the policy of nonalignment. That movement represented a Hope of humanity. Today’s Renaissance of the Movement is no accident. It emerged

Never before in modern history have we witnessed such endangering of the basic rights of nations as proclaimed by the non-aligned countries in their five principles: territorial integrity, non-aggression, noninterference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence during the Cold War and is being revived during a time of increasing calls for a new one. Never before in modern history have we witnessed such endangering of the basic rights of nations as proclaimed by the non-aligned countries in their five principles: territorial integrity, non-aggression, noninterference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

We live in a world that has never before in history been so captivated by its everyday reality. The future can just be glimpsed before it. That’s why museums are there to launch new ideas and perspectives for the future.

September

43

Sport VLADIMIR VANJA GRBIĆ VOLLEYBALL PLAYER

The 32nd Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were postponed for a year due to the pandemic, saw Serbian athletes win a record number of medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze), while only a little was lacking for that success to have been much greater.

More Successful

Than Ever In Tokyo T

Photo: Peđa Milosavljević / nova.rs

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he Tokyo Olympics represents the only Olympic Games in history to have been postponed for a year, the only ones to be held without spectators in attendance and the only Olympics to be staged under a special regime due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which for the preceding year and a half impacted on the worldwide system of sporting competition and the system for qualification to participate in the Games.

All of this led to many athletes, sports experts and fans awaiting the Tokyo Olympics with a degree of scepticism, while there were even athletes who abandoned their trip to Tokyo and participation in

By Živko Baljkas

the Games despite having qualified, and despite having spent an exceptional five years preparing.

We asked volleyball ace Vladimir Vanja Grbić, a three-time Olympian, Olympic champion from 2000 and Olympic bronze medallist from 1996, whether these factors ultimately had a negative impact on the quality of, and interest in, the Olympic competitions.

“No, they didn’t. But an Olympic Games with spectators isn’t the same as previous editions.

However, the fact that one country, Japan, was nonetheless able to organise the Games under such conditions justifies the epithet ‘exceptional’.

These Games were also the “most democratic” to date, given that athletes from a record 206 countries and territories participated. Medals were won by Olympians from 86 countries - eight more than was the case in Rio - and in such fierce competition, the Serbian Olympic team’s record of three golds means it shares the ranking from 22nd to 32nd place, while it ranked 26th in terms of total medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze), which is the best result since the country became independent. Does this confirm the “nation of sports” title that we gave ourselves, or do you think that we can and must do better?

I always observe the facts and try to be realistic.

Considering the level of investment in Serbian sport, I think the result achieved in Tokyo is well beyond the realistic possibilities. If we add that a few more medals could have been expected – in judo, basketball, tennis, athletics or rowing – then we are talking about a potential that investing in would be fully justified.

France proved to be the most successful country in team sports in Tokyo, which was brought championship titles by its men’s and women’s handball teams and men’s volleyball team, silver by its men’s basketball team and women’s rugby-sevens team, and bronze by its women’s basketball team. Serbia, which was considered a superpower in team sports, can take pride in the gold won by its men’s water polo team, the bronze medals won by its women’s volleyball team and 3x3 basketball teams, as well as the women’s basketball team’s fourth place finish.

The ladies and men’s handball teams, and the men’s football team, didn’t even come close to qualifying, while the men’s volleyball team also failed to quality, despite being European champions, as did the men’s basketball team, which is ranked second in Europe. Can we be represented in more team sports and more successfully in Paris in 2024, and will we be able to compete more convincingly with the French hosts?

The school sports programmes in France include the very sports in which they won medals in Tokyo.

That’s why it comes as no surprise that they were so successful. We also used to have that… The approach must be much more serious in order for results to improve.

The IOC has left it up to international sports federations to decide the way countries qualify for the Olympic Games, and it thus differs from sport to sport. It seems that volleyball is the least fair, given that even continental champions aren’t exempt from qualifying. Could that be changed?

The qualification system has always been the same, and it is indeed unfair. However, if you want to go to the Olympics, you must beat the competition. The qualification system for Paris 2024 will be completely different. The best continental national teams and the nations with the best ranking, which is updated following each game, will participate in the Olympics.

We won medals in two of the five sports that made their Olympic debut. Jovana Preković became Olympic champion in karate, and the 3x3 basketball team won bronze after sustaining just one defeat. Skateboarders, surfers and sports climbers also appeared on the Olympic scene for the first time. How would you rate the IOC’s efforts to bring Olympism and sports closer to the youngest populations with the inclusions of these sports, as well as the fact that teenagers are now winning Olympic medals in gymnastics, diving, skating and other sports, despite the IOC having launched the Youth Olympic Games specifically for them in 2010?

That’s fine with me for some sports, but not for others. I’ve heard that the Paris programme will include breakdancing and omit karate. I wouldn’t like to comment on the criterion that guides IOC members in making such decisions.

Serbia’s colours were also defended in Tokyo by three athletes who took Serbian passports for the sole reason that they wanted to compete on the international stage and were unable to do so for their own countries, for various reasons.

Apart from wrestler Zurab Datunashvili, a naturalised Georgian who won a bronze medal, there are also his compatriot and fellow wrestler Mikhail Kadzhaya and basketball reinforcement Yvonne Anderson, who hails from the U.S. How do you view this practise? Does it merely create a false image of the strength of our sport, or can it also have a positive influence on the development of our sporting scene?

In conversation with an acquaintance of mine from the World Volleyball Federation, we came up with an interesting perspective. Does the naturalisation of foreigners, which is a common occurrence in volleyball, send a message to children that they are not good enough? Is that a sign that coaches and sports federations aren’t interested in working with youngsters and educating them in the spirit of Olympism and patriotism, because we can opt for an easier solution and simply naturalise a player who was moulded by someone else? This is very widespread today. In my opinion, it’s not good. A club is one thing, but the national team is something completely different.

I’m against it!

You were always considered a great motivator and the driving force behind every team in which you played. How do you view the psychological and motivational process of preparing for major competitions today, at a time when even the greatest champions in their sports – such as Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka or American gymnast Simone Biles – are unable to handle the pressure?

I noticed in the case of Biles that the complete attention and support for her statement about her “own mental health” as a reason for withdrawing from the competition aimed at justifying her inability to overcome anxiety. So… honestly… why did you even come to the Olympics? You took the place of someone who would have been ready to die just to make it to the games. That hypocrisy with

BEST OF THE BEST...

He was declared the country’s best athlete by the Yugoslav Olympic Committee twice, in 1996 and 2000, while he took the title of Best Volleyball Player in Europe in 2000, and made it into the FIVB world dream team in 2000 and 2006.

He entered the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke (U.S.) in 2011, received the Fair Play Award of the Association of National Team Members in 2006 and was awarded the Order of Nemanja II Degree in 2000. He was proclaimed a Sports Ambassador of Yugoslavia, served as a UNICEF good will ambassador for Serbia and is now a global ambassador of the Special Olympics. He is a winner of the National Award for Special Contributions to the Development and Affirmation of Sport (2007).

His wife, Sara Perić, is a former university world champion in karate. Together they have three daughters and a son, while he is set to soon complete his doctoral studies at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the University of Belgrade, where he graduated in 2014 and was an assistant professor in the subject of volleyball.

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Sport

Photo: EPA

national teams, both men’s and women’s, as well as development programmes for creating junior national selections and raising players through the system. I was primarily helped in this by the camp, which has been attended by 3,100 children from 37 countries on all continents, as well as the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the University of Belgrade, where I should earn my doctorate next month, thus becoming the first Olympic champion and Hall of Fame member to do so.

My further work will continue to focus on passing on my experience, knowhow and passion to new generations. That’s how the circle of an Olympic champion is closed with meaning, and his life has reason and justification to be dubbed a life worth living.

FAMILY BUSINESS

support is nauseating. An Olympic champion has learned from an early age to give their all and to overcome and channel their fear. That’s why they became an Olympic champion. This is similar to the sharing of the gold medal in the men’s high jump event! But, wait. What kind of disrespect is this towards those who also competed? Let’s share the Olympic gold medals with everyone and make everyone happy, like the Norwegian approach to pedagogy. These are the Olympic Games! There is no sharing of gold medals. A misdirected topic in the glorifying of the wrong values.

We all feel fear that we won’t succeed in fulfilling our own expectations. And then our focus shifts to “mistakes”. The way to overcome this is to focus on the process and not the result. In the case of Simone Biles, unfortunately, she was consumed by fear and pressure. I’m sorry about that, but then you’re not the one.

Do you prefer a motivational speech or a sporting move like the one you pulled off in the final of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when you leapt over advertising hoardings and photojournalists to return the ball to the court and even managed to put a block on Russian spiker Yakovlev and score points?

You can say whatever you want to an athlete as long as what you say is what you believe and as long as you act in accordance with what you say.

Self-confidence is the most important factor in sport. And it is attained through training.

After the victory in Sydney in 2000, you stated that you were dedicating the medal to your compatriots who were then on the streets of Serbia protesting against Milošević’s regime, but that

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statement didn’t get a mention in any media at the time. Many athletes, including your teammates, have started getting involved in politics over the past two decades, but not you. Why is that?

I honestly don’t believe that I said that, because none of my statements are politically tinged. I fight, and will always fight, for truth and justice, and I have no problem being alone on one side even though everyone else is on the other side.

I don’t wish to comment on athletes who’ve entered politics. I would only say that the naïve also do that.The place of athletes is in sport. Politics uses them for as long as it takes for their reputation to entice and attract the masses, then they are marginalised and declared unsuitable. It’s unfathomable to me that someone who has attained integrity and recognisability, and reached heights that are only reached by the best in the world, could allow themselves to be compromised with mediocrities “because that’s how it has to be”. Champ, you only have to die, and you set an example to children of how not to act, while you spit on everything you’ve achieved.

You served as vice president of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia and a member of the FIVB Commission for the Development of Volleyball Worldwide, while you are now dedicated to working with the youngest through your volleyball camp in Sokobanja.

After the Development Commission that I was a member of from 2006 to 2016, and the Sports Commission as Secretary General from 2016 to 2020, the FIVB entrusted me with the role of president of the Commission for the most important projects – strengthening national selections.Through this commission, we deal with strengthening

Vladimir Vanja Grbić, born 14th December 1970, together with his younger brother Nikola, followed in the footsteps of their father Miloš, who provided a great contribution to winning the first “major” medal for our volleyball team (bronze at the 1975 European Championships).

And, just like their father, the brothers also ranked among our best volleyball players – not only of their own time, but of all time.

Vanja started his three-decade-long volleyball career (he was a professional for 21 years) as a nine-year-old back in 1979, at local club GIK Banat, and ended his playing days at Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2009, after having also played in Italy, Brazil, Japan, Greece and Russia, and won numerous trophies and titles.

He was a national champion with Novi Sad’s Vojvodina in 1989 and 1992, won the 1994 CEV Cup with Petrarca Volley Padua, the 1995 Italian Cup, 1996 Italian Super Cup, 1996 CEV Cup and European Super Cup and the 1997 Cup Winners’ Cup with Alpitour Cuneo, the 1997 Paulista Championship with Sao Paolo Report/ Suzano, the 2000 Italian championship and CEV Cup with Rome’s Piaggio Club, while ith Fenerbahce he won the 2008 Turkish Cup and Championship.

He played as a passer-side attacker in the national team for 16 years and was one of those most worthy of credit for the national team’s golden age, which was crowned with gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and also saw the country win bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, silver at the 1998 World Championships, gold in the 2001 European Championships, as well as European silver in 1997 and bronze in 1995 and 1999. Other major national team achievements include third place in the World Championships of 2001 and 2003, and second (2003) and third place (2002) in the World League.

September

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Art

Ivan Medenica, Bitef Artistic Director “Although I would maintain that dramatic and choreographic performances represent equally valuable and relevant forms of contemporary performing arts, and that they all absolutely have a place at Bitef, we nonetheless take care to preserve the stage tradition and the expectations of our milieu” ~ Ivan Medenica

F THE WORLD IS AT A

48

TIPPING POINT September

or the first time in its history, the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, the world renowned Bitef, will have two editions this autumn – the 54th and 55th – because last year saw only the Prologue held, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This will also be the first time that a larger number of plays than usual will be coming to Belgrade for Bitef – with as many as 14 set to arrive!

Under the slogan On the Edge of the Future, the main programme has been divided into two parts: the environmental problems of today, and the so-called world after, the world without man.This year’s participants hail from Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, but also from Iran, as well as co-productions from Mexico, Chile and Austria. The new double edition of Bitef provided the occasion for us to converse with theatrologist Dr Ivan Medenica, artistic director of Bitef and professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts. The titles of Bitef, which are among its trademarks, traditionally signify some burning issue at the global level, but also criticism of those who caused that issue. Who is being criticised by this year’s title?

All those who’ve brought our civilisation to the brink of oblivion by contributing to climate change and environmental pollution.The slogan of this year’s Bitef, On the Edge of the Future, is sufficiently alarming. The future is here,

By Sonja Ćirić

we are on the threshold of it, but it is more uncertain than ever before: we will only realise it if we urgently develop an awareness of the ecological cataclysm, because otherwise we are not on the threshold of the future but rather at the edge of the abyss. A great many of the plays at the 54th/55th Bitef deal with the environmental challenges of modern humankind or, somewhat more broadly, the dystopian vision of the future.The specific subjects of criticism are the modern “pillars of society” – politicians, industrialists and the media, who oppose the free individual, that “enemy of the nation”, in his struggle to preserve natural resources; corporations with a “name and surname” that destroy ecosystems in the Mexican mountains and elsewhere; the gentrification of cities and the destruction of independent agricultural produce,which lead to the disappearance of green areas, gardens and estates where healthy food was grown etc. From the perspective of Bitef’s interpretation, how does the world that will not have man at the centre of everything (the theme of the second part of the programme) look?

The first part is authentically thematic. It will include five plays – Traces, Lungs, Climate Dances, An Enemy of the People and Farm Fatale – all of which, in various forms ranging from drama to contemporary dance, address the issues of climate challenges, the polluting of nature and ecological revolution.The second part, which unfolds under the “cipher” of posthumanism, is not as thematically profiled as it is aesthetically. In other words, the noted withdrawing of man from the centre of the world will not be addressed at a thematic level, but rather at the level of the performances themselves, in terms of stage language. These are plays in which robots and drones perform alongside live performers, or, on the other hand, the presence of performers is deconstructed through the use of light, visual effects and the use of digital technologies.This corpus encompasses the plays Kaspar, Future fortune, I put a spell on you,The cherry orchard in the cherry orchard, As if the end were not quite near, Conference of the absent and Flash. This is not about the “banishment” of live performers from the stage, but rather a multifaceted re-examination of the “living presence”as an aesthetic precondition of performance. This year’s selection provides the impression that classical drama plays are making way for choreographic shows and installations.

stage tradition and the expectations of our milieu. As such, almost half of the performances at the 54th/55th Bitef will represent a modern and radical form of drama, or at least theatre based on the text: Kaspar, Lungs, An Enemy of the People, Farm Fatale and, to a certain extent and in a sense, Cement Belgrade and Living Room. Solidarity, as a characteristic/phenomenon highlighted by the pandemic, will be the topic of the Bitef international conference “We’re Sitting on a Branch: Solidarity or Collapse”. The choice is ours.

“The future is here, we are on the threshold of it, but it is more uncertain than ever before: we will only realise it if we urgently develop an awareness of the ecological cataclysm, because otherwise we are not on the threshold of the future but rather at the edge of the abyss” Such great differentiating isn’t the done thing at major world theatre festivals, as all these forms fall under the broader term of “performing arts”. In our country we still count what belongs to which of the “sections” of the aforementioned all-encompassing art form, just as we like to determine origins, to place national flags alongside shows, despite the fact that most of those that come to Bitef and related festivals fall under the category of international co-productions, or the fact that authors, directors and choreographers very often work in other, culturally diverse milieus. On the other hand, such a tendency, as you hint at yourself, is very present at major world festivals; this year, for example, classical drama theatre is less represented in Avignon than it is at Bitef. Although I would maintain that dramatic and choreographic performances represent equally valuable and relevant forms of contemporary performing arts, and that they all absolutely have a place at Bitef, we nonetheless take care to preserve the

That’s right! We are very glad that, since first appearing in public, this title has been wonderfully received, in the sense that it inspires interlocutors, just like yourself now. You have extracted one term from it, I would say the crucial one. If we don’t show a much higher degree of solidarity in this time of ecological crisis, of which the COVID-19 Pandemic is a direct consequence, as is the social and economic crisis that’s yet to follow, the only thing that really awaits is collapse. First and foremost, the pandemic itself will not abate until we realise that we should show solidarity and get vaccinated – if not for ourselves, then at least for our loved ones, for the survival of the health system...This isn’t catastrophism, the world is at the kind of tipping point that it hasn’t faced for a long time, and if we don’t get serious, start working in the general interest and show much greater solidarity, the consequences will be incalculable. The first part of the title of the conference alludes to the Swedish film A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, which all of us in the team love very much, but it should primarily be associated with the risky position in which the human race finds itself, because a man, unlike a monkey, can instantly fall from a branch and break his neck... This conference is very important to us. We entered into work on it with plenty of faith, passion and ambition; we are working on it in cooperation with the organisation Zajedničko, and about thirty theatre artists, philosophers, scientists, environmental activists and politicians from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the U.S., North Macedonia, Syria and Bosnia-Herzegovina will speak on topics ranging from climate change and ecological crisis to the vision of environmentally sustainable cities and theatre production. Part of the conference is also comprised of workshops aimed at strengthening the “green theatre” concept - that of a theatre that would be environmentally sustainable, given that the theatre, like other human activities, has its own “contribution” to endangering the natural environment.

September

49

This and that Production

My life

Dragan Bjelogrlić, actor, director and producer

IT’S A PRIVILEGE TO BE

A FREE MAN

He first appeared in front of the cameras at the age of 14, and enjoyed his greatest popularity as Boba Popadić in the television series A Better Life, which represented the last artistic product that brought joy to the former Yugoslavia as a whole. He matured as an actor in the films Pretty Village, Pretty Flame and Wounds, then launched a successful career as a producer and director. He celebrated a football legend in Montevideo, God Bless You and considers the series Balkan Shadows, aka Black Sun, as the biggest creative risk he’s taken. This year represents his greatest success – as producer and director of the film Toma and lead actor in the film and series Impure Blood, based on the literary works of Borisav Stanković.

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By Radmila Stanković

This and that Production

I

nitially, while still a child, he was dubbed Sirogojno, after partisan bomber Sava Jovanović Sirogojno who he played in the film Boško Buha, directed by Branko Bauer. As a young man, he gained huge fame nationally for his portrayal of Boba Popadić, the son of Svetlana Bojković and Marko Nikolić in the television series A Better Life. After that, it was difficult to fight to be known as the actor Dragan Bjelogrlić. But he succeeded and he has long been known simply as Bjela, actor, producer and director.

His parents, Tomislav and Nada, both of whom are economists, met in Nada’s native village of Baranda, where Toma, as his friends called him, formed an agricultural cooperative. Dragan’s great-grandfather, Vule Bjelogrlić, from the village of Lipnik near Gacko in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, fought on the Thessaloniki front in World War I and received land in Banat from King Alexander I Karađorđević. Not wanting to leave his native Herzegovina, he gifted the estate to his eldest son, Milan, who settled in the village of Orahovo in 1926. Together with his wife Ljubica, he had a farmstead where Dragan’s father and uncles were born. His mother’s parents, Veta and Julka Gajić, lived in Baranda, where his grandfather was engaged in the production of opanak shoes.

Dragan was just nine months old when his parents moved from Baranda to Belgrade, or more precisely to Voždovac. He grew up on westerns and crime thrillers, and was the main hero of various adventures at his grandparents’ place in the countryside. Of course, he watched the popular TV series The Written Offs [Otpisane] and loved the characters of Tihi and Prle. At the Milica Pavlović Primary School he was wonderkid, gifted in physics and mathematics. He also attended the drama group of Radio Belgrade, but was thrown out by Bata Miladinović for being mischievous. He graduated from the Sixth Belgrade Gymnasium, enrolled in the Faculty of Civil Engineering, passed the exams of the first year and promptly dropped out. “I wondered if all that time I’d devoted to mathematics was wasted, but I realised when I started working in directing that it had been

Socialism had its shortcomings, but also its good sides… True values were nurtured and the state took care of that, or more precisely provided funds that placed the artists in a rather comfortable situation important because it compelled me to think in a correct and logical way. And I’m sure that helped me a lot in my first direction jobs”.

He enrolled at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the second attempt, in 1984. He recalls that for his first entrance test he prepared Pirandello’s Tonight We Improvise and something from Nušić, but he hadn’t prepared well and wasn’t admitted. The next time he spent several months rehearsing the character of Ljuba Vrapče from Dragoslav Mihailović’s play When Pumpkins Blossomed.

He recalls family gatherings at the Orahovo farmstead, where his relatives and godparents sang about the heroes of Gacko to the sounds

NEČISTA KRV, 2021

of a gusle lute and always highlighted the fact that they were Herzegovinians. “I’m a romantic nationalist and I’ve never expressed that brutally… Don’t be Serbs only by origin, also be Serbs with your soul”. He built an open-air film studio in Baranda, the largest of its kind in Serbia, which is why this place is dubbed the Banat Hollywood. Thanks to Bjela and his brother Goran, Baranda has become a tourist attraction.

“Apart from my basic upbringing, which implies decency and civilised behaviour, I received support from my parents in all key segments of my maturing, but they always gave me room to choose my own life path.

I tried to apply the same method in raising my own children.”

Dragan and his wife Maja have been married since 1996 and have two children, 20-year-old son Aleksej and a 24-year-old daughter Mia. And how much did his political affiliations impact on his children? How much did they try to emulate their father? His son is an acting student, while his daughter graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences and is occasional engaged in political activism. And it is logical for us to ask if she seeks support from her father?

“I hope that my children learned something by observing me. Both my daughter and son

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My life

Dragan Bjelogrlić, actor, director and producer

have very clearly constructed relationships towards the world and the society in which they live, and I don’t interfere in that much.

My wife and I often talk about that with them; we debate, exchange views, and that’s it. My son is studying acting, and I can help him with my experience and knowledge if he wants, but only to the extent that that doesn’t endanger his personal path.”

For Bjela, A Better Life is the most popular series ever made on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. He played Boba, a charming, maturing high school reveller, and when he joined the army, he made friends that will last until the grave, to paraphrase Balašević. Just ten days after this series stopped airing on the territory of Yugoslavia, war broke out. First in Slovenia, then in Croatia, Bosnia… Which is why this series was the last Yugoslav symbol.

“In that series we were searching for a better life, and when it ended and the war started, it happened that a better life was actually described in it. That everything that was better was behind us. When you gain such huge popularity early in your youth – and I achieved the greatest popularity ever in my life with the role of Boba – that is a double-edged sword. When a man is young and popular, he thinks he will remain young and popular forever. Of course, only to quickly meet with the transience of yesterday’s glory, and needing to remain healthy and normal.”

He hadn’t yet turned 18 when he lost his father, and his mother and older brother took over his care. He has always been close with his brother and everything he’s done professionally, when it comes to production, he’s done together with his brother. Apart from that family connection that helps to more easily overcome any obstacle, he also has his Herzegovinian roots, which he says saved him “from everything bad that could have happened to me after being hit by that great fame in my early youth”.

When he created a production company together with his colleague Nikola Koja in the early 1990s, most of his colleagues did not look favourably on his new calling. He speaks about it today as though it was expected behaviour.

“Socialism had its shortcomings, but also its good sides. One good side was in the fact that true values were nurtured, and that the state took care of that, or more precisely

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BOŠKO BUHA, 1978

The interwar period, together with World War II, determined and largely established the world in which we live today… That was a time of great visions and great mistakes, the ramifications of which we are still feeling today, especially in the Balkans, and most of all among us Serbs provided funds that placed the artists in a rather comfortable situation in which they didn’t have to take care of themselves, rather the state mainly cared about them. And then came the ‘90s, when the state disappeared and there was no to take care of us. So, we had to organise ourselves, and Kojo and I were among the first to do so.”

That journey into the world of production was a sure sign that he would also emerge as a director. Perhaps that had been clear to great directorial magician Branko Bauer, who chose him as the character of Sirogojno in the film Boško Buha. He was 14 years old and no one recommended him, rather the great Mr Bauer personally chose him.

“Yes. He chose me for the role. But prior to that I’d gone through a really broad and comprehensive casting process, which included thousands of kids from all over Yugoslavia.”

And what memories does he have of this director; how did he perceive him as a 14-yearold boy, and what does he think of him today, when he is himself a director?

“I was, and remain, impressed by his manners, refinement and delicate gentlemanly calmness, the likes of which can only be found in the novels of Thomas Mann, Stendhal and Solzhenitsyn. As a director, he was simple, emotional and precise. A great figure of exYU cinematography and one era. And there’s something else that’s interesting about his story. When I finished shooting for the film Boško Buha, when I was still yet to turn 15, I asked him: ‘Uncle Branko, what do you think, could I be an actor?’ He replied: ‘You

When dealing with our past, which I had to do that for both seasons of the series Black Sun, I was convinced that politics in the Balkans is a special kind of mud, or sludge

BAL NA VODI, 1985

can, you can, but you have one eye constantly behind the camera and could also do this job of mine’. He was obviously right, because, even when I was just an actor, I always wanted to know what was happening on the other side of the camera.”

The heroes who laid the foundations for the birth of the era of socialism, the partisan heroes who fought against fascism, have in a way survived to this day. It is as if the royalists never managed to create characters that the public would love en masse like the ideologues of the Broz regime did? After all, Bjela himself, like most children of his generation, loved the characters of Tihi and Prle.

“That’s an interesting and accurate observation. The answer is layered and can be given from multiple angles. Firstly, every era has its themes, novels, poetry and movies.The Parisians (communists) used their time well and wisely when it comes to art, and film in particular.

Secondly, the partisans were absolutely on the just and right side during the war, while the Royalists, for various reasons, strayed, became confused and made many mistakes. For a start, the King fled the country. That may be understandable from an historical perspective, but for film poetics he can hardly be a hero.

More of a sufferer, and the Royalists never start talking from that angle. I could go elaborate, but that’s enough this time.”

The series Balkan Shadows, aka Black Sun, and prior to that the film Montevideo, God Bless You, seem to show that, as an artist, producer and director, Bjela is most interested in the 20th century’s interwar period.

“That’s because it was precisely that time, together with World War II, that determined and largely established the world in which we live today. It was very intense in the troubled era in which communism, fascism, but also globalism, emerged as political visions, and that fact is hinted at through film, music, fashion, sport and, most importantly, the media. That was a time of great visions and great mistakes, the ramifications of which we are still feeling today, especially in the Balkans, and most of all among us Serbs.

“When dealing with our past, which I had to do that for both seasons of the series Black Sun, I was convinced that politics in the Balkans is a special kind of mud, or sludge.”

This actor never hid the fact that his political beliefs lean to the left. But is he less left-wing today than he was in yesteryear?

“On the contrary, I’m more leftist, it’s just

that the real left no longer exists today. It will appear someday, in some other form, for certain. And when that happens, the world will again start moving forward. They say that people become more conservative with age and lean towards the political right. But over the years I’ve become increasingly leftist, not today’s liberal leftist, but that trampled leftist who no longer exists. I feel like those retired generals from World War II who spoke about the ideals of communism. I’m almost 58 years old and I spent more than half of my life in a system called socialism. And this second half has been spent in something called wild or liberal capitalism. And I claim responsibly that the former way of life and those values were better. And I can only mourn the fact that there is no political option that would pave the way to nurturing similar values today.”

Ever since he started dealing with directing and producing, his artistic productivity has been largely dependent on the authorities, on how he’s rated among the structures that distribute money for new projects. He claims that “politics is something foreign to every normal person. Engaging in politics implies a huge amount of insincerity, while engaging in art, which I opted for, implies at least a need for honesty and self-examination.”

Since the time of Slobodan Milošević’s rule and to this day, he has encountered and successfully overcome various problems. What is the most difficult thing in the relationship between Bjela the artist and the government, whichever government that happened to be? When did he find that relationship the most difficult, when was there the most understanding?

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My life

Dragan Bjelogrlić, actor, director and producer “It’s a privilege to be a free man. He says what he thinks. I’ve criticised and reproached every government so far. Of course, some less, some more, depending on how much my views have differed from those in power. But I don’t think I’ve ever been a darling of any government, which is demonstrated in the fact that I’ve never been privileged enough to receive funding from “special funds” or worked on so-called “national projects”, although my films and series are continuously successful, if not the most successful. The most common “signals” were “don’t touch us, do your job and you will be at peace”, but that isn’t in line with my personality. I have always said, and will

This and that Production

Over the years I’ve become increasingly leftist, it’s just that the real left no longer exists today. It will appear someday, in some other form, for certain. And when that happens, the world will again start moving forward

NEČISTA KRV, 2021

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September

always say, what I think and feel, and what will be will be. My deeds will defend me.”

And was Bjela competent enough as a producer to secure part of the money from the government of Milošević’s strongman regime to shoot the films Pretty Village, Pretty Flame and Wounds, both of which poked a direct finger in the eye of that government?

“It’s true that as a producer during the ‘90s I employed various trickery to present these anti-regime films as avant-garde to those from whom we were seeking money. Looking back in hindsight, I can say that back then I cheated those people a little. Because, how could you explain what a movie was like to a big sponsor back in the ‘90s, if you knew that only stateowned companies could seriously help you?

So, we had to slightly twist the truth about the intent with which we embarked on making the film. For me, those were interesting life

Photo: Wouter van Houwelingen

and artistic experiences. On the other hand, people everywhere, especially in Croatia and Slovenia, have asked me how it was possible that we made such films with the help of such a regime.

“Today, I can say how that was a time of absurdity in which such important films were made that show how the Serbian cinematography of the 1990s was much more important than it is today. The films that we are left with from that time have serious aesthetics and artistic content, and had viewing figures of half a million and upwards.

“My recollections of that time aren’t sparkling, like the majority of us, but not everyone was an idiot, nor was everything black and white. I will tell you, for example, that Radovan Stojčić Badža, the Serbian police general, chief of the public security service and finally Serbia’s acting interior minister, made it possible for the entire technical equipment to be transferred to Bosnia for the filming of Pretty Village, which was practically impossible at the time. That man and I later found ourselves on opposite sides, when I was among the demonstrators and he sent police officers against me, against us. And then it happened that that man was murdered, so out of a sense of gratitude I attended his funeral, which provided reason for yet another interpretation of my controversy.

When we look back today on what we’ve done over the last twenty years, the facts, unfortunately, are clear – both the authors and the films made in the 1990s were better than the ones we have today. And the state, absurdly, helped films much more, even though that didn’t help it at all. We don’t have a single propaganda film about that regime, unlike our neighbours who really stood out when it came to the so-called regime film. And, in my opinion, the film Pretty Village, Pretty Flame is absolutely the greatest artistic achievement of the last thirty years.”

Regardless of how much Bjela occasionally promotes himself with impressive theatre roles, his priorities are undoubtedly film and television. Is it difficult for him today when performing as an actor while someone else directs a film or series? Or does he prefer to determine what and how others will perform?

“No, it’s not difficult at all. I’ve been acting for more than 40 years and it is my primary

BJELOGRLIĆ AND ANĐELA JOVANOVIĆ

I have always said, and will always say, what I think and feel, and what will be will be. My deeds will defend me profession. Actually, I can always hardly wait for someone to direct me. Now, my experience as a director, and my many years of acting experience, help me to be able to feel whether things are going well for a director or not. And then I state my opinion and stop at that. If he heard me, okay, if not, I continue working. I never interfere in directing when I’m acting.”

Bjela marked this year with his exceptional role in Milutin Petrović’s film Impure Blood, and his direction of the film Toma, about the life of singer Toma Zdravković. How much is he able to defend the Impure Blood character of Hadži Trifun, that typical Serbian boss and man of power, who lives from the manifestation of that power, especially towards women?

“I think you have simplified the character of Hadži Trifun. That is a very complex character, just as the literary works of Bora Stanković

are layered and complex. It was a great task, a great character and very nice cooperation with Milutin Petrović.”

And was there some personal, deeply intimate event that prompted him to direct a film about the singer Toma Zdravković?

What bound Bjela to him? Or was he just convinced that the public would come to love such a film?

“Toma Zdravković’s songs have always filled me with some unusually beautiful sadness. I tried to discover and reveal that strange feeling by dealing with his sad and unusual life, which he sang of so beautifully in his songs.”

Bjela has won the top professional awards, and he isn’t stopping with his work. He will soon turn 56, on 10th October to be precise.

What does he consider as his greatest professional achievement, and what is his greatest satisfaction at this moment?

“I consider my great achievement the fact that, I think, I succeeded in ensuring my professional advancement followed my maturing in life. I tried to be aware of my mistakes and correct them, both in life and in my profession. And my greatest success is my wife, whom I love, and who has helped me to have a happy and wonderful family, despite the many challenges that are often imposed by the life of an artist.”

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CHILL OUT Venice To Introduce An Entry Fee And Booking System For Tourists Venice is set to impose an entry fee for visitors in a bid to prevent huge swathes of tourists descending on the city. Italian newspaper La Stampa reported over the weekend that a package of measures designed to control tourism, which include requiring visitors to book in advance, pay a fee and enter the city via electronic turnstiles, is set to be imposed from summer 2022.

The entry fee is reportedly set to be between 3 and 10 euros ($3.52 and $11.73), dependent on the season. Residents and their relatives, children under six and people staying in local hotels will be exempt from the measures.

Ancient Camp Discovered In Madrid An ancient camp where Neanderthals hosted ‘hunting parties’ to track down large bovids and deer 76,000 years ago has been discovered in Madrid. Covering a space of 3,200 sq ft (300m2), archaeologists believe it could be the largest such camp in the Iberian Peninsula region.

They think it may have acted as an intermediary between Neanderthals hunting their prey and the place of final consumption, where the whole group would take advantage of the resources that the hunting parties had gathered.

Super Mario Bros Game Sells For $2 Million A vintage Super Mario Bros. video game has sold for $2 million, a collectibles company announced Friday, breaking the record for the most expensive video game sale that was set just weeks ago. The 1985 game, made for Nintendo’s original console, has never been opened — a rarity for old video games, said Rob Petrozzo, one of the founders of the collectibles site, Rally. An anonymous buyer purchased it, he said. Demand for collectibles has surged during the pandemic, along with many other forms of investment, as people stuck at home look for ways to spend their money. People have spent millions of dollars for pieces of digital artwork — known as nonfungible tokens — like internet memes and video highlights of National Basketball Association players. Physical goods, including old cars and sports cards, have soared in value over the last year, too.

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Rolling Stones Drummer Dies At 80 Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who helped them become one of the greatest bands in rock ‘n’ roll, has died at the age of 80. “It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Charlie Watts,” a statement said. It said he was “a cherished husband, father and grandfather” and “one of the greatest drummers of his generation”. Tributes have come from stars including The Beatles’ Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr, and Sir Elton John. Sir Paul described Watts as “a lovely guy” and “a fantastic drummer” who was “steady as a rock”.

Sean Penn Urges Only Vaccinated To See His New Film “Flag Day” In Theatres Sean Penn during a talk show visit asked that only moviegoers who have been vaccinated from coronavirus see his new film Flag Day in cinemas.

While promoting the drama that he directs and stars in, the 61-year-old Oscar winner made the request uring an appeance on Late Night With Seth Meyers on NBC. Seth, 47, asked Sean if it was ‘extra special’ to have the film that also stars his daughter Dylan, 30, be available in theatres after 18 months of shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

OnlyFans Says It Will No Longer Ban Porn OnlyFans said in a statement that it has “suspended” plans to ban pornography, in a stunning U-turn that came after fierce backlash from its users.

The online subscription platform said it secured the “assurances” required to continue allowing sexually explicit content. The London-based firm last week announced plans to prohibit porn from 1 October, citing pressure from its banking partners.

“OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators,” the firm added. “An official communication to creators will be emailed shortly.”

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Summer

In The Cit

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1. Officine Creative - Eur 390 | 2. Canali - Eur 1,850 | 3. Loro Piana - Eur 675 | 4. Orlebar Brown - Eur 80 | 5. Mr Leight - Eur 560 | 6. Mr P. - Eur 150 | 7. Stoffa - Eur 370 | 8. Hartford - Eur 145 | 9. Jaeger LeCoultre, master control - Eur 14,000

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10. Emilia Wickstead - Eur 1,900 | 11. Zimmermann - Eur 940 | 12. Oscar De La Renta - Eur 570 | 13. Faithfull The Brand - Eur 140 | 14. Tod’s - Eur 420 | 15. Aquazzura Eur 510 | 16. Ulla Johnson - Eur 395 | 17. Isabel Marant - Eur 480 | 18. Saint Laurent - Eur 390 | 19. Maison Michel - Eur 600 | 20. Rolex, Oyster Perpetual 31 - Eur 4,400

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Culture

calendar

MASSIMO

18 September, 21:00, SRC Tašmajdan After a very successful pioneering endeavor, a virtual concert from the Lisinski Hall, regional artist Massimo Savić will step on the stage of Tašmajdan and delight many fans of his music. The concert will be held for a limited number of people, respecting all epidemiological measures and recommendations issued by the Government of Serbia.

“I’m looking forward to finally hanging hold a concert at Tašmajdan, under the open sky. I love

Exhibition “The Lost Paradise” Paul Richard Landauer

2-19 September, Gallery STAB Austrian artist, Paul Richard Landauer, is presenting a series of art works to the Belgrade audience, cleverly placing them in a common context. In the circumstances of a heterogeneous contemporary art scene, this visual artist remains consistent with his recognisable abstract visual expression and initial ideas, striving to show the continuous transformation of his own visual existence.

Landauer repeatedly and deliberately chooses largeformat canvases whose space is in itself challenging for the development of visual expression. Albeit prone to expression through various artistic media (directing, photography), Paul has turned to painting over the course of recent years, as the most effective means of achieving clarity, purity, primordial vibrations and purification of his own being.

performing in Belgrade, my band and I are ready and we look forward to exchanging energy and emotions, we wanted each other, didn’t we?” said Massimo.

Massimo Savić is a renowned musician whose career lasted on the regional music scene for more than 35 years. ”Music is a vibration in the air that evokes emotions,” says Massimo before his Belgrade concert.

During his artistic creation, Landauer mostly uses oil and acrylic on canvas, occasionally making a step beyond the expected, thus opting for gouache, gold leaves and jute as a base.

19 September, 21:00, SRC Tašmajdan

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VLATKO STEFANOVSKI & V3 TRIO If you want to brighten the summer evenings with romantic sounds of guitar and perfect strings of music chords, come to 21 double Tasmajadan at the Vlatko Stefanovski concert and V3 Trio. The concert will be held for a limited number of people, with respect for all epidemiological measures and recommendations adopted by the Government of Serbia. Macedonian musician, even as a young man, he founded the United States already a cult group “Leb and Sol”. Together they recorded 13 albums, and after the Group’s Descending, Vlatko creates a successful independent career. Vlatko Stefanovski as one of the largest guitar virtuososes of these spaces, is recognizable for its special music styles’ fusion, combining Macedonian traditional irregular rhythms and rock sound. In its rich opus, it can boast of many successful cooperation with renowned world and domestic musicians.

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

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&FACES PLACES 01/08/2021

National Day Of Morocco Celebrated The Kingdom of Morocco celebrates on 30th July 2021, the 22nd Anniversary of the Enthronement of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. It is also an opportunity for all Moroccans to reaffirm their firm attachment and the unwavering bonds of allegiance to the Sovereign, which has been perpetuated for centuries.

Next year as both countries are celebrating their 65th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Belgrade, it has been decided that the year 2022 will be the year of Morocco in Serbia and the Year of Serbia in Morocco. Together with the Serbian authorities, the Embassy is preparing a rich cultural program for the occasion.

02/08/2021

National Day Of Egypt Marked Commemorating the 23 July, National Day of Egypt, the Embassy of Egypt in Serbia held a formal reception at the National Library situated in the heart of Belgrade. With the attendance of the Speaker of Parliament, a number of ministers and other members of the government, members of the diplomatic community as well as, Ambassador of Egypt H.E. Amr Aljowaily was the host of the event marking this country’s National Day.

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02/08/2021

Cooperation Agreement Signed With American Solar Power Plants Company Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic signed, in the presence of President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic a cooperation agreement with the American company UGT Renewables, which builds plants in the field of renewables energy sources.

The agreement envisions cooperation in the development of solar power plant and electricity storage systems projects, with the aim of using Serbia’s potential to build energy capacities using renewable sources.

US Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Anthony Godfrey thanked the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry and said that it is necessary for the United States and Serbia to be partners in the energy transition process.

03/08/2021

Farewell Reception For Ambassador Sem Fabrizi Ambassador of Italy to Serbia, H.E. Carlo lo Cascio was the host of the reception in honour of the Head of the European Union Delegation in Serbia, Ambassador H.E. Sem Fabrizi, whose mandate is ending soon.

After four years term, Ambassador Fabrizi is leaving Belgrade, where his outstanding work and the results achieved made a real difference. The reception was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and officials from the public, political and civil sectors.

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&FACES PLACES

06/08/2021

Jazz Festival Nisville Held Nisville, one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe that gathers the world’s top musicians, was held traditionally during the first half of August.

The director of Nisvill, Ivan Blagojević, said that the main program was watched by 30,000 visitors, and the accompanying free programs by 70,000 visitors.

Among the most important goals of the event is the affirmation of young, talented musicians, who were performing on the Museum Youth stage, at the very entrance to the fortress. This year, the Nishville Foundation, with the support of the EU Creative Europe program, implemented the ROJAZE project (Roma jazzing Europe), which brought together eight young musicians from France, Belgium and Serbia. The young musicians rehearsed a joint program during the ten-day stay in Nis, with the help of music coordinators from all three countries and residency artists - experienced jazz musicians from France and Belgium.

11/08/2021

Serbia Welcomed Its Champions From The Olympic Games In Tokyo Serbian Olympians who won medals at the world’s largest sports competition in Tokyo were welcomed last night in Belgrade. At the traditional place, on the balcony of the Assembly of the City of Belgrade, there were athletes who made the nation happy with their sports performances. Several thousand citizens gathered on the plateau in front of the Old Palace and greeted the winners of the Olympic medals and their coaches, as well as the members of the OKS Mission, with song, chanting and loud applause. The winners of the bronze medals, Milenko Sebić, Tijana Bogdanović, Zurab Datunašvili, 3 × 3 basketball players and volleyball players, were the first to appear on the balcony. After them, the audience greeted Damir Mikec, the winner of the silver medal, as well as Milica Mandić, Jovana Preković and the water polo players of Serbia, the winners of the Olympic gold medal.

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17/08/2021

75th Year Of India’s Independence Celebrated Newly-appointed Ambassador of India in Serbia H.E. Sanjiv Kohli hoisted the flag of India at the Embassy to mark the 75th year of India‘s independence.

As the Embassy said in a release, in 1947 India attained independence from the British, who came to India for the purpose of trading, which later led to the occupation of India.

The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India.

The movement spanned from 1857 to 1947. Gandhi and many other freedom fighters influenced India‘s independence movement. “To celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements, the Government of India has launched India@75 initiative – Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav,” Kohli said.

20/08/2021

Presentation Centre Of Serbia Pavilion At Expo 2020 Dubai Opened Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications and General Commissioner of Serbia at Expo 2020 Dubai Tatjana Matic opened a presentation centre of the Serbia Pavilion at “Galerija Belgrade” shopping mall.

The Serbia Pavilion was also presented by Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism and Deputy General Commissioner for Expo 2020 Dubai Ana Ilic. Visitors will have an opportunity to walk through and see the Serbia Pavilion, which will be presented at the upcoming Expo in Dubai. With the help of state-of-the-art VR technology, visitors will be able to visit live and follow the developments in the Pavilion in virtual reality.

September

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&FACES PLACES

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24/08/2021

Speaker Of The Swedish Parliament Andreas Norlen Visits Belgrade Prime Minister Ana Brnabic met with Speaker of the Swedish Parliament Andreas Norlen about bilateral relations between the two countries, European integration, reforms and activities that Serbia is implementing in the process of joining the European Union.

The Prime Minister pointed out that European integration is a strategic goal and a key priority, and that Serbia greatly appreciates the support of the Swedish government in that process. The reforms that Serbia is implementing in the field of rule of law, judiciary and state administration speak in favour of the government’s commitment to essential changes, she explained and stated that the reforms are not exclusively for Serbia’s membership in the European Union, but are also a precondition for a better life for our citizens.

The focus of the reforms is, above all, on the judicial system, which has the widest impact on our society, but also on the economic stability of the state, because, as she explained, it has a direct impact on creating a favourable investment climate.

24/08/2021

The Premiere Of The Film “Impure Blood Sin Of Ancestors” Held The film “Impure Blood - Sin of Ancestors” directed by Milutin Petrović had two cinema premieres in Belgrade, which officially started the cinema life of this long-awaited film. The premieres were held in Kombank Hall and Cineplexx Gallery Belgrade.

After both screenings, the film crew and actors were greeted by the audience with a standing ovation.

Milutin Petrović, the director of the film, stated on this occasion: “The premiere was held and as far as I am concerned, we finally have a real cinema film.”

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COMMENT

Solidarity, Cooperation And Growth Go

HAND-IN-HAND

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, cooperation developed between the local community and the companies that operate within that community strongly underlined the importance of synergy between these two sectors. This experience may further encourage companies to invest with the aim of raising the quality of life in the local community. On the other hand, it clearly shows why local communities have a motive to build a company-friendly environment.

O

ne of the ways to read the UN Serbia and UNDP Serbia report “Serbia Covid19 Socio Economic Impact Assessment” is to look for encouraging examples of the ways that associations, networks and businesses have been finding ways to provide support and donations to communities and local institutions.

One example was the work of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), which worked through its established network of LSGs and businesses to initiate corporate responsibility campaigns and launched a donation platform. This action resulted in more than 45 tons of food being brought to 10,000 poor households across the country and raised around two million euros for the procurement of medical equipment.

2

Serbian Economy 2021

Corporate leaders in Serbia can and have shown that they are not sitting on the side-lines of major societal threats at the local level, rather their cooperation with local communities goes far beyond this and is multifaceted and growth orientated.

Many large companies, acting independently or through their associations, donated either finances for combatting the crisis or a long list of products and services ranging from equipment and furniture to hospitals and social institutions, or free recreational facilities for recuperation of medical staff.

One of the most active business associations, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, was part of the National Emergency Task Force for the economy. As such, it used its national and regional network to help coordinate businesses’ donations of medical equipment. Another example that stands out is the foundation “Catalyst Balkans”, which pushed for donations through a crowdfunding platform to collect short-term financial relief funds for cultural workers or the most vulnerable sections of the population in some of the hardest hit municipalities. These efforts were met with strong volunteering activity and solidarity between and within communities.

However, strategic partnerships between companies and local communities, the contribution of companies to local development, as well as corporate philanthropy, represent a much larger topic and a long-term activity that both large corporations and small local companies are exercising through their corporate social responsibility programmes. This type of activity is very important for less developed communities, where all three partners – government, businesses, and local administrations – have their own role to play.

The aforementioned associations and networks, as well as others, are working to deepen cooperation between local communities and companies. There are many different ways in which this cooperation can be promoted, such as joint projects, direct investments, philanthropic projects and the like. This publication is aimed at supporting their efforts.

Serbian Economy 2021

3

INTERVIEW NOVICA TONČEV, MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO IN CHARGE OF IMPROVING THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPED MUNICIPALITIES

OUR DOOR IS OPEN Decentralisation is the basic element and is practically a prerequisite for all parts of our country to develop equally. My Cabinet’s task is to help all local governments improve the lives of citizens in underdeveloped municipalities. My job as a minister requires that I be at the service of citizens on a daily basis, and their interests always have priority over all of my personal interests.

D

epopulation is a very pronounced trend in Serbia, and it often hits underdeveloped municipalities the hardest. We asked Novica Tončev, the minister in charge of improving the development of underdeveloped municipalities, what his ministry is doing to bring a halt to this trend.

“Depopulation, in hilly and mountainous areas, border areas, but also lowland areas in underdeveloped municipalities, is a process that has been unfolding over the last five decades. I can understand people who leave these areas due to a lack of work, and that’s precisely why the Government of Serbia, at the end of last year, formed a Cabinet in charge of improving the development of underdeveloped municipalities.

Apart from me, who used to head just such a municipality, my team includes people who have serious experience in the preparing of development strategies, as well as those who know the problems at the local level and know how sustainable solutions can be found,” says our interlocutor.

“Specifically, we succeeded in fighting for the allocating of a decent budget in 2021, the implementation of which will, for starters, solve at least one burning issue from the previous period for each of the underdeveloped municipalities, as well as creating a base of projects that will be realised in the coming years. This is a lasting commitment of the Government of Serbia and you will be able to constantly monitor the results. I’m here, together with the representatives of my Cabinet, to respond to all the challenges faced by underdeveloped municipalities, to provide them with required support and, most importantly, to

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INITIATIVE

INVESTMENTS

HEALTHCARE

We will insist on the adopting of the Law on Extremely Underdeveloped Municipalities, as an umbrella law that would improve the functioning of local governments

With the creating of new jobs in underdeveloped municipalities, foreign and domestic investors have at least partially halted the departures of young people from those areas

All municipalities and cities in Serbia, regardless of their level of development, have had equal conditions for work and access to treatment during the pandemic

create conditions conducive to living and working, and to awaken in young people the desire not to abandon the places where they were born.”

of our economy. The Support Programme for Underdeveloped Municipalities has allocated 250 million dinars for the implementation of programmes that primarily encompass the renovation or construction of infrastructure, while 70 million dinars has been earmarked for preparing project documentation for some future projects.

We also have several situations in which municipalities already commenced local

of the municipality of Petrovac na Mlavi, set to be reconstructed.

All of these municipalities are already working on the preparation of tender documentation for projects that will be implemented during the next budget year, so I can say that I’m satisfied with their engagement and with some of the new energy that I’ve felt. On the occasion of the signing of the contract, I asked the municipal presidents to inform us about all new projects, to come to our ministry whenever they need some kind of help, to ask us about other opportunities available to secure funds for investments, because that is precisely our goal – to educate them on how to properly prepare a project, provide support on implementation and connect them with potential investors.

Some large foreign companies have invested in lesser developed parts of Serbia over the past few years. To what extent has this move impacting on halting negative demographic trends?

- I would take this opportunity to also thank Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, and not to forget the contribution of National Assembly Speaker Ivica Dačić, who lobby at all international gatherings for foreign companies to invest in Serbia and open their facilities in underdeveloped municipalities. Some of them already have developed infrastructure, while in others work is actively underway on the creating of an atmosphere that will be enticing to investors, i.e., where they will have attractive conditions for investment. Of course, I’m also grateful to the management of all these companies, because, for a start, with the creating of new jobs they have at least partially halted the departures of young people from those areas. From my position as a Minister of the Government of Serbia, I can promise that all investors who decide to start some economic activity in underdeveloped municipalities, whether those investors are domestic or foreign, will have all possible advantages that they can’t find elsewhere.

In an effort to encourage regional development, the Government of Serbia – at your initiative – has allocated funds totalling 320 million dinars for the Support Programme for Underdeveloped Municipalities. How satisfied are you with the current pace at which these funds are being utilised?

- I’m extremely satisfied that significant funds have been allocated in order for the residents of those areas to also be able to feel the effects of the stable operations

Our goal is to educate the presidents of underdeveloped municipalities on how to properly prepare a project, provide support on implementation and connect them with potential investors projects even before receiving this grant from the Government of Serbia, and these funds were lacking to actually complete those projects.

Considering that this relates to the Government’s determination to advance at least some of these 44 most underdeveloped municipalities out of a state of underdevelopment, which programmes are current, apart from those for repairing infrastructure and preparing technical documentation that are financed from the Decree?

- The Municipality of Merošina received a grant for the procurement of equipment for managing municipal waste, and the Municipality of Mali Zvornik will use the funds it has obtained for a similar purpose, i.e., it will procure a refuse collection vehicle. The Municipality of Dimitrovgrad will reconstruct its Cultural Centre, a new lift will be purchased for the Raška Health Centre, and the existing open-air pool in Blace will receive a new technical area. The municipality of Nova Varoš will procure a digital X-ray machine.

The municipalities also haven’t forgotten our youngest citizens, with the primary school in the village of Tabanovce, on the territory

What risks have these municipalities been exposed to during the COVID-19 pandemic?

How did the Government react, given that these are first and foremost municipalities that have elderly populations and limited health services?

- All municipalities and cities in Serbia, regardless of their level of development, are exposed to equal health risks during the epidemic caused by the Coronavirus. The Government of Serbia reacted in a timely manner to prevent the further spread of infection, but also to provide equal conditions for work and the treatment of all citizens of our country, whether they live in Belgrade or Novi Sad, as the most developed urban areas, or Surdulica, Gadžin Han, Brus or some other underdeveloped municipality in Serbia.

With our timely activities, we’ve managed to become a leader in the region and thus gained the opportunity to also help citizens of neighbouring countries. Serbia donated vaccines to the countries of the region, but citizens of those countries were also able to get vaccinated in Serbia free of charge.

We are one of the few countries in Europe and worldwide that has managed to strike a balance between life and the economy,

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INTERVIEW the greatest credit for which belongs to the Government and the President of Serbia.

implement tangible projects in the nearer future that will improve the lives of citizens in underdeveloped municipalities. Moreover, individual strategies that my Cabinet will prepare for each of the 44 underdeveloped municipalities will have long-term effects and will represent the foundations of all future activities and projects. Apart from the funds allocated by the Government of Serbia, the municipalities also have funds from other ministries at their disposal, as well as from various funds of the European Union and international organisations. They all provide financial support to municipalities that present high-quality projects. We will insist on the adopting of the Law on Extremely Underdeveloped Municipalities, as an umbrella law that would improve the functioning of local governments and harmonise existing legal solutions.

You recently announced a public call for civil society associations that operate in these municipalities to apply with projects covering various fields and aimed at improving the quality of life in these municipalities. How much can these kinds of projects contribute to changing living conditions in these municipalities?

- Thanks to this kind of project, the Government of Serbia wants to systemically encourage balanced regional development across the entire territory of Serbia, which is why we adopted the Decree and Programme for financing projects of public interest that are implemented by associations from the territories of extremely underdeveloped municipalities in 2021.

A total of 15 million dinars has been allocated for 33 associations, and the maximum amount available for a project financed by my Cabinet is 750,000 dinars, while the final deadline for the implementation of project activities is 1st December 2021.

Associations applied with projects in the field of employment support, inclusion in the cultural sphere of life, increasing security, active participation in local community work, raising awareness of healthy lifestyles, environmental protection and help for people with disabilities and other marginalised groups.

I must express my particular satisfaction with the fact that, after local self-government units, citizens’ associations in underdeveloped municipalities will also be able to compete with projects that imply an improving of the quality of life in those areas.

Decentralisation is very often cited as the only systemic solution for these municipalities, with the strengthening of local governments and systemic – as opposed to ad hoc - assistance to these municipalities. Could we see some of these kinds of changes in the period ahead?

- Decentralisation is the basic element and is practically a prerequisite for all parts of our country to develop equally. My Cabinet’s task is to help all local governments

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The Government of Serbia wants to systemically encourage balanced regional development across the entire territory of Serbia, which is why we want to invest in projects that are directed towards improving the quality of life in underdeveloped areas

You personally spent a long time at the helm of an underdeveloped local government. How many of the ideas that you once had for the improvement of your own municipality have you been able to apply from the position of minister?

- As the former president of the municipality of Surdulica, I’m fully acquainted with all of the existing problems plaguing these local governments. This helped me to a great extent when it came to applying all the positive experiences from my position as minister, and that’s why I insisted on visiting the municipalities with my associates from the Cabinet, in order for us to gain real insight into their current needs and provide them with solutions that are as tangible as possible. I know all of those municipal presidents and that their problems are mostly the same: insufficiently developed infrastructure, a small number of successful companies where young people could work and - thanks to having secured employment - stay in their homeland and, most importantly, create families. In that sense, my Cabinet and the Government of Serbia are trying to direct domestic and foreign investors towards build their facilities in underdeveloped municipalities, in order for us to secure provide the best possible living and working conditions, and I know that we’ll succeed in that endeavour.

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INTERVIEW VLADISLAV CVETKOVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF THE NALED MANAGING BOARD AND DIRECTOR OF ADVISORY SERVICES AT PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

Dialogue And Respect For All Parties’ Interests Is Our

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS The latest example of cooperation between companies and the most vulnerable local governments once again showed that NALED is able to unite its members, both in the fight against COVID-19 and in the major reforms that are ahead, such as the reform of the system of non-tax charges and parafiscal levies.

S

ynergy, togetherness, solidarity, participation and responsibility form the backbone of the system of values that NALED has been building carefully since its establishment and that it transfers fully to every new member. Some of the biggest reforms that NALED has participated in or encouraged would never have been possible without successful dialogue and the respecting of the interests of all parties.

“In an organisation that gathers more than 300 representatives of various sectors with interests that are not the same on many issues, it is not always simple to reach consensus, but the truth is that unity in these values helps us to find a route to fair and balanced solutions that respect the interests of all parties,” says Vladislav Cvetković, President of the NALED Managing Board and Director of Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. As he adds, “major reforms that NALED contributed to the implementation of, such as the introduction of the electronic system for the issuance of construction permits, would not have been so successful if the needs of both sides weren’t taken into consideration.

The process will be similar with the reform of the system of non-tax charges and parafiscal levies, where it is necessary to find a way to reduce the burden on the economy, but also to find a solution that ensures local governments aren’t left with losses, because this is about money that is invested in development and cater for the needs of citizens”.

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LEADERS

INITIATIVE

RECOGNITION

The most successful local governments in Serbia can be leaders in the development of the country, and as such they also have an obligation to exchange experiences mutually and with less developed municipalities

Corporate philanthropy would receive a wind in its sails with the abolition of VAT on donations, but also the adoption of regulations enabling donations of surplus food to find their way to public kitchens and the Red Cross

We are overjoyed that the state has recognised that the cities and municipalities that have a business council and certificate should be specially recognised and respected

For some local governments, the arrival of large companies, and subsequent arrivals of their strategic partners, has meant the revival of local communities, not only when it comes to increased employment, but also in stimulating the economy, entrepreneurship and cultural life. Could you single out a few examples of this knock-on effect?

- The most representative examples of economic, social and cultural transformations are provided by the local governments whose participation in the Certification Programme for Municipalities with a Favourable Business Environment in Southeast Europe (Business Friendly Certification South East Europe, BFC SEE) has helped them reshape their administration in accordance with the needs of the economy and offer the highest quality services.

I would use this opportunity to highlight the current holders of this certification, such as Novi Sad, Ruma, Čačak and Leskovac, which was successfully certified for the fourth time at the end of last year, with a level of fulfilment of the criteria exceeding 96%. Alongside domestic companies, a number of foreign companies also operate in Leskovac today: South Korea’s Jura, British company Aptiv, Greece’s Autostop, Germany’s Falke, Turkish Jeanci and numerous others.

of this summer we launched another initiative that can help on this path: the BFC Club, the club of the most successful local governments in Serbia, which currently comprises 25 cities and municipalities.

Belgrade and Kragujevac are cooperating with companies Božić i sinovi and E-reciklaža, while company EsoTron is participating in the project “Towards Better Food Waste Management in the Republic of Serbia”. When it comes to the development of e-Government, I would mention the project “Improvement of Municipal Services in Serbia and BiH by Introducing the ChatBot Application”, in which company SAGA is helping the cities of Sombor and Šabac to make it easier for citizens and businesses to traverse the most important administrative procedures with new modern solutions like the virtual assistant that’s available 24/7. Likewise, within the scope of the project “Digitalisation of Municipal Land Management”, company Telegroup is helping Sombor, Vrbas, Inđija, Bačka Topola and Subotica, as well as their farmers, to use software and modern meteorological stations to monitor weather conditions with great precision and thus improve production.

How well established is the institutional framework for this cooperation and to what extent can local communities create it themselves?

- The institutionalisation of cooperation between the economy and local governments is something that NALED has been advocating for years, and one of the models that we’ve offered through the BFC SEE programme is the formation of economic councils in cities and municipalities that will enable local government leaders and businesspeople operating in those communities to come together around the same table. Establishing a functional council is also among the criteria for obtaining BFC SEE I certification.

While the institutionalisation of cooperation has yet to take a stronger foothold, at the start

In which ways can companies and the local communities in which they operate collaborate in the areas that have been identified by NALED as priorities of future work?

- Companies can implement projects together with local governments that won’t only be im-

More than 90 cities and municipalities in the SEE region have passed through the NALED certification programme, and more than 30 have done so in Serbia alone.

And these are all examples of good practice that should be discussed and serve as role models for other local governments to follow portant to their operations, but rather will be of general importance to the entire community.

Just such projects are now being implemented together with NALED, and with the support of German Development Cooperation (GIZ), and we are certain this will be a model for future undertakings. For example, within the scope of the project “Glass Packaging Management in the Western Balkans”, we connected companies Sekopak and Apatin Brewery with the cities of Niš, Sombor, Kragujevac and Varvarin, in order to improve the system of collecting and recycling glass waste. Approximately 600 waste containers have been installed in these cities and will make it easier for citizens to properly dispose of this type of waste and make their community cleaner and more responsible towards the environment. Likewise, on the project “Increasing the Recycling Rate of Batteries and Light Bulbs”, the cities of

How important to the modernisation and development of new municipal services is the maintaining of a good dialogue between companies and local communities?

- NALED has offered an efficient model for public-private dialogue through its working bodies - thematic alliances that gather representatives of local governments and the business community with the intention of working together to improve conditions for doing business. Within the framework of our organisation to date, we have seen the forming of the Fair Competition Alliance, the e-Government Alliance, the Healthcare Alliance, the Food and Agriculture Alliance, the Property and Investment Alliance and the Environmental Protection Alliance. Each of these alliances strives, within their own domain, to determine reform priorities in a given regulatory area, offer solutions and secure support for their initiatives from relevant institutions, ministries, the Government and the National Assembly.

Our alliances have provided a significant contribution in the area of improving and modernising municipal services. Thanks to the

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INTERVIEW more than two million euros, either directly or in cooperation with philanthropic organisations. Our experience has shown that the economy would be ready to donate even more, especially in food, if they were not prevented from doing so by high VAT costs. Additionally, discouraging legal solutions compel companies to destroy huge surpluses of foods with “best use by” expiry dates, despite these being food products that remain safe for human consumption. NALED is participating greatly in the working group tasked with drafting the guidelines on the donating of surplus food and, together with the Coalition for Charity, we last year submitted an initiative for VAT exemptions on goods (primarily food) and services that are donated to the public sector and humanitarian organisations.

e-Government Alliance, branded and dedicated counters that provide support in the use of services on the e-Government portal have opened in almost 150 local governments, while a mobile device application for informing businesses and citizens about municipal services has been launched in four local governments in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Similarly, a series of useful analytical papers, covering the field of legalising real estate facilities and the application and authentic interpretation of the Law on Cooperatives, have been prepared by the Property and Investments Alliance, while the Healthcare Alliance provided its own contribution through its Grey Book and recommendations for improving healthcare services. The analysis of the situation in the domain of water protection and purification, with proposals for improving the capacity of local administrations and examples of good cross-sectoral cooperation, is the work of the Environmental Protection Alliance, while parafiscal reforms are in the focus of the Fair Competition Alliance, which recently presented its analysis of local non-tax charges. Finally, the Food and Agriculture Alliance can boast of its project to digitalise municipal land management and its application to support farmers that has been introduced in five municipalities.

To what extent has corporate philanthropy proved to be an important factor in confronting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Together with NALED, and with the support of German Development Cooperation (GIZ), companies implement projects together with local governments that won’t only be important to their operations, but rather will be of general importance to the entire community - With the desire of uniting the membership in the fight against COVID-19 and redirecting the attention of socially responsible companies towards the needs of the most endangered local governments, NALED launched a platform for donations at the very outbreak of the pandemic that very quickly met with a positive response. In a period of just over a month, this channel enabled the collection of donations worth 250,000 euros for as many as 41 local governments, and those donations included: 52 tons of food for 11,000 households, 67 computers for schools and municipal services and 140,000 euros for the procurement of medical and protective equipment. Among the donor companies were Apatin Brewery, Atlantic Grupa, Bambi, Marbo product, MK Grupa, Mlekara Šabac, SAP, Roaming solutions, Asseco SEE and others.

Socially responsible companies that have come together as NALED members donated

WWhere can citizens find their place in articulating the needs of communities and why is their cooperation with companies at the local level relatively underdeveloped at present?

- The great needs of local communities that we saw during the pandemic, and the removal of obstacles to meeting those needs, are among the key reasons why we launched the project “Alternative financing and donations for local communities in Serbia”, with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), via the German-Serbian Initiative for Sustainable Growth and Employment.

Under the auspices of this project, we worked on solutions to reduce the cost of donations, strengthen the capacity of local governments to cooperate with local associations on mapping needs and receiving and implementing monetary and non-monetary donations. During this project, we organised a contest to select the best ideas for group funding at the local level and prepared a guide with practical advice for a successful campaign. Thanks to this contest, the three winning local initiatives gained the opportunity to raise funds and improve the lives of citizens in their communities. I would like to use this opportunity to invite socially responsible companies and all people of good will to learn more about these campaigns and support them through our donation platform, https:// naled.rs/donacije, because together we can make a difference.

MLEKOPRODUKT

BUSINESS

Dedication To Sustainable Development As

A PERMANENT COMMITMENT From promoting healthy nutrition and ecological issues, to providing direct support to partners from the entire community who are committed to achieving sustainable development goals – Mlekoprodukt is a company that directs a large part of its activities towards protecting the environment and promoting healthy lifestyles.

T

he Biser Nutri Academy is one of the central forms of support for a healthy lifestyle, and particularly for proper nutrition as the basis for children’s health. This CSR project was initially envisaged as a caravan of healthy nutrition that tours towns and cities in Serbia and, under the hashtag and motto #PositiveFood, promotes sound nutritional habits through the guest appearances of experts, professional chefs and public figures.

During the pandemic, the Biser Nutri Academy was adapted to the format of a very successful online show that teaches youngsters about the benefits of a healthy diet and healthy living generally. And the Biser Nutri Academy project recently continued with the filming of three shows at three different locations: in a vegetable garden; on a dairy farm; and in the natural surroundings of the beautiful banks of the River Tisza. The filming also included the participation of the children of Mlekoprodukt employees, while the shows demonstrated the

entire cycle of food production and consumption, placing an emphasis on sustainable production.

Another campaign aimed at promoting a healthy, sustainable and environmentally conscious lifestyle has been announced for the week of 16th to 22nd September. Specifically, the Sustainable Transport of Employees action will be implemented, with the aim of encouraging modes of transport that represent an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of individual cars. Mlekoprodukt employees will, thus, be encouraged to ride bicycles and scooters, use public transport, walk

or practise car sharing with colleagues, and each kilometre “saved” in this way will be recorded and added up upon completion of the campaign. This action will be implemented and promoted under the hashtag #MobilityChallenge, and under the international slogan Move Sustainably. Stay Healthy at the level of the Savencia Fromage & Dairy Group.

Mlekoprodukt has recognised recreational and sporting activities as being among the main ways to preserve health, as proven by the company’s continuous support for the Zrenjanin Marathon.

Upon the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mlekoprodukt decided to contribute fully to combating this global problem.

Alongside the introduction of strict epidemiological measures within the framework of the company, the Mlekoprodukt team also represented an exceptional example of how to behave responsibly and humanely while working under these extraordinary conditions.

In addition to this, the company also provided an important contribution to the struggle against the pandemic by donating a PCR device for processing COVID-19 tests to the Zrenjanin Institute of Public Health.

Ethical operations represent an extremely important pillar of Mlekoprodukt’s work. This company is greatly committed to corporate social responsibility, which also represents a permanent strategic commitment of the Savencia Fromage & Dairy Group. And a very significant acknowledgement of the company’s ethical operations came in March this year, when – under the auspices of the CSR Forum conference held in Belgrade – Mlekoprodukt was recognised as one of Serbia’s most important donors of food. This occasion saw thanks given to donors of food for their contribution to combating hunger and poverty, as well as to the achieving of the sustainable development goals.

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BUSINESS

BOBAN ĐUROVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF VRNJAČKA BANJA

Magical Place

AVAILABLE TO ALL There are few places like Vrnjačka Banja, which has a tradition of tourism dating back a century and a half and is a place where Romans were treated, kings rested, actors, singers and politicians amused themselves and writers created their best works.

W

ith its seven mineral springs, Vrnjačka Banja is a place for medical treatment, rehabilitation, rest and recuperation, and it has become the most visited destination among domestic tourists for the third consecutive year, notes a proud Boban Đurović, president of the Municipality of Vrnjačka Banja.

Despite the fact that you expressed restrained optimism prior to the start of the tourist season, it turned out that there was no need for concern. Is it too early to summarise your impressions?

- We had a few doubts at the beginning of the

This season saw the official opening of Hotel Park, our second five-star hotel, with 57 accommodation units, that’s located right on the Vrnjačka promenade season, even though we knew that people were eager for travelling and holidaying after the bitter 2020. We had a dilemma over whether people would travel and whether they would choose Vrnjačka Banja after the opening of the borders. However, already during the first days of spring, all doubts were dispelled thanks to the data we received. According to the records of the responsible municipal services, this year - compared to the previous period - the number of foreign tourists has so far increased by 488%.

And we are also courageously retaining our top spot when it comes to domestic tourists. These statistics show that our spa town is heading

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in the right direction and that the path we’ve chosen leads us in the desired direction, we is good for both Vrnjačka Banja and its people.

It is still early for overall impressions, because the season is in full swing. We also have events that we’ve planned for autumn, so we will first render the complete picture, and only then rate the tourist season.

We are proud that, during these challenging times, Vrnjačka Banja has managed to find a way to overcome the obstacles imposed on all branches of the economy worldwide, and tourism in particular. It owes its success to constant investments in facilities, quality of services, security and the health safety of citizens and guests, which the municipal leadership works on constantly, together with the Association of the Tourist Economy.

Although Vrnjačka Banja is Serbia’s queen of spa tourism, your local government is also working intensively to develop mountain, congress, sports and high-budget tourism.

What else are you working on?

- Spas are targeted and highly positioned among today’s tourists, precisely due to the possibility of combining natural resources and enjoying the benefits of the modern age.Vrnjačka Banja, with its Central Park covering 60 hectares, mineral springs, wellness facilities and a forest at an altitude of 900 metres above sea-level that’s ideal for hiking, mountain-biking and connecting with nature, is a very specific place. Hoteliers are today creating their offers and directing their active break options precisely towards open spaces in nature.

Tourists have the most varied range of contents at their disposal on Goč mountain, including quad rides, hiking tours, archery, local produce tasting beside Lake Selište, and all of this is organised by a local adventure tourism centre that promises unforgettable fun and a high-quality and creative time.

Vrnjačka Banja has in recent years been elevated by major investments that have impacted positively on the development of this Serbian Monte Carlo. This season saw the official opening of Hotel Park, our second five-star hotel, with 57 accommodation units, that’s located right on the Vrnjačka promenade.

Over the course of the last decade, Vrnjačka Banja has managed to delight its visitors with the introduction of new contents with each new season. This season also began with the complete revitalisation of the Central Park,

from the thermo-mineral baths to the children’s playground. This investment encompassed the complete arrangement of landscaped horticulture, which Vrnjačka Banja’s parks have always been renowned for, and the revitalisation of evergreen saplings within the framework of floral rotundas in the French Baroque style.

What does Vrnjačka Banja’s inclusion in Serbia’s 2021-2025 National Investment Plan mean for the municipality?

- The positioning of Vrnjačka Banja in the National Investment Plan of Serbia 2021-2025 represents a new space for the development of our area, but also the entire region. The “Gon-

Our plan includes the implementation of the “Paradise Mountain Goč” project, with which we are preparing a wide array of offers for all generations dola” project will connect the Vrnjačka Banja town centre with Goč mountain. This project has regional significance and we expect its implementation to create new opportunities for the development of this part of central Serbia.

How has the policy of balanced regional development impacted on your municipality? Do you feel that life is better in Serbia

nationwide; that our country is developing and being built faster?

- I must mention the new Moravian Corridor Highway, which is also a strategically important project for the entire Raška and Rasina district. We expect its completion to provide an additional impulse to the economic and tourism development of the region. Vrnjačka Banja is also working on the implementation of new projects that will additionally impact on the comprehensiveness of the tourist offer.

Our plan includes the implementation of the “Paradise Mountain Goč” project, with which we are preparing a wide array of offers for all generations. This project includes plush

meadows designed as a children’s village, a sunny slope with forest houses, the “Proplanak” recreational complex, the Selište lake of tranquil waters, trails for barefoot hiking, a maze, mini zoo, zipline, adventure park, a viewing point in the shape of a fist etc. We also expect the upcoming implementation of the forest of illusions project, with the construction of an insect and dinosaur park in the very central part, after the children’s playground.

The local municipal leadership has lots of plans, despite the implementation of certain projects having halted during the course of last year, and we are continuing with our tendency to transform this spa town from exactly the point where it ground to a halt in 2020.

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BUSINESS MOZZART

Solidarity Has No Limits

FOR MOZZART

The regional leader in organising games of chance proves that room for improvement exists in every segment of society

D

eciding which area to invest in is a dilemma that often arises on the philanthropic path. World trends dictate a division between the environment, healthcare and education, while companies choose to support only certain cities or provinces, because it’s all but impossible to do everything and reach everywhere.

Imagine a athlete competing in all disciplines at the Olympics? For one Serbian company, the motto “it’s important to participate in CSR” has never applied, but rather the slogan – in the game of humanity, we all win.

ThisisthemotivationalmessagethatMozzart, as the regional leader in organising games of chance, has been sending for twenty years to the community in which it has profiled itself as the MVP in the field of social responsibility. It is an assistant to ordinary people, small and large humanitarian organisations, sports teams, all relevant institutions in the state and across all parts of the country.

Humanitarian work is deeply woven into all of its business processes, into every segment of operations. And that work comes from the hearts of employees who themselves devise and implement projects, which is an indicator of the company’s sincere commitment to charitable work. And that has also become part of the Mozzart business strategy – connecting responsibility towards society and the environment with financial success.

“People trust us, and they see and appreciate what we do, which is why those who turn to us for help include educators, priests, school directors, hospital administrators, neighbours from the buildings where our establishments are located... They recognise and call us, because they know that we try to help as quickly as we’re able, in accordance with the possibilities. There is practically no

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ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

Mozzart, in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy and the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, has launched a campaign to support women’s entrepreneurship and will award grants totalling 50,000 euros, or 10,000 euros each, to the five unemployed women with the best business ideas. relevant institution in the state and society that we haven’t cooperated with – we organise actions with the ministries of health, defence, education, labour and internal affairs, university rectorates, the Coordination Body for Gender Equality etc. Room for improvement exists in every segment of society, and we strive to invest part of our profits in the

community and to help those who need it the most,” explains Mozzart’s Corporate Communications Director, Borjan Popović.

This reputable company leaves its socially responsible heart on the pitch, or on each of the “hundred pitches for one game” that it is building (88 to date throughout Serbia and Republika Srpska), giving a chance for celebrities to use their betting tip for the “Humanitarian Ticket at Noon” to direct Mozzart’s financial assistance towards those who need it the most (with more than 20 million dinars donated to date).

Through the CSR action “New jerseys for new champions”, equipment for local clubs in less populated areas arrives every week (more than 200 teams, or equipment for 6,000 athletes). Mozzart has spent years supporting the biggest clubs and federations, but this summer it became the great reinforce-

Bjelogrlić, Mima Karadžić, VesnaTrivalić, Branka Katić and Gordan Kičić – excelled in the first zoom play in Europe, while Zoran Kesić, as narrator, brought more laughter in the action “Actors and Mozzart for you and actors”. Everyone involved waived their fees, just so the amount of the donation would be even higher, and its sharing raised 3.5 million dinars to help the Association of Drama Artists of Serbia.

1.5 million euros in donations during the epidemic

ment for Serbian Superliga clubs nationwide (Spartak, Vojvodina, Radnički 1923)... Apart from Belgrade, Mozzart has launched its Free Schools of Sports for Children in Niš, Novi Sad and Aranđelovac, under the slogan “talent has no price”.

For Mozzart, solidarity also has no price, and no limits. Even in the “bubble” of the crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, this company not only continued helping the community, but did so more than ever before, through donations with a total value of 1.5 million euros (respirators, beds for intensive care units, essential equipment, financial injections for hospitals, fruit packages for medics). In recognition of its efforts in the struggle against the pandemic, and particularly

Free sports schools throughout Serbia the personal engagements of employees who volunteered during the state of emergency and helped the most endangered citizens, the company received an award from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Mozzart allocated around a million dinars for its New Year’s gift packages and donate them across Serbia, from Sombor to Kuršumlija, from Sombor to Kursumlija, while the spreading of the holiday cheer and spirit of solidarity continued with the humanitarian theatre play “Balkan Spy”, which has been watched by more than 300,000 people worldwide. A hitherto never assembled cast of Kovačević’s spy – comprising Dragan

Thinks locally and acts globally... Its CSR activities spread across all markets where it is active, so “New Jerseys” are being donated throughout the region, gender equality is promoted through the “Stop Violence Against Women” project, while wells are being established in Kenya to provide drinking water in less populated areas. Mozzart listens to the needs of the local population, who increasingly turn to this company for help. And not just during the wave of the pandemic.

During Serbia’s recent heatwave, the Pančevo General Hospital Children’s Ward found itself in dire need of air conditioning units, and this company responded to the request immediately by donating cooling systems. Such swift reactions, and the solving of burning issues, are vital for many health institutions throughout Serbia, especially during periods of epidemics. But they are a regular CSR activity for Mozzart, which this year alone has provided donations to other major children’s hospitals around the country, providing incubators, medical equipment and financial assistance to the Niš, Višegradska and Tiršova clinical centres, as well as New Belgrade’s Dr Vukan Čupić Institute for Mother and Child Health.

Switching from health to the environment – Mozzart has installed the “Skycleaner” innovative air purifier in Belgrade city centre, which prevents emissions of harmful gases and spreads eco-messages about environmental protection. Campaigns to clean neighbourhoods, plant trees and hand out canvas bags as a replacement for plastic carrier bags on markets across the country represent other parts of the company’s CSR mosaic that’s being put together by employees, in an effort to raise environmental awareness among citizens.

Serbian Economy 2021

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Serbian Economy 2021