Diplomacy&CommerceNo15

Diplomacy&Commerce www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

May 2017 | ISSUE No. 15 | Price 350 RSD

WE ARE FRIENDS AND PARTNERS

9772466380002 PAGE 35

H.E. ARNE SANNES BJØRNSTAD

DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION BETWEEN TURKEY AND SERBIA

Photo: Dejana Batalović

Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia

Serbia is the Best Place in the Region for Investing Professor ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ, PhD Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure

Magic is Something You Create Yourself

MEHMET BAYRAK

Director of TIKA -Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Belgrade

SHARON LANDES FISCHER

Head of Tourist Services for the City of Tel Aviv

DIVINE BALLERINA S P E CIA L S U P P L E ME N T

Norway IN FOCUS

ASHEN ATALJANC

Prima Ballerina, Ballet Mistress, Choreographer, Coach, Teacher, and Artist seeking career growth

H.E. ALONA FISHER-KAMM

PAGE 21

Israeli Ambassador to Serbia

ED ITO RI AL

Brave New World

CO N T E N T S

Dear readers, There are a couple of ultimate dystopian novels that everyone knows. They are “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley and “1984” by George Orwell (both derived from “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin, by the way). The two societies depicted are to be feared, but differ unmistakably. Orwell’s society is totalitarian in a hard way, with citizens deprived of information, living in drab conditions of fear and hate towards the enemies and outsiders. Huxley’s society, meanwhile, is depicted as luxurious and pleasure-obsessed, filled with feelings of superiority towards others (classes, savages, past societies). And for decades both of these dystopian societies were used as scarecrows… and that is still the case. In a world so sharply divided between “globalisers” and “internationalists”, on one side, and “populists” and “isolationists”, on the other, politicians and dependent media tend to scare us with one of these dystopian pictures if “the other option wins”.

Of course, if the isolationist nationalists win, then the society will become “1984”, with constant paranoia that outsiders will harm us, whether those outsiders are transnational trade, a common currency, mega companies or simply migrants. And, vice versa, the populists warn us that if the globalisers win it will be the end of nation states, nations, individualism, all of which will be drowned in a shapeless consumerist mass ruled by big corporations, which, like in Huxley’s world, dictate what you do without you even noticing. Trump vs.

Clinton, Van der Bellen vs. Hoffer, Macron vs. Le Pen. Instead of sowing the seeds of fear that the world will collapse if the other side wins, we should analyse what the new system gives us. And we are dragged to vote by one of these dystopias, instead of finding a “third way” that is ultimately more humane than these options today.

04

18

The spy who came in for the code

Director of British international School Belgrade

WIKILEAKS EMBARRASSES THE CIA

LEARNING IS A HAPPY JOURNEY

06

SERBIA IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE REGION FOR INVESTING Professor ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ, PhD,

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure

08

Editor-in-Chief

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor in Chief

zikica.milosevic@color.rs TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Editorial manager

tanja.bankovic@color.rs ILIJA PETROVIĆ ”INDIGOCHILD” Art director

ilija.petrovic @color.rs JOVANA MARKOVIĆ Advertising manager

jovana.markovic@color.rs

VANJA KOVAČEV

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ Magazine director

12

VALUES, NOT FACTS

ZHIYU CHEN

Psychopolitics

Chief Commercial and Product Officer at AliExpress (Alibaba Group)

14

44

IGOR MIHALJEVIĆ

Prima Ballerina, Ballet Mistress, Choreographer, Coach, Teacher, and Artist seeking career growth

ASHEN ATALJANC

48

16

RIGHT ADDRESS FOR DEMANDING CLIENTS ATANASKOVIĆ & BOŽOVIĆ

Law Firm

DIVINE BALLERINA

BOXING IS LIKE PLAYING CHESS, A LOT OF THINKING IS INVOLVED NENAD STANKOVIĆ

World’s IBF and WBF champion

ROBERT ČOBAN

vanja.communications @gmail.com

Director

robert.coban@color.rs Photos

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ

GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES MLADEN SEKULIĆ

Advertising manager

natasa.nesic@color.rs DRAGANA RADOVIĆ

Advertising manager

MEHMET BAYRAK

Director of TIKA -Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Belgrade

ruza.ristanovic@color.rs

PR&Event support Nord Communications

dragana.radovic@color.rs

DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION BETWEEN TURKEY AND SERBIA

BUSINESS TO CONSUMER PLATFORM

Old concept, dirty word

Journalist, ZTZ Media (formerly of RT Vojvodina)

Diplomacy&Commerce

19

42

CONDOMINIUM

GROW A SPINE AND STAY FIRM

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

ALEKSANDRA KESEROVIĆ

Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL

Translation SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

+ Special supplement

”Color Media Communications” LTD, 21000 Novi Sad, Temerinska 102 TIN 107871532 • Matriculation number 20887303 · Phone: +381 21 4897 100 • Fax: +381 21 4897 126 Office: Vase Čarapića 3/IV/38, Belgrade • 011 4044 960

CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji Biblioteke Matice Srpske, Novi Sad 33 Diplomacy & Commerce / glavni i odgovorni urednik Žikica Milošević, 2016, br. 1 (mart)-.Novi Sad: Color Media Communications, 2016 - , -33cm Mesečno.

ISSN 2466-3808 = Diplomacy & Commerce COBISS.SR-ID 303269895

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

3

T H E S P Y WH O CA M E IN F O R T H E CO DE

WikiLeaks Embarrasses the CIA The agency, which exists to find out secrets, fails to keep them

A grip year for American spy agencies took a turn for the worse with the leaking, on March 7th, of what appeared to be a lengthy, detailed catalogue of the CIA’s secret hacking tools for turning computers, internet routers, telephones and even web-enabled televisions into remote spying devices, and for bypassing encrypted messaging services by penetrating individual Apple and Android smartphones. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy organisation posted nearly 9,000 documents and files dated 2013-16 in what it said was a first taste of a “vault” of CIA secrets.

WikiLeaks claimed that the archive was provided by a former American government hacker or contractor eager to “initiate a public debate” about the security and democratic control of cyber-weapons, viruses and malware. The group said it had redacted computer code that could be used to launch attacks, pending such a debate.

That self-justification by WikiLeaks will only further strain relations between the intelligence community, the administration of President Donald Trump and technology firms in Silicon Valley. In the final days of the Obama era, American spy chiefs assessed “with high confidence” that a trove of embarrassing e-mails stolen from officials at the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign were “relayed” to WikiLeaks by Russia, in a bid to sway the election of 2016. A month before that election Mr Trump had gleefully hailed the leaking of Clinton campaign e-mails, declaring: “I love WikiLeaks!” Days before taking office in January, Mr Trump accused American spy agencies of leaking against him, though he finally conceded that Russia might have been behind the

4

Diplomacy&Commerce

hacking of Democratic e-mails.

The new CIA leaks are a fresh blow to an intelligence community still suffering the after-effects of the release of National Security Agency documents by a former contractor, Edward Snowden, in 2013. The leaks once again highlight the trade-offs underlying espionage in the digital age. Governments want good computer security because they fear cyber-crime and hacking. Yet they also value security flaws because computers and smartphones are excellent spying tools, even in an age of strong, private-sector encryption. If spies can read files directly off a target’s screen, they need not care if it is later transmitted

by WhatsApp or similar services.

THE NEW CIA LEAKS ARE A FRESH BLOW TO AN INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY STILL SUFFERING THE AFTEREFFECTS OF THE RELEASE OF NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY DOCUMENTS BY A FORMER CONTRACTOR, EDWARD SNOWDEN, IN 2013 In another trade-off, governments rely on close co-operation with technology companies.

That is why in 2010 the Obama administration undertook to alert firms to security flaws when they found them. WikiLeaks appears to show government agents still buying and hoarding socalled “zero-day” vulnerabilities from hackers, meaning coding flaws not known to a technology product’s creators. The files show agents

discussing how to break into such operating systems as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, to extract a target’s location, audio and text messages, and secretly take over control of a smartphone’s microphone and camera. Apple said it had already patched many of the newly revealed flaws and would “rapidly” address others One of the more lurid files describes “Weeping Angel”, a program that can turn Samsung internet-connected televisions into listening devices, sending conversations back to the CIA. Other documents describe bids to penetrate vehicle control systems in cars. A WikiLeaks commentary suggested this would allow “nearly undetectable assassinations”.

If politicians are incensed that spy agencies seem unable to keep secrets, spooks can point to still another trade-off: the tension between employing hackers with the skills and cunning to design cyber-weapons, and the trickiness of enforcing discipline among workers who may not share the CIA’s culture. The newly leaked files detail codenames that refer to the Harry Potter books, whisky brands and a drug used to treat hyperactivity.

The FBI will now hunt for moles and leakers.

The CIA must patch up its systems and meanwhile brace itself for fresh disclosures. That would be bad enough, but trust is low between those agencies and close supporters of Mr Trump, who charge intelligence services with acting as a “deep state” disloyal to the president. Foreign foes have much to cheer.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

5

I NTERVIEW

Serbia is the Best Place in the Region for Investing There are no countries in our surroundings that offer better conditions for investors than Serbia, and that is my message to investors Professor ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ, PhD Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure

“I am confident that investors will have the best possible conditions for investing and business expansion in Serbia. One of the advantages that that our country has is e-permits, which have completely changed the perception of the construction segment, and have secured transparency while reducing corruption to the minimum and enabling investors to quickly acquire the documents needed to commence and complete their projects in the shortest possible period.

I would like to remind you that before this e-service was introduced in Serbia, the average waiting time for permits was 264 days, while today this period has been reduced to only five working days”.

What are the main, reform-related tasks of your ministry in the following period?

— The priority in the following period for us is certainly going to be conducting a comprehensive land registry reform in order for investors to be able to register their real estate in only a few days. Our ambition is to implement this just like we have implemented the revolutionary e-permit procedure which I am proud to say was the driving force behind the growth in the construction sector. This is also the proof that we, in the ministry that I am at the helm of, have launched and implemented reforms that our predecessors did not to or did not know how to implement for decades. We have also proved that if we work as a team, we are able to completely

6

transform certain segments.

Today, investors can obtain a building permit in five days on average instead of waiting for months on it. I am sure that the endless waiting period and the paperwork, in addition to having to go from counter to counter, often deterred investors from investing in Serbia.

After paying close attention to how the e-permit system works over a period of one year, we have decided to continue improving it.

We have also started and will continue with a comprehensive reform of railway companies. We have split the Serbian Railways into four separate companies – Srbija Kargo, Srbija Voz, Infrastruktura Železnice and Železnice Srbije

we plan to commence works on 255.1km or railways which is an investment worth approximately 856.2 million EUR. Our goal is to have a total interoperability with the EU railways, and to comply with the railways in Southeast Europe.

Which of the measures implemented by your ministry would you say were the most important for advancing the business environment in Serbia?

— All measures that we implement have one goal and that is for Serbia to join the club of the 20 top countries in the world on the World Bank’s Doing Business List. We plan to abolish the use of stamps, enable online payment

TODAY, SERBIA IS A COUNTRY THAT CAN OFFER TO INVESTORS SOMETHING THEY CONSIDER TOP PRIORITY WHICH IS POLITICAL STABILITY AD, in an effort to boost railway companies so that they could start operating along the market principles, and so that they don’t rely on state budget subsidies so much because we can use that money for other purposes.

We have ‘disengaged’ approval of loans, launched infrastructure projects that had been at a standstill for years, and started modernizing railways. Not so long ago, the average train speed in Serbia was 50km/h, and on certain segments, the trains moved at 30km/h. Today, the average train speed in certain segments is around 120km/h. This year alone,

Diplomacy&Commerce

of property tax, revoke parafiscal levies… I am confident that we are going to improve our ranking on this prestigious list and nobody can stop us in that.

In order to advance our business environment, the government has formed a working group together with the Foreign Investors Council in order to jointly come up with best solutions for companies that operate in Serbia, whether domestic or foreign. Our aim is to identify and remove all known barriers for doing business, and provide the best possible business conditions for investors.

Our success is validated by the fact that, on the last Doing Business list, our country made it to the top 10 countries in regard to reforms. We currently occupy the 47th place which is the best ranking that Serbia has had since this list exists. In only two years, we have jumped 44 places, and all credit for that should go to the implementation of electronic building permits.

What are the key advantages that Serbia offers to investors in the construction sector?

— We are working on completing a road network, and modernize railways which are very important for investors. This year, we are going to finish the construction of the road segments of the Corridor 10 which is something that our citizens have been waiting for 30 years. Once we do this, we are going to have a direct motorway connection to the borders with Hungary and Croatia, and onwards to Bulgaria and Macedonia. All that remains to be done next year is the most difficult segments which we are also going to finish pretty quickly. To illustrate the importance of the Corridor 10 for investors, let me just mention that 55 factories and production facilities have been opened along the Corridor in the last two and a half years so that the goods produced in Serbia can get to Europe in the fastest possible manner.

We are also working intensely on the Corridor 11 that will give us an exit to Montenegro. Yes, there

have been problems with this Corridor, as it usually happens when you are building a motorway, but what sets us apart from our predecessors is our readiness and determination to remove all existing barriers. We are also reconstructing the railway segment in the direction of Montenegro, the so-called Bar railway.

After the Belgrade-Budapest railway is constructed, which is a project that we are realizing with Chinese partners, Serbia will become a regional transit hub, and a part of a new transport corridor that connects Asia to Europe, which, in turn, creates an opportunity for our country to have a bigger goods transport and more new logistics centres, as well as to attract more investments.

It is important to mention that Serbia is a country that can offer to investors something they consider top priority which is political stability.

How much was the construction activity revived as a result of the said changes?

— In the last two and a half years, which is how long we have been conducting reforms, the construction sector’s share in the national

GDP grew from 4% to 5.5%. We are not going to stop until this share reaches 7% because we have enough potential to achieve that.

To illustrate this, let me quote the official CEOP data which shows that there are around 8,500 active construction sites in Serbia at the moment. To be more precise, a total of 11, 816 applications for registration of construction work have been submitted, and,

What progress has been made with the digitalization process?

— We have been increasingly transferring business operations and communication between companies and the state online.

We are going to make the old-fashioned stamps obsolete, and we are introducing new services and digitalization wherever possible.

The e-permit, that we frequently mention, was only the beginning,

IN CONDUCTING THESE REFORMS, I AM COUNTING ON THE SUPPORT FROM ALL RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS AND INVESTOR ASSOCIATIONS out of this number, 9,779 had a positive outcome. Also, 1,586 applications for technical receipt of a facility in construction terms have been submitted, out of which 1,331 applications had a positive outcome.

This just shows how important were reforms in the construction sector, and their contribution to implementation of investments and creation of new jobs because each new construction sites translates into new jobs for our construction workers.

and now our plan is to link this new electronic system to public notaries, the Tax Administration and the land registry. Our goal is to digitalize the land registry, and we have already made first steps in that direction. Also, within the framework of the Working Group for the Doing Business list, we are working on introducing online payment of property tax and electronic registration of companies with the Business Registers Agency.

Which segment of digitalization

will be most useful to investors?

— E-permit has drastically reduced the time needed for issuing of this important document in order for investors to start their works as soon as possible. We have already mentioned several times the benefits of this system. Once we establish electronic land registry, investors will be able to register their property in only three days.

We are also planning on establishing e-space, i.e. digitalization of spatial plans. Sometimes the waiting period for a spatial plan to be drawn up can last up to several years, and oftentimes they are forced. Our goal is to have them finished in the space of three to twelve months which is three to four times shorter than the current period.

In conducting these reforms, I am counting on the support from all relevant stakeholders and investor associations. I am also counting on hearing their opinions and suggestions in the next stages so that we can find the best possible solution together which, in the end, will be useful both to the state and businesses that are its part, whether they are domestic or foreign investors.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

7

PO LITIC S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ Don't go too far.

Brčko District is one such condominium

Condominium Old concept, dirty word

Overlapping territorial claims have existed since the beginning of the organised state as we know it, but they have been resolved using a wide variety of tools, some now deemed obsolete, all in favour of “French revolutionary practise”, with ‘one state-one flagone nation’ out of many ideas. But let us switch our minds to some more ambiguous solutions that also seem quite adequate: dominions, personal unions, dependencies, one-country-two-systems and... condominiums.

WIN-WIN, LOSE-LOSE, WIN-LOSE

Of course, there are solutions that please everybody, and solu-

tions that please nobody. The first are perfect, the latter are second best, as Brad Pitt would say in “Inglourious Basterds” (Tarantino English orthography, yes). And

the various levels of de facto and de jure recognitions of situations on the ground do not help. I am honestly able to find few people in Serbia who would recognise an independent Kosovo, and few people in Kosovo (provided they are Albanians) who would recognise it is the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia. Few people in Ukraine would say ‘okay, Crimea is Russian’, while there are equally few of those in Russia who would say it is Ukrainian. East Jerusalem? Best not even mention that.

Then there is the type of solution that leaves both sides feeling fairly satisfied. And these solutions, which are blurry and not particularly clear, are always the best.

Like New Zealand, for example. Is it an independent state? Yes. Is it part of the British Commonwealth?

Yes, as it is in a personal union with the UK, with Queen Elizabeth as New Zealand’s ruling monarch.

It has two anthems: the Royal God Save the Queen and the local bi-lin-

IT USED TO BE SAID: YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. WELL, MAYBE WE CAN. IT IS JUST THAT IN OUR BLACK-AND-WHITE CONCEPTS WE HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT SHADES OF GREY AND THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX then there are solutions where one side is happy and the other guy is left simply deeply unhappy. This is the worst kind of solution. Or the third best, to remain faithful to Brad Pitt. This is the case with Kosovo, Crimea, Abkhazia etc. And

gual anthem. Take Hong Kong and Macau as other examples. Is Hong Kong a capitalist haven with English as the official language?

Yes. It is democratic? Pretty much.

Is it in China? Yes, since 1997: one country, two systems. Whoever de-

signed such clever systems should be somehow awarded. These are win-win combinations, in the first case for monarchists and those seeking independent, in the second case for unitary communists and Cantonese capitalists clinging to British traditions.

CONDOMINIUM OR NOT?

And now the final question, what is a condominium in this context? It means pretty much the following: every building has two national flags (and the local one), all citizens have dual citizenship and two passports. They can choose their own, say, national football team to play. The police are neutral, as is the army, or both sides are present. You can conduct document administration according to the laws of either country; both languages, both currencies, everything dual. Both countries proudly print maps with the territory within their borders, because it is true. Some people say: I live in Country A, while some say: I live in Country B. And they are both correct.

Well, we have Andorra as a co-principality, but it is more like a fully independent country. This solution may sound strange, but I can’t see ongoing conflicts being resolved without some new Yalta, Potsdam, Berlin Congress or Versaille. Or some war. And this is a peaceful solution. It used to be said: you can't have it both ways. Well, maybe we can. It is just that in our black-and-white concepts we have forgotten about shades of grey and thinking outside the box.

NEW HEBRIDES The last high-profile case was that of the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), from 1906 to 1980.

The archipelago was a disputed territory, with conflicting claims from France and the UK, but instead of waging war properly to resolve the claims (with was a tradition at the time, and one that neither the French nor the British shied away from), the two friendly powers decided to do the unthinkable and form a joint government. It is not that the territory was going to be declared no man’s land, neither neutral nor independent, but rather it would belong to both

8

Diplomacy&Commerce

countries. To quote historical facts: “Under the Condominium there were three separate governments – one French, one British, and one joint administration that was partially elected after 1975. The French and British governments were called residencies, each headed by a resident appointed by the metropolitan government. The residency structure greatly emphasised dualism, with both consisting of an equal number of French and British representatives, bureaucrats and administrators. Every member of one residency always had an exact mirror opposite number on the other side who they could consult. The symmetry between the two residencies was almost exact. The joint government consisted of both local and European officials. It had jurisdiction over the postal service, public radio station, public works, infrastructure and censuses, among other things.”

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

9

NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPAR T UR E S ALEKSANDRA ERDOGLIJA

New president of the Executive Board of JUBANKA A.D.

in May

Aleksandra Erdoglija has taken the position of the President of the Executive Board of Jubanka a.d. in April 2017, after she had spent more than six years at the position of the Member of the Executive Board of Alpha Bank Serbia a.d.

Ms. Erdoglija started her career in Jubanka, in June 1998 within the Section for collection of funds and relationship with banks , where she spent more than four years perfecting her banking knowledge. In August 2002, she took over the leading position in the Treasury Division and remained in that position long after Greek Alpha Bank took over Jubanka.

Within eight-year tenure as Manager of Treasury Disvision, she

was responsible for management and control of the structural risks of the Bank, as well as for the control of the Department of Investment Banking. Since June 2010, Ms. Erdoglija continued her career as a Member of the Executive Board of Alpha Bank, responsible for the development and control of operations of the Treasury Division, Investment Banking Department, Legal Services Department , as well as Non-Performing Loans Divion.

She graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, Department of Banking, Finance and Insurance and is a member of numerous professional associations and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Association of Serbian Banks.

03

POLAND

Constitution Day

08

ICRC, IFRC

I nternational Red Cross Day

09 EU

chuman Day S (Europe Day)

12

ISRAEL

Independence Day

14

PARAGUAY

Independence Day

17

Diplomacy&Commerce

NORWAY

Constitution Day

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

Subscribe NOW! News, analysis, interview and commentary on events occuring in Serbia, in diplomatic and business community. Every months, in English, directly to your desk.

only

34â‚per

year!

20

CAMEROON

State Unification Day

21

MONTENEGRO Independence Day

22

Reliable and efficient information platform offering diverse useful information about local, regional and foreign investment opportunities, trends, legislation updates and researches.

YEMEN

Unification Day

24

In print and online.

ERITREA

SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF DIPLOMACY, POLITICS, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY IN SERBIA

Independence Day

25

ARGENTINA Revolution Day

26

GEORGIA

Payment instructions: www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs/subscription

Call us or send us request on: email: pretplata-dc@color.rs phone: +381 11 4044 960

Independence Day

28

AZERBAYJAN

ounding Day of the F Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan

10

Diplomacy&Commerce

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

11

PSYC HO PO LI TI C S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Values, Not Facts Why do people vote contradictorily all around the globe? thing they think is unacceptable. It could be same-sex marriage or immigrants or whatever.

STRICT FATHER

During the last presidential elections in the USA, Bernie Sanders came out with a truly baffling conclusion: many people who they tried to persuade to vote for Hillary actually voted for Trump. And, furthermore, they concurred with all the arguments presented by Sanders and his Democrats, but still... voted otherwise.

How can that be? The answer is deeply rooted in psychology. It is not the facts we’re talking about, but rather the values.

ONE ROTTEN APPLE DESTROYED THE WHOLE BASKET

But what do you mean when you say: values? What values? Let me give an example. You take an old age pensioner and, as a leftist and a social liberal, say something like “we will make your pensions higher”. Okay, they agree, great.

“We will make nursery schools free for your grandchildren”. Great!

“We will shorten the working week”. Superb! “We will make same-sex marriages legal”. And they disagree and decide they will

vote for the other candidate. “But, hello, the other candidate promises you longer a working week, lower salaries and pensions, and more expensive nursery schools.

Why on Earth would you vote for him?” “Because I oppose same-sex marriages”. “But they have nothing to do with you; you will probably never see a gay couple in your life, just let them be! Think about what

Another example was voting for Trump in Latin American communities, which was inexplicable for Democrats. Jesus! The guy basically promised to expel Latino immigrants from the country, yet an enviable number of Latinos still voted for Trump! Why? Of course, maybe Bones or Dr Brennan hate psychology, but nothing can be explained without it. In this it cases it boils down to the so-called Strict Father, as a figure. This role is of crucial importance in Latino culture, and they feel a father must be

SERBS ARE LOVERS OF STRONG LEADERS AND STRICT FATHERS, BUT THEY ARE NOTORIOUS FOR HAVING OUSTED OR KILLED MOST OF THEIR LEADERS, AND MAYBE WE HAVE THE GRIMMEST AND SADDEST TRADITION OF ALL is good for you!” “No, I would rather starve and suffer than let those people get married”.

Are we clear now? The basic point is that sometimes, as a politician, you miss the core of your electorate.

You present the benefits and try to make the benefits apply to everyone, but then some of these proposed benefits are in deep discord with the values of targeted people, so they discount all the good things and just think about how to oppose the one

harsh and strict. So, if Trump said “I will expel all illegal immigrants and criminals”, many Latino voters saw the classical family scene. One good son, working hard and legal, and one troublemaker. And here comes the Strict Father to say “No eres mi hijo! Lárgate de esta casa!” (I deliberately put it in Spanish to remind you of Televisa shows. It says: “You’re no son of mine! Get out of this house!” So, the “Good Son” believes the Strict Father is right to

expel the “Bad Son”, who is ruining the family reputation. Oh, Democrats, in their Protestant minds, forgot about the Strict Father.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

And don’t be to linear either.

Don’t forget that national and personal values can contradict one another. Serbs are lovers of strong leaders and strict fathers, but they are notorious for having ousted or killed most of their leaders, and maybe we have the grimmest and saddest tradition of all, from Karađorđe onwards: the Serbs are rebels and hajduk highwaymen.

And you never know when this will resurface, and the same goes for Ukrainians. In Russia and Belarus, the Strict Father is cool; in Ukraine, the Cossack rebels are cool. That’s why there have been so many revolutions there and why the constant quarrels with Russia. And, to complicate things even further, not all Ukrainians are rebels. Some of them, especially in the southeast, are not Cossack, but rather that area was settled by the Russian Empire. And those people like Strict Fathers, which is the reason for any clash within Ukraine.

So, before you enter politics and start considering elections or international relations, you should first analyse the collective unconscious and values of the people you are seeking to rule, as opposed to the benefits you give them or appealing to their rational mind.

EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST AND NE’ER...

Another example of the Strict Father syndrome can be seen in Europe. From Orban to Putin, Vučić to Erdogan, Kaczinski to Lukashenko. In patriarchal countries it is always easy for a politician to be positioned as a “Father of the nation” and to be “fair and strict”, punishing errors and mischief, and awarding good deeds. And the people, having this model in their heads for centuries, follow the leader, especially when it comes to Orthodox societies, where the Byzantine tradition of the “Holy Trinity” of Emperor, Patriarch and Army Commander

12

Diplomacy&Commerce

is deeply rooted in the collective mind. Why is it so easy to have Putin in Russia and Lukashenko in Belarus? Because the people like tsars! And it is “good tsar, batyushka-tsar”. It’s as simple as that.

Why it is smooth for Azerbaijan to switch from father to son with the Alievs as presidents? Because in Muslim culture that is the norm. In Serbian culture, every village had its “kmet” or “knez”, who was a local leader and also a Strict Father figure. Thus part of the problem with conservative democracies in Eastern Europe is in the collective unconscious.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

13

I NTERVIEW

Photo: Aleksandar Erbeš

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Grow a Spine and Stay Firm We are the plundered poor; people lie to survive IGOR MIHALJEVIĆ

Journalist, ZTZ Media (formerly of RT Vojvodina)

Igor Mihaljević, one of the “sharpest knives in the drawer” of Serbian journalism, was silently dismissed from RT Vojvodina, but didn’t give up. Instead, he launched his own media house, ZTZ Media, abbreviated from Znaš ti zašto (You know why!), which is active online. Here we discuss journalism with attitude, here and now.

After all the events of the last year, what is the future of free journalism in Serbia and the region?

— If the term “free journalism” means “quality”, the future is grey.

We will have bright spots in a sea of darkness, so, citizen, please swim on and thank the internet for that.

14

The countries of the former Yugoslavia (and I dub them like this on purpose, because I despise the false toponym “The Region”) are not politically literate, nor media literate, nor computer literate; nor do they possess the necessary material and intellectual infrastructure for this process to be accelerated in a tolerable long-term period. This perfectly suits the authorities in

to start hanging up first before their commanders, but I’m ultra-sceptical. We are the plundered poor; people lie to survive.

With the flood of “fake news” and the pressure of corporations and politicians etc., what is the future of free thought anywhere in the world?

— I am convinced that free thought

THE FUTURE IS, AS I SAID, IN MEDIA WITHOUT ADVERTISING … NONE WHATSOEVER the former Yugoslavia (and their partners in crime: big business, criminal groups, marketers of ideas without core beliefs and religious communities, of course), and it is to be expected that they aren’t trying to improve it. Uneducated and uninformed citizens are the easiest to rule. I wish my colleagues would grow a spine overnight and start doing their jobs as befits the role;

Diplomacy&Commerce

will survive through the efforts of individuals (united around the same idea or not) who have created a social authority with many years of high-quality work. I am inclined to accept the intense individualisation of the planet, and I would suggest the audience to follow people or media in whom they can confide. Importantly, follow the journalists who are monitored by your

opponents and help them. I have no more illusions: media houses that have an advertising sector are not, and cannot be, “free”. If your survival depends on the goodwill and quality of the State, companies and political parties, and you start to measure what you say in order to avoid advertisements being pulled as a result of negative articles or because you have a small circulation/ viewership, don’t engage in this business – get into marketing or PR instead. The money’s better and you’ll live longer.

Like back in the 1930s and ‘40s, we have the two options: neoliberalist globalisation of capitalism that works for capitalists and populist illiberal authoritarians. Is there any hope for a “third way”; true democracy and capitalism with a human face?

— No and no. “True democracy” is a process, not a state; fighting during peacetime. It is like happiness:

NEW GTC PROJECTS it does not exist in a permanent form and is manifested to us as a periodic and problematic explosion of euphoria, followed by longer intervals of emotional truce. “True democracy” is the teaching of young and old how to read the news, how to recognise a demagogue, why voting is important, and that many people gave their lives so that we could today vote and be elected as equals; reminding neighbours not to throw rubbish on the streets and painting over swastikas in doorways.

Perhaps most importantly, it is about providing examples that freedom means absolutely nothing without an assumed responsibility for an idea, word and deed.

This is abused terribly. People think that democracy is the right to think, say and do anything, but they bear no burden of criticism.

“Capitalism with a human face”…

I choked and smiled at the same time. To expect the market to act

realised they were not part of the grand design of the universe.

You established ZTZ Media in response to what happened to you and others in the past year.

Does the future of small, independent media houses lie in the internet?

— The future is, as I said, in media without advertising … none whatsoever. It doesn’t matter whether they are big or small, on paper, in the ether or on the net. What is exclusively important is the quality of work, transparency of operations and editorial policy, and their availability to the common man. You can go to Media X to be received as a human, be listened to and for your story to be explored if it is worthy of public attention.

Does urban, civic-minded, multinational, multifaceted r’n’r culture threaten the complicity of corporations, politicians and

I WISH MY COLLEAGUES WOULD GROW A SPINE OVERNIGHT AND START DOING THEIR JOBS AS BEFITS THE ROLE; TO START HANGING UP FIRST BEFORE THEIR COMMANDERS, BUT I’M ULTRA-SCEPTICAL in a humane, dignified and moral way, to reward the worthy and capable, but also to punish the lazy, stupid, or those who are simply unlucky, is a naivety; as though you could beg a lion for mercy because you make regular donations to the “Save the wild cats” association. This has been noted by all successful capitalist European countries, which are living in a variation on pseudo-socialism or social democracy. The state, i.e. we who pay taxes, cannot rely on the market as the absolute arbiter of the distribution of happiness and justice, concepts artificially created by human hands once we

chauvinists? Somehow it is the most under attack everywhere, along with the media.

— It hardly threatens them at all, because we do a terrible job. I'm afraid that the members of these cultures became estranged from the average man and treat him as less valuable, which is why the average man would rather flee to camps where they lie to him pleasantly and treat him like a king of the cosmos. People are perishable, even the smart ones fall into this trap, so I would not prematurely condemn anyone. It is not just the rednecks who voted for Trump, on the contrary.

ADA MALL AND GREEN HEART Ada Mall and Green Heart, GTC’s two new projects were presented at the exhibition "Days of Architecture - Belgrade Future", held at the International Building Trade Fair 2017

Arn Willems, the representative of GTC for this region

String quartet “Habanera”

"ADA Mall is the first shopping center of the latest generation, which will be built across Ada Ciganlija, in accordance with all latest international standards. With over 34,000 square meters and unique shopping experience, our center will offer Belgrade and Serbia brands which have not been seen in our country yet. New destinations will have five floors of commercial space and three levels of underground parking with 1,000 parking spaces. The shape of the center is derived from the shape of the lake, following the configuration of the terrain, which is reflected not only in the shape and design of the building, but also in the choice of materials that are a combination of glass and plaster in color, covered with vertical wooden elements, green walls, terraces and gardens. The opening of this modern shopping center, designed for the whole family, is planned for the last quarter of 2018. On the other side, regarding Green Heart business complex, it is a specific project

with completely unique architectural solutions and intends to return the nature to people. The green environment and the feeling that you are in the park at least 30 minutes during the lunch break, will make every working day pass with less stress, more smiles and with great results.

Green Heart will be built on 46,000 square meters, in Milutina Milankovića in Belgrade. The reconstruction of two existing facilities and the construction of three new ones will create a green oasis. All floors will have terraces, with the view over the park within the complex. Regarding the technical part, the highest standards of equipping will be applied, in line with the trend of green building" said Mr. Arn Willems, the representative of GTC for this region.

According to Arn, GTC which has so far built over 80,000 square meter, will continue with constant investment in Belgrade, in order to make it a modern hub, while introducing the highest standards in these areas.

FUTURE PLANS? Easy question: increasing the volume of readers and their donations, inserting new forms of information and entertainment on site, and purchasing technical equipment that enables sound and video production.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

15

CO RPO RATE

Right Address for Demanding Clients Law office Atanasković & Božović strives to be available to clients around a clock, offer complete solutions in a short period of time, and provide advice which is direct, clear and practical

ATANASKOVIĆ & BOŽOVIĆ Law Firm

Uroš Atanasković, Attorney at Law

The list of clients of Advokatska kancelarija Atanasković & Božović includes numerous foreign investors and large international companies, but also a number of local enterprises.

What kind of challenges your clients have to deal with in regard to company law, and what kind of demands do they usually have when they come to you?

— If we speak of company law in the strict sense, we do not see any particularly big challenges and obstacles for our clients.

The main challenges faced by our clients are those related to laws and provisions regulating the specific business sectors of their activity. Namely, in some sectors the administration and bureaucracy are still very complicated, especially compared to the EU regulations. Licensing procedures are more complex and competent bodies insist on unnecessary and redundant details.

Further, our legislative acts can be imprecise and incoherent.

Unfortunately, this is the case even with the most important legal acts, for which preciseness and coherency are an imperative - such as Labour Law, VAT Law and Customs Law. These legal gaps are not being filled by the practice either, primarily due to fact that the official opinions and interpretations of legislative acts issued by the competent ministries and other bodies are generally not binding.

The property issues are also still very present, especially in case of real estate, where some archaic forms of property (social and public property, the right of use) and pending restitution procedures are still causing serious complications

16

and uncertainty in practice.

Finally, court proceedings are still lengthy and excessively time consuming, even in case of simple claims.

But it is not as bad as it may sound, as there was some progress in the previous years.

Which business sectors your biggest clients come from?

— Although they operate in diverse sectors of economy, our most important and prominent clients come from pharmaceuticals, healthcare, energy, textile and electronic manufacturing.

In pharmaceutical sector in Serbia we represent and provide legal assistance to some of the world's leading companies by covering their day-to-day legal matters, regulatory matters, disputes and similar. We also cooperate with several regional companies engaged in distribution of medication and medical devices.

We also provide legal advisory

public procurement procedures.

We are also very active in the field of renewables and ESCO projects, and we advise an EU based client on the development and construction of mini-hydro and biomass power plants in Eastern Serbia.

Recently we handled some of the largest foreign investments in the region of south Serbia which included greenfield investments in electronic manufacturing industry, a brownfield investment in textile industry, and the like. The overall value of these investments alone will exceed EUR 40,000,000 and will secure more than 3,000 jobs in the south of Serbia.

You were educated and worked abroad, in international law firms. How big of a help is this to you in working with foreign clients today?

— Foreign clients demand superior service and are accustomed to a certain approach to business, a way of communication and quality

WE ARE PLEASED THAT OUR OFFICE HAS BEEN APPLYING THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED IN INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS, AND THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH FOREIGN CLIENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES AND QUALITY TO WHICH THEY ARE USED TO services to the most prominent privately owned healthcare systems in Serbia which own and manage various healthcare centres, hospitals and clinics.

In energy sector we provide legal assistance to some of the leading regional companies by advising them on corporate and regulatory matters and representing them in judicial, administrative, as well as

Diplomacy&Commerce

of the work process. Bearing this in mind, the engagement in major international offices was very useful and the experience gained in this way is extremely valuable.

Modern business trends require of you to be available around the clock, offer complete solutions in a short period of time, and provide advice which is direct, clear and practical. Our

Vuk Božović, Attorney at Law

office provides these services and we are delighted that we have been recognized by foreign clients as a team that approaches each case with great dedication.

Our advice is tailor-made specifically for each client and for each situation, with a focus on the solution instead on the detailed legal interpretations.

Legal profession is changing and traditional approaches to clients and businesses must follow the development and global trends in industries. We are pleased that our office has been applying the knowledge gained in international law firms, and that we are working with foreign clients in accordance with the principles and quality to which they are used to. The fact that we were educated abroad also provided us with a wider insight into the functioning of their systems, not only in terms of business, but also of general mindset of people.

Considering your existing experience in working with foreign investors, in which areas should we improve the domicile legal framework the most?

— The fact is that the legal framework can always be improved and adjusted. However, the main problems in practice occur in application and interpretation of that framework by the institutions in charge.

We believe that great improvements could be achieved through providing additional training to the personnel in charge of implementation of the legal framework, and granting them more authority in its interpretation. If a legal act is imprecise, then the competent institutions should be able to issue reliable and binding opinions .

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

17

CO RPO RATE

Learning is a Happy Journey The 20th anniversary celebration of the British International School will take place on 13 June. The school’s intention is to keep making BIS a better and happier place for our students by constantly improving the educational standards

ALEKSANDRA KESEROVIĆ

Director of British international School Belgrade

On the occasion of the 20th unviersary of the British International School we spoke with Mrs. Aleksandra Keserović the Director of BIS.

The past 19 generations of BIS graduates have entered universities worldwide. What was your recipe for success?

academic achievement. BIS alumni who have graduated from the school more than 10 years ago will also be present at the celebration, and will share their memories of what the BIS has given them, and what they have accomplished in their careers. The official celebration will be

Apart from superior education, which extra curriculum activities do you offer to your students?

— Continuing from when we started the school we will always try to instil a love of learning in our students, and a desire to think and develop beyond the confines of a curriculum. Nineteen generations of our students have entered universities worldwide and have developed successful international careers.

Learning in general is a life-long process, and should be regarded as a happy journey that enriches our personality. We at BIS encourage our students from the earliest ages to develop critical thinking, problem solving and enquiry skills. The purpose of memorising facts in the process of student learning is to integrate them into a broader picture of the subject matter. Testing is designed in such a manner as to determine what the students have really understood, and how they can apply their knowledge in a creative way. This goal is achieved by students taking ownership of their learning, and teachers both teaching and facilitating this learning.

How would you mark the anniversary, and what are your ambitions for the future?

— The 20th anniversary celebration of the British International School will take place on 13 June at the City Hall of Belgrade. The Guest of Honour on this special occasion will be Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Serbia, H.E. Mr. Denis Keefe, CMG. The programme will feature BIS Primary and Secondary choirs singing classical and pop songs, alongside the School Principal. The highlight of the celebration will be the graduation ceremony dedicated to the 20th generation of BIS students. The two best students amongst them will receive special international awards: the European Council of international Schools’ (ECIS) Award for International Understanding, and the Council of British International Schools’ (COBIS) Award for

18

Diplomacy&Commerce

ers, we abide by the school motto “Meret Qui Laborat” (Success comes to He Who Works). We strive to lead by example showing our students that having potential is not enough, and that only when combined with dedicated work and perseverance their potential will bear results.

— We believe in a holistic approach to education which assumes that a student should develop not only their intellectual, but also their social, emotional and physical skills. This is accomplished through many extra-curricular activities such as drama, chess, pottery, music, national dances, ballet, karate, capoeira, swimming and team sports. Primary and Secondary Christmas Plays are the highlights of each school year. Over the past eight years the school has used professional theatre halls.

Tell us more about your Spring Fantasy Festival

I AM TAKING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INVITE ALL WHO WISH TO JOIN US AT THIS YEAR’S BIS SPRING CHARITY BAZAAR TO VISIT OUR PRIMARY CAMPUS IN UZICKA 7A ON 20 MAY followed by a cocktail and dinner.

We have many goals for the future of BIS, and they could not fit in one article. Our intention is to keep making BIS a better and happier place for our students by constantly improving the educational standards. This includes bringing in new teaching methods and information technology resources, as well as expanding our school facilities. As administrators and teach-

— Each year the school organizes a Spring Charity Bazaar in May with a particularly chosen purpose to support a charity cause within the local community. The BIS Spring Bazaars represent an opportunity for our whole school community (parents, students and teachers), along with their freinds to come together in supporting those in need. The participants include many embassies and companies, representatives of our Parent-Teacher Friends organization (PTF), as well as representatives of our Student Council. Colourful stalls spread across the school yard feature various national cuisines and national souvenirs. There is also a stage programme which, besides singing and dancing, includes fashion show of national costumes from different countries.

I am taking this opportunity to invite all who wish to join us at this year’s BIS Spring Charity Bazaar to visit our primary campus in Uzicka 7a on 20 May. We look forward to hosting all the visitors who are keen to support us in collecting proceeds to buy beds and mattresses for mentally disabled young individuals living in a hospice in Sremcica.

C O RPO RATE

Development Cooperation Between Turkey and Serbia The relations between Turkey and Serbia are progressing well both in politics and economy.

They are further boosted by the development cooperation, which is fundamentally the area that constitutes the field of TİKA MEHMET BAYRAK

Director of TIKA -Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Belgrade

Turkey and Serbia have good relations for years and both countries consider each other as neighbouring states though they do not have common shared borders. Recent improvement in the mutual relations between Turkey and Serbia, is very significant not only for the two countries but also for the regional peace and stability.

Due to these reasons, Turkey regards Serbia as a key actor in the Balkans and therefore attaches great importance to developing bilateral relations in all fields.

Since this common perspective shared by top officials of both countries, the economic, political, social and cultural relations between Serbia and Turkey gained momentum in recent years. Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), which has been active in Serbia since 2009 through its Programme Coordination Office, is one of the pillars of this increasing cooperation between the two countries.

It is clear that the relations between Turkey and Serbia are progressing not only in politics and economy, but also in development cooperation, which is fundamentally the area that constitutes the field of our activities.

Today TIKA, through its 56 Program Coordination Offices in 54 countries, carries out development projects in 5 continents, in total of more than 140 countries. Today, Serbia is one of the most important

partners of TİKA in the Balkans and will continue to remain as an important partner in the future as well.

Strong development cooperation between Turkey and Serbia continues in all fields, especially in education, culture, health and agriculture. Since we have started to work in Serbia, almost 190 projects activities have been implemented across the country. Taking the needs and priorities of Serbia into consideration, and being primarily human oriented, we have implemented several projects to support the country`s development efforts.

We can say that TİKA applies what we may call the “Turkish Assistance Model” based primarily on

every field which is related with human being. In this regard, after the devastating floods that hit Serbia in May 2014, with a total budget of 1.350.000 Euro, in cooperation with respective office set up by the Government, we implemented river side embankment projects in 7 municipalities, constructed a new bridge in Razanj, donated equipment to 30 families and a kindergarten in Svilajnac.

Regarding education and health services which are the basic human needs, we have been constructing, repairing, renovating and furnishing schools, hospitals and health clinics in order to ensure the continuity of formal education and

OUR MAIN AIM IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR BILATERAL RELATIONS IN ALL FIELDS ESPECIALLY IN EDUCATION, CULTURE, HEALTH AND AGRICULTURE WITH A FOCUS ON MUTUAL DEVELOPMENT sincerity and empathy with its local and official partners, transparent governance and collective wisdom. Beyond prioritizing visibility, the model rules out any didactic and imperative language; instead, it embraces a communicative model of mutual learning, and offers flexible and speedy solutions on the basis of needs and priorities of our partners in Serbia.

Therefore we are describing ourselves as an agency working in

health services especially in the less developed regions of the country.

Such examples are the renovation of the intensive care units within the Belgrade Dragisa Misovic Hospital, reconstruction and equipment donation to the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department of the Novi Pazar Hospital, which was implemented in cooperation with the Dragica Nikolic Foundation. Likewise, this year we will reconstruct the Maternity Department of the

Belgrade Zvecanska Centre.

The agriculture and livestock projects are very significant for us, since almost 25% of Serbia`s work force is employed in these sectors.

Therefore, we realised approximately 30 projects in 28 municipalities, in order to improve living standards and average income of the communities living off agriculture and contribute local economies and sustainable rural development.

With this aim, we donated saplings and seeds, agricultural equipment, cold storages and drying units for the agricultural cooperatives. We provided 300 greenhouses for 15 different municipalities. We initiated a bee keeping project, which we will continue to develop in the future. Also for the improvement of agricultural production according to meteorological data through the establishment of forecasting and reporting system in Toplica region, we set up a system of disease models with meteo stations.

We are investing efforts in the development of Serbian tourism potential by restoration works such as Restoration of the Ram Fortress, Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic Fountain and Little Steps in Kalemegdan.

These projects contributes to the local economies to benefit more from the tourism activities.

Turkey, through TİKA, will take firmer steps in the years ahead building on the strong friendships and cooperation that have established already.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

19

O N M O N S T E RS A N D M A S CU L IN IT Y

With “Colossal”, Anne Hathaway Answers Her Critics Anne Hathaway is a monster—at least that’s what we’ve been told.

After breaking out in “The Princess Diaries” (2001), she rose quickly to Hollywood stardom, earning box-office victories (“The Devil Wears Prada”, 2006) and critical acclaim (“Brokeback Mountain”, 2005) in equal measure. With her soft eyes and impossibly large smile, she seemed poised to be the next Julia Roberts; America’s sweetheart for the 21st century.

Yet what followed was an ignominious, perplexing fall from grace. It is not quite clear what set it off. Maybe it was that Oscar hosting gig, in which she amped up her energy to compensate for James Franco, her soporific co-host. Perhaps it was her acceptance speech in 2013 when, after winning the Oscar for best supporting actress, she spoke quietly into the microphone words that felt painfully rehearsed: “It came true.” In Ms Hathaway, the public perceived a severe lack of authenticity, a sense she is trying too hard to win our approval and a deep, crippling lack of coolness (even her slick turn as Catwoman was not enough to rescue her). Articles were written proclaiming her to be the “most hated” and “most annoying celebrity in Hollywood”.

“Colossal”, her latest film, could be a dramatic comeback for the beleaguered star. It is not because Ms Hathaway has magically changed personality; rather, the film succeeds on a perfect marriage of story and star. It leans into her public perception, with Ms Hathaway playing a sorely unlikeable character who earns our respect over the course of the film. The film engages with our criticisms of her, deconstructs them, and then allows us all to get on with our lives.

Gloria, her character, is a whirlwind of destruction. An unemployed alcoholic who finds herself homeless after being dumped by her boyfriend, she returns to her hometown to dry out. She takes a job as a cocktail waitress at a bar owned by Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), an old school chum. It’s not the best start to her sobriety, yet it pales in comparison with the destruction that lies ahead.

While Gloria is trying to rebuild her life in New Jersey, a Godzilla-like creature is terrifying residents of Seoul, South Korea. It appears there every night and wanders aimlessly, causing havoc with no apparent purpose or motive. Now—stay with me here—Gloria quickly discovers that she is unconsciously controlling the creature through a portal at her local playground. It turns out her friend Oscar has this power as well, although his alter-ego manifests as a giant robot.

20

Diplomacy&Commerce

For those of us who have maligned her, the film offers a cathartic journey. We start out annoyed with Gloria for making such a mess of her life, but she wins back our esteem by learning to use her powers for good. It would be easy enough for Gloria to simply stop killing people by virtue of avoiding the playground portal, but Oscar emerges as a foe. He harbours a longtime crush on her and when Gloria rejects his advances, he turns villainous, blackmailing her into staying in his life by threatening to kill thousands of innocent Koreans if she doesn’t.

AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY, MS HATHAWAY HAS RESPONDED WITH POISE AND CLASS. THESE ARE ALL ADMIRABLE, PERHAPS EVEN HEROIC QUALITIES, BUT SOMEHOW THEY MAKE PEOPLE HATE HER EVEN MORE Mr Sudeikis masterfully handles the transformation, turning his charm inward and embodying a sexual entitlement that becomes the driving force of the film’s plot.

In this sense, “Colossal” taps into ongoing conversations about masculinity and gender equality. Men such as Oscar may call themselves feminists and position themselves as allies to women, but their friendship is predicated on something more nefarious. Indeed, the film addresses the idea that misogyny only exists in niche segments of the Western world: predatory and entitled forms of masculinity, as symbol-

ised by Oscar, exist in “progressive” corners of the world, too.

Of course, gendered double-standards were never hidden from Ms Hathaway, who has endured a public thrashing that men rarely receive. Like other Hollywood actresses, she has routinely received a lower salary than her male co-stars. She has been relentlessly pursued by paparazzi, and her body scrutinised and ridiculed by the press. At every opportunity, Ms Hathaway has responded with poise and class.

When Matt Lauer asked her about a paparazzi “upskirt” shot, she pivoted to a discussion of the commodification of female bodies, even relating it to her role as a dying prostitute in “Les Misérables”. These are all admirable, perhaps even heroic qualities, but somehow they make people hate her even more.

So with the world having deemed her a monster, Ms Hathaway has decided to show them, with “Colossal”, who the monster really is.

Through this merger of form and function, the film explores the tension between our celebration and support of female figures and the darker, more violent reasons for hating them.

It exposes the misogyny that has always been at the heart of the “Hathahate” phenomenon and makes a significant step towards defeating it: as Gloria battles the toxic Oscar in the final sequences, you will find yourself rooting hard for Ms Hathaway. It’s a position most of the audience won’t have been in for a very long time.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

PEO PLE & EVENT S

H.E. Denis Keefe, the British Ambassador to Serbia

180 YEARS OF UKSERBIA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS 5th April

On the occasion of marking 180 years of establishing UK-Serbia diplomatic relations H. E. Denis Keefe, the British Ambassador to Serbia organised a reception in his residence. The reception was attended by many illustrous guests from political, economical and cultural life of Serbia. Interesting feature was a presentation of Android application dedicated to the event, and the guests were addressed by the ambassador and Slobodan Marković from RNIDS who talked about the importance of digital diplomacy.

EKVILIBRIUM EXPOSITION

7th April

Ekviilibrium is the summation of the effects of mental and emotional balancing necessary to deal with images of truth and justification. In the selection of the works there are three painters included who make up the entirety entitled Enclavia selected for the pavilion of Serbia at the 57th Biennial International art in Venice. In addition to the initiators, 'BLANC / BLANK', the author of the catalog for the website is prof. Nikola Ĺ uica, from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade.

H.E. Mrs. Oana-Cristina POPA, Romanian Ambassador to Serbia

H.E. Johannes Eigner, ambassador of Austria to Serbia

Mrs. Ruth Nathalie Dr. Ebert, spouse of the German Ambassador with Mrs. Alma Hado, spouse of the Italian Ambassador

CELEBRATION OF THE EASTER HOLIDAYS IN THE ROMANIAN EMBASSY

8th April

Romanian Embassy in Serbia presented the Romanian Easter traditions that were put on display as well as traditional cuisine during an event. As such visitors were provided with an opportunity to try traditional Romanian food including cozanac and bread with dried fruit. In addition to the traditional food, coloured and decorated Easter eggs were also present- the Romanian people are famous for its beautiful decorations for the Easter eggs.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

33

PEO PLE & EVENT S

Andreja Pavlović, Executive Director of the Nordic Business Alliance

COCKTAIL OF EUROPEAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

20th April

In Belgrade, there was a big business meeting of 8 European Chambers of Commerce present in Serbia, at a cocktail party attended by 250 people. The event was attended by members of the Franco-German-Serbian and Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Belgian-Serbian Business Association, the Slovenian and Croatian Business Club, Hellenic Business Association and the Nordic Business Alliance. Cocktail of European Chambers was held on a boat restaurant Vizantija at Ušće.

FRENCH NATIONAL ORDER OF MERIT FOR TANJA MIŠČEVIĆ

25th April

The head of Serbia’s EU accession negotiations team, Tanja Miščević, has been awarded the French National Order of Merit, in recognition of her contribution to promoting European values and integration. Speaking at the award ceremony at the French Embassy, H.E. Christine Moro, Ambassador of the Republic of France, said that European integration is primarily represented by a sense of belonging, and that Serbia’s “belonging is not only felt, but alive”. “The recognition I received means that I do my job well and that they believe in Serbia in the EU and the EU in Serbia,” said Miščević.

Tanja Miščević, Head of the negotiating team with EU and Milun Trivunac, State Secretary and the president of PG6, Ministry of Economy

Tanja Miščević, Head of the negotiating team with EU and H.E. Christine Moro, Ambassador of the Republic of France

PRESENTATION OF NEGOTIATING CHAPTER 6

25th April

Tanja Miščević, H.E. Christine Moro, H.E. Leo Vincent M. D'Aes, Ambassador of Belgium and H.E. Henk van den Dool, Dutch Ambassador to Serbia

34

Diplomacy&Commerce

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) and the Ministry of Economy held a presentation of EU Accession Negotiation Chapter 6 – Company Law at the Palace of Serbia. Apart from members of the Foreign Investors Council, representatives of the Ministry of the Economy, heads and members of negotiating teams for Serbia’s accession to the EU, the event was also attended by representatives of several business associations – AmCham, NALED, SAM, CCIS and Privrednik – as well as representatives of other economic institutions.

MORE PHOTOS ON

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

WORKING BREAKFAST AT THE GOETHEINSTITUT

26th April

The Goethe-Institut in Belgrade has organised a formal breakfast for media representatives, which included a welcome address by H.E. Axel Dittmann, German Ambassador to Serbia, and also saw those in attendance addressed by Frank Baumann, new director of the GoetheInstitut in Belgrade, and Dr Bernd Schneider, who briefly presented the Goethe-Institut’s activities related to German language courses. Following the opening speeches, the hosts responded to media questions.

Fatih Mika, Turkish author, Beste Gürsu, International art & culture advisor-Curator-plastic & stage arts management, Istanbul-Turkey and Mehmet Bayrak, Director of TIKA -Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Belgrade

Christian Reissmüller, Head of Culture and Media Section, H.E. Axel Dittmann, German Ambassador to Serbia, Frank Baumann, new director of the Goethe-Institut in Belgrade

FATIH MIKA’S "THE ETERNAL LEGACY" IN BELGRADE

26th April

H.E. Henk van den Dool and Maja Gojković, Serbian Parliament Speaker

KING’S DAY

26th April

Photo: Dejana Batalović

Photo: Dejana Batalović

Photo: Andjela Grozdanić

Exhibition of engravings entitled "Eternal legacy" by Turkish author Fatih Mika was shown during April and May in the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade. In the hall of the National Library were exposed engravings featuring animals, plants and Turkish history. Mika said at the opening that Belgrade was for him a very important city, because it is here where he held his first solo exhibition. Ambassador of Turkey in Serbia Tanju Bilgic said that Mika is not new in the region. - He was here, he had an exhibition about 20 years ago, and was educated in Sarajevo - said Bilgic and invited visitors to enjoy the works which are vivid.

Ms. Kasia Pawelska, Maja Gojković, Morten Skovgaard Hansen and Tim Kartrajt, head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade

On the occasion of King’s Day, the Dutch National Day, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands H.E. Henk van den Dool and Ms. Kasia Pawelska hosted a reception. King's Day (Koningsdag) is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is celebrated on 27 April to mark the birthday of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander. The royal celebrations were first held on 31 August 1885 in honour of the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina, and the tradition continues until the present day.

King’s Day in the Netherlands is celebrated with music, street parties and flea markets, and many people are dressed in orange as a token of pride for the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

35

PEO PLE & EVENT S NALED MEMBERS SELECTED NEW LEADERSHIP

26th April

The Assembly of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development, NALED, has selected a new Board of Directors that will spend the next four years leading the alliance and its initiatives for advancing Serbia’s business environment and strengthening its competitiveness. The Assembly also selected the new composition of the Supervisory Board. The new NALED Board of Directors includes five representatives of business and three representatives from the ranks of local governments as well as one representative of civil society organisations within NALED’s membership.

Miroslav Miletić, Vice President of Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Philip Pinnington, Canadian Ambassador, Mirjana Dončić-Beaton, Executive Director CANSEE, Branka Pudrlja Durbaba, Senior sales and customer service director VIP mobile, Dejan Turk, CEO VIP mobile

LEADER PROJECT SERBIA 2017

8th May

The Canadian-Serbian business association (CANSEE) in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Canada's Richard Ivey School of Business University of Western Ontario has started free international business course for entrepreneurs “LEADER project Serbia 2017 ", in the presence of the Canadian Ambassador H E Philip Pinnington. LEADER Serbia project will last from 8 to 19 May in the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce and it will be held for the second time in a row.

11TH FEFA EUROPE DAY CONFERENCE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES 8th May

Faculty FEFA organized the eleventh consecutive conference on the occasion of Europe Day, with the support of the Delegation of the European Union, Tempus and EBRD. This year's main theme is "Development of creative industries in Serbia and the EU". The main speaker at the conference was Frank Hannigan, team coordinator for the creative industries of EBRD, together with Dušan Kovačević, the founder of EXIT Festival, Aja Jung from Belgrade Dance Festival and Violeta Jovanović from Etnomreža, as well as many others.

EUROPE DAY MARKED IN BELGRADE

9th May

Oscar Benedict, Jadranka Joksimović, Aleksandar Vučić and Ana Brnabić

36

Diplomacy&Commerce

Europe Day was formally celebrated in the Belgrade City Hall, in the presence of numerous guests.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Oscar Benedict addressed the guests. After the national anthems of Serbia and the EU, Benedict gave a speech in which he said that the Serbian nation opted for the European way 16 years ago, and so far, had accomplished quite a lot. The reception was attended by the Serbian Prime Minister and Presidentelect of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, ministers Ana Brnabić and Jadranka Joksimović and Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali.

The reception was also attended by the representatives of the diplomatic corps, political, culture, and religious communities, as well as civil society and the media.

Oscar Benedict and Tanja Miščević, Head of the negotiating team with EU

MORE PHOTOS ON

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

37

B USINESS NEWS Banca Intesa

SAM and Fiscal Council

LOAN FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ADA MALL

TALKS ON ECONOMIC AND FISCAL DEVELOPMENTS

Banca Intesa, a member of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, in cooperation with PBZ Bank in Croatia and VUB Bank in Slovakia, has signed a binding agreement with company GTC SA, in the amount of 64 million euros, for the financing of the construction of the Ada Mall shopping centre in Belgrade, representing the company’s first investment in the retail sector.

“We are very pleased to be such a major financial partner of the project, in cooperation with members of our parent group, Intesa Sanpaolo, we support the implementation of one more significant foreign investments in Serbia, which will help to create jobs,” said

Draginja Đurić, CEO of Banca Intesa.

“With our first retail investment in Serbia, we wanted to create something special and leave a lasting symbol of the city,” said Thomas Kurzmann, Chairman of the Management Board of GTC.

Carlsberg Serbia

“MIRACLE IN ČIB” MONOGRAPH PRESENTED

To mark the 125th anniversary of the brewery in Čelarevo, Carlsberg Serbia has presented the monograph “Miracle in Čib”, representing the first written document about the history of the brewery. The monograph was officially presented in the old Dunđerski mansion in Čelarevo, in the presence of numerous guests, who were addressed by the President of the Vojvodina Provincial Government, Igor Mirović, Charge

d'Affaires of the Embassy of Denmark in Serbia, Morten Skovgaard Hansen, and Carlsberg Serbia CEO Vladimir Vava.

“It is my great honour to have the opportunity to congratulate you on the 125th birthday and the publishing of the monograph,” said Mirović.

“Having arrived on the territory of the former Čib, today’s Čelarevo, Carlsberg inherited a long and rich history of 125 years. Not only Lazar, the founder of our brewery, but also the whole Dunđerski family, are known in the history of Vojvodina as being among the most important drivers of the development of culture and education in the 19th and early 20th centuries,” said Vava.

The traditional meeting of the Serbian Association of Managers with representatives of the Fiscal Council of the Republic of Serbia, organised every April, this time included the discussion of fiscal developments in 2016 and early 2017, the rate of economic growth and measures that could be applied to contribute further to the country’s economic growth and macroeconomic stability.

SAM President, Stanka Pejanović, and SAM Board Member, Branko Greganović, in the presence of a large number of members of the Association, conducted interviews with Fiscal Council representatives Pavle Petrović, Nikola Altiparmakov and Vladimir Vučković. Some of the topics discussed included: how private sector investment can be encouraged; identifying the main drivers of economic recovery and fiscal deficit reduction, able to further reduce public expenditure; whether room exists to reduce the fiscal burden; identifying the main obstacles to the further growth of companies from the SME sector.

The working breakfast with the Fiscal Council was organised in cooperation with the USAID project for better business conditions (BEP).

Israeli Embassy and NALED

ORGANISED WORKSHOPS

Coca-Cola Serbia

DESIGNSPIRATION COMPETITION OPEN

In an effort to promote young, talented artists, Coca-Cola Serbia launched its Coca-Cola Designspiration competition, inviting university students and graduates to develop unique design elements for cafés. Works can be entered in three categories: lighting design, furniture design and the design of decorative elements. Interested candidates can submit their work in the form of sketches, drawings, photos, models or 3D models and place on the www.dizajnspiracija.rs website. Winners will be selected and awarded in each of the three categories, with a cash prize of 1,000

38

Diplomacy&Commerce

euros (paid in dinars, at the average exchange rate on the day of payment) and the promotion of the winning candidates and their work at the opening of the Dev9t Festival. The contest ran from 18th April to 18th May 2017, with the names of the winners to be announced on 25th May.

The first in a series of workshops with international experts, organised by the Israeli Embassy and the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), at which local governments are able to learn how to make their cities and municipalities more attractive places to live and work, how to brand their own environment and bring their tourism offer closer to the younger generations and entrepreneurs, was held at the Belgrade City Hall. The workshop saw representatives of cities, municipalities and local tourism organisations exchange experiences with Sharon Landes Fischer, head of Strategy at Tel Aviv Global & Tourism.

“I am very happy to be here and to welcome you on behalf of the Embassy of Israel. Today we have with us Ms Sharon Landes Fischer, from Tel Aviv Global & Tourism, who will be sharing with us her experiences in repositioning Tel Aviv in the international arena by fusing its two brands – Tel Aviv Start-up City and Tel Aviv Nonstop City. I am sure you will be enjoying her views and insights,” said H.E. Israeli Ambassador Alona Fisher-Kamm.

Bambi

Hellenic Business Association

PLAZMA IS CUSTOMERS’ FAVOURITE

COACHING – FROM MANAGER TO LEADER

Plazma has once again proven to be the brand that is most trusted by Serbia. Within the traditional “My Choice” campaign, organised by the Consumer Association “My Serbia” and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia, Plazma was awarded the “My Choice” gold medal for 2017 as the favourite domestic product, as well as the Gold Medal in the “Sweets” category.

“In the year when Plazma is celebrating its 50th birthday, this award that comes from Serbian consumers is a big boost for all of us at the Bambi company. This is the seventh consecutive year that Plazma has won this prestigious award, which once again confirmed its distinguished, indispensable quality that have been able to trust in for 50 years.

In the future, Plazma will undoubtedly continue to enrich its offer, which cherishes the tradition of the favourite domestic brand,” said Nemanja Brković, Public Relations Manager at Bambi. He and Aleksandra Savić, Senior Brand Manager, received the prizes on behalf of this brand.

The Hellenic Business Association (HBA) and Piraeus Bank A.D. Belgrade have organised a seminar entitled “Coaching - Manager to Leader” for HBA members and Piraeus Bank guests. The seminar – dedicated to networking among representatives of the HR departments of Greek companies operating in Serbia, exchanging business experiences and information – was hosted by Piraeus Bank HR Manager Bojana Vesić-Antić.

The lecture section was followed by the informal section of this seminar, with a

buffet of food and drink, where guests continued socialising in the pleasant atmosphere of the Hotel Excelsior.

Stada and Hemofarm

AMBITIOUS PLANS

Sekopak Company

SERBIA OPENS FIRST DAM TO DEFEND AGAINST PACKAGING WASTE Sekopak, a leading company in the field of recycling packaging waste, has opened the first dam in Serbia to collect packaging waste in Batnjik, on the River Raška. The opening ceremony was attended by Branislav Nedimović, Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, H.E. U.S. Ambassador Kyle Scott, H.E. Canadian Ambassador Phillip Pinnington and Raška Mayor Ignjat Rakitić, as well as representatives of Sekopak and the Apatin Brewery. The newly opened network of dams is used to collect packaging waste from rivers, thereby preventing their pollution.

“Sekopak, together with its founders, should be the role model for other companies when it comes to environmental protection. This is a pilot project the importance of which is recognised by the state, and if good results are confirmed, and we believe they will, the plan is to support the opening of such dams on other rivers around Serbia,” said Minister Nedimović.

This project, worth €100,000, is funded by Sekopak, with the support of partners from Apatin Brewery and companies Tetra Pak, Knjaz Miloš, Ball and CRH, as well as the Municipality of Raška.

As one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Germany’s STADA, with its Serbian subsidiary Hemofarm, have chosen a new path of growth, with the aim of strengthening their position on existing markets and conquering new ones on all continents. STADA’s excellent operating

results enable an agreement with one of the most respected strategic partners for development, a consortium of Bain Capital and Cinven, following the global trend of enlarging the model of capital acquisitions.

The price achieved totals 5,318 billion euros, while the agreement reached is deemed as being the best both in terms of the future STADA and its employees. STADA recently celebrated a decade of successful operations in Serbia, marked by investments exceeding 200 million euros, which has raised Serbia’s Hemofarm to the level of a regional leader and a regional centre for Southeast Europe.

Ambitious plans for the further development of STADA promise to bring new opportunities and growth for Hemofarm.

Embassy of Sweden

SWEDISH DIPLOMATIC FOOD PRESENTED

On the occasion of the launch of the project “Green food of tomorrow”, organised by the Embassy of Sweden to celebrate the centenary of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Serbia, the “Swedish culinary diplomacy” cookbook was presented at the Đorđe Restaurant. Guests were served food described in the cookbook, prepared under the watchful eye of Lars Ekberg, personal chef of Swedish Ambassador in Belgrade H.E. Jan Lundin.

“Dining is a common sign of friendship in all spheres of life, also in diplomacy. Therefore, it is important that, during the celebration of the first century of friendship between Sweden and Serbia, food is the focus

of events,” said Ambassador Lundin in his address. The “Green food of tomorrow” project will see the Embassy of Sweden present events through a series addressing the important aspects of food in modern society, which refer to the entire food production process, starting from clean land and water, to waste food management.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

39

B USINESS NEWS TeleGroup

Vojvođanska Banka

FIFTH INFOSEC CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SECURITY

BEST IN SERBIA FOR KEEPING AND ADMINISTERING SECURITIES

Adequate and timely implementation of the latest IT Security solutions, in order to ensure information security with harmonised legislation and to fight cyber terrorism – is the message of this year’s fifth consecutive TeleGroup Infosec Conference on Information Security, held in Vrdnik. Conference co-organisers and representatives of the leading companies in the field of information security, such as Cisco, F5, Imperva and Radware, together with representatives of TeleGroup, presented to over 200 participants the latest technological solutions for the protection of information/communications systems from hackers, computer viruses and other forms of misuse of webbased information.

“The task of the conference is primarily educational, to warn the region about what can be expected, as well as to demonstrate possibilities in the field of prevention and protection of infrastructure and data,” said Diana Gligorijević, Regional Director of Marketing and Sales at TeleGroup.

Velux

DONATION TO SUBOTICA’S SPARTAK ATHLETIC CLUB

According to this year’s “Agent Bank in Frontier Markets” survey, carried out

by America’s “Global Custodian Magazine”, Vojvođanska Banka is the best bank in Serbia in terms of providing custody services to foreign financial institutions, i.e. keeping and administering their securities. “Global Custodian Magazine” is a leading world magazine in monitoring operations with securities globally.

“The fifth recognition in a row by one of the most influential world magazines is a great honor for us, but also confirmation that we have maintained our leader position in providing custody services. We have received the highest scores and achieved best

results in these countries. We shall continue the policy of most efficient keeping and administering securities. We will build and maintain strong relationships with clients and persevere in developing the most advanced systems for providing services, in order to once again be the best next year,” said Xenophon Damaskos, member of the Executive Board of Vojvođanska Banka.

Direct Media

RECOGNITION: SILVER WARZ FOR INNOVATIVE COMMUNICATION

One of the top award in the field of marketing communications, the Warz Innovation Award, has been won by Serbia’s Direct Media System for the project “Start, Slovenia!” In fierce competition against global agencies, the campaign of Direct Media System’s Slovenian Office won the silver award as the only project awarded in

this part of Europe. The “Start, Slovenia!” project saw leaders in their respective fields – Direct Media and partner agency BBDO Formitas, retail chain Spar and Slovenian television POP TV – all join forces to help young entrepreneurs market innovative products on the market. Designed as a new TV format in which young entrepreneurs have an opportunity to showcase their products and educate viewers about starting their own business, the series culminated with viewers choosing the best product, after which a retail chain signed a contract on placement in its outlets..

Food Bank

RECORD EASTER FOOD BANK DONATION

Danish company VELUX, a global leader in the production of roof windows, last year celebrated the 75th anniversary of the founding of the VELUX Group, while AC Spartak Subotica has been selected as one of the few organisations in Europe to be gifted six VELUX roof windows.

The honour to implement this donation was given to local sales company VELUX Serbia earlier this year, when the domestic market was celebrating its jubilee.

“Products and technologies change, but we will always remain faithful to the primary human need – to get precisely enough daylight and fresh air into the rooms where we live,” said Tamara Milovanović, director of VELUX Serbia Ltd. The importance of this donation and the changes it brings were explained by Robert Toth, director of PUC “Stadium”, who said that “the gym, which has had its windows replaced, now looks great, with far more air and light. We are confident that it will not leak”.

40

Diplomacy&Commerce

The Food Bank has received a record donation of 15 tonnes of basic foodstuffs in just one day for the first time ever. The Great Easter humanitarian campaign, “Helping Together”, was organised by Delhaize Serbia (Maxi, Tempo and Shop & Go), together with companies Štark Atlantic Group, Coca-Cola HBC Serbia, Delta Holding (Yuhor, Danubius, Fun & Fit, orchard Podunavlje Čelarevo), Victoria Group, MK Group (member companies Carnex and Sunoko), Imlek, Somboled, Unisol Group (Polimark), Moć prirode, Podravka and Nestlé, which together collected more than seven tonnes of food. The campaign also included consumers, who personally donated slightly more than seven tonnes of food in 108 shops owned by Maxi, Tempo and Shop &

Go. The “Helping Together” humanitarian campaign was organised at the Delhaize Distribution Centre in Stara Pazova, where this huge donation was formally handed over. “With company Delhaize Serbia we have long-term cooperation. It is good that they continue to recognise the importance and potential of such a humane project and contribute to it,” said Radmila Ivetić, president of the Food Bank.

Intesa Leasing and KfW

Conference ‘Learn to Succeed’

CREDIT LINE FOR MSMEs AND FARMERS

REAL ESTATE SECTOR NOVELTIES

Intesa Leasing and KfW - the German Development Bank operating on behalf of the German Government, have signed an agreement on a credit line totalling 15 million euros that will be on-lent

by Intesa Leasing in the form of favourable financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and registered farmsteads in rural areas. “The credit line, which we secured in cooperation with KfW and with support from the German Government, reaffirms Intesa Leasing’s commitment to help stimulate further economic development through favourable financing. With financing for MSMEs accounting for over 70 per cent of our portfolio, this credit facility is fully in line with our strategic dedication to

supporting this particular segment of the economy and financing clients in rural areas.

We are especially proud of the fact that, as one of the leading leasing companies in the Serbian market, we are currently the only leasing firm in the region that has established cooperation with KfW,” said Nebojša Janićijević, Chairman of the Intesa Leasing Executive Board.

The conference ‘Learn to Succeed’, intended for real estate brokers, took place at both the National Assembly of Serbia and Belgrade’s Zira Hotel on 7th and 8th April. The conference was officially opened by the Director of the Serbian Development Agency, Željko Sertić, and Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce 7 Industry of Serbia, Marko Miletić. The first day of the conference included discussion of amendments to the Real Estate Brokerage Law and the implementation of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism. The second day was dedicated to discussion with the goal of improving the knowledge and skills of real estate brokers.

Participants agreed unanimously that they should continue protecting their existing practise of charging a brokerage fee during the process of amending the Real Estate Brokerage Law. The ministry’s suggestion that the way in which the brokerage fee was collected should be changed through an amendment to the noted law was rejected by real estate professionals. The conference included a total of 185 participants and over 45 lecturers and other official speakers.

Delta Holding

RECORD FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Delta Holding has started the year with record business results. In the first quarter of this year the company generated total revenue of €120.6 million - €10.6 million more than last year. The company also received the national reward for socially responsible operations, in recognition of projects that help the society in which we live and work. The largest part of the revenue was generated by Delta Agrar (67%), followed by

Delta Distribution (27%). A farm has been built in Zaječar, with the first 50 hectares of cherry trees, with the intention for it to ultimately cover an area of 150 hectares.

Delta Agrar increased its new apple plantation, while the company received a license to export the world’s most famous club apple Pink Lady - to the Russian market. There are seven building sites on Delta Agrar farms that have been opened, while barns have also been renovated and heifers of the best race have been imported from Denmark. Another new record was also set on the Napredak Farm, where sows farrowed 34 piglets (the average is 24.5). Auto Delta won three awards in the first quarter of 2017 and Delta Real Estate hotels generated profits that were up by more than 60%.

PepsiCo

NUTRITION GREENHOUSE PepsiCo has announced an open call for entrepreneurs to take part in the PepsiCo Nutrition Greenhouse, a collaborative incubator programme designed to nurture the growth of emerging nutrition and health and wellness brands in the food and beverage sector. The new programme focuses on products aimed at European consumers and seeks to identify up to eight breakthrough brands in the nutrition domain. The selected companies will receive funds, as well as the opportunity to partner with PepsiCo experts from brands such as Quaker, Alvalle, Naked and Tropicana. Each of the chosen companies will receive a €25,000 grant and entry into the six-month incubator programme, with in-person and virtual

Societe Generale Serbia

BEST FINANCIAL RESULT EVER Societe Generale Banka Serbia greatly improved its results in 2016. The Bank’s post-tax returns peaked at 3.7 billion dinars (29.9 million euros) - up 80 per cent year-on-year, while its consolidated result, which includes related companies Sogelease Srbija and Societe Generale Osiguranje, topped 3.8 billion dinars (31 million euros), up 73% compared to 2015. This also represents the best operational performance of Societe Generale since 1991, when it opened as the first bank in Serbia with majority foreign ownership. Furthermore, in 2017 the Bank marks the anniversary of its presence on the local market – 40 years since it opened its representative office in Belgrade, back in 1977. Societe Generale Bank, which is committed to innovation at the global and local levels, has organised a series of workshops and contests to promote the culture of innovation, including most notably the first Fintech Hackathon and Open Innovation Challenge, which included participants of various profiles.

events, including being paired with executives whose industry expertise can help them address their immediate market challenges in order to achieve accelerated growth in the marketplace. At the end of the programme, one winning company will be awarded a €100,000 prize to continue its expansion.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

41

xCEED CONFERENCE

IN T E RV IE W

Belgrade, 17-19 May, Metropol Palace

ROADMAPPING THE DIGITAL (R)EVOLUTION

BUSINESS TO CONSUMER PLATFORM

The first finance and FinTech event in Central and Eastern Europe organised by financial institutions for financial institutions will be held in Belgrade from 17-19 May

AliExpress is interested in Serbia and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe because we believe people in those countries would enjoy using our platform

ZHIYU CHEN

Chief Commercial and Product Officer at AliExpress (Alibaba Group)

Technology has been making its way into our business for years, however, particularly the finance sector has never experienced the speed or volume of new changes and innovation that is currently coming to market.

Fintech (financial technology) is one the most dynamic and fastest growing sectors in Europe, but the hardest to get right. Adopting technologies but also methodologies and

to plan and execute your digital transformation projects and create a winning formula for your FinTech ambitions. xCEEd is the only FinTech conference dedicated to providing financial service companies from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) with “hindsight benefit” from the world’s FinTech capital- United Kingdom. xCEEd, presented by Paneleven in partnership with the UK’s Department of International

XCEED IS THE ONLY FINTECH CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO PROVIDING FINANCIAL SERVICE COMPANIES FROM CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE philosophies dedicated to creating and disrupting businesses is not a “natural fit” for traditional, risk averse, fast follow financial services companies.

Taking place in May 2017 in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, xCEEd, will introduce banks, insurers, regulators, telcos and retailers from the region with UK’s FinTech pioneers – each at the cutting edge of digital transformation in UK banking - to provide a blueprint of how

42

Trade (DIT) and Emerging Payments Association (EPA), will become the annual discussion point for the entire CEE FinTech community.

This three-day event is a mix of keynote sessions from the UK leading banks, insight from regulators and challengers, interactive panel debates and live demonstrations from the UK’s hottest FinTech start-up, covering a range of topics; from user axperience to RegTech and Blockchain. .

Diplomacy&Commerce

Choosing to attend xCEED was therefore a natural fit for us to share some our work in payments, and also to learn more about the payments scene in the region, said Zhiyu Chen, Chief Commercial and Product Officer at AliExpress, exclusively for the D&C magazine.

What made Alli Express so popular in Serbia? Also in the world? What is the secret?

— AliExpress is popular in Serbia and across the world for a variety of reasons. Firstly, we have a very wide range of products, which means people buying on AliExpress can find products they can’t find elsewhere. Secondly, we are

in Serbia, citizens or businesses?

— AliExpress is a business to consumer platform, so our biggest customers are naturally individuals who are looking for a different kind of shopping experience.

What is the Alliexpress interest for Serbia and the region?

— AliExpress is interested in Serbia and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe because we believe people in those countries would enjoy using our platform.

We also see significant opportunities for the growth of e-commerce, fintech and other technology and data enabled services in the region over the coming years and we would hope to share our experience in other countries to help aid that development.

Why did you choose xCEEd?

— Payments is one of the most important parts of our business.

If people are not able to pay for their products, then they can’t buy from AliExpress, so we put

WE TRY AND FOCUS ON PROVIDING OUR USERS WITH HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS AT GOOD PRICES. SOMETHING EVERYONE LIKES

not only focused on selling our products, we also want to give people visiting AliExpress an entertaining and social experience so they feel part our community. We often hear this when we get feedback from our users. Finally, we try and focus on providing our users with high quality products at good prices. Something everyone likes.

Who are your biggest customers

a big focus on having the correct payment infrastructure in all the regions we operate in. We are also a technology company and we like to support and enable innovative new payment methods that make life easier for people using AliExpress. You can see partnerships we have had with P24 in Poland and Ideal in the Netherlands as examples of how we work with payments companies.

A BU DDH IS T T YCO O N

China’s HNA Group Goes on a Global Shopping Spree Its investments range from Hilton Worldwide to Deutsche Bank

Now it is a conglomerate with more than $100bn-worth of assets around the world. But HNA Group started life as a small local airline.

Chen Feng, the Chinese company’s founder, led a coalition including private investors and the government of Hainan, a southern province, to launch Hainan Airlines in 1993.

Despite some help from the local government, the upstart firm was an outsider then. The central government chose three big state-run airlines to receive favoured landing slots, lavish subsidies and other advantages. The scrappy Mr Chen was undeterred. With $25m in early funding from George Soros, an American billionaire, he carved out a profitable niche.

Since then, HNA has grown quickly, mainly through acquisitions. It reported revenues of 600bn yuan ($90bn) last year. In 2016 it acquired a 25% stake in America’s Hilton Worldwide for $6.5bn and paid $10bn for the aircraft-leasing division of CIT Group, a New Yorkbased financial firm. This week it bid nearly $1bn for Singapore’s CWT, a logistics company.

Most deals have been in industries adjacent to its core business, such as travel, tourism and logistics. But some recent purchases have raised eyebrows for being more distant. It spent $6bn last year on Ingram Micro, an information-technology outfit based in California.

Money has also gone into Deutsche Bank. It is rumoured to be bidding for Forbes, an American magazine. Some people suspect that these

deals chime with China’s industrial policy more than HNA’s own corporate logic.

Yet HNA is not a classic state-owned enterprise. The Hainan government retains a big stake in it, but HNA has traits that distinguish it from state-owned enterprises, which tend to be sclerotic and run by bureaucratic grey men.

It has adopted professional management practices. Mr Chen has trained his employees in Six Sigma, a management method popularised by Jack Welch, a former boss of General

IT IS RUMOURED TO BE BIDDING FOR FORBES, AN AMERICAN MAGAZINE. SOME PEOPLE SUSPECT THAT THESE DEALS CHIME WITH CHINA’S INDUSTRIAL POLICY MORE THAN HNA’S OWN CORPORATE LOGIC Electric, to eliminate waste; and in a financial methodology that scrutinises investments for economic value added. Hainan Airlines is considered the best Chinese airline. Mr Chen, a Buddhist scholar, has also imprinted traditional Chinese philosophies onto the company’s culture. When it takes over a firm he leads new executives in a recitation of HNA’s core values, which include “love and devotion”. HNA typically does not fire the top brass at firms it acquires, nor does it force big lay-offs.

Mr Chen certainly seems skilful at managing the Chinese authorities. HNA is presenting this week’s bid for CWT as part of President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” geopolitical strategy, for example. It is clever to play the political card given that the state is tightening control of outbound investment, which could hamper the company’s style, notes a Chinese business expert. A clampdown on foreign deals by Chinese regulators, who are worried about capital outflows, has led to the cancellation of dozens of announced acquisitions by Chinese firms.

But HNA is having no trouble getting the money and approval to do lots of big deals—it has spent over $40bn on acquisitions in the past three years. Indeed, Mr Chen appears to have the advantages of a state firm, including cheap access to capital, without the disadvantages, such as officials telling him how to run his company, says a seasoned China hand. In this, he reckons, HNA is becoming “a lot like Huawei”, a telecoms-equipment firm.

Mr Chen should be flattered by the comparison to one of the country’s most successful multinationals. But he should also recall that a backlash against Huawei’s perceived closeness to China’s leadership led to its blacklisting by America’s government.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

43

INTERVI EW Text: SONJA LAPATANOV

DIVINE BALLERINA

One of the most influential dancers and choreographers of the 20th century, José Limón said that „dancers are lucky to have the most eloquent and miraculous of all instruments: the human body”

ASHEN ATALJANC

Prima Ballerina, Ballet Mistress, Choreographer, Coach, Teacher, and Artist seeking career growth

Both in ballet and in artistic dance generally, the artist who has freely and self-consciously opted for a certain physical condition is truly a great one. In order for such conscience to be able to develop, dance, whichever type it might be, requires enormous work.

The reason why Ashen Ataljanc looks so powerful is that she has discovered her own corporeality and individuality that didn’t fit into any format and that went against the required score instrumentation. She understood, perfected and thoroughly explored her body, and, most importantly, made it a vessel that would carry a single, clear, unique idea.

The Serbian Prima Ballerina, Ashen Ataljanc is one of those artists who have left a deep impact both on the Serbian ballet stage, as

44

well as on the ballet stages of the former Yugoslavia and the world.

She was born in Belgrade in 1971.

She has two sisters Danusja and Lora Sevan Ataljanc, and a brother Gabrijel Ataljanc. She often says that she has parents of the same nationality. Her mother Gordana, who is a teacher, is a Serb, and her

father Gabrijel, a doctor, a poet and an athlete, is an astonishing combination of the Ukrainian, German and Hungarian gene pool. Apart from the Serbian language, her family regularly spoke Hungarian and German languages too. Ashen attended a gymnasium and the Luj Davičo ballet school where the

THE NEW SURROUNDINGS COMPLETELY REJUVINATED ME. I DID NOT FORGET CLASSICAL BALLET WHICH CONTINUED TO LIVE IN MY VERY BEING. I JUST SURRENDED MYSELF TO A NEW, CONTEMPORARY DANCE EXPRESSION

Diplomacy&Commerce

teachers immediately spotted her exceptional talent. Tall, leggy, flexible, expressive, dedicated, persistent and diligent with high jumps, long and lean muscles and flawless figure, even Michelangelo would have been inspired by her. Even as a child, Ashen Ataljanc was considered a God’s gift, a perfection.

Once you graduated ballet school at the age of 16 you were immediately accepted into the ballet troupe of the National Theatre in Belgrade.

— That’s how it all started. Only a year later, I became the youngest soloist in the troupe in the history of the National Theatre. Soon after, I was given lead roles from the classical ballet repertoire, and my career started to take off. More leading roles came after, as well as those that were especially created for me.

The city was abuzz with the stories about new classical ballet star, Ashen Ataljanc.

— It all started with my role as the Queen of Dryads in the Don Quixote ballet, and the role of Nikiya in La Bayadère. When I turned 20, my dream of dancing as Odette and

Odile in Swan’s Lake came true. I became the youngest ballerina to perform in the roles of both White and Black Swan, and my interpretation brought me an award that coincided with the 120th anniversary of the National Theather, as well as the title of prima ballerina in 1991. After that I danced in Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Winter Dreams, The Resurrection, The Lady of the Camellias, Samson and Delilah, Isadora Duncan, Carmen Suite, Vain Precautions and others.

You conquered Belgrade as a very young ballet dancer, and every ballet you danced in was a sort of a gift to the Belgrade audiences and your fans.

— I was not aware of my own popularity because everything happened so quickly. I was admired by everybody – my peers, critics, ballet lovers and fans of all generations who showered me with flowers, beautiful messages and gifts. My unusual gift as a dancer was noticed by ballet experts in the former Yugoslavia and the world. I and my then stage partner, Konstantin Kostyukov won the first prize at the world ballet competition in Osaka.

Soon after that, I became the guest

sional and social awards and recognitions, and I have had critical reviews that one can only hope to have. At the age of 21, I became the youngest prima ballerina in the National Theatre.

You always spoke so passionately about the life path your have chosen – the one of dance.

I WAS NOT AWARE OF MY OWN POPULARITY BECAUSE EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. I WAS ADMIRED BY EVERYBODY – MY PEERS, CRITICS, BALLET LOVERS AND FANS OF ALL GENERATIONS WHO SHOWERED ME WITH FLOWERS, BEAUTIFUL MESSAGES AND GIFTS ballerina in the Israeli Ballet from Tel Aviv, and in Uzbekistan, at the festival in Tashkent. The celebrated ballet dancer, Alicia Alonso invited me herself to perform at the Ballet Festival in Havana.

Did you enjoy the glowing reviews you were getting?

— Of course I did. I had worked hard and tried to dance to perfection in every role. It is nice when somebody notices and commends such work. It was magnificent to hear „Bravo, Ashen!“ and thunderous applause, cheers and chants from the audience. I have received numerous, well-deserved profes-

— One should never limit themselves to only one type of dance for all times. The best type of dance is the one that completely expresses the desired meaning at the given moment, while the most natural dance is the one that corresponds to the idea you want to convey in the most plausible way.

In the mid-1990s, you felt the anxiety stemming from the chaotic atmosphere that ruled the National Theatre back then which was just a reflection of the overall situation in the country.

All you wanted to do is to dance which you were not allowed to do at your principal ballet troupe at that time.

— In search for new artistic challenges and the need to work with the global world teachers and coreographers, I stationed myself

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

45

in Munich, at the Bavarian State Opera. I left because I couldn’t wait any longer. After the stint in Munich, I returned to Belgrade.

Although, the Belgrade audience was thrilled to see me back on the stage, I felt prisoner in this vicious cycle that has enveloped the chronically ill Belgrade Ballet.

It became all clear too me that nothing was as it used to be. My decision to leave became irrevocable very soon after that. I went to the Berlin State Opera where I performed as a soloist in the then repertoire; in ballets that were coreographed by Rudolf Noureev, Patrice Bart, Peter Martins, Pierre Lacotte and Michel Fokine. After

be directed by Mauro Bigonzetti, who went on to direct my many performances in neo-classical and contemporary ballet. During the six years of being with Aterballetto, I worked with the best ballet dancers and choreographers, and had an average of 110 peformances annually. The troupe often prepared new, upcoming performances during long tours.

You were quoted as saying that the years you spent with Aterballetto were some of the best in your career.

— I enjoyed my personal and professional transformation that happened back then which helped

to realize that, at that time, you definitely left the world of classical ballet?

Novi Sad, Random Dance Company from London and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens from Montreal.

— The new surroundings completely rejuvinated me. I did not forget classical ballet which, whether I wanted or not, continued to live in my very being. I just surrended myself to a new, contemporary dance expression, and was visibly happy about it. I truly enjoyed in my dance choices.

Dancing gives joy and elation to everybody who wants to be a part of it or observe it. It nourishes the soul and elevates human spirit to the level of absolute freedom.

That was a milestone for me that marked my life and career.

— That was a collaboration that I plan to continue, to the satisfaction of our audiences who have not forgotten me. I have also cooperated with the BITEF Dance Company from Belgrade and performed in the unforgettable contemporary dance pieces like Leo Mujić’s ‘Sonets’, Snježana Abramović's ‘If We All Hush Down A Little’, Edward Clug’s ’Divine Comedy’ and Mauro Bigonzetti’s ballet ’Songs’ which was performed in the National Theatre.

When you came back to Belgrade, as a prima ballerina with the vast international experience and an artist of an enviable reputation, you planned on celebrating 20 years of your career at the National Theatre, which was „the birthplace“ of your artistic persona.

In October 2011, you founded the Ashen Ataljanc Dance School which brings a brand new understanding to dance art in our country. The school, based in Senjak, in the Majdan Children Culture Centre, has been open for 7 years now, and has achieved notable results and great successes.

— After almost three decades of the international career, I have

THE NEW SURROUNDINGS COMPLETELY REJUVINATED ME. I DID NOT FORGET CLASSICAL BALLET WHICH, WHETHER I WANTED OR NOT, CONTINUED TO LIVE IN MY VERY BEING decided to engage in individual work preparing dancers for competitions, working with professional dancers on their roles, working with students both on the classical and contemporary repertoire, as well as individual specialisation through master classess. We have accomplished exceptional results, won numerous awards, medals and scholarships, and created an opportunity for the students of the Ashen Ataljanc Dance School to enroll into prestigious ballet schools abroad.

two years, my colleague Roland Savković and I came back to Belgrade where I danced in the role of Kitri in Don Quixote, the role which I wowed Belgrade audiences with in the beginning of my career.

We received a star reception from the audience back then with a thunderous applause and standing ovation. In 1999, accompanied by the air raid sirens, omnipresent fear, power outages and bombs, I danced Dalilah, ostensibly peaceful, with then principle dancer Denis Kasatkin who was Samson in the National Theatre. My audiences will forever remember that.

There was a complete U-turn in your career after you watched a video cassette of „Babylon“, a ballet directed by Tomaž Pandur, which had a profound influence on you. You realized than that that was someting you really wanted to do. Your life path and natural curiosity took you to the renowned ballet company Aterballetto, in the town of Reggio Emilia, near Bologna.

— My first encounter with this company happened when I was only 14. Back then, I couldn’t even imagine that I would become its member one day, and that I would

46

me to develop a new approach to dance, life... I loved my encounters with marvelous landscapes, travels, working with Mauro, and living in a country where the sun always shines. I met some unusual people and the biggest ballet stars, I performed on the most important stages in the world, and most importantly, I came to realize that dancers are missionaries, willing and ready to promote culture and art through the universal language of music and dance all across our planet.

Is it true that all of the people that had admired you as a classical ballerina actually came

Diplomacy&Commerce

— Well, I had no support from the then management to do that.

I marked my personal jubilee, in 2007, in the Terazije Theatre with a performance in La Capinera, coreographed by Michele Merola. The same year, I became a freelance artist and continued my career as a ballet teacher. I also started collaborating with choreographer and director of the ballet academy Accademia Danza from Milan.

During that period you have also collaborated with other professional ballet companies as a guest teacher, including the Serbian National Theatre from

As always, a decision to change has always come from the core of your being including the decision to leave Aterballetto which you had considered your home.

— Although I was at the peak of my career, I thought it was time to change. I wanted to start a family, become a mother and try parenthood. As always, this dream and my most important role in life came true very quickly. My family is my sanctuary, and my children are my biggest teachers. They teach me to keep dreaming, to give unconditionally, and to love this moment that I call my life! They teach me gratitude. They teach me hope “that gives you goosebumps”, to quote poet Miroslav Mika Antić.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

47

CO RPO RATE

BOXING IS LIKE PLAYING CHESS, A LOT OF THINKING IS INVOLVED

One cannot be world champion unless intelligent

NENAD STANKOVIĆ

World’s IBF and WBF champion

Nenad Stanković has achieved things that most people can only dream of. He was a former Yugoslav champion, a European champion twice, and four times world IBF and WBF champion. What awaits him is a fight for the world WBA PABA champion will take place on the island of Mykonos in late May. What is so special about this fight is that, for the first time ever, it is taking place on a boat.

The match on Mykonos is undoubtedly going to be a magnificent event for the spectators.

Have you been preparing especially for it? What kind of results do you expect to achieve? Who is your toughest competitor?

— The preparation was exhaust-

ing and it will finish just before the start of the match. Of course, as a world champion, I believe in myself and expect victory. My opponent comes from Georgia and his name is Beka Aduashvili. This is going to be a huge event with a diverse programme, and, for the first time ever, it is going to take place on a boat. We are talking about a cruise ship for 7,000 people. We expect guests from all over the world including actors, singers, athletes, diplomats, ambassadors, politicians and many others. A considerable number of TV stations are coming to report about the event.

You were a champion in the former Yugoslavia, twice European champion, and four times world IBF and WBF champion. Still, people say that the first victory is the

48

sweetest one. You won your first title in Trebinje in 1999 when you became a Yugoslav champion.

You also said that you were not favourite to win in that match.

What do you feel now when you think back to that victory?

— I only have great memories of that match. It was my first ever title and one of my favourite fights of which I am very proud. I did not prepare much for it. The audience was not indifferent to my experience and quality, and they supported wholeheartedly. My opponent was a boxer who had been trained for years by one of the top ex-Yugoslav boxers, Miodrag Stojanović Gidra who was thought to be one of the strongest fighters in this part of the world, and who even made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for making the most number of pushups in 10 sec-

Orthodox Church. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic gave you the state flag as a gift for your results, and General Diković gave you the Serbian Army plaque.

Christine Schweitzer presented you with an award on behalf of the German Parliament. Are there any other recognitions that you would like to receive?

— I cherish any award or recognition I have received because when you give it your all, regardless of the job you do, and when you achieve more than it has been expected of you, even impossible, you are setting a good example, and people recognize and appreciate that. I have many plans, but boxing remains in my heart. It is my wish to share that with others.

A documentary film about my life and my sporting career, which is currently in the making, comes at

OF COURSE A PERSON NEEDS TO BE CHARITABLE TOO. THAT, IN ITSELF, IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR. IT IS ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE AND SEE HAPPINESS ON THEIR FACES onds – he did 50. After the match, the late Gidra called me and congratulated me on winning. He said: “You are the best boxer I have ever seen, and you have beaten one of the top boxers despite not training much.” He then said: “I wonder what you would have been like if you had prepared for that match. I take my hat off to you. Well done!

You are a Serbian legend.”

the right moment. It will be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival.

I would like it to attract attention and receive an award which would be of special importance to me. I am also planning to start preparing for a world champion title match in London. With the great support and cooperation from my team, we want to train with the British boxing champion, Lennox Lewis.

You are the first athlete to have been crowned by the Serbian

You are a member of the Serbian Development Academy. How

Diplomacy&Commerce

much does education actually help athletes in their careers?

— Education is one of the most im-

portant things in life of any man, including an athlete. Athletes are people who are educated, courageous and have the sporting spirit. The same goes for boxing. You cannot be a world champion if you are not intelligent. Boxing is like chess, in that respect. There is a lot of thinking that goes on in the boxing ring.

All of your matches have had a charity side to them. Do you think that a top athlete should be motivated by something else than just money? What are you guided by?

— Of course a person needs to be charitable too. That, in itself, is a great motivator. It is absolutely priceless to make people smile and see happiness on their faces.

You have been quoted as saying that one “should leave other sports on time, but boxing before time”. Do you think that you will remain in boxing even when you stop doing it actively?

— Boxing has been my big love and

always will be. One day, when I say farewell to boxing, it will remain in and around me because it is my life and I don’t want to change that.

I just want to share it with people who are going to recognize it. The only way to do this is to open sports academies in several locations in Serbia. I have been working a lot on that and we are nearly finished with preparing for the launch. My boxing gloves and many awards and recognitions will definitely find a special place in them.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

49

KOLARAC

C ALEND AR & NE W S

Concert hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FOR CONNOISSEURS 5 May 12, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Vladimir Kulenović

Conductor: Vladimir Kulenović Soloist: Itamar Zorman, violin

FOR BEGINNERS 4 May 19, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Michail Jurowski

Conductor: Michail Jurowski

THE PHILHARMONIC THEATRE 5 Maz 25, 19:00

Belgrade Philharmonic Hall

CONCERT PROGRAMME May 2017

Friday, 5th at 20.00 Concert Hall

INTERNATIONAL BELGRADE CHOIR FEST

Production: Society for stagemusical activities Mega Art SM Free tickets Saturday, 6th at 12.00 Concert Hall

CONCERT OF MUSIC SCHOOL PETAR KONJOVIĆ

Admission free

Sunday, 7th at 11.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Concert of new works for piano and accordion Katarina Radovanović Jeremić, piano, Miodrag Đorđević, accordion Aleksandar Aleksandrović, accordion Programme: Tatjana Milošević, Branka Popović, Dragana Jovanović, Miroslav Miša Savić, Ivan Brkljačić Production: Music Centre Monday, 8th at 20.00 Concert Hall

RTS SYMPHONY

ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Stanko Jovanović Maša Dragićević, piano Programme: Draško Adžić, Saint-Saens Production: RTS Music Production Wednesday, 10th Music Gallery

CYCLE: ENCOUNTER WITH AN ARTIST

Milan Popović, harpsichord Production: Music Centre Admission free Wednesday, 10th at 20.30 Concert Hall

BOŽO VREĆO

vocal, Marko Luis, as guest Programme: sevdah music/ Traditional Bosnia Music Production: NOTICA DOO, Marko Kašljević Friday, 12th at 20.00 Concert Hall

FOR CONNOISSEURS

Conductor: Vladimir Kulenović Soloist: Itamar Zorman, violin Programme: A. Webern, A. Berg, J. Brahms Production: Belgrade Philharmonic Information tel. 2630.744 Belgrade Philharmonic Saturday, 13th at 20.00 Concert Hall

SEVDAH MUSIC/ TRADITIONAL BOSNIA MUSIC

50

Diplomacy&Commerce

Damir Imamović i Sevdah Takht Production: RE Production Sunday, 14th at 11.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Youth Super Orchestra Conductor: Jelena Šušnjić Production: Music Centre Sunday, 14th at 20.00 Concert Hall

AN EVENING OF MUSIC AND POETRY

Petar Božović, actor and guests: Matija Bećković, Igor Dunjić i Crne mambe Monday, 15th at 21.00 Concert Hall

BARCELONA GIPSY BALKAN ORCHESTRA

Production: Music Centre Tuesday, 9th at 20.00 Concert Hall

CONCERT OF MUSIC SCHOOL JOSIP SLAVENSKI

Wednesday, 17th at 18.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: MUSIC WORKSHOP

Milan Milić, piano

Production: Music Centre Admission free Wednesday, 17th at 20.30 Concert Hall

RUSSIAN JAZZ IN BELGRADE

Oleg Kireyev, saxophone & guests Thursday, 18th at 20.00 Concert Hall

MONTENEGRIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Ratimir Martinović, piano Production: Embassy of Montenegro Friday, 19th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC

Conductor: Michail Jurowski Programme: W. A. Mozart, D. Shostakovich Production: Belgrade Philharmonic Saturday, 20th at 20.00 Concert Hall

THE CLARINOTTS

Ernst, Daniel and Andreas Ottensamer – the Principal Clarinettists of the Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras.

Christoph Traxler, piano Programme: Mozart, A. Ponchielli, Shostakovich, Bizet, B. Kovács, F. Cibulka Production: CEBEF

Sunday, 21st at 22.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Concert of professors and students of Faculty of Music Production: Music Centre Sunday, 21st at 20.00 Concert Hall

FROM BACH TO BAUMANN

New Symphony Orchestra Makris Conductor: Predrag Gosta Soloists: Srdjan Vukašinović, accordion (Switzerland), Vasa Vučković, clarinet, Dušan Kostić, double bass, Urnin Nes Majstorović, horn Programme: Bach, Vivaldi, Bottesini, Baumann Wednesday, 24th at 18.00 Music Gallery

CYCLE: MUSIC WORKSHOP

Production: Music Centre Friday, 26th at 20.00 Concert Hall

KEMAL GEKIĆ

piano Production: Metropolis Saturday, 27th at 11.00

Concert Hall

SMALL SCHOOL OF BONTON /HOW TO LISTEN TO CONCERT

Sensartika Trio Host: Miloš Milovanović Production: Music Centre Sunday, 28th at 11.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Chamber Orchestra Amoroso, Leskovac Conductor: Rade Pejčić Katarina Miljković, flute, Petar Pejčić, cello Programme: Hendl – Halvorsen, J. Sibelius, J. Klengel, A. Vujić...

Production: Music Centre Sunday, 28th at 19.00 Concert Hall

TRADITIONAL MUSIC – GUSLE Production: Serbian Association of Gusle-Players Tuesday, 30th at 21.00 Concert Hall

TAMBURITZA FESTIVAL

Wednesday, 31st at 18.00 Music Gallery

CYCLE: MUSIC WORKSHOP

Sofia di Somma, violin Production: Music Centre Admission free

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

51

52

Diplomacy&Commerce