Diplomacy&Commerce Magazine - September 2020, No.55

September 2020 | ISSUE No. 55 | Price 350 RSD

10 SEP

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

SOMBOR: NALED TOUR FOR DIPLOMATS

9772466380002

STRONG EMPHASIS ON HELPING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT REFORMS ZSUZSANNA HARGITAI

EBRD Regional Director, Head of Western Balkans and Serbia Office

ALL-NATURAL NECTAR OF THE GODS McC McCulloch Wines

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY IS STRESSFUL FOR ALL PROF. IVAN VUJAČIĆ

President of the Forum for International Relations of the European Movement

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

Dr. KRIS VERBURGH, MD Researcher, Free University Brussels

THE NEW CALENDAR OF BELGRADE DANCE FESTIVAL

EXCELLENT BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES H.E. JØRN EUGEN GJELSTAD Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia

TRANSPORT & IN LOGISTICS SERBIA MATEJ ZAKONJŠEK Director of the Transport Community

FOREWORD

Jack, the Lumberjack FOLLOW US TO STAY UPDATED

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

WEB

FACEBOOK

YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM

LINKEDIN

TWITTER

TANJA BANKOVIĆ Editor in Chief tanja.bankovic@color.rs ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD Art director indigochild.ilija@gmail.com

uring my last week's hike on Fruška Gora, in the company of members of the Odbranimo Šume Fruške Gore (‘Defenders of Fruška Gora Forests’) movement, I saw and heard dozens of stories that testify to the fact that a destructive type of cancer of our modern society has descended on Fruška Gora, the "Serbian Holy Mountain", in the shape of corrupt politicians, greedy real estate developers, immoral and ungodly representatives of the Church and members of

D

NATAŠA NEŠIĆ Advertising director natasa.nesic@color.rs JOVANA MARKOVIĆ Advertising manager jovana.markovic@color.rs DRAGANA RADOVIĆ Advertising manager dragana.radovic@color.rs JELENA RANDJELOVIĆ Advertising manager jelena.randjelovic@color.rs VANJA KOVAČEV PR&Event support Nord Communications

"greenwashing" NGOs who launder money by pretending to plant new trees. All of them are united under the umbrella of a single endeavour - to get rich as much as possible through excessive logging, uncontrolled exploitation of ores, and construction of villas, apartments and hotels where they have no place to be.

People say there is a person who is proud to be called Jack the Lumberjack. He lives in a hacienda near the Rakovac monastery, is employed by the

Fruška Gora National Park but took an unpaid leave of absence to work in the private company called Gorski Božur, with which the Diocese of Srem has a forest management contract covering the Diocese’s part of the National Park, primarily the land around the Rakovac monastery.

I’ve heard from my “guides” what national parks look like in other ex-socialist countries, such as Bulgaria and Slovakia, which we, until recently, thought were “below us”. Real estate developers have tried to devastate the High Tatras, but 55 scientists raised their voices against such exploitation and were later joined by another 1,400 intellectuals.

Our scientists, intellectuals and public servants are silent while basking in their comfort zone - architects are silent about the devastation of urban heritage, while biologists and everyone else are mum about deforestation. As one of my Facebook friends says – “Even the enemy soldiers would not do in an occupied country, what some people do in their own countries, while the “elite” is silent, as they lull in their appanage and security”.

vanja.communications @gmail.com

RUŽA VELJOVIĆ Magazine director ruza.ristanovic@color.rs ROBERT ČOBAN Director robert.coban@color.rs

Photos GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES Translation SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ Print ZLATNA KNJIGA Jagodina Bagrdanski put bb

”Color Media Communications” LTD, 21132 Petrovaradin, Štrosmajerova 3 TIN 107871532 Matriculation number 20887303 Phone: +381 21 4897 100 Fax: +381 21 4897 126 Office: Vase Čarapića 3/IV/38, Belgrade Phone: 011 4044 960 CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji Biblioteke Matice Srpske, Novi Sad 33 Diplomacy & Commerce / glavni i odgovorni urednik Žikica Milošević, 2016, br. 1 (mart)-.Novi Sad: Color Media Communications, 2016 - , -33cm Mesečno.

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

04

WISCONSIN’S SUMMER OF FURY

06

WE PUT A STRONG EMPHASIS ON HELPING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT REFORMS ZSUZSANNA HARGITAI EBRD Regional Director, Head of Western Balkans and Serbia Office

08

EXCELLENT BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES H.E. JØRN EUGEN GJELSTAD Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia

10

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY IS STRESSFUL FOR ALL PROF. IVAN VUJAČIĆ President of the Forum for International Relations of the European Movement

16 COMMITMENT OF GERMAN COMPANIES TO SERBIA UNCHANGED RONALD SEELIGER President of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK) and CEO of Hemofarm

30

LOGISTIC VICTORY OVER THE CORONAVIRUS Professor SLOBODAN AĆIMOVIĆ, PhD, University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Economics

49

22

THE GREATEST U-TURN OF ALL TIMES?

TRANSPORT DIRECTLY IMPROVES LIVES OF OUR CITIZENS

54

MATEJ ZAKONJŠEK Director of the Transport Community

24 TRANSPORT, AS AN EXTENDED ARM OF PRODUCTION, WILL SURVIVE NEĐO MANDIĆ President of the Serbian Association of International Road Hauliers - MT

Analytics

WHAT CAN AI DO? MIŠA LUKIĆ Founder & Chief Business Designer, NEW STARTEGY

60

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNICATIONS – A PERFECT MATCH OR AN OPTICAL ILLUSION? LARISA ZDRAVKOVIĆ Owner Opposite Mind

3

VIOLENCE IN KENOSHA

Wisconsin’s Summer of Fury Another round of shooting and protests

READ THIS ON WEB

he way Dee sees it, America is locked in a dangerous spiral. Standing near the courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the middle-aged man watches volunteers sweep glass from beside two blackened wrecks of lorries. “People feel a certain type of animosity in their heart now. It’s not gonna stop,” he says. He took his adult son to demonstrations in the city this week as confrontation escalated from peaceful marching to looting, arson and then to murder. “Protests are gonna continue, because two more lives were taken,” he says.

He says his fellow protesters, though they smashed property, were not set on violence. Yet they were enraged. They erupted after a white policeman trying to arrest an unarmed 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake, shot him repeatedly on August 23rd.

Bystander videos showed him shot at close range as he tried to get into a car with his three young children.

“How can you justify shooting that man in the back seven times? Why you got to shoot a person with in-

T

4

tent to kill?” asks Dee. Mr Blake survived, but may be partially paralysed. His relatives called for calm: his mother said all sides must “take a moment and examine your hearts.” Yet clashes flared in ways similar to confrontations after police choked to death George Floyd, in Minneapolis, in May. After many buildings were destroyed, armed men—said by some

Kenoshans deny that their city is usually troubled. Many blamed outsiders. David, a businessman who picked through wreckage at his car-sales lot, says rioters destroyed stock worth $400,000. He described feeling terror when they came, saying attackers left only when he brandished his own weapons. “Half of the people in the protest are armed, the business own-

THE PROTESTERS, THOUGH THEY SMASHED PROPERTY, WERE NOT SET ON VIOLENCE. YET THEY WERE ENRAGED locals to be white vigilantes from beyond Wisconsin—arrived, set on resisting rioters. One 17-year-old, Kyle Rittenhouse, was filmed firing an assault rifle at a crowd. He was arrested at home in neighbouring Illinois on August 26th, and charged with murdering two protesters. Footage online suggests he shot them, and injured a third, as they chased him along busy streets.

ers are armed. I’m surprised there wasn’t a mass shooting before,” he says. He predicts a surge in support for President Donald Trump. Voters “don’t want lawlessness, this is like a war zone”.

Will Mr Trump get a boost? For all the popular dismay over police killings, some voters—especially older and whiter ones—are anxious about recent looting, violent

protests and an uptick in urban gun deaths. Polls suggest there is support for reforming the police, but not defunding them. That helps to explain why Joe Biden, on August 26th, said: “Burning down communities is not protest, it’s needless violence.”

Tony Evers, Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, was also quick to take an offer from Mr Trump of federal agents to restore order.

At the Republican convention the vice-president, Mike Pence, spoke of the need for more law and order, referring to Kenosha. But a close focus on the city could be risky. It looks awkward that the man charged with murder is a police cadet and avid fan of the president, who sat in the front row of a Trump rally, in Iowa, in January. Vigilantes rarely help promote law. In Dee’s view, such people came to this city with “the intent to hurt somebody”.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

5

We Put a Strong Emphasis on Helping Business Environment Reforms We expected a milder recession in Serbia than in Central and Eastern Europe due to the latter region’s higher economic integration with strongly hit Western Europe. We plan to revise the forecasts by end-September as more data will be available ments and change in inventories) were below 20 per cent of GDP between 2009 and 2017 while in the more developed Central European and Baltic countries with higher income levels it was above 20 per cent of GDP. Some Western Balkans countries have also kept investments higher (e.g. Albania or North Macedonia at above 25 per cent of GDP). This might have contributed to faster average annual GDP growth in these countries (Central European and Baltic countries 2.9 per cent, Albania 2.7, North Macedonia 2.5) than in Serbia (1.7 per cent) in 2010-2018.

Investments in Serbia by now have reached a level above 20 per cent of GDP but they are still lower than that of fast growing countries. The government can influence investments through several measures: directly through raising public investment, indirectly through improving the investment/business environment.

Both are important in Serbia.

More and better quality public investment is essential in order to close still large infra-

INTERVIEW

ZSUZSANNA HARGITAI EBRD Regional Director, Head of Western Balkans and Serbia Office

READ THIS ON WEB

he EBRD is one of the largest institutional investors in the Western Balkans. To date, it has invested over €13 billion in more than 700 projects, including in key infrastructure, the SME segments and the green economy.

In September issue of Diplomacy&Commerce magazine, we spoke with EBRD Regional Director, Head of Western Balkans and Serbia Office, Mrs. Zsuzsanna Hargitai. “EBRD’s policy activities and technical assistance targets improvements in many of the aforementioned areas: helping fight

T

6

MORE AND BETTER QUALITY PUBLIC INVESTMENT IS ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO CLOSE STILL LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE GAPS AND ACCELERATE GROWTH informality through enhanced business inspections, making public procurements more efficient, strengthening corporate governance of state-owned enterprises, supporting the institutional capacities of the competition authority and disseminating best practices of the Serbian business registry in the Western Balkans”, pointed out Mrs. Hargitai.

The level of capital invest-

ments in Serbia has been assessed as insufficient, although there has been an increase compared to previous years. How can the economic environment in Serbia be improved?

— Indeed, investments in Serbia in percentage of GDP have been low compared to countries at similar or somewhat higher level of development. Gross fixed capital formation (invest-

structure gaps and accelerate growth. According to the Fiscal Council, an annual increase of public investment by half percent of GDP between 2020 and 2022 (from 3 per cent to 4.5 per cent of GDP) can raise growth by half percentage point annually. While public financing needs will significantly increase this year due to the epidemic, the expected economic rebound from 2021 will

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

hopefully raise the fiscal space for public investments.

Other desired improvements in the business environment should aim at improving public and corporate governance, enhancing the professional capacities of the public administration and strengthening independent institutions that ensure level playing field and transparency for competitors in the market. Reforms to increase the project implementation capacity of the public sector are also key to increase public investments as large public projects have been lagging.

One-stop shop electronic procedures should become more prevalent so that public administration becomes more user-friendly. The performance of private companies can be significantly strengthened by receiving better quality inputs from more efficiently operating state-owned enterprises.

The judicial system requires further improvements to make it work faster and in a more predictable way. Foreign exchange regulations can be also enhanced as in their present state they hinder more sophisticated investors and prevent them to choose Serbia as their regional financial and operational centre.

EBRD’s policy activities and technical assistance targets improvements in many of the aforementioned areas: helping fight informality through enhanced business inspections, making public procurements more efficient, strengthening corporate governance of stateowned enterprises, supporting the institutional capacities of the competition authority and disseminating best practices of the Serbian business registry in the Western Balkans.

We put a strong emphasis on helping business environment reforms by building strong institutions and upgrading institutional capacities.

The Serbian government’s fore-

THE EBRD WELCOMES THE AGREEMENT AND REMAINS A COMMITTED PARTNER OF TEAM EUROPE SUPPORTING EFFORTS AND INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC cast for GDP growth for 2020 is somewhat more optimistic than the IMF’s estimate. What are the new forecasts regarding the Serbian and Western Balkan economies?

— EBRD’s GDP forecast at -3.5 per cent for 2020 and 6 per cent for 2021 is similar to that of the IMF (-3 per cent for 2020 and 6 per cent for 2021). Economic data available up to now are broadly in line with our projections. We expected a milder recession in Serbia than in Central and Eastern Europe due to the latter region’s higher economic integration with strongly hit Western Europe.

We plan to revise the forecasts by end-September as more data will be available.

The Council of the EU has reached an agreement on a seven-year budget, covering the period by 2027, including an agreement on a mechanism worth 750 billion euro to be spent on the recovery from the

consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. What is your view of the adopted budget?

— The EBRD welcomes the agreement and remains a committed partner of Team Europe supporting efforts and initiatives to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This agreement is very relevant for the EBRD, not only because the EU is an important shareholder, partner and donor, but also because it allows us to build on synergies between the Bank’s strategic directions including our transition mandate, and the priorities identified by the EU. Perhaps the most evident example is how the Bank’s Green Economy Transition approach chimes well with the European Green Deal and Just Transition Mechanism – priorities that are extremely relevant for the recovery phase of our countries of operation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has

prompted countries to think more about their immediate environment. How do you think the crisis will affect the future distribution of production by world regions?

— It is too early to tell. There are expectations that parts of long supply chains might be “near-shored”, i.e. relocated closer to the manufacturers in Western Europe and Western Balkans countries might benefit from this. It is not certain that this will happen as the location of those supply chain elements reflect existing competitive advantages. Nevertheless, Serbia might be in a good position to attract potential investors given its strong manufacturing heritage.

It is more and more important, however, that the country focuses on the overall quality of the business environment for all (domestic and foreign) investors and less on low wages and high subsidies provided for (mostly foreign) investors.

READY TO SUPPORT SERBIA EBRD also has been and is ready to support Serbia with public investments both at the central and the local level. As a response to the epidemic, we have stepped up our infrastructure financing within the Vital Infrastructure Support Programme. Our on-going projects include financing of the roll-out of rural broadband, the bus purchases and working capital needs of the Novi Sad public transport company and energy efficiency improvements in several cities.

7

Excellent Bilateral Relations Between Our Two Countries Both Serbia and Norway have expertise in many fields and there is plenty of untapped resources INTERVIEW

H.E. JØRN EUGEN GJELSTAD Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia

s Serbia continues on its European path and undertakes necessary reforms, I am confident that Norwegian investors will increasingly look to Serbia. And I can assure you that together with my excellent colleagues at the Norwegian Embassy, I will do the best I can to attract and direct Norwegian investment interests to Serbia.

A

Bilateral relations between the two countries are very good and are making continuous progress. Where do you see the potential for boosting the economic cooperation?

— Friendship between the Norwegian and Serbian people is solid and deeply rooted, and Norway has been a predictable partner in improving governance structures as well as socio-economic progress within the Serbian society. Since 2000 we have allocated significant funds to Serbia for this purpose, and I am happy to say that important results have been achieved.

Commercial relations are

READ THIS ON WEB

I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT THE TASK OF CREATING A CULTURE OF BUSINESS INNOVATION IS ALMOST AN EXISTENTIAL UNDERTAKING also significant, but here we have an untapped potential. We signed a free trade agreement in December 2009, and since then we have seen traded goods worth 400 million euros. Important to notice, the bilateral trade is consistently increasing year by year. Last year alone we saw trade reaching a level close to 80 million euros, after having been growing on average 20 percent annually through the last five years.

That said, the potential is much wider. Currently the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the so-called Oil Fund, has no investments in Serbia.

If you look at the three neighboring countries in the north

8

who have joined the EU, that is Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria, the Fund holds investments of about 280 million euros.

How do you assess the development of innovative technologies in Serbia and is there room for our two countries cooperating in that respect too?

— Innovation and entrepreneurship are areas we are currently looking more closely into. Contribution to innovation and increased productivity within the SME-segment of the Serbian economy will be on my agenda for the years to come, and I hope to see an expansion of our relations with Serbian partners in this respect.

In Norway there is a broad understanding that we cannot live on oil and gas forever.

Therefore there is a political cross-cutting agreement that we have to look into new technological areas, new production methods and new business models, which over time can inject additional growth impulses in our economies and become the main economic driver.

I personally believe that the task of creating a culture of business innovation is almost an existential undertaking. A professionalized culture of innovation can renew any economy. It can make it more robust and more competitive. It can transform the perception of a country from being behind the curve to become part of the cutting edge. It can diversify the mix of the economic set-ups and improve the cycle of value creation, thus making the

economy far less vulnerable.

And not at least, it can unite a whole nation and bridge political differences.

But this does not come easy.

We need both national strategies, ideas, courage as well as a broader international framework well suited for this kind of endeavor. And the center of all this stands the human capital. Without taking effective use of the human capital available to us we are getting nowhere.

So far we are supporting a number of projects in this area.

But we hope to reach out more extensively in this country. We are just in the process of looking into to financial partners such as the EBRD and the Western Balkan Investment Framework, as well as conducting open calls for interesting business-innovation projects to be supported.

An additional reason why we also would like to support young entrepreneurs in this country is to counteract the brain drain factor, by giving young energetic, highly professional people hope and opportunities. Why should they pursue dreams and future in other European countries if they are provided with opportunities and good wages in Serbia through innovative work?

Norway has been helping the development of the Western Balkans as a whole. Where do you see Serbia in relation to the region?

— I see Serbia as an important and influential player in this region with a huge potential to foster and enhance cooperation between the countries involved. In order to succeed, one must be prepared for what it takes to find viable compromises and common solutions to cross-border challenges. But by doing so, regional cross-border cooperation is the most effective trust-building exercise we have, and can serve as an effective means to improve qual-

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

ity of life for those involved through increased economic cooperation and various people-to-people contacts. In particular where lack of sustainable stability is prevalent, cross-border regional cooperation initiatives are key. On this background, I am looking with interest at any further development of president Vucic’s so-called Mini-Schengen model and the prospects for its implementation.

Air quality in Serbia is one of the projects funded by the Norwegian Embassy. How can companies contribute and what does this project mean for ordinary citizens?

— Environmental projects with an emphasis on improvements of the air quality is one area we are looking into these days. If we are to become successful and achieve tangible results, we have to team up with others and develop framework cooperation with other donors, international organizations and competent Serbian partners.

This area has become one of the priorities within our development aid portfolio.

In the meantime, we are happy to see good results coming out of our air quality project implemented by the Cleaner Production Centre of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy. This project is dealing with implementation of EU Regulation on Volatile Organic Compounds, as part of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive.

The project includes establishment of register of businesses that are obliged to report (operators), updating legal framework, developing methodology and training inspectors and operators. By implementing the Industrial Emissions Directive, the EU sets standards to which all industrial installations have to comply with.

If the emissions are above the allowed thresholds, the enterprise in question will need to prepare and implement plans

for emissions reduction, and inspectors are to enforce this compliance. This will hopefully lead to reduction of industrial emissions and a cleaner environment. So far, we have seen a good progress and the necessary change in behaviour from partners involved. In addition, this project fully demonstrates the complementary, strategic partnership Norway has with the EU in supporting Serbia within key areas of societal development.

You also support the development of local administrations.

What do you think about the development of certain regions of Serbia?

— Important question. We have absolutely no lost sight of local communities in Serbia or in North Macedonia and Montenegro for that matter.

Through cooperation with UNOPS Norway supports several less developed parts in these countries. We have a strong tra-

In late 2019, the Norwegian Embassy in Serbia and BTD provided support with protecting whistleblowers. How important is this topic in connection to the rule of law?

— To answer short and concise: very important as we see it in my country. The rule of law makes every one of us subject to the letter and intention of the law, including lawmakers, policemen, judges, businessmen, politicians and regular citizens. A framework for economic rationality based on inclusion, transparency, independent and developed institution as well as trust can more easily sustain high economic growth over time. So fighting corruption is just as much about creating a foundation for economic growth and socio-economic development, as about rooting out bad practice or destructive moral.

This is why fighting corruption stands high on Norway’s international agenda.

is geared more specifically towards the Whistle-blowers institute and aimed to ensure that whistle-blowers’ complaints are handled properly and that official investigations are conducted in a timely and professional manner.

I am proud to say that Norway ranks among the least corrupt countries in the world.

Our businesses are conducted with a high level of transparency and accountability.

The same goes for our public administration. I believe and hope that our experience from this part of governance and rule of law will continue to have relevance for our Serbian partners also in the future.

What are the keys to social and political development on the path to the EU membership?

— I truly believe that the values and principle guiding the societal development of the Nordic region, such as independent institutions, inclu-

I SEE SERBIA AS AN IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL PLAYER IN THIS REGION WITH A HUGE POTENTIAL TO FOSTER AND ENHANCE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES INVOLVED dition in Norway to sustain and support rural areas and local communities across our longstretched country. We believe that this model for support has also something to offer other countries as well. Viable and economically sound communities on the local level are important to both socio-economic and national cohesion, and serve as a moderating factor on domestic migration to the urban centers and big cities.

I am happy to inform you that we are running programs for local communities in these three countries with a particular focus on job-creation, education and improved health services. Additionally, we are also looking into to how we can support vulnerable groups in the best possible way.

Whistleblowing and freedom of speech are in this context highly important means in exposing corruption and trigger adequate actions from relevant authorities.

There are several projects that Norway supports in Serbia, with the aim to curb corruption and to strengthen the practice of rule of law. Many of these are in cooperation with Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD). One example is our collaboration with the Association of Public Prosecutors and Deputy Public Prosecutors of Serbia. The aim is to improve the framework of the criminal justice system in order to respond more timely and effectively to corruption charges. Our project with Whistle-blower Resource Center on the other hand

sive parliamentary procedures, media freedom, anti-corruption, equality, innovation and environmental protection, are key to any political ambition of societal development.

Its opposites can easily bring a society into stagnation or prompt setbacks. This construct has managed to deliver confidence, trust and a basic perception among the citizens that “the authority cares and stands up for me”. These has been the very fundamentals in keeping the Nordic social cohesion intact, and for us to move on collectively. On this background, I am happy to see that there is a declared political will among WB countries to align themselves with these values and principles in their dialogue with the EU.

IMPRESSIONS OF BELGRADE You came to Serbia almost a year ago. What are your impressions of Belgrade and Serbia?

— Belgrade is a vibrant metropole with many attractions. My wife and I really enjoy our Belgradian life with restaurants and the cultural scene taking center stage when I have some free time. Being a music fanatic, I have to commend this city in particular for your excellent Concert Hall Kolarac and its outstanding

programs, as well the Belgrade Jazz Festival presenting leading jazz musicians of today. Additionally, we really enjoy the Serbian people with all its friendliness, passion and color. We have so far made a lot of friends in this country. Unfortunately, this heinous pandemic is currently limiting both culture activity and social engagement, so I am looking forward to the day when we, at least, can approach the good old normal.

9

The Political Situation in the Country is Stressful for All The opposition has lost what voice it had in the institutions as well as the sources of government finance for parliamentary parties at the national and local level. This was a result of the boycott of the elections. The result is also a parliament without an opposition

INTERVIEW

Prof. IVAN VUJAČIĆ President of the Forum for International Relations of the European Movement in Serbia, Ambassador to the United States 2002-2009

or the September issue we spoke with prof Ivan Vujačić about the overall political situation, EU accession, US elections etc. “The big difference was the EU Commission report on Serbia that used less diplomatic language than before and more openly criticized the state of the rule of law and the state of the media. The European Parliament was involved in an effort to mediate between the government and the opposition, which had decided to boycott the parliamentary and local elections, a mediation that should not be happening in a country on the road to EU integration. This I believe was the beginning of the end of treating the state of affairs in Serbia as being normal”, he pointed out.

uation now is not conducive to the enlargement process.

F

How would you evaluate the last year in terms of reform undertaken on Serbia’s accession path to EU membership?

— Both the EU and Serbia have been sitting dead in the water over the last year in terms of the process of integration. The EU had engineered a very slow process to accession, while the government of Serbia has been dragging its feet on reforms. The result is that not a single chapter has been opened this year.

The whole process lacked both

READ THIS ON WEB

Somehow, the public at large does not really comprehend this as we live in a world in which images dominate over substance. Still, the fact that Serbia has not appointed the Head of Serbia’s EU negotiating team in the last eight months after the departure of Tanja Miščević who held that position since the beginning of negotiations on accession, makes people wonder if the EU accession process is really a priority for this government.

BOTH THE EU AND SERBIA HAVE BEEN SITTING DEAD IN THE WATER OVER THE LAST YEAR IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATION push (Serbia) and pull (EU). Serbia should have pushed harder as the process of integration has been declared to have top priority. Let me add that opening chapters really does not have much substance. They are rather a public relations activity to show that things are supposedly moving. The important part is closing chapters. Serbia has only closed a few temporarily.

10

On a broader plane, the whole process looked immensely tiresome and began to lose credibility in the public at large. It started looking more and more as “game” of pretense with one side pretending to want to join a club and reforming and the other side pretending that it believes the applicant and that it would actually accept it as a

member. To this “game of pretend” we should add the extend part, where everything ends with the extension of the conceivable date of full membership. So, in short, in looked like a “game” of “pretend and extend”, a negotiation process that had already been played out in the Greek debt crisis. I am not saying that this was a deliberate thought out “game”, but the problem is that it could be seen that way by people who put their faith in this process. I personally think it was more a matter of bureaucratic procedure on the accession process and political interest on another issue that preoccupied the actors and that was the negotiation regarding Kosovo.

The good news is that a change of methodology of accession has been adopted at the insistence of France. This methodology is designed to be more efficient, quicker, more practical and more political, so as to breathe dynamism in the process. This new methodology is much more demanding. However, the overall sit-

What is your opinion of the political situation in terms of the pandemic, June elections, the positions taken up by the opposition parties and the ruling coalition?

— Aleksandar Vučić’s party has obtained a majority slightly larger than Putin’s party in Russia.

The only larger parliamentary majority on the territory Europe is the one of Lukashenko in Belarus. This is certainly detrimental to the position of Serbia and casts a dark shadow on the proclaimed goal of EU membership. What makes this worse is the fact that the boycott itself cannot be written off a whim of opposition parties because some of the reasons cited for the boycott can be found in the EU commission report (media, rule of law etc.). The ruling party has foregone the chance to be truly forthcoming on improving the electoral process quickly, substituting this by reducing the threshold (illegally by the way) for the entry into parliament.

The election has polarized society further. In short, the result could not be worse for the ruling party and its leadership.

Furthermore, the credibility of the government is probably lower than ever given its handling of the virus pandemic.

The measures undertaken went from the extreme lockdown to practically nothing with no interim transition period. Serbia was the only country that allowed crowds at soccer games in June. On May 12th the government proclaimed that travelers to Serbia would require a negative test not older than 72 hours or face a quarantine of two weeks. On May 20th the government lifted all restrictions for those entering Serbia. This was just a week later and it illustrates the wild oscil-

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

lations in terms of policy. Now the first restrictions are back again for some countries.

Summing up the result of the election and the handling of the pandemic have both significantly negatively affected the legitimacy of the government both at home and abroad. In that respect, I think going ahead with the election was the wrong move. The only people that I know who had a positive view of the election were some diplomats who cynically said that after this “resounding” victory, the president Aleksandar Vučić, has no more excuses in terms of the negotiations on Kosovo.

In your opinion what should be the priorities of the next Serbian government?

— Given what I said previously, the priority of the government should be restoring credibility, both home and abroad. Abroad it should be in the direction of putting the EU accession process above everything else. This would mean substantial and tangible reforms. This would also mean opening a serious and sincere dialogue with the opposition, addressing the issues raised in the last EU commission report directly, honestly and without false excuses and negotiating in earnest a comprehensive agreement with Kosovo. Aside of these issues that spill over into domestic issues, the government needs to restore its credibility in terms of dealing with the pandemic and its economic fallout.

Frankly, I am not certain that the government has the will or the capacity to deal with all of these issues.

Will the economic measures undertaken be able to prevent or at least mitigate the drop in economic activity in Serbia?

— Concerning the measures to address the economic consequences of the pandemic, some of them were good, especially the ones aimed at preventing a radical rise in unemployment. How long these efforts can be sustained remains to be seen. Some of the measures were linear meaning that they were not aimed at the most affected sectors of the economy. Finally, some were downright counterproductive like

the giveaway of 100 euro to all citizen. Not only was this last measure unselective, it also wasted resources that could have been used and targeted differently. Since Serbia like all other countries will go into debt, it is of utmost importance to use these resources in the most effective way.

Furthermore, the government should reconsider and cut some of its spending plans (like purchase of arms, or building stadiums, etc.).

Supporting employment would be my priority above all others. The effects of this pandemic are going to be felt all throughout the next year.

This is not a regular cyclical or bubble induced recession. It is not inherent to the economy. Rather it is like a natural disaster and preserving life and livelihood is all that can be done till circumstances that allow rebuilding come around.

The European parliament threatens to block the long term budget deal reached at the EU summit if it is not “improved”. Can this really happen?

— The European Parliament has been gaining importance over the years, and is not just a rubber stumping institution anymore. I think that the resolution adopted in July will be important in the sense that there will be a call for further improvements in the budget especially in terms of not allowing long-term goals to fall by the wayside (environment, sustainability etc.). Furthermore, in-

This year is not just the year of the pandemic, but also serious turbulences on the world political scene. What will happen after all these shifts?

— Large political shifts had occurred before the pandemic. The first important shift came with the United States moving away from multilateralism and the international order that was created over the years following WWII. It had a huge role in creating this order taking a position of leadership within it, so that the way it questioned it and the way it treated the institutions of this order with disparagement came as a shock to most of its allies and partners.

The second big shift came with the trade war between the US and China culminating in the inauguration of a technological cold war between these countries. Technological containment because of this will

— A great number of policy makers (especially in the EU) are looking at the next US election hoping for a change in the US administration. If Biden wins as everyone at this point expects, things will change.

However, things will not go back all the way to what they were. The US will still be in a confrontation with China. It will demand more from its EU allies and it will try to redefine some parts of the international order.

One should, however, expect a much closer relationship between the US and Europe. This will affect Serbia as the US and the EU will again speak with one voice on many issues including the WB and this will have implications on the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. I expect that we will be back to where we were in this process before the Trump presidency. I also, expect a stronger push for things to move faster towards a comprehen-

THE PRIORITY OF THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE RESTORING CREDIBILITY, BOTH HOME AND ABROAD. THIS WOULD MEAN SUBSTANTIAL AND TANGIBLE REFORMS sistence on the rule of law and other democratic values which the EU considers to be part of its identity will be taken up by the European parliament as issues relevant to the budgetary process, including monitoring. The discussions will go on all through September. I personally think that this is healthy, because the parliament will not allow the neglect of fundamental issues in the fog of crisis management regardless of the fact that it is a severe worldwide health crisis that we are facing. However, I do expect the budget to pass with few fundamental (?) changes.

draw in the rest of the world with Europe siding with the US. Brexit has changed the EU fundamentally. For the first time, the EU has also realized that it needs to define its own geopolitical role and will have to adjust economically and politically in order to preserve its core values including the welfare state.

Russia will also have to adjust to these new realities.

How will the forthcoming US presidential election influence the Western Balkans and the solution to the Kosovo issue?

sive agreement. So, although there will be major changes on the huge international scene, things in our part of the world will remain pretty much the same. The US and the EU will push for reform, regional stability and membership in the EU. We have seen these efforts before and they did not amount to much.

We should realize that the future of the region and Serbia within it, depend on us more than we think.

This, however, means getting our priorities clearly defined and building a long-term strategy for attaining those goals.

LOSING CREDIBILITY After proclaiming victory, the virus has come back with the number infected more than twice the number than during the lockdown. As the public became aware, even the elementary figures relating to the pandemic could not be trusted. What is worse is that it is not just the politicians but also the doctors who were on the government crisis team that have lost their credibility. The revolt of a large number of doctors

who have expressed a lack of confidence in the crisis team asking for its resignation shows just how low the credibility of the government is regarding the pandemic. In other words, the general impression is that the government has lost control of the situation in terms of the spread of the pandemic and that at this point it can only deal with the consequences i.e. hospitalizing the sick.

11

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

H.E. RAFAL PERL Poland’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Serbia

H.E. Rafal Perl has occupied all positions in diplomatic service - from Undersecretary/Trainee to Director and Assistant Foreign Minister.

In the period from 2006 to 2011, he served first as an attaché, and

as a spokesman for the embassy.

In March 2018, he was appointed as the director of the Secretariat of the Foreign Minister. He was born on May 20, 1981, in Szczecin. He graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences and the Diplomatic Academy in 2005. Mr Perl is fluent in English and French, and can communicate in Serbian. He is married and has a daughter. Mr Perl was awarded the Silver Cross for merits in diplomatic affairs and services abroad.

then as the III, II and I Secretary in the Sector for Europe and the Sector for European Policy, where he was responsible for Poland's relations with Croatia, BIH, Albania and Macedonia. At the same time, from 2007 to 2008, he represented Poland in the board of the EAR in Thessaloniki. From 2011 to 2015, he lived in Washington, D.C., where he worked at the Polish Embassy, first as the secretary, and then as an advisor for political issues and public relations, while also acting

MEXICO

Grito de Dolores

18

CHILE

The First Junta Day

28

CZECHIA

St. Wenceslas Day

OCTOBER

National Day

01

CYPRUS

Independence Day

3rd, 1969. He earned a diploma in International Relations at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Sciences in 1995. H.E. Damjan Bergant is fluent in English, German, French and Serbian languages. He is married and father of two.

New Cambodian ambassador H.E. Tan Vutha was born in 1957 in Siem Reap Province. Mr. Vutha holds Master of Political Science, and Master of Public Law at the University of Auvergne. He served as a diplomat of Royal Embassy of Cambodia to Lao People’s Democratic Republic (1994,1997). He was employed at the Cambodian Ministry of Environment

NIGERIA

National Day

02

INDIA ahatma Gandhi’s M Birthday

GERMANY

as a State Secretary (2004-2008) and as an Adviser to the Government (2008-2010). He served from 2010-2013 as a State Secretary, and from 2013 as an Adviser, at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Awarded the Medal of National Merit and Royal Order of Cambodia.

He is fluent in French and he is the father of three.

ARY NAÏM New Regional Manager for Central and Southeast Europe at IFC A French national and a former banker, Ary Naïm has been with IFC for 17 years. He joined IFC in 2003 in Morocco as Access to Finance Specialist, then moved in 2005 to Washington as part of IFC’s Financial Institutions Group, where he actively contributed to IFC’s global thought leadership in SME Banking and Leasing. In 2010 he took the role of Country Head for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, leading IFC's reconstruction efforts after the 2010 earthquake and rolling out innovative investment, advisory, and treasury initiatives in both countries. For the past six

01

03

H.E. TAN VUTHA New Ambassador of Cambodia to Serbia

12

16

CHINA

ship of the OSCE (2004-06), before heading the OSCE and Council of Europe Section from 2006-2009.

After heading the Task Force for the Slovenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2009, he was appointed as the Ambassador – Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He has been a Secretary General at the Slovenian MFA, from 2017 up to 2020. Mr. Bergant was born in Maribor on October

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has appointed Ary Naïm as its Regional Manager for Central and Southeast Europe, based in Belgrade, and overseeing operations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Serbia.

Naïm is taking over the position from Thomas Lubeck, who was recently appointed as Manager for Transaction Advisory Services Public-Private Partnerships in Asia and Pacific, based in Singapore.

SEPTEMBER

01

H.E. DAMJAN BERGANT New Ambassador of Slovenia to Serbia H.E. Damjan Bergant began his diplomatic career in the Slovenian MFA’s Personnel Department (1995) and Department for Multilateral Political Relations (1996-97). From 1977-1999 he was Head of the Office of the Secretary of State for Multilateral Relations, after which he joined the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the OSCE in Vienna as the First secretary. He served as Head of the Department for the OSCE and Deputy Head of the Task Force for the Slovenian Chairman-

NATIONAL DAYS in September & October

German Unity Day

03

IRAQ

Independence Day

03

SOUTH KOREA aecheonjeol, ancient G Korea founded in 2333 BC

23

HUNGARY 1 956 Revolution memorial day

24 UN

UN day years, Ary Naïm has been the Country Manager for IFC in Mexico, overseeing a significant ramp-up of IFC annual commitments across sectors and establishing a strong franchise in the country. Ary Naim is an engineer in Computer Sciences, with a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence.

26

AUSTRIA he Neutrality T Constitution of 1955

29

TURKEY

Republic Day

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

by Žikica Milošević

The Most Spoken Languages in Europe The Legacy of Empires

urope is the home of some 150 native languages, and the majority of them descendants of the Indo-European branch spoken by 740 million inhabitants. But what languages are most spoken in the continent? Well, it has a lot to do with the legacy of mighty empires which spread their languages. So, the most spoken language is Russian, with 120 million native speakers on the continent and many more who speak it as the second or the third language. It is followed by the language of philosophers and thinkers, German. It comes in second for the largest native-speaking population in Europe.

It’s the sole official language of Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein, and it’s a co-official language in Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg, with 95m speakers. After Russian and German, the next most

spoken language in Europe is French, with about 80 million native speakers. It is the official language of France, as well as a co-official language of Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. If you consider the percentage of the population that learned French as a second language, then over 30% of European inhabitants know the language. 400 million people around the world speak English, and 71 million of Europeans speak it as their first language, with 44% of the EU inhabitants claiming the knowledge of it.

The 5th is Turkish, official in Turkey and Cyprus, but spoken in N. Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia with 70m native speakers.

The following Top 10 languages are: (6) Italian – 69m, (7) Spanish – 45m, (8) Ukrainian – 44m, (9) Polish – 40m and (10) Romanian (also known as Moldavian) – 26m.

E

READ THIS ON WEB

SANJA RADLOVAČKI New Executive Director of United Arab Emirates & Serbia Business Club

United Arab Emirates & Serbia Business Club Board of Directors has appointed Mrs. Sanja Radlovački to be the Executive Director of Business Club, and she assumed all associated responsibili-

ties as of August .

"Mrs Sanja Radlovački will be a strong asset to our organization and with her experience, knowledge, energy and dedication she will help us move our Club forward, bringing expected value to all our members and to overall development of economic relations between UAE and Serbia", says Nikola Mihailovic, Chairman of the Board of Directors Sanja Radlovacki has spent 14 years of her professional career in the marketing industry, focused on corporate management, new business development, strategic project management, key government relations, and international affairs

& cooperation. She holds post-master degree in audio-visual arts, MBA degree in Marketing Communication, MSc and BSc degree in Business Relations and Marketing.

“Having UAE as a strategic partner, both business and state affairs wise, is a great privilege and a great opportunity. UAE plays a pivotal and a powerful role in the Global Economy as well as a supreme leading role in the area of innovative technologies. When one has a trustworthy partner interested in investing in strengthening business and state relationships, one’s mission is simple and clear: nurture your relationship with the trustworthy partner", says Sanja Radlovački.

BOJAN KOČOVSKI New Managing Director at McCann Skopje Bojan Kocovski has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the McCann Skopje agency which operates within I&F Grupa.

For the last five years, Bojan has been part of a dynamic and experienced team of the most successful agency in Northern Macedonia. He has been building his career in the marketing and communication industry for 15 years, working in various managerial positions and various sectors, constantly improving and broadening his knowledge. McCann Skopje has been operating in the market of Northern

Macedonia for more than 20 years and is one of the oldest and most successful agencies in Skopje and the region. "I am very proud and happy that my career is progressing in the big McCann system within I&F Grupa. It is a great pleasure and a great challenge to run McCann Skopje, especially through this very uncertain year for all of us. We have a strong agency team and I believe that together we will work hard and focus on further developing our ambitions and continue growing in the coming years, "said Mr. Kočovski.

13

Keeping Commerce Running in the Time of Pandemic We provide solutions, service, guidance and recommendation to our customers to help them navigate the many challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak and meet their clients’ new expectations CORPORATE

STEFAN LAZAREVIĆ NCR Serbia General Manager

WEBSITE

LINKEDIN

READ THIS ON WEB

he outbreak of COVID-19 is impacting almost all industries and sectors worldwide. NCR is the world’s enterprise technology leader for restaurants, retail-

T

ing, hospitality and retail customers.

How did NCR respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and how did it impact business opera-

lished the NCR coronavirus response task force, responsible for monitoring the situation with the COVID-19 outbreak. As the situation evolves, we continue to stay informed

AS FOR NCR’S PLANS IN SERBIA, WE WILL CONTINUE CONTRIBUTING TO THE DELIVERY OF NCR’S STRATEGY, KEEPING OUR CUSTOMERS IN FOCUS AND HELPING THEM RUN THEIR OPERATIONS ers and banks. This global company has offices all around the world and office in Serbia is among the largest ones. We talked with NCR Serbia General Manager Stefan Lazarevic about today’s challenges and changes in NCR’s business and in the business of NCR’s bank-

14

tions of NCR Serbia, a company that employs around 4,000 people?

— The safety of our employees, along with the safety of our customers and business continuity, is NCR’s top priority. In January, before the pandemic was declared, we estab-

and respond in the best interest of employees, customers and business.

To limit employee exposure to the coronavirus, NCR in March limited access to its offices around the globe to essential employees only.

As a global company with

employees in 160 countries, NCR has been constantly improving the ways we collaborate and work together as one team. Also, as our employees provide support to the clients across the globe, they are equipped to do that from wherever they are based.

We have been using various tools, applications and resources to connect with our coworkers and clients from all over the world, so we easily adapted to the new working environment. Our customer engineers continue to work in the field and stay side-byside with our customers. All this time, the company is focused on enabling them to do

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

their jobs as safely as possible to keep commerce running.

In Serbia, we have about 4,000 people who used to work in six different offices in Belgrade. We started gradual return to our offices in June, following local and global government and health guidelines.

Our workplace today is different from the one we walked out of in March. There is only a limited number of people in the office, using personal protective equipment, required temperature checks, signage across the office to ensure physical distance, increased hygiene levels, and many other rules necessary to ensure safe and healthy environment for our employees.

COVID-19 has changed the way companies are doing business, especially in the technology area. As a technology company, how did you address those changes and new customer demands?

— The pandemic has put digital transformation into focus more than ever. The importance of digital to customers, suppliers and to the entire economy has rapidly accelerated. In the new environment, the way people connect and interact has changed, and so have our customers’ demands. Since digital connected services and digital transformation are among the priorities of NCR’s global strategy of digitalization of business processes, we were ready to respond to new requirements from our customers. We provide solutions, service, guidance and recommendation to them to help them navigate the many challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak and meet their clients’ new expectations.

With physical distancing, for example, keeping our customers’ business operations as contactless as possible became a must.

What does “contactless” mean and how do you help your customers offer it to their consumers?

— "Contactless” or “touchless” means any part of the dining/ shopping/banking experience that previously required restaurant/store/bank employees and clients to touch shared surfaces or closely interact that now does not require that kind

NEXT YEAR WILL BE AN IMPORTANT YEAR FOR ALL OF US IN NCR SERBIA, SINCE THE BELGRADE CAMPUS, OUR NEW STATEOF-THE-ART OFFICE, WILL BE COMPLETED of contact. We help our customers introduce contactless into their business by moving most of their services online, enabling their clients to pay, make orders and shop using their mobile devices. One of the solutions we offer to restaurants are digital menus, instead of physical. Guests scan a QR code that loads the menu on their own device to avoid a contact with a shared surface.

For restaurants and stores, there is an online or mobile ordering. Customers can place their order online or through an app for takeout or delivery.

Contactless payment is also very useful in making sure that staff and clients stay safe. Clients can pay without handing their card over, but simply waving their phone over the payment device.

For our ATMs and self-checkouts, we have launched a new anti-microbial coating that can be applied to touchscreens, cash drawers, scanners, receipt printers, pin pads, self-checkouts and privacy shields. This coating makes it difficult for microbes to live on coated surfaces, limiting the possibility of transmission through touch.

Is there a place for innovation

in these challenging times since retail, banking and hospitality sectors that you support are striving to keep their business running by being more practical, deprioritizing innovation and not taking risks into unknown?

— At NCR, we’ve been transforming business processes for 135 years now. From our early days as the inventor of the paper receipt and the mechanical cash register to our recent software solutions and services – our success has been the result of changing the way we do things across the company.

Our innovative and proactive approach to business enables us to always quickly respond to our customers’ demands.

Our focus on customers and innovations is what made us a global technology leader and helped us navigate the many challenges we faced in our long history.

What are the plans for NCR

and NCR Serbia in 2021?

— With all the uncertainty at this moment, one thing remains the same – NCR will do what it takes to keep commerce running for our customer and their clients, and we will do it in a simple and safe way. As for NCR’s plans in Serbia, we will continue contributing to the delivery of NCR’s strategy, keeping our customers in focus and helping them run their operations.

NCR started its business in Serbia with 300 employees and today there are 4,000 talented people working here. I am proud of the fact that today Belgrade is one of NCR’s most strategic locations. Next year will be an important year for all of us in NCR Serbia, since the Belgrade campus, our new state-of-the-art office, will be completed.

NCR has come a long way and I have no doubt we will keep growing stronger and better.

135 YEARS OF NCR From cash registers to software and services led.

NCR Corporation is a leading software- and services-led enterprise provider in the financial, retail and hospitality industries. NCR is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., with 34,000 employees globally.

15

Commitment of German Companies to Serbia Unchanged We live in a global world and every business is hit by the crisis, but when we look at our companies, they do the best they can. Some industries are better, some worse. Nevertheless, the commitment of German companies to Serbia is unchanged COMMENT

RONALD SEELIGER President of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK) and CEO of Hemofarm

16

eglobalization process in certain sectors, which was especially contributed by the crisis caused by the coronavirus, can be a chance for Serbia, as well as for the neighbouring countries, the President of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK) and CEO of Hemofarm, Ronald Seeliger estimates.

At the same time, Seeliger points out in an interview with Tanjug that the commitment of German companies to do business in Serbia has remained unchanged.

‘We live in a global world and every business is hit by the crisis, but when we look at our companies, they do the best they can. Some industries are better, some worse. Nevertheless, the commitment of German companies to Serbia is unchanged’, Seeliger stressed out.

When asked what the growth projections and expectations of the Serbian authorities mean for their business and the fact that Serbia will best endure the crisis caused by Covid19 in economic terms, Seeliger says that it is significant for all the investors, regardless where they come from: ‘If the country manages to get through the crisis in a good way, it will help all businessmen and companies that operate in it. However, this is not a competition. The essence is to help those who have huge problems and who need help’, he explains. German investors, as well as Serbian ones, and any other, will benefit, as he says, if the required balance is found. ’We are pleased to be able to give advice or share experiences from Germany with the Serbian government, in order to find that balance, because it is very difficult’, Seeliger said.

Asked to compare Serbia and Germany related to

D

READ THIS ON WEB

economic support actions, Seeliger said that it was a rather unrewarding task.

It’s not fair, he notices, to compare these two countries, because Germany has literary ’injected’ billions, large sums of money, even compared to Italy or Spain. On the other hand, he points out that the Government of Serbia has stabilized the budget over the previous

shops are being closed, because sometimes, even this help is not enough, you cannot help everybody.

When asked how much the ‘corona crisis’ has affected the German investors in Serbia, he reminded that the history of German investments was ’very strong’ that the trade has doubled between two countries in the recent years, while German

postponed their projects, but the business model has not changed, Seeliger says, and he is convinced that many companies will restart their projects.

As for Hemofarm, Seeliger emphasized that nothing changed in operations due to pandemic and that there was a strategic plan in place which was consistently implemented. ’Business operations of

GERMAN INVESTMENTS ARE TRADITIONALLY FOCUSSED ON CAR INDUSTRY, PLASTICS AND ELECTRONICS, WHICH WILL REMAIN THE CASE IN THE FUTURE AS WELL years and invested significant funds to help the economy. ‘Is it enough? It is never enough and we will only see in the coming months what the impact of this crisis is’, Seeliger emphasizes.

For example, he says that even in Germany and in spite of all the measures, many

companies in Serbia, about 450 of them, employ between 60,000 and 70,000 workers. He said that the first thing companies did after the outbreak was to secure their employees, and then to adapt to the new situation and stabilize their business. Some companies have

companies, due to corona crisis, are certainly disrupted, because the economy has faced an abnormal situation in recent months, and this situation applied to all’ Seeliger noticed.

With this regard, he said that there were stories on social networks that, having in mind the

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

HEMOFARM IN SERBIA HAS BEEN PRODUCING ANTIBIOTICS FOR MANY YEARS, AS WELL AS 3,500 PRODUCTS FOR THE OVERALL STADA GROUP tion costs, I do not see that anything will change in the near future, since every eurocent can be decisive in choosing a certain medicine for a therapy. Due to this fact, Serbia can be in focus’, he added.

He stressed out that Hemofarm in Serbia has been producing antibiotics for many years, as well as 3,500 products for the overall STADA Group. ’If the politicians want to

have certain production in their own country they have to make sure it is cost-effective. We invest a lot in ecology, have high business standards, therefore our production is more expensive than in Asia’, he added. ’As the German Chamber of Commerce, we will do everything to turn the focus to Serbia, because there are no better ambassadors than the businessmen’, he said.

N co ews S Se mm , an co ubs v co rbi en aly b us er crib En mm a, in tary sis, in ag e in es e no gl ish unit dipl on ter s a of w Re , d y. E om eve vie nd dip fo ire v pl liab so lom r co er atic nts w a c a cie a m tly y n o us tfo le a a ty cy pre to mo nd ccu d re efu rm nd r b in , p he n y i l g n o u t e o op io inf Se oli n ffe ffi ur hs, sin g i n o c rb tic siv de in es n rm rin ie up po al ia s, e n s r a g s da tu a t n k . te nit d f tion div info er s a ie or r nd s, t eig abo se ma r n tio u re en t i n se ds nv loc e ar , le s al t ch , m es gisl at ent . io n

T IN E. PR LIN IN N O D N A w PA w Y w. M di E pl N om T ac IN C ya ST Em al l nd R ai us co UC l: p or / su mm TIO Ph ret se bs e N on pla nd cr rce S e: ta us ip .r : +3 -d re tio s 81 c@ qu n 11 c es 40 ol t o 44 or n: 96 .rs 0

depend on these drugs, then that makes them proud and even more responsible.

Seeliger reminded that German investments are traditionally focussed on car industry, plastics and electronics, which will remain the case in the future as well, adding that he knows many companies which are interested in IT products in Serbia.

‘I have been in Serbia for a long time, I love this country.

There is this focus on the Balkans. Serbian products are good to be exported, not only to the European, but also to other markets as well, and I am grateful for the government efforts to make export deals with many countries’, he said.

As for the relocation of strategic production from Asia to Europe, Seeliger noted that during the pandemic, the global supply chain, which is very important in the pharmaceutical industry, was disrupted, and for example India ’closed’ exports, China reduced it, and some other countries have realized that they have to rely on themselves. ’However, due to produc-

SU N B O S W C ! RI BE

high demand of their products at that time, the producers of toilet paper could buy Epl, because the value of their products dropped. Nevertheless, he is convinced that ’everything will work out somehow’.

Asked about possible new investments from Germany, Seeliger points out that the main investments come from the companies that are already in Serbia. ’When you look at Siemens, Hemofarm and some other companies, we constantly invest in expansion. Each year we invest a lot, maybe more than the ones coming to this market for the first time. It has to do with the in-house planning, without public display and without making noise’ he explained, stressing out that Hemofarm annually invests on average 20 million euros in Serbia. As he says, Hemofarm did not postpone anything and it raised production to the highest level ever, with the determination to continue like that. He said that Hemofarm produces seven billion tablets a year, and that when employees know that people

ONLY

34€

PER YEAR!

17

Client Satisfaction is Our Main Focus A responsible attitude towards natural resources is in the best interest of every individual who wants to live in a healthier future and leave the possibility of further progress to future generations

CORPORATE

DRAGAN SIMOVIĆ Supervisory Board member, Militzer & Münch Serbia

FACEBOOK

YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM

LINKEDIN

n an interview for the September issue of Diplomacy & Commerce magazine, we spoke with Dragan Simović, a member of the Supervisory Board of Militzer & Münch Serbia, about the company’s ambitious growth plans. The M&M Militzer & Münch Company was founded in October 2019 by the Serbian logistics company, Invictus System Transport & Logistics D.O.O. and the German company M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding AG. According to Mr. Simović, the company has very ambitious plans to occupy the leading position in Serbia.

I

What did you next after establishing M&M Militzer & Münch in Serbia since the company was quite unknown in Serbia?

— You are absolutely right. Before the establishment of the joint venture, Militzer & Münch was more or less unknown in the Serbian market. This prompted us to make the company as renowned and recognizable in the first stages. We first had to present the M&M brand, which has existed in the international market since 1880. The history

cus. We analyze the demand in the logistics market and optimally adapt our services to the requirements of our customers. Our top performance and the commitment of our team already set us apart from the competition; namely, there is a great demand for our logistics services. Since the joint venture was established last autumn, the business has developed well and we are confident that we will be able to achieve our goal. We are proud to see that our services are so much in demand after such a short time.

we have also opened branches in Leskovac and Dobanovci. Given the company's unexpected growth, the Dobanovci office moved to a new-6,500-m2 office and warehouse in mid-August. Accordingly, our plan is to acquire our own office space early next year and we are considering building a new logistics centre with modern offices in Dobanovci.

Which services are you most recognized for and what are your further development plans?

— Since clients dictate the pace

IN A VERY SHORT TIME SPAN, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED COOPERATION WITH LEADING GERMAN COMPANIES OPERATING IN THE SERBIAN MARKET, THAT WE EXCLUSIVELY PROVIDE LOGISTICS SERVICES TO of M&M stems back to a family-run company founded in Hof, Germany, while today M&M is an international holding company with over 100 branches in 29 countries and more than 2,200 employees.

The company seems to have very ambitious plans. What are its goals?

— Our goal is to be among the leaders in the transport and logistics sector in Serbia in the next two years. Customer satisfaction is our main fo-

18

You have managed to expand your network in Serbia in a very short time. Where are your branches located?

— In a very short time span, we have established cooperation with leading German companies operating in the Serbian market, that we exclusively provide logistics services to.

In accordance with the client needs, we opened branches in Požega, Velika Plana and the Terminal customs office. Since M&M’s inception, and in addition to the mentioned offices,

of development, M&M's service portfolio includes a full range of services, starting with international road transport, logistics and freight forwarding to air and sea transport. The development of groupage transport in regional countries is also a challenge for us. Hence, we are already working on opening offices in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, which will be managed by our branch in Dobanovci, which is our main business centre for the Balkan area. I can

proudly say that M&M‘s operations team has been providing excellent groupage transport services in Germany, Italy and Austria through our extensive network of branches in these countries.

Having in mind large foreign investments, and above greenfield investments made by German companies in the Republic of Serbia, as a well-known German brand, M&M is recognized as a reliable and proven partner. M&M’s is certainly focused on German companies, which make up the majority of our clients because we offer them the services they are used to in their country.

Globalization requires rapid adaptation and modernization of the way we work.

What makes M&M stand out in that respect?

— Since the situation with COVID-19 has surprised us all this year, M&M has successfully managed to adapt to the crisis thanks to its outstanding system. Given that we are in a time of globalization and that time- and position-related obstacles do not exist, M&M has successfully responded to the challenges with its digital platforms for monitoring the status of shipments and trucks. Consequently, our focus is on the online distribution business (B2C business), which we are already doing for a reputable client from the fashion industry. We are currently implementing the automation of picking and packing of shipments, which saves time as well as minimizes errors. At the same time, this reduces the size of the workforce and our services will be far cheaper, faster and error-free in the future compared to the competition. We think that online distribution (B2C business) is the future of business and for that reason, our focus is on that.

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

19

READ THIS ON WEB

Clean Energy and Responsibility for Resources A responsible attitude towards natural resources is in the best interest of every individual who wants to live in a healthier future and leave the possibility of further progress to future generations

CORPORATE

NIS

n addition to individual campaigns and initiatives, large companies play a very important role in this process by adapting their business.

They can also decisively influence the positive changes that we all need. Following the needs of the community in which they operate, businesses have the opportunity, but also the obligation, to improve and transform their business processes so that, in addition to economic benefits, they also contribute to improved environmental protection. The importance of this process is also evidenced by the fact that, according to UN data, almost 800 million people do not have access to electricity.

Also, every fourth healthcare institution in developing countries is not connected to the electricity grid.

These data, as well as the need for production to take place in an environmentally friendly way, put modern energy companies in a complex situation - to supply consumers with the energy needed for further development while making their production "greener" and conserving natural resources in line with the needs of future generations.

As one of the largest energy companies in Southeast Europe, NIS wants to make a full contribution to achieving these goals, and through its operations, the company contributes to accomplishing 12 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, including Affordable and Clean Energy.

Thus, since 2013, NIS has been building small power plants in its oil and gas fields, which operations also contribute to environmental protection. Namely, the poor quality gas that was previously burned on the torch in these small power plants is now used to produce electricity and heat,

I

NIS IS THE FIRST LARGE COMPANY IN SERBIA TO INCLUDE THE SALE OF COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS AS A MOTOR FUEL IN ITS RETAIL NETWORK which, in turn, produces new energy, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

NIS has, so far, invested around 20 million EUR in these power plants, and the company started producing electricity from gas in 2019 at the Jimbolia gas field in Romania.

Also, NIS is the first large company in Serbia to include the sale of compressed natural gas as a motor fuel in its retail net-

20

work. This is an eco-friendly fuel that is obtained from compressing natural gas at very high pressure (220-250 bars). CNG can also be used as an energy source for industrial production processes. It is also called the fuel of the future since it is currently ahead of other fuels in the market in terms of economic and environmental benefits. What sets it apart, regarding environmental impact, is having meth-

ane as its main ingredient, since methane has the lowest carbon dioxide emission factor. Precisely because of this, the use of compressed gas directly affects the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, NIS has introduced a new consumer service – electric car chargers - at selected petrol stations on Serbian motorways.

According to NIS, the company will continue to create and implement projects that, in addition to economic contributions, also bring benefits to local communities, while leaving a healthier world for generations to come.

CLICK TO GO ď ľ www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

TRANSPORT & IN LOGISTICS SERBIA 2020

INTERVIEW

TRANSPORT DIRECTLY IMPROVES LIVES OF OUR CITIZENS

We are assisting all regional partners, including Serbia, to adopt and implement EU legislation in the field of transport and we are supporting projects that are connecting the Western Balkans with itself as well as with the EU READ THIS ON WEB

MATEJ ZAKONJŠEK

Director of the Transport Community

he region has so much potential and one can see concrete benefits of one’s work. All the measures that make transportation of goods and mobility of people smooth and safer directly improve the daily lives of our citizens. What we do in transport is easy to explain, and citizens right away notice when they spend less time at the border crossings, when their commute to work gets shorter, or when their roads are well maintained. The same is true when our policies fail.

T

You have recently been appointed Director of the Transport Community. What is the Transport Community, and what is its significance for Serbia?

— The aim of our organization is the integration of transport markets of Western Balkan regional partners into the EU. We are assisting all regional partners, including Serbia, to adopt and implement EU legislation in the field of transport and we are supporting projects that are connecting the Western Balkans with itself as well as with the EU. Transport policies that are based on European legislation and standards will pave the way to seamless integration of the Western Balkans transport markets into the EU, which will in turn offer sustainable connectivity to our citizens and new business opportunities for companies in the region. To achieve that we need to build, rehabilitate, and connect transport infrastructure, based on a forward-looking transport policy.

I am also very pleased and proud that the Headquarters of our organization is based in the region of the Western Balkans – in Belgrade. This was a joint decision by all six re-

22

gional partners and the EU. As Serbian PM Ana Brnabić mentioned during the inauguration ceremony in September 2019, this is the first permanent seat of an international community in the Republic of Serbia and this is sending an important message of successful regional cooperation.

What will be the focus of the Transport Community’s work in the upcoming period?

—At the very beginning of my mandate as Director, I established a clear set of priorities for our work in an effort to make the organization a reliable partner to the citizens and the authorities in the region.

Firstly, I believe that we need to make rail travel possible and attractive for our citizens again. By traveling between Belgrade and Podgorica for example, one should enjoy not only the breathtaking nature, but also a reliable, fast, and environment-friendly mode of transport. For this to happen we need investments in rail systems and support to multimodal solutions that will move as much cargo from roads to rail. We should also make better use of inland waterways and maritime transport and this is why it is symbolic that we are having this interview while barges are passing along Sava and Danube.

Secondly, another sacred duty and my personal commitment is making the roads in Western Balkans safe. While road safety has in general improved in the EU, in the Western Balkans numbers of dead and injured are above the EU average and we must take decisive steps to change that. In that respect there is also a lot of work to be done in Serbia where 534 people died on the roads in 2019 with over 3,000 seriously injured. Our goal is clear: there

I am also very pleased and proud that the Headquarters of our organization is based in the region of the Western Balkans – in Belgrade

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

should be no more dead or seriously injured because of road accidents on our roads (and the railway crossings). Making roads safer is not a political goal. It is our moral imperative.

Furthermore, transportation of goods and mobility of people across the region and with the EU should be seamless and safe. Borders should not be a source of frustration and delays. Citizens of our regional partners, visitors, and business wait too long at the border crossings, especially at the ones with the EU countries.

And finally, the region of Western Balkans should also be better connected. Traveling and transporting goods should be faster, cheaper, healthier and, for passengers, also more enjoyable. We can do that by investing in sustainable infrastructure and connect our roads, rail, ports, and airports in the Trans European Transport Network.

What conditions does Serbia have to fulfill in terms of regulations and harmonization with the EU laws governing this area?

— While a lot of works remains for Serbia, the country has made good progress lately, particularly in the field of rail reform, which remains an overall priority. Serbia should continue working to improve road safety by taking measures to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. Rail reforms should be intensified, including market opening and strengthening the capacities of the regulatory body for railways. As noted in the last year’s assessment by the European Commission, Serbia should improve maintenance of road and railway infrastructure in line with credible plans and facilitate border-crossing procedures. In general, I think that Serbia is already realizing its potential every day, and I am confident that Transport Community will give you another boost of energy to continue on this path.

You spent many years supporting the integration of the Western Balkans’ transport market into the EU. What is your view of this region and Serbia in that respect?

— My experience of working on Western Balkans’ transport policies has been a constant source of inspiration of what is possible. We have managed to find agreements on topics, which were blocked for more than a decade – such as Transport Community Treaty – where many people told me that this will not and cannot be done. This is also a lesson that when we work together – we work very well together.

Ultimately, I think that Serbia and all other countries should be better connected. At this moment, it is sometimes easier to travel between West-

ern Balkan capitals by plane via Istanbul or Vienna than it is to take a car or direct plane for relatively close distances. This limits the economic potential of the region since the inadequate transportation networks, both in terms of quality and coverage; severely constrain connectivity of producers and consumers to global and regional markets.

Nevertheless, this is also a time for a new momentum for the EU and Western Balkans relations. The revised enlargement methodology has invigorated European perspective of the entire region and the EU - Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb has among other initiatives injected unprecedented financial stimulus of more then 3,3 billion Euros that will go towards the response to the COVID-19 as well as economic recovery of the region. Transport and connectivity are the basic enablers for

Through the Green Lane initiative, despite the imposed sanitary controls and closure of many border crossings in the region and between the region and EU, the transport flow of goods did not experience major interruptions or delays. The initiative, which was endorsed by all regional partners, was a concrete example of how a good coordination between the different administrations of the Western Balkan partners could generate a positive effect for the entire region. The shortage of food or medicine or the blockage at Western Balkan borders was avoided thanks thanks to the proposed measures of coordination.

that so I am confident that this stimulus will positively reflect in our sector and bring concrete and tangible results.

— Indeed, the pandemic has changed our cities in many ways. The numbers of cars in streets significantly decreased and in the cities which were covered with layers of smog people could suddenly see the clear skies again. Some data shows that local air pollution has dropped by 60% globally. I hope that these changes will inspire us to use sustainable modes of transport even after the pandemic. We at the Transport Community are already making our contribution by riding bicycles to work and enjoying Belgrade outdoors while doing it. And speaking of sustainable transport, we will be joining the activities organized during the European Mobility Week 16-22 September, which will be dedicated to zero emission mobility. Thirteen cities in Serbia have already subscribed to different activities and I would like to invite your readers to join us. 

COVID -19 posed immense challenges to transport. What was the role of the Transport Community in the process of dealing with these challenges?

— At the very beginning of the pandemic, the Transport Community proposed establishing the so-called Green Lanes in order to guarantee free flow of essential goods within the Western Balkans. By doing so, we managed to ensure that certain type of goods (primarily food and medical supplies) have priority treatment at borders through electronic exchange of information between the border authorities and by enabling 24/7 operations of the border agencies at defined border crossing points along the main corridors.

What were some of the immediate effects of COVID-19 on transport?

Have you noticed some of these effects during your time in Belgrade so far?

While a lot of works remains for Serbia, the country has made good progress lately, particularly in the field of rail reform, which remains an overall priority

23

INTERVIEW

TRANSPORT, AS AN EXTENDED ARM OF PRODUCTION, WILL SURVIVE

Serbian Association of International Road Hauliers - MT brings together transport and logistics companies with more than 1,400 members

NEĐO MANDIĆ

READ THIS ON WEB

President of the Serbian Association of International Road Hauliers - MT egardless of all the negative consequences that are the result of the coronavirus pandemic, transport, as an extended arm of production, will survive and Serbian transport companies will always be ready to satisfy the needs of production companies and the needs of citizens for goods and groceries.

ried out to provide quality service, transport companies do not have time to follow all the regulations both in our country and Europe.

Therefore, the Association collects information and regularly informs its members, and often jumps in to help solve problems that have occurred regardless of the location. Information is essential for every activity, and especially for an activity in which every detail is important for the goods to be delivered on time. Very soon after the establishment, we realized that the competitiveness of small carriers is not the same as large ones, which get significant discounts from suppliers, so they have lower costs and market advantage. That is why we started negotiating discounts with suppliers for all members and in that way enabled small transport companies to have competitive prices of their services.

R

How important is the work of a professional organization and what are the benefits for companies?

— Transport, and especially international transport, is a very complex activity with numerous problems which resolution requires a lot of knowledge. Furthermore, some problems are not just a matter of professional expertise and that cannot be solved by individuals for their benefit. That is why it was only natural for Serbian transport companies to create an organization that will be tailored to them, in which everyone will be equal, receive the same information and the same protection, regardless of the size. In every profession, some people and organizations have different interests, there is competition on the market and we can accept that, but it is unacceptable for us that, when exercising their rights, some market participants want to get more on top of protecting their rights.

We started with that premise and everyone soon wanted to be our members. We currently have over 1,400 members.

We constantly tell our members, and they are well aware of that, that they must have the same rights as all other carriers regardless of whether they are members or not and they have accepted that principle. The one who wants more than others doesn’t belong with us, regardless of the company size. Due to the volume of work that is spent on following all the operations that have to be car-

24

As far as regulations are concerned, Serbia has harmonized both the laws and bylaws with the European ones, but still, the business conditions are far from European

What are the current regulations in this area and what else can be done to further improve business conditions?

— As far as regulations are concerned, Serbia has harmonized both the laws and bylaws with the European ones, but still, the business conditions are far from European.

The carrier’s income depends on the number of kilometres travelled. A transport company from Serbia cannot cover more than between 6,000 and 8,000km per month. In ideal conditions, this should be between 10,000 and 15,000km. The reasons for that are spending too much time at border crossings and unnecessary delays at internal customs offices.

Our customs law is harmonized with the European one, it has entered into force, but it is not applied in the part that directly affects the speed of transporting goods. We need to digitalize the communication with the relevant authorities. I am first and foremost referring to the Ministry of Construction, Transport

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

DRAGON MARITIME SEE D.O.O. Vladimira Popovića 6 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

+381 11 630 24 80 +381 11 630 23 67

sales-belgrade@dragonmaritime.net www.dragonmaritime.net

The decline in transportation prices will hit carriers the hardest, and we estimate that most carriers will end the year with the loss

26

and Infrastructure. We have jointly started introducing electronic communication and business in returning and borrowing foreign permits required for each tour.

However, the potential and importance that such a system has and the possibilities of improving the work and facilitating the procedures are huge. The time that would be saved is also significant, which means that vehicles would be deployed sooner, and thus we would be more competitive. We hope that the development of the digital communication system with the aforementioned Ministry will continue soon. Also, enabling electronic submission of documents for vehicles and drivers which are under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry would significantly contribute to more efficient operation and lower idleness of transport vehicles. Serbian transport companies are invest-

As a consequence, there is a greater presence of transport companies from other countries on our market, which generate income instead of us and buy fuel in their respective countries, thus filling the state budgets of their countries with excise duty funds.

ing a lot in acquiring new transport vehicles, with the Euro-6 category vehicles mostly used in international transport.

Unfortunately, Serbia also has a problem with the lack of a sufficient number of international permits, so Serbian carriers are forced to open companies in other countries. In addition to the fact that Serbia thus loses a certain income that will be generated in those countries, it also loses income from the excise tax on fuel used by vehicles registered in other countries. The problem of the fuel prices, which are higher in Serbia, also leads to Serbian carriers fuelling their vehicles more in other countries when engaging in international transport, and as a result, the Serbian stage budget gets less money from fuel excise. Although we have been highlighting that problem and asking for an increase in the refund of part of the excise tax, the state authorities did not see eye-to-eye with us on this matter.

er training, but in addition to having a large number of people interested in re-training, there was also a problem of financing, on the one hand, and the problem of uncertainty among students as to whether this is the right profession for them. Without the state’s help, be it helping with funds for re-training or promoting it through dual education in vocational high schools, this problem cannot be alleviated. In order to alleviate the problems in Serbia, the state’s help would be required in reducing the waiting time at borders and completely changing the customs system (which is possible in practice and prescribed by law). By implementing these measures, our drivers could earn the same amount of money here, in our country, as in the Western countries, and they would not go to other countries because they offer a higher salary.

An additional problem is created by the requirement for a driver, who completes driving lessons at driving

How can the problem of lack of professional drivers, which was a hot topic last year, be solved?

— The lack of professional drivers is a problem in all countries that has been present for a long time. The problem is that everyone wants a ready-trained driver, not a beginner who has not yet undergone any training or is not aware of whether he really wants to be a driver in international transport. Experienced drivers are used to being on the road and away from their families, and that is why carriers in the West are recruiting our drivers and non-EU drivers. Our Association started with driv-

school and passes the driving test for the required categories, to also undergo initial training to qualify as a professional driver. This is a model and prerequisite in the EU that we had to implement in our country, and there would be nothing wrong with that if the new driver didn’t have to pay additional 140,000 dinars, which is currently the cost of this mandatory initial training in our country. We believe that the state authorities must react because we will soon be left without candidates for professional drivers due to economically difficult conditions for young people who are interested in becoming truck drivers.

The coronavirus has stopped many industries in their tracks. What problems do transport company owners and drivers face and how much can border closures jeopardize normal supply?

— The coronavirus has created major problems in the organization of transport. In the initial phase, due to the incompetence of the relevant authorities in all countries, the decisions made were often contradictory and inconsistent, although it was clear that everyone was aware that transport must not stop, and that goods, especially food for the population, must be transported unhindered. The borders were never really closed, but frequent delays led to a slowdown in transport and made it even more difficult for drivers. Border traffic jams still exist but they do not jeopardize normal supply but only prolong transport times and the normal work cycle of drivers. This makes the work of transport companies more difficult and much costlier.

What is your assessment of the impact of the coronavirus on the transport industry and what consequences do you expect to see?

— Transport is so closely linked to production that the consequences that the coronavirus has left on production are also felt by the transport sector. Just as different activities are affected differently, transport companies also feel the consequences depending on what they are transporting. The most affected are transporters that serve the automotive industry.

They have experienced a 30-35% decline in the work volume, while transporters that have a variety of customers have experienced a 20-25% decline.

The reasons for this decline are the delays at the borders, not enough goods for return routes and a drop in prices as a consequence of the shortage of goods. The decline in transportation prices will hit carriers the hardest, and we estimate that most carriers will end the year with the loss. 

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

CLICK ON ICON 

CORPORATE

WE WILL EMERGE STRONGER DESPITE THE CHALLENGES

The integrated oil and gas company,MOL Serbia is part of MOL Group that is very stable and we firmly believe that we will overcome all challenges and emerge stronger from the crisis

JURAJ POLIĆ

Commerce and Logistic Director at MOL Serbia doo, Member of MOL Group

e are focusing on the future because we need to be able to adjust our diversified offer to different industries and customers – starting with fuel and all the way to polymers, which have recorded a higher demand in the previous period.

W

In which way is the pandemic affecting your industry in 2020, but also in the upcoming year?

— The pandemic and consequently the current global economic crisis are already affecting half of the world's population, and this is the first time in world history that we are facing a crisis of this kind - where both a decline in demand and multitude of supply are present at the same time. The coronavirus pandemic has consequences on the whole global industry and the oil industry is not an exception. Restricting people's mobility in the state during one period, as well as globally reduced travelling, resulted in the lower demand for petroleum products. We still do not know how the pandemic situation will look in the autumn and how long it will take the governments to fully recall the measures, but we know it will not be overnight.

The way pandemic has influenced the other segments of our business can be seen in the intensified communications that we have with our customers and partners. With joint efforts, we have devised a successful model of cooperation during the most severe crisis ever.

On the other hand, the top priority for MOL Group, of which MOL Serbia is part, is the health and safety of our employees. In the past few months, we have implemented many preventive measures such as minimizing the physical presence of our employees at

28

the sites, home office, obligatory mask at offices, Depot, service stations as well as regularly disinfecting all surfaces.

The first fuel terminal as the biggest MOL investment was opened last year. What are the capacities of the terminal and what were the challenges in the first year of operating?

— Recently we have marked the anniversary of our largest and successful investment in Serbia. By opening fuel Depot in Sremski Karlovci we have ensured continued and stable market supply with fuel from MOL refineries, not depending on weather or transportation conditions. Euro premium BMB and euro diesel storage and trans-shipment have been organized in the terminal, which secures permanent availability of sufficient quantities of the highest quality petrol. The terminal has 5 reservoirs of diesel section capacity of 8,000 m³ and 3 BMB reservoirs section capacity of 4,000 m³.

As this is the first oil terminal of the company in Serbia, I must underline that I am very proud of all my colleagues who are extremely professional and successfully overcame all the challenges related to launching a business. We had the immense help of our colleagues from the entire MOL Group, which operates in 11 European markets, thus their valuable experience contributed to the successful start of the terminal.

The pandemic that hit during the terminal's first year of operation brought on various challenges. I can say that we are generally very satisfied with the first year of our operations and that we are entering the next year even more prepared.

READ THIS ON WEB

You constantly offer a wide range of products and services to your customers, and MOL Group cards are also accepted in France, Belgium, the Netherlands… What benefits do these cards bring to companies?

— MOL Group cards represent another benefit in the wide range of quality products and services we offer to our customers. When it comes to card types, companies can choose between prepaid and postpaid cards. Depending on their needs, i.e. the locations where they operate, we offer MOL GOLD Serbia cards that can be used at 68 MOL service stations in Serbia, as well as our internationally accepted MOL GOLD Europe cards, which can be used at almost 6,000 MOL and partner petrol stations in 15 European countries. Besides, MOL Group cards are tailored in the way to meet the different needs of our customers. They can set their consumption or service range limits and use the cards for toll payments in Serbia and 6 other Central European countries. We have great cooperation with Business Association “Međunarodni transport” and I can say that their members widely use all the benefits.

Why are transport companies in Serbia choosing MOL Group cards and what is the main reason for that choice?

— The key to our clients' satisfaction is in the trust they place in us, which additionally encourage us to further improve our services. We always operate following the needs of the market and find innovative solutions, so we are already preparing several new projects that will further raise the level of our services, and one of them is opening new petrol stations and expanding our retail network because we want to be a reliable companion everywhere. 

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

COMMENT

LOGISTIC VICTORY OVER THE CORONAVIRUS The ‘corona wind’ first seriously disrupted logistics (especially transport), but logistics quickly ‘came to its senses’, so to speak, and in the end, beat the coronavirus while emerging even stronger from this ‘fight’, unlike any other economic activity

Professor SLOBODAN AĆIMOVIĆ, PhD, University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Economics

here is nothing unusual about the word ‘logistics’ popping up in everyday conversations. There are numerous types of logistics - economic, technical, war, media, political, and even those that are ‘on the other side of the law’, as it were. "He provided logistical support" and ‘logistics’ are a pleonasm, because logistics, with all its operational aspects, has, at least so far, been treated as support for the company's core business. But lately, and especially in the post-corona economy, logistics and supply chain management have increasingly become a generator of competitive advantage and a business driver for a large number of companies. Of course, this is much more applicable to other countries in the world than our region where logistics, despite all the improvements (primarily in the shape of new motorways, modern warehouses, improved modes of operation, etc.) is still a problem, at least according to the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index research.

In modern business, logistics is a multifunctional area, with continuous 24/7 work operations. It is difficult to identify a large number of business areas with such a demanding and complex range of activities as logistics. Paradoxically, logistics activities are often invisible and taken for granted. Namely, end consumers, but also all the participants in the supply chain, consider it normal and implicit that the right product is available at the right time, in the right place, in the right quantity and with very competitive delivery costs. Only when there is a delay in the supply process, a lack of products on supermarket shelves and/or production inputs, the importance of logistics comes to the fore.

The coronavirus pandemic has swept

T

It is difficult to identify a large number of business areas with such a demanding and complex range of activities as logistics

30

through the world several months ago. It stopped businesses in their tracks, emptied out factories and shopping centres, de-socialized many societies and even ‘threatened’ that people will go hungry and that certain products will disappear from shop shelves. It was then when all the Doubting Thomases of the world remembered logistics, how to deliver something somewhere, what type of transport to use, which warehouses to store it in, which stocks to keep as optimal, how to maintain the level of customer service considering extreme market volatility (remember, back on 15th March, how people in our country went on a rampage, buying huge quantities of cooking oil, flour, toilet paper, etc., fearing what tomorrow brings). In those days, it was especially important to organize logistics and the entire pharmaceutical supply chain, due to the sensitivity of the products and the extremely increased demand for them.

It is safe to say that, during those first few months of the pandemic, an efficient logistics system stabilized the market in all countries, led to the gradual balancing out of supply and demand, eliminated people's fear that something would disappear from the market and that they would remain hungry and thirsty, as well as that there won’t be enough medicine or ventilators for each patient. With some exceptions, there was no shortage of goods on store shelves, production processes were not interrupted due to poor supply (they were interrupted due to health reasons), and people quickly regained confidence in the business systems of national economies. All of this happened due to efficient logistics systems, as a bloodstream of supply of almost all types of products. Following the first impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the awareness

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

that we can control it, at least in the logistical sense, the leading retailers, even in their advertising messages, rightly thanked their sales and logistics staff, as pillars of the organization in a retail company.

The ‘corona wind’ first seriously disrupted logistics (especially transport), but logistics quickly ‘came to its senses’, so to speak, and in the end, beat the coronavirus while emerging even stronger from this ‘fight’, unlike any other economic activity. Of course, large and powerful countries were the first to realize the importance of logistics. In the first analyses, the Germans stated that "logistics is the third most important economic branch" in that country and the Americans wrote a detailed analysis called "What Happened to the Great American Logistics Machine?" The construction of the largest logistics centre in Europe, spanning close to 550,000 square metres, is underway in France. The largest companies in the world have started to make significant investments in logistics activities and people, as well as reviewing the existing pre-corona supply chains. For instance, the world's biggest online retail chain, Amazon, is investing millions of dollars in the largest new logistics start-up called Beacon, while employing many more people in its logistics business to support its e-commerce activities (let me see who will dare to claim that retail can do without logistics). Zara will close small, unprofitable stores, open large new ones that are optimal from the aspect of profitability and will

32

Large and powerful countries were the first to realize the importance of logistics. In the first analyses, the Germans stated that "logistics is the third most important economic branch" in that country

be in better locations, and transform parts of large stores into cross-docking centres (small and very agile warehouses) in the service of growing online sales (there are no online sales without efficient logistics).

This would have been an idyllic logistic essay if, as rule of the thumb, the things were not completely the opposite in Serbia. Namely, logistics has lost a battle in terms of changing/improving curricula in higher education in Serbia. Paradoxically, that happened during the corona business period, at the most important faculty in our country. Although it was pointed out that it was difficult to find a university of an economic/ managerial profile from the so-called Shanghai List of the top 300 universities that does not have a logistics and/or supply chain-related major (at any level of study), that during the coronavirus pandemic the importance of logistics was growing everywhere, that all employers have a real need for the logistics know-how, and that students love studying it, everything was in vain.

Serbian arrogance, jealousy, envy and ignorance prevailed, which motivated everyone to reject the special module ‘Logistics Management’ at Master’s studies, while additionally, the subject of logistics was marginalized in undergraduate marketing and retail management studies, which is the biggest paradox of them all (the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, would probably roll his eyes if he heard this).

But nothing is over until it’s over! Experience shows that logisticians are a tough crowd. 

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

2020

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

WE ARE AT AN INTERESTING CROSSROADS IN HISTORY

In the future, medicine will no longer only be about curing the sick, but also about upgrading and rejuvenating the healthy, making the boundary between medicine and human enhancement more and more blurred

READ THIS ON WEB

I N T E RV I E W

or September’s special issue topic, we spoke with a medical doctor, researcher and author who specializes in health, aging and the future of medicine and biotechnology Dr. Kris Verburgh who will be one of the Keynote speakers on The 3rd Innovation week organized by AFA between September 21-25th in Belgrade.

He has already written several science books—one of which, written when he was only 16, made him the youngest science author in Europe. Dr. Verburgh created a new scientific field, nutrigerontology, that studies how nutrition can accelerate or slow aging and influence the risk of aging diseases, like heart disease or dementia.

F

How would you explain longevity technology? What it is all about?

— Longevity technologies act on the aging process in order to extend lifespan and healthspan. We are at an interesting crossroads in history. In the past 20 years we learned more about the aging process than in the 2000 years before. Additionally, in the past years we have seen the rise of new biotechnologies that will enable scientists to impact the functioning of our cells at a molecular level. Also, recent studies in animals show that it’s possible

34

SPECIAL EDITION

D r. K R I S V E R B U RG H , M D Researcher, Free University Brussels, Faculty Member Future of Medicine and Longevity, Singularity University Benelux, Venture Partner, Longevity Vision Fund

Biotechnology is an important pillar of the new industrial revolution that is currently unfolding, together with AI, robotics, the cloud, internet of things and other technologies

not only to slow down aging, but even partially reverse the aging process. In these experiments old animals were made younger again. This shows that aging is not set in stone, but that it’s amendable for reversal. Examples of longevity technologies to impact aging are epigenetic reprogramming, gene editing, clearing away of senescent cells, or getting rid of the proteins or crosslinks that accumulate in our body during aging.

What is nutrigerontology and how did your interest in longevity started?

— There is a lot of enthusiasm about new high-tech biotechnologies to address aging. However, the best technology we currently have to live longer is our nutrition. What, when and how much we eat impacts the rate of aging.

Already in the 1930’s scientists discovered that if animals are fed less food they live longer. Later on, it was found that the typical western diet accelerates aging and increases the risk of various aging-related diseases such as heart disease or Alzheimer’s disease.

Nutrigerontology is the scientific discipline that uses knowledge of the aging process to find out what is the best food pattern or diet on the long term.

That would entail a diet with less sug-

ars and starches, including bread, potatoes, pasta and rice, less red meat and more white meat and fish and vegetable protein sources, and more healthy fats such as in walnuts, avocado’s, fatty fish, olive oil and so on.

How can development of disruptive technologies have economic benefits and how can they make difference to wider society? How can development of disruptive technologies make impact on healthcare and life spans?

— Many people still think that aging and aging-related diseases such as heart disease or Alzheimer’s are two different things. However, in fact, the same processes that cause aging also cause heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, cancer and so on. Therefore, by targeting aging, you address the root cause of all these diseases. Moreover, by addressing aging itself, you will be able to address many diseases at the same time.

This insight is very important because we are facing a silver tsunami of elderly people that in the next decades could bankrupt the healthcare system of many countries, and that will substantially slow down economic growth.

It’s paramount we keep elderly people healthy, active and involved. Medtech,

agingtech and longevity biotech will play pivotal role in this.

Furthermore, biotechnology is an important pillar of the new industrial revolution that is currently unfolding, together with AI, robotics, the cloud, internet of things and other technologies. Any society will do good capitalizing on these developments. For example by funding research into these technologies and into aging itself. In fact, some people believe we are already engaged in some sort of cold war between the west and China: the countries that will develop the most advanced biotechnology and AI capabilities could get a big lead over other countries. But even viewed from a less dramatic geopolitical angle, it’s clear that addressing and slowing down aging itself is the best way to keep people healthy.

We spend billions of euro’s to “fix” heart disease, but even if nobody would get a heart attack anymore, people would hardly life longer given they will perish from another aging-disease, like Alzheimer’s or cancer. Therefore, it’s so important to target aging itself instead of individual diseases. Most countries, pharma companies, and governments are not realizing this. Aging research is still much underfunded, despite aging being the biggest driver of aging-related diseases, which account for around 86 percent of healthcare expenditures in most developed countries.

How can technology help people to live longer and be healthier? / What kind of technologies can address the aging process in near future?

— Some promising technologies in development are for example epigenetic reprogramming. The epigenome determines which genes are active or not; the older we get the more the epigenome becomes dysregulated. There are ways to reset this epigenome, with interesting results, like old organisms that become younger or damaged nerves that started to regrow. Clearing away senescent cells is another interesting avenue. The older we get, the more senescent cells arise in our body: these are cells that secrete substances that damage surrounding healthy cells. There are various different approaches in development to clear away these senescent cells. However, the best method we now have to live longer is our lifestyle: eating healthy, exercising, not smoking, sleeping well, stress reduction and so on.

Is reverse aging possible and how can

By addressing aging itself, you will be able to address many diseases at the same time

we practice reverse aging in our daily lives?

— Recent studies have shown that it is possible to partially reverse aging, for example through the methods I described earlier, like epigenetic reprogramming or by clearing away senescent cells. In these studies old organisms became younger, and the changes brought forward could even be seen by the naked eye: grey mice got a shiny black fur, became more active again.

Additionally their organs regenerated far better again, as in young mice. We also see that starting to eat healthy and adopt a healthy lifestyle in general can partially reverse some aspects of the aging process, however much less drastically than with new biotechnologies.

Whether longevity will be available only to the more privileged part of

society or there is a way to make it accessible to everyone?

— We have to be careful that the current biotech revolution will not create for the first time in human history a biological aristocracy consisting of individuals who have the means to rejuvenate and upgrade their bodies using the latest new biotechnologies. With the current technology it already would be possible for example to edit genes to improve muscle mass, increase cognition, enable stronger bones or make your immune to HIV or other diseases. We have to make sure that these technologies will benefit everyone. We nonetheless see that medicine in the future will no longer only be about curing the sick, but also about upgrading and rejuvenating the healthy, making the boundary between medicine and human enhancement more and more blurred.

INTEREST IN LONGEVITY My interest in longevity started since a young age: I wanted to know why aging exists and what happens in our body that causes us to age, and one day to perish. I also wanted to know why a mouse lives for only two years, while some whales can live for centuries, and some jellyfish and polyps seem to be immortal. Additionally, as a medical student I quickly realised that most diseases that afflict our society are caused by aging. So finding ways to slow down or mitigate aging is the best method to keep people healthy for the longest time possible.

SPECIAL EDITION

35

INNOVATIONS CLICK ON ICON 

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

CRISIS CAN DEFINITELY BE A GENERATOR OF OUTOF-BOX THINKING

READ THIS ON WEB

As a technology company, we’re at a unique position to partner with public sector, financial institutions, retail, telcos, SMEs etc. in joint efforts to create sustainable growth for local communities

C O R P O R AT E

J E L E NA R I ST I Ć

midst an incredibly challenging time for individuals, communities and businesses, we’re seeing sparks of change brought upon by the growth of digital-savvy consumers and businesses. Cashless has been on a steep rise during the pandemic. We are there for our stakeholders every step of the way and we’ll continue with education and collaboration to make sure each party gets the most out of the digital shopping experience”, said Mastercard`s Country Manager, Jelena Ristić, in an interview for special supplement of September`s issue of Diplomacy&Commerce magazine.

“A

There’s the impression that the pandemic has influenced us all to boost our knowledge when it comes to paying with cards and using new technologies. What are the trends when

36

SPECIAL EDITION

it comes to cashless payments in Serbia during this year, taking the corona crisis into consideration?

— This impression is certainly a correct one as cashless has been on a steep rise during the pandemic. With COVID-19 imposing constraints on our daily lives, consumers are moving away from cash and opting for contactless and digital payments – and they do not expect to go back. Two notable trends emerge – the first one shows that in store, there is a massive move away from cash with almost seven in 10 consumers globally saying their shift to digital payments will likely be permanent.

When it comes to contactless in Serbia, limit for paying without PIN was increased to 4,000 RSD as of April 15 as a way to give consumers more ease, speed and peace of mind in a fast changing world. At the same time, merchants are prompting their in-store custom-

Country Manager, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mastercard

Instead of merely supporting physical cards with digital experiences, we’ve been designing digital products from the ground up, with the physical card optional

ers to opt for cashless and even better – contactless in a risk-minimizing effort, all of which is complementary to the cashless recommendations of the World Health Organization. The second trend refers to a sharp increase in e-commerce, and locally, data of eCommerce association of Serbia indicate that food purchases online grew by 200% and food purchases by 100%. The on-going shift from physical to online commerce is also due to the fact that traditional merchants want to capitalize on the potential e-commerce offers in terms of broader scope and greater compatibility of user experience to the current pandemic landscape.

Even before the pandemic, mobile devices were our primary source of communication, information and, increasingly, commerce. That’s why, instead of merely supporting physical cards with digital experiences, we’ve been designing digital products from the ground up, with the physical card optional. On that note, we recently launched Apple Pay service for mobile contactless payments, currently available to Mastercard cardholders from ProCredit and OTP banks, which fits in well with the

people’s needs to be able to pay anytime and anywhere, and with the peace of mind that they and their payment data are safe.

Is the crisis now a generator of innovations?

— Crisis can definitely be a generator of out-of-box thinking. Amidst an incredibly challenging time for individuals, communities and businesses, we’re seeing sparks of change brought upon by the growth of digital-savvy consumers and businesses. As a technology company, we’re at a unique position to partner with public sector, financial institutions, retail, telcos, SMEs etc. in joint efforts to create sustainable growth for local communities. I’d like to share one truly inspiring project that comes from the UK – the Leave Nobody in the Dark campaign. Namely, Mastercard and several community organizations formed a coalition to offer immediate support to digitally and financially excluded people in the UK, with a focus on those in poverty hit hardest by the impact of COVID-19. The coalition addresses this challenge by offering practical help, as well as bringing general awareness over the issue. In concrete figures, an estimated 6 million people who have already fallen behind with their household bills due to Corona might benefit from online educations, engagement with free, trusted financial advisors, and practical money help. The coalition aims to support the nation to become financially prepared following the econom-

For years now, our technology, insights and global knowhow have been changing the local FinTech landscape for better – education and partnerships have been and remain our forte in the process

ic effects of COVID-19, as there’s never been a more crucial time to ensure people have access to digital services and resources they need.

What do you think awaits us in 2021, and can modern payment solutions contribute to the economic development, especially in our country?

— At this stage, no one has a definite answer to that question, but in FinTech, 2021 will demand higher flexibility and higher reliance on technologies. If the current trends in usage of electronic means of payment continue, we expect further acceleration of cash digitalization by converting everyday persistent low-ticket cash to card, bringing in new digital payment users and digitization of merchants. All stakeholders will be at win – consumers by enjoying safer, faster and more convenient payments with minimum exposure to the virus; financial institutions will benefit from a more streamlined process, merchants from higher business volumes, and last but not the least, the state from higher tax revenues resulting from recorded financial flows.

E-commerce is developing quickly in Serbia and is introducing new habits.

What can we expect from Mastercard in terms of education of all participants in the market, both cardholders and merchants?

— Given the circumstantial push toward ecommerce, there is a need to keep educating cardholders on safely navigating

online shopping – from paying safely to eliminating friction of re-entering data enabled by credential-on-file solution, from recognizing credible merchants to knowing their consumer rights. At the same time, merchants who do not currently offer online payments need to introduce them so as not to fall off the shoppers’ radar, but they also need to excel at their end-to-end customer service to stand out from the competition. These are challenges that cardholders and merchants can overcome only if they receive proper, timely and educated support.

For years now, our technology, insights and global know-how have been changing the local FinTech landscape for better – education and partnerships have been and remain our forte in the process. Mastercard is strongly aligned to partners throughout the commercial ecosystem – the latest examples of our cooperation include liaison with USAID on the development of the Guide for safe and secure online shopping, upcoming SurfShop intensive online program for 100 merchants we undertake with the Association of young businessmen of Serbia and Shopen start-up, collaboration with the eCommerce Association, e-commerce on-boarding support for existing and new online shops we offer in partnership with OTP bank, and many more. We are there for our stakeholders every step of the way and we’ll continue with education and collaboration to make sure each party gets the most out of the digital shopping experience.

SPECIAL EDITION

37

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

A MISSION-LED INNOVATION IS A DRIVING FORCE FOR BOTH ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

READ THIS ON WEB

Innovation is a “massive collective effort” (Mariana Mazzucato). It is also a “team sport” and it is needed to create national innovative ecosystems and encourage and acknowledge thousands of trial-and-error experiments, since innovation is not about one eureka moment

COM M E N T

he best way to explain what innovation does is to compare a life of an American men in 1900s who usually started to work on average at the age of 14, used to spend 25% of his life in backbreaking work and died at the age of 47. This man’s modern equivalent man spends half of his time in education or retirement, works just 10% of his “hours on earth” and dies at the age of 80. The mentioned change is almost entirely due to the “wonders of innovation”, as journalist Matt Ridley points out in his book “How innovation works“.

In our era of disruptive technology innovations, that improve the quality of our lives, one of the paramount challenges is to further extend healthy life span and slowing down aging.

“Can Google solve death? “was the astonishing Time’s cover page in 2013 when “Alphabet” company was

T

38

SPECIAL EDITION

launched, with the mission to help people live healthier and longer lives. The first baby who has been born last year could live to be 142 years old. Possibility that we live on a verge of “eternal life” discovery due to longevity technology are best expressed in former president of Google Ventures Bill Maris’s words “I just hope to live long enough not to die “.

Innovation is an extremely powerful force for positive change and the main driving force for the economy and society progress and people’s wellbeing, but also trigger for economic divide and inequality, which will be translated, for the first time in history, from economic to biological inequality, says Yuval Noah Harari, historian and futurologist.

One of the most difficult and demanding challenges of our times will be how to protect vital society interests without restrain and stifling in-

Ž A K L I NA N I KO L I Ć KUŠ I Ć Founder and Program Director of Innovation Week

Internet as revolutionary technology encourage a new wave of radical innovations in almost every field

novation, assessing their impact on the future more accurately. Covid 19 pandemic, a new urgent grand global challenge, accelerated global digital transformations of economy and society in all aspects, from education, healthcare, retail, transport, changing radically the way we work, connect, live. Internet has become “the cornerstone of the global economy “according to James Ball (“The System”) but also critical global infrastructure, used by half of world’s population through 25bn-30bn connected devices. Internet as revolutionary technology encourage a new wave of radical innovations in almost every field, but due to astonishing rapid growth left unchecked and unregulated, it is turning also into an instrument of control and monopoly of few big companies. Professor Shosana Zubbof in her book called “The age of Surveillance “ explains how human experience data has been misused as free raw material for translation into behavioural data and fabricated not just into prediction products -antici-

pate what you will do now, soon, and later traded in a new kind of marketplace for behavioural predictions, but also shape our behaviour at scale -behavioural modification.

Governments, regulators and civil organisations have an essential roll, responsibility and a legitimate right to follow more strictly how some innovations are used and their overall impact and implication on economy, environment, society and humanity.

Despite the fact that Europe has more software developers than the United States (5.7 million vs 4.4 million) 5 of the world’s leading research institutions, 26 of the world’s top 100 engineering and technology universities, posses 95 percent of the value of luxury brands globally, Europe has been lagging behind China and United States, especially in digital technologies and in areas such as genomics, quantum computing and AI, crucial for the next wave of automatization and productivity growth.

China, especially United States, with Silicon Valley the leading innovation and start-up ecosystem, created the new global technology giants in recent decades and group of superstar companies and unicorns, while Innovating at scale has been a challenge for European economies.

United States has a good and prov-

en model for public sector support of innovation at scale, especially through defence and public sector with systematical investment in technology innovation. One of the most often cited example of mission led innovation at scale is the US mission to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, that required more than 20,000 companies and other institutions to work toward a common objective, cross-sector investments, disruptive innovation in aerospace and numerous other sectors, that also generated many unexpected and important spin-offs, inventions to improve flight control, food safety, clothing and hearing aids. To maintain American leadership in space, today thirteen US companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX venture, have been partnering with NASA with strategic mission to put a human on Mars by 2040.

According to Professor Mazzucato “A mission, has the power to unite different stakeholders to work together with a joint purpose and inspire broad collaboration between business leaders and public sectors. But Professor Mazzucato also adds that ” Societal challenges are complex. More complex than going to the moon, which was mainly a technical feat. To solve those challenges, requires attention to the ways in which socio-economic is-

One of the most difficult and demanding challenges of our times will be how to protect vital society interests without restrain and stifling innovation, assessing their impact on the future more accurately

sues interact with politics and technology, to the need for smart regulation and to the critical feedback processes that take place across the entire innovation chain. It also requires stronger civic engagement.“ Today’s most urgent global challenges, such as COVID 19, cancer, climate change, healthy oceans, climate-neutral cities, and healthy soil, requires collaborative leadership, public-private partnership and clear, ambitious mission.

A recent McKinsey opinion survey in 5 key European countries, showed that European citizens expect business taking the lead on innovation around critical societal challenges such as environmental sustainability, fairness of pay and wealth, training and qualification for future jobs, digital competitiveness, and speed of innovation. Unfortunately, majority of citizens had little or no trust that business will act in the interest of society, so business leaders have opportunities to deliver on this expectation and rebuild public trust.

Purpose-led organisation that clearly demonstrate mission, tangible societal benefits, will inspire citizens and generate public support, fostering collaboration within and across industries and with public sector, stimulating innovation at scale for broad benefits to the economy and society.

SPECIAL EDITION

39

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

INNOVATION IN THE SERVICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES

CLICK ON ICON 

The speed of digitization is enormous, and no formal education system in the world can adapt to that

he crisis caused by the global pandemic is unusual in that, unlike the previous crisis, which was a financial one, it has exposed the relationship between the employee and the employer much more, in several different aspects - from how employers or managers treat the company and the employees in terms of employee health to the health of the company and the business”, said Aleksandar Hangimana, Managing Director- Balkans at ManpowerGroup, in an interview for special supplement of September`s issue of Diplomacy&Commerce magazine.

”T

One of the key issues related to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic is preventing layoffs. How did companies react in terms of human resources, and do you have predictions of what will happen by the year-end?

— I am encouraged by the latest trend of economic growth similar to that before March this year. Certainly, the last quarter will be an indicator of the impact that the crisis has had on the labour market. The moratorium will be abolished, as will the obligation to not lay off workers in companies that have taken state aid. The last quarter of this year will show whether we can quickly return to the pre-COVID-19 growth phase next year. Certainly, the growth of the German economy should not be forgotten, because the demand and supply in our region indirectly and mostly depend on Germany.

Negative forecasts regarding the fall of GDP and the economy always go hand-in-hand with massive layoffs.

40

SPECIAL EDITION

Will the labour market and job supply change, and can we expect a bigger offer of part-time jobs in Serbia, as in Germany, for example, with people working between 25 or 30 hours a week?

— The state of the pandemic has certainly brought new insights into how work is organized in companies, first of all from the expected growing trend of switching to more flexible work models and out-of-office work to the fact that work can be segmented into reduced working hours, shift or part-time work depending on industry and type of work.

The introduction of more flexible forms of work organization such as part-time would certainly bring an improvement in terms of better employment. As an example, I would like to mention the Netherlands, which, a few years ago, formalized flexible forms of part-time employment, which led to a better balance in the labour market, hiring hard-to-employ groups of people and achieving a good work-life balance, especially for single parents and other population segments who are working part-time due to personal obligations.

New occupations are emerging as a result of the development of new technologies and the growth of trade, especially this year. Are education and retraining of the workforce keeping up with the pace of innovation?

— We are talking about two parallel processes here - on the one hand, the rise of new technologies, such as e-commerce, reduces the need for classic sales channels and physical points of retail, and thus the number of employees. On the other hand, technology is further

READ THIS ON WEB

C O R P O R AT E

A L E K SA N DA R H A N G I M A NA Managing Director - Balkans at ManpowerGroup

EduTech is predicted to be one of the most important industries in the very near future

digitized in combination with robotics, big data analytics and AI, which reduces the need for the human factor in traditional occupations. This creates the need for new specialized and profiled occupations and functions that can be complementary to the processes of automation, AI, big data, but also for certain types of craft workers who are becoming increasingly in demand. We should not forget that the demand for jobs such as artisan, service, technical maintenance, and installation staff, etc., is increasing globally. People must make good and smart career and professional changes. Of course, this requires an adequate social framework for such transitional changes.

What do you think about the impact of changes on the way education works and is it possible for the current education system to be sustainable?

— The speed of digitization is enormous, and no formal education system in the world can adapt to that. Although there is still room for non-formal education, there has to be a more practical, easier and faster way to adapt to global change. A person can work on their core skills and know-how through various forms of education, as well as on their soft skills with the help of non-formal education. EduTech is predicted to be one of the most important industries in the very near future.

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE; IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY...

READ THIS ON WEB

CLICK ON ICON 

World Class Teachers, World Class Students, World Class Community C O R P O R AT E

t the International School of Belgrade, we are not just integrating technology, we are innovating with technology. Technology integration plays a vital role in creating engaging learning environments and preparing students for their future academic pursuits. But as global issues become more complex, and learners face increasing demands, what we as educators now know is this: technology integration simply isn’t good enough anymore.

For years, schools have struggled to integrate technology into education.

But, as global connectivity and competition becomes increasingly more important, simply ‘integrating’ technology is no longer good enough. Too many schools are trying to catch up with a technology integration program that was already out of date years ago.

Our children deserve and need better than this. Students of today need to be globally connected, they need to learn entrepreneurial skills and they need to know how to use technology as a tool to drive their own learning in a fast-changing, complex and ambiguous world.

At the International School of Belgrade, our new ‘virtual students’ help to ensure that every student can participate in authentic, meaningful experiences no matter where they are. Learning spaces are equipped with large screens, camer-

A

as and microphones to facilitate interaction between all participants in the learning environment. Including every student in a way that meets both their learning and well-being needs is a huge step forward for our school community.

Google Suite and an endless choice of Chrome Extensions have given students an increased sense of autonomy.

Students can choose from a variety of media to evaluate and demonstrate their own learning, including screencasts, website development, vlogs and interactive presentations. Our technology allows us to prioritize creativity over compliance, and to make learning relevant and personal for each and every student.

Remote learning has taught us many things, including the importance of maintaining social relationships. Increased WIFI connectivity in outdoor learning spaces and tools such as Nearpod, Google Meet and FlipGrid allow students to collaborate both near and far. We may need to maintain physical distance, but innovative use of technology helps to bring learners, and their ideas, together.

What school looks and feels like has been completely reimagined. It’s an exciting time to be a part of a school community that embraces these challenges, and utilizes technology in ways that inspire personal and meaningful learning.

The International School of Bel-

C H E RY L H I C K M A N Science Teacher at the International School of Belgrade

To find out more about what makes our school so special, please contact our admissions team at admissions@isb.rs and take a look at our website www.isb.rs

grade has been the leading light in international education in Belgrade for over 70 years. ISB is a remarkable school by any measure, preparing our students to be successful wherever they go in the world. We are ambitious and strive for them to make exceptional progress at all ages. Our IB results are consistently among the best in the world and our graduates go on to study at some of the world’s finest universities. But this is only part of the story; at the same time, we prepare our students with the contemporary skills, attributes and concepts that prepare them for their fast-changing, globally connected, technology-rich future.

We are a fully authorized IB World School and our Diploma, Middle Years and Primary Years programmes are designed to offer the right balance of challenge and support through a truly global perspective. With a diverse student body including 45 nationalities, students at ISB learn to interact with people who are different from themselves resulting in intercultural understanding and respect. Our teachers are dedicated professionals, a majority holding multiple or masters degrees in their areas of specialization. They purposefully create inspiring, student-centered and personalized learning environments designed to address each student’s unique approach to their learning.

SPECIAL EDITION

41

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS ORACLE CLOUD The nature of the change is more gradual and evolving then disruptive, but nevertheless significant and with increasing momentum READ THIS ON WEB

C O R P O R AT E

n important element of Oracle's cloud expansion is also the roadmap to building a network of cloud data center regions equipped with the latest version of the Oracle’s cloud platform. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure was launched in late 2016 with a single region and a few core services across compute, storage, database and networking. Since then, Oracle Cloud has expanded to over a hundred services available in 29 cloud regions worldwide with a plan to reach 40 regions by the end of 2020.

A

In an interview you gave us last year, you talked about how Oracle invests a lot in the development of new cloud services. How far have you come with the projects one year later, and what would you like to point out in particular?

— Oracle is working on innovative technologies all the time and especially recently we had the opportunity to present a series of truly groundbreaking solutions. One of them in autonomous technology which is one of the most important announcements in IT and Oracle history. What makes Oracle Autonomous Database so innovative are its core features we talked already a year

42

SPECIAL EDITION

ago. Since then, two key versions of the solution have appeared. The first is the autonomous data warehouse, which allows our customers to deploy net new or move existing data marts, data lakes, and data warehouses to the cloud. The second is autonomous transaction processing which is designed for high-performance, mission-critical databases and mixed workloads.

The second area that needs to be mentioned is a set of cloud-based business applications. Our flagship products of Oracle ERP / EPM / SCM Cloud, Oracle HCM Cloud and Oracle CX Cloud have been distinguished in several subsequent Gartner reports, covering both ERP, EPM, SCM, HCM and CX systems.

We are very proud of our apps cloud suite which, thanks to its unique functionality and ease of use, is taking the market by storm. The system supports all ERP areas: from finance, through supply chain management, planning, production, to business analytics, with the use of modern and user-friendly technologies - all equipped with advanced mechanisms of AI and builtin multi-dimensional analytical tools.

Has the COVID-19 crisis caused a faster development of new technologies

VLADIMIR KNEŽEVIĆ Country Managing Director at Oracle Serbia & Montenegro

Oracle has embedded innovative technologies into its business applications and extended these new capabilities into the platform so customers can build upon them

in some fields, and what is Oracle’s response to the crisis, globally and locally?

— Recent months have demonstrated the need for organizations to accelerate their digital transformation, gain the flexibility and agility to adapt to changing market conditions. This can be done by using cloud-based solutions and Oracle’s focus is to be very close to its customers to help them accelerate their digital transformation journeys with our innovative technologies. Our autonomous database and cloud applications are designed specifically for our customers’ success in responding to growing demands, efficiently redesigning operations or developing new business models. With more than a thousand business applications in the cloud, we are proud to operate the most complete and innovative set of application cloud services in the world. This puts us in a unique position to deliver the business innovation and resilience our customers need today.

Regarding the COVID-19 crisis, Oracle's top management has issued a special statement to its customers: wherever we can, we are trying in the best and most effective way to help businesses and institutions in a crisis. At the same

SaaS applications wherever they need them – in the cloud, on premises or via this dedicated region.

time, we do not want to use the pandemic for business or marketing gain.

On the other hand, we have developed a wide information campaign in the media, trying to influence the market as a trusted advisor in this indirect way.

Oracle is strongly present in the public and private sector in our country.

What are the innovations that companies and state administration can expect, and which product would you like to single out?

— Providing organizations with the transformational tools they need to embrace innovation, Oracle lately announced continued advancements in emerging technologies across Oracle Cloud, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, and human interfaces.

Oracle’s strategy is to make emerging technologies pervasive throughout its cloud offerings. To help customers more easily take advantage of these technologies as part of their digital transformation, Oracle has embedded innovative technologies into its business applications and extended these new capabilities into the platform so customers

can build upon them.

Also disrupting technologies serve as a foundation of a sophisticated COVID-19 Therapeutic Learning System that allows physicians and patients to record the effectiveness of promising COVID-19 drug therapies. The System is the result of the collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

About two months ago, Oracle announced a very exciting new initiative: Dedicated Region Cloud at Customer which offers customers a slice of its public cloud infrastructure into customer data centers with no changes and the same level of cybersecurity protection.

Industry-first fully-managed cloud region brings all of Oracle’s second-generation cloud services including the secure autonomous database. With the dedicated Cloud Region Cloud at Customer, Oracle is making all of its cloud services available on-premises so enterprises can use Oracle’s cloud services, Oracle Autonomous Database and

How would you rate the Serbian market in regard to the Public Cloud solutions and in general when it comes to innovations? Are innovations the driving force of the economy?

— Adoption of public cloud in Serbia is increasing for enterprise companies, midmarket and small businesses. There is a need to reduce the cost and shorten the time-to-market to remain competitive. Still, enterprise and public sector organizations often encounter roadblocks for public cloud adoption like data sovereignty, security and connectivity. Oracle recognized that and we offer Oracle Cloud@Customer that brings Oracle’s complete portfolio of public cloud infrastructure, fully managed cloud services, and Oracle Fusion SaaS applications into a customer data center. What we see, is higher adoption of Public Cloud Solutions in Financial Institutions, Public Administration and Manufacturing Industry. This trend will continue especially during the COVID-19 because companies are trying to mitigate the disruptive economic situation. Areas where we see a bigger expansion of AI and Machine Learning solutions are in the field of Chat Bots, Digital Assistants, Policies Automation etc.

Providing organizations with the transformational tools they need to embrace innovation, Oracle lately announced continued advancements in emerging technologies across Oracle Cloud

Is Serbia ready for technological development (when we say Serbia, we mean companies and the public sector)?

— Yes, I think it is ready. We have strong vendor and IT ecosystem that can support this growth. There are many University Programs, and we have an increasing number of young people interested in Computer Science and IT. On the other side, we see enormous growth and modernization of public cloud services for citizens through the Office for IT (Kancelarija za IT). This gives a great platform for additional technical development in the Republic of Serbia.

On the other side, many international companies have representative offices and outsourced centers in our country, and technology-wise, we can compare with many countries in Western Europe. We see a large number of e-Services in both public and commercial sector and adoption of new technologies. The nature of the change is more gradual and evolving then disruptive, but nevertheless significant and with increasing momentum.

SPECIAL EDITION

43

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

COVID-19 CRISIS ADDITIONALLY DEEPENED THE CRISIS OF TALENTS No one can predict how long these austerity measures will be in force, and it is estimated that the advertising industry will return to normal only in the second quarter of 2022. As numerous researches predict, next year will be a year of saving and survival

READ THIS ON WEB

n the occasion of the COVID-19 crisis, the Marketing Network (Marketing mreža) conducted a survey on the topic of internal communications and employee care, on a sample of 150 companies operating in Serbia.

The research was conducted in two waves - in April during the state of emergency and in early August this year, which showed that 73% of respondents believe that internal communications are very important for the company's business during the pandemic.

As many as 51% of respondents said that they had a clearly developed internal communications strategy during the state of emergency, while only 17% stated that they would work intensively on drafting an HR strategy in the coming months with a focus on redesigning the organizational structure and introducing new ways of working.

It is interesting to note that 56% of company representatives pointed out that during the state of emergency and work from home they communicated very intensively with their employees, while 6% were in contact with them only once during the pandemic. Respondents point out e-mail (41%), video calls (40%) and intranet (11%) as the most efficient communication channels.

Returning to offices, after several

O

44

SPECIAL EDITION

months of work from home, was difficult for half of the respondents, while 27% still have the opportunity to decide whether to work from home or from work.

When it comes to changes in the number of employees, in April, 36% of surveyed companies have already reduced the number of employees, and that number increased further to 47% in August. Only 11% of the surveyed companies stated that, by August this year, they had increased their team and hired new colleagues. In addition, 59% of respondents stopped their employer branding campaigns by the end of the year.

That the post-covid period brings concern is also shown by the fact that as many as 37% of respondents expressed fear that by the end of the year they will be forced to lay off a significant percentage of employees and that the departure of talented people will greatly jeopardize their business.

When it comes to employee motivation by the end of 2020, 56% of respondents said they would offer their colleagues the opportunity for additional education, acquisition of new knowledge and skills, but also retraining, while 27% would offer a flexible job place and time. Only 7% will provide employees with bonuses, promotions and salary increases.

COM M E N T

I VA NA PA RČ E T I Ć MITIĆ Founder and CEO, Marketing Network

When it comes to agencies that operate in the market of marketing communications, the situation is more than alarming, and the most endangered are agencies for organizing events, fairs and BTL activities

ALARMING SITUATION IN ADVERTISING AGENCIES AS WELL When it comes to agencies that operate in the market of marketing communications, the situation is more than alarming, and the most endangered are agencies for organizing events, fairs and BTL activities. The Agency Report study, conducted by the Marketing Network for the third year in a row, showed that 34% of agencies operating in Serbia will focus on providing liquidity and maintaining the number of employees by the end of 2020. When it comes to the biggest problems of agencies at the moment, 47% said that it is the payment of salaries to employees, taxes and contributions, and 24% that it is the payment of VAT.

By August this year, as many as 37% of agencies had been forced to lay off one percent of their employees, and 61% of agencies said they had already reduced the salaries of their colleagues.

It is estimated that these percentages will increase significantly unless the market stabilizes and the COVID-19 crisis occurs.

Also, no one can predict how long these austerity measures will be in force, and it is estimated that the advertising industry will return to normal only in the second quarter of 2022. As numerous researches predict, next year will be a year of saving and survival.

UNIQUE IN BEING DIFFERENT The sixth national festival of integrated communications KAKTUS 2020, organized by the Marketing Network, will be held on November 3 and 4 in Belgrade, under the slogan "Unique in being different".

This year, the emphasis of the festival is on people who work in the advertising industry, regardless of whether they are on the side of an agency or a company, and who build their profession every day and leave a mark in society with their works. The new visual identity in the collage technique is a real refreshment in the communication of the CACTUS festival, which is already traditionally signed by the Ovation BBDO agency.

"Advertising is the PEOPLE who work in this profession. This year, the CACTUS 2020 festival is just celebrating people, individuals and teams, their diversity, talents, interests, expertise, creativity and ability. We celebrate people who write the history of the advertising industry in Serbia every day and leave an indelible mark on society. This year is especially difficult for our industry and the people who work in it, so we believe that it is important to support them in this way and highlight their potential, "said Ivana Parcetic Mitic, founder and CEO, Marketing Network.

As in previous years, CACTUS 2020 will offer participants a quality and diverse program from various areas of integrated communications, and the world's largest creatives and the most influential individuals in the communications industry have already confirmed their participation. This year, the traditional CACTUS awards will be given to companies and agencies for the best and most professional individual and integrated campaigns in the past year, and the competition is open until September 20. In addition, we will award young talents, within the humanitarian competition CACTUS Talents (powered by Delta Holding).

The CACTUS 2020 festival was supported by over 45 media houses from the entire region, as well as the companies Mercator S, Apatinska pivara, Pepsico - Marbo Product and Jaffa Crvenka. The gold sponsor of the festival is Delta Holding, the silver sponsor is Forma Ideale, while this year the bronze sponsor is Mastercard. The partners of the festival are the agencies - Direct Media United Solutions, Ovation BBDO, Headline, Degordian, Info Media Group, Alma Quattro and DPC Group. The festival was also supported by Nova Communications, Digital Element, Chameleon Ruma, Propix and the Serbian Association of Managers.

INNOVATIONS

DRIVING FORCES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

SAFE WITH AMS OSIGURANJE: BUY CASCO INSURANCE POLICY TODAY Thanks to AMS Osiguranje, you will not have to bear the costs of damage to your car alone. Insure your vehicle against many unforeseen situations while saving money

et the professional and experienced AMS Osiguranje team take care of your vehicle. Come to 16, Ruzveltova Street in Belgrade and purchase a casco insurance policy at very affordable prices. Whether your vehicle is damaged as a result of your or someone else’s

L

46

SPECIAL EDITION

doing, AMS Osiguranje will assume the risks regarding your vehicle in the event of a traffic accident, theft, flood, fire, parts of buildings or tree fall, and other risks, under the terms of your insurance policy.

AMS Osiguranje puts its clients first, so with you in mind, we created the best

C O R P O R AT E

With every purchased AMS Osiguranje's casco insurance policy, you will also receive a free AMSS Super membership and payment card

price offer and conditions in the market.

You can now pay your insurance premium in 12 monthly instalments, while, if you pay the premium all at once, you are eligible for an additional discount.

We would like to remind all drivers that, with every purchased AMS Osiguranje's casco insurance policy, you will also receive a free AMSS Super membership and payment card, which will ensure free services and savings on the roads of Serbia and Europe for one year. The holder of the AMSS Super membership and payment card is entitled to free towing in case of breakdown or traffic accident, on-road vehicle repair or transportation to the nearest mechanic, as well as hotel accommodation in the event of an accident.

Pick the safest type of protection for your vehicle today. Come to one of over 250 of our branches across Serbia where our friendly and knowledgeable staff will help you to purchase an insurance policy that best fits your needs and financial capabilities.

For more information, call 0800-009009 or visit our website www.ams.co.rs.

by Žikica Milošević ANALYTICS

The Greatest U-turn of All Times?

Some hints of new investments in the Balkans speak in favour of this claim. Any money is good money and the one who gives more will win erbia is conceding to Israel and recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Israel concedes to Serbia and recognizes Kosovo as an independent state. You are still confused? That is exactly what caught the eye of most observers of the signing of the agreement on the establishment of economic cooperation between Serbia and its rebellious province, which has declared its independence.

tween Serbia and Kosovo) was yet to be negotiated. Marko Đurić announced that Serbia will put pressure regarding the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO, in Serbian) in Kosovo and the EU will probably want to know how much of the "West’s penetration" into Serbia will be attributed to them. The region is poor and perhaps Brussels has finally remembered that people's affection will always go to those who invest and prevent brain drain. Some hints of new investments in the Balkans speak in favour of this claim. Any money is good money and the one who gives more will win.

S

ECONOMIC SEGMENT The agreement has two separate parts: economic, which does concern Serbia and Kosovo, and a kind of 'mishmash' that was added at the end of it, which is completely unrelated to the relations between these two territories. The economic part of the agreement is actually quite good. Motorways, railroads, airline, nostrification of diplomas, Mini-Schengen and the like, are all generally good things, even if all of them do represent a boost for the stagnant American economy, and even if American companies will be doing work on motorways and railways. Connecting territories in the area that was once a joint warring country is always good. Kosovo will have to become a member of the so-called Mini-Schengen, there will be no fees, goods will be cheaper, and the living standard will be higher. Gazivode Lake remains a neutral topic, and a protectorate of sorts, but at least the quarrels have stopped. This could be a negotiation modality for other contentious issues.

NON-ECONOMIC SEGMENT The thing that is not good for Serbia is that Donald Trump inserted several completely unrelated things that have absolutely nothing to do with the relations between Serbia and Kosovo – one is anti-Chinese (where Serbia is banned from procuring 5G equipment from "unreliable suppliers"), one is anti-Iranian (condemnation of Hezbollah), one is anti-Russian (diversification of gas supply routes), one is pro-LGBT, and one pro-Israeli (relocation of embassies in Jerusalem and recognition of Kosovo and Israel). Trump is the absolute winner of this agreement because, through

it, he appeased radical Christians, the pro-Israeli lobby, and the LGBT community, and at the same time, he hit their "arch-enemies"; that is China and Huawei, Russia and the gas pipelines, Iran and Hezbollah, and the EU (which objects to relocation of the Serbian embassy to Jerusalem). These were all allies Vučić swore to until yesterday. And such a situation is never good.

WASHINGTON REPERCUSSIONS With one move, Serbia has managed to spoil relations with China and Russia (as seen in Maria Zakharov's Facebook post for which she was not penalized or, in other words,

presidential elections. Considering that Huawei's centre for the development of 5G technologies for this part of Europe and the world is located Belgrade, that the Chinese are the main investors in our country, that the EU membership is Serbia's strategic priority and that Russia is the most stable partner to Serbia, it seems that now "all eggs are finally in one basket". And 'the basket' is not even America's, but rather Trump's. If Vučić could be credited with anything in the last 8 years, it is exercising a balanced foreign policy. He is now viewed as a dictator in a minor Central American country who depends on the White House. He is in a similar situation

QUO VADIS? Every statesman has their "turning point". Milošević’s was when he signed the Kumanovo agreement, Djukanović’s when he attacked the Church, Lukashenko’s when he attacked Putin before the elections, and Yeltsin’s when he allowed the bombing of Yugoslavia. This may be Vučić’s ‘breaking point’. The time to settle accounts has come for the perfect balancer between the international stakeholders. He was left alone, resembling a student sitting in front of a teacher (Trump), his only remaining friend now. Sitting on a chair in front of Trump was perceived as a national humil-

FOR NOW, IT SEEMS THAT SERBIA IS GOING AS DECISIVELY TOWARD THE WEST AS IT DID IN 1948. IT AIN'T OVER 'TILL IT'S OVER, AND WE CAN SAY NOW FOR CERTAINTY THAT THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING she said what was on everybody's lips) and to irritate many Islamic countries. Now, the country is left with only one ally: Trump. The US president, who might not be a president for long, treated both sides as irrelevant countries (like, for instance, Guatemala), and clearly demonstrated that this agreement is only one in a series of agreements that he wants to make in order to strengthen Israel's position in the Muslim world (recognition of the UAE, the expected recognition of Bahrain, then Oman, Chad and finally, Saudi Arabia), and to top it all off, to brag about being a peacemaker and problem solver on the foreign front, two months before the

like Bashar al-Assad, the leader of a country ravaged by the civil war, who depends on allies to help him, and then there are, of course, concessions, such as the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "Instead of looking at Russia and China, Serbia and Kosovo will turn to America and the Western businesses in Europe," said Richard Grenell.

BRUSSELS’ AFTER-PARTY Vučić has triumphantly stated that he has managed to evade the recognition of Kosovo’s independence. However, Grenell said that the official Brussels had asked him to delete Point 10 from the agreement because that part of the relations (be-

iation and a wake-up call for other interested actors. In one year, when pressure increases, maybe from Biden’s administration, Vučić will not have time to ask for help. Until then, we can expect counter-actions from other big players on the world stage. For now, it seems that Serbia is going as decisively toward the West as it did in 1948. But it also seemed that Yanukovych was decisively leading Ukraine towards the East in 2013. Bold statements towards Russia cost Lukashenko Russia's support immediately after the elections. Action causes a reaction. It ain't over 'till it's over, and we can say now for certainty that this is only the beginning.

49

Synonymous With Quality and Reliability International companies operating in the animal husbandry sector see us as a reliable partner with powerful know-how. The advantage of having EU-GMP manufacturing license, as well as several national GMP licenses from other countries, brings added value both inside and outside the EU CORPORATE

has its own brand distributors in many countries in Europe, the AEMEA region, Asia and Latin America, and the company continues to invest into new markets.

Labiana is becoming increasingly synonymous with quality and reliability. International companies operating in the animal husbandry sector see us as a reliable partner with powerful know-how and the advantage of having EUGMP manufacturing license, as well as several national GMP licenses from other countries, brings added value both inside and outside the EU.

MANUEL RAMOS ORTEGA CEO of Labiana

What is your value proposition?

— Our value proposition is based on innovation, quality and efficiency of animal health products. We are a 360º partner that offers third-party manufacturing services for both pharmacological and biological products, distribution of our own range of nutritional, pharmacological and biological products for livestock and or September issue of Diplomacy&Commerce magazine, we spoke with Manuel Ramos Ortega, CEO of Labiana about the acquisition of Veterinarski zavod Subotica and entering to the markets of Eastern Europe.

“The acquisition of Veterinarski zavod Subotica was not only a good opportunity to expand to the Eastern European markets, but also to expand to other countries around the world with a wider range of products and larger production capacities”, pointed out Mr. Ortega.

F

Where is Labiana in terms of business opportunities in animal health market niches on a global scale?

— Labiana was founded more than 60 years ago as a compa-

50

leader in the animal health sector. The greatest novelty is that we have included not only new pharmaceutical formulas, but, above all, new biological products in our portfolio. Nowadays, vaccines are essential and they have become a major asset in our plans for further growth.

Vaccines are one of the health measures that have been, and continue to be, the most beneficial for both humans and animals.

Given that the Subotica laboratory has the most extensive and comprehensive systems intended for the Serbian market and exports to countries of the European Union and Russia, how can the merger with Labiana contribute to achieving better results, both nationally and internationally?

— With more than 60 years of experience in the European Union and other parts of the world, Labiana can make a significant contribution. Working sideby-side with the professionals at the Veterinarski zavod

THE ACQUISITION OF VETERINARSKI ZAVOD SUBOTICA HAS ENABLED US TO ADD VALUE TO OUR COMMERCIAL OFFER AND MADE US A WORLD LEADER IN THE ANIMAL HEALTH SECTOR ny dedicated to animal health and, over the years, it has expanded its activities and reinforced its position. A few years ago, Labiana was best known for contract manufacturing, being a manufacturer for some of the most important multinational companies in the sector.

These companies considered, and still consider Labiana to be a quality supplier. Over the past decade, thanks to the vision of its management team, Labiana has consolidated its own product portfolio and taken a leap into export markets worldwide. Nowadays, Labiana

companion animals, development of formulations (galenic development, galenic stability and laboratory series), analytical development (methods, validations and stability studies) and support in the regulatory sector, including dossier changes, DMF transfers, and molecule in & out licenses.

How does the acquisition of Subotica fit into Labiana portfolio?

— The acquisition of Veterinarski zavod Subotica has enabled us to add value to our commercial offer and made us a world

Subotica, we will improve organisational efficiency, introduce and share our process systems, as well as quality control and development systems. All this to achieve a common goal – to become a global leader in the animal health sector market niches.

Why did Labiana decide to enter the markets of Eastern Europe?

— The acquisition of Veterinarski zavod Subotica was not only a good opportunity to expand to the Eastern European markets, but also to expand

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

to other countries around the world with a wider range of products and larger production capacities. Some Eastern European countries were not available to Labiana prior to this acquisition.

The fact that we have a company in Serbia, primarily in Subotica, a city located in the heart of Eastern Europe, enables us to be close to all markets that share the Slavic culture. In addition, this is a great opportunity for Labiana to meet the experts who already work at the Veterinarski zavod Subotica in order to join forces and create new business opportunities.

In what ways do the acquisitions of European companies, such as the Turkish acquisition, complement your portfolio?

— The Turkish acquisition is also part of Labiana’s growth and its competitiveness plans.

Just as Serbia guarantees us an unbeatable market position in Eastern Europe, the acquisition of Zoleant Pharmaceuticals International based in Turkey enables us to have another company that will help us reach all Middle Eastern countries, which currently constitute a large market share in our exports.

In addition, other attractive elements were the portfolio of Zoleant Pharmaceuticals International, which includes a wide range of products for both livestock and small animals, as well as a strong network of contacts and distributors in the AEMEA region.

Thanks to both acquisitions, we currently have a portfolio of almost 200 products between the three companies.

What are the potential innovations in your company and how can they contribute to the field of animal husbandry and health?

— Labiana is one of the few laboratories in Spain and Europe that manufactures drugs for both human and animal health. We are very proud to have a team of experts and professionals from both scientific fields (pharmacists, veterinarians, biologists, biotechnologists, chemical engineers, etc.) engaged in R&D projects in search of new drugs, who can offer all kinds of regula-

tory solutions and are able to verify the feasibility of development and production of a particular product.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, has there been greater interest in vaccines from the perspective of health and market opportunities?

— Yes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination has been

eses, COVID-19 is also a zoonosis, control of zoonotic pathogens of an animal origin is in many cases the most efficient and cost-effective way to protect humans.

Another very important factor in the domain of public health is the strict monitoring of vaccination programs in the veterinary field. Nowadays, vaccines are essential

through personal and professional development, and we are very satisfied when employees identify with the corporate values and principles of our company, and are proud to be a part of it. At the level of policies that we are developing, they are mainly focused on both concrete permanent training for specific positions and more gen-

OUR VALUE PROPOSITION IS BASED ON INNOVATION, QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY OF ANIMAL HEALTH PRODUCTS

gaining momentum worldwide. The pandemic has triggered a global health crisis, which has clearly shown the need and importance of having mechanisms to deal with these types of pandemics, which are becoming more frequent.

Taking into account that there are currently numerous zoonoses (diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans) and that, according to the most prominent hypoth-

and they have become a major asset in our plans for future growth through the prevention of these diseases.

What is the role of human capital and what policies are being developed to empower your employees and improve their performance?

— Human capital is our key to success. Our strategy is based on attracting talented people and getting them to stay

eral training in terms of quality, occupational health and safety, standards, data protection, equality, etc.

Our programs are flexible, allowing staff to reconcile their personal and professional lives. Furthermore, we offer a voluntary health insurance program to our employees, as well as an incentive program, and we favour flexible working conditions, which is reflected in high staff loyalty.

51

BAGEHOT

Whatever the Question, the Answer is Germany Even the British right has got the Teutonic bug hy the Germans do it better”—the title of a new book

by John Kampfner, a respected journalist—speaks volumes about the current state of the British psyche. The government is replacing Public Health England, the body that was supposed to stop Britons from dying of covid-19, with a new outfit modelled on the Robert Koch Institute, the body at the centre of Germany’s public-health system. James Kirkup, head of the centrist Social Market Foundation, says his aim is to “make Britain more like Germany”. Other thinkers are less explicit, but pore over the details of Germany’s technical-education system or social-insurance market.

That Britain should turn to Germany for ideas is not surprising given the long, binding ties between the two states. Britain imported its royal family from Hanover in 1714 and German-born Prince Albert did as much as his wife to shape Victorian England. The idea of the welfare state came from Bismarck. The post-war German constitution was mostly the work of the British and Americans.

Before the first world war advocates of national efficiency insisted that Britain needed to invest more in science and education to escape being crushed by the German chariot. From the 1960s, left-wingers urged that Britain should learn from Germany’s model of stakeholder capitalism.

Nevertheless, today’s surge of enthusiasm for the Teutonic model is striking. It comes after a long period of Anglo-Saxon triumphalism in which the British got into the habit of dismissing the Germans as dinosaurs. “As economic growth stalls yet again,” The Economist observed in June 1999, “Germany is being branded the sick man (or even the Japan) of Europe.” The spread of Germanophilia to the right is new. It springs from Boris Johnson’s determination to spread prosperity throughout Britain’s regions and improve technical education—issues on which Thatcher-

"W

52

READ THIS ON WEB

PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES HAVE MORE TO LEARN FROM THOSE WHOSE STRENGTHS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEIRS ism has little to offer but Germany has much to contribute.

This ideological change has coincided with a generational shift.

Margaret Thatcher’s Tories saw Germany as a problem to be solved and the EU as a German racket. Today’s Tory elite is more likely to regard it as an example of high civilisation and social order. Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, likes to visit Bayreuth to listen to Wagner. Dominic Cummings is an enthusiastic student of Bismarck. Even today’s top civil servants are infected.

Enthusiasm for Germany is also driven by profound cultural anxiety.

Britain gambled its future as a United Kingdom and a member of the EU on the results of two referendums— and, with support for Scottish independence above 50%, the kingdom

may yet break up. The political system has been shaken by the rise of the Brexiteer right and the Corbynite left as well as the downfall of David Cameron and Theresa May in rapid succession. Mr Johnson’s government seems determined to set records in incompetence. The covid-19 epidemic has heightened enthusiasm for a country that has managed it far better than Britain.

Germany has lost fewer than 10,000 people to the disease compared with Britain’s toll of more than 40,000, and its economy suffered far less damage as a result.

Some argue that Britain has nothing to learn from Germany because the two are so different: Britain has a service economy (with strengths in finance and the creative arts), whereas Germany has a manufactur-

ing one (with a messy financial sector and not much of a creative one).

This is nonsense: people and countries have more to learn from those whose strengths are different from theirs. German ideas have been successfully transplanted in the past: the University of Warwick built one of the world’s best manufacturing research centres by borrowing German methods for building ties between universities and industry.

And learning German lessons demands a seriousness that British politics lacks. Trying to copy the Robert Koch Institute is a good example of its shallowness. Germany’s successful public-health system is built on a deep, powerful layer of local government which does not exist in Britain. The institute sits on top of, and provides services to, local public-health departments. There is no point in having the cherry without the cake.

Learning from another culture is difficult under any circumstances, but it is hard to think of a government that is less equipped for a Teutonic transplant than the current one.

Changing cultures and institutions— to decentralise power, for instance, and to raise the status of technical education—will require a degree of patience, steadiness and co-operation which the people currently in charge in Britain lack.

German politicians are notably dull. Angela Merkel knows whereof she speaks when she says that in government “you can’t solve the tasks by charisma”. Mr Johnson relies on charisma, Mr Cummings is more inclined to cudgel than co-operate, and the government as a whole keeps U-turning all over the place in the most un-German manner possible. Mr Gove and the Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, are somewhat more Teutonic types. For its German moment, Britain may have to wait until another prime minister comes along.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

53

What Can AI Do? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most powerful technology available to mankind today, and the biggest mistake anyone can make is to ignore it. No matter what job you are in, no matter what business or industry you work in, AI is going to completely transform it COMMENT

ly understanding more than 90% of them.

Amazon has obtained a patent for what it calls “anticipatory shipping” — a system of delivering products to customers before they place an order.

LG Tromm washing machine adapts washing cycles in line with the weather. For example, increasing the strength of the spin cycle if the weather’s not ideal for drying clothes outside.

One toilet seat developed by the Rochester Institute of Technology has the ability to measure users’ blood pressure, blood oxygenation levels and heart rate to detect signs of congestive heart failure. Smart toilet might just save your life.

Domino's has started using a system called Pizza Checker that photographs every pizza when it leaves the oven, and then uses machine learning algorithms to inspect it for quality before it reaches the customer. The camera system checks the type of pizza against the customer's order to make sure they are getting what they paid for. It also ver-

By MIŠA LUKIĆ Founder & Chief Business Designer, NEW STARTEGY

READ THIS ON WEB

elcome to the Rapidly Accelerating Future.

Welcome to The Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Growth in computing power, availability of data and progress in algorithms have turned AI into one of the most strategic technologies of the 21st century.

Artificial Intelligence is having a dramatic impact because is not a standalone technology, developing in isolation.

When combined with all other technological innovations (cloud computing, quantum computing, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, networks, sensors, 3-D printing, augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain), AI is part of a perfect storm triggering a fourth industrial revolution.

And like the previous three industrial revolutions before it, the fourth industrial revolu-

W

54

THE BEAUTY OF BIG DATA AND AI IS THAT IT GIVES PEOPLE THE TOOLS TO MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON HARD FACTS, RATHER THAN THEIR ASSUMPTIONS, BIASES AND GUT FEELINGS tion is going to transform life as we know it.

Businesswise, it will impact every size organization around the world. It will change the way we understand and interact with customers, it will offer more intelligent products and services, and it will improve and automate business processes of all kinds.

Unfortunately, established organizations will have a hard time keeping pace. Our biggest companies were designed in another century, for purposes of safety and stability. They were built to last; they were not built to withstand rapid, radical change. This is why, according to Yale’s Richard Foster, 40

percent of today’s Fortune 500 companies will be gone in ten years, replaced, for the most part, by upstarts we’ve not yet heard of.

The advantage you had yesterday will be replaced by the technology trends of tomorrow. You don’t have to do anything wrong, as long as your competitors make or catch the wave and do it right, you can lose out and fail.

IT'S NOT ANY MORE SCIENCE FICTION! IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING! Alibaba's AI-powered chatbot – Dian Xiaomi – answers more than 350 million customer enquiries a day, successful-

ifies that toppings are distributed evenly and that the crust has been properly baked at the correct temperature.

News organizations like the New York Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post are already using AI to generate content.

When your competitors do this kind of things, AI isn't a choice today – it's a basic necessity for survival. The future had arrived, and most of us are falling behind.

BECOMING A FUTUREREADY ENTERPRISE It is clear to all of us until now, that in order to be Future-Ready Enterprise, we need

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

to understand and know how to use AI and the latest technologies in an innovative way. Innovation is key, but there are three other essential components involved in becoming future-ready. Exponential change at an organization-wide level requires retooling your organization's culture, strategy, and capabilities.

the future, but they will all need some degree of data literacy.

Organizations will need to develop data literacy programs so that employees are equipped to take advantage of AI, and learn to ask questions such as "How can we use this new technology to drive success and improve performance?"

The beauty of Big Data and

social interaction and so on.

Organizations should be focused on building skills in areas that robots can’t do well – the human side of work: creativity, emotional intelligence, active learning with a growth mindset, higher level decision making, interpersonal communication skills, leadership skills, diversity and cultural in-

fourth industrial revolution will need to adapt. The way we run businesses will change, and the people running them will need a different set of skills.

However, many companies will struggle to bridge the skills gaps. This can be done by upskilling the existing workforce, by hiring new AI and data talent, by acqui-hiring, which can

1. FORGET THE TECHNOLOGY, AI STARTS WITH CULTURE To become Future-Ready Enterprise leaders need to build an innovative organizational culture. Culture is the key to building an AI-powered organization. Those companies that can build a positive AI culture, an engaging and inspiring environment, successfully manage change, and bring everyone along on the AI journey are the ones that will succeed. Leaders primarily need to create an adaptable culture that allows organizations to evolve quickly according to new business realities.

Learning, unlearning, upskilling, and reskilling will be the critical skills of staying relevant in the future. Having diversity of perspectives at the core of a healthy innovative culture, results in better ideas, better products, and helps create a more inclusive future.

We live in a global society and having diverse teams is mission critical.

2. THE STRATEGIC USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN BUSINESS Linking your AI strategy to your business strategy is the best way to ensure AI delivers maximum value for the business. Your AI strategy should be geared around finding intelligent ways to deliver your company’s strategic goals, answer your most pressing business questions, and overcome your biggest business challenges.

Too many businesses try to apply AI to an outdated business strategy or irrelevant business model.

3. BUILDING THE RIGHT CAPABILITIES Building the right technical skills People won’t all need to be data scientists or AI experts in

THE WAY WE RUN BUSINESSES WILL CHANGE, AND THE PEOPLE RUNNING THEM WILL NEED A DIFFERENT SET OF SKILLS AI is that it gives people the tools to make decisions based on hard facts, rather than their assumptions, biases and gut feelings. The true objective of data literacy is to give everyone access to the right information so that every business unit can use it to make better decisions that will lead to business success.

Building the right soft skills As machines begin to master more tasks typically performed by humans, humans must begin to focus on the areas in which they outperform machines – creative endeavors, imagination, critical thinking,

telligence, embracing change.

In the intelligence revolution, these precious soft skills become hard currency.

LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION The workplace is changing.

The organizations of the future will have flatter hierarchies, business boundaries will become more porous, constant innovation will be the norm, workplaces will become decentralized, partnerships will become more important, and there will be more gig jobs.

Business leaders in the

mean to acquire small AI or tech start-ups or by partnering with external providers and finally by accessing AI-as-a-service solutions.

Over the next decade, AI won’t replace managers and leaders, but managers and leaders who use AI will replace those who don’t.

Business leaders and managers in Serbia as of this month will have the opportunity to get in touch with newly established Serbian Artificial Intelligence Society (SAIS) and choose the most suitable form of collaborating, contributing and developing their organization’s needs for AI.

55

We are Raising the Bar in Consumer Communication If you are a brand that is positioned in the premium segment, every aspect of consumer experience and communication has to be at an appropriate level, in keeping with high standards of the profession Serbia. Could you tell us a bit more about the global aspect of this campaign and why Belgrade was chosen?

— In collaboration with our business partners, we have selected a location that meets both logistical and creative standards for the new global campaign of the Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc brand. We made the decision based on several important factors. First of all, Belgrade is already recognized on the international production scene as a place that offers quick and easy access to talented actors, professionals and staff who closely follow the production of marketing communication materials. Our partner production company has a very positive experience and is happy to recommend Belgrade as a filming destination. Geographical accessibility, good organization and experience of the local production team, as well as the Serbian capital having a competitive filming offer have all contributed to Belgrade taking precedence over many other, over many other cities.

CORPORATE

NIKOLA MARAVIĆ Global Marketing Director at Carlsberg

PICUKI

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

hese days, Belgrade resembles any other capital city in the world since it is a location where an advertisement with a global reach is being filmed. We have talked with Nikola Maravić from Carlsberg about the new global communication campaign for premium beer 1664 Blanc.

He says:” A rarity is that Vincent Gapaillard is the campaign’s photographer. This is a photographer that has been working with the globally renowned fashion brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and others. It is not uncommon for a photographer of his calibre to work on a beer brand commercial, which shows how much Carlsberg is investing in the aesthetics of this advertisement.

T

56

elegant and playful tone with a contemporary look at French style and heritage, Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc will be communicating with consumers in a rather unexpected yet sophisticated way.

The filming of the new global campaign brought together renowned experts and creatives from a number of fields. The renowned British agency, Fold7 is responsible for the creative solutions, while Stink Films from Prague is in charge of the production, with the professional support of the team from the Belgrade-based studio Tuna Fish. The famous Wolfberg duo from the Czech Republic, consisting of Jan Kalvoda and Premysl Ponahly, were chosen as directors. Given the complexity of creative and aesthetic expression, we decided to collaborate with eminent French photographer Vincent Gapaillard, whose experience with the world's largest fashion brands plays an important role in creating a new style of brand communication. If you are a brand that is positioned in the pre-

WE ARE EMBARKING ON A NEW STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAND, BASED ON THE NEW COMMUNICATION PLATFORM "GOOD TASTE WITH A TWIST" The renowned Wolfberg Prague team was selected to direct the ad. As a member of the team leading the project, I am especially glad that such an important campaign for the world's largest markets, such as Canada, China, Russia and South Korea, is being filmed in the country I come from.”

A global ad campaign for premium beer 1664 Blanc is being filmed in Belgrade these days. It is a rarity in the marketing industry for an ad for a global brand to be filmed in

Could you tell us more about the campaign team? You have a fashion photographer who has worked with the biggest fashion brands, as well as a directing team that has a unique visual style. How important is for Carlsberg to invest in aesthetics and photography, and to raise the bar when it comes to marketing activities?

— With this campaign, we are embarking on a new stage in the development of the brand, based on the new communication platform "Good Taste with a Twist". Combining our

mium segment, every aspect of consumer experience and communication has to be at an appropriate level, in keeping with high standards of the profession. As you have nicely noticed, our intention is to raise the bar and point out to new ways a beer brand can talk to consumers.

How much is the beer market affected by the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic? Has the beer industry experienced a crisis at all?

— Like many other compa-

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

nies, we, at Carlsberg, have been carefully monitoring and analyzing the changes in the world as a result of the pandemic. The marketing plans we are working on require flexibility, the development of alternative scenarios and, most importantly, the revision of plans now more often than ever. Given the responsibility for global growth and brand development, listening intently to the market and responding in a timely manner through innovation will be even more important. In this regard, I would like to highlight the expansion of new sales channels such as e-commerce, which has been rapidly growing since the outbreak, as well as the growing popularity of alcohol-free and low-alcohol products. Marketing will, as always, adapt to these and other trends and it is up to us to always be close to the market through ongoing and relevant communication with consumers and customers.

What are the global tendencies in the beer industry?

What can we expect in terms of new brands, new tastes and further development?

— Craft and speciality beers have gained in popularity in the last ten years. The trend that emerged in the United States at the end of the first decade of the 21st century has spread to the whole of Europe and is increasingly present in Asia. The market for craft and speciality beers continues to grow, given that consumers are looking for an authentic beer consumption experience. Consumers in larger cities have access to types of beer and combinations of flavours that we couldn't even imagine just a few years ago.

Although the segment is still relatively small, the growth rate in many markets is in double digits. The global success of the brand I run is partly explained by growing popularity of speciality brews and wheat beer segment in an increasing number of markets.

The situation is similar in the alcohol-free beer segment, which has been formed only recently. Worldwide, growth rates are double-digit, driven by people’s growing desire to lead a healthier lifestyle, especially younger adult consum-

ers. Thus, we are witnessing the proliferation of alcohol-free beers that are often reminiscent of craft beers, having in mind the production process and the ingredients that are combined to create an authentic taste. An increasing number of market players recognize this trend and we can only expect an even better and higher quality offer.

As far as Serbia is concerned, the segment is still in its early development stage, but I expect changes in the medium term. The beer market never sleeps, the changes are constant and make the product it-

— Serbia is my homeland. I spent one of the most beautiful years growing up and going to school in my native Ruma and then in Belgrade. Working for international companies in Serbia, Great Britain, Romania and Denmark has given me opportunities for accelerated growth and development. I am surrounded by people from all over the world, and my results often depend on people I see online or who I don’t even know. On the other hand, I have easy access to the best talent and professionals, as well as financial resources for large, global pro-

service and great talents who are committed and extremely valuable in fair business conditions. Finally, let's not forget our playful temperament, which makes the work atmosphere more engaging and relaxed. I often miss that in the far North.

Last but not least, when can we expect to see the premiere of the ad filmed in our city?

Are you going to launch the campaign here, in Serbia, first or simultaneously in other countries too? Are you proud of Belgrade being picked up for filming the ad?

Nikola Maravić and Viktor Holm-Larsson, Global Brand Manager, 1664 Blanc

THE MARKETING PLANS WE ARE WORKING ON REQUIRE FLEXIBILITY, THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE REVISION OF PLANS NOW MORE OFTEN THAN EVER self and the consumption experience get better over time.

Finally, we can see that, in the context of new circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there is a rapid growth of e-commerce.

Development and proper implementation of assets that are tailored to this sales channel will be increasingly important for successful positioning in the globally leading markets You are originally from Serbia, and you have been working in Denmark for years, from where you cover several markets. What did you use from the experience gained in Serbia, and what can all of us, in Serbia, learn from Danish or European businesses for that matter?

jects that can impact the lives of a significant number of people. Large systems teach you how to be focused, efficient and adaptable to constant change. In this way, you gain resilience and experience that you can use in other areas of life and facilitate your personal development.

Living and working in Denmark teaches you punctuality, precision and efficiency, and I would especially like to single out the communication style whereby listening and respecting other people’s often different opinions is considered quite important. In Denmark, culture can be described by these three aspects of Danish life: simplicity, politeness, and equality. Serbia is known for high standards of

— The ad was filmed in a great atmosphere, thanks to the teamwork of professionals from London, Paris, Copenhagen, Prague and Belgrade. We will do post-production in Paris and Prague in the coming weeks, and the idea is to start airing our new campaign from August. As a member of the team leading the project, I am especially glad that such an important campaign for the world's largest markets such as Canada, China, Russia and South Korea is being filmed in the country I come from and, moreover, in a city that will forever be my home. I think this is a great opportunity to showcase the quality of local talents and the opportunities this destination offers for various brands and product categories.

57

The Art of Pushing Boundaries In only two years since its opening, the Gorski Hotel & Spa has become synonymous with luxury, impeccable service and lifting the standard of hospitality both on the Kopaonik Mountain and throughout the country. Both guests and experts share this opinion as a result of a series of successes achieved by the hotel's team of dedicated professionals whose energy is inexhaustible CORPORATE

after careful market analysis, but with special reference to individual and human needs after a long period of isolation. Thus, the emphasis was placed on the family package, which, in addition to free accommodation for children, also offers a range of outdoor activities adapted to the whole family. Apart from this package, while being aware of the need to reconnect with nature and self, the Gorski also offers you a package that combines special spa treatments and activities in nature.

One of the offers that have pushed the boundaries, so to speak, and served as an inspiration to many, marked this summer in the Gorski. This the Kids Daycare & Gorski Office package, intended for everyone for whom an extended period of work from home brings challenges. The newly opened congress centre, which has a beautiful hall with a balcony, has been turned into a modern office space with all preventive protocols adhered to.

Here, you can work from 9 am

GORSKI HOTEL & SPA

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

LINKEDIN

READ THIS ON WEB

fter the winter season, during which the Gorski Hotel & Spa firmly positioned itself as the best skiing resort on the Kopaonik, the pandemic brought on huge changes. However, the state of emergency and the closure of the hotel did not mean the cessation of work for its team. The recess in the hotel's operations was used to devise the strategy for the next period, especially the summer season, which resulted in unprecedented business success and numerous satisfied guests.

A flexible and innovative approach to the summer season, during which guests have been offered a range of activities and packages under the slogan „Beach is not the only place to spend summer on“, has con-

A

58

ness that singled out the Gorski and made the hotel a hospitality leader during the summer season as well.

The hotel is preparing for the autumn season in the same spirit. As this is a period usually reserved for corporate gatherings, the hotel had to adapt to the new conditions. The priority is certainly the implementation of prescribed prevention measures. The possibility of adapting the terrace ensures a stay in the fresh air and a new experience of working, meeting with the company's team and organizing events. Teambuilding and corporate packages are tailored to gatherings of fewer people, and the combination of state-of-the-art conference space, outdoor activities, adrenaline activities, the idyllic spa, using rooms for board games and impeccable service is a proven recipe for a productive stay, rife with pleasure.

The hotel has created special offers for companies and organizations that want to redirect their energy and funds provided for team building trips

THE INNOVATIVE APPROACH BASED ON REAL INSIGHTS HAS SINGLED OUT THE GORSKI AND MADE THE HOTEL A HOSPITALITY LEADER DURING THE SUMMER SEASON AS WELL tributed to the propagation of a completely new experience of the Kopaonik as a desirable holiday destination. Many positive comments testify to this but also does the hotel's high occupancy, which has not subsided even in September. Precisely because of the great interest shown by the guests and occupancy during September, the Gorski has extended the summer for its guests and prolonged the validity of all packages and activities which are also enriched with new and special offers.

The packages were created

to 5 pm, while child care, children entertainers and a scout camp are provided throughout the day. A great interest shown in this package is a clear indication that the innovative approach is based on real insights and a way of doing busi-

and thus reward their employees. With this gesture, the Gorski wanted to help its partners taking into account that we all face a multitude of changes and uncertainty, in which solidarity and support should be the most important.

WINTER SEASON The goal for the winter season is clear - to further solidify the leadership position. Judging by the number of the early booking reservations already made, the effort and previous results, any goal that the Gorski Hotel & Spa sets for itself this winter is achievable.

The details of all the novelties will remain a secret for some time to come, but Gorski remains consistent with its approach, proving that anybody ready to change is at the top of their game.

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

READ THIS ON WEB

CORPORATE

Energy From the Environment LG THERMA V R32 SPLIT – A heat pump that takes care of you and the environment SmartThinQ app.

Heat pumps must be in line with European environmental regulations, which means all devices should have a low global warming potential. Setting trends for LG experts is preferable to copying others, which is why LG Therma V R32 Split has a much lower global warming ratio (675) compared to its predecessor R410A (2088) - a reduction up to 70%, with 20% less gas replenishment in order to achieve the same result.

The special R1 compressor, the world's first hybrid solution model, draws up to 80% of its energy from the air, combines a rotary and helix type design to increase efficiency.

Its range is 10-135 Hz, which is

WEB

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM

LINKEDIN

t seems that this year's to-do lists will be popular across the planet. In addition to life changing decisions, many overlook the importance of locations where most of these decisions are made, namely our households.

If you are planning to step into a new, adapted or renovated space soon, we advise you to add LG Therma V R32 Split to your list, a heat pump that is as discreet as it is necessary for every new beginning.

Specially designed to fit easily, with separate parts for outdoor and indoor installation connected via pipes, the eco-friendly R32 heat pump can provide efficient heating and cooling along with hot water supply in parallel, all with great energy savings and continuous care for the preservation of environment. The R32 refrigerant is following the

I

gas or coal), producing less carbon dioxide without high electricity consumption. The secret lies in the natural absorption of energy from the environment, which is why no conventional space heating solution can match it.

One of the common problems of these types of devices is their durability. This does not apply to the LG Therma V R32 Split which provides reliability and longevity regardless of external conditions. This heat pump will have a high effect on spring and polar temperatures of -25 C, so all you have to do is choose the right location. The high performance is not laud, compressor noise or buzzing in the walls is not acceptable

THE SECRET LIES IN THE NATURAL ABSORPTION OF ENERGY FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS WHY NO CONVENTIONAL SPACE HEATING SOLUTION CAN MATCH IT highest environmental standards of F-gas regulations with very low global warming potential (GWP). It also has an advanced R1 compressor to equally heat multiple rooms.

The LG Therma V R32 Split has three heating and cooling capacities of 5, 7 or 9 kW. The user experience has been improved and raised to a higher standard, which is why the energy consumption can be easily tracked by weeks, months or years. Using and monitoring this device is very simple thanks to artificial intelligence for easy control, remote control, intuitive icon screen and

really impressive for this type of device, and the weight is reduced by 20%, so you really get "more for less". The efficiency increase reaches 4.65 seasonal heating coefficient (SCOP) and A+++ energy class.

In addition to being energy efficient and environmentally responsible, the LG Therma V series air-to-water heat pumps has multi functionality and can be used for various purposes in your new or refurbished space, either as an addition to an existing home water heating system, as a replacement or add on to traditional space heating methods (wood,

so the device must be as quiet as it is efficient.

Finally, no LG device would be really complete without smart functions. Using a SmartThinQ mobile app allows users to monitor and remotely control LG THERMA V R32 SPLIT at any time. No matter where you are, you can heat the water, adjust the room temperature and monitor energy consumption without the fearing your next electricity bill. Each time you enter your home, you will be pleasantly surprised by warmth and coziness of your own creation. www.lg.com/rs/business/therma-v

59

New Technologies and Communications – A Perfect Match or an Optical Illusion?

Will new technologies combined with and powered by artificial intelligence be ready to functionally and substantively replace humans?

COMMENT

LARISA ZDRAVKOVIĆ Owner Opposite Mind

READ THIS ON WEB

resent global economic challenges have forced many companies to review and optimize their business models. They also necessitated massive ad hoc solutions to problems at hand. It appears that some temporary solutions are here to stay and become generally accepted as the "new normal" in the future. How much instability and uncertainty will the pandemic disruptions impose on businesses and global employment?

In developed markets and important modern industries (sectors), new technological solutions and methodologies for business process optimization have been used for a long time to respond to inter-

P

60

nal and external shocks. Nevertheless, today they face major operating disruptions and large financial losses. Owners, employees, and the state were all adversely affected by the pandemic. Despite generous fiscal and financial stimu-

large companies alike)? How to eliminate the gap between the need of customers/families to have a secure job and a source of income, while at the same time accepting the use of new labor-saving technologies in order to remain com-

This paradox is at the heart of today's economic challenge.

Companies are indisputably looking for a magical formula on how to meet their standard business goals that suddenly have become unrealistic in the conditions of growing competition and galloping technological change. It seems easier to formally blame the pandemic for all the problems, while feverishly seeking answers to many open questions. Companies are now struggling to further reduce costs! They desperately try to lower the number of employees today (and don't think about tomorrow)! Individuals and families question their need for vacation or a new car.

We no longer know what is the cause is and what is the consequence. And we fail to resolve the old chicken and egg problem.

One thing is certain: pandemic was a huge shock that exposed many weaknesses of the existing system.

But it also showed that no one individually has a solution. We can only find a solution if we work together, if we coordinate and communicate.

More than ever before.

Thus, it is not surprising that innovative internet based communication platforms (e.g.

Zoom) saw an enormous increase in their share prices. At

ONE THING IS CERTAIN: PANDEMIC WAS A HUGE SHOCK THAT EXPOSED MANY WEAKNESSES OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM lus packages, production, employment, household income and consumer demand are all falling.

What is the right measure (size and scope) of responding to these problems? How does one properly analyze the vital needs of the population and the economy (small and

petitive in the market. Overall, that increases risks, stress and uncertainty, and reduces their consumer confidence and potential to commit to longer term contracts (essential for the real-estate industry) in a world where the global problem of rising unemployment is not going away.

the same time, some existing older platforms were not able to utilize recent growth opportunities. Microsoft has managed to push through with the Teams platform, while Skype slowly falls behind. Simple rules of success do not exist.

Deeper insights and analyses show that business and con-

CLICK TO GO ď ľ www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

sumer needs (demand) for cheap and quality communication have not changed. But our ability to provide those services globally (supply) has changed. And some companies and platforms were more successful in responding to the communication needs in an efficient, user-friendly, and custom-tailored way, The world has changed overnight; our habits and key elements of everyday life have changed. Fear of uncertainty, as unmeasurable risk, has increased, causing general distrust. The fear of unknown has slowed people reactions. It is difficult to predict how this will affect the global economy and investors’ behavior in the future. We know that e-commerce is growing, significantly based on mobile devices. Today, platforms not optimized for smartphones are doomed to fail. Further growth of online shopping expected in Q4 2020 will be largely based on mobile purchases. Companies will have to adapt to new consumer trends in record time, primarily by relying on new costumer care technologies, distribution services, and new ways of communication that will become increasingly more tailor made in the future.

A lot will change in corporate and commercial communications. Companies will continue to optimize costs, primarily through more efficient use of business space, number and skill mix of employees, marketing investments and much more. The big challenge will be to improve communication with the market (consumers), but also internally. Suddenly, internal communications gain a major supporting role in modern management systems, from the lowest to the highest level of management.

External communications are becoming especially important. Today companies must go beyond the motto that "everything is consumer oriented". In the world flooded with products and services, where everything has been within “few clicks on your internet device” even before the pandemic, companies have to respond to fast changing lifestyle, locally and globally. This includes payment and delivery preferences, customizing and

DOMESTIC IT COMPANIES FOLLOW GLOBAL TRENDS WHILE OUR MARKET PROBABLY LAGS A FULL DECADE BEHIND bundling products and services, and many other changes. In the short term, some of the changes were caused by the pandemic and will be only temporary. But some changes will be permanent. Firstly, because the lockdown is likely to last long enough for consumers to acquire new habits.

And, secondly, because some irrational behavioral will be permanently lost or forgotten.

Many artificial intelligence (AI) based technology solutions are already available from local IT companies. Advanced CRM platforms that include customer behavior analytics have the ability to send predefined tailor-made offers to individuals, through “24/7 customer care” based the inclusion of virtual assistants (chatbots).

The application of AI in the domain of consumer satisfaction, through relevant communication channels, is actually the future of advertising. It is difficult to estimate when this will happen in our market, but it is encouraging to see good examples in banking services.

They will likely be followed by insurance companies, gaming services (gambling), hospitality

industry, etc. Although there is no clear trend, more likely we are talking about enthusiasts who educate the market and aim to secure their future position in the market.

If we look at the big picture, the main challenge is how to digitally empower our society.

Research shows a high percentage of penetration of the Internet and certain communication platforms (e.g. Viber). But high penetration numbers in the use of the Internet do not imply high digital literacy, or readiness to define longer-term digitalization strategies. What does that actually mean? Global corporations systematically monitor technological changes and opportunities, while there is a huge dispersion of digital literacy in the markets. Domestic IT companies follow global trends while our market probably lags a full decade behind.

This is confirmed by the fact that the majority of IT products services (almost 1.5 billion euros in 2019) went to outsourcing. The essence of the problem lies deep in the primary education system and goes all the way up. Commercial companies can help but cannot do

the work of the education system and public institutions.

Until this problem is properly addressed, we will continue to face the failures of innovative digital communication channels and their objectives.

On the pragmatic side, digitalization is a process that should have been completed by every successful organization in the past few years. Those who have done by now have a slight advantage over those that will be forced to digitalize their business processes overnight, before the legal deadline. The gap between the targets and market absorption can be addressed by engaging some of the professionals working in IT exports (programmers and engineers) to help with digitalization effort. To make this happen, one would need to secure financing and, more importantly, true social acceptance of the digitalization agenda in all (or most) of the domains.

Only then will companies that invest in full digitalization be able to have acceptable return on their investments and sustain the demand for domestic IT products and services. www.oppositemind.rs

61

PEOPLE & EVENTS

AUG

ORECA INSIGHT - FROM HOTELIERS AND H CATERERS’ PERSPECTIVE

A regional online conference dedicated to tourism titled “The Summer of 2020: HoReCa Insight - From hoteliers and caterers’ perspective – How to survive the coronavirus and economic consequences?” was held on 25th August. Participants in the two panel discussions spoke about the consequences their businesses have suffered, as well as the new way of functioning to which they have adapted. The panel topics were 'Regional hotel industry in the season that everyone would like to forget as soon as possible‘ and ‚Catering in the new normal‘. President of Color

31 AUG

5th BLED STRATEGIC FORUM AND 1 MEETING WITH SLOVENIAN

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić during a two-day visit to the Republic of Slovenia participated in the leadership panel of the 15th Bled Strategic Forum. President Vučić pointed out that Serbia belongs to Europe and that we need Europe, including everything related to European values. "For our citizens and the economy, this would imply cross-border flow without restrictions. I do not have to say how much our economy would earn, and to what extent life would be easi-

07 SEP

Press Group, Robert Čoban officially opened the conference and said that the forecast was not great but that there was always a reason to hope for better. Mihailo Vukić, owner and CEO of Allegra Montenegro, said that this year was lost for the hospitality industry and added: "All ships are docked in and uncertainty is the biggest problem.“ In the introductory part of the conference, Nemanja Kostić, director of Karisma Hotels and Resorts for Eastern Europe, underlined the company’s determination to protect its employees and their health had the greatest importance.

er for all our citizens" said President Vučić, addressing the media. President Aleksandar Vučić met earlier in Bled with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša. "We had good and useful talks, and it seems to me we have observed what we can do to improve our and Slovenian relations in the best possible way. For us, Slovenia is an important partner on the European path, we have the support of Mr Janez Janša, and I am very grateful," said President Vučić following the meeting.

MEETING IN BRUSSELS

Miroslav Lajčak, Aleksandar Vučić, Avdullah Hoti and Josep Borrell in Brussels

62

Photos: Presidency of Serbia / Dimitrije Goll

25

Forum participants

Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Aleksandar Vučić, Presdident of Serbia and Janez Janša, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia

European Union Special Representative for the Kosovo dialogue Miroslav Lajčak said in Brussels that full progress had been made in the meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti. A meeting at the political level was held in Brussels between the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, EU High Representative Josep Borrell and the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajčák. It was spoken about economic cooperation and missing and displaced persons – the topics

that were opened in the last high-level meeting. It was also discussed for the first time, as part of the negotiations of a legally binding comprehensive agreement, arrangements for non-majority communities and the settlement of mutual financial claims and property. This was a first exchange that allowed to all sides to define the next steps in the discussions. The next meeting will be dedicated to these two topics. The negotiations were intense, as usually, and not always easy, but what prevailed was the will of both sides to advance the discussions despite the painful and complex issues at hand.

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

09 SEP

The second press conference presenting the Bitef–Prologue side program, which will be held 12–14 September 2020, was held at the “Zaokret” club.

Bitef–Prologue will be organized at Bitef Theatre and on an open-air stage in Mira Trailović Square, where the official opening will be held, as well as the debate program and screening of the performances from the main program – with the strict implementation of health measures, measuring temperature, compulsory masks and maintaining physical distance. The diverse program, entitled the Edge of the Future, will include theatre performances, professional and academic discussions and interviews, as well as meetings with theatre artists. Quite expectedly, the greatest attraction is the performance Uncanny Valley, directed by Stefan Kaegi, a coproduction of the Rimini Protokoll and the Munich Kammerspiele theatre companies, as well as theatre experiment by Geneva-based visual artist Simon Senn, Be Arielle F, produced by Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne and the author’s company.

Second Press Conference

H.E. Sem Fabrizi, Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia

10 SEP

SECOND PRESS CONFERENCE REGARDING BITEF–PROLOGUE

SOMBOR: NALED TOUR FOR DIPLOMATS

H.E. Anthony Godfrey, US Ambassador

The Sixth Weaving Colony, which was held in the village of Stapar from September 6th to 11th, and was organized by the Ethno Network and NALED, under the auspices of the Canadian and US embassies, gathered more than 10 ambassadors interested in learning more about the Serbian tradition and handicrafts.

“We have launched a campaign to turn back time and to again promote our heritage across the world, as well as for handicrafts to adorn homes across the country. We want to show the world what Serbia has and that is why we gifted the diplomatic representatives with the handicrafts made by our women,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and President

of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, Zorana Mihajlović. President of the Ethno Network and Executive Director of NALED, Violeta Jovanović, called on donors to support public projects in culture, because “that is how women get the opportunity to affirm themselves both socially and economically”. “Sombor’s great tourist potential lies in its abundant cultural heritage which creates an opportunity for economic development and in which carpet weaving and local products occupy a significant place,” said Sombor’s mayor, Antonio Ratković. Weavers from Stapar drew a lot of attention from the diplomatic corps, including the ambassadors of the USA, Canada, Finland,

Maja Gojković, Zorana Mihajlović., H.E. Kati Csaba and Anne Godfrey, wife of the US Ambassador

Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Israel, Egypt, Austria, and Argentina.

The Canadian ambassador, H.E. Ms Kati Csaba said, on the occasion, that she was glad that, through the Canadian fund, the Embassy was able to assist the work done by the Ethno Network and support the advancement of women’s position. Ethno Network gave Ambassador Csaba an accolade for her exceptional contribution to the preservation of heritage and the empowerment of women through organizing weaving colonies. Dušanka Golubović, the former mayor of Sombor, and a former member of the Culture and Education City Council, Nemanja Sarač, also received awards.

63

PEOPLE & EVENTS

The ‘Digital 2020 - Powered by Huawei’ Conference Held

Regional online conference on telecommunications and media trends - DIGITAL 2020 pow-ered by Huawei - was organized by Color Media Communications, while the Ministry of Cul-ture and Information was an institutional partner of the event.

Aleksandar Gajović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture and Information, Tatjana Matić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, H.E. Ms Sian MacLeod, the British Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Ms Kati Csaba, Ambassador of Canada to Serbia, and H.E. Mr Amr Aljowaily, Ambassador of Egypt to Serbia, all spoke at the open-ing of the conference.

Representatives of all major telecom operators in Serbia participated in the first traditional panel of regional telecommunication leaders called “ONE YEAR (AND A WHOLE CENTURY) LATER”, moderated by Dejan Ljuština, a digital technology expert.

Saša Leković, Telenor Serbia's Chief Technology Officer, pointed out that a good combina-tion of logistics and a telecommunications set has helped maintain a stable network and quality services, as well as help the community during the pandemic. Đorđe Marović, Telekom Serbia's Chief Technology Officer, stated that there was a 52% increase in the total amount of data transmitted over the Internet and that the average amount of data

64

trans-mitted via Viber application in the mobile network increased by 150%, while the average duration of landline calls went up by about 40%.

Milija Zeković, CEO of SBB in Serbia and Telemach in Montenegro, said they have invested heavily in growth in recent years, especially since United Group has been majority-owned by BC Partners investment fund. Nenad Zeljković, Chief Technology Officer at Vip mobile and A1 Slovenia, pointed out that the pandemic and the change in user habits created the need to quickly adjust the business and redefine the product and service offers.

Representatives of Huawei, which was the event's general sponsor, participated in three panels.

Radoslav Kedzia, Vice President of Huawei Technologies for Central and Eastern Europe and the Nordic Region, spoke at the panel titled "TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FUTURE: Truths and Misconceptions about the Application of 5G Technology", in which he underlined the im-portance of the 5G network and its three key benefits: less delay before the start of data transfer, higher transfer speeds, and the ability to connect a much larger number of devices.

Mads Arnbjoern Rasmussen, Huawei's CTO / CSO in Denmark, participated in a panel on cybersecurity trends and challenges. On the occasion, he underlined that it

was necessary to always keep in mind and actively monitor whether the software and antivirus we use was updated. He also spoke about paying special attention to not using the same passwords for all accounts, regardless of their importance.

Smart cities were discussed at the panel "INTERNET OF THINGS FOR SMART CITIES: IoT in the service of life in urban communities". Zorica Grba, Delivery Manager of Huawei Tech-nologies, pointed out that the strategy for the implementation of smart cities was im-portant for Huawei and added: "We were proud to be guided by a functional strategy, the idea that Smart City is a concept that requires a single team."

Neda Đokić, Marketing Director of Heineken Serbia, participated in the panel on the topic of the evolution of brands, underlining that adaptability is the keyword in brand communi-cation in the new reality.

“Brands need to nurture their consumers even better and take care of their social and psy-chological needs.

In this new, post-corona world, there is no place for introversion because the power of a good message is the power of good communication,” Ms Đokić said.

Huawei, Telekom Serbia, VIP Mobile, Telenor Serbia, SBB and Heineken Serbia all support-ed the conference.

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

BUSINESS NEWS

CORPORATE BISER BELISIMO YOUNG CHEESE

The Perfect Slice

Thanks to the unique technology used in the production of the Biser Belisimo young cheese, all the best characteristics of fresh milk are retained in their unaltered form

01

OY AND J CHEARFULNESS AT THE 7TH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

The Beethoven and Shakespeare music piece, performed by the string quartet of the Belgrade Philharmonic, an unusual combination of two great artists, will open the seventh Shakespeare Festival.

The 7th Shakespeare Festival will be held from 12th to 16th September in the magnificent Villa Stanković in Čortanovci, near Novi Sad, with the help of the UNIQA insurance company. On the last festival day, the play “My Shakespeare”, directed by Nikita Milivojević, will be performed. In the play, the ac-

tors performing the plays of the great playwright are acting in the present and thus helping the audience to find out more about Shakespeare through behind-the-scenes adventures and their own experiences from acting in Shakespeare’s plays. Tickets for this extraordinary theatrical experience cost 500 dinars apiece. The Shakespeare Festival is a unique cultural event which the European Network of Festivals officially included in the list of the most important drama festivals in Europe last year. The establishment of the Shakespeare Festival in Serbia was initiated by theatre director Nikita Milivojević after the premiere of his play ‘Henry VI’ at the famous Globe Theatre in London in May 2012.

READ THIS ON WEB

efined, pure milky taste and delicate texture characterize the Biser Belisimo young cheese, one of the favourite gourmet trump cards in Mlekoprodukt's premium product range. While pursuing the idea of producing only top-notch products from the highest quality ingredients, Mlekoprodukt uses only the best milk from domestic pastures. That is why the Biser Belisimo young cheese has all the quality of traditional young cheeses made from only two ingredients - milk and a little salt.

R

dry Traminac or Tamjanika wine will fit extraordinarily with these hors d'ouevre.

In salads, the Belisimo young cheese goes fantastically with fresh, home-grown tomatoes, meaty red peppers and green or black olives. Add quality olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar and you will get a top-notch, healthy meal. For complete hedonistic enjoyment, have a glass of Istrian Malvasia or a similar Mediterranean wine with this salad.

Owing to its delicate taste and texture, the Belisimo young cheese

IN SALADS, THE BELISIMO YOUNG CHEESE GOES FANTASTICALLY WITH FRESH, HOMEGROWN TOMATOES, MEATY RED PEPPERS AND GREEN OR BLACK OLIVES

02

IELE INNOVATIONS M AT IFA FAIR

At the IFA Global Press press conference Miele presented its most exciting new products and services and addressed the current business situation in challenging times. This year, the focus is on intelligent and innovative kitchen help systems.

Maximum convenience in a small package – the new 45 cm dishwashers from Miele Measuring just 45 centimetres wide, the G 5000 SL generation offers a host of high-quality, convenient features that have so far been the preserve

66

of larger appliances: extremely convenient loading, top performance and, of course, networking. At the heart of this new range is EcoPower technology, which makes use of an improved circulation pump, new spray arms and a highly effective filter system. This means that water consumption is reduced to six litres in the automatic programme and energy efficiency is able to achieve standards of up to A+++ -10%, with outstanding cleaning results. Besides that, the patented AutoOpen drying feature ensures outstanding drying results by opening the door slightly at the end of the programme.

Thanks to the unique technology used in the production of the Biser Belisimo young cheese, all the best characteristics of fresh milk are retained in their unaltered form. With its delicate aroma and taste, this cheese offers a variety of serving options, blending perfectly with the entire spectrum of dishes, from savoury to sweet.

If you are going to serve it with traditional hors d'oeuvre, it goes best with salted prosciutto, smoked meats and tasty kulen sausage from Srem County. A bite of Belisimo cheese will soften the sharpness of dried meat, refine it and round it off. A glass of semi-

is a perfect choice to combine with sweet tastes. Try it topped with a teaspoon of honey, almonds and walnuts or with a little homemade forest fruit jam. Have a glass of sweet Muscat wine with it and you will get a perfect dessert.

Belisimo young cheese is also a great choice for a nutritionally rich breakfast, served in a hot croissant or sandwich, as well as a tasty solution for a quick light lunch, eaten with lettuce. The unique packaging of the Biser Belisimo young cheese is easily recognizable, while serving is even easier since it is already pre-cut into perfect slices.

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

Give us a chance to make your vacation special.

Choose a date from 13.09.2020 onwards and plan your vacation in the most luxurious resort on the Adriatic coast - Maestral Resort & Casino. We will double everything you get with your reservation! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be our guests this September.

Luxury rooms in a unique location, where you can enjoy the sound of splashing waves and feel the scent of iodine.

We are widely recognized for our professional and polite staff and abundant amenities.

Maestral Club • International cuisine Jade • Chinese cuisine Terrace • Buffet restaurant Check out why we make September special!

www.maestral.info • e-mail: reservations@maestral.info

67

BEGINNER’S LUCK

Why Democracy Thrives in Some Places and Not in Others It’s a matter of history and good fortune, says David Stasavage wo common beliefs about democracy are that it began in ancient Athens and, on spreading from there, remained peculiarly Western. David Stasavage, a professor of politics at New York University, finds both views mistaken. Without them, he thinks it will be easier to get hopes and fears for present-day democracy into better perspective and balance.

Understood as government by consultation and consent, democracy, he shows, can be found in many early civilisations, not just classical Greece—including ancient Mesopotamia, Buddhist India, the tribal lands of the American Great Lakes, pre-conquest Mesoamerica and pre-colonial Africa. With that spread in mind, he writes that under given conditions, “democratic governance…comes naturally to humans”. The puzzle is that autocratic governance was just as natural. It, too, was found in many places. In pre-modern China and the Islamic world, for example, autocracy— together with a centralised bureaucracy—was for centuries the norm.

To find out why early democracy occurred where it did, the author draws on evidence from archaeology, soil science, demographics and climate studies. The key, in his account, was information.

Early democracy tended to flourish where rulers knew little of what people were growing and had few ways to find out. They might underguess taxable produce (forgoing revenue) or overguess (provoking non-compliance). It was better to ask people how much they grew and, in return, listen to their demands. That pattern was typical where populations were small and a central state weak or non-existent.

With big populations, consultation was impractical. Rulers instead sent officials to see how much was grown and, before long, how many young men could be drafted into armies. Bureaucracies emerged. With their aid, autocratic rule imposed itself on local custom. In pre-modern settings, this autocratic bureaucracy was more common where soil

T

68

READ THIS ON WEB

PRE-MODERN EUROPE HAD (WITH EXCEPTIONS) DEMOCRATIC CUSTOMS AND WEAK RULERS WITHOUT EFFECTIVE BUREAUCRACIES was good, yields high and knowhow advanced, especially in writing and measuring. Such systems were able to tax heavily. Song China (10th-13th centuries) and the Abbasid Caliphate (8th-13th centuries) extracted at their height respectively 10% and 7% of gross yearly product. Medieval European rulers managed barely 1%.

Once established, central bureaucracies were hard to dismantle. They took well to modernity and new technologies. Early democracy, by contrast, was notably—although not fatally—vulnerable to the rise of modern states and rapid economic development. It accordingly vanished in many places, while surviving in others.

Modernity and central states, in other words, allowed for either autocracy or democracy. But was there a pattern? Mr Stasavage thinks so.

He calls it “sequencing”. “If the early democratic institutions of government by consent are established

first,” he writes, “then it is possible to subsequently build a bureaucracy without veering inevitably into autocracy or despotism.” It depends on what went before.

FIRST-MOVER ADVANTAGE Awkwardly for this argument, the West is the one part of the world where early democracy of the smallscale, direct kind evolved most securely into modern, representative democracy. Does that not make democracy peculiarly Western after all? In modern democracy’s three waves—in the 19th century, post1945 and post-1989—Western democracy was first. Despite glaring collapses, it has fared best. Yet, in Mr Stasavage’s telling, there was nothing essential—a liberal outlook, say, or respect for property, or a gift for industry—that tied the West and modern democracy together, beyond the luck of the past.

Pre-modern Europe had (with exceptions) democratic customs and

weak rulers without effective bureaucracies. Where it occurs, and is not wiped out by autocracy, consensual government, the author writes, leaves “very deep traces”. Democracy and autocracy each have strong roots. There are good reasons to expect each to endure.

That conclusion may seem small yield for such intellectual labour.

But a bracing stringency is one of the virtues of “The Decline and Rise of Democracy”. It sweeps across the globe in command of recent scholarship. It takes an economic view of politics as putative bargaining between rulers and ruled, dispensing with what actual people thought and did and skirting fastidious analysis of key ideas. Its strongest lessons are negative: it shows how complex democracy’s patterns are and, on the evidence, how simpler accounts of its past and prospects stumble.

The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today.

By David Stasavage. Princeton University Press; 424 pages; $35 and £30.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

CULTURE

New Tales From the Plains Second edition of the Izgubljeni u Ravnici (Lost in the Plains) book in bookstores now!

Carpathians, and even Muslims, who settled here after the Second World War. All of them are gracing the pages of this book, which also talks about the two saddest chapters in Vojvodina's history - the Holocaust against Jews and the Danubian Swabians who suffered persecution and were thrown into concentration camps immediately after the war. Plus, the book goes a step further and describes the Seventh-day Adventists, as "the first conscientious objectors" or "the first resisters" in Serbia, Protestants who happened to co-live with the Serbs, just like in the American plains, but also Africans in Vojvodina, the latest addition to the stratum of Vojvodina immigrants.

The book's reviewer, Professor Boris Stojkovski, PhD, says: "Written in a beautiful style and in a language everyone can understand, this book is an inexhaustible source of curiosity to its readers, full of interesting and hidden stories about known, as well as less-

READ THIS ON WEB

fter the success of the first edition of the popular history book 'Lost in the Plains', written by Žikica Milošević in late 2017, and published by Color Media Communications, a second, supplemented edition has seen the light of the day. This time, the young writer Milan Kuzmanović, who has just returned from postgraduate studies in Shanghai, co-authored the book.

The topic is again the history of the peoples of Vojvodina, some of whom came to stay forever in the plains of Vojvodina (very few hills, truth be told).

Some nations were not so lucky, so they moved away or assimilated with others and eventually completely disappeared.

The book talks about interesting nations that you probably never knew they lived in Vojvodina such as the Spaniards, Italians, French, Greeks, Armenians, and Poles, as well as those well-known from our history like the book character

A

of longevity. Although none of the authors is historians by vocation, they have a good command of the methodology of historical science. Indeed, in the best manner of the historical teachings of Fernand Braudel, as if they were followers of the French analysts, Milošević and Kuzmanović present to the readership Vojvodina in which peoples and civilizations have been mixing for centuries." Žikica Milošević, the main author of the book, says: "I am glad that we have prepared the second edition thoroughly, and that the field research was exciting and detailed. Many interesting interlocutors, exclusive pictures, and conversations with locals and historians are woven into this exciting book which will be fun reading material but will also broaden your horizons. I am confident of that.“ The new book has 33 tales, instead of 21 as in the first edition, and 260 instead of 132 pages. 12 tales are new and the rest

MILOŠEVIĆ AND KUZMANOVIĆ PRESENT TO THE READERSHIP VOJVODINA IN WHICH PEOPLES AND CIVILIZATIONS HAVE BEEN MIXING FOR CENTURIES called Kir Janja who was a Wallachian, the book's author Jovan Sterija Popović or Mihajlo Pupin or Kosta Hadži. There are also Albanian Catholics who became Croats, Albanian Orthodox and Bulgarians who became Serbs, then Czechs who have their village in the south of Banat where they speak only the Czech language, the Bulgarian Catholics who write in Latin script, but also the Croatian nobles of central Banat, the Kalmyks, Asian Buddhists who came and went with the tsarist Russian army and nobility, the White Russians, the people who enriched the cultural scene of the Balkans upon their arrival, and of course, all those nations who are still living there. Then there are also Slovenian oilmen, the Serbian pirates from the Danube, the Romanian road bandits from the

er-known people that lived or are still living in contemporary Vojvodina. The significance of this book is that the authors have decided to present the two constants - multiculturalism and migration - as a fact

are all supplemented with new facts. The book will cost 990 dinars and can be purchased from street booksellers, in Laguna bookstores and by order from Color Media Communications.

69

CULTURE

The New Calendar of Belgrade Dance Festival Instead of its spring term, the 17th Belgrade Dance Festival will be held in September and November, 2020. under the slogan sensations (re-constructed) future, but it actually represents this here and now. It is about the distance between people, about the fear of an uncertain future, about the lack of emotions and a state of excessive self-protection that isolates us.

It is a sad and multi-layered piece that brings the aesthetic of attractive movie stories!

Do you think that our world is a place of helpless people?

— Yes, I think that we are becoming more and more vulnerable, and we have to find new energy sources, so we can continue living. Relying on others, their love, the fate of the planet, awareness about the future to come, human relationships… everything is in danger. We do not have the possibility to stop that type of “progress” that we probably do not even need.

READ THIS ON WEB

n accordance with the international measures prescribed in order to prevent the spread of the Covid 19 virus, measures to ban public gatherings, and a state of emergency declared in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade Dance Festival had to postpone all planned performances only a few days before the beginning of its main program. The re-constructed version of the festival’s program managed to keep its biggest sensations, and the festival will have an important task of renewing good energy, positive thoughts and bringing smiles to our faces. The new calendar is different, and it was made through the touching synergy between the artists and the organizers. Divided

I

into two parts, the festival will last from September 11th to September 30th, and from November 2nd to November 8th, in Belgrade and Novi Sad. For Diplomacy & Commerce choreographer Marcos Morau (La Veronal from Barcelona will perform on September 11th at the Opera Madlenianum), choreographer Herve Koubi (Herbe Koubi Company from Cannes will perform on September 15th at the Opera Madlenianum) and actor and dancer Alfonso Baron (Un Poyo Rojo from Buenos Aires will perform on September 19th at the Belgrade Drama Theater and September 20th at the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad) talk about their arrival at the Belgrade Dance Festival, but also about the situation in the creative industry and art world.

CHOREOGRAPHER MARCOS MORAU - LA VERONAL

After a few years, but also a terrible pandemic outcome in Spain, Your Company is coming back to Belgrade. Tell us something about this new production.

“Pasionaria” is an allegory of the present that we live in.

It seems like a strange, distant place, one that belongs to the

WE NEED THE AUDIENCE, AND IT IS HARD FOR US TO BELIEVE IN THIS NEW NORMAL WHERE IN SOME THEATERS THEY PUT PLANTS ON THE SEATS INSTEAD OF PEOPLE 70

Recently you performed at the Festival GREC in Barcelona. What is the situation in Spain, we are following the news that all festivals are open, that there were performances under an open sky, but also in the theaters.

— One of the tasks of art is to be constantly shared, to offer questions and answers, to provide refuge and to enable re-examination of our decisions. The theater cannot stop! It is needed more today than before the pandemic. The audience, numerous organizers, theater directors and artists are proof of this.

We all worked so we can return to the stage, but also to feel safe. We are looking forward to coming to Belgrade.

I congratulate the Festival on the organization of our arrival. We are surprised that “Pasionaria” will be the first event in theaters in Serbia after the state of emergency. And in that sense, Belgrade Dance Festival is an accomplishment, exactly as it is described by the critics

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

of the Guardian, La Reppublica or the New York Times! I promise that the Spanish media will soon talk about the Belgrade Dance Festival!

ACTOR AND DANCER ALFONSO BARON – UN POYO ROJO

As an artist, what is your experience of the pandemic?

How did you get back to work and the shows?

— When we have an idea or a proposal we immediately go in the studio, create, construct. Now that was not possible. The pandemic forced us to continue to work, but without sharing the same space. We were in different cities, we discussed through various apps, researched, read and watched videos. The body was more still and the mind was more active.

We fought to keep our performances, change the dates, we were constantly in contact with festivals, different stages… In March this year we were in the middle of a tour that included performances in France, Sweden, Norway… We were supposed to continue to Spain and then arrive in Belgrade and Novi Sad. But from Spain we had to return to Paris and that is how our journey ended. A good thing is that we were able to return to our homes and we were not trapped somewhere far away from our homes. We have not been on stage for a long time, something that we missed a lot, given that Un Poyo Rojo is a very active company, that only last year produced close to 250 shows.

They say that performing arts suffered the most damage, what is specific with contemporary dance?

— Dance needs a space to be able to keep its essence. To confine or limit dance is impossible. As a result of these times, various channels, dusted videos or suggestions such as live streaming appeared, even festi-

vals that are held in rooms were broadcasted via social networks … All that are not performing arts, because there is no stage, nor true experience. We need the audience, and it is hard for us to believe in this new normal where in some theaters they put plants on the seats instead of people.

Your show at the Venice Dance Biennale was very important for you in the past. What happened after the Biennale? How do you think the festivals will look like in the future?

— The Venice Biennale was important as well as other great festivals we have attended such as the festivals in Avignon, Edinburgh, Adelaide, Montreal, and also the Dance Festival in Buenos Aires. We are looking forward to the show at the Belgrade Dance Festival, that we will soon add to this important list. However, besides festivals, performances in small cities or towns are equally important, because the stage deserves the same respect and professionalism whatever the occasion.

The company Un Poyo Rojo was created 11 years ago, and we have performed on several continents and many countries. In fact, for 11 years, in order to reach the audience, we have not stopped creating and traveling. We do not know how the festivals are going to look like in the future, but we hope that they do not change too much.

CHOREOGRAPHER – HERVE KOUBI

Can you imagine life without a handshake, a hug, a kiss, or without closeness with the audience?

— No, no and no. The stage is our space, and there is no screen that can replace it. The older I get, the more I realize that my pharmacy degree helped me to be pragmatic, and to believe in the creative processes that have a serious and tangible result.

In what way did you connect those two fields that are seemingly unrelated?

— They are most likely connected by the way that we construct the questions that we should ask. My choreographies are primarily created out of desire, which is far from science. However, at some point, the choreography has to be set in the right way. I look at my work on choreography as an equation setting.

How would you describe the current state in art?

dance acceptable, and to make the language of choreography layered, intriguing, intelligent.

Sometimes I think that is not so fashionable in France when it comes to financial support, but I am glad that I have a large audience.

How do you see the measures that have been taken in France during the health crisis? In what way are they good and in what way are they not?

— Today, a lot of things are still unclear. If I wanted to criticize, I would say that the first meas-

MY JOB IS TO MAKE THAT DANCE ACCEPTABLE, AND TO MAKE THE LANGUAGE OF CHOREOGRAPHY LAYERED, INTRIGUING, INTELLIGENT — I think that this question is very important. However, the answer that would come only from a perspective of an artist would be pretentious. I will try to answer, from a point of view of a pharmacist. Art holds up well and is ill at the same time. It holds up well because it suits the image of the world that we live in and because it is in the right place. It is ill because of the powerful mainstream and the threat to freedom of thought. I am French and I think there are some topics that deserve bigger support from the public institutions in comparison to some others. I understand that a promotion of a common dance, Mediterranean culture, now when we come from all over the world and from different cultures, is not very interesting for the ones who decide about this support. Also, the latter often choose one way of thinking and lack a sense for other voices. My job is to make that

ures have been implemented too late. I am an optimist because I want to be one. Otherwise, we would all lose our minds. I hope that we will be able to return to dancing soon…

I do not understand why we can use air transportation with disinfection and wearing a mask all around the world, without it being possible to open the doors of theaters that have 200, 500 or a thousand seats, using the same principle. It is absurd. Only in theaters, some distance between people is being kept, and rules are respected. In the buses or trains, you can already sit without keeping distance between people.

How do you see art after Covid19?

— I am afraid that I may be wrong, but I see it even stronger. There, very sincerely. In any case, I think about it that way.

Barbarian nights are finally coming to Belgrade. I am thankful to Aja Jung for that!

71

The Warp and the Weft I went to Stara Planina at the invitation of Violeta, a dear Serbian friend of mine who is the heart and soul of an organization I have come to love and respect STORY

ANNE GODFREY Wife of the United States Ambassador to Serbia: Stories Along The Way

READ THIS ON WEB

left Belgrade last week for a part of Serbia located in the southeast, right on the Bulgarian border.

By myself. I just pointed the jeep in the direction of a city called Pirot, followed the GPS for about 3 hours, then followed someone else’s car for another hour (along a winding road I would never have navigated myself because once I left the outskirts of Pirot I had no signal and absolutely no sense of direction) to the village of Do-

I

It supports and encourages the teaching and passing of these skills from women who have them to women who do not.

This is done by means of workshops and cooperatives, which are financially, creatively, and practically supported all over Serbia by Ethno Mreza. They use grants and funding to provide space and to hold competitions and exhibits. They advocate for them with local and national government. They provide skilled training.

BY THE END OF THE EVENING I HAD BEEN TAUGHT HOW TO DO THE SERBIAN KOLO – A KIND OF TRADITIONAL CIRCULAR DANCE jkinci (pronounced Doykintsi) and found myself cut off from the world of wifi by a wall of mountains and a ceiling of clouds.

I could write a book about the four days I spent there.

ETHNO MREZA (ETHNO NETWORK) I do it a disservice here by giving it so little print space, but you need just a little background. The group promotes the preservation of traditional Serbian culture and lost skills.

72

holds 3 Weaving colonies in 3 different locations. They invite up to 20 women to work with weaving masters to learn or improve the skills necessary to create traditional weaving motifs for carpets. They are funded in part by grants from the United States and Canada, and in part by the local governments of the cities where they take place. Last week, the colony was in Dojkinci, Stara Planina, in the South Eastern part of Serbia. Each colony holds a Diplomatic day, where diplomats are invited to visit and see the work done by the organization, watch the ladies at work, and also to see the beauty of the local

area. Covid-19 has seriously cramped the style of the colonies this year.

This one had been postponed twice already.

Anyone who knows me, even a little, knows that I am a bit of a crafter (okay, that’s an understatement). So, a little sheepishly, I asked Violeta if it might be possible for me to go, not just as a visiting Diplomat, but as a student, for the full four days, to learn to weave.

Moreover, that’s how I ended up there.

It is still difficult for me to write about the impact of the four days I spent at the weaving Colony. I will start by saying that I have a new respect

But more than that – they encourage the women to sell what they make. They provide training and example for how to do this. They form communities. They empower women. They give them self-worth.

These 130 words do not even scratch the surface of what this organization does for the hundreds of Serbian women they now have under their 15-yearold umbrella.

Okay – I’m getting there.

Yes. Stara Planina Every year, Ethno Mreza

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

and admiration for the carpet weavers of Pirot. I look forward to the time when we will order a carpet for ourselves and I will not, for a second, question the price.

I have to say I felt a thrill of anticipation as I walked past the looms tightly threaded with the white warp; the balls of softly coloured wool wound and piled invitingly on the table; the motif patterns ready. I loved every minute of the time I spent at the loom. I have spoken with both newspaper and TV journalists about my time learning with my wonderful teachers, Slavica and Marija, and expressed my personal pride in how I finished my piece and saw the improvement in my skill.

What I cannot begin to express is how it feels to learn a new skill, to work with my hands, to feel something new

grow under my fingers and eyes, to watch as the threads and colours become what you want them to become…or sometimes not.

But Stara Planina is also one of Serbia’s most beautiful natural locations and the food is all grown locally. I bought blueberries and honey. We went out hiking to a local waterfall and a canyon – seriously, a fraction of what there is to see there. Its own Entwoods and Rivendell.

I bombarded the boys and Anthony with photos, in an effort to persuade them to venture out to see the fabulous nature for themselves. Successfully, I might add – we are going back this weekend.

What is more difficult to put into words are the connections that I did not expect to make.

I came to the colony, also, because I wanted to hear the sto-

ries of the women who would be there. Women from all over Serbia. Women from established cooperatives who were desperately trying to make a living from their crafts. Women who never get to be alone away from the responsibilities of raising a family, or running a home. Some who had a long history of crafting and would talk for hours of their work, of the women in their associations, and the groups with whom they worked. Some who simply gave their names and faded back shyly into the background to allow others to do the talking. I wanted them to see that I valued their work, that I valued what they were doing. That I really wanted to hear from them, to hear what they had to say so that I could better speak for them.

By the last evening, because of other obligations, I was rush-

days, my halting Serbian had been decimated by weeks of isolation and I was glad of Violeta to translate for me. But by the time I left my Serbian had improved simply by osmosis – not that I knew any more vocabulary, but I was using what I knew without thinking. The ladies were very entertained by this.

Slavica allowed me to help her take my piece off the loom, and there was something almost reverent in the way she cut the threads and handed it to me. There were no goodbyes at the end, only see you next time – and the sense that I better appear at the next colony in the next city.

I just read this and I’m not sure if it adequately describes what I mean. My crafting has always been a means for me to make connections at new posts. But this is the first time

been deepened and greatly enhanced by my experience in Dojkinci. I wrote to two people while I was there to tell them that what I was experiencing was changing my whole experience of Serbia, for the better.

It was the experience of nature, the experience of local people, and I think also, the experience of something that was close to my heart.

Chatting with Violeta on our way back from one of the media events while we were there, I told her that this was what I had been waiting for. Something that made Serbia more than just about Belgrade for me.

I think I blame Covid. That we have been here for just 10 months, and for 6 of those we have, essentially, been locked into Belgrade. And for most of that time we have been locked into our (albeit beautiful) home.

I took a chance on the colo-

CHATTING WITH VIOLETA ON OUR WAY BACK FROM ONE OF THE MEDIA EVENTS WHILE WE WERE THERE, I TOLD HER THAT THIS WAS WHAT I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR ing to finish my piece. The women were constantly walking past me to give encouragement and praise. When I was inside working, they were outside relaxing, already finished, enjoying the evening weather and singing Serbian songs.

When I went out to take a break they asked me if I knew Riverdance (it’s a thing everywhere I go – when people hear I am Irish they always ask if I can do Riverdance). I say yes, I was a dancer when I was younger.

By the end of the evening I had been taught how to do the Serbian Kolo – a kind of traditional circular dance.

At the beginning of the 4

I have immediately made connections to the local community that I know with certainty will be lasting and will bring great joy and richness to my life here. It feels like going back to my roots. I think my sisters might know what I mean when they read this.

Back in February, I wrote a post about getting my feet on the ground. In it, I wrote about meeting one of the Ethno cooperatives and the connection I had made with the ladies through a shared love of working with our hands, of passing on a skill, of valuing something learned from a previous generation. This connection has

ny. I am very risk-averse. My friend knew this and spent a lot of time and energy reassuring me of the precautions they were taking to make this a safe experience for everyone.

You can probably see from the photos that they succeeded.

This article feels very unsatisfactory, to be honest. It is a bit wandering and scattered.

But at least it is out of my head and out there in the world of pen and paper now. I hope I’ve conveyed something of how important this experience was for me. How much it feels like I not only have my feet on the ground, but also my heart in the right place.

73

by Vanja Kovačev

READ THIS ON WEB

LIFE

McC McCuloch WINES

All-natural Nectar of the Gods from Fruška Gora A husband and wife partnership with Biodynamic approach to winemaking N VINO VERITAS and the truth is that love is the key ingredient for a good wine and a good life.

Mc Culloch couple - Englishman Don McCulloch and Serbian-born Seka Nikolic witness about the good life in Vojvodina where one girl’s childhood memories live in every corner of Erdevik and the quiet life of Fruska Gora which gives a lot of good energy after intense working years.

Don and Seka Mc Culloch welcomed our DC „dvojac bez kormilara “offering us to sit in their UK-Yugoslavia beautiful house decorated with interesting details such as cow horns, shell shaped ornaments and Seka's paintings. Don tells us how McC winery captivates holistic and “old world” methodologies to work with nature reminding us that the vines were grown in Fruška Gora as early as 296 AD and that modern viticulture was brought here by the Roman Emperor Probus. “Our wines are unique being completely organ-

I

74

ic and our maxima is “quality is more important than quantity. As a producer of food – and the wine is soul food- we have a huge responsibility to people who drink our wines not to put chemicals in our bottles. I have heard that as much as 125 mg of chemicals can be traced in a bottle of commercial wine now. When making wine, one has immense responsibility.”

McC wines are organic both when it comes to the technology being used to make it and the soil that the wines are grow-

I asked Seka who strongly intrigued me, where she originally comes from. She said from Sarajevo and we both started smiling as a wave of positive vigour “took over” the atmosphere when Seka and me realised we both come from the same city. The story is like in so many people from former Yugoslavia; Seka was born in Novi Sad but grew up and lived in Sarajevo being the daughter of a “vojno lice”. When I spoke more to her during that August afternoon, I realised that Seka

her exceptional powers appreciated by many including Sol Campbell of Arsenal and others, tennis stars Djokovic, Radecki, Cash and others, Rock stars Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Ian Paige - Deep Purple, Roger Daltrey -The Who, Seal, Jimmy Page, Kylie Minogue, actors like Vanessa Redgrave, Sally Hawkins, Joely Richardson and so many more. Seka got her bioenergy education in Italy, lived in Spain and finally moved to UK as per invitation by the Royal family and

AT MCC VINERY IN ERDEVIK NO ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS OR CHEMICALS ARE USED ON THE LAND OR PLANTS TO OPTIMIZE FLAVOUR, QUALITY AND INDIVIDUALITY ing on. “It took us 2 years to “prepare” or rather to cleanse the soil for the vineyard and when it was de-chemicalised we planted our “vinograd” and had our first vintage in 2011, says Don. And then, during our conversation, an interesting energy twist happened when

had several different nuances in her look- a certain English charm, a bit of Spanish sun in her eyes but Sarajevo spirit was her true inner fire. Once a Sarajevo girl – always a Sarajevo girl. Seka is now Bio-energy practitioner who is celebrated all over the world for

then met Don. Don worked as a Scotland Yard detective and an expert for terrorism. He discovered the passion for winemaking and organic vineyards while working as security officer for Prince Charles.

And the rest is history! After UK, Spain, Italy, Canary Islands

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

and New Zeeland the book of their lives is being written in the serene village of Erdevik on the slopes of Fruska Gora where Don and Seka make exceptional wine for the last 14 years. When asked if they just woke up one morning and decided that they want to become winemakers Don and Seka look at each other and smile.

Seka Mc Culloch: When my husband retired in 2009, he was not a person who can sit in a house and do nothing. I suggested why don’t we have something, a vineyard or something in my country. Don has always loved Fruska Gora. Lot of my family live around here and I had such a nice memory from childhood so I always wanted to bring that back. Don was always into this vine idea and he knew a lot about organic and biodynamic winemaking because he learned about it while working for Prince Charles who is very interested in biodynamic approach.

Don Mc Culloch: I think I was very lucky that I met Seka in London and that I heard a lot about your country especially Fruska Gora which was always one of those places that to me was like a magical name and a place I always wanted to visit. I was 30 years serving police officer in London, 27 years of that was in Scotland Yard, working with a British Royal family for 15 years and the last 10 years with counter terrorism.

When I worked with the Roy-

al family with prince Charles who has a lot of organic farms all around the country, I started hearing the word biodynamic and so that just sort of encouraged me to go and find out a little bit more about that. When the opportunity came to perhaps create our own vineyard we both thought why not to try to follow as best we can the biodynamic principles and try to do something very special with the land, look after the land not to contaminate the land, to do something amazingly healthy and make good wine.

rectly but in general, so I always knew about Yugoslavia.

One of the first places I visited when I was 13 was a school trip to Opatija and that really opened my eyes to a different world because London at that time was pretty depressed and it was a terrible place to be; there was still a lot of bombed out places so coming here that was the my first journey to Yugoslavia.

McC is a unique winery. Organic and holistic are the two key words.

Don Mc Culloch: Yes, we look

vine so that it becomes strong by the preparations we put on and in that way it produces a good vine, in my view. A lot of the Grand Cru vines of France are all biodynamic so this is a starting point. If you look in Romanée-Conti and Pétrus all these people they are all biodynamic. So, it was my idea to produce a biodynamic vineyard because it is a step up from conventional wine making. “ Mc Culloch couple now live in Erdevik growing the organic grapes and making seven different types of wines which are

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NURTURE THE LAND AND LET’S TRY TO USE A LITTLE CHEMICAL AS WE POSSIBLY CAN AND THAT WOULD JUST FEED IN TO ALL THE FOOD THAT WE EAT AND TO THE ANIMALS THAT WE REAR Love to Seka brought you to Serbia but Don it seems you were destined to move here?

Don Mc Culloch: “Yeah, I think so. In terms of Yugoslavia I am additionally connected because my father Norman Mc Culloch coincidently was here during the 2nd World War 1943 with partisans. He spent about 18 months here. He was a Royal Marine Commander and he came ashore at Split and was fighting the Germans with partisans. When I was a youngster we were brought up with Tito, we always knew who Tito was, had the pictures of Tito in the house because I think Tito made quite an impression on my father, I am not saying di-

at winemaking fairy holistically and as an organism so everything we do here is in accordance with that approach; we keep the waste from the winemaking process which we compost with the biodynamic preparations and then we put it back on to the land. So, there is a cycle, this constant flow in the organism going on that just sort of enriches the land and just makes it more powerful. The idea is for the grapes to be fed by the land. We don’t feed the grapes so all we try to do is to feed the land and then the grapes have to get on with themselves, so we don’t do any systemic feeding, everything is purely through the root of the

served on the English court and in Serbia’s best restaurants and wine shops. In 2014 McC red wines received 3 winning medals. The Coupage 2011, the red wine from McC first ever vintage won a Bronze in the Decanter World Wine Awards, and then went on to win a Silver in the Vino.rs Great Serbian Wine Tasting Competition in Belgrade. The Vino.rs Awards then put the Coupage 2012 to the test and awarded it a Gold. The Coupage 2011 and 2012 are made from 4 red grapes; Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and are aged in Serbian oak barrels for 12 months www.mccullochwines.com.

75

by Robert Čoban REPORTAGUE

Lead-Gray Sea and Pine-Coloured Sky Everything is unpretentious on the island and a bit dilapidated, but with a charm that comes from an unusual mixture of Austro-Hungarian and socialist allure, which is a direct consequence of Kupelwieser's 20 and Tito's 30 years spent on the Brioni islands – the two la belle epoque archipelagos. Everything before, after and in between did not have the same splendour

READ THIS ON WEB

t’s midnight on a dock in the Sveti Nikola bay on the island of Mali Brion. Acting like a caring father, Duško Ljuština, is walking from boat to boat – from the big one with 300 people that sails to Fažana and small speedboats to yachts that transport VIP guests to the Neptun Hotel on the island of Veliki Brion. "Put those ropes away, someone will trip over and fall into the sea!" Duško warns.

Lidija Udovički, who jumped into the water at her own accord to celebrate the 20th birthday of the festival created by her talented sister Lenka, swam to the dock, hugged Duško and, glowing in the light of the midnight moon, said: "The past 20 years would not have been possible without him!" Responsible, moral, but also a jokester from Lika, who is still using the age-old expressions of people from Lika that I only heard my mother-in-law use and nobody else, Duško has been mas-

I

76

terfully leading the Ulysses Festival for 20 years, just like he had managed the Kerempuh Theatre (formerly Jazavac) in Zagreb for almost three decades.

Three years ago. on Ulysses’ terrace, I watched him how he welcomed Ivan Todorić, the heir of the then bankrupt Agrokor and a former sponsor of the festival, and his wife Milica. The young Todorić, whose company they had longed for only a couple of years earlier,

from Fažana to the Brioni. As always, we were seated in the outdoor area of the Neptun Hotel and we ordered cheese from Pag and the Malvasia wine. Just as we were about to finish off the second bottle, Joely Kim Richardson, a Hollywood actress known to our audience as Julia from the series Nip/Tuck, came in, riding a bike. Joely is the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, a great friend of Rade Šerbedžija and the Ulysses Festival, and the sister of actress Nata-

She came instead of her mother, who does not travel during the pandemic due to her age.

By the way, Croatia is the first choice for summer vacation for many people from Serbia this year, since Croatia doesn’t have such strict entry rules compared to Greece, Bulgaria or Montenegro. All you need is a negative PCR test or a written confirmation that you will be accommodated for 14 days (in other words, you will spend two weeks in quarantine). Rovinj, the Brioni and the whole of Istria are full of tourists from Serbia. I saw them everywhere I went.

Oliver Dragojević’s song “Cesarica” plays on the terrace of the Neptun Hotel located on the other side of the harbour on the Veliki Brion. My room at the Karmen Hotel doesn’t have air conditioning but it has one of the best views of the Mediterranean. Once the clouds started casting a shadow over the harbour, the scene reminded me of the lyrics of the famous Šerbedžija’s song, written by Arsen Dedić – “Lead-gray sea and pine-coloured sky…”

The Austro-Hungarian industrialist, Paul Kupelwieser, built the hotel in 1913. In 1893, he bought the entire archipelago with a plan to develop tourism there. Kupelwieser’s ap-

SHORTLY AFTER THE WAR, IN 1947, JOSIP BROZ TITO SET FOOT ON THE BRIONI FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND THAT PAVED THE PATH FOR THE NEW HISTORY OF THE ARCHIPELAGO was shunned in Zagreb at that time, but Ljuština welcomed him with the same attention as he welcomed all the current festival patrons or Vanessa Redgrave or non-VIP guests.

A couple of hours earlier, I disembarked from a ship that was transporting passengers

sha Richardson, the late wife of Liam Neeson, who tragically died on a skiing trip in 2009.

Joely, who looks as if she hasn’t aged a year since the filming of Nip/Tuck in 2003, greets everybody with an elbow ‘hello’ in accordance with the practice imposed by the "new normal".

proach to implementing this plan was stern and typically German. To combat malaria, he turned to the famous bacteriologist Robert Koch, who first sent his associates to the Brioni, and then came the islands himself. According to their instructions, all ponds,

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

which were home to mosquitoes that were the main malaria carriers, were covered in dirt, and patients were treated with quinine. The disease was eradicated in only one year.

After this successful endeavour, the construction of big hotels commenced. By 1913, four hotels with 320 beds and a dozen villas were built. In 1908, the islands got running water from the mainland. The islands were also advertised as a climatic health resort, and since 1910, they also had their own weekly called Brioni-Inselzeitung. The beautiful building in the harbour called The House for Boats, built in the Art Nouveau style, was home to a local doctor back in the day, while today it houses a small museum where we learned about many famous guests that vacationed on the Brioni – the Romanian King Michael, painter Gustav Klimt, inventor Guglielmo Marconi, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, writers James Joyce and Thomas Mann, composer Richard Strauss…

Shortly after the war, in 1947, Josip Broz Tito set foot on the Brioni for the first time, and that paved the path for the new history of the archipelago; even more spectacular than the one from the Art Nouveau era. In 1949, the Brioni was Tito's designated island residence. Here, as a host and statesman, he received 53 heads of states and political parties, even more prime ministers, government ministers and foreign delegations - from Queen Elizabeth II through Gaddafi, Khrushchev and Gorbachev to the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Barton through to Sophia Loren to Gina Lollobrigida. During those thirty years, especially in the last decade before Tito's death, it seemed that the entire planet came to call on the President of Yugoslavia. The exhibition called "Tito on the Brioni" is also dedicated to this epoch. After seeing the exhibition, one can deduce that all the states that emerged from the disintegration of Yugoslavia will never succeed in having even a small part of the international reputation and prestige that Tito secured for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Ti-

to's 5.6-metre-long Eldorado Cadilac from 1953 is parked in front of the museum.

As in previous years, the reason why I came to the Brioni again was the famous festival Ulysses which a couple of artists and spouses Lenka Udovički and Rade Šerbedžija have been organizing for 20 years under the masterful baton

concert. Actors and directors who have participated in the festival over the last 20 years spoke via video messages, and there was a particularly emotional segment that was dedicated to actors and film workers who are no longer with us, including Nebojša Glogovac who starred in the play "A Drunk November Night in 1918".

everything is kind of frozen in time, as if you were back in 1983, during breakfast the hotel pianist plays classical melodies on the terrace, there are no bars with loud music, and no "drunk Englishmen" and "arrogant Russians" as elsewhere across the Adriatic - just nice people including a lot from Belgrade. My room has WiFi only

IN THE YEAR WHEN THE PULA FILM FESTIVAL AND THE FESTIVALS IN MOTOVO AND GROŽNJAN WERE CANCELLED, ŠERBEDŽIJA'S FESTIVAL ON THE BRIONI IS THE ONLY SUCH EVENT THAT TOOK PLACE

20 YEARS OF THE FESTIVAL: Rade Šerbedžija, Matija Dedić and Gabi Novak on the stage on the Mali Brion

of the aforementioned Duško Ljuština. In the year when the Pula Film Festival and the festivals in Motovo and Grožnjan were cancelled, Šerbedžija's festival on the Brioni is the only such event that took place. The concert in honour of the festival’s 20th birthday was held in a rather unusual way - the stage was on the island while the audience watched the programme from the boats in front. In addition to the hosts, Gabi Novak, Vlatko Stefanovski, Damir Urban, Darko Rundek and Matija Dedić also performed at the

The concert lasted the perfect two and a half hours and everything went smoothly except when two girls in bathing suits on a yacht nearby started talking so loudly (as a result of the content of their glasses) during Rade’s recital of the famous poem “Ne Daj Se Ines” that we felt tempted to throw them in the sea.

The Brioni is a national park and all facilities on it are owned by the state, which has had many negative but also several extraordinary positive effects.

There are no cars on the island,

on the terrace and occasionally, you can ‘steal’ the Internet from one of the yachts that are anchored a few metres away.

Everything here is unpretentious and a bit dilapidated, but with a charm that comes from an unusual mixture of Austro-Hungarian and socialist allure, which is a direct consequence of Kupelwieser's 20 and Tito's 30 years spent on the Brioni islands – the two la belle epoque archipelagos.

Everything before, after and in between did not have the same splendour.

77

CULTURE CALENDAR

Tourist walks in Belgrade

KOLARAC Programme

BELGRADE PROMS Sept. 20th at 11am Concert Hall

Art Ensembe “Stanislav Binički” Conductor: Pavle Medaković Dušan Toroman, piano Milena Maleš, piano Marija Kovač, flute, Program: Bach

EPIPHANY – SELFNESS PRESENCE Exhibition by Zorana Milićević Opening – Sept.15th at 7pm, Art Gallery The exhibition will be open until Sept. 26th every day except Sunday from 10am to 8pm.

2nd Wine Garden at Botanical Garden, September 19-20th Traditional tourist walks in Belgrade are held regularly regardless of the major problems with the COVID-19 epidemic. With all the precautionary measures, including personal responsibility and with the remark that walks, logically, are held outdoors, tourist walks are held every weekend.

Registration by phone for all tours is necessary and tours are organised with a minimum of five registered persons. Information and reservations: 0637741181. The tours are copyrighted and guided by a licensed tour guide.

HISTORY OF THE CITY IN 1000 STEPS

Every Friday "The Street of King Peter” - the history of the city in 1000 steps" Departure time: 18.00 Meeting place: Kralja Petra Street 2 Tour duration: two and a half hours

LOVE STROLL THROUGH BELGRADE

Every Saturday "Love stroll through Belgrade" Departure time: 16.00 Gathering place: fountain "Devojka sa krčagom" Pioneer Park Tour duration: two and a half hours

PEOPLE AND THEIR ENDOWMENTS

Every Sunday "Endowments - noble people with a great heart" Departure time: 13:00 Meeting place: Nikola Pašić Square Tour duration: two and a half hours,

78

The second Wine Garden event will be held at the Botanical Garden Jevremovac from September 19-20th from 12 pm to 20 pm. The visitors can expect carefully selected wines, cheeses and other treats available for tasting. The magical environment of the Botanical Garden will be spiced up by excellent selection of acoustic music on several points and other fun programs too. This year's event will resemble a fair, but will employ considerable restrictions and safety measures. Wine stands would be set at a 10-meter distance from each other whereas the visitors will be provided guidance in order to keep physical distance as well. More info on www.winegarden.rs

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs