Diplomacy and Commerce No.30

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August 2018 | ISSUE No. 30 | Price 350 RSD

9772466380002

EXCELLENCE IN TREATMENT OF CANCER

Univ. Prof. Dr.

CHRISTOPH ZIELINSKI Medical Oncologist, Wiener Privatklinik

INVESTMENTS IN BOTH SERBIA AND THE REGION

14 THE BASTILLE JUL

DAY CELEBRATED

PREDICTABILITY IS KEY ELEMENT FOR INVESTORS H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX

Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

ZORANA ŽDRALE BURLIĆ CEO of Delta Real Estate

CAPRI’S ROLE IN GLOBAL REVOLUTION

EXERCISES IN BREATHING, FEELING AND THINKING IVAN MEDENICA

Art Director of BITEF

NO FUTURE, JUST TOMORROW

DENIS KOLUNDŽIJA Journalist

Reportage by

ROBERT ČOBAN

FOCUS ON

REAL ESTATE SERBIA

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EDITO RI AL

CO N T E N T S

Soft Power Dear readers, The people all around the globe were stunned by the exceptional success of the Croatian national football squad, and the world heard about the small country with little people with heroic attitude, almost winning over the mighty France with the help of many footballers with African roots. Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović won the hearts with her informal attitude and her national team jersey. Later on, and fortunately for Croatia, very few people noticed the faux-pas of the Croatian singer Thompson singing along with the silver medalists. Soft power is strong and good PR is amazing, even better than many wars based on sheer power. Russia did the amazing job organising the best World Cup so far, completely obliterating the mean-titled rumours about “how dangerous it would be”. Their national team ended up in the 5th place. The multicultural teams of England, Belgium and of course, France, showed the Western Europe what the future was going to look like - the blend of ex-colonial immigrants and the domicile people, creating a powerful mix which reflects the changes in societies.

Meanwhile, in Serbia, our diplomacy’s best move this year was the mutual abolition of visas with China and Iran. Now we can go and see these two civilisations that have shaped humanity without much hassle and up close and personally. Exit 2018 was flooded of Chinese and Iranians, since this was their first ever stay in Europe and a first music festival to attend. They will then go to Prague and Vienna, Rome and Paris, but Serbia will remain in their hearts as their "first place in Europe", just like the Serbian tourists felt regarding Kuşadasi or Paralia or Sutomore. They have a limited access to YouTube and Facebook in their countries, or even no access at all, so many of them did not even know who was performing at Exit. But they had a great time, and they will tell all about it to their friends and families back home. This is not about the cosmic justice or who is right or wrong. It is about who wins your heart with a story.

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DONALD TRUMP AGREES TO CEASE FIRE IN THE TRADE WAR WITH THE EU The Economist

Editor-in-Chief

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PREDICTABILITY IS KEY ELEMENT FOR INVESTORS H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX

Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

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DREAM HOME. DOWN-TOEARTH INVESTMENT Luštica Bay

Editor in Chief

zikica.milosevic@color.rs

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Editorial manager

tanja.bankovic@color.rs

VANJA KOVAČEV

ROBERT ČOBAN

PR&Event support Nord Communications

robert.coban@color.rs

Director

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ

GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES

vanja.communications @gmail.com

Photos

Advertising manager

MINA VUČIĆ

natasa.nesic@color.rs

Editorial manager assistant

ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD

DRAGANA RADOVIĆ

indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

dragana.radovic@color.rs

Advertising manager

SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

JOVANA MARKOVIĆ

RUŽA RISTANOVIĆ

ZLATNA KNJIGA

jovana.markovic@color.rs

ruza.ristanovic@color.rs

Art director

Advertising manager

Magazine director

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AMBASSADORS AND MEDIA VISIT ČENEJ AIRPORT, ŠTRAND SUMMER FEST AND EXIT FESTIVAL

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GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER Comment

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EXERCISES IN BREATHING, FEELING AND THINKING

Medical Oncologist, Wiener Privatklinik Academy Cancer Center

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

DENIS KOLUNDŽIJA

Reportage

Univ. Prof. Dr. CHRISTOPH ZIELINSKI

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

NO FUTURE, JUST TOMORROW Journalist

EXCELLENCE IN TREATMENT OF CANCER

ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

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IVAN MEDENICA Art Director of BITEF

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PROGRAMME FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

CAPRI’S ROLE IN GLOBAL REVOLUTION

AcademIAA

Reportage

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Politics

Culture

UPS AND DOWNS OF EUROPEAN POLICY

THE JUBILEE 65TH PULA FESTIVAL CLOSES

Translation Print

Jagodina, Bargdanski put bb

Photo for the cover page of the Focus on Real Estate edition, taken from KK Konsulting. ”Color Media Communications” LTD, 21132 Petrovaradin, Štrosmajerova 3 TIN 107871532 • Matriculation number 20887303 · Phone: +381 21 4897 100 • Fax: +381 21 4897 126 Office: Vase Čarapića 3/IV/38, Belgrade • 011 4044 960

www.kkonsalting.com

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

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

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S E A L E D WIT H A K IS S

Donald Trump Agrees to Cease Fire in the Trade War With the EU But American farmers are already suffering the consequences of his policies

President Donald Trump has not been shy about his admiration for tariffs. But on July 25th his love of deals appeared to prevail. Tweeting a picture of Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, kissing his cheek, Mr Trump heralded an advance in trade relations between America and the European Union. “A breakthrough has been quickly made that nobody thought possible!”

Mr Juncker was triumphant, too, tweeting: “I came for a deal, we made a deal.”

The two sides agreed to work together towards “zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods.”

Trade barriers in services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and soyabeans are on the chopping block, too. Pundits were quick to point out that Mr Trump had, in fact, secured talks to negotiate something that looks remarkably similar to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, an accord put on ice when he became president. Such a deal might be possible, but it is a lot more remote than Mr Trump’s jubilation suggests.

The meeting’s other outcomes have more immediate consequences. Mr Trump agreed to “hold off further tariffs”, halting the threat of punitive measures on European cars and avoiding escalation into a nastier tit-for-tat dispute. Remarkably for a man said to be itching to withdraw from the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mr Trump announced that he would work with the EU to reform it. Rather than mindlessly bashing the WTO, Mr Trump may have realised the benefits of using it to tackle China’s economic misdeeds.

Given Mr Trump’s mercurial personality and his peeves over America’s bilateral trade deficit with the EU, the truce may prove fragile. That means the most lasting policy announcement of the week could yet be the one made on the day before Mr Juncker’s arrival, when Sonny Perdue, Mr Trump’s agriculture secretary, outlined a relief package of up to $12bn for American farmers hit by retaliatory tariffs from America’s trade partners.

American farmers have long worried about their position on the front line of Mr Trump’s trade wars. Around a fifth of their production is exported, leaving them exposed to retaliation from the likes of China, Mexico and the EU; their political heft at home makes them prime targets for foreigners trying to make the Trump

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MR TRUMP HAD, IN FACT, SECURED TALKS TO NEGOTIATE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS REMARKABLY SIMILAR TO THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP administration reverse course.

The Trump-Juncker deal offered American farmers little relief. Not only was agriculture conspicuously absent from their joint statement (beyond a promise to buy more soyabeans), but the EU accounts for less than 4% of the agricultural trade flows affected by the new tariffs.

By contrast, $12bn is a big increase in government support for an industry that already gets a lot. The OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, estimates that in 2016 American farms received $33bn in various types of support.

As generous as Mr Perdue’s plan may be, only its outline is clear. Producers of soyabeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy and pigs can expect payments. They can also expect the government to hoover up unexpected surpluses. Last, some of the cash will be spent on developing new export markets for farm products.

The subsidies are meant to fortify Mr Trump as he attacks foreign partners with tariffs and quotas. Most important, he is trying to pay off the domestic losers from his trade war with Chi-

na lest they cause trouble for him and the Republican Party in the mid-term elections. So far, the move has attracted a mixed response. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, has thanked the administration for offering help, but will continue to argue for a “swift and sure end to the trade war”. Jimmy Tosh, a Tennessee farmer, is blunter: “To hell with welfare. I want access to foreign markets.”

The administration says that the farm subsidies will be temporary, and they could yet be.

If Mr Trump repeats his dealmaking trick with the Chinese, perhaps after combined pressure with his new European partner, the tariffs could be stripped away as quickly as they came. The question is how much damage will have been done.

Unfortunately, temporary agricultural support programmes tend to become permanent. And lost markets may prove difficult to recapture. Disrupted trade relations can shock countries into the realisation that they rely too heavily on one market. After an American soyabean export embargo in 1973, spooked Japanese companies invested in Brazil, which then grew to become a colossal competitor to America. Like real conflicts, trade wars have unintended consequences.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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INTERVI EW

Predictability is Key Element for Investors Switzerland is helping Serbia to reintroduce double education system

H.E. PHILIPPE GUEX

Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

We spoke with H.E. Philippe Guex, the Ambassador of Switzerland, as a neutral and a non-EU country like Serbia, about what can we learn from them in terms of political and economic relations in world today: Switzerland does not belong to any large trade zone like for instance the EU single market. As a middle size country Switzerland has a limited political leverage on world trade issues. Therefore, Switzerland focuses very much on multilateralism on the one hand and on concluding free trade agreements (FTA) on the other hand.

For us, the only way to protect and promote our economic interests is (1) to actively contribute to create a solid regulatory framework for trade and investment within the World Trade Organization and (2) to conclude as many FTA as possible with our partners. We have for instance an FTA with large partners like the UE, Canada, China or Japan. But also with Serbia, South Korea, Morocco or Egypt to name a few. Negotiations are under way with India, Indonesia, Algeria or Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay).

As far as neutrality and trade are concerned, economic sanctions are a sensitive issue we sometimes have to face. To make a long story

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short, if Switzerland decides not to enforce economic sanctions taken by a major partner, like the EU for instance, it will apply the “non-bypassing rule”. Namely, we do not allow that Swiss territory is used to bypass economic sanctions taken by other partners.

The cooperation between our countries is on the rise, but there is much more space open. What are the next steps, that are including SSCC?

— As far as development cooperation is concerned, Switzerland is among the top four bilateral donors (95 million € for the period 2018-2021). Economic development is one of the main three priorities together with governance and energy efficiency. I see at least two domains where syner-

Science and Technology Park in Belgrade and we are considering to continue our support for additional techno parks the Serbian government is intending to create in Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac.

ICT services - information, communication, technology – recently became Serbia’s number one ex-

THE SWISS DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION HAS CONTRIBUTED TO CREATE THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK IN BELGRADE AND WE’LL CONTINUE SUPPORTING EFFORTS gies exist between Swiss cooperation (carried out by the Embassy) and the Swiss Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SSCC, an independent body), namely: • dual education system where Switzerland is helping and supporting Serbia to reintroduce a dual education system (the SSCC is for instance organizing a seminar on October 18th on this topic).

• innovation (Swiss cooperation has contributed to create the

port, which was previously held by agricultural products. Innovative start-ups which are working within techno parks are usually very much export oriented. Supporting Serbia in increasing its exports is also one of our goals as it improves Serbia’s integration within the global economy.

About the EU perspectives of Serbia, having in mind that Switzerland is not a member but has

pretty much unified rules and regulations, what us your advice?

— The European Union has brought peace and prosperity in Europe. There is no doubt about it.

Even if my country is not a member of the EU, it has very much benefited from peace and prosperity brought by the EU. It is not a coincidence that Switzerland’s economy is among the most integrated economies in the EU. But at the same time there is a dangerous long term trend throughout Europe where the EU is getting less and less popular among the citizens. It is a real challenge for all governments in Europe to explain the virtues of the EU to their citizens. Not only for EU member governments, but also for candidate countries like Serbia or for European countries like Switzerland for which accession is not on the political agenda.

So my advice is to find ways and means to explain “Europe” to the Serbian citizens. In the case of Switzerland, we do it through our referendums which are held on a regular basis.

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Switzerland is one of the innovation giants. For landlocked country with little resources, like us, it is also an opportunity for growth.

How did you manage to foster it?

— There are at least three reasons which explain that Switzerland is an innovation giant as you say.

• Set-up of a favorable environment for R&D and innovation: • establishing polytechnical institutes and universities with world class R&D, • applying strict principles to avoid wrong R&D resource allocation: the State finances only fundamental research leaving the private sector to finance applied research; • introducing fiscal incentives for expenditures in R&D. • The appreciation of the Swiss franc for the last 50 years has forced Swiss companies to innovate in order to keep their competitiveness. Innovation is not only to come up with new products or services, it is also about cutting production costs and increasing efficiency.

• The capacity to attract multinational companies in different key sectors like pharmaceutical industry, life science industry, medtech industry or ICT. A number of foreign companies like IBM or Google have their European R&D hub in Switzerland.

Skiing and mountain and lake tourism is a backbone of Swiss tourism industry. Can we apply your experiences with the SSCC projects?

— I am not aware that the SSCC has projects in the tourism industry. But the Swiss development cooperation does in the context of its support to the dual education system. I am thinking in particular of projects we have in Zlatibor.

DUAL EDUCATION SYSTEM WHERE SWITZERLAND IS HELPING AND SUPPORTING SERBIA TO REINTRODUCE A DUAL EDUCATION SYSTEM A few years ago, Swiss Tourisme had some cooperation with NALED in order to exchange best practices. Within our new cooperation strategy (2018-2021), we will certainly keep an eye on opportunities to support the tourism sector in Serbia.

Do you expect more investments of Swiss companies in Serbia?

— Switzerland has 1 billion € of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

We are a middle size foreign investor as we held rank number 8.

I strongly believe that there is a large potential for Serbia to attract

MOST NUMEROUS SWISS INVESTORS IN SERBIA From which branch there are most numerous Swiss investors in Serbia?

— According to the statistics, the first one is business support services. The second one is wholesale & retail, meaning that Swiss companies do have local representations in Serbia who sell their products. The third one is the ICT – information, communication technology, software. For instance, we have companies like Namics who actually are outsourcing some software engineering for Apps to Serbia. ICT is a large and fast growing market.

The fourth one is construction and engineering.

Swiss FDI. This potential will materialize as Serbia is improving its rule of law.

A key element for attracting foreign investments is predictability.

Only a strong track record of rule of law can provide the predictability foreign investors need. Even though rule of law is improving in Serbia, several companies still complain about uncertainties regarding how to comply with certain rules and regulations. In this respect, the uneven reliability of the judiciary as well as of the administration is a complaint I often hear.

Serbia has a number of convincing advantages for attracting additional Swiss direct investments, namely: • Good level of education in science and engineering; • Proximity of the Swiss market for Serbian export of goods and services.

• Low production costs, • Large Serbian diaspora.

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CORPO RATE Luštica Bay

Luštica Bay: Dream Home.

Down-to-earth Investment

With natural riches and investment incentives, there has never been a more advantageous time to invest in Luštica Bay, new integrated resort town in Montenegro

Few horizons are as entrancing as the one that Luštica Bay’s apartments look onto: different hues of blue play out between sea and sky, waters glisten, swifts fly and fall. There are no distractions to take away from nature’s beauty.

It is a view that is already relished by many, with numerous Luštica Bay residents settled into their new homes. However, this July heralded a special era for the coastal town with the official launch of its Marina Village neighbourhood. This exciting phase saw the opening of the restaurants, cafés and shops of the Marina promenade, Luštica Bay’s new state-of-the-art marina and its first hotel, the five-star The Chedi Luštica Bay. The town with its spectacular views is now a flour-

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ishing place to live.

Set to become a fully integrated, sustainable town across 690 hectares of the Luštica peninsula, creating life as it should be has been the development’s ethos from the start. The raw materials were already there: a beautiful setting on the Adriatic coast, sunny climate 240 days of the year, easy access and the diverse landscape of Montenegro at its fingertips.

struction, exceptional facilities, luxurious finishes and a diverse, connected community life have combined to create Montenegro’s most sought-after place to live.

Behind the project is Swiss-based developer Orascom Development Holdings who have created successful, integrated towns across the world, including Egypt’s El Gouna and Switzerland’s Andermatt Swiss Alps.

LUŠTICA BAY’S LOCATION TAKES FURTHER ADVANTAGE OF THE GROWING TOURISM TREND

Luštica Bay has sought to add to this canvas, forming a town that embraces local culture and tradition while setting the stage for a forward-thinking future. Sustainable planning, high-quality con-

Orascom and Luštica Bay understand that cultivating a unique lifestyle is only half the story.

Ensuring a secure investment is just as vital. With an advantageous economic and political climate

and Euro as the official currency, Montenegro offers a solid investment foundation.

The country’s economy has been growing year-on-year with tourism as the major driver - 2017 was Montenegro’s most successful tourist season, exceeding the record-breaking 2016. By 2027 international tourist arrivals are forecast to total 2,978,000, generating an expenditure of just over €1,593 million, a predicted increase of 5.5% per annum for the next decade.

This success is partly down to the government of Montenegro’s carefully planned, long-term tourism strategy. Since its inception in 2001, focus has been on developing sustainable facilities for visitors while protecting and preserving the country’s natural landscapes. Luštica Bay, which is the result of a joint

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partnership between Orascom and the Government of Montenegro, embodies this far-sighted approach.

Luštica Bay’s location takes further advantage of the growing tourism trend. With three international airports within reach, including Tivat at only 10km away, residents can fly from all major European destinations in under two hours and arrive at Luštica Bay within minutes. The majority of nationalities don’t require a visa to stay for up to 90 days and if you buy property in Montenegro, whatever the value, you benefit from a renewable one-year residence permit.

Luštica Bay itself offers an extremely flexible buying process, allowing buyers to purchase both off-plan and already built properties. Buying off-plan means that buyers can capitalise on significantly lower purchase prices during construction and the expectation of price increases over the construction period. There is also a favourable payment plan for offplan purchases, plus the flexibility of adding extra options during the building process. After purchase, Luštica Bay’s rental brokerage service can oversee the rental process on your behalf, from setting prices and handling bookings to taking care of upkeep and cleaning.

Luštica Bay residents can also be reassured they are not only buying a property, but a place within a thriving, year-round town, a town that has been designed to become an organic part of the surrounding area and future-proofed for generations to come. With a network of sidewalks, green trails, cycle lanes and roads, apartments, townhouses and villas are extremely well-connected. From their doorstep, residents will have access to all the requirements of modern town

ASIDE FROM NEW OPENINGS, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING HAPPENING AT LUŠTICA BAY, NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF YEAR living, including numerous dining options, shops and boutiques, a golf course, a private beach, conference and sports centres, school, medical services and other essential amenities.

The newly opened main marina in the village by the sea will provide residents and guests access to the ultimate riviera lifestyle and a

passage to a life on the coast. Safe harbour from wind and weather conditions, it will be able to accommodate small boats and large yachts alike and provide a total of 176 berths at its full capacity.

With the country’s yacht-friendly legislation, it will attract sailors from far and wide, opening up easy passage to what is considered

one of the world’s most beautiful sailing spots.

Luštica Bay’s first and highly-anticipated hotel has also added a glamorous dimension to town life. Set on the water’s edge and full of local character, The Chedi Luštica Bay resort is an alluring mix of barefoot luxury and modern sophistication. With two restaurants, a ballroom, a wellness spa and gym, outdoor and indoor pool and resort shops, residents and guests can enjoy all the hotel has to offer alongside The Chedi’s impeccable service.

Aside from new openings, there is always something happening at Luštica Bay, no matter what time of year. A calendar of events regularly brings the community together with sunset barbecues, beach parties, sporting competitions, festivals and cultural celebrations. The town’s private beach offers clean waters for swimming, snorkelling and watersports. An 18-hole, Gary Player-designed golf course is planned to sit atop the peninsula with views in every direction, and, currently, residents can hone their skills on the practice range.

That is before you consider the wider temptations of Montenegro.

The country’s small size makes discovery easy, yet its riches are endless. Its 293km coastline encompasses 117 beaches, historic towns, modern cities and the UNESCO heritage site of Boka Bay. Inland, four national parks offer breathtaking variety and beauty, with numerous outdoor activities, and winter sports and skiing from October through to April.

Life as it should be has never been so easy, but beyond its stunning, blue-sea views, Luštica Bay offers a new and exciting perspective on property investment.

To find out more visit www.lusticabay.com

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPA R T UR E S

in August & September

AUGUST

SVETOSLAV ATANASOV

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At the Helm of Coca-Cola HBC Serbia and Montenegro

Svetoslav Atanasov is appointed General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Serbia and Montenegro. He is coming to the helm of the company from the position of General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria he held from 2014 to date. He launched his extensive career in the company in 1999, within an internship programme, and soon landed a job in the marketing team. Since 2006, he held several key positions in the Sales and Marketing Departments, and as of 2010, he was also in charge of cooperation with key accounts. He soon assumed the position of the Country Sales Manager and three years later he became Gen-

eral Manager. Svetoslav Atanasov will continue to develop business operations in Serbia, with a special focus on continuing with employee education, further strengthening of customer relations and improving quality of life in the community. Having achieved exceptional business results in three years at the helm of Coca-Cola HBC Serbia, Aleksandar Ružević will continue his career in Coca-Cola HBC Russia. As the newly appointed General Manager of the largest market within the Coca-Cola HBC Group, consisting of over 140 million people, Ružević will lead a team of 10,000 with his expertise and the know-how.

SINGAPORE National Day

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ECUADOR

Independence Day

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PAKISTAN

Independence Day

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INDIA

Independence Day

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SOUTH KOREA Liberation Day

VLADIMIR NOVAKOVIĆ

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New board chairman at NALED

The Managing Director of Apatin Brewery, Vladimir Novaković was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of NALED, following the decision of the members of NALED’s management body. He succeeded Aleksandar Ružević, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC Serbia and Montenegro, in this position, who continues his career as the General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Russia in Moscow.

INDONESIA

Vladimir Novaković has been the General Manager of Apatin brewery / Molson Coors Brewing Company since October 2016. He is the former president of the Union of breweries of Serbia, and he was a member of the Board of Directors in NALED. In addition to Apatin Brewery, Novaković has held executive positions in Fresh & Co, Henkel and Carnex, as sales director and general manager.

Independence Day

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HUNGARY

St. Stephen's day

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UKRAINE

Independence Day

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MOLDOVA

MIROSLAV TASIĆ

Independence Day

New manager for Adriatic Region at Nielsen

Nielsen, a global data measurement and analysis company, has appointed Miroslav Tasić as the new market manager for the Adriatic region. His predecessor, Andrej Dvoitsenkov, assumed a new role in Nielsen as the head of the region that includes the Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan.

Miroslav Tasić has 15 years of experience in marketing research and consumer goods in the pharmaceutical industry, acquired in various regions of South East Europe, the Middle East and Africa. During his professional life he held various strategic positions - both from the perspective of the agency and from

the perspective of the client - and his leadership competencies and tasks increased over time. Prior to his new role, Tasić was head of the analytics, insights and forecasts for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at a global research pharmaceutical company in Dubai.

As the new market leader for the Adriatic region, Tasić will play a key role in the development and implementation of Nielsen's business strategy and achievement of development goals, while bolstering the outstanding reputation in terms of quality services, delivery and support of clients in the region.

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KAZAKHSTAN Constitution Day

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MALAYSIA

Independence Day

SEPTEMBER

01

SLOVAKIA

Constitution Day

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BRAZIL

Independence Day

NARCIS POPESCU New General Manager of OMV Serbia

As of 1st August, 2018, Narcis Popescu will be replacing Božidar Rajić as the General Manager of OMV Serbia, who decided to continue his professional career outside of the company for personal reasons. Narcis Popescu comes from the Romanian branch of OMV Petrom and will be in charge of the strategic directions and development of OMV’s business in Serbia, being also functional lead for the related Product Supply & Logistics activities. He joined OMV Petrom in 2005 as a Management Consultant, actively taking part in the development of

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the Marketing Division. Popescu is well acquainted with the operations of the Serbian branch of OMV, since he has been the Head of Supply & Logistics sector for Region East since 2011, managing OMV’s supply and logistics operations in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Moldova. From 2012 to 2015, he was a member of the Board of Directors at OMV Petrom Marketing, and in 201, he became the Head of Sales East, responsible for managing of Bulk, OilCo and Marine businesses in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Moldova.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

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CORPO RATE

Wiener Privatklinik Academy

Excellence in Treatment of Cancer

Univ. Prof. Dr. CHRISTOPH ZIELINSKI Medical Oncologist, Wiener Privatklinik

Name of the Univ. Prof.

Dr. Christoph C. Zielinski, director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Medical University Vienna and the General Hospital in Vienna, as well as a scientific director of the newly founded Vienna Cancer Center is well known among the professionals throughout the globe and a number of patients looking for sophisticated and personalized treatment of one of the most challenging diagnosis. Dr. Zielinski’s recent clinical research activities cover a wide range of cancer therapies, with particular focus on clinical trials, breast and lung cancer research and treatment, and development of targeted drugs. In the environment encouraging excellence in research and practice, Wiener Privatklinik and Vienna are sought after by many who are looking for the most advanced approach in the field.

We spoke with Prof. Zielinski about the new therapeutic options as well as about personalized treatments based on the minimally invasive biopsies, and new drugs coming to the market.

What makes Vienna and Wiener Privatklinik a point of excellence in treatment of cancer?

— The Wiener Privatklinik (WPK) Academy Cancer Center has unique features as a private institution caring for patients with cancer in Europe. These unique features include a very close interdisciplinary interaction between physicians of

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important academic standing and high esteem from various medical specialties including diagnostic disciplines, surgical and medical oncology. This close interdisciplinary interaction and the high academic quality of the involved physicians guarantee the most up to date care for patients with cancer.

Compared to classical therapies, how successful is immunotherapy and which ones are available at WPK? — Immune oncology has truly revolutionized therapeutic options for patients with many types of cancer. This particularly relates

to lung cancer, but also a variety of other malignancies including kidney, ear-nose-and throat, gastrointestinal, colon and liver cancers. These are all available at the WPK Academy Cancer Center according to regulations by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

In fact, physicians treating patients with cancer at the WPK Academy Cancer Center were quite decisive in the international development of such treatment options in the international context.

What other cancer treatments WPK is offering, besides immunotherapy and what are the next

steps/plans?

— Due to sophisticated diagnostic means, physicians treating patients at the WPK Academy Cancer Center offer an abundance of personalized treatment options following minimally invasive biopsies thus gaining cancer tissue of the latest stage of disease development. It is self-understood that the entire spectrum of treatments stemming from chemotherapies over targeted treatments to immunotherapy either alone or in combination are being offered depending on the latest stage of scientific evidence.

How important is the prevention in fight against cancer and what WPK offers in this matter?

— Prevention and early recognition is an important aspect in the concept of the WPK Academy Cancer Center offering a series of options for prevention by counselling regarding appropriate life style changes ranging to genetic testing for the discovery of a risk of familiar cancers.

Photo: KhFessl

Photo: ESMO

Wiener Privatklinik offers the entire spectrum of treatments for different types of cancers, stemming from chemotherapies over targeted treatments to immunotherapy either alone or in combination and based on the latest stage of scientific evidence

What is your clinic distinguishing feature from other European clinics?

CLOSE INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERACTION AND THE HIGH ACADEMIC QUALITY OF THE INVOLVED PHYSICIANS GUARANTEES THE MOST UP TO DATE CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH CANCER IN THE WIENER PRIVATKLINIK (WPK)

— The WPK Academy Cancer Center offers academic medicine by highly respected physicians from various specialties and sophisticated diagnostic methods in a luxurious environment of a private institution.

When the new cancer drug is approved, or there is new significant research with results that are approved and can be applied, how long does it take till WPK also can offer these new drugs, methods etc to the patients?

— Austria is well known to have one of the shortest times between drug registration and drug access in Europe. This is immediately translated to patient care delivered at the WPK Academy Cancer Center.

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CORPO RATE AcademIAA

AcademIAA 2018 - Programme for Young Professionals

The AcademIAA educational project, which is organized by the Serbian branch of IAA for the third consecutive year, will take place from 7th September to 14th December, every Friday and Saturday. You can send in the application by 10th August, and just like previous years, no more than 35 participants will listen to lectures and take part in workshops that will be held by the top domestic marketing communications experts This year, the following experts will teach seven modules - Research - Predrag Kurčubić (Managing Director, Ipsos Strategic Marketing); Business - Katarina Šibalić (Marketing Director, Strauss Adriatic); Creative - Anja Radulović (Creative Director, Leo Burnett); Media - Marko Kosovac (Managing Director, Plus Media); Digital - Sanja Lalević Cvetković (Head of Digital, Direct Media); Innovation - Ivana Davidov (Marketing Manager, Nordeus); All Stars Tanja Petrović (Marketing Director, The Coca Cola Company).

AcademIAA gathers top professionals as the lecturers, and 65 of them will hold this year’s lectures and workshops. The IAA, as a tipartite association that brings together representatives of companies (advertisers), agencies and media, launched this dynamic and intensive programme three years ago with the intention of enabling young people, who have just joined the industry or are planning to work in it, to listen to lectures, in one place and in one go, from people who have achieved remarkable results. This programme focuses on practical knowledge and on covering the entire industry, so

that students can gain insight into the work from different angles.

The AcademiaIAA's organizing committee consists of prominent members of the IAA who have devised the education programme: Marijana Agić Molnar (GfK), Marija Matić (Direct Media), Svetlana Ćopić (Block & Roll), Aleksandar Nikolić (Communis DDB), Andrej Milkić (Leo Burnett) and Jelena Ivanović (IAA Serbia).

Apart from quality lecturers, a special focus is placed on selecting participants too which is why there are two selection rounds (sending in a CV and motivational letter and candidate testing).

In the last two years, 55 participants were given the certificate for completing the AcademIAA programme. These participants listened to the lectures and successfully did the tests at the end of the programme, devised by the organizer. In order for a participant to get a certificate, he / she needs to regularly attend lectures and workshops (80% attendance is the lowest threshold). At the very end, and on the basis of anonymous evaluation, we pick the BEST PARTICIPANT, the BEST LECTURER and the BEST COORDINATOR, which is a particularly exciting part for all participants.

NEW STANDARDS IN MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Although we are organizing the AcademIAA for the third consecutive time, it is interesting to note that all of us who are involved in the organization, from the Organizing Committee, the coordinators, and the operational team, have the feeling that we are doing everything for the first time. Every year, we have new people coming to us, and we are trying to improve the concept. Last year, we paid special attention to introducing clear criteria in the selection of candidates and evaluation of the lecturers, and this year we will have a new module - Innovation. On one hand, we are trying to respond to the needs of young people who are

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our students, and on the other, as the IAA, we are trying to set standards in education when marketing communications are in question. We insist on quality lectures, but we are also looking for the same in students that we believe will become leaders in this part of the world in the

near future. I am pleased that anyone who has participated in AcademIAA, either as a coordinator, lecturer or student, has a good opinion of the programme and is always willing to respond to our calls to teach or be our guests. It is important that we are engaging with the programme, that we insist on the quality of the curriculum, that we take care of the regularity of the entire process, and to preserve good energy and do everything in our power to make AcademIAA a good opportunity to meet, socialize and spend time in a nice, friendly atmosphere .

You can find more about AcademIAA’s programme by going to www.academiaa.rs.

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17

PO LITIC S

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Ups and Downs of European Policy Success after many failures nistria. Moldova refrained from the weapons. The plan established the discontinuous Autonomous Unit of Gagauz Yeri, for the Turkic speaking Orthodox microanation within Moldova.

1995 – Z-4 - FAILURE

The recent success with the negotiation over the name of the southernmost former Yugoslav republic (which will be called North Macedonia), brought back memories of great successes and tragic failures during the last 30 years. Here are a few of them!

1990 – THE UNIFICATION OF GERMANY – SUCCESS

After the decades of having East and West Germany, bitter rivalries, the Berlin Wall, the things melted down rapidly with Gorbachev's perestroika towards the end of the 1990s. The Wall fell down, and the former GDR just disappeared, assimilating with its Western neighbour. So, the backlash was about this not being a real unification, but rather an annexation of the East, with NATO's eastward movement being a big problem, and something that Gorbachev completely forgot to mention.

1991 – SOVIET

PERESTROIKA – FAILURE

All in all, Gorbachev did many things wrong, and his transformation of the USSR into Union of Sovereign Republics never materialised, since the referendum was not even held in all republics (some boycotted it), the coup in Moscow brought a new superstar, Yeltsin, and the Union of Slavic States was formed in Bieloviezha Forest, to be later transformed into CIS. USSR died surprisingly quickly, with

18

many clashes that are still ongoing, and thousands of dead.

1992-1994 CUTILHEIRO PLAN, VANCE-OWEN PLAN, OWEN-STOLTENBERG PLAN FAILURE

After the bloody war in Croatia in 1991, a year later, in 1992, the superpowers tried to prevent it from happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina by cantonising it. In 1992 in Lisbon, Alija Izetbegović withdrew his signature from the document, triggering the Bosnian war. Later, the Vance-Owen Plan of 10 national cantons was rejected by the Bosnian Serbs, and in 1994, the Owen-Stoltenberg Plan of three national states forming a loose federation was rejected by Bosniaks.

The war lasted 4 ½ years.

1993 – DISSOLUTION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA SUCCESS

Czechia and Slovakia first formed a weak federation, then started negotiating about a new deal, which did not succeed, with the both constituent countries losing patience and rushing towards independence, which peacefully came to effect in 1993 after an agreement. No blood shed.

1994 – GAGAUZIA – SUCCESS

The breakaway republic of Gagauzia in Moldova tried to prevent the unification of Moldova and Romania, and just like Trans-

The Z-4 plan, concocted in Zagreb, was supposed to ensure the peaceful reintegration of the self-proclaimed Serbian breakaway Republic of Serb Krajina, creating highly autonomous cantons, separate currency and many other features. The plan was rejected under rather inconspicuous circumstances. The military operation “Storm” followed soon after that and the war was over, resulting in many refugees and no autonomy for Serbs at all.

1995 – DAYTON AGREEMENT – SUCCESS

After many casualties and massacres, the great powers summoned the presidents of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia in Dayton, Ohio, together with the political leaders from the Bosnian warring factions.

signed a new flag, like in the case of Bosnia, and suggested a loose federation modelled after Dayton. Unfortunately, the matter of property was crucial, and although the rebelling Turks approved the plan, the Greeks rejected it on the referendum. 14 years later. No progress has been made since.

2003-2006 - DISSOLUTION OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO – SUCCESS

This was a bit more complicated than the Czechoslovakian model, but it was pretty close. Also, this is why Miroslav Lajčak, a Slovak diplomat, was appointed to deal with it. In 2003, the FR Yugoslavia was successfully trasnformed into State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, moving from a federation to a confederacy. In 2006, Milo Đukanović pushed independence, and the referendum threshold was set at 55%. „Yes“ won by a very narrow margin.

However, not a single person was injured, let alone killed in this separation. From 2008, the two countries have had rather cold relations because of the Kosovo dispute.

THE GOOD AGREEMENT IS THE ONE THAT MAKES BOTH PARTS PARTIALLY SATISFIED AND PARTIALLY DISSATISFIED The result was Belgian-like federation of two entities, 49% for Serbs and 51% for Croats and Bosniaks.

Since everybody is complaining about it, it must be good.

2004 – KOFI ANNAN PLAN FOR CYPRUS – FAILURE

The Dayton Agreement was subsequently used as a good model for other two-sided conflicts. One of the most enduring was the one in Cyprus. The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan approached the negotiations optimistically. He even de-

2008 – AHTISAARI KOSOVO PLAN – FAILURE

Appointing Martti Ahtisaari, one of the “hawks” from the 1999 negotiations during the Yugoslav War, was not a good sign for compromise. Ahtisaari favoured the Albanian side from the start, rejecting all other proposals other than “supervised independence”.

The plan was not approved by Serbia, and Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, which has been causing a lot of tension ever since.

PARTIALLY HAPPY So, what is the punchline? The good agreement is the one that makes both parts partially satisfied and partially dissatisfied. Just like in the case of North Macedonia. The extremists from both sides are unhappy, and that's exactly the idea.

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19

T H E S H IA S P RIN G

Shias in Southern Iraq are Fed up With the Government Thousands of Iraqis are protesting against shortages of electricity and water

IRAQ’S ruling elite has survived Kurdish separatism and Sunni jihadism. But a challenge from its own Shia base could prove the greatest threat. Since July 8th the oil-rich south has been in tumult. In the searing heat, tens of thousands of Iraqis are protesting against the dearth of electricity and water. They have ransacked government buildings, burnt offices of political parties and blocked roads to oilfields and the port. When the caretaker prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, went to Basra to calm tempers with a promise of 10,000 new jobs, demonstrators chased him away. He has since called in the army and militias, imposed curfews and cut off the internet. Over a dozen people have been killed, many of them shot dead.

The government looks on, as if at a passing summer cloud. Come September, say officials, the outrage will subside with the temperatures.

Behind the barricades of Baghdad’s vast Green Zone, business continues as usual in air-conditioned palaces. Leaders of Shia factions bicker over the results of May’s disputed election. A manual recount drags on. Party hacks haggle over the most lucrative ministries. But exasperation in the Red Zone—the rest of Iraq—is near breaking point. Parents cool toddlers in buckets filled with what fetid water drips from the taps.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis graduate annually with little prospect of a formal job.

At stake is the ethno-sectarian system America installed after its invasion in 2003. For

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15 years southern Shias kept it working. They gave the ruling factions their votes, oil wealth and men in a war to suppress Sunnis. But corruption, mismanagement and the costs of four years fighting the jihadists of Islamic State have reduced the southern provinces to Iraq’s poorest.

Now they have had enough. Less than half the electorate voted, with turnout lowest in Baghdad and the south. Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist cleric revered in the shantytowns, emerged as

CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT AND THE COSTS OF FOUR YEARS FIGHTING THE JIHADISTS OF ISLAMIC STATE HAVE REDUCED THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES TO IRAQ’S POORES the front-runner. “Iraqis have lost faith in the political system,” says Ali Allawi, a former defence minister. “After 15 years it has failed to deliver.”

Few of the totems of the new order have been spared. Protesters marched on bases of the hashd, the militia that increasingly acts as the elite’s praetorian guard. They cried for the expulsion of its backer, Iran, and ripped down the signposts over Basra’s Imam Khomeini highway, named after the late leader of Iran’s Islamic revolution. They even mocked the ayatollahs in the holy city of Najaf. Images of clerical car parks full of luxury cars circulated on social

media with the caption “kulkum haramiyya” (you’re all thieves).

Officials blithely assume that the protesters lack staying power. The chief rabble-rouser, Mr Sadr, has been too tempted by power to join the protests. Without him they look disorganised. But that also makes them harder to co-opt. And summer unrest in Iraq has an uncomfortable way of heating up. The revolution against the British in 1920, the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958 and the Baathist coup of 1968 all took place in July.

Some in government circles want a topdown overhaul before Iraq erupts from the bottom. The army remains one of the few institutions popular with Sunnis and Shias alike. But its officer class is probably too depoliticised to revolt. A more likely scenario could be a coup in which a Shia politician declares an emergency and grabs power.

In other times America might have scrambled to prop up Iraq’s democracy. But to the extent that the Trump administration cares at all, it seems interested in a government that keeps the oil flowing and does its bidding against Iran.

It is pleased by the anti-Iranian flavour of the protests, but worries that Iranian-backed ministers will help their neighbour bust American sanctions. Ultimately, Iraqis will have to solve their own problems.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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INTERVI EW

No Future, Just Tomorrow

No government is happy with being criticized by the media regardless of how aware it is that being criticized is beneficial for democracy DENIS KOLUNDŽIJA Journalist

Denis Kolundžija is one of the most critically-inclined journalists in Vojvodina and the flagship of the Cenzolovka website, the favourite of those people who are constantly searching for a lesser pleasant truth in the ocean of very ear-pleasing PR “truths”. We talked with Denis about anything and everything, and particularly, about the current situation in the country and the region.

Do you think there is a pact between the EU and stabilocracy countries, such as Serbia and Montenegro, where constricted workers' rights, limited freedom of information and inadequate judicial independence are being tolerated for the sake of keeping

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these countries on the pro-European path?

— People in the Balkans live in an era where their destinies are determined by pencil pushers from European institutions, who, obviously, always prefer form over matter. If you adopt a new media strategy, you are going to get a big pat on the back and a big plus in

treatment of workers and such.

There is stability in the region and just declarative committment of the Balkan states to the „European path“. The fact that we don't know whether this path will lead us to our goal in the foreseeable future, suits both the Europeans and the current powers to be, each for their reason.

WHAT WE SEE AS UNIFORMITY OF INFORMATION IS ACTUALLY THE PRICE THAT MANY MEDIA OUTLETS THINK THEY HAVE TO PAY, AND GET PAID FOR the annual report of the European Commission. But has anything essentially changed in the media sphere? Who cares! As long as a box in one of the agendas has been ticked. They know very well why are these changes not happening, and they also know that there are higher interests and more important things than, let's say, media freedom, inhumane

Why is so much pressure being exerted on the media in an attempt to force them to serve uniformed information? Even during Milošević’s time, local media were, for the better part, in opposition, and today, we have media competitions where newly established media outlets, close to the government, get all the funding.

— No government is happy with being criticized by the media regardless of how aware it is that being criticized is beneficial for democracy. In countries where that is still possible and where democracy is still in its infancy, the governments are very quick to deal with such „problems“. For instance, one of the ways to deal with it is to give the media, which mere existence is in jeaopardy, „an offer they cannot refuse“, mainly to make them fit to receive state aid through various competitions and advertising. Those who stay on this „suitable“ course are still fairing well, considering that some media outlets have consented to become a tool for abominable clashes with those who think differently. And a handful of media outlets which are managing to keep their head above the water, are being constantly harassed.

What we see as uniformity of information is actually the price that many media outlets think they have to pay, and get paid for.

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multipolar world. What can we expect from the unstable Europe which has no clear direction, the unstable United States, Great Britain that is leaving the EU, and the growing power of China and Russia?

Radio and Television of Vojvodina (RTV) has lost a lot of its viewers following the management changes in 2016. Up until then, RTV was arguably the best TV station in the country. Are these negative results going to be a wake up call for somebody?

— As a public broadcaster, RTV was not forced to view the drop in the number of viewers through a commercial filter. However, what should be of concern to this TV station, and I see that nobody is particularly concerned there, is a drop in viewer trust. Facing this would require doing something that is rather unimaginable in my view, namely admitting that things have been done wrongly in the last two years, and that everything started with the firing of the station's programming director and editor. Despite the final court order, RTV still stubbornly refuses the admit the fact that the firing of the programming director in 2016 was against the law.

What do you think about media freedom during Milošević, Djindjic, Koštunica and Tadić's time and now? When was media freedom the strongest and when the weakest, and who of the aforementioned politicians resembles the current government members in terms of media freedom and their „management“?

— There is no media freedom without safety of journalists. In the last 25 years alone, three journalists were murdered – Dada Vujasinović and Slavko Ćuruvija were killed during Slobodan Milošević's reign, and Milan Pantić during Zoran Djindjić's term, who was also killed. The trial for Ćuruvija's murder has been going on for years, while no-one has been indicted for the murder of the two other journalists. Then there were physical assaults and threats, including death treaths, which are rarely prosecuted and the worst thing is when the importance of all this is being minimized publicly.

Even during the time when journalists were not assassinated, and when attacks and threats were not as frequent as in the last few years, the fact that the state has done absolutely nothing to resolve the murders of our colleagues leaves a very bitter taste in one's mouth. Media freedom does not mean having 2,000 or 10,000 media outlets, or what certain individuals publish about the current or past goverments on a handful of free websites while being exposed

EUROPE WILL LOOK DIFFERENT AND WILL BECOME MORE POPULIST, BUT IT WILL STILL SEEM TEMPTING TO US to the risk of being physically assaulted or being dragged through the mud by the media close to the government which see media freedom as a complete denounciation from responsibility and non-adherance to journalistic standards and professional ethics.

What awaits us in the Balkans?

A series of ethnically demarcated feudatories where anyone can do as they please under the condition that they do not touch the other?

— The Balkan will sorely miss those people who could have done a lot for their respective countries and who are now benefitting Ger-

many, the US or other countries to which they emigrated without looking back. The majority, who will remain here, are unwilling to change and face the recent past and themselves, to whom death is more precious than life, and the past more inspiring than the future. Also, there will be politicians who will continue to profit on the backs of such people, but without the cojones to realize the „wet dreams“ of their electorate.

Global politics is changing rapidly while the tensions between super powers are transforming unpredictably, bringing us back to some sort of a partially

THE FUTURE IS NOT COMING... YET What is our future? I mean our future in the Balkans and in Serbia. Emigration or being cheap labour?

— For now there is no future, there is only tomorrow, possibly the day after tomorrow. There is only me and my own interest, there are no

others, there are no consequences for the others, and there are no rules, just some laws that are above my personal interest. The future will be tangible when we start changing all these habits and when we finally decide that we really do care about our own happiness.

— I do not see that the expansion of populist movements around the world will be halted any time soon. These movements base their power and election success on fear, deception and unscrupulous seduction of masses that are scared of the inevitable tectonic changes in society. Europe will look different, but it will still look tempting – in part, because of the promise that we will once again give you a nice, indicative accession date, and that we are going to be a part of that and such Europe, for the sake of our own children and the neighbours that we miss, and even more because of the systems in which they all live. New wars will not be needed so much because there is one that has been going on for a long time – the war against our own planet - and here, as things are, we are surely losers.

By joining the EU in 2013, Croatia has managed to become the poorest country in the Union in just five years. Does joining the EU mean anything if a country is not managed properly?

— The real issue here is who felt the consequences of the poor management – all those people who emigrated, i.e. tens of thousands of them who left the country after 2013, or only those who did not make a deal with the government, or were not their clients.

The second question we may ask is whether those structures which are responsible for that have been sanctioned either at election, or god forbid, by courts.

One of the areas that the EU specifically insists on being implemented in candidate countries is independent judiciary and its ability to prosecute big cases, especially when it comes to corruption and crime. Only such judiciary, along with an autonomous parliament, can be a corrective tool to the executive power and its tendency to see governance as ruling, while subjecting resources to their own interests. More lax the control is, the chances of having a poor management are bigger, with consequences that do not look that horrible when transformed into statistical data. We, in Serbia, have a lot of work to do in this area, providing that we really want to do it.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

10 MONTENEGRO’S JUL

STATEHOOD DAY MARKED

The National Day of Montenegro was marked at the reception at the Belgrade City Assembly that was attended by numerous political and public figures. The Ambassador of Montenegro to Serbia, H.E. Mr Branislav Mićunović, welcomed the guests who assembled in the Grand Hall of the Belgrade City Assembly. “It’s my honour to greet you on behalf of the delegation of Montenegro, led by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Branimir Gvozdenović. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for accepting the invitation to come to this ceremony.

Today, we celebrate the traditional friendship between our two people in freedom and peace”, said Ambassador Mićunović.

H.E. Branislav Mićunović

Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Energy and Mining, Zoran Đorđević, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, Branimir Gvozdenović, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro with his wife

H.E. Branislav Mićunović and H.E. Nikolaus Lutterotti, Ambassador of Austria

12 THE "MONTH JUL

OF EGYPTIAN CULTURE" IN BELGRADE

H.E. Branislav Mićunović and Zorana Mihajlović, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure

H.E. Branislav Mićunović and Igor Mirović, President of the provincial government of Vojvodina

H.E. Branislav Mićunović and H. E. Gordan Bakota, Ambassador Ambassadorof Montenegro and Goran Vesić, Deputy Mayor of of Croatia Belgrade

During July, the Embassy of Egypt in Belgrade organized the Month of Egyptian Culture in Serbia.

The occasion for this event is the 110th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Serbia. This event lasted until the end of July, and it

consisted of the Egyptian Film Week with projections in the Yugoslav Cinema, a nightclub Egyptology for All: Mapping ancient Egyptian civilization in Serbia on July 12th at the National Museum in Belgrade and an exhibition of archival documents set up on 19th. July in the National Assembly.

H.E. Amr Aljowaily, Ambassador of Egypt

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14 THE BASTILLE JUL

DAY CELEBRATED

At the reception at the Embassy of France on the occasion of the national holiday of the Fall of Bastille, H. E. Frédéric Mondoloni said that the enhanced bilateral relations between France and Serbia have been put into service by the European integration of Serbia.

He said said that the past year has been rich in Serbian-French relations and that progress has been made in cooperation in the fields of economy, security, culture and education, and that political dialogue has been launched at the highest level.

Remembering the past, we are working in the present to strengthen our relations and prepare their future - the ambassador said. He added that this year we mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, in which, as he said, friendship of the two nations was "tempering". Mondoloni said that "France and Serbia did not forget their history" and, as an example, referred to the reconstruction of the Thanksgiving Monument to France in Belgrade, Kalemegdan.

In addition to President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, the ceremony was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, ministers in the Government of Serbia, representatives of political parties, civil society, religious communities, the army, police and diplomatic corps.

H.E. Frédéric Mondoloni

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić

Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Defence, H. E. Frédéric Mondoloni with his wife and Zoran Đorđević, Minister of Labour, Minister of Employment and Social Rights

French Ambassador with wife in H.E. Kathleen CSABA, Ambassador of Canada and her husband

H.E. Leo D’AES, Ambassador of Belgium and H.E. Carlo Lo Cascio, Ambassador of Italy

Nenad Popović, Minister without portfolio of Serbia in charge of innovations and technological development, Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Energy and Mining, PM Ana Brnabić

H.E.Frédéric Mondoloni with his wife and H.E. Alexander Chepurin, the ambassador of Russia with his wife

French ambassador with H.E. Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of Croatia

Dubravka Negre (EIB) with her husband and H.E. Frédéric Mondoloni with his wife

H.E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub, Ambassador of Algeria and Ambassador of France with his wife

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

19 THE NATIONAL DAY JUL

OF BELGIUM MARKED IN BELGRADE

The National Day of Belgium marked in Belgrade At the residence of the Belgian Embassy in Belgrade, the Ambassador H. E. Leo D'Aes and his wife hosted a celebration that was organized for the occasion of the Statehood Day. Diplomatic representatives in Serbia and numerous personalities from public, political and cultural life attended the reception at the Belgian embassy. Belgium celebrates July 21 as a national holiday, in memory of July 21, 1831, which is considered the day of creation of an independent Belgian state. Then Leopold of Saxe-Coburg swore allegiance to the new Belgian Constitution and became Belgian King Leopold I.

H. E. Alona Fisher-Kamm, Ambassador of Israel, H.E. Leo D'Aes with his wife and H. E. Nikolaus Lutterotti, Ambassador of Austria

Brankica Janković, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, H.E. Leo D'Aes with his wife and H. E. Julia Feeney, the outgoing ambassador of Australia

US ambassador H.E. Kyle Scott with his wife and ambassador of Belgium with his wife

H.E. Leo D'Aes

H.E. Branislav Mićunović, Ambassador of Montenegro, H. E. Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of Croatia, Ruža Ristanović, Director of Diplomacy & Commerce Magazine and Mrs. Monique Josephine L. Driesmans, wife of the Belgian ambassador

24 FAREWELL DINNER JUL

Hugo van Veghel, president of the BSBA and H.E. Leo D’aes

Ambassador of Belgium with his wife Monique Driesmans – D'aes

Danijela Isailović, Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Elicio NV accompanied by the ambassador and his wife

Ruža Ristanović, Diplomacy&Commerce magazine and Marijana Milošević Tufegdžić, Economic and Trade Counsellor in the Embassy of Belgium

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PARTY

On July 24th, the Belgian-Serbian Business Association organized a farewell dinner party in honor of the departing Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, His Excellency Mr. Leo D’aes and his wife Mrs. Monique Driesmans – D'aes. The Farewell Party was attended by many BSBA members and friends. Mr. Hugo van Veghel, president of the BSBA bid H. E. Mr. Leo D’aes a warm farewell emphasizing both his and his spouse Mrs. Monique Driesmans – D'aes support to the Belgian-Serbian economic community in the country. After the Ambassador’s farewell speech the guests enjoyed the warm and friendly atmosphere, saying thank you and farewell in the same spirit the BSBA and its members and friends have always been welcomed by Ambassador D’aes and his spouse during the last four years.

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27 100 YEARS SINCE JUL

"THE SERBIAN DAY"

In the lobby of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia an exhibition dedicated to the friendship of the two peoples about the US-Serbian friendship was held on the occasion of marking 100 years since the "Serbian Day" in the USA. The setting was opened by Ambassador of the USA H.E. Kyle Scott, National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojković, as well as the author of the exhibition Vladimir Čeh. Opening was attended by the President of the People's Party, Vuk Jeremić, who had been living in NYC for many years during his term as President of the UN General Assembly.

Maja Gojković, H.E.Kyle Scott and Vladimir Čeh

H.E. Mohammed K. M. Nabhan, Ambassador of Palestine and Vuk Jeremić

30 MOROCCAN JUL

H.E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj, Ambassador of Morocco with his wife and H .E. Mohammed K. NABHAN, Ambassador of Palestine with the representatives of the Moroccan Embassy

H.E. Nikolaus Lutterotti, Ambassador of Austria and H. E. Kyle Randolph Scott, US Ambassador

H. E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj, Ambassador of Morocco

H.E.Mohammed Amine BELHAJ, with his wife and H.E. Andrea ORIZIO, OSCE

NATIONAL DAY

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Serbia marked the national holiday at Metropol Hotel in Belgrade on July 30th. King Muhammad VI marked the 19th anniversary of the enthronement of the throne of Morocco. He was crowned King Morocco on July 30, 1999, following the death of his father, King Hasan II. The reception was attended by representatives of the state authorities of Serbia, Crown Prince Alexander Karađorđević and his wife, as well as many representatives of religious communities, foreign diplomats and personalities from the cultural and public life of Serbia.

Nevena Scott, wife of the US Ambassador, the wife of the Ambassador of Morocco, US Ambassador, Ambassador of Morocco, H.E. Abdelhamid CHEBCHOUB, Ambassador of Algeria

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REPO RTAGE

Ambassadors and Media Visit Čenej Airport, Štrand Summer Fest and Exit Festival Color Media Communications, the City of Novi Sad and the Novi Sad Aviation Club organized a visit to Čenej airport, Štrand beach, Štrand Summer Fest and the official opening of the Exit Festival on 12th July for the representatives of the diplomatic corps and the media The ambassadors of Switzerland, Croatia, Montenegro, Cyprus, Indonesia, Egypt, representatives of the embassies of Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Austria, the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the EIB, the EBRD and numerous media started their tour of Novi Sad by visiting Čenej airport where they were welcomed by Robert Čoban, President of the Color Press Group and Dragan Samardžić, President of the Novi Sad Aviation Club.

"In addition to the representatives of foreign embassies, our event was also attended by the representatives of the European Investment Bank. Our emphasis was on the popularization of Čenej Airport, as many of locals don’t know about the capacities and activities of the Novi Sad Aviation Club”, said Mr. Čoban and added that the best day for the guests, who visited three locations Čenej, Štrand and Petrovaradin Fortress, to visit Novi Sad was the official

opening of Exit since the city was full of tourists then.

Dragan Samardžić, President of the Novi Sad Aviation Club, said that the club was celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. It was founded by Eugen Dundjerski and is the oldest regional airport, built back in 1913.

Daniel Berg (EBRD) and H.E.Philippe Gérald Guex , Swiss Ambassador to Serbia

„Soon after that, we got three more small airports, but that is something that many people in Novi Sad don’t know. The first pilot school was also opened in Novi Sad, as well as the first aircraft factory founded in 1923 by Dimitrije Konjević," said Samardžić and noted that everything important that

happened in aviation took place in Novi Sad. He went on to say that the history of the Serbian aviation was born is in Novi Sad and he hoped that the airport would regain its old splendour since, according to the promises from the city government, there is a plan to reconstruct the airport in Čenej.

The guests found out from their tour guide details about the history of Čenej airport and Novi Sad. After that, they had the opportunity to fly over the city in helicopter or try paragliding with an instructor.

At lunch, which took place in the beautiful ambiance of Čenej airport, the guests enjoyed Jelen beer, the wines from the Kovačević Winery and Knjaz Miloš mineral water.

After lunch, they visited the Štrand beach, the Štrand Summer Fest, which takes place under the Liberty Bridge, and attended the official opening of the Exit Festival.

In this way, Novi Sad demonstrated its tourist and economic potential to foreign diplomats.

H.E. Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of Croatia to Serbia, H.E. Branislav Mićunović, Ambassador of Montenegro and Dragan Radić, Nina Media

Dubravka Negre, Head of EIB Regional Representation for the Western Balkans

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www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

C O MMENT

Text: ROBERT ČOBAN

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Whenever government members appear at diplomatic receptions that is interpreted as sending a clear political message

Reception in celebration of 4th July - The top Serbian officials at the US Embassy

The guests at the reception held in the lush garden of the French Embassy were a little nervous because waiters had instructions to serve alcoholic drinks only after the ambassador's speech. The start of the speech was delayed for an hour after Ambassador Mondoloni waited for the top guest – the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic – to arrive, who was late due to attending the opening of the first building of the Belgrade Waterfront development earlier.

The Serbian Armed Forces Orchestra played La Marseillaise and Bože Pravde, the French and Serbian anthem respectively, Ambassador Mondoloni gave a speech on the significance of the relations between Serbia and France, especially in the year in which we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the joint victory in the World War I, as well as on the official visit of the French President Macron to Serbia and Serbian President Vučić to France.

After the speech, President Vučić spoke very briefly, after which the wine was served.

The appearance of the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the National Parliament, the Serbian Prime Minister and members of the Government at diplomatic receptions has long been considered as sending a clear political message. The statistics compiled by Diplomacy & Commerce magazine

in the past two years show a very clear trend when it comes to the presence of Aleksandar Vučić, first as Prime Minister, later as President, at diplomatic receptions. In the past three years, Aleksandar Vučić has been a guest at the every reception marking the national day of the following countries: Germany, the USA, France, Russia, China, and the EU. He sometimes appeared at the reception in celebration of the National Day of Italy, and this is where, more or less, the list ends. In the past few years, he did not show up at the receptions held by the sixth permanent member of the UN Security Council - Great Britain, nor the receptions held by neighbouring countries or the former Yugoslav states.

Since she was appointed Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić appeared at most of the events with Aleksandar Vučić and was also seen only at the celebration of the 60th birthday of the European Investment Bank.

The former frequent guest of diplomatic receptions, the National Parliament Speaker, Maja Gojković has put in appearances very rarely in the past year, while Zoran Djordjevic is one of ministers who is present at almost all events of this type is - from the Day of Africa, through the celebrations of national holidays of Qatar and Argentina, to the celebration of the Dutch Queen's birthday. No Serbian government members, including Zoran Djordjevic, appeared at the celebrations of the national days of Croatia and Canada.

The minister who, by the nature of his tenure, should appear at most diplomatic receptions since he is in charge of foreign affairs, Ivica Dačić, is a guest at only those receptions at which Aleksandar Vučić comes to, while he is absent from others. This was not the case when he was the interior minister in Mirko Cvetković's government from 2008 to 2012 when he attended almost every reception out there,

Reception in marking of the Storming of the Bastille – President Vučić as a regular guest of the French Ambassador

as well as during 2012 and 2014, when he was the Prime Minister.

Deputy PM, Zorana Mihajlović very rarely comes to such events, unless President Vučić is there too.

In the past few months, she has been seen only at the celebration of the Statehood Day of Montenegro, and at the celebration of the Independence Day at the residence of the US Ambassador.

As for other officials, the former Belgrade City Manager and today, the Deputy Belgrade Mayor, Goran Vesić has appeared fairly regularly at such events and has recently conceded the City Hall to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel and the Montenegrin Independence Day. The Head of the Vojvodinian Government, Igor Mirovic is also seen at the receptions frequented by President Vučić and only recently, he attended the celebration held by the Montenegrin Embassy since Vojvodina has had traditionally good relations with the Montenegrins.

The instructions given to the waiters from the beginning of this story, that is to talk loudly over the speeches of ambassadors and other officials, is a conquence of a rather nasty habit of the guests that come to these receptions. Since the generated noise was proportionate to the quantity of consumed alcohol, the organizers of these kinds of events decided to serve the wine after the speeches.

The most regular guest at diplomatic receptions - Minister Zoran Djordjevic with the Ambassador of Slovenia in Belgrade

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B USINESS NEWS Hellenic Petroleum Group

Addiko Bank

MILLION EURO FOR MITIGATION OF EFFECTS OF WILDFIRES

ACCELERATED GDP GROWTH RATE AT 4% Forecasts of the Economic Research Department of the Addiko Group suggest a GDP growth of 4.0% in 2018, due to strong growth in the first half of the year, with expectations of a better investment and agricultural season, despite the slowdown in the growth of the euro zone. A similar growth dynamics is predicted for the second half of the year too, with the growing consumption, direct foreign investments and road construction. The inflation is unexpectedly low due to the appreciation of the dinar, lower import prices and low inflation rate related to food products. Further, a stronger labour market, higher consumer prices and stronger domestic demand are expected, supported by fiscal expansion

and the development of the private sector, which will result in a re-increase in the consumer price index, which will reach 2% by the autumn. In 2018, the Addiko Bank analysts expect a credit growth of around 8%, stimulated by private sector lending based on good forecasts of growth in consumption and investments, with the support of constantly low interest rates and strong competition.

Marbo Product

DONATING BALLS TO ALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN SERBIA

Thanks to the donation from Marbo Product, all elementary schools in Serbia will now have new balls for team sports by the end of the year. The donation is realized with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, as well as the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia, and under the auspices of the ongoing campaign of the

brand Chipsy called "Show Football Passion". In the middle of April, the company began donating football, basketball, volleyball and handball balls to all elementary schools on the territory of Serbia. Some of the balls have already been delivered, and as soon as the new school year starts, all elementary school pupils will be equipped for various sports activities. The donation of balls to over 1,200 schools in Serbia promotes sport and development of children and youth based the healthy lifestyle principles, as well as facilitates prevention from obesity in school children, all as a part of the support for the "Strive for Balance" campaign and the relevant National Programme.

Fintel Energija

HAS ITS FIRST IPO AT BELGRADE STOCK EXCHANGE IN 78 YEARS Fintel Energija a.d started has launched its first initial public offering of shares (IPO) at the Belgrade Stock Exchange. This is the first such financial operation executed at the Belgrade Stock Exchange in 78 years, and the company will offer 6,500,000 ordinary shares for sale at a price of 500 dinars per share. CEO of Fintel Energija, Tiziano Giovannetti underlines that anybody can buy Fintel’s shares - professional investors, families and private investors.

"We offer our shares for sale and the opportunity to invest in our company. We will not sell a share in our company, but we will collect capital from potential investors in order to further invest in Serbia. We expect the value of the raised cap-

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ital to amount to 27 million euro, which we will invest in our projects here," Giovannetti said, adding that Fintel Energija has invested 150 million euros in wind farms in Serbia so far. The deadline for the registration and purchase of the shares offered

by Fintel Energija a.d. is from 1st August to 29th October, 2018, and the registration can be done at &V Investments a.d., Belgrade, Mihailo Pupin Boulevard, 115e.

Hellenic Petroleum Group, and its daughter company EKO Serbia, expresses its full support and sympathy with all those affected by the catastrophic fires that hit the area of Attica in Greece. The company is ready to help to mitigate the effects of the fires and is in contact with the Greek authorities in order to help the victims. The Hellenic Petroleum Group has allocated a million euro for this purpos and EKO petrol stations in Greece will provide the required fuel, hoping that other companies will join in to help the vulnerable population and to mitigate the with the consequences of the fires as soon as possible. The Hellenic Petroleum Group delegation visited the town of Megara and met with Mayor Grigoris Stamulis. At the request of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, the Hellenic Petroleum Group financed aerial surveillance of the areas that were destroyed in a fire in order to provide competent authorities and services with all the required information for mapping, assessing the consequences of the fires and organizing victim assistance.

MARKETING EVENT OF THE YEAR - IN THE TRUE MEANING OF THE WORD

A rather unique book called "Testimony of Time - the World of Marketing Then and Now" (in Serbian: „Svedočanstva o jednom vremenu – o svetu marketinga nekada i sada“) has just been launched, written by 88 authors - 83 from Serbia, 3 from Croatia and one from Slovenia and the United States each. The book has 604 pages, hard covers (weighing about four kilogrammes), with the authors' contribution in the shape of essays that talk about the time when advertising was invented, advertising itself, market communications, and the emergence and development of marketing and related subjects, not only in the function of the economy, but society in general. In addition to the topics such as advertising and development of market communications, and the development of public relations, the book content also covers topics like digital marketing, the use of the Internet in the development of communications, political marketing, and marketing in sports and many other segments of the economy and society. The essence of this book is that its content is not just based on theoretical contributions with all the respect for the development of theory, but also includes a number of practical examples of the application of marketing philosophy, sometimes with a critical aspect of the situation, primarily in Serbia. The book's promotion is also going to be one-of-a-kind, and it will be done in a form of five panel discussions in a row that will take place this year.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

ManpowerGroup

COMPETITION OF BEST STUDENT COMPANIES IN EUROPE ENDS In the presence of around 500 guests from all over Europe, ManpowerGroup gave away a special "Ready for Work" award to Kunsten A Art / Art of Joy from Norway. During the three days of the competition, high school students from 37 countries gathered in 39 student companies in Belgrade to present their innovative products and services to the public through four competition stages.

They were judged by a panel consisting of 30 representatives of the world's largest companies. ManpowerGroup has established a long-term partnership with the European office of Junior Achievement (YA) in Serbia too through various forms of cooperation and support. Last year, we established a three-year collaboration on a project of the best student companies, where ManpowerGroup gives a special prize at a European competition called Ready for Work with the goal of providing young people with the opportunity to get ready for the labour market and officially finish their formal education. This competition was realized by the organizations Youth Achievement and YA Europe, supported by the Ministry of Economy, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the European Commission, and AT & T, AXA, Citti, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, ManpowerGroup, Oracle and TeleGroup.

NLB Bank

1.5M DINARS TO ORGANIC FARMERS AT THE 7TH NLB ORGANIC COMPETITION NLB Bank Belgrade has awarded three best organic producers projects with 1.5 million dinars at the 7th NLB Organic Competition. The award was presented by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Branislav Nedimović. "Since 2015, NLB Bank has been extremely active in supporting agriculture. Our support to agricultural farms is constantly increasing, and this year we will place more than 50 million euros in the agro segment. NLB Bank’s market share in the segment of agriculture currently stands 11 percent," said Branko Greganović, Chairman of the Executive Board of NLB Bank Belgrade, at the award ceremony. "Our focus on agriculture now also covers socially responsible business through the NLB

Organic Competition, which supports the development of organic production, in order to contribute to the preservation of the environment and human health. Since 2012, when we launched NLB Organic, 354 projects participated in the competition, of which 61 projects this year alone. In the meantime, the number of organic producers in Serbia has increased significantly, from about 1,000 in 2012 to almost 3,700 in 2017. The biggest growth was achieved by small producers who are in the supervision system within the group certificates", added Greganović.

Telenor Bank

OPENS 400,000TH CURRENT ACCOUNT

VTB Banka a.d. Beograd

NEW OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE After completion of the acquisition deal stipulating the sale of 100% of the Serbian bank, a Serbian company, sole-owned by a businessman and banker from Russia Mr. Andrey Shlyakhovoy, became VTB Bank's ne shareholder. The transaction was carried out upon obtaining of the approval of the National Bank of Serbia.

For the investor, the acquisition of VTB Belgrade represents the first step in the new market that has strong growth potential related not only to continuing and expanding of the bank's existing lines of businesses, which are well known to current clients, but also with development and offering of new Fintech-based banking products.

The bank has been operating in Serbia since 2008, and currently employs 72 staff in his Head Office in Belgrade and in two branch offices (Belgrade and Novi Sad). In the first six months of 2018, the bank generated a profit of 60.5 million dinars, and has total assets of 13,401 million dinars.

Over the course of four years, since it launched in Serbia, Telenor Bank has recorded a significant revenue growth and an increase of 100,000 current accounts opened with the bank per year.

"Three and a half years of business and 400,000 current account accounts opened at our bank are a clear indicator that people are increasingly choosing banks that have made their services readily available. We are proud of the achieved result and we will continue to create

services so that we can facilitate banking procedures for our users even more and have each bank transaction available on mobile phones," says Miloš Brusin, Chairman of the Executive Board of Telenor Bank. Zoran Milinčić from Belgrade is the owner of the jubilee 400,000th current account. To celebrate this, the bank gave Zoran the latest generation Samsung S9 mobile phone. In 2017, Telenor Bank recorded a 34% growth of total assets, a 17% increase in net profit and a constant increase in savings. The bank was the first in the market to introduce the mCash instant payment service. Also, at the beginning of 2018, Telenor Bank developed the first digital credit product, which the bank's clients can obtain only online, without a need to provide their physical signature.

United Group

TO INVEST 100MLN EURO IN LOCAL CONTENT In 2017, United Group produced 30% of its channel content, and the percentage of its own content grew from 5% to 30% in five years. The Group’s new investment covers Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

United Group (SBB, Telemach, United Media), the leading telecommunications and media platform in Southeast Europe, announced investments of 100 million euro in the production of local content, supporting local talents and media professionals. The year 2017 was a turning point for the Group, with 30% of the content broadcasted on United Group channels being the Group’s own, which represents significant support for creative teams in the re-

gion. Plans for further investments in the content include writing new scripts, creating new series and other local productions.

Over the past year, United Group has produced content that includes popular drama, show-talent programmes and children's programmes. Through its United Media channels, United Group had top ratings among cable channels in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017.

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B USINESS NEWS Aviv Arlon

CONSTRUCTION OF MY AVIV COMPLEX BEGINS

INCENTIVES FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

The My Aviv Complex will offer the right balance of quality and comfort cover family needs. Located in one of the most beautiful municipalities in Belgrade, Zvezdara, the residential complex will create a family atmosphere for its tenants. The vicinity of the King Alexander Boulevard, the Zvezdara Forest, the Olimp Sports Centre, schools, nurseries and health facilities will make My Aviv a synonym for peace, security and warm home. The complex offers a total of 76 residential units from one to four-bedroom apartments - located in two residential buildings. The future owners of apartments will be able to give their input to interior design and finishing touches in the early stages of construction, but also to enjoy the advantage of having a parking space in the underground garage. The construction of the My Aviv complex is due to begin soon. The developer, Aviv Arlon has been present in Serbia since 2007 and is well known in our market after it constructed construction its first retail park in Pančevo, followed by developments in Zrenjanin and Zvezdara. The leading real estate consultancy in Serbia, CBS International, a part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group, is an exclusive real estate agent in charge of selling the apartments in the My Aviv residential development.

Forty-eight unemployed young people, who completed a threemonth welding training under the auspices of the German Development Cooperation programme called "Incentives for Youth Employment", were given the internationally recognized certificates at the ceremony in Smederevska Palanka.

Certificates were presented to them by Vanja Udovičić, Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia, and Alexander Beetz, the leader of the project "Incentives for Youth Employment", during which students from all over Serbia obtained welder qualifications, which is one of the most sought after occupations in the labour world. The aim of the project is to provide support to young people aged 15-35 years with the view of improving their position in the labour market and for them to get work faster. A total of 92

young people have completed welding training during the project, of which 80 were employed immediately after the training. The project is being implemented within German development cooperation.

It is conducted by the German organization for International Cooperation (GIZ) in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic Serbia, as a leading partner, with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.

Nestlé Adriatic

LET'S GROW HEALTHY TOGETHER

Erste Bank

YOUNG PEOPLE WHO CHANGE SERBIA This year, within the framework of the Erste Bank donation programme - Superste.net, 11 socially responsible projects from the organizations from Pančevo, Niš, Sombor, Novi Sad and Belgrade received financial and mentoring support in the amount of a total of 5,100,000 dinars for the improvement of communities in which they live. A total of 39 teams received mentoring support in the fields of marketing, communications, human resources, design, project management of culture and entrepreneurship. Among the winners is the project "Museum of Dance" from Belgrade, a project for educating children and young people about contemporary dance. The "New Season of RadioApparat" is an internet radio with the idea of programmatically and physically functioning as an active member of the community and "Youth Connect", a portal from Niš edited exclusively by teenagers for teenagers.

"How much does a kitsch cost?" is the project of the acting "Theatre under bankruptcy" from the capital city, which decided to perform the show and use the form as a "kitsch" that will finance culture, and there is "We are all different the same way", the initiative in which the future psychologists focused on group work with adolescents.

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A survey found that almost 40 percent of students in seventh grade were physically active, but there is also an increasing number of children of the same age (41.5 percent) who think they should lose weight. Association for School Sports of Serbia and Nestlé Adriatic Partners have implemented a project which involved about 25,000 seventh grade puupils over the course of seven years.

After participatig in project education, they improved their knowledge about what constitutes a proper diet by 13%. During the seventh year of the project "Let's Grow Healthy Together", students learned about

basic nutrition and its planning, the effect of food on the body, and received practical advice on how to apply this knowledge in everyday life through four lectures. For the purpose of evaluating the seventh year of the project " Let's Grow Healthy Together", the Institute for Public Health of Serbia, Dr Milan Jovanović Batut conducted a research called "Research on the Knowledge, Attitudes and Habits of Students", involving 6,300 students who participated in the project. The target population of the research were seventh grade students from 35 cities and municipalities in our country. In Serbia, the programme was launched in 2011 for the first time with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia.

Nurdor

CAMP OF LOVE AND HOPE On 22nd July, the 9th rehabilitation summer Camp of Love and Hope, organized by the National Association of Parents of Children with Cancer(NURDOR), was opened for children and young people from all over Serbia who completed their oncological treatment. This year, the Camp has an international character with young people from Serbia and Croatia attending. After a long and uncertain period of treatment, fear and pain, our little superheroes had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings in the vicinity of Ivanjica.

NURDOR has selected a team of psychologists and specially educated volunteers who accompany young participants through various sports, creative and

entertaining programs. Parents accompnied the youngest Camp visitors, and for them, NURDOR created a special psychological and social support programme and special relaxing activities.

The camp is free for all participants.

NURDOR held its first Camp of Love and Hope in 2010 and since then it has been home to over 650 children, young people and parents from all over Serbia and the region. As before, NURDOR held the Camp of Love and Hope on the premises of the Institute for Specialized Rehabilitation in Ivanjica, with the great help from friends, donors and fantastic NURDOR volunteers.

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K E E P YO U R H E RR O N

The Quest to Make German More Gender-Neutral Feminists and traditionalists feud over word endings

German is more gendered than many other languages. In English, for example, “professor” can describe an academic of either sex, whereas in German “Professor” is strictly male and “Professorin” is strictly female. German nouns are all male, female or neuter, and the pronouns and adjectives applied to them vary accordingly. The country is now trying to work out how to modernise its language at a time when traditional gender identities are blurring and Facebook, for example, lets its users choose between 60 gender labels.

The two leading authorities on the German language—Duden, its dictionary of record, and the Council for German Orthography—are pondering that question. Last November Duden decided against emulating the Swedish Academy’s recognition in 2015 of a new pronoun (“hen”, joining “hon”, she, and “han”, he) for people identifying as neither female nor male, or for use in a generic sense. And last month the council reviewed calls to formalise the “gen-

THE COUNTRY IS NOW TRYING TO WORK OUT HOW TO MODERNISE ITS LANGUAGE AT A TIME WHEN TRADITIONAL GENDER IDENTITIES ARE BLURRING AND FACEBOOK, FOR EXAMPLE, LETS ITS USERS CHOOSE BETWEEN 60 GENDER LABELS der asterisk” (“Professor*in,”, meaning “male professor/female professor”). A working group will report back in November. Its task is to find a way to modernise German in a way that is “comprehensible, legible and sayable”.

The options are inelegant. Alongside the gender asterisk there is the gender hyphen (Professor-in) and the internal-I (ProfessorIn); but none of them solves the problem when said out loud.

Duden and the council are apolitical bodies charged with updating the German language

as it evolves. Yet the use of new gender forms is highly political. On the left they are well-developed: the Green Party uses the gender asterisk in all policy statements; Katarina Barley, the Social Democrat justice minister, has urged Duden to include it. At the leftish Leipzig University male and female professors are collectively called “Professorinnen”, or “professoresses”. Meanwhile the centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung thunders against such “manipulation of usage, manipulation of linguistic norms and ridiculing of grammar” and some campaigners are gathering signatures opposing “orthographical perversions” that normalise “dangerous, anti-family nonsense”.

The question of whether to modernise German or to cleave to its gendered traditions is just one battle in a culture war.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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INTERVI EW

Exercises in Breathing, Feeling and Thinking

Photo: Jovo Marjanović

Every year, Bitef faces its own paradox - institution and subversion. Regarding the latest edition, this means thinking about authoritarian regimes, populism, racism and death as anxiety, vexation and thinking and acting instinct that is artistically provocative, gentle, spiritually healing and above all free

IVAN MEDENICA Art Director of BITEF

By being critical towards Europe and Russia, the 52nd Bitef plans to thoroughly examine the right-wing and populism issues while building its own, complex and comprehensive view of the problems that disturb and affect us.

Is there enough room in today’s Belgrade, which is losing its toponyms fast, for Bitef to breathe and think freely?

— The air is getting heavier both here and abroad compared to the 1960s when Bitef came into existence. It is not conducive to the space of freedom, risk, criticism, experiment and thoughtful provocation, all of which have been Bitef’s guidelines since its establishment. However, because of this, the mission of our festival now becomes even more important. By adapting to this period to a certain degree, Bitef has to remain

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true to itself and in the ocean of false innovation and revolutions, continue searching what is socially and artistically real and to progress which, essentially, disturbs the status quo. If we are not providing answers, at least we are asking the right questions.

This year, as a part of the strategy for development of culture and creative industry in Serbia, the cabinet of the Serbian Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic has recognized Bitef as one of the most im-

huge problem with not being able to financially plan long-term and that we depend on annual competitions. After the success of last Bitef, we received fantastic offers for co-production from the leading world theatres and festivals, including Vidy from Lausanne or Theatre de la Ville from Paris to which we cannot respond since we don’t know what funding we are going to have in 2019, 2020 and onward. The Prime Minister and her associates were very understanding, so we are all working on

BEING AUTHENTICALLY BITEF-LIKE MEANS TO ALWAYS BE OPEN TO ALL CULTURES, NOT ONLY THOSE THAT ARE MOST PRESENT OR MOST INFLUENTIAL port cultural brands. How should and how could the state and subversive culture cooperate?

— The cabinet came to us, which, in itself, is an important gestures, and asked how could they help the institution that it recognizes as “one of the most important cultural brands in the country”. We have explained to them that we have a

resolving problem, and we are very thankful to them for doing so.

Bitef’s position is rather paradoxical because the festival is both an institution and subversion at the same time. In the 1960s, the City of Belgrade founded the festival and since then we have been regularly receiving funding from the Ministry of Culture. Our mis-

sion is to artistically, socially and politically provoke, disturb and change. This has been a complex endeavour since the very beginning of Bitef and it remains so to this day. After all, that has been the position of critical culture throughout history. Bitef is a very unique form of the so-called “high culture” because it does not cater to traditional or commercial values, but it rather provokes these values with radical and subversive forms. The festival does not do this out of exhibitionism and self-sufficiency, but on the contrary, to implement the widest possible social and cultural emancipation. Maybe I am an idealist from a bygone era, from the social-democratic view of liberalism, but I still think that culture and art should fight for the state and other centres of political and financial power to support the production that critically questions these very centres, despite the difficult times we live in.

Last year, when criticized by right wing, you said that as long as you are at the helm of Belef, the festival will be an elit-

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

— Yes, my main motto is the famous oxymoron of the great director Antoine Vitez – “elitist culture for all”. What this means is that we should find ways, through forum programmes, accompanying materials, and marketing campaigns, to bring closer radical theatrical productions and forms to wider audiences and to break down their prejudices for the sake of the aforementioned general emancipation. We are trying to show to potential audience that the topics covered by this year’s Bitef like authoritative regimes (“non-liberal democracies”), the rise of rightwing extremism and populism, xenophobia, and even an intimate topic like death, should not be disturbing and depressing to us, but rather move us to think and act which is something that they do and should do anyway. These topics can be covered in an artistically appealing way, they can be humorous but also soft, and give the feeling of peace and comfort.

In terms of the reactions, as usual, I expect them to be “unprincipled”.

If the EU is the subject of criticism, some people will be satisfied and some critical. However, this all takes a 180-degree-turn when Russia is the subject of criticism.

This, by all means, does not mean that we treat the situation in these two environments differently, but rather we are offering a complex and comprehensive critical view that hints at our viewpoint. For instance, the criticism of the situation in the EU countries, the way it is shown in the play Suite no. 3: Europe, that is going to open the 52nd Bitef, is all about a clever warning that, under the right-wing extremism, Europe is betraying the values on which it was founded.

What do plays that you picked make “authentically Bitef-like”,

apart from focusing on the topics that are troubling Europe?

— On one hand, being authentically Bitef-like means exactly what you have just said – speaking openly about the burning issues in our world. On the other hand, this means recognizing and underlining those artistic forms that are not necessarily “new”. We have said many times before how questionable this

Speaking about theatrical expression, what is considered radical and subversive today, and what unfounded exhibitionism. How equipped are Bitef and Serbian audiences to differentiate between the two?

— This is a very difficult but important question. First and foremost, I think that these properties – radical, subversive and

I STILL THINK THAT CULTURE AND ART SHOULD FIGHT FOR THE STATE AND OTHER CENTRES OF POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL POWER TO SUPPORT THE PRODUCTION THAT CRITICALLY QUESTIONS THESE VERY CENTRES, DESPITE THE DIFFICULT TIMES WE LIVE IN

Photo: Jelena Janković

ist form of art for all. What reactions do you expect this year when the festival is focusing on right-wing populism, xenophobia and racism?

modernistic approach. However, these artistic forms, at least in some countries (like ours), still have a subversive and experimental effect, as well as, above all, an emancipative one too. In my opinion, being authentically Bitef-like means to always be open to all cultures, not only those that are most present or most influential. This year, again, we are going to have plays from France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, but also from Israel and Estonia. The Belgium play Requiem for L. is going to take us on a trip to African cultures too.

similar – cannot be viewed globally and universally but rather in a given cultural context. For instance, it is natural in the Western culture for art installations to be classified under performance and visual art, but in our culture, and especially in mainstream, that is still not the case. Hence, artistically speaking, the biggest provocation of the 52nd Bitef will be the fact that three out of ten plays have no actors or performers. These installations, although large and very demanding production-wise, could be placed in

galleries or alternative locations, but we insisted that all of them should be placed on Bitef’s theatre stages. By doing so, we are expressing a clear attitude which says “yes, this is theatre too”. Installations, like a theatre without actors, at the theatre festival, are not exhibitionist, but rather highlighting the wider notion of what theatre is.

How difficult was to pick these 10 plays? Do you think that the society we live in, both globally and locally, has produced a bigger and more relevant theatrical challenge? Does it come from the workshops of the established theatre masters or from young and upcoming crowd?

— Bitef’s dramatist, Filip Vujošević and I pick the plays after we closely monitor global production.

We select the plays as the possible platforms for thematic and esthetic aspects of the concept. I insist on having both of these aspects satisfied. This year, the theme is criticism of the rise of right-wing populism, and the esthetic aspect is installation art. Once you define the concept, which is the hardest part of the job, then it is easy to add to it and to branch it out. I am not a fan of generational divisions. At the 52nd Bitef, we have plays by the global bards such as Alain Platel, as well as by very young artists whom Bitef has discovered like the Israeli Nadav Barnea.

The three Bitef plays will have no performers. Do you think that theatre could become automated in a way that robotization is conquering workforce?

— No, theatre cannot become automated. Installations are an important segment of visual and performance art, but still, they are a very special and segmented part.

The power of theatre has always lied and will lie an emotional, physical, mental and spiritual meeting and exchange between different actors here and now.

HOW TO BE OR NOT TO BE “THE NEW FRLJIĆ” effect”, I think that his method is so special that it is impossible to imitate it. I know that this is not what you asked me about, but I just wanted to say that young creatives should learn from Frljić how important is for the theatre to ask the right questions about the world, and then, accordingly, find their own ways and methods about it. Also, there is a negative aspect of “the Frljić effect”, meaning unsuccessful attempts by certain engaging but less talented directors in the region to outdo Frljić.

Photo: Jelena Janković

Is there something that we could call “the Frljić effect” but not in terms of audiences reaction but in terms of inspiration of having a new generation of young Frljićs?

— Yes, there is something called “the Frljić method”. This director comes to a certain environment, carries out a deep research of traumatic topics that that environment has been trying to suppress and then it tries to articulate them in a very theatrically gifted and convincing way. In terms of “the Frljić

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REPO RTAGE

Text: ROBERT ČOBAN

Capri’s Role in Global Revolution How a war far away, thousands of kilometres eastward from the Mediterranean, led to the birth of a vivid Russian colony on the island of Capri in the early 20th century

Via Krupp, built by the famous ‘King of Steel’

When I first came to Capri six years ago, we were driven by a taxi driver in an open-top car, bearing ads of the Capri wristwatches, from Marina Grande to the center of the city on the top of the island. We left a small bus station which had only three bus lines (to Marina Piccola, Anacapri and Marina Grande). I immediately noticed the poster with the caption "Russian Week at Capri”, hanging on the wall next to the large obituaries and I wanted to find out more about the link between this peaceful Mediterranean island and the cold, faraway Russia.

The 1904-1905 Russian-Japanese War, which generated great resistance among the intellectuals

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GORKY WAS DELIGHTED WITH THE ISLAND, HE WROTE A GREAT DEAL OF HIS WORK HERE, AND ONCE EVEN SAID: "I FEEL INTOXICATED HERE ALTHOUGH I HAVEN’T EVEN TOUCHED THE WINE!" in Moscow and St. Petersburg, was credited with turning Capri into the "southernmost Russian island". The first Russian to come here was the famous writer Maxim Gorky together with his mistress Maria Andreyevna. They arrived on the German ship "Princess Irene" in 1906 to the port of Naples from New York where the famous writer had been collecting money for the revolutionaries in Russia. There, in Naples, Gorky was planning where to live next since if he returned

to Russia he would be either imprisoned or exiled to Siberia. The island of Capri was recommended to him, which due to its mild climate agreed with his health while the island’s rural environment was ideal for writing.

POLITICAL SCHOOL ON THE VILLA’S TERRACE

Although Gorky and Andreyevna planned to stay shortly on the island, they were so mesmerized by its beauty that they continued

living on Capri for the next seven years. After Gorky, many other Russians started coming to the island, also opponents of the Tsar’s regime, the police repression and the huge differences between the social classes. The Villa Blaesus on Capri, where Gorky and his mistress were accommodated, soon after became the meeting place of many Russian writers, actors, philosophers, scientists, musicians and other intellectuals who were often photographed in the company of the great writer on the villa’s terrace, playing chess. These included Alexander Bogdanov, a physicist and science fiction writer, writers Anatoly Lunacharsky, Ivan Bunin and Leonid Andreev, philosopher Vladimir Alexandrovich Bazarov, tenor Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin and last but not least, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. There was a real political school taking place at the terrace with lively discussions where they talked and dreamed about how the future Socialist society would look like.

Gorky was delighted with the island, he wrote a great deal of his work here, and once even said: "I feel intoxicated here although I haven’t even touched the wine!".

During his stay on Capri, he was visited by his lawful wife and their three children several times. Their stay was clouded in a strained silence, until the intolerance between the two women exploded and brought about the abrupt end to the visit.

In 1913, Tsar Nikolai generously pardoned his political opponents and in marking of the 300th anniversary of the Romanoff’s rule, he

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allowed Gorky to return to Russia in early 1914. Following the October Revolution and Lenin’s death, Gorky returned to Italy, but this time it was the mainland Italy, the town of Sorrento. Penniless and almost forgotten, as Solzhenitsyn later claimed, Gorky accepted Stalin’s offer to return to the USSR, and the news that “the famous writer left Mussolini’s fascist Italy and returned to his homeland” was broadcasted from the loud speakers of the Soviet propaganda machinery. So, the famed Gorky forever left the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. However, the myth about the Russians who, in the early 20th century, brought intellectual charm to this idyllic Mediterranean island is alive to this day.

In the past years, I met a different kind of Russians on Capri – the so-called "winners of the transition" that arose from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although far different from the intellectuals from the beginning of the 20th century, today's Russians in Capri are still much more cultivated than those frequenting other luxurious Mediterranean ports, including those on Capri, in the early 1990s, throwing their money left and right and having worse manners and lesser education compared to their fellow countrymen who came before them a century earlier.

hotel is located in the place of the former villa where Maxim Gorky used to stay, on Via Krupp, which is a steep path that descends from the villa to Marina Piccola on the other side of the island, and was built in 1900 by Alfred Krupp. Here, in my opinion, lies one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

THE EGYPTIAN KING’S FARUK DAYS OF EXILE

Bogdanov, Lenin and Gorky at the terrace of the villa on Capri

Audrey Hepburn on Capri

barber and musician, Adolfo Schiano. In October 1902, Krupp's wife, Margaret, received an anonymous letter containing photographs of her husband's orgies. She complained to a family friend, Kaiser Wilhelm, in an attempt to influence her husband and protect her reputation. However, the Kaiser ordered that the wife of his main supplier of cannon steel should be taken from the family home and placed in a mental hospital "in order to forever silence her".

The social-democratic press was relentless in reporting about Krupp, culminating in Krupp’s suicide on 22nd November, 1902.

At his funeral, the Kaiser directly accused the press of causing Krupp to commit the suicide. This version of “Death in Venice” ended in a much less poetic manner compared to the one in the Thomas Mann novel, written 10 years prior.

Today, the Hotel Villa Krupp is the only thing on Capri that is reminiscent of the King of Steel. The

MANY FAMOUS PEOPLE STAYED IN QUISISANA HOTEL LIKE OSCAR WILDE, SYDNEY SHELDON, TOM CRUISE, THE US PRESIDENT GERALD FORD, STING AND JEAN-PAUL SARTRE

DEATH BECAUSE OF CAPRI

Another famous contemporary of Maxim Gorky, though from a completely different social class, was also a resident of this island.

Alfred Krupp, one of the richest men of his time and an industrialist whose last name is still synonymous with steel, spent on Capri a few months every year. He stayed at the famous Quisisana Hotel, one of the oldest and most expensive hotels in Europe. Krupp had anchored two yachts - "Maya" and "The Puritan" - in the island’s marinas. However, his behavior on Capri was anything but Puritan.

First, in the spring of 1902, the Naples-based newspaper, Mattino published an article about a wealthy German industrialist (without naming names) who spent summers on Capri, holding parties, mostly frequented by local young men. Soon, various social-democratic newspapers from Germany, started running the same stories, this time mentioning Krupp’s name, with the scandal echoing all around Europe. The stories centered on Krupp’s relationship with an 18-year-old local

Casa Rossa on Anacapri

SUCH A SMALL ISLAND, SO MANY INTERESTING STORIES You can get to Capri by a boat from Naples, Amalfi or Sorrento.

The return boat ticket from Sorrento costs 38 euro per person.

Prices on the island are very high, and most of the people you meet here – one-day visitors - are staying until 6.30pm, when the last ferry from Capri leaves for the mainland. In the early evening, when they leave, Capri becomes alive with a peaceful coexistence between the locals and rich and eccentric guests who are staying in one of the hotels on the island, hoping to pinch some of the inspiration from the celebrities who made this place famous.

Apart from Krupp, many other famous people stayed in the aforementioned Quisisana Hotel, in which, they say, rooms are booked up to a year in advance, like Oscar Wilde, Sydney Sheldon, Tom Cruise, the US President Gerald Ford, Sting and Jean-Paul Sartre.

The exiled Egyptian King Faruk I also spent his days here, in a building that was built by the British doctor, George Sydney Clarke in 1841, originally as a sanatorium.

Twenty years later, the building was transformed into a luxury hotel which it remains to this day, 157 years later.

“This place is not according to my taste", said the British writer, Graham Greene when he first stepped onto the island. However, he did change his mind later, bought a small house in 1948 and returned to Capri every year after that, for 40 years. A long list of celebrities who lived and worked on Capri did not end with Gorky, Krupp and Greene.

The island was also host to Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Giorgio Armani, Rudolf Nureyev, Sophia Loren and Ernest Hemingway. Of course, the first "celebrities" here were Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius, with the latter one spending his last years at the Villa Jovis, on the top of the island.

When, five years ago, I visited Anacapri, the less-populated part of the island, I discovered another exciting biography related to Capri.

Casa Rossa (The Red House), an unusual building in the centre of Anacapri, is linked to the American John Clay MacKowen, a confederate colonel, who, after the Union won the civil war, emigrated to "the good old Europe" and settled in Capri in 1870. The eccentric retired colonel lived with a local girl with whom he had a daughter, and because of his hot temperament and generosity he was very popular with the islanders. As an amateur, he dabbled in archeology and collected rare artifacts from around the world. MacKowen returned to Louisiana before his death in 1901 and his meticulous collection is now exhibited at Casa Rossa.

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CULTU RE

The Jubilee 65th Pula Festival Closes Just like every year, the citizens of Pula readily welcomed the famous 65th Pula Film Festival, while Pula’s Arena was transformed once again into one of the most stunning film stages, a magical place where numerous festival guests, film crews, journalists and film fans gathered

Over 200 films were screened in more than 17 locations during the 9 festival days, from 14th to 22nd July, under the slogan “Films under Stars”. There were 17 films – 10 Croatian and 7 of national minorities – competing for the main award – Zlatna Arena (The Golden Arena).

After the opening ceremony, the Croatian Film Directors Association awarded the traditional Fabijan Šovagović Award to actor Igor Gal, who celebrates fifty years

of his artistic work this year, with the screening of the documentary film about the laureate, directed

by Miroslav Sikavica and produced in cooperation with the Croatian Film Union. The audiences were also able to see the same evening a short film called "In the Name of Strawberry, Chocolate and the Spirit of the Holy", directed by Karla Luić.

The National Programme started with the screening of "Aleksi", directed by Barbara Vekarić. The main female role, the girl called Aleksi,

The Artistic Caravan team at the opening ceremony in the Pula Arena

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was played by Tihana Lazović, with Aljoša Vučković and Neda Arnerić playing her parents in the film. At a press conference, Neda Arnerić reminded that 30 years had gone by since she received the Golden Arena in Pula, as she joked that her and the Festival were practically peers.

The audience at the Arena gave a standing ovation to the Festival’s honorary guest, actress Milena Dravić. On 12th July, an exhibition titled “Milena” was staged in her honour at the Serbian Culture Cen-

tre, created by Stefan Arsenijević and Maja Medić, while, on 13th July, the monograph about this youngest winner of the Golden Arena was presented at the Vali cinema.

Israel was an official friend of this year’s festival, with 13 films screened in the international segment of the festival, mostly films that won at big world film festivals.

The festival was closed on 22nd July, and the day before, the winners of the Golden Arena were announced in several categories.

Slavica Hinić, Marija MIljević and Sonja Todorović from the Artistic Caravan in the company of Milena Dravić, the star of this year's festival

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