Diplomacy and Commerece No.32

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October 2018 | ISSUE No. 32 | Price 350 RSD

9772466380002

NEW DUTCH BUSINESS ADDRESS IN SERBIA

DJORDJE PETROVIĆ

Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch-Serbian Business Association (DSBA)

03 GERMAN OCT

DEMOCRACY AND CULTURE AS TWO MAIN PILLARS

UNITY DAY

COURAGE IS IMPLIED BRANKICA JANKOVIĆ

Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

D. JOAO DE ORLEANS E BRAGANCA Brazilian Prince

WE ARE MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN EVER ABOUT OUR FUTURE

WE HAVE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL H.E. AMR ALJOWAILY Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Conf industria Serbia HOM PARVIZ

General Manager, Hyatt Regency Belgrade

SPECIAL EDITION

ERICH COSSUTTA

President of Confindustria Serbia

ED I TO RIAL

CO N T E N T S

Truth and Reconciliation Dear readers, Last month, I was invited by the Museum of African Art in Belgrade to speak about the English edition of book “Mandela’s Testament”. Back in 2009, I spent 10 days in South Africa.

On the last day of our trip I took the opportunity to visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. The Museum was opened in 2001, seven years after the fall of the Apartheid, one of the worst atrocities committed by humankind in the second half of the 20th century.

As a journalist and publisher from region of former Yugoslavia, 10 years after NATO bombing and 14 years after the end of the war in Croatia and Bosnia, I was fully aware about the Banality of Evil, to quote Hannah Arendt. Nevertheless, I was still speechless two hours after visiting the Apartheid Museum.

There is something that we in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and the rest of the region can learn from the South Africans. It can be summed up in two words - Truth and Reconciliation. This is what we still don’t have, twenty years after the last war in the region.

I am writing this editorial on the train travelling between Amsterdam and The Hague which I am visiting as a tourist. When I mentioned to the people I was travelling with that I was going to spend a day in The Hague, which I had never visited before, I got a bunch of comments that all alluded to the same thing – The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

While I watch the people travelling with me on the same train which is passing through the Dutch plains – the Dutch, Germans, Americans, Chinese and other nationalities – I am thinking how we, from the former Yugoslavia, are unjustly assigning a negative connotation to the words “The Hague”. This is the capital city of one of the best regulated and most advanced countries in Europe and the world – The Netherlands, and since we are still incapable of accepting that the members of our nation committed crimes on other nations, this war crimes court is given this attribute of being unjust and putting on trial only “our people”.

The recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina have re-opened the old issues and old wounds in Bosnia, but also in Croatia and Serbia.

Now, we are talking about traumatic historical events with more passion than in 1995.

“Truth and Reconciliation” are the two words that transformed the notorious Apartheid country into a leader in Africa and becoming the most developed country of this continent which is also a democracy. Additionally, we can mention Rwanda as another example in this region which, twenty four years after the horrendous genocide in 1994, has become the “Switzerland of Africa” with the GDP that is twice bigger than the neighbouring Burundi’s which never suffered genocide.

So, it is possible! All we need to do is to look ourselves in the mirror, say honestly what we see and courageously move forward.

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COURAGE IS IMPLIED Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

Prof. DUŠAN VUJOVIĆ PhD

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PRIDE INCLUDES NOT EXCLUDES

WE HAVE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL

GORAN MILETIĆ

H.E. AMR ALJOWAILY

Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Member of the Organizing Committee of Pride Belgrade, Director for Europe, Civil Rights Defenders

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ONE SWALLOW MAY CHANGE THE TIDE

CREATE YOUR OWN KNOWLEDGE

SINIŠA KRNETA

HANI MAHMOUD ELSAYED

CEO at Belgrade Stock Exchange

Director of Echocardiography Lab, Aswan Heart Centre, Magdi Yacoub Foundation, Aswan, Egypt

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NEW DUTCH BUSINESS ADDRESS IN SERBIA DJORDJE PETROVIĆ

Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch-Serbian Business Association (DSBA)

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DEMOCRACY AND CULTURE AS TWO MAIN PILLARS D. JOAO DE ORLEANS E BRAGANCA Brazilian Prince

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THE GLASS BEAD GAME, 2.0 SANJA KLISARIĆ Artist

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LA GRANDE BELEZZA BORN IN BLOOD ROBERT ČOBAN Travels

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O N E - CL ICK S O CIA L IS M !

Amazon’s $15 Minimum Wage is Welcome Is it also a sign of the firm’s monopsony power?

FOR a brief, beautiful moment in time Jeff Bezos and Bernie Sanders were at peace. On October 2nd Mr Bezos, the boss of Amazon and the world’s richest man, announced that he would raise starting wages for American employees to $15 an hour. That thrilled Mr Sanders, a curmudgeonly socialist senator who just last month introduced a “Stop BEZOS Act” which would tax the company for the public benefits received by low-paid workers. “It could well be a shot heard round the world,” he gushed. The billionaire returned the kind words, thanking his gadfly and urging other companies to join him in raising wages. Amazon also announced that its phalanx of lobbyists would start calling for a higher federal minimum wage, which has not increased since 2009.

There are two possible explanations for Amazon’s move: capitulation to political pressure, which is how the firm is presenting it, or self-interest. Lefty critics, Mr Sanders chief among them, had badgered the company repeatedly about its stressful warehouse working conditions. His office circulated a financial report showing that global median annual pay for Amazon’s employees was just $28,466. The company’s retort that median wage for all its

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THERE ARE TWO POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR AMAZON’S MOVE: CAPITULATION TO POLITICAL PRESSURE, WHICH IS HOW THE FIRM IS PRESENTING IT, OR SELF-INTEREST full-time American employees (including highly paid software engineers) was $34,123 attracted comparatively less attention. A detail provided

by James Bloodworth, a British journalist who went undercover in an Amazon facility and says he encountered bottles of urine from employees too scared to take bathroom breaks, has proven particularly difficult for the company to shake.

No matter how uncommon such episodes actually are, the Dickensian juxtaposition of modern history’s wealthiest man atop an empire of terrified workers is politically compelling.

An alternative theory is that the company is simply spinning a sound business decision.

Amazon’s new minimum wage, which come into effect on November 1st, will also apply to temporary workers. Heading into the holiday season, the firm will hire 100,000 seasonal workers. Given how tight the labour market is,

that might have been difficult to accomplish without a wage rise. Fatter paycheques could also forestall efforts to unionise which are under way at Whole Foods, a grocery chain purchased by Amazon in 2017. Other analysts see Amazon’s lobbying for a higher minimum wage as shrewd business practice disguised as progressive policy. Amazon, whose remarkable growth has more to do with its highly profitable cloud-computing service than its dominant position in online retailing, can probably stomach the extra labour costs better than most firms.

Analysts detect a pattern. After Amazon began collecting online sales taxes, it also began a lobbying campaign to require all online retailers to collect sales tax.

Amazon’s politics are not always so flexible.

In May the city council in Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, decided to impose a head tax of $275 per employee to fund services for the homeless. Because the company has an estimated 45,000 employees, its costs would have been $12.4m—or 0.5% of last quarter’s profits.

Amazon fought the proposal, pausing construction on one office building and suggesting that it would ditch another. The tax was repealed less than a month later.

Determining whether Amazon’s wage rises were the product of market forces or political ones is important. Economists have been puzzling over sluggish wage growth despite the low unemployment rate. One explanation with a growing number of adherents is monopsony, or the power firms exert over wages. That could be the result of a single, large employer dominating a town, but it could also result from “no-poach contracts”, which several fast-food chains used until recently.

Amazon’s market position may allow the firm to be more generous than other employers. Overall, though, monopsony exercises a downward pressure on wages that exacerbates income inequality, argues Kate Bahn of the Washington Centre for Equitable Growth, a think-tank. If wages are remaining stuck because of monopsony rather than competitive markets, that bolsters the argument for regulating anti-competitive behaviour, easing labour organising and bumping up minimum wages a bit. Even Mr Sanders might endorse that.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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INTERVI EW

Courage is Implied Equality is the most sensitive and most important topic in the world. I understand that dealing with these topics does not bring many political points or general popularity in the society, but it demonstrates the maturity of politicians as individuals, but also the maturity of the whole society BRANKICA JANKOVIĆ Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

Considering how important is promoting equality and dealing with its opposite – discrimination - to people, these have become important political topics and the subject of public, parliamentary, economic and cultural life. Nevertheless, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, believes that politicians use those terms too frequently to promote their political agenda, considering that the terms like equality and discrimination are the instruments that always boost ratings and are mainly reduced to talking about man-woman relationship. "When it comes to discrimination on an ethnic, religious, sex and gender basis, politicians run away from such issues," she says.

"I knew," she adds, "that I would often stand alone on this issue, as I am aware that it is solved pri-

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marily with enthusiasm, and then by building the system. Of course, courage is implied, because it is not always easy to decide that, for example, a Serb discriminated against an Albanian or a Croat, or that someone in the state administration has curbed the rights of a transgender person."

In challenging times, it is difficult for individuals to explain

of discrimination, it seems to me that, in most cases, people are able to recognize when they are discriminated against, and they know who to contact, as evidenced by numerous complaints and daily calls we receive from a number of them. As far as I am concerned, this is the most important proof of trust. We also have support for our work from international partners

IN MOST CASES, PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE WHEN THEY ARE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AS EVIDENCED BY NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AND DAILY CALLS WE RECEIVE FROM A NUMBER OF THEM. AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PROOF OF TRUST what discrimination is, because everyone perceives injustice in a different way, which does not necessarily have to constitute discrimination – the Commissioner adds. "From the viepoint of someone who is at the helm of an umbrella state institution which works on suppressing all forms

such as the OSCE and UNICEF, the EU delegation, but also the Government of Great Britain, Norway, Germany, USA, Canada, France... " How much those people who discriminate listen to your warnings and recommendations? Do courts take the side of

the injured party enough?

— The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality has no instruments of punishment or coercion, but the credibility of our institution ensures that our the majority of our recommendations are taken on board. About 90% of our recommendations are respected. It is important that schools, hospitals and kindergartens, as well as ministers and municipal presidents to act according to our recommendations, because by doing so, they are sending out a message that they not only do not want to discriminate and be publicly labeled as discriminators, but also that they are respecting institutions, laws and the Constitution of our country. Judicial practice is also very important. So far, since I have been at the helm of this institution, we have not lost a court case. It is important to mention that courts, after we filed a lawsuit, did rule against politicians, public figures, university professors... I consider this an important step in the protection of equality.

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Why does public administration appear as a protector of rights and at the same time, as the most common discriminator?

— Serbia does not have a long tradition in having such institutions and it will take time until we are able to say that the state and its employees fully and equally protect the rights of all. This is the goal we strive for. Cooperation with state institutions is more or less good, depending on the credibility of the authorities, because the quality of work in our public sector is not completely balanced. The security sector, and by that I am referring to ministries of interior and defense, as well as the ministries of infrastructure and trade, fully respects the Commissioner's recommendations and opinions, as does the majority of local self-governments. There are, unfortunately, also those who are not exactly sure what their obligation is, but luckily, they are in minority. Still, as the "youngest" state body, we are satisfied with the international evaulations of our work but the most important evaluation for us is the one given by the Serbian Parliament. Of course, the feeling that you have helped somebody trumps everything.

Most often we talk about discrimination against women, sexual and national minorities.

How widespread is discrimination in schools and do parents, children and teachers know how to recognize it?

— Discrimination in schools is particularly dangerous especially because oftentimes it is dificult to identify. This kind of discrimination appears as a consequence of

social and cultural differences, and it deeply impacts children. Unfortunately, it often evolves into violence and this is when all the weaknesses of our society bubble up to the surface. Reaction to discrimination in schools has to be swift regardless of what the relevant action plans and strategies say. Children's lives are the most important, and schools, as educational institutions, are the best investments in the better future for Serbia.

are solved, but people now talk about them more openly. Nevertheless, reality should not be ignored. The LGBT population still has problems in everyday life, such in issues like inheritance of property or pension and health insurance, and this should be regulated. This will also ensure equal opportunities for all citizens of Serbia who have chosen the path of progress, including respecting human rights. It is a

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND INDERGARTENS, AS WELL AS MINISTERS AND MUNICIPAL PRESIDENTS TO ACT ACCORDING TO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, BECAUSE BY DOING SO, THEY ARE SENDING OUT A MESSAGE THEY RESPECT INSTITUTIONS, LAWS AND THE CONSTITUTION Now, that another Pride Parade has taken place without many problems, what is your view of the status of the LGBT community? Is there enough reason to be satisfied because many rights are still denied to this community?

matter of culture, tolerance and dialogue and an indicator of a society's progress.

— If we go back to 2001, and the first attempt to organize Pride Parade, or 2010, when Belgrade was set on fire during the parade, we can say with confidence that Serbia has made a leap forward. This year's parade will be remembered as having more participants than police officers securing it. I consider this a success. This shows that Serbia has become a more mature and more tolerant society, since there is no longer the need to talk about the security of the participants, but about the issues that are important to this community. This does not mean that the problems of this community

— Digitalization is the most important measure of progress of modern society. I am pleased to say that over 70% of people in this country use the Internet.

Apart from the advantages, such as improved communication and technological advancement tantamout to an industrial revolution, digitalization also carries a danger of abuse. Social networks, with all the benefits they bring, have unfortunately become a platform for spreading hate and expression of discriminatory attitudes.

Recently, I recommended a set of measures for websites in Serbia how not to allow offensive com-

How do you, as a Commissioner, view digitalization? Is this a positive or a negative process?

ments on their content, including sexist statements, hate speech and discriminatory attitudes. There is an increasing number of complaints about discrimination in public media. We treat them very seriously.

As the Commissioner, how many opportunities do you get to speak about / have impact on a more balanced involvement of women and other minority groups in IT?

— As the Commissioner, I have the authority to organize numerous activities in this field as well. We regularly celebrate the Girls in IT Day together with big companies; we encourage girls to be engaged in science as possible. We also promote our Code of Equality, accepted by the leading companies in our country. We visit schools and frequently educate on the topic of eliminating prejudices when choosing occupation. I am glad that there is an inreasing number of female students (more than 30%) at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering which is currently organizing a conference about the use of free software and open hardware that I will officially open. The conference will also focus on the importance of women and other minority groups and their role in the IT sector. Soon after that, I am speaking at the opening of a conference on empowering women through innovation and technologies, organized by our partners from the AFE. Better times for women in this sector are coming and this rare opportunity for women's equality in the digitalization process should not be missed, since women in digitalization will be one of the main features in the future.

WHAT CAN TAXES SHOW US ABOUT GENDER INEQUALITY What does the number of complaints filed with your office show us about the trends in work area and respecting rights of women and minorities?

— Generally, we can say that we are now dealing with 20% complaints more than before which is to be expected. It is important that citizens report these infrigements. Those who violate the law and deny rights should be scared. Successfully resolved cases send a message about the inadmissibility of such behaviour. The highest number of complaints relate to discrimination based on sex and disability, and then on age and other grounds. The current situation, in which we live and work, and I am mainly referring to a liberal and often unregulated market, creates big problems with "the worst" in people surfacing. Today, when the dominant belief is that success depends exclusively on individual effort, knowledge and skills, and that all responsibility is

on us, as individuals, the so-called „older workers", namely those over the age of 50, are perceived as less effective and as a burden. Can you imagine a man or woman in their full capacity and with invaluable experience, being perceived as anything but especially valuable and as an institutional memory? On the other hand, young people, just out of school, are not given a chance to prove themselves because employers usually require work experience or they are perceived as less credible because they are young. They are also facing a lot of difficulty in labour market. How are they going to have work experience if they are not given a chance to work?!

As far as women are concerned, I would like to mention interesting data - 23,238 citizens filed annual income tax for 2017. Ninety percent of them, mostly managers, directors and engineers, are men. This shows a lot. We have a great deal of work to do to achieve true equality.

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PO LI TI C S

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Pandora's Box

Tragedy of Delimitation

presenting Serbs as some kind of “pure species”, it is factually wrong.

It could be true in 1989, when the high birthrate was really jeopardizing the balance between the Albanians and neigbouring Slavs, but now, the Serbs in Serbia have the negative birthrate, so are Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia. The UN claims that Kosovo will have the population of 1,652,090 por 92% of 1,783,531 in 2017. In 2100, Albania will have 2.469.000 (83% of today's population) and Serbia 6.473.000 (73% compared to today's number) – some 4.9m without Kosovo - so the number of Serbians and Albanians (Albania and Kosovo

We hear a lot about the “delimitiation” or “demarcation” or something of a kind that the Serbs and the Albanians “must do” to resolve the conflict, and it seems like a very, very bad idea for numerous reasons. Let's see which.

Here is a list of some of the flosculi used to justify this terrible idea, and a slow démontage of them.

“DELIMITATION WILL PREVENT FORMATION OF GREATER ALBANIA”

The delimitation between the Serbian and the Albanian lands, even if we make a clear cut of North Kosovo and Bujanovac and Preševo (or parts of these communities) will not prevent the formation of the so-called Greater Albania. The delimitation plan actually perpetuates the idea that everything south of the River Ibar is going to be independent Kosovo, which will immediately become a NATO and UN member. Independent Kosovo (which is a supreme bad idea, we will see why later) will in couple of years be united with Albania. If you think that any promises that it will not happen apply, that goes to show how little you know about the international politics. If there are two sovereign states, they can and should unite.

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If you still don't believe it, believe that the border between the two territories will be abolished soon.

Any agreements with independent Kosovo would probably last for a few years, then you will have to renegotiate them with the united Albania. No-one can prevent the unification of these countries and no-one should. If you let Kosovo go, you let it. Why do you care about the unification of two foreign countries?

“ALBANIANS ARE EXPANDING, WE WILL DEFEND VRANJE IN 40 YEARS”

Well, this is wrong on so many levels! First of all, it is purely racist.

It depicts Albanians as some invasive species which want to invade you, like grasshoppers or rodents.

It is the same depiction the ultra-right movements use to justify anti-immigration hatred. And apart from being deeply offensive,

the same reaction in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria, Crimea, Northern Cyprus, and perhaps in Gagauzia and Donbass. The Kosovo solution, if Kosovo does become independent after all, in current borders or changed borders, will be a model for all those areas. If Serbia recognises any kind of independence with the UN membership, it will irrepairably damage the prospects of peace in many European countries. Not to mention that all the countries we will betray – Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Cyprus - which were on our side.

It would be a clear stab in the back

GEORGIA, UKRAINE, MOLDOVA, AZERBAIJAN, CYPRUS – THEY ALL WERE ON OUR SIDE. IT WOULD BE A CLEAR STAB IN THE BACK FROM SERBIAN SIDE. YOU WANT TO HAVE FRIENDS, STILL? WHO WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND? united) would be in 6.2 million : 4.6 million in 2050. It means that the Albanians not only have a low birthrate but they are leaving both of these areas. In fact, both Serbia and Kosovo will die out in 2050 without migration.

“IT WILL NOT CAUSE THE CHAIN REACTION”

This is what the EU said, and it is obviously a whishful thinking.

Maria Zakharova clearly said this “in between the lines” in Belgrade.

First, there will be a spillover and instability in Bosnia, Sandžak and Vojvodina, so it is not the final “delimitation of Serbia”, it is just a start. It can also destabilise (North) Macedonia, and the worst is that it will immediately trigger

from Serbian side. You want to have friends, still? Who wants to be your friend?

“IT WILL NOT MAR MULTICULTURALISM”

No! It will! You will get the monoethnic Kosovo and monoethnic Serbia, with the people less prone to understaning each other, because they did not live with each other. It is not European idea at all.

It is better to preserve the multicultural Serbia and Kosovo in their present borders and to negotiate further about cultural and territorial autonomy for respecive minorities. And the Serbs in Kosovo will be much weaker without the North.

Perhaps they will move to Central Serbia. A cultural disaster!

FEUDAL BALKANS, EU KEEPS SILENT The Balkans are close to the dangerous point of being transformed into an array of “feudal” nation-states, while slowly degrading any multiculturality and federalism. The local lords are becoming omnipotent in their areas and belligerent towards each other. It is a very anti-European idea and the EU seems to keep mum about it, nodding its head and confirming “that we are on a good path”, which is not good at all.

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPA R T UR E S

in October & November

OCTOBER

JELENA JAZIĆ Reinforcement for McCann team Belgrade

Jelena Jazić is the new director of McCann Belgrade agency. In the previous period, Jelena Jazić was marketing director of Air Serbia.

He is well aware of the agency processes because on two occasions, as the marketing director of Carlsberg and Vice President Marketing & Strategy at Delhaize, as a client, he worked closely with the agency McCann Belgrade. "It's a great honour, but it's also a great challenge to become part of the McCann team. Our task in the coming period remains to improve the company's results

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for which we work, using realistic, innovative and creative ideas. I am confident that my experience, which I have gained working for the most important multinational companies, will be of great help and that together with my new colleagues, I will allow McCann to maintain a leadership position when it comes to innovation and communication with clients" says Jelena Jazić. Together with the agency McCann in Belgrade, Jelena Jazić will focus her knowledge and experience on the further development of the agency.

HUNGARY 1 956 Revolution memorial day

24 UN UN day

26 AUSTRIA he Neutrality T Constitution of 1955

28 CZECHIA

ŽELJKO TOMIĆ New President of NALED’s E-Government Alliance

Managing Director of the OSA Računarski Inženjering Company, Dr Željko Tomić has been appointed the new President of the E-Government Alliance of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED).

The following are also appointed as Vice Presidents - Milan Simić, Executive Director for IT support and ICT services at Telekom Serbia, Aleksandar Blagojević, Manager of the Digital Branch and Customer Support at Societe Generale Bank, and Jelena Topalović Petrović, assistant to the Mayor of Šabac.

“The members of the new Presidency will ensure the continuity of work and try to exceed the very high bar that was set by the previous

I ndependence from Austria-Hungary

Presidency, headed by Nataša Sekulić, Country Leader at IBM. We will do our best to continue accomplishing good results”, said Željko Tomić.

NALED's E-Government Alliance was established in July 2016 with the aim of improving the regulatory framework for the development of electronic administration and e-business, reducing costs and administration for businesses and citizens by creating e-services, increasing institutional capacity and improving business-related processes in public administration, as well as improving the efficiency and transparency of its work. Željko Tomić will perform his duties as the Alliance’s President for the period of one year.

29 TURKEY Republic Day

NOVEMBER

01 ALGERIA tart of the War of S Independence

11 ANGOLA Independence Day

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DANKO JEVTOVIĆ

POLAND

New member of the Board of Directors of ICANN

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization responsible for managing the global structure of the Internet, appointed Danko Jevtović as a member of the Board of Directors. This twenty-member Board of Directors is responsible for managing ICANN and, therefore, for global management of all domains on the Internet. Danko Jevtović began entrepreneurial career in 1987 as co-founder of Jugodata, one of the first domestic brands of PCs,

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and then SezamPro, which grew into one of the largest Internet providers in Serbia. Jevtovic was among the 17 co-founders of RNIDS in 2006, member of the Board of RNIDS in several mandates from 2007 to 2009 and director of RNIDS from 2013 to 2017. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the CENTR (Association of European National Registers Internet domain of the highest level), and was elected as the representative of Europe in the Board of Directors of ICANN.

Independence Day

15 BELGIUM King's Day

15 PALESTINE Independence Day

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INTERVI EW

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

We Have Enormous Potential

Culture, tourism, business – we have just started

H.E. AMR ALJOWAILY Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Dynamic and optimistic, the new Egyptian ambassador to Serbia kickstarted many cultural and tourist activities in our country. The launch of Hello! Travel: Serbia magazine at Stara Planina gave us a splendid opportunity to talk to him.

After the tumultous events in Egypt in 2011 and later, after so-called Arab Spring, Egypt is now finally stable while the political relations between Serbia and Egypt are developing. How would you assess the relations between Yugoslavia/Serbia and Egypt in the last 50+ years, and especially the last year or two?

— Thank you for the chance to speak for Diplomacy&Commerce, a magazine we have been reading since we came to Belgrade. It is hard to summarise 50+ years but we can actually do that in one word - milestones. This year, we celebrate 110 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and Egypt.

In 1908, Serbian king sent his first ambassador to Africa and the Arab world, and it happened to be Egypt, with the ambassador stationed in Cairo. You see how far our histor-

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ical ties date. Countries back then were struggling for independence and were formulating its policies.

It was the age of independence of nations. So from 1908 onward, the relations continued to grow with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia moving its cabinet and government to Egypt for a couple of months during WWII. Of course, during the period of anticolonial struggle and the formation of Non-aligned Movement, the ties became great, particularly thanks to the friendship between Tito and Nasser.

hear the word “Egypt” is tourism and culture. These two things are basically interconnected since people don't just go to see beaches, but magnificent monuments too. The Egyptian culture is three-layered: Ancient Egypt, Coptic Christian and Arab Muslim Egypt. Now, after the turbulence in the Arab World the tourists previously refraining from going to the Arab countries are flocking there once again. It is a great moment to restart the tourist cooperation.

— I agree! Tourism is not only a leisure activity but also a cultural interaction. We have seen the qualitative leap in number of tourists from Serbia in Egypt in the last two years. From 2016 to 2017, there was a 144% rise in the number of tourists. During the first half of 2018, our embassy issued 129% more visas. Considering that the majority of tourists obtain their visas at the airports, we can expect the same trend there too. Also, in the light

MY MAIN OBJECTIVE DURING MY 7 MONTHS' TERM IS TO BRING THE TWO PEOPLES SPEAKING ONE LANGUAGE THAT WE ALL UNDERSTAND Recently, following all these developments in the Middle East and the Balkans, presidents Vučić and Sissi met in New York at the UN Assembly and agreed to actively improve and enhance bilateral relations. This is one of other milestones made by two governments to enhance the cooperation, and there is a very solid foundation in history for that. Now, the main aim is to bolster the development of the economic, commercial, cultural and social relations.

One of the first things that Serbian citizens think of when they

of viewing culture and tourism as tied activities, 90% of the Serbian tourists go to the Red Sea Governorate, and its capital Hurghada.

We would like to urge travel agencies to include cultural sites close to the sea resorts in their tourist offers too. Also, we would like to motivate Serbian tourists to visit the oldest monastery in the world, St Anthony, close to Hurghada.

When I talked with Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, he supported the idea.

I would also encourage Serbian tourists to see purely cultural sites, such Cairo pyramids (we call Cairo

“the city of thousand minarets”) and the Hanging Church which is the oldest church in the world, as well as to head down to Aswan and up to Alexandria, on the Meditarranean coast.

It would be great to promote the Mediterranean coast of Egypt as a resort centre, since Alexandria is splendid. There must be resorts in the close proximity of Alexandria, and the sea must be really wonderful.

— Egypt borders two seas - the Red Sea and the Mediterranean - and each of these has its own tourist season. Tourists, who enjoyed coral reefs, the warm still waters of the Red Sea and its orange sands, can easily move during the summer season to the Mediterranean, enjoying the white sandy beaches, turquoise water and waves there. It is a very different experience. Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt, just like Novi Sad in Serbia, and we discussed a cooperation between the two cities recently. Alexandria is a real city and a cultural hub with marvellous univeristies and strong industries. I would also like to mention that there is a major ongoing project, implemented by the government, that entails constructing a brand new city west of Alexandria, 100km to the west to be more precise, called El-Alamein.

This city held huge importance during WWII but now it is being developed as a main resort. 100km more to the west lies Ras El Hekma, where I have a beach house.

Its name means “The Cape of Wisdom”. I would like to encourage the “sea tourists” to discover the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. We will do everything we can to push this agenda. Also, there are a couple of airports close to the area - Burj Al Arab in Alexandria and Marsa Matruh. The flight from Belgrade

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to these destinations lasts no more than 2 hours and is much shorter than to Hurghada.

You told me you didn't have green mountains – even the Mount Sinai is ochre and quite rocky. Can we appeal to Egyptian tourists to come here and see what they don't have: forests, rivers, do some skiing? We could be the gateway to Europe for the Egyptians.

— I am glad you've mentioned it, since tourism is a kind of a cultural two-way street. I would like to encourage Egyptian tourists to come and enjoy this beautiful country, and to go to places like Stara Planina where we are now. One of the areas that can be of particular interest to the Egyptians is spa and wellness tourism. The combination of spa and mountain activities could be a winning combination and a wonderful point of attraction.

abolishing visas for Egypt? Any news about the mutual abolition of visas?

— I think that is one of the first steps to be taken, since with a visa-free regime or at least a facilitating visa regime, there will be an influx of Egyptian tourists to Serbia. Serbian Foreign Ministry, Tourism Ministry and Economy Ministry could take a creative approach to that issue.

in one week. We met with all chambers of commerce and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and saw an enormous potential for cooperation.

We can do even more – Ismailiya, for instance, has one of the biggest folklore festivals and we have never had a Serbian ensemble there, so please try to talk the beautiful Serbian folklore groups into participating next September.

I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE “SEA TOURISTS” TO DISCOVER THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST OF EGYPT AND CULTURE OF EGYPT

Vojvodina is flat but also green and fiull of spas and big rivers and it can offer something different to mountain tourism.

— One of the main projects that we are hoping to implement is river cruises. Egypt has a very sophisticated and developed fleet of cruising boats - the Luxor-Aswan is quite famous, and the Aswan-Abu Simbel is also great. There is also a longer line - Cairo-Luxor. I saw the beautiful Sava and Danube rivers, and I noticed one striking similarity between Cairo and Belgrade.

Cairo is where the Nile branches into two main deltas, and Belgrade lies on the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. I call them both “river capitals”. River cruises have a potential and I will be happy to send the highest delegation from our river cruising industry to Serbia, to see the Sava and Danube in particular.

Serbia has recently abolished visas with a number of countries, including China, Iran and India, all resulting in a dramatic increase of foreign tourists from these countries. How about

That can also bolster doing business, encourage investments and visits by business people from both countries. Also, Serbia can also become a hub for meetings and conferences; a meeting place for Egyptian and EU business people.

— Tourism is the first and essential step in economic relations, and I am glad to say that, in 2018, we organised the first Egyptian Economic Caravan. In the space of just one week, the Egyptian delegation visited Novi Sad, Niš and Belgrade twice. You can imagine touring three large cities

Fantastic! This is an open invitation then. Are they any chances for establishing an educational and technological cooperation?

— I am happy to say that we are finalising the agreement between the ministries of telecommunications and technology from both countries which will do exactly that – bring the two ICT communities together. We met with the Mayor of Niš and this town has the very advanced Faculty of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. We would be glad if we could connect them with one of the leading engineering faculties in Egypt. We are going to

establish more connections both on the academic and technological levels, and also on the intergovernmental level through the Memorandum of Understanding.

You have been extremely active culturally during the past period. This cultural offensive is really impressive. What are you future plans? We are eager to find out more about the countries we know only through TV.

— I see Serbia as an incredibly cultural society. My first impression of Belgrade and Serbia is that the general public here has tremendous appreciation for fine arts, no matter which fine art we are talking about - theatre, music, opera. High culture is almost like popular culture here.

I am impressed. It is enjoyed by young and the old, and it's not elitist. That's why I thought, well, that Serbians speak mainly Serbian and that Egyptians speak only Arabic.

But, in actuality, what we all speak is the language of art: film, theatre, opera, paintings. That is why my main objective during my 7 months' term is to bring the two peoples speaking one language that we all understand. I arrived here on 16th January and in February, we had the first cultural event with Egyptian participation. We have one major art-related activity almost every two weeks. We have limited resources but have done a lot with them. It is incredibly demanding on HR and finances, but the reception is fantastic – we have a great audience every time! The First Cairo Opera House came to Serbia for the first time ever this year, despite the fact that our bilateral relations span 110 years. After completing the 15-year-long renovation, the first thing that the National Museum in Belgrade did was to hold a course in Egyptology that focuses on young and older students and amateurs. The course took place at the Museum of African Art in Belgrade. We had many “firsts” this year. Although, we planned on having an “Egyptian cultural month”, in the end, it turned out to be a cultural marathon.

ARABIC LANGUAGE AND YOUTH ARE THE FUTURE Arabic is becoming the language of business.

Could Serbian people learn more Arabic through free courses?

— They are more than welcome to do so! I am impressed by the cultural affinities of Serbian people.

The Department of Arabic studies in Belgrade is extremely professional, promoting the very refined

classical Arabic and Egyptian dialect. I am happy to invite some of these young leaders to World Youth Forum (WYF) in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 6th. My meeting with Mayor Vučević in Novi Sad was great, since we discussed the cooperation with the European Youth Capital 2019 and European Cultural Capital 2021. I also invited him to be a speaker in Sharm.

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PO LI TI C S

One Swallow May Change the Tide In the following month we expect first Serbian IPO to take place at the Belgrade Stock Exchange. We are very engaged in raising awareness and introducing companies to the possibility of raising capital through the initial public offering and advantages of listing and are hoping to see the first results in 2019

SINIŠA KRNETA CEO at Belgrade Stock Exchange

The Belgrade Stock Exchange International Conference UPGRADE IN BELGRADE 2018 is a recognized and well established international event, organized for 17th year in a row now. Like in previous years, influential Serbian and regional decision makers, representatives of financial markets, banks, universities, media and other institutions will gather this November to discuss most recent trends in stock exchange business locally and globally.

“This year's Conference agenda will focus on topics directly affecting the development of capital markets, macroeconomics, as well as expected impacts new technology developments can have on access to finance for small, medium-sized and large businesses. We are also glad to announce the special presentation about the crypto currencies current trends and expectations in time to come” says Siniša Krneta, CEO of the Belgrade Stock Exchange.

You mentioned that one of the topics of the Conference will be funding access for companies.

This topic seems to be quite interesting for the Serbian economy at the moment as well. Can you tell us more about the aspects that connect stock exchange business and funding access for Serbian companies?

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— In developed market economies capital market is considered one of the main vehicles for fostering economic growth. Serving its’ primary goal, to finance growth of companies and enable capital transfer, capital markets simultaneously contribute to other important subjects, including: growth of GDP and employment rate, improvement of corporate governance and management systems, reporting, competitiveness, efficiency, etc.

Unfortunately, Serbian capital market is less developed than other relevant peers. Since Stock Exchange reestablishment until today none of the Serbian companies had collected capital on it, and it

Does Belgrade Stock Exchange have any activities that are aimed at overcoming these problems faced by local entrepreneurs?

— For years now we have been actively engaged in promoting financing through stock exchange to local managers, as well as decision makers. Part of our efforts has resulted in establishing the Serbia IPO Go project, that started this year, and we expect to see first results at the beginning of 2019. The project is funded by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund and is aimed at developing capi-

I WOULD LIKE TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO INVITE YOUR READERS TO FOLLOW BELGRADE STOCK EXCHANGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, VISIT OUR CONFERENCE WEB-SITE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT AND JOIN US IN BELGRADE ON NOVEMBER 15th has mostly served as a privatization vehicle in one period of time.

Capital market principles are not recognized, and can be said that are fairly unknown to Serbian business community. In order to facilitate economic development, stimulate growth and new employment it is cruical to overcome existing information asymmetries and introduce new financing alternatives to local private companies, as it is not possible to have efficient economy without capital market financing.

tal market in Serbia through raising awareness and introducing companies to the possibility of raising capital through the initial public offering and advantages of listing on the Belgrade Stock Exchange, as well as building capacity and providing advisory assistance and support to companies for going public.

Moreover, in the following month we expect first Serbian IPO to take place at the Belgrade Stock Exchange. Details about it are

already published in media, but I will be happy to announce it officially for your readers once these securities are admitted to the Belgrade Stock Exchange Listing.

Are there any additional info our readers should know about the forthcoming Belgrade Stock Exchange International Conference?

— An integral part of the Conference is also Investor Conference that will be organized in Belgrade for eight year in a row. This part of the Conference is organized in the form of direct 1-to-1 meetings between the management of the best listed companies from Serbia and the region, on one side, and institutional investors, on other side.

At this moment we expect over 15 companies from the SEE region to join us at this event and meet representatives of international investment community. This part of our Conference gives opportunity to the local and regional companies to attract long-term investors by presenting their operations and business plans to professional portfolio investors, hoping that they will be interested in investing in their business.

Social media Links: www.facebook.com/ BelgradeStockExchange/ www.twitter.com/BelgradeSE www.linkedin.com/company/ beogradska-berza

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INTERVI EW

New Dutch Business Address in Serbia

There is almost no economic branch in Serbia where Dutch companies are not present in one way or the other. We think that it is very important that the Netherlands finally got its business association in Serbia, which will bring together all these companies DJORDJE PETROVIĆ Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch-Serbian Business Association (DSBA)

According to the Serbian Business Registers Agency, there are over 500 companies in Serbia that are somehow tied to the Netherlands. From 2010 to date, the Netherlands invested almost 2.5 billion euro, and as a country, during this period, it was the biggest foreign investor in Serbia. Cummulatively, the Dutch companies in Serbia employ over 15,000 people.

"When we look at this data, we can see how truly big and important is the presence of the Dutch companies in Serbia. Hence, it is important for the Netherlands to finally get its business association in Serbia, which will bring together all these companies", says Djordje Petrović, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch-Serbian Business Association (DSBA).

"Guided by all these facts, and after having agreements, consultations and meetings, Bojan Leković, the owner of KupujemProdajem, Tom de Boer, the owner of Todebo, Cees Hilhorst, the owner of S-Biom and myself, as the owner of Companies Connected, started the initiative to create the Dutch-Serbian Business Association in June this year, with the full support of the Dutch Embassy in Serbia, and are now speaking to other Dutch companies to join" explains Petrović.

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What is the structure of the Dutch investments in Serbia and which economic sectors in Serbia appeal to the Dutch investors the most?

— At the moment, Dutch companies operate in different sectors.

Large companies such as Heineken, Ahold Delhaize and Philips have a strong market presence, then there is Vahali Shipyard, Windvision, Levi9 in the IT sector, KupujemProdajem, TomTom, De Heus, the producer of fodder etc. There is almost no economic branch in Serbia where Dutch companies are not present in one way or the other.

We believe that agriculture will be even more appealing to Dutch investors in the future, although

to be made in this field.

Also, we expect to see the growing trend of cooperation in the IT segment, which is already well developed. However, there are certainly many opportunities for the two countries to establish a cooperation, and improve the existing one. This is something that the DSBA can definitely help with.

Which particular interests does the DSBA intend to advocate?

— Some of the Association's primary goals are realization and improvement of common and general interests in economy and business, establishing social contacts between Serbia and the Netherlands, as well as the promotion of the

WE BELIEVE THAT AGRICULTURE WILL BE EVEN MORE APPEALING TO DUTCH INVESTORS IN THE FUTURE, AND THAT THE KNOW-HOW THAT DUTCH COMPANIES BRING WITH THEM WILL TAKE PRECEDENT OVER EVERYTHING ELSE there is already a pronounced interest in it. This should be also very important for Serbia, bearing in mind that the Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products, despite the fact that its surface is more than twice smaller than Serbia's. The knowhow that Dutch companies bring with them will take precedent over everything else. If Serbia adopts and implements this know-how, and considering its agricultural potential which indisputably exists, we can expect significant progress

Netherlands' image in Serbia at the business, cultural and social level.

Furthermore, the Association plans to be a mediator between the Serbian state institutions and the Dutch companies, which are the members of the Association, and help in overcoming certain challenges that they encounter, which, in the end, through talks and suggestions, will result in the business climate and business conditions in Serbia being raised to an even higher level.

Which business values, that

the Dutch companies possess, would you like to share with the partners in Serbia?

— The Dutch companies are known for their reliability, top-notch professionalism in everything they do and exceptional innovations that make them so successful. As an association we will try to transfer those as much as possible to our partners in Serbia. I personally like their sincerity and directness.

What will the DSBA offer to its members?

— We think that the greatest benefit to all our members will be networking and mutual sharing of experiences, given how many successful companies and individuals will be the Association's members.

When we say experience, we are referring to business experience, but also to various experiences regarding certain regulations.

We also think that it will be important for all new Dutch companies, that are about to come to Serbia, to hear about the experiences of their fellow countrymen, who have been here for some time, about the differences that exist between the two countries, and how to get adapted easily to the new environment and business conditions.

Education is certainly an important element that we are especially going to focus on. Last but not least, there are meetings with members of other associations, with whom we have already established contacts and planned joint events, as of the beginning of the next year.

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In addition to the benefits of the innovative inverter technology, the efficiency of the LG air conditioners is achieved thanks to the highly efficient and environmentally friendly R32 refrigerant. In addition to having a higher cooling index

LG AIR CONDITIONERS ARE DESIGNED FOR THE LIFE THAT IS STYLISH AND OF SUPERB QUALITY, ITS MINIMALIST, STREAMLINED APPEARANCE CAN EASILY BE MATCHED TO ALL TYPES OF INTERIOR DESIGN to which the user can quickly set the desired temperature, regardless of whether the air conditioner is used for heating or cooling. This innovation brings markedly lower consumption, and as a result, great savings when the time comes to pay the bill. Furthermore, this makes the LG conditioners an excellent solution for heating in transitional

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Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Democracy and Culture as Two Main Pillars Value your identity to be a nation

D. JOAO DE ORLEANS E BRAGANCA Brazilian Prince

Photo: Felipe Milanez

The terrible fire in the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro left the nation devastated. A lot of national treasury was destroyed and the national culture devastated. After the incident, people's eyes were on Dom Joãozinho, a popular imperial prince, who offered a part of his vast art collection to restart the museum's collection.

João Henrique de Orléans e Bragança, Prince of Orléans and Bragança, popularly known as Dom

Joãozinho, or Prince Dom Joãozinho, or Prince João de Orléans and Bragança, is a Brazilian photographer and entrepreneur. He is the firstborn son of the prince João Maria de Orléans and Bragança and Fátima Scherifa Chirine from Egypt.

When she met her father in Cairo, Egypt, she was a princess of Toussoun, and held this title until the married his father, thus becoming

DOM PEDRO KNEW THAT FOR A TERRITORY TO BECOME A NATION, BESIDES HAVING INSTITUTIONS, IT SHOULD ALSO KNOW AND VALUE ITS OWN IDENTITY. TO THAT END, HE FOUNDED THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN 1809

Princess of Orléans and Bragança.

Belonging to the Petrópolis branch of the Brazilian imperial family, Dom João Henrique is a grandson of Pedro de Alcântara de Orléans and Bragança, prince of Grão-Pará and prince of Orléans and Bragança, who, on October 30th, 1908, abdicated and renounced his rights and the rights of future offspring to the succession line to the Brazilian throne. João Henrique is the great-grandson of the last imperial princess of Brazil, D. Isabel de Bragança, and the imperial prince consort of Brazil, D. Gastão de Orléans, Count of Eu, being the great-grandson of the last Emperor of Brazil Dom Pedro II, and a descendant of the emperor Pedro I of Brazil. He is also the owner of Pousada de Paraty, and a photographer who stages the biggest literary event in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Now, after the terrible fire in the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, he has offered to lend a part of his personal collection in order to put together a new collection in the museum, thus renewing a part of the Brazilian national heritage.

Very few people here and generally know that Brazil was an em-

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pire and that many buildings and institutions were built during this time, including the National Museum. Due to the unfortunate events, Brazil must replace what was lost, which is of course, impossible, but one can try. Can one person boost the significance of the imperial family and awaken the history of ancient Brazil?

— When D. João VI, King of Portugal arrived in Brazil in 1808, he realised that the then Portuguese colony of Brazil should be independent. He was the only king of a colonising country that moved to and stayed in a colony. He thought that if the colony was not independent, the territory would be divided in several countries which happened in Spanish America.

He founded education academies universities, Royal Justice, the Botanical Garden, which was at the time, an important centre of agricultural research, the House of Currency, the Royal Press (Imprensa Regia) and several other institutions which did not exist up until then. He knew that for a territory to become a nation, besides having institutions, it should also know and value its own identity.

To that end, he founded the National Museum in 1809. The work that began over 200 years ago turned to ashes last September.

As a legitimate heir of Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II, you have a kind of moral authority over the National Museum’s collection since it was your grandfather who created it. You also

said you would gladly lend the table that was used by your great-granddaughter, Princess Isabel to sign the Slavery Abolition Act, as well as lend other artifacts to help in the formation of the new museum. Could you tell us more about these artifacts?

You said it was "pictures, photographs and objects, photographs that Dom Pedro took when he was exiled”.

Golden Law (Lei Áurea or Slavery Abolition Act) was signed by Princess Isabel, ending slavery in Brazil in 1888. I am willing to help in rebuilding the museum's collection.

More than 20 million pieces from studies and archives are lost. The Museum had an important archeological, ethnological, paleontological and anthropological collection.

What happened was an utter disaster. I said in several interviews

I OFFERED TO LOAN TO THE MUSEUM, HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS THAT WERE PERSONAL POSSESSIONS OF EMPEROR D. PEDRO II AND PRINCESS ISABEL, LIKE THE TABLE ON WHICH THE GOLDEN LAW (LEI ÁUREA OR SLAVERY ABOLITION ACT) WAS SIGNED BY PRINCESS ISABEL, ENDING SLAVERY IN BRAZIL IN 1888 — The day after the fire, I went to visit the Museum’s director, Alexander Kellman and all the staff, researchers and teachers who dedicated their lives to this important institution. I offered to loan to the Museum, historical artifacts that were personal possessions of Emperor D. Pedro II and Princess Isabel, like the table on which the

said the governments of the Left and Right from the previous period were to blame because they did not see Brazil as a nation and yes, they acted according to their political interests and personal privileges and never long term. In addition to being responsible for the great corruption and misappropriating public money (all of these are known

SERBIAN TIES Maria da Gloria Bragança, the first wife of the Serbian prince Aleksandar Karađorđević and the mother of his three children, is from your family, born in Petrópolis, Brazil. Do you keep in touch with her and with princes

Aleksandar, Petar, and Filip?

— Maria da Gloria of Orleans and Bragança is my first cousin and I had the pleasure of visiting Serbia and Belgrade on the occasion of marriage between Filip and Danica in 2017.

facts) they did not reform the state, government, tax, social security and political system. If they had done that, we would have become a country that the Brazilians always wanted – a country with social justice, without polarized politics and divisions that are noticeable in presidential elections.

How can you overcome the crisis? Maybe you can do a fund raiser that to buy the artifacts of the Brazilian national history?

— There is a tradition in reputable families and business communities in the US and Europe of donating art collections to museums, in addition to funding the construction of art pavilions in universities.

Although this initiative in Brazil is still in its infancy, it does exist. I hope there will be a lot of help coming from private initiatives in terms of reconstructing the Museum and setting up a new collection.

Could Brazil become a more stable country if it were a monarchy? This is a question that is being asked in all the countries that were monarchies, especially in Eastern Europe. This question has been increasingly popular after Spain became much more stabile following a transition into a monarchy. What do you think?

— The parliamentary system works with the clear separation of the State and the Government, which does not happen in presidentialism. Parliamentarism in Europe works well with both President and King representing the State and serving as a mediating force in conflicts and government formation. The Monarchical Parliamentary has an important characteristic that is the supra-partidary position of its representative which does not happen in the Republican Parliamentary.

Without a doubt, considering the political crisis that Brazil is going through, with the radicalism that does not serve democracy well, it would be useful to have a supra-partidary institution to mitigate the polarization that we have now. I talk about this in my lectures and interviews, always prioritising the Brazilian State, our democracy that, despite being 30 years old, can be weakened precisely in crises like this that we are going through now where many do not value democracy but rather want to see the problems through any means. I say our country and our democracy come first.

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G E N E RAT IO N G A P

Established Firms Try Dancing to a Millennial Tune Some are finding it surprisingly easy

Older people are not the only ones to try too hard to be hip and youthful. Long-established firms can, too. Just look at Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the world’s largest consumer-goods firms, which this year applied to America’s federal patent office to trademark LOL, NBD, WTF and FML, abbreviations commonly used in text messages and social media. If it succeeds, the 181-year-old firm plans to use the phrases to market soap, cleaners and air fresheners to young buyers. Its move is the intellectual-property equivalent of Dad dancing. But it is a sign of large firms’ eagerness to woo millennial consumers.

To many firms they are a mystery. KPMG, a consultancy, reckons nearly half do not know how millennials—typically defined as those born between 1980 and 2000—differ from their older counterparts. That may be because such differences are overblown. According to Ipsos-MORI, a pollster, millennials are “the most carelessly described group we have ever looked at”. Many claims about them are simplified or wrong. It is often said, for example, that they ignore conventional ads; in fact they are heavily influenced by marketing.

Given such misconceptions, it is little wonder

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YOUNGER CONSUMERS ALSO HAVE MORE DEBT, FEWER ASSETS AND LESS JOB SECURITY THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS that firms sometimes get it wrong. In February, MillerCoors, an American brewer, released Two Hats, a light fruit-flavoured brew the beer-maker said would suit millennials’ tastes and budgets (tagline: “Good, cheap beer. Wait, what?”). Consumers just waited; the beer was pulled from shelves after six months. But some stereotypes about millennials have roots in reality. Companies are finding that three broad approaches do succeed when trying to sell to them: transparency, experiences (over things) and flexibility.

On the first of these, transparency, younger brands have led the way. In clothing, one example is Everlane, an online clothing manufacturer based in San Francisco. It discloses the conditions under which each and every garment is made and how much profit it generates as part of its philosophy of “radical transparency”.

Some large companies have made dramatic changes. ConAgra, an American food giant,

has simplified its recipes and eliminated all artificial ingredients from many of its snacks and ready meals. After years of falling sales, it is growing again; millennials now account for 80% of its customer growth. “Bringing in these folks has been absolutely critical to growing the brands,” says Bob Nolan, ConAgra’s senior vice-president of insights and analytics.

Millennials’ appreciation of experiences over “stuff” is also real. Online platforms such as Airbnb have capitalised on youngsters’ taste for splurging on holidays, dinners and other Instagrammable activities, but so too have some older bricks-and-mortar firms. In 2016 JPMorgan Chase, a bank, launched Sapphire Reserve, a premium credit card that offers generous rewards for spending on travel and dining.

Touted as “a card for accumulating experiences”, the $450-a-year product has been a hit with well-off millennials, who represent more than half of cardholders.

Younger consumers also have more debt, fewer assets and less job security than previous generations. In this regard, flexibility matters.

Ally Bank, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, the former financial wing of General Motors, for example, does not charge its current-account customers any maintenance fees or require them to hold minimum balances. Such features have earned it the loyalty of millennials.

Business models are being revamped to serve commitment-phobic millennials. Big carmakers, including GM, Volvo and BMW, offer subscription services for their cars, offering access to new vehicles without lengthy financial obligations.

Yet many firms still have too homogeneous a view of millennials, says Laura Beaudin, a partner at Bain & Company, a consultancy. “If you want to resonate with a group that prides itself on diversity, having a one-size-fits all solution does not make sense,” she says. Some firms do embrace customers’ individuality—in May, Gucci, an Italian fashion house, introduced customised versions of a popular tote bag and pair of sneakers as part of a campaign called Gucci DIY. Gucci reportedly maintains a cadre of under-30 staffers to advise its boss.

Expect more companies of a certain age to hark back to youth.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

O PI NIO N

’68: Protests Against Reforms Unlike their European peers, Belgrade ’68 student protests demanded the end of market reforms and return to egalitarian socialist model. Albeit small in size, June events represent a tipping point in the evolution of governance system away from market democracy. The resulting skewed values and weak institutions continue to underpin the present resistance to reform, allow rentseeking behaviour and corruption, undermine meritocracy, and stall future development Prof. DUŠAN VUJOVIĆ PhD

Five decades from the Student Protests of June of 1968 gives us enough of a historical distance to evaluate these, without any doubt, historical events. In the eyes of many analysts, the student protest was a surprising, spontaneous expression of the freedom of speech in the tightly monitored areas of economic, social, and political debate. While fully recognizing the essential importance of the freedom of speech (the famous First Amendment) as an indispensable prerequisite of market democracy, we must note that the objectives of the protest, the immediate resolution of the standoff, and the sequence of subsequent reforms and historical events all show that Yugoslavia and its constituent republics have been steered (or pushed) on a wrong long-term path.

Opportunistic political leadership (led by, at that time, 76-year old Tito), predictably chose a response that was equidistant from both the non-democratic Soviet model and Western market democracy. Unfortunately, the proposed solution - “utopian self-management” system applied to all spheres of economics and public services, did not have a practical solution in the real world, in a country with a modest level of economic and social development, and under prevailing “cold-war” international circumstances. Nevertheless, it triggered a sequence

of events with a lasting impact on economic, political and social fabric of former Yugoslavia. On one side, it led to faster decentralization (more towards republics, much less towards enterprises) and the progressive weakening of the (federal) state, with booming national separatist and disintegration tendencies that ultimately led to the break-up of the country.

On the other, it allowed a critical departure from true economic reforms and values necessary for an efficient market system.

In terms of governance, 1968

consolidation programs, but completely failed to implement structural reforms. The main reason was the lack of political will and the absence of broad social consensus to accept key democratic values and clear rules of the game, as well as observe real resource and financial constraints, the same way these values and rules are consciously upheld in all developed countries.

The latest (fifth) attempt at fiscal consolidation and comprehensive reform, launched in 2014 in Serbia, followed the same path.

The first phase has been complet-

CONTINUOUS PRESSURES FROM LABOR UNIONS, PENSIONERS, AND PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES THREATEN TO STOP THE NORMAL COURSE OF STRUCTURAL REFORMS AND AGAIN TURN BACK THE WHEEL OF HISTORY represents a tipping point (in Gladwell sense) as the economy started moving away from increased reliance on market forces, decentralized professional management, and observance of hard budget constraints at micro and macro level. Predictably, vanishing federal government mandate to manage twin (internal and external) deficits led to accumulation of foreign debt and frequent financial crises during the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s.

The first four attempts at resolving these crises in the post-Tito era (1983, 1990, 1994, and 2001) all started with successful macroeconomic stabilization and fiscal

ed by successfully balancing the budget and restarting economic growth. The key challenges going forward, which all prior reform attempts failed to address, include the introduction of hard budget constraint at the micro level, especially in state owned enterprises, the reform of education, health and the overall public sector, including the pension system and public administration.

Continuous pressures from labor unions, pensioners, and public sector employees (to make long term expenditure commitments on wages and pensions without secured sources of revenue), with a silent consent of poorly informed

general public, threaten to stop the normal course of structural reforms and again turn back the wheel of history.

Skewed value system and weak institutions, which underpin the present resistance to reform, are deeply rooted in the utopian concept of generalized self-management, the ultimate result of the sequence of political and institutional responses triggered by the protests of June 1968. The protests, albeit small in size, represent a tipping point in the evolution of the quality of governance in the post WWII era and the progress of reforms. The leaders of student protests confirmed this as they triumphantly concluded that June 1968 events stopped the (unjust) 1965 market reforms. But they failed to observe that this opened a Pandora box of changes that ultimately led to the disintegration of the country. It promulgated an unsustainable system of “claims and rights without responsibilities,” and an outdated utopian view of work ethic, equality, wealth, and economic success.

This value system, albeit partially justified by poor state performance, weak rule of law, corruption and massive violations of legal process, now represents a major obstacle to all reforms. Unless the resulting anachronous value system soon evolves, it will continue to generate rent-seeking behaviour, undermine meritocracy, and allow corruption. In turn, this will stall social and economic progress, arrest future development, and undermine democracy.

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CORPO RATE

Energy as Development Opportunity for Republic of Srpska There are many indicators that show that Elektrodistribucija Pale, with its 600 employees in 13 municipalities in the eastern part of the Republic of Srpska, is today one of the most successful companies in the Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske Holding Company

LJUBOMIR MRDA Director of the Elektrodistribucija a.d. Pale subsidiary company

For over a decade now, Ljubomir Mrda has been the director of Elektrodistribucija Pale, one of the most successful business entities in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a member of a large, complex system that is Elektroprivreda, the state power supplier in the Republic of Srpska.

Together with his management team, Mr Mrda has succeeded in exercising strict control of all of the company's costs, preventing the loss of electricity in the power distribution grid, changing the company's attitude towards its customers, introducing new standards and technologies in business, accumulating huge savings and setting aside realistic amounts of money for the company's development and capital investments. With 50 million convertible marks worth of savings and over 70 million worth of investments, including the construction of two new hydropower plants in the municipalities of Rogatica and Trnovo near Sarajevo, Elektrodistribucija a.d. Pale is a respectable and socially responsible company today.

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Mr Mrda, could you describe for us the current situation and operations in Elektrodistribucija Pale?

— There are many indicators that show that Elektrodistribucija Pale, with its 600 employees in 13 municipalities in the eastern part of the Republic of Srpska, is today one of the most successful companies in the Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske Holding Company. Every day we are progressing and investing in our development, especially in the

tion and distribution of electricity, while, at the same time, supplying about 60,000 tariff customers with electricity. A very efficient electricity payment system has been established too, so that we are paid for all the electricity that we deliver.

All this means that our business is stable in every aspect and that we

WE MADE THIS DECISION A FEW YEARS AGO, WHEN WE REALIZED THAT WE HAD THE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND EXPERTISE TO MAKE KEY DEVELOPMENT STEPS IN THE DIRECTION OF CREATING NEW VALUES THAT WOULD BRING SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS reconstruction, modernization and construction of the power distribution grid and vital electric power facilities. We have invested more than 70 million convertible marks in these projects over the past twelve years that were realized in all 13 municipalities in the East Republic of Srpska. These investments contributed to the establishment of a stable power system for produc-

are one of the companies that prove that energy is a development opportunity of the Republic of Srpska.

If you draw a comparison between how successful was the company when you took over the duties of director and how successful it is today, what would you single out as the biggest and most important progress?

— The main issue for any electricity distribution company, which is our core business, is how to improve the quality of our product delivery and how to minimize losses in the electricity distribution network. In late 2005, when I was appointed Director of Elektrodistribucija Pale, the company had 25.8 percent of losses in the electricity distribution network, which was a really high and unsustainable percentage. With such losses, the company could not function properly, and that is why we had an urgent task and an objective that I set 13 years ago to, together with the management team, reduce these losses to the lowest possible extent. We have accomplished this task and our goal has been met in its entirety.

How big are those losses today?

— They stand at 8.5% which is an excellent result. Our result analysis, covering the period from 2006 to date, has shown that the total reduction of losses amounts to around 400 million kilowatt hours which, in monetary terms, is around 50 million convertible marks. We are

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especially proud of this because we are talking about real savings and concrete money which enabled us to make new investments, expedite the company's development and create new jobs.

Speaking of development opportunities, it seems that one of the milestones for Elektrodistribucija Pale was the management's decision to use the natural resources in the area that the company covers, that is, the decision to realize capital investments in the field of electricity generation. Could you tell us more about this?

nicipality of Trnovo which was launched in early October. Could you elaborate?

— This is definitely the biggest electric energy project in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last decade. Elektrodistribucija Pale invested around 18.5 million convertible marks in the construction of this plant which installed power is 9.96 MW, while the planned

remote monitoring, production and management of production, which is a global standard in this field. If we are talking about the construction of this hydroelectric power plant, I must say that we, as a company that operates under the Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske Holding Company, is fully capable of implementing such projects. By completing this project, we have

er large-scale project, in cooperation with the Municipality of Pale and the Government of the Republic of Srpska. What is the project about?

— Indeed! We are trying to be a socially responsible company through the implementation of business projects. In this case, we are going to solve one of the burning problems that the population of

— We made this decision a few years ago, when we realized that we had the knowledge, experience, and expertise to make key development steps in the direction of creating new values that would bring significant benefits not only to our company and Elektroprivreda, but also to the entire Republic of Srpska. The idea was to take advantage of the existing natural resources and renewable energy sources and to expand our activities even further in terms of electricity generation. Thus, in 2015, the project of the construction of the Mesići-Nova hydroelectric power plant, on the Prača River in the Rogatica municipality, was launched. The construction of this hydroelectric power plant was the first and the best test of our expertise and ability to engage in electricity production.

We passed this test with flying colours because the Mesići-Nova hydroelectric power plant was designed, built and put into operation in a record-breaking time.

What kind of results did this project bring?

— This is one of the most modern power plants, with 10 million convertible marks invested in its construction. Since its launch to date, this hydroelectric plant has fully realized its annual production plan, especially this year, when, due to the favourable hydrological situation, the annual plan was met in the first six months. In August of this year, we were pleased to announce that this investment made a full return, which is an outstanding result, especially given the fact that this facility is designed to produce electricity for at least another 70 years.

In the last two years, Elektrodistribucija Pale has implemented another similar investment, i.e. constructed the Bogatići-Nova hydro power plant in the mu-

THE MAIN ISSUE FOR ANY ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, WHICH IS OUR CORE BUSINESS, IS HOW TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF OUR PRODUCT DELIVERY AND HOW TO MINIMIZE LOSSES IN THE ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION NETWORK production is 41 GWh per year.

We think that this investment will have a complete return in four to five years, because the hydroelectric power plant will generate about 4,860,000 convertible marks annually, which is certainly a significant revenue that gives us an exceptional potential for new investments and new jobs.

The Bogatići-Nova hydroelectric power plant is one of the most modern hydropower plants in the region. The plant is fully automated and has a central management and control system that enables

completely honoured our vision of being a strong regional, modern and socially responsible company, which is recognized as an example of safe and quality production and distribution of electricity, as well as a reliable supplier of electricity to our customers. We are really proud of this project that is expected to generate great results and a significant revenue both for our company, for this region and for Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske.

You have recently announced the implementation of anoth-

the Municipality of Pale has, which is relocating the old, run down heating plant that pollutes the air in the town in winter. This large-scale project, worth around 20 million convertible marks, which we are implementing in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Srpska and the local community, entails relocating the heating plant from the town centre to the Famos - Koran industrial zone in Pale.

Subsequently, we are going to build a new plant, which will simultaneously produce heat and electricity.

This will be our contribution to the creation of environmentally clean Pale, which, together with the Olympic mountain of Jahorina, will become one of the most beautiful and most sustainable winter and summer tourist resorts in this part of Europe and the world in the near future.

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CORPO RATE

Hyatt Regency Belgrade

We Are More Optimistic Than Ever About Our Future Our plan for Hyatt Regency Belgrade is clear: we want to make sure that our guests are able to differentiate between Hyatt and our competitors. We intend to be among the Top 10 Hyatt Regency hotels globally in overall customer service standards

HOM PARVIZ General Manager, Hyatt Regency Belgrade

Hyatt Regency is one of company’s very first brands of hotels and resorts. Today there are more than 175 Regency hotels and resorts worldwide.

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True to the origins of the brand and remaining at the heart of the Hyatt portfolio, innovating through architecture and interior design, from the way the space is used, to the “one stop experience” philosophy. They are committed to delighting their guests around the world, enriching every visit and inspiring meaningful connections with

colleagues, with friends and family, and with us.

Hyatt Regency Belgrade is one of the best examples of that philosophy. We spoke with Mr. Hom Parviz, General Manager, about the Belgrade hospitality market, the profile of consumers and their demands. “As the Hyatt Regency story continues with the same spark that inspired their first hotel more than five decades ago, they continue

to evolve and push boundaries in everything that they do. The organic growth of hotels in Belgrade is mostly coming from the middle market brands, while there are few full-service upper market hotels in the city”, says Parviz.

What have been the most significant investments in the recent years? How the hotel features have evolved in the mean time?

IN THE FINAL QUARTER OF 2018 THE HOTEL WILL COMMENCE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR RENOWNED FOCACCIA RESTAURANT TO A UNIQUE VENUE, GIVING OUR GUESTS NEW PLACE TO MEET OR CELEBRATE

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How did you meet consumers’ demands?

— Belgrade Mixed Enterprise (BMP), the owning company of Hyatt Regency Belgrade has heavily invested in revamping and renovation projects at the hotel since purchasing the property in 1989, and much more lies ahead. Renovation projects will carry on into 2020, which conveys a clear and positive message that the company continues to invest in the property and upgrade of the building, and puts an end to the recent circulating story as Our Hotel is Not for Sale. Our renovation projects over the last five years included all the 39 suites, four guest room floors representing fresh welcoming, with smart furnishings allowing guests to go from working to playing to relaxing with ease.The well-known and popular Crystal Ballroom and all event areas went through major refreshment, while our new reception and lobby brought a multifunctional concept to the heart of the hotel encouraging connections and lively conversation among our guests.In the past 2 years our popular Olympus Spa and Fitness Center also had a face lift, representing modern swimming pool and brand new male and female spa facilities. Stronger demand for meetings and small conventions, across the entire year has helped boost our revenues. In the final quarter of 2018 the hotel will commence transformation of our renowned Focaccia restaurant to a unique venue, giving our guests new place to meet or celebrate. Multipurpose furnishings allow for flexible usage, and variable workspaces will

RENOVATION PROJECTS WILL CARRY ON INTO 2020, WHICH CONVEYS A CLEAR AND POSITIVE MESSAGE THAT THE COMPANY CONTINUES TO INVEST IN THE PROPERTY AND UPGRADE OF THE BUILDING, AND PUTS AN END TO THE RECENT CIRCULATING STORY AS OUR HOTEL IS NOT FOR SALE offer the perfect setting for creative meetings, formal presentations, workshops, art exhibitions and celebration gatherings.

What are the specifics of the Belgrade hotel market?What are your long-term goals?

— In terms of business objectives, with various hotel projects being developed in the city of Belgrade,

we will ensure to continue having a cutting-edge approach to our product offerings. Belgrade’s hotel market is based on a value-for-money perception; therefore we need to ensure that we place our products within reach of those consumers without compromising on the services offered. Looking at the organic growth of hotels in Belgrade, we see this is mostly from middle

market brands or so called Select Service hotels, where some travellers are prepared to experience this, and from time to time this puts pressure on full service upper market hotels in the city, which there are less than a handful. Therefore, the challenge and the plan for Hyatt is clear: to ensure that our guests are able to differentiate between Hyatt and their competitors, and to invest constantly in its business and be among the Top 10 Hyatt Regency hotels globally in overall customer service standards. Renovation of a further 2 guest floors will complete this stage of 2019 reconstruction, featuring the most spacious standard hotel rooms in the city measuring at 38 sq/m.

CURRENT PROJECTS What kind of new changes your customers should expect in the coming years?

What is new in the pipeline?

— The current projects in the pipeline for 2019 and beyond – include design work in progress for adding 650 sq/m of new events space in the lower lobby area, allowing our guests the choice of a formal setting in Crystal ballroom or an alternative space for less formal events. Transformation of the Tea House outlet to a caféstyle Market offering food, drinks and regional items creating a one-stop shop for everything guests need in an elegant and airy space in the heart of hotel.

Renovation of a further 2 guest floors will complete this stage of 2019 reconstruction.

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CO RPO RATE

Singidunum University

We Provide Education that Leads to Jobs

Our goal is to nurture professionals who will love their job, who will make their families and the society proud of them, who will be able to find jobs easily, who can be competitive both in the country and abroad, and who will remember their studies and the time spent with their professors and colleagues as a beautiful period of their lives Professor MILOVAN STANIŠIĆ PhD, University President, Singidunum University

Young people today are not indifferent, as some are quick to think – says Professor Milovan Stanišić, President of Singidunum University. "Unlike the previous generations, they don’t accept knowledge that they consider useless being imposed on them and they don’t respect authority that is forced on them. In the light of this, Singidunum University offers a completely different approach to knowledge acquisition. Our graduates leave the University completely ready for the labour market and with CVs that will signify to their future employers that they are fully competent," says the Singidunum University President.

How does the quality of the syllabi and professors differ at your University in comparison to state or other private universities?

— The professors that teach at Singidunum University are not chosen solely for their expertise, but also for their willigness and effort to selflessly share their knowledge and experiences, which they have gained during their academic careers, with the students. Professors also need to teach students how to think and act creatively, as well as teach them about scientific developments in an acceptable and interactive way.

Furthermore, we provided the students with the best technical conditions for studying, the literature from which they learn and the most efficient students services. To what extent will a student progress, how much knowledge they will acquire, and what are the limits of

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their engagement is something that depends only on the student.

How important is practice during studies?

— Practice is an inevitable segment of our University's study programmes. One of our brand-new programmes – Food Economics has been introduced following the initiative of the managers of elite Belgrade hotels who contacted us with clear recommendations and with the aim to train future staff, through a combination of theory and practical training, to be capable of responding to contemporary market demands, creating cutting-edge gastronomic products and independently managing catering facilities. What we specifically insist on at the University is that students should be given an opportunity to apply and test their theoretical knowledge in practice.

The students who are majoring in Food Economics have recently won medals at a prestigious competition in Romania. What

do such career breakthroughs mean for young chefs?

— After only one semester of practice, the first generation of FE study programme students has achieved excellent results at two international competitions and won a total of 12 medals. The University’s management recognized their commitment and decided to finance the trip to these competitions for the best students, which proved to be the right decision. It is important to note that this success becomes much more valuable if we take into account the fact that most of the students have just graduated from grammar high schools and have not had secondary vocational education in this field. In addition to the competitions, we have helped FE study programme students, who want to work during their studies, to find paid practices in the country, which motivated them even more.

Which segments of Singidunum University's development trajectory are you especially proud of and which of the University's

SINGIDUNUM UNIVERSITY IS THE ONLY UNIVERSITY, BOTH IN THE STATE AND PRIVATE SECTOR, IN THE COUNTRY AND THE REGION, WHICH OFFERS A WIDE RANGE OF ACCREDITED STUDY PROGRAMMES IN ENGLISH -BACHELOR, MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL STUDIES

features would you like to single out as unique?

— We are particularly proud of the fact that Singidunum University is the only University, both in the state and private sector, in the country and the region, which conducts a full range of accredited English language studies - bachelor, master's and doctoral studies. This wealth of study programmes encompasses all fields of science, and the candidates can pick from finance and banking, marketing, accounting, tourism, food economics, English studies, physical education, information technology, contemporary data science, etc.

Since they closely follow the latest global trends, the aforementioned programmes not only ensure that our students get internationally recognized diplomas, which, should they decide so, open the doors of renowned universities across the world for them for further education, but also, during the studies at our University, enable them to learn and work in a multicultural environment. At this moment, we have students who have come to Serbia from the different countries of the world (Norway, Russia, Great Britain, China, Sweden, etc.,) as well as those who have completed their previous levels of education in Serbia and decided to continue studying in their own country, which is in no way lagging behind the studies in related areas at respectable universities around the world. To cater to the needs of the students who want to spend a part of their education abroad, the University has established cooperation with Herzing University, which means that our students can complete a part of their studies in America, and earn American diploma.

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29

T HE C EE PRO SPER I T Y R E P O R T

Strategic Choices Made Now Will Determine Future Growth

CEE countries’ GDP has risen to levels never before enjoyed, yet the validity of their growth models built on low-cost labour is being brought into question; the critical challenges of demographics, migration and digital disruption loom ahead. The region as a whole has made huge strides and ranks 38th worldwide in terms of prosperity, although it lags behind when it comes to economic openness, finds The CEE Prosperity report produced by the Legatum Institute together with Erste Group.

“Being at a crossroads means asking a couple of tough questions: What kind of future do you envision? And how do you start planning for it today? As a bank, we would add a third one: Where will the financing you need to build this future come from? CEE countries have come a long way and at Erste we’ve witnessed that progress first-hand. But as they enter a new phase, with challenges that are very different from before, they need to start thinking of themselves differently: as players on a bigger, global stage who compete for higher value-adding businesses, skilled talent and smart capital. Each of these is a serious task in itself,” says Andreas Treichl, CEO Erste Group.

“Looking to the next stages of economic growth requires businesses to be further integrated in the wider European and Global supply chains, but also to be far more entrepreneurial,” says the Legatum Institute’s Senior Fellow James Sproule.“ If it were a single country, Central and Eastern Europe would, according to the Legatum Institute Prosperity Index, be comparable

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Photo: Pexels

To foster further prosperity, CEE countries must look beyond existing partners and technologies to either integrate or invent, or best of all, do both. The digital and information age puts “creative adaptation” at the heart of business and government transformation

THE SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE REGION HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A MAJOR AGRICULTURAL RESOURCE FOR THE WHOLE OF THE EU, ALTHOUGH IT HAS TO BE RECOGNISED THIS HAS TO BE A LONGTERM AMBITION to Chile, South Korea and Israel.

Breaking this overall ranking down into its constituent parts: for economic openness, Central and Eastern Europe is ranked 44th, due in part to the fact it was judged to have a weak business environment. The region overall scores poorly in labour market flexibility, ease of resolving redundancy, perceptions of the value of hard work, and being a good place to start a business. In terms of an inclusive society, Central and Eastern Europe is ranked 36th – comparatively strong in safety and security, but

weak in social capital. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe scored just above their overall rank in terms of empowered people – ranked 37th - comparatively strong in education, but weaker in health.

Three different zones of prosperity have emerged –the Baltic ‘entrepreneurial sea’, the central “industrial hinterlands” adjacent to Germany and Austria, and a south-east “food hub”. Each area has different advantages and challenges, and each will likely follow a distinctly different path in future.

What underpins all successful

paths is effective governance which stops corruption, property rights that facilitate investment, and a competitive landscape that promotes the best ideas.

The Baltic countries are catching up with the levels of prosperity in the central Industrial Hinterlands. Progress in future depends upon maintaining their present levels of economic and social agility.

The parts of CEE that have successfully integrated into the EU – Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, as well as parts of southern Poland and northern Hungary –have effectively become the near-source home for German and other Europeans engineering and manufacturing.

The strategic bet on vehicle production has worked very well, leading to a rapid rise in prosperity; but there is a growing need for industrial and economic diversity, as well as a wider variety of investment partners. The global automotive industry could well face significant challenges in the years ahead, such as the potential ban on internal combustion engine vehicles in China.

The population or South Eastern Europe is less prosperous, less urban and less productive than in the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. The region has the potential to be a major agricultural resource for the whole of the EU, although it has to be recognised this has to be a long-term ambition.

Encouraging and enabling migration to urban centres will help both productivity and prosperity.

Key to achieving this is raising the capital intensity in the countryside, while raising the productivity of human capital in urban centres.

The key policies proposed are: support for farm integration to increase the size of holdings and generate scale economies in production, and migration of labour surpluses to the cities to foster greater prosperity in both urban and rural parts of the economy.

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NON-BINDING PUBLIC CALL TO COLLECT LETTERS OF INTEREST FOR MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS OF THE PE SPORTS AND BUSINESS CENTER "VOJVODINA" NOVI SAD WITH INVESTMENT IN THE BUILDING OF THE SPORTS AND BUSINESS CENTER "VOJVODINA" NOVI SAD

CITY OF NOVI SAD announces Non-binding public call to collect letters of interest for management and improvement of business operations of the PE Sports and Business Center "Vojvodina" Novi Sad with investment in the building of the Sports and Business Center "Vojvodina" Novi Sad Call code: NJP-1/2018

The City of Novi Sad invites all interested domestic

2,157 m², CM Novi Sad II, all at the address Sutjeska

or foreign legal entities (hereinafter referred to as:

No. 2 in Novi Sad, on which the Facility is located,

Potential partners) to submit non-binding written

and the construction of new contents on the part

offers (hereinafter: Letters of interest) for the

of the neighboring parcel number 886/18, CM Novi

management and improvement of business operations

Sad II, in the zone on the north side of the Facility,

of the PE Sports and Business Center "Vojvodina" Novi

on the west side the existing passageway along

Sad with investment in the building of the Sports and

the west facade of the Facility, on the east side

Business Center "Vojvodina" Novi Sad (hereinafter: the

of Sutjeska Street, and on the south side of Cara

Facility).

Lazara Boulevard.

For the purpose of this call, under investment in

Under the management and improvement of the

the Facility, all works necessary for its more efficient

business operations of the PE Sports and Business

utilization, better energy efficiency, more stable and

Center "Vojvodina" Novi Sad, it is understood the

better infrastructure of the Facility are included, which

management of this enterprise by professional

includes all construction and finishing works with

management with experience in managing objects

setting up of installations, plants and equipment, as

of similar size or purpose in the region or the world.

well as investment in an additional space that will

Potential partners are expected to submit a Letter

form a separate or unified functional or technical unit.

of interest expressing their interest in managing

All works from the previous paragraph can be

and improving of business operations of the PE

done on the plot number 893, area 49,881 m², CM

Sports and Business Center "Vojvodina" Novi Sad

Novi Sad II, on the plot number 900/3, area 3,075 m²,

with investment in the Facility, i.e. for engaging

CM Novi Sad II and on the plot number 886/9, area

and organizing of professional management, with

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the goal of revitalization and economic recovery of this enterprise, with the protection of the public

the City Administration for General Affairs, Trg slobode

interest.

1, Novi Sad.

By managing and improving of the business

Letters of interest shall be submitted in a sealed

operations of the PE Sports and Business Center

envelope, with the mandatory mention of the name

"Vojvodina" Novi Sad with investment in the Facility,

and code of this call, with the note "Letter of interest

the City of Novi Sad has an intention to shape itself as

for the City Administration for Sports and Youth – do

a center for sports, culture, entertainment, tourism,

not open".

congress, exhibition or business activities in the region, or any other activity that does not conflict with sports content as the core activity of this enterprise.

Letters of interest must contain the following information: • General information about the Potential partner

Opening and analysis of the received Letters of interest will be done by the commission.

Prior to sending the Letters of interest, all Potential partners will be given access to the relevant documentation after signing a statement on the protection of confidential data. The form of the

(business name, registered office, company registration

statement on the protection of confidential data can

number and Tax Identification Number);

be downloaded at www.novisad.rs . The statement

• Relevant references in the field of sports, cultural,

signed by the authorized person is submitted by the

entertainment, tourism, congress, exhibition,

Potential partner directly to the clerk’s office of the

marketing, catering and/or business infrastructure and/

City Administration for General Affairs, Trg slobode 1,

or management of facilities of similar size or purpose

Novi Sad, in two copies, and simultaneously sending

for the Potential partner;

it by e-mail to: milijana.radovanovic@uprava.

• An indicative business plan for a period of at least 15 years, including a proposal for a partnership model in accordance with applicable legal regulations, the

novisad.rs , at the latest until December 10th , 2018, until 12 noon.

All Potential partners will be able to visit the Facility

manner of engaging and organizing professional

at their request. The requests can be sent by e-mail

management;

to milijana.radovanovic@uprava.novisad.rs , with

• The framework conceptual solution for the realization of the investment program (which

mandatory reference to the name and code of this call.

This call is in all cases non-binding and it is

should include the indicative amount of the planned

published only for the purpose of the market research,

investments, as well as the plan, method and

and in that sense it does not oblige the City of Novi Sad

dynamics, i.e. the deadline for the realization of the

to initiate any procedure for selecting a partner. The

investment program) for investment in the Facility;

City of Novi Sad reserves the right not to initiate the

• Planned structure and method of financing (e.g.

procedure for selecting a partner, and to modify and

financing from own funds, loans and/or subsidies, etc.);

supplement the elements of this non-binding public

• Offered collateral in the event that the

call, and shall not bear any liability for any costs or

reconstruction and/or improvement of the business

damages that such modifications would cause to the

operations are not performed within the agreed time

Potential partner or to third parties.

and/or in the manner envisaged.

Letters of interest and all supporting documentation

All additional information and questions in Serbian and English related to this call can be obtained by

must be signed by the authorized person of the

e-mail to milijana.radovanovic@uprava.novisad.rs ,

Potential partner and submitted no later than

with mandatory reference to the name and code of this

December 20th , 2018, at 12 noon, to the clerk’s office of

call.

33

PRO MO

The Year Of Blockchain Technologies What is special, this year, is not how the technology is evolving but how people and corporates' positions has evolved on this technology

FABIEN AUFRECHNER Havas Blockchain

At Kaktus 2018, I will present how blockchain technologies are opening a new paradigm based on decentralization in which key assets are becoming creativity, engagement and public relations. 2018 is the year of the real democratization of the technology – even if, to be honest, most of the people have heard about it but remain far from understanding all about it.

ready for a solution! And our clients will be very ready when they will discover how blockchain technologies can solve some of their issues. Let's take a simple example: following the numerous scandals on the lack of transparency from the food industry on their supply chain, all the actors of this ecosystem will be more than pleased to discover how blockchain technologies will end the mistrust of their clients.

This is the same when the whole advertising

Due to the rapid popularity of blockchain, there are numerous definitions of these technologies? How would you define it?

— Blockchain technologies are digital ledgers storing and allowing transmissions of information. These technologies are transparent, secure, and decentralized. The two most important kind of blockchain technologies are the "public" one which are fully decentralized. And the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) also called "private" blockchain or "permissioned" blockchain: a decentralized model requiring an invitation to get in.

Do you think that clients are ready for the blockchain technologies from agency view?

— I would not see it as a question of "being ready".

When facing problems for years, anybody is

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Year 2018 was declared as the year of blockchain technologies: do you expect it to be in reality?

— In 2018, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Blockchain technologies. What is special, this year, is not how the technology is evolving but how people and corporates' positions has evolved on this technology. For the first time, banks are starting to work on crypto funds and crypto desks, corporates are working on ICOs and for the very first time, Governments are understanding the stakes and are therefore starting to regulate the crypto-economy, etc. In this sense, 2018 is the year of the real democratization of the technology – even if, to be honest, most of the people have heard about it but remain far from understanding all about it.

Which industries will be the most affected by blockchain technologies?

What can we expect from this innovation?

— Blockchain technologies are not a magic wand!

They are just and only technology aside with AI, IoT, big data, etc. Again, they are providing: decentralized governances, security and transparency. Therefore, they are a "Trust provider". And this is why, as a technology, they are usually used to secure data (cadaster, medical data, supply chain...) or to disintermediate third parties (historically, the very first blockchain was the one of Bitcoin which aimed at disintermediate banks).

Blockchain technologies are also the infrastructure of crypto-assets (such as Bitcoin, Ether, etc) and therefore the base of the crypto-economy (the most famous incarnation of this new economy being ICOs - fundraising in crypto-assets).

industry (clients and industry) will realize how blockchain technologies can empower the viewers and give clients the full control of all the data collected!

THE WHOLE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY (CLIENTS AND INDUSTRY) WILL REALIZE HOW BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES CAN EMPOWER THE VIEWERS AND GIVE CLIENTS THE FULL CONTROL OF ALL THE DATA COLLECTED!

— Usually, people use to say that the financial world will be the most transformed, on the long run, by blockchain technologies. But more globally, I would say that all the industries based on third parties and middlemen will be affected: the advertising and musical industries, the food industry, the pharmaceutical and health industry, social networks, insurances and banks, the retail and tourism industry, etc. And along with this revolution by the technology, other sectors will be transformed. For example: ICOs will revolution the whole industry of capital risk, the token economy will probably reshape media's model and PR's channels, etc.

What can we expect from your presentation at the festival Kaktus 2018?

— At Kaktus 2018, I will present how blockchain technologies are opening a new paradigm based on decentralization in which key assets are becoming creativity, engagement and public relations. I will also discuss the fears of our industry concerning this new technology and its paradigm (decentralization, transparency, etc.) - and try to point out the opportunities arising.

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35

INTERVI EW

Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Pride Includes Not Excludes There is always something to improve and solve

GORAN MILETIĆ Member of the Organizing Committee of Pride Belgrade, Director for Europe, Civil Rights Defenders

For several years now, something has been happening in Belgrade which, back in the day, was considered wishful thinking – a peaceful Pride Parade. Non-traditional sexuality has been perpetually confusing societies in many countries and polarizing public opinion. Still, it seems that everything is moving towards a more tolerant society. We are talking about this with Goran Miletić, member of the Organizing Committee of Pride Belgrade.

Pride has been postponed and banned for years, in fear of violence. For some years now, it has been functioning more or less good, obviously with the support of the current government. What is the reach of this Pride?

— Pride is certainly a quite particular public gathering and different to all other gatherings. On one hand, it has always been a protest with very clear requirements regarding the improvement of the position of the LGBT+ community.

Although there is a misconception that „there are no more problems

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to solve” in the countries where the same sex marriage is legalized, the reality is quite different. Pride always presents an opportunity to petition the state authorities to promote respect for the human rights of this community and these are not just empty words. The second part is fun and it is all about expressing a person's identity in the way they want, without feeling shame or being shy about it. Unfortunately, in the countries where

nity in the society was treated as something exotic, Now, we have a PM who is a lesbian participating with us in Pride and there are less than 1,000 police officers securing it. We opened the Pride info centre in downtown Belgrade, which works without any problems.

Again, this was inconceivable a couple of years ago. The Pride Week comprises of nearly 70 events and they all take place without an incident. Pride pushes the envelope every year, and having government's support is not a goal in itself but a method.

Some of the eminent members of the LGBTQI community objected to Pride becoming too political and have declined to participate.

What is your take on this?

— Pride is an inclusive event and everyone is welcome except those who advocate violence and hatred.

The remark that the several activists made was about politicians, representatives of embassies and

WHILE THE SEXUALITY ON TELEVISION IS EXPLICIT AND VULGAR, AND THERE IS THE DIFFUSION OF MORAL PANIC BECAUSE OF AN ANNUAL GATHERING OF A COMMUNITY THAT DOES NOT WANT TO ENDURE VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF THEIR SEXUAL IDENTITY there is pronounced homophobia, conservative circles misuse this fun part to manipulate with the fear of certain citizens who are skeptical of new things. In this respect, Belgrade Pride is the same as any other Pride, and its impact, after all these years, is more than significant. Back in the day, it was impossible to hold Pride without 7,000 policemen or, even worse, Pride was banned.

The issue of the LGBT+ commu-

media participating in Pride. We are never going to exclude authorities because we are asking them to show commitment to improving the position of the LGBT+ community, as well as take concrete steps.

Representatives of international organizations and embassies were with us during the years when Pride was banned and to stop these people from participating only because they have the citizenship of another country is plain populism.

Everyone who supports the LGBT+ community is welcome to Belgrade Pride. The same group of activists has been trying to organize a counter-Pride in June for several years, but less than 50 people came to this event this year. Nevertheless, Belgrade Pride supports this event and every new public event staged by organizations and groups because one of the goals is for the members of the LGBT+ community to have the freedom of assembly.

Is the fact that, for the first time ever, we have a formally authorized LGBTQI person heading a state government wind to sails for Pride and the entire community?

— Let's not confuse the following two things. Firstly, the fact that we have a lesbian as the head of the government would be positive and important news in any world country, let alone in Serbia where over 60% of citizens still belive that homosexuality is a disease. Of course, some citizens will change their attitude when they have the opportunity to see a person from the LGBT+ community on a daily basis, who is, at the same time, the head of a government (in 2015, only 18% of citizens said that they knew an LGBT person). The PM and her team are very supportive of Pride and this is a big, positive change compared to the previous PM's. In the latest interview that the PM gave to the eponymous Pride magazine „PONOS“ she speaks about herself, her partner and the problems she has encountered and this is also a great personal contribution. On the other hand, we cannot expect the Law on Registered Partnerships or the Law on Gender Identity to be passed only because the PM is a member of the LGBT+ community. That depends on the party in power. In

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cases of violence and discrimination, it is the Prosecutor's Office and courts that must react.

Why is this topic so polarizing in the world? Wars can be waged and living standard destroyed, but everybody would still be majorly interested in who sleeps with whom and whether they are with „the right gender“.

— Experts agree that sexuality remains a topic that is still deeply polarizing, but the reason lies in various factors - the influence of religion, tradition, and political decisions in a society. For instance, the introduction of sex education in schools is a measure that reduces polarization in the society in the long run, but this initiative is always subjected to attacks from conservative circles. However, there is much greater hypocrisy at play in Serbia. While the sexuality on television is explicit and vulgar, at the same time, there is the diffusion of moral panic because of an annual gathering of a community that does not want to endure violence and discrimination because of their sexual identity. Unfortunately, people living outside the established model of husband-wife-marriage-children are seen as less valuable.

that can be summarized in one sentence - "I know a gay person, but they are against Pride and were never attacked." Of course, a lot of people do not have a problem if nobody knows that they have a different sexual orientation, but is that the kind of society we want? I hope that we have come to a point where everyone should be accepted for what they are, and not be instructed to keep mum about an important part of their personality.

fering“ in the present state of affairs. The situation is much better for people who are not concerned with someone's identity. You are right about the 1980s and 1990s and back then you could always find gay friendly places in Belgrade and Novi Sad. We were invisible, but we had our own circle of "tolerant" people who accepted us. However, such tolerance was actually the acceptance of the second-rate position. The police could always

I HOPE THAT WE HAVE COME TO A POINT WHERE EVERYONE SHOULD BE ACCEPTED FOR WHAT THEY ARE, AND NOT BE INSTRUCTED TO KEEP MUM ABOUT AN IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR PERSONALITY

This incredible U-turn is still in progress and nobody can foresee what will happen next. For now, it does not seem that the majority of the LGBT+ community is too impressed by these attempts.

With the acceptance of the same-sex marriages in the West, did members of the LGBTQI community lose their critical edge?

LGBTQI people were once the most progressive social revolutionaries and critics of the establishment, and today we see them as conservative senators and defenders of the general order, just like the straight people. Did the establishment successfully swallow LGBTQI and was that the goal from the beginning?

Is Pride absolutely necessary?

Does it help the LGBT+ community to be better accepted, or does it further polarize the society?

— Pride is an event that increases visibility and points to problems.

By organizing Pride, members of the LGBT+ community want to show that they are fellow citizens who have the same problems as their neighbours, but also additional problems due to their identity. There is no country in the world where things have improved without first an increase in the visibility of the LGBT community taking place. When we said, some ten years ago, that the ban would not resolve anything and that media reports about bloodsoaked streets during Pride would become an ugly thing of the past, people told us that Serbia was just like Russia and that staging Pride would be impossible. It turned out that that was not so, and research says that the community is now more accepted in the society and that polarization has diminished.

However, the problem is that this change is happening very slowly and the conservative part of the public now uses a new approach

Is this „acceptance“ in essence just formal „sufferance“? Sometimes, it seems that the 1990s were more truthful and tolerant.

— Homosexuality was deemed a criminal offense in Serbia until 1994 and Milošević's political establishment did not show any understanding of the LGBT+ community. After the abolition of this segment of the law, the arrests formally ceased, but the police continued to harass the members of the LGBT+ community. Affirmative texts in media were an exception. Today, it is not deemed „exotic“ anymore to openly support the LGBT+ community and there are mechanisms in place for those who want to perpetuate hate speech towards it. That's why maybe certain parts of society are „suf-

arrest you, and blackmails were frequent because there was no regulation that would protect you.

In the rest of the world, particularly in the West, the formally homophobic right wing parties are now turning to the LGBTQI community as the defenders of the Western values that include this community too, in opposition to Islamic immigrants who are decidely homophobic. What is the politics' (both left and right) view of this?

— Yes, that is definitely an interesting phenomenon. Right-wing politicians simply had to say that the arrival of immigrants from Muslim countries would destroy liberal values, especially tolerance towards the LGBT+ community.

— When cooperating with a number of activists from different countries, I was under the impression that there had always been "open issues", or focus on the LGBT+ movement in countries. In recent years, in some countries, the focus has been on the problems that trans and intersex people are facing, as well as on so-called peer violence in Serbia. I would disagree with you that we no longer have the edge, but the focus has definitely changed. Nevertheless, we must be aware that the world has also changed completely. The waym we used to fight for human rights today is not the same as 20 years ago, social media have brought about major changes, and populism has become very appealing to a huge number of people.

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

08 ASEAN DAY AUG

2018 FLAG RAISING CEREMONY

In conjunction with the ASEAN Day 2018 and on the auspicious occasion of the 51st Anniversary of the foundation of ASEAN, the Diplomatic Missions of ASEAN member countries to Serbia (Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar) organised a flag raising ceremony on Wednesday, 8 August 2018 at 10.00am. The flag raising ceremony was

held at the Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the host of this year’s ASEAN Day celebration. The Flag Raising Ceremony was attended by the Serbian Government officials, members of the diplomatic corps from the Asia Pacific embassies, ASEAN Dialogue Partner countries and international organizations’ offices based in Belgrade.

H.E. U Myo Aye, the Ambassador of the Republic of Union of Myanmar to Serbia

14 MANDELA NIGHT SEP

IN THE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART

H.E. Mohammed Amine BELHAJ,Marija Pavlovic Aleksic, Director od Museum of African art and Vesna Jugović de Vinča

14 AUTOMOTIVE SEP

INDUSTRY IN THE FOCUS

The Belgrade Museum of African Art held the promotion of the English edition of the book "Mandela's Code" by Dr. Vesna Jugović de Vinča. A cappella "Hymn of Africa" was performed by the band "Voice, Not Wire", followed by ambassadors of Algeria

and Palestine, H. E. Abdelhamid Chebchoub and Mohammed Nabhan, former Yugoslav ambassador to African countries Danilo Milić, director of Color Press group Robert Čoban, director of the Textbook Institute Dragoljub Kojčić, and the author herself.

Ambassadors of African and Asian countries

Representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SPK) and the General Confederation (GC) of Moroccan Enterprises signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of improving cooperation between companies and the overall economic ties between the two countries. In the framework of the visit of the Morocco

Chamber of Commerce, a seminar was held presenting the possibilities of business of the two countries. The focus of cooperation is on the auto industry, agriculture, IT and tourism. GC Vice President, Khalid Benjelloun, said he hoped the agreement would be a good basis for strengthening economic cooperation.

Halid Benjeloun, Vice President of the General Confederation and Jelena Jovanović, Director of the Department for International Economic Relations of the PKS

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03 GERMAN OCT

UNITY DAY

Serbia can always count on Germany's support, German Ambassador to Belgrade Thomas Schieb said at a reception hosted on the occasion of German Unity Day. The reception at the residence of the German Ambassador was attended

by Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić,President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Maja Gojković, representatives of the government, diplomatic corps, political, public and cultural life of Serbia. Speaking to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, Ambassador said that date marks the end of a century that was marked, not only in Germany, but through out Europe, war, devastation, suffering, embarrassment and unimaginable crimes that were launched on the soil of Germany.

Maja Gojković, H.E.Thomas Schieb,Ana Brnabić and Aleksandar II Karadjordjević

H.E.Kathleen Csaba, Ambassador of Canada and H.E. TThomas Schieb

H.E.Nikolaus Lutterotti, Austrian Ambassador to Serbia with his spouse

Ana Abramović, Dunav Insurance, Muamer Zukorlić, deputy and president of the Party of Justice and Reconciliation with H.E. Marco Antonio GARCÍA BLANCO , Ambassador of Mexico with his spouse his spouse

Sanda Savić, Hmofarm, Zoran Baranac, Director of the information program, O2TV, Suzana Djordjević, Director of the Hemofarm Foundation and Branko Rosić, journalist

H.E. Mohammed K. M. Nabhan, Ambassador Of The State Of Palestine To Serbia and German Ambassador

Dr. Ronald Seeliger, Vice-President Stada South- and Central-East Europe, CEO Hemofarm Group

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

21 A TRADITIONAL SEP

COCKTAIL AT THE RESIDENCE OF FRANCE

SEP

FASHION FESTIVAL

Cultural Association Excellence in cooperation with the Yugoslav Cinematheque organised the IX edition of the Italian Film Fashion Festival. The goal of the Festival, which is organised for the third time in Belgrade, is the

H.E. Carlo Lo Cascio, Italian Ambassador to Serbia

26 WESTERN SEP

BALKANS 2030 CONFERENCE

Dr. Ronald Seeliger and H.E. Thomas Schieb

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ambassador in the green oasis of the residence, the guests continued to socialise with a cocktail, and the pleasant atmosphere was completed by the saxophonist Milan Savić and Uki Ovaskainen on the piano.

H.E.Kathleen CSABA with his husband and Dubravka Negre,Head of EIB Regional Representation for the Western Balkans

H. E. Frederic Mondoloni

25 ITALIAN FILM

French Ambassador to Serbia H. E. Frédéric Mondoloni on September 21 organised a traditional cocktail in the gardens of the embassy, attended by a large number of prominent officials. After a brief speech by the

The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) in cooperation with the Committee of the German Economy for Eastern Europe - Eastern European Association of German Economy (OA) organized regional conference on political, economic and social perspectives in the countries of the Western

promotion of a newer Italian film, especially young talents.

Thanks to the cooperation with the Luce / Cinecittà Institute from Rome, the focus of the Festival was on the debut performances of the new generation of Italian directors.

Goran Paskaljević, Serbian movie director

Balkans called the Western Balkans 2030 - Visions.

Desire. Reality at the Crowne Plaza. The conference was opened by Ambassador of Germany to Serbia Thomas Schieb, President of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce Dr. Ronald Seeliger and OA Chairman Janusz Kulik.

OA Chairman, Janusz Kulik

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rd 05 3 AHK

OCT

OKTOBERFEST IN BELGRADE

Close to 1,500 guests had the opportunity to experience the famous German festival in a unique way while enjoying draught German beer, Bavarian specialties, beer drinking and beer mug holding competitions, as well as the music of the renowned brass band - the Dejan Petrović Big Band.

The German Ambassador to Serbia, Thomas Schieb had the honour to officially open the 3rd AHK Oktoberfest, a closed-type event organized by the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) for its members, their partners and guests, as well as for the German-Serbian business community, by skillfully piercing the first beer barrel and thus formally marking the beginning of the 3rd AHK Oktoberfest.

Following the welcome address by the Vice President of AHK Serbia, Udo Eichlinger, the German Ambassador to Serbia, Thomas Schieb and the Director of AHK Serbia, Martin Knapp, the celebration ensued, closely resembling the original German event but adapted to the Serbian environment.

In the authentic blue and white ambience, with the German drought beer Erdinger and domestic beer brands, the Bavarian cuisine and authentic costumes, as well as competitions in beer drinking and mug holding, visitors had the opportunity experience the atmosphere of the original Oktoberfest in Munich.

The third AHK Oktoberfest is the continuation of DSW Oktoberfest, an event with a long-standing tradition.

German Ambassador to Serbia, Thomas Schieb, Director of AHK Serbia, Martin Knapp and Vice President of AHK Serbia, Udo Eichlinger

The Ambassador opens the barrels

Second day of Festival, Dr.Ronald Seeliger, opens the barrels

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

27 “COLOURS OF SEP

As part of the Colours of Malaysia 2018 programme, the Embassy of Malaysia in Belgrade hosted a dinner for the representatives of the diplomatic corps, media and Friends of Malaysia on 27 September 2018, at the Radisson Collection

MALAYSIA 2018” DINNER

Hotel, Old Mill Belgrade. In his welcoming address, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Malaysian Embassy, Mr. Nik Ady Arman, emphasized the increasing importance of people-to-people contacts, particularly through the universal language of flavours and culture.

Nik Ady Arman,

27 AMERICAN WINE SEP

The Ambassador of the United States of America H.E. Kyle Scott and his wife organised an interesting event – the US Wine Tasting event at the Ambassador’s Residence. The United States of

TASTING

Slavko Caric, Erste Banka and H.E. Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of Croatia

01 “ARCHITECTURE OCT

NIGHT”

America have a very long tradition of high-quality wines especially in the State of California, which are world famous. Many ambassadors and prominent personalites took part in the event.

H.E. Kyle Scott

The Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic for the second time organized the “Architecture Night” on the occasion of World Architecture Day 2018 – “Architecture … For A Better World”. In 2005, the International Union of Architects (UIA) established the first Monday in October as World

Architecture Day. The opening of the manifestation were attended by prof. Dr. Vladan Đokić, Dean and HE. Dagmar Repčekova, ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Belgrade. Seven countries took part in the publishing and programming part of this year’s edition: Australia, Austria, Denmark, Croatia, Israel, Poland, Slovakia.

Dr. Vladan Đokić

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01 SUMMIT OCT

OF 100 LEADERS

The seventh Summit of the Business Leaders of South East Europe gathered in Belgrade more than 150 officials, leaders, experts and ministers of the region who talked about various topics, such as labor mobility, energy sustainability, perspectives for strengthening the competitiveness of national economies, as well as the competitive potential of the whole South East Europe. The opening of the Summit 100 leaders was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, President of

the Serbian Association of Managers and President of the Executive Board of the Summit 100 Stanka Pejanović, Director of Operations of A1 Telekom Austria Group Alejandro Plater, and Bostella Consulting Group Senior Consultant Antonella Mei-Pochtler. Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said at the opening of the Summit 100 business leaders in Southeast Europe that she believes that the entire region can become the "region of the winner" by engaging in digital transformation processes.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić

02 COMMEMORATION OCT

OF 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

The inaugural event to commemorate 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was held in Embassy of India on 2nd October 2018. On this occasion Special commemorative stamps marking the 150th birth anniversary issued by the Indian Postal Department were released by

H. E. Subrata Bhattacharjee, Indian Ambassador to Serbia

11 THE KINGDOM OCT

OF SPAIN DAY

Ambassador. Inspired by Gandhi’s living a cruelty-free life, vegetarian refreshment was served to the honored guests. India is thankful to the Government and people of Serbia for naming a road after Mahatma Gandhi and installing his bust at a prominent location in Belgrade.

Robert Čoban, CPG, Jadranka Jovanović, opera singer and Ambassador with his spouse

Spanish Ambassador to Belgrade Miguel Fuertes Suares hosted a reception on October 12, the national holiday of his country, and stressed that relations between Spain and Serbia are remarkable, "with mutual sympathy, cordiality and respect." The reception began with the intonation of the national anthems of Spain and Serbia, as well as the anthem of the European Union. At the beginning of Suarez's address, a minute of silence was

H.E. Miguel Fuertes

held for the victims of recent floods in Majorca. The reception was attended by Ministers Zoran Djordjevic and Goran Trivan, representatives of the diplomatic corps and religious communities, as well as numerous figures from political, cultural and public life. The Kingdom of Spain Day is celebrated in honor of Christopher Columbus entering the soil of America in 1492, and is celebrated as the Day of the Spanish Armed Forces.

H.E. Philippe Gérald Guex , Swiss Ambassador, H.E. Sem Fabrizi, EU Ambassador and H.E. Carlo Lo Cascio, Italian Ambassador to Serbia

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43

PEO PLE & EVENTS

EU Art Night During the 57th October Salon, on Saturday, October 6, a cultural performance entitled The EU Art Night was organized in Belgrade by Balkan Urban Movement with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

The idea of this event was to bring contemporary art closer to citizens, thus incraesing the scale of creativity in the concept of merging culture and young people. The main message was the "power of diversity", and a large number of young people from all over the regionenjoyed guided tours through the setting of 72 artists at the Museum of the City of Belgrade.

At the opening ceremony guests were addressed by H.E. Sem Fabrizi, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, who was the main sponsor of this event, emphasized that the October Salon is an important event for the cultural heritage of Serbia, but also of Europe, specifying, in particular, its significance for the younger generations.

Danijela Maljević, President of the NGO Balkan Urban Movement, the main organizer of this event, expressed her gratitude to the EU Delegation to Serbia, the Cultural Center of Belgrade and everyone who recognized the importance of this initiative. „Contemporary art and culture are extremely important for the development of the society, and with that in mind we have organized this event to show young people the "power of diversity", concluded Maljević.

The event was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps, among them ambassadors of Italy Carlo Lo Cascio, Finland -Pertti Ikonen, Belgium- Adam Koenraad, France -Frederik Mondoloni, Montenegro- Branislav MIćunović, Egypt -Amr Aljowaily, Head of the OSCE Mission Andrea Orizio, representatives of the Embassies of Germany and Austria, and people from the public and cultural life of Serbia.

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Montenegrin Ambassador Branislav Mićunović, Mrs. Rebecca Jane Fabrizi, Pertti Ikonen, Ambassador of Finland, French Ambassador Frédéric Mondoloni, Simona Miculescu, Unicef and Andrea Orizio, Head of the OSCE Mission

Danijela Maljević, President, NGO Balkan Urban Movement

H.E. Sem Fabrizi, Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation

Young artists from the region

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45

B USINESS NEWS JUBMES banka a.d. Beograd

EXHIBITION ENTITLED „METAPHORS IN OIL“

BAT Serbia

MARKED FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF BUSINESS WITHOUT ANY INJURY AT WORK

British American Tobacco (BAT), the largest British investor in Serbia, marked five consecutive years of business without injury and professional illnesses, and the factory in Vranje became the only company within the plant in Western Europe with that result. Occupational safety is one of the company's basic business postulates that is strategically committed to achieving and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. "The credit for achieving this fantastic success belongs to all of our employees at the factory in Vranje. We are extremely proud of this success, but, more importantly, we are very happy about the fact that we

have created an environment in which all our employees, partners and visitors can feel completely safe. Today's celebration aims to show our employees that we value and respect their commitment to safe work, and we believe that just marking these achievements and recognition of merit additionally contribute to increasing motivation and winning spirit. The next goal is ten years without any injuries at work," said Richard Vredenberg, director of the BAT Vranje factory.

CarGo

A PARTICIPANT AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN SLOVENIA

CarGo, as one of the most successful startup projects from Serbia, was a participant at the international conference in Slovenia. The conference was about e-commerce, the transformation of traditional industries and what is the perspective of the region of Southeast Europe. Ministry of Economic Development of Slovenia invited the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications to take part in the conference, and they elected CarGo to represent Serbia and to present to the participants how to

launch a private business and improve e-commerce. The conference "Overcoming innovation: How to remove barriers to interaction between start-ups and corporations " was held in Vitanje, Slovenia, during the International craft and entrepreneurship Fair Celje 2018.

CarGo Executive Director Aleksandar Vucic spoke about the development of the application CarGo. Vucic talked about the relationship with clients and how one small idea became an application that is now used by more than 100,000 users. He also spoke about the cooperation that CarGo established with more than 200 companies in Serbia, who recognized the benefits offered by the application, such as online payment, transparency and security. .

Exhibition entitled „Metaphors in oil“ by artist Mr Igor Stefanović, was opened on Friday, September 21, in the lobby of JUBMES banka a.d. Beograd. “It is our honour to present such exceptional paintings in JUBMES banka, after Los Angeles, Italian galleries and the house of King Peter 1 Karadjordjević house, Belgrade. Within Art and Business vision project, we have already organized exhibitions of both respected Serbian painters and young artist striving for recognition. By presenting Igor’s unique paintings we dared to go one step further and offer our clients, associates and all people loving art, a totally new contents, born in synergy of gift and love for art and drawing, including superb skill in implementation of contemporary technologies” – said Mr. Miloš Vujnović, the president of the Executive Board of JUBMES banka a.d. Beograd.

NLB Group

PROFIT IN THE FIRST HALF OF YEAR 104.8 MILLION EURO

SBERBANK REALLY SUPER CASH LOAN This autumn, Sberbank Serbia prepared a really SUPER offer of cash loans. With a nominal interest rate of 7.9 percent, or an effective interest rate of 8.8 percent, Sberbank offers you the opportunity to refinance your existing obligations or provide additional resources for everything that is needed at this time.

"We tried to offer customers a product that will enable them to get the necessary funds in a quick and easy way. In addition to the extra cash, Really Super Cash Loans also allow for refinancing of existing obligations with excellent conditions. Also, it is important to note that all clients who apply online, ie, through our website, they can do this without processing costs," said Mirjana Đorđević, product development

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director at the retail department. The offer really super cash loan runs from September 17th to November 25th, and the maximum loan amount is 3,000,000 dinars. For all additional information, visit the bank's website at www.sberbank.rs, call the Contact Center at number 19909 or come to one of the Sberbank branches throughout Serbia.

NLB Group continued its positive trend in the previous period and achieved net profit of EUR 104.8 million in the first half of 2018. All member banks of the SEE markets, including NLB Bank Belgrade, made profits and accounted for 41% of the profits of the NLB Group before taxation. NLB Bank Belgrade in the first six months achieved a net profit of EUR 2.5 million. "In the first six months of this year, NLB Bank approved loans in the amount of more than EUR 141 million, which on the one hand points to our readiness to provide support to the citizens and the economy of Serbia, but also to strengthen the trust of our clients. We continue to improve the offer for all segments of the clients, so that each contact with the bank will be a positive experience and we will try to justify this trust" said Branko Greganović, President of the Executive Board of NLB Banka Beograd, on the occasion of the publication of semi-annual results, adding that in this period NLB Bank the best result achieved in the business with agricultural holdings.

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Coca-Cola HBC Serbia

RESULTS OF INVESTMENTS

In the year of marking a half a century of operating, Coca-Cola HBC Serbia presented the fifth local sustainability report for 2017. “Sustainability is an integral part of our operations and we always search for new ways of contributing to the environment where we operate.

Thus we create better prospects for the development of the entire community, through their knowledge and higher self-esteem,” said Svetoslav Atanasov, Coca-Cola HBC Serbia General Manager. Last year, the company invested more than 41 million dinars in community development, including more than 17 million dinars allocated to the youth empowerment programs. More than one thousand youth received assistance in developing their professional identity and career, and 200 of them got employed afterwards. The employees invested 700 volunteer hours and the “Coca-Cola Volunteer Club” was recognised as the best employee development program through volunteering at the CSR Forum. In the past ten years, water consumption per litre of produced drink was reduced by 52 percent, and the overall energy consumption per litre of produced drink was cut by 51 percent in the same period. .

LIDL SUCCESSFULLY OPENED THE FIRST 16 STORES IN SERBIA

On October 15th General Manager of Lidl Serbia Tomislav Šapina expressed his thanks to numerous consumers for their patience and employees for their commitment to work.

"The first days of Lidl's work in Serbia were marked with feeling of long-awaited arrival. I personally visited a large number of stores and witnessed the positive energy that could be felt. I am primarily thankful to the consumers for their confidence in Lidl hoping that they will continue to buy from us. After the "grand opening" special prices Lidl will continue to

make the quality available. I would also like to thank our employees - they are the ones that made the opening of all 16 stores possible, in the best way and in the spirit kindness towards customers. We did the best we could and we apologize if anyone experienced any inconvenience.

After these first openings, we will continue to expand the network of the shops, in order to be available to as many citizens as possible and by the end of the year, there will be another 7 stores in Belgrade (Ada), Vršac, Inđija, Jagodina, Kikinda, Kruševac and Pančevo.”

AmCham

HRESURS PROGRAM FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Leoni

LARGEST INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYER IN SERBIA

Leoni, a global provider of energy and data management solutions in the automotive sector and other industries, will open its fourth plant in Serbia, in in the city of Kraljevo, and become the country’s largest industrial employer. Holding the General Management Meeting in Niš underscores Serbia’s importance in the development strategy of Leoni’s Wiring Systems Division (WSD). Once the new plant in Kraljevo has been opened in early 2020, Serbia will be the only European country in the WSD network with four production facilities and afterwards nearly double the number of employees in the country. The Company decided to invest and develop its operations here based on favourable experience, availability of qualified staff, the positive working culture as well as, last, but not least, on the good collaboration with the Serbian government and authorities.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham), in cooperation with the office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia today presented the HResurs (HResource) program, which will be implemented by the National Academy for Public Administration, with the aim to develop the field of human resources in the public and private sectors. “The HResurs program focuses primarily on professional development

and an exchange of experiences between the public and the corporate sector.

Through communication of these two sides, we will inspire numerous changes in the approach to handling human resources in public administration, with the aid of the expertise of our HR Forum, the program will provide added value to all participants from public administration,” said Jelena Pavlović, president of AmCham. HResurs will gather 28 participants from the private and public sector. They will be split into mentor pairs, and through various activities, they will have the opportunity to develop their expertise in the field of human resources over the next three months.

APOLOGIE In an interview with Mr Djordje Popović, published in the September issue no. 31, due to an unintentional technical error in the translation, we published a wrongly translated sentence. We would like to use this opportunity to apologize to Mr Popović and our readers. Hereby, we are publishing the correct question and the answer in their entirety.

What are the relations in the coalition? Could the rise of your party and rise in the number of members jeopardize relations in the coalition?

- The SNSD - DNS – SP coalition in the Republic of Srpska has functioned well for a long number of years. Of course, each coalition always has certain issues. It is quite normal to have different opinions on many issues but that’s what politics is for, to harmonize positions and look for common solutions. DNS was always fair and open towards its coalition partners, and I don’t think that strengthening of DNS’ reputation could jeopardize the coalition. If that was to happen eventually, it certainly would not be DNS’ fault

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B USINESS NEWS INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM FOR WATER, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

October, 24th and 25th 2018, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina The Fifth International Trade Fair on Energy, Water and Environmental Protection - RENEXPO® BiH in Sarajevo, Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the main meeting point for business key players, decision makers, industry and experts in the field of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Water Management, Ecology and Economy. The trade fair organizer - REECO Group, based in Germany, announces new companies in the exhibition, which have just started activities in the Western Balkans. Over 80 company's presentations will be visible in the trade fair exhibition and conference program.

The exhibitors come from 25 countries all over the globe and the entire Western Balkans region. Over 2000 professional and trade visitors, project holders, investors will be matched with the trade fair exhibitors. Strategic projects, investment framework and insight in the most important sectors for sustainable development - water and energy are in the focus of meetings, conferences and trade fair program. For more information please visit the web page: www.renexpo-bih.com.

Wiener Privatklinik

UNIQUE IN VIENNA: ARTHROSCOPIC PARTIAL SHOULDER RESURFACING

In the Competence Centre for Orthopedics of The Vienna Private Hospital, which is pioneering in endoprosthetics, we perform hip, knee, spinal and foot operations. The most recent joint prosthesis technology and the latest, minimally invasive implant procedures have made joint operations and the insertion of hip prostheses, knee prostheses, ankle joint prostheses and shoulder prostheses a short and gentle routine procedure. There are comprehensive range of treatments and rehabilitation to reduce pain in patients and restore maneuverability and mobility. Comeback Programme uses the latest findings in the treatment, rehabilitation and healing after knee and hip operations. One of the pioneering examples is the new unique surgery method, developed by Prim.

Werner Anderl who is with his team, the only one in Vienna specialized and can perform this surgery method. The Partial ECLIPSE has a focus on combining the

Photo: KhFessl

Renexpo® BIH

very latest prosthetics know-how with the most minimally invasive surgical intervention possible. The arthroscopic procedure chosen here for bone preparation and the insertion of the prosthesis enables the approach to be kept to a minimum and also ensures that the functional anatomy is left untouched. This quick and simple-to-reproduce procedure enables a technique to be used which, to date, was not possible with shoulder prosthetics and which also offers the surgeon the advantages such as ideal adaptation to the position of the focal humeral defect, simple planning, positioning and sizing and many others. More you may find on our website www.wpk.at

RE/MAX

WORLD LEADER IN REAL ESTATE

FIC

THE 5TH VISIT TO EU INSTITUTIONS IN BRUSSELS

With series of successful meetings with representatives of the European Commission, delegation the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) finalized its visit to Brussels, fifth in a row. Thus, the FIC continued to support the process of European integration of Serbia, being a reliable partner both to the Serbian Government and the European Union. During a two day visit, FIC delegation met with representatives of 7 directorate generals of the European Commission: NEAR, ECFIN, TAXUD, EMPL, TRADE, CNECT, and GROW. In addition, meetings with representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and with the Serbian Ambassador to EU Ana Hrustanovic were also held. In the discussions with EU institutions, the FIC underlined instrumental importance of reforms in the following fields: tax, labour, trade and inspections, food safety, real-estate, digitalization& e-commerce, telecommunications, and general legal framework (specifically bankruptcy and foreign exchange regulations).

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The representative office of the largest US real estate company RE/ MAX has opened in Serbia. The opening ceremony was attended by over a hundred invitees addressed by the Ambassador of the United States of America H.E. Kyle Scott, President of RE/MAX Europe – Mr.

Michael Polzler and Director of RE/MAX Serbia – Miloš Mavrić. The representatives of the Government of Serbia and the City of Belgrade present agreed with H.E. Mr. Scott that this is a great thing for the economy of the country and a good indicator of Serbia’s economic progress.

RE/MAX is a world leader in real estate and one of the most recognizable US companies. It was named the world’s leading real estate franchise for nine years in a row, and it is now present on our market, where it plans to cooperate with a number of leading real estate agents and agencies.

SPEED BUSINESS MEETING The Slovenian Business Club, the Japan Business Alliance, the Belo-Serbian Business Association and the Canadian-Serbian Business Association organized the "Speed Business Meeting" at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade Hotel, which was also the sponsor of this event.

For the purpose of networking foreign and domestic businessmen, 12 ten-minute individual meetings "one on one" were organized. At the highly visited SBM, 41 companies from different business sectors attended the business, who had the opportunity to connect with each other, expand their contacts base, and thus

present their companies, products and services.

Upon completion of the formal meeting, all participants continued in their informal atmosphere to continue their business connection to a cocktail that was organized in the hotel itself.

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A N O WN - G O A L ?

Football Fans Cry Foul Over Plans to Sell Wembley Stadium Is England’s Football Association getting a bad deal?

After an intoxicating summer in which England reached the semi-final of the World Cup in Russia, English football fans face the prospect of seeing Wembley Stadium, the national squad’s home, fall into the hands of a foreigner.

This is the sacred turf where England won the World Cup in 1966. Many fans are far from happy.

The potential buyer is an American, Shahid Khan. He already owns an English Premier League football club, Fulham, as well as the Jacksonville Jaguars, a National Football League (NFL) franchise. The Jaguars have been playing NFL games at Wembley since 2013. Mr Khan wants to stage more such matches there, so he is offering £600m ($780m) to Wembley’s owner, the Football Association (FA), to buy the stadium outright.

The FA, which runs the grassroots side of the game in England, is hard-up. Its bosses see this as a one-off opportunity to overhaul the tens of thousands of muddy pitches and freezing club houses that make up the country’s dilapidated football infrastructure. The deal, already agreed on by the FA’s board, will be put to its 127-member council on October 11th.

No one doubts that the English game needs an injection of cash. Football’s Premier League might be the richest in the world, but the grassroots remain in poor shape. In a survey of the 29,000 affiliated clubs, 49% reported that at least five fixtures per season were cancelled because of frozen or waterlogged pitches. But

many argue that selling Wembley is not the best way to fund a modernisation of the game.

For a start, there is the valuation. The FA bought Wembley stadium in 1999 for £103m and completely rebuilt it, demolishing its old twin towers and installing a giant arch designed by Lord Foster. Costs overran, eventually totting up to £757m, £161m of which was funded by lottery and government money. Under the deal with Mr Khan, the FA would keep most of the stadium’s hospitality rights, valued at about £300m. But the cash that it received would be substantially below what the FA has spent on the site since 1999.

FA’S BOSSES SEE THIS AS A ONE-OFF OPPORTUNITY TO OVERHAUL THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUDDY PITCHES AND FREEZING CLUB HOUSES THAT MAKE UP THE COUNTRY’S DILAPIDATED FOOTBALL INFRASTRUCTURE Given that house prices in London have tripled since then, it looks to many like a bad deal. But the market for 90,000-seat stadiums is rather different from that for three-bedroom semis. Valuing Wembley is particularly hard, as it is almost unique in not being part of a rich Premier League club. Twickenham stadium,

owned by the Rugby Football Union, is the only comparable asset in London, points out JLL, a property services company. The FA says that the offer meets a valuation that it commissioned from Rothschild, a bank.

Mr Khan is the sole bidder, so there is little pressure on him to improve his offer. If the FA does sell up, it will be saying goodbye to its only substantial asset. The proposed deal excludes branding rights, meaning that England will at least be spared the indignity of Wembley being renamed by a commercial sponsor. The FA is also seeking assurances that Wembley would still stage “major fixtures and events currently hosted at the stadium”. But the FA already concedes that England’s autumn international matches would have to be moved elsewhere to accommodate more NFL games.

Moreover, many doubt that this sale would achieve the “transformation” of the grassroots game that the FA promises. The public money that was used to build the stadium would have to be repaid (though the government might channel it back into football). The rest could quickly disappear if spent helping 29,000 clubs.

“It seems like a short-term fix,” argues David Webber, a sports expert at Southampton Solent University. A bit like many England managers’ coaching methods.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Create Your Own Knowledge

Don't wait for the outsiders find lakes and statues, like in the Poirot film “Death on the Nile”.

HANI MAHMOUD ELSAYED Director of Echocardiography Lab, Aswan Heart Centre, Magdi Yacoub Foundation, Aswan, Egypt

Apart from being an Arab and Mediterranean country, Egypt is also an African country. But people seldom think about Africa as a place of supreme medical service.

Doctor Hani Mahmoud Elsayed, the Director of Echocardiography Lab at the Aswan Heart Centre (AHC), has recently been in Belgrade.

The first heart transplant happened in South Africa several decades ago, making Africa proud. How can surgery be top quality in places in which we least expect it to be? What is the situation like in medical services and the heart surgery segment in Egypt?

— Actually we have to differentiate between two major things: clinical and research practice.

Clinical operations are being performed every day and research is something that Egypt and other countries are lacking. Research and publishing would inform the world of what we do and what kind of procedures are being done.

Many Egyptian physicians are focusing on general clinical practice and few on research, and this is an issue. People coming to Egypt can see many great procedures being done and they usually note that although we are doing a great job, we are not publishing anything about it. Maybe it is the lack of interest or maybe that does not have a great impact on the promotion of the doctors or yield financial benefits.

Tell us more about the AHC. It is very close to the Sudanese border which is not exactly a place where you expect to find a stateof-the-art hospital. Rather people see it as place where you

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— The AHC was founded by Prof.

Yacoub in 2009 and it is one of the leading medical centres not only in Egypt. Opening this centre was a smart move on Prof. Yacoub's part, because today, this is a centre of excellence, and it serves the people who were previously deprived of this kind service, considering that the closest heart centre was in Asiyut, 8h away. Many patients, especially children, have died before of this distance. The big centres are otherwise located in the North, like Cairo and Alexandia. Our Centre is now the best such medical centre in Egypt, and thanks to it, the people in Aswan have better free medical care compared to what wealthy people in Cairo get. Most of our employees are even not from Aswan. I am from the Delta region, and many of the staff are too. The

Centre brings people together. And if you work here, you don't have to worry about money since the services are free of charge. This is heaven for any doctor.

But you could be a kind of a Silicon Valley of Egypt in medical terms. Highly specialised professionals can be brought from all over Egypt to work in peace, away from bustling cities.

next choice for them?

— Aswan is a well-know tourist city, but it also has very hot weather. We have a pleasant climate only 3-4 months a year. The best time to visit Aswan is in winter and the place is overcrowded. But our proximity to the rest of Africa is important, and this brings a lot of patients from Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries to Aswan. At the end of the day, this is one of our missions - to treat sick children and adults from Africa. There are lot of teams from Aswan receiving calls and going south of the border to provide medical treatment.

It would be great to see one day when all African people have access to healthcare and high

exchanges. We also hold many conferences, with a number of medical professionals attending. We too attend many European and American confrences, and have had great experiences everywhere we went.

Aswan is cooperating with many universities in Egypt and abroad, like formal cooperation between the Imperial College in London and AHC. We have done together a lot of research with many PhD students from Egypt going abroad and vice versa. We have a very stong basic research department that has very advanced facilities for 3D printing. Prof. Yacoub is always emphasizing the importance of research as an integral part of our mission, that is why research has

THANKS TO THE CENTRE, THE PEOPLE IN ASWAN HAVE BETTER AND FREE MEDICAL CARE COMPARED TO WHAT WEALTHY PEOPLE IN CAIRO GET

living standard, like in Europe.

If that happened, they would not be prompted to emigrate. 2000 years ago, Egypt was the centre of the world and why shouldn't it be again?! Can you tell us about the cooperation between AHC and other educational medical facilities and clinics, in reference to your visit?

— Every year we have quite a few of

become a culture in Aswan Heart Centre. Regarding Serbia, it would be a great start if we could do that, as well as hold workshops and panels. We are open to anyone wanting to come to AHC to do reasearch or undergo training. As you noticed, we don't have to wait for the oustiders from the West to bring knowledge and technology. We can create it by ourselves.

— That is another good point.

Peace and quiet, great for work.

HEART IS ALWAYS VULNERABLE

Having in mind that people go to countries like India or Sri Lanka for “medical tourism”, and have 14 days' holidays as rehabilitation, could Aswan become the

Some tropical regions have a low incidence of heart diseases, like the Caribbean. How about Egypt?

— I am afraid it is the same as everywhere else. There are Egyptians who lead relaxed life, but living in big cities, stress, lack of excercise and especially smoking take their toll.

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C O RPO RATE

The Belgrade Food Show

A Unique Business Opportunity For Serbian And Regional Speciality Food Companies!

On November 5-6, Belgrade Food Show will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, as a unique business event – the combination of high-quality food and beverage fair, educational conference and opportunities to meet with the customers. The Serbian Food Promotion Associa-

tion is organizing this two-day event with the tendency to position Serbia as this industry leader in the region of Southeast Europe.

All interested exhibitors and visitors have the opportunity to apply through the official website www.belgradefoodshow.rs The event will gather together mostly local

and regional producers, buyers and distributors of high-quality food products. Through the participation of renowned European and domestic experts and companies, the conference will offer more about new global and regional trends and ways of doing business in different markets.

The first day, November 5, is reserved for the conference and for the opening ceremony, followed by panel discussions and presentations. Experts from the field will talk about the latest world trends, perspectives and opportunities for the Serbian food industry, and share tips for a safe and beneficial path to the new markets. The program includes: panel – Prospects of Serbian Food Processing Industry; Session – Global Trends & Opportunities for Serbian Food; Panel – Investing in food.

On the second day, in addition to the conference work, which will focus on examples of good practice, challenges and opportunities from the perspective of buyers and manufacturers, the fair will be dedicated to business meetings (B2B) with potential buyers. The program includes: Session – Routes to Market – Packaging, Certification, Logistics, Distribution; Case Study – The Buyer’s Viewpoint; Case Study – Been there, done that.

This initiative of the Serbian Food Promotion Association was supported by the USAID Competitive Economy Project.

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Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

The Glass Bead Game, 2.0 Mathematics is answer to every question SANJA KLISARIĆ Artist

Sanja Klisarić, from Belgrade, is a graduate philologist and politologist, and has a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Political Sciences. Although, she has always been leaning toward art, she is also fascinated with Mathematics. And the incredible combination of these two fields will shine at her first solo exhibition called "Sounds of Universe - The Beginning", staged in the Parobrod Gallery.

Your paintings are brimming with vibrant colours, and are quite expressionist in a way.

How did that come about?

— Everything happens in an unusual manner for me. It does not originate from me, but from somewhere else, from a higher level with which I can adjust the frequency of my thoughts. Usually, an image that wants me to paint it on the mental plane draws attention precisely to the intensity of colours as a specific energy record that carries it within.

At first, I do not even see it as an image, but just as bright colours.

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I try to transfer these colours as believably as possible on paper and then an image is created. It is only at the end of my work that I realize that I, in some way, took something over from that mental realm, which I can reach in my thoughts whenever I want to. I cannot resist this mental vision, and I simply have to paint. Thus, it was easy for me to paint 60 paintings of the 100x70cm format in 40 days. They are all living images because these colours have their own "life stories”.

How come you are fascinated with Mathematics when you graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences? Does this fas-

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FOND OF MATHEMATICS AND EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER, I COULD RECOGNIZE MATHEMATICAL PATTERNS IN NATURE, SURROUNDINGS, AND THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES cination stem from childhood?

Do you use mathematical reasoning to equalize macro- and micro-cosmos and bring it into our realm considering that there is mathematical proof that the macro- and micro-cosmos have

an identical form?

— Every person should obtain an education and choose what degree and type of education they will acquire. In my case, everything was different. I have always been fond of Mathematics and ever

since I can remember, I could recognize mathematical patterns in nature, surroundings, and the people themselves. That's how the connected world of Mathematics emerged, completely irrespectively of me. I think that Mathematics had won me over much earlier than I acquired any knowledge. Although I have an almost personal relationship with Math, my passion for other kinds of knowledge remains relentless. The Faculty of Philology and Faculty of Political Sciences were my intellectual choices which I, among the endless sea of my interests, picked because I did not want to study Mathematics due to my rather unorthodox understanding of it. I acquire knowledge more easily outside the limits imposed by faculties. Microcosmos and macroscosmos have certain mathematical laws that clearly rule in both systems, but the nature of their physical field is different and it is impossible to equalize them, hence we have only the knowledge of these two cosmos in our mental plane in which

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we are able to operate, while the multidimensionality of cosmos is a mathematical law. Mathematical reasoning can givee an answer to every question.

So, it is safe to say that your style is „mathematical expressionism“?

— (Laughs) Yes, why not?! It is wonderful to be able to paint Mathematics.

You write both poetry and prose. You have also published novels "U Djavola Lavlje Srce" and "Vrtlog", which was nominated this year for the NIN Award, books of poetry "Epiziotomija Razuma"and "Podsećanja na Večnost", and fairy tale book "Mala Kolekcija Modernih Bajki i Fantastičnih Priča".

What inspires you to possess this Renaissance-like multidisciplinarity?

— The talent for writing is an exceptional gift that I was blessed with by the Creator. That is where my thoughts live forever. Often I feel physical pain when I am not writing. Literature, which portrayal from the eternity was chosen by my mental apparatus to be depicted, explodes in the infinite

LITERATURE, WHICH PORTRAYAL FROM THE ETERNITY WAS CHOSEN BY MY MENTAL APPARATUS TO BE DEPICTED, EXPLODES IN THE INFINITE EXISTENCE OF EVERYTHING THAT A PERSON CAN AND SHOULD KNOW existence of everything that a person can and should know. I can write anytime, anywhere and any kind of literature. I do not need inspiration. I got a gift because of which the inspiration for me is just a symbol in relation to the continuous mental field from which my thoughts come to my mind.

You have also incorporated music into this 'Holy Trinity', the music composed by the likes of Hesse or Bach, who also spoke about the link between Mathematics and music. In which way do you pay homage to music in your paintings?

— It is interesting to note that, in

NOT CREATING OUT OF EXPECTATIONS What do you expect from your exhibition at Parobrod?

— Parobrod is a beautiful place where my paintings shine with the brilliance I want them to shine. But I am not creating out of expectations, but for the sake of creation itself. So, this exhibition in Parobrod is just a reflection of creation. The triumph of creating in me leaves no room for expectations because creating, in itself, can find its own way, if it wants to. It doesn't need me.

REPO RTAGE

BITEF Awards

BITEF

Authors Stefan Kegi and Dominic Uber, members of the world-renowned Rimini Protocol, are this year's 41st winners of the "Politika” award and Grand Prix “Mira Trailović” for the best setting for "Legacy, pieces without people" in

my case, there is no link between literature and music, but there is a link between painting and music.

Painting and music come from mental zones that are closely related mathematically, while literature has a completely independent dimension far removed from all laws. It is a system in itself. Music has power. It can cure a person, but it can also kill them. It can fly them high like a bird. It can do a lot, it can achieve the unachievable. But we know too little about it. Music is Mathematics with sound; if you want to hear Math, listen to music.

Without music there would not be a single complex mathematical system. So, everything that can be mathematically written, can also be sang. I have evidence of this because I have been generously given the gift of singing. The first thing that was heard when young Mathematics was born was music. And, with its frequencies, it continued to trailblaze through dimensions and existences, reaching us not only as entertainment, but also as a serious drug, weapon or secret. Humanity has plenty of time ahead to remember this from its distant past that can be shown to us only by the future.

the production of one of the leading Swiss theaters, Vidi from Lausanne on the 52nd Bitef. Based on the concept of Stefan Kegi and Dominic Ubera (group "Rimini Protocol"), this multimedia installation was realised without the physical presence of the performers. Kegi and Uber subtly,

emotionally and authentically deal with age and disease issues, struggling against forgetting and death. It is about the event of extraordinary artistic force that creates the symbiosis of the spectator and seen, said in the statement of the "Politika" jury, which this time was composed

of: directors Egon Savin (president) and Milan Nešković, as well as representatives of the Cultural Section our newspapers Gordana Popović, Ana Tasić and Borka Golubović Trebješanin. The award, like previous years, is a worthy artwork, this time "Metaphysical afternoon" by Predrag Peđa Milošević, done with the technique of oil on canvas Dimensions: 55x45. The special prize "Jovan Ćirilov" by official jury was unanimously awarded to two performances: Requiem for L. (directed

by Alain Platel, music: Fabrizio Cassol), produced by the company les ballets C de la B (Ghent) and Eternal Russia (concept, text, direction: Marina Davidova, set design, video: Vera Martinov), produced by HAU Hebel am Ufer (Berlin).

The audience granted the first prize to “Suite No. 3: Europe”, the second went to “Six Character in Search of an Author”, and the third went to “Bollywood”.

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EV ENT

Promotion of Hello! Travel: Serbia at Stara Planina

H.E. Amr Aljowaily, Ambassador of Egypt, Mounir Abougharin, Charge d'affaires of the Embassy of Libya, H.E. Seyf Allah Rejeb, Ambassador of Tunisia and H.E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj, Ambassador of Morocco

Vjera Mujović, actress

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H. E. Subrata Bhattacharjee (Ambasador of India) with his wife

Georgi Gaitandjiev, Economic Attaché of Bulagrian Embassy

Vjera Mujović with Teodora Miljković, PR of Exit

Hello! Travel: Serbia had its first promotion at Stara Planina in the wonderful ambient of the eponymous hotel. The organisers were Color Media Communications and Tourist Organisation of Serbia.

The promotion included visiting the slopes of Stara Planina, gondola ride, hiking and networking, and the present guests included: H. E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj (Ambassador of Morocco), H. E. Seyf Allah Rejeb (ambassador of Tunisia), Mounir Abougharin (charge d'affaires of the Embassy of Libya), H. E. Amr Aljowaily (Ambassador of Egypt), H. E. Subrata Bhattacharjee (Ambasador of India) with his wife Georgi Gaytandzhiev (Economic Attaché of Bulagrian Embassy), Žikica Milošević (Editor-in-Chief of the magazine), Vjera Mujović (actress), Kristina Radenković (TV perdonality, with her husband), Marija Miljević (RTS), Milana Kadrić (RTV), Vesna Laćarak (Danas), Teodora Miljković (Exit PR and marketing manager; Instagram:Laylareiko), Aleksandra Vučković (photographer and travel lover; Instagram: Withinstalovealex).

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#B O O KTALK20 1 8

Talks About Books in the Light of Great Anniversaries The fourth regional literary conference, Book Talk 2018, which took place on 28th September in Novi Sad, assembled the renowned writers, publishers and literary critics from the region The conference was opened by Dalibor Rozic, a member of the City Culture Council, who noted the significance of such cultural event for Novi Sad and said: "This year's concept is extremely wide and ensures a broad perspective about key social phenomena of global and national character, which in large part, contributed to literature.”

The audience and the participants were also greeted

by Tijana Palkovljević, General Manager of the Matica Srpska Gallery, Milana Kvas, Head of the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection and Ana Rakić, Senior Curator of the Gallery of Fine Arts – the Rajko Mamuzić Gift Collection, which stunning premises served as locations for book talks.

“The Year of Resolution” was the theme of this year's conference, namely the anniversary of global, regional and national events that have had a significant impact on our lives, as well as on the literary scene and publishing.

The conference was supported by: the City Culture and Public Information Directorate, the City of Novi Sad, the Secretariat for Culture and Public Information of the AP Vojvodina, the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia and AMS.

The Matica Srpska Gallery - main programme

Gordana Nonin, Ljiljana Habjanović Djurović, Sava Damjanov, Gordana Milosavljević Stojanović, Zoran Hamovic, Zoran Kulundžija

Tijana Palkovljević, The Matica Srpska Gallery

Milana Kvas, the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection

Dalibor Rožić, member of the City Council for Cultural Affairs

Goran Samardžić, Dragoslav Dedović, Slobodan Vladušić, Gorislav Papić

The Fine Arts Gallery - the Rajko Mamuzić Gift Collection - parallel programme

Ana Rakić, The Fine Arts Gallery - the Rajko Mamuzić Gift Collection

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CORPO RATE

The Smart City Festival

Providing Knowledge Transfer RUBEN DIECKHOFF Project Director Western Balkans bei FriedrichNaumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit

A key focus of our work with the Smart City Education Initiative SCEI is providing knowledge transfer and the exchange of experiences, for various auteurs in smart city development, throughout the region and Europe.

From the perspective of political education and political dialogue which topics are in your focus today in the Western Balkan?

— There are lots of relevant topics but the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) focuses on promoting open societies, political participation and digital transformation. If we combine these three focal areas it eventually leads you to have a closer look at those places where most people will live in the future: Smarter cities.

The Smart City Festival plays an important role, as it gathers hundreds of stakeholders and shows that the region has much to offer regarding urban innovation

expanding this raises questions with concerns to citizens’ participation in decision making. As big as they are, cities remain fragile organisms.

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom strongly believes that specialized education, knowledge transfer and multi-stakeholder collaboration are the cornerstones of co-creational processes of stakeholders, that will give birth to improved and even new citizen-centric opportunities.

TONI RICHARD CRISOLLI Co-Founder of Smart City Education Initiative | Organizer of the Smart City Festival

opinions on specific issues.

Urban innovation should always aim to provide new opportunities for citizens, no matter if in the Western Balkans or not. Let me give you an example: A person - let`s call him Gradimir - wants to visit my city for the weekend. Gradimir will be able to find a nice place, see all the important landmarks, visit hip places and meet friendly new locals - all by using apps on his smart phone. Local

THE CHALLENGES FOR OUR CITIES GO BEYOND TRAFFIC CONGESTION. THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE HAVE A SEVERE IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY, AS THEY HAVE ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN CITIES

Why did you choose to make Smart Cities Education a corner stone of your work in the region?

— FNF supports finding political answers to climate change related issues since 2011. In the Western Balkans region we founded the Smart City Education Initiative in 2014, which today collaborates with roughly 70 organizations in the areas of sustainable urban development and digitalization.

In Serbia and other countries in the region, infrastructure capacities in cities are already overstretched.

There are no underground public transport systems. Everyone who is stuck in traffic, every day, knows this just too well. Consequently, cities feel like they were made for cars, not for people.

But the challenges for our cities go beyond traffic congestion. The effects of climate change have a severe impact on the economy, as they have on the quality of life in cities. On top of this if cities keep

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What makes urban innovation so important today? Which global trends can be implemented in the Western Balkans and Serbia?

— Urban innovations, based on inter-connected technologies, have one major advantage in comparison to previous technologies. Today’s tools allow decision-makers to collect and analyse data in real-time. This allows them to see the bigger picture. In other words, they can identify, even anticipate, issues before they become a nasty problem. At the same time it becomes much easier to ask citizens for their

smart mobility will allow him to get from one place to the other, quickly and easily. In the process, Gradimir will spend money for all kinds of services, which will support the local economy. Everybody wins.

A smart city is not the city with the most sensors and gadgets, but the one which creates opportunities and makes them accessible to citizens.

What Belgrade can learn from Vienna, Prague, Tel Aviv, and other cities? What is the role of the Smart City Festival in trans-

lating these ideas into life?

— The cities in the Western Balkans have a few important advantages when it comes to smart city development. They are in the “neighbourhood” of cities who are pioneers in smart city development in Europe – so challenges and conditions are rather similar. They made the first steps and cities like Vienna, are currently evaluating what concepts and solutions did work well and which did not. Instead of feeling bad for not having made all these steps, yet, we can learn from their experience.

The goal is to learn from their experiences and to not make the same mistakes – we can leapfrog.

Therefore, a key focus of our work with the Smart City Education Initiative SCEI is providing knowledge transfer and the exchange of experiences, for various auteurs in smart city development, throughout the region and Europe.

The Smart City Festival plays an important role in this process, as it gathers hundreds of stakeholders and shows that the region has much to offer regarding urban innovation.

This is particularly true, e.g. when you look at the very active start-up scene surrounding smart cities, open data or block-chain.

Who should visit the Smart City Festival 2018?

— SCF18 is open to all citizens.

Decision-makers, entrepreneurs and experts most likely will be most interested in the international conference with over 70 speakers and the many side-events.

However, we also wish to interest our youngest citizens in digital transformation, climate change and smart cities. For them, in cooperation with some of the most active organization in early education, we have prepared various educational programmes for children.

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CORPO RATE Legat 1903

Discover Hidden Treasure of Belgrade Unique experience awaits for you!

Just a couple of minutes from the city centre, there is a rather unexpected hidden treasure of Belgrade that you would want to discover and experience for yourself. No photograph can convey the luxury and elegance, but also the intimacy of the ambience that arouses all your senses from the very first moment you enter this new restaurant.

“Legat 1903” is a real surprise for all hedonists and aesthetes. The combination of modern and sophisticated design and unique details that are made to the highest quality standard will not leave you indifferent.

The restaurant, which is situated on the corner of Vojislava Ilića and Jasenička streets, will give you pleasure in intimate surroundings whether you came here for lunch or dinner, or with family, friends or business partners, because the very concept of this unique space is designed to make you experience the comfort

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of luxury. The restaurant staff will gladly give recommendations according to your personal preferences. Here you can try the food of top quality and taste, while the unique wine list will only add to the beauty of the entire experience.

Only then will you understand why “Legat 1903” is considered a new hidden treasure of Belgrade that can stand equally with the finest restaurants in European capitals.

OTHER FEATURES THAT MAKE LEGAT 1903 THE MOST LUXURIOUS RESTAURANT

According to the restaurant’s sommelier, Predrag Gavrilović, “Legat 1903”’s wine list is truly unique, because it has a huge choice of wines from different wine regions, grape varieties and styles.

“Our wine card has over 160 labels and we have tried to include really rare, top quality wines from the best vintages. We want to give you a

diversity of numerous varieties and styles and older and younger wines, because the wide array of wines on offer is the key here. We want to provide our guests with as much choice as possible”, Gavrilović says and singles out two top quality wines from the restaurant’s offer - Chateau Cheval Blanc – 2000 and Chateau Petrus – 2009. These wines can only be found at “Legat 1903”.

“If we are talking about other drinks, you can try Louis XIII Cognac and Diplomatico Ambassador Rum at the restaurant”, Gavrilović adds.

Another worthy reason to visit this top restaurant is its Wellington Steak.

Experience this unique Belgrade treasure!

LEGAT 1903 Jasenička 7 | 11000 Belgrade | Serbia +381 11 123 4567 | +381 63 123 4567 Reservations: info@legat1903.com www.legat1903.com

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TRAVELS

Text: ROBERT ČOBAN

Lake Como: Magnet for the rich and famous

La Grande Belezza Born in Blood Lake Como is a proof enough that you don’t have to have a coastline to draw in rich and famous. The lake is reminiscent of one of our lakes – Palić back in the day, which could become like Lake Como again. Every several hundred metres or so, you come across incredibly beutiful towns, churches, George Clooney's mansion, Richard Branson's mansion, villas owned by the Guinness, Heinz and Pirelli families...

Alessandro Siniscalchi’s tailor shop is located at the bottom of one of the passages off Viale Vittorio Venetto in downtown Milan. Since I dress in “souvenir” shops, as my children like to point out, I decided to pay a visit to one of the greatest tailors in Europe after a friend of mine, Acke Djordjevic recommended it. Acke regularly brings Alessandro and many other renowned craftsmen to his events in Belgrade. The old master took my measurements for a shirt and I told him that my

friend Acke would pick it up once he gets to Milan.

“No, no, you have to come to two fittings first”, Alessandro replied. At that moment, I re-

and he remained a tailor until he died, at the age of 81. And yes, he also made people come in for fittings. But what do we, who wear Malaga, Laos and Sorrento T-shirts,

IF SOMEBODY TOLD ME TO PICK JUST ONE COUNTRY TO VISIT UNTIL THE DAY I DIE, WITHOUT A SLIGHTEST DOUBT I WOULD SAY ITALY membered my granpa Djeno who worked as a tailor in Bač for an incredible 68 years. He was only 13 when he was made an apprentice

know about fittings!

It was Alessandro’s father who opened the tailor shop back in 1948, and since then, they have

been making shirts for clients from all over Europe. Rolls of fabrics, tailoring measuring tapes, a little notebook in which maestro jogs down the measurements, and mannequins dressed in suits are all a part of the ambiance of an old world that is dying out.

The one-day trip to Lake Como started in the eponymous town which huge 14th-century-cathedral can compete with those in big cities. Although, it was Wednesday, an ordinary working day, I was a witness to a scene that is rarely seen in today’s Italy and in most

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of the old Catholic countries in Europe – in front of the confession booths, there were queues of believers, patiently waiting to confess their sins to their priest.

Should I deduce that the Italians are making a religious comeback, or do they have a subjective feeling that they have been sinning a lot? It remains to be seen.

Five years ago, I visited the little town of Salo, situated on the shores of Lake Garda. From 1943 to 1945, Salo was the capital of Mussolini’s Repubblica Sociale Italiana, the puppet state, supervised by Germany and formed after the fall of Italy.

Here, on the shores of Lake Como, in the town called Giulino, on 28th April 1945, Il Duce was arrested and executed. Benito Mussolini was arrested together with his mistress Claretta Petracci when, in disguise, he tried to escape to Switzerland. They were both executed, mercilessly tortured and left to hang upside down, half naked, in a square in Milan. The romantic ambiance and medieval-style torture have been frequently coupled throughout Italian history. Recently, I watched a TV series called Trust which depicts the kidnapping of the grandson of John Paul Getty, the wealthiest man in the world at that time, which took place in Italy, in 1973. The series is brimming with scenes of cruelty like “throwing the traitors” off the high walls of one of the old Roman buildings which is “tall enough to kill you but low enough not to give you an instantaneous death; rather leave you suffering for hours from the pain of broken bones”. I guess that’s how the Appenine’s La Grande Belezza is made. To this end, I would like to paraphrase a line from Orson Welles’ film “The Third Man”: “In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had wars, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love and had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock!”

Lake Como is a proof enough that you don’t have to have a coastline to draw in the rich and famous. The lake is reminiscent of one of our lakes – Palić back in the day, which could become like Lake Como again.

Every several hundred metres or so, you come across incredibly beutiful towns, churches, George Clooney's mansion, Richard Branson's mansion, villas owned by the Guinness, Heinz and Pirelli families...

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While I am siping on locally produced wine while eating my Caprese salad and Parmigiana in a small restaurant in a square in the town of Bellagio, situated on the shores of Lake Como, there is a young Romanian guy just next to the outdoor dining area, masterfully playing his guitar. Several tourists approach him, asking him where he is performing tonight and wanting to buy his CD. In a bar in Varenna, on the other side of the lake, a waiter of African origin brings me my coffee and WiFi password. This multicultural image of the new Italy is not to everyone's liking.

“Several days ago, a judge acquitted an immigrant from Africa who had raped an Italian woman, saying that such behaviour is considered

cessfully published in 20 countries around the world. The walls in the building’s hallways are adorned by the photographs depicting the history of this company which was founded by Arnoldo Mondadori in 1907, when he was only 18 years old. The photographs show Arnoldo and Ernest Hemingway, Arnoldo and Thomas Mann, Arnoldo and D’Anuncio…

Apart from the speeches given by the company’s CEO, Ernesto Mauri and the celebrated, long-standing editor-in-chief of Grazia magazine, Carla Vanni, it was especially interesting to hear the conversation with the members of three generations of the Missoni family whose fashion brand is one of the very few that is

ON THE SHORES OF LAKE COMO, IN THE TOWN CALLED GIULINO, ON 28th APRIL 1945, IL DUCE WAS ARRESTED AND EXECUTED. BENITO MUSSOLINI WAS ARRESTED TOGETHER WITH HIS MISTRESS CLARETTA PETRACCI WHEN, IN DISGUISE, HE TRIED TO ESCAPE TO SWITZERLAND

three are working for the family company, further developing this 65-year-old brand and resolving their business disagreements in the typically Italian way – at the dinner table.

Last week was also all about the Milan Fashion Week, and the city was quite crowded wherever you went – the streets were swamped with models, fashion designers, photographers, fashion business people… Our host organized the glamorous celebration of Grazia’s 80th anniversary in the spectacular ambiance of Rottonda Della Besana which lawn was occupied by the entire fashion jet set from Milan and Europe, along with us - the publishers of the magazine from 20 world countries, from Pakistan to Croatia. The women in stilettos had a tough time making it across the lawn and their strut became even more unstable after a few glasses of Prosecco. When we went back to our hotel, most of the guests sat down wherever they could.

On the same night, in Belgrade,

One of the many villas on the shores of Lake Como

normal in the perpetrator’s country”, a taxi driver, who drove me from Mondadori’s building on the outskirts of Milan, said in an angry voice. “If someone were to even touch my daughter, I would explode”, he said and added:”We obviously need another Mussolini or Putin to bring some order in here.”

After only several minutes into the drive, it became obvious that populist right wing was in power in Italy.

At that time, Palazzo Mondadori, a huge corporate building of one of the biggest media companies in Italy (owned by Berlusconi), was hosting a conference marking the 80th anniversary of the woman’s magazine Grazia which is suc-

still family owned. Rosita Missoni (age 86) spoke about meeting her husband, Ottavio at the Olympic Games in London in 1948 when he competed in the finals of the men’s hurdles at the Wembley Stadium. Being a fast runner was not enough to save him from being captured by the British a few years later. Ottavio became a prisoner of war after the defeat of Mussolini’s Italy near El Alamein.

Born in Dubrovnik, from an Italian father and Croatian mother Tereza, who was from the noble family of Vidović, Ottavio perfectly spoke Croatian. Apart from Rosita, her daughter and grandson also spoke on the conference stage. All

FC Red Star and FC Napoli drew 0-0, and we, with the little help of Dejan Stanković, watched the game between FC Inter and FC Tottenham at Milan’s San Siro Stadium. For someone who does not frequent football games that much, I was impressed how the fans of both teams behaved, and also by the size and the look of the stadium, the cleanliness, and the imaginative commercialization of every corner. My co-worker, Biljana, who went with us, had the opportunity to meet Massimo Moratti, the famous president of Inter from 1995 to 2013. Moratti is also an oil magnate, with the personal wealth of $1.7 billion and one

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of the richest men in Europe.

The only problem with San Siro was that, after the game, it is impossible to find a taxi in a few kilometre radius, with tens of thousands of spectators usually heading to the single subway station nearby. If you did not come to the stadium with a Vespa, which most of the spectators, both young and old, usually do then your only option is to walk for an hour until a first taxi stop. But, we quickly forgot about our tiredness when we had Burrata, pork with rosemary and wine in the Brera quarter. The entire experience was made even better by a young female opera singer, who looked Russian and who flawlessly sang Puccini and Verdi’s arias in the street across the restaurant’s patio.

The next day, we had lunch at the A Santa Lucia restaurant with Mondadori’s international managing director, Sandra Gotelli.

This probably the best Neapolitan restaurant in northern Italy was founded amidst the 1929 economic crisis. For many years, this was the only restaurant that was opened after the concerts and plays at La Scala finished. The list of the famous guests who dined at the restaurant goes on and on with the photographs, hanged on the restaurant’s walls, as a proof – there are Thomas Mann, Toto

Cutugno, Yves Montand, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Placido Domingo, Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Callas, to mention just a few.

The perfect Burrata, big grilled juicy mushrooms and Neapolitan cuttlefish in tomato sauce were accompanied by the local white wine. In search of the traditionally bad WiFi, I stumbled across a network called “Maja on a Business Trip”. As it turned out, these were actually the Belgrade representatives of the Max Mara brand who, just like thousands of people from other countries, came to Milan for the fashion week.

I left the visit to MUDEC (Museo della Cultura) as the last thing to do during my stay in Milan. The museum is currently hosting an interactive multi-media exhibition about the famous Italian / Jewish artist, Amedeo Modigliani. The museum is located in the same quarter where the fashion shows of the Milan Fashion Week took place and it was a real lottery to find a taxi in the afternoon there. We barely made it to the airport on time.

Museo della Cultura

IN AN EXALTING CONCLUSION, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT WE ARE FORTUNATE TO LIVE JUST AN HOUR AND A HALF AWAY FROM THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

Shirt from 1948: Maestro Alessandro shows one of the first shirts that his father had sewn by hand

“If our entire planet consisted only of the Mediterranean, that would suffice for me”, I wrote recently. To continue on the same topic, I would also like to say that if somebody told me to pick just one country to visit until the day I die, without a slightest doubt I would say Italy – the country that has two ministries of culture (one for contemporary production and one for preservation of cultural heritage) and which was simply made for shopping wherever you go. They have everything – Sorrento, Capri, Positano and Amalfi, if you want to vacation at the oldschool Mediterranean, big cities like Rome and Milan, skiing at the Dolomites, the magical Venice, the endless vineyards of Tuscany and Umbria, Cinque Terre, Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, lakes like Como, Garda and Maggiore, Verona, Pisa, Florence and Ravenna, Matera which looks like Jerusalem during the time of Jesus Christ and is next year’s European Capital of Culture… I don’t even have to mention the food, wine, football, fashion, beautiful women, history, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Modigliani, antique, renaissance, baroque and contemporary art... In an exalting conclusion, I would just like to say that we are fortunate to live just an hour and a half away from the world's most beautiful country.

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KOLARAC

CALEND AR & NEWS

Concert hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

CONCERT PROGRAMME October 2018

Tuesday, 16th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BRODSKY QUARTET

Programme: Shostakovich, Beethoven, Tanaka, Mendelssohn Production: CEBEF Wednesday, 17th at 18.00 Music Gallery

CYCLE: MUSIC WORKSHOP

20

OCT

20:00

CLOSING CONCERT OF

THE BEMUS FESTIVAL

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz, Soloists: Sophie Klussman, Soprano, Charlotte Quadt, Mezzosoprano, Brenden Gunnell, Tenor, Markus Eiche, Baritone, Slovenian Philharmonic Choir

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OCT

20:00

LOVE 1

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Daniel Raiskin, Soloist: Simone Lamsma, violin

Katarina Vasiljevic, violin JasminaRakovic, piano Production: Music Centre Admission free Wednesday, 17th at 20.00 Concert Hall

RTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR

Conductor: Bojan Suđić Soloist: Ramon Vargas, tenor Programme: Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story, Chichester Psalms, opera arias Production: CEBEF Thursday, 18th at 20.00 Concert Hall

RTS FOLK ORCHESTRA & SOLOISTS

Saturday, 20th at 20.00 Concert Hall

02

NOV

20:00

ASCENSION 1

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz

09

NOV

20:00

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Slovenian Philharmonic Choir Conductor: Gabriel Feltz Akiho Tsujii, soprano Charlotte Quadt, mezzosoprano

Brenden Gunnell, tenor Markus Eiche, baritone Programme: Gostuški, Beethoven Production: CEBEF 1400, 1800, 2200 Sunday, 21st at 11.00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Belgrade Percussionists Production: Music Centre Admission free Tuesday, 23rd at 19.00 Music Gallery

EVENING OF THE GUSLE

Traditional music

Wednesday, 24th at 18.00 Music Gallery

LIDIJA BOŽINOVIĆ

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

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC/ LOVE

Conductor: Daniel Raiskin Soloist: Simone Lamsma, violin Programme: L. van Beethoven, B. Bartók, C. M. von Weber, R. Strauss Production: Belgrade Philharmonic More information 2630744 Saturday, 27th at 11.00 Concert Hall

SMALL SCHOOL

OF BONTON/ HOW TO LISTEN TO A CONCERT

Host: Miloš Milovanović

Saturday, 27th at 20.00 Concert Hall

BIG BAND

Production: RTS Music Production Sunday, 28th at 11.00 Concert Hall

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Jazzy Bach Production: Music Centre Admission free Monday, 29th at 20.00 Concert Hall

ACADEMIC ACCORDION ORCHESTRA KRAGUJEVAC

Production: Kragujevac Music Centre Wednesday, 31st at 18.00 Music Gallery

DANKA NIKOLIĆ

viola Production: Music Centre Admission free Wednesday, 31st at 20.00 Concert Hall

STEINWAY CONCERTS 2018/2019 Lucas Debargue, piano Programme: Chopin, Bach, Beethoven Production: Piano Land

WISDOM 1

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Fabrice Bollon, Soloist: Alina Pogostkina, violin

16

NOV 20:00

LOVE 2

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Daniel Raiskin, Soloist: Milan Savić, saxophone

23

NOV

20:00

DARKNESS 2

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz, Soloist: Sergej Krylov, violin

23

NOV

20:00

Closing Concert:

PHILCADEMY 3

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Conductor: Uroš Lajovic, Soloist: Boris Brezovac, viola, Aleksandar Latković, cello

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34th BELGRADE JAZZ FESTIVAL

No Limits from 25th- 29th of October 2018 Last year’s edition of the Belgrade Jazz Festival under the slogan Jazz Visions has been the most artistically daring since its re-establishing in 2005 with a line up that included not just the most established, but the most innovative world jazz scene names. In 2018 Belgrade Jazz Festival sets the bar higher, because jazz itself went much further up – in 21st century, it goes beyond genre or territory boundaries- no limits jazz!

The global jazz scene today is more daring, entertaining and diverse than ever! You can find diligent new jazz names virtually all across the planet wherever there is music and the artists feel more than ever the

liberty to combine existing, create new genres, push the boundaries.

Your physical location doesn’t matter anymore as long as you create new music: if you are truly creative and have what to say, you will find the way to your audience – today, someone always listens to you!

Welcome to the no limits jazz era! http://www.bjf.rs/en/

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