Diplomacy and Commerce No. 21 by Diplomacy&Commerce magazine

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November 2017 | ISSUE No. 21 | Price 350 RSD

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DEFENCE IS FUTILE, JUST BREATHE IN

JUGOSLAV ĆOSIĆ

Director of N1 TV station

WE NURTURE RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONALISM

20 NOVOSADSKI OCT

OKTOBERFEST

page 39

IMPRESSIVE TURNAROUND E X CLU S IV E

JELENA BULATOVIĆ Executive Director of SAM

WHEN THE OLD MEETS THE MODERN

JAMES ROAF

Head of the IMF mission for Serbia

GLOBALIZATION IMPOSES NEW CHALLENGES IN CULTURE VLADAN VUKOSAVLJEVIĆ

Culture and Information Minister

Belgium

Greece

IN FOCUS

SLOBODAN TRKULJA Musician

H.E. LEO D’AES

Belgian Ambassador to Serbia

H.E. ELIAS ELIADIS

Ambassador of Greece to Serbia

ED ITO RI AL

CO N T E N T S

Judge Dredd Strike Again Dear readers, The last month was deeply marked by the infamous speech of Nobel prize winner Herta Müller in Belgrade. Perhaps this all derives from her family background, but there is a fundamental flaw in it. Who's going to be the judge? Herta? Bono? Those who do that usually become so hated that it's no wonder there's a film entitled “Killing Bono” (and it's from the ‘80s!). How is it possible that a person like Bono tries to do so much good and receives such hatred? Herta is actually giving a free hand to everyone to intervene: Ukraine can launch an attack on Donbass, to “liberate it from imperialist occupation”, Russia can “clear Ukraine of its neo-Nazi pest”, Turkey can attack Kurdistan to “erase the terrorist nests”, Israel can “clear the Arab danger” and Arabs can “push the Zionist entity into the sea”. Well done, Herta, you have just provided justification for all the worst extremists everywhere. Even those in Serbia who think nothing wrong has been done and that Serbia should take Kosovo over militarily. We are all right, right? Wrong! We are all partially right and there is no “Judge Dredd”, passing judgement and acting as executioner at the same time. There is a danger when you think you are so right and righteous. The conflicting narratives in Ulster, Crimea, Donbass, Kosovo, Jerusalem, Nagorno-Karabakh, Catalonia, Bosnia... are far too complicated to be solved by any Judge Dredd. Hitler and ISIS are examples of supreme evil, but don't go any further. Sit down and talk. Understand the other side. It is not a sign that you are right if you think you are moral. The Holy Inquisition was moral, illuminated, righteous, and believed in violent intervention, but still I prefer those who were burned by the Inquisition.

IMPRESSIVE TURNAROUND JAMES ROAF

Head of the IMF mission for Serbia

GLOBALIZATION IMPOSES NEW CHALLENGES IN CULTURE VLADAN VUKOSAVLJEVIĆ Culture and Information Minister

THE MITTELEUROPEAN CONSERVATIVISM The core of tradition

WE ARE GROWING FASTER THAN MARKET AVERAGE

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor-in-Chief

MARIJANA VASILESCU

www.diplomacyandcommerce.hr ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor in Chief

zikica.milosevic@color.rs

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Editorial manager

tanja.bankovic@color.rs

VANJA KOVAČEV

PR&Event support Nord Communications vanja.communications @gmail.com

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ

ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD

Advertising manager

indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

DRAGANA RADOVIĆ

Art director

JOVANA MARKOVIĆ Advertising manager

jovana.markovic@color.rs

natasa.nesic@color.rs

Advertising manager

dragana.radovic@color.rs

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ Magazine director

ruza.ristanovic@color.rs

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

robert.coban@color.rs

Photos

GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES

WE NURTURE RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONALISM JELENA BULATOVIĆ

Executive Director of SAM

MAKING PAYMENTS AS SEAMLESS AND EASY AS POSSIBLE DMYTRO MAMZELIEV Visa Core Products, CISSE

WHAT IS HEALTHY FOOD IN SERBIA? Round table

WE WANT TO BE A NUMBER ONE IN SERBIA

Chairwoman of Sberbank Serbia's Executive Board

JACKY ZHAO

JUGOSLAV ĆOSIĆ

SLOBODAN TRKULJA

Director of N1 TV station

Musician

DALFINA BOŠNJAK

Feature

DEFENCE IS FUTILE, JUST BREATHE IN

WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH MARKET DEMANDS

Huawei Device Director of Balkan Region

WHEN THE OLD MEETS THE MODERN

DIPLOMACY & COMMERCE LAUNCHED IN CROATIA!

Director of Mostar Fair

Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL Translation

SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

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PA L ACE IN S IDE RS

Many Eastern Europeans Feel Nostalgia for the Communist Era Though few really want the dictators back

“OH MY God! We had all of these!” trills Alina Radu, a 43-year-old businesswoman visiting the Romanian Kitsch Museum. She is admiring crochet doilies, a 1980s TV set, decorative glass fish and the scarves and badges of Romania’s Pioneers, a communist-era youth organisation. “I loved looking like a general!” The museum, which opened in May, has proved a hit. You can lie on a bed and fling fake bank notes over yourself for a picture—“though not naked, OK?” chortles a lady buying tickets for herself and her 60-something friends. You can examine night-light crucifixes, some of the most tasteless clothes of the past quarter-century and pictures of sceptre-wielding Roma (gypsy) “kings”. But for many the most interesting items are those which date from before the revolution of 1989. The grim decades of Romanian communism draw substantial crowds. Across town up to 400 people a day visit the mansion inhabited by the communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, and his

IT IS NOT JUST IN ROMANIA THAT LOCALS AND TOURISTS CAN BE PERSUADED TO PART WITH CASH IN EXCHANGE FOR TICKETS TO SURVEY THEIR PAST. IN ALBANIA PLANS ARE AFOOT TO OPEN THE HOUSE OF ENVER HOXHA, THE COMMUNIST WHO RULED THE COUNTRY FOR 41 YEARS family from 1965 to 1989. After the revolution the opulent villa became a government guesthouse, but it was preserved unchanged. The house is full of heavy old-fashioned furniture, gloomy bedrooms and plenty of gold mosaics and gold taps—though not real gold, the guide adds hastily: “That was a story spread during the revolution.” It is not just in Romania that locals and tourists can be persuaded to part with cash

in exchange for tickets to survey their past. In Albania plans are afoot to open the house of Enver Hoxha, the communist who ruled the country for 41 years. In Rijeka, in Croatia, local authorities have secured EU funding to restore the Galeb, the once-sumptuous yacht on which Josip Broz Tito, the Yugoslav leader, once sailed the seven seas. Opinion polls in eastern Europe show that many people believe things were better under communism. Gabriela Alexandru, selling tickets at the Kitsch Museum, has another interpretation. She thinks visitors are nostalgic “not for the past, or Ceausescu, but for their youth.” In the component countries of the former Yugoslavia they call it “Yugonostalgia”. Ms Radu agrees. No one wants to go back to the way it was. But, she says, in those times people “took care of each other”. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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EXC LU SI VE

I NT E R V I E W

Impressive Turnaround Serbia has been very successful in stabilizing the economic situation over the last three years. Whether those achievements will remain sustainable depends on whether the Serbian people and their leaders are prepared to make them such

JAMES ROAF Head of the IMF mission for Serbia

Prior to the three-year precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) signed in 2015, Serbia has accumulated internal and external economic imbalances. The government appointed in April 2014 has recognized the challenges associated with these imbalances and made a strong commitment to address them. At the time of beginning of the Agreement, the consequences of global financial crisis lost their grip, but downside risks to Serbia’s exports and external funding sources, were visible. To insure against such risks and better anchor our policy framework, the government requested IMF support for the new economic program through a precautionary SBA for a period of 36 months in the amount of SDR 935.4 million (200 percent of quota). The implementation of the program was monitored through prior actions, quantitative performance criteria, indicative targets,

structural benchmarks, and an inflation consultation clause with regular reviews of the arrangement by the Fund. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by James Roaf, visited Belgrade during October 26 – November 7, 2017, to hold discussions on the eighth and final review under Serbia’s precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Following the end of the mission

level consistent with fiscal sustainability and further public debt reduction. At the end of the mission we conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Roaf in which we discussed in detail the achievements of the arrangement, the remaining challenges and prerequisites if Serbia wants to make the achieved results sustainable on the midterm level. We also touched upon the history of Serbia’s arrangement with the IMF. Would you please evaluate the outcome of the three-year-arrangement with Serbia?

— Serbia has been very successful in stabilizing the economic situation over the last three years. Prior to the start of the program, the public finances were in a dire situation, facing the largest fiscal

IMPORTANT PROGRESS IN THE AREA OF STRUCTURAL REFORMS COVERED BY THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN MADE IN STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISE RESTRUCTURING, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM AND STRENGTHENING THE BUSINESS CLIMATE the IMF stated that the mission agreed with the authorities on the key parameters of the 2018 budget and underlined that the priority is to preserve hard-won fiscal achievements, while supporting growth-enhancing initiatives, such as increasing public investment and reducing the tax burden on low-income workers. Along with the agreed wage and pension increases, the 2018 fiscal deficit is projected at 0.7 percent of GDP – a

deficit in Europe and rapidly rising public debt, while growth had been stagnant. Already by 2017 we are expecting the budget to be roughly in balance, with debt falling fast. Improved confidence is reflected in much lower interest rates, and strong investment from both domestic and foreign sources. Economic activity and employment are both rising, and unemployment has fallen sharply. Financial sector reforms have been pursued

vigorously, to put banks on a sound footing to support growth. And while there is still very much to do, important progress has been made in other areas of structural reform covered by the program, such as state-owned enterprise restructuring, public administration reform and strengthening the business climate. Altogether, it has been an impressive turnaround. What is the importance of this arrangement in retrospective, i.e. in terms of the history of arrangements that Serbia previously had with the IMF?

— When the program started, there was a legacy of unfinished reforms and failed attempts to address the fundamental problems that have dogged the Serbian economy since the transition from socialism. In the past, some programs were abandoned part way through. Others were successfully completed, but then these underlying problems in the Serbian economy caused imbalances to reemerge. The current program tries to learn from this experience by tackling these structural problems in the economy at the same time as addressing the fiscal deficit. But this doesn’t mean that the job is over. To the contrary – while stabilization offers an opportunity, it has to be protected, while further reforms are needed to reach higher sustainable growth of the economy. Only that will ensure that the standard of living of people in Serbia converges to that of the Western European countries. How sustainable are the accomplished results midterm?

— The accomplishments are as

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sustainable as Serbian people and their leaders are prepared to make them. Considering how difficult the necessary fiscal adjustment was, I would hope that nobody in Serbia would want to allow for the reemergence of imbalances, or to allow fiscal costs to reemerge in state enterprises. But nothing is granted forever. Good policies require good policymaking and building understanding and support around the necessary reforms.

the country to achieve a more robust growth?

— Indeed, Serbia’s priority is strong and sustainable growth, which has to be led by the private sector. A key precondition is to maintain the macroeconomic stability that has been achieved –which means an environment of low inflation, low interest rates and confidence in the currency that allows businesses to plan and invest for the future. Beyond this Serbia needs to build the institu-

IN ORDER TO SECURE STRONG AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, LED BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR SERBIA NEEDS TO MAINTAIN THE MACROECONOMIC STABILITY AND BUILD STRONG INSTITUTIONS OF A MARKET ECONOMY In which areas does the IMF seek to work with the Serbia’s government in the future?

— Serbia is a member of the IMF and we will work closely with the authorities, in whichever form they will find useful. We will certainly be conducting regular surveillance and making recommendations about the policies needed to support growth and jobs creation. The authorities are also considering options for continuing with more intense cooperation in another Fund-supported program, and we are very ready to work with them on this. What are the most important tasks for Serbia in order for

tions of a market economy. For example, public administration and services that respond to the needs of citizens and businesses; infrastructure that supports businesses and exports; strong property rights and predictability in the judicial system; fair competition and a much smaller informal sector; social protection that helps the poor participate in the economy; and education and training that provides the skills needed for a modern economy. This is a broad, long-term agenda and in some of these areas we are still near the start of the road. But the faster these reforms can go, the sooner Serbia will reach its destination.

C O MMENTS

Strong Economic Performance Continues IMF mission, with James Roaf at its helm, visited Belgrade from 26th October to 7th November, 2017 in order to talk to the Serbian authorities about the eight and fi-

nal audit of the precautionary stand-by arrangement that Serbia had concluded with the IMF. All the implementation criteria, set out in September 2017, were met, with most of them significatly exceeded. Also, the

implementation of structural benchmarks continues with latency in some segments. We have asked the leading financial officials and experts in Serbia to reply to the following question about the IMF's visit:

What do you see as the most important steps in sustaining macroeconomic stability achieved during the duration of the arrangement with the IMF?

IMPRESSIVE MACROECONOMIC RESULTS

FURTHER IMPROVEMENT OF INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT

Prof. DUŠAN VUJOVIĆ PhD

JORGOVANKA TABAKOVIĆ

Minister of Finance

Governor of National Bank of Serbia

As it has been demonstrated during the past three years, good design and strong implementation or well balanced and coordinated fiscal and monetary policies produced impressive macroeconomic results. Twin (fiscal and current account) deficits were substantially reduced, level of indebtedness started to decline as erll as unemployment. Most importantly, economic growth was reversed to a positive medium term path. This would not have been possible without the team effort at the NBS and the Ministry of Finance that utilized the window of opportunity created by the political will in 2014. In the meantime, the political energies and priorities have been diverted to other issues and (regional and global) emergencis. Without renewed political commitment, significant buffers built since the beginning of the program will not be sufficient to complete pending structural reforms and the EU accession.

This creates sustainability risks specific to Serbia already seen through the history of failed or abandoned reform efforts, and the reversals of macroeconomic accomplishments since the start of transition. Capacity constraints notwithstanding, the key underlying forces that resisted and undermined full reform efforts have been rooted deeply in the political economy – vested political and economic interests. The main players include political parties, inefficient management, labor unions openly opposed to competition and efficient markets in general. These interests are seen most clearly in opposing rational resolution of failed state (or socially) owned enterprises, restructuring efforts of public (utlity) enterprises, and the reform of public services (education and health most of all), the public administration and the public sector in general. Paradoxically, we are back to square one in securing sustainability of hard won macro-fiscal and monetary results. I hope that the Serbian polity will be smart enough to provide critical support for the completion of the most comprehensive reform effort. The final crossing of the reform Rubicon.

Owing to the consistency of economic policies aimed at strengthen ing the country and coordination of their implementation we have achieved great success, and this is the only approach that we can use to preserve our achievements. Four years of low and stable inflation and a primary surplus for the second consecutive year prove our determination to create the basis for long-term growth and a better life. The relative stability of the exchange rate, which we have maintained over the past five years, contributes to the certainty of doing business and the stability of the financial system, and it remains one of our priorities in the future. The credibility of our policies is corroborated by the fact that the country's risk premium has been reduced to the lowest level, accompanied by a growing influx of investments. The result is an increase in the competitive domestic supply and double-digit export growth.

In the coming period, we will continue to improve the investment environment and increase the volume and efficiency of investments, especially in the production of interchangeable goods, which are all challenges that other countries have to deal with too. We have improved the regulatory framework for banks and achieved high compliance with the EU regulation. Also, key steps have been taken to solve the problem of non-performing loans (NPL). The share of NPL has decreased by 11 percentage points to 12.2% at the end of the third quarter of 2017. As a result, we have a safer and more robust financial system that is ready to support further economic growth. From the perspective of the central bank, price and financial stability remain important pillars in preserving overall macroeconomic stability. Since the beginning of the year, our commitment to maintaining low inflation could be seen in reducing the target inflation rate from 4 ± 1.5% to 3 ± 1.5%, and our task is to continue to keep inflation within those limits.

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STEPS TO ENSURE MACROECONOMIC STABILITY Although macroeconomic stability has been reached, Serbia's public debt, which has reached 65% of the nationl GDP, is still too high, and Serbia's economy is not strong enough to permanently sustain the current macroeconomic stability. Hence the first step in ensuring macroeconomic stability would be the strict restriction in public spending growth for which we need new and improved fiscal rules. The second step would be to better regulated public sector, i.e. to implement the announced structural reforms that did not

yield wanted restults during the previous arrangement with the IMF. First and foremost, the state authorities would have to know how many workers and what worker profile are needed in our healthcare, eduction, policy, and public administration and to objectively regulated the salaries in these sectors. The announced modernization of the Tax Administration, which is seriously late, is an important part of the reforms. The third step is the completion of the privatization of the remaining state-owned enterprises and the

improvement of the operations of public companies. The fourth and final step that the government has to make is improving the economic environment. In order to achieve this, the state has to improve the quality of infrastructure (especially at the local level) through bigger public investments, but also to eliminate numerous obstacles that private businesses are facing, especially the one that pertain to the rule of law, a segment that is especially important and has been neglected for a long time.

DUBRAVKA NEGRE

DANIEL BERG

Head of EIB Regional Representation

oritisation, preparation and implementation. All the above measures are expected to lead to the improvement in the business climate which ultimately will help sustaining macroeconomic stability. EIB, notably through its Economic Resilience Initiative, stands ready to support the efforts of the Serbian Government, as well as to support private sector financing and development. We plan next year further investments in road and rail infrastructure, but also renewable energy, health and education as well as R&D and municipal infrastructure. We will continue providing funding for Small and Medium Size enterprises through our local partner commercial banks, and through EIF’s guarantee schemes which have as an aim to motivate banks to take more risk and provide funding to riskier businesses. We are also evaluating how more effectively to support female entrepreneurship as well as farmers and agriculture sector. As far as the aspects that need improvement, we still see public procurement on a critical path with insufficient capacity; as well as more efficient public financial support at advantageous conditions for development and investment of SMEs which EIB is willing to continue to support.

President of the Fiscal Council

SUPPORT TO IMPROVE INVESTMENT CLIMATE

CONTINUE TO SUPPORT PRIVATE SECTOR

Continued reforms are needed to address remaining structural weaknesses. Restructuring of state owned companies and utilities should continue, including through privatisation, and public administration and institutions strengthening. Consolidation of the financial sector has started and expected to continue. Further efforts to reduce NPLs are welcome, improving the bankruptcy procedures as well as judicial processes and court decisions. We have observed lower levels of public investments than planned which are below desired figures necessary not only for increasing competitiveness of the economy but also for helping sustainable economic growth. Public investments with sound economic and social returns could generate a multiplier effect on private sector spending and tax revenues. For that to happen, improvement of management of public investment is seen as critical as well as better project prioritisation, preparation and implementation. All the above measures are expected to lead to the improvement in the business climate which ultimately will help sustaining macroeconomic stability. Improvement of management of public investment is seen as critical as well as better project pri-

PAVLE PETROVIĆ

EBRD Director for Serbia

Serbian government’s fiscal performance has been impressive over the past 2.5 years, reducing the deficit from 6.6 per cent of GDP in 2014 to 1.3 per cent in 2016 and potentially a year-end surplus in 2017. A stable macro helps create a positive environment for investors. Stability helps reduce some of the emerging market risk premium which lenders and investors would historically have expected and therefore the Government should do all in its power to protect this macro strength. For long term sustainability and improved growth however, it is even more important that under the programme some important reforms have been launched that make Serbia a more attractive investment location. Reforms such as the electronic construction permitting or the set-up of a onestop shop for investment support, where major improvements are registered in the latest Doing Business scores, helps to streamline the entry of investors and therefore put real money to work. Making government more efficient and transparent will make the whole economy function more effectively. EBRD has stepped up its activities to support Serbia to improve the overall investment climate and economic governance. Some key activities include 1) supporting a corporate governance action plan at

EPS, the electricity company, 2) initial measures to make inspections “user friendly”, 3) improvements in procurement practices and the PPP framework, 4) expansion of alternative dispute resolution frameworks and 5) implementation of the government’s NPL resolution strategy. These are all issues where Serbia can implement regulations and laws so as to improve the investment climate. They also can move faster on privatisation and restructuring of state-owned enterprises – these companies can continue to drain time, money and energy and therefore slow down the overall economic results. Government should also focus more on improving competitiveness and resilience of the country by enhancing the implementation of infrastructure projects and being less intrusive into business decisions of public enterprises. Serbia should ensure that high – profile projects are successful and used to demonstrate the wider potential. Success of projects such as the Airport Concession or the Vinca Landfill or a major privatisation can place Serbia even more firmly on the map for potential international investors. All of these steps, most likely built upon the basis of a new IMF programme, would help Serbia to become an even brighter spot on international investor’s maps.”

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I NTERVIEW

Globalization Imposes New Challenges in Culture

Photo: Predrag Mitić

With the annual fund allocation for culture, which amounts to 0.68% of the state budget, Serbia is at the bottom of the list in Europe. The new 2017-2027 Culture Development Strategy is supposed to provide solutions to a series of issues that have never been addressed before with one of them being gradual increase of budget funding for culture

VLADAN VUKOSAVLJEVIĆ Culture and Information Minister

We are talking to the Culture and Information Minister, Vladan Vukosavljević about strategic documents that the Ministry has been working on and their importance for protection of cultural heritage and development of contemporary culture in the light of new global challenges. We are also discussing the expectations relating to the new media strategy which is supposed to be adopted by the year-end. The Ministry has recently released the draft Strategy for

Cultural Development in the Republic of Serbia for the 20172027 period. What essentially does this document mean for development of Serbia’s cultural resources?

— The 2017-2027 Strategy for Cultural Development in the Republic of Serbia defines priorities

be changed or adopted. The Strategy is accompanied by an action plan that defines in detail the deadlines for passing laws covering certain segments, completion of large-scale investments, and the institutions that will be in charge of the implementation and supervision.

WE ARE GOING TO WORK TOWARDS BUDGET ALLOCATIONS FOR CULTURE GROWING 0.1% EVERY YEAR SO THAT, IN TEN YEARS’ TIME, THEY WOULD REACH 2% OF THE STATE BUDGET and basic values that we ought to protect. The document is actually an umbrella act in the segment of culture that envisages what needs to be done in the next 10 years, including the necessary reforms of various processes, large-scale investments that have to be implemented, and regulation that has to

Both documents provide solutions to creating conditions for cultural development in a dynamic environment, and for facing the complex challenges of globalization. The introductory part of the draft document showcases the basic issues that have never been

tackled or defined before, including defining the Serbian cultural core and the Serbian cultural space, as well as observing certain situations, and planning and projecting for the future. Furthermore, the Strategy consolidates a group of laws and other regulation that would facilitate better and more cohesive cultural life, and cites areas of special importance in culture and the directions for their development. Why is the government not allocating more money for culture when we can see that the country has been achieving better than expected results in fiscal consolidation?

— The culture segment in Serbia receives 0.68% of the state budget annually which puts Serbia near the bottom of the list in Europe. One of the more important

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segments of the aforementioned Strategy is an intention for Serbia to decide to finally start allocating more funds towards culture. We have suggested for these budget allocations to be bigger, more stable, more specific, clearer and more stimulating. We are going to work towards budget allocations for culture growing 0.1% every year so that, in ten years’ time, they would reach 2% of the state budget.

and libraries because private sector has not motif or interest in funding these. In the conditions of total liberalization, the issue remains who would be willing to protect our monasteries, archeological sites, archives, libraries and other cultural heritage, apart from the state. So, we came up with a conclusion that

Information and cultural institutions have, for the most part, started with the digitalization of cultural content seven months ago when we founded a department that would deal with this. We have also created conditions for a more systematic and productive digitalization of cultural heritage and contemporary cultural content by

You have caused uproar in the cultural community when you said that culture sector should be focusing more on funding based on market principles. How much can the state intervene in this, and to what extent culture should be exposed to the classic principles of doing business?

— The fact remains that societal models in the world have been changing. The global spirit of times and the change of relations all spheres of society have resulted in the abatement of the model where the state is the sole or the majority providers of funding for cultural activities. Globally speaking, the funding models in culture vary. For instance, the United States has no culture ministry or a theatre that is funded from the state budget, while in China and some other countries most cultural institutions are financed by the state. We need to find a model that suits our conditions, because it is impossible to let only the market rules govern Serbian culture. In some segments we can do this to a greater degree, like, for instance, in contemporary culture, but we can certainly not do this in the segment of protection of cultural heritage which comprises of monasteries, archeological sites, archives,

THE AIM OF THIS NEW MEDIA STRATEGY IS TO HELP IN CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR MEDIA TO WORK IN, TO ENABLE THEM TO GET MORE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM PUBLIC RESOURCES, AND FOR THEM TO ENJOY A FAIR MARKET GAME AND FAIR COMPETITION it is much more fitting to apply the neoliberal concept of free market and funding of cultural activities to contemporary culture. Hence, we need to have a dual model and adhere to the laws that are in line with the spirit of this time. Many countries have been investing huge effort into digitalizing their cultural heritage, and, in this way, make it available to global public. What are we doing in this respect?

— The Ministry of Culture and

signing a cooperation agreement with Telekom Serbia and the Serbian Academy of Science and Art’s Mathematics Institute. Bearing in mind that the world has entered a digital era, Serbia must not lag behind developed countries in this respect and there is no doubt about that. In terms of the region, Serbia does occupy a really good position. In 2012, Serbia got its first media strategy with the new one currently in the making. What is

its purpose considering that we are witnessing how the quality of the media and their financial position have been deteriorating day-on-day?

— Our plan is for the task force, founded by the Ministry of Culture and Information, to create a new media strategy that would cover the next five years, and for this document to be adopted by the Serbian authorities by the end of 2017. The aim of this new media strategy is to help in creating a sustainable environment for media to work in, to enable them to get more financial assistance from public resources, and for them to enjoy a fair market game and fair competition. Additionally, its goal is to raise professional standards in media through self-regulation, strengthening of journalist and media associations, and modernization of the media run by national minorities while boosting social dialogue in the media. Recognizing the importance of new media and their development is an important part of this strategy. Local media have been at peril lately, while the concept of project financing proved to be insufficient in securing quality information for the people in Serbia. What do you think should be changed in the following period?

— With the help of its media strategy, the Ministry of Culture and Information is going to propose for the local self-governments to be obligated to financially support local media project via co-financing competition with at least 1%. I have noticed that local governments sometimes tend to avoid this obligation, and in that case the local media is left at the mercy of the free market.

FOREIGN TOURISTS KNOW VERY WELL WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN SERBIA Foreign tourists are more specific in this case. When they visit our country they are prepared in advance in terms of getting to know our culture better. Undoubtedly, tourism is one of the better ways for institutions to increase their income.

When are we going to finally have a chance to visit the main museums which have been closed for years? — The Museum of Contemporary Art is due to be opened on 20th October, while the National Museum in Belgrade is scheduled to be opened in mid-2018.

Photo: Predrag Mitić

How much can development of tourism help in creating a new financing source for the institutions of culture. How high are they on the list of priorities for people who visit our country? — Cultural tourism is a branch that is still developing. Cultural institutions are already cooperating with tourist organizations in terms of organizing visits and trips. However, more can be done in that respect. We are going to propose to institutions to be more vocal in advertising since a big potential lies with our population that is not even aware of these tours.

PO LI TI C S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

The Mitteleuropean Conservativism The core of tradition

Even Bill Bryson said once that the most conservative people in the 1970s in Europe were somewhere in the Austrian Alps, and it was in the times when even the American Midwest was hippyand-loose. There is a legend that there is a conservative core of Europe, called Mitteleuropa, stretching from Eastern France over Catholic Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Northern Italy, up to Western Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Serbia in the South. Unsuprisingly, this is where all the conservative “rebellions” seem to happen, the last among them being Kurz & Strache. EUROPE STRONGER IN THE WEST, WEAKER IN THE EAST

After Brexit, there were some grim predictions in the world. The first was that the Old EU (i. e. The Western EU) is sick and tired of Europe, of immigration, of the backlash from their colonies and the backlash from the Eastern European immigrants. Yeah, maybe you liked the fact that the streets and pubs of Birmingham are full of pretty girls from Poland and Lithuania working hard for their salaries, but, hey, the “Polish plummer” is stealing your job! The first logical step was the vulneralbe far West of the EU, where there were two countries where popilist were strong, the Netherlands and France. And precisely those two countries were against the “European Constitution” during their referenda in 2005. So, they were perceived as “the next targets” of

the populist wave. But, in a twist and turn of events, it did not happen. France elected Emmanuel Macron, a liberal and a pro-European politician, and the Netherlands equally turned its back to Geert Wilders. It seemed that the Brexit could only strenghten the ties between the remaining EU-members. But, it did not actually happen. The easternmost members of the European Union, so-called Viseg-

values that supposedly belong to Europe and we know better what Europe is. They are simply arrogant.” Almost unnoticed went the move of Sebastian Kurz to stop the Balkan Migrant Route and face Angela Merkel's “Open Door Policy”. Simultanously, Putin intevened in Syria, Iran joined, and the United States finally stepped in so socalled Islamic State is pretty much doomed. Territorially at least. The source of migrants is closed, the people don't flee Syria, some of them are coming back. AFD, KURZ AND BABIŠ

And after the presidential elections in Austria when Van der Bellen won the race, it seemed that the Greens are on the rise, Austria is “felix” and liberal again, and the FPÖ is losing ground. But, again,

THE WHOLE OF MITTELEUROPA IS STONGLY POSITIONING AS A CONSERVATIVE PLACE, FROM GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND TO THE BORDERS OF RUSSIA. OR TO VLADIVOSTOK rád Four, were adamant in their refusal of the Western European standards. The Polish clash over judicial powers, the Hungarian clash with the Soros-backed Central European University, and constant refusal of the four countries to accept refugees/migrants have shown the Eastern firmness to remain in their way. As one of the Eastern European (but EU!) girls told me “They are teaching us the culture and the

in a strange twist of events, the Greens fell apart, Kurz won the parliamentary elections and the goverment is going to be formed between him and Hans-Christian Strache. It is said that Kurz did the clever game changing the colours of his party from black to turquoise, but he stole the ideology from the rightist FPÖ, so in fact the party is blacker than ever before. Strache will jump

into the waggon and promulgate all the ideas they seem to sherish together: immigration is cool, Austria is traditionally country where genetically Germans meet Czech, Hungarians, Serbs, Italians, Poles, Croats and Slovenians, so who said Austria is ethnically nationalistic? It is different that pretty monoethnic Germany. But, the idea is that you can accept the people who are similar to you. That is precisely the ground on which AfD, the right-wing party in Germany used to win the votes. And it was not in the East! More votes were won in former West Germany, which became the stronghold of another formerly East party, The Left (Die Linke). Angela Merkel is still Die Mutti, the Mother, but her policy of open doors and stronger European intergrations is now, with Kurz as the leader of Austria and with AfD breathing down her neck, is going to be tougher than before. And the situation in Czechia is even more illustrative: Andrej Babiš is an ethnic Slovak tycoon, and the prominent place was taken by Tomio Okamura, a guy who is Japanese by name, and one-quarter Korean, at the same time a strong opponent of immigration. It might sound ridiculous to the Westerners but the Mitteleuropeans know that the racism here is mainly targetted towards the Romani people, Middle East and African immigrant, but not towards Japanese and Koreans, Chinese and alike (the Chinese being in fact most vulnerable).

EUROPE FROM STRASBOURG TO VLADIVOSTOK Having in mind that Orban's rule in Hungary is not shaking, that the far-right nationalists are marching in Kiev, that Simon Petliura has his monuments everywhere (even infamous Stepan Bandera has them!), in Croatia there is an endless discussion about the “Za Dom spremni” plaque, and Serbia is rehabilitating Draža Mihailović, well, the whole of Mitteleuropa is stongly positioning as a conservative place, from Germany and Switzerland to the borders of Russia. Or to Vladivostok. For the good of the EU, it will be good to sit and negotiate again how to preserve this precious and fragile achievement. Yes, the EU itself.

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPAR T UR E S

in November & December

NOVEMBER

GORDAN BAKOTA New Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Serbia

Gordan Bakota graduated from the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Law in 1991. After completing his internship at the State’s Prosecution Office, he started working for the Foreign Ministry. Since then, he has always held diplomatic positions. Prior to his appointment to the Republic of Serbia, he was the Croatian ambassador to Austria, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

During his career he was also the State Secretary, Assistant Minister and Political Director in the Croatian Foreign Ministry. Additionally, he held a number of positions in the Swiss Confederation, the Republic of Serbia and the United States. He studied at the Georgetown University, Washington. Mr. Bakota speaks English and German. He is married and has two children.

MOROCCO

Independence Day

LEBANON

Independence Day

ALBANIA

" Dita e Pavarësisë" - Independence Day

DECEMBER

H.E. EMILIO JOSE DE CARVALHO GUERRA New Ambassador of Angola

ROMANIA

H.E. Emilio Jose de Carvalho Guerra arrives in Serbia having vacated the post of Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo. He graduated in Agronomy, and he is a father of eight children. He speaks Portuguese, French, Russian and Spanish languages. H.E. Emilio Jose de Carvalho Guerra from 1970 to 1979 served as Director of the Institute of Education of Angola, Director of the Foreign Relations Department of the MPLA, Inspector General of the Ministry of Industry

National Day

and Energy and Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy. From 1979 eighst years Mr Guerra was Minister of Fisheries, and from 1984 to ‘94 he served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Netherlands and the former EEC (current EU). In 1994 he was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Congo – Brazzaville, and from 2001 to ‘09 he held ambassadorial posts to the Republic of Gabon (resident) and respectively to Cameroon, Guinea and Chad (non-resident).

02 UAE

ational Day, formation N of the federation of seven emirates on independence

FINLAND

I ndependence Day of 1917

IRAQ

National Day

H.E. ANDERS HOUGÅRD New Danish Ambassador to Serbia

On Monday, the 24th of November, the new Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, H.E. Anders Hougård presented his credentials to president Vučić. H.E. Anders Hougård was born in 1954 in Jutland, Western Denmark Mr. Hougård entered the foreign service in 1992, and after postings in Riyadh, Moscow, Islamabad and St. Petersburg,

11 he was appointed ambassador to Pakistan in 2008. Prior to Belgrade, he also served as ambassador in Tehran and Zagreb. Ambassador Hougård received an LLM (Master of Laws) from Harvard Law School and additionally holds a university degree in contemporary Middle East Studies.

UNICEF

UNICEF Day

THE NETHERLANDS Kingdom Day

NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED TO THE HBA OF SERBIA Representatives of the members of the Hellenic Business Association of Serbia elected a new Board of Directors (BoD) at the General Assembly held in Belgrade. On that occasion, Mr. Zafeirios Lampadaridis (Hyatt, Mercure Hotels) was elected as president while for vice president was elected Mr. Vasileios Kakagiotis (Robne Kuce Beograd). At the General Assembly, for the new Board of Directors were also elected Rita Lozinsky (Alumil YU Industry), Stylianos Zakof (Chipita), Georgios Panoutsopoulos (ICAP, Cycle Credit). New members of the Board stated that the Association will continue to work on improving communication between existing and potential Greek investors and the Serbian authorities, as well as providing a platform for the development and promotion of business, share information to its members and provide support to the Greek business community thus achieving stronger economic cooperation between Greece and Serbia.

Hellenic Business Association is a private, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in 2003. has 90 members from various business sectors. The member companies of the HBA have so far invested more than 2.5 billion euros and currently employs 12,000 people in Serbia.

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C O RPO RATE SBERBANK SERBIA

We are Growing Faster Than Market Average All of Sberbank’s business indicators in 2017 show that we have significantly exceeded our plans and expectations. During the first nine months of this year, Sberbank recorded a 57% profit growth relative to the same period last year. This result comes after a series of innovative products that the bank offered to its clients

MARIJANA VASILESCU Chairwoman of Sberbank Serbia's Executive Board

We have talked to Marijana Vasilescu, the Chairwoman of Sberbank’s Executive Board, about the Bank’s operations and novelties for its clients.

the cooperation that we have with MediGroup, and of the Elite Care programme which also provides special benefits and up to 80% discount on the services provided by MediGroup’s clinics.

You are the first bank in Serbia to offer an FX service (FOREX currency trade) to your clients. What are the benefits of this service?

innovative formats of currency trading. Hence, and in line with our strategy focused on the digital users, we became the first and the only bank in Serbia to launch the Sber X:Change platform for currency trading. Sber X:Change is a multi-currency online exchange office where you can buy and sell currency 24/7. Clients can trade in

End of year is very dynamic in Sberbank. You have launched a brand new product and service segment in the market called Elite Banking. Which is the target group and what are the main features of this product? — Yes, we have launched the Elite Banking programme which belongs to the premium banking category. In this day and age, we spend more time at work than ever before, and we are not left with as much time as we would like to or need to for other activities. Hence, we have devised a service that saves time for our clients, and makes them feel comfortable in knowing that their bank is actually a one-stop-shop. Here, they get the fastest service, and a personalized offer adapted to their own lifestyle, habits and circumstances, i.e. to who they are. All of the aforementioned is the foundation on which we created Elite Banking which offers numerous benefits to users, including individual approach to requests via personal banker, special terms and conditions for savings and loans, and Mastercard Gold credit card without maintenance fee and with included family insurance policy. We are especially proud of

WE ARE THE FIRST AND THE ONLY BANK IN SERBIA TO LAUNCH THE SBER X:CHANGE PLATFORM FOR CURRENCY TRADING — Today, FX (or FOREX Trading) generates daily revenue of over 5.3 billion dollars in the world, and is thought to be the biggest and the most dynamic market in existence. Since we are a bank that is constantly trying to offer innovative pioneering services, we concluded that the conditions were right for the domestic market to accept

ten different currencies values of which are changed in real time, so that, in any given moment, they have an exchange rate optimized against its market value. Special benefit of Sber X:Change is that it is much more affordable than other classic online exchange offices because the exchange rate is adjusted in real time so that the

users themselves can pick the right moment to trade in currency. Currently, the service is available only to physical persons, but, as of next year, it will be available to legal entities as well.

Year 2017 is almost finished, and banks can now predict with certainty their annual results. Are you happy with Sberbank’s results so far?

— We can confidently say that 2017 is going to be an extremely successful year for Sberbank in all segments. All of Sberbank’s business indicators in 2017 show that we have significantly exceeded our plans and expectations. During the first nine months of this year, Sberbank recorded a 57% profit growth relative to the same period last year. We are already recognized in the market as an active player and a bank that bases its growth on innovation and development. At the core of all of this is an increased volume in all business segments, and growing number of our clients. The thing that makes us especially happy is that, in the selected segments of our strategy like retail operations, micro-businesses and SMEs, we are recording growth that is higher than the market average. Personally, I always like to underline the trust that our clients have in us which is best illustrated by the growth of our deposit base in retail operations and in big and medium enterprise segment. We are especially proud of the development of our digital banking. We have managed to have a 30% growth in the number of registered users, while our mobile banking has recorded a 75% growth. The user activity is stable all year around, and it stands at almost 50%.

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I NTERVIEW

Defence is Futile, Just Breathe in Objective and impartial journalism is facing extermination

JUGOSLAV ĆOSIĆ Director of N1 TV station

I heard someone say once that you can never defend yourself from Jugoslav Ćosić despite attempting to dodge questions or mince words. As soon as you catch your breath, he will uncompromisingly direct you back to his initial question that you failed to reply to. True to the best tradition in journalism, Jugoslav continued asking his deeply probing questions when he started working for N1 TV station, and is today considered one of the best informed journalists with an attitude in the region. His cool demeanor just adds fuel to the fire to opposing views about him – most people like him, while some view him as a cold-blooded executor. Still, somebody has to call things by their name, and, in our country, Jugoslav is definitely one to do that. You were never shy of being direct and bold in searching for truth. How endangered is your 'specie' in today's world brimming with fake news which openly favours one side and which is filled with commentators who are advocating a certain idea rather than objectivity?

— My 'specie', as you call it, is very endangered. Actually, I believe that objective and impartial journalism

is facing extinction in Serbia, Europe and wider. In terms of Serbia, for quite a long time now, the world has given private media the right to choose and the legitimacy to support certain political options, and I am talking primarily about print and cable media. This, however, should not be the norm in the media that use their programme for the general good and have national frequency. They belong to everybody. In the case of Serbia, owners of private TV stations with national frequency can hire and lay off workers, and devise their

the candidate countries, but also the EU ones. Just look at the savage attacks on media freedom in Poland or Hungary. European commissioner, Johannes Hahn wants „proof“ that Serbian media are being pressured and censored. Well, I would like to use this opportunity to inform him that nobody will issue with a 'confirmation' that you are being pressured and censored. It is never easy to formally prove there is pressure and censorship, but once you see what is being reported in the press and on TV, you don't need any proof. If, for in-

IF YOU FOLLOW THE SHOWS THAT I DO, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT I LIKE MILD IRONY, CYNICISM AND SATIRE. APART FROM HAVING PERSONAL FONDNESS FOR THEM, I ALSO THINK THAT IT IS HEALTHY TO SOMETIMES USE THEM IN PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS business policies, but they have no right to support certain political options because they broadcast their programme via national frequencies which are considered public ownership. The claim that the private media owners are given free will to support any political option is a colossal lie spread by the authorities in Serbia. If we are speaking about the rest of the world, it is quite sad to see that the EU, which is close to us, is so bogged down by various problems that it has failed to deal with political pressures on the media. And I am talking not only about

stance, a state president, in one interview only, repeates ten times the phrase about a certain „American TV station“ in a negative context, than that speaks volumes. BBC had a great show called Hard Talk, that we all religiously watched. I believe that the show's host was similar to you – he would repeat the question over and over again until he got a straightforward answer. How influential was Hard Talk in your life?

— It had crucial importance. This is the format of TV journalism that

is right up my alley despite all the stress and tension that someone brings in. If you think that an interviewee has it more difficult than an interviewer in this case, you are sorely mistaken. By default, interviewees know more about the topics they will be interviewed about than the interviewers themselves. It is not easy to prepare for such interviews. They are equally challenging and stressful for journalists and guests alike. Now that B92 has been re-named O2, which is a purely commercial TV station, how important is N1 considering that RTS is a classic, state-run TV station, true to the Balkan fashion (unlike completely neutral BBC), and that Pink openly supports the government in power?

— I think that N1 holds a great importance. N1's reach and viewership figures are constantly growing. I think this is a question more for viewers than me. I would just like to quote poet Matija Bećković here: „The demonstrated level of resistance to a viewpoint or an idea - in this case, the idea of existence of an independent medium – will show you how important that viewpoint or idea is in the society“. Back in the day, free media were also attacked by governments, but never before have we had such brutal attacks by pro-goverment media on the media that dare to be critical of the government. Obviously, N1 is a very influential TV although it is a cable station. If they cannot shut you down, then they'll try to

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shut information sources, discredit you, intimidate distributers and discourage investors. Hence, I think that N1 is a medium important for all people in Serbia. Henry Kissinger said that modern-day investigative journalism and the education of today's politicians was based on „the first 10 results of Google Search“. How much does this superficiality affect the deeper understanding of a problem and how much does it kill a chance of seeing a good TV programme?

— Well, that's not investigative journalistm. Google Search is a fantastic source if you want to be in a quiz. N1 journalists spend hours and hours, and sometimes even days, on checking the information that we brodcast in order to give our viewers something that is completely accurate. This is the basis of our editorial policy. We don't need to be first, but we have to be accurate, and this is something that our journalists are aware of. I can tell you this too. Despite all the attacks on us and accusations that we are like this or that, nobody has ever accused us of telling lies and proved that in court. We always hear out all relevant sides because that is our editorial policy. We are a staple at press conferences which is relatively rare today. Speaking globally, even if you are convinced that you have hidden certain state or social segments from the public, there will always be an Edward Snowden. I remember his first ever Twitter post: „Can you hear me now?“ It was spectacular! How much did your work in the Index radio theatre help you to develop satirical approach to

DESPITE ALL THE ATTACKS ON US AND ACCUSATIONS THAT WE ARE LIKE THIS OR THAT, NOBODY HAS EVER ACCUSED US OF TELLING LIES AND PROVED THAT IN COURT. WE DON'T NEED TO BE FIRST, BUT WE HAVE TO BE ACCURATE serious issues later on?

— It has helped me a lot. If you follow the shows that I do, you will notice that I like mild irony, cynicism and satire. Apart from having personal fondness for

them, I also think that it is healthy to sometimes use them in public discussions. Have you been pressured during your career considering how

uncompromising you are?

— Every serious journalist has been pressured during his or her career. Pressures are constant and everywhere. The key is how you deal with them. I don't think that I should be a role model, but I was fortunate enough to receive support for my approach and understanding of journalism from editors and media owners / investors in TV stations that I worked for. When this support completely depleted, I moved on and found another job. Our investors want to see N1 as a serious, objective and responsible TV station. What is the situation like at the moment? Are SNS officials still banned from participating in your shows?

REGION IS CONNECTED, LOCAL DEVELOPMENTS MORE IMPORTANT How much are viewers in Serbia intersted in what is happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and vice versa? You do have three different news segments. Which formats are most popular in all three markets? — Yes, we do cover topics and latest news from the region, but most of our content is local, i.e. we cover those topics that are most important for people in Serbia. However, I would like to mention the Agrokor scandal here. Although, Agrokor is, first and foremost, a Croatian topic, just look at how many families in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have been affected by this case. For instance, Serbs living in Croatia are very interested to see which party, the right or the centre one, will form the government, just like Serbs living in Bosnia and Herzegovina are keen to know what will be the power balance in the Parliament of the Republic of Srpska.

— Of course they are. Even if this ban did not apply to the lower-ranking SNS officials, it is very clear to them that appearing on N1 is not good for their career or the benefits they receive for being in this party. Ministers from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) are ignoring us and have not appeared on our TV despite our invitations. And we do keep records of those invitations. There have been hundreds of them, sent out for different programme segments. I guess that some of them would like to come but they are simply afraid of the „wrath of gods“ that would ensue. There is a famous autocratic narrative that goes – „I am not coming, but if you report about me without my knowledge, you are no longer considered objective“. Really? It is them that are spreading this mantra of N1 being one-sided. As I have clearly demonstrated, N1 is not stopping anyone from doing their job in line with professional standards.

CO RPO RATE MOSTAR FAIR

We are Trying to Keep up With Market Demands Very few people believed that a small-scale fair would grow into a respectable interntional fair that, in the last 20 years, has been visited by over a million people from every corner of the world. Today, business people closely follow the Mostar Fair's time schedule

DALFINA BOŠNJAK Director of Mostar Fair

The Mostar Fair is an excellent opportunity for all regional entrepreneurs to establish new contacts, network, and exchange information in order to make successful business deal and accomplish successful results - says Dalfina Bošnjak, Director of the Mostar Fair, which transformed the Fair from a small company into an internationally renowned brand with the help of her loyal team.

How did the Mostar Business Fair evolve into one o fhte biggest business events in this part of Europe?

negatively affected our business operations too and stunted our growth. We would like to remind that Mostar has never been a big city as such, and yet, in the last 20 years, over a million people from across the world visited our fair and this is no small feat. We kept adding various content to it particularly in terms of conferences which gave the fair added value compared to other fairs in the country. We adapted it to new and increasingly progressive market demands. This fair is a joint project of everybody participating in its organization and maintenance

who work all year around, as well as a result of an effort of a small team of people that I manage, all of which helped the fair to become the biggest and the most respectabable trade fair in the country. We should also underline that the population of Mostar welcomed the fair and is proud of it because it transcends borders and is an internationally recognizable brand. This is exceptionally important for a town like Mostar.

Who are your key partners?

— Our most important partners

are exhibitors, i.e. companies that

OWING TO HUGE EFFORT OF A SMALL TEAM OF PEOPLE THAT I MANAGE, THE FAIR HAS BECOME THE BIGGEST AND THE MOST RESPECTABABLE TRADE FAIR IN THE COUNTRY

exhibit at the Fair. State institutions are indirectly involved in the organization of the Fair. First and foremost, there is the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then the Federal Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation's Chamber of Commerce, all the counties and, of course, the town of Mostar. The fair is conceived so that each year it also has a partner country. It is our honour and pleasure to have the Republic of Serbia as the partner country at next year's 21st Mostar Fair. Serbia was our fair partner before and we have very positive experience from that partnership. I believe that Serbia and Serbian exhibitors will present themselves in the best possible light this time around too.

— The very first trade fairs in post-

war Herzegovina took place in the town of Neum. As our fair grew in content, services and quality, a need emerged to find a more suitabe location and infrastructure. The first trade fair in Mostar took place in 1997, and since 2001, the Mostarski Sajam d.o.o. Company is the fair's official organizer. Very few people actually believed that a small trade fair would grow into such respectable international fair that has been going on for three decades now. People who do organization know all too well how difficult is to achieve this in conditions that we live and work in. Since 2008, we have been organizing our fair under the burden of a huge economic crisis which

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How important is for companies to exhibit at the Mostar Fair and how many business deals are usually made at the fair, on average?

— The last 20 years were difficult. We had to fight for our position on the trade fair map in Europe and the world, and constantly lobby to have as many exhibitors as possible. Today, business people closely follow the Mostar Fair's time schedule and are planning their time accordingly, which is a great success. We are trying to create an environment for business people from the region and the world in which they can establish new contacts and liase, exchange information and educate themselves thanks to our conferences. On average, around hundred business deals, worth millions of dollars, are made at the fair annually. Our exhibition area (indoor and outdoor) spans 30,000 square metres, we have five modernly equipped conference halls, and a big parking lot. The Fair's building is located close to the customs zone, freight forwarders, airport, and regional roads which all simplifies the matters for exhibitors. Also, we have a warehouse where our exhibitors can store their valuable products. Which trends, would you say, are the most important in your industry and how is the Mostar Fair going to develop in the future?

— Every trade fair is a reflection of the economy of a host country or a region. Throughout its history, the Mostar Fair has been trying to present, in the best possible way, what people from this part of the world, both Bosnia and Herzegovina, have been creating and what was god-given to them. Our task since the very beginning of the fair was to present to the world our regional wine production, the authentic Herzegovina wines and traditional gastronomy, as well as the natural beauty of this part of the world, and other resources. I firmly believe that we have done a lot for this region. There is also a conference part of the fair, which we have been paying a great attention in recent years. Since last year, the largest telecommunications companies from all over the world are presenting at the fair, which additionally expands our offer. The IT sector will continue to be in our focus in the future. In the world of Internet and modern technologies it is very difficult to survive if you operate

in the trade fair industry. Many have predicted the collapse of the trade fair concept. However, and considering that we live in the information age and that there is a lot of information available, personal contact and interaction at trade fairs remain to hold the highest value. Fairs exist because the ever demanding market wants a comprehensive communication with manufacturers, and wants to see their products in person. Fairs are the places where one contact can change your life.

equals while trying to be a lady in the work place. As far as the economy goes, I would improve the environment for foreign investments and do my best at improving the situation in the real sector through various incentives. Without real sector, i.e. production, there is no new jobs and, on the back of that, no progress or development in a country. Unfortunately, we, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, cannot say that things are going that well. We need to invest a lot of effort and work in order to catch up to the

I DO HOPE THAT PRESIDENT VUČIĆ WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE FAIR NEXT YEAR TOO, TO SEND ENCOURAGING MESSAGE TO ENTPRENEURS FROM THE REGION AND THE WORLD, AND TO OFFICIALLY OPEN THE FAIR It doesn't happen often that a woman holds such a responsible function as you do. What are your guidelines in terms of managing the Fair?

— I am not fond of the gender (in) equality debates, and I have never thought of jobs of being strictly male or female. If a person is educated, capable, responsible and hard working, he or she can succeed in any line of work, regardless of the gender. At the same time, I think that every successful business woman should act in a professional manner. I am glad that I have never witnessed any type of gender discrimination at work. I have always maintained that we are all

world. Politics is still very imporant because without serious and stable environment, which is directly tied to politics, there is no investments or economic development.

The 21st Mostar Fair will take place between 10th and 14th April, 2018, with the Republic of Serbia being the fair's partner country. Have you strated preparing for it as yet, and what would you single out as crucial in the preparation?

— The 21st Mostar Fair, which will take place between 10th and 14th April, 2018, is upon us. Our Fair is entering its third decade ambitiously and we have started

THE CRISIS IS BEHIND US This year, the Mostar Fair celebrated its 20th anniversary. Which events in the fair's history would you like to single out as most important for its positioning on the market? — - This year, we made progress in all segments of the organization of the fair, which was visible at every step. The relevant figures also indicate that the crisis is behind us. Part of the financial profit has already been invested in the infrastructure and renovation of our pavilions, so the next fair is going to take place in an even better environment.

organizing the next year's fair the moment this year's fair finished. The preparations last all year. I would like to reiterate our satisfaction with having Serbia as a partner country. We expect the exhibitors from Serbia to present their economic branches because the Mostar Fair is a general trade fair that showcases all industry branches – from heavy and food industry to culture, publishing industry and tourism. The Republic of Serbia is one of the most important trade partners of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In terms of the countries of import, Bosnia and Herzegovina imported mostly from Germany, Italy and Serbia (11.6%) in 2016. Bosnia and Herzegovina has the best export to import ratio in trading with its neighbouring countries, and Austria, Germany, Italy and Turkey. This ratio in trading with Serbia is 51.25%. According to the latest data, Serbia occupies the 4th place in importing from Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have been talking to our exhibitors and countries that have participated in the fair so far, and we have received a lot of positive feedback and confirmations that they are coming to Mostar next year. Of course, we expect to grow further. Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and Austria were our partners in the past.

How much did the renewed interest in regional networking affect the number of exhibitors from the Western Balkan countries?

— Year-on-year, the Mostar Fair has been turning into a small Balkan summit of sorts, and a meeting place of not only business people but also regional political leaders. The ratio between the domicile and foreign exhibitors is 50:50. Тhis year, we had the honour of hosting several heads of states and governments including the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić who has become our regular guest. I do hope that President Vučić will be able to make it to the fair next year too, to send encouraging message to entpreneurs from the region and the world, and to officially open the fair. Without reconciliation, cooperation and optimism, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region will not be able to move forward. The Mostar Fair is an excellent opportunity for all regional entrepreneurs to establish new contacts, network and exchange information in order to make successful business deals and accomplish successful results.

I F BRITA IN BE CA M E “ S IN G A P O RE - O N -T H A M E S ”

The British Economy if the Country Crashes Out of the European Union An idea of British economic policy after the hardest of Brexits

After crashing out of the European Union, Britain tries an alternative economic model. The experiment is proving painful. IT IS 2021 and Britain is out of the European Union. The two-year Brexit negotiations never really got going. Following the general election of 2017 the Conservatives, though the largest party, had no majority in Parliament. They struggled to formulate a coherent plan to present to the EU. The hardline fringe of the party promised to raise hell any time there was any suggestion of compromise with Brussels. The two sides did not get close even to a transitional deal. On March 29th 2019 Britain crashed out of the club. The immediate result was panic. British airlines were excluded from the EU’s common aviation area, so they were no longer allowed to take off in one EU country and land in another. Cars, Britain’s second-biggest goods export, faced a 10% tariff to enter the EU market. Exporters did not know how to navigate EU customs, prompting long delays. The pound plummeted. With bankers moving to Frankfurt and a severe recession looming, the Conservatives drew up a blueprint to keep the post-Brexit economy competitive. The plan called for low taxes and a small state. This was a renewed push in the direction taken by George Osborne, the chancellor in 2010-16, who reduced public spending as a share of GDP from 45% to 40% while cutting taxes on companies and the rich. The Tories dismissed the notion, touted by the tabloids, that Britain was turning into “Singapore-on-Thames”. They were wary of alienating left-leaning Brexiteers who had for the first time voted Conservative in 2017. Yet the plans were radical. They started by cutting the rate of corporation tax from 17% to 10% (a threat Britain made to its EU partners early in the Brexit negotiations). The higher rate of income tax was slashed from 40% to 25%. The government also tweaked Britain’s tax-secrecy laws. Bearer shares (almost universally outlawed because they confer anonymous ownership of a company) were reintroduced, having been abolished in 2015. At first the plan seemed to have an impact. Spotify, a music-streaming app, moved its headquarters from Stockholm to London. The weak pound made British firms targets for foreign buyers. Unilever, one of the largest companies

THIS HIT THE GOVERNMENT’S POPULARITY. SENSING THEIR CHANCE, A GROUP OF PRO-EU MPS HAVE FORMED A NEW PARTY, BRITAIN UP! IT HAS NEARLY 100 MPS in the FTSE 100 and the producer of Colman’s mustard and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, was finally taken over by Kraft Heinz, an American firm, to form UniKraft. UniKraft is now a British firm for tax purposes but the big decisions are taken in America. Reality bites Yet, beyond a brief uptick in GDP, all this has hardly helped the economy. It has also deprived public services of resources. Take the economy first. Cutting corporation tax and introducing loopholes may induce big firms to switch their tax domiciles, but it does little to encourage firms to create jobs or production in Britain. Even the most optimistic calculation from the government, which finds that higher investment leads to faster growth and a higher tax take, suggests that after 20 years just half of the lost receipts could be recouped. Overall, Britain remains far less attractive

to foreign investors after Brexit than it was before. It is no longer in the EU's single market and, with immigration rules tighter, firms have trouble finding the right staff. UniKraft has saved a bundle on its tax bill but it also moved the Colman’s mustard factory from Norwich to Poland. Personal-tax cuts have had a similarly underwhelming effect. The 15-point cut to the higher rate has benefited only a small number of people: 15% of income-tax payers, according to official estimates. These folk are richer, so are more likely to save rather than spend any extra income. The tax cut has thus given growth only a marginal boost. It has been expensive. Estimates from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a think-tank, suggest that each percentage-point cut in the higher rate of income tax costs the government about £1bn. The number of higher-rate taxpayers has declined as rich EU nationals quit the country. As the tax take fell, the government had to cut spending. The tabloids cheered the raid on the budget for overseas aid and the abolition of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, seen as a waste of money. But all government departments needed to economise. That proved particularly hard for the National Health Service. The austerity plan called for a decade-long cash-terms freeze in NHS spending, the biggest squeeze in its history (compared with an average real-terms increase in 1950-2010 of 4% a year). The exodus of foreign nationals also hurt; in the early 2010s one-third of doctors were immigrants. The NHS found it hard to cope even with a fairly mild winter in 2020. Typically Britain sees around 30,000 excess deaths each winter, but that rose to 60,000. This hit the government’s popularity. Sensing their chance, a group of pro-EU MPs have formed a new party, Britain Up! It has nearly 100 MPs, defectors from Labour and the Liberal Democrats—plus a few Tories, whose defection has triggered an election. It is campaigning on a promise to hold a referendum on whether to reapply for EU membership. The rump of the Tory party insists Brexit means Brexit. The polls suggest the race is neck and neck. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

12 KINGDOM OCT

H.E. Miguel Fuertes Suarez

OF SPAIN DAY

The official reception in Belgrade marked the Kingdom of Spain Day, and Ambassador H.E. Miguel Fuertes Suárez pointed out that Spain is surviving "complex moments" right now. He expressed the belief that Spain would overcome them with the support of his friends, among whom he especially emphasised Serbia. At the reception at Hotel Metropol, attended by ministers in the Government of Serbia with PM Ana Brnabić, Suárez expressed gratitude to the officials of Serbia for the support they provided to Spain. The National Day of Spain is celebrated in honour of Christopher Columbus's arrival in America in 1492, and is also celebrated as the Spanish Armed Forces Day.

Ivica Dačić, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub, H.E. Adela Mayra Ruiz García, Aleksandar Vulin, Defense Minister, Ana Brnabić, Serbian PM, Natasa Vulin, Color Press

13 AHK OKTOBERFEST OCT

IN BELGRADE

AHK celebrated the annual Oktoberfest in Belgrade, together with its members, business partners and representatives of the Serbian economy. Around 1,500 guests experienced a unique interpretation of this famous German festival and enjoyed draught German beer, Bavarian specialities, competitions in beer drinking and mug holding, with the support of this year’s partner company Messer Tehnogas. The honour of opening the event went to H.E. German Ambassador Axel Dittmann, who skillfully cracked open the first barrel of beer. Following welcome addresses by AHK Srbije President Ronald Seeliger, AHK Serbia Director Martin Knapp and CEO of partner company Messer Tehnogas, Ernst Bode, came celebrations and socialising just like the original German event, though adapted to Serbian conditions.

H.E. Marco Antonio García Blanco, Ambassador of Mexico with his wife and Nik Ady Arman Bin Nik Mohd Kamil, Charge d'Affaires of the Malaysian Embassy with his wife

H.E. Axel Dittmann, German Ambassador, Ronald Seeliger, AHK Serbia President, Martin Knapp, AHK Serbia Director

18 MALAYSIAN OCT

The sponsors

DELIGHTS 2017

The Malaysian Embassy in Belgrade organised an event called Malaysian Delights 2017, a five-day event devoted to the promotion of Malaysian tourism, traditional cuisine and cultural heritage, which was held from 18 to 22 October 2017 at the Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel in Belgrade. As part of the event, Malaysia’s tourism presentation “Enchanting Malaysia” organised by the Embassy of Malaysia and Turkish Airlines from Belgrade, as well as a live demonstration of preparing specialties of Malaysian cuisine by special guests of the event – famous Malaysian and Serbian cooks Dato Ismail Ahmad and Mr. Milan Lekić.

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21 ORIENT EXPRESS OCT

BY GÜRAY BAŞOL

As part of the Turkish National Day Celebrations, the piano concert entitled “Orient Express” by Turkish pianist Güray Başol was held in the National Library of Serbia. Apart from the National Library, the organisers were Turkish Embassy in Belgrade and Yunus Emre Institute.

Martin Knapp, Ivan Đoković, Miloš Vučević, Alexander Jung, Slobodan Cvetković and Robert Čoban

H.E. Tanju Bilgiç, ambassador of Turkey

20 OKTOBERFEST OCT

IN NOVI SAD

The 2017 Novi Sad Oktoberfest was officially opened on Friday, 20th October, in the main hall of the Master Centre by the traditional tapping of beer barrel. Novi Sad Mayor, Miloš Vučević, Deputy German Ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Jung, the Vojvodinian Economy and Tourism Secretary, Ivan Đoković, AHK Serbia Director, Martin Knapp, Director of the Novi Sad Fair, Slobodan Cvetković, and President CPG, Robert Čoban all gave welcome speeches. Over 40 breweries exhibited their products and close to 15.000 visitors could try several hundred different kinds of beer, and various kinds of sausages and pretzels. As mementoes, the visitors could buy beer mugs, T-shirts and gingerbread hearts.

24 KINGDOM OF DENMARK OCT

- FROM COPENHAGEN TO THE ARCTIC

An exhibition of photographs entitled "Kingdom of Denmark - From Copenhagen to the Arctic" was officially opened at the Sava Beach Walk in Belgrade Fortress in the presence of the Ambassador Denmark in Belgrade, H.E. Anders Hougor, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs in the Government of Serbia Zoran Đorđević, Undersecretary for the Culture of the City of Belgrade, Milan Lazović and Director of the Belgrade Belgrade Fortress, Petar Andrijašević. The photo exhibition is a gift from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Serbia, and in cooperation with the JP Belgrade Fortress.

H.E. Anders Hougor and Zoran Đorđević, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs in the Government of Serbia

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

24 HUNGARIAN OCT

REVOLUTION DAY

The first uprising against then-Warsaw pact ideology happened 71 years ago in Hungary. Celebrating the anniversary of Hugarian 1956 Revolution, the Embassy of Hungary organised a ceremony at Hotel Jugoslavija in New Belgrade. H E Attila Pinter delivered the speech in which he reminded the numerous guests about this event.

Zorana MihajloviÄ&#x2021;, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and Karla Robin Hershey, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDPResident Representative

H.E. Attila Pinter

H.E. Leo Vincent M. D'aes, Ambassador of Belgium and H.E. Harry Richard James Kandou, Ambassador of Indonesia

24 72ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE GLOBAL OCT

ORGANIZATION

In the coming years, the United Nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; support in Serbia will focus on the 17 globally accepted, specific goals - in the context of the priorities and reforms related to the EU accession process. Dozens of programs will be implemented with continuous policy and advocacy expert support, as along with the experience and proven practices the UN brings to Serbia from countries around the world. This was concluded at the special event marking the 72nd Anniversary of the UN (United Nations Day), organized jointly by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Team in Serbia, at the Student Cultural Center in Belgrade.

26 AUSTRIAN OCT

STATEHOOD DAY

At the Embassy of Austria in Belgrade, the Statehood Day of the Republic was officially marked. Austria's Statehood day has been celebrated since 1955 when its neutrality was declared. The ceremony was opened by the Ambassador of Austria in Belgrade, H. E. Dr. Johannes Aigner. On this occasion, numerous high officials gathered in the Embassy of Austria, as well as other foreign delegates, including the Russian Ambassador H. E. Alexander Chepurin and the United States Ambassador H. E. Kyle Scott.

H.E. Dr. Johannes Aigner with his wife and Erika Teoman-Brenner, Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Austria in Belgrade

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27 15 YEARS OF OCT

ALGERIA FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY

Ambassador Algeria in Belgrade, H. E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub, held a reception marking the 15th anniversary of the Algeria Friendship Society and pointed out the dedicated work of that society in building friendship bridges between the peoples of Serbia and Algeria and its contribution to the field of economy and culture. Welcoming the attendees, the ambassador recalled the friendship and cooperation between the two countries begun as a result of the solidarity of the former Yugoslavia with the Algerian people during the national liberation war.

H. E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub and Zoran Đorđević, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs in the Government of Serbia

27 CZECHIA OCT

NATIONAL DAY

The Diplomatic Mission of the Czech Republic in Serbia celebrated in Belgrade the National Day, when 99 years ago Czechoslovakia gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The reception was attended by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and other government departments, representatives of political, public and cultural life, people from the business world, members of the Czech ethnic community in Serbia, heads of non-governmental organisations and numerous foreign diplomats accredited in Belgrade.

H.E. Tanju Bilgic and Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Mining and Energy

H.E. Tanju Bilgic and Nebojša Stefanović, Minister of Interior

Jovanka Višekruna Janković and H.E. Ivana Hlavsová, Czech Ambassador

30 TURKISH REPUBLIC OCT

DAY MARKED

The national day of Turkey, was marked in Belgrade, by a celebration organised by Turkish Ambassador H.E. Tanju Bilgiç. Turkey celebrates this holiday in remembrance of 29th October 1923, when then Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk formally proclaimed the country a republic. The reception was attended by ministers Ivica Dačić, Rasim Ljajić, Aleksandar Antić, Goran Trivan and Nebojša Stefanović, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, the Turkish community in Serbia, business partners, religious community leaders and personalities from the media, public and cultural life of Serbia.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

03 DAY OF NATIONAL UNITY OCT

AND ARMED FORCES DAY

Italian embassy in Belgrade marked the 99th anniversary of the end of World War I, which Italy commemorates as the Day of National Unity and Armed Forces Day. Italian Ambassador H.E. Giuseppe Manzo and Italian military attaché Colonel Paolo Sfarra lay wreaths at the large altar of the Italian military cemetery, where 1,063 Italian soldiers who lost their lives during WWI were laid to rest. Ambassador Manzo and his spouse hosted a reception at their ambassadorial residence that was attended by representatives of the Government of Serbia, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of Italian companies, religious communities and other distinguished figures.

Ana Brnabić, Serbian PM

Yana Mikhailova, FIC President and Regional Director of Nestle Adriatic

08 FOREIGN INVESTORS COUNCIL

Federica Cattoi, First Secretary, Sergio Monti,Deputy Ambassador, Col Paolo Sfarra, Military Attache and H.E. Giuseppe Manzo with his wife

NOV

PRESENTATION OF THE WHITE BOOK 2017

FIC presented the White Book 2017 to the highest Government officials and stakeholder community. The White Book is the major product by which, for 15 years, FIC gives recommendations aimed at supporting economic growth and better living standard of Serbian citizens.. The event was opened with a presentation acknowledging 15 years of FIC operations. In her introductory speech FIC President Yana Mikhailova noted that "FIC expects that the joint Task Force formed with the Government becomes a vehicle for accelerating reforms“. In the active panel discussion on ways to improve the business environment in Serbia, opinions were exchanged between: Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović and Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Đorđević, as well as FIC President and Regional Director of Nestlé Adriatic Yana Mikhailova, FIC Vice President and CEO of Telenor Ingeborg Øfsthus and FIC BoD member and Regional Property & Expansion Manager of IKEA Srbija Vladislav Lalić. th 08 100

NOV

ANNIVERSARY OF FINNISH INDEPENDENCE

Finnish Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Pertti Ikonen, marked 100th Anniversary of Finnish Independence– Suomi Finland 100 at his residence in Belgrade, using the opportunity to plant five birch trees, with the assistance of Aleksandar Vučić, Serbian President. The celebration was also attended by other ambassadors of Nordic countries to Serbia – Swedish Ambassador H.E. Jan Lundin, Danish Ambassador H.E. Anders Christian Hougard and Norwegian Ambassador H.E. Arne Bjørnstad.

H.E. Pertti Ikonen, Finnish Ambassador

Aleksandar Vučić, H.E. Pertti Ikonen, H.E. Jan Lundin and H.E. Anders Christian Hougard

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I NTERVIEW

We Nurture Responsible Leadership and Professionalism It is important that there is a dialogue between the state authorities and business sector because we have the same goal which is to make Serbian economy strong and competitive

JELENA BULATOVIĆ Executive Director of SAM

In 11 years since our establishment, we have tried to contribute to development of the best managerial qualities and promote ethical business. We are talking to the Executive Director of the Serbian Association of Managers (SAM), Jelena Bulatović about the contribution that this association has made to development of managers, and promotion of managerial profession and best business practices. To what extent have the implemented reforms contributed to development of the domicile business sector according to the companies that are members of the SAM?

— First and foremost, the Serbian Association of Managers supports all processes and reforms that contribute to better conditions for doing business and to a fairer and more transparent market game. Macroeconomic stability is one of the most important elements of business environment and business people salute the effort made in maintaining this stability. Also, the reforms relating to the Labour Law, inspection supervision, issuance of building permits and electronic communication between certain institutions in terms of exchanging documents were crucial for better operations of domicile and foreign investors in Serbia which, in turn, reflected well on Serbia's improved

ranking on the global competitiveness list. Tax and other measures, as announced by the government, that will be directed towards development of micro and small companies could especially boost the development of this sector. In which way does the SAM cooperate with the state in terms of exchanging opinions and views on improving the business climate?

— SAM is an association that assembles professional managers who are focused on professional development of managers, affirmation, professionalisation and pro-

work and offer concrete solutions.

What are the SAM's key activities on boosting its own capacities, and what does the Association offer to its members in this respect?

— SAM was founded 11 years ago and today it has 400 members, all professional managers. First and foremost, we are working on continuous professional development of managers, on improving their know-how and skills, exchanging experiences and good business practices, and, as often mentioned, on 'transformation' relating to managers that will deal with busi-

WE ARE WORKING ON CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGERS, ON IMPROVING THEIR KNOW-HOW AND SKILLS, EXCHANGING EXPERIENCES AND GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICES motion of managerial profession, networking between managers and promotion of the best business practices, companies and responsible business operations. Through our activities we advocate an open dialogue between companies and the state, i.e. we have created a platform for the public-private dialogue. At regular meetings with the representatives of institutions and working meetings, managers often highlight the challenges that they have been facing in their day-to-day

ness in the future. We are trying to provide our members with the information about the latest trends, to boost their managerial capacities, and to promote sustainable, responsible and ethical business. Which values does the SAM nurture the most and in what way?

— SAM is an association made of individuals / managers, hence the most important values for us are the ones that we think every person should possess - integrity,

OUR YOUNG MANAGERS THINK GLOBALLY What I personally like in the younger generations of managers is that they are free of some of the restrictions that the older generations have in terms of politics and geography. Our young managers are thinking globally, quickly adapting to trends, and are technologically skilled and fully prepared for the future business of digital transfomation. On the other hand, they also have a lot of respect for the knowledge and experience of older colleagues.

responsible leadership, expertise, continuous development, sustainability, tolerance, equality, positivity and trust. These values are important to us when new managers become members of our association, and it is these values that are the foundation of our activities and programmes. This year, the SAM has created an Ethics Code that will promote the said values in a wider business community. In December, we are organizing our traditional Gala Evening at which we are going to give our annual SAM Awards to best managers, employers and socially responsible companies, and thus promote the individuals and companies that share our values. Who are young Serbian managers and what are they like? How able are they to deal with the challenges of domicile and foreign markets?

— I am very proud of the fact that, apart from the 300 very successful and experienced managers, the SAM also assembles around 100 young managers and entrepreneurs. Whether they are managers who work in multinational and domicile companies, or second generation of family business owners, all of them are committed to their work, ambitious, keen to change the world for better, responsible and, above all, are continously working on bettering themselves. Through a mentorship programme that the SAM has been implementing for three years now, we bring together experienced managers, as mentors, and young managers, as mentees. This is a two-way process and, as it happens, the young managers often end up 'teaching' their senior colleagues.

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CO RPO RATE NURSING COLLEGE, ĆUPRIJA

The First Socially Responsible Education Facility in Serbia The Nursing College in Ćuprija helps the most vulnerable groups of students to study at privileged prices, while, at the same time, nurtures a high quality of education that will enable students to later have successful professional careers

The Nursing College in Ćuprija is an accredited, state-run educational facility with a 20-yearlong tradition in educating medical professionals. Its work is regulated by the Law on Higher Learning, and, in line with the Bologna Declaration, the college has six graduate programmes. The college is a socially responsible facility, ran by its director, Professor Christos Alexopoulos, PhD in Medicine, who takes care of his students, and for the first time ever, the most vulnerable student groups. Based on the article 20 of the College’s Articles of Associations, the director passed a Decree on Distribution of Funds for Incentives and Education of Students in Basic Vocational Studies which stipulates a 10% reduction in tuition fees for the school year 2017 / 2018. The Nursing College from Ćuprija directs all of its resources to the jointly coordinated work with students with the aim of harmonizing its curriculum with European standards in order to raise efficiency of studying, the level of knowledge and practical skills with the view of providing comprehensive, high quality, safe care for patients because capable health professionals are the best promoters of health and knowledge. This is corroborated by 6,000 students who graduated from medical schools this year. The College’s director, Professor Christos Alexopoulos has set a clear goal for the Nursing College to become the leader in educating health professionals (specialized nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, pharmacists, radiologists and beauticians aestheticians), and for the students

to use the College’s diploma to advance their professional career and continue with their specialization in health and education facilities, as well as in social protection services both in the country and abroad, where the diplomas of the Nursing College from Ćuprija are highly ranked. The College’s director, Professor Christos Alexopoulos has a vision for the school to reach the level of developed European institutions in this segment through ensuring that the high European standards of studying are continuously implemented, that the school makes a contribution to development of vocational studies, that research activities are constantly developed and improved, and that the school makes an impact on practice and development of health and social protection policies. This entails cooperating with other higher learning facilities, implementing good practices from the region and wider,

strengthening the College’s position in the labour market, collaborating with employers, and improving the dual education system which has been implemented together with other healthcare institutions and teaching facilities for years now. The College is recognized for its very advanced international cooperation which is illustrated through professor and student exchange. The Nursing College in Ćuprija is developing its expert, educational and research activities also as a member of the European Nursing Model (ENM). Student exchange is carried out by our students doing their practice in European health institutions, as well as foreign students coming to our Nursing College and its teaching bases. Our school exchanges students with other similar schools in Norway, Switzerland, England, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Macedonia and Romania. As a partner, our college was involved in the Tempus IV pro-

THE COLLEGE’S DIRECTOR, PROFESSOR CHRISTOS ALEXOPOULOS HAS SET A CLEAR GOAL FOR THE NURSING COLLEGE TO BECOME THE LEADER IN EDUCATING HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

ject with schools that are members of the academies from Belgium, Germany and Portugal. Being guided by its motto „Students always come first“, the Nursing College in Ćuprija also marks 8th of November – the Teachers Day in Serbia – in honour of the current and future generations of students. On this occasion, the College's director, Professor Christos Alexopoulos will sign an agreement on cooperation and establishment of the Union of the Ćuprija Nursing College and High Schools in Pomoravlje county, and organize a conference titled ‘Education – The Only True Way to Safe Future’. Students will also participate in a literary competition. On 6th November 2017, Professor Christos Alexopoulos received the Captain Miša Anastasijević Award in the Jagodina Town Hall for the contribution towards improving standards in education. This award provides an additional impetus for further continuous improvement in quality of education, extension of infrastructural and technical capacities, widening of the network of teaching bases, and boosting cooperation with other higher learning facilities.

Dr Christos Alexopoulous, Director

CO RPO RATE VISA CORE PRODUCTS, CISSE

Making Payments as Seamless and Easy as Possible We want Visa accounts to be used and accepted in the digital world as easily as in the physical world. Therefore we are constantly working on identifying new cardholder segments to create attractive programs that will encourage greater card use and therefore displace cash

DMYTRO MAMZELIEV Visa Core Products, CISSE

We spoke with Dmytro Mamzeliev, from Visa Core Products, CISSE, about Visa philosophy behind its products and the way the services evolved with the development of the digital environment and new clients’ needs.

Payment landscape has dramatically changed over the last decade. Has Visa changed the philosophy behind its products and approach to clients?

— No matter how big changes are, our mission remains the same to help people pay however and wherever they want - whether in store, through a watch, in a car, online – and make that experience as seamless and easy as possible. And we have a very simple vision

tify new cardholder segments to create attractive programs that will encourage greater card use and therefore displace cash.

And what are the latest trends in Visa cardholder`s behavior that you would like to address?

— Probably one of key latest trends in client`s behavior that could be mentioned is a Premiumization. Clients now are looking for Premium products with advanced

In Visa, you are responsible for Core Products. And when we say Visa, the first thought is plastic card. But, Visa does not issue cards, as many cardholders still believe. So, what is Visa core business and what do you offer to your clients- banks and merchants? — Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, set cardholder fees or interest rates, or make loans to cardholders. Accountholder relationships belong to our financial institution clients and are managed by them. We are a global payments technology company with a unique information processing platform — VisaNet that facilitates the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, consumers, merchants, businesses, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories. What we provide to them is the access to the world’s largest retail electronic payments network through a range of Visa-branded electronic payment products that deliver greater choice, convenience and security. So, Visa’s innovations enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers and enterprises choice to pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products.

OUR SUITE OF SMALL BUSINESS PAYMENT PRODUCTS, INFORMATION AND SERVICES CAN BENEFIT SMALL BUSINESSES IN SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE – REGION WHERE CASHLESS PAYMENTS ARE ON THE RISE – we want Visa accounts to be used and accepted in the digital world as easily as in the physical world. To accomplish that goal we support our clients to manage this balance between plastic and digital environment. This is the core of our strategy approach to issuers, merchants and acquirers as we continue to work with our financial institution clients to iden-

features which fits their lifestyle – for example Travel & Shopping. For Shoppers we can offer the World of Privileges program which we support and develop in CIS-SEE. More than 430 merchant locations of 116 brands represented in WoP program in South-Eastern Europe. For Travelers, we also have special proposition – free membership in one of largest program for airports

Lounges. With Visa card, your Travel experience will be smooth like never before.

Visa is usually associated with consumer cards. But you have very developed programs in commercial segment, especially for small and medium enterprises. What Visa offers to entrepreneurs? — Visa recognizes that small businesses are the backbone of local economies around the world and we support their growth and success. We provide small business owners with tailored payment products and services designed to increase efficiency and help them grow and compete in a dynamic marketplace. Our suite of small business payment products, information and services can benefit small businesses by providing them with spending control and visibility, tools to improve cash flow, purchasing convenience, and access to money-saving offers and rewards. In October 2016, Visa joined first Regional Conference Youth entrepreneurship in Belgrade. During this event, we had a chance to interact with Government, with SMEs and private entrepreneurs. We`ve conducted the workshop for those clients who was looking for Visa payment solutions and tools. BTW talking about tools and solutions – I would like to mention that Visa has many useful tools, such as Visa Business reporting – web based interface which helps SME to increase transparency of their business and improve financial management by providing them with information about card transactions. Also, we have a comprehensive tool which helps SME to control their card transactions by setting the limits in real time – this is Visa Payment Controls tool.

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B USINESS NEWS CAPITOL PARK RAKOVICA OPENED

HEMOFARM PROMOTER OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE SEE For the third year in a row, Hemofarm has received the highest rating for implementing sustainable development in its business, which continues to maintain the level of success, but also to be one of the leaders in sustainable development in the region. The honour to present the latest report titled "When Works Become Deeds", got to Ronald Seeliger, CEO of Hemofarm and Vice President of STADA for Southeast Europe. "Sustainable development is a story of how to be better in everything we do, to

Capitol park Rakovica, the most modern retail complex in which the British "Poseidon Group" and the Belgian company "Mitiska REIM" invested 30 million euros, was opened on Thursday, October 19th. The first programme was attended by the first Deputy

respect people and the community in which we work and live, to save resources and preserve the environment. We in Hemofarm took on our role to be the initiator of the change and promoter of sustainable development in the region of Southeast Europe" said Seeliger.

EIB AND SOCIETE GENERALE SIGN 60 MILLION EUROS FINANCE CONTRACTS

Societe Generale Bank and Sogelease signed with the EIB two finance contracts for support to SMEs, Mid-Cap companies and priority projects in the amount of 60 million euros. The total loan arrangement amounts to 110 million euros, and the remaining portion of funds will be released in early 2018. The funds provided under these

contracts will be used for the financing of working capital loans and investments with a repayment period of up to 12 years for loans granted by Societe Generale Bank and up to 7 years for Sogelease investment loans. Societe Generale is also the signatory of the EIB’s (EYET) European Youth Employment and Training Initiative.

CANSEE SUPPORTED IT CONFERENCE VOXXED DAYS 2017 The third technology conference Voxxed Days Belgrade organized by the HeapSpace community was held in Belexpocentar in Belgrade on the 19th and 20th of October. CANSEE Canadian Serbian business association, together with its member-companies from ICT industry group, supported this important event for the first time. The event brought together more than 700 developers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and technology enthusiasts from all around the world. The participants had the opportunity to

12 ten-minute individual meetings during SBM was attended by 26 companies from different business sectors, who, with the aim of business development and acquisition of potential partners, had the opportunity to connect to each other and expand their contacts base.

hear and learn more about the most current trends in the world of technology, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer architectures, and security in virtual reality.

ISRAELI INVESTMENTS IN SERBIA EXCEEDED ONE BILLION EUROS

SPK SPEED BUSINESS MEETING

The Slovenian Business Club, the Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce organised the "Speed Business Meeting" at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade Hotel, which was also the partner of this event. In order to network foreign and domestic businessmen,

Prime Minister Nebojsa Stefanović, Mayor of Belgrade Siniša Mali, Mayor of Rakovica Vladan Kocić, State Secretary Aleksandar Damnjanović, his Excellency Ambassador of Belgium, diplomats of the Embassy of Azerbaijan, and other high officials.

Ambassador of Israel to Serbia Alona Fisher Kamm said that Israeli investments in Serbia exceeded one billion euros. She added that the interest of Israeli companies, primarily in the energy sector, "clean technologies" and water treatment technologies, has

increased. "Since 2000, billions of euros have been invested in the real estate sector, while tourism for the first six months of this year has recorded an increase of 300% compared to the first half of last year," she said. She added that in 2017, Serbia was visited by about 20,000 tourists from Israel, and that the number of tourists is expected to be more than 50,000 this year. She reminded that the Israeli company recently signed an agreement on participation in the Kovačica wind farm, where about 200 million euros were invested.

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MERCURE BELGRADE EXCELSIOR OFFICIALLY OPENED

Mercure Belgrade Excelsior, the first hotel of internationally recognised Mercure brand, is officially opened in Serbia. Mercure is a recognisable brand of the world's leading tourist and lifestyle group AccorHotels, which traditionally offers top quality service. The business policy of the Mercure hotel brand is to cooperate exclusively with local food and beverage distributors in all

markets. The first Mercure hotel in Serbia is the result of the partnership of "Orbis Hotel Group", a strategic partner of the French AccorHotels for Eastern Europe, and LAMPS Hellenic Hotels. Cooperation between French and Greek hotel makers will make Serbia become the 96th country in which AccorHotels operates, putting Belgrade on the map of preferred tourist destinations.

THE THIRD CYCLE OF THE "THINK FUTURE" STARTS Selected candidates from various faculties across the country will have the opportunity to develop skills in the field of creativity and entrepreneurship during the NELT educational programme in the next 12 months, as well as to expand their aspects regarding critical thinking, teamwork and project development. The third cycle of the educational programme will last from October 2017 to September 2018, and will be attended by 24 selected students and two employees of this company. Interdisciplinarity of education, reflection of contemporary

TAX EXEMPTION OF BEGINNERS IN BUSINESS

Finance Minister Dušan Vujović supported NALED's proposal that beginners in business for at least a year should be exempt from paying tax obligations. The participants of the meeting agreed that support to the development of entrepreneurship is urgent because, according to the Agency for Business Registers, in the last ten years, the

average number of newly established entrepreneurial shops has fallen by almost a third - from 45,500 to 33,000 a year. The NALED proposal includes the introduction of a tax exemption for young people who have completed college or high school in the last six months and all persons who have been for more than six months on the records of the NES.

LEADING MARKETING TRENDWATCHING EXPERTS At the lecture for 500 marketing professionals, held in Belgrade within the Direct Media Academy, the world's leading marketing experts Trendwatching presented the main trends, as a recommendation to brands, media and marketing agencies. To offer a service or product that will make life easier for people, even using artificial intelligence, to be present everywhere and at all times in completely new places and in new contexts, to connect people with people who share the same interests, to change to a better own company from the inside and

concepts and preparation of young participants for their future professional development are the basic goals of this programme.

IMPROVEMENT OF SME BUSINESS”

The Economic and Trade Department of the Embassy of Belgium in the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, organized a seminar on the 18th of October 2017, entitled ” Brussels-Capital Region- Opportunities for Improving the Business of SMEs”. Mr. Nenad Đurđević, Director of the

Department for International Economic Relations of the PKS (Serbian Chamber of Commerce) and H E Leo D’Aes, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Serbia addressed the participants of the seminar. During the event it was also possible to hear speakers from two consulting companies: “Schuman Associates” and “FTI Consulting”. Representatives of the “Schuman Associates” were Mrs. Danai Tsapikidou and Miss Katarina Muse. In the second part of the seminar were organized business meetings with representatives of companies from Brussels.

SERVIER 10th ANNIVERSARY IN SERBIA

finally, to be different and unpredictable – these are five are global trends in marketing for 2018. Director of Direct Media System, Jovan Stojanović, said that monitoring trends is important in marketing that connects companies and consumers, as well as constant work on itself through learning.

Independent French pharmaceutical company Servier is marking its 10th anniversary in Serbia. Only this year 170,000 people in our country have used medicines produced by this company, most of them in the therapy for cardiovascular diseases. Since 2007 Servier has increase its workforce in Serbia from 3 to 45, while the turnover of the Compa-

ny’s medicines has increased to more than 9 million euros in the course of 2017. “Availability of innovative therapies to patients in Serbia, not only in the field of cardiology but also in other therapy indications such as diabetes, oncology and venous diseases, is one of the priorities of our Company” said Claude Broudic, General Manager of Servier Serbia.

B USINESS NEWS BANCA INTESA CHOSES THE BEST FARMERS IN 2017

Banca Intesa announced the winners of Intesa Farmer 2017 contest for the most successful farmers at an official ceremony which was attended by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Branislav Nedimović and high ranking bank representatives. Robert Silađi from Bajša near Bačka Topola won the first place in the Intesa Stockbreeder category, while Vladimir Ostojić from Sremska Mitrovica was the winner in the Intesa Crop Farming category. Dušan

Petrović from Gospođinci near Žabalj was the most successful in the Intesa Vegetable Grower category, while Zorica Kovačević from Čerević near Beočin was victorious in the Intesa Fruit Grower category, and Stevica Marković from Brestovac near Leskovac in the Slow Food Producer category. Winners of Banca Intesa contest will be awarded with a study trip to the 20th International Agricultural Exhibition & Conference Agritech 2018 to be held from May 8 to 10, 2018 in Tel-Aviv.

A UNIQUE DONATION CONCEPT THROUGH SAVINGS On the occasion of Savings Week, Mirabank is promoting a unique message - "Through Savings We Donate". This is a pioneer concept within Serbia’s banking market and is meant to support the activities of BELhospice, a local charitable organisation. Within the framework of this campaign, which promotes an attractive fixed nominal annual interest rate of 1.40% on EUR term

deposits, Mirabank will, from its own funds, add 10% of the interest amount paid to the client and donate this amount to BELhospice, a palliative care centre which cares for cancer patients during the terminal phase of their illness. Mirabank’s offer is available until the end of the year on minimum deposits of EUR 10,000 for private individuals.

MCCANN BEOGRAD NAMED „AGENCY OF THE YEAR“ IN SERBIA

McCann Beograd was named Agency of the year in Serbia at National Kaktus 2017 festival. This is the third consecutive year that McCann Beograd has won this prestigious award. “We are feeling honored in winning Agency of the year Award third consecutive year in a raw.”, said Olivera Perković, Managing Director of McCann Beograd. Campaigns which were awarded at Kaktus 2017. are: In the

Integrated Campaigns category, Content Integrated Campaign - “PiruLOLci” (PiruLOLs) for Froneri Adriatic, In the Integrated Campaign category, Innovative Integrated Campaign - “democrARtisation” for the Museum of Contemporary Art, and In the Individual Works category, Viral Video - “Sa slavom nema šale” (Don’t Joke with Slava) for Carlsberg Srbija.

AFTER-HOURS BUSINESS COCKTAIL

SSCC member-company ''Absolut time'' hosted the ''After-hours business cocktail'' on Thursday, November 02, 2017. On this occasion, Mrs. Olivera Stojanović, Managing Partner ''Absolut time'', welcomed SSCC members in the flagship boutique which was opened in December

2012 and presented the latest collections of Omega, Longines, Breitling, Tissot, Mont Blanc and other luxury brands. After the official speech, cocktail guests continued to explore the world of watchmaking and also received ''SSCC VIP Benefit cards'' as a special gift from the host.

THIRD MULTI CONGRESS SERBIAN VISIONS A civil society festival organized by the German - Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) in cooperation with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The third and the only one multi congress in Serbia will take place on November 25-26, 2017 at the Raddison Blu Old Mill Hotel. At a two-day event, representatives of the civil society, institutes, associations, universities, professional associations and entrepreneurs will present their ideas, engagement and solutions on how to make the economy more efficient, civil sector stronger and the overall development of Serbia faster. In its 60 two-hour events, the multi congress will cover a wide range of topics: human rights, economy, EU integrations, education, culture, health, environmental protection, safety, innovations, as well as many other topics that create the vision for a better future of Serbia. The purpose of the Serbian Visions Multi Congress is to strengthen the role of civil soci-

ety in the country, and to create a more favourable economic environment. Contents of SERBIAN VERSIONS: 60 two-hour events during one weekend, 60 various participants – organizers of their own events: NGOs, institutes, associations, universities, faculties, professional associations, enterprises, etc., 60 different ways of presentation: discussions, forums, presentations, workshops, seminars, film screenings, etc., 60 interesting topics in the fields of human rights, economy, education, culture, health, environmental protection, EU integrations, and other, 60 and more reasons to come to Serbian Visions. In 2017, Serbian Visions team will, for the first time, give awards for the best vision and the best social engagement. Entrance to the multi congress is free of charge, and we would like to invite people to come and attend events of their choosing and liking. Registration for individual events is not necessary.

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RO UND TAB LE

What is Healthy Food in Serbia? A round table discussion was held in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, on the occasion of the World Health Day, which is celebrated on 16th October, on the topic "What is healthy food in Serbia" with the participation of local experts from different fields and activities of production, distribution and certification of food. The participants of the round table discussion were Slavoljub Stanojević, acting Director of the National Reference Laboratories, Aleksandar Bogunović, Deputy Director of Agriculture at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Mirjana Jovašević, Corporate Communications Director at Delhaize Serbia, Milica Stefanović, Senior PR and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Company / Agriculture of the Council of Foreign Investors, and Dragana Šiljegović Filipović, nutritionist. The participants discussed the following topics - consumer education, healthy food choices, regulations in this field, the role of retail chains in public health education, importance of reading labels, food safety, and the kinds of foods offered on the market. Nutritionist Dragana Šiljegovic Filipović started the discussion, and said that she believed that

Aleksandar Bogunović, Deputy Director of Agriculture at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce

education system in our country was not good and that educational and health institutions should be consulted. "I think that education on healthy nutrition should start at the nursery level, and the whole process should involve parents, because the most important representations and habits we acquire at the earliest age are those that we will adhere to later in life" she said. "Although a large number of healthy foods can be purchased in our market, people generally do not know how to recognise them, they do not understand what is said on the labels, and are not informed how to use these foods in the right way. We should actually consume diverse food so that we can eat healthy”, she says. Aleksandar Bogunović, from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, talked about how important it was to engage in education, and what the state should do in that respect, while explaining that the state had several types of inspections that were supervising the implementation of relevant regulation. "Ministries and inspections are doing a good job, and based on previous experience, we can say that food in Serbia is safe for use and that it is regularly controlled. However, ascertaining whether

Dragana Šiljegović Filipović, nutritionist

that food is healthy is a completely different matter," he said. Mirjana Jovašević, Corporate Communications Director at Delhaize Serbia, said that the fact remained that every person wanted the best for themselves and their family, and talked about how much consumers pay attention to food labels. "Our company conducted a test on a sample of 1,000 shoppers to see what percentage of them actually read the labels on the packaging. As it turns out, only four out of ten customers read the label. 27 percent of them do not care, 26 percent think that this is important information, and only 5 percent do care what the label on the packaging says", Mirjana said and underlined that the big problem and the obstacle to having a healthy diet were the beliefs that healthy food was expensive and not tasty, and that a healthy meal was difficult and complicated to prepare. Therefore, as Mirjana pointed out, it was very important to explain to consumers, in simple terms, how to eat healthier, where they could find adequate and convenient foods and the recipes for healthy meals. How can consumers be protected, what can producers do in this respect, and how to contribute to proper and healthy eating? Milica

Milica Stefanović, Senior PR and Communications Manager, CocaCola Company Agriculture of the Council of Foreign Investors

Mirjana Jovašević, Corporate Communications Director at Delhaize Serbia

Stefanović, senior PR and Coca-Cola Corporate Communications Manager and Chairwoman of the Food and Agriculture Board at the Foreign Investors Council, talked about these topics. "It is necessary for consumers to understand the product label, and what product offers and provides, its nutritional value and the like. It is the manufacturers that can contribute to this education," said Milica, underlining that, apart from education, changing life habits was the key factor, but also the hardest part, that yields long-lasting positive results. Slavoljub Stanojević, Director of the National Reference Laboratory Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture, spoke about the importance of the state doing everything in its power to ensure quality control. "The state should provide enough affordable but safe food. However, the state cannot do it alone if agriculture and science do not participate in the process. Also, the state must ensure that the food is regularly controlled. Serbia needs a reference laboratory that would oversee the work of other laboratories for food quality control", said Slavoljub, and then spoke about the use of pesticides and all the dangers and risks that this practice carries.

Slavoljub Stanojević, acting Director of the National Reference Laboratories

P E A K BRITA N N IA

The Decadent Late-Victorian and Edwardian Era From a sponging king to arrogant intellectuals, the years 1880-1914 showed the mortality of Britain’s power and productiveness

al elite—particularly the Bloomsbury set—took to ridiculing as prigs and bores the Victorian giants who had built up the economic and moral capital which they lived off. Mr Heffer is himself a bit guilty of self-indulgence. He devotes too much space to subjects that catch his imagination, and says too little about an important part of Britain’s decadence: the way its obsession with the fripperies of aristocratic life diverted its attention from industry and commerce. He is silent about the United States despite the fact that these years saw America replacing Britain as the world’s biggest economy. There is surely no better illustration of Britain’s decadence than the entrepreneurial vigour of the likes of John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Yet Mr Heffer’s faults are minor compared with his virtues: He writes with such exuberance—indeed with such Edwardian swagger— that he leaves the reader looking forward to his next volume, on the first world war and the breakdown of the liberal world order. From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

The Age of Decadence: Britain 1880 to 1914. By Simon Heffer. Random House Books; 897 pages; £30. IN the late Victorian and early Edwardian period of 1880-1914, at least (see article), Britain had a swagger in its step. You could see it in Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee of 1897 and Edward VII’s coronation in 1902, or hear it in the music of Edward Elgar. You could detect it in the objects of everyday life: coins of gold and silver, books bound in leather embossed with gold, stamps doubling as works of art. The middle classes lived in solid contentment, with enough space to bring up a family and enough servants to lighten the domestic drudgery. No wonder the generation shattered by the first world war and buffeted by the Depression, then by the rise of communism and fascism, looked back on the Edwardian era as an enchanted long-ago, when civilised people were forever taking tea on the vicarage lawn. And yet even these years hinted at Britain’s mortality as the world’s most powerful country. Those who only know Simon Heffer from his

THE RULING CLASS BECAME HOGGISHLY SELFINDULGENT: MR HEFFER LACERATES EDWARD VII FOR HIS HABIT OF SPONGING OFF HIS FRIENDS AND DEBAUCHING THEIR WIVES somewhat bilious writings in the Daily Mail might be tempted to ignore his book on this period. Resist the temptation. Mr Heffer combines a scholar’s command of the primary literature with a journalist’s eye for detail. He writes with admirable sensitivity about both music and literature: a better account of Elgar or Arnold Bennett would be hard to find. He does a brilliant job of exposing the rot beneath the glittering surface of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. The ruling class became hoggishly self-indulgent: Mr Heffer lacerates Edward VII for his habit of sponging off his friends and debauching their wives. At the same time the intellectu-

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CO RPO RATE HUAWEI DEVICE SERBIA

We Want to be a Number One in Serbia

Huawei has a strong local team in Serbia. That is why from last year to now we have grown to have 25% of the market share in mobile phones. Now we are even more ambitious and want to become the leader on the market for smartphones

JACKY ZHAO Huawei Device Director of Balkan Region

We want to bring the latest technologies to Serbian market, and become number one on the market says Jacky Zhao Huawei Device Director of Balkan Region in an interview for D&C.

put efforts in the battery that would be a problem. We are however lucky, we have the narrow connection capability, we know how to make the best optimisation on the thick battery level, to save the energy. So second, I believe, is experience. It is even more important. According to my opinion, for busy users, it is important how fast this device responds. And also, how is the “hand feeling” of the device. This is aligned together” and as for Huawei we have 15 global incen-

the mobile technology?

— I think, according to my opinion, the majority of things in the future will be shown through the smart devices, or let's say, intelligent devices. You see, maybe few years ago the people were getting used to the 4 inches screen size. Now you have 6 inches screen size, and they are more popular. It means you can do a lot of stuff from the mobile side. So IT's future is digitalisation that will be connected by a mobile.

Is Serbia ready for innovations and new technologies?

— I think definitely it is, because Serbia's market is kind of central of the Balkan region, here we are in the middle of investments, and you can see in the last two years that our market share has risen for 24%, in Serbia as a country, I believe we are ready and I also believe that we have a power to bring not only the top-end latest technology, but also mid-level technology, for example, like a fingerprint, we are the first to bring it here, and also cameras. I believe that the obvious responsibility for us is to bring the latest technologies to Serbian market, not only for quotation but also for massive market consumption.

What is your experience with business users, what are their needs and how do you manage to meet all the challenges the users are seeking?

— Well, first of all they are different as consumers. We believe that, in order to have a serious product, you have to focus on business users. First of all the battery are very important for them, because they do most of their stuff by mobile phone, I believe so far, if you don't

I BELIEVE THAT THE OBVIOUS RESPONSIBILITY FOR US IS TO BRING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES TO SERBIAN MARKET, NOT ONLY FOR QUOTATION BUT ALSO FOR MASSIVE MARKET CONSUMPTION tives and 6 of the global incentives are about innovations. The idea, our aim is to bring the latest technology on the smartphone. For example we have the fastest chips but we carry these models to the market. We are leading in this area but we also bring the smartphones to the benefit of the business users.

How do you see the future in digitisation when we talk about

Huawei is a leader of producing mobile devices and continues to distribute new devices. Of what are you particularly proud during the past few years? — Definitely I am proud of knowhow on the Serbian market, I am also proud of my team. I have a strong local team here, they walk with Huawei and they had a chance, they had a know-now to adapt the latest technology and

products to a local language. I think this is all linked. I think this is a reason why from last year to now we have grown to have 25% of the market share in mobile phones here. We are strong Number Two brand in the market, and I am proud of that.

Tell us about the plans of Huawei for 2018.

— This is something we were working on recently, the plans for the next year. The next year, personally my goal, and the team, we want to become the leader on the market for smartphones. Also we have a strong confidence that Huawei laid out the foundation of what we made, especially the new models will be launched in Berlin, and you will see some new models in the first half of the year. The premium technology in chipping will be transformed into a premium smartphone. With the stronger local capabilities, I think that is the best moment for it!

And the last question, you have been for several years in Belgrade. How do you like our mentality, nd what has left the biggest impression on you?

— I see China and Serbia having a very good connection. I think in the mentality there's some similarity as well. I think this is a country where the people are really working hard. And really play hard! There is a lots of loyalty, they are really friendly. And that is what makes impossible – possible, just like your sports, you know, volleyball, basketball, they all make amazing results, this is, I think, how you show the characteristics of the nation, this is also where the Chinese people have the similarity. They love it.

I NTERVIEW Text: BOJANA LALIĆ - ŠEVIĆ

When the Old Meets the Modern

We have created a new sound movement which is based on tradition, but also branches out into various sound segments while provoking a unique energetic experience

SLOBODAN TRKULJA Musician

The multi-instrumentalist and singer Slobodan Trkulja, who world music critics call ‘a Serbian national treasure’, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Balkanopolis 2.0 with a spectacular concert called BALKANOPOLIS 2.0 in Sava Center on 25th November. In the late 1990s, the contemporary world and ethno music reached their peak. What is the situation like today?

— Balkanopolis is a promoter of modern tradition, a musical genre that emerged with the view of reviving our traditional music. I think that the real peak is happening now. Our music has become a part of the musical culture of our nation. Our audiences are people who love traditional music, classical music fans, fans of rock and roll, and even people who listen to techno music come to our concerts. Balkanpolis is in a very developed creative stage, its sound is homogenous and cohorent, and everything kind of sublimated to become a huge sound energy. Modern tradition has never been more stronger and more alive. We are playing all over the world, and, for 20 years now, we have been living for this sound. Often, our success surpasses that of mainstream bands.

How satisfying is to present our national treasure to the world?

— It is hugely satisfying particularly when you present it in a modern day and form. I love seeing young people from all over the world enjoying in the modern sounds of Balkanopolis. The tradition contained within our sound completely fascinates them when they hear it for the first time. Owing to Balkanopolis, they are getting to know our ancient tradition, archaic singing, bagpipes,

— There are tears and emotions that only music can instigate in people. There is also a great excitement and even screaming like in a rock concert. In China, we gave autographs an hour after concerts. I should mention a Chinese boy from Shanghai who came to Balkanopolis’ concerts four nights in a row, totally mesmerized by our sound. In Russia, we received a standing ovation, both im Moscow and St. Petersburg. At a Scottish festival we had several encores. In Japan, where the audience is traditionally reserved and sometimes wait for a few seconds until they start applauding, we sometimes got an applause in the middle of a song because they just felt a need to do so.

MODERN TRADITION HAS NEVER BEEN MORE STRONGER AND MORE ALIVE. WE ARE PLAYING ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND, FOR 20 YEARS NOW, WE HAVE BEEN LIVING FOR THIS SOUND. OFTEN, OUR SUCCESS SURPASSES THAT OF MAINSTREAM BANDS fife, kaval, Byzantine cantillation and the spirit of our people. There is a huge segment of our tradition that is yet to be heard by the rest of the world, and we are here to showcase this sound to everyone. How does the worldwide audience react to your performances?

What are your favourite songs to perform?

— I like my path and creating music in front of audiences; you know, that moment when time and space stop existing and when only energy remains, floating in the air. I love singing several songs joined into one because that gets me into that

special state that I described. Every song has its own nuance, different tempo and instruments, but they are all a part of the same energy. I pick very carefully the songs I am going to sing at a concert, because there is so much we would love to play, and then there are songs that the audience favours. I think that bagpipes slightly dominate over the other music instruments that we use both in our old and new songs. Who was your biggest influence?

— There are so many people whose love made me into what I am today. My father Nikola taught me how to have a positive outlook and joy in life, mother Mirjana how to use logic in making decisions, while my brother Mladen fed me with his brotherly love. My teacher Amalija Kučmaš was the first person to direct me towards music, Milorad Lonić and Ivan Szabo have kindled in me the love towards tradition that burns bright to this day, and the Kovilj monastery embraced me with their brotherly Christian love. Professor Ben from the Netherlands welcomed by uncoventionality and found a way to teach me music techniques while remaining true to myself. Love is demonstrated through people and now it is up to me to share the love, that I was showered with, with the whole world through music and songs that I create and perform.

PROUD LEAP INTO THE FUTURE What are your future plans? — All my attention is focused on celebrating our 20th anniversary and on our concert. I am happy to say that we are going to welcome to the stage musicians that used to play in Balkanopolis in the past. After that, we are embarking on a 12-date-tour in China. As a part of our 20th anniversary, we are going to release a video clip from the concert that we had in Kombank Arena in Belgrade. Early next year, we are going to release a maxi

single called “Petrion” which was recorded with Mariza, Yiorgos Dalaras, Pelageya and Mayssa Karaa from Lebanon, all accompanied by the Metropol Orchestra from the Netherlands. In the early 2018, we are going to record new songs that we I have been working on for quite some time now. We remain true to the archaic and traditional sound and the energy that defines us. We are also willing to push our boundaries and progress with Balkanopolis’ sound map. A very exciting period is ahead of us.

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FEATURE

Diplomacy&Commerce

DIPLOMACY & COMMERCE LAUNCHED IN CROATIA! Diplomacy&Commerce Croatia magazine was launched on November 6th 2017 at the residence of UK Ambassador in Zagreb

Robert Čoban, CPG President, Boban Spasojević, Executive editor, H.E. Andrew Dalgleish, British Ambassador and H.E. Thomas E. Schultze, German Ambassador

Diplomacy&Commerce Croatia magazine was launched on November 6th 2017 at the residence of UK Ambassador in Zagreb. British Ambassador H.E. Andrew Dalgleish, H.E. Thomas E. Schultze, German Ambassador, Mr Robert Čoban, CPG President and Mr. Boban Spasojević Executive editor of D&C Croatia, addressed the guests and shared their impressions about the magazine. Ambassadors of UK and Germany expressed their gratification and pleasure because the first issue of DC Croatia included special publications dedicated to UK and Germany and their bilateral relationships with Croatia. In his speech Mr. Čoban

said: “Since The Economist with whom we are publishing Diplomacy&Commerce is a British brand – I often like to quote Winston Churchill. „Business as usual” that is something we have been implementing during the past 25 years in our publishing company. Most of you remember what we’ve been through in the region for the past 25 years and only with the “business as usual” sentence it is possible to work and develop a publishing business. We believe that such development is possible only if we all in the region cooperateof course with the support of countries such as Germany and U.K. whose ambassadors are with us tonight!” This eminent event

hosted many other state and diplomatic officials such as Mustafa Babur Hizlah, Turkish Ambassador, H. E. Jurij Priputen, Slovakian Ambassador, H. E. Mohammad Reza Sadegh, Ambassador of Iran, Adrianao Chiodi Cianfaram, Ambassador of Italy, H. E. Mihail Gregorie, Romanian Ambassador, H. E. Miroslav Kolatko, Czech Ambassador, H. E. Neil Benevides, Ambassador of Brazil, H. E. Won-Sup Park, Korean Ambassador and Mr. Gordan Markotic adviser in the Croatian Ministry of Economy. The launch party was attended by many illustrious guests from the cultural, political, business and diplomatic community of Croatia, British, Turkish, German and Austrian chambers of commerce, FIC Director Mladen Fogec, the HGK Vice President Želimir Kramarić, Dubravka Vrgoč, Alemko Lisinki Croatian National Bank, and and others...

6TH BELGRADE CHOPIN FEST AUTUMN ECHOES Belgrade Chopin Fest and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Belgrade organized the concert of the Autumn Echoes of the 6th Belgrade Chopin Fest on November 3 in the Belgrade City Assembly. The Concerto of the Chopin Fest series is traditionally held every autumn from 2012, marking the Festival marking the anniversary of the death of one of the greatest composers in the history of humanity, Frederick Chopin. The two-part homage presented the outstanding artists: string quartet Mistik Cello, young

pianist stars, 12-year-old Lara Arbajter and 16-year-old Galina Nikolin, and pianist Ukia Ovaskainen. In the crowded Hall of the Belgrade City Hall, in the presence of numerous representatives of diplomacy, European institutions and companies, along with the notes of the poet Klavir, music timelines took place - the stormy emotions of the Chopin era were revived. After the concert, the artists and the audience continued to socialize at a festive cocktail organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland..

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CORPORATE

HEINEKEN Serbia

WHEN YOU DRIVE, NEVER DRINK

BELGRADE, 30.10. 2017 – Although almost two thirds of people think that there should be zero tolerance for people who are driving under the influence of alcohol, almost 68% drivers in the world have confirmed that they were drinking and driving – a worldwide survey conducted by HEINEKEN has shown. The company presented the results to Belgrade's Faculty of Economics at an educational workshop about responsible alcohol consumption. These student workshops are held in collaboration with the Traffic Safety Committee

and under the framework of the global Heinken campaign 'When you drive, never drink'. The aim of the workshops was to present, in an interesting way, the striking examples of real-life traffic situations, and by doing so, convey a message about the importance of responsible consumption that will remind young people why they should never drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Corporate Affairs expert from Heinken Serbia, Goran Stupar announced that the company would continue promoting responsible behaviour in traffic as desirable behaviour. "Responsible consumption

is a very important segment of our business and we are working hard wherever we can to clearly communicate it to our consumers. We want to present and continuously promote this kind of responsibility as a social norm of behaviour when driving", Stupar said. Damir Okanović from the Traffic Safety Committee has supplemented the results of the survey with remarkable examples of real-life traffic situations. "In Serbia, over the past 10 years, more than 700 people were killed in traffic accidents involving alcohol, while about 20,000 sustained serious or light injuries," Okanović said. Our famous race car driver Dušan Borković, who is a supporter of Heineken's campaign and is tirelessly campaigning himself on promoting traffic safety, also addressed students. "Streets are not a race track, but a place where we are responsible not only for our lives, but

for the lives of other traffic participants," Borković told students. In addition to interesting information regarding responsible consumption, students also had the opportunity to try on glasses that simulate vision under the influence of alcohol, and to check the speed of their reflexes in the way that professional drivers do. HEINEKEN Serbia and the Transport Safety Committee will also hold educational workshops at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineers, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Organisational Sciences in Belgrade.

KOLARAC

C ALEND AR & NE W S

Concert hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

WATER 1

CYCLE: ENCOUNTER WITH AN ARTIST

Ksenija Celner, soprano Felix Justin, piano

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon Soloist: Višnja Popov, mezzosoprano

THE FIFTH 1 Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon

Wednesday, 3rd at 20.00 Concert Hall Conductor:Fabrice Bollon Soloist:Višnja Popov, Saturday, 4th at 11.00 Hall

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

THE WORLD OF SOUND - LEADING

Conductor: Howard Griffiths Soloist: Sanja Romić, oboe

traditional songs from BosniaHerzegovina Friday, 10th at 20.00 Concert Hall

THE FIFTH

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Fabrice Bollon Soloist: Alexander Krichel, piano Sunday, 12th at 11.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Una Stanić, violin, Irena Josifoska, cello, Uki Ovaskainen, piano Tuesday, 14th at 20.00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC /YOUR MUSIC WORLD

CapellaCracoviensis (Poland) Jan Tomasz Adamusconductor, organ / harpsichord Wednesday, 15th at 18.00 Concert Hall

RTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Bojan Sudjić Marija Mitić, soprano, Lidija Jovanović, alt, Dejan Maksimilijan Vrbančič, tenor, Nikola Diskić, baritone

Conductor: Daniel Raiskin Soloist: Lukas Geniušas, piano

PANDEMONIUM 3 Nov 30, 19:00

Belgrade Philharmonic Hall

Giovanni Sollima Viaggio in Italia Narrator: Vladimir Aleksić Soloist: Maja Bogdanović, violoncello

Sunday, 5th Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

11.00 BUNT Festival/ Youth Day Nemalja Belej, violin, Ivan Bašić, piano Mozart, Brahms 12.30 Kids Philharmonic Conductor: Ljubiša Jovanović

CYCLE: ENCOUNTER WITH AN ARTIST

Biljana Valčić, soprano Ljiljana Božić, piano

Wednesday, 15th at 21.00 Concert Hall

GIPSY RHAPSODY BAND

Perica Vasić & Gipsz Rhapsodz Band & friends Thursday, 16th at 18.00 Music Gallery

CD PROMOTION OF JOSIP SLAVENSKI MUSIC

Jasmina Janković, piano

80 Anniversary of Music School Josip Slavenski

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Howard Griffiths Soloist: Sanja Romić, oboe

PROFESSORS/ STUDENTS

Pianists: Vladimir Cvijić, Stanko Simić, Katarina Ruvidić, professor Vladimir Tošić

The 23th Authors' Film Festival (FAF) in Belgrade will be held from November 24 to December 2, 2017. The Authors' Film Festival Council emphasizes that the poster of this year's FAF was inspired by 1967 by the zenith of the New Yugoslav Film, the moment of the greatest achievement of freedom, creativity and diversity in the history of our cinema - a film year that was an anticipation and an introduction to the rebellious '68. in Yugoslavia

The most prominent young musician in 2016. Uroš Panajotović, violin Tuesday, 21st at 20.00 Concert Hall

GALA CONCERT

80 Years Anniversaryof Faculty of Music Conductor: Bojan Sudjić Soloists: Roman Simović, violin, Stefan Milenković, violin, Stojan Krkulseki, clarinet, Tamara Stefanović, piano, Jasmina Trumbetaš, soprano, Jovan Kolundžija, violin, Vesta Petković, jazz vocal Wednesday, 22nd at 18.00 Music Gallery

CYCLE: ENCOUNTER WITH AN ARTIST

Femina Trio Madlen Stokić Vasiljević, violin, Maja Mihić, piano, Ivan Dakić, oboa

Pure Strings Special Guest: Quan Yuan, conductor & violin Conductor: Jean Y. Foo

Friday, 17th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Wednesday, 8th at 18.00 Music Gallery

CYCLE: CYCLE: IN COLLABORATION WITH… UMUS

INTERNATIONAL PRODIGY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Sunday, 5th at 20.00 Concert Hall

PUPILS`S CONCERT

Sunday, 19th at 11.00 Concert Hall

Thursday, 23. at 20.00 Concert Hall

Saturday,4th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

EVENING OF SEVDAH

Saturday, 4th at 18.00 Music Gallery Bogdan Đorđević, piano

Nov 24, 20:00

THE 23th AUTHORS' FILM FESTIVAL (FAF)

Thursday, 9th at 20.00 Concert Hall

Exhibition & Concert Novi SadWind Quintet

WATER 2

Vlada Aleksić

Katarina Jovanović , soprano, Rita Kinka , piano, Jelena Filipović, viola Programme: L.van Beethoven, J. Brahms, J. Haydn

FILHARMANIA(C )

Nov 17, 20:00

Daniel Raiskin

FESTIVAL BUNT

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Fabrice Bollon Soloist: Višnja Popov, mezzosoprano

FIRE 2 Hauard Grifits

Wednesday, 1st at 20.00 Concert Hall

Wednesday, 2nd at 20.00 Concert Hall

Nov 10, 20:00 Fabrice Bollon

November 2017 Wednesday, 1st at 18.00 Music Gallery

Nov 03, 20:00

Visnja Popov

CONCERT PROGRAMME

FIRE

Saturday, 18th at 20.00 Concert Hall

RTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Stanko Jovanović Aleksandra Jovanović, soprano Aleksa Vasić, bariton Programme: G. Faure, A. Vujić

Friday, 24th at 18.00 Concert Hall

WATER

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor:Daniel Raiskin Soloist:Lukas Geniušas, piano Saturday, 25th at 11.00 Concert Hall

SMALL SCHOOL OF BONTON

How to listen to a Music Host: Miloš Milovanović Rocher Band

Sunday, 26th at 11.00 Concert Hall Kolarac Podium of Chamber Music

ROCHER BAND

Wednesday, 29th at 18.00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: MUSIC WORKSHOP

Concert of Faculty of Music Students – Piano department Thursday, 39th at 20.00 Concert Hall

HYPERCUBE/ CONCERT SEASON 2017/2018.

MUZIKON Chamber Orchestra

and in the world. The author of the festival visual solution is Vesna Pešić. "Spirit of '67 also led us in the preparation of this year's main programme: towards the authors and works who are bold enough to break through all the boundaries and clichés, and are sufficiently inspired to hold their image today in a test in some future time, in conjunction with some other audience" explained Srđan Vučinić, artistic director of the Film Festival.