CorD Magazine, February 2020, issue no. 184 by CorD Magazine

H.E. MR. GABIT SYZDYKBEKOV

Ambassador of India to Serbia

Scientist

The Tougher Road To Traverse

Deep Rooted & Close Ties Between India And Serbia

www.cordmagazine.com

Warm Fraternal Welcome

NEBOJŠA NEŠKOVIĆ

FEBRUARY 2020/ ISSUE NO. 184

Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Serbia

H.E. MR. SUBRATA BHATTACHARJEE

interviews opinions news comments events FOCUS

MILLION DOLLAR Question DO PEOPLE JUST LEAVE SERBIA OR DO THEY ALSO RETURN?

COMMENT

How Can One Escape The Balkans?

Exclusive

VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS

783002 771451 9

Pollution Knows No Borders

ISSN1451-7833

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, OCEANS & FISHERIES

CONTENTS

COMMENT

ZORAN PANOVIĆ

HOW CAN ONE ESCAPE THE BALKANS? For postmodern historians, the war in Ukraine was proof that Austro-Hungary has not yet even properly fallen apart (never mind the USSR), while we in the ‘Region’, as a euphemism for the Yugosphere (Tim Judah), don’t need postmodernism to doubt whether Yugoslavia has fully collapsed

08 POLLUTION KNOWS NO BORDERS

VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, OCEANS & FISHERIES

20 THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL WILL COST €260 BILLION

43 FILM CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

22 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION

44 BALANCING THE RADICAL & LOGICAL

26 WINNING THE ELECTRIFICATION RACE

48 FACES & PLACES

ENVIRONMENT

FOCUS: Brain Drain Vs. Brain Circulation

OPINION

14 WARM FRATERNAL WELCOME

H.E. MR. GABIT SYZDYKBEKOV AMBASSADOR OF KAZAKHSTAN TO SERBIA

ANA MARIA ROSSI FILM AND TELEVISION DIRECTOR

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE - JAPAN

51 THE TOUGHER ROAD TO TRAVERSE NEBOJŠA NEŠKOVIĆ SCIENTIST

27 BUSINESS DIALOGUE 40 IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON SOCIETY DR. REINHARD PLOSS

56 CHILL OUT 58 FRESH POWDER

@CORD_MAGAZINE

FASHION

60 BEST OF CES 2020

@CORDMAGAZINE

CORD MAGAZINE

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Miroslava Nešić-Bikić m.bikic@aim.rs DESIGN: Jasmina Laković j.lakovic@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Maja Vukadinović,

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18 GLOBAL DIARY Mirjana Jovanović, Miša Brkić, Ljubica Gojgić Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić, Miloš Belčević EDITORIAL MANAGER: Neda Lukić n.lukic@aim.rs PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen

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Comment

How Can One

Escape The Balkans? BY ZORAN PANOVIĆ

hat’s because, let us not forget, when writing about the crisis of YU federalism, Zoran Đinđić warned that a candle can burn at both ends. Who can swear that the other end has burned down? And that the EU, even if optimised towards Macron’s leadership, will sanitise - more successfully than Tito - the consequences of interethnic wars and synchronise taboo narratives and identities. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is capable of speaking to the background of the cult book of his compatriot Marija Todorova, Imagining the Balkans – that Balkan countries shouldn’t accept stereotypes about (self ) Balkanisation as a primeval state of barbarism, rather about the Balkans as being part of a Europe which, in many of its parts, had more friction and slaughter than that of the Balkans. Every well-versed foreigner will tell you that Bosnia is a more dangerous problem than Kosovo. An alternative to the Dayton Peace Agreement is to create one Gaza Strip and two Transnistria regions, which is a process with risks that can be transferred from the Dayton levelling, not just from the Dayton neurosis. The Region is filled with absurdities: is it possible that the staff of outgoing Croatian president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović didn’t

February

For postmodern historians, the war in Ukraine was proof that Austro-Hungary has not yet even properly fallen apart (never mind the USSR), while we in the ‘Region’, as a euphemism for the Yugosphere (Tim Judah), don’t need postmodernism to doubt whether Yugoslavia has fully collapsed know that the man who turns out to be her successor – Zoran Milanović – served his national military service in Belgrade, in the Guard that had, until a few years earlier, been Tito’s; and that the national leaders of Serbs in Montenegro and B-H, Andrija Mandić and Milorad Dodilk, had – back in 1990 – been supporters of the Reformist (supranational and integrationist) forces of the last Yugo Prime Minister Ante Marković? Grabar Kitarović boasted of having pulled Croatia out of the Balkans, which she identifies with what Croatian Democratic Union ideologue Davor Ivo Stier describes as Serbia’s ‘unitary instinct’. However, paradoxically, it is precisely the policy of enlargement that gives particular weight to Croatia, which has been presiding over the EU since 1st January. Let us recall that immediately after the 2014 Western Balkans Summit in Berlin came Bled, with the topic ‘How to Improve regional cooperation’, at which Ivica Dačić, as then Serbian Prime Minister, was assured that Croatia would not cause problems for Serbia on its route to the EU. At the time that sounded insincere, while today it sounds slightly surreal, despite the principled support that given to the unintegrated Balkans by Croatian Prime Minister Plenković. Enlargement still seems like a collage of illusions, though the long-

ing for it has become a virtually inclusive (humanitarian) issue. The leader of the Serbian Radicals and former Hague defendant Vojislav Šešelj said long ago that America and the West would use Milo Đukanović, then release him to head downstream, just like Panamanian dictator Noriega. The process has for many become frustratingly strained. Montenegro has, in the clashes of the two factions of the DPS and Đukanović’s victory, changed more than Serbia after any sort of ‘fateful’ elections. That is at least in terms of what American sociologist Talcott Parsons called the ‘general direction’. Đukanović made risky moves and gained - from his parting of ways with Milošević, via the independence referendum and recognition of Kosovo, to NATO membership. The controversial Freedom of Religion Act seems to be the greatest tribulation prior to the end of the journey. Đukanović understands Serbia’s emotions regarding Kosovo, but he told Serbia long ago – whether with good intentions or cynically – to stop fighting battles long since lost. Those battles were of course lost even if they were fought symbolically only in the manner of the Serbian politics of the late 1980s and ‘90s, which is the soft underbelly of both Serbia and Serbs in the Region.

Interview Exclusive VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, OCEANS & FISHERIES

“Coal pollution is a European problem and, as such, includes the Western Balkans. It is not an easy problem to solve, but we are fully committed to working with our partners in the region to succeed in the transition for the for the benefit of all European (EU and Western Balkan) citizens.” Considering how many people across Europe are marching in the streets demanding bold action to counter climate change and pollution there’s no doubt that the mandate and the actions of Virginijus Sinkevičius, new European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans & Fisheries, will be under strong public scrutiny. Furthermore, anyone who is informed about the position of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team knows that these issues are close to their hearts and political mission. In that respect, issues related to pollution, environmental protection, climate change and the circular economy by all means impact not just on EU members, but also the candidate countries, says Commissioner Sinkevičius in this interview for CorD.

Pollution Knows

No Borders When it comes to coal pollution, Western Balkan is part of Europe

February

CONVICTION

The portfolio I am responsible for is very meaningful to me, as it’s shaping my own future and my generation will have to live it. And I am determined take on this challenge

You are the youngest ever European Commissioner, and – as one media title suggests – your position has huge responsibilities. Do you feel ready to rise to the occasion?

Politics is not about age, it’s about ideas and a team that’s eager to deliver. That was the key to us managing to achieve good results during my mandate as a minister back in Lithuania. The portfolio of the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries is very meaningful to me, as it’s shaping my own future and my generation will have to live it. And I am determined to take on this challenge.

STRATEGY

The new Commission is trying to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution as integrated challenges. Such an approach will make an enormous difference

cutting pollution will give a direct boost to ecosystems, and that in turn will help fight the climate crisis. I would firstly like to draw your attention to the topic of zero-pollution environments. This will require a wide-ranging approach and a number of measures and costs, both at the level of states and among businesses. How do you envisage the major steps in this regard?

CHALLENGE

We’re locked into old technologies and those vested interested are slowing the pace of transition to the circular economy

If we want to achieve a toxic-free environment, as is the ambition of the European Green Deal, we will need to do more to prevent pollution from being generated in the first place. We also need to improve measures to monitor and report, to clean and remedy pollution from air, water, soil and consumer products. The EU and is member states will need to look more systematically at relevant policies and regulations. The next milestones are clear. First, we will

Considering President von der Leyen’s letter to you outlining your mission, how would you describe your priorities as they relate to global issues of climate change, reducing biodiversity and pollution?

One of the many good things about this new Commission is the way we are trying to tackle things not as isolated issues, but as integrated challenges. That will make an enormous difference. So instead of addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution with merely sector-specific measures, we are working to ensure that the approach we take has knock-on benefits. There are several reasons for that, but the main one is very simple – it’s simply wrong to think in terms of stand-alone problems here. The reality is that all these problems are interconnected and require solutions that work on several fronts at the same time. Climate change and biodiversity loss aren’t just interconnected – they make each other worse. But protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems is an excellent way of countering the effects of climate change. That goes for pollution too – we aren’t just talking about effects on human health, but also on biodiversity, so

SWEARING-IN OF VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR ENVIRONMENT, OCEANS AND FISHERIES1

The necessary transition towards carbon-neutrality and zero-pollution is going to improve people’s wellbeing and make Europe more competitive

present a chemicals strategy for sustainability, aimed at creating a stronger framework that better protects from hazardous chemicals, reflects scientific evidence and increases global competitiveness. Then we aim to adopt a zero pollution action plan for air, water and soil, as well as a dedicated review of EU measures to address pollution from large industrial installations. For this we’ll be drawing on the

February

Interview Exclusive 100 indicators relevant from an EU perspective. And under the auspices of the Finnish presidency, the Council adopted conclusions on the Economy of Wellbeing, promoting the fact that “people wellbeing” is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth. Will the EU’s policy regarding zero pollution impact on policies related to membership candidate countries? Is coal pollution in the Western Balkans a European problem and how might it be tackled?

results of policy evaluations that we’ve been carrying out. We will also look into aligning our policies with the latest scientific advice and with related policies. Think of climate, energy and the circular economy. And we will involve all parties in developing these actions, including EU member states, businesses and civil society. This is good Commission practise and is crucial to designing policies that can deliver on the ground. Many believe that tackling these issues will require a change in the way we think about GDP growth. How deep will your measures go?

There is no incompatibility between economic prosperity and sustainability, on the contrary the two go together. The Green Deal is an ambitious plan to cut emissions, protect biodiversity and achieve zero pollution, but it is also a new growth strategy that will create jobs, boost innovation and not leave anyone behind.

February

There is no incompatibility between economic prosperity and sustainability, on the contrary the two go together At the same time, the European Commission is well aware that GDP is not made to measure sustainability, well-being or fairness in society. This is why the Commission has been working on the provision of high-quality information that goes beyond GDP. Eurostat has published a set of quality of life indicators since 2015, and the Commission implemented the measurement of progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 United Nations Agenda using around

Candidate countries and potential candidates have to align their policies and their environmental legislation with those of the EU. The EU has put in place an extensive system to combat air pollution, water pollution, waste and even indirect pollution stemming from our consumer habits. We are now stepping up our ambition through the European Green Deal and our zeropollution ambition. We want to have even less pollution – we want to create a toxic-free environment by focusing on pollution prevention and cleaning up and remedying pollution where it already exists. All the regulatory measures that we enact to this end will be part of the body of legislation that candidate countries and potential candidates will align with. The implementation of the EU environmental body of legislation is the first important step towards the zero-pollution ambition. Coal pollution is a European problem, in a Europe that includes the Western Balkans. In that sense, it is our common problem because pollution knows no borders. EU countries also suffer from coal pollution and this is not an easy problem to solve. The necessary transition towards carbon-neutrality and zero-pollution is going to improve people’s well-being and make Europe more competitive. But it will require more efforts from citizens, sectors and regions that rely more on fossil fuels – such as coal – than others. We are fully committed to working with our partners in the region to succeed in the transition. The EU is also providing financial assistance to countries in the region to facilitate this transition for the benefit of all European (EU and Western Balkans) citizens.

Considering your previous work related to the economy and innovation, should we expect many of the answers in your current scope of work on the circular economy to come from start-ups and R&D activities?

I follow those files very carefully, of course, and if you want rapid change, you need young and flexible companies that aren’t afraid to shake the tree. Start-ups really shine in areas like that. And yes, innovation is one of the drivers of change and also forms the basis of any modern economy. Europe built its economy on innovation and change, and there is every reason to believe that that’s where the future lies as well. That said, when it comes to the circular economy, one of the frustrating things about the slow pace of transition is the fact that we have so many good technologies that are already available. So the problem isn’t that they don’t exist, it’s that the political or business will isn’t yet there to produce them at scale. We’re locked into old technologies, and those vested

People want changes as well, or they wouldn’t be marching the streets week after week, demanding stronger action on issues like biodiversity loss and climate change interested are slowing the pace of change. So that’s one area where we are looking very hard at the obstacles, and thinking about what we can do to speed things along. A new Circular Economy Action Plan, which is in your portfolio, will be extended to new sectors, including IT, and will feed into the new industrial strategy. Could you briefly outline the kinds of changes we can expect?

It’s early days, and we are still fine tuning the details, but one of the main aims is to focus not just on IT, but on sectors that use a lot of resources, like textiles, construction and plastics. We need to ensure the swift transformation of these sectors into circular systems. The intention is to build on the success to date of the Plastics Strategy, and steer plastics further towards circularity. The plan will also tackle micro plastics, it will develop a regulatory framework for bioplastics and will implement the measures we planned on single-use plastics. Behind all this is an ambition to avoid waste and emissions by supporting circular design and stepping up the sustainability and durability of products. We will also give consumers more power by ensuring they have better information about products and services. In that way we can see through green-washing claims. You are also responsible for policies

February

Interview Exclusive of pressure on ecosystems, and should be replaced whenever possible. Promoting organic production, agro-ecology and agroforestry will contribute to a closer-to-nature agriculture. We cannot allow the ongoing decline of pollinators and other insects. I aim to ensure that we fully implement and strengthen the EU pollinators initiative in order to bring back our pollinators in a healthy population level. Many of these issues obviously relate to global cooperation and cannot be addressed if other parties don’t welcome the same approach. Do you feel that the time is right for a global cooperation on these topics or not?

GREETING BETWEEN EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN, ON THE RIGHT, AND VIRGINIJUS SINKEVIČIUS, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR ENVIRONMENT, OCEANS AND FISHERIES

related to farming. What would be your main contributions to the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy on sustainable food?

“Farm to Fork” must be an overarching strategy that impacts on the entire food system. It must lead to transformative change not only in production, but also in transport, processing, packaging, retail and the consumption of food, taking into account how the EU food system affects, and is affected by, global linkages. I will work closely with my colleagues – Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski and Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides – on the delivery of this task for ensuring that agriculture and food production will contribute to our climate, environmental and biodiversity goals. Agriculture can have a huge negative impact on biodiversity. That’s why the future Common Agricultural Policy must ensure a higher level of ambition to address the climate and ecological crisis. The Commission will not accept a lowering of the environment and climate ambition of the new Common

February

The Green Deal is an ambitious plan to cut emissions, protect biodiversity and achieve zero pollution, but it is also a new growth strategy that will create jobs, boost innovation and not leave anyone behind Agricultural Policy. Let’s be clear: if we want an agriculture that produces healthy food by healthy farmers for healthy people, we have to start - together with farmers fundamentally transforming the agricultural model. Pesticides are also a known factor of biodiversity loss, so I will push for ambitious targets to reduce pesticide use and risk. The overuse of chemicals and fertilisers must also be addressed as a major source

Absolutely. It’s obviously what people want as well, or they wouldn’t be marching the streets week after week, demanding stronger action on issues like biodiversity loss and climate change. I think there is no doubt that the momentum is growing. One of my main objectives for this year is to help deliver a major new global strategy for the world’s nature at COP 15, the Convention on Biodiversity meeting to take place in Kunming, China this autumn. What we need is an ambitious global framework, the biodiversity equivalent of the Paris 1.5° goal, with long-term and short-term goals. We’ll be adopting a new EU biodiversity strategy to show that we can lead by example. If you want cooperation, you need credibility. And that’s where we need to keep delivering – as we have on climate and plastics. Then others will follow. How could citizens contribute to implementing the required changes? In that respect, what would be your main message to EU citizens and citizens of EU membership candidate countries?

I think citizens know what to do – they know they have to be the change that they want to see. So many young people are already doing that, in so many ways – thinking about the sustainability of the things they buy, about their impact on biodiversity, about how their own behaviour impacts on the world we share. They are my inspiration and I’m determined to live up to their expectations.

Interview H.E. MR. GABIT SYZDYKBEKOV

AMBASSADOR OF KAZAKHSTAN TO SERBIA H.E. Mr. Gabit Syzdykbekov, Kazakhstan’s first ambassador to Serbia, has set ambitious goals for himself for the years ahead. In this interview for CorD Magazine, he says that he will advocate for stronger economic cooperation to be aided by the establishing of a direct flight between NurSultan and Belgrade, and that he will engage on the renewal of the Kazakhstan-Serbian Business Council. He announces that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation through the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Issues. On the other hand, he adds, with its signing of an agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Kazakhstan is a member, Serbia has opened the doors to more than 180 million people to its exporters. Your Excellency, almost three decades after the establishing of diplomatic relations, Kazakhstan has finally opened its

Warm Fraternal

Welcome

During the last few years, the priority of the Republic of Kazakhstan foreign policy is economic diplomacy. Kazakhstan and Serbia have mutually good opportunities in the areas of industrial production, agriculture, investment, trade and tourism. We must help manufacturers, businessmen and companies of the two countries to establish mutuallybeneficial contacts and joint work – Ambassador Gabit Syzdykbekov 14

February

MESSAGE

The citizens of Kazakhstan and Serbia deserve the best ties between our two states. And that’s why we have a lot to do

COOPERATION

Kazakhstan and Serbia have mutually beneficial opportunities in the areas of industrial production, agriculture, investment, trade and tourism

PRIORITIES

Social and medical support for the country’s population remains a priority for the state

embassy in Serbia. What were the reasons behind raising the level of your diplomatic presence in Serbia?

As you know, our diplomatic relations were established in 1996 with Yugoslavia. Since then we have maintained good relations with Belgrade and Serbia, as the legal successor of Yugoslavia. There are no unresolved issues between our countries, and Kazakhstan and Serbia traditionally support each other in the international arena. The cultures of our countries are of big interest for both peoples. Having overcome various challenges, the Republic of Serbia shows good development indicators. In the last years, GDP growth has been at least 4%, which - in the unstable environment of the world economy - is estimated by experts as a very good result for the country. Kazakhstan is showing similar economic growth. In general, our economies can complement each other successfully, primarily in the fields of investment and trade. Throughout all these years, positive conditions have been accumulating for the further development of relations between our states. And the first to realize and announce that at a high level was His Excellency Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia, during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2018. And in 2019 our Embassy was opened here in Belgrade. How does it feel to be the first ambassador of Kazakhstan in Serbia?

I am the first ambassador in the history of my country to the friendly land of Serbia, while this is simultaneously my first appointment as a career ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Therefore, I feel twice the responsibility for the trust placed in me by my President, His Excellency Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,

The two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation through the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Issues. On the other hand, with its signing of an agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Kazakhstan is a member, Serbia has opened the doors to 180 million people to its exporters

and for the warm fraternal welcome given to our diplomatic mission in your country. I think the citizens of Kazakhstan and Serbia deserve the best ties between our two states. And that’s why we have a lot to do. The letter sent to you by the President of Serbia on the occasion of the opening of the Embassy reminded of the longstanding friendship between the two countries. What will be your priorities as the ambassador of Kazakhstan in Belgrade?

Our Embassy proceeds from the tasks set by the leadership of Kazakhstan. During the last few years, the priority of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy has been economic diplomacy. Kazakhstan and Serbia have mutually beneficial opportunities in the areas of industrial produc-

February

Interview In October 2019, Nurlan Nigmatulin, Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, visited Belgrade as part of the 141st Assembly of the InterParliamentary Union. Despite the fact that these were multilateral events, the leaders of the two Parliaments held bilateral negotiations. And in the opinion of both parties, exchanges of experience on legislative support for reforms carried out in our countries, active interaction among cooperation groups and relevant committees are all of mutual interest. In addition, parliamentarians are focusing on the prospects offered by the newly created free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union and Serbia. I will note in particular that the friendship group with Kazakhstan, formed in October 2016 within the National Assembly of Serbia, is one of the largest (77 MPs). The group is headed by the Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan Mrs Milanka Karić, who provides a great contribution to the development of relations between our countries. Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. How do you see the importance of signing a free trade agreement with Serbia?

tion, agriculture, investment, trade and tourism. We must help manufacturers, businessmen and companies from the two countries to establish mutually-beneficial contacts and joint ventures. We believe that this will have tangible practical benefits for the well-being of both nations. At the political level, Kazakhstan’s support for Serbia’s sovereign territorial integrity stands out when it comes to bilateral support. Will you maintain your stance when it comes to non-recognition of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence?

Kazakhstan officially declared its position of non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence and continues to adhere to this policy consistently. Are you satisfied with the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Serbia at the parliamentary level, and can this cooperation contribute to strengthening overall bilateral relations?

Parliamentary cooperation between Kazakh-

February

The EAEU represents a market of more than 180 million consumers, which is now open to Serbian business. We have direct access to China, while goods from the EAEU are also becoming geographically closer to the countries of Central and Western Europe stan and Serbia is developing dynamically. In September last year, Maja Gojković, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, visited Nur-Sultan to attend the 4th Meeting of the Speakers of the Parliaments of Eurasia.

The importance of this Agreement is related to the economic opportunities that it provides to the parties involved. In particular, the EAEU represents a market of more than 180 million consumers, which is now open to Serbian business. We have direct access to China, while goods from the EAEU are also becoming geographically closer to the countries of Central and Western Europe. Considering that continental Eurasian transit, due to technological progress, is entering the era of its “revival” following several centuries of “maritime dominance”, the significance of this agreement will grow ever greater over time. And that’s especially so when you consider that Serbia, like Kazakhstan, is similarly landlocked and a transit state. Do you see any ways to strengthen economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Serbia, which currently remains at a low level?

First of all, we need to open a direct flight between Nur-Sultan and Belgrade. Then the

activities of the existing Kazakhstan-Serbian Business Council need to be revitalised. We also plan to expand the corps of honorary consuls of Kazakhstan in Serbia, including participation in this process by prominent businessmen from your country who contribute to the implementation of specific bilateral projects. This year, together with our Serbian partners, we will hold the next meeting of the Kazakh-Serbian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Issues in Belgrade. Kazakh companies are ready to offer their high-quality road construction services in Serbia. Some investors from Kazakhstan have already shown an interest in investing in various sectors of the Serbian economy. For example, representatives of Kazakh company Qaz Eco Fruits have visited Serbia recently, with the intention of purchasing a large consignment of apple seedlings (about 267,000) here for the development of horticulture in the southern part of Kazakhstan. Last week the management of Kazakhstan construction company Aizia Invest visited Belgrade to study the construction market and the prospects for investment in Serbia’s economy. Finally, could you speak in more detail about the comprehensive political and economic reforms in Kazakhstan that were announced by the President KassymJomart Tokayev last year as “Constructive Social Dialogue”?

This is a very important subject and the first Address by Kazakhstan President KassymJomart Tokayev to the citizens of Kazakhstan, introduced on 2nd September 2019, was dedicated to it. Everyone who is interested in Kazakhstan and the development prospects of my country can find the text easily (a link is available on CorD’s website). And I assure you that anyone who carefully examines this document will learn a lot, not only from the viewpoint of studying the Kazakhstan realities but also can enrich his political, socialeconomic vision and individuality. I should note that a period of serious transformations in many areas of life is underway today in Kazakhstan. And one of the first steps of the Head of State was to develop a programme of comprehensive state activities aimed at maximising the current interests of citizens.

Kazakh companies are ready to offer their highquality road construction services in Serbia. Some investors from Kazakhstan have already shown an interest in investing in various sectors of the Serbian economy The political development of Kazakhstan will be in line with democratic values and under the auspices of the concept of the “Listening State”, an effective state, dedicated to the interests of all citizens. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev clearly outlined the task of strengthening the legal protections of citizens’ legitimate interests, as

well as a systematic fight against corruption. In the Presidential address there is a strong focus on supporting small and medium sized businesses and the development of agriculture sector. Social and medical support for the country’s population remains a priority for the state. State efforts will also be aimed at improving the social situation in regions and rural areas. I would like to emphasise that the President of Kazakhstan is looking at youth with special care. He assigned appropriate tasks to create conditions to support the potential of young people, as they will determine the future of the country. Most recently, at the behest of President Tokayev, the Presidential Personnel Reserve was formed, which included 300 of the most professionally trained, talented and ambitious young managers aged under 35. For them, this is a unique opportunity to take leading positions in the public administration and semi-public sector. This is a transparent and effective social elevation opportunity for our talented youth.

February

GLOBAL DIARY

Environment

“Immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels. We don’t want these things done by 2050, or 2030 or even 2021 — we want this done now.” – GRETA THUNBERG, SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST ON CLIMATE CHANGE

DAVOS 2020 - 50TH ANNIVERSARY

WEF FOUNDER PROFESSOR KLAUS SCHWAB

FIRST STEP TOWARDS RESTORING BELGRADE-PRISTINA AIR LINK Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline, has signed two respective letters of intent with the Serbian Ministry of the Economy and the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo on the establishing of a Belgrade-Pristina air link, reports AP.

PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN BEGIN NEW LIFE AS ORDINARY PEOPLE Prince Harry and his wife Meghan began a new life as ordinary people with financial worries and security concerns after being stripped of their royal titles and public funding by the Queen. The settlement, announced by Buckingham Palace on 17th January, saw the Queen assume her painfully familiar role of managing a family crisis that threatened the very foundations of one of Britain’s oldest institutions. The couple lost their right to be called “his and her royal highness” (HRH) much as Harry’s late mother Princess Diana did when she divorced Prince Charles. They further agreed to repay $3.1 million of taxpayer money spent to renovate their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle.

February

World leaders, chief executives, thinkers and celebrities gathered in the Swiss mountain town of Davos for the 50th World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. The event, which this year began on 21st January, has earned a reputation for high-altitude pontificating as the global elite gather to pitch their takes on topics selected by WEF founder Klaus Schwab - from deglobalisation to the fourth industrial revolution. This year, as the WEF marks its 50th anniversary, a new urgency hangs over the Alpine town linked to the prospects for trade and global economic growth, tech companies, the future of multilateralism and the geopolitical order.

Even though this marks the first symbolic step towards restoring an air link between Belgrade and Pristina 21 years after the flight connection was revoked, there are no expected dates in terms of when flight operations may start. “Establishing the link would only be possible after Kosovo abolishes taxes on Serbian goods, and not before the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina resumes,” said Marko Đurić, director of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo.

Planet

“The planet will not be destroyed. In the next few centuries and millennia, we’ll see the planet around the sun. What will be destroyed is our capacity to live on the planet. We will be destroyed by climate change, not the planet.” – ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL

GREECE’S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT High court judge Katerina Sakellaropoulou has become Greece’s first female president, after a vote in Parliament on 22nd January. Two opposition parties sided with the centre-right government’s nomination to give Sakellaropoulou 261 votes, way more than the 200 required. Centre-left opposition parties had already backed Sakellaropoulou’s nomination before the vote. She will take on a five-year term in the largely ceremonial post beginning in March. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that Sakellaropoulou was an “exceptional judge” and a defender of human rights.

KOBE BRYANT AMONG DEAD IN HELICOPTER CRASH Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among nine people who died in a helicopter crash in the Southern California residential area of Calabasas. There were no survivors of the crash that happened at around 10 a.m. local time on 27th January. Orange Coast College head baseball coach John

WORLD MARKS 75 YEARS SINCE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMP Survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp gathered on 27th January to mark the 75th anniversary of the camp’s liberation, returning to the place where they lost entire families and warning about the ominous growth of anti-Semitism and hatred in the world. Most of the 1.1 million people murdered by the Nazi German forces at the camp were Jewish, but other Poles, Russians and Roma, or Gypsies, were also imprisoned there. World leaders gathered in Jerusalem on 23rd January to mark the anniversary in what many saw as a competing observance to both keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and urge vigilance against hatred and intolerance at the global commemoration of the Jewish genocide. Forty-nine delegations attended the 5th World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and American Vice President Mike Pence among the world leaders in attendance.

Altobelli was also aboard the aircraft, the school said in a statement. The family later confirmed Altobelli’s wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa, were also among those killed. The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter crashed under unknown circumstances, said a spokesperson from the National Transportation Safety Board. Firefighters worked to contain the quarter-acre brush fire that resulted, which was difficult to extinguish due to the presence of magnesium, which reacts to oxygen and water, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby told reporters.

DEADLY CHINA VIRUS SPREADING RAPIDLY China has reported an increase in fatalities and infections as the virus has claimed over 136 lives, with the number of cases soaring overnight The deadly novel coronavirus has so far spread to at least 18 countries, including Germany, Australia and the United States. China has reported an increase in fatalities and infections as the virus has claimed over 136 lives, with the number of cases soaring overnight. Nearly 6056 cases have been reported in 18 countries and territories. Chinese authorities said the virus isn’t yet under control despite aggressive steps to limit movement for millions of people who live in cities near the center of the outbreak.

February

Environment

The European Green Deal Will Cost €260 Billion

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION FRANS TIMMERMANS

On 11th January, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal – a roadmap for making the EU’s economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas and making the transition just and inclusive for all.

uropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Green Deal is a new growth strategy – for a growth that gives back more than it takes away. It shows how to transform ways of living working, producing and consuming so that we live healthier and make our businesses innovative. “We can all be involved in the transition and we can all benefit from the opportunities. We will help our economy to be a global leader by moving first and moving fast. We are determined to succeed for the sake of this planet and life on it – for Europe’s natural heritage, for biodiversity, for our forests and our seas. By showing the rest of the

February

The European Green Deal provides a roadmap with actions to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy and stop climate change, reverse biodiversity loss and cut pollution

world how to be sustainable and competitive, we can convince other countries to move with us,” said Ursula von der Leyen. Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans added “We are in a climate and environmental emergency. The European Green Deal is an opportunity to improve the health and well-being of our people by transforming our economic model. Our plan sets out how to cut emissions, restore the health of our natural environment, protect our wildlife, create new economic opportunities, and improve the quality of life of our citizens. We all have an important part to play and every industry and country will be part of this transformation.

Moreover, our responsibility is to make sure that this transition is a just transition, and that nobody is left behind as we deliver the European Green Deal.” The European Green Deal provides a roadmap with actions to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy and stop climate change, revert biodiversity loss and cut pollution. It outlines investments needed and financing tools available, and explains how to ensure a just and inclusive transition. It covers all sectors of the economy, notably transport, energy, agriculture, buildings, and industries such as steel, cement, ICT, textiles and chemicals. To set into legislation the political ambition of being the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050, the Commission will present within 100 days the first ‘European Climate Law’. To reach our climate and environmental ambition, the Commission will also present the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the new Industrial Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan, the Farm to Fork Strategy for sustainable food and proposals for pollution-free Europe. Work will immediately start for upping Europe’s 2030 emissions targets, setting a realistic path to the 2050 goal. Meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal will require significant investment. Achieving the current 2030 climate and energy targets is estimated to require €260 billion of additional annual investment, representing about 1.5% of 2018 GDP. This investment will need the mobilisation of both the public and private sectors. The Commission will present in early 2020 a Sustainable Europe Investment Plan to help meet investment needs. At least 25% of the EU’s long-term budget should be dedicated to climate action, and the European Investment Bank, Europe’s climate bank, will provide further support. For the private sector to contribute to financing the green transition, the Commission will present a Green Financing Strategy in 2020. Fighting climate change and environmental degradation is a common endeavour but not all regions and Member States start from the same point. A Just Transition Mechanism will support those regions that rely heavily on very carbon intensive activities. It will support the citizens most vulnerable to the transition, providing access to reskilling programmes and employment opportunities in new economic sectors. In March 2020, the Commission will launch a ‘Climate Pact’ to give citizens a voice and role in designing new actions, sharing information, launching grassroots activities and show-casing

solutions that others can follow. The global challenges of climate change and environmental degradation require a global response. The EU will continue to promote its environmental goals and standards in the UN’s Biodiversity and Climate Conventions and reinforce its green diplomacy. The G7, G20, international conventions, and bilateral relationships will be used to persuade others to step up their efforts. The EU will also use trade policy to ensure sustainability and it will build partnerships with its neighbours in the Balkans and Africa to help them with their own transitions. The Commission invites the European Parliament and the European Council to endorse the Commission’s ambition for Europe’s future economy and the environment and to help realise it. The Commission will bring forward the measures announced in the European Green Deal roadmap. Climate change and environmental degradation present an existential threat to Europe and the world. To overcome this challenge, Europe needs a new growth strategy that transforms the Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, where economic growth is decoupled from resource use and where no one and no place is left behind. The European Union already has a strong track record in reducing its emissions of greenhouse gases while maintaining economic growth. Emissions in 2018 were 23% lower than in 1990 while the Union’s GDP grew by 61% in the same period. But more needs to be done. The EU, given its extensive experience, is leading the way in creating a green and inclusive economy. The Green Deal Communication sets the path for action in the months and years ahead. The Commission’s future work will be guided by the public’s demand for action and by undeniable scientific evidence as demonstrated most comprehensively by IPCC, IPBES, Global Resources Outlook and EEA SOER 2019 reports. Our proposals will be evidence-based and underpinned by broad consultation. An overwhelming majority of Europeans consider that protecting the environment is important (95%). Almost 8 in 10 Europeans (77%) say that protection of the environment can boost economic growth. The results of the Eurobarometer survey concerning environmental attitudes of EU citizens confirm the wide public support for environmental legislation at EU level and EU funding for environmentally friendly activities.

February

Focus

Brain Drain Vs. Brain Circulation

Million

Dollar Question Do people just leave Serbia or do they also return? What policies are available to the government in order to make migration a win-win combination for society? These are issues that are plaguing many countries that are facing a brain drain, and particularly those, like Serbia, that find it difficult to offer their citizens better life prospects in the short term

emocracy, the rule of law, greater possibilities for highquality living and work - there are many ways to answer the question of why people from Serbia leave the country in search of an environment that is more suited to their aspirations. Reversing this trend means providing people with

February

the prospects to lead such a life in their own country and, as the experiences of many countries struggling with similar problems testify, it is a hellishly difficult and enduring process. And when it is hindered, through misdirected measures, that wave rises. Our respondents offer different ideas about what can and should be done.

SLAVICA ĐUKIĆ DEJANOVIĆ PH.D.

MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO RESPONSIBLE FOR DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION POLICY

FEWER DIFFERENCES AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL THE ROAD TO TRANSFORMING THE BRAIN DRAIN INTO CAPITAL IS GRADUAL AND REQUIRES THE EFFORTS OF THE ENTIRE SOCIETY. THIS IS ONE OF THE PRIORITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, WHICH RECOGNISES THE FULL SERIOUSNESS OF THE MIGRATION PHENOMENON AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Population migration is among the most difficult demographic phenomena to predict and measure. This part of the everyday reality of modern society cannot be prevented by any country, which is why it is necessary for us all to work together to create an environment that will encourage young people to stay or come to our country, in order to achieve their personal and professional dreams and goals. Simultaneously, there should be consideration for those young people who do not plan to return to Serbia, whose knowhow, skills, experience, business contacts and financial resources could represent Serbia’s development potential. I would remind readers that, according to the results of the last Census of 2011, approximately 150,000 Serbian our citizens, with an average age of 28.7, moved abroad in the period from 2002 to 2011, and almost every fifth person among them had a college degree or higher school diploma. Starting on the basis of this information, the Cabinet that I lead – in cooperation with the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the University of Belgrade Faculty of Geography and the NGO ‘Centre for Life – For Us to Be More’ – conducted some research connected with migration. The conclusion we have drawn from the research is that there is a need to change the circumstances that compel young people to leave our country, i.e. to increase their motivation to remain in Serbia. This can only be achieved through the creation of a favourable living environment, both at the level of local self-government units and at the level of the state, the environment in which young people use

their acquired knowledge, realise successful professional careers, have adequate conditions for scientific research work and, first and foremost, can live from their work. IT IS NECESSARY FOR Respondents also cited several US ALL TO WORK priority areas that they consider the TOGETHER TO CREATE state should take care of in the coming period, and those include: AN ENVIRONMENT THAT raising living standards, creating WILL ENCOURAGE YOUNG jobs, fighting crime and corruption, PEOPLE TO STAY OR improving healthcare coverage. All of COME TO OUR COUNTRY, the aforementioned are undoubtedly IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE among the priorities of the GovernTHEIR PERSONAL AND ment of the Republic of Serbia, which PROFESSIONAL DREAMS recognises the full seriousness of AND GOALS the migration phenomenon and its consequences, starting from demographic, to economic, social, cultural etc. We mustn’t forget that the road to transforming the brain drain into capital is gradual and requires the efforts of the entire society, from the state to every family and individual. We are now laying the cornerstone of a future society in which future generations will live in a world of reduced differences and greater opportunities for all, and in which young people will not only leave Serbia, but will also arrive.

MIHAIL ARANDARENKO, PHD. PROFESSOR, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE

THE WRONG “MEDICINES” SPEED UP EMIGRATION RELATIVELY LARGE TAX BREAKS FOR RETURNEES ARE GENERALLY POSITIVE, BUT WILL HAVE ONLY A LIMITED EFFECT, WHILE THE CHANCE IS MISSED TO DIRECT AND CHANNEL SHORT-TERM MIGRATION THROUGH INTERSTATE COOPERATION BETWEEN NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICES Serbia’s most important export product is labour and not – as is commonly presumed – steel, automobiles or raspberries. Some 15 per cent of people who were born in Serbia have been living abroad for more

February

Focus

Brain Drain Vs. Brain Circulation

than a year, which is five times the world average. On the other hand, remittances from foreign countries add almost 10% to Serbia’s GDP. At first glance, it could be said that those who have left manage to live well abroad and at the same time generously compensate for their absence those who stayed behind in the country. Things are, however, slightly more complicated. Among immigrants born in Serbia, there are a large number who have lost any significant connection with their country. On the other hand, a large part of remittances are comprised of the earnings of those who aren’t even included in migrant statistics, because they spend less than a year abroad. These short-term migrations are more often circular, occurring year after year. There is another, rapidly growing category of ‘migrants’ - so-called telemigrants, or digital migrants. They live in Serbia, but they work for foreign clients via the internet, often using online platforms like Upwork. According to rough estimates, there are currently more than 20,000 telemigrants in Serbia for INSTEAD OF DEVISING whom foreign clients are their primary MEASURES THAT WOULD source of income, which places the SUPPORT TELEMIGRAcountry at the top of the world TION AS THE BEST ALrankings on a per capita basis. It is TERNATIVE TO PHYSICAL interesting, but also disturbing, that countries with high physical emigraMIGRATION, THE STATE tion also have a large number of LEADS A SHORT-SIGHTED telemigrants. POLICY OF MAXIMISING I think that Serbia should pay PUBLIC REVENUE, WHICH equal attention not only to ‘long-term’ IS LIKELY TO RESULT migrants, but also to its residents who IN THE ACCELERATED are involved in short-term migration CONVERSION OF TELEMIand in telemigration. GRANTS INTO ‘REAL’ Migration policy measures that MIGRANTS have been undertaken or announced don’t provide much confidence. Relatively large tax breaks for returnees are generally positive, but will have only a limited effect, since they are of a temporary nature and aimed at those who have generally already chosen where they will spend their working careers. On the other hand, the government is not doing enough to direct and channel short-term migration through interstate cooperation between national employment services, precisely at a time when the main European destination countries are further liberalising access to their labour markets. The hasty introduction of the ‘independence test’ (evidence that it is not hidden employment) has brought anxiety to the community of self-employed digital workers, most of whom are telemigrants. Instead of devising measures that would support telemigration as the best alternative to physical migration, the state leads a short-sighted policy of maximising public revenue, which is likely to result in the accelerated conversion of telemigrants into ‘real’ migrants. Instead of this, the government could support the creation of a digital freelancing platform with both English and Serbian as working languages, targeting members of our business and scientific diaspora on the demand side and our telemigrants on the supply side. This would ensure everyone wins in the long run.

February

NENAD JEVTOVIĆ DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION

BATTLE FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL THE ALMOST SHARED RESPONSE OF THE EXPERT PUBLIC WHEN IT COMES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF MATERIAL STANDING IS THE IMPROVEMENT OF INSTITUTIONS. I WOULDN’T DENY THAT THIS IS THE BEST SOLUTION, BUT I BELIEVE THAT CONSIDERATION SHOULD ALSO BE GIVEN TO MICRO MEASURES TARGETING INDIVIDUALS

Relevant domestic statistics on migration trends don’t exist, while international stats rely on OECD data, which estimates that approximately 245,000 people left Serbia in the 2012-2016 period. This means that an annual average of about 49,000 people emigrated from Serbia to OECD member countries. It shouldn’t be overlooked that the OECD’s data also covers temporary migrations, i.e. those temporarily leaving Serbia and then returning, and the average for this five-year period was approximately 33,000 temporary emigrants. On the basis of the aforementioned, we reach a figure on the net outflow of the population of Serbia totalling around 15,700 SOCIETY BEARS THE people annually. COSTS BROUGHT ABOUT Viewing that which represents BY EMIGRATION. ACthe positive side of emigration, and CORDING TO ANALYSIS about which accurate data is available, CARRIED OUT BY THE is money that is sent to Serbia from abroad (remittances). Serbia is among INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPthe top ranked European countries in MENT AND INNOVATION, this category, with about 2.6 billion THOSE COSTS AMOUNT euros arriving in Serbia in 2018, which TO UP TO TWO BILLION A accounts for around 6.2% of GDP. The YEAR, BASED ON INVESTsociety also bears the costs brought MENTS IN EDUCATING about by emigration. According to THOSE WHO LEAVE AND analysis carried out by the Institute POTENTIAL GDP LOST for Development and Innovation, those costs amount to up to two billion a year, based on investments in educating those who leave and potential GDP lost.

According to one research project, the dominant reason for the departure of young people from Serbia is economic, and a desire to improve their material situation. The almost shared response of the expert public when it comes to economic development and the improvement of material standing is the improvement of institutions. I wouldn’t deny that this is the best solution, rather I would merely emphasise that it ignores the fact that building institutions requires a long time and the taking into account of historical, educational and cultural factors. My personal view is that governments should have available proposed measures that have a micro approach and directly target the connecting of individuals from the motherland to emigration, in order to accelerate the flow of ideas and capital. In this way, there could be an improvement of situations like that of 2014 and 2015, where only three pre cent of the money sent to Serbia through remittances was used to invest in business. Turning to micro measures, targeted towards individuals, can turn the brain drain into a brain gain in the short to medium term. It is worth noting that the micro approach does not ignore the development of high-quality institutions as a key factor of economic and social development in the long term, which is the key to people staying in their home county.

VLADIMIR GREČIĆ PH.D.

PROFESSOR, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE

DEMOCRACY AGAINST THE BRAIN DRAIN THE CLOSER SERBIA MOVES TOWARDS EU MEMBERSHIP, THE MORE EMIGRATION THERE WILL BE. EVEN IF DEMAND FOR LABOUR IN THE EU WERE TO DECLINE, THE SELECTION OF PERSONNEL WOULD STRENGTHEN AT THE EXPENSE OF SERBIA, BY ABSORBING THE HIGHEST QUALITY AND MOST SOUGHT AFTER PROFILES OF WORKERS The term “Brain Drain” was first used in 1958 by the British Royal Society (to refer to the emigration of scientists and engineers to the U.S.). Migration is actually determined by push and pull factors.

It primarily concerns differences in levels of income, access to the labour market, finding suitable jobs; in conditions for advancement in a profession, access to high-quality education, the level of construction of overall infrastructure, in the level of living standards, institution building, the rule of law, levels of corruption and crime, security. The average number of emigrants departing Serbia annually almost doubled from 2007 to 2017, from 27,000 to 48,000. Of them, approximately 15 per cent are highly educated + highly qualified. Information on returnees is not available. However, the closer Serbia moves towards EU membership, the more emigration there will be. Should demand for labour in the EU decline, the selection of personnel would strengthen at Serbia’s expense. It would absorb the highest quality and most sought after profiles of workers. Talented people are the drivers of innovation, and innovation is the basis for increasing an economy’s productivity and competitiveness. THE EXECUTIVE It rarely happens that people GOVERNMENT, THROUGH migrate in just one direction. Who rePUBLIC POLICIES turns? Returnees are: (1) unsuccessDIRECTED TOWARDS ful (Return of failure); (2) conservative REDUCING THE IMPETUS (Return of conservatism); (3) retirees FACTOR OF EMIGRATION, (Return of retirement); (4) Innovators (Return of innovation), who are interSHOULD ACT ested in developing their country of CONTINUOUSLY TO origin. The term innovator returnee is STRENGTHEN THE equivalent to the term brain gain. The CAPACITY TO RETAIN latest census of the Serbian populaAND ATTRACT EXPERTS tion showed that the largest number FROM ABROAD, I.E. FOR of returnees are actually retirees. THE CIRCULAR If emigration is excessive, its MIGRATION PROCESS effects will be negative for both the economy and society. The effects of the brain drain include, but are not limited to, the following losses: loss of tax revenue; loss of potential future entrepreneurs; loss of important, skilled workers; loss of confidence in the economy; loss of innovative ideas and money invested in education; and the loss of critical health and education services. What is the state’s response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration? More effective management of migration, especially the risks they carry. These relate to public policies with which the environment is created for the more rational use of human potential for the purposes of development. Public policies are defined as “whatever governments choose to do or not to do” (Thomas Dye, 1987). The executive government, through public policies directed towards reducing the impetus factor of emigration, should act continuously to strengthen the capacity to retain and attract experts from abroad, i.e. for the circular migration process. Mitigating emigration is achieved by: (1) building and strengthening institutions; (2) securing the sustainable development of the economy and society; (3) harmonising the education system with the needs of the economy; (4) adapting the education system to new technological changes, as a strategy for engaging in the division of labour in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

February

Opinion

Winning The Electrification Race

Electricity will dominate the future global energy system. Currently, it accounts for only 20% of final energy demand, with direct fossil-fuel use still dominant in transport, heating, and heavy industry. But most economic activities can be powered by electricity, and many will be far more efficient once electrified

or example, internal-combustion engines typically turn 60-80% of all the energy they use into wasted heat, and only 2040% into kinetic energy to drive the vehicle. Electric engines, by contrast, are over 90% efficient. Moreover, they are so much simpler to produce that within five years the cost savings on engines will offset the cost of batteries, making electric vehicles cheaper than diesel or gasoline cars. Similarly, electric heat pumps can deliver more than three kilowatt-hours of residential heating for only one kilowatt of energy input; no gas boiler could deliver more than 0.9 kWh for the same input. Although battery-powered electric engines will play a growing role in short-distance aviation and shipping, batteries will be too heavy to power long-distance flights or intercontinental shipping for several decades yet. But ship engines could burn ammonia rather than fuel oil – and ammonia can be a zero-carbon fuel if it is made from hydrogen produced by electrolyzing water, using electricity generated from renewable sources. In addition, synthetic jet fuel can be made from hydrogen and carbon dioxide extracted from the air. Hydrogen, whether used as a fuel or a key chemical input, will also play a major role in the decarbonization of heavy industrial sectors such as steel and chemicals. Without assuming any fundamental technological breakthroughs, we could certainly build by 2050 a global economy in which electricity met 65-70% of final energy demand, and hydrogen, ammonia, or synthetic fuel met a further 12-15%. Bioenergy and fossil fuels would then need to meet only about 20% of total energy use – and applying carbon capture to this greatly reduced fossil-fuel use could then ensure a truly zero-carbon economy. Moreover, such widespread electrification would deliver huge environmental benefits, eliminating

February

the pollution, noise, and unwanted or wasted heat inevitably produced by burning fossil fuels in vehicles, gas boilers, and industrial processes. Building this economy will require an annual global electricity supply of about 90,000 terawatthours, compared to 23,000 TWh today; all of that must be generated in a zero-carbon way. But this goal, too, is undoubtedly attainable. Every day, the sun radiates to earth enough energy to cover humans’ daily energy needs 8,000 times, and we could provide 90,000 TWh of solar electricity using less than 1.5% of Earth’s land surface (or less than 0.5% if its water surface could be used as well). Solar-energy costs have fallen by 85% in the last ten years, and in many locations solar power is already cheaper than coal; by mid-century, it will be cheaper still.

The world could build a zero-carbon economy fast enough to limit climate change to a manageable extent Wind-power costs also have declined fast, and nuclear fusion may be a commercially viable technology within two decades. Battery costs have fallen by more than 80% since 2010 and will likely more than halve again by 2030, while a recent report suggests that electrolysis costs will now most probably “plummet.” Furthermore, a wide array of other energy-storage and demand-management

technologies promises to answer the key question for renewable power systems: what to do when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. These developments make it inevitable that by 2100 the world will have an ample supply of cheap and totally clean energy. But it is not inevitable that we will avoid catastrophic climate change. Fossil-fuel use is still increasing, and global warming is currently on track to reach 3°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, dramatically overshooting the target of well below 2°C set by the Paris climate agreement. And although solar and wind costs have plunged, we need to increase capacity at 3-4 times the current rate to have a feasible chance of producing 90,000 TWh of clean electricity by 2050. The macroeconomic cost of such an effort is not at all daunting: the total incremental investment required to build a zero-carbon economy by 2050 amounts to about 1-1.5% of global GDP per year. But the required acceleration will not occur without forceful government policies. Such policies must start by recognizing that massive clean electrification, plus large-scale hydrogen use, is the only route to zero-carbon prosperity. Governments should set challenging targets for increasing renewable (and in some cases nuclear) power capacity, while using auctions to secure private-sector delivery at the lowest possible cost. Road-transport strategies must aim to completely eliminate internal-combustion engines from our roads by 2050 at the very latest: this will require bans on the sale of new internal-combustion vehicles far sooner. In addition, carbon pricing is essential to make industrial decarbonization economic. Finally, governments must support new technologies with initial deployment subsidies of the sort that have helped to reduce rapidly the costs of solar photovoltaic technology, wind turbines, and batteries.

Leaders’

MEETING POINT

JANKO ANĐELIĆ Sales Director SEE, Ingram Micro

VLADIMIR POPOVIĆ Managing Director at SEE Ingram Micro

DEJAN VUKOTIĆ Director of the Serbian Export Credit and Insurance Agency - AOFI

We Step Into Our Partners’ Shoes

We Deliver On What We Promise

Exports Up Seven Per Cent

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ALEKSANDAR MILIN Director, Express Cargo

Only The Best Is Good Enough PAGE /35

JANKO ANĐELIĆ, SALES DIRECTOR SEE, INGRAM MICRO

We Step Into Our Partners’ Shoes Ingram Micro doo Belgrade is a Value Add Distributor, which means that it provides additional services to its partners and their customers – from assistance in the process of selection and testing of IT solution to its final configuration, integration into the enterprise IT infrastructure and after-sales services

ustomized approach has become our trademark, we dedicate ourselves to each partner, to every single business or offering, we are stepping into our partners’ shoes to understand their challenges and find an optimal solution to these challenges, as Janko Anđelić explains the secret to success of Ingram Micro. Ingram Micro is known as “alue Add Distributor”. What does this say about

February

your company? Is this an important reference within your industry? “Value Add Distributor” means that we provide additional services to partners and their customers – from assistance in the process of selection and testing of IT solution to its final configuration, integration into the enterprise IT infrastructure and after-sales services. Today, all major actors are striving to develop into VAD, because it is no longer just a desire for additional profit, but also a must because of increasingly demanding users who want to get more for their money than just having their equipment or software delivered. They pay to upgrade their IT infrastructure and solve specific business issues, so they would like to know in advance what effect they will get from investing in IT technologies. The VAD-distributor becomes a kind of advanced IT hypermarket, where you can not only buy a large number of IT solutions from different vendors, but also „try them out“ for a specific business. In order to do this, the distributor should have good and equipped testing centres – demo booths, labs equipped with the latest software and hardware platforms, as well as qualified personnel who can assist in the selection of IT systems and their testing. Ingram Micro focuses on the integrated approach. For some people, VAD

is standing for additional technical services, but under this term we imply all the necessary assistance for successful project realization and full support to our partners businesses. Including financial services, logistics, marketing, the ability to select the right product from our wide portfolio of IT solutions on the market, as well as assistance by technical experts and other professionals from our or equipment manufacturer companies. Value added distribution is the ability to provide the necessary service for successful project implementation. The volume of our product portfolio enables us to offer add-ons based on the solutions of more than 30 popular brands, while our partners network enables us to attract two thousand companies across the SEE NON EU. In other words, we are positioning ourselves as VAD distributor and this applies to all our vendors and partners.

Value added distribution is the ability to provide the necessary service for successful project implementation

What else do your partners and clients expect from you in addition to customized approach and powerful logistics? Do they expect you to add value to their product or service? Day after day, Ingram Micro strives to exceed the expectations with our partners and clients, which I must admit is a very demanding job since we have raised expectations to a very high level thanks to working hard and being dedicated, which is making us very happy and motivated to get better every day. Customized approach has become our trademark, we commit to each partner, every single business or offering, we are stepping into the shoes of our partners in order to understand their challenges, find the optimal solution to those challenges and support our partners at every step. Certainly, the basis of distributor work is powerful logistics and financial support, but we are striving to add value here also and provide more to our partners, because every business is a story for itself, and therefore we need to customize the units that represent traditional support such as logistics and finance. If you ask us for the secret to our success, we can say that certainly it is the value we add at each step and to every part of our cooperation with partners and to the work on project. We do not want to be just a dealer, who has good logistics and powerful financing, we would like to be a company that gives all the companies that work with us an extra benefit and something more. Personal Data Protection and Intellectual Property Protection are one of t he greatest challenges of modern times. How do you handle these? I have recently read an interesting fact that every second new 1.7 Mb is being created for each human being on the planet, 90 percent of all data in the world was created in the last three years, this is a fascinating amount of data being created in a short time. A lot

Ingram Micro is committed to keeping personal information, both globally and locally

of this information is personal information and we really need to handle it with the utmost care. Even before the entry into force of the GDPR, which many companies were unprepared for, we had already implemented most of the provisions of that regulation. But what is important for us to emphasize through our products and services, as well as experience in implementing these technologies, is to help our partners as well as their clients to respond to challenges posed by GDPR and regulatory enforcement. When we talk about intellectual property, we have also been propagating for many years the view that intellectual property must be respected and what we have noticed in the market is that this is how the whole market began to

think and act. There is less and less uninstalled software by companies and those who have it are in a hurry to find a way to get into the legal flow. Certainly, we as a company are here to help companies get legal and licensed software on the best terms and in the simplest possible way. As we would like our opinions and intellectual values to be respected, we must respect othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; intellectual property.

February

VLADIMIR POPOVIĆ, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT SEE INGRAM MICRO

We Deliver On What We Promise Ever since the first day the Belgrade office opened, Ingram Micro has recognised the potential and effort of its employees, such that the office in Belgrade now services Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria, or a market that boasts more than 50 million inhabitants

e have been faultlessly delivering the highest quality, value-added products and services to the market for years, preserving and striving to constantly improve our image. And, most importantly, our partners trust us, because we keep our promises – notes SEE Ingram Micro MD Vladimir Popović with pride for CorD

Ingram Micro d.o.o. (Ltd.) Belgrade covers a market of more than 50 million inhabitants. How do you explain that success?

The success of our company has been built over years, dating all the way back to 2003 and the beginnings of RRC. From the very first moment, the Belgrade office stood out as a leader in the company’s regional development. Then, over the course of many years, the Belgrade office opened one office at a time in all countries of the region. With the acquisition of company RRC, Ingram Micro continued its successful development path, with its Belgrade office as a centre of knowledge and logistics in the centre of the region. We see this as a great success for both those of us who are now developing Ingram Micro d.o.o. Belgrade and all colleagues who contributed in

February

previous years to Ingram Micro achieving a leading position in the region. Certainly, in addition to its large market and volume of business, Ingram Micro succeeds in maintaining a high level of quality of service and support to its partners, for which it is also recognised on the market.

How do you build a reputation as a reliable and stable partner? What is decisive in that?

The foundation for building a good reputation is continuous work on the development of a good image and the

The most important element to maintaining a good reputation is readiness for open dialogue. We listen to our partners and deliver on everything we promise providing of high-quality products and services. It is impossible to build a good image without providing high-quality products and services and, vice versa, it is very difficult to sell even the highest quality services at an attractive price without a strong image. When you maintain a good image over a long period of time while delivering maximum quality you create a reputation

as a reliable and stable partner. However, you can lose a reputation built over years in just a day, which is why you need to be very careful. It should be remembered that a company’s market reputation is not influenced by slogans, but rather by real action.

You have great competition, yet you manage not only to retain existing clients and partners that you’ve had for years, but also to attract new ones. What is it that you can offer them that others can’t?

We at Ingram Micro Belgrade perceive all our clients and partners as friends and strive to build a relationship of trust and support for them, as the most enduring friendships are based on these two pillars. I would like to emphasise that we are primarily people, and that’s why we strive to always understand the challenges that our partners face and to do our utmost to help them handle those challenges successfully. Ingram Micro d.o.o. Belgrade has a personalised approach towards each of its partners and clients, and that is recognised on the market, which is why we are recording growth in the number of companies that cooperate with us yearon-year. What our partners particularly like is our flexibility and exceptional sense of their needs and interests. Ingram Micro Belgrade provides its partners with four dimensions of support – logistical, marketing, technical and financial.

DEJAN VUKOTIĆ, DIRECTOR OF THE SERBIAN EXPORT CREDIT AND INSURANCE AGENCY - AOFI

Exports Up Seven Per Cent The Serbian Export Credit and Insurance Agency supports national exports ad does so by financing preparations for export, financing working capital/liquid assets for export preparation, bulk buying export receivables and issuing all types of guarantees, as well as insuring the collection of receivables from export activities

erbia’s export opportunities in 2020, apart from traditional potentials like those of the agricultural timber and textile industries, are in high-tech sectors (IT, biotechnology etc.), as the world’s fastest growing industries and sectors that contribute to greater competitiveness The Serbian Export Credit and Insurance Agency – AOFI is not a bank, though it does help exporters to resolve their liquidity issues. What do you do for domestic companies in order for them to be more competitive on foreign markets? As an institution that promotes and supports the exports of the Republic of Serbia, AOFI has developed a range of products and services to enable export-orientated companies to compete on an equal footing with international competition on the international market. Our products and services are conceived in such a way that they track our exporters from the moment of contracting export business until payment is received for exports realised. The priority is to create conditions to utilise the comparative advantages of Serbian products through insurance, financing and guaranteeing. In this way we would improve Serbia’s position on international commodity and services markets, considering that the

growth of Serbia’s foreign trade exchange especially its export components - should enable continuous investment long-term, the growth of employment and increases in both GDP and public revenues of the Republic of Serbia. Export credit institutions, which include AOFI, form a large global network. How is your mutual cooperation and why is it important for both international trade and national economies? AOFI pays special attention to establishing and maintaining successful relationships with international financial institutions, development banks, export credit agencies and commercial banks. We are a

We work closely with all ministries, but mostly with the ministries of the economy, finance and trade & telecommunications

member of the Berne Union, the global union of credit and investment insurers, within which we’ve established very successful business cooperation with other members. Our connections with related agencies from around the world can help not only Serbian exporters, but the entire economy,

because its end goal is to increase trade. We are also connected to the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia, and this cooperation enables us to further expand our network of international partners. The aim and mission of AOFI is to act jointly with all development, financial and other institutions in the country, but also with foreign companies and institutions, with the goal of finding long-term solutions for encouraging exports while improving their structure and competitiveness. What was last year like in terms of exports? Where are our export opportunities for the period ahead? The positive macroeconomic results being achieved by the Republic of Serbia are partly influenced by the continuous increase in exports. For the first 11 months of 2019, exports increased by more than seven per cent compared to the same period of 2018 and the foreign trade deficit fell, i.e. the coverage of imports by exports. This trend of export growth is also expected to continue in 2020 as a result of the comprehensive economic policy implemented by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Our export opportunity is to place goods and services not only on the markets of the European Union and CEFTA member countries, but also in the very prosperous region of the Middle East and North Africa, which in the 1970s and 1980s, during the time of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, participated significantly in the country’s foreign trade exchange.

February

Campaign

“In order to continue further with economic development, it is crucial that 100 per cent tariffs on Serbian goods to be revoked. This is the only thing that has to be eliminated, and at the same time the campaign to withdraw recognition of Kosovo’s independence, led by Serbia, must be stopped.” – RICHARD GRENELL, TRUMP’S SPECIAL ENVOY

LOCAL NEWS AIK BANK

AIK BANK IMPROVING MERCATOR S LIQUIDITY

BAUMEISTER

ACQUISITION OF BACKAPUT SHARES

Mercator Group announced it had completed with AIK Bank the refinancing of a loan taken by Mercator S, which operates in Serbia. AIK Bank was one of 59 potential partners the Group had conducted talks with about a refinancing deal. The refinancing of the loan, which was taken in 2014 and was to mature in March 2020, began in September 2019. The refinancing deal signed with AIK Bank as the highest bidder is worth €90 million and includes a refinancing of the loan as well as of Mercator S short-term liabilities, the Group said in a statement. In this way, the Mercator S capital structure will be strengthened and the company’s liquidity improved over the next five years, it also said.

Belgrade-based road and motorway construction company Baumeister has completed an acquisition of Vojvodinaput-Backaput shares and now has a total 95.77% stake in the Novi Sadbased company, the Belgrade Stock Exchange announced last month. Through a bid that closed on15 th January, Baumeister has managed to acquire over 133,000 shares at a price of 100 dinars each. According to the Central Securities Register, the Niš Road Company has a 4.16% stake in Backaput. Baumeister was established in 2013.

AGRICULTURE

FIRST INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIZED FRUIT AND WINE FAIR IN SERBIA Agro Belgrade 2020, the first international specialized fruit and wine growing and vegetable fair in Serbia, was held at the Belgrade Fair from 30 January until 1st February. Agro Belgrade is a combination of an exhibition fair and a conference and brought together over 500 producers and purchasers of fruits and vegetables, cooperatives, manufacturers of equipment and machinery, seed houses, nurseries, experts in the field of protection and nutrition of plants and inputs for agricultural production and others.

NIS

INVESTMENT OF €72MLN IN PANČEVO REFINERY’S MODERNISATION Russian company GazpromNeft, the majority owner of Serbian oil company NIS, has said that NIS plans to invest over €72 million in the modernisation of the catalytic cracking facility at its Pančevo oil refinery. Works on the upgrade of the catalytic cracking facility are expected to be completed by 2024. NIS signed a front-end engineering (FEE) contract in December 2019 for the modernisation of the refinery with Lummus Technology, a subsidiary of U.S. energy industry technology provider McDermott. The company will provide the license and basic engineering for the Indmax Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) technology and a unit for the production of bioethanol base Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) in Pancevo. Previously, NIS had selected the hydrocracking technology from Lummus Technology’s joint venture, Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), as well as, more recently, Lummus Technology’s delayed PANČEVO REFINERY coking technology. Source: GazpromNeft

February

“Agro Belgrade is a new event format that encompasses a complete value chain, from production through technology to product placement. The focus is on advanced agriculture and modern production and processing systems, which is necessary for a better appearance of Serbia in foreign markets and to make a more decisive step from traditional to professional production,” said Branislav Nedimovic, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.

Sustainable deal

“Nothing is over and nothing is ruled out, not even a change of borders when it comes to Kosovo. The EU, U.S. and UN will support a sustainable deal. We need to think creatively about how to achieve this. I don’t think that status quo is sustainable.” – MICHAEL CARPENTER, AMERICAN BALKANS EXPERT

Placements postings

appointments@aim.rs

RICARDO VIAN MARQUES, NEW GENERAL MANAGER OF GALENIKA

NALED

START LEGALLY 2020 The “Start Legally 2020” Conference on Fostering Entrepreneurship, organised by the Government of Serbia and NALED, with the support of the “Public Finance Reform - Agenda 2030” project by the German Development Cooperation, implemented by GIZ, was held on 17th January at the Palace of Serbia. In the last five years, more than 53,000 companies and entrepreneurial businesses have been established in Serbia and last year ended with 390,767 active businesses, making it the 17th country in Europe in this area. “Supporting entrepreneurship is one of the key elements for creating a healthy, strong, dynamic economy. That is why today we have presented what is available to all entrepreneurs, new businesses, with a clear message that the state is on their side and that we will always support them,” Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said. German Ambassador to Belgrade Thomas Schieb says that his country’s government has supported projects aimed at reducing unfair competition and introducing tax exemptions for new businesses. WIZZ AIR

MARKING MILESTONE IN SERBIA Low cost carrier Wizz Air handled the fifth-millionth passenger on its operations to Serbia on 23rd January, some ten years after launching flights to the country. The traveller arrived in Belgrade on a flight from London Luton and received a €200 voucher that can be used on any of the airline’s flights. “Belgrade was one of the first airports we served in southeast Europe, with services from Dortmund and London. Since then, Wizz Air has been constantly growing its network from Serbia. Wizz today operates thirteen routes to seven countries to and from Belgrade, as well as five routes in four countries to and from Niš,” the airline said in a statement. During 2019, Wizz Air handled some 895,000 passengers on its Serbia flights, representing a new record. “We are delighted to be marking such an important milestone at Belgrade Airport. We are very happy with the results we achieved in Belgrade last year and the feedback we received from passengers at this airport, which is important for the entire Balkans,” said Wizz Air Corporate Communications Manager Paulina Gosk.

Pharmaceutical company Galenika a.d. (JSC) began the year with a change at the top of the company. Ricardo Vian Marques is the newly appointed general manager / CEO of the company, which – following privatisation in 2017 – became part of the NC Group, the largest pharmaceutical company in Brazil and one of the largest throughout Latin America. Marques has spent the past two years in the position of executive director for operational affairs at Galenika a.d., while he has previously amassed extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held positions in the NC Group for the past 15 years that saw him take responsibility for the development of corporate business in various areas. After two years in Serbia, outgoing general manager, Reinhard Andreas Nordmann, will continue developing his professional career on other projects in Brazil.

DELTA

COMPANY EXPECTS RECORD RESULTS IN 2020 Delta entered 2020 in readiness and, after 29 years of existence, is now the most ready and is expecting record results, said Delta founder and president Miroslav Mišković, speaking at the company’s annual press conference. He said that in 2020 Delta Holding will have EBITDA, i.e. operating profit, MIROSLAV MIŠKOVIĆ of over €65 million, which will be the largest operating profit of any company in the region. Mišković emphasised that Delta is constantly investing and said that it is the number one company in the region. “Serbia is small to us; it is no secret that we insist on regional development,” he said. He announced an agreement to invest in the construction of a shopping centre in Sarajevo, an investment worth between €60 and €80 million. Talks are also underway with Skopje in North Macedonia, where - apart from dealing with real estate - Delta is also interested in agribusiness. Mišković also noted Delta’s “Our Village” project, in which the company assists in the development of the Zaječar villages of Dubočane and Mala Jasikova. The Delta president estimated that the main problem in the countryside was a lack of knowledge, and then money.

February

Business

Why Trust & Technology Go Hand-In-Hand? The continuous change we’re seeing and the rapid pace at which it is taking place can be unsettling. People worry that their basic rights and freedoms may be infringed, while various studies show confidence in governments and institutions is declining

espite this, more than three-quarters of people globally told an Edelman survey that they trust their employer to do what is right, while a similar proportion believe companies should act in a way that improves economic and social conditions. Fostering trust is not only about the greater good or ethical compulsions – it’s also beneficial to the bottom line. Employees at high-trust companies report they have more energy at work, are 50% more productive and are more engaged than those at low-trust companies, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review. And research also shows that customers are motivated to buy from brands that embody their values and beliefs. The World Economic Forum’s new Davos Manifesto calls on all private corporations to act as trustees of society, as part of its vision for stakeholder capitalism. Companies, governments and organisations are all guardians of society, offering reassurance and confidence while also promoting innovation. So how can we move forward and keep innovating, while also preserving and extending trust? SAFETY FIRST People are spending more and more time online and almost every aspect of life now has a digital dimension. For customers, the amount of information and choice can seem bewildering. By demonstrating strong values and expertise, company leaders can help bring clarity and simplicity, giving people the tools to make informed decisions. Businesses can only do this if they ensure they’re keeping pace with the risks, while complying

February

with all global privacy and data protection regulations. Companies also have a responsibility to work with governments to help develop policy. Global initiatives such as the Cybersecurity Tech Accord or the principles for AI aim to foster collaboration and promote safer online worlds. Making sure no one is left behind is another key element. It’s vital to be transparent about what’s being done and why, educating as you go. Trust can be eroded when people don’t understand the technologies available to them or

Employees at high-trust companies report they have more energy at work, are 50% more productive and are more engaged than those at lowtrust companies, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review how to use them. It’s not enough to expect this to be addressed in school or college. The rapid evolution of our business environments makes lifelong learning more important than ever, and all businesses must play their role. In collaboration with other firms, British Telecom (BT) is involved in a number of initiatives, including Future.now and the Skills for Tomorrow platform, which are aimed at ensuring both existing

and future employees have the training they need to stay relevant in the years ahead. SPREADING INFLUENCE Business leaders also have a responsibility to ensure their wider ecosystem embodies the same values. To do this they must actively engage with their supply chain. At BT, we’re continually working with our wider ecosystem to make sure our partners and suppliers embrace the same standards as us, especially on our environmental impact. We can all do more to look deep into our network, beyond our direct contacts, to expose other risks. Here, technology is an important part of the solution. Blockchain and robotic process automation allows every step of the supply chain to be tracked and verified, while similar technology in the financial space can shine a light on the flow of money, highlighting suspicious behaviour. These examples highlight how trust is a longterm project, and one that must be built over time. It’s about transparency, integrity and collaboration and the balance between allowing innovation to take place while safeguarding privacy and security. Davos brings the worlds of business, government and civil society together, offering a unique opportunity to debate and share ideas about building and maintaining trust. At this juncture, we need a new type of leadership, one with stakeholder capitalism at its heart. As we strike out in the digital age, it’s hard to imagine how wide-ranging the changes to our lives will be. That’s why we need to act today: because fostering faith in what’s happening ultimately stands to benefit us all.

ALEKSANDAR MILIN, DIRECTOR, EXPRESS CARGO

Only The Best Is Good Enough Express Cargo d.o.o. (Ltd.) has been engaged in the transport of packages worldwide since 2002. It offers clients top quality services in the field of international air, waterway and road transport, complete import and export services, customs brokerage and door-to-door delivery, as well as some other specific services

antee of quality, such as the German quality standard TÜV SÜD ISO 9001 that we possess.

e have our own public customs warehouse registered for receiving and dispatching pharmaceuticals and equipment with a special temperature regime – and this is what makes our company attractive to clients, notes Express Cargo Director Aleksandar Milin, speaking to CorD.

Almost two decades of experience enables you to provide customers with the safe and fast transport of shipments from and to any point in the world. Do foreigners comprise the majority of your portfolio today?

We’ve been growing and developing slowly and securely, insisting on quality, which is why most of our clients today are foreigners, and that includes pharmaceutical companies and laboratories that are obviously satisfied with our services. Last year we increased the number of clients by 10-15 per cent, and that was exclusively on the basis of recommendations, which says enough about us and our work. Only the best is good enough for us, and that’s why we do not want to expand at the expense of quality. We nevertheless also believe that certificates are important as a guar-

You’ve also set yourself apart from the competition as a company that’s highly specialised in the transport of sensitive consignments and special purpose transport. Do you still hold a leadership position in this area?

We were pioneers in the transporting of samples of blood and blood plasma under special temperature conditions and samples for research in the pharmaceutical industry, and we remain leaders in that area. Part of our activities fall under the category of “critical services”, and in order to operate iin this area we had to

I pay a lot of attention to rewarding and motivating people to advance and progress, but everyone must begin from the starting position of courier

obtain a series of permits and approvals from government agencies. In addition to that, the equipment we have at our disposal and the vehicles with which we work are also specific and spe-

cially equipped, and we are also obliged to have specially trained personnel. We have our own public customs warehouse registered for receiving and dispatching pharmaceuticals and equipment with a special temperature regime – and this is what makes our company attractive to clients, because we are constantly innovating and offering something we think they will need. Transport times are very important in our work, and when it comes to blood samples that means 24 hours for Europe and 36 to 48 hours for the U.S. This means that, from the instant we receive a sample from a laboratory, it arrives at a laboratory in some European Union countriy within 24 hours, or at a laboratory in America within 36 or 48 hours, depending on whether the lab is located on America’s east or west coast.

The market is ever more demanding. Does that mean that you have to constantly improve your services and working methods?

Continuously improving services and working methods, and investing in equipment, personnel and new outlets, in accordance with the demands of the market, old and new clients, is of course implied with us, and this is definitely something that sets us apart from others. With this in mind, I must mention the new 250-square-metre warehouse that we opened at an airport in the Netherlands in November, but that won’t mark the end, as we’ll continue expanding.

February

Destination

“The initiative to build a Western Balkan economic area - a common market and the region as a single investment destination where citizens and businesses will enjoy the benefits of free movement of people, goods, services and capital will expand the operating space for local businesspeople.” – MARKO ČADEŽ, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY OF SERBIA

REGIONAL NEWS

ROMANIA

DACIA REPORTED 2019 AS ITS BEST YEAR

HUNGARY

INDIAN FIRMS TO CREATE 1,000 JOBS The Hungarian government will soon announce the creation of 1,000 jobs by Indian companies involved in advanced technologies, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said after a meeting in Mumbai. He held talks with representatives of automotive, electronics and energy companies, including Tata Sons and the Mahindra and Hinduja groups, based in and around the city. Agreements were reached on these companies making investments that take advantage of Hungary’s geostrategic importance, well-trained workforce and incentives, such as Europe’s lowest corporate tax rate, said Szijjártó. Around 40 major Indian companies already operate in Hungary, employing over 10,000 people. The foreign minister also held talks in Mumbai with Bhagat Singh Koshyari, governor of the state of Maharashtra.

Car maker Dacia sold 736,000 cars last year, including 55,000 in Romania, which was the company’s fifth market. France was its largest market, with 140,000 sold cars, while Italy ranked second - 88,000 cars. The growth was mainly due to the success of the Duster model in Europe. The brand delivered 55,463 in Romania in 2019, up from 54,593 in 2018. Logan Stepway remains the best selling vehicle on the Romanian market – with 20,433 cars delivered in 2019. Duster was the leader in the SUV segment, with 12,795 sold units. Dacia sold 581,543 cars in Europe, ranking it 13th among the best selling car brands. For the entire Renault Group, Romania is the13th market, with 72,000 cars sold last year (such brands as Dacia, Renault and Lada have a 38% market share).

WAYS MONTENEGRO

FOUR CANDIDATES TO BID FOR AIRPORTS CONCESSIONS Montenegro’s government has picked four companies as qualified bidders in its tender for awarding a 30-year concession contract to run the country’s two international airports, in Podgorica and Tivat. The qualified candidates are: South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corporation; India’s GMR Airports; Luxembourg’s Corporacion America Airports; and a consortium of France’s Groupe ADP and Turkey’s TAV, the transport ministry said in a statement mid last month. According to Montenegrin media reports, the government has received seven bids in the pre-qualification stage of the tender. In July, government approved plans to award a 30-year concession contract to run the two international airports, expecting an investment of at least €200 million.

BULGARIA

NEW TAX CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED AS OF LAST MONTH Bulgaria’s new tax campaign began on 10th January and runs until 30th April. Individuals and companies will be able to submit their income declarations in 2019 both electronically and on site at the relevant National Revenue Agency territorial directorates. Those who have received incomes other than their salaries, such as fees or rents, are also required to declare such income. The agency reminds citizens that, in order to receive a 5% discount on the surcharge, they have to submit their declarations by 31st March. For the first year, completing declarations will now be avoidable. Those who have a Personal Identification Code (PIC) from the NRA will receive a pre-filled declaration in which they will be able to make changes.

February

TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY

Making sure your company is paying men and women equally is important for recruiting: 3 in 5 employees say they would not apply to work at a company where a pay gap exists. But gender equality isn’t just about pay: greater gender diversity is good for business. A study showed that genderdiverse companies are 15% more likely to earn above-average revenue. Follow these 10 tips to address the gender pay gap and increase gender equality at your company: 1.Revise your job descriptions 2. Conduct blind resume reviews 3.Structure your interview process 4.Revamp your benefits 5.Promote a female-friendly culture 6.Conduct a gender pay gap analysis 7.Pledge your commitment 8.Make equitable offers 9.Equalize performance reviews 10. Give employees a voice

Not Ready yet

“Western Balkan countries are still not prepared for EU membership. Should we be offered to join the union tomorrow, we would not be ready. There is still a lot of work ahead of us that we need to do - and much more quickly than we have so far.” – MAJLINDA BREGU, REGIONAL COOPERATION COUNCIL SECRETARY GENERAL BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

TWO MILLION CUBIC METRES OF WOOD STOLEN FROM FORESTS

NORTH MACEDONIA

PROGRESSIVE PERSONAL INCOME TAX ON HOLD As of 1st January, amendments to the Law on Personal Income Tax will apply in North Macedonia, according to which the application of progressive personal income tax is put on hold. During the next 36 months, income from employment, income on the basis of independent activity, income on the basis of copyright and related rights and income from the sale of personal agricultural products will be taxed at a 10% rate. The 15% rate will be also put on hold, meaning that the 10% rate will also be applied to the taxation of income on the basis of industrial property rights, lease and sub-lease, capital, capital gains, insurance and other income. Announcing the amendments to the Law on Personal Income tax, Minister of Finance Nina Angelovska said that it was not a matter of its abolishment, thus yielding better social effects that would result in more just and more developed society.

No one has accurate data on how many forests are “stolen” in Bosnia annually, but it is not difficult to assume that there are thousands of cubic metres. The dean of the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo, Mirza Dautbasić, said that the main problem is that no forest law has been adopted in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which would solve the problem in a short time. Experts explain that the Balkan forests are still large and rich, but that they are threatened by extinction, with floods predicted to occur more frequently and landslides triggered by the lack of tree roots, while ever less oxygen is produced. It takes years to work out who will manage forestry resources and who and how much revenue is collected. During this time, the state is losing millions, stealing on its own, organised, planned and mostly unplanned. While some get rich in forest theft, due to there being virtually no law, others end up in prison for stealing three cubic metres of wood. CROATIA

RISE OF REAL ESTATE PRICES

The asking-price per square metre for apartments in Croatia increased by an average of 10% last year, placing Croatia third in Europe in terms of rising real estate prices. The most expensive square-metre asking prices are in Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb, while the cheapest are found in Vukovar, Sisak and Slavonski Brod. More realistic prices, and appropriate to Croatian standards, are unlikely this year. The real estate market has fully recovered and prices are rising. Croatia, after Hungary and Luxembourg, has seen the largest rise in real estate prices in Europe. In 2018, there were more than 100,000 sale and purchase transactions. The biggest jump in prices of apartments and houses was recorded in Split-Dalmatia and Istria counties. On the coast, real estate has been in demand with every fifth apartment or house being purchased by a foreigner.

ALBANIA

POPULATION MAY DECREASE TO ONLY 512,000 BY 210! According to the UN World Population Prospects 2019 report, the Albanian population is expected to decrease to only 512,000 by 2100 in the worst-case scenario. Even in the best case scenario, based on the 2018 Prospects report, the country’s population in 2100 was expected to fall to about 2.8 million, indicating a slight decline from the current population of 2.87 million. However, just a year later, expectations have dropped sharply. In the best-scenario case, by 2100, Albania is expected to have no more than 1.9 million inhabitants, 31 per cent less than what was expected in the 2018 forecast. Additionally, the UN’s moderate scenario shows just a million Albanians by 2100, indicating that the population will decline by almost two million people in 80 years.

February

Hacking

“The point is when you gather enough data on people, you get to know people better than they know yourself. Are we at the point where companies or governments can hack millions of people, that means they know my medical history, personal weaknesses?” – YUVAL NOAH HARARI, HISTORIAN

WORLD NEWS TURKEY

FIRST DOMESTIC CAR TO BE DELIVERED IN 2022 AMAZON CEO JEFF BEZOS

INDIA

AMAZON TO INVEST $ 1 BILLION IN INDIAN SMBS At a company event in New Delhi, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the ecommerce giant is investing $1 billion to digitise small businesses in India. He added that the company aims to export goods worth $10 billion by 2025 via the country’s ‘Make in India‘ programme. The news comes just after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) started an investigation into the anti-competitive practises of Amazon and its Walmart-owned rival Flipkart earlier this week. During his visit, Bezos also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had previously met Modi at an event in Washington back in 2016, and later said the company would invest over $5 billion in India in the coming years. However, members of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), a union of small traders, are set to hold a protest against Amazon in 300 cities, alleging the company of flouting the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules.

Soon after the presentation of Turkey’s first domestic car was realised, support for the project grew incredibly quickly. Many companies and official establishments are already queuing up to buy the first group of cars to be produced in 2022. Rifat Hisarcikliogru, president of Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group Inc. (TOGG), stated that the vehicle would be one of the most important global brands of Turkey in 2020. He also pointed out that the car would not be produced in Turkey, only adding “the brand, patent and design will be ours. We will not buy licenses, we will sell licenses. We are not going to do the assembling, but we are going to have it done”. The car will have range options of 300+ and 500+ kilometres with an inbred electric modular platform and will be constantly connected to a centre to receive updates via a remote 4G/5G connection. It will have advanced battery management and active thermal management systems provided by a long-life battery pack, will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds, with 200 horsepower, and under 4.8 seconds with 400 horsepower.

U.S.

BOEING’S HORRIBLE YEAR

Boeing’s final tally of 2019 commercial jet orders and deliveries, released last month, starkly displays just how bad the year was: deliveries were down to a level last seen more than a decade ago, when all production was halted by a two-month strike. And net orders were negative — with more cancellations than new orders. The annual competition between the rival transatlantic jetmakers was no contest, with Airbus the runaway winner. Airbus released its final sales and production results showing that it delivered a total of 863 jets and won 768 net new orders in 2019. In contrast, Boeing delivered only 380 planes, its lowest total since a 57-day strike shut down production in 2008. In an indication of the paralysis gripping Boeing’s business, orders also plummeted. There were very few for the MAX, offset by many more cancellations. The total value of the Airbus orders, based on Avitas estimates, is about $39 billion. Boeing’s negative total means it lost about $2.5 billion in orders for the year.

February

CHINA

FOREIGN TRADE HIT $4.6 TRILLION IN 2019 China’s foreign trade rose 3.4 per cent year-on-year to a historic high of 31.54 trillion yuan (about 4.6 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2019, according to the country’s General Administration of Customs. Exports stood at 17.23 trillion yuan last year, up five per cent from a year earlier, while imports came in at 14.31 trillion yuan, up 1.6 per cent, resulting in a trade surplus of 2.92 trillion yuan, which expanded by 25.4 per cent, customs data showed. China’s foreign trade remained stable overall and with improved quality. The country’s trade data kept ascending each quarter, with 7.03 trillion yuan for the first quarter and 7.68 trillion yuan, 8.26 trillion yuan and 8.59 trillion yuan for the second, third and fourth quarters respectively, said Zou Zhiwu, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs. In December alone, the country’s foreign trade surged 12.7 per cent to a monthly record of 3.01 trillion yuan, with exports reaching 1.67 trillion yuan, and imports 1.34 trillion yuan. The European Union remained China’s largest trading partner during the period, with the bilateral trade volume up eight per cent on the previous year to 4.86 trillion yuan, followed by ASEAN, up 14.1 per cent to 4.43 trillion yuan.

Challenges

“Since we already gained experience from last year and we got a stronger team, I think we are more confident that we can survive even further attacks. It didn’t hurt us much. We basically withstood the challenges.” – REN ZHENGFEI, HUAWEI FOUNDER AND CEO DENMARK

NETS TRIALS NEW FACE PAYMENTS

BELGIUM

NEW WIND FARM READY TO WHIRL MHI Vestas and Parkwind have united to create the first offshore wind farm using the V164-9.5 MW, a record-beating wind turbine. Twenty three of these wind turbines will be installed off the coast of Ostend, with the first one having already been installed! This constitutes the world’s very first installation of a commercial wind turbine with a power generation capacity surpassing nine MW. The total power generation capacity of this wind farm will be 219 MW. Northwester 2, in the North Sea, will soon be able to respond to the electricity needs of 220,000 families in Belgium, which corresponds to 9,500 households per wind turbine. All using a clean energy source. The project will also have a positive impact on employment. It will directly and indirectly create more than 1,000 jobs throughout the construction phase. Around 100 long-term jobs will also be created for the maintenance and operation of the site. The project will be up and running during the first half of 2020.

With the tagline ‘Hungry? Face it’, Nets, a leading provider of digital payment services across Europe, has launched a pilot programme testing facial recognition as a payment method. Around 1 000 people – all working at Vibenshuset, an office community of 25 companies in Copenhagen – can sign up to participate in the pilot. By linking their face with their employee ID card, they can now pay for their lunch using their face at Kokkenes Køkken’s cafeteria. “Today we have the technology to use faces as identification and validation when making a payment. However, how people feel about having their faces scanned is still under question. This trial will help us learn more about consumer attitudes to facial recognition payments,” said Jesper Kildegaard Poulsen, Head of Creation Lab, Nets. Although facial-recognition authenticated payments still sound futuristic, the solution being trialled is easy for traders to install, requiring just a tablet with a pre-installed webcam and app.

ICELAND

CARGO PORT PROFITABILITY DEPENDS ON GLOBAL WARMING A huge container port in North Iceland would only be profitable in 40-50 years – if global warming melts most of the sea ice in the arctic. Two Northeast Iceland municipalities plan to build an international container port in Finnafjörður to link Asia, Europe, and the eastern United States. A new report from the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economic Studies, however, suggests that the viability of the venture is questionable. The North Iceland municipalities of Langanesbyggð and Vopnafjarðarhreppur have already signed a contract with German and Icelandic companies to build a transshipment port in Finnafjörður in an effort to take advantage of Arctic routes’ increasing accessibility. The port is a large venture: it would cover some 1,300 hectares and include 6km of wharves. The project has already received ISK 18 million (€133,000) in funding from the Ministry of Transport and Local Government.

ITALY

INTESA DOES NOT SEE M&A OPPORTUNITIES IN EUROPE IN 2020 Italy’s biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, does not see any M&A opportunity in Europe in 2020, Chief Executive Carlo Messina said recently. European banking regulators have indicated they would view cross-border CARLO MESSINA mergers favourably, but Messina said any deals could take time. “I believe that the path of consolidation of the European banking sector will take much longer,” he said speaking on the sidelines of an event in Turin, adding that European regulation made it more difficult to achieve the synergies needed for a successful merger.

February

Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Managers: DR. REINHARD PLOSS

Reinhard Ploss (65) was born in Bamberg, Germany. He studied process engineering at the Technical University of Munich and received his doctorate in 1990. He began his career at Infineon in 1986 (Siemens AG until 1999). Today, Dr. Pross is Chief Executive Officer of Infineon Technologies AG, world leader in semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. He is responsible for Divisions, Group Strategy, Communications & Government Relations, Human Resources (Labor Director), Legal, Research & Development

Impact Of Artificial Intelligence

On Society

February

Semiconductors play a key role when it comes to industrial power control, the energy management of electronic devices, running energy efficient server farms as well as in the area of digital security solutions. When Dr Ploss started his business career after having received his doctorate, the internet was just taking-off. During his time as an industry leader, technology has fundamentally changed economy and society at increasing speed. Machine intelligence has emerged as a selfaccelerating system driven by the coexistence and fusion of a growing amount of data and ever-increasing computing power. Yet, this development has been going on for over 50 years and thus represents nothing new in particular. A crucial tipping point, however, was reached when machines started to learn by themselves and to train one another. By today, the triad of generated data, use-cases and algorithm capability creates an upwards spiral that humans can hardly predict. As regards the economic implications, Mr.Ploss takes the stance that intelligent machines will replace many repetitive and monotone tasks, but on the other hand, many new jobs and new intellectual tasks for humans will be created and more hardware components will be mutually connected, software will interact, and unthinkable amounts of data will flow. “There is one fundamental contradiction today”, he states, “almost nine billion people live on our planet. Every one of them should have the chance to a decent standard of living.” he said. “Only intelligent applications can help us achieve this without further destroying our natural resources. We have to achieve more out of less.” It is a global responsibility to reduce waste, drive productivity and make lives easier, safer and greener. Even though data analytics and intelligent systems can help to use resources in a very efficient way, there is a big challenge: “Today’s artificial intelligence systems like blockchain or Google’s AlphaGo are energy burners. Currently, it would be impossible to globally scale such solutions. The same applies to areas where highly reliable cloud connections and huge processing capacities are needed like autonomous driving or the internet of things.” On the social side, the complexity of artificial intelligence brings about unprecedented challenges for our society as single human individuals will not be able to oversee the highly interwoven digital universe. Majority of people have recognized that machine

intelligence matters to them. They understand that things are changing, but it is nearly impossible to forecast in which way. There are many experts around sending very mixed messages. And there is no central authority the people can believe in. The fact that it is almost impossible for a normal user to anticipate the decision process of an intelligent algorithm in combination with the tempting convenience of these systems bears high potential for unconscious manipulation. Many users are not aware to what degree their online decision-making is driven by an AI. And even though they are generally concerned about data protection and security, the convenience provided by AI systems (Artificial intelligence) is just too tempting. Looking at platform economies

Almost 9 billion people live on our planet. Every one of them should have the chance to a decent standard of living. Only intelligent applications can help us achieve this without further destroying our natural resources. We have to achieve more out of less

like Amazon many users like and accept the purchase proposals generated by the algorithm, because it helps them to reduce complexity. “Why do people use Google? Because it delivers the best results. You have to ask yourself: Where do I pay by this convenience?” Reinhard Ploss reminds. In the long run, this could bear the risk of an increasingly monochrome behavior based on dominant algorithms. “The world today is working because it is colorful. We have to avoid monochrome, overly optimized systems. Competition is key for sustainable success”, Dr Ploss said. Another aspect is the issue of governance and control in the digital world as opposed to the physical world. While harmful environmental impacts are bound to physical boundaries that form a natural basis for legislation, there are no such boundaries in the virtual world due to global connectedness. We cannot simply stop cross-country data flow by law. Hence, the area of control in the digital world is very different, which requires new solutions. He doubts that the established governance structures of our society will be able to keep up with the speed of technological developments. What government, however, can do is to provide a level of orchestration and awareness: “It has to be a common journey. The relevant stakeholders need to agree: yes, we walk the road of AI together.” But this would require more flexible and adaptive legislation as all the challenges and implications machine intelligence. “We have to walk this road with eyes wide open and to accept corrections even from the hindsight,” said Dr. Ploss “Artificial Intelligence is just as good as it is trained”, Reinhard Ploss stated. “It is biased by the data you provide and by the mindset of the people that have programmed the algorithms.” The implementation of machine intelligence demands a high level of consciousness and moral judgment regarding the possible consequences of relevant algorithms. Individuals, but also companies have to make conscious decisions on how much data they generate and provide to others. This is a vital leadership task. “Those who are receiving the data by the free will of users and own the data may gain in overly dominant position.” Thereby, technology itself is neither good nor bad. It is the intent behind that determines a moral value. “We need a convergence of self-learning AI systems with a rule-based system that reflects important values.” Leadership has to find clear

February

Enterpreneur

answers about the do`s and don`ts. At Infineon for example, we make no compromises when it comes to products with doubtful consequences for the customer or AI that implies doubtful behavior.” For Reinhard Ploss, education and awarenessbuilding of the pros and cons of intelligent machines are essential. “The next generation has to understand how intelligent machines think to make informed decisions,” he predicts. One thought of Dr. Ploss stood out in particular. It is his hypothesis that the rise of intelligent machines might trigger a transition towards a chaotic system. Today, terms like complexity and uncertainty are all over the place. Our society is increasingly connected and intertwined. The constant interactions and feedback loops make all kinds of decision-making complex as you always have to take a plethora of factors into consideration. However, if you manage to take all these factors into account, your decisions will become reasonably predictable. Hence, in complex systems, it is still possible to learn from and build upon past experiences. A chaotic system, however, generates seemingly random behavior with each iteration. Outcomes are not predictable anymore. As intelligent algorithms will be further developed and exceed human understanding, the “thought process” of intelligent machines will successively turn into a black box. At the same time, people will keep on interacting with the machines and thus influence their behavior, as well. Consequently, it will become

February

At Infineon, for example, employees are invited to bimonthly Digitalks. This is a globally orchestrated platform to share insights and ideas in a safe space. . According to Dr. Ploss, the key ingredient for the success of such initiatives is the permission to ‘not knowing’ impossible for single entities to understand or even estimate all influencing factors in the system. Dr. Ploss explains: “You will not be able to anticipate things. So, each experiment you will do will lead to a different outcome – which is the definition of a chaotic system.” This hypothesis of a chaotic system an intriguing thought as it might fundamentally disrupt the guiding paradigms of our, especially economic, actions today: (1) collect huge amounts of data, (2) analyze, (3) predict, (4) act based on data-driven predictions. In a chaotic system, this current gold standard of decision making will work as much as random choice. So, this might be a fundamental

challenge for leadership: What will be the new gold standard of strategic decision making? How can leadership prepare everyone for working with intelligent machines? What are the most promising use cases? What data do we need? What algorithms will help us to achieve the intended outcome? Dr. Ploss demands a “fusion thinking between technology and business.” The opportunities and challenges of machine intelligence require a high level of interdisciplinary understanding, collaboration and mutual learning. Anybody in the business who requires a digital solution should be able to understand the logic behind AI and the possible ethical consequences, use cases, and algorithms. Therefore, corporate leadership should stimulate curiosity and fascination for the topic, open and honest debates as well as best practice sharing. His pledge to young talents entering the business arena is to stay curious and foster a mindset of exploratory thinking as innovation and software development cycles will further accelerate. At Infineon, for example, employees are invited to bimonthly Digitalks. This is a globally orchestrated platform to share insights and ideas in a safe space. According to Dr. Ploss, the key ingredient for the success of such initiatives is the permission to ‘not knowing’: “Curiosity always dies if people who ‘know everything’ enter the room”, Ploss says, mentioning that Germans tend a bit to be knowit-alls. As we live in a knowledge society, people are conditioned to be smart. For Reinhard Ploss, exploratory thinking starts with open-mindedness. It means entering a process with curiosity and feeling encouraged to speak out what they do not know (yet). Then searching for answers together. Be willing to take a step back. Experiment and reflect. Use moral judgment. Create knowledge as you learn. And with this knowledge start the process again. This iterative approach can help to master things for the better. The ability to cope with the unknown will become more and more important. Today, many people, especially in leadership positions, perceive “not knowing” as a threat. But it always has been the unknown that provided the potential for innovation and improvement. To intentionally appreciate the unknown unleashes curiosity and creativity. “There is a fundamental insight in valuing the ‘not knowing’,” Ploss summarizes. Source: Laura Bechthold and Sebastian Morgner, Future of Leadership Initiative (Edited by CorD)

PROFILE

Film Can Change The World I’m not used to writing of myself that I’m a lady film and television director, a lady screenwriter... Nor do I use the words lady psychologist or lady sociologist... Nor ‘architectress’ – it doesn’t matter to me how architect is translated into the female language. That absolute political correctness at all costs, which supposedly proves gender equality, didn’t reach me

ANA MARIA ROSSI, FILM AND TELEVISION DIRECTOR

t’s somehow too formal, almost violent, and I’ve always thought – because I was raised as such – that I’m essentially equal in this world. I’m not just saying this in passing, but rather with the intention of stating that, from the start of my directing career, I’ve explained that I have no problems in this profession due to my being female, and that I don’t consider it a great compliment when someone tells me that I have a ‘male brain’. After almost two decades of work, the past year brought me great success with the film Ajvar, which I directed after having conceived the story. According to the television critic of the RTS Culture daily, my film Ajvar was the greatest cinematic surprise of the last year. According to the choice of the film critic of daily Politika (or film critics, to be absolutely precise), Ajvar was the best Serbian film of 2019! I would close that circle with the 19 awards that Ajvar won at the film festivals of last summer and autumn, and the reviews that would leave no author feeling indifferent. Intimately, the success for me was that I was able to make the kind of film that I

conceived and wanted to make, in which I didn’t make calculations and play to the audience, and audiences that were beyond my expectations came. Gorčin Stojanović, my fellow director and artistic director of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre, wrote that Ajvar is one of the five most ‘Belgrade’ films in Yugoslav cinematography. Alongside the films of Vladimir Pogačić, Srđan Karanović and Goran Marković. That especially touched me, because I grew up on Vračar and love the Belgrade that I tried to preserve in my film.

For others, globalisation is to blame for everything, but it always seems to me that a person has themselves to blame if they don’t fight for what they care about I’ve read these days that Neda Arnerić said during her lifetime: “You have in American or French film great roles dedicated to the female soul, which are played by actresses in their mature years. With us, emotional life on film has become an unprecedented luxury!” I believe that Neda primarily meant that for years, or even decades, no one had offered her a role that would show that female soul of

mature years. However, regardless of personal judgement, the truth is that the emotional life in film is an incidental occurrence with us. It’s as though that’s not a story that belongs to people in Serbia, today and here. I could wonder who took our soul? It seems to me that this was the history that has entered our lives so aggressively in recent decades. We can never find respite from constant ideological, religious and national conflicts, and finally from the war in the middle of Europe during the 1990s. For others, globalisation is to blame for everything, but it always seems to me that a person has themselves to blame if they don’t fight for what they care about. Take a look at how Pedro Almodóvar fought for that with his film Pain and Glory. He made a film that hits the heart, stomach and kidneys, and one must have great skill and courage to, in such a dignified way, pierce the abdomen, to get naked and not humiliate oneself, to burst with emotion and not end up entering into the pathetic. I still consider, probably naively and without assurances, that film can change the world. Or that it can at least make it a little better; that it can compel one to think even when it hurts; to force one to question one’s own values and meaning; to show one how to tolerate life in this time on the edge; that it can entice someone to shed a tear that will convince them that they are not alone in this life, which - like many others – they did not choose, but endure.

February

Art

Contemporary Architecture - Japan

Balancing

The Radical & Logical

February

Visionary, poetic, and with a powerful connection to nature, contemporary Japanese architects have painted the world’s landscapes with some of the most awe-inspiring homes, museums, cultural institutions, and contemplative spaces. We look at six Japanese architects taking on the world stage

apanese architects seem to possess an inherent respect for natural elements. These masters of design use light and transparency to beautiful effect whilst understanding the value of natural materials in creating a harmonious balance between building and landscape. There is an experimental quality seen in Japanese architecture that is both radical and logical, exemplified in projects which result in rooftop kitchens or transparent houses. Contemporary Japanese architecture combines a rich mix of traditional design practices and western modern aesthetics. The dialogue between these two is present in the integration of time-honored Japanese architectural elements such as sliding doors (fusama) and modular tatami floor mats with cutting edge design and technology. Japan architecture is at the forefront of investigating questions of micro-housing in its dense cities like Tokyo

where the population outnumbers the available space. We explore the work of six Japanese architects who are masters of this architectural experimentation. TOYO ITO “Seeking freedom from the rigidity of a grid, Ito is interested in relationships—between rooms, exterior and interior, and building, and surroundings.”This was among the jury citations when Toyo Ito was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2013. Now close to 50 years into his celebrated practice, the internationally revered architect has put his innovative and sensitive touch on a diverse project range from libraries and funeral homes to private residences, museums, and pavilions. At the start, Ito attracted attention for projects such as his reinforced concrete White U house, a home built for his sister in 1976 following the death of her husband.

THE MUSEO INTERNACIONAL DEL BARROCO IN PUEBLA, MEXICO, DESIGNED BY TOYO ITO

In the 2000s he became known internationally for his 2001 Sendai Mediatheque in Miyagi, Japan—characterized by its open façade revealing 13 tree trunk-like tubes and his Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in 2002. He followed these with Tod’s Omotesando building (2004), which features a tree-like skin, and his 2009 White O house in Chile. The Ito-designed Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture in Imabari on the island of Omishima, a workshop space for young architects, comprises two buildings including a replica of Ito’s former home in Tokyo. But it’s the Home-for-All communal spaces he created following 2011’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan that are closest to his heart. KENGO KUMA With his most recent projects including the V&A Dundee in Scotland and NIWA, a striking housing project in France, Kengo Kuma is known for his work in wood. His

V&A DUNDEE IN SCOTLAND

February

Art

Contemporary Architecture - Japan

approach is inspired by traditional Japanese architecture with the aim to naturally blend each project into its environment. With offices in Tokyo and Paris and a professorship at the University of Tokyo (his alma mater), the award-winning architect founded Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990 following a fellowship at Columbia University. Today his work takes him around the world with projects including the Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center in Tokyo, the Commune by the Great Wall hotel in China, Mont-Blanc Base Camp in France, the Wooden Bridge Museum in Yusuhara, and a cultural village at the Portland Japanese Garden in the US. His most anticipated project is the National Stadium for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Interestingly, it was Japanese architect Kenzo Tange’s Yoyogi National Gymnasium, designed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, that inspired Kuma to become an architect. TADAO ANDO “The essence of architecture is to open the hearts of the people and to move them in such a way that they are glad to be on earth.” Tadao Ando, a one-time boxer and the only architect to have won the profession’s four most prestigious prizes, said this in the 2013 documentary Tadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity. The self-taught architect (he learned by brief stints in architecture offices, prolific reading, and study trips abroad, when he began his ongoing practice of keeping a sketch book) is revered around the world for his restrained homes, churches, museums, and other buildings in reinforced concrete, which are as precise as they are poetic. Described as both a builder and an architect, Ando was inspired to enter the profession when he watched craftsmen converting his boyhood home in Osaka where he still resides today. Founding his practice in 1969, Ando started with residential projects including the 1976 Azuma House, which earned him the top prize from the Architectural Institute of Japan. He went on to design Rokko Housing, a housing project built into a sixty-degree sloping hillside; 1989’s Church of Light in the small town of Ibaraki, outside of Osaka; the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St Louis, Missouri; and numerous private home com-

February

SHANGHAI POLY GRAND THEATRE

HOUSE IN HANEKITA

missions including House in Sri Lanka and a ranch for fashion designer Tom Ford in New Mexico. Opening in April and running until July 28, 2019, The Challenge—Tadao Ando, a retrospective of his work, will be on show at Armani/Silos in Milan, Italy. KATSUTOSHI SASAKI One of the new generation of Japanese architects, 43-year-old Katsutoshi Sasaki is making a name for himself with a number of

private residences that have been attracting international attention. His own home, recently built in Toyota (his hometown and where he founded his practice, Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates, in 2008) contrasts a darkened façade of cedar with a light interior of Falcata plywood. Rooms are laid out on staggered platforms and light comes in through clerestory windows that run along the upper edges of the tall, narrow home. “An architecture that becomes ‘light’

By author

NEW YORK’S NEW MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, FOUNDED IN 1977

THE O HOUSE, JAPAN

[light has several meanings, he clarifies],” is Sasaki’s ultimate goal with every project. “I want to find a structure that supports it.” In his House in Yamanote, the design is driven by the desire to bring in natural light. (The home is cast in the shadow of a tall apartment block.) Louvered walls and slatted stairs filter light coming in through the home’s north side and create a feeling of openness. In Koro House, a suspended lattice-like sculpture made from timber battens casts patterns of

light and shadow inside the six-sided home. “There is no perfect architecture,” says Sasaki. “If we feel comfort from a home,that is good architecture.” SANAA Founded in 1995 by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, Tokyo-based SANAA is one of the world’s most admired architectural practices. One of just a few joint winners to be awarded the Pritzker Prize (in 2010), Sejima and

Nishizawa met when the latter came to work at Kazuyo Sejima and Associates following his graduation in 1990. “The buildings by Sejima and Nishizawa seem deceptively simple,” said the Pritzker jury of the firm. “The architects hold a vision of a building as a seamless whole, where the physical presence retreats and forms a sensuous background for people, objects, activities, and landscapes. They explore like few others the phenomenal properties of continuous space, lightness, transparency, and materiality to create a subtle synthesis.” Among the firm’s buildings, very often in white, are the flowing Grace Farms in New Canaan, Connecticut, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and the 21st-Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. The duo, who maintain their separate practices, have also designed their fair share of residences including Nishizawa’s Moriyama House, comprising 12 white boxes with gardens in between. SOU FUJIMOTO Growing up in the countryside in Hokkaido, Sou Fujimoto spent his childhood playing in the forest. It’s no wonder his prized work is often inspired by trees.“[My goal with every project is] to create a beautiful harmony between nature, architecture, and humanity,“ he says. Founding his firm in Tokyo and Paris in 2000, Fujimoto skyrocketed to fame following his 2013 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion—a transparent grid-like structure in white steel (a construction that has become something of a signature). Today, Fujimoto has projects in the works around the world including the House of Hungarian Music in Budapest’s City Park, a mixed-use tower in Montpellier, and a Vertical Village in Paris. His private residential designs including House N, a series of white boxes nesting inside one another. “I think a perfect home is one in constant harmony,” says Fujimoto, “with a diversity that allows it to maintain an equilibrium through constantly changing seasons and lifestyles. Architecture itself does not move, but human life, weather, and seasons always change. When the same space shows various expressions in response to these changes, the house is continuously presenting new values to us.”

February

&FACES PLACES 26/12/2019

Embassy Of Israel Celebrates Hanukkah

Embassy of Israel headed by the Ambassador H.E. Alona Fisher Kamm hosted Hanukkah candle-lighting reception at the ambassadorial residence. Ambassador Alona Fisher Kamm welcomed Minister without portfolio responsible for innovation and technological development Nenad Popović, Head of the EU Ambassador Sem Fabrizi and many members of the diplomatic community and friends who attended the marking of the great Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

MINISTER IVICA DACIC

13/1/2020

Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Hosts New Years Reception

AMBASSADOR ALONA FISHER KAMM

AMBASSADOR ALONA FISHER KAMM AND MINISTER NENAD POPOVIC

February

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic hosted a New Year’s reception for heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations in Serbia and directors and editors-in-chief of the media outlets. On this occasion, Dacic underlined that the state priorities will remain the same – the fight for the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, European integration and implementation of reforms.

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

21/1/2020

The Embassy Of The Netherlands Is The New NATO Contact Embassy In Serbia

MINISTER RASIM LJAJIC, AMBASSADOR CHEN BO, GORAN VESIC

17/1/2020

Celebration Of Chinese New Year In Serbia

Government of Serbia and the Embassy of China in Serbia hosted Chinese New Year’s Fair on Kalemegdan Fortress. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic, Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Goran Vesic attended the opening of the event marking the beginning of the Chinese New Year. The event is one in a series of events that will mark the Chinese New Year in Serbia. Ljajic said this was another confirmation of the very good relations between Serbia and China, both politically and economically. “China is the country with the highest number of investments, and Chinese tourists are the first in terms of arrivals to Serbia, with more than 150,000 last year alone, with 300,000 overnight stays,” said Ljajic. Ambassador of China to Serbia H.E. Chen Bo said that this holiday has a 4,000 years history. She stated that for the first time, folk artists from Shantou Province will show the people of Belgrade their customs.

The Dutch Embassy assumes the duty of the NATO Contact Point Embassy 2019-2020 from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway. On this occasion, a ceremonial reception was held in Belgrade’s Kalemegdanska Terasa. Attendees were greeted and addressed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Serbia H.E. Jørn Gjelstad, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Serbia H.E. Gilles Beschoor Plug, NATO Security Policy and Partnership Director James Mackey and Assistant Minister for Security Policy at the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Branimir Filipović. The reception was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces, diplomatic and military-diplomatic corps, civil society institutions and organizations.

AMBASSADOR OF NORWAY JØRN GJELSTAD, AMBASSADOR OF NETHERLANDS GILLES BESCHOOR PLUG AND NATO SECURITY POLICY AND PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR JAMES MACKEY

AMBASSADOR OF NETHERLANDS GILLES BESCHOOR PLUG

February

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

&FACES PLACES 22/1/2020

Anniversary Of The Elysee Treaty And The Aachen Treaty

The Embassy of Germany and Embassy of France in Serbia marked the 57th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty and the first anniversary of the signing of the Aachen Treaty. The reception was held at the French Embassy hosted by German Ambassador H.E. Thomas Schieb and French Ambassador H.E. JeanLouis Falconi. French Ambassador Jean-Louis Falconi said it was the result of a political decision taken in 1963 by then-German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle. “The French-German partnership is a source of creativity and positive initiatives for the EU,” ambassador Falconi said and added that both countries would remain supportive of joining the Western Balkans and Serbia’s EU. German Ambassador Thomas Schieb said that the Aachen Treaty continues the agenda of the Elysee Treaty from the 21st century perspective and that they have been cooperating from the outset to serve Europe’s well-being. “Within the German-French cooperation, we are aware of the crises and conflicts of our time, and it is why we strive for even closer cooperation in peacekeeping missions and in the joint activities of the police forces,” the Ambassador said. He stressed that Germany and France would be Serbia’s partners on the path to EU membership.

AMBASSADOR JEAN-LOUIS FALCONI AND AMBASSADOR THOMAS SHIEB

MINISTER JADRANKA JOKSIMOVIC, AMBASSADOR SEM FABRIZI, MINISTER GORAN TRIVAN

24/1/2020

Celebration Of The 71st Republic Day Of India

Ambassador of India H.E. Subrata Bhattacharjee hosted a reception on 24 January 2020 to mark the 71st Republic Day of India. Ambassador Bhattacharjee in his speech welcomed guests and pointed out that Serbia and India continue to develop and broaden cooperation at all levels. A celebration to mark the 71st Republic Day of India was held at the Belgrade’s Metropol Hotel, attended by government senior officials, members of the diplomatic community, friends and partners of the Embassy of India in Serbia.

AMBASSADOR SUBRATA BHATTACHARJEE

February

My life

Nebojša Nešković, scientist

By Radmila Stanković

THE TOUGHER ROAD TO TRAVERSE A son of celebrity parents who was a musician in his youth, a successful scientist and Secretary General of the World Academy of Art and Science – the only global institution of its kind – and President of the Serbian Chapter of the Club of Rome, Nebojša Nešković, speaks about his family, his job and the possibility of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences to be placed on a healthy footing February

My life

Nebojša Nešković, scientist

is family represents a great historical lineage, the likes of which are tough to recognise in Serbia today. His father, Blagoje Nešković, was a fighter in the Spanish Civil War and World War II, Prime Minister of Serbia and later Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia as well as the founder of the Communist Party of Serbia, who spent the longest time working as a physician and scientist. Nebojša’s mother, Branislava Brana Perović Nešković, also fought in World War II, and then had a professional career as a top researcher in the field of atomic physics, working at the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences and serving as its director. Interestingly, Brana’s great-grandfather Andrija Perović, a Montenegrin from the Cuce clan, married the sister of Petar II Petrović Njegoš, Marija, after which Njegoš named him as a member of his Senate. Brana’s sister, Lepa, was the life partner of Koča Popović. Nebojša’s wife, Vesna Vučinić Nešković, is the daughter of Mihailo Vučinić, a physician who was among the founders of modern cardiovascular surgery in Serbia and who performed more than 5,000 open heart surgeries. She is a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade. The son of Vesna and Nebojša, Mihailo (who carries his paternal grandfather’s partisan name and that of his maternal grandfather), is a successful young vascular surgeon who works at the Dedinje Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, of which his maternal grandfather was one of the founders. Their daughter, Marta, graduated with a degree in physics with mathematics from Paris’s Sorbonne, France, while she enrolled to complete her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. She has spent the last two years living at China’s Shaolin Monastery, preparing her doctoral dissertation on the connection between mind and body in Chinese Buddhism today – through kung fu. Nebojša Nešković (70) was born in Belgrade’s Užička Street, where Josip Broz Tito and most of the top state and party leaders of his time lived. He was three years old when his father went from holding the high-level post of Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia to fall into political oblivion. Josip Broz was very soft on him, if we consider how others who came into conflict with him faired. After leaving politics, Blagoje Nešković returned to medicine, which he had

February

ROCK GROUP “MESSENGERS”: NEBOJŠA NEŠKOVIĆ AND RADIVOJ NIKOLIĆ, STANDING ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT, AND RATOMIR ŽIVKOVIĆ AND ALEKSANDAR DOBROSAVLJAVIĆ, SITTING ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT, RESPECTIVELY

In high school I played in three rock bands. During that period I performed organ music publicly, mainly the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. At the end of high school, I abandoned music and devoted myself to my studies. My goal of dealing with science existed in my life plans since primary school abandoned upon his departure to Spain. He became a top scientist in the field of molecular biology of tumours. He was also director of the Oncological Institute of Serbia: “I remember my parents as scientists. My father returned to medicine at the age of 45, completed two residencies, dedicated himself to oncology and earned his PhD degree. I remember the large table in the living room, where father sat at one end with his papers and mother sat at the other end with hers. We kids, my two sisters and

I, were raised at that table. It was only sometimes, very rarely, that they would talk about politics, and I was catching that on the fly. I later began looking through numerous documents that I found at home in order to form my own picture of my father’s political career.” In parallel with primary school and high school, Nebojša also completed primary and high music schools - playing piano: “In high school I played in three rock bands. During that period I performed organ music publicly, mainly the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. At the end of high school, it was clear to me that I would have to abandon music and seriously devote myself to my studies. My goal of devoting myself to science existed in my life plans since primary school, while dealing with music, as I believed, could have prevented me from achieving that goal.” He opted to study electrical engineering whilst still in high school. At the end of the fourth year of his studies, he spent about two months of practice at the Culham Laboratory, near Oxford, UK, which is one of the world’s largest laboratories for research of plasma and controlled thermonuclear fusion. During those two months, he participated in the final part of an experiment which simulated the interaction of a solar wind with the Moon. And after that experience he definitively opted to deal with physics:

By Radmila Stanković

NEBOJŠA NEŠKOVIĆ AND ALEKSANDAR DOBROSAVLJEVIĆ, HIS ASSOCIATE, ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT IN THE MIDDLE, RESPECTIVELY, DISCUSSING WITH TWO MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR CONTROLLING THE CONSTRUCTION OF TESLA

“In late 1982, I went for my postdoctoral studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee, USA, which is one of the largest and most powerful scientific institutions in the world. I spent around a year and a half there, in a desire to see the extent to which I would be able to deal with basic research on my own. The goal – following the basic determination of Milutin Milanković – was to “find an uninhabited scientific landscape and acquire my own humble scientific estate.” The main result of that stay was the theoretical, and then experimental, discovery of the effect of crystal rainbow, which is analogous to the effect of meteorological rainbow. A meteorological rainbow occurs when light, or photons, are scattered by droplets of water in the atmosphere, while a crystal rainbow occurs when charged particles are transmitted through channels of crystals. Otherwise, rainbows also occur in scattering of atoms by atoms and molecules, nuclei by nuclei, and atoms from crystal surfaces. We found that the appearance of a crystal rainbow is a typical complex phenomenon – it clearly shows that a crystal is more than a simple sum of the atomic serials of which it is composed. These results opened up an area of research that we dubbed physics of thin crystals. I’m still dealing with problems in that area today.” In the first half of 1990, CorD’s interlocutor

spent three months at the Institute for Advanced Scientific Research, in Bures-sur-Yvette, near Paris. He was invited by mathematician René Thom, the founder of catastrophe theory and a holder of the Fields Medal, the world’s highest award in mathematics (equivalent to a Nobel Prize in other fields). The purpose of the stay was to apply catastrophe theory, which is a global theory models, to the crystal rainbows: “We showed that it was a typical catastrophic phenomenon, which means that the abrupt change of the intensity of transmitted charged particles in transitioning from the light to the dark side of the rainbow is described in a simple, accurate and universal way. René Thom considered that result to represent one of the best examples of applicability of catastrophe theory in the microcosm.” In August 1989, immediately after the closure of the second Yugoslav nuclear programme, the Government of Serbia decided to build the TESLA Accelerator Installation in Vinča. The main planned programme of use of TESLA was production of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostics and therapy in medical centres in Serbia. In January 1991, Nebojša took over the leadership of the project of construction and preparations for use of the facility, which was named the TESLA Project: “The control of construction of TESLA was conducted by a top international committee

Following the basic commitment of Milutin Milanković, my next basic determination was to “find an uninhabited scientific landscape and acquire my own humble scientific estate.” The main result of that was the theoretical, and then experimental, discovery of the effect of crystal rainbow, which is analogous to the effect of meteorological rainbow headed by Günther Plass, from the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), in Geneva, Switzerland, while the control of preparations for its use was performed by a top international committee headed by Yuri Oganessian, from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research ( JINR), in Dubna, Russia. An active role in the work of both bodies was also played by Alexander Zucker, from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. However, despite this, the construction of TESLA progressed with frequent and long delays due to irregular and insufficient funding, mainly due to the enduring serious political and economic crisis in the country. In November 2007, the Government of Serbia decided to suspend financing of the construction from the budget and to continue it on the basis of Russia’s clearing debt to Serbia. That decision was made on the basis of a report of a committee whose members were completely incompetent for the field of construction and use of accelerators, and who deliberately and completely ignored numerous reports of the two international bodies that were officially responsible for controlling the construction and preparations for use of the facility. That was a real magnum crimen in Serbian science, which – in my opinion – was done at the behest of a strong interest group from the country or abroad. By that time, spending on the construction of TESLA had reached 14.77

February

My life

Nebojša Nešković, scientist

NEBOJŠA NEŠKOVIĆ REPORTING TO THE COMMITTEE FOR CONTROLLING PREPARATIONS FOR USE OF TESLA

million euros. More than 75% of those funds went to the Serbian companies that participated in the construction. Following that Government decision, Vinča focused on upgrading the lowenergy part of TESLA, which we named FAMA, on the basis of the clearing debt. “I think that the completion of construction of TESLA as a whole, with a programme of research, development and education linked to the fourth industrial revolution, should be one of the main goals of Serbian science.” In June 2014, the European Commission established the Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium (CERIC). It encompassed four large facilities, in Trieste, Krakow, Budapest and Zagreb, and four specialised laboratories, in Graz, Prague, Bucharest and Ljubljana. CERIK functions by each country involved providing the necessary resources to operate and maintain its infrastructure or laboratory, while the European Commission provides funds for the travel and stay of each user group of that infrastructure or laboratory during the experiment. User groups come from included countries and others, while

February

their experiments are approved on the basis of applications to calls prescribed by CERIC: “In October 2017, CERIC included FAMA too, the low-energy part of TESLA, but only on condition that its upgrading is completed within two years, based on the clearing debt. This requirement should have been jointly fulfilled by Vinča and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Ministry of Finance and the Government of Serbia. Unfortunately, despite Vinča’s continued insistence, this has not been fulfilled, even despite the fact that the inclusion of FAMA in CERIC represents one of the greatest institutional successes of Serbian science to date. I think that a strong interest group from the country or abroad is preventing the utilising of this extraordinary opportunity for Serbia’s long-term institutional integration into the European Research Area. I hope that, in the end, FAMA will permanently join CERIC, and that long-term interest of Serbian science will thus prevail.” Serbia became an associate member of CERN (in Geneva, Switzerland) in March 2012 and a

full member in March 2019. As a result, since 2019, it has been obliged to pay around CHF three million a year to the organisation’s budget as a membership fee. On the basis of this, Serbian enterprises have the right to apply to public calls published by CERN for the offers for delivery of goods and provision of services. However, the value of jobs thus obtained is currently significantly less than the membership fee paid. And Nebojša Nešković also reacted to this: “In May 2017, within the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, based on our initiative, the Group for Accelerator Technology was founded. It is currently composed of 24 Serbian companies that are interested in development and application of accelerator technologies. The Group’s goals are to contribute significantly to increasing Serbia’s industrial returns from CERN, and to link this cooperation to the country’s technological development. The group also focused on obtaining accelerator construction jobs at JINR (in Dubna, Russia), and within CERIC, also on the basis of Serbia’s membership in these organisations. This means

By Radmila Stanković

that it has linked itself to three major high-tech institutions in which works are typically acquired by enterprises from member countries, with the aim of those links becoming entrance tickets to the global market. However, the experience of developed European countries shows that works in the field of accelerator technologies on foreign markets can only be obtained in the long term if these technologies are developed and applied domestically. In the case of Serbia, this can be provided with the completion of construction and the efficient use of TESLA, which would also enable the transformation and survival of Vinča.” The public is well aware that Vinča, the largest scientific institution in Serbia, has spent the last about ten years in a programming and organisational crisis. In July 2009, the Public Company ‘Nuclear Facilities of Serbia’ (NFS) was separated from the Institute. Vinča’s main problem is the completion of construction of TESLA, while the main problems for NFS is the decommissioning of the RA and RB Reactors and the removal of the radioactive waste stored on the site to a

(permanent) depository somewhere in Serbia. In response to all of this, Nebojša suggests: “The initial step that needs to be taken to begin solving the noted problems of Vinča and NFS is their transformation through the establishment of the Vinča Science and Business Park, which would be a business association of institutes, public companies and private enterprises for basic and applied research, development of methods and technologies, production, and provision of services in the fields of natural and technical sciences, radiation research, and science with accelerators from the country and abroad. The founder of the Park should be the National Assembly of Serbia, at the proposal of the Government of Serbia, and that should be done according to a special law that would include a series of measures for encouraging its swift expansion, involving primarily small and medium-sized enterprises interested in development of advanced technologies. “The proposal to form the Vinča Science and Business Park was provided in September 2012 by myself and Ilija Plećaš, a former Vinča Director. I hope that the current management of Vinča will have the strength to include it in its long-term programme and to propose it to the Government of Serbia as soon as possible.” Nešković’s successful activities are also reflected in the World Academy of Art and Science, which is the only global institution of its kind. Composed of about 700 individuals from all over the world, who have been selected on the basis of their outstanding contributions to natural, social and humanistic sciences, and arts. The Academy was founded by prominent individuals in 1960, on the initiative of Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, and is a global forum for scientists and artists to freely discuss the vital problems of humanity, regardless of political boundaries and constraints. Nebojša has been a member of the Academy since 2006, and he has been serving as a member of its Board of Trustees and as its Secretary General since 2013: “From the broad programme of the Academy, I would single out the project for creating a new paradigm of human development, which is in the initial stage of realisation. It is linked to the main challenges facing humanity today, which are: income inequality, unemployment, economic, political and military interventions, forced migrations, intercultural conflicts, deple-

tion of natural resources and climate change. The project includes analyses of these problems at the global, regional and local levels, as well as their primary causes and consequences, with the aim of finding appropriate, effective and sustainable solutions.” Finally, another item from the biography of this scientist. When the Serbian Chapter of the Club of Rome was established in Belgrade, in July 2015, Nebojša Nešković was selected as its President, and he still holds that position. The mission of the Chapter is to participate, in cooperation with the Club of Rome, in solving problems of sustainable growth and inclusive

I think that the completion of construction of TESLA as a whole, with a programme of research, development and education linked to the fourth industrial revolution, should be one of the main goals of Serbian science development of Serbia. It currently has 23 members, while it should be recalled that the Club of Rome was founded in April 1968 in Rome, Italy, as an association of independent prominent individuals from the world of science, economy and politics who are concerned about the future of humanity and the planet, and who are interested in contributing to building a better world in a multidisciplinary, systemic and holistic way. The Club has about 100 full members and 36 national chapters. The Serbian Chapter of the Club of Rome has to date organised eight lectures and presented two monographs. A special success was the holding of the Fourth International Conference on Future Education, in Belgrade in November 2019. Also participating in the organisation of this global event were the World Academy of Art and Science, the World University Consortium, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the University of Belgrade, and the Serbian Association of Economists.

February

CHILL OUT SWEDEN

Swedish Royal Family Hosts Dinner For Nobel Laureates The Swedish Royal Family held their traditional dinner for the Nobel Laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in December. The dinner took place the evening after the awarding of the Nobel prizes in Stockholm and the accompanying gala dinner. In attendance were King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia and Princess Madeleine. Ahead of the dinner, the royals received the Nobel Laureates and their partners in Prince Bertil’s Apartment before joining the other guests in the White Sea Ballroom where they received members of the Riksdag (Sweden’s Parliament), government officials, diplomatic corps, academics, research and science, and the Nobel Foundation among others. SERBIA

Orthodox Swim In Icy Danube To Mark Epiphany In Serbia This year, in Belgrade’s municipality of Zemun, traditional swimming had a charity character. The winner was 18-year old high school student Jovana Leposavić, who battled cancer four years ago and won. For Orthodox Christians, the feast of the Epiphany (or Theophany), which takes place on 19th January and commemorates Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan, is celebrated with a blessing of the waters. On this holy day, participants in the traditional Swimming for the Epiphany Cross brave sub-zero temperatures and plunge into ice-cold lakes and rivers to retrieve a wooden cross in a ritual of purification. SERBIA

Photo: Royal Palace Belgrade

Serbia’s Royal Family Celebrates Orthodox Christmas

PRINCE ALEXANDER WITH THE CHRISTMAS ‘BADNJAK’.

February

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia celebrated this year’s Orthodox Christmas at the Royal Palace in Dedinje. They were joined by other members of the Serbian Royal Family, members of the Crown Council, the Kingdom of Serbia Association and many other friends of the Royal Family. On Christmas morning, Crown Prince Alexander cut the Christmas badnjak oak sapling, while the evening was marked by the traditional burning of the Yule log in front of the Royal Palace. The burning of the oak sapling was followed by a traditional reception for all present at the Royal Palace.

GUADELOUPE ISLANDS

The Guadeloupe Carnival The Guadeloupe Carnival is one of the most important festivals in the Antilles. It takes place each year from 1st January until 6th March, beginning in early winter and ending the day after Shrove Tuesday. Originally imported by European settlers, the carnival tradition has gradually permeated Caribbean culture. Many events are today part of the festival: a song and dance contest, election of the queen and costume parades. Although all municipalities are involved, it is mainly in Basse-Terre that the most important events take place. It is here that the opening parade is held in January, as well as the grand parade, the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday. Throughout the day, costumed dancers and musicians, followed by a joyous crowd, line the streets to the beat of the drums. JAPAN

Billionaire To Give Away $9 Million In ‘Happiness Experiment’ Japanese fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa is giving away $9 million to some of his Twitter followers. The billionaire has promised to divide a billion yen (approximately $9 million) between 1,000 lucky people, who will be selected at random for his social experiment. The aim of the experiment, according to news website WNEP, is to see whether money improves happiness. All people had to do to get the money was join microblogging platform Twitter and ‘retweet’ him before 7th January. Mr Maezawa’s tweet announcing the contest, posted on 31st December, had 4.1 million ‘retweets’. In a YouTube video, he explained that a lottery will determine the lucky 1,000 from among the people who retweeted him, who will then be notified through direct message.

SERBIA

Serbia Wins First ATP CUP Serbia won the inaugural ATP Cup tournament, defeating Spain in the final 2-1. The Serbs rallied back after an opening defeat to take the trophy. Serbia was behind 0-1, following the first game between Dušan Lajović and Roberto Bautista-Agut. After beating Nadal in singles, Novak Đoković

FRANCE

The Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc (France) is a dog sled race that’s known for being one of the longest and most difficult of its kind in the world, because of its change in altitude of over 25,000 metres. Over eleven days, from 11th to 22nd January, the world’s best mushers and their dogs travel nearly 750 kilometres and pass through 22 resorts in Savoie and Haute-Savoie. Each Musher has a crew of 14 top-level sled-pulling dogs (Malamute, Alaskan, Husky and Greenland dog). The start line for each leg of the race is attended by thousands of spectators who have gathered to watch this spectacular race. The exceptional mountain landscapes immerse spectators in a Great North atmosphere and offer the ideal terrain for this sport. Each year the race attracts over 100,000 spectators.

teamed up with Viktor Troicki to win the deciding doubles over Spain! The 10,223-strong crowd at Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, was packed with Serbian supporters who waved their flags and chanted “Srbija! Srbija! Srbija!” and Đoković’s nickname “Nole” throughout the final. A little after 1 a.m. local time, they were cheering for their champions.

February

Salomon Assassin Pro Get ready to take on the whole mountain with one of the best all mountain snowboards for the 2020 season. €650

Fresh

POWDER Fluffy, bottomless powder is the stuff that many skiers’ dreams are made of. But, getting the hang of skiing through soft snow can be tough, especially if you’re accustomed to cruising on a groomed trails at a ski resorts.

Volkl Mantra M5 Skis It’s a high-performance ski that was originally introduced in 2005 and has been continuously improved upon ever since. €630

Oakley Flight Deck Goggles This rimless goggle has one of the largest fields of view on the market and flat out ridiculous peripheral vision. €180

Light Camera Pro photography in a smartphone package. €1,700

Phoozy Thermal Case When your phone gets too cold its battery drains faster and if it’s really cold, it might even shut off. That’s where the Phoozy €25

February

Capita FUS3D When it comes to manufacturing, it seems like 3-D printing is the future of, well, just about everything. But while the best snowboards will still need wood cores and metal edges – at least for now – Capita MFG are pioneering the use of it in sidewall construction. €650 Suunto 9 Baro Sports Watch For skiing, snowboarding and ski touring it tracks ascent, descent, descent speed and uses both the more common GPS altimeter and the more accurate barometric altimeter. €380

Cordova Ski Suit The slim fit is great for layering with sweaters and boots. €850

Stanley Classic One-Hand Vacuum Mug The Stanley Classic One-Hand Vacuum Mug is light, small, and guaranteed to be leak-proof. €25

Arc’teryx Sabre AR Jacket Best overall ski jacket, Arc’teryx dominates the high-end jacket market, and their men’s Sabre (and women’s Sentinel) is an all-time favorite shell for those who ski both the resort and backcountry. €560

Moncler Grenoble Ski Sweater This zip-up sweater is knitted with a generous amount of wool and has padded side inserts to keep you extra warm. €800

Hestra Heli Glove This comfortable and highly functional ski glove has been around for years, but its hybrid leather and synthetic construction remains best in class. €145

Blaze Wear Heated Glove Liners These bad boys are the most effective against the harsh environments of a snowy mountain ski slope. They feature a rechargeable battery which provides instant heat of up to 55-degrees centigrade to the perimeter of each finger. €165

Dalbello Lupo Pro HD For the ultimate in touring and downhill performance, the 2020 Dalbello Lupo Pro HD takes the lead. €730

Smith Vantage MIPS Helmet You simply put on the helmet and forget that it’s there—the Vantage feels that comfortable and light. €230

Prada Multi Intarsia Virgin Wool Sweater Handmade in Italy from weighty Shetland virgin wool and knitted with a haunted forest-style intarsia that has a raw, undone feel. €3.200

G3 Minimist Skins Every MINIMIST skin is up to 30% lighter than anything else in its performance class. €150 Backcountry Access Float Mountain Pro Vest A low profile avalanche pack and vest combo designed for high-performance mountain riding. It incorporates three protective features: a life vest, an airbag system, and a hard shell with dual-layer foam. €720

February

CES

50th Anniversay

Best of

CES 2020

CES 2020 marked the 50th year of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Despite obvious trends emerging, thousands of brands showed a vast range of consumer electronics – from smart robots to high-end hi-fi – within the walls of the Las Vegas Convention Centre and several other venues across the city. Below is everything and other brands to catch up on from the show:

CES is the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years — the global stage where nextgeneration innovations are introduced to the marketplace

MERCEDES-BENZ VISION AVTR In collaboration with the Avatar films, Mercedes-Benz is developing a vision for the future of mobility: the VISION AVTR.

CORE MEDITATION TRAINER The handheld meditation trainer uses tech like vibration and biofeedback, along with an app that offers both metrics on your health and and on-demand meditation classes.

February

20 N 20 O S ATI CE OV RDS N A IN AW

DELL ALIENWARE CONCEPT UFO The portable Windows PC, features an 8-inch display, kickstand, detachable controllers, and support for external devices like displays or a keyboard and mouse.

WELT SMART BELT PRO Smart Belt Pro has the world’s first fall prevention function to an already rich set of features that included waist measurement, sitting time measurement, monitoring for overeating and step counting.

HYUNDAI S-A1 ELECTRIC VTOL AIRCRAFT Uber and Hyundai showed off a full-size mock-up of a flying taxi that both companies hope will be ferrying you above congested city streets by 2023.

HYDRALOOP WATER RECYCLER The large appliance, which filters and purifies grey water from baths, showers, and washing machines, employs a series of six maintenance-free filtration techniques.

IMPOSSIBLE PORK The man-made pork substitute is designed for kosher and halal certification, and can be used in any recipe that calls for ground pork

SAMSUNG GALAXY BLOOM Foldable Samsung Galaxy Bloom leaked in secret CES meeting.

LENOVO THINKPAD X1 ThinkPad X1 Fold is the first fully functional PC with a folding OLED display.

SAMSUNG ODYSSEY G9 MONITOR The Samsung Odyssey G7 comes in 27-inch and 32-inch versions.

CANON 1DX MARK III Right in time before the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, Canon unleashed their new Full-Frame beast: the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III.

SAMSUNG BALLIE The ball-shaped gadget, equipped with cameras and sensors used to follow you around, can control various smart home features, take photos, send you updates about your home when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re away, and even function as a fitness assistant.

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

February

AFTER WORK 26 UNDP AND MIKSER PRESENT CIRCULAR DEC ECONOMY EDUCATION MANUALS As part of the “Experimental Circular Economy and Innovation Education Program”, the United Nations Development Program in Serbia (UNDP) and Mixer presented circular economy education manuals for elementary and secondary schools and colleges. The aim is to provide young people with insight, skills and knowledge in an area that will inevitably become one of the most sought after expertise in all professions of the future. Maja Lalić, president of the Mikser Association, briefly outlined the process of how the manual was created, as well as the specifics of each module. Jelena Manic Petronikolos, Head of the Center for Sustainable Development Goals at UNDP, reminded that over the past year and a half, UNDP has been working with a number of different actors from the public and private sectors, as well as with educational institutions and the creative industry to create a circular mindset and action.

MAJA LALIĆ

JELENA MANIĆ PETRONIKOLOS

February

AMBASSADOR AMR ALJOWAILY (RIGHT)

14 EMBASSY OF EGYPT HOSTS ROUNDTABLE JAN “CHOREOGRAPHY IN EGYPT AND SERBIA” The Cultural Centre of Belgrade, in cooperation with the Embassy of Egypt in Serbia, organized a Roundtable on „Choreography scene in Egypt and Serbia“, with participation of two main members of Cairo Opera Ballet Company, Anja Ahcin and Ahmed Yehia. Roundtable was moderated by Dr. Vladimir Tomasevic, dean of the Belgrade Dance Institute. Ambassador of Egypt to Serbia H.E. Amr Aljowaily, pointed out the Memorandum of Understanding between Cairo Opera House and Serbian National Theatre, which represents a solid base for cooperation between two leading institutions in their regions, including participation of a number of Serbian artists in the Cairo Ballet Company.

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

15 EXHIBITION OF ALGERIAN MODERN PAINTING AND JAN PROMOTION OF THE BOOK “ALGERIAN CHRONICLES” In collaboration with Galerija ‘73, the Association of Friends of Algeria hosted the grand opening of an exhibition of paintings by Algerian painters of the younger generation, Professor Said Rahmani, Moustafa Aiche and Mokhtar Garadi who presented their paintings to Belgrade audience on 15th January 2020. The second edition of the book “Algerian Chronicles” by the author Srboljub Manojlović who was a long-time correspondent of “Tanjug” news agency from friendly Algeria was also presented. The exhibition was opened by H.E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub, the Ambassador of Algeria in Serbia.

AMBASSADOR ABDELHAMID CHEBCHOUB

17 JAN EU HELP FOR RAŠKA

AMBASSADOR SEM FABRIZI

Ambassador Sem Fabrizi and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić visited sites where projects financed from pre-accession funds in the Raška municipality are being implemented. One of the projects is the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. Ambassador Fabrizi stated that environmental issues are considered at the highest political level, both in Brussels and around the world, that very often these political initiatives are accompanied by bad news about new scientific findings on pollution, climate change and circumstances. “The European Green Deal gives prominence to the Western Balkans, and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans is an action to be launched in the coming months. There can be no effective green transition for Europe without the Western Balkans located in the EU, with the other Member States. Later these countries will join the EU – our role is to help them prepare for membership,“ said the head of the EU Delegation.

February

AFTER WORK 21 GERMAN-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF JAN COMMERCE MEMBERS MEETING The traditional German Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK) Members Dinner brought together hundreds of members of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce at Belgrade’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, with an address given by guest of honour Director of the EBRD for the Western Balkans Zsuzsanna Hargitai. Guests were also addressed with a welcome speech by AHK Serbia President Dr Ronald Seeliger.

AMBASSADOR KATI CSABA

21 CANADA SUPPORTS RESPONSIBLE JAN BUSINESS IN THE MINING SECTOR

ZSUZSANNA HARGITAI, ROLAND SEELIGER AND AMBASSADOR THOMAS SCHIEB

Embassy of Canada hosted a seminar “Trilateral Dialogue on CSR - Canada’s Experience” with the aim of promoting a responsible approach to the development of mining projects in Serbia. The event was attended by representatives of the Embassy and the CANSEE Business Association, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, the City of Bor and the Municipality of Raska, the World Bank, Canadian companies. The seminar was an opportunity for participants to get acquainted with the work of the international non-governmental organization “Intergovernmental Forum for Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development”.

21 ASSOCIATION OF SERBIAN - PERUVIAN JAN FRIENDSHIP CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION The Association of Serbian - Peruvian Friendship AASP (Asociación de amistad serbio - peruana) is the first association of this kind founded at the beginning of the year in Belgrade. The Association aims to promote Peruvian culture in Serbia as well as to establish cooperation between Serbia and Peru at the cultural and scientific level. The founders of the association are: prof. Maja T. Izquierdo, PhD; Serbian-French painter and sculptor Milos Sobajic; Ambassador Lazar Manojlovic; Assistant to the Honorary Consul of Peru in Serbia, Zana Kovincic; Marisol Vargas Bravo de Anđelić; prof. Dr. Silvia Izquierdo de Todorovic; prof. Dr. Caslav Hadzi - Nikolic, a neuropsychiatrist and anthropologist who has spent decades working with Indigenous peoples of the Amazon in Peru. The Consul General of Serbia in Chicago, Milan Varadinovic, also gave useful ideas regarding the establishment and operation of the Association.

February

STEVICA DEDJANSKI

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23 BRITISH EMBASSY JAN AND BSCC NEW YEAR RECEPTION

DAVID LANDSMAN AND AMBASSADOR SIÂN MACLEOD

The British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (BSCC) started 2020 in Belgrade by joining forces with the British Embassy at a New Year’s Reception generously hosted by Ambassador H.E. Siân MacLeod at her Residence on 23rd January. Attending the reception were leading British companies present in Serbia and the region, along with a strong representation of the Serbian business community. The Chamber’s role is to support great businesses from both countries operating in the “British-Serbian corridor” and to help companies who are new to the market to find opportunities. To achieve this, the Chamber intends to expand its range of services and activities in both Serbia and the UK and is actively encouraging new businesses to join. David Landsman, who was appointed chairman of the Chamber in July 2019, said: “There is no better time for a relaunch of the Chamber than at the beginning of 2020, a year of change and therefore opportunity for businesses in both the UK and Serbia. We are determined to be the “go-to” organisation for Serbian and British businesses and to earn the highest reputation for everything we do.” Ambassador MacLeod said: “My priority as new UK Ambassador to Serbia is to build a stronger forward looking relationship between Serbia and the UK. Trade and investment links are a vital part of that relationship. As we are leaving the European Union, we will be looking actively for new opportunities for bilateral cooperation.”

23 PRIBOJ WINS CASHLESS PAYMENTS JAN CHAMPION TITLE The Municipality of Priboj has won first place in the competition “Cashless Payments Champions” and, together with its citizens who used their cards to pay fees, charges and taxes at local government counters, it won a children’s playground worth 20,000 euros, it was announced at the award ceremony held on 23rd January in the Serbian National Assembly. Under the slogan “Pay with a Card to Win”, the competition involved 60 local governments, and during a period of six months their citizens used cashless methods to pay 13,500 fees, charges and taxes, reaching an amount exceeding 20 million dinars. In this way they saved up to 500 days in visits to banks and post offices, and in submitting proof of payment to the city administration.

GORAN KOVACEVIC

February

AFTER WORK

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

28 INCREASED SWEDISH SUPPORT TO JAN SERBIA – DRIVE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

DEMOCRACY WITH MORE THAN 3M EUR

Sweden and Serbia have a strong cooperation on Environment and Climate Change. The focus of the cooperation is to support EU environmental reform in Serbia – for people’s health, a clean environment and sustainable economy. Minister Trivan and the Ambassador of Sweden Jan Lundin signed the extension of two cooperation agreements. Additionally, Sweden has recently also entered into three other agreements supporting projects related to Environment and Climate reform in Serbia. In total these five agreements have a value of 3.6m EUR. Sweden supports the Ministry of Environmental Protection in areas covering solid waste, waste water, chemicals, industrial emission, strategic environmental financing and citizen participation in environmental decision-making.

ANDREA ORIZIO, MILAN MARINKOVIĆ, SEM FABRIZI

28 JAN DATA PRIVACY DAY Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Milan Marinkovic hosted a meeting marking Data Privacy Day, held annually on 28th January to create awareness about the importance of respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust. Attendees were addressed by Comissioner Marinkovic, Head of Delegation of the European Union in Serbia Sem Fabrizi, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Andrea Orizio, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade Tobias Flessenkemper.

AMBASSADOR JAN LUNDIN

AMBASSADOR JAN LUNDIN, MINISTER TRIVAN

February

India

LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES

Interview

H.E. MR. SUBRATA BHATTACHARJEE, AMBASSADOR OF INDIA TO SERBIA

Deep Rooted & Close Ties BETWEEN INDIA AND SERBIA

THE PAST THREE YEARS HAVE SEEN THE STRENGTHENING OF BILATERAL TIES THROUGH SUCH HIGH LEVEL EXCHANGES THAT LAST TOOK PLACE ONLY 30 YEARS PRIOR. THIS HIGH LEVEL OF EXCHANGES, COMING AFTER A LONG GAP, IS ALREADY HAVING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR BILATERAL TIES. THIS WILL RESULT IN MORE EXCHANGES AND CLOSER INTERACTION IN THE COMING YEARS - SUBRATA BHATTACHARJEE The first decade of the 21st century was marked by the intensification of bilateral cooperation between India and Serbia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as two countries that were enduringly connected through their common commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement nearly 60 years ago. In this CorD Magazine interview, Indian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Subrata Bhattacharjee says that the potential 2 |

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exists for strong ties and understanding at the political level to be transmitted to the business community and strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. He adds that, following Indian investments in Serbia, conditions have been met for exports of Serbian products to the Indian market, where Serbian apples should soon arrive!

Your Excellency, your 2018 arrival in Serbia coincided with two major anniversaries – 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Serbia, and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. What would you say about your experiences in Serbia to date? The deep rooted ties from the days of NonAligned Movement still form the foundation of our close bilateral ties. The leaders of this country have traditionally shown great understanding for India’s global perspective. I have also found Serbians very warm and friendly towards India. Serbians take spontaneous interest in Indian history and culture. My personal interaction with Serbians was always pleasant. I am certainly enjoying my stay here. We are witnessing the intensification of cooperation between India and Serbia at the highest level. What are your priorities for the period ahead? The past three years have seen the strengthening of bilateral ties through such high level exchanges that only previously took place 30 years ago. When then Serbian Prime Minister (now President) Vučić visited India in 2017, this was the first visit at the level of Head of State/ Government from Serbia to India after 30 years. The same can be said about the visit of the Vice President of India to Serbia in 2018. First Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Dačić also visited India in 2018, and that too came after a gap of 10 years. The visit of the Indian Minister of External Affairs to Serbia in November 2019 was also a landmark development, as the first visit at the level of foreign minister from India after more than 30 years. In 2019, we also had the good fortune to see the visit of the Indian Speaker of the Parliament after more than 30 years. In short, these high level exchanges, coming after a long gap, are already having a positive impact on our bilateral ties. This will result in more exchanges and closer interaction in the coming years. India's foreign minister reiterated while in Serbia recently that India will not change its position regarding non-recognition of Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence. Do you believe that Kosovo can, with the help of countries that recognise its independence, become a member of the UN – which is among the key objectives of the government in Pristina?

As the External Affairs Minister of India stated very clearly, India supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia. Based on this principled belief, India has not recognised the Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Kosovo. India supports a peaceful resolution of the issue through negotiations and dialogue. We are aware that Serbia has taken part in talks aimed at resolving this issue in the past few years. I believe that this will shape the future solution of the problem. What can you say about the importance of cooperation agreements in the defence sector, which were signed by the two countries in November 2019? Yugoslavia was a major defence exporter to many countries, including India. Serbia has its niche

of potential among the business communities of the two countries. For Serbian producers of agricultural products, India can be a large and attractive market. New opportunities opened up with the signing of the Agreement of Cooperation in Plant Health and Plant Quarantine in 2018, during the visit of the Vice President of India to Serbia. Serbian apple growers have taken due note of it. With the visit of a technical team from India to Serbia, decks have now been cleared to launch the export of Serbian apples to India. There are many such Serbian agricultural products that can similarly find a market in India. Serbia participated in World Food India 2017, a major economic promotion event in India on the food and food processing sector. With India being a major foreign investor, India's private sector has already ventured into Serbia. Indian

The past three years have seen the strengthening of bilateral ties through such high level exchanges that only previously took place 30 years ago. When then Serbian Prime Minister (now President) Vučić visited India in 2017, this was the first visit at the level of Head of State/Government from Serbia to India after 30 years capabilities that make it attractive for Indian companies. The Defence Cooperation Agreement signed during the visit of the External Affairs Minister of India in November 2019 will certainly strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defence sector. A number of Indian companies have visited Serbia for discussions on ties. Serbian companies are also regularly attending Indian fairs, like DEFEXPO. The Defence Cooperation Agreement will provide a stronger platform for streamlining these cooperation initiatives. Economic cooperation between Serbia and India lags far behind compared to the high level of understanding at the political level. Do you see ways to better connect the businesspeople of India and Serbia and, if so, in what areas? It is true that, despite some growth in economic ties, economic cooperation between India and Serbia has been far below its true potential. Bilateral trade has been slightly over US$200 million, but there is greater scope to increasing it further. Fortunately, the recent exchange of visits has provided a boost to the mutual awareness

companies are engaged in diverse manufacturing activities in Serbia – tractor production, food processing, IT parks, aluminium panels etc. Considering that Serbia is a member of the EU Customs Union and has FTAs with Russia and many other countries, there is great potential to attract further investment from India. Indians have a natural advantage in sectors such as IT, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology etc., which can easily find a place on the Serbian market. With greater awareness on both sides and unbounded opportunities, I expect economic ties to strengthen. Could you say something about the experience in Serbia to date of Indian tractor and farm equipment company TAFE, which acquired Serbia's IMT? Agriculture plays a major role in the Serbian economy. This provides a great opportunity for Indian manufacturers to supply agricultural machinery to Serbia. Serbians also acknowledge India as a supplier of quality agricultural machinery at affordable prices. Indian company INDIA

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Interview TAFE, which had a long association with Serbia, rightly sensed the need and acquired a leading Serbian tractor brand and its factory for manufacturing TAFE tractors in Serbia under the IMT brand name. The company's business plan is progressing well. In fact, two other leading Indian tractor companies – namely Mahindra and Sonalika – also have their own assembly lines in Serbia with Serbian partners. There are similar opportunities for various other types of agricultural machinery. It was with this in mind that the Engineering Export Promotion Council

brought a group of 20 Indian companies to the International Agriculture Fair in Novi Sad in May 2019. There will also be a similar participation in this year’s fair. Thus, I can say that the success of TAFE on the Serbian market also motivates other Indian companies to venture into Serbia. The Tourism Organisation of Serbia has had its first presentation in India. Do you believe it would be possible to increase the number of Indian tourists opting to visit Serbia? Indian tourists are the new globetrotters. With growing prosperity and the increasing size of India's affluent class, Indians are now travelling abroad more and more for leisure and recreation. With its beautiful landscape, rich culture and appealing cuisine, Serbian tourism spots could be a new source of attraction for Indian tourists travelling abroad. In order to facilitate greater people-to-people interaction, India introduced an online visa facility for Serbians in 2016. 4 |

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Serbia reciprocated in 2017, by granting visa exemptions to Indians for short visits to Serbia. This has played a great role in attracting Indian tourists to Serbia. More than 25,000 Indians have travelled to Serbia since the end of 2017 by taking advantage of the visa free entry facilities. The typical Indian tourist prefers a package tour to adventure tourism. I feel that Serbian tour companies should concentrate on offering package tours and group tourism to Indians in order to attract them to Serbia in larger numbers.

was signed between India and Serbia in 2018, during the visit of the Vice President of India to Serbia. This can facilitate the commencement of direct aviation connections. Once that happens, more Indian tourists will certainly be attracted to Serbia. Famous Indian producer Sajid Nadiadwala was in Serbia recently to shoot the third instalment of the popular Baaghi films. Does the film industry represent the fastest growing area of cooperation between our two countries? Bollywood produces the largest number of films worldwide. Moreover, India has a thriving film industry in many regional languages, like Tamil, Telugu, Bengali etc. Even in the 1970s and '80s, Indian film producers occasionally travelled abroad to shoot some scenes. This tendency grew further in the last decade of the previous millennium, while a number of Indian films were shot in Europe during the past 10 years or so. I am happy to say that Serbia is a new option on the radar of Indian film producers. Over the past few years, four or five regional films from India were shot in Serbia. During my time here, I have seen the screening of ‘Soorma’, which had a number of scenes shot in Serbia. ‘Uri- The Surgical Strike’, the first Bollywood blockbuster of 2019, was primarily shot in Serbia. I also had

Indian companies are engaged in diverse manufacturing activities in Serbia – tractor production, food processing, IT parks, aluminium panels etc. Considering that Serbia is a member of the EU Customs Union and has FTAs with Russia and many other countries, there is great potential to attract further investment from India Serbian Prime Minister Brnabić announced the possibility of introducing direct flights connecting New Delhi and Belgrade. Could this idea be implemented in 2020? Aviation connectivity can be a serious limiting factor for promoting large scale tourism. There are currently various options for travelling to Serbia from India through various cities in Europe and the Middle East. A direct flight can naturally be a great option for Indian tourists coming to Serbia. An Air Service Agreement

the opportunity to watch shootings of a few other Indian films in Serbia. ‘Baaghi-3’, one of the big film productions from India, had a film shooting schedule in Serbia. Overall, this is another welcome development and can cement stronger economic ties. This is because the shooting of Indian films in Serbia not only generates revenue for Serbia, but also popularises Serbia as a tourist spot among Indian tourists. This will in turn attract more Indian tourists to Serbia.

AUTHOR: APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL OF INDIA

INDIA

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The Indian Tech Sector

Through the Lens of TALENT, INNOVATION & TRUST TALENT

Nothing moves without this. While many developed nations are saddled with an aging population, India’s median age is 29. The benefits of the demographic dividend will span across the next 20 years or longer if we can play our cards right. Currently, the 181 billion-dollar Indian tech sector employs 4 million people, of which 0.7 million are skilled in digital. It’s a large base when it’s seen across the world that there’s a shortage of niche talent availability. However, we have set the bar a lot higher and the reskilling drive is on full swing. It should fetch us another 2 million (digitally trained people) in the next 4 – 5 years. The demand for specialised talent in digital is galloping at a 35% CAGR and should stay on course for the next few years. The nation produces about 2.4 million STEM graduates every year, so the pipeline is long enough. The challenge is whether it is robust enough to sustain high growth. While on the one hand it’s about acing the hard skills – AI, ML, Big Data and the likes, on the other it looks at newage soft skills which are about collaboration, continuous learnability, work-life integration, alignment with gigs and not seeing digitalisation as a threat but as an enabler. 6 |

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At NASSCOM we initiated a reskilling program called FutureSkills. It’s gathering momentum rather quickly. We have over 0.2 million registered users from 100-odd companies. Buoyed by the success, the government has agreed to support its expansion to include other industry sectors, students of higher education and government officials too. This should impact another 0.4 million users in the next couple of years. The mode of re-skilling is also very different from traditional “degree-based” classroom learning in premier institutions. Here, byte-sized information dissemination has been found to be most effective which can be transmitted through a hand-held device even to administer flexibility in learning hours. This has led to a whole new world of opportunities for IT Solutions Providers in MOOCs. INNOVATION

Innovation is about decoupling revenue growth from an equivalent talent addition. Innovation is about moving away from the labour arbitrage regime and be considered as an equal partner by the end client due to the strategic value created, which goes way beyond traditional delivery to touch the realms of outcome-based pricing. Innovation is also about high quality made widely accessible at affordable price points. Clearly, Indian IT has proven to be the best-in-class on these counts. The nation has a population of 1.2 billion people. The storied success of Aadhaar is one of its kind. Approximately, 1.1 billion Indians now have a unique identifier (Aadhaar Number) which sets them apart from their compatriots. Levering this, government benefits can now reach the beneficiary without the interference of intermediaries, thus ensuring leakages are plugged to the tune of millions of dollars. The best example of tech-driven Indian innovation which I can think of has a special mention of Fintechs, and the manner in which it has disrupted the traditional bastions of banks and financial institutions to offer dig-

ital payments, investment advisory, insurance aggregators, trade finance and peer-to-peer lending. During the 2016 – 19 period, there’s been rapid growth of 22% in transactions. In transaction value terms, the expansion is from 33 billion USD (2016) to approximately 73 billion USD, expected early this year. In other domains, such as healthcare, retail, and agriculture, the examples are no less inclusive. India has a vast population of underprivileged people and technology is bridging these gaps. In the last few years, the industry dynamics have changed beyond recognition. In a VUCA environment, things like “structured” or “process-driven” may have diluted its overall influence. Marked by high complexity and uncertainty, it’s innovation and its sandbox approach that will sustain. In global rankings (on innovation), the nation is currently on a high-growth trajectory. The innovation labs in India leave you with a sense of abundance with limitless possibilities. The people who work there have a tremendous ability to re-imagine a future hat may seem a bit distant today, but it’s just a matter of time when most of it gets aligned with reality. There’s a new term – “phygital”. It’s a “space” where digital meets the physical world to open up infinite possibilities. Essentially, the customer is at the centre and technology works around them to provide a unique experience in multiple ways. Instant gratification is what people want, and we have to find multiple ways to deliver it at scale. This is what the EXPERIENCE-led economy is all about. WINNING IN THE AGE OF TRUST

The currency of trust is perhaps the most valuable of all. The criticality is obvious – very hard to earn but remarkably easy to lose. Indian IT has covered substantial ground

in the last 4 decades to claim its own as a trusted partner. Spread over 80-odd countries in 760 offshore locations, we have left our mark deep and wide. This block needs to be examined through many angles. Primarily, it raises the question – is my data safe, secured and being used in a manner for which I have signed up? Our Personal Data Protection Bill has been tabled in parliament. It went through hundreds of rounds (literally) of consultations. NASSCOM would have featured in at least a dozen of them. The Bill identifies clearly who are the participants and beneficiaries in the entire chain of processing personal data, their roles, responsibilities & liabilities (in case of a violation) and also the circumstances under which exceptions can be made. Secondly, in a shared economy, we are constantly witnessing partnerships, co-innovations, M&As, acqui-hiring, Public-Private-Partnerships, academia-industry engagements, start-up engagements, and the likes. It only means that IP is being created at a blinding pace and being shared across, equally furiously. That’s really the crux of what we call “exponential” growth. Finally, in a value chain, the strength is determined by its weakest link. This is a very sensitive area. You can get all the other blocks right, but even the minutest of slippages in matters of trust can lead to catastrophes and brand equity can be severely compromised. So that’s it! The three currencies – TALENT, TRUST & INNOVATION. The Indian tech sector is well placed in these areas and as it inches closer to the 200 billion dollar mark, we have to ensure that we are agile enough to align ourselves in a landscape that is characterised by its archetypal tectonic shifts. Author: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) : NASSCOM is a not-for-profit IT industry association that's the apex body for the 180 billion dollar IT BPM industry in India. It was established in 1988 and its aim is to constantly support the IT BPM industry.

The 181 billion-dollar Indian tech sector employs 4 million people, of which 0.7 million are skilled in digital INDIA

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Science & Technology

INDIAN by Design

SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN HOW CUSTOMISABILITY IS A STRONG REQUIREMENT FOR THE INDIAN CONSUMER, AND EVEN INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS HAVE REALISED THE NEED FOR A DESIGN APPROACH THAT INCORPORATES ‘ALL THINGS INDIAN’ BY Prabhu Rajagopal

As one of the world’s most ancient civilisations, India has a long history of cultural accomplishments and excellence in arts as well as the sciences. The exquisite sculptures, paintings and artefacts housed amongst ancient temple complexes are marvels of human imagination, planning and practical execution. Indian literature also talks of advances made in ancient times in fields such as mathematics, linguistics, musical theory and astronomy. For example, the contributions on language of Panini, the great Indian linguist, who wrote a treatise on Sanskrit grammar in the 6th to 5th centuries BC, have strongly

The Indian approach views all objects as lying within the ambit of a unitary consciousness

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influenced modern linguistics across the world, as acknowledged by Johan Frederik Staal or Frits Staal, one of the modern legends of Asian languages and culture, and American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky, among others. There are several other examples of ancient Indian achievements, like advances in science and engineering as recorded, for example, in Samarangana Sutradhara, an encyclopaedic work on classical Indian architecture written by Paramara king Bhoja, dated 1000 AD. This includes a chapter on Mechanical Automata, which refers to mechanisms that can mimic human motor action, which were a precursor to modern robots. However, the invention of the steam engine and the subsequent Industrial Revolution in Europe seems to have overwhelmed traditional Indian engineering and crafts, and European goods and design have since reigned over the markets. As is now noted widely, India's contribution to the world’s GDP dropped from as much as 24 per cent in the 18th century down

“Make in India” can be described as an expression of the quest of India to find self-reliance in an era of globalisation to as low as three per cent in 1947. It is only in the last few decades that a re-invigorated Indian economy has slowly begun to rediscover its zest for engineering, arts and crafts, as well as new endeavours across various fields. Today buses, tractors, motorcycles and even cars made by Indian firms find major markets in emerging countries across the world, especially in Africa and East Asia. ‘Made in India’ artillery tanks, rifles and even railway coaches are set to debut across the world, establishing the acceptance of the Indian design theory.

solve problems of critical national importance. For example, the Indian Space Research Organisation is among the few in the world whose major focus is actually using space research to improve the livelihoods of people through weather predictions and also for telecommunications and disaster management.

THEORY OF MINIMALISM Indian design theory favours extreme minimalism and utilitarian, or what is colloquially known as “jugaad”, aptly defined by the Oxford dictionary as “a flexible approach to problemsolving that uses limited resources in an innovative way”. In simple terms, this means that the benefits of a product are maximised at minimised costs. Jugaad is often praised as the ultimate Indian survival instinct, reflecting the Indian design theory of minimalism, our expression of frugalism, even brutalism - maximising function (benefit rationalised to cost). This minimalism manifests itself in everything – from Khaitan fans and Tata Nano cars to more recent examples, such as the S450 electric bike and the Beluga underwater ROV (remotely operated vehicle) made by IIT-Madras Start-ups Ather and Planys respectively. Minimalism is also seen in Indian space and nuclear programmes. Many Western commentators were n awe at how Mangalyaan, the Indian mission to Mars, cost less than the budget of a typical Hollywood blockbuster movie, and yet was successful in its very first attempted launch.

SWADESHI, OR THE INDIAN WELTANSCHAUUNG The Indian weltanschauung (worldview) since ancient times converges into the ideals of a unitary consciousness or the fundamental state underlying all phenomena. And even today, the Indian design philosophy doesn’t believe in technology that is closed, imported or transplanted from elsewhere. We crave for freedom of ideas, search for our own answers to global challenges, and swadeshi (made in India) continues to thrive and even drive even many next generation innovations in India. Thus, “Make in India” can be described as an expression of this quest of India to find self-reliance in an era of globalisation. Swadeshi drives us to source materials locally, look for indigenous technologies and, also importantly, INDIA

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Science & Technology

INDIAN AESTHETICS The Indian theory of aesthetics has one radical departure from Western aesthetics: the Indian theory holds that “beauty lies in the state of mind” and there are nava rasas or nine recognised emotional states. The Indian approach views all objects as lying within the ambit of a unitary consciousness (or, by negation, nothingness) - and hence the objects must ‘sync’ with our state of mind, and creations must seamlessly flow from within-out. This is the reason behind the exuberant use of colours in India - perhaps modern Indian products have disconnected from this aspect, but where tradition still olds sway - such as in textiles, crafts and temple art - we find the brilliant use of colour that can match every state of mind and thus appeal to every person. 10 |

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THE NEW ERA The ideals of swadeshi, jugaad and rasa have sewn the seeds of an Indian design revolution that is set to storm the world. The philosophical settings of Gandhianism and swadeshi also have wider implications in a zeal for minimising wastage and promoting recycling, while also supporting environmentally friendly materials, technologies and processes. The Indian customer has often been found to value ease of use and durability in products, while also yielding maximum returns for a given investment.

The ideals of swadeshi, jugaad and rasa, have laid the seeds of an Indian design revolution, which is set to storm the world

Snapshots

Quintessential ASANAS SOME ARE CALLING IT A MODERN-DAY RESURGENCE, WHILE OTHERS SAY IT MAYBE A CONSCIOUS AWAKENING; BUT YOGA SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME THE ULTIMATE PRACTICE FOR A HEALTHIER AND MORE AWARE EXISTENCE. WE TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD TO EXPERIENCE THE BENEFITS OF THE ANCIENT VEDIC PRACTICE ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA (IDY), CELEBRATED ON 21ST JUNE 2019

Above: Hundreds perform the iconic Surya Namaskar near the Eiffel Tower in Paris Left: A sand sculpture by sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik on International Yoga Day at Puri, Odisha Right: Participants practising different asanas in Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Snapshots

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yoga Sutra,â&#x20AC;? a 2,000-year-old treatise on yogic philosophy by Indian sage Patanjali, is a guidebook on how to master the mind, control the emotions and grow spiritually

Top left: Pedestrians watch as enthusiasts celebrate IDY in Kiev, Ukraine Top right: Participants at the celebration of the International Yoga day in Damascus, Syria Bottom: Enthusiasts at aYoga Day camp organised inAbu Dhabi, UAE 12 |

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There are six widely accepted forms of yoga, which can be practised depending on need. They are: Hatha yoga, Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga and Tantra yoga

Left: Yoga day celebrations organised in Brasilia Right: The 5th International Day of Yoga celebrations in Thimphu

International Day of Yoga The Embassy of India in Belgrade celebrated International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2019 on 16th June in front of the National Assembly of Serbia. Madam Vučić, the wife of the Hon’ble President of Serbia, joined the celebrations in Belgrade, while around 200 Serbians participated in the IDY 2019 celebrations.

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Travel

INDIA’S FIRST UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CITY AND GUJARAT’S LARGEST, AHMEDABAD, IS A PARADISE FOR TOURISTS. WITH ITS ELEGANT MONUMENTS, VIBRANT MARKETS AND AN ECLECTIC CULINARY SCENE, IT OFFERS UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES BY Sarah todd

Flavours of AMDAVAD Ican hear the waters of the Sabarmati river gurgling as it flows in the distance. Above me, on a high branch two birds break into a song as a gust of wind sweeps over, bearing the promise of rains. I am standing in the serene green grounds of the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and I have never been more at peace. Here, I do not hear the cacophony of the city, neither am I surrounded by the cloud of frantic activity that I have grown accustomed to in my kitchen. Instead, I walk through the exhibits of the museum that document the life, time and philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi. His humble living quarters, immaculately preserved here, gives me a glimpse of the ideals he believed in. It is easy to spend a few hours at the ashram, located on the west bank of the river. From 1917 to 1930, during the struggle for India’s independence, the ashram served as Gan14 |

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dhiji’s headquarters. Sabarmati Ashram is one of the first landmarks in Ahmedabad or Amdavad as it’s locally known, that I visit, and by the time I leave, it’s almost time for lunch. Cities in India can be identified by their food. South India by idlis, dosas and appams, and north India by stuffed parathas, matar paneer and choley kulchey. Although you can taste all these fares anywhere in the country, Ahmedabad is one city where all these and more are savoured best. From melt-inmouth dhoklas and tantalising Gujarati kadhi to syrupy jalebis – I am spoilt for choice. I settle for an elaborate Gujarati thali (spread) the traditional way, in pital (brass)

utensils. Before food is served I am offered a small bowl to wash my hands in, with water poured from a metal pot which, I am told, is an age-old custom. Slowly, my plate is filled with tiny portions of local delectables starting with an assortment of pickles and chutneys such as dhaniya (coriander) and pundina (mint) chutney, and gajar mirch achaar (carrot and chilli pickle). These are served on a leaf that is placed on the plate. “The leaf is to make sure that the khatta (sour) of the pickle does not react with the brass,” the waiter explains. Then the main dishes roll in – ringana batata nu shak (eggplant cooked with potato), chora

A trip to Ahmedabad is incomplete without a round of shopping. Don’t miss out on the breathtaking bandhni fabrics, created using traditional techniques

Must-Dos

Bun Maska and Masala Tea The perfect evening snack, Bun Maska (butter toasted sweet-bread) and masala tea is a staple snack around the streets of Ahmedabad.

nu shak (an aromatic black-eyed beans gravy), Gujarati khatti mithi daal (sweet and sour lentil soup), undhiyu (mixed vegetable prepared with spinach paste), bhindi sambhariya (ladyfingers curry), Gujarati kadhi (a sweet thin gravy prepared with yoghurt and gram flour), rice and khichdi (an Indian dish consisting chiefly of rice and split pulses) along with such an assortment of breads as bajri and makai no rotlo (roti or flatbread made with the flour of the bajra millet and corn) and puran poli (a sweetened bread). I relish every bite, and every now and then am offered culinary advice on how to savour a Gujarati thali the right way. The bowl of sweet halwa, for example, is to be had with the meal and not as dessert! With contrasting textures and flavours, it leaves me intrigued on so many levels. Hunger satiated, I visit the Adalaj Vav. Nestled in the quaint village of Adalaj, located approximately 18 km from the city centre, this magnificent 15th century five-storey octagonal vav (stepwell) takes my breath away. It is said that this vav was built not just as a cultural and utilitarian space but also as a spiritual refuge that villagers would visit daily and offer prayers to the deities carved into its walls. And it is cool inside. I see no devotees around but meet with many visitors here – some local, some tourists. I am mesmeried by its intricate architecture that boasts Indo-Islamic influences, and observe with wide-eyed-wonder the harmonious play of intricate Islamic patterns seamlessly fusing into Hindu and Jain symbolism. I take in as much as I can of this charming place before bidding adieu and heading back to the city.

Evening calls for tea and snacks and the streets of Ahmedabad invite you with delectable aromas of steaming chai (sweet tea made with milk), streetside vendors frying dal pakora (fritters made from lentil paste) and several other mouthwatering treats. I opt for the city specialities – chai, maska bun (fluffy buns toasted with oodles of butter) and dalvada (lentil paste fritters). Ahmadabad knows how to cater to the taste buds of those who crave Gujarati food – like me. In fact, I love the cuisine so much that I have actually created my version of a vegan khakra (a traditional Gujarati cracker-like snack made with wheat flour and oil) using baked carrot, pickled cauliflower and chilly dipped tofu aioli. Anyone familiar with my work knows that I love creating vegetarian foods which go beyond ingredients like mushroom and paneer (cottage cheese). I like to give local foods a twist and make them my own. However, I enjoy such signature Gujarati delicacies as dhokla, handvo, buttermilk, fafda, sev usal, dhebhra, thepla, mohan thaal among others which reinstates, time and again, that Gujarati food is a perfectly balanced combination of sweet, salty and spicy flavours. A trip to Ahmedabad is incomplete without a round of shopping, and I could not resist picking up some breathtaking bandhni fabrics that are created using the ancient tie and dye techniques. Needless to say it’s indigenous to this state and holds quite a special place in the rich Indian textile industry. As much as I want to stroll around the city, taking in its sights, sounds and smell, my adventure is cut short by work. But I don’t leave before I make a mental note of my return.

Dandiya Raas or Dandiya Raas is the traditional folk dance form of Gujarat. It is the iconic form of celebration during the various festivals of Navratri and Holi. It is performed as a dance form with brightly-coloured batons.

Shop for handicrafts The city is famous for the brightly coloured and kaleidoscopic patterns that line the many vibrant bazaars around Ahmedabad. INDIA

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Cuisine NUTRITIONAL AND TASTY SEEDS HAVE BEEN USED IN INDIAN CUISINE SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL. TODAY THEY ARE BEING REDISCOVERED AS A SUPERFOOD BY Madhulika Dash

A scoop of pumpkin seed paste in a curry. A sprinkle of basil seed on a lemonade. A touch of poppy seed powder in pasta. A dash of kalaunji (nigella) seeds in bread… the list can be endless. Roasted, grounded or soaked in water, indigenous seeds have been an integral part of Indian cuisine since ancient times. Now chefs and nutritionists are delving further into their usage and health benefits. Celebrity chef Sabyasachi Gorai (culinary director, Grid), who has been working with seeds for more than a decade, calls them the “master 16 |

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Seeds of WELLNESS

tastemakers”. Nutritionist Kavita Devgan calls them nutrition boosters. “Common seeds found in India are great sources of nutrition, including fibre and minerals. They also contain healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamins. They are easy to procure and consume, and make a flavourful addition to a diet,” Devgan explains.

VARIETY AND VERSATILITY Chef Sharad Dewan of the Park hotel in Kolkata, who has been working towards bringing seeds to the fore of experimental Indian cuisine, says, “The beauty of seeds lies in the versatility of their taste and texture. By that, I not only mean the texture and taste that has made them such an integral part of our culinary repertoire, but also in terms of nutrition.” He explains that seeds need not only be used as a garnish or puree, but can be an exciting alternative to work with for both old and new dishes. Nutrition therapist Sveta Bhassin says that seeds are, in fact, the quintessential needed fat and protein pack that works far more effectively than any processed supplement. Little wonder, then, that most ancient Indian recipes had a good amount of seeds added to them at various stages. Til ke laddoo (sweet balls of sesame seeds) are a good example. This age-old dessert is made in winter to keep the body warm and the gut fit enough to fight seasonal ailments. Traditionally, ajwain (carom) and nigella seeds were added to make rotis (baked Indian flatbread) crunchier and keep the gut healthy. The practise of adding chaar magaz (a mixture of pumpkin seed, musk melon seed, water melon seed and cucumber seed) to a curry also harks back to this thought.

The fact that seeds have been a part of Indian cuisine heritage makes it easier for contemporary chefs to adapt them

“Seeds can be used to replicate all elements of taste. Nigella, for instance, gives a bitter taste, fennel is on the sweeter side, sesame is rich in oil, and mustard’s pungent. Coriander can be used both as a sweet and savoury and goes beautifully with layered sole breads like taftan,” says Akshraj Jodha, executive chef at ITC Windsor Bengaluru. The same is the case with alsi or teesi (flaxseed), which

says Jodha. Chef Shantanu Mehrotra of Indian Accent restaurant favours the use of seeds in everyday cooking. “Take the case of carom. Since it aids digestion and adds a unique flavour, it’s still used,” says Mehrotra. RIGHT USAGE Chef Balpreet Singh Chadha, director of Culinary Operations, at AnnaMaya in Delhi,

suji ka halwa (semolina pudding) or by Sharad, when he makes his popular pumpkin seed raita (curd dish) for his pumpkin haleem (a mutton dish). The fact that seeds have been a part of Indian cuisine heritage makes it easier for contemporary chefs to adapt them. Chef Megha Kohli of the restaurant Lavaash By Saby, says, “I was introduced to cooking with seed as a

Seeds are the quintessential needed fat and protein pack that works far more effectively than any processed supplement can add both crunch and a bittersweet taste. Another example of how wonderfully seeds work is Bengaluru-based chef Vikas Seth’s beetroot tacos served with amaranth seeds. “Introducing seeds into a dish isn’t just about creating a contrast in appearance and taste, but also enhancing the flavour,” says Seth. NUTRITION DELIVERED The tradition of adding seeds to a dish, explains Jodha, wasn’t only to make it richer. “It is a fallacy that chaar magaz was a poor man’s alternative to cashew paste. These seeds absorb minerals and vitamins, and pack in healthy fats,”

says that in most culinary cultures, including India, seeds are usually consumed raw, lightly toasted or at best in the form of a light sauce. Chef Jodha says seeds should be added in the end and simmered just enough so that the heat can release the flavour and activate the nutrition. An excellent example of this is a recipe of safed maas, a mutton dish, in which he adds the chaar magaz paste at the end to give it a rich flavour. The paste, says the chef, is made by first soaking chaar magaz in water and grinding it into a coarse paste. It is the same technique that is followed by straught Chadha, to give a distinct sesame flavour to

child and loved using it as a garnish without realising how it added to a dish. It was the familiarisation with seeds that enabled me to use them to create an interesting palate play. At the restaurant, we use seeds to not only give richness to our dishes, but also accentuate a dish’s theatrics like Matnakash Claypot bread (soft rustic flavoured bread), which is made with chironji (almondette) seeds.” As chefs discover the benefits of delving deeper into the roots of Indian cuisine, discovering unique health benefits of ingredients, native Indian seeds are being seen as the new heroes of natural flavours and wellbeing! INDIA

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Innovation

Armed with NavIC, INDIA ASSERTS SELF-RELIANCE! DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIA’S AEROSPACE HAS NOT ONLY PROVEN THE COUNTRY’S METTLE IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, BUT ALSO ENSURED THE NATION A PLACE AT PAR WITH SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD BY Gajanan Khergamker

Soon you will not be checking GPS (Global Positioning System) in your smart phone or car! Instead, you will be using an indigenous version of the same developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Global standards body 3GPP, which develops protocols for mobiles, has recently approved India’s regional navigational system NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) for commercial use by international and domestic mobile device makers. While today ISRO rejoices this achievement, the story of NavIC started in 1999, when Pakistani troops positioned themselves in Kargil. The Indian military sought satellite 18 |

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data of the region from the U.S.-owned Global Positioning System (GPS). The navigation system would have provided vital information about the situation on the Indo-Pak border, but India was denied the data. This made the nation realise the need to have its own homegrown satellite navigation system. Then, on 1st July 2013, India launched IRNSS-1A, the first satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) followed by a series of satellites over the next six years till finally IRNSS-1L launched on 12th April 2018, completing the constellation of nine functional satellites to provide foolproof satellite-based navigation signals. It was

following the successful launch of navigation satellite IRNSS-1G on 28th April 2016 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi named the new system ‘NavIC’ (boatman in Hindi) dedicating it to the people of the country and said SAARC countries can also take advantage of its services. PM Modi expanded ‘NavIC’ as ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’. With the launch India joined the elite group of nations, like the U.S., China, Russia and the European Union, to own a satellite-based navigation system. But the journey wasn’t smooth. Three atomic clocks on-board INRSS-1A to be used for precise coordination and to account for the effects of general relativity, failed. To replace it and complete the constellation of seven satellites, the IRNSS-1H was launched on 31st August 2017. This was the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) eighth navigation satellite and the first of its kind in the country to be built by the private sector and supervised by the space research organisation. However, the satellite was not able to complete the fourth stage of its orbital placement.

The Prime Minister named the new system ‘NavIC’ (boatman) and said SAARC countries can also take advantage of its services But that did not, in any way, mar ISRO’s spirit. Living up to its reputation, it pooled in all its resources and within eight months, launched IRNSS-1L on 12th April 2018, completing the NavIC constellation of eight satellites. The 1,425-kg satellite was made by Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies in collaboration with ISRO and is the second satellite to be actively built by the private industry. NavIC, built indigenously, is aimed at aiding terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet management, disaster management, mapping and geodetic data capture, and visual and voice navigation for drivers. Also capable of being integrated with mobile phones, NavIC is all set to be the perfect navigation tool for hikers and travellers across India. A restricted service providing enhanced access will be used by the military for missile delivery and navigation and tracking of aircraft. Interestingly, compared to the American system, NavIC covers only India, the Indian Ocean and its surroundings, and is, thus, considered to be more accurate. It will provide standard positioning service to all users with a position accuracy of five metre. The GPS, on the other hand, has a position accuracy of 20 -30 m. India’s NavIC uses dual frequency (S and

L bands). When low frequency signal travels through atmosphere, its velocity fluctuates due to atmospheric disturbances. India measures the difference in delay of dual frequency and can assess the actual delay. NavIC, therefore, is not dependent on any model to find the frequency error and hence more efficient than GPS. Along with NavIC, the country’s space agency is also working on the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project as a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) for the Indian airspace. If that isn’t

ambitious enough, India has also initiated the process to develop the Global Indian Navigation System (GINS), which, according to ISRO, is an independent regional navigation satellite system being developed by India to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary. This, when implemented, will catapult the nation onto an all-powerful platform at par with some of the most powerful countries in the world. India has surely arrived and is all set to rule, even in space - the final frontier! INDIA

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Snapshots

A colourful MOSAIC

AS THE HEADY WINDS OF MONSOON TRANSITION INTO A PLEASANT AUTUMN BREEZE, WE TRAVEL TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA AND BRING TO YOU SOME OF THE MOST COLOURFUL AND ICONIC FESTIVALS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY INDEPENDENCE DAY Commemorating Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s independence from the British on 15th August 1947, the country observed its 73rd Independence Day this year. NEHRU TROPHY BOAT RACE The serene backwaters of Alappuzha in Kerala are transformed into a sea of humanity as thousands flock to witness the vallam kali or traditional snake boat races held on the second Saturday of August every year. JANMASHTMI / DAHI HANDI Based on the legend of Lord Krishna stealing butter as a child, dahi handi involves making a human pyramid and breaking an earthen pot filled with curd tied at a convenient height.

The dahi handi, observed in Maharashtra around Janmashtmi, is a traditional Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna

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LADAKH HARVEST FESTIVAL A near-perfect blend of Asian, Tibetan and north Indian traditions, the harvest festival celebrates a bountiful harvest and begins with a colourful procession that involves traditional dances, prayers and contests. TARNETAR FAIR Based on the legend of Draupadiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s swayamvara, this fair is a celebration of ethnic Gujaratâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s folk-dance, music, costumes and arts, centred around colours, romance and music.

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Travel

A pilgrim’s PROGRESS

SUPERMODEL RACHEL HUNTER IS IN LOVE WITH INDIA, A COUNTRY THAT HAS HELPED HER CONNECT WITH HER INNER BEING. SHE TAKES US ON A GUIDED TRIP OF HER TWO FAVOURITE SPIRITUAL DESTINATIONS: VARANASI AND RISHIKESH It was back in 2015 when I was filming the television series Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty, that I landed in New Delhi late one night. As I walked outside the airport, my mind was filled with excitement; I couldn’t wait to explore the unknown, but yet it seemed so known. I went to stay in one of the nearby hotels and the next morning I flew to Varanasi. Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, was the first city in India I experienced. While my choice surprised many, in hindsight I realised it was the best decision I could have ever made. It is an incredibly intense, magical and transformational 22 |

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city. One of the oldest and holiest cities in the world, it is said that Lord Shiva himself resides here. Some may find Varanasi’s vibrant culture a little overwhelming at first, but one needs to be patient to understand this old city. One has to wait for the living heritage of Varanasi to unravel itself, one intoxicating layer at a time. Varanasi, with a divine and devoted warmth, is of great spiritual importance, drawing the faithful from across the world. I too had come in search of faith; to replenish my soul and discover a way of life that was opposite to what the Western world follows.

My first morning in Varanasi started with the sound of chants from a nearby temple. The sky was still dark outside my hotel room, but it seemed the city was already waking up, getting ready for the daily chores of the Lord. As I walked along the bank of the River Ganges, the holiest river in India, I realised it was not just the spectacular sunrise that made the morning special. It was also the people and the pious atmosphere of the city that made the experience so special. As the sun rose over the Ganges, blazing red, silhouetting the bobbing boats, the city invoked the early rituals of bathing and honouring the gods and goddesses with prayers. The air was filled with people praying, temple chants and the ringing of bells in temples, which a priest explained was done to awaken the gods. As the city came to life, so did the river. Devotees offered prayers to the river and the Sun god, children leapt into the water making loud and gleeful splashes, yoga

enthusiasts practised asanas on the steps along the bank, while boatsmen readied their boats for mesmeric early morning rides. As I sat in a boat, its hypnotic sway played on my senses, and the city of Varanasi seemed to be rising from the river, like a vision and a dream. The river here is lined by several ghats, each earmarked differently. Later in the day, I chanced upon another ghat, Manikarnika, where cremations of the dead take place according to Hindu rituals. I observed loved ones honouring those who had passed away and seek salvation. It was as if life completes its cycle in this city. Eventually, exploration of Varanasi took me to the Sankat Mochan temple, dedicated to Lord Hanumana. This quaint temple, tucked into a quiet bylane, is unique in its simplicity. With the glorious Hamumana Chalisa (prayers)

being chanted and monkeys, favourites of the God, roaming freely throughout the compound, it’s fascinating to just sit on the floor and watch people passing through. There is a temple at every turn in Varanasi. There is so much to discover – so many paths and so many temples to explore, but if I told you where they were then the pilgrimage would be mine and not yours. One has to discover the city to feel its devotion. I remember one night, on my return to Varanasi last year, I sat at the foot of the steps of the Vishwanath Temple listening to the chanting. As I sat there, the rhythmic chant resonated deep within, I felt I had been reborn! Varanasi gives birth to a new way of thinking, allowing you to open your inner wonder, making you see life as if through the eyes of a curious child. Breathe in and breathe out to let the magic begin.

RISHIKESH After Varanasi, it’s Rishikesh, the town of spirituality and yoga in Uttarakhand, nestled in the Himalayas, and that’s my favourite in India. The town has the swiftly flowing Ganges and crowds veering towards a magnificent aarti (a ritual of lamps held along the river banks) every evening. While in Varanasi, the Ganges is a magnificent sight that's powerful yet calm, in Rishikesh it hurtles down the mountain. As night falls, it’s transformational to watch the twinkling lamps, which people float on the river, disappear into the night. When I first came to India I had come to learn yoga at the Sattva Yoga Academy in Rishikesh. Learning this ancient way of life was to be more than a wellness practise for me; more than just asanas. It became a way of life. The Kunjapuri Devi Temple is also a magical sight. Hire a tour guide to experience the magic of the temple overlooking the mountains at sunrise. Chant or just sit silently as you watch the sun rise over the Himalayas. The priest blesses devotees when the temple opens its doors. The town is an amalgamation of experiences: the rose-flavoured lassi, spicy street food, the sweet smell of incense, the buzzing conversations and even the cows standing outside shops waiting for a treat. It’s not any one temple where I find solace in this town; this is all part of a spiritual journey. And not just mine! The great pilgrimage of India has been a fundamental part of many lives, for the ways of simply looking inward, for the human ego to fall away and let one explore life fully. There is a saying: “While the rest of the world travelled externally, India went in”. This is India’s promise to the soul; a promise that is being fulfilled for centuries. Embrace the country and India will always love you.

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I N C R E D I B L E

India