CorD Magazine No.126

H.E. LEO VINCENT M. D’AES

LONG-TERM SUCCESS IS NOT A GAME

NATAŠA VUČKOVIĆ

Vice president of the Democratic Party

www.cordmagazine.com

Belgian Ambassador to Serbia

NO REASON FOR SHAME

BRANKO MILUTINOVIĆ CEO, Nordeus

APRIL ’15 / ISSUE No. 126

WE FULLY SUPPORT SERBIAN EFFORTS

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DEJAN NIKOLIĆ: BELGRADE MARATHON

STABILITY GIVES NEW IMPETUS FOR DEVELOPMENT JASNA DIMITRIJEVIĆ: ILIJA KOLARAC FOUNDATION

CENTRE OF A CULTURAL SERBIA

EXCLUSIVE

GORAN BREGOVIĆ MUSICIAN

Life is Based on

TOLERANCE

ISSN 1451-7833

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Get Ready!

Saturday 18th April 2015

Belgrade Marathon

Become a Master of Charity!

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For the 9th consecutive year, the Belgrade Marathon and CorD magazine will be holding the CorD Charity Masters – a race in which it is more important to be charitable than finish first.

The Charity Masters race will take place in correspondence with the upcoming 28th Belgrade Marathon, to be staged on Saturday 18th April 2015.

We are inviting you to run (or stroll if you so desire) at least 5km to raise money for the charity of your choice.

Over the last seven years, runners in the CorD Charity Masters have raised more than â‚Ź131,000, which has been donated to more than 50 institutions and individuals in need.

HOW TO RAISE FUNDS Each participant should secure sponsorship of at least RSD 400 for every kilometre they run during the race.

HOW TO MAKE A PAYMENT Donations should be paid either to CorD’s special account or directly onto the accounts of the organisations you wish to benefit from your donation.

WHERE TO DONATE Race participants have complete freedom to choose any humanitarian organisation they wish to support. Every CorD Charity Master will receive a certificate and a commemorative T-shirt as proof of their participation.

The results of the race and details of funds raised will be published in CorD magazine, as well as on www.expat.rs and www.cordmagazine.com, while the formal presentation of donations by teams will feature in the June 2015 issue of CorD.

FAQS • How can I apply to compete in the CorD Charity Masters?

- Send an email to charitymasters@cordmagazine. com or a fax to (+381) 11 2450 122 with a completed registration form. The closing date for registration is 11th April.

• Who checks how many kilometres have been completed by runners?

- This is a charity race, with each runner expected to calculate the length of their own race. In addition, special judges will be tasked with assisting for half- and full-marathon runners.

• How does one become a sponsor or obtain a sponsor?

- Sponsors can be any individual, company, organisation, association or mission that agrees to pay the runner. Sponsors can also include work colleagues who are willing to collect funds for the charity of your choice. You can obtain sponsorship within your company or from family members, friends etc., whoever wants to join the race. CorD magazine will sponsor the first 10 runners who apply.

• How many participants can compete in the CorD Charity Masters?

- In agreement with the organisers of the 28th Belgrade Marathon, all participants who apply for the CorD Charity Masters will be accepted.

• Is there a minimum sponsorship level per kilometre?

- The amount of money individuals give to charity is not always the most important factor. Accordingly, there is no set minimum - though RSD400 per km is recommended.

• What percentage of the money raised goes to charity?

- All money raised goes to charity.

• Will CorD Charity Masters run alongside other Belgrade Marathon participants?

- Yes. Members of the CorD Charity Masters team will start the race at the same time as all other runners competing in the 28th Belgrade Marathon.

RIL | 126 | 5 MORE INFOA Pwww.cordmagazine.com

CONTENTS

EDITOR: Saša Marić s.maric@aim.rs

| APRIL

ISSUE 126

ART DIRECTOR: Ilija Petrović i.petrovic@aim.rs

08 | C O M M E N T

82 | P R O F I L E

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Efficiency of Advertising Investments

Alumil: Tenth Anniversary of Aluminium Production in Serbia

What Lies Ahead for 3-D Printing?

MIROSLAV ŠUTIĆ

RITA LOZINSKY

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New technology

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Life is Based on TOLERANCE

CEO & Managing Director Alumil YU industry A.D

Dynamic Growth Imminent

GORAN BREGOVIĆ

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PREDRAG K. VUJOVIĆ 62

16

Success Cleverly Tailored

Musician

We Fully Support SERBIAN EFFORTS H.E. LEO VINCENT M. D'AES Belgian Ambassador to Serbia

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global diary

BILJANA JOVANOVIĆ

Owner and CEO of Luna fashion house

ĐORĐE VUKOTIĆ 43

Award-Winning Design

No Reason for SHAME

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46

Superior Experience for Business Class Guests

Finance

NATAŠA VUČKOVIĆ

47

28

LHC Ramps up to Shed Light on Dark Matter

Vice president of the Democratic Party

Long-Term Success is NOT A GAME BRANKO MILUTINOVIĆ

General Manager for Serbia at Etihad Airways

BergHOFF

New Forecast Expects €4 Trillion to Flow Out of the Eurozone

22

Superior Offer for Sophisticated Travellers

Science

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Air Serbia

64

Striving for More and Better Turkish Airlines

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Stability Gives New Impetus FOR DEVELOPMENT DEJAN NIKOLIĆ

CEO, Nordeus

after work

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Centre of a Cultural SERBIA

culture calendar & news

Natural Progression

EDITORIAL MANAGER: Tanja Banković t.bankovic@aim.rs PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen TRANSLATION: Snežana Bjelotomić EXECUTIVE PROJECT MANAGER Maja Vidaković m.vidakovic@aim.rs PROJECT MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Ivana Krsmanović, i.krsmanovic@aim.rs Ivana Fidler, i.fidler@aim.rs Aleksandra Ebilji, a.ebilji@aim.rs EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ruža Ristanović r.ristanovic@aim.rs GENERAL MANAGER: Ivan Novčić i.novcic@aim.rs FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: Ana Besedić a.besedic@aim.rs OFFICE MANAGER: Nataša Nešić n.nesic@aim.rs PRINTING: Rotografika d.o.o., Segedinski put 72, Subotica CorD is published by: alliance international media Makenzijeva 67, 11111 Belgrade 17, PAK 126909, Serbia Phone: +(381 11) 2450 508 Fax: +(381 11) 2450 122 E-mail: cordeditorial@cma.rs www.cordmagazine.com www.allianceinternationalmedia.com ISSN no: 1451-7833 All rights reserved alliance international media 2015

BORJANA VIĆENTIJEVIĆ

JASNA DIMITRIJEVIĆ Director the Ilija Kolarac Foundation

Director of the Belgrade Marathon

CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Mirjana Jovanović, Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić

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faces & places

Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Energoprojekt Holding plc

This issue is audited by ABC Serbia

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COMMENT

Efficiency of Advertising Investments MIROSLAV ŠUTIĆ

M

Perhaps the total marketing budget is less than before, but a bigger problem is the level of efficiency with which these resources are used, through transparent and internationally recognised advertising distribution channels

arketing is undoubtedly an important part of business ue” of the media plan is usually “bound” to the media budget, so the nth practice in Serbia. The total annual budget exceeds 500 number of messages for a certain amount appears as sale items. This million euros, whether that’s realised through marketis a dangerous formula, which contradicts the sense of marketing as a comprehensive campaign leading to the expected market effects. ing agencies or independent campaigns. Although this The solution is here, among us. amount is falling year to year, that total is still a respectable amount The magic word is – responsibility. However, responsibility cannot of funds. The old dilemma, however, is not losing its relevance by any be abstract. It must be clearly defined and objectively measured. means: whether it is a cost (because the direct benefits cannot be estabA marketing manager is responsible for the whole project, including lished) or an investment (which should be rational and cost-effective)? clear (and measurable) objectives and the size of the budget. It is alKey points for assessing the effectiveness of investment in marketing are (a) marketing managers themselves, (b) communication creso the responsibility of marketing managers to define the tasks of the creative team and media planners. A clear task provides the basis for ators and (c) media planners. effective control of the results of engagements.

Practice shows that a large number of marketing plans are not sufThe creative team is responsible for the functionality of communificiently grounded in reality. Sometimes this is due to the inexperience of planners, but no less guilt belongs to marketing analysts, who supply cation. The final effects of communication are unambiguous only at the marketing managers with information. Just as in all other disciplines, end of the campaign, but risk is reduced significantly through the testanalysts/researchers too often accept the line of least resistance, ing of communication ideas prior to their implementation. “you get what you pay for”. Can you use an insufficient level of clear daMedia planners are responsible for the efficient transfer of messagta, false assumptions and superficial conclusions to build solid marketes to the projected public. There can be no efficient transmission withing plans? Hardly. And once a process starts going in the wrong direcout full awareness of the media capacity, starting from the size of the audience to the number of contacts with the actual advertisements. tion, “all the stations en route are wrong”.

Media potential is the weakest point of this process. Existing inCommunication creators, who “spend” a quarter of the annual budget on marketing, are themselves not without blame formation is insufficient and, in the words of cliwhen most of the budget “goes out of the window”. ents themselves, quite imprecise. The emergence The transparency of of new and internationally recognised forms for Even when the client is impressed with advertismeasuring media potency, which significantly obing ideas, creative people cannot free themselves media, as carriers of the imperative for communication to have funcjectify the entire sphere, have, as expected, come of advertising up against strong resistance, primarily from the tionality. The smaller the budget, the greater the messages, will media. It seems that media companies more favour obligation for functionality becomes. It is no coincian irregular situation, in which their media potendence that legendary creative thinker David Ogilvy not only restore claimed: “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative”. tial is increased without control, with the idea that order to the area The phase of conveying messages via the media this attracts more advertising. That is a completely is especially important for achieving the objectives short-sighted policy, which has no prospects whatof media planning of every campaign, because it accounts for 60% to soever. The transparency of media, as carriers of and advertising, 70% of the total marketing budget. Is the message advertising messages, will not only restore order to but will also result directed towards potential consumers or some unthe area of media planning and advertising, but will also, as a result of greater confidence and increased defined section of the population? Is the communiin increased efficiency of investments made in advertising, recation pressure (frequency of advertising) sufficient investments in and does the media mix suit the goals of the camsult in increased investments in media, regardless of the overall economic indicators. ■ paign – all this is the responsibility of media planners. media, regardless However, the quality of the work of media planof the overall The author is Director of Partner Research ners and creative people, as a rule, are not linked to Solutions and a member of the World Association economic indicators for Social, Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR) the ultimate effects of a media campaign. The “val-

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B y R A D M I L A S TA N KO V I Ć

INTERVIEW

GORAN BREGOVIĆ musician

Life is Based on

TOLERANCE He is the greatest asset of the music world from the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

Legendary Sarajevo group Bijelo Dugme (White Button), which became Yugoslavia's most famous rock band, remained alive mainly thanks to him, because he was the band's most constant and most successful leader. He has long been the leader of the Orkestra za svadbe i sahrane (Orchestra for weddings and funerals), with which he is today contracted for 2017 tours. In the world of cinema he achieved his first major success with the music for Emir Kusturica's film Dom za vešanje (Time of the Gypsies), followed by the same director's Arizona Dream and then Queen Margo, by French director Patrice Chereau. His successes in this area culminated when Kusturica won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for the film Underground, while Bregović's music from that creation, and his adaptation and interpretation of the song Mesečina (Moonlight), brought him immense fame

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oran Bregović turned 65 last month, on 22nd March to be precise. Despite his age, he has tremendous energy, faultless lines and is in good shape, as evidenced by the fact that he holds between 130 and 150 concerts annually. His is married to Dženana Sudžuka and they have daughters Ema, Una and Lulu. The oldest is a student of the Art Academy who has already started working, while the younger two are still in school. They live in Paris under their mother's watchful eye and don't have much contact with their father's work. Indeed, the first time they were seen in public in his company was at a recent ceremony at the Embassy of France in Belgrade at which he received the French Order of Arts and 10 |

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SARAJEVO

BOSNIA

CULTURE

The participation of Sarajevo in the then culture of Yugoslavia was disproportionate to its size at the time.

There does not exist an intelligent and literate person in Bosnia who did not try to help the country stay together and not fall apart.

I do not seek anything from culture. If I have something to give, that’s good, but for me to seek something, not that.

Letters in the rank of Knight, which was presented to him by the Ambassador of France to Serbia, Christine Moro. Goran thinks that, despite major tours, they did not miss out on much in their education, though he claims that children are always educated by their mothers. He is an honorary citizen of ten European capitals and world cities – from Tirana to Athens, Prague and Buenos Aires.

And it all began when he started playing the violin as a child in his native Sarajevo, only to be qucikly declared talentless. Asked about the family environment he was brought up in, CorD's interlocutor says he remembers the usual chores in the home; helping out as a child, stomping on winter cabbage that had been set aside in order for more to fit, hanging out in the street, schoolmates who brought iftar to school while he had a sandwich . His father Franjo, born in the village of Sveti Petar Čvrstac in Zagorje (Croatia), was an officer of the Yugoslav National Army. Interestingly, his father was the only one in the village who joined the Partisans, while all the others headed for the royalist Home Guard. His mother Borka, known as Cica, was a beautiful, slender blonde lady from Virovitica (Croatia), but her Perišić family originated from the border area of Montenegro and Herzegovina. During WWII, Borka and her sister, two brothers and mother were sent to the Jasenovac concentration camp, but at the gates of the camp they were replaced by some captured Germans. He was ten years old when his parents divorced: "I dedicated my album Alkohol to my parents. They divorced because my father was an alcoholic and that caused one great and beautiful love to collapse. I stayed with my mother, while my younger brother was with our father. Mother later moved to the coast to work as a bookkeeper at some large enterprise, and I spent quite a lot of time all alone. I started working early. I was 16 when I started playing at an inn in Konjić and at 17 I was playing in a strip bar.

■ Did you watch the strippers?

- Striptease bars in communism were not normal places. That wasn't a place where you could just see naked women. People met there who wanted to hide from the public, individual artists, intellectuals, which I was able to see. However, of course, at the age of 17 I was more interested in naked women. So I saw naked women at an early age. At 18 I was playing in a bar in Italy. I had a drug problem and my mother came and brought me back home. I enrolled in college and didn’t play music at all for four years. I promised my mother I would not do drugs and would not play music, and so it was. At the age of 19 I finished with drugs.

■ Later, when you became famous, did you make amends to your mother for what she did for you?

- My mother died when I was in the army. She was the one who bought me my first guitar; she forbid me from going to art school (I was good at sketching) because she heard that there were a lot of homosexuals there. She knew what I was doing, unlike my father, who only ever came to one of my concerts, in Split. He sat somewhere in the last row and when we got home he just said

– it's good that. When my mother got sick I took her to Paris for treatment. I was already able to do that then, but she wanted to return to Sarajevo, to lay in a hospital with other women rather than being alone, so she returned.

■ At the time of the former socialist Yugoslavia Sarajevo was a

kind of nursery for artists. For those of you born and raised there, one word encompassed all of that – raja [Sarajevan term meaning close community of friends]. Today we increasingly speak of the role of raja in the emergence of this city’s great artists. How would you explain that?

- The participation of Sarajevo in the then culture of Yugoslavia was disproportionate to its size at the time. Today I can explain that as being because it was a big city in a small one; it was a great mix of reli-

During my studies of philosophy and sociology I was a zealous member of the Party. I attended meetings and heard and learned a lot.

Sometimes those meetings were higher classes than university lectures

gions and cultures in a small space.

Then, when I myself was part of that “raja” and I took my first steps in music, I didn’t even think about it. I thought it was like that everywhere; that it was normal.

■ When did you first become aware of that mingling of religions; that someone was a Serb, a Croat, a Muslim or a Jew, among your friends?

- I was not interested in that at all.

My upbringing was quite different. My father was an officer who emerged from the war; he and my mother were communists, as I was also, as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. During my studies of philosophy and sociology I was a zealous member of the Party. I attended meetings and heard and learned a lot. Sometimes those meetings were higher classes than university lectures. At least two or three times a APRIL

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year the Party would expel someone and receive someone back into their ranks. Those talks given by the professors of the time, and my professors were Muhamed Filipović, Esad Ćimić and others, were worth remembering. Those are the most fun memories from the time of my studies. When someone brags today that they were not in the party, I want to tell him: “well, you could not get admitted into the Party”. At that time the Party’s members were the best of the best; it was not easy to get into the Party. It's not like today, when everyone can join any party.

■ Nevertheless, they kicked you out of the Party?

- When I went to college I applied to the local community and stopped going to the party meetings, so they soon expelled me.

- During Bijelo Dugme’s last tour. We started the concert in darkness, then the lights would illuminate the stage. While that darkness lasted, reverberating around was ‘Serbia, Serbia, Serbia...’

When we crossed into Croatia, we could hear ‘Croatia, Croatia, Croatia...’ I think we broke off that tour at some point and I remember it as the tour when I was nauseous from that atmosphere. That was 1989, on the brink of war.

■ What was the decisive factor when it came to deciding who to socialise with in your youth? How much did ethnic identity influence whether you would work with someone or sit in a bar with them?

- When I recently received this French medal, I thanked the French ambassador and said, amongst other things, that France reminds me of the home of my wife Dženana, who grew up in a large Muslim family in which they married members of other faiths, and there was always one fridge for one and a second fridge for the others. That’s how France reminds me of that home, because there is a fridge for everyone there. It is clear that life in any environment is calculated on the basis of tolerance.

My wife lived in Libya and came to Sarajevo when she enrolled in high school. She lived with an aunt, and when she wanted to insult her to the max, the aunt would say: You Mary! I laugh at that, because I had no problem growing up on Baš-čaršija. For me it was normal to go with my friends to the mosque. That wasn’t even questioned. And then when it was questioned, it was asked stupidly and coarsely.

■ What was the first confirmation in your mind of the success you had achieved with Bijelo Dugme?

■ Did you become a member somewhere else?

- I was a supporter of the alliance of reformist forces of Ante Marković, which formed on the eve of the war in 1990, with the intention of preventing war. I believed in that. I travelled hundreds of kilometres with Abdulah Sidran [Bosnian writer, poet, screenwriter of Emir Kusturica's film When Father Was Away on Business, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and Do You Remember Dolly Bell?] and sang Ima neka tajna veza (There is a secret relationship) around Bosnia [one of Bijelo Dugme’s biggest hits]. There does not exist an intelligent and literate person in Bosnia who did not try to help the country stay together and not fall apart. All our hard work in the Reformist forces resulted in an election result of three per cent of the vote. After that I wondered - who is such an ass to have the illusion that there was any worth in engaging someone like me in the primitive politics present here? I never again got involved in anything when it comes to politics. Not even in Bosnia, let alone here. I have friends who are in politics and I genuinely feel sorry for them.

■ When did you first feel that sickening anxiety caused by the inter-ethnic conflicts?

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Being from Sarajevo was a diagnosis.

You could show off in Belgrade that you're a star, but in Sarajevo no one was a star. From Ivo Andrić to Bijelo Dugme, no one. Sarajevo is a small town with the symptoms of a large city

- Between the release of the first record and success, we supported ourselves by playing on Saturdays at dances in a school in Zenica.

Then we got a call to hold a concert in Belgrade. That was all organised by Saša Tijanić [journalist Aleksandar Tijanić, late Director of Radio Television Serbia] with Žorž Stanković [legendary boxer] and a whole team. And when we arrived in Belgrade, and saw that the world had come to the concert, that was the first time we became aware that we were the Bijelo Dugme that is known; that these people had come to hear something they already knew. You could not see that from Sarajevo.

■ Does an imperative exist in Sarajevo whereby you do not exist as an artist if you have not succeeded in Belgrade?

- You would have to know how one lives in Sarajevo. Being from Sarajevo was a diagnosis. You could show off in Belgrade that you're a star, but in Sarajevo no one was a

star. From Ivo Andrić to Bijelo Dugme, no one. Sarajevo is a small town with the symptoms of a large city.

ber of artists in the world had done a lot of work while living in exile. That is a tough human position, but it’s suitable for artists. Today I don’t think I would ever have had the confidence, as a man from a small culture, to do everything I've done if I hadn’t spent some years living in exile.

■ And how does the Sarajevo of today seem to you?

- One would expect that it would have changed more after such a terrible war. I don’t have the feeling that the city today is so different from the time we're talking about.

And despite all the terrible events, Sarajevo managed to preserve its infrastructure – culture, neighbourhoods... Some will say that today in Sarajevo there are many Sandžaklija (little Sandžak districts). So what? It’s normal for provincial people to want to move to a big city. They go to Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo. Maybe Sarajevans won’t admit to you publicly, but the four years of the war were the four most important years of their lives. They were tough, but with the feeling that you were living in historic times. That time made some people better, heroic even, while it turned some who had the potential for that into evil people.

■ You are conscious that all of us

from this area are members of a small culture?

■ During the war you lived in Paris and avoid-

ed commenting on what was happening in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia?

- What should I have said? My father Franjo was a Croat, my mother was Serbian, my wife is a Muslim...

■ You’re missing a Jewish line?

- Well, they say that those with foreign fathers are converted Jews. How should I have interceded; who to accuse? And who am I to judge anyone at all? I'm not a Serbian man, to propose how to organise Serbia. It is the job of Serbians to decide how they will be organised. As a composer I could present something to the outside from there, and I would be glad to do that. Nobody could have used me to their benefit in those years and I began to work seriously, to compose.

Work in France is not forced labour; it is a pleasure because it is enriched with some good habits, such as, for example, a break for lunch that implies a nice relaxing glass of wine... I really loved working under those conditions. Of course, I also did work that I might not have liked, but that’s all one interesting experience. I've done music for perfume commercials, Evian water, advertisements for cooking oil, margarine… I've done all sorts of things. It was in France where I realised it was no accident that a huge num-

I see a full hall in Krasnoyarsk, Krasnodar Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Prague... it feels nice for me. But it feels even nicer for me when the concert is over and I know that those few thousand people will go home with the idea of the culture I came from in their minds

- Of course. Here that is not taught because you are raised to believe from childhood that you belong to a great culture; that you're the most important.

In Tito's time that illusion was more pronounced, because from a relatively insignificant country we had a politician who was relevant globally. Usually a large and powerful country stands behind every great politician. Here that was not the case. When a man leaves his area and tests himself in the big world, he realises what barriers he must overcome in order to place himself among some major artistic flows. I could not, like other artists, escape my roots. This is a standard rule, from Stravinsky to Gershwin, from McCartney to Bono. You need to cling to your tradition. Music is not written by sitting at the piano and watching the sunset. Music that exists compels you to write new music.

■ How do you view awards, recognitions; have you ever wished for them?

- I'm not someone who is accustomed to recognition. I was not part of the culture, but rather subculture. I was not pushed forward through recognition.

■ However, you are no longer in the subculture; you established yourself?

- I didn’t and I'm not in anyone’s culture. I am perhaps the best product of the subculture of communism. And everything of worth from the 20th century came out of the subculture. Those of us who grew up and worked in communism, and who did not want to get involved in culture, considered that the culture of that time was shaped by the government, by policy. I think it’s like that under all regimes. And when you're out of that, when you are the offspring of subculture, it is clear you don’t want to get involved with that scum. Quite simply, I don’t think I APRIL

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should even have contact with that which is called official culture.

Today I have major bookings that I don’t discuss, at least one or two a year, from the greatest clients – last year from the Basilica of Saint-Denis, now from the European Union, from the greatest music halls in the world... and I'm sure it was this line that earned me this recognition. But, I do not seek anything from culture. If I have something to give, that’s good, but for me to seek something, not that. I gave the National Theatre in Belgrade the ballet Queen Margot, and that's all I've done here in the last ten years. This culture is so poor that I really have nothing to seek there. I think that’s a great shame, because when you started attacking the culture, it will not end well.

er for me when the concert is over and I know that those few thousand people will go home with the idea of the culture I came from in their minds. We are still a small culture that was easy to bomb like savages in the forest. Let’s wait and see if one can nowadays so easily drop a bomb on the Acropolis, the Coliseum, the Louvre... That does not work. And if there is some small task for people who are involved in art, then its purpose is in bringing its culture closer to other people.

■ How much have you brought your music closer to politicians; do they ask you to elevate some of their celebrations?

- There was one fun event. I was contacted over the telephone by Palma [Serbian politician Dragan Markovic, aka “Palma”], who I had never met before. He told me he had the patron saint’s day of his village and I saw in my notebook that I was available that day. We went to the village and I enjoyed myself. Of course, there was some idiot who asked if it was true that I had been paid this or that amount, which corresponded to his idea of how much money we make.

Palma replied to him: Bregović would have been offended if I had I offered money! I love these people who were trained properly on the street.

■ And you really didn’t want any recognition?

- No, I swear to you. The only thing I thought was when I fell from that bloody cherry tree in my backyard and broke my spine. Then I was contacted by people from all around the world – from the Minister of Culture of France to Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine, who sent fruit to the hospital. I was called by known and unknown alike, only the local culture minister had so much work on that he didn’t even manage to send a telegram, or God forbid come to visit [Serbia’s then minister of culture, in June 2008, was actor Vojislav Brajović].

■ Bijelo Dugme lasted as a group from 1974 until the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1989. Do you think it could have broken up earlier?

- It could have, because I already felt the wheels spinning in the last few years. I’d had my fill of just being the handsome guitarist and only being Goran Bregović once every two years. If it weren’t for the war, I would have retired. I arranged for the purchase of a house on the island of Brač and learnt how I could handle hunting and fishing. If there had to be war, it would have been much better if it had started ten years earlier, because that many years before I would have got my second start.

■ Would I be mistaken if I said that

someone who spends many hours in the studio and on their own concerts has no desire to listen to music even in their own car?

Today I don’t think I would ever have had the confidence, as a man from a small culture, to do everything I've done if I hadn’t spent some years living in exile

■ You like to begin again from scratch?

- That is the only thing that keeps me going. All my life I’ve nurtured within me the state of a debutant, because that is the most beautiful of all. Today I write liturgies, which I did not do before, and everything else that is completely new. Routine, even when it is the best, is still just routine. The best thing is to be a debutant. I do not believe that any contemporary composer in the world today has as much fun as I do. And every time I see a full hall in Krasnoyarsk, Krasnodar Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Prague... it feels nice for me. But it feels even nic14 |

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- Over the years I lost interest in pop music and I find classical music boring. That’s how I imagine an old gynaecologist who comes home after work and the last thing he cares about is dealing with what he has spent eight hours working on.

■ How does the music you compose emerge?

- I don’t do anything alone. I always have at least one assistant, and there can be five of them. With them I share whatever crosses my mind, then I look to see what will come of that. During our break we all eat together in this kitchen, talking, then we work again... That’s what music making looks like with me, there is nothing introverted. I haven’t written anything sad in the last 20 years.

■ You actually have a good time with your own music?

- Yes. I do not drink, because I was traumatised by an alcoholic father, but when I put on a white suit and stand on the stage, drink is also mandatory. It is part of the ritual, thus marking the moment, its value and importance. That should be remembered. Life, otherwise, is made up of the moments we remember. ■

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INTERVIEW

H.E. LEO VINCENT M. D'AES Belgian Ambassador to Serbia

We Fully Support

SERBIAN EFFORTS

Bilateral relations between Belgium and Serbia are mostly related to the process of Serbia’s gradual integration into the European Union.

However, one should not forget the growing interest in the fields of trade and investment

B

elgium is ready to offer its help to Serbia in efforts to adopt key challenges of economic reforms, says H.E. Leo Vincent M. D'Aes, Belgian Ambassador in Belgrade, who has a dynamic agenda in Serbia. â– After a year resident in Serbia, how would you evaluate bilateral relations as a whole between the two countries?

- Belgium and Serbia enjoy very cordial relations, to the benefit of both peoples. I arrived here a little over a year ago and the number of various bilateral activities is pleasantly high, be that in political or military consultations at a high official level, parliamentary contacts, cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the EU or OSCE matters, or in the cultural and academic field (especially through the local Office of Wallonie-Bruxelles International), or in sports which are very popular here, like basketball or ice hockey - without forgetting the number of Serbian footballers in Belgium. The latter are part of the large Serbian community in Belgium, which totals over 6,000 people.

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PROFESIONAL INTEREST

FUTURE MEMBER

AGRICULTURE

The way Serbia is gradually moving to the EU, and the delicate but necessary improving and strengthening of intra-regional relations, are two major, fascinating themes of professional interest.

In our bilateral relations, we naturally look at Serbia as a future member of the EU, and at the best possible ways to help Serbia achieve this ambitious, noble objective.

Agriculture is the basic pillar of the Serbian economy, which should get full attention and support, through a constructive cooperation between foreign investors and local partners and authorities.

■ It seems that Belgium and Brussels are primarily mentioned in the context of Serbia’s European integration, as opposed to bilateral diplomatic relations which were established between the two countries as far back as 1879?

- It is quite logical that our bilateral relations are increasingly related to the process of Serbia’s gradual integration into the European Union. As one of the founding members of the European Union, we welcome Serbia, in the spirit of the 2003 conclusions of the Council of the European Union in Thessaloniki, which reaffirmed the full and effective support of the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries, which will become an integral part of the EU once they meet the established criteria. In our bilateral relations, therefore, we naturally look at Serbia as a future member of the EU, seeking the best possible ways to help Serbia achieve this ambitious, noble objective.

Energo Zelena, the state-of-the-art Belgian plant in Inđija for transforming dangerous animal by-products/waste into energy products (thereby combining food safety, environmental protection and alternative energy production), shows that there is room for improvement.

■ You noted during the presenting of your credentials to Presi-

dent Nikolić that you see Serbia as the main political player in the

■ Where do you see room for the improvement of these relations?

- In the field of trade and economic relations, in particular. Belgian business leaders are looking for Serbian partners to establish small-scale joint ventures for the mutual benefit of safeguarding employment in Belgium and creating employment in Serbia. In order to intensify such relations, we must not wait for the miracle of “growth” to happen, it is rather the reverse: contributing to smallscale local development and encouraging SMEs to invest prudently, creating modest but real perspectives for local prosperity, is the best way to jointly tackle the root problem of unemployment.

■ If we start from economic cooperation and investment, the

most well-known example is the arrival in Serbia of the Delhaize retail chain. Are you satisfied with this investment; and could this company’s experience open the door to other investors from your country?

- The investment made by Delhaize is a major one indeed: worth about a billion euros and creating direct employment for more than 11,000 people. The new distribution centre, which was formally opened by Prime Minister Vučić in November last year, represents an additional investment of 50 million euros and further employment for nearly 400 Serbian workers. Moreover, 70% of socalled “Private Brands” on sale at the 400 Delhaize supermarkets are of Serbian origin, thereby contributing greatly to the development of the local economy.

We have other examples of success, like Metech in Smederevo, Carpet Land, Puratos, Blockx, Carmeuse, Agfa and TVH, to name but a few. I think more Belgian investment is certainly possible, for example in the agro-industry. This is, in my opinion, the base pillar of the Serbian economy, which should get full attention and support, through constructive cooperation between foreign investors and local partners and authorities.

In order for foreign entrepreneurship to succeed it needs encouragement and support. In this respect, the experience of

Belgian business leaders are looking for Serbian partners to establish small-scale joint ventures for the mutual benefit of safeguarding employment in Belgium, and creating employment in Serbia

region. What does that mean for you and for your country?

- It is quite clear to me, from its history and its potential, that Serbia is bound to remain a key player in this region. The dynamism with which the Serbian authorities participate in the socalled Berlin process, promoting regional economic integration, illustrates this ambition to foster neighbourly cooperation – just like other countries of this region do, fortunately. This is in line with the approach of the European Commission to promoting regional cooperation as a tool for economic development, reinforcing the IPA assistance, in cooperation with the EBRD and the EIB. Serbia has the global administrative capacity to tackle the key challenges – economic reform, preparing the 35 Chapters and regional outreach, but the task remains enormous, of course.

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■ We are witnessing a stalemate in the European integration process. Does Belgium consider that conditions have been met for the opening of individual membership negotiation chapters?

- Together with the Commission and other Member States, we regularly take stock of Serbia’s progress, in a spirit of “strict and fair conditionality”: what has been agreed must be carried out, but assistance is available, according to well-defined criteria. This basic understanding is functioning well, but it takes place in difficult times, be they economic or geopolitical. In this context, the European Union is faced with ever-increasing demands for assistance or for taking up responsibility in almost every sector of society.

sponsors the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and that the last meeting (9th February) produced encouraging results.

■ It seems that Belgium and Serbia are also connected in terms of their governments’ introduction of austerity measures. Belgians strongly opposed the reducing of pensions and extending of the retirement age. We also have this problem in Serbia and there is a global question about what the price of economic reforms should be. How do you view this?

- Getting the financial households of the state in order is a longterm, permanent undertaking. The Belgian authorities began tackling this seriously in the early ‘80s and every year we have to take measures to keep the budget deficit under the prescribed three per cent of GDP. But it is an effort which is rewarding, because if you remain persistent and consistent, in the end you get international credit for it, both in the literal and in the broader sense. You know what? I recently learned that as a result of the so-called selective recruitment policy in our public sector, initiated five years ago, the number of civil servants in our federal departments has decreased by 17,000 persons, or 11 per cent. And we are planning to maintain this effort by replacing only every 5th retiring civil servant.

So, very tangible results can be obtained.

The question of adapting the pension system, taking into account notably the evolving demographic situation, is a sensitive topic, of course, but it is a debate that cannot be avoided. In Belgium we have seen this coming for a long time, so I think there is a mental readiness to make an effort on all sides, provided that the weakest are protected.

■ Could the situation in Greece shatter the unity

This clearly illustrates its relevance, weight and mission, but equally the need to define priorities and take consecutive actions. I do not consider that an impasse in the European integration process. It is rather an exercise of consolidating the acquis of nearly 60 years of the gradual building of peace and prosperity, and deciding on how to best deal with this changing European continent – not just political, but also regarding the economy, the environment, energy, and – first and foremost – the burning social issue of unemployment.

The experience of Energo Zelena, the state-of-theart Belgian plant in Inđija, shows that there is room for improvement in relations with foreign investors

■ Serbia has been in the focus of world attention due to its complicated situation in Kosovo. Can the Kosovo issue advance and, if so, in which segments - with a view to the division between Flanders and Wallonia?

- The peaceful and harmonious coexistence of communities is a noble and fundamental objective which we all have to promote, wherever we are in the world. But every situation is different and I think it is inappropriate to compare the Kosovo issue with the Belgian state system, in which three linguistic communities live together peacefully. We are heartened by the fact that the EU actively 18 |

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within the European Union?

- At the moment, as we speak, the new Greek government is still negotiating an agreement with EU Ministers of Finance. It is quite normal that these negotiations are difficult, taking into account the considerable efforts already made on several sides.

Personally, I am reassured that these talks are being held against the background of the recently established EU Banking Union, pushed through notably by former European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy. That is another example of how we try to consolidate the common acquis, and how we want to translate solidarity into working arrangements.

■ In recent months we have witnessed waves of migrants head-

ing from the south towards EU Member States, including in Belgium. How can illegal migration be prevented? Do you concur with the assessment of European Parliament vice-president Ulrike Lunacek that the still unresolved status of Kosovo is the reason for this?

- I think we are all concerned by this, in the double meaning of being affected by it as a country and being aware that the root causes need to be addressed. On the first point, Belgium, like

other neighbouring countries, is trying to cope as served segments in a cost-effective manner”. If we Serbia has well as possible with this immigration, discouragwant to stop the tide of unemployment, with all its the global ing the people concerned from making the trip bedire consequences, we need to continue working administrative cause, apart from a few isolated cases of genuine together on providing small-scale opportunities asylum, this migration is illegal and, thus, the peocapacity to tackle to the people of goodwill intent on making a deple will need to return to where they came from. living. A good example of creative thinking in the key challenges cent On the second point, more generally, a root cause this respect is the International Conference “From of economic of economic migration is the local environment in Waste to Taste”, organized in Belgrade on 27th which these (mostly young) people live and which reforms, preparing March, to promote local entrepreneurship, in the many resent as devoid of hope for a better future. spirit of the Blue Economy, a concept of the Belthe 35 Chapters, gian author and investor Gunter Pauli.

There are no quick remedies for this fundamenand regional tal problem, which risks becoming that of a “lost outreach, but ■ Two of your predecessors fell in love with Serbia generation”. Here also, the European Commission and still come back to Belgrade? is trying to alleviate this situation, amongst oththe task remains ers with the introduction of National Economic - Yes indeed, my predecessor has decided to conenormous, of tinue living in Belgrade, his predecessor has bought Reforms Programmes, which should stimulate pricourse vate enterprise and restore some confidence in the a house in South Serbia, where she stays during local economy. It is then up to the national or local many months of the year. This confirms the hospitality, open mind and friendly attitude of the Serbians. My first authorities to assume economic governance and, to the extent year in Serbia has anyway been intense, lively and very enjoyable. possible, offer a chance to all citizens to participate in the modernization of the economy.

The way Serbia is gradually moving to the EU, and the delicate but I’m aware that this is easier said than done. But let me add a necessary improving and strengthening of intra-regional relations, are two major, fascinating themes of professional interest. In reference to the IMF’s latest report on “The Western Balkans: 15 the coming year, I would like to develop and broaden our bilateral years of Economic Transition”. One of the practical recommendations to support private initiative is to improve micro-finanrelations equally outside Belgrade, into the countryside, which is cial access and thereby “the ability to reach traditionally underlovely and full of potential for partnerships in all fields. ■

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PRIVACY

GLOBAL DIARY

"I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens.

Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn't be here today.”

— Lee Kuan Yew, first Prime Minister of Singapore

EGG-STANDING GAMES ▶ The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox as the fourth term of the year started on 21st March and ends on 4th April this year.

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox “Chunfen”.

It is an old custom that dates back to 4,000 years ago. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

Some believe that the Spring Equinox is the best time to practice this game because on this day the axis of the earth is relatively balanced against the orbital plane of the earth’s rotation around the sun, which makes it easier to erect an egg. Photo: Xinhua

FIRST FREE PUBLIC WI-FI SERVICE IN CUBA ▶ Cuban state telco Etecsa has granted approval to local artist Kcho to open the country's first free public Wi-Fi service at his culture centre in Havana.

In February, U.S.-based streaming service Netflix announced its arrival in Cuba, although it remains

internet penetration rates in the world and the internet is still a prohibitively expensive service. Plans start at $10 per month for 20 hours of internet, making it unattainable for the average Cuban.

Charlotte Hornets, which saw its value increase from $410 million last year to $725 million this year.

Jordan bought the team for $275 million in 2010. That was a wise investment, especially considering the league's massive new TV deal

MICHAEL JORDAN IS A NEW BILLIONAIRE ▶ Probably the best basketball

player ever, Michael Jordan, has been added to the Forbes list of billionaires. He's now the 513th-richest person in the United States, with a net worth of an even $1.0 billion.

The skyrocketing values of National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises is the main reason Jordan broke the $1 billion mark. But he also owns the

Whales to be seen how many Cubans will be able to afford its monthly fee of $7, as the average monthly salary in Cuba is $20.

Kcho created the hotspot using his personal internet connection, which was approved by the officials and has a speed of 2Mbps.

Cuba has some of the lowest

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▶ Whales are among the most majestic, graceful and intelligent creatures on the planet. And over the last century, humans managed to slaughter three million of them.

A new report estimates the global number of whales that were hunted, caught and killed during the 20th century, and the figure is staggering. Scientists are calling it the largest hunt in human history. And despite an international moratorium on industrial whaling, researchers worry whether some species will ever recover.

with ESPN and Turner, which begins in 2016. The networks will pay the NBA an average of $2.66 billion per year. They paid about $930 million p/y under the old deal. That works out to an extra $57 million in revenue per year for Jordan's Hornets.

The rest of Jordan's worth comes from his Nike deal, which earned him $90 million in 2013 alone.

FRANCE BLOCKS BELGIAN EURO COIN ▶ France has won the battle over

whether Belgium can issue a two-euro coin celebrating the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo. Brussels has been forced to scrap 180,000 coins worth €1.5 million that it had already minted before Paris got wind of the affair.

Belgium decided to produce a

HERO “The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.”

— Umberto Eco, Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist

coin marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, which saw Napoleon defeated by the British and the Prussians, featuring an image of the monument at the site.

But Paris objected, saying that there would be an “unfavourable reaction in France” and that "the Battle of Waterloo has a particular resonance in the collective consciousness that goes beyond a simple military conflict".

ANGELA MERKEL MOVIE SET TO HIT CINEMAS IN 2017

Walid Nakschbandi said the biopic, which has the working title 'Angela Merkel', will seek to bring the chancellor alive for audiences around the world by showing who she is both politically and privately.

"Merkel is one of the most popular and most discussed leaders in Europe," Nakschbandi said of the German leader, frequently named the world's most powerful woman. "People are always discussing, criticizing or admiring what she does but a lot of people don't really know who she is, where she comes from and what she stands for, “Nakschbandi said.

It had not yet been decided who would play Merkel, but AVE would come up with a list of names in the coming months.

Source: Reuters

JEREMY CLARKSON SACKED BY THE BBC

▶ A film about German Chancellor

Angela Merkel, who grew up in the former Communist East Germany before becoming the reunified country's first female chancellor, will hit cinema screens in 2017, the head of Berlin production firm AVE told Reuters.

▶ Jeremy Clarkson (54) has been sacked as Top Gear presenter after a BBC investigation concluded he attacked a programme producer.

Lord Hall, the Director General of the BBC, announced his decision late last month after considering the findings of an internal investigation. Despite feeling he has been left with no alternative but to sack Clarkson (54), Lord Hall thanked

Ten Things You Need To Know To Be Successful In Life

him for helping to build Top Gear into one of the Corporation’s crown jewels, sold to more than 170 countries around the world generating an estimated €60 million a year for the BBC..

The outburst came after Clarkson was informed he could not

have steak and chips after a day’s filming because the hotel where they were staying had stop serving hot food.

It is thought Clarkson may sign for American network Netflix, which is becoming increasingly popular with global TV audiences.

1. Realise that people don't care as much as you think they might.

2. You have a responsibility to everyone, and a responsibility for only yourself.

3. Prepare for the unexpected.

4. Self-awareness is endlessly valuable.

5. Living in the present will keep you focused.

6. You must take care of your health.

7. Emotions should not guide decision-making.

8. You need to be honest with yourself.

9. Everyone hurts.

10. Nothing is perfect.

MONACO: THE ROYAL TWINS WILL BE BAPTIZED ON 10TH MAY ▶ Monaco is set for another royal

celebration. The Palace announced

MICHELLE OBAMA BEATS DRUM IN KYOTO ▶ U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama beat the drum for Japan during her three-day stay in the country — literally — as she tried her hand at traditional “taiko” drumming in the historic tourist hotspot of Kyoto.

She picked up the cosh-like sticks players use to hit the huge drums in complex but hypnotic rhythms.

Obama, wearing a knee-length jacket in yellows, blues and greens, appeared to be having a great time as she thumped the ancient instruments and blew a whistle alongside high school pupils in a performance at Fushimi Inari Taisha, a 1,300 year old shrine.

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene with twin babies Jacques and slightly older sister Gabriella

that it has a confirmed date for the christening of Prince Jacques and his older sister Princess Gabriella.

The royal twins, who were welcomed by parents Prince Albert and Princess Charlene in December, will be will be baptized on May 10 during a private event held at the Cathedral of Monaco. Although the event is not open to the public, fans will be able to line the streets and cheer on the family on as they make their way home following the ceremony.

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INTERVIEW

NATAŠA VUČKOVIĆ vice president of the Democratic Party

No Reason for

SHAME

Many will agree that the silver jubilee of the Democratic Party, which recently celebrated a quarter of a century of its existence, coincides with the most difficult period in the party’s history since it was formed in 1990, but our interlocutor, Democratic Party vice president and Serbian MP Nataša Vučković, believes that the “Democratic Party has had several difficult periods, and one of the most difficult was following the assassination of Zoran Đinđić,” after which the party moved into the opposition

T

oday is not the first time that the Democratic Party (DS) has been faced with the need to define its activities in opposition, but this is a specific period for two reasons: first, due to the fact that our European reform programme, which we built our position on since 1990, has become the dominant political agenda in Serbia, taken over by our political opponents. That creates the need today for DS to define some kind of “new topics” on our old, strategic commitments. We are working on that. That’s a process and we need to understand that impatience is not a great ally in that process,” says DS’s Nataša Vučković, speaking to CorD. ■ How would you characterise the state in which the Democratic Party functions today?

- The Democratic Party is under the grip of an organised tabloid campaign and witch-hunt against its prominent officials in the alleged fight against cor22 |

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CITIZENS

SHADOW CABINET

CRITICISM

Dissatisfaction is growing among citizens, due to continuously falling living standards, growing poverty and growing insecurity in all domains.

Through the formation and functioning of the shadow cabinet we want to demonstrate that DS is still the party with the greatest human resource potential.

I think that the criticism from the EU directed towards the Government of Serbia is generally much harsher than it was in 2014.

ruption, unjustifiably accepted a defensive position, even apologising to citizens, and neither the party nor the citizens know why we apologised.

When we look at the results of the Democratic Party from 1990 to today, we can easily conclude that we have nothing to be ashamed of. We preserved Serbia’s honour by fighting against wars, the bombing of cities and against crime, at a time when many of those now active in government destroyed the reputation of Serbia that had been built over generations, with many victims, in the last two centuries. We created a great democratic front in 2000, enabling a peaceful replacement of the authoritarian system and launching European reforms in all areas. And in the first period of our government, 2000-2004, but also afterwards, from 2008 to 2012, our results were not minor. We brought Serbia to EU candidate status...

■ The 25th anniversary of DS’s formation saw the formation of a shadow cabinet. However, it seems analysts agreed that, in a political system with so many parties, and especially under conditions of a great imbalance in the ratings between SNS and DS, such a move is doomed to failure. Why, then, a shadow cabinet?

- A shadow cabinet has the primary task of critiquing the solutions offered by the government, and in this they will have their hands full, as we can see by the daily mistakes of the government.

In parallel with this, we will also offer better solutions. Through

■ So how, then, after all this, do you explain the party’s poor election results and current rating?

- We were unable to defend the results we achieved. It is unacceptable that we have accepted the assessment that the period of our government was a period of theft through privatisation and corruption, and the disregarding of the results in building anti-corruption mechanisms. It is true that we also made mistakes, for example, in segments like judicial reform. It is expected for us to have a serious approach, particularly in personnel policy. I believe that we have to establish within the party why we made mistakes and how we will prevent them being repeated in the future. It is only through a new programme and a new personnel policy that we can convince citizens we understand the message they sent to us.

■ This is certainly the period characterised by the lowest support

for the party among citizens since the beginning of this century.

You said in an interview two years ago that you believed the party would very quickly restore the confidence of citizens. Do you still believe that growth in support is possible in the near future?

- Of course. You know, the opposition’s activities are motivated greatly by the government’s mistakes. And the mistakes of this government are increasing every day, because of a lack of knowledge, because of weak potential in terms of personnel, but mostly because this government has an intrinsic conflict – they should implement European values, standards and laws, while not feeling them as their own in essence. This Government views the whole process of European integration too much like a technical process, rather than the actual embedding of European standards.

On the economic front there has essentially been no progress. Dissatisfaction is growing among citizens, due to continuously falling living standards, growing poverty and growing insecurity in all domains.

Such a situation creates a politically unstable area where extremism and demagoguery are able to find support. That's why DS must preserve its role as the leader of progress, as the force that has advocated the longest and most credibly for progressive ideas in Serbia.

The Democratic Party is under the grip of an organised tabloid campaign and witch-hunt against its prominent officials in the alleged fight against corruption, unjustifiably accepted a defensive position, even apologising to citizens, and neither the party nor the citizens know why we apologised

the formation and functioning of the shadow cabinet we want to demonstrate that DS is still the party with the greatest human resource potential; that these are politically mature and responsible people, professional and accomplished in their areas of expertise. One of the motives is the need for us to break through the media blockade, as well as compensating in a certain way for the lack of substantive political debate in parliament.

■ DS is criticised for not pre-

senting a programme of alternative government alongside ministers in the government.

You are allegedly in charge of writing that programming document. What will form its basis?

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- There is only the work programme for the shadow cabinet.

Members of the shadow cabinet will propose measures and programmes for the areas they cover, which will be considered at government sessions, before a unified stance is taken. This is quite different to preparing an election programme for the Party that will be our offer to the citizens of Serbia at forthcoming elections.

The party presidency selected a working group tasked with coordinating that process, in which the whole party should participate, from members to central party organs. As a member of that working group, I strive for that process to be as open as possible and to include the participation of as many people as possible.

The party has been closed for too long, with policies determined

in a narrow circle. This is an opportunity to return political debate to the party, in which we establish our policies, programmes and activities. There are many reasons why these two programmes cannot and should not overlap, but they should certainly share the basic values and policy guidelines of DS.

■ We can hear from your ministerial colleagues that you would be hard pressed to reconcile your contrasting views of politics and the economy. For example, the socially expressed attitude of party president Bojan Pajtić, who opposes cuts in salaries and pensions, warning that the IMF is working in its own interest and not that of the citizens of Serbia, juxtaposed to the stance that will certainly be represented by Finance Minister Srboljub Antić, once an IMF employee, who supports austerity?

- Our position is that economic policy must be development orientated, and steps aimed towards austerity should be followed by solidarity programmes that protect the most vulnerable sections of the population and sensitive public sector services. Our economic team has already concretized such proposals. The government has so far 24 |

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only reduced wages and pensions, and reluctantly and imprecisely announced layoffs, as well as price hikes for electricity and gas. In the absence of other reforms, with obviously the lowest level of foreign investment, huge indebtedness, without incentives for the local economy, and especially without an emergency programme for the reduction of state spending, the sacrifice made by citizens through the reduction of salaries and pensions will prove to be a futile sacrifice. Saving in and of itself is not, and cannot be, the solution. We have a unified stance on this.

■ It is expected that the party programme will also solve the di-

lemma over your support for the Brussels dialogue, which DS has repeatedly interpreted as the gradual recognition of Kosovo's independence, agreed upon by the government.

Our position is that economic policy must be development orientated, and steps aimed towards austerity should be followed by solidarity programmes that protect the most vulnerable sections of the population and sensitive public sector services

- DS has supported dialogue with Pristina, as well as the Brussels Agreement. After all, we initiated that dialogue. However, we are very dissatisfied with the way the government works on the application of the Brussels Agreement. We consider that much greater transparency is required, as well as better informing of citizens. The first step towards that is having a serious parliamentary debate, not only within the Committee for Kosovo, but also within the Committee for European Integration, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs etc. Then, of course, also in the plenum. Due to a lack of information, people do not understand what the current problems are or which topics will be discussed during further dialogue, and serious issues are to follow regarding the association of Serbian municipalities, property rights etc.

■ You claim that reports about conflict with-

in DS are exaggerated and the result of a campaign waged by the government against the opposition. However, two party vice presidents have been left out of the shadow cabinet. One of them has spoken openly about the possibility of forming a new party.

Does the new direction of the party imply fixing these relationships?

- It seems to me that a much more important question for the citizens of Serbia at the moment are relations within SNS (the Serbian Progressive Party), because they are the ones who determine policy and impact on our lives, are they not? But okay, I understand that it is easier today for the media to deal with the opposition than the ruling party.

Within DS there have always been different ideas and ambitions at the top. That's good.

However, each of us has a great responsibility to preserve the party, which also means en-

suring our behaviour and statements do not contribute to the image of conflicts within the party, which is purposely created by some media.

■ How would you comment on the assessment that the DS president must have a seat in the Serbian National Assembly, or rather that Bojan Pajtić’s place is in Belgrade and not Novi Sad? Such a view was presented recently by Goran Ješić.

It is needed, by the next elections, to create the feeling that we can beat this government.

Because of that it is necessary to gather together those who are credible and responsible in an organisation around a programme that is clear and can be understood by citizens

- After the last election it was decided that Bojan Pajtić would resign his seat in parliament in order to be able to continue leading the provincial government, which he won the right to do at the last provincial elections. That is in accordance with the wishes of the voters in the province. Pajtić took over the party leadership at a very difficult time when it was necessary to consolidate both the party's organisation and finances. I think he has done a lot precisely on “settling the ground” after the internal elections of 2012, following the departure of the party’s former honorary president and following the last party assembly of May 2014.

■ Analysts cite one of the problems of DS as being the fact that your programme, particularly the pro-European part, has been taken over by the ruling party, which is now advocating for the policies that helped DS win elections up until 2012. It is additionally noted

that SNS has gone a step further in terms of reforms. Where, then, do you see room for action?

- Up until 2012 Serbian politics was divided between two main directions – for and against Serbia's European integration. I think it is a great victory for DS that the policy of Serbia’s EU integration has become the main policy in Serbia. That confirms that we were right in 1990 when we said that this was the priority goal of Serbia, but it is also to our great credit that we preserved the idea of a European Serbia during the last two decades.

It seems that from 2012 onwards the political battle in Serbia has been fought around quality, degree of applicability and the sustainability of reform policies. This, of course, depends primarily on whether a government that has SNS as the dominant party will maintain its orientation towards Europe, which is not yet fully beyond doubt. And it also depends on how much public support for reforms will be maintained.

If this journey sees citizens only asked to sacrifice, if institutions are not functional, if justice does not become attainable and the judiciary more independent and more efficient, if there is no development, then the support of citizens will crumble. More space will be created for anti-European sentiment and populist options will strengthen. DS must insist on high quality political, economic and social changes created by reform, the

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embedding and implementation of European values; the need to show empathy with all oppressed people, to reaffirm solidarity in the fight against growing poverty. In addition to economic policies, education, science and culture must also be at the centre of our attention, as prerequisites for development.

■ The government of Prime Minister Vučić, and the PM personally,

has great support from the international community, particularly among EU Member States. How are your relations with the political elites of these countries, who favoured the Democrats more until 2012?

two impressions lead to the conclusion that reforms, be they political or economic, are not the most important factors. And that's not true. The only question is when we will have to face that.

What is incomprehensible to me is that a government claiming to be pro-European thinks it can achieve real results in this way, while at the same time opening all fronts with natural allies on that road – with independent institutions, the media, civil society for the most part, stifling all opposition, particularly that which is pro-European...

- DS is a party that has excellent relations with its sister parties in the European Union, and fact that the party is an observer member of the Party of European Socialists ensures we have continuous dialogue and exchanges of information regarding the situation in Serbia.

I always represent the stance that it is necessary to open the first negotiation chapters as soon as possible, alongside expressing more open criticism due to the unsatisfactory situation in many areas, because such a position is in the interests of the citizens of Serbia. On the other hand, the message coming from their side more often in recent weeks and months is that it is necessary to strengthen the opposition, and that they see DS as the key player in that.

- Every serious party retains the knowledge and experience it has gained over the years and it would be a mistake to say that we do not need former ministers. Perhaps they should no longer be part of the upper “echelons” of the party, but the knowledge and experience they have gained means they can provide significant support in the preparation of new personnel and the creation of new programmes.

■ How would you comment on the fact that Aleksandar Vučić has now been added to the list of “genuine” successors of the ideas of Zoran Đinđić. Is that a mark of his success or the failure of DS?

■ Does it seem to you that it is very diffi-

cult to convince some of them that some situations in the society are worrying – from the state of the judiciary, through the situation in the media, to the relationship to the Ombudsman, state auditors or the Anti-Corruption Council – even though these problems are pointed out to the European Parliament, for example?

- I think that the criticism from the EU directed towards the Government of Serbia is generally much harsher than it was in 2014. The reason for this is unfulfilled expectations, but also concrete actions that created a kind of doubt among our European partners regarding how determined we really are to take the road to Europe – here I am referring primarily to the moves that were not in accordance with adjusting to the common foreign and security policy of the EU. I often tell our EU interlocutors how they have created two impressions in Serbia that are not good. The first is that we will only progress towards the EU quickly if the dialogue with Pristina is efficient, which is undoubtedly important but is not enough. The second is that the EU will then be ready to “turn a blind eye” to the shortcomings of reform steps taken in key areas. These 26 |

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■ If we talk about values, is DS burden by people who were already part of previous DS governments and who have seemingly already demonstrated what they are capable of?

DS must insist on high quality political, economic and social changes created by reform, the embedding and implementation of European values; the need to show empathy with all oppressed people, to reaffirm solidarity in the fight against growing poverty

- I must admit that I find any mention of Aleksandar Vučić in the context of similarities with Zoran Đinđić grotesque.

We will only be able to discuss the scope of Aleksandar Vučić’s policies after his mandated has expired.

■ Much is also said about the need to reconnect the

opposition parties and who DS’s partners would be.

Your party president also spoke at a recent opposition meeting in Zaječar. Is it possible to form a new alliance similar to the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) and is that needed in Serbia?

- It is needed, by the next elections, to create the feeling that we can beat this government. Because of that it is necessary to gather together those who are credible and responsible in an organisation around a programme that is clear and can be understood by citizens. If someone had asked us in 1999, after many failed attempts to unify the opposition during the ‘90s, whether it would be possible to unite the opposition, few of us would have responded positively, yet it happened, with a clear aim and an understandable programme, and Milošević was subsequently defeated. All of those who form the democratic corpus in Serbia are our potential partners. ■

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INTERVIEW

BRANKO MILUTINOVIĆ CEO, Nordeus

Long-Term Success is

NOT A GAME

Google, Apple and Facebook all have a significant impact on the development and life of mankind, even beyond their direct domain, and are constantly working on “changing” the world. Having a first row seat allows us to gain a slightly better understanding of the future and to act accordingly, developing technologies that will be relevant two years from today, and not two years ago for smart devices requires us to be very fast and innovative. That's why we are mainly focused on the first two methods – we make games that have the potential to be relevant on the market for a very long time and in which, in turn, we invest a lot of effort and knowledge. And the key success factors here are people, careful selection and investment in their development.

■ “Top Eleven - Be a football manager” recently found itself in the Hall of Fame among the top five “older” games on Facebook.

How much do you think this kind of success is a result of the good estimate of Nordeus regarding interest in football and how much is it to do with the quality of the platform itself?

C

ompany Nordeus marked five years of operations this March. In 2010 the three founders launched Top Eleven, which quickly became the world's most popular cross-platform online sports game. Today this company has over 160 employees in five cities around the world, Belgrade, London, San Francisco, Dublin and Skopje.

■ Many companies engaged in game development have experienced their own rise and fall in popularity with the moving of the interests of their users towards some other games. In these times of rapid technological change, what are the key factors for the long-term survival of your business?

- I believe that several specific factors determine the success which we have been building for the previous five years. Long-term sustainability is achieved in three ways: by keeping existing products, services and technology relevant and successful; innovation, i.e. creating new products and technologies and; optimization of operations (primarily costs). Pioneering products and technologies 28 |

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- It is undeniable that football is “the most important secondary thing in the world”. It was actually from a love of sport, especially football, that Top Eleven was created, as well as all of its advanced later versions. Hyper-production of different online content, which is reflected in the fact that thousands of applications are produced around the world every day, opened up infinite opportunities for people to quickly, easily and according to their own liking, reach desired information, entertain themselves, increase their productivity and communicate. However, this also result in shortening their average half-life drastically. According to research conducted

by Flurry in 2014, for example, for news apps that half-life now totals seven months, while for games it is just two months. This practically means that a game will lose half of its user base in the two months following the peak of its popularity. Hence the title of “older” testifies to the quality of Top Eleven, as well as the effort and knowledge that we invested in all of its elements.

Games reach the Facebook Wall of Fame on the basis of player ratings, strength of Facebook implementation, growth and overall quality. Top Eleven found itself on the wall in December 2014,

more than four years after its launch. We believe its success is due to a combination of love for the sport and games, with some luck that accompanied us from the launch, considering the fact that we fought with much bigger players on the global market. One of the biggest challenges was to persevere and “beat” Electronic Arts, which launched the game FIFA 2010 on the same day, for which we needed a year and a half.

At the time Top Eleven was launched in 2010 it was a huge innovation. It offered complex gameplay and features on smart devices and Facebook, which at the time were mostly features for PCs. We were the first in the world to bring a real cross platform game, which practically means that the player can lead his team from a home computer and then continue the game seamlessly on a mobile phone or tablet while waiting in line somewhere. Today, that is an industry standard applied by all leading companies.

What is also important is that Top Eleven can be downloaded and played free of charge, and it also encourages social interaction and challenges through social media channels. Apart from that, we’ve done much more to ensure Top Eleven is unique for players, such as cooperation with Jose Mourihno, who became our trademark face in 2013, with all the top clubs, such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and others.

of the experience, knowledge and talent at our disposal. London, Dublin and San Francisco are global tech hubs where our main partners (Google, Apple, Facebook) and our competitors are present. Thus we are constantly at the source of events and have access to professionals of all profiles. Belgrade and Skopje give access to an equally talented labour market, albeit one lacking experience in working on world class projects. By combining the talents and experience of all people at Nordeus, wherever they are, we try to advance and be competitive against the most successful global companies. This is a great advantage for Nordeus and all those who make it, because limits dissolve for access to information, knowledge and technology.

■ Your team in Belgrade includes Serbian professionals and for-

eign employees. Is this a sign that Serbian professionals lack personnel who possess the experience that their foreign colleagues

■ One of the other reasons for your success is that you can see on

time the transfer of the game to other platforms and the possibility of their networking. What do you think is the next step when it comes to platforms that will move our activity?

- The popularisation of smart mobile devices not only led to the people’s activities moving from personal computers to mobile devices, but rather a huge number of people were also exposed to video games for the first time. That was a big change for our industry and, in a way, it was lucky that we were in the right place at the right time.

It is difficult to predict when the next change of that magnitude will happen. Mobile devices will certainly record increasing penetration on the market year after year. At Nordeus there are now growing numbers of fans of virtual reality and the technology called Oculus VR. We are lucky enough to have the privilege of accessing and experimenting with the technologies they are building, giving us the opportunity to see the potential which is hard to presume until you actually go deeper into the matter.

■ In terms of the number of employees and number of offices,

you have grown into a serious company with, one might say, a global presence. What were your motives for such a distribution of work (Belgrade, Skopje, Dublin, San Francisco and London) and what do each of these places offer in terms of the selection of IT experts and logistics?

- With every step we take we think of the long-term success of Nordeus. On the one hand, we are growing very quickly and are one of the fastest growing gaming companies in Europe, while on the other side we are trying to stay focused and constantly improve our quality in every respect.

Today location is not crucial for collaboration, both within the company and with partners. Our games are delivered by small, empowered and diverse teams which have all it takes to be successful. Because of that we pay great attention to the complementarity

We invest in young people in Serbia in multiple ways and we care that they are able to work and live from their work in our country

have, or is this about the optimal choice of personnel, regardless of whether they are foreign or local IT professionals?

- The key is to find the best fit for each position at Nordeus, regardless of which language they speak or where they were born.

And that applies not only to product development, but also to all other functions, from social media to finance. As we have customers in every country of the world, we are required to build a diverse culture internally, capable of delivering products across the globe.

We’ve got almost 20 different nationalities working at Nordeus, including people from the United States, Italy, Canada, France, Indonesia, Brazil, Ukraine, etc. who work and live in Belgrade. On top of that, there are many Serbian nationals who we have relocated back to Serbia, bringing with them valuable experience gathered at Google, Facebook or other international game development companies.

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University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering – the school that more than 50 per cent of our employees graduated from and which we are working with year after year on equipping laboratories, scholarships and practical work experience for students at Nordeus. The results can already be seen, as significantly fewer “software” graduates abandoned the country in previous years, thanks both to Nordeus and other companies that are becoming competitive on the world market.

■ How much is the flexibility of these jobs an advantage and how much is it a challenge to retain high quality staff? How big a role in the attracting and retaining of personnel is played by the ability of employees to participate and propose their own innovations?

- Studies have shown that the main factor in the motivation and loyalty of employees is what they do, i.e. how much they are fulfilled by what they do and contribute. This is especially emphasised in the creative industries, and I can confirm with my own example that, while working at a more traditional corporation, I could not see my impact and contribute to us being better. At Nor-

deus we strive to ensure that is not the case and that is one of the biggest challenges we have faced during our growth from 10 people to 170. It is also one of the challenges that brought the biggest changes in internal organisation. We have had ups and downs, but when you draw the line – the key is to have our people empowered and accountable for all the improvements and innovations, the internal tools we develop, project methodologies, all the way to the final products.

As for flexibility, for us that is creating a balance between work and private life, removing situations where the job is the source of frustration. We believe that everyone who joins Nordeus is able to organise themselves and coordinate with the team and colleagues what time they will arrive at, or depart from work, whether they will go to a three-hour medical check-up or go home earlier to help their partner with the kids, when and how they will use their annual leave...

We are extremely proud of our results related to the loyalty and engagement of employees, and for me personally, of all the global and regional awards we have received, my favourite ones are those for the Best Employer in the previous three years. In the last five years only two people resigned, which is probably the best result in our industry worldwide.

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■ IT companies are very often considered “testers” for new organisational and management plans. In your opinion, how similar is leading Nordeus to leading every other company; and to what extent are ways provided for the formation of new management plans?

- We work in a very dynamic industry, where the only constant is change, which sometimes also creates additional pressure. We strive to ensure open communication and remind ourselves of our advantages, as well as our disadvantages and problems. I mentioned work in smaller teams that can quickly identify their needs, strengths and weaknesses and quickly make decisions. This is an advantage compared to other systems that are largely divided in terms of functions, which significantly slow down decision-making, changes, adaptation and even communication.

■ You are a partner of Facebook, Google and Apple. From the per-

spective of these direct business relations, how do you see the development of these companies and the future of your cooperation with them?

- These three companies have a significant impact on the development and life of manIn the last kind, even beyond their direct domain, and five years are constantly working on “changing” the we were left world. Having a first row seat allows us to gain a slightly better understanding of the by only two future and to act accordingly, developing people, which technologies that will be relevant two years from today, and not two years ago, which is is probably a great advantage, but also a privilege and the best a responsibility. I also mentioned access result in our to platforms and tools that have yet to become available, such as Facebook's Oculus industry VR, which will completely change the way worldwide we consume entertainment, then Apple's Watch, which will become a genuine personalised high-tech monitor of our health and lifestyle, as well as assisting us in our daily lives.

■ We recently had the opportunity to hear that the Serbian gov-

ernment wants to lure Google to Belgrade. Based on your experience, what would be the best combination of what Serbia has to offer and the needs of Google?

- I would certainly regard the arrival of Google in Serbia as a significant step forward. If they plan to open one of their development and innovation centres here, I'm not sure that the number of highly qualified staff Serbia can offer Google is sufficient today, especially given the fact that the majority of Serbia’s high-skilled professionals live abroad. However, I think that the further positioning of Belgrade as a regional centre and a city open to repatriation and immigration, as well as increasing the number of software engineers through our colleges, would be important prerequisites for something like that to happen in the future.

■ You once said that you are a supporter of funding from one’s own resources and not from venture capital sources. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches, from the standpoint of a company in development?

The key is to find - Regardless of the fact that we decided to be in■ You certainly have insight into the movements dependent in this sense, both methods have their the best fit for each of our young professionals in the fields of your advantages and disadvantages. In the case of What do you think should be done to position at Nordeus, business. venture capital, the motives are primarily often keep them in Serbia and what is the real potential regardless of which and prospects of the IT sector in Serbia? not the same – people from companies want to - More success stories – a success story will create fulfil their mission and vision, to “do something language they the next success story. Our high-tech sector needs to more”, while investors generally only want to speak or where transform from an outsourcing alternative to India sell their shares for more than they initially paid. they were born. and Eastern Europe, to an ecosystem of companies This includes the right to participate in or conAnd that applies trol business decisions. Things can become parthat create value, their own products and services. ticularly “ugly” when “the KPIs go south”. As the not only to product That environment provides the challenge that top advantages of this type of funding, apart from the talent needs in order to develop and be contented. development, but obvious risk reduction and greater opportunities And that’s also what attracts capital. That transforalso to all other mation takes time, but I’m always reminded it is posto develop a business quickly, there is also a feeling that you “succeeded” because someone recsible, thanks to Israel – a country of comparable size functions, from ognised your success and decided to invest. to Serbia which has the most tech IPOs on NASDAQ social media to Self-funding creates a much more difficult path after the U.S. Another thing to be done is to increase finance initially, which is reflected in restrictions on initial the quality and quantity of graduates in the field of investments, employment and development on the IT. The support universities receive from institutions market (slow growth can often be a reason for failure). You have and the local economy is insufficient. We have proved it’s not that the feeling that you are alone against everyone, and sometimes adhard by supporting the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in its efforts vice or an occasional open door would be welcome. to practically double the number of software engineering students As advantages, I certainly see the freedom to take risks, innoin the last few years. Those graduates are capable, within a proper vate, make unconventional moves and bring decisions much more framework and management, to change the world, and to do so right quickly than when you have to discuss them with a “third party”. from here, from a small country in the middle of the Balkans. ■

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INTERVIEW

JASNA DIMITRIJEVIĆ Director the Ilija Kolarac Foundation

Centre of a Cultural

SERBIA

The Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation, established by the Serbian merchant of the same name in the 19th century, was founded thanks to the ducats left by this benefactor in his will. The Kolarac Foundation is one of the oldest and most distinguished cultural institutions in Serbia. Housed in a building constructed in 1932, it was the renowned Serbian philologist, professor, dean of the Belgrade University and President of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, Aleksandar Belić, who came up with the concept of how the building should be used in accordance with Kolarac’s dying wishes

T

oday the popular Kolarac Foundation represents one of the multicultural treasures of Belgrade and Serbia.

Very dynamic cultural, educational and creative life unfolds every day in this exceptionally beautiful building, which is located half way between Kalemegdan Fortress Park and the National Theatre and the National Museum, just opposite Student’s Square. Kolarac is primarily a concert venue, while there is also an art gallery. Many lectures on history and contemporary creative endeavours are also held here. New books are frequently promoted at Kolarac and the foundation also has a language school that is older than most foreign language departments at the Faculty of Philology.

Jasna Dimitrijević, who heads this cultural institution, began her successful career at Belgrade’s Dom Omladine youth centre and recently started her second four-year term as director of the Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation which, despite having only 62 employ32 |

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ees, is the veritable glue that binds together thousands and thousands of passionate aficionados of culture.

When she was offered the position of Kolarac’s director, Dimitrijević saw it as a fantastic challenge to do something for an institution she used to visit. With this she was given an opportunity to be on the inside and observe what could be changed carefully. However, she has always been mindful of the fact that the long tradition of this institution demands a certain level of quality that should not be jeopardised and that every change should be for the better.

■ The Kolarac Foundation, or just Kolarac, is a very special institution. Could you tell us something about its status today?

- Its status is regulated by the Law on Endowments, Foundations and Funds. The institution’s main activity is the permanent purpose set out in the last will and testament of Ilija M. Kolarac, who

insisted that the ducats and funds from the property he left behind be used to build a national university with a long-lasting mission for this institution to be engaged in culture and further education.

This was a wise decision, as no institution in Serbia provides all the required knowledge. Kolarac’s programme was devised with the aim of “filling in the gaps” found in university programmes.

And today, eight decades after its establishment, this institution still justifies the reasons for its existence. According to the Law on Endowments, we can enter competitions launched by the City of Belgrade and the Republic of Serbia and participate in projects.

However, the same law does not envisage investments in the facility’s infrastructure. There is an article in the Law on Culture which can be considered applicable to foundations, but this article hasn’t been applied in practice for the last five years. This is not good for cultural policies. Six or seven years ago we were mentioned in the city’s budget as a concert hall of special importance for the City of Belgrade and it was on that basis that we were given funds covering a third of our employee salaries, as well as some electricity and heating costs. In return, the City could use our hall free of charge. Considering the current economic situation, I don’t expect the State or City authorities to provide financial assistance. As such, we have to extend our list of donors who are willing to help us through longer cooperation. Unfortunately, the list of donors and sponsors is getting shorter by the day and is currently reduced to just 60-odd companies in Serbia.

■ Where do you currently find funds?

- They come mainly from our own revenue – the fees charged by the Foreign Language School, ticket sales and leasing out of our premises. Our Music Centre and art gallery have both applied for projects in line with their core activities and we are fairly optimistic regarding the outcome.

We recently set up a small hall at the Foundation that will be named after our great scientist Josif Pančić and will be used solely for film screenings.

For now this project is developing fine and we expect it to continue that way. The general idea is to develop film programmes within the scope of our educational activities. So, the answer to your question is that we manage somehow. During the last few summers our employees have been receiving minimum salaries, as summer is the time when we don’t generate any revenue from tickets or the Foreign Language School.

making them part of the new programmes. Young people represent our target group in both cases.

Our project partners are culture centres from Italy, Poland and Greece, and in the next three years we will implement activities relating to our lectures, the music centre and the art gallery. In the following few months we will also form a board of young people who will be given the task of attracting new audiences and participating in the creation of new content based on the existing programme platform. This project is primarily aimed at younger generations, who provide a hotbed of new ideas.

■ What is your approach to creating content for new visitors?

- That is based on the many surveys we have conducted and will

The institution’s main activity is the permanent purpose set out in the last will and testament of Ilija M. Kolarac, who insisted that the funds from the property he left behind be used to build a national university

■ You applied for participation in a European project called ‘Take Over’ and were granted funds. Could you explain that project in a bit more detail?

- We applied to participate in the Take Over project, which is part of the Creative Europe 2014-2020 programme. The UK’s British Council is responsible for the implementation of this project, which promotes activities aimed at attracting new audiences and

continue to conduct in the future, in order to determine which direction we should take as closely as possible. One of these surveys has shown that of 40 surveyed high schools students in Belgrade, 38 had never been to Kolarac. This finding implies strongly that we should create new content aimed at high school students. This is a segment that has a lot of room for development.

■ Concerts at Kolarac are your speciality. Consid-

ering the current financial circumstances, how do you lure renowned solo artists or orchestras to perform here?

- Free promenade concerts, which take place every Sunday at 11am, are the backbone of the Kolarac Music Centre. Our goal is to provide a musical education and promote Serbian chamber orchestras.

This is a wonderful tradition and the concerts have proven very popular. Last season we had 38 weekly concerts, with over 120 domestic performers and chamber orchestras participating. The concert tradition dates back several decades to a time when the state authorities provided money for such cultural events, in order to make them accessible to as many people as possible. We are still cultivating this tradition, since we think that by so doing we APRIL

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are nurturing the good habits of our audience members, who will hopefully consider buying tickets for some of our other concerts.

At the music centre we have been developing the concert activities of music schools and the Faculty of Music, as an overview of the performing arts in Serbia and as a venue for promoting future music hopefuls. Additionally, concerts that form part of the ‘Bard of the Music Scene’ series have been continuing for the past 18 years and are very popular. I don’t mean to brag, but this is what Kolarac is renowned for. We are one of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe. This is where leading artists, soloists and orchestras popular in Europe and worldwide present their work. The concerts are funded through donations by culture centres from the home countries of our respective performing artists. However, in the last 18 years Telekom Serbia has been the biggest sponsor of

are the ones who pick the lecture topics. Because we have spent decades promoting science, we now enjoy the support of all scientific institutions and faculties in terms of finding lecture topics and suggesting topics related to their respective research areas.

This means that the topics are chosen by over a hundred people who are the best representatives of the areas covered. At the beginning of each season we make a plan for lecture series, followed by the selection of public figures and scientists who would be the best choice to speak about a given subject. These lectures attract a fairly loyal audience. Our analyses show that, in terms of the number of people in attendance, these lectures are much more prevalent and dominant compared to concerts, despite the fact that Kolarac is mainly recognised as a concert hall by the general public. Good lecturers and current topics from the country and the region are the reasons why these lectures are so successful. If the people who edit these programmes are not cooperative and willing to communicate, success will not happen. If you don’t have the initiative from the inside, you have to open your doors and invite people who have ideas, knowledge, skills and connections. I am an advocate of such forms of work.

■ Employees are usually not that willing to accept such external interventions.

- This is typical for any cultural institution.

People are reluctant to let outsiders in because that disrupts their everyday work and pace. Changes for the better are not possible if there are no new ideas and initiatives. Progress is based on this principle. If an institution really wants to survive under current circumstances, and simultaneously be successful, which is something we also want, then we need to be willing to this concert series.

Because we have spent pace with the world. Our concept is to Last year we launched an initiative that decades promoting science, keep become sustainable with the programmes is continuing and through which we plan we now enjoy the support of we currently have and this sustainability to raise enough money to buy a piano for Kolarac. This initiative is called ‘Concerts all scientific institutions and implies covering our overheads, including for our employees, and applying for Kolarac’. I would also like to underline faculties in terms of finding salaries to participate in as many projects as possithe efforts exerted by world famous Serbian lecture topics and suggesting ble. But before we do that we need to have artists who held their first ever concerts at a clear vision in order to be appealing to Kolarac. They have been holding donation topics related to their sponsors and donors. It is interesting to concerts in the towns where they now live respective research areas note that, despite the fact that the Kolarac and work. So far such concerts have been Foundation was founded by the Ministry of held in New York, Washington, Boston, Miami and Linz.

Education after the war, this very ministry hasn’t supported any of our projects whatsoever. That’s quite odd, given that Kolarac’s ■ Lectures at Kolarac are a special way of communicating with role is to promote knowledge and education equally. Kolarac can the audience and are often hits in terms of the topics they cover. provide immeasurable benefits to the Serbian education system, It is quite obvious that these lectures have been attracting much but it seems that the Ministry of Education is not so interested. attention, which inevitably leads us to think that people are quite Nevertheless, I will not give up. Our aim is for Kolarac to become interested in attending them. a modern 21st century foundation that will function thanks to cer- Kolarac has 17 departments covering all segments of natural tain sources of funding, but will also be able to generate its own and social sciences. Our department members are scientists and revenue for the projects we are implementing, like the one for the university professors and each department has five of each. They Creative Europe programme. ■ 34 |

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

BUSINESS LEADERS’ MEETING POINT

APRIL 2015

38 PAGE

42 PAGE

Alumil: Tenth Anniversary of

Success Cleverly

Aluminium Production in Serbia RITA LOZINSKY

CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR ALUMIL YU INDUSTRY A.D

Tailored

BILJANA JOVANOVIĆ

OWNER AND CEO OF LUNA FASHION HOUSE APRIL

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WE BUILD THE FUTURE TOGETHER General sponsor:

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Do not miss the Building Trade Fair in Belgrade!

Building products and systems.

Materials, equipment.

Tools and technologies for construction.

Machinery and equipment.

Consultancy services and design.

A large number of exhibitors.

International Building Trade Fair April 15 - 19 , 2015 th

th

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

Alumil: Tenth Anniversary of Aluminium Production in Serbia RITA LOZINSKY

CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR ALUMIL YU INDUSTRY A.D

Alumil Yu Industry celebrated a decade of operations in Serbia as the market leader in the region with the ambition to continue investing in Serbia

W

ith four decades of experience in Greece and around the world, the Alumil Group has applied its accumulated knowhow successfully in Serbia for ten years.

■ Alumil is marking ten years since the launch of operations at its aluminium profiles factory. What have been the company’s biggest successes in this period?

- May this year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of

following the difficult ‘90s and heavy bombardment, when not only the whole country, but also Serbia’s legal framework, found itself in transition.

While old laws ceased to be valid, new ones were yet to be enforced. Despite all the difficulties we faced, I would like to emphasise that we encountered very good relations with the state and local institutions responsible for realising this major project. That’s why I think that, in addition to excellent

such an approach to investing?

- Three generations of owners of the Alumil Group have spent more than four decades building their factories not only in Greece, but also in other Balkan countries, which is why the group has its own accumulated knowhow, its own technology and its own standards, and that is easiest to realised when you start from the field. Another important reason we prefer greenfield investments is that when purchasing the land we already plan our future phases of investment many years ahead. In Serbia we have so far realised two phases of construction, investing €26 million in 9.5 hectares of land, 30,000 square metres of production and storage facilities,

Thanks to excellent products - a very wide range of aluminium profile systems for construction and industry, a focus on the customer, as well as excellent technical and commercial support, we have managed not only to create, but also preserve, our leading position on the Serbian market

operations at the Alumil Yu Industry factory in Nova Pazova, and also the 20th anniversary of Alumil’s presence on the Serbian market. After years of successful operations in the then Yugoslavia, in 2002 the management made the decision to build a factory in a good strategic location near Belgrade. That was the period 38 |

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business operations, the greatest success of that period was that we managed to gain all necessary permits on time and build a modern factory according to the latest European standards.

■ Alumil was the first greenfield investment in Serbia. What were the key advantages of

with two extrusion lines and the most modern powder coating plant in Serbia. The continuation of investment will follow.

■ Alumil is a leading company in the region in terms of production, range and the network it relies on. In which way did you gain customers and

achieve such a good market position?

- Since its founding, the Alumil Group has invested greatly in the development of its products and in innovation. Thanks to excellent products, i.e. a very wide range of aluminium profile systems for construction and industry, a focus on the customer, as well as excellent technical and commercial support from our colleagues, who are constantly available to our customers, we have managed not only to create, but also preserve, our leading position on the Serbian market.

■ What will be your recipe for success in the coming period?

- I think success in business is not a culinary recipe, where every

housewife has their own little secret ingredient.

Success in business is the constant and devoted work of each employee in the group, constant development and rapid adaptation to economic changes in the country and the region, through the development of products and the opening of new markets. ■

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RELATIONS

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“The Austrian economy has always sought good relations with Serbia, even though politically that perhaps has not been the case in the past.”

LOCAL NEWS

— RICHARD SCHENZ, Vice President, Austrian Economic Chambers

01 ENERGY

02 INVESTMENT

Agrokor interested in Victoriaoil

Delta Holding to build InterContinental hotel in Ljubljana

Croatian concern Agrokor would be interested in Serbian refined and raw vegetable oil producer Victoriaoil if its parent, agro-industrial conglomerate Victoria Group, decides to shed this business, the Croatian company announced.

In November, Victoria Group chief operations officer Nikola Vujacic told SeeNews in an interview that he sees room for mergers between certain companies within the group with peers from the region in

order to boost performance through synergies.

Victoria, which employs over 1,800, is primarily focused on processing of soybeans and sunflower oilseeds and on grain trading.

03 BANKING

04 BANKING

Support for SMEs

Halkbank Buys Cacanska Banka for €10.1mln

BORIS STEVIĆ, President of the EB Sogelease (left), ANDREAS BEIKOS, Head of EIB Belgrade office, and FREDERIC COIN, CEO of Societe Generale Srbija

On 18th March, Societe Generale Bank Srbija (SGS) and its leasing company, Sogelease, signed two facilities with the European Investment Bank (EIB) totalling €80 millon to provide support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Societe Generale Bank Srbija has been strongly developing in the financing of SMEs since 2010, with the signifiance of SMEs to the development of the Serbian Economy set to rise in the years to come.

"New Facilities should enable Societe Generale Group to continue its strong orientation toward supporting the development of our current and potential SME clients, providing them with financing under favourable conditions in the coming years.” said Societe Generale Srbija CEO Frederic Coin.

Turkey’s state-run Halkbank said on 20th March it had signed a deal to buy a 76.76 per cent stake in Serbian lender Čačanska Banka for €10.1 million. Čačanska Banka has a 1.1 per cent market share and assets of €263 million.

Serbia agreed on a deal with Halkbank for the sale of a stake in Čačanska Banka after months of talks prior to inking the agreement, Serbia’s finance ministry said.

Some 28.48 per cent of the bank is owned by the Serbian government, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) holds 24.99 per cent. The International Finance Corporation owns 19.99 per cent and the remaining 26.54 per cent is owned by other shareholders.

Delta Holding and Slovenian company Rastoder signed a letter of intent late last month regarding the construction of a hotel in the centre of Ljubljana.

Delta Holding plans to commence construction of the €50 million hotel this year and the 220-room hotel will be operated under the InterContinental brand.

Delta Holding announced in January that it is planning a €110 million high-end hotel located in Belgrade.

5 THINGS

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE DO THAT OTHERS DON'T

1

They Go to Work to Prosper, Not Just to Work 05 CONSTRUCTION

Energoprojekt Signs Deals in Ghana and Qatar Serbian civil engineering conglomerate Energoprojekt Holding reported in late March that its unit in Ghana has signed a contract worth $50 million. Energoprojekt Ghana, an Energoprojekt Visokogradnja subsidiary, and Ecobank Ghana have signed a contract for con40 |

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struction and installation works on the Ecobank building in Accra.

Energoprojekt Entel has also signed a deal with Qatar Petroleum to prepare the project documentation for crude oil tank construction, totalling $15.3 million.

Source: SeeNews

2

They Exercise Incredible Drive 3

They Never Make Excuses 4

They Focus on Their Goals Daily 5

They Are Willing to Fail

REASONS “The reasons why Austrian investors should pick Serbia are: political stability, economic reforms, free trade agreements, quick procedures for construction permits, subsidies for investors, a good tax system, good quality workforce and low fuel prices.”

— MARKO ČADEŽ, President, Serbian Chamber of Commerce

Placements & postings

06 WIENER STÄDTISCHE

Wiener Städtische wins Günter Geyer award

appointments@aim.rs

H.E. ABDELHAMID CHEBCHOUB NEW AMBASSADOR OF ALGERIA TO SERBIA

In competition against around 50 companies from 25 countries worldwide, Belgrade-based Wiener Städtische osiguranje (insurance) won second prize for social responsibility, in recognition of its projects “Sports Class – Straighten Up!”, “100 oak in 10 years”, as well as for cooperation with NURDOR, the Circle of Serbian Sisters and the Drinka Pavlović Home for Children without Parental Care.

Wiener Städtische osiguranje will direct the prize money of €30,000 towards new social responsibility projects in Serbia. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Günter Geyer prize has been awarded at the level of the Vienna Insurance Group by the principal shareholder of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, in order to remind its members of their responsibility towards the environment and the communities in which they live and operate.

07 VLASINKA

08 HEMOFARM

Rosa water and Vlasinka factory celebrate 10-year anniversary

Hemofarm at Career days

Rosa water and factory Vlasinka celebrated its 10 years of successful operations within the Coca-Cola system.

The occasion of the jubilee celebrations saw the organising of the concept of the World Cafe panel discussion, which saw discussions between representatives of the Coca-Cola system, corporate, civil and governmental sectors, as well as the media, on the topics that marked the most important parts of the business and brand development of Rosa and the Vlasinka factory. Panellists shared experiences on the subject of privatisation, investment in the advancement of the local community, innovation and socially responsible projects.

“This year we decided to celebrate this anniversary through a constructive dialogue, creating the basis for new directions of development.” said Ramon Weidinger, CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic Serbia.

This year’s Career Days job fair at Belgrade’s Crown Plaza Hotel saw around 60 students participate in a workshop held by representatives of Hemofarm, at which they were able to familiarise themselves first-hand with the culture of the company and the specificities of the operations of this leading player on the regional pharmaceu-

Ambassador Abdelhamid Chebchoub (61) graduated from the Ecole Nationale in Administration and gained a degree in Spanish at the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogota, Colombia.

He has worked at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1978 – first as head of the Bureau for the NonAligned Countries, before going on to amass an enviable diplomatic career.

In 2005 he became ambassador to Senegal and simultaneously ambassador to Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, headquartered in Dakar.

He has been a delegation member at several meetings and summits of non-aligned countries, the Arab Maghreb Union and other important meetings at which he represented Algeria.

Mr Chebchoub is an Associate Professor at the Higher College of Administration and is a married father of three children.

H.E. HARRY RICHARD JAMES KANDOU

NEW INDONESIAN AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA

Mr Kandou (55) graduated International Law at Sam Ratulangi University, Manado, Indonesia, in 1985, before graduating from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1990. His diplomatic career began in 1992 as a member of Information, Social and Cultural Affairs Staff at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York, U.S. In 1996 he served as Deputy Director for State/Official Visit Affairs, Directorate of Protocol, and from 1999 he was Head of Section of Information, Social, and Cultural Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Switzerland. After several engagements within the Indonesian diplomatic corps, in 2012 Mr Kandou took on the post of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indonesian Embassy in London and from there he arrived in Belgrade to take on the role of ambassador to Serbia.

Ambassador Kandou is a married father of four children.

ALEXEY TIKHONOV tical market. Young academics had the opportunity, through concrete examples and direct conversations with representatives of the sector, to see in which ways medicines are produced, controlled and traded on 37 markets worldwide.

Hemofarm this year hired 165 new people, mainly in Vršac and Šabac, and as of this year the company is further developing its talent programme.

NEW SUPPLY CHAIN DIRECTOR AT NESTLÉ ADRIATIC REGION

Alexey Tikhonov has been named supply chain director and management team member at Nestlé Adriatic region, headquartered in Belgrade. Tikhonov assumes this function after serving as planning manager in the supply chain of the confectionery range for the EMENA Zone (Europe, Middle East and North Africa), based at Nestlé’s company headquarters in Switzerland.

During his more than fifteen years at Nestlé, Alexey has gained experience in the procurement field, working on various markets, including those of Russia and the Eurasian region. During his time spent in Switzerland, Alexey worked to improve operational processes in the category of confectionery products, helping the company improve operating results significantly.

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

Success Cleverly

Tailored BILJANA JOVANOVIĆ

OWNER AND CEO OF LUNA FASHION HOUSE

Neither economic nor social conditions currently favour entrepreneurs, but Požarevac-based fashion house Luna, backed by hundreds of hard-working and dedicated women, is an example that it is possible to achieve success on the domestic and the international markets even under such challenging conditions

F

ashion house Luna, launched more than twenty years ago as a small craft workshop in Požarevac, is today a renowned fashion house that operates on the domestic and international markets. Biljana Jovanović, owner and CEO of Luna, is one of the country’s most successful female entrepreneurs, as evidenced by numerous national and international awards.

■ What did the recent visit of eight lady ambassadors to your Požarevac factory mean to you as a female entrepreneur?

- For Fashion House LUNA and me personally, the recent visit of as many as eight lady ambassadors to our production facilities in Požarevac represents the recognition and confirmation of our results to date, but also motivation for future efforts. The visit was initiated by the Australian Ambassador as a mark of support for female entrepreneurship and she showed me great honour by recognising me as a credible representative of female entrepreneurship in Serbia.

■ Do you think female entrepreneurship is recognised sufficiently and supported by institu-

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the “Most European women’s company”, awarded by the Association of Business Women in Serbia.

tions and the banking system?

- Entrepreneurship in Serbia, and especially female entrepreneurship, is generally not sufficiently established. Economic and social conditions do not favour women – the system does not allow them to harmonise family and business commitments.

There are only a few entrepreneurship support programmes, such as the Small Business Support (SBS) project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Within that project there is a special segment dedicated to entrepreneurs, though the funds received are limited and aimed towards improving knowl-

nantly female collective?

- Fashion House LUNA is a typical female company. Behind it stand hundreds of hard-working and dedicated women; and it is thanks to their vision and work that LUNA has become one of the most recognisable domestic brands.

The specificity of doing business in a predominantly female collective is that there is greater mutual understanding and support, especially when it comes to families and children.

Women also have the ability to multitask and thereby deliver better and greater results in less time. Simultaneously, they strive to express their creative side and

■ How difficult is it to impose yourself on the market, both domestically and internationally, when you hail from a small town in Serbia?

- It is difficult to position products from Serbia on foreign markets, especially when it comes to the fashion industry, because we are not expected to have that kind of capacity and quality.

LUNA today exports over 50% of its products to Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, and we will not stop there.

We were given great encouragement in December last year in Sweden, when we received recognition from the IWEC (International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge) for the development of international

edge and not investment.

When it comes to our banking sector, there is little support coming from there.

the female preference for aesthetics, especially in the sphere of fashion.

It is my pleasure to note that in October 2014 Fashion House LUNA received the Cvet Uspeha (Flower of Success) recognition for

operations in the Balkans.

LUNA is now present in nine cities in Serbia. One of the biggest challenges we face as a company from the provinces is finding staff among a workforce that is increasingly rushing to larger cities. ■

■ What are the specifics of doing business in a predomi-

In October 2014 Fashion House LUNA received the Cvet Uspeha (Flower of Success) recognition for the “Most European women’s company”, awarded by the Association of Business Women in Serbia

Award-Winning

Design

Today’s busy families and households seeking to entertain friends, but also hospitality industry professionals, will find the right tools in BergHOFF’s exquisitely designed products linked to cooking, eating and drinking

B

elgian company BergHOFF takes great pride in the design and engineering of its products related to cooking, eating and drinking. The company’s core is formed by its in-house design & development department, where a team of designers, quality controllers and product managers takes care of all stages of production. This continuous pursuit of perfection has resulted in numerous designs receiving international design awards and accolades. Awards like the Design Preis Deutschland, Good Design Award, iF Product Design award and the Good Design Awards have been bestowed on numerous BergHOFF products.

The company’s products don’t just look great. They also have well-conceived functionality. For instance, the unique draining function of the Neo cookware al-

lows liquids to pour in a safe and convenient way, or the Scala pans, which are designed for stovetop use, but can also – thanks to their detachable handles – be used in the oven! Other functions contribute in a more discrete but high impact way, enabling a comfortable, healthy and energy-efficient way of cooking.

Furthermore, in 2012 the company entered the Best Customer Marketing niche and found new opportunities on the B2B market. A dedicated range was conceived to cater for these new markets, which inspired clients from many international retail and wholesale chains.

In 2015 licenses from Disney and Lucas Film will provide BergHOFF with a new opportunity to reach out to customers with products like drinking glasses, mugs and many other branded items. ■

STEAK HOUSE IS HERE

Scotch Beef Member ( T H E O N LY M E M B E R O U T S I D E T H E U K )

Toro Grill is is a restaurant with premium steaks from Scotland (the only restaurant in Serbia) and from Pester.

www.restorantorogrill.com Recommended by TripAdvisor

INFO:

Tel: 0035 9897 86 6666 E-mail: balkan@berghoff.be

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PHENOMENON

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“The region is currently threatened by two phenomena: on the one hand there is IS (Islamic State) and violent extremism in some parts of the Balkans, while on the other is increasing Russian influence.” — HASHIM THACI, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo

REGIONAL NEWS 01 FYR MACEDONIA

02 WEST BALKAN

Stroytransgaz begins construction of gas pipeline

Macedonia and Kosovo Have Lowest Minimum Wages

Russian energy company Stroytransgaz inaugurated the construction of a gas pipeline in Klechovtse, that will link Macedonia’s gas network to neighbouring Greece and through the Turkish Stream project.

In the first phase Stroytransgaz will build a 61-kilometre section from Klechovtse to Negotino that will allow gas to be delivered to the city of Stip. The construction of this section is planned to be completed in about a year. In the second phase another 60 km of pipeline will be built to enable connection to Greece’s gas network. The estimated cost of the Macedonian pipeline is about €71 million. Skopje will pay only €13.8 million, while the rest will be offset against debt, owed by the former USSR to the former Yugoslav Federation.

Citizens of Macedonia and Kosovo are paid the lowest minimum wages in the Western Balkans, while Montenegro and Croatia have the highest minimums, according to Eurostat.

The latest statistics show that minimum wages in Kosovo range from €130 to €170, in Macedonia €131, in Albania €149, in Serbia €174 and in Bosnia-Herzegovina €191. The Montenegrin minimum totals €193, while in Croatia it stands at €396.

NIKOLA GRUEVSKI, Macedonian Prime minister

03 ROMANIA

Generali Romania Doubles Net Profit Generali Romania almost doubled its net profit last year, from €4.5 to €8.8 million. Its revenues from subscriptions simultaneously rose by 5.5%.

Generali’s written premiums last year totalled €104.7 million, up from €99.3 million in 2013.

General breakdown insurance grew 8.5% to €87.06 million, while life policies fell 7.2% to €17.7 million.

As for compensation, the amounts which the insurer paid on the general insurance segment dropped by 11.7% to €48.9 million. Life policies generated payments worth €5.5 million, up 63.6% from 2013. Total compensation fell by 7.3% to €54.4 million.

05 CROATIA

Agrokor Signs New €325mln Financing Agreement Agrokor has signed a new financing agreement worth €325 million to refinance its liabilities and support its further development.

“Agrokor has signed a financing arrangement consisting of a club facility of €300 million with Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley and a bilateral Agreement of €25 million with BNP Paribas for the total consideration of €325 million,” the company said on its website.

The loan matures in 18 months and is backed by guarantees from Jamnica, PIK Vinkovci and Zvijezda, which are members of Agrokor Group. Agrokor has also extended an existing €25 millon arrangement with BNP Paribas to 18 months.

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04 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

New "Henkel-Ceresit" Factory on Schedule

Construction of the “Henkel-Ceresit“ factory in Bileća is on schedule and is expected to be completed in early June, reports Srna.

“The construction of the factory, providing new jobs for the local population and creating new business opportunities, confirm this company’s commitment to longterm investment and the development of business activities,“ said Predrag Armuš, managing director of Henkel-Ceresit.

The company points out that detailed analysis and research carried out by Henkel resulted in high scores for the geographical position of the Bileća Municipality, due to the proximity of all other markets where Henkel-Ceresit’s products will be sold.

REFORMS

06 BULGARIA

“Thaci should accept reality and take into account that citizens are harmed by any postponement of the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, which is simultaneously the process of establishing the basis for Kosovo's economic development.” — MARKO ĐURIĆ, head of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo

Placements & postings

Tenders Launched for Hemus and Trakiya Motorways

appointments@aim.rs

JOSÉ EVARISTO RAMÓN XILOTL RAMÍREZ NEW AMBASSADOR OF MEXICO TO SERBIA

Tenders on renovation and maintenance works for the older sections of Bulgaria’s Hemus and Trakiya motorways have now been launched.

Maintenance and renovation works are planned in response to severe weather conditions along a 78.5km section of the Hemus motorway stretching between Sofia and Yablanitsa. According to preliminary prognoses, the total value of the first tender will amount to €7.7 million.

The second tender is for maintenance of a 208km portion of the Trakiya motorway, connecting Sofia and Stara Zagora, and all smaller roads along the route. It is estimated that the second project can be completed at a cost of €10.2 million.

The deadline for the completion of the works has been set at 48 months.

07 KOSOVO

08 MONTENEGRO

Only 3% of imported oil subject to quality control

EU Funding for Montenegro's Central Bank

In the past five years 1.5 million litres of oil have been imported to Kosovo daily and only 3% has been subjected to quality control.

Media advisor to the Minister of Trade, Vjollca Dibra, said that the ministry is very interested in seeing proper quality control of any oil that enters the country. She added that the Ministry expects the EU to help finance this important work.

Ramón XILOTL Ramírez entered Mexico’s diplomatic service in 1975 and has served as Consul General in Houston, San Diego, Dallas, Washington, London and New York. He held the position of Director of Consular Affairs at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and has been a delegate of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico in the state of Puebla.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Autonomous University of Puebla and also served as a professor at the Matias Romero Institute for Diplomatic Studies, University of the Federal State of Puebla and at the Aparicio school centre in Puebla. He was also Head of Diplomatic and Consular Law at the University of North and South America.

Ambassador Xilotl has participated in many national and international gatherings and conferences, and has also published a number of papers and articles in magazines and newspapers. He is the author of the books “Mexican Consular Law”, “Mexican Diplomatic Ethics” and “Consular Legal Essays”.

As well as being appointed ambassador of Mexico to Serbia, he is also accredited as non-resident ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia.

Ambassador Xilotl is a father of three and is married to Mrs Montserrat Soberon.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) have completed a technical cooperation programme worth €300,000 to support the CBCG in its preparations to join the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which comprises the central banks of all European Union (EU) Member States, once the country has qualified for EU membership.

At an event held to mark the conclusion of the programme, ECB Executive Board Member Benoȋt Cœuré handed over a needs-assessment report to Milojica Dakić, Governor of the CBCG. The report identified areas in which the CBCG could make progress by implementing new rules or policies, changing practices and training staff over the coming years.

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

FINANCE

New Forecast Expects €4 Trillion to

Flow Out of the Eurozone

BY WILL

PETERS

The latest coverage of institutional euro exchange rate forecasts (EUR) sees massive outflows of currency from the Eurozone are needed for the area’s current account to become sustainable

S

The massive shift out of Eurozone assets will require the exchange of currency, the net result a fall in the euro rate against key majors.

The two stand-out winners against the shared currency are the British pound and U.S. dollar.

As the below graphic shows, Britain and the United States are by far the most popular destination of Eurozone capital.

ince the launch of the euro, there has money is owned by external investors - also not been such a swift and aggressive known as the net international investment meltdown in the currency pair like the position (NIIP). one happening now, points out Kathy Lien; Research at Deutsche Bank shows Europe Managing Director of FX Strategy at BK Asset is currently a net debtor to the rest of the Management. world, “or in other words foreigners own more The euro to dollar exchange rate has fallen European assets than European investors do from 1.21 to close on 1.05. The euro to pound offshore,” says Winkler. exchange rate (EUR/GBP) meanwhile trades at At present, the euro area owes the world 0.7066 down from 0.7767. (A recent recovery roughly 10% of its GDP. rally could see us back at 1.11 before the onset Due to a structural rise in saving preferencof fresh declines). es post-crisis, DB argues that Europeans now The prospect of the euro reaching parity have to become net creditors to the rest of the with the greenback, a value not seen since world.

2002, is on the cards. And, the moves could “We find that the Eurozone’s Net internacontinue for up to 8 years it is argued. tional investment position (NIIP) needs to rise “Portfolio outflows from the euro area have Weighing on the euro area is the flow of from -10% of GDP to at least 30% for Europe’s been searching for yield overseas. Relative to money from the Eurozone to alternative global current account surplus to become sustainathe allocation of the EMU’s total stock of foreign investment markets. ble,” says Winkler. portfolio assets, recent flows have disproporWith European portfolio outflows currently Deutsche Bank analysis suggests the adtionately favoured assets in the US, the UK, and running at record highs, Deutsche Bank asks justment requires net capital outflows of at Canada,” says Deutsche Bank’s George Saravelos. how long can the outflows continue? least 4 trillion euros,” equivalent to a continDowngraded Euro Dollar Forecasts “The answer to this question is As a result of the above-mencritical: the greater the European tioned dynamics Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank now forecast the euro to outflows, the more the euro can now forecast the euro to dollar dollar (EUR/USD) will move down to 1.00 weaken and the lower global bond (EUR/USD) will move down to by year-end 2015, 90 cents by 2016 and yields can stay,” says Robin Winkler, 1.00 by year-end 2015, 90 cents by down to a trough of 85 cents by 2017. strategist at Deutsche Bank.

2016 and down to a trough of 85 Are you looking to move curcents by 2017. rency internationally? Keep in mind that the uation of the current pace of outflows for the Explaining this longer-term weakness, Sarlevels quoted here are spot market rates; the next eight years,” says Winkler. avelos says: retail rate offered by your bank will be lower Once a mature lender, Europe’s assets “The current pace of portfolio outflows is owing to the spread they apply. An independabroad will yield stable investment income on double the current account surplus, explaining ent provider will guarantee to get you closer the current account. the recent weakness of the euro. to the market, in some cases up to 5% more FX “Interest and dividends will either be “Even if one assumes that the pace of adcan be delivered. reinvested or spent on imports from the borjustment slows and that it would take a decade Four Trillion Euros Worth of Currency Must rowing economies, thus being neutral or even for the new NIIP equilibrium to be reached, Exit the Eurozone bullish for the euro,” says Winkler. portfolio outflows would still exceed the curTrying to figure out just how much money Why the Pound Sterling and U.S. Dollar will rent account surplus, maintaining downward will leave the Euro area depends on how much Benefit? pressure on the euro.” ■

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

SCIENCE

LHC Ramps up to

Shed Light on Dark Matter The latest coverage of institutional euro exchange rate forecasts (EUR) sees massive outflows of currency from the Eurozone are needed for the area’s current account to become sustainable

cessful run at an energy of 8 TeV, meaning that the energy in the particles it smashed together reached 8 trillion electron volts. This year, the machine will ramp up that energy to an unprecedented 13TeV. The beams carry enough energy to melt a tonne of copper on impact. ngineers at Cern, the European parthat seems to lurk around galaxies and make To switch the $6bln machine on without ticle physics lab, have spent the past up most of the universe? Why is everything damaging it takes several months. Cern’s two years refurbishing the world’s around us made of matter, instead of antimanagement, and the thousands of scientists most powerful collider in its 27.3matter, which was created in equal supply waiting to study the data it churns out, want to km tunnel under the French-Swiss countryside in the early universe? And why is gravity so avoid a repeat of the incident that happened in so it can run at nearly double its previous much weaker than all the other forces? It may September 2008, when an electrical connecenergy. be that it spreads through extra dimensions, tion shorted out and led to a massive helium In 2012, scientists working on the LHC’s leaving us to feel only a fraction of its strength. explosion that knocked the machine out of multipurpose Atlas and CMS detectors discovThose extra dimensions might reveal themservice for a year. ered the long-sought Higgs boson, earning the selves in the patterns of subatomic debris that The first run of the LHC was focused on Edinburgh-based physicist Peter Higgs and are scattered from collisions in the machine. bagging the Higgs boson, a particle that almost the Belgian, Francois Englert, the 2013 Nobel “It is high time to find a crack in the had to exist. This time the situation is differprize in physics for postulating the particle’s Standard Model, because there is 95% of the ent. There is no easy target, or place to look existence nearly half a century earlier. universe still unknown to us. We have to find for an exciting new discovery. “We are headed The Higgs boson was the missing piece out what it is,” said Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Cern’s now, when it turns on, into unchartered terof what particle physicists call the ritory. It’s going to be another era of Standard Model: a mathematical science and we’ll see what we find,” The LHC underwent two years of formulation of the known particles said Dave Charlton, spokesperson repairs and refurbishment at Cern in that make up the universe, and the for the Atlas collaboration. “It’s very forces that act on them. But while the open this time. We don’t know when Geneva. After upgrade it can now run Standard Model ranks as one of the a discovery is going to appear. It at an energy level of 13 TeV (13 trillion greatest successes of modern particle could be this year. It could be that it electron volts), a significant rise from its takes us 20 years. We don’t know the physics, researchers know it is inprevious capacity of 8TeV complete. It says nothing about gravanswers before we start.” ity. Nor the 95% of the observable At the backs of scientists’ minds universe that is not made up of normal matter. director general. “I have a dream. I want to see is the knowledge that the machine may not Among the questions the LHC will look the first light in the dark universe. If I see that find anything new beyond the Higgs boson to answer is whether there is only one Higgs then nature is kind to me.” and the Standard Model. That would leave boson or a family of the particles. In a theory Inside the collider, bunches of protons are particle physics in a bad place. There are procalled supersymmetry, the Higgs boson comes whipped up to nearly the speed of light and posals for new international colliders once in five different varieties. Finding those would then smashed together to create tiny fireballs the LHC closes down in 2035, but without sebe more dramatic than the discovery of the that recreate conditions that existed in the rious hints of new discoveries on the horizon, Higgs boson itself. primordial universe, a fraction of a second they might never be built. Major questions But there are far more mysteries that after the big bang. about the nature of gravity, and the make up researchers want the machine to answer.

The Large Hadron Collider closed down for of most of the universe, would go on hold for Source: The Guardian What is the curious but invisible dark matter engineering work in 2013 after a highly sucgenerations. ■

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GREECE I

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“We want Greece to be strong economically, we want Greece to grow and, above all, we want Greece to overcome its high unemployment.”

WORLD NEWS

— ANGELA MERKEL, German Chancellor

01 FINLAND

02 ITALY

Record Year for Venture Capital Investments

Permira Sells Remaining Stake in Hugo Boss

Finnish firms are doing better than ever: Last year, they received a record-breaking 462 venture capital investments, over 15 more than in the previous record year of 2008, according to the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA).

Altogether, the firms received €690 million in venture capital investments, which is close to the average recorded in recent years. The statistics only take into account investments by venture capital funds.

The trend is attributable to the budding start-up and entrepreneurial culture. Usually, these phenomena have been associated with software firms developing mobile applications, but today investors look for promising opportunities from all industrial sectors.

Investors including private equity firm Permira have sold off their holding in Hugo Boss for around €950 million, leaving Italy’s Marzotto family as the German fashion group’s biggest shareholder.

At the same time, the Marzotto family has been using the opportunity to buy back shares. It now holds seven per cent, which is still considerably less than the majority stake sold to Red & Black eight years ago.

Hugo Boss’s stock has more than doubled in value since Red & Black took it over for €5.3 billion in 2007.

03 RUSSIA

Avtovaz carmaker Expects Profits

Russian carmaker Avtovaz, producer of the best-selling Lada, expects to grab a bigger share of the shrinking domestic market as its international rivals pull back With Russian car sales plunging, U.S. automaker General Motors Co said it would shut its plant in the country and wind down its Opel brand. Other foreign car firms have also cut back due to a recession deepened by the low price of oil. But Avtovaz President Bo Andersson has said the Lada is “Russia’s car for a crisis” and forecast it would increase its share of the economy vehicle sector from 40 to 50 percent.

Avtovaz, which is controlled by the Renault-Nissan alliance reported a net loss of 25 billion rubles ($416 million) in 2014 and had to raise prices after the Russian currency dived, pushing up the cost of imported components. But it also hopes to shake off poor customer approval ratings to target the Russian middle classes who are looking for more competitively priced cars as they tighten their belts.

10 THINGS

TO DO WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR JOB

04 SWITZERLAND

Credit Suisse Chief Earns €9.2 million Outgoing Credit Suisse Group AG boss Brady Dougan maintained his pay in the past year, taking home 9.7 million Swiss francs (€9.2 million) after the American executive earned praise for settling a long-running U.S. tax probe.

Credit Suisse had said last month its top staff would take a voluntary pay cut after the U.S. probe, but did not disclose what its executives would earn for the year.

Dougan’s 2014 earnings are therefore less than originally planned even though he received a similar total to the previous year.

Dougan, set to be replaced in June was praised by CS’s board for bolstering the bank’s capital and financial standing and for his handling of the U.S. tax penalty.

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BRADY DOUGAN

• Calm Down • Take some quiet moments.

• Exercise • Do one thing every day to make a change • Never badmouth your ex-employer.

• Facelift your resumé.

• Join LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, or pretty-up your current public profile.

• Get a new email address and send a mass new email address to everyone you know.

• Buy a snappy business card.

• Pick up the phone and schedule a networking meeting

GREECE II

SOCIAL MEDIA

“Neither are the Greeks lazy louts nor are the Germans to blame for Greece’s ills - we have to work hard to overcome these stereotypes.”

Sixty-four per cent of consumers worldwide have made a purchase decision based on social media content.

— ALEXIS TSIPRAS, Greek Prime Minister

05 GREAT BRITAIN

06 CHINA

UK to Raise £9bln Through Lloyds Share Sales

Six Western Economies Apply to Join AIIB

Britain will raise at least £9 billion (€12.5 billion) selling shares in Lloyds Banking Group in the coming year as it looks to recover £66 billion of taxpayers’ money spent bailing out banks in the financial crisis.

The government also said it would sell £13 billion pounds worth of home loans held by bailed out Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

Britain spent more than £20 billion rescuing Lloyds during the crisis of 2007-9, leaving it with a 41 per cent stake. Another £45 billion was spent bailing out the Royal Bank of Scotland. The planned sales would take the government’s stake in Lloyds to about seven per cent.

07 JAPAN

Airbus Filed Claims of €650mln Against Skymark

Airbus SAS appears to have filed claims of $700 million (about ¥84 billion) against bankrupt Skymark Airlines Inc. as an aircraft order cancellation fee.

The deadline for filing claims against Skymark with the Tokyo District Court expired end March, with more than ¥200 billion (1.54 bln) in claims believed to have been filed, according to the sources.

If the court accepts all of the claims, Skymark’s debts would far exceed assets, affecting the Japanese carrier’s rehabilitation programme, which should be ready by 29th May and aims to win approval for it at a meeting with creditors in late June.

08 TURKEY

Alfa Telecom Bids $2.8bln to Double Stake in Turkcell Russia’s Alfa Telecom offered $2.8 billion to buy back a 13.76 per cent stake in Turkcell, a deal that would double its holding in Turkey’s top mobile operator after a seven-year battle for control of the company.

Alfa Telecom said in a statement it had offered $54.9 million per share for 51 of Turkcell’s class-B shares, which are being held with Turkey’s staterun Ziraat Bank as collateral for a loan.

Alfa has been locked in a battle with one of Turkcell’s founder’s, Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, for control of the mobile operator.

Last year, a holding company controlled by Karamehmet, Çukurova, paid Alfa $1.6 billion for the stake in Turkcell, financing its offer through a loan from Ziraat. But now, Alfa has offered to buy that back at a substantial premium.

LOU JIWEI, China’s Finance Minister

Six Western countries have applied to become founding members of the Chinaled Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland have officially sought founder membership of the bank

The bank, which already has 27 such members, will be established formally by the end of the year, China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei announced end last month.

The United States considers the AIIB to be a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank, but Lou said the newcomer is not aiming to replace the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or the Asian Development Bank.

“It will not be in competition against those institutions, but will act to complement them,” he said. “As a stakeholder in the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, China will continue to support their work to reduce poverty”.

The AIIB will focus on lending money for Asian infrastructure construction, to strengthen the global economic recovery. It will integrate the fiscal ability of its founder members and boost financial leverage to speed investment.

China will not be the only country making decisions about the bank’s management. The AIIB is based on a multilateral financial cooperation framework.

“It is good news that many developed countries outside Asia want to join the founders’ group and we are not surprised about this. We respect any decisions made by countries inside and outside Asia on whether to join or not,” Lou added.

Fears over the future governance of the new bank look to be fading.

Australia appears to be the latest major nation showing an interest in becoming a founder member of the bank, with Canberra reportedly set to pledge about $2.3 billion to the project.

The AIIB will focus on lending money for Asian infrastructure construction, to strengthen the global economic recovery Britain became the first Western economy to apply for membership of the bank mid March, with France and Germany expressing their interest by the end of last month.

The U.S. issued what was seen by many observers as a warning to Britain over its public support for the AIIB. As Australia is one of the key U.S. military and political allies in the AsiaPacific region, its move is also likely to raise tensions in Washington.

Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna confirmed on March 20 that his country has applied to join the bank.

Wang Jun, a senior economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank, said many Western countries had initially refused to join the bank, citing concerns over governance, but have since rapidly changed their stance.

Applicants do not want to miss the chance to share the results of China’s fast economic growth, and expect more participation in Asia’s development, although their actions may meet disapproval from the U.S., Wang said.

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AFTER WORK

27

FEB

FIRST “SERBIANVISIONS” MULTICONGRESS IN SERBIA IN MAY

The German-Serbian Business Association (DSW) chose the Radisson Blu-Old Mill in Belgrade to organise and present its latest and most unique project, the first multi-congress in Serbia, under the title "SERBIAN VISIONS", which is to be held at this hotel on 16th and 17th May this year. Many present NGOs and other organisations had the opportunity to attend the presentation and inform themselves about the concept, the idea and the method of staging the first multi-congress in Serbia, which represents a merging of the civil sector and the economy in one place.

MARTIN KNAPP, director of the German Business Delegation to Serbia and managing director of DSW

13

MAR

AMCHAM DISCUSSES LAW ON INSPECTION OVERSIGHT

AJA JUNG, Belgrade Dance FestivalDirector, ALEKSANDAR ANTONIJEVIĆ, author of artistic photography, and ANDREAS GRAF, Vip mobile CFO

12

MAR

DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION AWARDED

KORI UDOVIČKI, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government

The adoption of the Law on Inspection Oversight is an encouraging step in the systematic suppression of the grey economy and the reform of state administration, while further development and consolidation of e-government are prerequisites for the creation of a modern administration in the service of the economy and its citizens. This was the important conclusion of talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Local SelfGovernment, Kori Udovički, and representatives of the member companies of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Serbia.

Belgrade's Gallery Progress hosted an exhibition from 13th to 21st March covering the work of Aleksandar Antonijević, a long-time champion of the National Ballet of Canada and a prominent author of artistic photography.

After Belgrade, his works, which are dedicated to dancers and the beauty of the human form, were presented in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad from 23rd to 31st March. The opening ceremony, on 13th March, saw Antonijević receive the "VIP Call" award, which was awarded jointly for the fifth time by the Belgrade Dance Festival and Vip mobile. This unique award was established in order to honour and introduce publicly the works of prominent local dance artists who have amassed remarkable careers abroad.

17

MAR

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CARLSBERG AND DUNĐERSKI FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED

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A ceremony held in the building of the University of Novi Sad saw the presenting of the Carlsberg and Dunđerski Foundation, which aims to invest in the development of science and education, preserving cultural heritage, environmental protection and raising public awareness about current social problems. The ceremony was attended by numerous officials from scientific, academic and cultural circles.

The board of directors of the new foundation will be tasked with creating its long-term strategy and annual goals, as well as allocating financial resources for specific areas of operation, while an executive board will be established to implement strategies and programmes.

GABOR BEKEFI, Carlsberg Serbia CEO, NIKOLA TANURDŽIĆ, great-grandson of Lazar Dundjerski, and SRĐAN POPOVIĆ, Marketing Director at Carlsberg Serbia

17

MAR

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD PRESENTED AT THE ROYAL PALACE

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine hosted an award ceremony at the Royal Palace in Belgrade for recipients of the Duke of Edinburgh Award among the pupils of the British International School in Belgrade.

A total of 12 awards were presented to the best students.

Established in 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh Award is presented every year to young people aged 14-24 years who have successfully completed educational programmes designed to teach them the life and business skills necessary to ensure they find work more easily. More than 275,000 young people worldwide compete annually for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, which is awarded in three ranks: bronze, silver and gold.

HRH Crown Prince Alexander is a recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, which he earned during his schooldays in Scotland.

18

MAR

17

MAR

28TH SUISSEGAS BELGRADE MARATHON: PRESENTATION ON RUNNERS’ NUTRITION

Award winners, ALEKSANDRA KESEROVIĆ, Director of the British International School, and Crown Prince ALEXANDER and Princess KATHERINE

DECADE OF VLASINKA’S INTEGRATION INTO THE COCA-COLA SYSTEM

In honour Coca-Cola's acquisition of the Vlasnika bottling factory a decade ago, H.E. U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby visited the Vlasnika factory. There he met Coca-Cola Hellenic Serbia CEO Ramon Weidinger to discuss the investment potential of the Surdulica municipality and the Vlasina area in general. Coca-Cola has contributed significantly to the development of this area by investing constantly in the local community. The meeting was also attended by Serbian MP and President of the Surdulica Local Assembly, Novica Tončev, and Aleksandra Popović, President of the Municipality of Surdulica.

Since Coca-Cola's acquisition of the Vlasinka factory and Rosa water ten years ago, the Rosa brand has become the number one selling water in the non-carbonated water segment in Serbia.

As part of the mission to provide technical assistance for participants of the SuisseGas 28th Belgrade Marathon, a third lecture covering the field of competitive running was held at Belgrade’s Dom Omladine youth centre.

The lecture was organised by running and recreational club “Belgrade Marathon”, in cooperation with the Faculty of Sport of Union-Nikola Tesla University in Belgrade, and covered the topic of “Nutrition and hydrating runners in preparation for the half marathon and marathon – before, during and after the race”.

The lecture was delivered, in the presence of more than 50 listeners,

by Dr Marija Anđelković and Dr Milica Vesić Vukašinović, of the Sports Medicine Association of Serbia.

19

MAR

FOLLOW THE CHAMPIONS

Company Star Import, general distributor for MercedesBenz and Smart vehicles, has prepared the exclusive premiere of its latest models at the 52nd International Motor Show in Hall 3 of the Belgrade Fair, where it appeared under the slogan “Follow the Champions”.

There were premiere presentations for the exclusive Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes-AMG, which is focused on sports performance.

The most elegant model at this year's Belgrade International Motor Show Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé audience is extraordinary performance by the A cappella vocal group Glas ne Žice (Voice not Strings), whose vocal abilities came close to the 585 horsepower of the sport version of the sophisticated S63 AMG Coupé model.

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CULTURE CALENDAR

CONCERTS

4th TODO MUNDO WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL Dom Omladine, 22nd-26th April

The fourth edition of the Todo Mundo Festival, the first festival in Belgrade dedicated to the world music scene, brings us another magical journey to distant lands, taking the audience from China to Hungary, along with the required stations in Serbia! For the first time, this years’ festival will bring folk dance heritage alongside music, albeit in a new light.

This year’s festival will express the diversity and richness of the global music scene, with Muzsikas, the most fa-

This resulted in many post-show inquiries as to when he would again be performing in Belgrade. Enter the date of 23rd April in your calendars, when Midon will present his new album, “Do Not Hesitate”, with a concert at the New Bitef Art Café.

According to the New York Times, Raul Midon’s guitar turns into an orchestra, and his voice into a chorus.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

ERICA CRINO

Guarnerius, 30th April @ 20:00

mous Hungarian ethnic band of all time, winners of the WOMEX Award, presenting a completely new programme based on the music of great folk music composer and researcher Bela Bartok!

For full programme details visit domomladine.org

Pianist Erica Crino and composer Michael Pepa will perform at Guarnerius on 30th April.

After the highly successful guest appearances of this prominent artist, who made her first appearance in Belgrade at Guarnerius in 2013, Erika Crino (Italy / Canada), a member of famous Canadian ensemble Les Amis,

NEVSKI QUARTET K O L A R A C , 2 ND A P R I L @ 2 0 . 0 0

▶ Conceived as a sort of production and dramaturgical performance, this concert comprises compositions from Western European classical music, folk music, pop, film music, ballet music and so on.

During the performance artists perform a series of sketches through mime, movement, acting and dancing, presenting music to the audience in a comic way.

The aim of this performance is to bring audiences closer to artistic music, especially young people, using popular forms of performing and aesthetics.

The performance includes professional, renowned musicians from the Nevski Quartet of clarinettists, accompanied by famous percussionist Aleksandar Radulovic and the Belgrade-based chamber or-

chestra the Mosaic String Band.

Clarinet Quartet Nevski was formed in 2004 in Belgrade and consists of Milos Bjelica (dipl. prof. clarinet), Adam Bou (dipl.prof. clarinet), Nikola Ulemek (dipl.prof. vocals) and Djordje Jovanovic (clarinet student).

This quartet could easily be included among the ranks of the most professional chamber ensembles, as proven by their stage performance and specific colour and sound quality. The quartet has participated at renowned festivals in the country and abroad (Bemus 2012; Clarinet Fest 2013 (Italy); 4th European Clarinet Congress 2014 (Poland)), as well as making numerous concert appearances in Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria.

RAUL MIDON

Bitef Art Cafe, 23rd April @ 22.30 Another promotional concert of the Musicology Festival will take place at Belgrade’s Bitef Art Café, a little over two years after Raul Midon's first visit to Belgrade and Bitef Art Café, which was sold out.

CULTURE NEWS

TRAVELLING CINEMA VA R I O U S L O C A T I O N S , 2 N D M A R C H The Goethe FEST has been held annually since 2012 in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš – showcasing the latest German film productions. Participants include laureates of German film awards, films from the competition section of the Berlinale, major motion pictures and small films by both young and established German filmmakers: old masters like Margarethe von Trotta and Edgar Reitz, favourites of the audience like Dominik Graf and Feo Aladag, but also young stars like Jakob Las Edward Berger.

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Goethe-Institut again provided the German films for the tour, while partners in the field of film – film clubs, culture centres, libraries and schools across the country – organised their own additional programmes. Special attention was paid to the towns and cities hit by the 2014 floods, as well as those in the far south of Serbia.

The venues for the film screenings included Culture Centre Čačak, Sports and Culture Centre Obrenovac, Technical School Valjevo, Culture Studentski Belgrade, Leskovac Culture Centre, Zrenjanin Culture Centre, Šabac Culture Centre, Valjevo Gymnasium School, Open University Subotica, Culture Centre of Kruševac, Vuk Karadzić Culture Centre in Bujanovac, Haus der Kultur Abdullah Krasnić, Preševo and Vladičin Han’s Kulturzentrum.

CONNECT MIKSER HOUSE, 4TH APRIL @ 22.00

▶ Croatian hip-hop sensation Connect will perform on 4th April at Belgrade’s Mikser House. Following a great concert in 2013, Croatia’s Connect, one of the most popular hip-hop bands in the region, is back in Belgrade.

As a surprise guest also coming from Zagreb, Connect will be supported by Sajsi MC, who recently promoted her new single on MTV Adria. will again be the guest of Guarnerius, alongside Michael Pepa, a renowned Canadian composer and the founder and artistic director of the ensemble.

BALLET

12 BFI – BALLET WIESBADEN th

Sava Centre, 2nd April @ 20.00

"PESME"

publications. He has collaborated with the Parisian autumnal festival, event Choreographic Encounters, the French Institute for Research IRCAM music, the Pompidou Centre, the festival Tanz im August, Company Ballet Frankfurt / Foresight Company, Danspace Theater / NYC and the National Theatre of Chaillot.

DON QUIXOTE

Sava Centre, 29th April @ 20.00

Richard Sigal, founder and artistic director of the Bakery interdisciplinary platform for research and production of theatre and dance performances, has gained international attention thanks to many works, including plays, new media projects, workshops and

stars in lead roles - Ana Cigankova, prima ballerina of the National Opera of Amsterdam, and Matthew Golding, star of the Royal Ballet of London.

FILM

BRITROCK FESTIVAL

Dom Omladine, 3rd April @ 19.00

KIDS

KOLIBRI, SAVA CENTRE

5th April @ 19.00

After three years of climbing films, the Outdoor Collective will present to the Serbian audience BritRock omnibus films about outdoor sports, top athletes, exciting solo climbers and amazing moun-

WORLD POETRY DAY - YOLANDA CASTANO

The youngest RTS music production ensemble, the Kolibri children's ensemble, will perform on the stage of the Great Hall of the Sava Centre on 5th April for the very first time. Performing hits from their latest album, as well as some of the most popular compositions from their repertoire, Kolibri’s members will receive support from the RTS Big Band.

RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHOGANNY S AVA C E N T R E , 1 S T A P R I L @ 2 0 . 3 0

▶ Composer Kurt Weill and lyricist Bertolt Brecht’s opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny

The stars of the National Theatre in Belgrade will perform on the stage of the Sava Centre to mark World Dance Day with a performances of the ballet spectacle Don Quixote, featuring major

tain bike descents. All these films are "grown" on the foundations of the British Outdooor scene and characterised by a distinctive British outdoor spirit.

Visitors will have the opportunity to better acquaint themselves with these sports, the equipment used and the locations where they practice. There will also be information about the clubs in Serbia engaged in these sports, as well as how people can begin to learn.

will broadcast live and direct from London's Royal Opera House to Belgrade’s Sava Centre. This piece, which emerged as a result of the friendship and cooperation between Brecht and Weill, was first performed in Leipzig in 1930. Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny is a satire about money, mortality and seeking suspicious satisfaction among the citizens of a fictional town. Featuring rich jazz with a hint of black rhythm, it includes irresistible melodies like the Alabama Song and many others.

6th FESTIVAL OF FRANCOPHONE FILM various locations, 20th-24th March

Instituto Cervantes, 21st March

UNESCO declared 21st March World Poetry Day in 1999, and since 2001 the Belgrade Culture Centre has celebrated this day with a poetry evening, which this year young Galicia poet Yolanda Castano as one of the guests.

Castano has published six collections of poems, two personal anthologies of four books of poetry for children, in addition to the work signed as an editor or translator. She has won several awards, including Critic Española (1999), Espiral Maior (2007) and Ojo Critic (2009).

Francophone Day, 20th March, was celebrated throughout the whole month of March, with specifically engage members of the community gathering under the auspices of the International Organization la Francophonie, which has 200 million members who speak French, 56 permanent member states and 19 observer states, among which has been Serbia since 2006. The important role of la Francophonie, in addition to popularising the French language and Francophone culture, is the recognition of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. As such, this year’s 6th consecutive French Film Festival focused on African films and cinema.

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FACES & PLACES

MARK DORFMEISTER, PATRICK COLLIN and SANJA IVANIĆ

CCIFS GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING 27 FEBRUARY

The French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s (CCIFS) annual General Assembly meeting saw the adoption of a report on the Chamber’s activities, the 2014 financial report and the draft budget for

2015. The occasion also saw four members of the Chamber’s Managing Board re-elected, while two new members were appointed.

CCIFS President Patrick Collin, who is also CEO of Findomestic – BNP Paribas Bank, addressed chamber members and touched upon the results achieved by the Chamber thus

far, as well the future development strategy. CCIFS Director General Sanja Ivanić presented last year’s activities, as well as those planned for 2015. CCIFS Treasurer Mark Dorfmeister, who also works at Lafarge BFC, talked about the CCIFS’s financial results and the 2015 draft budget.

NORWEGIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP LECTURE 05 MARCH

H.E NILS RAGNAR KAMSVAG

H.E. Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, Nils Ragnar Kamsvag, gave a lecture at the Auditorium of the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade to students and those interested in Norway’s experiences of developing entrepreneurship. The lecture, entitled Entrepreneurship in Norway, is a part of NGO Business Development Network’s project implemented by the School of Business Skills.

LADY AMBASSADORS VISIT LUNA FASHION PRODUCTION FACILITIES IN POŽAREVAC 10

MARCH

H.E. Australian Ambassador Julia Feeney, H.E. Indian Ambassador Narinder Chauhan, H.E. Cuban Ambassador Adela Mayra Ruiz Garcia, H.E. Cypriot Ambassador Nafsika Krousti, H.E. Egyptian Ambassador Menha Mahrous Bakhoum, H.E. Macedonian Ambassador Vera Jovanovski, H.E. Slovenian Ambassador Mateja Norčić Štamcar and the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano, all visited the production facilities of the Luna Fashion Company in Požarevac, offering their support as the leading ladies of diplomacy in Belgrade to female entrepreneurship and the company's owner, Biljana Jovanović. They were welcomed by Požarevac Mayor Miomir Ilić.

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ORDER OF ACADEMIC PALMS WITH CHIVALRY RANKS 16

H.E. CHRISTINE MORO, Dr VESNA RAKIĆ and Dr RADIVOJE P. STOJKOVIĆ

MARCH

On behalf of the French Ministry of Education, H.E. French Ambassador to Serbia Christine Moro awarded the Order of Academic Palms in the rank of the Order of Chivalry to distinguished individuals who have contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and improving relations between the two countries.

The Order was originally founded by Emperor Napoleon to honour eminent members of the University of Paris. Initially intended for French nationals, in 1866 the order included foreigners who were awarded for their scientific and professional dedication and their contribution to strengthening France’s reputation in the world.

The recipients of this year’s Order of Academic Palms are: Dr Vesna Rakić, professor of the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, and Dr Radivoje P. Stojković, Director of the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium School in Novi Sad.

MAHATMA GANDHI IN BELGRADE 16

MARCH

Following trips to London, Johannesburg and New York, one of the world’s most eminent experts of Gandhi’s teaching & heritage, Birad Rajaram Yajnik, speaker, author and curator, has visited Belgrade’s Sava Centre following an invitation from the Indian Embassy in Serbia to present his unique interactive multimedia presentation on Mahatma Gandhi.

“Road of peace, truth and non-violence is an integral part of Gandhi’s philosophy. The world today needs hundreds of Gandhis in order for it to transform into a peaceful, just and moral society. Find the Gandhi inside you, your neighbours & opponents. All it takes is an open mind, and the nature of the mind is such that once expanded it never narrows.” said Birad Rajaram Yajnik.

ECO EXPO FAIR 19

MARCH

BIRAD RAJARAM YAJNIK

The “Circular Economy” Conference has taken place at the ECO Expo Fair in Belgrade. Focusing on improving the waste management segment in the country, it was organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Green Serbia, with assistance from the German Government, the German Organisation for International Cooperation, GIZ, the Serbian Ministry of the Economy, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Forum Serbia–Germany and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

The conference and the ECO EXPO Fair were officially opened jointly by Agriculture and Environmental Protection Minister Snežana Bogosavljević-Bošković, H.E. German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm, Chairman of Forum Serbia-Germany and President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Čadež, Environment Programme Manager at the EU Delegation in Serbia, Reiner Freund, manager of the GIZ project “IMPACT – Municipal Waste and Waste Water Management in Serbia”, Klaus Schmidt, and President of the Chamber of Commerce of Green Serbia, Saša Mihajlović.

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FACES & PLACES

“GOÛT DE FRANCE” AT KLUB KNJIŽEVNIKA 20 MARCH

Klub književnika – the writers’ club – was among a thousand restaurants participating in the international “Goût de France” gastronomic celebration project, organised in conjunction with the French Embassy. The occasion saw H.E. French Ambassador Christine Moro visit Klub književnika, where she suggested “if this year’s project turns out to be a success, “Goût de France” should become a tradition. This is a good opportunity for participating chefs to exchange experiences”.

French Ambassador H.E. CHRISTINE MORO, with her spouse

GREEK NATIONAL DAY 25 MARCH

H.E. CONSTANTINE ECONOMIDES, Greek Ambassador, and KORI UDOVIČKI, Deputy Prime Minister

H.E. Constantine Economides, Ambassador of Greece to Serbia, hosted a formal reception marking Greek Independence Day at which he stressed that bilateral relations between Serbia and Greece are excellent and wished good luck to Serbia on its path towards the European Union. Greece marks 25th March to commemorate the day when the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire began in 1821.

The Hotel Metropol Palace reception was attended by the highest Serbian officials, members of the diplomatic corps and international organisations in Serbia, as well as personalities from political, cultural and public life.

12th BELGRADE DANCE FESTIVAL OPENS 25 MARCH

H.E. YOSSEF LEVY, Minister IVAN TASOVAC, ALMA MANZO, CARLA FRACCI, DRAGICA NIKOLIĆ, IVA ŽIKIĆ AND H.E. GIUSEPPE MANZO

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The 12th Belgrade Dance Festival formally opened in a packed Sava Centre. The festival was opened by legendary prima ballerina Carla Fracci, but all the accolades for this spectacular festival of world dance belong to Aja Jung, who has worked tirelessly for 12 years to bring the world's best dance troupes to Belgrade, and from this year also to Novi Sad, Vršac and Pančevo.

The festival opening and subsequent reception at Belgrade’s Crowne Plaza Hotel were attended by the most prominent members of Serbia’s culture scene, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of sponsors, friends and associates.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY

What Lies Ahead for 3-D Printing?

Hailed as a housing solution for slums and a rapid response to disaster-stricken communities, 3D-printed architecture holds a lot of promise. But what problems lie behind its production, and can we realistically expect our cities to be printed?

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dditive manufacturing, or 3D printing – the process of fabricating solid objects from digital models – has been around for three decades. Talk of how this technology could transform both the construction industry and the way we conceive of and build cities has long circulated, too. With 3D printing, customisable “dream” homes would no longer be the purview of the rich, and architects would be able to create fantastically complex geometrical structures. In the developing world, low-income housing could be erected en masse, while speedily printed structures would provide disaster relief or temporary homes for refugees.

But until recently such talk was largely theoretical. Then in March 2014, the little-known Chinese company Winsun announced it had 3D-printed 10 €4,700 concrete houses in a day. When, in January of this year, it unveiled that 3D-printed 1,100sq/m villa – and a five-storey apartment building – it raised the question of whether the technology was about to become commercially viable.

A filmed close-up of the nozzle reveals what looks like a giant icing bag extruding a grainy batter in a careful pattern. This “ink” is made from recycled rubble, fibreglass, steel, cement and binder, and takes 24 hours to dry. The ribbed-finish printed walls are hollow inside apart from a corrugated filler, a design that saves on materials without sacrificing strength. It took eight people one

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month to finish the €120,000 villa, explains Zheng Jian, general manager of Winsun’s Suzhou operations. If traditional construction methods were used it would take 30 people three months.

Costs are halved.

“We’re beginning to set up factories all over the world,” says Ma Yihe, Winsun’s CEO, a couple of days. Winsun Global, a joint venture with an American financial firm who’s identity Ma will not reveal (“they have great influence in the Middle East”), aims to

establish 3D printer plants in 20 countries in the next few years, including Dubai, Britain and France. In China Winsun will build as many as 100 factories.

The Egyptian government, meanwhile, has already signed a deal for 20,000 single-storey dwellings in the desert. Winsun will provide the printer and formula for making “ink” from sand, and the houses will be printed on site.

“The future of Winsun is as a technology company,” Ma says.

“We’re turning from a company

The Egyptian government has already signed a deal for 20,000 single-storey dwellings in the desert. Chinese company Winsun will provide the printer and formula for making “ink” from sand, and the houses will be printed on site

focused on producing and selling construction materials to a company exporting technology... These houses you see are made by our first-generation printer. We’re now developing generation six.”

Behrokh Khoshnevis, a pioneer of 3D printing at the University of Southern California, who is also working with Nasa on 3D-printed lunar structures, has no doubt that in the future, a large portion of cities will be printed. “I think in about five years you are going to see a lot of buildings built in this way,” he says.

He hopes the technology will help address a worldwide shortage of low-income housing. “I think it is a shame that at the dawn of the 21st century, about two billion people live in slums,” he says. “I think this technology is a good solution.”

He adds that 3D printing will encourage governments to build affordable homes because of savings in time and cost. A significant difference between traditional construction methods and 3D printing is efficiency. If in the future a London borough wished to build a public housing estate, for instance, they could hire a developer with a 3D printer. The printer would then be delivered to the site along with the construction material and architectural design on a flash drive. “They plug it in, hit a button and the buildings get built,” Khoshnevis says. “The nice thing about it is that we can build beautiful, dignified neighbourhoods – not cookie-cutter, box-like houses.” 

G U I D E

TO

Air Traffic in Serbia 2 0 1 5

AIR TRAFFIC

Dynamic Growth Imminent

Just over 101 years ago, on 1st January 1914, to be precise, the first commercial flight was launched with a single passenger, who flew over Tampa, Florida, for New Year.

The flight lasted exactly 23 minutes

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BY: PREDRAG K. VUJOVIĆ

obody could have predicted at the time of the first ever commercial flight that today, just 101 years later, air traffic would be prevalent in almost every economy in the world. In the late 19th century it was rail that had been the driving force behind the industrial revolution. In the early 20th century, however, rail passed the baton on to the automobile industry and from the second half of the 20th century until today it is air traffic that has been the key factor of economic globalisation.

Today air traffic serves as a link between markets, states, regions and continents, exerting huge influence with increasingly dynamic passenger, goods and mail movements be-

worth a total exceeding a third of the total value of all international trade.

Financial results achieved by civil aviation last year totalled global revenue of approximately $710 billion, with total profit standing at two per cent, or $13 billion. This just proves that aviation is based on a large number principles and continuous investment, particularly in new resources that primarily improve efficiency and safety, ensuring further development.

Today there are around 1,400 airlines around the world, possessing a combined total of over 25,000 passenger and freight aircraft. These airlines fly to and from over 4,000 international airports, with a total of 173 air navigation service providers working

tween different economic subjects. It also contributes to the development of tourism, facilitating the faster and freer movement of goods and people, connecting remote cultures and boosting the global employment rate.

In 2014 more than 3.3 billion passengers were transported by air worldwide. At the same time, over 50 million tonnes of different goods were transported along 50,000 global aviation routes. Planes transported goods

to ensure these flights are successful.

Approximately 100,000 flights take place every day, with close to nine million passengers transported. Professional analyses show that by 2031 air traffic will have grown by 4.7% annually and 60% of all flights will be between Europe and North America.

Moreover, experts also claim that by 2031 the number of transported passengers will have exceeded 7.5 billion and there will be around 32,550 airlin-

Experts claim that by 2031 the number of transported passengers will have exceeded 7.5 billion and there will be around 32,550 airliners in operation, representing a rise of 110% compared to today's statistics

ers in operation, representing a rise of 110% compared to today's statistics.

Despite such intense development and increased air traffic volume, it is a proven fact that flying is still the safest mode of transport. In 2013 there were a total of 36.4 million commercial flights and only 16 fatal accidents. Aircrafts, standards, procedures, airport equipment and navigation devices, are all improved on a daily basis, while flight personnel are trained continuously, which in combination provides excellent results in terms of flight safety.

Strong competition among airlines has led to average ticket prices falling, which has in turn made it easier for travellers to pick the optimal mode of transport. The emergence of low cost carriers (LLC) has had a dramatic impact on passenger movements at secondary and tertiary airports.

The share of LLCs in total passenger transport today exceeds 15%, while forecasts predict that this will grow to 20% in the following eight to ten years. The philosophy of low operating costs, established by LLCs, has rubbed off onto 'mainstream' airlines, making it increasingly difficult to make a clear distinction between the two. The battle for every single passenger, and every Dollar or Euro, has become a ruthless war in which passengers have the most to gain.

Today the provision of as many direct and frequent flights as possible has become an imperative. Punctuality and safety are a must. The kindness

and affability of airline personnel, both on (check-in) and off ground, has become an essential factor for aspiring airlines. The inflight service is actually not as important as it once was, while making tickets as affordable as possible for as many passengers as possible has become the most important element. The notion that flying is not a luxury has become an actualised reality and a market fact.

Everybody agrees that the dynamic growth of air traffic, and the potential for further growth in passenger number, has not yet been exhausted.

In addition to business passengers and tourists, the number of so-called leisure passengers, taking advantage of airlines for pure pleasure and fun, is also on the up. These are dynamic and imaginative people who, thanks to affordable prices and suitable flight schedules, often travel to other cities or countries just to see a theatre play or an opera, attend a football match or simply visit friends.

Another growing category is socalled ethnic passengers. According to a UN report, over 230 million people do not live in their town or country of birth. Workforce migration from undeveloped and emerging to developed countries and cities has created an army of potential passengers who mainly use air transport. Ticket prices will also continue to play a crucial role in this segment.

All of these factors point to further, more dynamic development of the airline industry and air traffic in

general. Aircraft manufacturers have been following these trends closely and adjusting their production activities to suit the needs of the world market. They have started to produce low noise engines that emit fewer exhaust gases and use less fuel. Aircraft interiors have been adjusted to suit the needs of airlines, which adapt in

The airline industry currently employs over 56 million people worldwide and has an annual turnover of over $2.2 trillion.

According to a study conducted by economic experts from Oxford University, published by ATAG (Air Transport Action Group), the importance attached to the airline industry is so great (con-

turn to further suit the needs of their passengers. The latest flight entertainment systems are being installed, while utilising mobile phones and internet inflight is no longer sporadic and incidental. On-board comfort has never been better.

sidering the millions of employees and its significance to the global economy) that if we were to express this importance in the form of the economy of an imaginary country it would be ranked 19th worldwide in GDP terms. 

Thanks to affordable prices and suitable flight schedules, dynamic and imaginative people often travel to other cities or countries just to see a theatre play or an opera, attend a football match or simply visit friends

Limuzin servis Exclusive is company specialized for transportation services with middle and high class vehicles. We provide transportation services around the Europe and Serbia and we also offer transfers from Belgrade Airport to hotels and back. Our company has a Cooperation agreement with many hotels in Belgrade and we also offer renting vehicles, accompanied by English-speaking drivers for hotel guests. We offer rent-a-car service as well (renting vehicles without drivers), from cheapest vehicles to middle-class vehicles.

LIMUZIN SERVIS EXCLUSIVE Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 10 e V.P. 63 • 11070 Belgrade, Serbia +381 11 313 25 58 • +381 63 270 067 office@exclusiv.rs • www.limobelgrade.rs

Superior Offer for Sophisticated Travellers ĐORĐE VUKOTIĆ

GENERAL MANAGER FOR SERBIA AT ETIHAD AIRWAYS

Etihad Airways distinguishes itself from the competition by offering the most superb First Class service and setting new norms in the industry by matching them to the hospitality standards of the world’s leading hotels and restaurants

E

tihad’s efforts to introduce world class hospitality standards to its First and Business Class categories have been recognised by travel and aviation trade industry bodies around the world. In this interview Đorđe Vukotić, Etihad Airways general manager for Serbia, provides details about the new level of service the company offers its customers.

 You recently announced the up-

coming launch of a new Airbus A380 service for guests travelling along the popular route between Abu Dhabi and New York, as of 1st December 2015. The special Residence by Etihad™ service will be offered to passengers between these two cities, representing a completely new level of service for demand-

double bed with custom-made mattress, bedside unit, wardrobe, 27-inch flat screen TV and under-bed storage for hand luggage. The en suite bathroom has a full-height shower, exclusive toiletries and vanity unit complete with a magnifying make-up mirror and a hairdryer.

The Residence is fully Wi-Fi enabled and equipped with the latest Panasonic eX3 entertainment system, controlled by video touch screen and handset. Guests staying in The Residence will have a dedicated butler on call throughout the flight, offering the type of discrete personal service and attention to detail normally found only at the world’s most exclusive hotels. A dedicated VIP Concierge team will also ensure all aspects of the experience, including booking luxury limousine

With a living room, separate double bedroom and en suite shower, The Residence by Etihad™ is the only three-room suite in the sky ing travellers. What does this service consist of?

- With a living room, separate double bedroom and en suite shower, Residence by Etihad™ is the only threeroom suite in the sky.

The living room is furnished with a luxurious Poltrona Frau double-seat leather sofa with ottoman, two dining tables, a chilled minibar and a 32-inch flat screen TV. The bedroom features a Poltrona Frau upholstered 82-inch

transfers, check-in, and dining, are handled with the utmost discretion. An inflight chef will prepare meals from a range of gourmet menu options, or even recreate a guest’s favourite dish.

 Besides the Residence, what makes Etihad’s Business Class and First Class services stand out from the competition?

- We have placed world-class hospitality standards at every touch point in

the journey, benchmarked against the world’s leading hotels and restaurants.

Our First Class and Business Class products and service have been recognised by travel and aviation trade industry bodies around the world. In October 2014 Etihad Airways won the ‘Best Up In The Air Experience’ award, as well as the ‘Airline of the Year - First Class’ award at the 13th Annual China Travel & Meeting Industry Awards in September 2014. The airline was also named ‘Aviation and Transport Company of the Year’ at the Gulf Business Industry Awards in Dubai, and Travel Trade Ga-

zette’s ‘Airline of The Year’ in the UK. Etihad Airways’ First Class dining experience features elegant new chinaware by famous Japanese fine bone china producer Nikko, as well as designer ‘Royal Oak’ cutlery by the quintessentially British brand Studio William. Fine wines from Etihad Airways’ on-board cellar are served in red and white stemmed crystal glasses created especially for the airline by Lucaris.

First Class dining includes a new contemporary menu design, an enhanced selection of canapés, a pre-dessert course served by the chef, a ‘Café Gourmand’ coffee and tea course accompanied by mini cookies, cakes and pastries, as well as a signature XO Cognac served in new Cognac glasses by Norman of Copenhagen.

Each First Class suite includes luxurious throws and cushions which reflect the colour palette of the new interiors being introduced by the airline, beginning with the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The First Class turn-down service is accompanied by a ‘Sweet Dreams’ card, an accompaniment to the all-natural bed linen, pillow mist and pulse point oil.

We are especially proud of our First Class in the A380, the only Etihad Airways aircraft to offer the First Apartment, which is a complete living space with a reclining lounge chair and an ottoman that opens up to become a separate 80.5-inch fully-flat bed.

The First Suite on the Etihad Airways B787 offers guests an enhanced suite with a chilled mini-bar, complete privacy and centre seats which can be joined to create a double bed.

In Business Class, a new turndown service is offered on ultra-longhaul flights, featuring a mattress, cotton loungewear and slippers. A plush comforter and full size pillow are now also provided.

The popular ‘Dine Anytime’ option remains, with an ‘All Day’ menu now offered on longer flights. Stylish new trays, chinaware, cutlery and tall, stemmed wine glasses add to the sense of sophistication and flair for which the airline is renowned. 

AIR SERBIA

Superior Experience for Business Class Guests Unlike many European airlines that have eliminated the concept of a dedicated business class cabin across their short- and medium-haul routes, Air Serbia offers Business Class guests comfort, style, privacy and quality that are hard to rival

A

ir Serbia has taken a bold step among the continent’s airlines by delivering comfort, style, privacy and quality in premium class travel across the European Skies.

Unlike its competitors - which barely distinguish the two inflight products on short- and medium-haul services, Air Serbia has exerted great efforts to ensure Business Class travel is a genuine and distinct travel experience, and not merely an empty middle seat in the forward section of an aircraft.

The airline has equipped its mainline fleet with dedicated leather Business Class seats, which offers guests ample personal space for maximum inflight productivity and relaxation.

The airline provides iPads for personal inflight entertainment (IFE) on its long-haul flights, offering the latest blockbusters and audio content. Its rich menus offer some of the finest gourmet cuisine in the sky, accompanied by a

ling on Air Serbia’s mainline services will soon be able to enjoy inflight internet connectivity (Wi-Fi and mobile services), and hours of exciting IFE content distributed wirelessly to their tablets or smartphone devices.

With a product that is second to none on the continent, Air Serbia Business Class guests feel the genuine cordiality provided by the airline’s multilingual crew – the pride of Air Serbia on every flight and across its expanding network.

Generally, European airlines have eliminated the concept of a dedicated business class cabin across their short- and medium-haul routes.

While this move has provided carriers with greater flexibility and commercial choice, it has come at a distinct disadvantage to Business Class travellers who, despite their fare premiums, are left well short of a superior travel experience.

The philosophy of AirSerbia is that Business

choice of expertly selected Serbian wines, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

To further enhance its premium product, Air Serbia will soon be offering a new, stateof-the-art Business Class Lounge at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport, providing guests with tranquillity and luxury well before they step aboard. However, the Serbian national carrier’s efforts do not end there – all guests travel-

Class is a signature product that personalises and elevates the entire journey, while meeting and exceeding even the highest expectations – and that is precisely what the airline has implemented across its mainline fleet. Air Serbia has resurrected the pleasure of premium travel in Europe by providing each of its valued guests with the finest inflight products and services step on board and you will understand why. 

To further enhance its premium product, Air Serbia will soon be offering a new, state-ofthe-art Business Class Lounge at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport, providing guests with tranquillity and luxury well before they step aboard

TURKISH AIRLINES

Striving for More and Better

Following the motto "Widen Your World", Turkish Airlines is constantly increasing flight frequencies and establishing new destinations, as well as providing a superb service for passengers

E

stablished in 1933 with a fleet of just five aircraft, Turkish Airlines, a member of Star Alliance, is today a 4-star airline that was declared “Best airline in Europe” in 2014 for the fourth consecutive year. It has a fleet of 265 (passenger and cargo) aircraft that fly to 267 destinations worldwide. With a network that includes destinations in 108 countries, Turkish Airlines is the airline flying to the most countries in the world. Following the motto “Widen Your World“, it is constantly increasing flight frequencies and establishing new destinations, in order to enable passengers to widen their world and explore new horizons. In 2015 Turkish Airlines is launching routes to Manila, Tai Pei, San Francisco, Abuja, Bamako, Ahvaz,

lounge Istanbul, which is bigger than some airports. Located at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, it sprawls over an area of 5,900m2 and has the capacity to cater for over 1,000 guests. The facility includes a children’s playground, library, billiard area, playroom, teleconference section, shower space and massage beds. The lounge combines both modern and traditional design, a space able to provide traditional hospitality in a setting that offers modern conveniences, like free Wi-Fi access throughout the lounge. The spiral staircase connects the two sections of the lounge and its design represents the connectivity Turkish Airlines provides to its customers all over the globe.

Turkish Corporate Club is a corporate travel programme that allows

Porto, Bari, Cologne, Graz and Karlsruhe.

With two daily flights from Belgrade, Turkish Airlines offers great connectivity for passengers from Serbia to worldwide destinations, offering passengers flexibility and excellent connections via Istanbul to not only the Middle East, Far East and Africa, but also to all American and most European destinations.

Turkish Airlines is proud of its CIP

passengers to save on all business travel expenses. It offers a wide variety of cost-effective advantages for corporations looking to meet their needs quickly and easily, such as discounts for all international travel, no penalties for reservation changes and special baggage allowances for discounted tickets.

Turkish cuisine is known as one of the best in the world. Turkish Airlines has taken this quite seriously

With its two daily flights from Belgrade, Turkish Airlines offers passengers excellent connections via Istanbul to the Middle East, Far East, Africa, and all American and most European destinations

– through a partnership with Austrian gourmet entertainment company Do&Co resulting in awards for “Best Business Class Inflight Catering” and “Best Business Class Lounge Dining” at the 2014 Skytrax World Airline Awards. The World Airline Awards and some delectable premium class meals have also led to the birth of the Flying Chef.

One of the most impressive initiatives introduced by Turkish Airlines, back in July 2010, is the Flying Chef for Business Class passengers onboard all long haul flights. One might think that it’s a small galley in an aircraft and the role for the chef might be limited, but in reality it makes a significant impact on the passengers’ dining experience. They will not only ensure that every meal is served correctly, but also be involved in overseeing the inflight cooking process. This service resulted in Turkish Airlines receiving an award for best business class catering.

Turkish Airlines today offers the world’s most comprehensive network and aims to bring the passenger experience to a new level with its expanded fleet, via its Istanbul hub that allows one-stop connections between virtually any two cities on the planet, and the rich cultural heritage that has helped form the basis of its award-winning service.

Turkish Airlines "Widens Your World" and “flies you to more flavours than any other airline”. 

Atlantic Joint Venture

All together more simplicity, choice and value Our Atlantic Joint Venture offers you more simplicity, choice and value on transatlantic services between Europe, India, the Middle East, Russia and Africa, with travel to or from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America.

Welcome to a world of difference with the Atlantic Joint Venture Canada, the Lufthansa Group and United.

Simplicity

It couldn’t be simpler – our Atlantic Joint Venture helps you to provide your customers with better services. One fare allows you to book multiple airlines and a single contract covers all the Atlantic Joint Venture carriers. You’ll enjoy dealing with just one point of contact.

There is also coordinated passenger service between Atlantic Joint Venture interline ticketing and baggage transfer.

Seamless combinability, seamless service

Choice

Working in co-operation enables the Atlantic Joint Venture to offer greater benefits across an extensive transatlantic network, with competitive fares, products and services. There are over 748 destinations combined with a greater choice of non-stop and direct routings. Our Atlantic Joint Venture offers a larger inventory of seats, a wider variety of cabin classes and inflight products, and the ability to tailor itineraries to suit your customer’s needs.

Value

Atlantic Joint Venture efficiencies provide co-ordinated, competitive discounts for your customers – without any compromise to service. As well as the wide variety of flights and routings available, travellers can enjoy the benefits of a harmonised lounge network and reciprocal frequent flyer programmes.

One joint venture, exceptionally delivered

More routes, more choice

All together more scope with over 748 destinations making the world of difference to you and your customers

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* The Lufthansa Group consists of: Lufthansa German Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines Inc., Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.

Return flights Belgrade - Split

To the Adriatic in an hour!

Flights will be operated on Saturdays from 2 May 2015 and on Mondays and Fridays from 29 May 2015.

Croatia Airlines - more than a comfortable flight!

croatiaairlines.com

+385 1 66 76 555

CORPORATE

Healthy Lifestyle Tech Vivofit 2

Vivoactive

Get up and get moving with Vívofit 2 – the only activity tracker with a 1+ year battery life and backlit display. It even reminds you to stay active throughout your day, with its movement bar with an audible alert that lets you know when you’ve been idle for an hour or longer. Vivofit shows steps, calories spent, distance covered and time of day.

Garmin introduces the GPS smartwatch for an active lifestyle: Vivoactive — the ultra-thin, lightweight smartwatch, with a sunlight-readable, high-resolution colour touchscreen. It has builtin Garmin sports apps, including running, cycling and golfing, plus swimming and activity tracking, so you can wear it every day in order to help you keep a healthy balance between work and life.

PRICE: €270

PRICE: €142

Fenix 3

Fenix 3 is a rugged, thin, light multisport training GPS watch that won’t slow you down whether you use it for training or everyday use. Fenix 3 provides comprehensive navigation and tracking functionalities to guide you on and off the beaten track.

Its built-in sensors provide information on heading, elevation and weather changes.

Fenix 3 is packed with training features that let you know about your form and fitness.

PRICE: €463

Forerunner 15

Run with all your heart. Forerunner 15 captures essential stats from your run time, distance and pace. When paired with a heart rate strap, it also records your heart rate and heart rate zone, so you’ll know when you’ve hit your target. Training with a heart rate monitor also allows you to determine when you need to ease up and when you can push yourself harder.

ABOUT INFO TEAM Founded in 1995 in Belgrade, Serbia, INFO TEAM is a company best known for the successful implementation of numerous technological innovations and the introduction of world famous brands (e.g.

Garmin, since 2001) in the field of applied technology.

PRICE: €161

Connect

Running, walking, cycling, swimming, skiing, triathlons — no matter how you move, you can record your active lifestyle on Garmin Connect. We'll give you all the stats and support your need to realise your goals… and go further than you ever imagined.

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GADGETS

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Mobile World Congress 2015

AT

T H E

E D G E

OF REALITY

Mobile World Congress 2015 surpassed all projections, with over 95,000 attendees from 200 countries Hosted in the Mobile World Capital Barcelona for the 10th year, Mobile World Congress 2015 attendees were treated to a wealth of learning and networking opportunities; product showcases and announcements; inspiration and innovation, including speakers from consumer brands, mobile organisations, mobile operators and industries touched by the mobile market. If we add advertising, banking, health, entertainment and education experts presented in all together more than 40 conference sessions at MWC, this year Congress, celebrating 10th anniversary, has all reasons to get attributes to be the world’s biggest and most influential mobile event.

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Almost 2,000 companies exhibited their latest and most enticing mobile products in the hectic and winding halls of the Fira Gran Via convention center in Barcelona. The show was mostly focused on the major smartphone manufacturers, as well as global telecom, and on smaller companies from Europe and the Middle East – French, Israeli, and Spanish entrepreneurs were out in force – though there were also especially large presences by plenty of Asian and African companies as well. MWC has grown to encompass anything that can connect to the Internet – not just your phone or your tablet.

Here are a few exhibits that caught our eye.

Galaxy 01 Samsung S6 & S6 edge PRICE: €595 The Galaxy S6 builds on the success of the S5 comes with upgraded features, including a better camera, new aluminium casing and a larger, richer screen. The phone introduces the latest NFC technology allowing for wireless payments through a secure fingerprint scanner - much like the iPhone’s Touch ID. It can also be charged wirelessly.

02 TE SPro2 Smart Projector PRICE: €TBC

This portable projector has 16GB of internal memory, so you don't have to plug in your smartphone to play your media. It also has three hours of battery life, so you will likely be able to watch a whole movie with it.

03 Huawei Watch PRICE: €322 The trend for smartwatches this year was fanciness — in the lead-up to the Apple Watch, companies launched elegant smartwatches with classical looks. And the Huawei Watch was definitely something we wouldn't mind carrying on our wrists.

04 Bluesmart PRICE: €277

This "connected carry-on" has a built-in scale to weigh itself.

The current weight is displayed on an app on your phone. A battery pack inside charges your devices while you travel. It also comes with a SIM card to trace the bag on a map whenever you lose it. Pre-order one for $299. It ships later this year.

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05 Motorola Moto E PRICE: €183

The Moto E continues on the design legacy of the Moto X and Moto G. The handset comes with a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels (qHD). It features a Snapdragon 200 system chip with 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex A7-based processor and an Adreno 302 GPU. There’s 1GB of RAM, and a scarce 4GB of internal storage.

06 Universal Foldable Keyboard PRICE: €90 Perfect travel companion, ultra-thin, lightweight, you can simultaneously pair it with virtually any two mobile devices—an iPad, iPhone, Android devices, Windows tablets, and Windows Phone—and then instantly switch between them with a single touch.

07 LG Watch Urbane LTE PRICE: TBC

There are two watches in the Urbane series: the Watch Urbane and the Watch Urbane LTE. The former works with any Android smartphone while the latter can also exist as a standalone entity thanks to its LTE capabilities. While they’re similar in style and sophistication, there are some significant differences in how they work.

SanDisk 200GB 08 The microSD Card PRICE: €367 The new 200GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I “Premium Edition” is a monster of a card, packed into a tiny package. Up until now, 128GB was about as big as it got, and tends to be the “up to range” quoted for most smartphone manufacturers today. As you might have guessed, this much space comes at a hefty premium. It is expected to arrives in Q2 of this year.

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09 Pebble Time Steel PRICE: €275 The Pebble Time Steel is beautiful to look at, it feels sturdy, and it promises a 10-day battery life. The company also launched a Smart Straps program, allowing developers to create cool, advanced straps for Pebble Time.

10 Sony Xperia Z4 PRICE: €750

11

Lenovo Pocket Projector

Tablets, in general, are on the decline. Some are even predicting the category will soon vanish.

But that's exactly what makes Sony's Xperia Z4 an easy winner — plus the fact that it's incredibly thin and light as well as waterproof.

If you're looking for a new, 10-inch (25-cm) Android tablet, Sony's could be a good option.

PRICE: €230

Lenovo came to the show with its new pocket projector. It measures just 10.1cm by 10.1cm but has the ability to connect to your Android device and project a 2.8 metres image on your wall thanks to its 50-lumen optical engine. It also has builtin speakers, 32GB of micro SD card storage, support for DLNA and Miracast, up to 2 hours of battery life and more.

12 HTC Re Vive PRICE: TBA

HTC Re Vive headset — developed in partnership with Valve — is an extremely interesting one, with more than 70 built-in sensors and (separate) lasers guiding your way through the virtual worlds. It's slated to land in stores just in time for the holiday season of 2015.

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INTERVIEW

Stability Gives New Impetus

FOR DEVELOPMENT DEJAN NIKOLIĆ

Director of the Belgrade Marathon

The Belgrade Marathon is approaching its 30th birthday and ahead of us is the 28th event, this year consisting of three races once again – the marathon, half-marathon and 5km Fun Run. The date of the main event is 18th April and the Belgrade Marathon company expects a record number of participants and better days for this most important of local sporting events

H

ere to discuss the event is Dejan Nikolić, director of the Belgrade Marathon, who has worked with his colleagues since 1990 to develop the Belgrade Marathon based on the successful model of the world's biggest marathons, and has often found himself serving as a model for them, as was the case with the Children's Marathon .

■ What does the Belgrade Marathon represent today?

- In recent months the Belgrade Marathon has been the subject of a few gatherings which addressed marathons from different angles that have not been previously presented.

In November we had a lecture on the topic of creative industries at the Belgrade Faculty of Organisational Sciences, where the marathon was examined alongside two other major events: the Exit and Guča festivals. The Belgrade Marathon was then present in Portorož at a major conference on sports marketing, in front of over 400 participants from all over the region and featuring in the panel discussion alongside the Ljubljana and Zagreb

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marathons on the subject of sports marketing and financing in sport. On that occasion the Belgrade Marathon was presented as an example of good practice. We were represented in the same way as speakers at the PR school. Finally, this February saw the marathon presented as a top tourist event at the 37th Belgrade Tourism Fair. None of these events had sport or sporting events as their basic topics, but rather they covered completely different themes and the marathon was only a good reason.

■ You’ve been building that kind of image since the start…

- Yes, that's a summary of what we’ve insist on during these almost 30 years. The event itself must be of the highest standards in order for it to be well received and well marketed and presented to the sponsors and the media as part of the global marathon movement, which is constantly developing.

The world is now experiencing the fourth development wave – with a growing number of races, marathons and half-marathons and the number of their participants – and we are part of that movement. The number of participants, domestic and foreign, is increasing. Some marathons even have the problem of how to move their own limits; how to continue developing if you are limited in terms of the number of participants. Such a problem, for

example, hinders the Prague Marathon. It has reached a figure of 12,000 participants and cannot continue to grow, because the part of the course where the start and finish are located, in the most attractive part of the city, cannot accommodate more than 12,000 participants.

■ It seems that Belgrade does not have any such problems for now.

- We can develop and we are doing! We develop the marathon as a top tourist attraction, which continuously promotes the city and the country, and we should not forget the financial aspect that comes from tourism revenues.

Both aspects are equally important. The development of the marathon as an already accepted brand on the international

■ What are the segments of the organization you want and you can advance?

- This year we entered into a phase of certainty by signing a fiveyear cooperation agreement with the City. This is very important for us because it allows us to develop the marathon in each of the mentioned segments, but also other that we also insist upon. One of them consists of humanitarian programmes and we want to increase their number, but also that to work on them throughout the year and not just in the few months prior to each marathon. I am convinced that in this segment we can be even more active than we have been to date and that we can provide a greater contribution to the charitable activities of our partners, which includes our oldest and extremely active partner in CorD. This year we will also try to lay the foundations of a programme that should contribute to taking care of animals.

■ You mention cooperation with the tourist or-

ganisations of Belgrade and Serbia as though it is in the initial phase, although the Belgrade Marathon and these organisations have been operating in the same space for 28 years al-

scene is probably recognised more abroad, from The world is now where we expect a large number of runners this year.

In addition to this, from the tourism aspect the experiencing Belgrade Marathon is ideal content for city break the fourth tourism, because it is held on a Saturday. People development wave come on the Friday, run on the Saturday and return home on the Sunday, not losing any work time. In – with a growing ready. Why is this so? this segment today we are still in the development number of races, - The tourism dimension of the marathon was stage of the realisation of the ideas that we premarathons and sented to city officials and Tourist Organization of not previously fully understood. Marathon Belgrade. It is realistic to expect that we will have participants spend more than ordinary tourhalf-marathons a significantly greater number of participants from and the number of ists; they are aged on average from 30-70 and more than 50 per cent of them are highly eduabroad in the coming years. This relates to the detheir participants cated, well paid and most often link their marvelopment of the markets of the U.S., Japan, Korea, – and we are part athon activities with their annual leave. BeChina, Scandinavia, Poland, Greece, Italy, Germany and other European countries. For all of this, we of that movement cause of that they select different destinations and seek to combine a well-organised maraare preparing special projects for these countries thon and an interesting location. And they are with agencies that work for other marathons. When interested in the Belgrade Marathon and Belgrade, but we must it comes to Scandinavia, we went a step further by using a continue to develop the promotion of the marathon and the ofplatform developed on the internet presentation MyNextRun, fers they can find in Belgrade and Serbia. which at present not only sells participatory packages, but also That's why we must use specialised fairs, such as the New York tourist package designed for the Scandinavian market. We have City Marathon Expo, at which they present their marathon partalready achieved good results.

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ners, but also other marathons, because during its three days this expo is visited by more than 100,000 people who have running in their blood. This is our target group, which we should attract to come to the Belgrade Marathon, Belgrade and Serbia. We cannot find them elsewhere. That’s why I believe that this year, together with representatives of the Tourist Organisation of Belgrade, and after a long break, we will have a chance to present the Belgrade marathon in New York.

■ Belgrade and Serbia haven’t been destinations recommended for this type of tourism for a long time...

- That is, unfortunately, true. At the time when we start with great ambition, we had wars in the region, high inflation, sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, and, at the end of the ‘90s, even bombing. Nevertheless, we managed to maintain the status of an international sporting event, which best demonstrates the strength and vitality of the Belgrade Marathon.

We achieved this thanks to good relations with other marathons and top officials of the World Association of Marathons and Street Races (AIMS), especially American Fred Lebow, who personally called on the world’s racing elite to join him in participating in the Belgrade Marathon, despite the sanctions This is one of the reasons why the Belgrade Marathon awards The Fred Lebow Trophy.

The situation was similar in 1999, when many of our friends from around the world came at the height of the bombing to offer their support by running in the marathon under the slogan “Stop the War - Run the World”, which did not have a competitive character.

■ You also had additional problems with the city, which “gave” the Belgrade Marathon to another organiser...

- The consequences of these problems, despite them lasting only two years, were felt for several years afterwards, until we were able to return the company and the event itself to an acceptable level. An important role in that was played by former basketball 74 |

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giant and current coach of the national basketball team, Aleksandar “Saša” Đorđević, who then stood by the Belgrade Marathon.

Today Đorđević is the president of the Belgrade Marathon and his authority has increased the reputation and popularity of the event. The result of all of this is the five-year contract with the City that we have today and which gives us the ability to make plans for a longer period; to negotiate with sponsors and partners, but also athletic managers, over the long term. Many marathons have done that for a long time and have sponsorship agreements over 10, 15 years. Our colleagues from the Prague Marathon recently boasted to us that in the coming years they will not have a single conversation with potential sponsors, as they have concluded We develop contracts with four major sponthe marathon sors, covering five years for every as a top tourist part of their marketing offer.

We have been striving for that attraction, which for a long time, because only a continuously stable organisation can make a promotes the city full contribution to society and express its social responsibiliand the country, ty. Without false modesty, in the and we should past 27 years we have made signot forget the nificant contributions to society.

An objective evaluation would financial aspect show that the commercial value that comes from of PR in local and foreign media tourism revenues is about €100 million, and to this we should add about four million

euros collected to support various organisations through humanitarian programmes.

■ You have paid great attention to promoters for a quarter of a century.

- We started with promoters in 1990, when Belgrade was visited for the first time by Bob Beamon, a former long jump world record holder, and he was followed by a series of big name promoters who left a deep mark on world athletics. Last year we welcomed Kevin Young, who has held the world record in the 400m hurdles for 23 years, Michael Powell, whose long jump world record has survived

for 24 years, Rosa Mota, who has won everything up for grabs in the marathon world, Ingrid Christiansen, the best lady marathon runner of all time, excellent long-distance runner Lasse Viren, fourtime Olympic champion Sergey Bubka, world record holder for the number of world records, Marlene Ottey, the athlete with the most medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships. We also should not forget Carl Lewis, who has been to Belgrade twice...

■ An important part of every marathon is the competitive sport-

ing part, elite runners and the result achieved. Do you expect new course records?

- The result itself is important for the affirmation of the marathon, but the Belgrade Marathon will never be able to compete with the biggest marathons, which set aside huge sums of money for the elite runners and provide great rewards and bonuses. This is not available to us, like most of the world’s marathons, but we will try, year on year, to also fix this segment of the organisation by increasing the prize fund and bonuses.

■ Is it then possible to make progress and achieve development in other segments?

the limit we will enable a greater number of people to participate in the Belgrade Marathon.

■ This year you have also given new impetus to increasing the number of local participants.

- Yes, we have done that in two ways. The first is through the organisation of national championships in half-marathon relay races for school pupils, university students and members of the corporation world; while the second way is through the establishment of the racing and recreational running club Belgrade Marathon, which is actively involved not only in the education of potential runners

This year we entered into a phase of certainty by signing a fiveyear cooperation agreement with the City. This is very important for us because it allows us to develop the marathon in all segments

- We recently had a very constructive discussion on that subject with Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali and City manager Goran Vesić. This course of the Belgrade Marathon has been used since 1990 and, alongside quality, it has also shown to have some shortcomings, which are primarily two identical circuits of New Belgrade. Runners do not like following the same route twice. This also proved true at the Ljubljana Marathon, which lured 60 per cent more runners just by changing the course! We even mentioned the possibility of the new course, which we will prepare for the 30th marathon, including the new Ada Bridge. The next possibility for increasing the number of participants is increasing the time limit. It is now six hours, but studies have shown that a large number of participants of marathons worldwide, who partly run and partly walk, only reach the finish line after six or seven hours. By increasing

and participants of the 28th marathon, but also in the organisation of joint training. From 1st May this club will begin accepting members and start its mission of developing marathon running in Belgrade and Serbia under the supervision of top experts in this field. We are particularly happy that this will mean more and more members of the fairer sex turning to running. We are proud that the number of female participants of the Belgrade Marathon has increased from an initial 10 per cent in the half-marathon to reach 40 per cent, and many will soon progress from the half-marathon to take on the full marathon route.

■ One also gets the impression that the Belgrade Marathon company does not have enough people to organise such a complex event...

- The Budapest Marathon has 30 professionals, the Prague Marathon 40, and the New York event has as many as 165, as well as an army of 12,000 volunteers, members of the New York running club, who are always ready to get involved in the organisation. So far, due to the aforementioned instability, we have not been able to strengthen, but we can now plan over the longer term, and that also means strengthening our team. ■ APRIL

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CHILL OUT

INDIA

FRANCE

CONTACT LENSES MADE FROM DIAMONDS

"Al Dente" ▶ The expression cooked "al den-

te" means "to the tooth." What this means is that the pasta should be somewhat firm, and offer some resistance to the tooth, but should also be tender.

India n o p t o m e t r i s t D r Chandrashekhar Chawan has created the most expensive and exotic pair of contact lenses made of diamond and gold. He has come up with gold contact lenses, each encrusted with 18 diamonds.

And a pair costs only $15,000. You get to choose between yellow and white gold.

The diamonds are approximately 6 mm from the cornea to ensure that it is not irritated and gets its supply of oxygen. Only 3,996 pairs of these very special lenses are available. Dr. Chawan states that the purchase can be seen as a family heirloom and an investment. ▶

CHINA

SUPERMARKET NEW RULES: CATCH ONE THIEF A MONTH ▶ One Nanjing supermarket has implemented a strange new policy: staff must catch at least one shoplifter a week, otherwise their manager will be fined 100 RMB (€14.5).

If a thief is caught, however, he will have to pay ten times the fine.

The store manager told reporters that although the policy seems bizarre, they have no other option. Although their shop isn’t big, things get stolen all the time.

Apparently the policy is already working as a staff member already leapt into action by chasing a thief who tried to make off with a bottle of alcohol. He was unsuccessful, however, as he ran into a car and was knocked down.

GERMANY

STARKBIERZEIT BAVARIAN STRONG BEER SEASON ▶ Most beer-loving people have Oktoberfest in Munich high on their agenda for an autumn visit.

But he spring festival – Starkbierzeit- has crowds half as large and beer twice as strong as its autumn rival. Strong lent beer had already been served during this period of carneval since the mid 15th century. Monks brewed lent beer, because they weren't allowed to eat during this period. All these strong beers have the suffix "-ator" in their name, like: "Delicator", "Triumphator", "Animator", "Maximator" and so on. One of the most famous events takes place at the "Nockerberg" where a barrel of "Salvator" is tapped and the politicians have to face their critics in a very humorous way which is called "Derblecken".

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BUS DRIVER TAKES TOURISTS 1200KM IN WRONG DIRECTION ▶ A bus driver tasked with tak-

ing 50 Belgian tourists to a French ski resort got his GPS directions wrong, and made a 1200km detour.

"There are three entries for La Plagne in France, and I selected the wrong one," the driver explained Rather than head to the Alps, the bus driver took the road leading to La Plagne village in the south of France near Spain, some 600km southwest of the ski resort.

"We saw the Mediterranean and Carcassonne," a passenger said on Twitter, referring to a southern town known for its medieval fortress.

The bus driver turned back at Toulouse, and the holiday-makers reached their destination in the Alps 24 hours late.

GLOBAL

THE DAY WHEN EVERYONE “WANTS TO BE IRISH” ▶ Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration occurring annually on 17th March, the date of the demise of the Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland (c. AD 385–461).

The principal aim of St. Patrick’s Festival since its inauguration has been to develop a major annual international festival around the national holiday over which the ‘owners’ of the festival, the Irish people, would stand proud. It sets out to reflect the talents and achievements of Irish people on many national and world stages, and it acts as an exciting showcase for the manifold skills of the people of Ireland, of every age and social background.

The major celebration was held in Dublin (14th – 16th March), but it was celebrated in more countries around the world than any other St. Patrick’s Day. It is the day when everyone “wants to be Irish”.

HUNGARY

GLOBAL

ENTIRE HUNGARIAN VILLAGE AVAILABLE FOR RENT

Population ▶ According to the most re-

cent United Nations estimates, the human population of the world is expected to reach eight billion people in the spring of 2024.

▶ The entire village of Megyer,

Hungary is available to rent. It’s home to 18 people now and it’s getting smaller, like many small villages in Hungary.

For roughly $960 per night, renters can invite as many as 38 other people to stay with them. The rental includes the title of deputy mayor (with the ability to make decisions, including changing street names).

The mayor, along with Barbara Balogh, came up with the solution when they were drinking wine in the town’s de facto bar, which is a barn that also doubles as the mayor’s office. Aside from the village’s quaint beauty, Balogh explains that Megyer has “one bus stop, and a chicken coop. You can go horseback riding. We’re also pretty famous for our pig killing party, which is a very popular winter entertainment program in Hungary.”

WORLD

SARAH BRIGHTMAN – THE FIRST SINGER TO SING IN SPACE

10 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER 1. Exercise more – 7 minutes might be enough 2. Sleep more – you’ll be less sensitive to negative emotions 3. Move closer to work – a short commute is worth more than a big house 4. Spend time with friends and family – don’t regret it on your deathbed 5. Go outside – happiness is maximised at 13.9°C 6. Help others – 100 hours a year is the magic number 7. Practice smiling – it can alleviate pain 8. Plan a trip – but don’t take one 9. Meditate – rewire your brain for happiness 10. Practice gratitude – increase both happiness and life satisfaction

▶ Sarah Brightman plans to become the first artist to perform in space.

The 54-year-old British soprano revealed in a press conference that she and ex-husband Andrew Lloyd-Webber are piecing together a new song for her to sing when she boards a tourist flight on a Russian rocket on 1st September.

Should Brightman succeed with her space station plans, she’ll become the first professional musician to sing in space. It was previously reported that Lady Gaga tweeted in 2013 that she had plans to board a Virgin Galactic flight to perform in space for their Zero G Colony music festival.

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FASHION

Street Style

Trends for Hot Days PRICE:

€178

Sailboat Print Shirt Dress This shirt dress is crafted in non-iron cotton that is specially treated to remain virtually wrinkle-free.

Self-tie belt and roll tab sleeves. Allover nautical sailboat print.

Spring and summer this year are expected, apart from rare exceptions, to be very warm. As such, you should be prepared with light coloured, lightweight and comfortable clothes and shoes.

The clothes we wear on the street (street style), more than red carpets, fashion weeks or any other celebrity events, represent the most important indicator of what we should actually wear during the coming hot season.

That’s why we have decided in this issue to offer you a few tips, thus you can decide for yourselves what you will select from your wardrobe and prepare for the coming heat.

Oakley 'Step Up' Sunglasses Lightweight, stress-resistant O Matter adds to the everyday utility of full-coverage sunglasses featuring snag-free nose pads and glare-reducing polarized lenses.

PRICE: €170

Ralph Lauren Calf Hair Belt Vibrant leopard spots add exotic edge to a statement-making calf hair belt. PRICE: €43

Kylie Suede Pumps Crafted in sumptuous suede, this flaunts a sleek pointy toe for stridemaking sophistication.

PRICE: €115

PRICE:

€125

Cashmere Short Sleeve Open Cardugan This versatile layering piece is a sophisticated wardrobe essential. Short sleeves. Open front. Drop shoulders. Ribbed cuffs and hem.

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PRICE:

€88

Fitted Stripe Dress Shirt

Alexander McQueen Leather Duffel Bag A signature skull-shaped padlock perfectly underscores the essential McQueen motifs of a finely grained calfskin duffel.

PRICE: €1,200

This non-iron dress shirt is crafted from cotton poplin with a hint of stretch and features a slightly tapered fitted silhouette with an elegant elongated neckline.

Monica Vinader Esencia Chain Bracelet Striped Lula Shirt Striped sleeveless button front collared blouse.

PRICE: €830

Tory Burch 'Moore' Leather Flat

The Esencia Chain Bracelet from Monica Vinader is an elegant, understated accessory perfect for everyday.

PRICE: €205

PRICE:

A round-toe, pebbled-leather flat gets the Tory Burch treatment with a signature double-T embellishment at the toe.

PRICE:

€210

€1,970

Givenchy Small Patent Tote Perfect for any occasion, simply wear in the crook of your arm or on the shoulder for an instant polished Parisian look.

PRICE:

€125

Mini Flaire Dress This delicate daisy print dress steps into the season with freshpicked pretty.

Tag Heuer Formula 1Diamond Chronograph Watch PRICE:

The steel and ceramic bezel is encrusted with 60 more diamonds, which truly are a girl’s best friend.

€XX

PRICE:

€3,100

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FASHION

Spring Summer

Men's Street Style 2015 Regent Fit Linen Short-Sleeve Sport Shirt

PRICE:

€132

Fit Plain-Front Linen Dress Trousers

The Regent fit is a modern trim fit with chest and sleeves cut slimmer to the body.

PRICE: €85

Dress trousers, made in pure Irish linen. Tailored with a plain-front and finished bottoms.

Edward Green Piccadilly Leather Loafers PRICE:

€175

Navy Knit Blazer This blazer is made of textured pique knit fabric for a softly textured hand and a little less structure.

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Edward Green opened his workshop in Northampton, England with the aim of making the finest shoes without compromise. Each pair is hand-cut from the finest full-grain calf leathers, finally hand-polished into a deep, burnished finish that only improves with time.

PRICE: €1,230

Regent Fit Sport Shirt

PRICE:

€150

Straight Fit Jeans

This sport shirt is crafted from pure cotton broadcloth for unmatched comfort and specially finished to remain virtually wrinkle-free.

PRICE: €83

Denim jeans, made from Supima® cotton. Traditional straight fit. New shanks, rivets and leather patch.

Prada Phantos Sunglasses Finished with gold-tone metal inserts at the bridge and arms, these stylish frames are a must-have addition to your accessories collection.

PRICE: €316

Frederique Constant Classics Watch Featuring a stainless steel case with Roman numeral indices and a date dial, the watch is beautifully finished with a croc-stamped leather strap and sapphire glass.

PRICE: €2,547

Fendi Cotton T-Shirt Crafted in soft cotton in a magenta hue, this classic T-shirt is a weekend wardrobe staple from Fendi.

PRICE: €180

Waxed Canvas Boat Shoes

Richard James Military Shirt

Rancourt & Co., a family creates a shoe of exceeding comfort and quality. Waxed canvas. Chromexcel® leather trim.

Rubber sole. Made in the USA. PRICE:

€295 PRICE:

€246

This short sleeve shirt is finely tailored with a point collar and button-through front, with buttoned epaulettes and chest pockets adding military reference.

PRICE:

€1,610

Acqua Di Parma Leather Business Bag

The stylish professional’s choice, this compact yet elegant bag is ideal for holding a laptop, folders and documents.

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PROFILE

Natural Progression The facial expression of people who I talk to always amuses me when they realise I am a graduated dramaturge, yet at the same I work for a large company like Energoprojekt. For me, that was a very logical sequence of circumstances

BORJANA VIĆENTIJEVIĆ Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Energoprojekt Holding plc.

I

was always interested in many different things – from art, to philosophy and astronomy; from chemistry to cooking; from psychology, to writing or extreme sports. I enjoy working with people and I never liked doing the same things over and over again day after day. Over the years, alongside my regular job, I had a side job as a licensed fitness instructor, where it was necessary to approach each client in specific way.

I also improved my voice and overcame stage fright by singing jazz in Belgrade clubs, where I learned to feel the pulse of a group of people.

I graduated in dramaturgy at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where already as students we were trained to “take care of every detail in the frame, as well as about causal connections”, all of which made it easier for me to do the job I do now. I then graduated in screenplay writing at Vancouver Film School in Canada, where I lived for almost a year.

Living abroad helped me adapt quite early to a business style which rates discipline, order, good planning and deep reflection. The sport I have practiced since forever taught me to be patient until I achieve results, but to be persistent and

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realise that when you “shirk” you are actually cheating yourself and it will usually come back to you in a boomerang effect.

When I came back from Canada I worked as a freelance copywriter, then worked for some advertising agencies. At the same time I was writing for magazines. I worked at Adria Media Group for almost five years and returned to “my artistic roots compounded with management”, spending a few years in the TV and film industry, postproduction and marketing as a supervisor, producer and executive director of Art Division studio. I travelled a lot doing this job and learned to collaborate with people from different fields of culture. It was then that I also realised

I have the opportunity to improve myself and that is very important for me; to expand my knowledge to a higher level and be creative in overcoming business challenges I preferred to communicate with people, to connect them, find solutions and transmit messages, and that I preferred business and management over art. I attended a programme for project management, a public relations school, various education and training courses in communications and digital marketing.

For the last two years I have been

working at Energoprojekt and I enjoy every moment, because this job enables me to connect creativity and my affection for high-quality communication, which is the core of business in my opinion, but also the need for a well-organised system like that of Energoprojekt. If the capital is the lifeblood of a company, then the marketing and corporate communications are its nervous system, and that is the essence of the job I do here.

Energoprojekt operates in 20 countries and has spent years ranked among the world’s best consulting and contracting companies. The company has also long perceived that investments in communications, human resources and new technologies are very important. For all these reasons, I have the opportunity to improve myself and that is very important for me; to expand my knowledge to a higher level and be creative in overcoming business challenges.

The motto of Energoprojekt is that knowledge and quality are ranked first, so I am very happy that my personal attitude matches the idea of the company and that fact makes my business duties enjoyable and easy. Moreover, cooperating with more than 2,000 employees and interacting on a daily basis with clients from four continents, with colleagues and media representatives, ensures every working day is interesting, challenging and different, providing me with something new. That is why I come to my office with a smile on my face. 

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