CorD Magazine No. 162

STRONG DEMOCRACY IMPLIES MEDIA FREEDOM

WE PREPARE THOROUGHLY FOR EACH MOVE

BALKAN BRIDGES OF FRIENDSHIP

Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia

ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ PH.D.

H.E. ELDAR HASANOV

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APRIL ’18 / ISSUE No. 162

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Everyone Should Go Digital MY LIFE: PREDRAG EJDUS, ACTOR

Negative Selection Is Evident In Culture

JORDI BERTOMEU PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN, AND CEO OF THE EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL COMPANY

Basketball Is No Ordinary

E XC L U S I V E

SPORT IN SERBIA ISSN1451-7833

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COMMENT LUCREZIA REICHLIN, Project Syndicate

What Italy’s Election MEANS FOR THE EU PAGE 10

The EU – and the eurozone, in particular – are now facing a serious political challenge, exemplified by the outcome of Italy’s recent election. Are European institutions strong enough to confront that challenge, or must EU leaders rethink – and potentially recast – the pillars of cooperation?

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CONTENTS

April 2018

BASKETBALL IS NO ORDINARY SPORT IN SERBIA

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Jordi Bertomeu, President, Chairman, and CEO of the Euroleague Basketball Company

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STRONG DEMOCRACY IMPLIES MEDIA FREEDOM

Art - Exhibitions

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Ambassador Andrea Orizio, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

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GLOBAL DIARY

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EVERYONE SHOULD GO DIGITAL GAME WORTH HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS

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FACES & PLACES

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NEGATIVE SELECTION IS EVIDENT IN CULTURE Predrag Ejdus, Actor

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MASSIVE DATA SCANDAL Feature

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RESPECTING DIVERSITY THROUGH COOPERATION

Ann Pešić, President of the International Women’s Club (IWC) and Irish Honorary Consul

@CorD_Magazine

ANGELL’S PLAYGROUND AT GOMA Exhibitions

Feature

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ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION OF SERBIA OBSTRUCTS COUNTRY’S BIGGEST ATHLETICS EVENT Dejan Nikolić, Director of the Belgrade Marathon

Focus

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TATE MODERN: “PICASSO 1932 — LOVE, FAME TRAGEDY”

@cordmagazine

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CHILL OUT

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CULTURE CALENDAR

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WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER? Feature on immortality

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CASUAL SPRING TIME FOR JEANS

Fashion: 145 Years of Blue Jeans

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AFTER WORK

EDITOR: Ana Novčić a.novcic@aim.rs DESIGNER: Jasmina Laković j.lakovic@aim.rs CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Maja Vukadinović, Mirjana Jovanović, Miša Brkić, Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić EDITORIAL MANAGER: Neda Lukić n.lukic@aim.rs PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen TRANSLATION & EDITING MRP EDITORIAL Halifax Translation Services PROJECT MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Nataša Trifunović, n.trifunovic@aim.rs Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@aim.rs Nevena Đurković, n.djurkovic@aim.rs OFFICE MANAGER: Svetlana Petrović s.petrovic@aim.rs FINANCE: Ajilon Solutions m.damjanovic@aim.rs EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Maja Vidaković m.vidakovic@aim.rs GENERAL MANAGER: Ivan Novčić i.novcic@aim.rs PRINTING: Rotografika d.o.o.

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COMMENT

What Italy’s Election Means For The EU The EU – and the eurozone, in particular – are now facing a serious political challenge, exemplified by the outcome of Italy’s recent election. Are European institutions strong enough to confront that challenge, or must EU leaders rethink – and potentially recast – the pillars of cooperation?

LUCREZIA REICHLIN/Project Syndicate

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impose the necessary discipline, as happened in 2011-2012. But today, taly’s recent election – in which voters rebuffed traditional parthe ongoing economic recovery – and the fact that governments and ties in favor of anti-establishment and far-right movements, central banks hold the majority of countries’ debts – makes such a producing a hung parliament – should serve as a wake-up call market response far from guaranteed. for Europe. The decades-old project of building European unity Complicating matters further for the EU are regional disparities, may not just be far less robust than assumed; without a significant like those starkly on display in Italy’s recent election. While antirethink, it may not even be viable. establishment political parties did well across Italy, reflecting broad The financial crisis of 2008 and the debt crisis that followed refrustration with the mainstream parties, there was also a distinct vealed major flaws in the governance of the Economic and Monetary north/south divide.

Union (EMU). Member states responded by building new instituItaly’s industrial north favored the far-right League party, which tions, such as the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the European favors tax cuts and opposes immigration. By contrast, Italy’s ecoStability Mechanism. These efforts are, however, almost certainly inadequate to make the EMU resilient enough to withstand future nomically deprived southern regions – where youth unemployment financial crises. Anyone who believes in the European project should has, in some areas, reached nearly 60% – voted overwhelmingly for hope that further reforms follow soon. the Five Star Movement, which advocates a guaranteed basic income But there is an even more urgent task at hand. The European and condemns the corruption of local elites.

Union (EU) and the EMU, in particular, are now facing a serious poRegional inequalities are not limited to Italy. On the contrary, they have increased throughout the EU since the litical challenge, exemplified by Italy’s recent 1980s. And the EU does have a budget for reelection. Are European institutions strong The European Union enough to confront that challenge, or must ducing them, which it uses to support its cohe(EU) and the EMU, in we reconsider – and potentially recast – the sion policies. But while measures encouraging particular, are now pillars of European cooperation? economic convergence have been successful The link between economic and political facing a serious political in many jurisdictions, they have failed in othcrises is well known. Among EU countries, Italy ers, such as southern Italy, precisely because challenge, exemplified has experienced the second-largest decline in of the institutional weakness and widespread

by Italy’s recent election corruption that the populists decry. output (after Greece) during the last decade – a trend that caused a significant deterioration As anyone with experience in development in economic welfare. And, as recent research indicates, a decline in policy knows, fiscal transfers cannot generate convergence growth, welfare correlates more strongly with political support for populists unless they are backed by deep societal changes – and that demands than its absolute level. active local leadership. It is thus significant that Italian voters threw In this sense, economic crises are almost bound to undermine their support behind those who decried the abuse of power by local political stability. But the risk is particularly acute in the EU, because elites and traditional parties, instead of believing that those local populist political forces, should they win power, are likely to reject, elites, let alone the faraway EU, can fix the problem. in the name of national sovereignty, the supranational rules that This might seem to imply that the EU needs to be able to impose form the basis of European institutions. looser terms of cooperation, including fewer benefits from membership.

In the face of such noncompliance, the EU’s only recourse is But while that might work for, say, Hungary, it would be inconceivsanctions – a temporary solution that is inadequate to keep in check able for an EMU member like Italy. In any case, if the EU is to survive governments that have based their political platforms on disavowing long enough to implement the needed institutional reforms, it will common EU rules. In fact, such sanctions can even serve to strengthen to have to find ways to make the project more appealing for all. ■ public support for the populists. This dynamic is illustrated by the current row over immigration between the EU and some of its eastern members, such as Hungary and Poland.

The author is a former director of research at the European Central Of course, if the rules being broken are fiscal, the markets might Bank and a current Professor of Economics at the London Business School.

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B y V L A D I M I R STA N KOV I Ć

INTERVIEW

Basketball Is No Ordinary

SPORT IN SERBIA JORDI BERTOMEU

PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN, AND CEO OF THE EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL COMPANY

In this exclusive interview for CorD, the top man of basketball’s EuroLeague talks about the “Final Four” tournament, which is to be held in Belgrade next month, the 18th birthday of the organisation he heads, expansion plans, the Euro Cup, relations with FIBA, the World Basketball Federation, and much more

EXCLUSIVE

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erbia was, and remains, a force in world basketball.

It owes that to the incredible number of personalities it has given the world of basketball, from executives and referees, via coaches to players.

Borislav Stanković was a unique and inimitable manager. He envisaged the future and we all owe him a great debt of gratitude for the fact that basketball is today one of the world’s leading sports. The fact that he is no longer on the front line is a loss for FIBA and for basketball.

DECISIONS

CONDITIONS

FIBA

All decisions, from the first to the last, are made by the clubs, and we are just their extended arm that implements those decisions and responds to clubs

We’ve had several discussions with clubs on the topic of preparation conditions, travel and player recovery, and we expect these conditions to be improved constantly

In representing clubs, we have done everything that is in our hands, but FIBA should address this issue with the seriousness it deserves and make decisions

■ The ‘Final Four’ tournament, which will be played in Belgrade from 18th to 20th May, represents a red-letter event in the basketball calendar. How did Belgrade receive the honour of staging this event and what do you expect from the competition in the Serbian capital?

- The ‘Final Four’ is evidently an event on the panorama of the world. And when it comes to basketball, it is inevitable to think about the Balkan region and Serbia. Many great players in basketball history have come from there, and even today it is the biggest cradle of talent. There has long been mutual interest in the “Final Four” being held in Belgrade, and the conditions have now been met for that to happen. The city, along with the president of the state, showed absolute competence with the organisation of events of this scope at the highest level, and I’m sure this will be shown in practise. What will make this “Final Four” different from the others is basketball’s past. It is enough to visit Kalemegdan to understand that basketball is not an ordinary sport here.

■ What kind of relationship do you have with Serbian basketball, through clubs or personalities that you’ve met, especially Mr Borislav Stanković. Was it easier to negotiate with him while he headed FIBA? -Serbia was, and remains, a force in world basketball. It owes that to the incredible number of personalities it has given the world of basketball, from executives and referees, via coaches

assess the scope. The fact that he is no longer on the front line is a loss for FIBA and for basketball.

■ The EuroLeague is 18 years old. Are you satisfied with what has been achieved in that period? What are the greatest achievements; what wasn’t achieved or didn’t succeed?

PATRICK BAUMANN, FIBA Secretary general, and JORDI BERTOMEU

It was 18 years ago that the EuroLeague was created with a clear idea: to create an authentic European league in which the best European clubs regularly compete against each other

to players. Borislav Stanković was undoubtedly a unique and inimitable manager. I see that in the function of the global effect caused by his vision of the development of our sport, and in that sense I don’t see anyone in Europe who can compare with him. He envisaged the future and we all owe him a great debt of gratitude for the fact that basketball is today one of the world’s leading sports. Modern basketball has changed, but I don’t doubt that he would adapt it even today, and even predict and encourage changes. The respect and admiration I have towards him is not in conflict with the fact that we had different opinions or different visions in some situations.

There were conflicts, but that’s at an anecdotal level if we

- Yes, we are satisfied with what we’ve achieved so far, though we can’t say that it’s enough.

Our obligation is to continue working to ensure that we lead our competition, and basketball in general, to the highest possible heights. It was 18 years ago that the EuroLeague was created with a clear idea: to create an authentic European league in which the best European clubs regularly compete against each other. If at that moment the environment wasn’t mature enough for that, throughout the years the model developed with the idea of the changes bringing more games and higher quality. It was with this goal that we created a five-game playoff, then later a “Top 16” with two groups of eight teams each. A definitive change came in 2016, with the formation of a league of 16 clubs. This sparked the interest of spectators as never before in Europe, which only confirmed the theory we have always believed: you always need to work with APRIL

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top-level companies that believe in us and invest in the League as sponsors. It should be clarified that leagues don’t exist to bring money to clubs, or at least not only for that reason. They are there to launch joint projects, to increase the value of the “brand” of the clubs and the league itself, to create an adequate environment so that a club can increase its revenues. From this point, clubs are responsible for activating the value of their own “brand” and creating conditions for new sponsorships, increasing ticket sales, licenses etc. In any case, one cannot expect any club to be satisfied with what they get, that would be negative. It is good that clubs help to make the league better, while that it is also our job that we are working on.

JORDI BERTOMEU and DUŠAN IVKOVIĆ

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■ There are still occasional references to “EuroLeague ULEB”. What is the relationship with ULEB and who are the owners of the EuroLeague?

fans at the centre of interest, “EuroLeague Basketball” and “EuroLeague Properties” offering them the highest posare two companies that run the competition and the sible quality of product. On the commercial rights of the clubs. We only execute other hand, the EuroCup and the junior “Next Generation the decisions of the owners, or clubs Tournament” have also grown - Yes, this is a common and today enjoy great respect. We are satisfied with all of this, point of confusion in but we do not enjoy complacency. Ever since the creation of many countries. ULEB the EuroLeague in 2000, every time we’ve decided on a change is the union of European we’ve simultaneously begun thinking about the next step. We professional leagues (and cannot “sleep” in such a changeable environment, and that’s EuroLeague is an assoalso how it will be in the future. ciation of clubs). ULEB is a shareholder in Eu■ Nobody questions the sporting level of the competition, but there are many voices talking about “financial roLeague, as are some failure”, noting that the planned goals have not been national leagues, but the achieved and that clubs receive less money than exmajor shareholders are pected. What is the scope of EuroLeague’s operations our clubs. and how much revenue is generated from TV rights?

- It is inevitable that there are always ill-intentioned people, ■ Many believe that especially when EuroLeague continues to grow and no imJordi Bertomeu deportant. What matters is what the clubs value. Last year we cides everything, and signed the most important contract in the history of Eurothat everything depean basketball, with giant company IMG. This is a company pends on him. What that believes in us and guarantees a great investment in the kind of decision-making system does the League for the next 10 years. Club revenues have increased by EuroLeague have? almost 50 per cent in just a year. On the other side, the value - That’s another very of television contracts has also increased a lot, in some cases common mistake. “Eurotwo or even threefold, and that has happened on some of our League Basketball” and most important markets. There are more and more leading 162

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“EuroLeague Properties” are two companies that run the competition and the commercial rights of the clubs. We only execute the decisions of the owners, or clubs. It is very important to clarify this. All decisions, from the first to the last, are made by the clubs, and we are just their extended arm that implements those decisions and responds to clubs. On the other hand, I understand that my presence in the basketball public influences the opinion that I decide, but that’s not the case.

■ What are EuroLeague’s plans for the shorter and longer term? It is considered that increasing the number of clubs to 18 is already a done deal, with 20 mentioned in the future. Will there be room in the schedule for so many matches?

- We have many plans for the future, all of which were determined a year ago at the meetings meeting of the owners of the clubs and of the

JORDI BERTOMEU and ŽELJKO OBRADOVIĆ

better. Logically, increasing the number of clubs requires an increase in the number of matches, but that will only impact on the clubs that will decide on this, i.e. EuroLeague clubs. I would like to point out that, contrary to the claims of many, we don’t plan to play our games on weekends, because that would mean “invading” the territory of national leagues.

That should be very clear to everyone.

We don’t believe it’s acceptable to punish clubs and players because of FIBA’s decision to organise matches in dates that it knew would collide with the main leagues in the world shareholders. There is lots of talk about a possible expansion of the league, but that’s just a piece of cake. The main goal is to offer viewers the highest possible quality of games, which will bring new opportunities to the clubs. We have started, with the help of IMG, many projects aimed at attracting even more spectators, especially among young people, and at offering a high-quality product to TVs, sponsors and all partners. If a league of 18 clubs allows us to achieve this, that’s what it will be, but only if we are certain that our product will be (even)

■ This season saw more players experience more severe injuries. Does that have anything to do with the calendar, the number of games and, consequently, fatigue among the players?

- That might be related, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. None of the data we have indicates an alarming increase in the number of injuries compared to the previous seasons.

There is no doubt that the players are at the centre of attention, and if they are injured or not fit enough that’s no good for anyone. We’ve had several discussions with clubs on the topic of preparation conditions, travel and player recovery, and we expect these conditions to be improved constantly.

On the other hand, we believe it is very important that players have five or six weeks of guaranteed rest. We’ve proposed this many times, but cooperation of other organisations, such as FIBA or national leagues, are necessary for something like this. Unfortunately, our proposals have not been accepted to date, but we continue to insist, because we consider this issue as being very important.

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■ An unavoidable question is the one regarding your relations with FIBA and the conflict over the calendar.

Is there a solution?

- Of course there is, but it should be activated by FIBA, which launched the new calendar despite the opposition of clubs, leagues, players and coaches in Europe. It is a system that results in the world’s best players in the world’s most important leagues not being able to play for their national teams. If

JORDI BERTOMEU and VLADA STANKOVIĆ

it knew would collide with the main European leagues. Even if we had accepted the calendar, the problem would not be solved, because a large number of players (from the NBA) are left unavailable to national teams. We are ready to talk and accept every option that allows all players to participate, but not a solution that obliges some and not others. That would be a patchwork that would leave the main problem without a solution. I don’t believe anybody can imagine Spain’s national team without Pau Gasol, or France without Tony Parker, just as nobody imagines the Argentina football team without Lionel Messi. It doesn’t make sense; in that way we cheat the fans.

■ The Balkan region, represented through the Adriatic League, has over the past 18 years fallen from three guaranteed teams to one – the champion of the regional league.

Is there a possibility for the region to gain another team in the EuroLeague?

- Reducing the EuroLeague to 16 clubs has made it difficult to get a place, not only for clubs from the Balkans, but for all of them. I don’t believe that, in the short term, it will be possible for the clubs of the Adriatic League to get a second place. In the future, everything will go through the EuroCup, which will provide a greater number of clubs with the chance to qualify for the EuroLeague.

Reducing the EuroLeague to 16 clubs has made it

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we again place the spectators difficult to get a place, not only for clubs from the at the centre of our attention, it is clear that the expected Balkans, but for all of us. I don’t believe that, in the short quality is not being offered. term, it will be possible for the clubs of the Adriatic All the proposals we have League to get a second place made, and to date there have been five, they been along the lines of ensuring that all players are available to national team ■ How satisfied are you with the EuroCup? selectors. The latest proposal includes six further changes - Yes, we are satisfied, but we are still a long way from what that we believe are important for the further development of we want. The EuroCup is a high-quality competition, comparable in the final stages to the EuroLeague. As is often basketball in Europe, both at the national and international the case with many poorly ranked “other competitions”, it levels. Here I’m referring to the structure of international is much more difficult to unify all conditions like is done for league, players’ holidays, conditions for participation in the competition in the EuroLeague, but we’ve been working for national team, insurance as a guarantee for clubs etc. None several years on raising the level and applying some things of this has even been evaluated to date, let alone accepted. in the EuroCup that have proved useful in the EuroLeague.

In representing clubs, we have done everything that is in our We last year decided to centralise the TV rights, which is hands, but FIBA should address this issue with the seriousness it deserves and make decisions. now being led by IMG, and we see a very positive evolution and higher revenue for clubs.

■ Will EuroLeague play its matches in the “FIBA” winIn the future, as I said, the EuroCup will give a larger dows next season? number of clubs the right to qualify for the EuroLeague, - We don’t believe it’s acceptable to punish clubs and players but I cannot discuss specific details, as no decision has been because of FIBA’s decision to organise matches in dates that made as yet on specific details. ■ 162

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INTERVIEW

Strong Democracy Implies

MEDIA FREEDOM AMBASSADOR ANDREA ORIZIO

HEAD OF THE OSCE MISSION TO SERBIA

The way ahead includes empowering media to deal with violations of media freedom and freedom of expression, promoting digital and media literacy, fostering the right to freedom of information and encouraging media diversity also in national minority languages –Andrea Orizio

A

s he approaches the second anniversary of his posting in Serbia, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, H.E. Ambassador Andrea Orizio, speaks to CorD about the importance of reforms in the area of the judiciary and the fight against corruption and organized crime, while he also announces the upcoming staging of a regional meeting in Belgrade on support to anticorruption institutions and corruption prevention, where best practices will be shared with regional, international and OSCE experts.

■ Your Excellency, you have served as Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia since October 2016. How satisfied are you with your cooperation with the state in the areas that form the foundation of the OSCE Mission - strengthening institutions, the rule of law and media freedom?

- Overall, I am very satisfied with the level and quality of cooperation that we have with our partners in Serbia.The Mission provides expertise and assistance, which is valued and requested, in its relevant mandated areas – security cooperation, rule of law, democratisation and media – in order to help Serbia fully exploit its remarkable human capital and secure its rightful 18 |

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place in the region and in Europe. We are working together with our partners on a daily basis on specific projects, which are tailored to the needs of the country in the precise areas that you mentioned, including the fostering of an independent and impartial judiciary, and overall strengthening of the rule of law, the freedom and professional level of the media etc. I find the high level of awareness of challenges in Serbia, even at the highest level, extremely encouraging. Since I came, I strengthened our capacity to adapt our assistance to the changing needs and emerging challenges of Serbia, including migration and the fight against violent extremism.

■ The OSCE Mission received several invitations to formally observe the recent local elections held in Belgrade. Why did you opt against this step?

- We did not opt against this step. Simply, within the OSCE, the Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is mandated to observe elections. Generally, ODIHR does not observe local elections, although there have been a couple of exceptions in the past. Moreover, even when we talk about general elections, election observation takes place exclusively upon invitation of the State where elections are taking place. One of the OSCE’s major successes is that all participating States tend to seek observation, although there is no binding decision to do so. Serbia has consistently requested OSCE/ODIHR assistance when holding national elections.

■ How serious do you consider the complaints of the opposition and certain observer organisations implying a series of irregularities, disorderly voter lists and pressure exerted on voters?

QUALITY

MEDIA

INITIATIVES

Overall, I am very satisfied with the level and quality of the cooperation we have with our partners in Serbia

Media freedom and the safety of journalists are recognised as being among the most important democratic issues

The OSCE always stands ready to support initiatives that promote peace, security and cooperation

- Since we did not observe the elections, we do not have direct insight into possible complaints. There is certainly always room for improvement in any country, also when it comes to general elections, the ODIHR last year published some relevant recommendations that its representatives were able to start discussing with relevant Serbian interlocutors. Their report outlines the areas where Serbia could grow. Coming back to the recent Belgrade local elections, I would note that some CSOs, such as CRTA, did not consider irregularities to have taken place on a large scale. On the other hand, while some parties and individuals raised concerns about the fairness of the electoral campaign, the reporting of accredited CSOs, focusing mainly on the pre-electoral campaign and media coverage of contenders, stressed the biased media coverage, blurred lines between public duties and party activism, and the misuse of public resources for campaigning. Such observations seem somehow to echo some of the ODIHR’s previous recommendations.

- The fight against corruption is certainly a priority and a challenge for any country and any society. On the other hand, the OSCE and the EU are two different organisations with different mandates, political characteristics and operational mechanisms. It is therefore inappropriate for me to comment on EU documents, since I represent the 57 OSCE participating states, many of which are not EU member states. The reforms that the Mission supports, however, can also be used by the Host Country in furthering its declared strategic aim, and the issues identified by the EU are certainly deserving of attention. The OSCE Mission to Serbia is actually very active in collaborating on the fight against

■ You recently participated in the final public debate on amending the Constitution in the area of the judiciary. What are your impressions from that meeting?

- We, as the Mission, decided to support the debate in Belgrade on constitutional amendments, as an inclusive and useful tool. I was very glad to participate in it together with Prime Minister Brnabić and Justice Minister Kuburović. This was a very clear sign of engagement in the process being provided by the Serbian Government at its highest level. There I stressed the Our co-operation is based corruption and organised crime. We have importance of discussion and reform – not for the sake facilitated very good cooperation between the on genuine partnership, of the international community, but primarily in the Serbian ministries of justice and the interior, as and our assistance to interest of Serbian citizens. An inclusive approach and well as the prosecutors for organised crime and transparent debate are essential. Nevertheless, what their counterparts in other countries that have Serbian institutions, we deem important is that suggestions, concerns particularly good expertise and mechanisms Government, and civil and observations coming from Serbian institutions in these areas, such as my home country of society is aimed at themselves are carefully taken into consideration. Here Italy. As the regional dimension is essential, supporting and facilitating we will soon organise in Belgrade – together I’m primarily referring to the Supreme Court of Cassation, the High Judicial Council, the State Prosecutorial with the Serbian Anti-Corruption Agency – a their reform agenda, Council, as well as professional associations of judges very important regional meeting on support thus strengthening full and prosecutors, academia and civil society. The Misto anti-corruption institutions and corruption ownership by local sion will continue to support an open dialogue on this prevention, where best practises will be shared stakeholders crucial topic, which will help define where standards with regional, international and OSCE experts. are placed on the rule of law, as Serbia decided to start this reform in order to address previous shortcomings and strengthen ■ Do you believe the formation of special prosecution centres and judicial independence. courts for fighting corruption in Novi Sad, Kraljevo and Belgrade, which began working as of 1st March, will contribute to fighting corruption more efficiently?

■ Do you share the assessment contained in the EU Strategy for - This is definitely a good step in the right direction. It is important for this the Western Balkans that the region suffers from “state capture”, network to cover all the different areas of Serbia, as corruption is a phenomenon with corruption evident even at the higher levels of the state?

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requiring constant attention, in Serbia and elsewhere. The full empowerment of prosecutors, the harmonisation and coherence of legislation, as well as its implementation, are also of crucial importance.

tunities and remaining challenges of the region even more clearly. I think the overall target should be to become able to transform all the enormous existing potential into a full reality. We help Serbia in its modernization and ambitious reforms path, then it will be up to Serbia, and to each individual country in the region, to decide what direction to take, with a modernized structure to rely on.

As Europe itself is passing through transforming processes, the key idea should be to strengthen the rule of law, primarily in the interest first of all of citizens and in order for them to be masters of their own future. I believe all ingredients for this are on the table. Western Balkans is an area of great opportunity for Europe and for the world, and a region that can also play a leading role, as a provider of stability, economic growth and security. At the same time, nothing should be taken for granted. The remaining fragilities can be only overcome with joint efforts of all sides.

■ You have stated repeatedly that there can be no strong, democratic society without media freedom. How would you rate the atmosphere in which journalists in Serbia work and the government’s attitude towards them?

- Media freedom and the safety of journalists are recognised as some of the most important democratic issues. This is precisely why the OSCE has established an independent office in Vienna to address this issue: the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The Mission is engaged in fostering improvements in two main areas: professionalism in media and freedom of the media itself. The Mission has supported the development of a Media Strategy with the Ministry of Culture and Information and professional associations, and we expect that this document will address the most important issues in freedom of the media, such as: transparency of media ownership, independence of editorial policy, safety of journalists, and protection of public interest in the media, also on the basis of the public debates we supported. Rapid technological development opened many new doors for freedom of expression and journalism. It is therefore important that journalists, academics, media lawyers and civil society get more involved and stand side by side in shaping standards and technologies that will better match the needs of the community. We are simultaneously working on media literacy, especially with the younger generations, also together with several universities. The way ahead includes empowering media and civil society to deal with violations of media freedom and The Mission will continue to freedom of expression, promoting digital and media literacy, fostering the right to freedom of support an open dialogue on information and encouraging media diversity this crucial topic, which will also in national minority languages. We work help define where standards with all associations and stakeholders on the are placed on the rule of law, media scene, with no distinctions and no prejudice, using inclusiveness as our guiding principle. as Serbia decided to start this

■ Do you believe the Brussels Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina can emerge from its current crisis and that the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo could soon be established?

- This issue is outside of the mandate of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. However, dialogue in itself is the best and only way to settle disputes in a sustainable way. It is a two-way street and requires broad support and mutual efforts, which are objectively difficult but feasible if there is a common understanding of a higher added value in finding a viable compromise.

■ It seems that great hope is being placed in the young people who should contribute to raising the quality of dialogue in the region. Do you think their voice is heard sufficiently?

- The OSCE always stands ready to support initiatives that promote peace, security and cooperation. Youth can play a decisive role in shaping history, overcoming fears and improving their countries and the region. Young people are also pioneers of change in the way they communicate. When we talk about the central role of connectivity in the region and in Europe, we should not only think of highways, railways or information technology – all of which are essenreform in order to address ■ You have been familiar with this region tial factors – but also and first of the youth and previous shortcomings since the time you served in the Italian human beings. The OSCE Mission to Serbia and Foreign Ministry. How would you dethe OSCE Presence in Albania promoted youth and strengthen judicial scribe the Western Balkans today –as exchanges that had resounded remarkably in independence a powder keg or as a region heading the social media spheres of both countries and assuredly towards the EU? helped substantially improve mutual knowledge and understanding through Indeed, I was lucky enough to already be familiar with the region, as Italian dialogue (#OSCEyouth). The same group of young people, through the project Balkans Director until 2016, and with Serbia, a country where I very easily felt “Women of Albania and Serbia: We Can Do It!”, produced the documentary film at home. Seen from my previous Italian perspective, simply Europe did not look “Kismet”, featuring the personal experiences or stories of eight young women complete without the Western Balkans and without Serbia, a country which is from Serbia and Albania who are breaking gender stereotypes and forming called on to continue playing its stabilizing and responsible role in the region. cross-cultural links. This is all thanks to constant cooperation among Serbian With my OSCE hat on, I am certainly integration neutral, but I see the opporand Albanian institutions, ministries and civil society, supported by the OSCE. ■ 20 |

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BREXIT

GLOBAL DIARY

“We are living through an important moment in our country’s history. As we leave the European Union, we will forge a bold new positive role for ourselves in the world, and we will make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us.” - Theresa May, British Prime Minister

HEROIC FRENCH POLICEMAN ▶ Arnaud Beltrame, a French policeman who was shot and stabbed after swapping himself for a hostage in a rampage and siege that President Emmanuel Macron branded as “an Islamist terrorist attack” died of his wounds on 24th March.

Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 45, was among a group of officers who rushed to the scene in the town of Trebes in southwest France after the attacker, who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, stormed a supermarket and fired at shoppers and staff.

Beltrane voluntarily took the place of a woman the gunman had taken hostage and was shot and badly wounded before anti-terror police moved in to kill the attacker and end the siege.

“Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame has passed away. He died for his country. France will never forget his heroism,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said. Macron earlier paid tribute to the bravery of the police officer.

LOUVRE BRINGS 'UNPRECEDENTED' SHOW TO TEHRAN

cording to the Louvre, the show is “an outstanding cultural and diplomatic event for both countries.”

SEMANA SANTA (HOLY WEEK) IN SPAIN ▶ You’ve never seen the Passion of

French Foreign Minister JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN speaks at the opening ceremony

Christ celebrated quite like they do in Spain. Holy Week (25th March – 1st April) is one of Spain’s most authentic and elaborate celebrations, with each region of the country commemorat-

▶ Despite rising tensions between

Iran and Europe, the Louvre and the Iranian government are moving forward with plans to collaborate on a series of exhibitions, archaeological projects, publications, and other initiatives over the next four years.

The two countries first agreed to the multiyear cultural exchange in 2016 during Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s visit to France after the signing of the nuclear deal.

To mark the eightieth anniversary of Iran’s National Museum, the Louvre has loaned around fifty masterpieces from its collection to the institution for an exhibition that has been billed as the first large-scale exhibition by a major Western museum in Iran. Ac22 |

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SAUDI ARABIA INVESTING IN ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY ▶ Saudi Arabia is preparing to pump

$64 billion into its nascent entertainment industry as part of Vision 2030, the social and economic reform program spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Construction is already underway on an opera house in the capital Riyadh, and the country plans to host 5,000 entertainment events this year.

Performers will reportedly include U.S. pop band Maroon 5 and the

world’s largest theatrical producer Cirque du Soleil.

“In the past, investors would go outside the kingdom to produce their work, and then showcase it back in Saudi Arabia,” General Entertainment Authority chief Ahmed bin Aqeel alKhatib said. “Today, change will happen and everything related to entertain-

XI JINPING RE-ELECTED AS CHINA'S PRESIDENT ing Easter week in it’s own way. If you’re looking for extravagant processions on the streets and colourful displays of religious fervour head to Seville for the week. If a traditional commemoration of the holiday is more up your alley, head to Castille and Leon where eight of the region’s cities have been declared sites of International Tourism for their holy week celebrations.

▶ Xi Jinping was reappointed as China’s president with no limit on the number of terms he can serve. The National People’s Congress, also appointed close Xi ally Wang Qishan to the formerly ceremonial post of vice president.

Xi Jinping was re-elected as the President unanimously with all 2,970 votes. He was also re-elected as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission unanimously.

Xi, 64, is considered the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong and he was given the right to continue in office indefinitely after the legislature scrapped term limits for the president and vice president. Xi took office as president in 2013. Economic growth and social stability have allowed him to amend the constitution and carry out other moves that once seemed highly contentious.

FOCUS

“You have to learn to de-focus to be able to focus. Time management should be worked on as cutting yourself from what you love is not a great solution. During board exams students cut contacts with all social activities but this doesn’t get results.

This was because de-focusing is important.” - Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister

PAJA JOVANOVIĆ’S PAINTING ON AUCTION AT LONDON'S SOTHEBY'S ▶ The famous Paja Jovanović (1859 - 1957) painting “Bashi-Bazouks

Before Gataway” was found in the catalogue of London’s Sotheby’s for an auction scheduled for 24th April. The picture’s owner is not known, but it is known that this masterpiece is estimated to be worth between £120,000 and £150,000 (€137,500 - €172,000).

Bashi-bazouks were irregulars in the Ottoman army and hailed from lands across the Ottoman empire, from Egypt to the Balkans.

Jovanović studied at the Vienna Academy under Karl Leopold Müller. His patrons included King Alexander of Serbia. He exhibited in Vienna, Munich and Berlin, where his meticulously observed Montenegrin and Albanian subjects, particularly of warriors and bashibazouks, met with international acclaim, prized by English and American collectors alike.

HAWKING PREDICTED THE END OF THE WORLD TWO WEEKS BEFORE HIS DEATH

ment will be done here. God willing, you will see a real change by 2020.” The Saudi Arabian regime also plans to open movie theaters to the public in 2018, reversing a 35-year ban.

▶ Professor Stephen Hawking

TURKISH EPIC PERFORMANCE ▶ The kindness of strangers is at the

heart of a new performance by Turkish performer Ata Dogruel. The artist is spending 28 days in silence, relying on his audience for food in what he describes as an invitation to care.

Dogruel is one of 10 artists in a marathon live show spanning 672 straight

hours over a month, the longest-ever duration of performance art in Turkey.

The event, titled Needed: You, features nine performances by members of Performistanbul, the country’s first international performance-art platform, and nearly 2,000 people have already attended the show ahead of its 16th March close.

submitted a research paper just two weeks before his death suggesting how scientists could detect another universe and predicting the end of the world.

scientist died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of 14th March.

SALVADOR DALÍ REBURIED AFTER EXHUMATION FOR PATERNITY TESTS

▶ Three decades after he died and

In his “no boundary theory” devised with James Hartle, the pair described how the Earth hurtled into existence during the Big Bang. The theory questions an issue that had bothered Hawking, who died aged 76, for 35 years. In his final paper, Hawking, along with the professor for theoretical psychics at KU Leuven University in Belgium, explored how these universes could be found using a probe on a spaceship. The world-famous

eight months after his remains were disinterred in order to settle a paternity claim to determine whether Dalí was the father of Pilar Abel, a tarot card reader and fortune teller, Salvador’s body has once again been laid to rest, in its entirety, beneath the museum he designed as a shrine to his own life and art.

The surrealist’s body was exhumed from its tomb in Figueres, Catalonia, in July. Hair, nail and bone samples taken from the body proved he was not her father. The exhumation did, however, reveal that the artist’s trademark moustache was still intact.

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FOCUS

Everyone Should

GO DIGITAL

The business sector sees digitisation as a strong driver of reforms, state efficiency and innovation, as well as an incubator for young talent. If well used, it may help Serbia step up into the global economy from a fresh starting point, but before that can happen some basic clean-up of the economy is needed

Which of the Kopaonik Business Forum’s ideas has the capacity to become a game changer in the Serbian economy?

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hat do you see as an accelerator of growth or a game changer that could catapult Serbia’s economy towards an upward path?”, this is the question we posed to leading business figures in Serbia. It turns out that our interlocutors found it easy to answer our question. This year’s Kopaonik Business Forum was obviously very inspiring and provided a lot of food for thought. Digital was definitely one of the most frequent buzz words.

It was recognised as a force that can turn our everyday lives, our jobs and incomes, completely upside down, hopefully for the better. It is seen as an unavoidable part of productive education and of everyone’s approach to doing business, from banking to agriculture, and as a tool that can support key reforms. The creative economy, as a new growth 24 |

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driver, innovations and investments in young talent were all mentioned many times as being precious to Serbia if it wants to catch up with new EU members. However, and not surprisingly, some of our respondents underlined the importance of basic preconditions for a sound economy.

Among them were mentioned a clear diagnosis of the economy and a new push for long-overdue reforms of the public sector. Another fresh idea was to single out the best tax performers among companies. Topping the most promising things heard during the Forum is that Serbia has a vibrant international and domestic business community that is ready to step into the arena and support the country in implementing much-needed changes, whether that relates to those we’ve been awaiting for a long time, or others that are lingering.

Here are the ideas we brought to your attention. ■

Serbia Must Go Digital One word – digitisation - resonated during this year’s Kopaonik Business Forum, both in panels and in informal discussions. We could hear that businesses, the media, governments etc. all should go, or are already going, digital

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lthough the meaning and as the most valuable asset in the contemporary world. Technology democratises content of digitisation opportunities, and if we leverage our creativity resources, as Nordeus did, we will varies among different be able to compete and win in the global business arena. stakeholders, it is certain that the Moreover, I find the notion of “reversibility of education” very new and inspimajority of Kopaonik Business rational. Metaphorically, we have so far been travelling along a one-way road, Forumparticipantswillrethinktheir with educational institutions “driving the vehicle of knowledge and science” and current practices, with a digital so“delivering goods” to the society. The time has come to turn this road into a two-way JELENA lution to the fore. Furthermore, they street and accommodate for the most progressive entrepreneurs, businesses PAVLOVIĆ willallseekanswerstofundamental and individuals to share their knowledge, contribute and advance institutional PRESIDENT OF THE AMCHAM questions, such as: what will be capabilities to educate new generations. New software, IT solutions, blockchain, BOARD OF GOVERNORS, CEO OF PHILIP MORRIS SERVICES the impact of digitisation and new AI, driver-less cars…many groundbreaking innovations come from the business technologies on our everyday lives, sector, as testimony to the enormous knowledge and reservoir of creativity that our jobs and incomes; what are the professions that we should educate our children could be transferred and made available to scholars, universities and our youngsters. for; what is the future for Serbia in the new, AmCham,asanindependentvoiceofthemost Education and professional technology- and science-driven world? successful businesses in Serbia, is already The panel discussion that inspired me the development is one of our priorities recognisedasacatalystforchange.Education most was “Creative industry in Serbia: An and we will continue to pave the way and professional development is one of our idea as the strongest currency”, with Branko priorities and we will continue to pave the for modernisation and improvement way for modernisation and improvement Milutinović, Lazar Džamić, Dragan Bjelogrlić to happen in this area and Lazar Sakan, which reinforced creativity to happen in this area.

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Digitisation Supports Key Reform One topic clearly stood out as the unifying factor mentioned at all KBF panels as a game changer – digitisation. One could find numerous reasons why digitisation is in focus. In the view of the FIC, the key reason is that digitisation could turn out to be a universal recipe for treating the two biggest challenges in Serbia

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digitisation. n the side of the GoHere we wish to note that the Foreign Investors Council recognised vernment, this would ANA early on the importance of this topic and formed the Digital & E-Combe how to increase TOZZI merce Committee in September 2016. We gathered our members Government efficiency and FOREIGN INVESTORS COUNCIL (FIC) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR around this platform in order for them to exchange their vast knowledge ensure laws are implemented and experience of the corporate digitisation wave and help Serbia fully and consistently. Partimodernise its regulatory framework and create preconditions for the cularly interesting is application in the area of taxes, which is often 4th industrial revolution. We are committed to sharing knowledge, as mentioned as a key reform priority, both by the Government and the private sector. By reinforcing digital communication with taxpayers, the a true partner for growth, and working together with all stakeholders Tax Administration could increase its efficiency and consistency, as well to make Serbia more prosperous. as unleashing capacity for a stronger fight against the grey economy.

For businesses, the key challenge is how to increase competitiveness and grow in the global market of the 21st century. And here also the ace up the sleeve could be going digital and We are committed to sharing so bridging current disadvantages/ lack of resources to significantly knowledge, as a true partner for increase market share. Especially growth, and working together with all intriguing was the story of how stakeholders to make Serbia even a traditional sector, such as more prosperous agriculture, could be boosted by

Clearly Established Diagnosis Of The Serbian Economy The task of the forum’s participants is to give “diagnoses that someone needs to harmonise and guide in the right direction” – this is one of the theses that could be heard after the Kopaonik Business Forum. The one who should do that has long since ceased to be just the state, but rather is all of us who come from the economy

DRAGOLJUB DAMLJANOVIĆ

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t seems to me that today, more than ever, we have a clearly established diagnosis of the Serbian economy, and directions like the development of the IT industry, digitisation, education and the creative economy are the best therapy for sustainable growth.

PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (CCFS), ENERGY & FIELD SERVICES VP SEE EUROPE OPERATIONS SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

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As a representative of a company that operates in the electricity sector, I was particularly interested in topics related to structural reforms, the restructuring of state-owned companies and the completion of privatisation. This is an important segment that will help all of us who work in this sector to continue with further infrastructure projects and investments, which simultaneously also represent a new impulse for the development of the electrical energy industry as an economic branch.

Who Are Tax Heroes?

The Kopaonik Business Forum confirmed that the reform agenda has been well established and that it features the most important issues for improving conditions for doing business – the corporatisation of public companies, the development of eGovernment and digitisation, infrastructure, rule of law, education etc

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ction Supervision, that companies which have never had violations be less exposed to controls and receive the possibility of passing more swiftly through administrative procedures, by which will free them from ALEKSANDAR unnecessary costs, but also help the state to directe limited inspectorate RUŽEVIĆ CHAIRMAN OF THE NALED MANAGEMENT resources towards those who really do business in the grey zone.

BOARD AND GENERAL MANAGER I would highlight the example of 13 companies that this year supported OF COCA-COLA HBC SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO the implementation of an educational campaign in the Year of Combating the Grey Economy. They contributed nearly a billion euros in taxes to the budget in 2017 and employ 25,000 workers. That represents every tenth the best taxpayers? dinar that the state uses to invest in improving quality of life for citizens.

The NALED Fair Competition Alliance proposed the introduction of a There are lots of responsible companies that can boast of the fact that White List – publicly available records of the companies that show the by paying taxes they have helped highest level of business responsibiThe NALED Fair Competition Alliance Serbia gain everything that makes a lity and tax culture by fully settling country a good place to live – better all obligations towards the state proposed the introduction of a White and employees within legal deadliList – publicly available records of the health, education, infrastructure and public services. A White List would nes. Such a measure also found its companies that show the highest level mean a big change. By highlighting the way into the first action plan of the of business responsibility and tax tax heroes, we place the emphasis National Programme for Combating on the best that we have and give the Grey Economy. It is evident that culture by fully settling all obligations adequate recognition and reward for the economy wants this list, which towards the state and employees responsible behaviour, and proper is why we will propose, as part of within legal deadlines role models for society. amendments to the Law on Inspehe idea that I would single out, however, was posed in the form of a question during the panel on tax system reform – if we can see who owes the most tax twice a year, why don’t we also have a list of

a better, sustainable future by investing in Serbian minds and young And this isn’t only an incentive for us as an individual business, but also people. Proof of this is also provided by our development centre in for our partner network and the engagement of local companies, or, in Novi Sad, Schneider Electric DMS NS, which produces, thanks to our specific case, more than 70 companies with production facilities in Serbian experts, an original software solution for the management Serbia. In this way, through good projects, our company alone manages and control of energy distribution networks - ADMS software for the to support more than 3,000 jobs. optimal distribution of electricity.

Moreover, as a company that’s strategically committed to the educaThe KBF set the framework for the Serbian economy again this tion of young people and retaining them in Serbia, ideas in this field, as year. I am more satisfied when I well as creativity, and consequently know that we as a company, like the development of the entrepreneDigitisation and education have been many other members of the Frenurial spirit, are very close to us, but a priority of the government in the ch-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, also important as confirmation of previous year, which also coincides have long been working within such our long-term efforts. Digitisation frameworks, through the efficient and education have been a priority with the priorities of Schneider of the government in the previous Electric…, but also the entire economic education of employees and potential employees, as well as through our year, which also coincides with the environment… we believe that we traditional focus towards introducing priorities of Schneider Electric, create a better, sustainable future innovative operational models of because in addition to supporting business, expanding networks of the Serbian electric power system, by investing in Serbian minds local partners and participating in but also the entire economic enviand young people infrastructure projects. ronment, we believe that we create

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Changing The Mindset Towards Digital Society Due to my belief that digitisation and an innovation-driven economy represent the greatest potentials for growth, I would highlight the panel organised by the Digital Serbia Initiative. This panel addressed many opportunities brought by the digital economy, three of which I will point out here

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JASMINA VIGNJEVIĆ

he first idea is related to the general approach to PRESIDENT OF THE NORDIC BUSINESS the topic of the fourth ALLIANCE, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER AT TELENOR SERBIA industrial revolution. We were not among the winners of the previous three revolutions, so our people do not believe that Serbia has a completely different starting point this time. The first step is for all parts of our society to change the mindset and understand that our move towards a digital society today will determine our future tomorrow. So, let’s give our best to change the mindset!

My second impression was about education for the 21st century. It is great that, in 2018, children in primary schools have computer coding as a mandatory subject and for the first time they have both – an adequate curriculum and appropriate digital tools. I see this as one of the greatest contributions of the Digital Serbia Initiative to the digital

economy’s development.

In the end, I would underline the most important conclusions: digitisation is definitely not only about IT and coding. The fourth industrial revolution is an opportunity for all of us, so increasing digital capacities must be our common mission. Throughout history we’ve had to learn to read and write in order to do any profession, while today digital literacy is becoming a precondition of every successful professional, regardless of whether they are a doctor, a lawyer or a software engineer. Furthermore, it was very interesting to hear during the panel discussion how digitisation is a key engine the for development of our agriculture, so it basically touches any sphere of our life and business.

I am confident that each of these ideas has a greater capacity than before to become a game changer, because this was the first Kopaonik Business Forum at which the digital economy was in everyone’s focus, becoming a buzz word in Serbia.

Investing In Young & Talented People Innovation, as a key driver of local economic growth and competitiveness, is one of the ideas of the Kopaonik Business Forum that could become a game-changer for the Serbian economy

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uilding a stronger national innovation ecosystem and inPRESIDENT OF THE SWISS-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (SSCC), vesting in young, talented GENERAL MANAGER OF SKY people could help boost EXPRESS D.O.O. innovations in Serbia. The country’s capability to innovate and bring innovation successfully to market will be an important determining factor of local economic development in the years to come.

Moreover, private sector companies should invest more in the latest technological development trends, to ensure the digitisation of processes and increases of value added. The Dual education system should support these processes, empowering talented youngsters to start their

MAJO MIĆOVIĆ

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professional recognition much earlier and enabling them to contribute to private sector tech development, with new products, processes, design and services. Several sectors are ideally positioned within the Serbian resources ecosystems: agro-tech business (“digital agriculture”), ICT, educational services…

Finally, the faster growth of the IT industry would be needed, as this industry could have a significant impact on the long-term growth of Serbia’s public and private sector actors. IT has promoted itself through great export results in 2017 (over €900 million), mainly in outsourcing services and programming development. A new sub-branch for this year will be IT security compliant services, driven by the new EU standard, GDPR. Several Serbian companies are already active in this field and we believe that the Government should support this trend.

Public Sector Reforms Should Be Faster This year’s Kopaonik Business Forum was one of the most successful gatherings to date. Some very good conclusions were drawn related to fiscal consolidation, sustainable growth and the macroeconomic conditions in the country

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We at the Japanese Business Alliance welcome the efforts that the ithout new invesGovernment and all relevant stakeholders are exerting with the aim tments there isn’t of accelerating the pace of reforms and strengthening the stability much opportunity of the business environment. On the other side, the topic of innovafor sustainable and significant tion is very much in the focus of the companies gathered within the growth, fiscal consolidation Alliance. For example, the use of alternative fuels is a development yielded excellent results that GORAN PEKEZ opportunity in terms of bringing Serbia closer to the modern practise represent a good springboard PRESIDENT OF THE JAPANESE BUSINESS of countries that are already aware of the importance of ecological for the future, public sector ALLIANCE IN SERBIA – JBAS; CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS factors for society, which will also bring benefits to the local economy reforms must be significantly DIRECTOR FOR THE ADRIATIC REGION AT itself. Furthermore, innovations in the healthcare sector are a focal faster etc.

In addition to these JT INTERNATIONAL A.D. SENTA point of the Alliance, in terms of expanding the use of innovative drugs areas, the forum’s main topics and medical devices. On that note, we were pleased to hear, during also included digitisation, education, the creative economy, scientific the Healthcare Panel of the Kopaonik Business Forum, that patients development and EU integration. Something else that could be heard on in Serbia will soon gain easy access Kopaonik was the topic of innovation, We were pleased to hear that patients to innovative drugs to treat some of which was included in the majority of panel debates and discussion – in Serbia will soon gain easy access to the most difficult health conditions, where Japanese medicines show whether relating to innovations in innovative drugs to treat some of the excellent results on the basis of terms of market approach, industry most difficult health conditions real-world data. achievements or government policies.

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FEATURE

Game Worth

HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS More than 80 nations have legalised online gambling and Europe has the largest online gambling market in the world, and this is only set to increase as the Netherlands adopts new online gambling regulations. It is expected that the Worldwide Gambling Market will reach total revenue of $635 billion by 2022

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n the majority of the countries of the Western Balkans, online casiduring a sporting competition (such as the number of goals scored).” nos and sports betting are not regulated or face heavy restrictions.

Despite the popularity of sports betting in Serbia, a general lack of organisation and regulation persists. Only a few bookmakers can be found Partly as a compensation, these markets have seen a burgeoning in the country, and they run the majority of its high-street betting shops. interest in online gaming and eSports competitions. It is a factor Serbia’s leading bookmaker is the Meridian Group, which has several that operators should bear in mind when exploring the potential outlets in Belgrade and outlying areas. One of its subsidiaries, Meridian of these markets.

Gaming, has also created websites under the brands Meridianbet and Bosnia-Herzegovina contains a high number of bookmakers, while a Meridianslots, providing online betting and gambling services under the large number of international providers operate in the country. Sixteen jurisdiction of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority in Malta since 2008. cities have gambling facilities offering casinos, slot machines and video To date, no laws prohibit internet gambling poker machines. Online gambling is legal, but in Serbia. As a result, some 343 English-language only for companies with land-based operations.

Despite the popularity race and sports betting sites accept play from Croatia has done its best to pass laws that of sports betting in Serbia, including Expekt, Bet365, Unibet, Ladstrengthen the position of its local sports betSerbia, a general lack of brokes, William Hill, Gamebookers and Party ting providers - only organisations that have organization and set up shop on Croatian soil are granted an Bets, to name just a few. online license.

There are also three sites other than Meridregulation persists ian that support sports betting in the Serbian In Macedonia, authorities have tried to language. Foremost among them is the Malta-based Betsson Sportsbook carve out a monopoly in the sports betting market, taking advantage of & Betting Exchange, joined by the Italian gaming and sports betting site the popularity of online gambling in particular. known as Star Lotto and the Austrian sportsbook called Top Win, which In Montenegro, gambling has been legal since the country was formed uses Digital Concepts software originally developed in German. in 2006. Services including sports betting are regulated by the Games Serbian-centric websites operate primarily in Euros. Visa credit lists of Chance Administration. some 1,931 sites that accept players who have Serbian addresses, including The Serbian authorities launched an initiative to stamp out black seven sites supported in the Serbian language, such as the sportsbooks market sports betting in 2011. The online sports betting market in Serbia of Expekt and Bet365, plus the sports betting exchange at Betfair. has been hit by regulations requiring gambling sites to have a physical Although the Serbian government relies on the taxation of gambling presence – this has led to the closure of some online operations. activities as a source of revenue, much of the local sports betting industry Under Serbian law, betting is defined as “a game in which a participant still remains underground, in the hands of unlicensed bookies. ■ bets on scores of individual or group sport competitions or a certain event

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URSULA LÄUBLI, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office Serbia, Counsellor at the Embassy of Switzerland

GORAN PUZOVIĆ, Director at Srbijavode

Four More Years Of Cooperation

Ever More Investment In Water Management

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ŽELJKO MILKOVIĆ, Director of Public Utility City Transport Company GSP “Beograd”

MILOŠ BORENOVIĆ, Director of Product Management, TeleSign Belgrade

We Respect Our Passengers’ Needs

Ease The Lives Of Citizens

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SWISS-SERBIA URSULA LÄUBLI, DIRECTOR OF THE SWISS COOPERATION OFFICE SERBIA, COUNSELLOR, EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

Swiss Cooperation Strategy Serbia 2018-2021

Four More Years Of Cooperation Switzerland’s overall international cooperation is based on efforts to reduce poverty, encourage sustainable development and contribute to global peace ■ Which areas or public policies in Serbia will be supported during the implementation of the Swiss Cooperation Strategy?

- In the next four years, Swiss bilateral support will focus on three fields that were also supported in the previous Swiss Cooperation Strategy 2014-2017.

These are governance, economic development and employment, and sustainable energy and resilient cities. Through our interventions, we work actively at the national and local levels with public institutions, civil society organisations and the private sector for the benefit of all citizens in Serbia.

Our long-standing commitment in these fields is based on the notion that

T

he Swiss Cooperation Strategy Serbia is part of the overall international agenda of the Swiss commitment to The Swiss Cooperation the international community. Serbia is in the focus of Swiss CooperaStrategy for Serbia 2018-2021 tion Office presence in the Western will foster expertise Balkans. The Swiss Cooperation Ofand knowledge transfer, fice supports Serbia and its society promotion of the Swiss in democratic and economic reform processes on the path to European long-lasting tradition of integration. democratic values and Switzerland is one of Serbia’s four financial support major bilateral cooperation partners. amounting to 95 million euros, That partnership is rooted in mutual trust, respect, understanding and a 10% increase in comparison a sizeable Serbian diaspora living in to the previous strategic period Switzerland.

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continuous support in the area of good governance and economic development is crucial for overcoming the challenges that Serbia is facing in broad reform processes. Some of these challenges include the inclusiveness of vulnerable groups, public administration accountability and transparency, efficient public financial management, competitiveness, a strong civil society, youth employment and gender equality. At the same time, Switzerland is contributing to the sustainable development of Serbia in the fields of sustainable energy, use of renewable energy sources, as well as improved management and targeted infrastructure measures to increase the resilience of cities.

The Swiss Cooperation Strategy Serbia 2018-2021 will foster expertise and knowledge transfer, promotion of the enduring Swiss tradition of democratic values and financial support amounting to 95 million euros, a 10% increase in comparison to the previous strategic period.

■ Why is the Western Balkan Region a subject of Swiss Cooperation?

- In the introduction of the Swiss Cooperation Strategy Serbia 2018-2021, it is highlighted that “the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkan countries constitute a fundamen-

tal aim for Swiss foreign and security policy“. Our commitment to global peace guides our bilateral cooperation. Therefore, for Switzerland, its peace and stability is interconnected with the peace and stability of other countries. The Western Balkans and Serbia, as one of the key stakeholders in this region, are both part of Europe.

We share the same continent, common history and values. If you put things

We share the same continent, common history and values.

If you put things in that broader context, we are neighboring countries even though we do not share borders. Having a good neighbor is a privilege and an additional value in our everyday life

KRISTINA LANG, Deputy State Secretary at the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs (left), URSULA LÄUBLI and H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX

in that broader context, we are neighbouring countries even though we do not share borders.

Having a good neighbour is a privilege and an additional value in our everyday life. If we live

in a safe and developed neighbourhood with neighbours who share our values and principles, the quality of our life is better and our future is more optimistic. The Swiss Cooperation Strategy Serbia 20182021 is built on this foundation. ■

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“I may resign from the coalition government if ‘personal vanities’ are not put aside…We will either function as a team without personal vanities and promoting of personal agendas and we will have results or I do not have to be the Prime Minister.” — ANA BRNABIĆ, Serbian Prime Minister

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Before entering the new millennium, the concept of mobile phone was already familiar to us. Today, almost twenty years later, the unstoppable development of technology moves the border with the arrival of artificial intelligence, which not only brings significant changes to our daily lives, jobs and overall technology, but also the real value for end users. Global investment in artificial intelligence, an area dominated by technological giants such as Huawei, has grown rapidly. There are plans for its application in retail, manufacturing, healthcare and transport, while smartphones bring this technology to everyone’s finger tips.

Huawei has already done this by introducing the world’s first intelligent machine, the Mate 10 Pro smartphone. Artificial Intelligence will bring magical results, your phone will be able to reserve a ticket at the cinema right after you have shot a poster for a movie. Slowly but surely, smartphones are becoming intelligent machines that will be able to predict the user’s next move and perform the task instead. It remains to us to test all the benefits of successfully carrying out everyday business activities that the latest smartphone Huawei P20 Pro introduced on March 27th in Paris enables.

DIGITAL FARM

First Digital Farm Opened

OPENING CEREMONY

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administration will get equal pay for the same work.

Public enterprises such as EPS, Srbijagas and Serbian railways will lower their expenses and increase their revenues, while 70,000 households will benefit from support from the Energy Vulnerable Program. Some 2.8 million customers of the Serbian Post Bank (Banka Postanska Stedionica AD Beograd) and the government will benefit from the reform and improved performance of State-Owned Financial Institutions (SOFIs) and Development Finance Institutions.

Standardized quality of cancer treatment will be provided throughout Serbia once two new linear accelerators and computerized tomography imaging are installed in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

These are some of the expected results of three loans approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in the amount of €225.7 million supporting the Government of Serbia’s efforts to improve its management of public expenditures, to make energy and transport public utilities more efficient and financially sustainable, and to advance the health care of its citizens.

OFFICE FOR IT AND E-GOVERNMENT

The Serbian Office of IT and e-Government has won the prestigious world award for contributing to the development of the MIHAILO JOVANOVIĆ, Director information society, in the of Serbian Office of IT and category “creating a good e-Government environment for the development of the information society”. The prize was awarded for the seventh consecutive year by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), jointly organised by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD. The Office for IT and e-Government won amidst fierce competition from 685 registered and 492 projects nominated by government institutions, companies and civil society organisations from around the world. First, the Office was among 90 finalists, then among the top five projects with the highest number of votes won within their category, out of a million votes received online, and finally declared the winner.

“The World Summit on the Information Society has recognised the establishment of the Office for IT and e-Government and the results achieved in the field of e-government as one of the key factors for the development of the information society and digitalisation of Serbia”, said Mihailo Jovanović, PhD, Director of the IT and e-Government Office.

The ceremony was held at the WSIS Forum in Geneva, gathering 85 ministers and over 200 representatives of governments, non-governmental organisations, directors of ICT companies…

Photo: TANJUG

LOCAL NEWS

VANITY

VINCI AIRPORTS

Vinci Signs Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport Concession The Serbian government and Vinci Airports have signed the 25year concession agreement for the operation of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. Vinci will make one-off payments of €417 million to the government and €84 million to investors in the airport operator.

The additional annual concession fee will range from €4.4 million to €15.1 million euro. Vinci will make investments worth €732 million during concession rehabilitate and reconstruct the airport’s runways.

The agreement was signed at the Palace of Serbia by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic, CEO of Vinci Concessions and President of Vinci Airports Nicolas Notebaert, Massimo Bruzzo of Vinci Airports Srbija and the acting director of the Nikola Tesla Airport, Sasa Vlaisavljevic. The signing was also attended by Ambassador of France to Serbia H.E Frederic Mondoloni.

On March 20, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic opened first Digital Farm in Serbia and the region in Krivaja, near Backa Topola. It represents a unique space in which the latest technologies and machinery are applied in a real production environment, in the field, the government announced.

Brnabic explained that the farm will enable farmers to learn on the spot and for free how to reduce risks in production, consume less water and fertilizers and invest less resources, and receive higher yields.

Prime Minister stressed that the building of the BioSens Institute, which will be a European center of scientific excellence, must be built as soon as possible, for which the government will set aside €14 million.

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi pointed out that agriculture in Serbia is an important drive and factor of development, and that in the past few years the export of agricultural products from Serbia has doubled.

VOTING

BIZLINK

“Those who abstain from voting, or who take a stance against Brnabic as a candidate for PM, will in fact take a stance against Aleksandar Vucic. The SNS will not let anyone blackmail it, nor do we want to allow a political situation where we depend on anyone.” — ALEKSANDAR MARTINOVIĆ, Head of the SNS group in the Serbian Assembly

New Factory For Home Appliance Cables Opened

In the presence of Serbian President AleksandarVučićand BizLink Group CEO Felix Teng, a new plant for the production of cables for small home appliances has opened Serbian President ALEKSANDAR at the BizLink factory VUČIĆ and BizLink Group CEO in Prokuplje, where in FELIX TENG the next two to three years – alongside the existing 350 workers – jobs will be gained by another 500 workers. BizLink has operated in Prokuplje for five years and currently employs 350 workers. The company produces cables and cable systems intended for home appliances and other electrical appliances.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in the United States, in addition to that country it also operates in Japan, India, Ireland, China, Mexico, Slovakia, Serbia etc.

ERSTE GROUP

Key Policy Rate To Remain At 3.25 Percent Until The End Of 2018

Although the drop of inflation to the lower limit of the target band of the National Bank of Serbia of 3%+/-1.5 pp and the continuation of appreciation pressures may justify the decision of the NBS Executive Board to lower the key policy rate to 3.25 percent, we believe that additional monetary policy easing at this time cannot have a significant impact on inflation. According to our projections, inflation will continue to move close to the lower limit of the target band mostly because of the effect of the high base and stronger dinar. In addition, against the backdrop of a highly liquid banking sector, persistently decreasing interest rates, steady credit demand and pickup in economic activity which is expected to result in a further increase in public and private sector wages, the reduction in the key policy rate has a limited reach. On the other hand, according to the forecasts of most analysts, this year is expected to bring an even stronger tightening of monetary policy in the US. Also, the imminent termination of the ECB’s bond-buying programme has been announced, which will have a significant impact on investors’ appetite for emerging market securities, so the NBS must maintain room for manoeuvre. Considering that a stronger dinar is a consequence of structural factors, such as higher demand for dinar loans, stable and relatively strong export sector performance and stronger FDI inflow, and not so much of portfolio investments that are sensitive to key policy rate changes, we believe that the interest rate cut, as an indirect monetary policy measure focused on the evolution of the dinar, will have a limited reach.

Placements & postings appointments@aim.rs

▪ H.E. NIKOLAUS LUTTEROTTI, New Austrian Ambassador to Serbia The new Austrian ambassador to Serbia graduated in Law from the University of Innsbruck and earned a master’s degree in International Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. From 1999 to 2000, Mr Lutterotti served in the Office of the Legal Advisor for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while from 2001 (Austrian Embassy in Beijing, China) he spent three years as Directorate General for Political Affairs; Department for Southern Europe. From 2003 to 2007, Lutterotti was Spokesperson and Human rights Delegate at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN, then from 2007 to 2018 he held the post of Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the UN General Assembly, while during part of that period, from 2008 to 2011, he served as Political Coordinator for UN Security Council membership. In 2011 he was appointed Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry for European and International Affairs, which he held until 2013, when he began a three-year term as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Sebastian Kurz. He spent 2016 and 2017 as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Sebastian Kurz, and from 2017 to March 2018 he was Foreign Policy Advisor to Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. He was appointed Austrian Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia in March 2018.

Mr Lutterotti (45) speaks German (native), English, French and Italian. He is a married father of one daughter.

▪ JELENA PAVLOVIĆ, New Chairwoman of the AmCham managing board At the General Assembly of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham the majority of a new managing board was elected by a vote of the member companies.

The former AmCham MB first vice-chairwoman Jelena Pavlović, managing director of Philip Morris International (PMI), was elected to the chair. Jelena mastered International Law at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law. Before joining PMI, Jelena was engaged by the U.S. Treasury and the World Bank in programs supporting reform of the banking and real sectors in Serbia. In more than 13 years of experience with PMI, Jelena enjoyed an enriching cross-functional career in Serbia and abroad. She advanced through number of roles, including Director Corporate Affairs in 2010, Deputy Managing Director Serbia and Montenegro in early 2013 and Managing Director Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina in July 2015. As of 1st January 2016, Jelena was appointed Managing Director Southeast Europe, reflecting her exceptional performance track record and impressive portfolio of leadership skills.

THE RESIDENCES AT ST. REGIS BELGRADE

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The Residences at St. Regis Belgrade will fulfill all of your expectations when it comes to the ideal home and provide you with unforgettable moments with your loved ones.

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CORPORATE

GORAN PUZOVIĆ, DIRECTOR AT SRBIJAVODE

Ever More Investment In Water Management Serbia was hit by catastrophic floods in May 2014 that jeopardised human lives, destroyed numerous infrastructure facilities, flooded towns and municipalities, caused damage costing over €1.5 billion and halted the country’s economic growth

I

n this devastating wave of floods, water management facilities were also severely damaged. Immediately after the floods abated, the Government of the Republic of Serbia, led by Aleksandar Vučić, initiated the reconstruction of the country.

Recovery efforts initiated the rehabilitation of destroyed and damaged embankments, regulating structures, pumping stations and other facilities.

■ Which activities were undertaken to avoid the consequences of major floods like that of 2014?

- Works were undertaken on over 300 sites in 95 municipalities and cities, worth a total amount of 3.5 billion dinars. In parallel with these activities of Public Water Company ‘Srbijavode’, work was also actively undertaken on raising the level of protection with the preparing of technical documentation for the reconstruction of existing facilities and the construction of new ones. A loan from the World Bank was used to build six facilities, while IPA funds are currently enabling the construction of four capital facilities with a total value of €25 million.

■ In your opinion, which regions remain in the focus of special attention when it comes to possible flooding caused by burst riverbanks?

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ful year in a hydrological sense. But at the beginning of March we aready had a floodwave in the river basin of the South Morava and Timok, due to the sudden melting of snow. What is worrying is information that amounts of snow, primarily in the Alps, are at their highest since 2006, and that year we had to endure a long and difficult defence of the Danube and Sava. There are also still large amounts of snow in the Sava River Basin in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, as well as in the Carpathian region. All of this indicates that the situation in April and

The budget for 2018 is higher than the budget of the previous year. The flood protection system consists of over 2,500 kilometers of embankments and riverbank reinforcements, 3,500 kilometres of canal networks, 42 high dams and reservoirs, 65 pumping stations and many other facilities May will not be easy and that we can expect high water levels along these rivers. The basins of the West and South Morava rivers, the Kolubara, Drina and Timok, must also be given special attention.

■ Where are works being carried out today on facilities that will prevent floods and

damage to both buildings and arable land?

- We today have active 75 construction sites in 45 cities and municipalities (Kraljevo, Vrnjačka Banja, Lučani, Leskovac, Vlasotinci, Lebane, Koceljeva, Smederevska Palanka etc.), where works are being carried out and the level of flood protection is being increased. The value of these works is 1.7 billion dinars. I would like to emphasise that last autumn we completed construction of the embankment and pumping station in Lučani, with which the settlement, industrial zone and arms industry facilities are protected, and that today we are conducting works on the other bank of the Bjelica, in order to protect the settlement of Đerađ.

The public should know that the degree of flood protection differs for towns, settlements, energy and other infrastructure facilities and agricultural areas. This means that agricultural areas are protected with the lowest level of protection. If every field or meadow were to be defended, that water would more quickly reach cities and other vital systems located beside rivers, and the defending against floods would be impossible with incalculable consequences.

■ How much progress has been made on reconstruction of the Parmenac-Katrga Canal and what will agriculture gain with the culmination of this project?

- This year it is planned to start the reconstruction of the first six kilometres from

Parmenac and enable irrigation of several hundred hectares of agricultural land in that part. With the leadership of the City of Čačak, plans are being harmonised for downstream sections, because the conditions on the terrain change with passing of the road corridor to the Morava valley.

■ The Kolubara River Basin is one of the most threatened in Serbia. What kind of plans are there for the protection of Valjevo, Ub, Obrenovac and other settlements, energy facilities and other structures?

- In May 2014, the Kolubara River demolished infrastructure completely and caused immeasurable adverse effects in all parts of its catchment area. We are in the final phase of developing a study on protection against harmful effects of the River Kolubara, and that study represents a comprehensive basis for everything to be planned and built in the next 20-25 years.

The development of preliminary designs for the construction of two reservoirs above Ub and Koceljeva, ’Pambukovica’ and ’Kamenica’, is underway, with the beginning of their construction expected by the end of next year. Project tasks for the project to reconstruct 32 kilometres of embankments beside the Kolubara are being prepared.

Here we are confronted by a few key problems that condition very long deadlines, both for design and construction. These primarily related to a lack of planning documentation and the difficulty of resolving property relations on the ground.

■ Compared to previous years, how much is allocated to Srbijavode from the budget today, and are these resources sufficient for flood protection needs?

- The Serbian Government has recognised this problem. The budget for 2018 is higher than the budget of the previous year. The flood protection system consists of over 2,500 kilometers of embankments and riverbank reinforcements, 3,500 kilometres of canal networks, 42 high dams and reservoirs, 65 pumping stations and many other facilities. From year to year, the Republic of Serbia is increasing its allocations for water management. The allocated funds this year

represent about 65% of the funds required for regular maintenance of the constructed facilities. The basic problem is insufficient investment in the water management system in the past three decades. As a consequence, we have devastated facilities and today we aren’t talking about regular maintenance, but primarily about remediation or reconstructions of water facilities. That’s why we expect even stronger financial and legal support.

higher education institutions – these are just some of the measures that, if implemented systematically, can yield results in the long term.

■ Serbia is one of the world’s countries that has great water resources. How can we protect this resource in the long term, given that water will soon be among the most sought-after resources?

- This kind of thinking creates problems and

■ What can Srbijavode do within the framework of its existing budget when it comes to maintaining watercourses and building riverbank reinforcements and other facilities, and what are your plans for the period ahead?

- Srbijavode has three priority tasks in the next four years.

Firstly, within the framework of the current budget, to determine priority areas and facilities where the available resources can ensure the achieving of maximum protection; for the regular maintenance of facilities

shapes our relationship towards water. Serbia is a country that, spatially and temporally, does not have good distribution. There are parts of the country where we do not have enough water or where it is of poor quality, for example in Vojvodina. On the other hand, in some parts of our country there are periods during the year, primarily in spring, when there is more water than necessary and during the summer or autumn we don’t have enough drinking water, not to mention water needed for industry and agriculture. Those are the valleys of Toplice, Pčinja, South Morava, Mlava etc.

We need to change our relationship with water systematically. Energy-efficient use of all water sources, reduction on pollution of surface waters, forestation, raising ecological awareness among our citizens, educating children from preschool to

to reach the required level and to halt the further destruction of water facilities and the entire water management system.

Secondly, to prepare projects for the new investment cycle as soon as possible, define maps of blue zones, establish an early warning system and define the full coordination of all stakeholders at the state and local government levels.

Thirdly is implementation of reforms of Srbijavode itself, strengthening staffing, improving and using of new IT solutions; the preparation of a new law on water and law on financing, in line with European water directives, as well as raising transparency in work and strengthening ties with international investment institutions.

The path of one drop of rain from cloud to spring lasts several hundred or thousand years. ■ APRIL

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REGIONAL NEWS

RESIGNATION

“The (railway project) took a new blow from those who want to stop the positive development of Slovenia. I don’t want to be part of such stories. Demands and suggestions have been becoming less and less feasible and even damaging to the state.”— MIRO CERAR, Slovenia’s Prime Minister

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

WESTER BALKANS

Bosnia's First Wind Farm Bosnian power utility Elektroprivreda HZHB brought online the 50.6 MW wind farm Mesihovina, located in Tomislavgrad. The wind farm, the first in the country, cost €82 million to build and consists of 22 wind turbines, EP HZHB said in a statement on Monday. In April 2016, the power utility announced it has awarded a €71.9 million contract for the construction of the first lot of the wind farm to a consortium led by German engineering group Siemens. The construction of the second lot was awarded to a consortium consisting of Croatia’s ABB and Elektrocentar Petek for €4.3 million. Elektroprivreda HZHB, the smallest of the three Bosnian state-owned power utilities, is based in the Federation. The country’s largest power utility is Elektroprivreda BiH, also based in the Federation, which together with the Serb Republic forms Bosnia and Herzegovina. Elektroprivreda RS is the power utility of the Serb Republic.

Positive Trend Expected In The Coming Period

CROATIA

Investment Plan Gives A Boost To Tourism The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a loan of €16 million with Valamar Riviera d.d – Croatia’s leading tourism company.

This is the first EIB transaction in Croatia with a private sector company that benefits from the support of the EU budget guarantee under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financing component of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The EFSI-backed EIB loan will co-finance the completion of the Valamar Girandella Resort in Rabac on the Istrian peninsula with the construction of its first five-star “Kinderhotel”, a family-friendly resort focused on children’s activities. With the hotel opening this month, the process of repositioning destination Rabac as leading leisure destination for high-end guests will be completed. This loan is complementary to an intermediated loan of €44 million granted to Valamar through Croatia’s public development bank HBOR in March 2017.

Despite the negative influence of political developments on investment and growth - reduced investment inflows and increased cost of capital; hindered capacity of the governments to implement reforms; and seized up business activity within the economies, in economic terms, the region has returned to a steady growth pattern, with positive trend expected in the coming period.

KOSOVO

Private Business Feeling Confident New report from the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce report says that despite the complex political situation, the private sector in the country is feeling increasingly optimistic. A report published mid last month by the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce said 84 per cent of 505 companies that were interviewed say the business situation in the country is improving. The head of the Chamber of Commerce, Safet Gerxhaliu, said the private sector had seen positive growth, despite being buffeted by political events. He added that much of this progress was down to the public-private partnership that the Chamber of Commerce has developed with various government departments, especially with the Ministry of Finance. Olivera Ceni, the chief researcher for the report, said that 46 per cent of Kosovo companies interviewed expected to increase their workforces this spring. “An increase [in employment] is mainly expected in the construction sector and manufacturing, followed by the wholesale trade sector,” Ceni stated. The average unemployment rate for January to September last year was 30.4 per cent, one of the highest rates in the Balkans, and almost 3 per cent higher than in 2016. A survey was conducted by UNDP Kosovo.

ALBANIA

Hotel Industry Growing Steadily Tax incentives and the increased number of international tourist arrivals are directing the construction sector toward the hospitality industry.

The number of building permits for hotels throughout the country during 2017 reached 53 or five times more compared to the previous year. This is the highest number of constructing permits issued during the last five years. Based on the number of building permits, the total land that will be used for the construction of hotels and other accommodation facilities is 89,000 square meters. In the meantime, the investment value is €22.8 million more than the investments made in power and water supply networks in the country, Top Channel reports. In the last stimulus package, the Albanian government decided that all the four and five-star hotels and resorts will be exempt from corporate income tax for a ten year period. Meanwhile, the Value Added Tax (VAT) for all the services supplied by five-star hotels was set at six percent. This is not the first initiative in support to the tourism sector. Years ago, special status was offered to investments in tourist villages and resorts. However, the purpose of those investments changed from commercial to residential use.

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A welcome development is the underlying rebalancing of the economy that has been happening over the past five years, with steadily increasing exports and somewhat subdued imports. This has led to a considerable reduction of the negative trade balance that the region has with is trading partners. Return of employment growth is another success story. The Western Balkans economies have managed to add almost 400,000 jobs in the previous five years.

Although performance differed between the economies, the trend is easy to spot and is also expected to continue into the next year. Croatia withdrew from the SEE 2020 monitoring process during this year due to its EU 2020 monitoring responsibilities. This had an obvious impact on the quantification of regional headline targets and on their composition. However, dynamic comparisons are still possible between the WB6 economies, allowing identification of some important trends and developments in SEE 2020 implementation.

In 2016 the region saw varied progress in SEE 2020 Strategy implementation. The constantly changing SEE 2020 implementation context significantly influenced the performance of participating economies.

COOPERATION “Our integration into NATO does not mean opposing the promotion of cooperation with the Russian Federation, because Macedonia in its strategic goals intends to strengthen and promote cooperation with the Russian Federation, primarily in economics, culture, education, and in all other respects.”— ZORAN ZAEV, Macedonian PM

FYR MACEDONIA

MONTENEGRO

Tax Debt Amounts To €157 Million

World Bank Withdraw $50mln Loan Over Excessive Debt

Tax debt owed by individuals and companies in FYR Macedonia amounts to €157 million These figures have been provided by the department of taxation, which explains that the list of its debtors counts over 4 thousand debtors.

This department also explains that in the recent months, payments from tax debtors have increased. According to statistics, the debt has fallen by €22 million, while the number of debtors has dropped by 400. Private companies are the

By Naser Pajaziti/ibna ones owning most of the tax debt.

The World Bank has withdrawn its $50 million loan support to Montenegro’s budget, saying a highway deal agreed with China would put too much strain on the Adriatic country’s finances. The World Bank loan was intended to help gradually reduce Montenegro’s public debt, estimated at around 58 percent of the gross domestic product. The €809 million highway loan could drive Montenegro’s debt up by another quarter of national output, the bank told Reuters.

“Due to the ... impact on debt sustainability, the bank dropped the budget support preparation” and shifted to investment lending for other sectors, the bank said in a statement for Reuters. Last month, Montenegro’s government sealed an agreement with the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), part of China Communications Construction Company , to build a 40-kilometre section of a 120-km highway connecting the south with Serbia in the north.

Transportation Minister Ivan Brajovic has said negotiations have already begun with China Export Import Bank about a loan to cover 85 percent of the total amount, while the remaining 15 percent would be covered from commercial loans. The World Bank has already disbursed $164.2 million in budget support loans to Montenegro under it 2011-2015 programme.

BULGARIA

Bulgartransgaz To Acquire Assets Of South Stream Bulgaria

ROMANIA

Lidl Invests €100 Million To Launch Its 2nd Largest Digital Hub Bulgaria’s gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz said it is planning to acquire 28 properties owned

by South Stream Bulgaria, a 50/50 joint venture set up

by Russia’s Gazprom and state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding. The properties have a total estimated value of €6.7 million, Bulgartransgaz. According to media reports,

Bulgartransgaz will use the assets for the purposes of a project for an EU-funded regional gas hub near the Black Sea port of Varna. The hub is planned to dispatch gas deliveries to to Greece, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and, via those countries, to EU member states in central and western Europe, as well as to non-EU Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The South Stream gas pipeline was planned to carry gas from Russia to central and southern Europe. The onshore pipeline had to connect Varna, on the Black Sea, to northern Italy, via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia.

HUNGARY

Labour Shortage German discount food retailer Lidl has increased the paid-up share capital of its Romanian subsidiary with €100 million, preparing to launch the first local digital hub and the second largest in Europe, according to Profit.ro.

After the capital inflow, the total share capital of Lidl Romania rose to almost €215 million.

The capital increase has been completed and registered just before the opening of the Romanian digital hub of Lidl, the second largest in Europe after the German digital hub.

Lidl Digital is the e-commerce branch of Lidl and will employ around 100 people in Romania. Lidl has entered the Romanian market in 2010.

The availability of key skills is a challenge according to 95 percent of CEOs in Hungary, according to the PwC survey conducted late in 2017.

Among challenges, changing workforce demographics was mentioned by 76 percent and higher employee benefits by 73 percent of CEOs. The percentage of CEOs saying they would like to increase their staff numbers has been over 50 percent for years now. Fully 89 percent of CEOs are confident that their company’s revenue will grow in the next 12 months, 55 percent predicted the Hungarian economy will keep growing and 47 percent said that the global economy would expand. The outlook for CEOs’ own companies and Hungary has not changed, while their opinion of the global economy improved from a year ago. Nearly half of Hungarian CEOs picked Germany as their most important foreign market, followed by Romania, the United States and Slovakia.

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CORPORATE ŽELJKO MILKOVIĆ, GRADUATE MECHANICAL ENGINEER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC UTILITY CITY TRANSPORT COMPANY GSP “BEOGRAD”

We Respect Our Passengers’ Needs Public transportation needs change from day to day, so GSP “Beograd” is preparing to increase the number of vehicles and rejuvenate them.

It is planned for the quality of transport to be raised to a significantly higher level in the next few years and for passengers to be provided with greater comfort during the summer and winter months

W

e were the first in Europe to introduce a line with new electric bus with super capacitors, which proved themselves to be excellent, so now other European cities are following in our footsteps.

This type of vehicle is the future of public transport in cities like Belgrade

a sufficient number of vehicles to fulfil the schedule defined by the Secretariat for Public Transport, but our goal is also to increase the number of vehicles and rejuvenate them.

Increasing the number of vehicles would also lead to shortening intervals between times of departures and arrivals at stations, reducing the number of passengers per vehicle and increasing their comfort, reducing the time needed for passengers to enter and exit transport at stops and, in the end, to a higher frequency of vehicles. It is also necessary to insist on better connectivity between peripheral municipalities and central city municipalities. The number of inhabitants of peripheral municipalities is constantly increasing, so transportation must also be adapted to this fact, and alongside that we are also obliged to provide the same conditions for all users of public transport. If the problem of charging for transport is resolved in the next

year or two, then our company would be in a position to finance the procurement of new vehicles from its own resources.

■ With your procurement of electric buses you’ve shown that you’re keeping pace with European and global standards. What is the benefit of these vehicles compared to old ones?

■ Last year you commemorated 125 - With the purchase of new electric buses years of public transport in Belgrade and with high capacity capacitors and the establishment of the first such commercial line in acquired 95 new vehicles. How much Belgrade - ECO 1, GSP “Beograd” – the City of work was done in the previous period to Belgrade and the Secretariat for Environmenimprove the quality of transportation in tal Protection, with the full support of Envithe city? ronmental Protection Minister Goran Trivan A lot has been done over the past four years and Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali, we showed to improve the quality of transportation in that we are pioneers in the realisation of Belgrade. Is that enough? Certainly not, but such projects. We were the first in Europe about 5,800 employees at GSP “Beograd” to start using this type of vehicle, and now exert great efforts on a daily basis to meet our bold steps are being followed by many the needs of our fellow citizens in terms of other cities. Thanks to the conscientious high-quality, punctual and safe transportation. In addition to 90 buses produced engagement of GSP “Beograd” workers The management of GSP by domestic manufacturers and five elecand engineers, this project came to life tric buses, we also procured 12 school in just 13 months. The vehicles have been “Beograd”, the City of Belgrade buses that meet all the requirements operational for a year and a half, with an and the Agency for Traffic and standards of safe transportation for average of 80,000 kilometres travelled, Safety were the first in Europe to and we are very pleased with the results. our schoolkids. This is the first procurelaunch the project “Safe Seats ment of this type in Belgrade and Serbia.

In comparison to diesel engines, electric buses recoup the money invested after for Children, Mothers with ■ How many vehicles are required to Children and Pregnant Women”. six years of operations, which speaks meet the needs of Belgrade and its for itself. We are proud to have paved Although the project is still in the the way for the development of public suburban settlements? Can GSP “Beotesting phase, citizens’ reactions transport in Belgrade, but also for the grad” finance these procurements?

- Both GSP “Beograd” and private development and bright future of GSP have been very positive transportation companies currently have “Beograd”. ■ 40 |

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CORPORATE MILOŠ BORENOVIĆ, DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, TELESIGN BELGRADE

Ease The Lives Of Citizens We are innovating to solve customer engagement problems and address specific challenges presented by our clients. And, we are succeeding – Miloš Borenović mental in securing and managing client relationships and building products that change the way businesses interact with their customers.

One of these products is built around a messaging platform that delivers SMSs on behalf of our customers to and from end-users all around the world. The socalled Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS is going through a renaissance period.

The main drivers of this are twofold. On the one hand, customers all over the world are increasingly reliant on mobile in all facets of their lives, from shopping to communicating, and they prefer to work with businesses that allow them

IDC has stated that TeleSign is poised for victory on this market.

■ What are some of the challenges and benefits of having a full-fledged ProdeleSign is probably the only IT uct Management department in Serbia? company in Serbia which has - In Belgrade, TeleSign’s local PM team products that were, at least consists of 10 experienced product managers who are working on all the jobs you partially, envisaged, designed would typically hire a PM to do – from and built locally, and which are used by Corporate Strategy and ideation to go-to20 of the 25 largest web properties in the market execution. Forming and maintainworld. We are instrumental in securing ing such a department has traditionally and managing client relationships and been a challenge in Serbia. Moreover, building products that change the way the customer base is international and businesses interact with their customers. gathering customer insights, which is a vital job of a PM, can sometimes be ■ What makes TeleSign unique?

The education system is challenging and include lots of travel - A vast majority of people have likely (i.e. high costs). Despite all of the used our products without even realnot well known for yielding ising it. From the moment someone aforementioned, TeleSign – mainly future product management wakes up in the morning and checks through investment in PMs’ knowlprofessionals and there is a edge base and internal processes their email, all the way until they go lack of companies offering – has found a way to not only have a to bed at night and check what’s new on their favourite social network, such positions and experience local PM department, but one that is successful and vital to the growth of they have likely used our products in TeleSign’s international business. a variety of ways. This ability to reach and to communicate via mobile devices, Our strong PM department works influence a great number of end-users especially SMSs. On the other hand, businesses are realising the effectiveness of to TeleSign’s benefit not only when it across the globe provides the purpose SMS communications, where more than comes to market success, but also inof our work and presents a privilege and ternally. Thanks to our instrumental role 90 per cent of messages are opened honour for us at TeleSign. in TeleSign’s vision and success, we are within three minutes and engagement is able to help bring alignment, meaning drastically increased compared to other ■ What types of products does TeleSign build and how much of business is and purpose to all other departments platforms like email. present in Belgrade? of our Belgrade office. We firmly believe This is reflected in numerous reports - Every facet of TeleSign’s business has a that meaning and purpose in our everyindicating strong and steady growth day jobs are an essential ingredient to presence in our Belgrade office. Whether of the A2P SMS and Communications being happy and engaged in our work, it’s development, sales, marketing or Platform as a service (CPaaS) market in and this helps us ensure our customers product management, a large part of general. TeleSign, which was founded are successful when we are successful at TeleSign’s success is created by our inand is headquartered in Los Angeles, renovative team in Serbia. We are instrucently launched its CPaaS platform, and what we do. ■

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WORLD NEWS

PLATFORM “Every day I work to bring people together and build a community for everyone. We hope to give all people a voice and create a platform for all ideas.” — MARK ZUCKERBERG, Facebook CEO RUSSIA

CHINA

Alrosa Diamond Invests $211mln In Production Development

Negotiation To Acquire Heineken's China Business

Russia’s Alrosa diamond producer will invest 12 billion rubles ($211 million) in further development of the Lomonosov deposit in the Arkhangelsk Region Within 2018 the company will begin projecting and will start buying additional mining equipment.

“According to the forecast, we shall work at the southern group of pipes to 2035, and from 2035 we shall go to the northern group of pipes, which are 5-6 km from the southern: those are pipes Pionerskaya, Lomonosovskaya - there we shall be to 2043-2045,” sajd Director General of Severalmaz (Alrosa’s subsidiary) Andrei Pismennyi Severalmaz owns a license for Europe’s biggest diamond deposit named after Lomonosov, where production began in 2005 from a mining-enriching plant with the capacity of one million tonnes of ore a year. The Arkhangelsk Region has two diamond deposits.In2017,diamondminingcompaniesearned there about 25 billion rubles ($440 million), where almost $70 million were paid in taxes. In 2017, about 7.5 million carats of diamond were produced in the Arkhangelsk Region.

ChinaResourcesBeer(Holdings)CoLtdisintalkstoacquire Heineken NV’s China business in a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion, as the country’s largest brewer seeks new growth from premium brands, five people close to the

ALROSA DIAMOND MINE

CARLOS GHOSN JAPAN

Nissan In Talks To Buy France’s Renault Renault SA and alliance partner Nissan Motor Co. are discussing plans for a closer tie-up in which the Japanese carmaker would acquire the bulk of the French state’s 15 percent Renault stake, people close to the matter said.

The carmakers are in talks with government officials over proposals by Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn that would see Paris give up influence at Renault and the French carmaker relinquish control over Nissan, according to three sources.

But any deal still faces significant hurdles — not least its extreme political sensitivity in France — and has yet to win government approval. To do so, it must balance French and Japanese interests, avoiding the appearance of a takeover.

The sources said Renault was being advised by BNP Paribas and Nissan by Nomura on the planned stake sale, which would happen either as part of a broader Renault-Nissan combination or as a “stepping stone” on the way to one. The banks did not respond to requests for comment.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government recently told Ghosn’s representatives it would be ready to exit or sell down its Renault holding as part of a merger deal that secured French interests, according to multiple sources close to the talks.

NORWAY

Telenor: “Europe Is The Backwater” Telenor’s chief executive, Sigve Brekke, wants the EU to be a top team when the giants from China and the United States come to full size.

Brekke believes it is urgent to seek out areas where Europe could become a leader. In the meetings with the European Commission, he drew special attention to three areas: SIGVE BREKKE * Digital health services: Online solutions can be used in hospitals and in home care. For example, people can have alarms and motion sensors at home that are connected to the web, or they can measure blood pressure and blood sugar themselves. * ‘Smart’ municipalities and cities: Digital solutions can be used, for example, to control traffic in cities or show people where there are available parking spaces. * Digital solutions to help small and medium-sized businesses.

Brekke said that he also spoke for European centres of artificial intelligence. Here, he believes that cooperation is needed simply because no country or business in Europe is big enough to go it alone.

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discussionssaid.Thenegotiationscomeasglobalbeergiants such as Heineken, AB InBev and Carlsberg are facing fierce competition from local rivals and each other in emerging markets, which have been touted as the growth engine for the world’s biggest brewers. China is the world’s largest beer market by volume. CR Beer’s biggest brand, Snow, is the world’s top-selling beer, but is almost exclusively sold Source: Reuters in China.

10 EASY WAYS

TO IMPROVE YOUR RESUME

Although your resume is not necessarily mistaken, the job-seekers could have much nicer, cleaner, more readable resumes if you just tweaked a few things. You’ll see significant improvements if you make these 10 easy fixes.

1. Use a bulleted style to make your resume more reader-friendly.

2. Follow “The Resume Ingredients Rule.”

The rule says that information on a resume should be listed in order of importance to the reader.

3. Eliminate “responsibilities” words from your resume vocabulary.

4. Eliminate clutter from your resume.

5. Use strong, concrete verbs to describe your jobs, and don’t mix noun and verb phrases.

6. Focus on describing past job activities that highlight the skills you most like to use and want to use in your next job 7. Don’t fret about the one-page resume rule.

8. Make sure your resume has a sharp focus.

9. Don’t emphasize older experience on your resume.

10. Be sure the reader will understand all the acronyms and jargon you use in your resume.

NATURE “I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.” — STEPHEN HAWKING, theoretical physicist INDIA

BRAZIL

NCLT Approves Airtel-Telenor Merger

Carnival Helps Rio Start Growing Again

The India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the proposed merger of Telenor India with Bharti Airtel.Thebenchapprovedtheschemewithcertainconditions.

Airtel and Telenor had signed the agreement for merger on February 2017 under which Airtel will acquire Telenor India’s running operations in seven circles -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam.

The proposed acquisition has already been cleared by Competition Commission of India, the market regulator Sebi and stock exchanges BSE and NSE, and it is awaiting telecom department’s nod.

The deal will include transfer of all of Telenor India’s assets and customers and is aimed at augmenting Airtel’s overall customer base and network.

One of the world’ biggest events is the Rio Carnival from January to January programme.

The Carnivals is expecting to bring R$ 3.02 billion (€750.7million) the state’s economy this year. The amount is 6.8% higher than in 2017 The year of 2018 is still starting and with it, the Rio de Janeiro a Janeiro programme (“Rio from January to January”), with events selected by the Ministry of Culture, aimed at generating income and employment in the state. However, the first two months of the year were enough for some results to be seen already.

Rio’s carnival will attract 6.5 million people this year, but Brazil will benefit for many more: the state’s entire population. The figures prove this: the revenue generated was 6.8% higher than that of the Carnival in 2017; 72 thousand jobs were created; The party also generated R$179 million (€4.5million) in taxes.

The flow of tourists in Rio increased by 7.6% compared to last carnival, reaching 1.05 million people. From this total, 931 thousand were Brazilians and 124 thousand were foreign nationals.

SWEDEN

The Most Cashless Society On The Planet

FRANCE

France Drops Bid To Host 2025 World's Fair

Swedes are advancing with great strides into a world of digital money. Throughout the country “no cash

accepted” signs are a common sight, whether you’re getting a cup of coffee or a beer, buying a bus ticket or even using a public restroom. Hard currency is no longer needed in everyday life; it’s a nearly cashless society.

In Sweden, the amount of circulating cash has dropped to 57 billion krona (€5.6). The percentage of transactions carried out in cash has slipped below the 20 percent mark. “In the not-too-distant future, Sweden may become a society in which cash is no longer generally accepted,” according to the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank.

TURKEY

Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund's Investment Exceeds $1bln EDOUARD PHILIPPE

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced that the country will pull out of the bidding to host the 2025 World’s Fair, saying it could punch a hole in public finances.

“I have decided not to continue with France’s candidature for the World’s Fair, which will be withdrawn. There are “structural weaknesses” in the French proposal’s economic projections ,” Philippe said.

With the government making a priority of reducing France’s budget deficit to the European Union’s required three percent of GDP, the prime minister argued that he could not take the risk of endorsing further commitments.

France’s withdrawal means that three countries are still in the running - Russia, Japan and Azerbaijan.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest of its kind with a size of $1 trillion, invested around $1.3 billion in the shares of different companies in Turkey as of the end of 2017.

The fund last year invested some of its assets in the shares of 51 companies in different scales, which operate in various fields and are traded on the Borsa Istanbul, according to the information compiled from Norges Bank, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.

While the amount of investment made by the fund in Turkish companies totaled $1.3 billion, the investment portfolio of the fund includes shares from seven Turkish energy companies, namely gas company Aygaz, steel producer Kardemir, TüpraşTurkey Petroleum Refineries Inc., Enka Construction and Industry Inc., Petkim Petrochemical Holding Inc., Ereğli Iron and Steel Factories and Ulusoy Electric. The fund’s share in these seven Turkish energy companies amounted to $228 million.

The sovereign wealth fund made its largest energy investment in Turkey in Tüpras Petroleum Refineries Inc. with $86.2 million, followed by Ereğli Iron and Steel Factories with an investment of $80.2 million.

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FEATURE FACEBOOK

Massive Data Scandal

Over the weekend (17-18 March) The New York Times and The Observer of London published an exposé on Cambridge Analytica’s use of over 50 million illegally obtained Facebook profiles to build out a psychographic platform for targeting American voters and influencing their behaviour during the 2016 Presidential Election

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ccording to various news accounts, a professor at Cambridge University built a Facebook app around 2014 that involved a personality quiz. About 270,000 users of the app agreed to share some of their Facebook information, as well as data from people on their friends list. As a result, tens of millions ended up part of this data-mining operation.

Cambridge Analytica is a data science company that was hired by the Trump

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campaign to create psychographic models of the American electorate. In order to do so, the company needed data – more data than it could feasibly collect on its own, and specifically the kind of data that only Facebook and Google would have.

Both Facebook and Google are frictionless aggregators of user data, but Facebook’s business model renders it inherently more vulnerable to this kind of data “breach” than Google. Google’s value comes from its position as gatekeeper

of the internet – if a website does not appear on Google’s search results, it for all intents and purposes does not exist.

This means Google can collect revenue and third-party data without exchanging its own data. Indeed, the company has gotten into trouble with regulators over anticompetitive practices such as scraping data from third party websites to use on its own platforms.

On the other hand, Facebook’s value is derived from the trove of proprietary personal data generated by its over 2 billion monthly users. However, the data has no value in and of itself until it is monetised through targeted advertising and third-party websites or applications. It is through a third-party application that Cambridge Analytica ultimately got its hands on 50 million Facebook profiles.

In 2014, 270,000 Americans downloaded a survey app and consented to having their Facebook data harvested. At the time, Facebook permissions allowed users to “consent” to their friends’ data being collected by third parties without their friends’ knowledge (this permission has since been removed). Since each user had on average several hundred friends, it resulted in 50 million users unknowingly, and without informed consent, allowing their personal data to be profiled for political targeting by the Trump campaign.

The current backlash against Facebook has to do with how it failed to prevent the personal data of 50 million users from landing in Cambridge Analytica’s hands without the users’ knowledge, and what can be done to prevent such breaches (in the practical sense) from happening again.

While Cambridge Analytica has denied the efficacy of its psychographic targeting on the Trump campaign, the thought that Facebook’s usergenerated data can be manipulated to sway said users’ voting decisions hints at just how powerful and comprehensive Facebook’s data are.

Facebook is already under fire for its alleged failure to prevent Russian interference during the 2016 Election, and this new revelation further fuels the flames. The most obvious risk right now is regulation designed to curb Facebook’s power, although such regulation would be unprecedented as Facebook’s model is itself unprecedented.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes a huge step towards restricting what companies can do with personal data without explicit user consent and enforcing data portability to ensure greater individual control over personal data.

Privacy regulators across the EU are join together to investigate. National authorities from across the EU should form a joint taskforce to determine whether the social media giant and Cambridge Analytica broke the bloc’s strict data protection laws.

On Wednesday (21 March), Andrea Jelinek, the chair of the article 29 work-

ing party, the umbrella group of national data protection authorities from EU member states, said the organisation is working together to investigate the incident. The UK authority is leading the group’s inquiry.

“As a rule personal data cannot be used without full transparency on how it is used and with whom it is shared.

This is therefore a very serious allegation with far-reaching consequences for data protection rights of individu-

Whatever happens to be the political or regulatory fallout from these recent developments, this will be an interesting space to watch, not only with respect to Facebook, but also for the broader group of megacap technology companies als and the democratic process. ICO, the UK’s data protection authority, is conducting the investigation into this matter. As Chair of the Article 29 Working Party, I fully support their investigation. The members of the Article 29 Working Party will work together in this process,” Jelinek said.

The UK data protection authority ICO opened an investigation last year into how data analytics companies were used in the leadup to the Brexit referendum,

after reports first circulated about Cambridge Analytica’s analysis of Facebook profiles for political clients. On March 19, the regulator’s office said it would look into new evidence, referring to the reports about Facebook’s knowledge of the data use.

However, regulation usually means trade-off, and heavy-handed regulation in the area of data privacy could inadvertently result in incumbents such as Facebook and Google accruing even more

market power (and thus control over more data). Consider that one oftcited remedy for the concentration of power in social media is the portability of social graphs – that this, the ability to transfer your existing friends list and content to a new network. The idea here is that such social graph portability would allow new startups to better compete against the incumbents, as switching costs created by the network effect would not be so high. However, stricter regulations on the sharing of personal data (i.e. GDPR’s goal) would undermine this, as each friend would have to explicitly consent to their data and user content being shared across networks.

Whatever happens to be the political or regulatory fallout from these recent developments, this will be an interesting space to watch, not only with respect to Facebook, but also for the broader group of megacap technology companies.■ APRIL

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PROFILE

Respecting Diversity Through Cooperation ANN PEŠIĆ President of the International Women’s Club (IWC) and Irish Honorary Consul

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he Club is about the need to respect diversity through co-operation and peace and harmony and to promote tolerance among people from all nations.

I, as an Irish women, have lived in Serbia for over thirty years but I joined the Club ten years ago. I felt it was a great opportunity to meet interesting women from many other countries and to learn about their cultures and traditions. The Club provides a really wonderful atmosphere of friendliness and also the opportunity to assist vulnerable people who may be in need. The Club also carries out various fund raining activities culminating in the IWC Bazaar which is held every December with the participation of Embassies, their staff and many volunteers. It is a great opportunity for countries to promote their culture, cuisine, dance and music. Each country can have a stand and sell products from their respective countries and the public looks forward to this prestigious event every year.

The funds raised provide assistance to those in need and projects can vary

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The International Women’s Club has been in existence for many years and has brought together women who are in Belgrade temporarily, either as members of the diplomatic community or for business reasons, and a number of local women who may have spent many years living abroad and have come back to live in Serbia and wish to keep those international connections

from assisting the elderly, children in care, children with special needs, raising awareness of early diagnoses of cancer among women, and gender equality. I, as the president feel proud to be able to promote women’s interests and to provide a forum where women feel comfortable to meet each other, enjoy themselves and also discuss many issues in a friendly and tolerant atmosphere.

The Club provides a wonderful atmosphere of friendliness and also the opportunity to assist vulnerable people who may be in need For the last fifteen years I have represented my own country as the Honorary Irish Consul and in that time have strived to create stronger ties between our two countries both economically and culturally. We have just recently celebrated the Irish National Day, St Patrick’s Day where

we held the sixth Belgrade Irish Festival and it was another resounding success. It is an opportunity to promote Irish arts globally and we had the pleasure to host Mundy, one of Ireland’s leading musicians. This year’s theme gave us an opportunity to celebrated 100 years of the end of the Great War and provided many interesting lectures on this subject from both local and Irish speakers on “The Forgotten Front, Ireland, Serbia and the Salonika Campaign”.

For all of us who cannot be in Ireland for 17th March the world turns green from the Great Wall of China, the Sydney Opera House, the Niagara Falls, The Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate bridge and for the past few years the Global Greening takes place in Belgrade. With the assistance of the City many icons of Belgrade go viral around the Globe putting Belgrade on the map of interesting places to visit.

We look forward to the future and to providing many more opportunities to experience Irish Culture. 

ART - EXHIBITIONS

A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

Tate Modern: “PICASSO 1932 — LOVE, FAME TRAGEDY”

In 1932, Pablo Picasso was 50 years old and art critics were asking whether he was yesterday’s man. He proved them wrong with an outpouring of creativity that is charted in the exhibition “Picasso 1932 — Love, Fame Tragedy,” opening last month at London’s Tate Modern gallery

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ore than 100 paintings, drawings and sculptures, all from 1932, show Picasso’s influences, including his rivalry with Henri Matisse, his interest in psychoanalysis and his passion for younger lover Marie-Therese Walter.

Walter inspired some of the Spanish artist’s greatest portraits, one of which sold at Sotheby’s last month for almost $70 million.

Three nudes of Walter, painted over a five-day period and not displayed together since 1932, were at the heart of a show that explored the interplay between Picasso’s work and his life — especially his complicated love life.

Olga left Picasso in 1935 when Walter became pregnant, around In 1932, the artist was living in Paris with his wife Olga Khokhlova the time the artist moved on to a new mistress and muse, Dora Maar. and their son Paulo, while having a relationship with Walter, who was Picasso’s treatment of women has often been criticized, but Diana 28 years his junior.

Widmaier Picasso, granddaughter of the artist and Walter, said “this Co-curator Nancy Ireson said at a preview that the exhibition offered traditional idea of Picasso being a monster” was simplistic. “an incredible opportunity to get really close to Picasso.”

She said Picasso’s passion for Walter “led him to explore different mediums including sculpture, print, “We’re used to seeing him as an iconic artist, drawing.” but here we really got to the person and to the Picasso’s career lasted “He’s making love with all these mediums, heart of his creativity,” she said. “Without making seven decades — he died not just with Marie-Therese,” she said. “It’s a judgment, it makes an iconic figure more relatable.” at 91 in 1973 — but 1932 consecration of Marie-Therese, who he’s transPicasso’s career lasted seven decades — he forming into a figure of peace and freedom.” died at 91 in 1973 — but 1932 was one of his was one of his most The exhibition runs Thursday to Sept. 9. It most fertile years. Walter, with her strong aquiline fertile years previously ran, without the three March 1932 nose, inspired paintings, drawings and sculptures nudes, at the Picasso Museum in Paris — where it was given the more that absorbed and transcended styles including cubism and surrealism. suggestive title “Picasso 1932: Erotic Year.”

In March alone he produced the three nudes — “Nude, Green Grandson Olivier Widmaier Picasso said looking at his grandfather’s Leaves and Bust,” ″Nude in a Black Armchair” and “The Mirror” — as erotically charged paintings of his grandmother could be awkward. well another portrait, “Girl Before a Mirror,” which is on loan from the “The sexuality is a part that I don’t want to discuss most of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. time — no one does,” he said.

The show also included “The Dream,” a vividly colored portrait of But, he added, “it’s very important to show the public that for every Walter considered among Picasso’s greatest works. It was once owned subject, every model, there was a direct relationship between the artist

by Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn, who put his elbow through the and the model.” ■ Source: AP canvas in 2006 just after agreeing to sell it for $139 million.

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INTERVIEW

Athletics Association of Serbia Obstructs

COUNTRY’S BIGGEST ATHLETICS EVENT DEJAN NIKOLIĆ DIRECTOR OF THE BELGRADE MARATHON

Last year's 30th Belgrade Marathon broke all previous records on its new course - 7,000 participants from 70 countries – while beautifying the event with selected words were legends of world sport Carl Lewis, Roza Mota, Galina Chistyakova, Bob Beamon, Mike Powell, Lasse Virén, Kevin Young and Javier Sotomayor. Not even the Olympic Games has so many “ambassadors” of this format have no Olympic Games

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lthough last year’s 30th Belgrade marathon, according to Dejan Nikolić, outdid itself, preparations are underway to ensure that – despite the problems the organiser traditionally faces – Belgraders again enjoy running and a festive atmosphere on 21st April.

■ It could be expected that, after staging 30 successful events, your problems would remain behind you?

- Unfortunately, that’s not the case. We’ve had problems every year, and this year we also have a completely new one: the appearance of unfair competition. The Athletics Association of Serbia has announced its “first, real marathon” for this autumn, although athletics associations don’t deal with the organising of marathons in any serious country, and although no big city has two marathons – not London, not Berlin and not New York...

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among other reasons because we were left without agreed financial support from the Ministry of Sports for the 30th marathon. Organising a marathon, including Belgrade’s, is a construction job.

We have to date constructed 30 buildings, each special in some way, and we are trying to make this “uniqueness” with new contents to enrich the event, and to improve communication and cooperation with domestic and foreign runners. This is not easy, because a large number of marathons are held during a relatively short period of time. It is not easy to fight with competition in countries that have stronger economies and powerful, multi-year sponsors. We, unfortunately, haven’t entered a single year with stable finances, not to mention the ‘90s, when it was difficult for everyone, but the last ten years have been just as tough for us, because others cause problems for us, which in turn poses a threat to Belgrade and Serbia. The Belgrade Marathon is an event of special importance for Belgrade – this is according to the decision of the Belgrade City Assembly, and not us – and it should be supported and protected, and we are trying to be successful, both us and our partner in the City of Belgrade.

■ What have you prepared for this year. Do you have promoters yet?

- Promoters are extremely important for this kind of event and we pay

great attention to that segment. We are talking with four great athletes who have marked “the queen of sports”. They all have lots of obligations, but one of them will come to the 31st Belgrade marathon. One of the media and programming themes will be 25th anniversary of the last visit to Belgrade of Fred Lebow, founder of the New York Marathon and the World Association of Marathons and Street Races, and we link that to two things – the trophy bearing his name that we have been awarded since 1994, when he passed away. He was last in Belgrade in 1993, when he ran the half-marathon and sent a message to the world to “Come to Belgrade. The marathon has no borders”, and during that year, as well as the previous and the next, the Belgrade Marathon was the only international event to happen in Belgrade, as UN Security Council sanctions were in force. His message proved to be a powerful contribution to the 6th Belgrade Marathon receiving great media support throughout the world via satellite TV programmes and appearing on the front page of the New York Times, in an article authored

by Fred Lebow in which he conveyed a message of peace sent from Belgrade. We expect this occasion to bring guests from the New York Racing Club, then the organisers of the Chicago Marathon, with which we also have partnership relations, as well as guests from China, with which we are in the process of establishing partnership cooperation.

■ What does that partnership consist of?

- This year’s Belgrade Marathon will have the tagline “One Belt - One Road”, as the modern-day continuation of the ancient Silk Road. We received approval for that and will be the first marathon in the world to promote this. This is important to us because we are establishing cooperation with several Chinese marathons, especially Beijing’s, as well as with tour operators who’ve shown great interest in bringing runners from China to Belgrade. At this year’s marathon we will have the first group of runners from China, who are to be brought by ‘ZX-Tour’, China’s largest tour operator specialising for racing and marathon tourism, which for this occasion is preparing a joint program for the Belgrade and London marathons. Cooperation with such a big organisation, which has the ability to sell everything we offer, is an extraordinary advancement. China is today the world’s biggest market when it comes to running. Until recently that was America, with 35 million runners, but China has now surpassed that number and has an estimated 40+ million passionate marathon runners.

This year we will also be joined by the largest number of humanitarian organisations to date, and on this occasion I will highlight two national campaigns: “Cancer is curable”, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Health and RTS, under the slogan “Activate yourself” and the campaign “Run for Healthy Lungs”, which is sponsored by the Ministry Health, Youth and Sports, and participants from the Secretariat for Health of the City of Belgrade, the Institute for Health Care of the University of Belgrade and the City Institute for Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis. Among those who have found the ideal platform to promote health, running and charity in the Belgrade Marathon is our oldest partner in humanitarian programmes, CorD magazine.

Unfair competition has appeared. The Athletics Association of Serbia has announced its “first, real marathon” for this autumn, although athletics associations don’t deal with the organising of marathons in any serious country, and although no big city has two marathons – not London, not Berlin and not New York...

■ What new “breakthroughs” have you made on the domestic front?

- We are continuing to strive to extend the concept of our event, which consists of the 5km Fun Run, half-marathon and marathon, attracting even more participants in special categories, such as people with special needs who, through the Fun Run, see their entry into everyday life, as well as participants in the “Mama Fit” programme, in which we expect the participation of between 300 and 400 mothers and pregnant ladies.

■ How much does the Belgrade Marathon cost?

- If we were to compile a budget as it should be done, we could calculate the total value of the marathon. We haven’t done it like that though. Everything that we secure in terms of monetary funding and support from sponsors, and support in the form of services and goods, which we also secure for our marketing activities, would be part of the budget, as would the services and support of the City through communal enterprises. Whatever the case, it costs a lot, but I am convinced that it costs much less than the contribution we give back to the city through the overnight stays of the 3,000 guests from abroad who came to Belgrade last year, spent a few days here and paid for their accommodation, food, every service they used, everything they bought, and paid VAT or tax, not to mention the total social benefits of the city and the state that have reached €123 million over the last twenty years, and that’s only for the commercial advantage of PR in the country and abroad, so without calculating gains from tourism movements and humanitarian activities – concludes Nikolić. ■ APRIL

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EXHIBITION

AARON ANGELL AT GoMA

Angell’s Playground

For the exhibition which closed last month, Aaron Angell created an interior that mines various historical points and hobbyist cultures partly in response to the complex history of GoMA’s site as a former private residence, garden and Neoclassical fancy

AT GoMA

AARON ANGELL, WARDIAN CASE

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AARON ANGELL INSTALLATION, GOMA

INSTALLATION

BOTTLE KILN

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Angell continues the domestic theme with sculptures and installations placed around the space: he compares them to “islands” of furniture in an open-plan loft apartment

hen London-based artist Aaron Angell dived into the Glasgow Museums collection to make a show for Glasgow International at Kelvingrove in 2016, there was one object which intrigued him above all the others. Now painstakingly restored, the 19th-century Wardian case is the centrepiece around which he has made his new show at GoMA. Used as a means to transport delicate plants back from the British colonies, Wardian cases became increasingly ornate as amateur plant collectors sought to outdo one another with the elegance of their specimens. Now repopulated with ferns and mosses, the case is both beautiful and problematic: a relic from a tricky, colonial past.

Occupying pole position at the entrance of GoMA’s ground floor gallery, the case references the time when this building was the private home of a tobacco lord and slave trader. Angell continues the domestic theme with sculptures and installations placed around the space: he compares them to “islands” of furniture in an open-plan loft apartment.

Each domestic component is a cluster of playful allusions. There’s the central heating system, a replica of a Roman hypocaust inside a

transparent inflatable bed (Angell collects inflatable furniture from the 1950s); the lighting, a gaslight attached to a concrete sculpture (made to the Roman recipe, using pig’s blood); the garden, a giant cabbage sourced from a record-breaking grower in South Wales.

There are ceramic urns, made by Angell, a keen potter, referencing those given as wedding gifts in Roman times so the ashes of the happy couple could be mingled when time took its eventual course, and a glass painting of purgatory, but with frogs and toads instead of people.

A difficult space to work with, the gallery has nonetheless given Angell a chance to play with his ideas on a larger-than-usual scale.

The results are quirky and rich, splicing and dicing crafts and hobbies, traditions and references, and creating their own oblique, idiosyncratic argument with the building and its history.

Angell plays upon his own biographical background fusing it with fantasy and fabrication. The artwork appears amateurish and has a sense of the vernacular, but the artist resists this label as he states: ‘I am interested in certain hermetic, hobbyist cultures where there is a difficult mixture of canonical and fantasized history’. ■ APRIL

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FACES & PLACES

SEE MORE WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM 26/2/2018

Embassy Of Kuwait Celebrates National Day In the presence of senior officials and diplomats, the Embassy of Kuwait has hosted a celebratory ceremony marking Kuwait’s 57th National Day, 27th Liberation Day and the 12th anniversary of His Highness the Amir’s ascendancy, which also coincides this year with the 40th anniversary of the country’s national anthem.

H.E. Yousef Ahmad S. Abdul Samah, Ambassador of Kuwait to Serbia paid tribute to the Kuwaiti people’s longstanding national unity.

In his speech Ambassador praised progressive bilateral relations between Serbia and Kuwait.

Ambassador to Serbia Yousef Ahmad S. Abdul Samah welcomed a large number of Serbian senior officials, academics, business H.E. YOUSEF AHMAD S. ABDUL SAMAH leaders and public figures as well as diplomats.

Welcome speech by H.E. YOUSEF AHMAD S. ABDUL SAMAH

Traditional Cake Cutting

1/3/2018

28/2/2018

GIZ: 15 Years Of Public Finance Reform

Embassy Of Bulgaria Celebrates 140th Liberation Day

On the 15th anniversary of the German Development Cooperation Project “Public Finance Reform in Serbia”, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Finance, the German Organisation for International Cooperation (GIZ) presented the project’s results and announced the beginning of a new project under the slogan “Recipe for the Future”.

Representatives of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Serbian Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration, State Audit Institution and GIZ addressed a large number of distinguished guests and representatives of the media at the celebration held at Aeroklub.

“By introducing a value-added tax system, revenues of over €35 billion have been generated so far”, said Catrin Meike Czyganowski, Head of the Economic Department at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

“The support we received in developing the Public Finance Management Reform Programme 2016-2020 is a strategic document, very important for Serbia in the European integration process”, said State Secretary Mirjana Ćojbašić on behalf of the Serbian Ministry of Finance.

Dr Birger Nerré, Project Leader of the Public Finance Reform Project on behalf of GIZ was also present to greet the guests.

Ambassador of Bulgaria H.E. Radko Vlaykov hosted a reception at the Metropol Hotel in celebration of his country’s National day and 140th anniversary of the Liberation day. Addressing guests Ambassador Vlaykov expressed pride of his country holding the presidency of the EU Council for the first time.

Guests included senior members of the Serbian government, Serbian Orthodox Church, representatives in Belgrade and members of the diplomatic and business community.

CZYGANOWSKI, ĆOJBAŠIĆ, NERRÉ and SIPEL, Director GIZ Serbia

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H.E. RADKO VLAYKOV 13/3/2018

Creative Serbia: The Future Is Creative

Prime Minister ANA BRNABIĆ

Prime Minister Ana Brnabić opened the conference “Creative Serbia: the Future is Creative”, at which the contribution of creative industries to the economy of the country, as well as the potential for their further growth Brnabić stressed that the best way for Serbia to keep up with the Fourth Industrial Revolution is to recognise its potential and opt to support the economy based on knowledge, innovation and creativity.

At the very beginning, the Prime Minister promised that the Serbian government will work on improving the business framework in this mandate so that the creative industries reach their full potential and achieve even faster growth. The conference brought together a large number of experts from various fields of creative industries, such as Lazar Dzamić, Ivana Medenica, Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski and Biljana Srbljanović, as well as organisations such as EXIT and Beerfest and creative spaces like Nova Iskra and Mokrin House.

15/3/2018

Day Of Republika Srpska Celebrated The Representative Office of Republika Srpska in Serbia organized a reception at the City Assembly to celebrate the Day of Republika Srpska and the anniversary of the declaration of the first Constitution of RS. The event was attended by representatives of the Serbian Parliament, ministers of the governments of RS and Serbia, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

The attendees were addressed by Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Patriarch Irinej, President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and Director of the RS Representative Office in Belgrade Mlađen Cicović.

“Today we are where we should be, with a strong Serbia and a strong RS. To help one another and be there for each other, in good times or bad,” noted Brnabić.

14/3/2018

Expo Russia Serbia 2018 The fifth “Expo Russia Serbia 2018” and the Belgrade Business Forum was held in Belgra with the aim of strengthening trade relations and the strategic partnership between Serbia and Russia.

The exhibition and business forum were held from 13th to 16th March. Roundtables, meetings of participants with representatives of ministries, and bilateral meetings of businesspeople were held during the three days, and over 200 Serbian and Russian companies presented their businesses.

Serbian Minister of Innovation and Technological Development Nenad Popović and Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Alexey Gruzdev opened the fair with the message that good economic and trade cooperation is the result of good high-level relations between Serbia and Russia.

Prime Minister ANA BRNABIĆ

President of Republika Srpska MILORAD DODIK

15/3/2018

International Women’s Club Monthly Gathering The IWC Belgrade held its March coffee morning at the German ambassador’s residence, kindly hosted by Mrs Natalie Ebert, the ambassador’s Mrs NATALIE EBERT and Mrs ANN PEŠIĆ spouse. A large number of IWC members and their guests gathered on this lovely spring day to enjoy a coffee in the garden and plan the coming IWC activities.

The IWC board told members how the funds collected at the IWC charity bazaar would be distributed this year. Six experienced and reputable NGOs will receive funds to implement projects tackling the protection of children’s rights, assisting institutionalised children and those without parental care, promoting inclusion and helping people with disabilities achieve a better life. All of the projects to be funded are outside Belgrade in underdeveloped regions that rarely receive any help.

23/3/2018

56th Nordic Day The Nordic ambassadors to Serbia organised a reception at the Norwegian residence to celebrate Nordic Day. This event, which commemorates the signing of the Helsinki Treaty on 23 March 1962 by all the Nordic Ambassador of Denmark H.E. ANDERS CHRISTIAN countries is dedicated to the regional cooperation of govHOUGARD, Ms OUTI HANNULA, Administrative Officer and Attache at the Embassy of Finland, ernments and parliaments in Mr OLA ANDERSSON, Counsellor for Swedish the north of Europe, one of the Development Cooperation, Ambassador of oldest and most comprehensive Norway H.E. ARNE SANNES BJØRNSTAD in the world. The Nordic region is home to 27 million people, covers eight time zones and has a strong language community – 80-90% of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian words are identical or sound similar.

Equality, welfare and democracy are common Nordic values that open the way to closer inter-Nordic cooperation at all levels – from the Prime Minister to the primary school pupil.

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SEE MORE WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

Ambassador of Pakistan H.E. Syed Adil Gilani and Mrs Naseem Gilani hosted the 78th Pakistan Day Reception which also marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Serbia. The reception was accompanied by a cultural show at the Metropol Palace Hotel, and was attended by a large number of guests hailing from Government circles, diplomatic corps, businessmen and Multinational companies, important personalities from Serbian society and the Pakistani community in Serbia.

Minister for Labour, Employment, H.E. SYED ADIL GILANI Veterans & Social Affairs Mr. Zoran Đorđević represented the Government of Serbia. Ambassador Gilani presented Ajrak and a traditional Sindhi cap to his honourable guest.

Ambassador Gilani also praised the leadership of President Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian colleagues for extending all possible help in executing his mission of enhancing bilateral relations and bilateral trade.

Pakistan Embassy Celebrates 78th National Day

25/3/2018

Greek National Day On the occasion of the National day of Greece celebrated on 25 March, the Greek ambassador to Serbia H.E. Elias Eliadis with his embassy staff and the Hellenic Business Association (HBA) attended a liturgy in the chapel of Saint Simeon Mirotočivi at the Serbian Patriarch.

H.E. ELIAS ELIADIS during the liturgy

March 2018

International Francophone Month In the month of March, countries that have French-speaking regions will celebrate Francophone Month. This year the embassies and cultural centres of these countries have joined in celebrations of French language and Francophone culture.

This March, the French embassy in Belgrade and the Institut Français organised a series of events – from the francophone films screened at the film festival FEST, the 17th francophone dictation, lectures on various subjects, the 15th jubilee French song competition to the gastronomic salon Ukusi Francuske (a Taste of France). On 21st March the French ambassador H.E. Frédéric Mondoloni hosted an Ukusi Francuske evening, which French embassies all over the world organise on that day.

The Swiss ambassador H.E. Philippe Guex held a speech for Francophone Month at the Faculty of Philology in Novi Sad in which he described the merits of Swiss political and economic institutions.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco organized, a Conference on Moroccan Gastronomy, at the Belgrade Youth Center (Dom Omladine), hosted by the famous Moroccan Chef Mrs Choumicha Chafay.

In cooperation with the Institut Français the Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia organized a lecture entitled “French Literature of the Maghreb: Francophonia and Humanism” held by Mr Habib Ben Salha, a professor at the University of Manouba.

H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX, Ambassador of Switzerland

H.E. FRÉDÉRIC MONDOLONI hosted annual dinner at the embassy

H.E. MOHAMMED AMINE BELHAJ, Ambassador of Morocco and DRAGAN AMBROZIĆ

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H.E. SEYF ALLAH REJEB, Ambassador of Tunisia and HABIB BEN SALHA

MY LIFE PREDRAG EJDUS, ACTOR

Negative Selection Is

B y R A DM I L A STA N KOV I Ć

EVIDENT IN CULTURE

Photo: S. Mihić

This celebrated Yugoslav and Serbian actor will this year commemorate half a century of performing on stage, film and television with a great exhibition at the Museum of Theatrical Arts in Belgrade. He says of himself that he has two vices – smoking and acting.

He can’t give up either of them, as they both bring him great satisfaction

KIR JANJA, 2007

I

n the world of great artists, it is rarest to come across those who are distinguished by the kind of set of virtues that makes Predrag Ejdus (70) special – God-gifted, diligent, discerning, precise, reliable and with acting precision. And he doesn’t like it when they say that he’s a workaholic, because the job is his life, and when he isn’t acting life is less beautiful for him, lacking its full meaning.

Predrag Ejdus, who goes by the name of Peca, will this year will celebrate 50 years of enduring on the Serbian art scene. Of that period, half belongs to the scene of Yugoslavia – as he was among the most renowned actors in that country of 20 million inhabitants. This great jubilee will be marked with an exhibition at the Museum of Theatrical Arts of Serbia. In this half-century that he devoted to acting, he has performed over 150 roles in theatre APRIL

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anything on those speedway races, but he was persistently workplays and made more than 50 film and television appearances, as well as performing more than 200 roles in radio dramas. He has ing on some motorbike and we were constantly there. We got ball received the most significant artistic awards, the October Prize, bearings for a wooden cart that we made and then raced down two Sterija awards and one for lifetime achievement, Dobrica’s the steep streets of Zvezdara. In winter, of course, we sledged ring, the Golden Turkey for Life’s there. I had a carefree childhood, Work... He says that his work is we all were somehow wrapped primarily a craft, and that it ocup in those houses of ours and yards with fruit trees; we adored casionally becomes art. The basic stealing cherries, playing cowboys acting chalk of this creator of and indians. We would sometimes top-notch characters from world have boys’ fights, but that was and domestic literature was to all totally harmless. I had a truly deal with transformation. He happy and completely carefree considers absolute transformachildhood.” tion impossible, but under the He went to Vojislav Ilić School, given circumstances he had the which still exists, and then in good fortunate to play different 1958, at the age of 11, he left characters, in enduring settings.

Zvezdara. His parents moved with Ejdus has had specific health their children, two daughters and problems in recent years, but a son, to the Bermuda Triangle that’s difficult to believe when of Vračar, as he says, and he has you know that he currently has remained there to this day. In 14 plays on his repertoire, which early childhood, when he was he explains simply: five or six, he fell ill and spent a “I’m struggling, what else can year separated from his school I do? In the past few months I and community. He survived, but received two lifetime achievehad to take it easy for a year after ment awards, and people have the illness. Today he reluctantly the habit of asking me when recalls those episodes: I’m considering stopping a bit.

“I had a heart condition and I always respond to that in the for six months I was treated with same way by saying that I have cortisone, a drug that was virtually two vices - smoking and acting. I in experimental use at that time. So can’t give up either, because they form that cortisone I became terbring me great pleasure. So, even when I have a health problem, I LITTLE MALCOLM AND HIS STRUGGLE AGAINST THE EUNUCHS (PLAY), 1967 ribly overweight and malformed. I beat it with that adrenaline team had major troubles when I finally In the last twenty years, on the that flows when I go out on stage. got out of the hospital, because I Then there are no pains or fatigue, political scene in Serbia, regardless had to turn up in school so physionly concentration and a desire cally devastated. They told me that of whether it comes to the parties to emerge as a winner.” everything would return to normal in power or the parties belonging to in time, that I should play sports, He grew up in Belgrade’s the opposition, you have almost Zvezdara neighbourhood, on Radoand that’s how it was. But at one point that was, for me, as a little jka Lakić Street, a small street with no serious thoughts in the boy, a real trauma.” lots of linden and chestnut trees: programmes that these parties At that time, Peca’s father “In my boy’s imagination, offer as they relate to culture worked abroad as a civil engineer back then it was a rainforest for and brought his son the widest us. In those years, on that street, variety of toys that didn’t exist here during those years. And so one truck passed in fifteen days. Or, some kind of crazy motorcyPeca, thanks to this advantage, succeeded, despite being so sick clist practising for some speedway race. It had a car mechanic’s and vulnerable, to lure friends around himself, to buy their attenworkshop, where we would gather, and everything resembled Fellini’s Amarcord, when that guy rides noisily on a motorcycle tion. Pistols and all equipment for playing Cowboys and Indians with spectacles. That weirdo of ours, the car mechanic, never did assuaged the kind of childish harshness that can leave a mark.

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Photo: Tamara Antonović

He thinks that he inherited his need to work constantly from his In his childhood and youth, Peca was a belligerent boy who father, which his own children then inherited from him. However, occasionally did foolish things, for which his father sometimes he sees no reason to emphasise that in particular, because such punished him harshly. At the time, he didn’t approve of his father’s behaviour is considered quite normal: methods for educating him, but later he reconsidered: “I often quote a Chinese proverb that goes: choose a job you “I later realised that everything he did and the way he directed love in your youth, and you will never have to work a day in your me, the way he lived, was actually all very good. That’s because life. That only seems paradoxical at first, but I experience my job, children can’t help but imitate their parents, and they are their no matter how tense and exhausting it is, as healthy adrenaline main role models. I was long out of puberty before I realised that my father had actually been my greatest role model. I hadn’t previously wanted or been able to recognise that, because I was a little bit of a rebel without a cause.”

When he himself became a father, first to daughter Vanja, today a successful actress in her own right, and then Filip, now a recognised scientist and university professor, he knew that everything was different from the time when his parents had raised him and his sisters, but something had remained the same: “I knew that one’s own example is the best example for children. I was always careful not to lie to them and to be honest with them – not only in raising and educating, but also in way of life and family relations. The most important thing for me was to be truthful, not to live one life in the home and a completely different one in public. That doesn’t mean I was right about some problems, but I spoke with them constantly, I tried to counterbalance them on some things, and sometimes even IVANOV, 2016 (P. EJDUS, B. PETRIĆ AND B. VIDAKOVIĆ) come into conflict, but never fierce or radical, and I think that Milica [wife of I often quote a Chinese proverb that that I cannot go without.

In moments when I don’t almost four decades, who had her own goes: choose a job you love in your have enough energy and career as an architect-scenographer] and I managed to find that necessary youth, and you will never have to work health, my job brings me a day in your life. That only seems back to life. My adrenaline middle way in our approach to raising our children. And today I can say paradoxical at first, but I experience drops when I do nothing, which is very rare and that they turned out to be normal, my job, no matter how tense and leads me into a state of intelligent and good people, that we protected them from all the horrors exhausting it is, as healthy adrenaline despair. On the other hand, that I cannot go without I can wonder how I am that threatened them, especially in an idiot, what kind of life puberty, and especially from drugs. do I have if I get so depressed when I don’t work. Is it possible For my wife and I, that was the greatest horror and greatest evil, that there’s nothing else in my life that could fill me apart from and we had to observe them constantly – not so much to control acting? Roughly speaking, that can be true, but, nevertheless, I them as to keep our eyes open. It is up to parents to first notice have fulfilled my life to a considerable degree primarily in terms changes in their child. I don’t understand and don’t accept the of family commitments and socialising.” story that they are the last to notice, because, well, something Last summer he played Ignatius Glembay in Miroslav Krleža’s happened that they didn’t see. It’s impossible in a coherent family play The Glembays at the Dubrovnik Summer Games, under the not to notice signs of change in your child.” direction of Zlatko Sviben. It is less known that in Dubrovnik, There are moments when a man, regardless of whether he’s during the 1992 presidential campaign in Croatia, he performed doing the job he loves the most in the world, feels as though he’s in one of the most popular plays of all time in Yugoslavia, the had enough of everything. However, Peca is among those rare people Chauvinist Farce, together with friend and colleague Josif Tatić: who have been fortunate enough never to have experienced that.

to our play Ivanov, and awards were won by Hana Selimović and I. The next day we performed this play at the Zagreb Youth Theatre and around 700 people applauded for 20 minutes at the end of the show. A stage manager who works at the Zagreb Youth Theatre said that during the 30 years that he’s worked at that theatre he doesn’t recall such an applause. And to make everything even more interesting, a day before our tour, the Croatian National Theatre staged the premiere of Ivanov under the direction of one of Europe’s leading directors, Lithuanian Eimuntas Nekrošius. The audience and critics had the opportunity to see two Ivanovs in two days and to compare them. We got the praise, as the Croatian play was on the verge of being a debacle, according to the local critics.”

When Ejdus was a young actor at the National Theatre, guest appearances were part of the mandatory repertoire of that theatre, as well as the Zagreb National Theatre. But what happened when CorD’s interlocutor was director of the National Theatre?

“I tried to re-establish this cooperation in 2008, but the then manager of the Croatian National Theatre told me that she would like very much to do that, but the time has not yet come. We’re fortunate that this time is nevertheless coming. It is also in this context that I view my guest appearance at the Dubrovnik Summer Games. Of course, it was most important for me to be good there.

And for the play to be good. Dubrovnik isn’t what THE GATHERING, JDP (YUGOSLAV DRAMA THEATRE), 2002 it was anymore, but it still has than them. Of course, it should serious theatre audiences that We live in a time of delayed truth. be recalled that Franjo Tuđman wanted to see the play that we When it comes to political life in this was then the absolute leader performed in the first half of region, we have frequent occurrences August 2017.” of Croatia.” of the revision of truth regarding some Asked whether he viewed When we talk about the the invitation to perform in the place and role of culture in Seralready established and accepted play at the Dubrovnik Sumbia today, Ejdus doesn’t hide his norms and facts, which, in my opinion, dissatisfaction: mer Games as a kind of signal is very worrying “In the last twenty years, about some better days ahead on the political scene in Serbia, in relations between the two regardless of whether it comes to the parties in power or the parties countries when it comes to culture, he says for CorD: belonging to the opposition, you have almost no serious thoughts in “I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to draw some major concluthe programmes that these parties offer as they relate to culture. I sions from that fact. In recent times I’ve actually had quite a lot of remember that Vučić alone, in one of his lengthy presentations lasting guest performances with Belgrade and Serbian plays in Croatia. And a few hours, devoted some ten minutes to culture, mentioning some I see for myself that culture is the easiest way to renew relations names, in a context that was clear. So, no one thinks about culture, between peoples and states. That’s a general place that doesn’t have no one talks about it, and then when the Ministry of Culture likes to mean much. But, judging by the reactions of the Croatian audisomeone, that party likes to produce personnel that nobody has ence and the Croatian media, one can see how open that market is previously heard of. That’s why I ask who those people are who then today for good cultural content coming from Belgrade. For example, write strategies, like I see that the current Minister has developed we played Ivanova, a play of the National Theatre from Belgrade, at a strategy for the development of culture for the next ten years. the International Theatre Festival of Small Stages in Rijeka. In the Let’s face the truth head on: in the past 20 years, you have no 24-year history of this festival, the audience gave the highest rating “We performed the Chauvinist Farce at Lapad in the sports hall, and on Stradun there was a rally to support Savka Dabčević Kučar as a candidate for the president of Croatia, at which Mika Tripalo also spoke. According to the stories of the people who were then at the rally and the show, we had an incomparably larger audience

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be led by the best, smartest and most accomplished people, who name from the world of culture, no relevant personality, no serious are absolutely untouchable and who nobody – from the President political figure, no one who you have remembered as leaving behind of the Republic to the Prime Minister – can call out and control. a serious mark as minister of culture. Do you know any minister who But we are witnessing a serious decline in knowhow, level of has vocally sought a higher budget for culture in the government, have motivation and everything that you claim is lacking in culture today? you heard of a minister who resigned because he failed to achieve That’s right, but that does a better status of culture in Sernot mean there are no good, bia within the government? You Photo: Private archive high-quality people. And good, don’t know any, of course, because high-quality artwork. everything has been reduced to a Unfortunately, even in our normal sinusoid. guild there is no serious view of Today’s Minister seeks the work we are dealing with, praise for managing to fight there is no awareness that top for the budget for culture to be art is a privilege worldwide. We increased by 0.1 per cent anare witnessing the appearance nually over the next ten years, of various free-shooters who which will only be sufficient think this is the right time for to finance the functioning of them, from the so-called shadcultural institutions.

Okay, institutions are imporows, to influence where they think they are needed or that tant, but they have survived in they need. It’s difficult to say large numbers and don’t exist in whether that’s a contest with this form in the developed part somebody, or what kind of game of Europe. There is no artist who that is. People in power, as a rule, will be employed, like ours in like this kind of association and the National Theatre, and will know how to reward it.” remain there until their retireThis actor with a wide range ment; for that to be guaranteed of skills that directors always for them. took away from him, believes On the other hand, culture that theatre and literature work isn’t located only in institutions. on the individual, but that art Culture is much more and much no longer has any impact on broader, it is part of life as a the masses. Nor can film do whole, it mustn’t have anything that anymore: to do with current ideology and “Today there are different politics, with the current authorways of influencing the masses. ity of a single party. Culture must Those are primarily marketing, have continuity, if there is some PREDRAG EJDUS WITH HIS BRIDE ON THEIR WEDDING DAY, 1975 advertising, social networking... standard, it has to grow, or at Culture isn’t located only in We live in a time of delayed truth. least sustain itself. Regardless institutions. Culture is much more When it comes to political life in of whether the centre, the left or this region, we have frequent the right is in power. And every and much broader, it is part of life time we have new governments as a whole, it mustn’t have anything occurrences of the revision of truth regarding some already and new ministers, and new to do with current ideology and established and accepted norms applicants, and everyone thinks politics, with the current authority and facts, which, in my opinion, that everything starts with them. is very worrying. The most inAt the time of socialism, culof a single party ture institutions were headed teresting thing is that this is by members of the Party, but the best members. Now we have largely accepted by a large part of the public, which I find espenegative selection evident, so I feel like saying that I mourn the cially disturbing. Just as I am disturbed by the manipulation of mediocre, because they at least knew something. They at least the scientific and political public that is evident in all parts of the acted in accordance with the only maxim that should apply in this former Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, it seems to me that this trend area: culture must be for the common good of all! Culture should is also recognisable in Europe in a certain way.” ■ APRIL

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CHILL OUT RUSSIA

UNIQUE MERCEDES G-CLASS SUV ▶ A motorist from the Russian city of Novosibirsk teamed up with a local ice sculptor to create a unique Mercedes G-Class SUV using blocks of ice mounted on a metal chassis and powered by an old engine. Vladislav Barashenkov recently went viral for an invention that’s as outrageous as it is cool – a budget version of the Mercedes G-Class luxury SUV made largely out of clear blocks of ice. But Barashenkov wanted it to be more than just a cool looking ice sculpture, so he simply had the sculptor create the body out of ice, which he then mounted on the chassis of an old UAZ 469 military utility vehicle. That made the ice SUV drivable, although riding in it isn’t as smooth as a real G-Class.

VA L E N C I A

LAS FALLAS FESTIVAL IN VALENCIA

USA

BARBRA STREISAND CLONED BELOVED DOG ▶ Barbra Streisand (75) singer and actress had her beloved 14- yearold Coton de Tulear dog Samantha cloned after her death in 2017, and now has two new pups. Streisand told Hollywood trade publication Variety in an interview that cells

were taken from the mouth and stomach of Samantha.

“They have different personalities,” Streisand said. “I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness.” Streisand said that when the cloned dogs arrived, she dressed them in red and lavender to tell them apart, which is how they got their names — Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet.

▶ Each year, the Las Fallas festival in Valencia takes place on the same dates. The main events run from March 15 to March 19, but numerous events took place in the fortnight lead up to this week. Dating back to a time when carpenters burned their wooden wick holders to welcome the sunnier spring season, this may just be the world’s strangest and most exuberant

spring cleaning. Sculptures as intricate as they are enormous (up to 30 metres tall) were paraded through the streets as merrymakers dressed in traditional garb dance to the tunes played by live bands, with pyrotechnics and gunpowder blasts punctuating the festivities at intervals. On the final evening, the sculptures were burned in a massive bonfire so epic that neighbouring buildings have to be continually based with water to keep them from crumbling. Then, in true Spanish style, a dance party erupted and lasted until dawn.

CHINA

DATING FESTIVAL IN CHINA ▶ While many single men and women in China tried to escape the blind dates their relatives set up during Spring Festival, the young people of a remote village in southwest China’s Yunnan Province attended a local mass-dating event, following a tradition that dates back about 1,350 years. Saizhuang Jie, or the “costume competition festival”, is heldin Yongren county in Yunnan’s Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture each year on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It originated in Zhiju, a small mountainous village that is home to the Yi ethnic group.The festival serves as a showcase for the beauty and talents of local women in addition to being a meeting place for young people. On this special day, the women put on handmade costumes bearing delicate embroidery to attend an outdoor dance ceremony, described by locals as among the “oldest catwalks”.

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USA

FAMILY ADOPTS NINE SIBLINGS FROM FOSTER CARE ▶ A family has adopted nine children from foster care to make sure that all the siblings can stay together.

Peggy Smith and her husband Jacob from Tampa, Florida had no children until they came across a plea to help the kids on Facebook. The young couple are now first time parents to four children who range in age from a few months old to four. They decided to join forces with Jacob’s parents Thad and Loryn to adopt all nine children who “have a bond so tight they cannot be split up”.

The two families live just a few doors down so the siblings can see each other regularly.

The family are now working with the Promise Love Foundation to try and raise the money needed for two cars to fit their expanded family.

GERMANY

WORLD

NO DRILLING ON SUNDAYS

AMAZON’S DRIVERS NEW WAY OF DELIVERY

▶ Germans take their day of rest very seriously. Shops are shut, people take leisurely walks and there will be absolutely no domestic drilling thank you very much. It is against the law to drill at any time on a Sunday. And it doesn’t stop with DIY either, take note that throwing away bottles in the recycling bins is also strictly forbidden outside certain hours - if you don’t believe us check the containers.

WORLD

▶ Most people at some point have had to play detective with an item they ordered online. While a bit of sleuthing can occasionally be fun, it may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a trial Amazon are quietly rolling out.

VIETNAM

VIETNAM’S FAKE WEDDING INDUSTRY

“DUMB PHONE” ▶ If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the features and apps available on smartphones these days and miss the good old days when mobile phones were simple communication devices, you’ll probably love Light 2, a stylish “dumb phone” designed to eliminate time-wasting distractions from your life.

The original Light mobile phone is about as bare-bones as a cellphone could get. You could basically only use it to make and take phone calls, but its creators, Joe Hollier and Kai Tang, recently decided that in order to improve its usefulness while still keeping users safe from smartphone distractions, the handheld needed a few extra features. The recently announced Light Phone 2 is just as tiny and stylish as the original version, but also features text messaging capabilities, an alarm clock and a headphone jack.

▶ Vietnamese women looking to avoid the social stigma of having a child out of wedlock are increasingly turning to grooms-for-hire businesses that specialize in throwing fake weddings complete with fake grooms and guests for a hefty fee.

Becoming pregnant before marriage is usually frowned upon in Vietnam, particularly in the northern parts of the country, where traditional social norms are still very strong. Vietnam’s abortion rate ranks fifth globally and first in Asia. Data shows that most of these pregnancy terminations are caused by social pressure, as 20 to 30 percent of women seeking abortion are not married, while most of the rest are young students. But what happens when a mother wants to keep the baby while at the same time avoid disgracing herself and her family? Well, that’s where the grooms-for-hire businesses come in.

Amazon have recently completed their “Amazon Logistics Photo On Delivery” programme in the US, and will be carrying it out in the UK. How it works is the delivery driver will take a photo of your front door to help you find packages left by Amazon employees.

Thanks to an update on the delivery device and app used by delivery personnel, all logistics drivers can now take photos of your home.

When a package arrives, all customers will receive a photo along with the usual notice of delivery.

This initiative follows news that the firm has bought ‘smart doorbell’ company Ring (a company that records footage of people’s front doors) for €786 million.

The service was first rolled out six months ago.

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CULTURE CALENDAR

Knight Fest 2018 1 – Kalemegdan Belgrade Fortress - 9.00-20.00

This year sees the Royal Order of Knights continue its long tradition of a festival of chivalry for children and parents, as well as for numerous guests from Serbia and all over the world. On the most beautiful children’s holidays. Vrbica (Willows day) and Cveti (Blooms), the Belgrade Fortress will once again shine like it did in the golden age of the despots, six centuries ago. Belgrade will once again become a city of knights, princesses, children and joy!

Under the slogan “Boys and girls, let’s become princes and princesses”, the Knight Fest invites the whole family to experience a modern-day tale at the Belgrade Fortress.

Organisers promise that the festival’s programme will appeal to visitors’ imagination, regardless of their age.

Programme vitezfest.org

Photography exhibition “Gran Via. Echoes of a City” 3 - Instituto Cervantes - 19.00 Spanish artist Luis Camacho’s photography exhibition “Gran Via. Echoes of a City” will officially open at the Gallery of the Cervantes Institute in Belgrade on 3rd April at 7pm.

The hundred-year-old Gran Via street is one of Madrid’s main arteries and one of its most

Vlatko Stefanovski recognisable avenues. Its construction, between 1910 and 1931, marked the beginning of the Spanish capital’s modernisation, along with the rise of the country’s first skyscrapers and the arrival of then current architectural trends from the United States.

The exhibition “Gran Via. Echoes of a City” represents an everyday stroll through today’s urban experience. Travel through a space in which rhythmic characters co-exist, sharing conflicts and constant movement. This is a sociological study of ordinary people and their everyday existence. It is also a journey through complex and chaotic urban life today that creates an identity crisis.

Camacho, who lives in the immediate vicinity of this avenue, says that despite having

2 - Kolarac - 20.00 Celebrated guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski will hold a solo concert at Kolarac Endowment Hall on 2nd April, at which he will present his latest acoustic album ‘Mother tongue’, which he says was recorded in only three or four days.

“I recorded the most intimate album so far,” insists Vlatko.

As a soloist, Vlatko has performed and recorded with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna’s Tonkunstler Orchestra, the Simphonieta

Lord of the Dance

traversed it for years, he doesn’t have the impression that he is always moving through the same space. The author of the exhibition worked on this project for almost four years. He would go out onto the street every day and try to capture its busy atmosphere in the period before sunset. These final moments of the day inspired the artist to be on the street, to approach the people and create this photographic story.

Camacho notes that although this is a story about Madrid’s main street, it could also be a story about any major city, considering that we are living in a time of identical adverts and identical shops worldwide. The exhibition will run until 20th June. Entrance is free of charge.

10 – Sava Centre – 20.00 In April we will have the opportunity to enjoy the unique ‘Lord of the Dance’ spectacle, which holds the world record for 21 consecutive sellout performances – a sequence that stated with its 1998 performance at the famous Wembley Arena. After winning over audiences in theatre halls around the world, including those of the West End and Broadway, and breaking records for ticket sale figures, ‘Lord of the Dance’ returns to Belgrade’s Sava Centre, this time with a show never before seen in our country.

The multi-talented members of this artistic troupe will present a fantastic mix of music and dance, both traditional and contemporary.

Lighting, special effects and the world’s finest acrobats, in a perfectly integrated collective, will create a spectacle for everyone’s eyes, which the audience will long remember. Lasers,

Uroš Predić Exhibition

Uroš Predić, alongside Paja Jovanović and Đorđe Krstić, was Serbia’s greatest realist painter. Predić has nevertheless remained best remembered for his early works, in which he depicted the ‘real’ lives of ordinary people.

The exhibition is being held to mark the occasion of the 160th anniversary of Predić’s birth, with the SANU Gallery preserving the valuable Legacy of Uroš Predić.

Just a year after the painter’s death, in 1954, the Zrenjanin National Museum received almost the entire inventory of Predić’s Belgrade studio, which also served as the basis for this exhibition, which comprises 32 of Predić’s works (paintings, drawings, studies), as well as sculptures and

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pyrotechnics, special fog machines, confetti guns and many other special effects produced by state-of the-art technology that no one has ever previously had the opportunity to use, along with a large LED video wall, represent an integral part of this spectacle.

Famous versatile artist Michael Flatley will lead the ‘Lord of the Dance’ troupe. Over the past two decades, he has designed, produced and performed in several highly successful shows, including his latest ‘Lord of the Dance’ show.

RECOMMENDS

Sound of Asphalt, from Oslo to Belgrade

Until 15th April - SANU Gallery sketches by other authors who represented this artist. Also on display are personal items, furniture, photos, reminders, postcards, letters, decorations, his diary, painting utensils and materials, catalogues, books, magazines etc.

Predić’s life and creative work are shown in the form of thematic segments, from his schooldays in his native Orlovat, via Pančevo and Vienna, travels around Italy, then his return to his homeland and final relocation to Belgrade, where he died in 1953. Also particularly pronounced is Predić’s work as an iconographer and portraitist, his relationship with family members, as well as with painters Paja Jovanović and Stevan Aleksić, and scientist Mihajlo Pupin.

Also shown at the exhibition are childish drawings that Predić created between the ages of 10 and 12, as well as his unfinished painting “The Stonecutting St. Stefan”, which is considered his last work.

This exhibition presents for the first

Orchestra from Sophia, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra – Ljubljana, the Student symphony orchestra from Skopje, the FoolCool Jazz Big Band, RTV Ljubljana Big Band, Croatian HTV Big Band, RTV Serbia Big Band etc.

Stefanovski is renowned for his unique guitar technique and tone. He has performed around the world with his own Vlatko Stefanovski Trio.

time the drawings he used to create icons for Njegoš’s chapel on Lovćen, which has since been demolished. One of Predić’s most famous paintings, ‘Vision in the Clouds’ occupies a special place, accompanied by a detailed interpretation of the image with written explanations. The exhibition also presents a high school drawing done by Mihajlo Pupin, who was a friend of Uroš from their earliest schooldays. A special segment is dedicated to the relationship between Predić and Zrenjanin, from his first arrivals in that town during early childhood, through the great role model that he had in the form of Viennese painter Konstantin Danil, then contacts with local friends and relatives, up to the decision of the City to name one of its streets after him.

The author of the exhibition is senior curator-art historian Olivera Skoko. The patrons of the project are the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia and company Gomeks.

Yngve Kveine 1122rsd

Sound of Asphalt is an intimate novel about growing up in the eastern part of Oslo, the 1980s and ‘90s, rock, drugs, the streets and a divided city. It gives the reader a unique perspective of Oslo from an angle to which we’re not accustomed. This is a novel about fights, music, sex and death, but is also growing up and self-discovery.

Author Yngve Kveine grew up in the eastern part of Oslo, which is a poorer but culturally more diverse part of the Norwegian capital. He is today a successful young man who holds the position of executive vice president for communication - corporate communications and public affairs at Norwegian Business School BI, one of Europe’s leading business universities.

Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Arne Sannes Bjørnstad organised a reception dinner in honour of Yngve Kveine to mark the occasion of his book’s promotion in Serbia.

The book was translated into Serbian by Ivana Jovanović and Miloš Belčević and published in the Norden edition by publishing house Kovačnica prica. It is the novel’s first translation to date. The book proved to be a success back home in Norway, selling in thousands of copies and also topping lists of the most popular audio books.

FEATURE ON IMMORTALITY

By RUSS ALAN PRINCE

Who Wants TO LIVE FOREVER? Not only do many of the super-rich want immortality, but a good number of them are doing something about it. The likes of Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, Larry Ellison, Co-founder of Oracle, and investor Peter Thiel are all putting money into ventures that are focused on extending the human lifespan

A

multitude of approaches being taken are aiming for from these advances. At WorldClinic, we’re very focused on longevity immortality…or, at the very least, a much longer and planning. Our goal is to use state-of-the-art medical science to enable healthier life. There is the idea of merging artificial intelour clients to live longer in good health. We’re finding more and more ligence with humans to avert death. By transferring your people signing up with us who are most interested in longevity.” consciousness into an artificial brain, you will continue The super-rich are investing in cutting-edge medical research to live to live even though your body is worn out. Cryogenics is being serilonger, and concierge healthcare companies, such as WorldClinic, are takously considered. Here they freeze your body ing available knowledge and approaches to help and, at a minimum, your head until the field of give their affluent clients longer healthy lives.

The super-rich are medicine advances enough to bring you back.

Other physicians are also taking steps to investing in cutting-edge foster Hacking our DNA is another approach belongevity in their patients. “Wellness is medical research to live an often tossed around term, but for us it’s all ing taken. Our ability to use stem cells to cure longer, and concierge disease is becoming increasingly an opportunity. about living a great life and living a long life,” Very possibly using stem cell technology, as says Jeffrey Friedman M.D., Director of Medicine healthcare companies, well as modifications to our DNA, can result in at Community Health Associates and a member such as WorldClinic, significantly longer fruitful lives. Today, some of MDVIP. “Our practice is designed to not only are taking available people are using a procedure called parabiosis. treat patients when they’re ill, but to work with knowledge and In 1924 a physician by the name of Alexander them to prevent them becoming sick and to live Bogdanov transfused himself with the blood of approaches to help give a very long life.” younger people claiming it helped him become It is very likely that medical advances will their affluent clients younger. (He died when he took the blood of a result in much longer lifespans, and a good longer healthy lives student with malaria and tuberculosis.) number of the super-rich are putting substantial According to Daniel Carlin, M.D., CEO of resources into finding solutions to death. In the WorldClinic and author of The World of Concierge Medicine, “Medicine meantime, people can often take steps that will increase the probability is advancing where it is possible to extend the lives of people, and we’re of them living longer, healthy lives. Physicians like Carlin and Friedman seeing a solid percentage of the wealthy are taking steps to benefit can help to achieve this goal. ■ APRIL

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FASHION

145 YEARS OF BLUE JEANS

CASUAL SPRING Time For Jeans

Denim jeans are the ultimate go-to for every season and are pretty much certain to look good regardless of how you style them. With so many different types of jeans to consider these days, things can get a bit overwhelming. To ease your future shopping experience, check out our guide to types of jeans for women/men, and the best denim jeans to suit your body type

Rag & Bone Dre Skinny Boyfriend Jeans Whiskering and fading give these slim boyfriend jeans a broken in look, and worn edges complement the undone style.

Price: €160

Good Legs Slim-Fit Skinny Jeans Slim-fit, skinny, cropped, high-rise, loops, five pockets, silver-toned hardware, faded wash, contrasting stitching, frayed trim at centre, slits at cuffs, cross loops at centre back, v-shaped yoke at back.

Price: €200

Jeans has advanced a lot since tailor Jacob W. Davis and drygoods salesman Levi Strauss patented the rivet in 1873. The 20th century’s most iconic garment – blue jeans – is more than ripe for designers to experiment with and disrupt in the fashion sense, and right now they’re doing so in droves.

Today, despite many predictions that jeans would disappear from our wardrobes, they are still going strong after 145 years of faithful service, and denim pants and jackets are still at the top of the lists of our favourite items to wear in spring.

Balmain Slim-Fit Biker Jeans These Balmain biker jeans are defined by their slim fit and ribbed details above the knees.

Price: €1,270

Ollie Ecru Denim The off-white Ollie jeans are a seasonal favourite, made in comfortable stretch denim with a higher waist, slim hip and wide, cropped legs.

Price: € 210

Slim Fit Soft to the touch and extremely comfortable, the style comes in a range of hues that slip right into your everyday lineup.

Price: €140

Slim-Fit Jean In Black Stretch Denim Extra slim through hip and thigh, with our narrowest leg.

Price: €125

LEVI'S Straight High-Rise Jeans Regular-fit, straight, high-rise, belt loops, five pockets, branded hardware, faded wash, branded leather patch at back, v-shaped yoke at back, signature stitching at back pockets…

Price: €95

AFTER WORK

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

26 FEB

Israel Supports One Of The First Iot Laboratories In Serbia

The Embassy of Israel, in cooperation with the Centre for the Development of Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation - ICT Hub, organised a reception on the occasion of awarding a grant for equipping one of the first Internet of Things (IoT) laboratories in Serbia - Garage Lab. The grant is awarded by the Israeli International Cooperation and Development Agency MASHAV, which is marking 60 years of existence this year. Since its establishment, this agency has trained nearly 270,000 trainees from 132 countries, both in Israel and around the world. Professional training covers various areas of entrepreneurship development, from startup accelerators, empowerment of women’s rights, to agriculture.

With the support of the Embassy of Israel, hundreds of candidates from Serbia had the opportunity to take part in one of these courses, to develop professionally in Israel and later to apply the knowledge they acquired in their organisations.

Garage Lab is a hardware IoT laboratory established on the initiative of ICT Hub, BEUM Association and Jarovida, which brings together all hardware enthusiasts.

27 FEB

Serbian - Iranian Business Meeting

27 FEB

Homage To Luigi Pirandello In Serbia

The exhibition “Naked Masks – a Homage to Luigi Pirandello in Serbia” was opened at the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade in the presence of Angelino Alfano, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Italy.

Besides the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade, guests included ambassador Sem Fabrizi, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Andrea Orizio, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Brigadier General Cesare Marinelli, Head of the NATO military liaison office in Belgrade, and many Italian entrepreneurs and cultural figures in Serbia.

The exhibition presents the works of Serbian painter Andrea Aleksić inspired by the play “Six Characters in Search of an Author” by Luigi Pirandello, an Italian dramatist whose plays have been performed most in Serbia. The exhibition is one of the events marking the 150th anniversary of his birth.

A business forum of Serbian and Iranian businesspeople has begun in Belgrade.

President of the Chamber of Commerce Marko Čadež said at the opening that this marks the opening of a new chapter in the cooperation between Serbia and Iran.

Welcoming guests from Iran, Mr Čadež said that more than 70 businesspeople from almost all sectors of the economy are participating, and expressed his expectation that the meeting will lead to new acquaintances and business deals.

The Business Forum at the Metropol Hotel is being attended by Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Tourism, Trade and Telecommunications of Serbia Rasim Ljajić, Minister of Energy Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimović and Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Serbia H.E. Hossein Molla Abdollahi.

ANGELINO ALFANO, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

28 FEB

New Managing Board Of The American Chamber Of Commerce

At the General Assembly of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) the operating results for 2017 were presented, and the majority of a new managing board was elected by a vote among the member companies. AmCham awarded the traditional annual AmCham Hero Award to young Kosta Jovanović PhD, one of the best students at the Belgrade Faculty of Electrical Engineering, where he now works.

The former AmCham MB first vice-chairwoman Jelena Pavlović, managing director of Philip Morris International, was elected to the chair. In the new composition, the first vicechairman will be Branislav Savić, plant manager at Ball Packaging Europe Belgrade, while Quentin Royer, managing director of Delhaize Serbia, was elected second vice-chairman.

Representatives of member companies also elected four new members of the managing board: Nicolaas Houwert, General Manager of Hilton Hotel, Vladimir Čupić, Head of the Serbian representative office of Atlantic Group, Branko Mitrović, Telenor corporate telecommunications executive director and Marko Jović, team manager for regulatory, legal and institutional affairs at VIP Mobile. Board members Dragan Lupšić, PR and communications manager at Coca-Cola Hellenic, and treasurer Igor Lončarević, CEO of KPMG, remain in office.

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28 FEB

Day Of Finnish Culture

The Embassy of Finland marked the Day of Finnish Culture by organizing a Concert of Jean Sibelius’s classical pieces at Ambassador’s Residence. Ms. Päivi Alatalo, Chargè d’affairs a.i. welcomed the audience.

Sibelius’s pieces, including his most famous composition, Finlandia, were performed by Uki Ovaskainen, a Finnish pianist well-known to the Belgrade audience, and his son Vuk Ovaskainen, a young violoncellist who received the Artlink reward as the most perspective young artist in Serbia last year.

02 MAR

01 MAR

Belgrade Hilton Hotel Opens

The Hilton chain held the official opening of a hotel in Belgrade, attended by the highest Serbian officials, the diplomatic corps and businesspeople.

The ribbon was cut by President Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Minister of Tourism Rasim Ljajić, Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali, US ambassador H.E. Kyle Scott, senior vice president of Continental Europe Jochem-Jan Sleiffer and general manager of the Belgrade Hilton Nicolaas Houwert.

Among other things, President Vučić said that, with such a hotel and other things, Belgrade is becoming essentially a European and global metropolis.

Embassy Of Korea Hosts Crew Of Korean Film

The Embassy of Korea, in cooperation with the 46th International Film Festival FEST, organized a cocktail to mark the visit of the crew of the Korean film “Sermon on the Mount”. The Ambassador, H.E. Dae Jong Yoo and the Director of the Belgrade Festivals Centre, Nataša Ilić, met and welcomed the guests.

On behalf of the film crew, the reception was attended by director Yoo YoungUee, producer Kim SangChul, line producer Hong DoYeon, and set designer Yi JiHee. Guests at the reception included guests of the festival, as well as local guests from the world of cinema, like Milan Todorović, the only Serbian director and producer to create a Serbian - Korean co-production for the film The Rift.

H.E. DAE JONG YOO with his wife (left), NATAŠA ILIĆ and the crew of the Korean film “Sermon on the Mount”

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AFTER WORK

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM

03 MAR

First Private Wine Salon In Belgrade

Members of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce attended the first private wine salon in Belgrade “Wine Mart” in March, organised by new members of this business association – companies Revin and Wine Art. Market leaders in the field of import and distribution of wine and wine products, these two companies organised the event to mark their 25th and 10th anniversaries of operation.

On this occasion, Revin and Wine Art presented their entire portfolio, with wines from the most prestigious wine regions of the world and the region.

07 MAR

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06 MAR

Open Data Week

The conference “Open Data Open Opportunities” marked the beginning of Open Data Week, which was held in more than 10 cities in Serbia.

Opening the event, Director of the Office for IT and e-Government Mihailo Jovanović emphasised that the opening of data significantly influences the transparency, effectiveness and efficiency of the work of state bodies. “We are talking about data published on the Internet by state institutions in a form suitable for processing on a computer and for free use.

A total of 22 institutions have already posted over 200 data sets on the National Open Data Portal (data.gov.rs)”, said Jovanović.

The conference was also attended by Djordje Krivokapić, professor at the Faculty of Organisational Sciences in Belgrade and founder of the Share Foundation, Ton Zijlstra, international expert on open data, and Lejla Sadiku, open data specialist from the UNDP Regional Centre in Istanbul.

The editorial marathon #WikiGap on the theme “Women – Shadow Leaders” was held in Belgrade as part of a global campaign for gender equality on the Internet organised by the Swedish Embassy and Wikimedia Serbia.

Belgrade is the first of 50 cities in the world to organise various actions under the name #WikiGap on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March. Launched by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the aim is for women and their successes be better represented in Wikipedia and on the Internet in general. It is estimated that about 90% of Internet content is created by men, and that the number of articles about them is four times higher than about women.

“With this action we want to contribute to overcoming the gap between BRANKO RUŽIĆ, Minister of Public Administration and the representation of women and men on the Internet,” said Swedish Local Self-Government (LEFT), IVANA MADŽAREVIĆ, Wikimedia Serbia and H.E. MR. JAN LUNDIN Ambassador H.E. Jan Lundin.

#WikiGap Belgrade

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MIHAILO JOVANOVIĆ

07 MAR

SPK Elects New Managing Board

EXECUTIVE BOARD

08 MAR

At this year’s session of the Assembly of the Slovenian Business Club (SPK), Danijela Fišakov MSc was unanimously re-appointed president.

The members elected were: Branko Greganović MSc, President of the Executive Board of NLB Banka Belgrade, Dr Dragan Marković, President of the Executive Board of Triglav Osiguranje Serbia, Miodrag Stojković, Director of Eti B Srbija ETI Elektroelement dd, Ninko Tešić, General Manager of Impol, Zoran Lazukić MSc, General Manager of Profile Group Beograd and Zoran Popović of the Zoran Popović Translation Agency.

BELhospice Raised Additional €10,000 At the ninth humanitarian bowling tournament traditionally organised by the BELhospice Centre on International Women’s Day in partnership with the Colosseum Bowling Centre, €10,000 was raised to help in palliative care of oncological patients in advanced stages of the disease. The funds collected will be used for 200 free home visits by the BELhospice multidisciplinary team to oncological patients and their family members.

The tournament brought together socially responsible companies that donated funds by participating in the tournament, and 10 companies that supported the tournament organisation with donations: Makler, Apatinska Pivara, Knjaz Miloš, Karanović & Nikolić, UniCredit Bank, Puratos, Sberbank, TeleGroup, Gdi Solutions, Adecco, Meridianbet, SADE, Veolia, Bel Medic, Inpharm, AMICUS, Erste Bank, ATOS and Manpower.

09 MAR

DANIJELA FIŠAKOV

09 MAR

Jubilee 15th EDUFair

Some of the most prestigious state and private institutions from Serbia and abroad presented their work at the jubilee 15th education fair EDUfair, held on 9 and 10 March at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belgrade.

Prestigious secondary schools, faculties and universities gathered at one of the biggest international education fairs, presenting the advantages of education in their institutions. They included educational institutions from Austria, France, Slovenia, Switzerland, Canada, the United States...

6th Belgrade Irish Festival

The focus of St Patrick’s week celebrations was centred around the 6th Belgrade Irish Festival and, its theme, the European Year of Cultural Heritage; giving prominence to a common European heritage shared by Serbia and Ireland and highlighting a rich source of common experiences, values, remembrance, understanding, identity and dialogue. Numerous Irish artists participated in a diverse cultural program of theatre, history, literature, visual arts, film, music as well as a new artists Open Studio program The program fully engaged with local audiences in vivo, with numerous city structures and visitors from Ireland (and elsewhere) going green in Belgrade. A very special guest on St Patrick’s Day was the Prime Minister Ms Ana Brnabić. The Annual Irish Ambassador’s St Patrick’s Day Reception was hosted by the Deputy Head of Mission, Marianne Bolger at Smokvica, and attended by diplomatic corps, friends and guests of the festival.

AUSTRIA

JAS KAMINSKI and ANA BRNABIĆ FRANCE

USA

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AFTER WORK

SEE MORE: WWW.CORDMAGAZINE.COM As part of its outreach efforts, the Embassy of Malaysia in Belgrade opened its doors to the students of the Belgrade University’s Faculty of Political Science through the Embassy’s “Malaysia Open Day 2018” programme.

The students were provided with an overview of Malaysia’s history, political system and foreign policy. They were also given a tour of the Embassy that enabled them to get a first-hand insight of the daily operations of a diplomatic mission.

This programme is hoped to spark the interest of the Belgrade Political Science Faculty students to pursue a career in diplomacy and be beneficial MR NIK ADY ARMAN, Malaysian Chargé d'Affaires for their future undertaking.

14 MAR

Malaysia Open Day 2018

18 MAR

Balkan Japan Bowl 2018

24 MAR

Trag Foundation Awards VIRTUS Prize

For the 11th year in a row, the Trag foundation has awarded the VIRTUS prize for philanthropy to large companies, SMEs and individuals.

The winners of the award received their prizes from H.E. Kyle Scott, US ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Julia Finney, Australian ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Arne Sannes Bjørnstad, Norwegian ambassador to Serbia and Mateja Norčič Stamčar, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

The winner of the main prize for national contributions was the company Delta Holding. For contributions to the local community in which the company works, the award went to Rudnik i flotacija Rudnik d.o.o., and the prize for long-term partnership between the private and non-profit sectors was awarded to Nelt Co d.o.o. Nag d.o.o. won the award in the SME category while the award for individuals went to Milorad Jurković – Carpenter Mile, a philanthropist from Beočin.

At the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, the second Balkan Japan Bowl was held, a competition for students and pupils in knowledge of Japanese language and culture.

Only those who have been studying Japanese in an institution for between two and six years were eligible to participate. It was a team competition with teams of two or three members. The host of this year’s Balkan Japan Bowl was Ljiljana Marković, Dean of the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade.

H.E. Junichi Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Serbia, welcomed all contestants, performers and the many guests.

With traditional Japanese dances, good atmosphere and the competitors’ knowledge, this was a unique opportunity have fun and get to know the customs and culture of friendly Japan.

H.E. JUNICHI MARUYAMA

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H.E. KYLE SCOTT and Delta Holding representative