D&C 58

December 2020 | ISSUE No. 58 | Price 350 RSD

27 NOV

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JEAN PAUL GAULTIER EXHIBITION

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BUILDING A BETTER WORLD IS A JOINT TASK DEYANA KOSTADINOVA

UNICEF Representative in Serbia

NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR A BETTER AND MORE DIVERSE PROGRAMME Dr MIODRAG KOPRIVICA

Director-General of Radio and Television of Vojvodina (RTV)

PORTUGAL IS AVAILABLE TO HELP, AS A RELIABLE PARTNER H.E. MARIA VIRGÍNIA

Portuguese Ambassador to Serbia

NEXT YEAR IN FENER Reportage by Robert Čoban

ART WILL BE REVIVED BUT IN AN ALTERED REALITY NEDA KNEŽEVIĆ

MA, Director of the Museum of Yugoslavia

TWO DECADES OF GOOD AND LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP DR. ANŽE LOGAR

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia S P E C I A L

E D I T I ON

Slovenia FOCUS ON

H.E. DAMJAN BERGANT Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia

13 Gone, Not Forgotten...

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FOREWORD TANJA BANKOVIĆ Editor in Chief tanja.bankovic@color.rs ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD Art director indigochild.ilija@gmail.com JOVANA MARKOVIĆ Advertising manager jovana.markovic@color.rs NATAŠA NEŠIĆ Advertising director

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DRAGANA RADOVIĆ Advertising manager dragana.radovic@color.rs JELENA RANDJELOVIĆ Advertising manager jelena.randjelovic@color.rs VANJA KOVAČEV PR&Event support Nord Communications 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

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

n Saturday, September 10, 1898, at 1.35 pm, Empress Elisabeth of Austria left the Beau-Rivage Hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva and, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting Countess Irma Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály, went to the dock to wait for the ship ‘Geneva’ which was supposed to take them to Montreux. Luigi Lucheni, a 25-year-old Italian anarchist, approached her and stabbed her with a sharpened file. The Empress passed away an hour later.

This was an epoch of regicides taking place all across Europe during which many kings, princes and heirs to the throne were assassinated.

O

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.

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For more than a century, Europeans have been victims of someone's "revenge" for "injustices" inflicted on their compatriots, like-minded people or ancestors, as if Covid-19 was not enough for Europe, as it continues to randomly kill young and old, rich and poor, weak and strong.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Europeans were killed by terrorists from the IRA, ETA, Brigate Rosse and Baader Meinhof, while in the last two decades, it was mostly Islamic terrorists.

In 2020, it was both the Islamic terrorists and Covid-19.

Once the pandemic subsides, Europe has to find a common answer to many questions and one of the most important is restoring a sense of security on the streets of European cities so we can sit in peace with our family in a, say, Viennese cafe, order a melange and only be concerned with what gallery to visit next and where to go for lunch. We need to go back to the feeling that makes us happy to be Europeans and makes millions of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America want to be happy too.

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CONTENTS

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BUILDING A BETTER WORLD IS A JOINT TASK DEYANA KOSTADINOVA UNICEF Representative in Serbia

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PORTUGAL IS AVAILABLE TO HELP, AS A RELIABLE PARTNER H.E. MARIA VIRGÍNIA

”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

122 years later, on the streets of Vienna, a mad Islamic fundamentalist kills random passers-by. That night, Vienna, which, for years, has been topping the list of cities with the best life on the planet, was the scene of a bloody feast the likes of which we saw two decades ago on the streets of Paris, London, Madrid, Marseille, Munich, Brussels and many European cities.

On November 15, Netflix began airing the 4th season of "The Crown".

In the first episode, we watch the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India and a symbol of "the British imperialism", by IRA terrorists. Shortly after the assassination, the graffiti saying "13 gone, not forgotten, we got 18 and Mountbatten!" was painted on a building in Belfast in Northern Ireland which alluded to the murder of Mountbatten and 18 British soldiers in revenge for the Bloody Sunday which happened in the town of Londonderry in Ireland in 1971 (sang by U2 in their eponymous song) when the British police killed 13 Irish protesters.

Portuguese Ambassador to Serbia

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WE ARE HERE TO DEVELOP AND CONNECT THIS REGION EMRE TOKMAK Vice President of Taşyapı

WE ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE NEXT YEAR VLADIMIR VASIĆ Secretary General of the ASB

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR A BETTER AND MORE DIVERSE PROGRAMME Dr MIODRAG KOPRIVICA Director-General of Radio and Television of Vojvodina (RTV)

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MEME-PAGES AS A NEW POWER Politics

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MANY COUNTRIES NEED DEBT RELIEF Economy

WINDS OF CHANGE Analytics

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LOVE IS LOVE Jean Paul Gauthier exhibition

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ART WILL BE REVIVED BUT IN AN ALTERED REALITY NEDA KNEŽEVIĆ MA, Director of the Museum of Yugoslavia

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WHAT ARE THE FORMER AMBASSADORS DOING NOW? Diplomacy

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NEXT YEAR IN FENER Reportage by Robert Čoban

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A NEW FOREIGN-POLICY TEAM

Joe Biden Will Embrace Allies— and Enlist Them to Take on China The president-elect opts for dependability, loyalty and like-mindedness in his national-security picks s soon as Joe Biden takes over as president in January there will be a new tone in America’s foreign policy, and this week he is revealing the new team that will help set it. Its top trio, to be formally announced on November 24th, say a lot about the contrast he wishes to establish with the tumultuous President Donald Trump. His picks are predictable, solid and wedded to a belief in the rules-based international order.

His nominee for secretary of state is expected to be Antony Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state for the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. The 58-year-old is a long-marcher with Mr Biden, having worked for him from 2002 at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then (when Mr Biden was vice-president) as his national security adviser, and most recently as his top foreign-policy adviser during his campaign for the White House. In the Trump years he set up an advisory firm with Michèle Flournoy, another senior official from the Obama administration, who is tipped to become defence secretary.

For his national security adviser Mr Biden is said to have opted for another member of his inner circle, Jake Sullivan. Although, at 43, he will be the youngest person in that role since McGeorge Bundy in the 1960s, he too has a wealth of experience, having also served as Mr Biden’s national security adviser and as Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff when she was secretary of state. He is also strikingly clever.

Mr Biden’s nominee for UN ambassador, meanwhile, is expected to be Linda Thomas-Greenfield, an African-American career diplomat who was head of the foreign service and, during Mr Obama’s second term, the top official for Africa. In recent years she joined the consultancy of Madeleine Albright, a former secretary of state, and has taken a particu-

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MR BLINKEN SEES ALLIES AS VITAL IN THE COMPETITION WITH CHINA, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST FOREIGN-POLICY CHALLENGE OF THE COMING YEARS lar interest in reforms needed to modernise the State Department.

What to expect from the new team? No fireworks, for sure. Mr Biden has gone for steadiness and dependability, not high-profile public figures. Mr Blinken is not entirely conventional: he plays with a band, he went to high-school in France, his step-father was a Holocaust survivor and he has a young family. But he is viewed as a centrist who goes down well with people on both right and left. Matt Duss, Bernie Sanders’s foreign-policy adviser, called Mr Blinken a “good choice” for secretary of state, tweeting that it will be “a new and great thing to have a top diplomat who

has regularly engaged with progressive grassroots.”

America’s allies can expect completely different treatment than the badgering and battering they have been subjected to by Mr Trump. “Allies are going to have pride of place in the hierarchy of priorities” in a Biden administration foreign policy, Mr Sullivan said in a podcast with the Lowy Institute, an Australian thinktank, in September. Mr Blinken sees allies as vital in the competition with China, perhaps the biggest foreign-policy challenge of the coming years. He expects to work with “like-minded countries” to ensure that the rules of the game are fair—and allies help

give America extra clout: it’s a lot harder for China “to ignore 60% of the world’s GDP than it is to ignore a quarter of it,” he said this spring at Meridian, a Washington-based centre for diplomacy.

Mr Blinken also thinks it has been a big mistake for America to pull back from its leadership role in international institutions in the way that Mr Trump has done: “that simply creates a vacuum,” he says. At the UN Ms Thomas-Greenfield’s job will be to show the world that America is back. That will come naturally to her. The sorts of issues on which she believes America should lead, but has stopped doing so—refugees and humanitarian issues, for example, as well as climate change—are those at the heart of the UN’s work.

On climate, in particular, the new administration intends to be back with a bang. On January 20th, its first day in office, Mr Biden intends to rejoin the Paris agreement. He is to appoint John Kerry, a former secretary of state with a passion for sustainability, as his climate tsar. The first days in office promise to be particularly busy on arms control, too, with the New START nuclear deal with Russia due to expire on February 5th unless the two countries’ presidents agree to extend it. Mr Biden would like to do so—and needs his foreign-policy team to be up and running right away.

The Biden team will no doubt be at pains to repair a lot of the damage Mr Trump has done. Yet Mr Sullivan recognises that, in shaking up American foreign policy, Mr Trump has also “created more space” for a long-overdue reckoning on some issues, including reframing the country’s relationship with China. The Biden administration’s challenge will be to make best use of that space.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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by Ruža Veljović

Building a Better World is a Joint Task UNICEF will continue to support the Government to tackle the remaining issues in the areas of health, nutrition, education, and child protection, but we will also address emerging challenges

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INTERVIEW

DEYANA KOSTADINOVA UNICEF Representative in Serbia

caling up parenting programmes requires the full integration of evidence-based intervention into the work standards of health, education and social protection systems, supported by multi-sectoral policy formulation, programming, coordination and financing. As the new UNICEF Representative, I’ll focus on the implementation of the agreed measures and scaling up of the results in cooperation with the Government during its short tenure as it was announced” said Deyana Kostadinova, UNICEF Representative in Serbia in an exclusive interview for December issue of Di-

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plomacy&Commerce magazine.

You have recently been appointed as the UNICEF Representative in Serbia. What are your priorities now and in the period ahead?

— I’ve joined UNICEF in Serbia less than two months ago at the

advancing the equity agenda. Equity means that no one is left behind, that we all work on reducing disparities, that all citizens, children and youth in particular, have fair opportunities to survive, grow and develop to their full potential.

In January 2021, a new Country Programme of Cooperation cycle

THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN IN SERBIA HAS IMPROVED IN SOME VERY CRUCIAL AREAS OVER THE PAST YEARS end of the implementation of the current Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia. It has contributed to achieving important results for children, as the latest MICS Survey has shown. Over the past five years, UNICEF, in line with its core mandate, focused on

will commence. Over the next five years, UNICEF will continue to support the Government to tackle the remaining issues in the areas of health, nutrition, education, and child protection, but we will also address emerging challenges.

There will be a renewed emphasis on adolescents and young people,

with a focus on skills building and entrepreneurship, mental health and participation. Special attention will also be paid to innovations and digitalization in education which have become even more crucial now in this new COVID reality. Climate change and environmental protection will be new areas of operation. Last, but not least, juvenile justice will remain a priority in the area of child protection.

World Children’s Day was marked in November. Given the situation with COVID-19, what was the main message this year?

— This year’s World Children’s Day was devoted to youth participation and young people who are especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An entire generation of young people will live with

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the impacts of this health crisis in the future. Therefore, we enabled young people to come together, to tell us about their challenges, to offer solutions that will ease the pandemic’s consequences, and to reimagine a world they want to live in. The Government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, recommitted to encourage young people’s participation in volunteering and other forms of activism and integrate young people's positions into the recovery plan. Together with the Minister we launched the volunteer platform Online Volunteers (Volonteri na mreži).

UNICEF has recently presented the results of the MICS 6 survey, which is the most comprehensive source of data on the current situation of women and children in Serbia. Can you tell us a bit more about the data?

— The situation of children in Serbia has improved in some very crucial areas over the past years.

For example, exclusive breastfeeding of children up to 6 months and preschool education attendance have increased. However, speaking about preschool education, less progress is observed for children living in the poorest households, Roma children and children living in South and East Serbia. It is important that these improvements continue to be prioritized so that all children, regardless of socio-economic status, geographic location or ethnicity have their rights fulfilled.

Inclusive action targeting the most socially excluded children has also yielded results. Figures on child mortality and immunisation of Roma children have significantly improved. However, in many cases their situation is still far from the national average, and therefore the continuation and systemic implementation of inclusive measures that ensure every child thrives remain critical.

The MICS survey has also shown that there are areas of stagnation as well, such as violent disciplining of children and child marriage of Roma girls. Children living in the poorest households continue to lag behind their peers when compared across most indicators. For example, only half of children up to 5 years of age living in the poorest quintile have 3 or more books at home, compared to 90 percent of children from the wealthiest quintile. Therefore, we need to build on and acceler-

ate the progress made in health, education, social protection and make the changes work for all children.

The Parents in the Spotlight conference was recently held. How important is it to develop supportive parenting, especially in today's circumstances?

— Parents are the key architects of children's lives, shaping the future generation and society. When we invest wisely in parents and families, the next generation will

financial decision makers.

While families experience extreme vulnerabilities, they are also the greatest source of resilience for children. This is a crucial time for health promotion, in particular mental health promotion, to support the capacity and desires of caregivers to care for themselves and their children.

We have witnessed disruption of some essential services for children during the pandemic. To help overcome this situation, UNICEF has been under-

COVID-19, the secondary impacts on children and families across the world of this rapidly escalating situation are unprecedented. Already 1.6 billion children are out of school and housebound due to COVID-19 related school closures – a number rising daily.

The impact on families and caregivers is huge, with illness, isolation, fear and loss of livelihoods creating extremely challenging situations for many. Already vulnerable children are more at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation

WE WILL PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO INNOVATIONS AND DIGITALIZATION IN EDUCATION WHICH HAVE BECOME EVEN MORE CRUCIAL NOW IN THIS NEW COVID REALITY pay that back through a lifetime of productivity and responsible citizenship. Global and massive evidence suggests that child services are most effective when they involve intensive parental support.

The impacts of COVID-19 on young children are less visible and risk being overlooked.

Child development, learning and play cannot be postponed. The first 1,000 days are the most crucial period of growth and development in a child's life. The crisis of care and learning generated by the pandemic, where parents became frontline responders, receives little attention and there is an urgent need to raise awareness among policy makers, including

taking measures which have the potential for delivering much needed support to young children and their families in more cost-effective ways by taking advantage of technology (e.g. tele/ video counselling when outreach and home visits were not possible, use of digital platforms, radio, television, social media to provide parents with information and support).

You have extended experience in the field of children`s right. How important is the spirit of community, especially in a crisis?

— Whilst children, fortunately, seem to be less severely affected by the direct health impacts of

as the safety nets of school, social services and community are eroded; and vital caregivers fall ill or die. Those already living in poverty will be pushed into even more dire straits as livelihoods collapse and economies suffer. In severely affected countries, health systems are already being pushed to breaking point whilst trying to cope with high numbers of people being infected.

The outbreak has also created a cascade of misinformation and fear that has spread even faster than the virus, further risking lives and damaging prevention efforts. New forms of cooperation, bold ideas and reforms are needed for policymakers, the business

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sector, and civil society to build a more resilient world and communities to restore confidence.

It is important to invest in measures to meet the needs of people in emergencies, and especially to address the specific vulnerabilities of children and families. They may not know where to turn to for guidance, and it is crucial to strengthen information and awareness, as well as technical skills.

The most important lessons learned from this crisis is that we can gather together as a community to face the challenge together. And one of the strongest voices in this community is the voice of young people who want to shape the world they will live in.

How does UNICEF help children and young migrants stranded in Serbia?

— Children are children, no matter who they are and where they come from. Every child must be protected, cared for and receive all the support and services needed to thrive.

In Serbia, UNICEF’s response focuses on the overall wellbeing of all refugee and migrant children and adolescents. We work to protect uprooted children from exploitation and violence, especially those who are not accompanied by parents or caretakers; we support school administrations to enrol and ensure regular attendance of refugee and migrant children in Serbian schools; we work with local partners to promote non-formal education and psychosocial activities; and we provide technical support on nutrition and early childhood development to institutions and frontline workers.

UNICEF designs its emergency interventions to ultimate¬ly strengthen national and local protection systems by working together with the government, local authorities and institutions at both central and municipal levels.

The excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development

I AM IMPRESSED WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC IN SERBIA, DESPITE THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN resulted in significant achievements in enrolment of children on the move in pre-university education in Serbia.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for Serbia when it comes to caring for children and youth on the one hand, but also for parents, on the other?

— The biggest challenges are related to the most vulnerable children, adolescents and their families living in poor households, Roma settlements, remote and rural areas and those with health problems, developmental delays and disabilities. Another group that deserves our efforts are children in detention centres and of those who are separated from their families and placed into residential care. The COVID-19 crisis is bringing an additional burden, as it could cause increased violence and worsening of men-

tal health conditions due to increased stress levels. Over time, multiple vulnerabilities may also lead to increases in child labour, juvenile offending, child marriages. All this results in an increased demand for social and child protection services.

All parents need support.

Therefore, universal social services together with wider social support networks play an essential role. Still, some parents need more support than others due to multiple vulnerabilities. Support for families with children in the context of the pandemic has become increasingly important. For that reason, UNICEF is working in partnership with the government and non-government actors to further strengthen universal, and particularly specialized services and measures for the most vulnerable families with children. For instance, in partnership with the

Working Group of the Ministry of Health for the Improvement of the Patronage Service and selected primary health centres, we are supporting the patronage service to develop quality ways of communicating with families via video or phone calls. Early childhood interventions teams in selected locations are continuously providing online or phone support to families with children with disabilities. We are also supporting Health Mediators to intensify their contacts with families living in Roma settlements through proactive phone calls, to help them in using health services in changed circumstances and provide them with information about COVID-19 prevention.

Finally, in the context of COVID-19 the biggest challenge is the deepening of the gap between the most excluded children and the national average in Serbia. If not addressed on time, this process could increase the inequalities and jeopardize the development of the society as a whole.

UNICEF’s numerous initiatives since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic have been strongly supported by the private sector.

How would you assess the overall awareness in Serbia?

— I am impressed with the private sector response to the coronavirus pandemic in Serbia. Despite the economic slowdown, the private sector, and particularly the business community, demonstrated a high level of solidarity and promptly responded to UNICEF’s appeal. At the end of May this year, the private sector response to the pandemic in Serbia was ranked as the third best response globally. Thanks to this precious contribution we have secured significant support to the health system in Serbia. The members of our Business Advisory Board played a leading role and demonstrated commitment to results for children. I hope that we’ll keep this momentum and scale up the achievements over all children’s policies.

COOPERATION WITH INSTITUTIONS Are you satisfied with UNICEF’s cooperation with the Government of Serbia, institutions and state bodies, etc.?

— UNICEF is committed to supporting the Government to achieve better results for every child in Serbia. We cooperate closely with the Government, our primary partner, at all levels. Over the last decade, Serbia has made significant strides in closing a number of gaps in the realisation of child rights, such as in deinstitutionalisation and education. With further socio-economic

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development, but also the new situation posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, new challenges are emerging, such as the mental health of children and youth and an overarching concern about climate change, among others.

We really need to jointly galvanise efforts and resources to ensure that the rights of all children in Serbia are met. We see as very important the roles of a vibrant civil society, socially engaged private sector, strong independent monitoring institutions and the media. Building a better world is a joint task.

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by Vanja Kovačev

Portugal is Available to Help, as a Reliable Partner We have a commitment to Europe that encompasses the Western Balkans and, naturally, Serbia INTERVIEW

H.E. MARIA VIRGÍNIA Portuguese Ambassador to Serbia

E. Maria Virgínia, Portuguese Ambassador to Serbia spoke for December issue of D&C magazine about her first year and how she felt adopted by Serbia, the fourth Portuguese Presidency of the European Union next year as well as bilateral, economic, culture and other forms of cooperation, between our two countries.

H.

Your Excellency, you came to Serbia a little over a year ago. How would you rate the first year of your tenure and what would you like to highlight in particular?

— I would like to highlight the way Serbia and the Serbian people welcomed me since the moment I arrived, which I find extraordinarily rewarding. That is why I rate quite highly my first year here in Belgrade. Then the pandemic started and, unfortunately, I had to reduce part of my contacts and limit my visits to other parts of Serbia. However, I want to resume these activities as soon as the health situation will allow it. In a nutshell, I felt adopted by Serbia.

In which areas can the bilateral and economic relations between the two countries improve?

— Our two countries, due not only to Geography and History, have had paths for the past centuries that rarely got connected on longstanding grounds, despite the good will and curiosity on both sides. In the past decades, things began to change with a much more connected world, but there are still several areas to develop.

Portugal has a commitment to Europe that encompasses the Western Balkans and, naturally, Serbia.

The stabilization of this Region, and Portugal is keen of the idea of stabilization, can only be achieved with Serbia’s involvement, as we have seen on some of the recent advances in regional integration.

Portugal is available to help, as a

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THE STABILIZATION OF THIS REGION, AND PORTUGAL IS KEEN OF THE IDEA OF STABILIZATION, CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED WITH SERBIA’S INVOLVEMENT reliable partner, Serbia in its European path and our bilateral relation can also reflect and build on that reality.

Concerning the economic areas that can be developed, I would highlight renewal energy, environment, digital and innovation, and e-government as the most interesting areas for the development of relations between our two countries. Considering our knowhow, there are opportunities for investment and development of projects with capital from both

countries. On a bilateral plan, the relationship with Portugal also provides a door to the Lusophony world, which encompasses all the continents and Serbia is already an observer in our Portuguese Speaking Countries’ Community.

Portugal will take over the Presidency of the European Union in January 2021. What challenges await you given that the coronavirus pandemic has dragged the EU into unprecedented public health and economic crisis?

— This is the fourth Portuguese Presidency and this is a particular time during an unprecedented challenging scenario. This raises the bar of expectations for our Presidency and, naturally, our ability to deliver will rise accordingly. We are committed to address all the challenges that this pandemic as thrown us upon, especially the economic and social effects for our societies and model.

Nevertheless, this will not turn us away from other questions, such as UE enlargement, for example. It is true that the COVID pandemic has managed to distress the world and take up all of the (deserved) attention; however, the EU needs to remain attentive to the geopolitical and institu-

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tional questions that continuously need to be dealt it. The pandemic will go away, and the EU will remain, and our commitment is to contribute, by the means of our Presidency, to its growing resilience.

What topics will be priorities on Portugal's agenda and what kind of plan has the country devised accordingly?

— Portugal has elected five priorities for the Presidency. The first priority is Europe’s resilience, relying on economic recovery and the much-needed reinforcement of social cohesion, both underscored by the respect for European values and for the Rule of Law, especially when dealing with COVID 19 pandemic. The second priority is Social Europe, in which Portugal will press for a political thrust implementing the European Pillar on Social Rights. The third is Green Europe, which aims to reflect the importance of addressing climate change. The fourth is Digital Europe, an area in which Portugal has showed its strengths, and that has a spectrum of application that goes beyond economy, reaching areas as digital education and digital democracy. The last is Global Europe, as Portugal is quite keen on global dialogues, and wishes to assert that EU can dialogue with all the main geopolitical actors, including Africa and Latin America.

All of abovementioned priorities have in common the idea of striving for Europe’s recovery, especially after the pandemic, through the European Social Model, and balancing the social and economic dimensions.

Which priorities should the new Serbian Government set in terms of the European integration process?

— The priorities are widely known, and they are part of an ongoing process in which Serbia and the EU are engaged. The accession process is almost like a living mechanism, and the recent meth-

FIGHTING AGAINST THE UNKNOWN IS AN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE MISSION, AND THAT WAS THE FEELING MOST OF US HAD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC CRISIS odology changes reflects that, allowing to more easily adapt to the obstacles, characteristics and needs of the candidate country.

Concerning the necessary steps, the annual Progress Report assess the areas that are fundamental for European integration, and detail the advances and shortcomings.

Bearing this in mind, Serbia must continue its economic reforms, which are already providing good results and point at an even closer and deeper euro integration, and chiefly engage in the reforms in the Rule of Law area, which are fundamental to accede but also after becoming a member. I think that adopt and implement reforms in this latter area will show Serbia’s commitment towards the European integration.

Serbia’s commitment to the European path means the awareness of

fulfilling criteria, and that fulfillment depends, first, on meaningful and concrete steps, which in our opinion, can perfectly start to happen in the upcoming months.

How do you see the EU's struggle with the coronavirus developing, given that forecasts indicate that the lockdown and long-term restrictions on trade, tourism and transport will surpass previous recessions, including the 2008/2009 financial crisis?

— Fighting against the unknown is an almost impossible mission, and that was the feeling most of us had at the beginning of the pandemic crisis. The measures that were put in place by each country were, at the beginning, individualized and reactive, therefore highly disruptive. That was normal, considering the cir-

cumstances, but fortunately, for the most part, were met with the comprehension and good will of the population. Then afterwards and in the second wave, things changed, as it was possible to have better coordination, plan better and to avoid dramatic decisions, such as closing down borders, despite the population fatigue. However, we face other challenges at a time when the pandemic has still not yet began to subside in a definite way.

Nevertheless, we also see that the EU has answers in place, such as the Recovery Program or the Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, so I would say that there is a real engagement and commitment not only to find solutions, but also to apply them in a way that real people can find appropriate answers. This does not mean that the application will be easy or immediate. However, it reminds us that there is a Union that is pooling resources and building comprehensive responses whenever possible.

How is the Portuguese Government fighting the pandemic, and what measures have been implemented to protect the economy and the population?

— There is a vast array of measures, which are continuously being tailored to deal with the evolution of the pandemic. Right now, under the emergency state, approved by our Parliament, we have circulation restrictions between different counties during weekends and holidays, and a limited curfew in place in the most severely hit regions. At the same time, Portugal keeps businesses and schools open so that the transmission circuits can be broke and the health system can cope with the demands. Telework, whenever possible, has also been imposed has an additional measures. There are also travel restrictions in place to countries outside the EU, from which only essential travels are allowed, with mandatory PCR tests.

PLANS FOR 2021 Can we expect a better situation in the coming year, and then the intensification and implementation of joint activities and programmes in tourism and culture?

— The situation can take some time to improve, but I think that, from all the signals we are getting, that in 2021 we will watch some normalization.

In addition, it will be only natural that the cultural and touristic activities restart and intensify. In fact, people will be anxious to get in touch with the world as before and this will, sooner than later, drive the demand

on programs and events related to culture and tourism. Portugal has “good press” in Servia, when we talk about culture, and I feel that there is a thirst, amongst Serbs, to discover our country at several levels. As the intensification of the cultural contacts made part of the plans for my tenure, which was affected by the pandemic, I can only hope for normal times in order to get back to this plan, hoping also for direct flights, that can also foster, based on personal experiences, the connections between our two countries.

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n the last five to ten years, the share of women in the world economy has been growing at a dizzying rate. Females not only make up an increasing percentage of the workforce but also take on the role of founders and influential leaders of companies from various industries, which employ community members and support numerous families. Thanks to engaged and responsible individuals, organizations and companies, awareness of the importance of women in the business world have been growing. Recognizing the importance of these challenges, the United Nations has defined 17 Suistanable Development Goals, the implementation of which facilitates the development of the economy while protecting human rights and the

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natural ecosystem.

NIS is one of the companies in our country that is actively working on improving gender equality. With more than 11,000 employees, this company has a strong impact on the economy, not only in business terms but also in terms of setting corporate culture standards. NIS says that the company has created an environment for their employees in which everyone gets the opportunity to

in equal opportunities for all and acting accordingly, NIS contributes to achieving gender equality in the workplace and has become an example of how to contribute to the empowerment of women and girls, as well as how to increase the role of women in business decision-making and society in general.

NIS pays special attention to the implementation of high standards for a fair and safe work-

tion, respect for equality and the rights of employees guaranteed by the Labour Law, the Collective Job Contract and the company's internal acts. NIS employees come from more than 10 countries around the world, and the company sees this diversity as an opportunity to develop and exchange the best ideas and experiences. However, diversity is also a challenge that needs to be actively addressed.

NIS GIVES EVERYONE THE SAME CHANCE, BREAKS TABOOS AND ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES MEMBERS OF THE FAIRER SEX TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS express their potential to the fullest, regardless of gender, nationality, religion or any other status that may cause unfair distinction between co-workers. Believing

ing environment for all employees, as well as for everybody with whom NIS does business. This includes unconditional respect for human rights, non-discrimina-

In order to prevent discrimination, NIS has been seriously and systematically dealing with issues relating to the position of women and gender equality princi-

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ples. Thus, this oil giant is among the 1,800 companies in the world, which are signatories to the seven women empowerment principles of the United Nations. In this way, NIS also contributes to fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the segments of gender equality and labour law.

What does this practically mean for employees? NIS has introduced special benefits for parents, such as a day off on child’s first day at elementary school and the gradual return of mothers from maternity leave. This means, among other things, that employees are allowed to work four hours a day for the first two working weeks, after returning from maternity leave, and to be paid as if they were working full time.

Furthermore, the company has been continuously working and investing in encouraging girls and women to engage in jobs that are traditionally perceived as male.

In this way, NIS gives everyone the same chance, breaks taboos and actively encourages members of the fairer sex to pursue their dreams. These activities have contributed to enviable results. Thus, for example, in 2019, 366 engineers were hired to work for NIS,

to eliminate the defect or to keep the equipment at a satisfactory level. Although she is the only woman in this position, she believes that great progress has been made, because twenty years ago, male employees found it harder to accept women at work, while now the situation is completely different. "Male employees used to struggle with accepting women at work, but, considering that I am patient and persistent, we have built a quality relationship over time. They always try to help me and take over from me, if needed, even though that amount of affability sometimes bothers me,

IN ORDER TO PREVENT DISCRIMINATION, NIS HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY AND SYSTEMATICALLY DEALING WITH ISSUES RELATING TO THE POSITION OF WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY PRINCIPLES including as many as 96 women.

One of them is Mirjana Popov, an industrial management engineer who was hired for the position of the stationary and rotary equipment mechanic at the Pančevo Oil Refinery. Her job is extremely attractive and demanding because is working on the Bottom of the Barrel Plant, which was recently commissioned. This plant is

worth over 300 million euro, and Mirjana's job is very responsible.

She is the only female mechanic in NIS and her job, after being informed about certain irregularities in the equipment’s work, is to check and detect the problem in detail, and then suggest how to solve it. Also, the mechanic provides everything that is needed, including the supply of materials,

"says Mirjana and adds that she would not change her team for anything in the world.

NIS states that adhering to high standards of corporate responsibility and commitment to the business ethics principles, behaving in accordance with the law and respecting human and labour rights will remain one of the priorities in the company's business.

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ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

How Did Music Become Popular? o you know why the collection of songs is still called the ALBUM? Here's the story. In the past, records were mostly turned at 78 rpm (remember that there were 78 rpm on the turntable, which was never used, with 33 and 45 rpm, as well as 16, for which we didn't even know what it was for), and even at 80 revolutions (some early manufacturers also had plates up to 130 revolutions). In 1925, a standard of 78 rpm was established. Although the records were the size of today's long-plays, they "played" their own so quickly that it could only fit on one side for a few minutes - one hit song or a piece of symphony. In order to be able to listen to the whole symphony or concert, it was necessary to get about 10 records in a set, which were sold in albums, literally like the ones for pictures. The single record was actually just one big record. In 1903,

NATIONAL DAYS

in December & January DECEMBER

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ROMANIA National Day

02 UAE

National Day

06 Victor introduced a 12-inch record that could play for three and a half minutes at 78 rpm.

This made it necessary for each single or hit to be shorter than this time period. And so, it remained forever! Pop form is defined by technique. As the speeds dropped, it was no longer necessary to use so much plastic for the single, so the singles were reduced in size and rotated to 45 rpm, and if further reduced to 33 rpm, it could fit several songs per one side of the plate.

FINLAND

Both 33 and 45 rpm records were made after World War II - 45 rpm singles and 33 rpm singles in 1948.

When you wanted to release a single, you printed on a small 45 rpm record (since it had another side, then the institution of "B-side of the single" was introduced, which is now mostly abandoned), and for the collection of songs, you used a large 33-rpm record, which was still called ALBUM by inertia, although now it was only one record and it did not come in the form of a picture-like album.

Independence Day

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IRAQ

National Day

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UNICEF

UNICEF Day

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HE T NETHERLANDS Kingdom Day

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MARJANA DAVIDOVIĆ New CEO of NESTLÉ Serbia

KAZAKHSTAN Independence Day

Nestlé, the global leader in food and beverage production, who has successfully been conducting business in Serbia for 15 years named the new CEO of Nestlé Serbia. The current CEO Marian Marinov – who will remain as Head of Finance and Control for SEE Markets – will be succeeded by Marjana Davidović.

Marjana Davidović garnered a huge experience in Nestlé by massively contributing to the rise of the sales sector. She began her career at Nestlé in 2007 as a Manager for Sales Development, moving to the position of Director of Sales in 2013.

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Her excellent results recommended her for the position of CEO for NESCAFÉ in Nestlé Poland.

The new CEO of Nestlé Serbia has assumed the position on 1 November. As some of her main goals, she emphasized achieving full market potential, continued growth in all segments, additional adjustment to the current situation, as well as a new round of help for companies greatly impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Marjana is a mechanical engineer, married, and has two children.

QATAR

National Day

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JAPAN

ational Day N (Emperor's Birthday)

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LIBYA

National Day

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SLOVENIA

I ndependence and Unity Day

MAXENCE LIAGRE New CEO of MPC Properties JANUAR

Mr Liagre is a leading global real estate expert with more than 20-year experience managing and leading shopping centers around the world.

Prior to joining MPC, his extensive experience includes co-founding and co-managing the Bosphorus Real Estate Fund together with Merrill Lynch, working for the American shopping centers leader company Simon Properties for 10 years and starting Reval – his own real estate company which then became a joint venture with the international real

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estate company Sonae Sierra.

Mr. Liagre has been involved in different consulting missions for numerous real estate companies and has vast experience in all aspects of commercial real estate, thus pushing him to seek new challenges where he can express both his managerial competences together with his industry know-how.

As the new CEO of MPC Properties he leads on the company’s consolidation and future expansion route.

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CUBA

Liberation Day

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SLOVAKIA

Independence Day

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UKRAINE

ay of Unity of D Ukraine

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We are proud that our company got the unique opportunity to represent Turkish construction industry on this landmark project- the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway due to the complexity of terrain.

When we add Bosnian part of the highway, we assume that total value of the project will be around four billion EUR.

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EMRE TOKMAK Vice President of Taşyapı

onnecting Belgrade and Sarajevo, which is one of the largest infrastructure projects in this part of Europe, brings significant opportunity for the business development in both countries, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Emre Tokmak, Vice President of Taşyapı, Turkish construction company, spoke for the December issue of D&C magazine about landmark projects in Serbia and the region, which are challenging and complex, as well as about humanitarian and CSR activities.

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Tasyapi designs and builds the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway, a landmark project for the economic development of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Can you tell us more about this infrastructure project?

— This project has unique importance for the development of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina throughout the Balkan region, and also gains significant opportunity for the business development in both countries. In the past, this region was faced with severe joint issues and thus this project somehow settles mutual disputes and promises bright future in the neighbourhood relations.

The construction of the highway started with the Sava Bridge on the section Kuzmin – Sremska Rača, and will follow in coming months with the motorway, in the length of 18 km. The bridge which is currently under construction will be made of premium materials and will satisfy high request in terms of design, qual-

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WHEN WE ADD BOSNIAN PART OF THE HIGHWAY, WE ASSUME THAT TOTAL VALUE OF THE PROJECT WILL BE AROUND FOUR BILLION EUR ity, and operation. On the other side of Sava river, the highway will flow next to city of Bijeljina, Brčko, and place Vukosavlje. From this place it will continue to Sarajevo through Tuzla. On the south, Tasyapi is engaged in the preparation of preliminary design of the part Požega - Kotroman. Construction of this section is not currently agreed but knowing the importance of this project we strongly believe that devoted Serbian government will proceed with amending the current commercial contract to enable construction of this section.

When it comes to the Bosnian part of the highway, it’s a bit in delay in comparison to the Serbian part, but hopefully after relevant

bilateral treaty are being signed by Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina, it will trigger line of actions which will accelerate finishing of this project.

What is the approximate value of the entire project?

— At this stage, it’s hard to estimate total value of the project considering that it’s one of the largest infrastructure projects in this part of Europe. The indicative figures of the section Sremska Rača - Kuzmin is 250 million EUR. Currently, general project documentation is being prepared for the section Požega-Kotroman, in the length of around 60 km, and value of that part will highly exceed the ongoing north part

Can you tell what is most challenging part in project Belgrade-Sarajevo highway?

— Considering the geography of this region, it is hard to tell which part will be most complex one, but one could argue that most challenging part will be Sava Bridge in length of approximately 1,300 meters. Sava is wide and demanding river, there are two different legal jurisdictions, thousands of tons of steel to be implemented in the bridge, followed with complex design. We must note that this section is designed as a classic highway profile with two lines and one stop line and a middle dividing zone, for a speed of 130 km/h.

Tasyapi is also building residential buildings for members of security forces in Serbia and working on project of road rehabilitation Novi Pazar-Tutin.

Can you tell us more about this projects?

— That is correct. Our teams are also engaged in the state road Novi Pazar-Tutin rehabilitation.

This challenging project is divided in three sections and our machinery and staff is working full time to timely complete this project.

In addition, teamed up with local company we completed works on four residential buildings in Vranje, where we built 186 apartments for members of security forces in Serbia. Also, currently we are working on five more residential buildings in Nis with same purpose, which will have a total of 190 apartments.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Tasyapi is also engaged in humanitarian activities in Serbia. How you see these kinds of activities?

— Tasyapi finds social responsibility as important part of its corporate culture. This year, our company donated medical equipment for combat against COVID-19. Among others, we donated 65 intensive care hospital

beds, 75 anti-decubitus mattresses, 6 aspirators, over 500 bedding sets, over 600 pairs of shoes for hospital workers, 5.000 tests for corona virus and many other. Donations were delivered to KBC „Dr Dragisa Mišović-Dedinje“, General hospital in Novi Pazar and to Institute of Public health of the Republic of Srpska. Tasyapi will continue with similar activities when it is needed.

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by Tanja Banković

We are Optimistic About the Next Year The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the decline in the domestic product will amount to 2.5% this year, while the growth of 5.5% is projected for next year. We believe that the lending activity will continue to grow, too

INTERVIEW

VLADIMIR VASIĆ Secretary General of the ASB

anks have responded very well to all the challenges in a year that is unprecedented in recent history, as evidenced by the satisfaction of both citizens and businesses. Banks' lending activity continued throughout the pandemic. According to the National Bank of Serbia, during the second quarter of 2020, year-on-year growth in lending activity went up to 13.9% in June, said Vladimir Vasić, Secretary General of the Association of Serbian Banks (ASB ).

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This year is rife with challenges for all of us, including the banking system. How did the banks respond to the situation and what do you think could have been done better?

— This year is unprecedented in recent history, and therefore is something completely unusual for the banking system. Citizens and companies in Serbia can accurately assess whether the banks' response was good. Did they receive and send money in the usual way? Have they been granted loans within the usual deadlines?

Was there always enough money to withdraw at the bank's branch and ATMs? Did the banks provide regular services during the state of emergency and did they go out of their way to help the citizens and the businesses in a difficult situation? Considering that the answers to all these questions are without a doubt positive, I think that the banks responded very well to an unusual challenge. Certainly, not everything was perfect, but I think that in this difficult situation, one should not look for perfectionism.

Banks quickly had to shift their business to online space. Has the

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INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS IN BANKS HAVE BEEN GROWING, CONTINUOUSLY AND AT A HIGH PACE, FROM 2012 TO DATE coronavirus accelerated digitalization and is our market ready for such a rapid change?

— The banking system has readily accepted the challenges of digitalization payment services, primarily thanks to the activities

that the state, the National Bank of Serbia and banks carried out prior to the pandemic. These activities related to the implementation of fully digitalized systems (instant payments, QR code). Digitalization would have taken its

course had we not had a pandemic. The last year would have been more "digital" than the previous one, and the next one even more. COVID-19 did expedite all that and raised it to a higher level. If we were jogging until the outbreak of the pandemic, today we are sprinting towards digital.

Technology is no longer a possibility, but a necessity, as new circumstances become a reality.

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From financial stability, we have crossed into the pandemic-induced uncertainty, where we all feel fear and insecurity. How will all this affect the retail and corporate indebtedness?

— Financing conditions on the domestic market are favourable with interest rates moving close to the previously recorded lowest values during the second quarter. In the previous period, we also had numerous measures devised by the National Bank of Serbia which encourage both retail and corporate lending. Although the health situation is still uncertain, the forecasts for economic growth for next year are favourable.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the decline in the domestic product will amount to 2.5% this year, while the growth of 5.5% is projected for next year.

We believe that the lending activity will continue to grow, too.

Therefore, even during the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to the measures and activities of the National Bank of Serbia and the Government of Serbia, low inflation, stability of the exchange rate, the stability of public finances and macroeconomic stability, in general, have been preserved.

The regulations devised by the NBS and the supervision carried out in the segment of risk and capital management have been boosted in recent years. How do banks react to that?

— We see tougher regulation all over the world, and especially in the EU. Our regulatory solutions and supervisory practices are largely in line with the solutions applied in this area in the EU. Alignment with the new regulatory requirements after the global economic crisis, globally and locally, has caused additional costs and operational adjustment challenges for banks. On the other hand, as a result, the Serbian banking sector is highly capitalized, very liquid and able to support the needs of its clients in every sense.

In the time of the coronavirus-induced crisis, banks represent one of the most vital segments of the

THE BANKING SYSTEM HAS READILY ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGES OF DIGITALIZATION PAYMENT SERVICES economy that has shown great resilience in times of crisis.

What is the situation like with banking clients, big companies, SMEs and retail clients, fulfilling their obligations towards their banks this year?

— This year, there is a noticeable regularity in settling liabilities to banks. Default refers to matured liabilities outstanding for over 60 days for natural persons, or 15 days for legal entities and entrepreneurs. The data show that, at the end of September this year, the share of default in debt was 3.6% (4.3% for legal entities, 4.5% for entrepreneurs, 2.5% for individuals). Compared to the same month last year, default stood at at 4.9%. On the one hand, this is a trend that has been present for a long time as a result of measures to reduce non-performing loans,

which the National Bank of Serbia has been working on with commercial banks for years. On the other hand, the citizens also used the moratorium as a break in loan repayment to settle old debts.

The first week of November is known as Savings Week. How has the crisis affected the savings of Serbian citizens and do they save more during a crisis?

— Individual savings in banks have been growing, continuously and at a high pace, from 2012 to date. These are encouraging data because they show that the Serbian economy is moving in the right direction and that the banking sector is stable and adequately capitalized.

Savings in dinars are growing faster and increased fourfold from 2012 to date. At the end of the third quarter of this year,

it reached the amount of 87 billion dinars. More than half of the growth of dinar savings took place in the last three years, and the most during 2019. Individual savings are an important economic and social category for all participants in the socio-economic life of each country. Regularly setting money aside for savings, even smaller amounts, can mean a lot to each individual later.

How is the sale of Komercijalna Banka going to affect the consolidation of banks, and how will this affect the further tendencies in the banking industry?

— The banking market has been very developed for years. We have stiff competition of large European banks and the know-how they have brought to Serbia. I think that the fact who owns which bank does not significantly affect the market itself and the bank's retail and corporate offer. In any case, it is important for Serbia that another bank from the European Union will invest in our market.

GOOD FORECASTS According to the latest projection of the European Commission and the IMF, Serbia has recorded the smallest GDP decline in Europe, only 1.5 per cent. What are your forecasts for this year and the first half of next?

— Although the current situation does not seem cheerful to anyone in the world, our forecasts are optimistic.

Thanks to previously stabilized public finances, as well as the banking system, the decline of the Serbian GDP will be minimal, and the country's expected growth in 2021 will be one of the largest in Europe. Serbia is a proven regional leader in terms of the value of foreign investments. This gives us a basis to expect a quick recovery, and the banking system, which itself is very stable, will give the recovery its maximum support.

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by Maja Mišković

New Technologies for a Better and More Diverse Programme The new RTV building, in which 1,500 people will work, spans 17,350 square metres and will broadcast in Serbian and 15 national minority languages languages, record school classes and put ourselves at the society’s service. We provide daily information and we must report about the anti-coronavirus measures daily. To conclude, the pandemic has certainly hit the media industry hard, but the formats are changing and adapting to current opportunities and needs.

Besides, we must protect our people, who are at risk in this situation, and that is why we have introduced volunteering. In addition to constant attempts to protect our employees, we want to better inform the viewers about the pandemic through our programmes.

INTERVIEW

Dr MIODRAG KOPRIVICA Director-General of Radio and Television of Vojvodina (RTV)

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ojvodina’s public broadcasting service has a new home - the RTV employees will soon move into a new building which cost 3.2 billion dinars to build. The money was provided by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Provincial Government, as was one of the joint infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

We have talked to the Director-General of the RTV, Dr Miodrag Koprivica, about moving into the new building, how it will improve the quality of work, the digitization of the archives, how is the RTV going to adapt to new digital habits and what is the future of the RTV.

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To what extent and in what way will the new building affect the quality of work of the Radio-Television of Vojvodina?

— As everyone knows, the Radio and Television of Vojvodina has been operating in an inadequate space since 1999, at improvised studios at four locations. In the last three years, we have managed to erect a new building spanning just over 17,000 square metres, which was designed to fit all the needs that a TV station like ours have and need to fulfil its mission. We hope that the new technology that we have installed here will improve the quality of our programme that we broadcast in Serbian and 14 other minority languages and that it will be more diverse and more popular with the viewers.

Do you have any plans to digitize the RTV archives?

— A plan to protect the archive certainly exists. In the past, we have let certain archive pieces get lost or ruined, either for objective reasons such as bombing or subjective ones such as lack

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Your scientific paper is titled "Multiethnic character of the public media institution of Radio and Television of Vojvodina as a public media service and its contribution to the EU integration". What is the future of the Radio and Television of Vojvodina as a public broadcaster that is the leader in this part of Europe in terms of the number of languages in which it broadcasts?

— Our idea is for Radio and Tel-

OUR PROGRAMME DEPENDS ON THE WEALTH OF CONTENT IN OUR SURROUNDINGS AND REAL LIFE, AND IF THERE ARE NO EVENTS WE CAN REPORT ABOUT, WE HAVE TO ADAPT of space to store archive material. We now finally have appropriate conditions to store it adequately. Besides the new building, we have preserved 4,000 square metres of basement space in one of the three buildings of the old complex, and we are going to use this space to store the archive and everything that is not needed daily. This will cost an estimated one million euros and we intend to finish it by the end of 2021.

You have a wealth of experience in both the media and the business world. What do you think of the effects of the pandemic on various industries, the media

and trade fairs in particular?

— I think that the service industry as a whole has been affected by the pandemic, not just the trade fair sector and the media in particular. In the book about the Novi Sad Fair, that I wrote about ten years ago, there is a part about virtual fairs at the very end. Now, we are in a situation that we are forced to focus on only such a production of trade fairs. As far as the media is concerned, our programme depends on the wealth of content in our surroundings and real life, and if there are no events we can report about, we have to adapt. Among other things, we conduct education in minority

evision of Vojvodina to become an information hub in the Danube region. This may sound pretentious, but if we are producing in 8 languages of the Danube region, then we must make an effort to use the advantage we have and thus avoid the provincialization of Radio andTelevision of Vojvodina. We want to properly utilize the fact that the state gave 45 million euro for the new building. We have to justify the trust and money that we have been given through the quality of our programming because it is obvious that there is a need for people to be informed and for a public broadcasting service that is

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unique in terms of producing programmes in minority languages. There is no cultural event in Vojvodina without us reporting about it and documenting it.

The fact remains that new generations are increasingly migrating to digital platforms. What is Radio and Television of Vojvodina doing, in addition to having an up-to-date website, to adapt to the habits of so-called "digital natives"?

— We cannot boast that we have done a lot on that issue so far.

Of course, we are aware that this type of television and radio information will experience a destiny similar to that of newspapers, and we are aware that we must adapt.

We will soon launch a new Danube online portal, which is not commercial. This entails signing a contract with the media from the Danube countries which can offer a television or radio content and are willing to give up on the copyright for 6 months on the content which production was financed by a foreign foundation or institution so we can broadcast it in other Danube countries via our portal. The online portal will be

available in Serbian and English, and we plan to make it available in all languages of the Danube countries. We need to adapt faster and make that kind of U-turn to focus on social media and new tech-

nologies to survive. Our correspondent network numbers close to 60 people, covering all languages, and we are constantly trying to improve the network of our reporters and cover as much of Vo-

jvodina as possible by partnering with other TV stations and parts of Serbia. We have 7 platforms and broadcast 24 hours a day. I think that is the advantage of Radio and Television of Vojvodina.

You are one of this year's recipients of the Captain Miša Anastasijević Award. How much does such recognition mean to you personally and professionally?

— Any recognition is pleasing to a person, especially when it comes to the professional ones. However, there is also the opinion that awards can damage a person, both internally and externally. A person does their job in accordance with their moral and other principles and the possibilities, both personal and those that their surroundings allow. It is up to the person’s surroundings to recognize that work. Since I am a team player, I think that every recognition belongs to the company I work for too, as well as to the people I work with.

WE HOPE THAT THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE HAVE INSTALLED HERE WILL IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF OUR PROGRAMME THAT WE BROADCAST IN SERBIAN AND 14 OTHER MINORITY LANGUAGES

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CORPORATE

"Taši Taši" Packages in Serbian Maternity Hospitals At the beginning of this project, our wish was for every mother to receive a welcome package at the maternity hospital

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little more than a year ago, the Appello company from Belgrade launched the "Taši Taši" project, a wonderful giveaway of packages for mothers and babies. When we came up with the idea to start this benefaction, the only thought that guided us was to welcome every newborn with a small souvenir of attention, and in that way, make every mother even happier.

Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Health, numerous partners from the business sector and the exceptional understanding and authority of Prof. Dr. Slavica Djukić Dejanović, this project has come to life.

Our goal was for every mother, meaning every family with newborn babies in Serbia, to re-

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ceive the "Taši Taši" package, regardless of financial or social status, level of education, religion, race, nationality or any difference in relation to other families in Serbia. In addition, we wanted to offer them quality in-

babies, mothers and young families, as well as vouchers and / or coupons with discounts for products and services. The gifts included in the package were provided by the project partners, socially responsible companies

the private maternity hospital Bel Medic, and that over 60,000 packages have been awarded so far.

The project doesn’t have a time limit, so we will continue to distribute packages, and we sincerely believe thato our gift packag-

WE SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT GIFT PACKAGES WILL BECOME RICHER AND BIGGER OVER TIME AND THAT ALL MOTHERS OF NEWBORN BABIES IN SERBIA WILL RECEIVE THEM formation about the importance of breastfeeding, about products and services that can be used in the postpartum period, as well as to make them happy with a little sign of attention.

The components of the gift packages are flexible, mainly consisting of products intended for

that have chosen to be among the first to congratulate the mothers of newborn babies in this beautiful manner.

We can proudly say that in this moment, after a little over a year, the "Taši Taši" project is being implemented in all 52 state maternity hospitals in Serbia as well as

es will become richer and bigger over time, and that all mothers of newborn babies in Serbia will receive them. In these aspirations, we are greatly encouraged by the daily statements of gratitude that we receive via social networks from mothers who got the "Taši Taši" gift box.

IN A YEAR, 50 THOUSAND GIFT PACKAGES On September 18th, the 50,000th gift package "Taši Taši" was handed over to Diana Kornja Ćajić, the mother of a newborn baby, little Kosta, in the Vršac maternity hospital, all thanks to our project that provides surprise giveaways to all mothers in maternity hospitals in Serbia.

Successfully, the first year since the existence of the "Taši Taši" project was officially completed with the delivery of this 50,000th package.

"When we launched the project" Taši Taši "a year ago in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and numerous partners from the business sector, our wish was that every mother in Serbia, already in the maternity hospital, receives a welcome package, as our gifting tradition, which

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contains the necessary goods for the prior care of the baby.

Now, awaiting the awarding of the 50,000 jubilee package, we would like to wish the future mother and father to inspire and guide their child onto a path of maximum progress and opportunities. Every mother, father, child, family is important to us in building social solidarity, and a peaceful society for which we will stand together.

The joy of sharing packages brings us great pleasure, because it represents support for a new life and for that reason I send my warmest congratulations to all future mothers and fathers, "said Prof. Dr. Slavica Đukić Dejanović on the occasion of this small anniversary.

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Feel the Scent of Health and Pure Oxygen Villa Zlatibor Luxury Cabin - for lovers of silence, luxury and unbridled enjoyment

ur most popular mountain – the Zlatibor – rests in the heart of Serbia, in its very centre, created by the will of nature. Once upon a time, Serbian kings came here for health, and now the magnificent vacation home, Villa Zlatibor Luxury Cabin, has found its place, in the peaceful

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village of Ribnica on the Zlatibor.

Located in the heart of nature, in the most beautiful and peace-

ful part of the Zlatibor, surrounded by pine trees and untouched nature, the villa is only 10km from

the town centre, not far from the Tornik ski complex. It provides perfect peace, far from the ur-

FROM THE VILLA, YOU CAN SEE THE MAGNIFICENT SUNSETS, BECAUSE THE VIEW FROM ITS BALCONIES EXTENDS FOR MILES AND MILES, ALL THE WAY TO THE NEIGHBOURING TARA

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ban part of Zlatibor and yet close enough to have everything you need nearby.

From the villa, you can see the magnificent sunsets, because the view from its balconies extends for miles and miles, all the way to the neighbouring Tara. Here you can enjoy the magic of nature and peace, away from the city hustle and bustle, which is something that this beautiful mountain offers all year round.

As a perfect combination of traditional and modern construction, with wood, marble and earthenware used as building materials, the villa fits nicely into the natural environment of the Zlatibor Mountain. The

THE COMBINATION OF NATURAL MATERIALS AND A PEACEFUL ENVIRONMENT IS A GUARANTEE OF A PERFECT VACATION, WHETHER YOU ARE ALONE OR WITH YOUR NEAREST AND DEAREST combination of natural materials and a peaceful environment is a guarantee of a perfect vacation, whether you are alone or with your nearest and dearest. A lot of love and warmth has been spent on building and decorating this villa, which is felt by everyone who decides to stay in it. If you need additional amenities, here you will always be in touch with the whole world thanks to the availability of all communication channels and the super-fast wireless Internet.

Spanning 280 square metres and three levels, this ethnic yet contemporary house can take between 10 and 14 people. It has four bedrooms, two living rooms (one living room is an open concept with a fireplace, the other is glazed with direct access to the pool), two kitchens, four bathrooms (each room has own bathroom), and three terraces (one terrace has a private pool). We also have a sauna as icing on the cake for your perfect vacation.

If you want a perfect blend of

traditional and modern, absolute peace while being connected to the world, dream under the pine sky and feel the warmth of a home even when you are on vacation, then Villa Zlatibor Luxury Cabin is the right destination for your short break in nature or a longer vacation.

Relax, enjoy your stay and rest assured that you have chosen the best for yourself.

Contact: Darko Popovic Mobile: +381 64 8562405 E-mail: zlatiborluxurycabin@gmail.com

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by Žikica Milošević

POLITICS

Meme-pages as a New Power Mockery is the language of the new generation or the first time, the recent elections in Montenegro had one clear winner - memes. After 30 years in power, Milo Djukanović and his DPS were overthrown thanks to ridicule and mockery. Meme pages, which make fun of anyone and everyone with photomontages and inserted "spoken" words, are the biggest enemy of non-democrats, dictators and ordinary politicians because young people understand the meme language the best.

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BACK IN THE OLD DAYS, IT WAS ALL SERIOUS Politicians, who have authority, like to have both their own media and their own truth. With the development of populism and authoritarianism, the number of "irrevocable" leaders who have been in power for decades has multiplied. Things were easy for the rulers at the time when only radio and television, along with the press, were the exclusive precursors and transmitters of information. Their truth was the predominant one, while the opposition was allowed to have their own magazines, dailies or radio stations. That is how the citizens of Serbia fought against Slobodan Milošević, for example. Eventually, badges, leaflets, posters and flyers were made too. This all changed when social networks appeared. Platforms that governments cannot control ensured that information can be organized and disseminated. Social networks were behind the demonstrations in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, behind the Arab Spring, demonstrations in Belarus... Everywhere!

Social networks even saved Erdogan (although he didn't like them), in July 2016. Twitter brought Barack Obama to power by hiring followers, and the "old man" Donald Trump best understood how that medium worked by mobilizing almost half of America with his effective tweets.

Sure enough, that was enough for him to win in 2016. One thing is certainly true - politicians were quite serious, and their opponents were even more serious back then. They tried a sensible and calm approach (like Boris Ta-

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THAT IS WHY MEMERS WILL BE THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE FUTURE. OR RATHER, THEY HAVE ALREADY BECOME ONE dić), a metaphorical and energetic one (Zoran Djindjić) or an explosive one (Vuk Drašković from the 1990s) to explain to their followers what was rotten in power structures and what they would have done differently.

NOW IT IS ALL MOCKERY But at one point, fresh and indigenous political criticism emerged on social media. Memes!

They were neither too long nor explained what should have been done differently. And they were certainly not serious. They only very effectively ridiculed what politicians said. Their followers virally shared small pictures that reached millions of people in a matter of days, both inciting laughter and a seriously bitter taste in the mouth. It started a few times and it turned into a few dozen times. In the case of Milo Djukanović, for instance, after memes, people started thinking critically, as well as laughed along the way while ridiculing him. There was no fear. Of course, no leader likes

when people are not afraid of him at all and when they share funny passages in which he is the main character, unprincipled and arrogant. This is exactly what the page called Crmničke Mudrosti did, “Ne budite dio tog ludačkog pokreta" (literally "Don't be a part of that lunatic movement" - they even used the same sentence that Milo used to talk people into not participating in the religious demonstrations in Montenegro), "It was very unpleasant" and then there is Stari Liberal - the man who, in his own words, was the first to bring memes to Montenegro, and whom humourless people have been criticizing for years („you cannot be a liberal if you are joking about authorities“).

MEMERS ARE HERE TO STAY Back in the day, meme creators used to write threats and failed to understand irony, cynicism and sarcasm, while today memers are politically relevant factors. Putin, Vučić, Trump, Trudeau, Merkel, Erdogan, Johnson, Macron ...

You name it! They have all become "stars" of memes and the object of ridicule, as did an infinite number of opposition politicians.

Sometimes it is not even necessary to put pictures of politicians in memes. Just think of the popular meme with two dogs – one that is all muscles, who stands for one point of view, and the scared and submissive one, who expresses a different point. All you need to do is to put a hat, logo or flag on the dogs and portray opposing sides. Or better yet, write "before" and "after" or "past" and "present” to show the fickleness and lack of principles in a politician.

Writing a lengthy sentence like “XY used to claim this and now he has changed his mind” is boring and ineffective. Two dogs show everything with only two sentences. As a result, people laugh at the leaders and see how fickle they are. That destroys authority more than violence. If we are fighting against someone, that someone does emanate authority and awe, but if we are making fun of someone, we neither respect nor fear them. This is the biggest nightmare of any government. That is why memers will be the political power of the future. Or rather, they have already become one.

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INTERVIEW

by Nevena Kuveljić

10 years of Srbatom We are Engaged in the Fight Against Covid-19

SRBATOM is responsible for controlling radiation and nuclear activities so that they are performed safely and securely for the population and the environment such a situation could be noticed only when visible effects already start showing.

SLAĐAN VELINOV Director of the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate (SRBATOM)

lađan Velinov, Director of the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate (SRBATOM), spoke to us about the Directorate’s role, how the pandemic affected the Directorate's activities, as well as international cooperation.

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The Directorate was founded 10 years ago. What are SRBATOM's main activities?

— SRBATOM enacts legislation,

How did the coronavirus pandemic affect SRBATOM's activities?

— SRBATOM obtained more than 230,000 euro from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which we donated to the Novi Sad Scientific Veterinary Institute, the Torlak Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Serums in Belgrade and the Kraljevo Specialist Veterinary Institute, all for the purpose of using nuclear technologies for rapid detection of coronavirus with the view of controlling the growing number of infected people. In addition to these extraordinary humanitarian activities, the Directorate has also been performing its daily tasks that are important for the safety of citizens. Also, the import and export of particularly medical equipment and materials, was carried out flawlessly. The Director also gave its interpretations and providing consultations regarding the equipment and materials under its authority, as well as many other tasks within its scope.

SRBATOM IS THE ORGANIZATION FOUNDED BY THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA FOR COOPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY performs regulatory control and inspection supervision over activities that include the use of ionizing radiation sources and nuclear energy. The lack of a regulatory framework can create a number of problems in the use of ionizing radiation sources. For instance, the lack of control would, accidentally or intentionally, cause the loss and abandonment of radioactive sources, which could have unforeseeable consequences for persons who would find those sources and handle them improperly. Also, monitoring the presence of radionuclides in the environment provides proof that the population is not exposed to radiation above the permitted levels. In case of lack of monitoring,

You have been cooperating a lot with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. What does that cooperation entail?

— Some of the projects we have implemented so far include two large-scale nationwide projects that were related to measuring the concentration of natural radioactive gas called Radon in living and working premises (schools and nurseries). There were also the donations that we mentioned earlier.

This cooperation also entails sending various experts to scientific gatherings around the world, both our experts and those from other institutions. We also contribute to a better quality of work of other state bodies and organizations that deal with ionizing radiation.

Following the Science Fund launching a public call, the Vinča Institute has drafted projects focusing on basic research of the molecular mechanism of the appearance of Covid-19-induced disease

SNEŽANA PAJOVIĆ PhD, Director of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, an institute of national importance for the Republic of Serbia

uring this global pandemic, the Institute has been working without stopping all the time. The Institute’s experts are engaged in the fight against Covid-19, in different aspects and levels. Our experts were engaged in all three laboratories where PCR tests are processed. These are Torlak’s laboratory, the Vatreno Oko laboratory in the Clinical Center and the National Laboratory in Batajnica.

We have also formed a task force, which was part of the task force of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, to gather and analyze scientific data which were forwarded to the government’s Crisis Unit with the view of improving diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Following the Science Fund launching a public call, the Vinča Institute has drafted projects focusing on basic research of the molecular mechanism of the appearance of Covid-19-induced disease but also spoke about preventive measures that can prevent the development of the

D

illness, as well as the most effective approach to medical treatment. Part of those researches was based on the existing medicines through the development of innovative, computer-based methodology at very Institute, as a result of the collaboration with Covid-19 reference laboratory in Texas. We continued the research and other experiments with the selected medicines. We need that international collaboration, having in mind experimental researches that are done at the cell culture level and in animal models which require specific conditions - the so-called BSL 3 laboratories which have high safety standards in place because they are working with highly infectious matter.

Also, research of molecular mechanisms of origin of multi-factorial diseases by the means of detection of genetic markers is our priority in the segment of biomedical research at the Vinča Institute. Detection of genetic markers for cardiovascular diseases has yielded exceptional results so far.

As a part of this project, a gene database of our population will be created which would be of exceptional importance for the Republic of Serbia. Anyhow, when complex, multi-factorial diseases occur, the use of the existing database as a control gene database would point towards the answer as to which genes are key, whose mutations and polymorphism are predisposition to a complicated clinical case. We would also be able to find out why genetic predisposition defines the clinical picture, namely why somebody has a mild clinical picture while another person has extremely complicated clinical picture despite both being infected by the coronavirus.

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A BETTER WAY NOT TO PAY

Many Countries Need Debt Relief But how and from whom? ith debts looming and dollars scarce, Zambia has wrestled in recent months with a predicament. It knew that failing to pay bondholders would be damaging. But paying only them, having failed to pay others in full, could be worse.

Other creditors would “blow off my legs”, the country’s finance minister said. So on November 13th Zambia became the sixth government to default on its bonds this year—after Argentina, Belize, Ecuador, Lebanon and Suriname.

Others may follow. Although financial markets have regained much of the composure they lost in March, many countries still have more debt than they can comfortably handle. Thirty-eight governments have a credit rating that denotes a “material” risk of default or worse, twice the number at the end of 2009.

The debts of poor countries would be less daunting if they were not such a tangle of competing claims. The 73 poorest owe almost a fifth ($102bn) of their foreign debt to private creditors, from bondholders to banks, a similar amount to China, $76bn to other governments and the rest to multilateral lenders like the World

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ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE G20 GROUP OF BIG ECONOMIES, CHINA WILL SIGN OFF ON A “COMMON FRAMEWORK” FOR RELIEVING THE DEBTS OF THE WORLD’S 73 POOREST COUNTRIES, IF THEY PROVE IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAR Bank. And that is just the stuff that international institutions can count. Crafting equitable debt-relief deals from such a hotch-potch is difficult. Three changes in particular would help: a more joinedup approach by government lenders, tougher legislation to curb awkward private creditors, and greater use of flexible instruments that align repayment more closely with a borrower’s circumstances.

Any debt debacle pits the interests of borrowers against those of lenders, but also pits lenders against each other. One creditor may be forgiving. But that allows others to free-ride on its generosity and collect payment in full.

Thus every creditor wants to be sure others are doing their bit.

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In Zambia’s case Chinese lenders (which have agreed to defer some payments) and private bondholders (which have not) blame each other for the impasse.

To make sure each of them is doing their fair share, most rich-country governments offer debt relief jointly through the Paris Club, a grouping of government lenders. America has long urged China to join. And at a summit on November 21st-22nd, China will do the next best thing. Along with the rest of the G20 group of big economies, it will sign off on a “common framework” for relieving the debts of the world’s 73 poorest countries, if they prove impossible to bear. The framework is limited in scope. It will

apply only to countries that request help, fess up to their full liabilities, submit to IMF-style policy prescriptions and show that they cannot sustain their debts.

It won’t, in other words, deliver quick, unconditional debt relief to all poor countries, regardless of their need or demand for it. The framework requires all official creditors to do their share. It also obliges the borrowing country to seek similar help from private lenders.

The framework is a welcome step. The G20 should now consider some extensions. The same principles should also apply to other emerging markets, beyond the 73 poorest. The framework favours reducing interest rates or

delaying repayments over cutting the stock of debt. That bias should change. It typically reflects accounting conventions in creditor countries rather than any strong economic rationale. Indeed, investment and growth respond more vigorously when debts are reduced, rather than payments lightened or lengthened. And if private creditors resist doing their share and pursue full payment in the courts, G20 governments should pass additional legislation to cap the gains that vulture funds can obtain from litigation.

Such laws may look like clumsy infringements on creditors’ rights. But they can be justified if a creditor’s prospects for a favourable legal settlement depend on debt relief provided ultimately by taxpayers.

Uncertain times have, for example, inspired new interest in bonds that automatically pay less when commodity prices tumble or natural disasters strike. Other instruments might pay out extra when GDP growth exceeds a threshold. Some of these instruments might need an independent institution to help standardise terms and referee disputes. Another idea worth exploring is “bendy bonds”, which would let the borrower lengthen their maturity in a pinch (and defer interest payments) in return for extra interest at the end of the bond’s extended life. Similar bonds already exist in the corporate-debt markets, which might make a sovereign version easier for investors to accept and price. Mr Brady’s clever idea revolutionised the market for developing-country debt. The time is ripe for another transformation.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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Slovenia

D I P L OM AC Y

&

C OM M E RC E

P R E S E N T S

FOCUS ON

A NIGHT IN JAIL?

BONFIRES WARM NIGHT On April 30th, just before the worker’s day, Slovenes light up Bonfires around the country as a social event and symbol for the worker’s right.

THINK GREEN It’s one of the world’s most environmentally-friendly nations, being in the top 5 in the world!

For those you are curious to know what it’s like to be locked up behind bars, Hostel Celica is an ex prison, whose cells have been renovated into rooms, but the prison cell appearance has stayed!

EVERYONE LOVES HONEY Out of their 2 million population, around 90,000 Slovenes are beekeepers!

ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER Slovenia has almost 27.000 kilometers of rivers and streams, there are plenty of spots to get an adrenaline rush or go for a swim!

S LOV E N I A

Two Decades of Good and Long-standing Relationship Slovenia supports Serbia on its path to the EU. The relations between our two countries are very dynamic and diversified, and good bilateral cooperation exists in practically all fields o accelerate relations that are already moving fast in all direct ions is a hard-to-impossible task.

Besides what we have been doing in the last few years, we should look into new industries to cooperate in, such as green economy solutions, energy efficiency, e-mobility, and solutions for the fourth industrial revolution. I believe personal contacts push cooperation forward, and on that field, between Slovenia and Serbia, we have nothing to be fearful about.

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You took over as Foreign Minister a few months ago. What are your priorities for the coming period?

— Slovenia will have an important opportunity to improve its reputation and raise its profile during its second Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021. Future activities will focus on preparations for the Presidency – both in terms of defining our main priorities and designing activities to promote Slovenia. To address the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, our first priority, and one of Slovenia's main goals, will be to coshape a stronger and more resilient EU that is able to respond even more effectively to crises in the future. In addition to the green and digital transition, which is the key to post-COVID economic transformation, important attention will be given to the rule of law and maintaining the European way of life. Understandably, the Slovenian Presidency will also have an external dimension, empha-

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SPECIAL EDITION

sising continued and even stronger engagement with the countries of the Western Balkans, which is one of the key regions both for Slovenia and for the EU. When will the country’s priorities and programme be presented?

— Preparations for the Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021 are in full swing. In June, the EU Council adopted the 18-month Trio programme, prepared jointly by Germany, Portugal and Slovenia. Reflecting the objectives of the EU Strategic Agenda and including all relevant aspects related to COVID-19 and the social and economic recovery from the pandemic, it represents a common foundation for the six-month Presidency programme.

Our six-month national programme, which is currently being prepared in Slovenia, will be published and publicly announced a few days before the start of our Presidency on 1 July 2021.

This is common practice of all Member States holding the Presidency of the EU, for one simple reason: not to interfere with the priorities of the on-going Presidency, which at that time will be held by Portugal. In this sense, we will strive for as coordinated and smooth a transition between the two Member States as possible.

What kind of challenges has Europe in lockdown been facing during the pandemic and what do you think awaits us next year?

— The key challenge for the EU in the early stages of the pandemic was the question of how to effectively coordi-

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I N T E RV I E W

DR. ANŽE LOGAR Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia

Serbia is an important political and economic partner in the region, and we also see it as a future counterpart within the EU

nate the measures designed to curb the spread of the virus. Many of the decisions that Member States adopted at that time, such as restrictions on the internal borders of the EU, had a significant impact both on the functioning of the EU’s single market and on the fundamental freedoms of EU citizens. Despite some initial difficulties, the Union managed to establish an effective modus operandi that helped Member States cope with this massive challenge not only in terms of their health systems, but also the normal functioning of their economies.

The first lockdown had a significant impact on Europe's economy, and I expect that the current restrictions will pose additional obstacles to successful economic recovery in 2021. Here, two important elements will feature in Europe's recovery: firstly, I expect rapid deployment of the funding from the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery Fund to help Member States overcome the economic downturn caused

by COVID-19. Secondly, the roll-out of the vaccine will be a game changer in our fight against the pandemic.

Here, I should underline the importance of the strategic foresight of the European Commission, which started with activities related to vaccines early enough – at the beginning of the COVID-19 spread. Thanks to that, we are now on the verge of successful deployment of an effective vaccine in the EU. What kind of foreign policy strategy will Slovenia pursue in the com-

ing years, both towards the EU and the Western Balkans region?

— Slovenia intends to continue supporting all efforts to strengthen the EU after being faced with challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, and migration. Because of our close geographical proximity and historic ties, the Western Balkans represents Slovenia’s natural economic and security hinterland. We will continue to pursue the goal of strengthening and deepening relations with the countries of the region, deepening regional cooperation between them and supporting the convergence and integration of the WB countries into Euro-Atlantic cooperation.

Slovenia aims at ensuring stability, progress with reform, sustainable economic development and strengthening of regional political dialogue with the goal of lasting reconciliation, including in the context of promoting comprehensive cooperation between the countries of the region.

Our activities will continue to focus on promoting good neighbourly relations. Slovenia believes strongly in the importance of the effective resolution of outstanding bilateral issues and strengthening of inclusive regional cooperation.

The ultimate objective of Slovenia’s activities in the region will be to create a favourable environment in the Western Balkans. We stress that the EU should actively help the region to bridge the development gap and improve the socio-economic situation. A common goal should be to improve the connectivity within the region and between the region and the EU in all aspects. Slovenia believes that the most valuable tool to assure the stability and progress of the region is a credible EU enlargement policy. Therefore, the WB will be one of priorities of our Presidency of the Council of the EU.

— On 9 December, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries and throughout that time, we have had good and friendly relations.

We have boosted economic cooperation and cultural exchange, and intensified mutual understanding.

Both countries have agreed to step up efforts to implement more elements of the Agreement on Succession Issues. For Slovenia, the effective resolution of succession issues is of crucial importance. All this reflects the friendly relations between us. I personally believe that there are still areas in which we can improve our cooperation.

Prior to the pandemic, Slovenia and Serbia had truly comprehensive relations. We had annual joint governmental sessions, frequent meetings on the ministerial level, and working groups. Slovenia also established a true regional leaders meeting, the so-called Brdo Process, which developed into the Brdo-Brioni Process.

This initiative's political agenda was supported by regional expert working groups and meetings, the purpose of which was to follow up on the actions agreed at the leaders' level. We can be proud of the initiative, since its framework and the core purpose of regional ownership was taken over by the Berlin Process and the WB6.

Besides the multilateral and bilateral relations, we should also point out Slovenia’s sincere, supportive involvement in the processes for Serbia’s EU integration. We are a true advocate of Serbian integration into the EU and we do everything within our power to facilitate that. It has been confirmed time and time again that Serbia belongs in the European family. There is no need to repeat that: the only thing we want to talk about now is how this can be achieved and when.

Serbia and Slovenia have strong economic and bilateral relations.

What is crucial for the two countries in terms of nurturing this good, long-standing relationship?

The pinnacle of the excellent bilateral relations was seeing the two governments hold joint sessions. Is there a chance to hold it next year?

— Serbia and Slovenia have estab-

I occasionally see disagreements occur due to false or unrealistic expectations.

That is why we need to talk openly. We have already built the trust among ourselves

lished regular, we might even say, traditional joint governmental meetings, which have had a positive effect on the strengthening of cooperation in all areas, promoted closer inter-governmental ties and enabled effective identification of joint projects and goals.

Serbia is the only country in the region with which Slovenia holds regular meetings of this type; there have been five of them so far. Our intention is to continue with this practice of cooperation. This format, combining ministers and businesspeople, is, in my opinion, a good starting point for building closer ties with your new government. What is crucial for our good, long-standing relationship: personal trust between us (political leaders) and friendship, mutual respect among Slovenians and Serbs, and addressing all potential challenges in favour of mutual interests and benefits.

What efforts is Slovenia making to increase the volume of Serbian investments in Slovenia?

— Slovenia has always been open to foreign investment, including from Serbia. I am glad they have been increasing in both directions lately. It is important to emphasise that thedialogue between governmental bodies and foreign investors is of crucial importance in the first stage and can give a boost to business projects. We all need to be aware of who is doing what and help each other achieve the best possible results. Again, open dialogue is something we prefer over media coverage and gossip.

Slovenia's Agency for the promotion of investments – SPIRIT is doing a great job facilitating the investors, as well as the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology, which is always open to new business projects and is there to support great business ideas. Moreover, our economic diplomacy with the network abroad, which is coordinated by the Foreign Ministry, is there from the first contact to liaising between foreign companies and domestic institutions, as well as in the post-investment activities.

Future cooperation How can the current cooperation between the two countries become even better?

— There are still plenty of untapped veins of economic cooperation, of cultural and scientific exchange; in education, we would like to facilitate interaction between students; the succession process itself could be intensified and Serbia is Slovenia’s valued partner in this respect. Our cooperation in regional and multilateral framework could be strengthened as well. I believe that to

achieve more and advance further, we need to clear our tables of any historical burden. It is not only up to us when it comes to implementation of the Agreement on the succession after Yugoslavia, but still, a lot could already have been resolved between our two governments. As I am aware, there are also some long-lasting judicial proceedings between our two countries over the already agreed succession formula and financial claims. We should be wise enough to end such proceedings and move on..

SPECIAL EDITION

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S LOV E N I A

20 Years of Understanding and Cooperation at All Levels Next year, Slovenia will celebrate an important jubilee - 30 years of the country's independence, and this year, Serbia and Slovenia are celebrating 20 years of excellent diplomatic relations

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I N T E RV I E W

n an interview for the special edition Slovenia InFocus, the new Ambassador of Slovenia to Serbia, H.E. Damjan Bergant, speaks about the cooperation between Slovenia and Serbia, the crisis, the upcoming Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the consequences of the pandemic in the coming year. "I hope that in June next year, the situation will allow us to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Slovenia's independence in a dignified manner, as well as the beginning of our EU presidency. We are slowly entering a phase in which we are thinking about how we are going to celebrate it. As Slovenia and Serbia, their overall relations have been consistently good, “adds Mr Bergant.

I

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. What challenges did we have to overcome and what marked the two decades of cooperation?

— In early December, more precisely on December 9, we will mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Slovenia and Serbia. The relationship between Slovenes and Serbs has traditionally been very good, even before

30

SPECIAL EDITION

H.E. DAMJAN BERGANT Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia

Slovenia and Serbia have achieved a fairly high level of cooperation in all areas in the last 20 years, from political cooperation and economic cooperation to cooperation in culture, science, etc

our respective countries declared independence.

I think that Slovenia and Serbia have achieved a fairly high level of cooperation in all areas in the last 20 years, from political cooperation and economic cooperation to cooperation in culture, science, etc. We know each other and cooperate well at all levels.

In short, we understand each other, not only because of the similar languages but also because of several decades of connection.

Regardless, I think there are still reserves and opportunities to boost relations in many areas. As an EU member, Slovenia can continue to help Serbia to move closer to European accession, especially with its experience. I hope that both sides will continue to use the opportunity to improve cooperation.

Economic relations are also excellent. How can the two countries further improve their relations?

— Economic investments on either side must not be limited. I think that it is very important that there are additional Slovenian investments in Serbia and vice versa. In this way, both sides can benefit from the global economy and achieve better economic results. Before the COVID-19 crisis, economic results grew year-on-year,

which was very good. We expect that the current situation around the pandemic will slightly bring these results down, but I think that the situation will improve after the crisis.

Slovenia will start presiding over the EU in the second half of 2021.

What will be the top priorities of your presidency?

— Slovenia will take over the presidency of the EU Council on July 1, 2021. This is not the first, but the second presidency. However, this presidency will be different than in 2008.

The presiding country no longer has the role it had before the Lisbon Treaty. The role of the presiding country is actually to coordinate the work of the member states. The priorities of the presidency this time have to be in line with the presidency programme of the Trio of countries - Germany, Portugal and Slovenia. They are already being implemented during the German presidency of the EU Council and will continue during the Portuguese presidency.

The biggest problem in terms of priorities is that they are very indicative, because nowadays when you have various challenges from terrorism, pandemics to, migration, it is difficult to formulate them in detail.

I certainly hope that the Trio's prior-

ities will eventually be implemented, especially strengthening the resilience of the EU), economic renewal of the European Union, strengthening the EU based on rule of law and a secure European Union as a reliable and good partner in the neighbourhood and the world.

What challenges does Europe in lockdown face and how resilient is the EU to this unprecedented pandemic-induced crisis?

— Europe faces many problems. Some of them have been present for a long time, such as terrorism or migration, and some are completely new, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Europe needs to know how to respond to all the challenges of today. It indeed takes some time for a reaction to happen, but the fact is that answers to all challenges are always found in the end. The EU is an integration that has been in making for decades and it was difficult to reach the current level of integration. In my opinion, the EU will be further strengthened as crises and difficulties are only an additional inspiration for the EU to continue to become stronger. As for the pandemic, I think that it will be just a bad memory in 6 to 12 months and that life will go its own way.

Slovenia supports Serbia on its European accession path. What should be the priorities of the Serbian Government when it comes to the European integration process?

— You're right. Slovenia does support Serbia on its path to the European accession and we hope that Serbia will soon become an EU member. However, this depends mostly on Serbia which needs to have confidence in the EU, the European Commission and the member states, so that it can implement what is best for it. Serbia needs to be actively engaged in all open negotiation chapters to meet the conditions for the chapters to be closed. When Serbia is ready to become a full-fledged EU member, member states and the Commission will jointly support Serbia's membership in the EU. But everything that Ser-

Slovenia does support Serbia on its path to the European accession and we hope that Serbia will soon become an EU member

bia is doing towards becoming an EU member is not doing for the sake of the EU, but for the sake of itself and its citizens. Sometimes it seems that it may be unfair that Serbia has to do more than some other candidates who have become members in the meantime. But I can say that every country felt that during the negotiations.

Slovenia also had objections during its accession process.

After all, EU membership is a positive development for every country.

The EU is not just reduced to membership, but it entails improvement at all levels of the life of the country and its citizens. No EU member state could make such progress in different areas as it can as an EU member. That is the only alternative and Serbia has that chance to become a member of the EU family.

What do you think of the Government's measures that are being implemented, both in Serbia and in Slovenia, that assist the economy and businesses?

— According to the beneficiaries, the measures for the protection of the economy in Serbia were timely and efficient. Protective measures cost the Serbian government, as well as any other government in the world, a lot, and it is very difficult to determine in uncertain times like these how

much budget money should be allocated to businesses and especially to which branch of the economy, without knowing how long the epidemic will last. Eight months have passed since March and the end of the epidemic is not in sight. We are counting peaks, we are waiting for a vaccine and we hope that the health system will withstand this hellish pressure.

Unlike Serbia, Slovenia had the opportunity to withdraw some money from the EU to help the economy, and thus the government of Slovenia is in a better position to repeat the protective measures from March. Globally, all countries have borrowed a lot again, while the Slovenian economy was well-prepared for the economic crisis. Ten years ago, the financial crisis affected us all, but with the help of restrictive banks, companies diligently economized their consumption and increased their revenue knowing that they needed to 'collect more cream' for the new upcoming crisis.

Tourism is an important sector in Slovenia. What will the recovery look like next year and can you give any forecasts?

— Tourism is a very important economic segment in Slovenia, but it is not as strong as tourism in some other countries. Unlike some other countries, our tourism has a 12% share in the national GDP. This year, tourism suffered great damage due to the pandemic, but the government of the Republic of Slovenia has launched a rather successful initiative of the socalled tourist vouchers for the citizens of Slovenia. During the spring, the vouchers were well-accepted and used by citizens and tourist boards. In this way, the tourism sector did not experience a catastrophe. This year, we didn't have many foreign guests in tourist facilities in Slovenia, but mostly domestic ones. The season was not so bad after all. Unfortunately, no-one knows what the next year will bring, but I remain optimistic and I think that this pandemic-induced crisis will end in 6 months, and we will be able to count on a better season next spring.

Positive impressions What are your first impressions of life in Belgrade and Serbia?

— They are very positive. Serbia is a good host and Belgrade is an extraordinary city. It has everything big cities are supposed to have.

People are open and it is not difficult to establish

contact. I am glad that the older and younger generations have a positive opinion of Slovenia.

I got used to life here very quickly and I already know that it will be difficult for me to return to Slovenia at the end of my term. Maybe there is only one thing that bothers me, which is also a

challenge for me. I need to practice my language so much, that people don't ask me where I come from anymore, or that they don't ask me after only a few uttered sentences in Serbia whether I come from Slovenia. We'll speak again in a year and see.

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We Want to Contribute to Quality of Life in This Region We deeply realize that only if we protect our employees, our clients and all our families, the Bank has a future in this market

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e talked with Branko Greganović, CEO of NLB Banka Beograd, about the current crisis, its impact on businesses and the banks, as well as socially responsible projects, especially those implemented in times of crisis. “For us, this region is not just a spot on the map. This region is our home, and in our home, we want to have a significant role and contribute to the quality of life and future of the people who live here” Mr Greganović said.

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What are your forecasts in terms of both the Slovenian and Serbian economies, and for Serbia alone for the next year? Will the economy experience an even bigger crisis after the epidemic compared to the one in 2008?

— It is difficult to make forecasts at this moment, especially having in mind that the situation with the pandemic is still uncertain. The fact that the Serbian economy relies more on industries related to products such as food and beverages, i.e. products that

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are essential under all circumstances, and less on the production of goods and services whose demand is affected by the epidemic. has resulted in a smaller decline than other economies, including the Slovenian. This crisis certainly affects different industries in very different ways, hence certain industries will therefore need more serious support to, at least partially, overcome the effects of the crisis and return to the market in full force after the end of the epidemic.

What do you think is the key to overcoming the crisis, and how did you organize the Bank’s operations in the light of Covid-19 and all the challenges it brings? Were there any negative impacts on the business operations?

— In this period, protecting the health of our clients and employees is an absolute priority, but at the same time, we are aware of our infrastructural role and that is why we are doing our best to provide our clients with the most direct access possible to the necessary funds. We deeply realize

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BRANKO GREGANOVIĆ CEO, NLB Banka Beograd

I would especially like to underline two projects aimed at supporting businesses in this challenging period - the #HelpFrame project and our NLB Organic competition

that only if we protect our employees, our clients and all our families, the Bank has a future in this market.

Hence, from the very beginning, we have been implementing all protection measures, including enabling remote work for all employees whose jobs allow it. At the same time, we have provided access to all products and services to our clients at every moment, primarily the funds in their accounts, including the period of the state of emergency.

I think we can be proud that we and the entire banking system have responded effectively to all regulatory requirements. That has often required doing a lot of work in a very short time. Despite the challenges, we have managed to protect our people, maintain the quality of services and achieve growth in all business segments.

NLB Banka has been implementing various CSR programmes and projects. How important is it to continue with such projects, especially in times of crisis, and thus support

both businesses and the population? — Socially responsibility has always been of great importance, but in the times of crisis like the current one, it becomes even more important, and that is what we, at NLB Banka Beograd, have stuck to this year. We have tried to support, above all, those who provide support to others in their fight against the epidemic - health care institutions, testing facilities, volunteers who made face coverages, but also to other people of good will. I would

especially like to underline two projects aimed at supporting businesses in this challenging period. The #HelpFrame Project has been launched by the NLB Group in the entire region to help small businesses, in particular, and to encourage entrepreneurship and help them to reach as many customers as possible.

Within the #HelpFrame Project, a total of 280 businesses from the region won advertising space with the media partners with whom the

I think we can be proud that we, as well as the entire banking system have responded effectively to all regulatory requirements during the crisis

Group members cooperate, and in that way gained the opportunity to make their products and services more visible to people in these difficult times. We also have our NLB Organic competition, in which 501 organic food producers in Serbia have participated since its launch in 2012.

This year, despite the pressure from the epidemic, we received more projects than last year, and each of the best three projects was awarded with 500,000 dinars.

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Economy Needs Help It is always, including today, very important for the Government to listen to the business community and take into account their needs to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus peak we are currently in with additional and specific measures

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he SBC’s activities on networking and connecting members, on providing contacts and working oneon-one are carried out extensively out via modern technologies. However, I have to underline that we cannot wait to start organizing events again where attendees will be present in person while we are fostering the good atmosphere that usually prevails in the Slovenian Business Club and to which we have been accustomed to for the past 17 years,” says Danijela Fišakov, president of the Slovenian Business Club (SBC).

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The economies of Slovenia and Serbia have been both hit by the pandemic. What are the forecasts for next year?

— Unfortunately, the whole world was affected by the pandemic, including the countries in this region. After a good economic start, the lockdown sent the economies of both countries downhill. In its latest report, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicted that Serbia's GDP could fall by 3.5 per cent this year, while econom-

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DANIJELA FIŠAKOV President of the SBC

Information technology, agriculture, environment and construction sectors are still far from reaching their maximum in cooperation

ic growth of three per cent could be achieved next year.

The Government of Serbia and the line ministry, on the other hand, forecast a smaller decline in GDP, i.e. of about 1%. The EBRD notes that the impact of Covid-19 in Serbia is less harsh than in some comparable countries.

This is partly due to the high share that the basic product production has in total production. At the same time, in its autumn forecast for 2020, the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia predicted that the Slovenian GDP will decline by 6.7%, followed by a recovery in the next two years. Economic activity, as this forecast predicts, will reach the pre-epidemic level only in 2022.

What do you think about the measures devised by the Serbian Government and how much are Slovenian companies affected by the crisis?

— Slovenian companies in Serbia are part of the Serbian economic milieu and share the destiny of other companies in this area. At the onset of the crisis, the SBC, together with other business and associations, chambers

of commerce and business clubs, addressed the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the business community in Serbia, with a joint request to facilitate business operations of companies during the state of emergency by reducing certain imposts and postponing the payment of others.

We asked for the concrete support of the Serbian Government, and our suggestions were taken on board to the greatest extent.

During the state of emergency, the government's measures significantly facilitated the business of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises first and foremost, i.e. those companies that are most vulnerable in such situations. Business people estimate that these intervention measures were excellent for mitigating the initial shock. However, the crisis is still ongoing. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a new wave of the coronavirus contagion and undoubtedly, the economy still needs help. Also, the adopted measures were linear and related to the widest set of business entities. Some of these entities, on the other hand, have encountered additional specific problems as a re-

sult of the pandemic. It is always, including today, very important for the Government to listen to the business community and take into account their needs to mitigate the negative effects of the coronavirus peak we are currently in with additional and specific measures.

What will the economy look like next year, and which sectors do you think will be the most affected?

— From the very beginning of the global epidemic, tourism, hotel industry, catering, a large segment of transport and event organization, i.e. the sectors whose functioning depends on the fluctuation of a large number of people, have been affected the most. The longer this pandemic lasts, the deeper these sectors will sink. Without additional government assistance, some sectors will find it very difficult to survive on their own to the extent that existed antebellum.

In this regard, I must underline positive practices of the Government of Slovenia, which has announced and is already implementing the sixth set of measures to help the economy. Once the pandemic ends, the whole world, including our region, will certainly commit itself to the recovery of the entire economy, especially the endangered sectors, but this will not be an easy and simple job. I hope that this nightmare will pass as soon as possible and that we will emerge from it victorious, that is, as healthy people because only healthy people can work at full capacity and make their full contribution.

Slovenia and Serbia traditionally have excellent economic relations.

What will stagnate, and what can be improved in trading between the two countries?

— Slovenian-Serbian relations are traditionally good and are constantly developing and deepening. The volume of trade between the economies of Slovenia and Serbia has long shown a continuous and significant upward trend. According to the official Slovenian statistics, the value of the trade (between the two countries) reached 1.6 billion euro in 2019, and in the first eight months of 2020, it amounted to one billion euro. This value can be much higher and more significant in the future because there are great opportunities to achieve that. Information technology, agriculture, environment and construction sectors are still far from reaching their maximum in cooperation.

Without additional government assistance, some sectors will find it very difficult to survive on their own to the extent that existed antebellum

Slovenia will take over the EU presidency in the second half of 2021.

What priorities are you going to have in terms of the economy?

— Apart from being a strong and reliable partner of Serbia in economic cooperation, Slovenia wholeheartedly supports Serbia's accession to the EU. The economy is one of the areas of the highest importance and interest, so the influence that the Slovenian presidency of the EU can have on it is, of course, something that business people are focused on. However, representatives of state policy are more apt to talk about specific strategic positions and future priorities.

In any case, I sincerely hope that during the Slovenian presidency of the EU, the main topic will not be fighting the coronavirus, but finding ways for successful economic recovery after the pandemic.

Even in present conditions, you are managing to organize events, online seminars and panel discussions.

How quickly did you adapt and how did you choose the topics?

— Following the instructions of medical professionals and the orders of the Serbian authorities, the SBC’s activities have changed somewhat since the beginning of the state of emergency, i.e. they have adapted to the new situation. We stopped organizing events and meetings that require the physical presence of attendees, but in June, while still adhering to all protection measures, we managed to organize a seminar with the Customs Administration where the attendees were physically present, as well as a very successful working

What should be the priorities of the Serbian Government in terms of improving the investment environment and the economy?

— Serbia is becoming more attractive and its environment for doing business is improving. It is important now that the state does not stop with the ongoing implementation of reforms at all levels, and that it continues with their practical implementation. The pandemic-related problems are not local and specific but global and cannot be an excuse to stop. The imperative of the Serbian state economic policy must be focused on reducing bureaucracy, improving the tax system as well as increasing the efficiency of public administration. Corruption could

breakfast with our members in September and the meeting of the Club’s Assembly in October.

Even before this crisis, the SBC had already adjusted many of its activities to Industry 4.0 standards. We are personally available on the phones for at least 8 hours every day and we use social media and e-mail a lot. Now, just like we would do in regular situations, we follow all relevant content and information and inform the membership about them promptly. The novelty is that we have held webinars, online conferences with current topics and online SBM to preserve interactive contact in these new times, and to preserve the connection between our members and the information flow as much as possible.

never be small, and procedures are never simplified enough.

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Visit Celje Fairy-Tale City From 28th November to 31st December 2020 he Fairy-tale Celje usually brings light to the city where fair ytales and dwarfs are awoken from a year-long sleep and photo corners light up children’s eyes. This year is a little bit different with safety measures, but still with hope, joy and happiness!

This year, December will be focused on calm and safe December walks through the city squares and streets, enjoying the illuminated photo points and new photo installations.

Fairy tale Celje in 2020 is bringing new hope and new ideas for Christmas spirit.

Visit www.visitcelje.eu

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Fairy tale Celje in 2020. is bringing new hope and new ideas for Christmas spirit

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Slovenian Investments in Serbia are Stable Very close relations between our two governments and business people form an appropriate environment for the expansion of cooperation

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e have talked with Dejan Vladić, economic adviser at the Slovenian Embassy in Belgrade, about economic cooperation between Slovenia and Serbia in these very challenging times, Slovenian investments in our country, Serbian investments in Slovenia, as well as opportunities for further improvement of cooperation.

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The conditions for improving economic cooperation are very challenging at the moment. How would you summarize this year in terms of Slovenian investments in Serbia?

— Corona has brought challenges and despair but also new business solutions. Public mobility has changed – we started going more to the parks than malls and other closed-environment locations. We started using

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new solutions for shopping, banking, dining, travelling. Some companies have not been able to overcome the crisis, others have been soaring, especially those offering online solutions, smart logistics and travel. Slovenian investments in Serbia are stable at around 970 million Euros with a positive outlook.

Slovenian NLB bank, the biggest financial system in the region, is in the process of acquiring Komercijalna Banka; the deal which will add on around 380 million in investments in Serbia. One of the biggest logistics companies in the region, Intereuropa, was acquired by Slovenian Post and has since been preparing to resurge, especially in Serbia where it plans new investments. Tough corona times proved to be an opportunity either for big business or for tech-

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DEJAN VLADIĆ Economic Adviser at the Embassy of Slovenia

Corona times proved to be an opportunity either for big business or for technologically driven, progressive companies

nologically driven, progressive companies. As much as we desperately want to see the year 2020 to end, we can conclude it has been yet another year of learning about the economy and ourselves.

Serbian companies have been investing in Slovenia too. How would you rate the overall economic cooperation and how can we improve it?

— I am happy to say Serbian investments in Slovenia also have a growing tendency. Again, big corporations are leading the way. Very close relations between our two governments and business people form an appropriate environment for the expansion of cooperation. Recently, one of the Serbian corporations became an important stakeholder in the real estate and financial market in Slove-

nia, infusing new energy and ideas to our market. There is around 9 % decrease in the our trade between the two countries due to the crisis, but I believe that will pick up soon.

New opportunities lure in ecological solutions and infrastructure, energy efficiency, e-mobility where Slovenian technological companies and institutes offer vast knowledge and references. Serbia has a great need for those. I hope we will be successful to get in this field of business, which is highly competitive.

Green industries have been topping the agenda in the EU for some time now, as well as in China, with Chinese companies being very propulsive in Serbia. The Slovenian green industry has competitive advantages which are reference-based. With Slovenian development assistance, we have built the first modern wastewater treatment plant of bigger capacity, thus taking care of the tourist destination of Zlatibor. This plant is of great importance as an engineering reference and a learning facility for future plant technicians in Serbia. The Serbian budget has allocated financial means to construct the first bulk of such plants, out of at least 300 projected. Slovenia stands ready to support the Serbian gov-

Serbia is a leader in connecting this region with better and faster mobility, as well as with the influx of capital. Due to Serbia’s proven progress in infrastructure, macro-economy and business environment in recent years, the country can expect even more investments. The EU integration process is timely, especially in the context of the global crisis and EU internal reforms.

The EU has become a very complex community and the need for internal reform has become evident. Serbia’s prospects are bright, and we all agree that it belongs in the stronger EU

ernment in accomplishing this important goal.

What do Slovenian investors think of the future of investments concerning Serbia's progress in the light of the European integration process and reforms?

— The fact that our investments have been growing says it all. Our companies are satisfied with business opportunities and environment here. Serbia is the second most popular destination for Slovenian investments.

Serbia also has a proven leading position in the Western Balkan region.

Many foreign companies use Serbia as a main entrance point to the whole region. With such high level of infrastructural investments in Serbia in the last few years, I believe the business community will further acknowledge its central position in the region.

Regionalisation is the "new black" in the global economy and Serbia has been preparing well for it. We see China turning to their dual circulation strategy, cutting dependence on overseas markets and aiming for domestic production and consumption, supported by domestic innovation. Long-term, China plans to rely on itself. We have also just seen the signing of the biggest Asian regional economic partnership.

Due to Serbia’s proven progress in infrastructure, macro-economy and business environment in recent years, the country can expect even more investments

What do Slovenian companies think about the workforce availability in Serbia and are they ready to invest in lesser developed areas in the country?

— In some parts of Serbia, for instance in Vojvodina, demand for the workforce is high and companies are almost stealing workers from each other. Strong demand for the workforce is always good for increasing salaries and improving working conditions. In other parts, companies are still managing to find good workers. Slovenian companies are evenly spread out all over Serbia and except for Vojvodina, they do not have problems acquiring new staff.

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by MINA VUČIĆ

Growth in Trade Reaches Sky-high Figures Bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Slovenia never greater C O O P E R AT I O N

conomic relations between the two countries are on the rise, as a result of a significant increase in mutual trade, and Slovenian investments in Serbia. Slovenia belongs to the group of 10 leading foreign investors in the period 2005-2017 in Serbia, and takes part in around 400 investments worth about 1.1 billion euros. Approximately 25,000 people are employed in over 1,400 Slovenian companies in Serbia.

In the last ten years, Serbia and Slovenia have recorded a constant growth of trade, which reached 572.4 mil. euros in 2009 and rose to 1.1 billion euros in 2019. In the same year, Serbian exports to Slovenia amounted to 580.7 million euros and record-

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Slovenia takes part in around 400 Serbian investments worth about 1.1 billion euros

ed a slight increase of 0.7%, while imports amounted to 574.8 million euros and is also growing at a rate of 1.2%. The trade surplus in 2019 is recorded on our side and amounted to 5.9 million. The total exchange of 1.1 billion euros positions Slovenia on the 13th place of Serbia's foreign trade partners in the observed period and represents the largest volume of trade exchange between the two countries so far.

In the first nine months of this year, the total trade between the two countries amounted to 867.7 million euros, the value of exports was 381.2 million euros and decreased by 13.8%, while the value of imports amounted to 486.5 million euros with growth of 13%.

If we look at the total tourist turnover, in the first nine months of this year the number of tourist arrivals from Slovenia was 12,816, which is 79.5% less compared to the same period last year and there were 25,068 overnight stays (-78%).

In 2019, there was a growing trend of arrivals and overnight stays of tourists from Slovenia who visited Serbia: with 89,930 arrivals (an increase of 3.5% compared to 2018), the number of their overnight stays was 163,251 (an increase of 3.7% compared to 2018).

Improvement of cooperation between the two countries is possible in the sectors of infrastructure, transport, energy, IT, agriculture and environmental protection, construction and tourism.

by MINA VUČIĆ

Slovenia Fights Back Keep supporting the economy until the growth is restored- Slovenia’s detailed arrangements to battling the world pandemic

hroughout the past decades Slovenia’s economy developed in a mature and stable manner as its inhabitants enjoyed the prosperity and peaceful politics. Not only has Slovenia become the first 2004 European Union entrant to adopt the euro, but also is proud of its above average GDP per capita figures. With its highly educated work force and well developed infrastructure, the nation successfully managed its countries logistics as it is located at a major transport crossroad.

After five years of prosperous growth which lifted employment, wages, and well-being, Slovenia’s economy has unfortunately been hit by the mighty Covid-19 pandemic, as have all the other nations worldwide.

Slovenia is not alone in this crisis, however as every nation is fighting back independently, we will analyze the measures which they took to restore their growth. According to the new OECD report, support to businesses and households is needed to reinforce the recovery and avoid lasting scars, particularly given the underlying pressures of an ageing population. According to the new Secretary General Angel Gurría “Slovenia has made remarkable economic and social progress since joining the OECD, and the government has acted admirably to manage the health and economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is vital now to stay on track, to stand ready to provide further support where needed to restore growth and then continue with measures to tackle the long-term economic challenges of an ageing population.”

Slovenia managed to subtly stop the shock to the economy as they immediately imposed financial sup-

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port measures to help businesses, income, and provide jobs. However, as the pandemic is still in full speed and finance is running out, Slovenia faces risks in spiking bankruptcies and raising unemployment. They allocated one billion euros to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on the economy. Furthermore, on November 17th, 5 million euros was given to support airlines, which unfortunately, is a sector that received one of the biggest punches. The measure is expected to benefit around 20 airlines who operate to and from Slovenia, as it aims to re-establish the air connectivity and support the recovery of tourism which isn’t only one of the main sources of income for the Slovenian economy, but also, currently, on an international breakdown.

Speaking of tourism, on November 4th, the Slovenian Commission approved a 760,000-euro support measure to compensate for the losses of income between the 16th of March and 31st of May this year, in the Postojna and Predjama caves, as they had to suspend touristic operations in order to follow governmental restrictions. The Postojna cave is counted Slovenia’s biggest tourist attraction, as in May last year, the underground phenomenon celebrated its 39 millionth visitor.

In such dark times the best one can do is believe that everything will get back to normal soon. Slovenia’s future growth once the pandemic is over will be influenced by the employment of new workers in the most efficient way possible, leading the unemployment rates to fall drastically.

By keeping older, experienced workers in jobs for longer whilst they start teaching the new low-skilled workers

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ECONOM Y

Slovenia has made remarkable economic and social progress since joining the OECD, and the government has acted admirably to manage the health and economic fallout

to get the job done in the most efficient manner, the staff will improve the labor allocations as full potential and productivity is reached.

After the pandemic, Slovenia will potentially face further reforms to lower their barriers when it comes to competition and foreign investment.

As a result, this will strengthen governance of state-owned enterprises.

Minister Počivalšek highlighted that it is important to act with prudence, not cause panic and protect human health. "I'm an optimist and I believe that we will protect our economy from major impacts of the coronavirus crisis to the greatest extent possible," he said. As much as 85% of the Slovenian economy is export-oriented; therefore, he believes it is of utmost importance for the whole of Slovenia to remain in a setting that will be open to freedom of movement of goods and services. We truly believe Slovenia will come out stronger once this international crisis comes to an end.

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SBC as a Stable Support for its Members

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AC T I V I T I E S

on-one were also strong.

The crisis has demonstrated that the SBC has matured and can successfully resist challenges. The Club continued providing stable support to its members, as well as be a place to connect, exchange experiences and information, educate and create opportunities for future business cooperation but also find solutions to specific problems of its members.

he Slovenian Business Club (SBC) started 2020 with great energy and enthusiasm while continuing to implement its mission, successfully connecting the economies of Serbia and Slovenia. March brought a surprise for everyone – the coronavirus 'locked up' people and the economy, and seriously shook the global market.

In the process of adaptation, the

Club tried to provide its members with adequate content and necessary information. The SBC organized webinars, online conferences with current topics and online SBM in order to maintain interactive contact, the connection with its members and the flow of information as much as possible.

The Club's activities on networking and connecting members, as well as providing contacts and working one-

Working breakfast - Adizes SEE

Seminar - JPM Law Firm and the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs

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state, national and international cooperation, etc.

During the panel discussion, panellists from leading companies in their business segments in Serbia and Slovenia and beyond such as NLB Banka, Simič & Partners, Triglav Osiguranje, ETI, Elmaks, Plamen, Tab Baterije, Tehnoplast and Ekonomija Uspeha, presented their observations on what their companies went through and whether the pandemic caused a decline or increase in sales and production and other relevant issues.

Seminar – the Customs Administration

January 2020 WORKING BREAKFAST ADIZES SEE In cooperation with one of its members, Adizes SEE, the SBC held a working breakfast on the topic: "10 ways to kill a company if you are persistent enough" which focused on the importance of optimal effectiveness, organizational structure, leadership style in the life cycle, etc.

of the Janković Popović Mitić Law Firm, who were also the hosts of this gathering, held presentations, as did the State Secretary Bojana Stanić with her colleagues from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.

The SBC organized the event in cooperation with the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

March 2020 INTERNATIONAL COFFEE BREAK – KOPAONIK BUSINESS FORUM Under the auspices of the Kopaonik Business Forum, in cooperation with 10 bilateral organizations in Serbia (the Belgian-Serbian Business Association, British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, Dutch-Serbian Business Association, Croatian Business Club, Japanese Business Alliance in Serbia, Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Confindustria Serbia), the SBC held the International Coffee Break at the Grand Hotel & SPA. A total of 80 business people attended the event.

May 2020 ONLINE PANEL DISCUSSION - INDUSTRY VS CORONA – THE DAY AFTER The traditional panel discussion, which the SBC has been holding six consecutive years, took place online this year, for the first time, on the topic "Industry vs Corona The Day After", under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia. The panellists – who came from companies ETI, RLS Merilna Tehnika, Grah Automotive, FMT and EXOR ETI Serbia – talked about their experiences from the previous period as well as expectations as for the direction forward, after the end of the pandemic and return to normal life.

March 2020 SEMINAR - JPM LAW FIRM AND THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT, VETERAN AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS A seminar on the topic "New Law on Agency Employment" was organized with the aim of businesses getting better acquainted with the topic. The representatives

June 2020 ONLINE PANEL DISCUSSION - "CORONAVIRUS AN OBSTACLE OR AN OPPORTUNITY?" Under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, the SBC organized an online panel discussion where we tried to find out whether the coronavirus epidemic was an obstacle or opportunity for the economy, the current situation and what future brings in terms of economy and

SEMINAR – THE CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION In cooperation with the Croatian Business Club and with the support of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the SBC played host to the representatives of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia and on that occasion, held a live seminar titled "Current Issues in the Application of the New Customs Law".

The participants were briefly introduced to the Customs Administration, the organization itself, its goals, mission, vision, as well as the work of all departments in the Administration and the specific changes in the Customs Law. There was also the talk about the amendments to the law in the segment of the transit procedure, simplified customs procedures and other relevant issues.

September 2020 WORKING BREAKFAST ON THE TOPIC "WHAT DID THE CORONAVIRUS BRING US?" The SBC marked the beginning of the autumn work season by holding a working breakfast, live, on the topic "What did the coronavirus bring us?" and on that occasion played host to its members.

A very lively discussion was led by representatives of the companies e-Kapija.com, Coface Serbia, ETI B, Poslovni Savetnik, Gorenje Belgrade, NLB Bank Belgrade, Triglav Osiguranje Belgrade, Cablex-S, JSP Law Firm, JUB Šimanovci and Profil Group Belgrade, who gave a broader picture of economic trends in general as well as in Slovenia and Serbia while focusing on investments, economy and opportunities for protection against business risks.

Other Club members, who attended the event, also gave their observations as they joined the discussion. As not all sectors of the economy were affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic in the same way and with the same intensity, it was concluded that large companies have a much better chance of coming out of the crisis without serious consequences than smaller companies. Representatives of SMEs called on large companies to help them overcome the situation in which they found themselves.

October 2020 ONLINE SPEED BUSINESS MEETING – SBC, HBA, HSPA, BNI For the first time, the SBC held a tetrahedral online Speed Business Meeting called "Business Networking in a New Reality" in an online format, in cooperation with the Hellenic Business Association of Serbia (HBA), the Dutch-Serbian Business Association (HSPA) and the company BNI Serbia. The event was attended by representatives of over 50 companies and members of the meeting organizers, to get to know each other better, improving cooperation between the four business organizations and boosting synergies between the organizations themselves.

Working breakfast on the topic "What did the coronavirus bring us?"

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by MINA VUČIĆ

Let the Games Begin The Cow is of the Bovine Ilk, one ends in Moo, the other Milk

ow- a calm and diligent farm animal, used for centuries by generations to help conquer hard agricultural work. Not only are these animals great assistants, but a phenomenal source of meat, and providers of milk and other dairy products. As they greatly cherish these multi-functional animals, Slovenians hold a 70-year-old fun tradition called the Cows’ Ball, and now we will tell you all about it.

Vividly decorated cattle, the crystal sound of cowbells and a welcoming festival atmosphere – that is what you can expect at the Cows's Ball on the dazzling Lake Bohinj in Slovenia. The mountain cattle drive takes place every September after spending the summer on the green mountain pastures, the traditionally decorated cattle are driven down to the valley, back in their stables where they will stay until next summer. The summer season in Slovenia alpine region officially ends in the third week of September with this very unique festival, as the local shepherds dressed in tradition Slovenian costumes walk their cattle off to holidays after a summer of hard work in the mountains. The festivities kick off on Friday evening with tours of Bohinj's local dairies and their regional museum, filled with the nation’s historic artifacts, followed by a night of folklore music ensemble performances and dance groups, village skits and traditional music in the village of Stara Fužine in Triglav National Park. Of course plenty of cheese, butter, and honey will be on hand for tasting, and much, much

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more. An additional awards ceremony is dedicated to the best Cika cows, where the locals gift rewarding bells to them and their owners.

Slovenia is with other Balkan countries located between the Southwest Asian domestication centers and Northwest Europe, where the most productive cattle breeds have been developed. To praise this cow day over 10,000 people come out into the nature to enjoy the fun event as it marks the start of an active autumn. Having started in 1950, the Cow’s Ball is actually the oldest event in Bohinj. The locals from the area provide visitors and tourists a presentation on mountain life, and those who are interested in Alpine dairy farming can enjoy their day competing in traditional Slovenian games and fun sport activities which root back to old mountain traditions.

Believe it or not alpine dairy farming traces back to the 13th century, and that’s about time when cheese making started in the country. This industry became the main source of income for the Bohinj village as milk and other dairy products became an important part of the everyday nutrition

T R A DI T ION

The festivities kick off on Friday evening with tours of Bohinj's local dairies and their regional museum

for the residents. The famous Bohinj Sir cheese brand was first created in 1873 when a cheese maker from Switzerland started to educate local shepherds in Slovenia about Swiss cheese production. Underneath its firm and dry natural rind, the texture is hard and open with holes which are dispersed all around the cheese. The flavors are aromatic, mild and nutty, the cheese becoming even better with prolonged maturation. Just a week after the day dedicated to cows, Slovenia celebrates the Bohinj cheese and wine festival where visitors and locals are welcome to come with their families to taste the delicious healthy cuisine and sip some fine Slovenian wine.

From the Cow’s Ball to other local events, Slovenia doesn’t leave you indifferent when it comes to their customs and traditions. The local home made dairy products, traditional folk dancing, and alpine sports which date back to the past centuries, the Cows Ball is definitely one of the most amusing and enjoyable events of the year, bringing a sip of good luck and positive energy as the summer ended and the cold and rainy days are awaiting the local populations and their cattle.

S LOV E N I A

by MINA VUČIĆ

The Pages of Slovenia The nation reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live

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C U LT U R E

iterature has been an important part of the Slovenian culture and history for centuries back.

It spans across all literary genres with historically the Slovene historical fiction as the most widespread Slovene fiction genre. Until the country gained sovereignty in 1991, it was the Slovenian literature and Slovenian language that united the nation. Instead of the generals, it is the novelists and the poets of Slovenian history that are celebrated in the country.

As a nation with two million people, which until 1991 has been a part of a larger and more powerful multilingual and cultural entities, in order to understand their literature, one has to become familiar with the fears and preoccupations, as it revolves around identity, pride, and resistance.

Literature means different things to different people. For past generations of Slovenians, many of the books provided support, and meaning to the peoples growing minds and bodies during a time of difficult international relations and censorship.

These novels were as essential to them as food. To the current generation of curious, traveling, computer-literate Slovenians, and of course to foreign readers as well, these same books are

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Literature played a vital role in the Slovene language and culture. Being rich with history, it spans across all literary genres

not a necessity anymore as Slovenian works have flowered into purer emotions and words, as mere art.

Now we will take a look at the most interesting and famous Slovenian literature pieces which have become the nation’s classics. In 1976 Ivan Cankar, one of the country’s most prominent novelists, wrote The Ward of Our Lady of Mercy. Within this extraordinary piece of work lays great empathy with the country’s masses, as he portrays lives of unfortunate people of lower and middle classes. He describes the life of young girls living in a hospital for the terminally ill. Believe it or not this mega talented writer is Slovenia’s most translated author, with over 305 translations of his numerous literary works!

Another interesting character in Slovenia’s literature book is Goran Vojnovic. Besides writing three bestselling novels in the country, he additionally is a director, screenwriter, and journalist. In his famous book Cefurji Raus (Southerners go Home), Vojnovic portrays a life of a boy who is an immigrant from Bosnia. Shortly after 2008, it became an instant best

seller and has already been translated into five languages. Definitely a must read!

When it comes to literature one must never forget the importance of poetry. France Preseren was one of the greatest poets in Slovenia as his work influenced the further development of Slovenian poetry. The book Poems, is Preseren’s best work selection, first published in 1846. Most of his writing was inspired by his unconditional love to Julia Primc. An interesting fact is that a verse from one of Preseren’s poems A Toast, was chosen for the lyrics in the Slovenian National Anthem after the country declared independence in 1991.

Lastly, lets take a look at a more recent author. Drago Jancar is one of the most read Slovenian writers of the 20th century. An interesting fact about his life is that he spent time in jail for his anti-regime activities in former Yugoslavia. Fortunately, this is where he took most of his inspirations from, as many of his books are filled with reflections of repressive institutions, true stories, and the conflicts of the chaotic Yugoslav war. His most popular novel the Galley Slave, tells a story about a man’s journey from Germany to Slovenia’s land. The character’s interests in unusual things and his curious personality and intellectual views cause him a lot of troubles on his journey and at one point, nearly his life.

Literature played a vital role in the Slovene language and culture. Being rich with history, it spans across all literary genres. Novels, poetry, drama, and narrative prose all kept the Slovene language and culture alive, allowing the Slovenes to become a real and powerful nation, even in the absence of masculine attributes such as political power and authority.

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AMS Osiguranje: Protect Your Car in the Best Possible Way If you are not prepared to bear the costs of material damage to your vehicle alone, now is a good time to contact AMS Osiguranje n case of traffic accidents, flooding, fire, falling pieces of a building and trees damaging your vehicle, theft or other unpredictable situations, and in accordance with your insurance policy terms, AMS Osiguranje will assume the risks regarding your vehicle and pay out the damages in the shortest possible time. If you purchase a casco insurance policy from AMS Osiguranje, we'll pay out the damages regardless of who is liable for them; you or someone else.

AMS Osiguranje always has its clients in mind so now you can pay

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Don't forget that with every purchased Casco insurance policy from AMS Osiguranje, you will receive a free AMSS Super membership and payment card, which provides the card holder with 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

C O R P O R AT E

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S LOV E N I A

by MINA VUČIĆ

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Virtual Walk Around Slovenia Even in the world pandemic Slovenia doesn’t hide its natural beauties and historical heritage TOURISM

nce upon a time, travelling for vacation was one of the most important times of the year. The moment which was the key motivator for many, as the hard work done throughout the year finally paid off. Unfortunately, now as we are battling a world pandemic, individuals can only dream of sandy beaches, crystal mountain peaks, and foreign cuisine. Fortunately, Slovenia has allowed us to enhance our holiday imagination through a virtual tour of the top touristic destinations in the country, as individuals embark on an unforgettable journey through the online I Feel Slovenia platform. It gives us the opportunity to plan our future holiday and excites us for the upcoming event, even if it might not be in the near future.

Form the comfort of your couch, Slovenia offers a journey to their greatest cultural and natural attractions.

When it comes to historical artifacts, the nation offers one of the greatest museum collections in Europe. The

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Museum of Brezice is located within a beautiful, pre-historic castle, on a slope on the left bank River Sava, originally created by the Sulzberger’s in 1528. It is a place where tribes, families and generations of the Posavje plains and hills meet and where lifestyles of the Posavje inhabitants and newcomers are knitted into a display of rich cultural heritage of the museum. The museum’s main message is to teach generations to learn from the past and become more skilful and brave in the future. Individuals who aren’t crazy about traditional museum collections won’t miss out in this ride as the Eco-Museum, Underwater Activities Museum of Piran, Plecnik House, and many others are all on display on the virtual tour.

Numerous generations enjoy adventurous hiking rails, the views of green landscapes and murmur of clear streams. According to “I feel Slovenia” you don’t need to put on your hiking boots to enjoy unforgettable views. One of the greatest wonder

Slovenia has allowed us to enhance our holiday imagination through a virtual tour of the top touristic destinations in the country

of raw nature is the Kozjak Waterfall. This natural phenomenon is hidden in a fairly large open karst cavelike area, and falls 15 meters into an amazing emerald green pool nested between magnificent dark rocks – it is the setting and the color of the water which makes Kozjak spectacular.

The virtual tour allows us to see every detail of this Slovenian wonder and offers the online visitors a truly unforgettable scenery. Yet another hiking trail awaits on the online tour as one of the most attractive lakes in Europe is located in Pohorje. An interesting fact about the Lovrenc lakes is that they are powered by rainwater, and their numbers are not always the same, depending on the season.

Their mysterious and unique black color comes from peat, which is deposited in them, creating this distinctive look. The Lovrenc Lakes combine the beauty of the green Slovenian forests and unique black-looking swamp lakes, which have become a treasure of Pohorje.

S LOV E N I A

Are you a fan of the underground?

Beneath Slovenia’s surface hides an infinite amount of prehistoric masterpieces, this virtual tour is perfect for the brave visitors who love to taste the mystic side of Slovenia’s nature. The Postojna Cave is called the “Queen of the underground world”, as it has the most diverse fauna and cave formations. Furthermore, it is filled with murmuring streams and rivers and vast subterranean halls, making it a real challenge for explorers to examine. The Križna Cave is yet another famous phenomenon in Slovenia which is a home to over 40 underground lakes, animal spe-

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cies, and archaeological remains and preservations. It is exactly 8.8km long and visitors have the opportunity to discover the cave by a little rubber raft.

Curious visitors who are willing to add Slovenia on their wish-list and want to feel the vibe of the urban city life are free too experience a virtual walk around Slovenian towns.

Exploring the historical cities and reading about tales from the past is enough to fall in love with a nation like Slovenia. Architectural master pieces and comfy town houses surrounded by local shops, restaurants, squares and parks, arouses the inter-

Slovenia offers a journey to their greatest cultural and natural attractions

est of many, as visitors are charmed by the romantic imagery.

Although Slovenia is counted as the baby of Europe due too its small size, there aren’t many tiny places in the world which offer as much history, heritage, and natural phenomena as this nation. Future Slovenian tourists and visitors have a wide specter of possibilities to observe in order to create the perfect personalized guide to Slovenia once travelling becomes a part of our yearly routine again.

Dreaming about it now, and visiting the country later definitely builds up excitement which will make the holiday absolutely unforgettable.

CORPORATE

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Master of Portabillity Huawei Matebook X The efficiency and seamles working experience between Huawei devices are one of the main goals Huawei has set, when developing their 1+8+N strategy uawei laptops made major success since they arrived on Serbian market.

Company entered this niche of the local market with variety of devices, and different price ranges, so everyone could find suitable offer. As a premium brand, Huawei is constantly improving and

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updating devices, in order to deliver the best technology to all of the brand lovers. That’s why, the newest addition to laptops portfolio is Huawei MateBook X – premium flagship laptop.

MateBook X itself has only 1kg so it is very light and portable. It has a 13-inch touch screen, which

enables you to operate with daily tasks easier than ever. It has Infinite FullView Display without metal frame around it, and it has 90% screen-to-body ratio.

This powerfull Huawei laptop comes with the latest version of Windows 10 Home OS, followed by Intel i5 processor, which

goals Huawei has set, when developing their 1+8+N strategy. That’s why Huawei MateBook X laptop comes with Huawei Share, the function compatible to the Huawei smartphones with EMUI 10 and newer versions. By activating Huawei Share on your Huawei smartphone and MateBook X lap-

MATEBOOK X ITSELF HAS ONLY 1KG SO IT IS VERY LIGHT AND PORTABLE. IT HAS A 13-INCH TOUCH SCREEN, WHICH ENABLES YOU TO OPERATE WITH DAILY TASKS EASIER THAN EVER will deliver great performances and make everyday business tasks smoother. Along with improved cooling system, you won’t even hear your laptop working.

When it comes to security, the power button on Huawei MateBook X has fingerprint scanner integrated in it. That means, no one except you can unlock the laptop.

Also, camera is positioned differently than usual. It is „hidden“ in the F bar, so it pops up only when you want it to. An extra safeguard for your privacy.

The efficiency and seamles working experience between Huawei devices are one of the main

top, all you have to do is to put the smartphone on the laptop touchpad and Multiscreen Collaboration will turn on. This option allows, as it says, multiple screens to collaborate together. Your phone screen will show on the laptop, which means you can transfer files from your smartphone to laptop, or vice versa, just by dragging and dropping them from one window to another. You can also use Multiscreen Collaboration to recieve phone calls on the laptop, and take your productivity to the next level.

Explore seamless business experience with Huawei MateBook X laptop.

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PEOPLE & EVENTS

17 NOV

ONATION OF 30 D COMPUTERS TO HIGH SCHOOL OF TOURISM FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The Korean Republic Embassy in Serbia donated 30 computers to the High school of Tourism in Belgrade, as a part of the ‘Green PC Program’ implemented by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT. The program has been initiated in 1998, and is designed to donate refurbished computers to recipients in the developing countries for the pur-

pose of enhancing their IT capacities. For the past 20 years, around 48.000 Green PCs have been donated to more than 80 countries in the world.

A donation ceremony was held on 17th Nov, at the High school, with the attendance of H.E. Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Hyoung-chan Choe and the school Principal Dragutin Miličić.

H.E. Hyoung-chan Choe and Dragutin Miličić

17 NOV

CANADA-SERBIA PUBLISHERS FORUM

The Embassy of Canada and the Association of Serbian Professional Publishers (UPIS) organized the first Canada-Serbia Publishers Forum, held on November 17th. More than 40 publishing houses from Canada, Serbia and North Macedonia were present. Canada was planned to be the Honorary Guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair this year. Since this year's fair was held

only through a virtual platform with limited participation and presentation of writers and publishers, Canada's performance as the Guest of Honor has been postponed to year 2021. The aim of this Forum was to explore new models of cooperation, strengthen and enrich ties, and continue to work on joint projects under the new circumstances.

Canada-Serbia Publishers Forum

19 NOV

FOREIGN INVESTORS COUNCIL PRESENTED THE WHITE BOOK 2020

Mike Michel

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The Foreign Investors Council presented the White Book 2020 and marked its 18th anniversery. The online conference was opened by FIC President and Telenor CEO Mike Michel, followed by Editor-in-Chief Miroljub Labus, as well as addresses by Head of EU Delegation in Serbia Sem Fabrizi and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. In his introductory

speech FIC President noted that he was pleased that the new Government and the FIC shared the same priorities: people’s safety and health, the fight against COVID-19, economic recovery, the rule of law and further digitalization.

In the active panel the participatns engaged in a discussion on ways to improve the business environment in Serbia.

Participants in panel discussion ways to improve the business environment in Serbia Sem Fabrizi and Minister Zorana Mihajlović

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

PEOPLE & EVENTS

24 NOV

GOLDEN CHARTER OF FRENCH KING LOUIS XIV

The original charter with a gold seal and the signature of the French King Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, was officially presented at the association for culture, arts and international cooperation Adligat in Belgrade. The ceremony was attended by the French Ambassador in Serbia, Jean-Louis Falconi, as well as the famous opera singer

H.E. Jean-Louis Falconi

25 NOV

Jadranka Jovanović, the former Commissioner for Gender Equality, Brankica Janković, one of the greatest experts in Serbian librarianship, Adam Sofronijević, Vuk Mirčetić, and many others. On the occasion, the founder and president of Adligat, Viktor Lazić, said that the connection between France and Serbia was deep and long-lasting.

Ambassador and Viktor Lazić

70 YEARS OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), is a crucial document on the European continent protecting democracy, rule of law and human rights of more than 830 million people in Europe. It is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. On this occasion, the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade opened an exhibition that will be wel-

coming visitors until 18 December. Jasna Dimitrijević, the director of the Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment that is hosting this exhibition, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, Tobias Flessenkemper, thanked the German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the support in setting up of the exhibition.

Tobias Flessenkemper

01 DEC

EXHIBITION "ALAN FORD RUNS THE LAP OF HONOR"

The visiting exhibition "Alan Ford Runs the Lap of Honor" was opened at the Museum of Yugoslavia, which was one of the most visited Slovenian cultural events in 2019. The exhibition features 152 original boards from the period of its creation. (1969-1975), some works include title drawings

by Paolo Pifareri. The exhibition was organized by the Museum of Yugoslavia and the Institute of Culture and Education from Ljubljana, in cooperation with the National Gallery of Slovenia, the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade

and the Yugoslav Cinematheque. Within the exhibition, which lasts until January 31, rare editions of the comic book "Alan Ford" from the collection of Marijan Matić and Marija Reljanović will be shown. The day before the official opening for visitors, Maja Gojković, the Minister of Culture, visited the event in the company of the director of the Museum, Neda Knežević, and the author of the exhibition, Roko Glavan. This year's celebration of the Day of the Museum of Yugoslavia ended with the opening of this great occasion.

Roko Glavan, Maja Gojković and Neda Knežević

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BUSINESS NEWS

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€65 MILLION FOR SERBIAN SCHOOLS

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest €65 million in the modernisation of primary and secondary schools in Serbia to provide new digital equipment, connectivity, and capacity building training for 50 000 school teachers.

Schools across Serbia will benefit from modern computer classroom equipment and wireless local area networks, and 50 000 teachers will be trained to improve their digital skills.

The project is expected to create up to 700 new jobs.

Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova, said “Modern, effective education and digital literacy creates new opportunities in life for young people, and makes them competitive on the modern job markets.” The Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia Tatjana Matic stated: “The project that aims to digitize the education system is a priority for the Government of Serbia. Sem Fabrizi, EU Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, said: “COVID-19 has obliged the whole world to go digital. With more than €100 million, the European gold standards and best practices have been integrated in the Serbian education system, many generations of students will be benefiting and thus being active citizens of the future.” The EIB will provide a significant level of technical support in aid of project preparation and implementation. To date, the EIB has invested €50 million in the modernisation of Serbian schools, improving the quality of learning conditions for around 28 000 primary and secondary school children in over 200 education facilities in Serbia.

02

O STOPPING FOR PHILIP N MORRIS

Philip Morris International invested USD 20 million in its production facility in Niš this year and thus the company’s overall investments in Serbia reached nearly USD 900 million. The investment in the production facility and modernization of 04

OVID-19 AMONG SERBIAN C BUSINESSES- YAY OR NAY?

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) released the findings of the ninth Annual Survey of 1,000 Serbian businesses. The survey, which reflects businesses' views on the business environment, revenues, employees, profit, and access to finance, unsurprisingly showed the significant impact of COVID-19 on doing business in Serbia.

Half of all companies surveyed reported decreases in revenue and net profits.

Nevertheless, Serbian companies demonstrated their resilience – with more than three-quarters of businesses not changing their number of employees, while 12 percent even hired more staff.

The pandemic served to accelerate the expansion of eCommerce, with many companies realizing the potential and even necessity of reaching their customers and clients online. More than 80 percent of companies that have webshops

NEW PARTNERSHIPS… NEW BEGINNINGS

Director of the Fund “European Affairs" of AP Vojvodina, Aleksandar Simurdić and Rector of the University of Novi Sad, prof. Dr. Dejan Jakšić, signed an Agreement of business and technical cooperation in strengthening entrepreneurial skills of cultural and creative industries. Both institutions have expressed readiness to participate in the project to encourage the growth and development. "I would like to thank the University of Novi Sad for their support. I am pleased that the sector of cultural and creative industries in Serbia consists of over 30,000 registered companies that employ more than 115,000 workers.” said director Aleksandar Simurdić. Rector, prof. Dr. Dejan Jakšić, stressed that this is certainly only the beginning of future mutual cooperation in the development of joint projects. The signing of this Agreement defines the legal framework for the establishment of the Creative Hub at the University, which will be one of the results of the CCI4TOURISM project, and will be available to all representatives, interested in the cultural and creative industries.

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the plant as well as packaging machinery, aims to support stable long-standing export growth of the Niš-based plant, which continues despite the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Manager of Philip Morris Southeast Europe Aleksandar Jakovljević said that the Niš-based plant had grown from a production facility for meeting demand of the Serbian market into a large regional and global production centre, exporting to 50+ countries worldwide. “The position we have built in 17 years since the privatisation until the present day has ranked us among the top exporters, becoming the second largest tax contributor to the national budget, as well as for the Philip Morris’ hub for Southeast Europe, “ According to him, the favourable business climate, which will undoubtedly be maintained with the new Government, will enable the company to continue investing in both its plant in Niš and commercialisation of products with a potential for making huge progress in the area of public health.

RING (DONESI) ANOTHER B NURSERY TO SERBIA

'Bring Another Nursery to Serbia' is a new initiative launched by the Novak Djoković Foundation and the Donesi brand. The users of the Donesi services will have the

now believe that their online sales are equally or more important than their traditional business. Additionally, 69% of Serbian companies complaining that they lack adequate financing options. ““By far the best tool that Serbia could use to strengthen its economic growth is the digitalization of the economy, government, and society.” said the U.S Ambassadr Anthony Godfrey. opportunity to donate funds in the next three months, which will go towards opening a nursery in the village of Vajska.

To join the #donesiradost campaign, all you need to do is, when paying for your order via the application or on the website, to select the card payment option, click the „I want to participate in the 'Bring Another Nursery to Serbia' campaign” and select the amount of your donation.

Do you know that if you donate only 100 dinars, the money will go towards buying a set of colouring pencils and felt-tip pens? With a donation of 500 dinars, you will contribute to purchasing reading and colouring books, while for the amount of 1,000 dinars, the children from the village of Vajska will get development toys and puzzles. We can do so much more if we join forces, and is there anything more beautiful than seeing children happy!?

CLICK TO GO  www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

BUSINESS NEWS

06

TRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN S ALUMIL AND MEDIGROUP

Alumil, the largest aluminum extrusion group in Southeast Europe, designed and manufactured the Smart Gate front door, a smart solution to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Smart Gate represents a major innovation in the field of health prevention, especially in the current circumstances of the pandemic, and MediGroup, the largest private health system in Serbia and the region, was the first to recognize its significance. Eight devices for contactless temperature measurement have been installed in the MediGroup General Hospital, the Special Hospital for Ophthalmology - Miloš Clinic, the Special Gynecological Hospital with a maternity ward - Jevremova and health centers.

The Smart Gate device performs contactless temperature measurement, without radiation, with high precision, while enabling continuous, undisturbed passage. Alumil's new product protects places with large number of people such as health centers, workplaces, shopping malls, mass gathering places and venues for various events, by performing very fast, accurate and contactless measurement of body temperature in order to prevent the possible spread of COVID -19 infection.

08

FFECT OF CIRCULAR E MIGRATION IN SERBIA

In order to reduce brain drain and encourage those who have returned to return, it is necessary to provide the same working conditions as in any other western country. Every company, manager and leader

09

EALTHIER DIET AS A H LIFESTYLE

How much do we think about the basic rules of a healthier diet when we plan meals every day? Do we look at the composition of the product? All of this and other eating habits were discussed on the online panel "Healthier diet as a lifestyle", which presented the results of research on healthier nutrition conducted by the company Deleuze Serbia. Research shows that lunch is the main meal for most and is rarely skipped, while breakfast is the sec07

EUROBANK - A SCHOOL DESIGNED FOR YOU

The fifth donation within Eurobank’s stand-alone project ‘A School Designed for You’ was executed in the Second School of Economics in Belgrade. The new IT equipment was provided with funds raised from transactions made with the ‘Eurobank Big Heart’ Mastercard affinity credit card. More than 1200 students of this school for future economy technicians and finance administrators can now study for their profession in a high-quality manner and in real-life conditions. Since 2018 more than 4.8 million dinars has been allocated for equipping and modernising five classrooms in schools across Serbia.

“I am exceptionally proud that we have continued with our stand-alone project in these challenging times, thus providing support to our education system when it is needed the most. I am glad that we have enabled students of the Second School of Economics in Belgrade to obtain expert education they deserve, by working in real-life conditions and programmes used in a bank”, said Slavica Pavlović, president of the Executive Board in Eurobank.

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TARBUCKS “READY TO S DRINK" COFFEE

Mlekoprodukt has become the exclusive distributor of "Starbucks ready to drink" coffee for Serbia and Montenegro. It means that, if you want to buy the recognizable Starbucks coffee with milk, you don't have to go to the Starbucks store.

Five different flavours in cans or glass bot-

has a responsibility to create an environment that would encourage young people to stay and return after time spent abroad. This is the only way to make a difference in the whole society - are the conclusions of the first panel of this year's Forum of Managers on the Serbian Association of Managers on the topic of circular migration: The situation on the labour market today - do we have enough adequate staff? The special guest of the Forum of Managers was the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to the Republic of Serbia, Urs Schmidt, who pointed out how important this topic is for all countries of the world. The age group that most often decides on the possibility of temporary stay abroad are young people between 20 and 30 years of age, mostly due to the expected quality of life abroad, social security, working conditions and the possibility of career advancement.

ond most commonly consumed meal on weekdays. How important a balanced diet with regular meals was, said. Dr. Veroslava Stanković, nutrition specialist and lecturer at the College of Health Vocational Studies in Belgrade. According to the official data of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut" and the World Health Organization, more than half of the general population of Serbia over the age of 15 is overweight.

A balanced diet and physical activity are key steps in improving a nation’s overall health and as such should become an indispensable part of the modern lifestyle. tles of attractive design are waiting for you on the shelves of better equipped stores and gas stations.

- We are very proud to have joined forces with one of the most respected brands in the world, which is on the 6th place on Forbes' list of successful brands.

The recognizable taste and smell of coffee go perfectly with quality milk and that is why our cooperation is created, in order to provide you the unique pleasure of coffee with milk, always and everywhere.

If you are a fan of espresso coffee, Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso with milk and Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso without added sugar (with sweetener), in a practical package, in 200 ml cans, are ideal for you. For those who like more creamy taste of coffee, there is Starbucks Frappuccino in Coffee, Mocha and Caramel variants, in a 250 ml glass package.

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by Žikica Milošević

ANALYTICS

Winds of Change Welcome to the 21st century, 20 years later than expected hen the Berlin Wall fell, from 1989 to 1992, The Scorpions were singing „Wind of Change“. It seemed so dramatic – the whole world we knew was falling apart. For some, it was terrible. For some, exciting and promising. For some, eerie.

For some, extatic. And we have expected the things to get better very soon. They did not. OK, maybe in America, with dot.com bubbles – they even branded the 90s “decade that connected us”. Basically, it tear us apart, with new borders, frontlines, poverty and class lines.

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ONCE IN 100 YEARS, NOT EVEN LIFETIME But we expected the things to change rapidly maybe in the 21st century. They did not. So we were patient. Last year, everyone said that a year written as "twenty-twenty" must have something symbolic in it. The euphoria for change was not like the "millennium fever" in 2000, but changes were announced. No one expected the changes to be so dramatic. No one expected the story from 100 years ago to be repeated, when the Spanish flu disrupted already completely disrupted life after the First World War, wiping out millions of lives and entire economies. The weakest suffered again - the old, already sick of other "comorbidities", as it is professionally called, the poorest. The redistribution of wealth from street vendors, and manual workers who had to show up on the spot, in favor of tech giants and people like Jeff Bezos from Amazon, was spectacular in 2020.

Such profound changes happen once in 100 years.

HOW DID SOCIETY CHANGE? Society has undergone sudden changes. All the changes that we thought they would experience before, but social sluggishness, in general, slowed them down, the sluggishness of capitalism itself, which was good anyway. But now that mobility has become impossible, and contact has become dangerous, we have remembered that we have the tools to make our "futuristic" business possible.

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THE 21ST CENTURY HAS FINALLY BEGUN, WITH 20 YEARS OF DELAY Zoom-conferences, Skype-interviews, work from a tracksuit and without makeup. Without wasting hours and hours in transportation just to get to the office. No fast food. It turned out that 80% of employees are satisfied with working from home. It turned out that a bunch of companies do not want to return to the old mode of operation. It is already rumoured that large office buildings are a thing of the past. They say that smart companies, those with pinball machines, billiards, a relaxed atmosphere, gyms and darts, such as Google or Facebook, are also endangered. Although less.

It is believed that a large number of employees who do not have to come to work will continue to work from home. Those who are more important will come to work once or twice a week.

But, we all miss street vendours, if not the street hustle. The small restaurants and cafes, coffee breaks and after-work beer. Nos-

talgia might prevail in some areas. The people are craving for each other, spooked by the sudden death of spontaneity.

WHAT WILL CHANGE? WHAT CHANGES WILL STICK? Cities will change. New York has become a shadow of itself, but it will recover. Like the other big cities. But, they will never be the same, never so overcrowded. Public transportation will change.

People will want more to live in small towns and in nature and to have good transport links to big cities. It will be all like in the “Minority report” – face-recognition cameras (not the eye-recognition, perhaps), slums with no hi-tech gear, and secluded comfy places for the rich and those who can afford it. Very soon. But in the meantime, the people will try to find their peace. To buy a house with the garden or the backyard.

Because the trauma of the lockdowns will stick and linger. The

hi-tech gear like computers and internet will be crucial, like never before. 5G will make us omnipresent. We could be in Sri Lanka and work from there. The appeal of the so-called First World will be diminished. Tech-acceleration will occur. There has been tech-acceleration, already. But this time, it will be serious.

Jobs will be at a distance, although not all - many will long for their colleagues and the atmosphere in the offices. Business travel will be reduced and meetings will be online. Travel will be closer to home. But, the people crave for travelling. They will flood airplanes, airports, trains, tourist destinations in 2021. It will be newly-found tourist frenzy. Concerts will erupt. The cars will become increasingly electric. The climate and health will be central issues as populist-fuelled and bigmoney-backed leaders demise.

The future we all hoped for will finally knock on the door.

It was not 2000 that was the year of the now era. It was 2020. The 21st century has finally begun, with 20 years of delay. Welcome.

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by Mina Vučić

Photos: Bojana Janjić/MSUB

EXIBITION

Love is Love High Couture in Serbia elgrade, November 27, 2020 - The Museum of Contemporary Art, opened the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition Love is Love. “The door to high fashion is finally opening” said Acting Director of the Museum Viktor Kiš.

The exhibition presented a total of 38 high fashion wedding dresses, created between 1990 and 2000, and exclusively in Belgrade, presented 8 new dresses which

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were not shown before.

The French designer spoke online as he couldn’t come due to the pandemic. “Good day Belgrade. I am very happy that you invited us to show you the exhibition. Yes, it is true - love is love, and I love Belgrade. I am happy that you will see an exhibition about things that make us dream. I'm still in Paris because of the pandemic. But I will think of you, and I have a great ambassador, who has been

working with me for 12 years - Jelka Music. Thank you all, I hope you enjoy the exhibition, and I promise I will try to come before it is over. I would like to see your beautiful city once again."

The director of the Belgrade exhibition, Jelka Musić, thanked the entire Museum team for the successful cooperation. "When Jean Paul Gaultier and I just started working on this exhibition in 2009, I never thought that he

would come to Belgrade in 2020, it is a special gift for me.”

Immediately after the online opening, all interested visitors can see the exhibition live at the Museum of Contemporary Art, respecting all epidemiological measures. Visitors who don’t have their tickets yet, can get them through Ticket.rs, or during the exhibition (November 29 to February 14, 2021) at the Museum's ticket office.

Enjoy the Show!

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WATCH THE CONFERENCE

CONFERENCE

by Nevena Kuveljić

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Conference 'Sustained Nuclear Safety' Nuclear energy should not be feared, but rather we should become familiar with, study and control it, and experts in Serbia are capable of doing all of that elgrade, December 2, 2020 - In cooperation with the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate (SRBATOM) held the Nuclear Safety Today conference for the second consecutive time, but this year, it was an online conference.

This year's conference was dedicated to the latest trends in the two largest branches of nuclear energy - medicine and energy, as well as in the application of modern techniques based on ionizing radiation in the study and preservation of cultural heritage.

The conference was officially opened by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Minister of Culture and Information and Chairwoman of the Board of SRBATOM, Maja Gojković, who said on the occasion: "Nuclear energy is still one of the cleanest and most economical sources of electricity. The stability in electricity production in nuclear power plants and the high lev-

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el of safety and security of nuclear facilities during the coronavirus pandemic have proved the reliability and sustainability of the entire nuclear energy system ”.

Director of the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate, Slađan Velinov, said: „Despite the challenging epidemiological situation, SRBATOM worked without interrupting, enabling the issuance of import

nated equipment exceeds 250,000 euro." „During this global pandemic, the Vinča Institute has been working without stopping all the time. The Institute’s experts are engaged in the fight against Covid-19, in different aspects and levels. Our experts were engaged in all three laboratories where PCR tests are processed,” said Snežana Pajović, PhD, Director of the Vinča

NUCLEAR ENERGY IS STILL ONE OF THE CLEANEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY permits for new hospital equipment and equipment for diagnosing and treating other diseases, as well as radiopharmaceuticals necessary for diagnosing and treating the most serious diseases. In cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, SRBATOM also provided a donation for equipping three laboratories in Serbia for rapid detection of coronavirus, and the value of the do-

Institute of Nuclear Sciences.

Dr Danica Grujičić, director of the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia and head of the Department of Stereotactic Neuroradiosurgery, said that nuclear energy should not be feared, but rather we should be familiar with it, study and control it, adding that experts in Serbia are capable of doing all of that. Dr Grujčić also pointed out: "The impor-

tance of nuclear energy in medicine is growing. Nuclear medicine is a special type of specialization where, thanks to drugs that are marked with certain radioactive substances and substances that you inject into the patient's blood vessels, you can determine exactly where a certain pathological process is located. Furthermore, these same drugs marked with radioactive substances can in many cases be very useful in treatment, especially in thyroid and neuroendocrine tumours.“ Zoran Drače, a retired expert of the International Atomic Energy Agency, presented the latest trends in the field of nuclear energy as well as activities in the design and development of generation IV nuclear power reactors and small modular reactors. The goal of nuclear energy is to enable the production of electricity and other applications of reactor technologies by developing new, more reliable and safer solutions, ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.

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JOHNSON

Like Biological Species, Languages Evolve There are parallels between the two processes—as Charles Darwin saw ecause politics.” “Latinx.”

“Doomscrolling.” Language is developing all the time, as new usages like these arise and old ones disappear. One common way to describe this process is to say that “language evolves”. It is an apt formulation, for there is a deep and revealing relationship between linguistic change and biological evolution— along with some big differences.

Linguists today aim to apply methods from other sciences to messy social phenomena. But the influence once ran the other way, with discoveries in linguistic history leaving a mark on evolutionary theory. In the late 18th century William Jones, a British judge in Calcutta, concluded that Sanskrit’s similarity to Latin and Greek was too great to attribute to mere chance. He proposed a parent language, the descendants of which included Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Persian and other European tongues. Like Columbus, he was not the first to get there, but he made the revelation famous.

As Jones’s findings were elaborated by the philologists who came after him, they also came to

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IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY WILLIAM JONES, A BRITISH JUDGE IN CALCUTTA, CONCLUDED THAT SANSKRIT’S SIMILARITY TO LATIN AND GREEK WAS TOO GREAT TO ATTRIBUTE TO MERE CHANCE the attention of a young Charles Darwin. As early as 1837, looking at the evidence that wildly different languages had once diverged from a single parent, he wrote to his sister that mankind must have been around much longer than the Bible allowed. In 1871 he made the parallel between language divergence and evolution more specific, writing in “The Descent of Man” that “the formation of different languages and of distinct species, and the proofs that both have been developed through a gradual process, are curiously the same.” One language giving birth to both Hindi and English was not so extraordinary if you gave tiny

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changes time to accrete.

Speciation—the emergence of distinct species—offers one of the closest parallels between linguistic and biological evolution.

Darwin found that finches separated on different Galapagos islands had developed into different species, and worked out why.

When a homogenous population is split, each subset will be affected by its own genetic changes. Those that contribute, even a little bit, to survival will tend to become more prevalent through the process of natural selection.

When such changes accumulate, you no longer have two populations of a single species, but two

different species.

Two linguistic populations separated by enough distance, or by a physical barrier such as a mountain range, can undergo a similar experience. Random alterations— to pronunciation, the meaning of words or grammar—are often so small that no one notices them as they are happening. Over the course of many generations, for instance, a t sound might become an s. Or take the terms in the opening lines of this column: using “because” as a preposition, shedding grammatical gender (as “Latinx” purports to do) or forging new words from old pieces (as in “doomscrolling”) may all baf-

fle the uninitiated. As tweaks of these and other kinds mount up in one group, its speakers gradually lose the ability to converse with another—as two speciating populations begin to lose the ability to mate.

Mark Pagel of Reading University has made a list of other compelling parallels between the two processes. Like genes, he notes, words are “discrete, heritable units”. The replication of DNA is akin to language teaching. Physical fossils resemble ancient texts.

And so on. But there are contrasts, too, perhaps the biggest being that the chief driver of biological evolution—natural selection—is mostly absent in language.

Nature is red in tooth and claw: a maladaptive mutation can get you killed. Language doesn’t quite work that way. For the most part, changes don’t take hold because they help you avoid a predator, but because they help people communicate. For that, they have to be adopted by others at the same time—which may happen for reasons that have little to do with “fitness”. A celebrity’s coinages will take off quicker than those of a brilliant basement neologist not because they are superior, but because the star has more Twitter followers.

There is, though, a final, important overlap between the two kinds of evolution. In a common visual depiction of the ascent of man, an ape gradually becomes a human through a series of intermediate steps. That gives the impression that evolution is a process of ever increasing sophistication. Not always: rather, organisms, like languages, change to fit their environments. They may not always become more refined. But neither—despite the incessant chorus of grumbles—are they in decline.

From The Economist, published under licence.

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

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CONFERENCE

"Parent in the Spotlight" The role of employers in improving the status of parents in Serbia

OVID-19 has strongly disrupted the paradigm of everyday business, leading to sudden changes in business practice. Remote work, virtual teamwork, empathetic leadership, but also social exclusion and loneliness, rising unemployment and inequality are just some of the consequences. Research on family-adapted business was presented at the Parent in the Spotlight conference organized by UNICEF, which did a cross-case analysis of the attitudes of children and youth about the impact of their parents' workplace with family-adapted business practices in the Serbian business sector.

The survey called "The Impact of Parental Workplace on Children and Youth", in which 1,279 children and young people from all over Serbia participated, was administered through the UNICEF U-Report platform, which represents the voice of young people and promotes their participation in creating positive social change.

The survey questions focused on children's attitudes about the parental balance between work and family, their expectations of the parental workplace in terms of family practices of employers, as well as the measures implemented to protect employees and their

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families during COVID-19.

Most young respondents have confirmed that they do joint activities with their parents during the workweek. Nevertheless, almost half of children and young people single out important events where they lacked parental attention and these are mostly emotional problems, school and sports competitions.

Representatives of the corporate sector such as Nelt, Direct Media, Vip mobile and Nordeus discussed why this is so and whether companies take care of the children of employees in their organizational policies and procedures, at the panel called "Family-friendly workplace". On that occasion, several examples of good practice were presented.

"At Vip, it is important for us to develop a partnership with employees. Just as our employees care about the company’s results, so do we as a company and employer care about them, their health and their families. Among other benefits, we have a children nursery in our office building, parents have additional days off for dates that are important to their children such as starting nursery or school, etc., all with the aim of establishing an adequate work-life balance,“ said Na-

talija Pešić, Head of Human Resources at Vip Mobile.

At Nordeus, employees cam comment on specific challenges during the pandemic, so that the company could better respond to their needs."We observe the satisfaction of the employee as a whole because we know how difficult it is today to achieve a work-life balance. Caring for our employees means caring for all their family members, especially children. Our employees have unlimited time to rest, we provide remote work for everyone, private health insurance covers all family members, our space is adapted to children and we like to include our families in creating almost all beautiful memories together," said Marija Beslać from Nordeus.

Ana Vidović, a human resources associate at Nelt, states that “one of the reasons for such research results is that employers still thing that family and work should be viewed separately. In this regard, the fact that employees, who have achieved an appropriate work-life balance are more productive and satisfied is overlooked. These results are also affected by poor awareness of what employers can do to help employees achieve and maintain that balance. ” Given that family-friend-

ly business practices are mostly implemented voluntarily, companies point out that the state should provide certain incentives for their more massive application, as well as to publicly recognize employers with such developed practices.

Ivana Mihajlović, HR Director in the Direct Media Group, points out that the practices and opportunities that companies can introduce through their activities are not visible enough. "The initiative is also on us, and our task is to educate each other about the changes in the established patterns of parenthood. We have prejudices about what the roles of father and mother are. That is why we need to educate ourselves and see what are the mechanisms by which we can change these patterns of behaviour and expectations. Our company is committed to conducting education that helps better mutual understanding and equality. ” Children growing up and parenthood don't wait for ideal conditions, and child development cannot be delayed. That is why it is important to direct all efforts towards parents and give them the necessary support, the participants of the Parent in the Spotlight conference concluded.

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by Tanja Banković

Art Will Be Revived But in an Altered Reality Museum of Yugoslavia has been actively using digital platforms for communication with the public for a long time, so it was not that challenging to adapt our programmes to the virtual environment, although we miss the direct contact with visitors INTERVIEW

NEDA KNEŽEVIĆ MA, Director of the Museum of Yugoslavia

n December 2, the visiting exhibition "Alan Ford Running a Lap of Honor" was opened at the Museum of Yugoslavia, marking this year's Museum Day. With talked with Neda Knežević, director of the Museum of Yugoslavia, about how the Museum has been working during the pandemic, financial consequences of the crisis, regional cooperation and plans for the next year.

The coronavirus has led to the closure of museums worldwide.

Closing and reopening a museum to the public is not just as simple as closing or opening a door to it. What is the situation with the Museum of Yugoslavia like?

— The most important thing was to organize supervision over the museum collections and teamwork outside the work premises, but also to keep in touch with the public through online content.

The Museum of Yugoslavia’s complex consists of four buildings: the May 25 Museum, the House of Flowers, the Old Museum, as well as a ticket office with a souvenir shop and a cafe (spanning over 5,000 square metres). If we add to that the Sculpture Park that covers an area of 2.16 hectares, it is clear that this is an extremely large and demanding system, the functioning of which at full capacity requires serious logistics, as well as a stable technical and technological base.

Following the introduction of a state of emergency, the Museum was closed to the visitors. It only took us a week to complete that process and the same amount of time to reopen it in late May, which was preceded by thorough preparations, with the adherence to all prescribed government

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Photo: Danilo Mataruga

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ute to the society in such complex circumstances.

You can find an abundance of content on the Museum's website about the Museum's collections, as well as materials collected through exhibitions and other programmes (video interview database, conferences and other verbal programmes, recordings of guided tours through exhibitions, selection of items from the collection, the Museum’s printed publications in digital forms, etc.).

During the state of emergency, we launched two social media campaigns. #OstaniUMuzeYU focused on educational digital content, while the #YUDOM mini-project generated a completely new content relevant to the segment that the Museum covers, as a result of the active participation of not only of local but also audiences across the region.

I am very proud of the Museum’s entire team because, in July, we managed to stage the planned exhibition "TANJUG Reports - The War is Over", which shows doc-

THE MAIN ADVANTAGE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IS THAT THEY ENABLE MUSEUMS, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE PHYSICALLY CLOSED TO THE VISITORS, TO STILL CREATE CONTENT measures to protect health and safety of visitors and employees.

Under regular circumstances, the Museum has a large number of visitors (130,000 a year), including foreign tourists, so we really felt this change. However, the whole situation encouraged us to contribute to the local community, so in May, we decided that in the future the entrance to the Sculpture Park will be free for everyone so that our fellow citizens can recognize this space not only as a place for cultural, artistic and educational content but also as a space for leisure, contemplation and relaxation.

How difficult was being first to organize the Museum opera-

tions and yourself during these months when anti-corona measures are being first adopted then abolished, and when movement was limited?

— The Museum of Yugoslavia employees did not stop working even during the period when the Museum was closed. Most were able to work from home, and their activities were tailored to create content in a virtual environment. The main advantage of digital technologies is that they enable museums, even though they are physically closed to the visitors, to still create content and, through dialogue and audience involvement in the creation of that content, to encourage reflection on relevant topics and thus contrib-

umentary photographs of exceptional historical value and which is open to the public until the end of this year.

This exhibition is part of a series of programmes that we realize from May to the end of the year marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The curators intervened on a permanent display in line with the theme, and if you cannot come to the Museum personally, you will soon be able to watch the guided tour live on our YouTube channel.

This is just one of the examples of active development of digital content, and in that context, we have designed a mini-series of online conversations. The first took place in October, while the second

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The crisis is ongoing. What financial impact will this year have on the Museum and art in general?

— The number of visitors to the Museum of Yugoslavia has dropped significantly compared to the numbers we are used to.

Own revenues have stopped and have declined by 80%. We are ending this year without serious consequences on regular expenses, part-time associates and programmes, but come next year, we will have to reorganize our work a lot in accordance with the reduced funds.

The period since the Museum of Yugoslavia was founded in 1996 to date has been marked by an identity crisis. What are your plans in terms of creating a brand out of the Museum?

— That's right. The Museum of Yugoslavia had a turbulent history that greatly reflected on the identity of the institution. It is located on the site of the former residential area where Josip Broz Tito lived, which after his death became the Josip Broz Tito Memorial Centre. Precisely because of that, even today, part of the audience perceives the Museum primarily as Tito's mausoleum. However, apart from that, the Museum of Yugoslavia is, above all, a public institution that promotes social memory and culture of remembrance related to the Yugoslav heritage. We plan to continue in this direction and for our programmes and activities to reflect an open institution that, through a modern interpretation of the past, invites various actors to actively look at the present.

Photo: Djordje Tomić

– called "Freedom to the People!"

- will take place on November 29, as part of the programme marking this year's Day of the Museum of Yugoslavia.

To sum up... With a light slalom between virtual and physical content, we strive to actively listen, be flexible and contribute to as many communities as possible in all available ways.

al world, personal experiences remain indispensable.

What are the Museum’s plans for the next year? Will there be enough funds to realize these plans, given the crisis?

— We create the Museum’s annual programme in a way that it is relevant both for the museum itself and for the local community, so we always choose one umbrella theme that joins together most of our activities for that year.

This year, as I mentioned, the strategic theme rests on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Next year, it will be an industrial legacy. This means that one part of the curatorial team will work on redoing the permanent exhibition, which they will continuously refresh and improve. In that way, our audience will always have a fresh reason to visit the Museum. New items are added to the collection, but also

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN TERMS OF HOSTING LARGE EXHIBITIONS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH WE WILL BE MORE PRESENT IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD, PERSONAL EXPERIENCES REMAIN INDISPENSABLE The guest exhibition "Alan Ford Running a Lap of Honor", which was one of the most popular Slovenian cultural events in 2019, was opened at the Museum on December 2. Can you tell us more about the exhibition?

— We are very glad to have hosted this popular exhibition. Alan Ford is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable phenomena that characterize the Yugoslav heritage and experience.

The exhibition shows 152 original boards from the early period, when the famous Italian duo of illustrators, Magnus-Bunker, did this comic book. There are also three cover drawings by Paolo Piffarerio. With this exhibition, as well as numerous regular programs, the Museum of Yugoslavia marks this year's Museum Day. We have staged this exhibition together with the Institute of Culture and Education from Ljubljana, in cooperation with the Na-

tional Gallery of Slovenia, the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade and the Yugoslav Film Archive. We are proud that, despite the pandemic, we have managed to raise funds with the help of our collaborators, donors and sponsors to be able to present this exhibition to the public. Erste Bank, S-Leasing, Vip Mobile, Montprojekt, Traco-invest, Triglav Osiguranje and Soko Inženjering also helped us to stage the exhibition and I would like to use this opportunity to thank them all.

Are you optimistic about being able to stage exhibitions abroad?

When will the world come alive again in terms of arts?

— I firmly believe that the art world will be revived again but in a slightly altered reality. International cooperation in terms of hosting large exhibitions will happen again because, although we will be more present in the virtu-

there are new types of interpretation of the existing collection, which is reinterpreted through the new topics. In addition to working on the permanent exhibition, the main theme is always illustrated with a large thematic exhibition.

This time, the exhibition will be the result of cooperation with the Museum of Science and Technology. The two museums decided to cooperate to cover the industry in its complexity: both as a production process, but also as a complex form of association of people.

Also, we are trying to be versatile and cover many different topics in the broad corpus of the Yugoslav heritage, as well as contemporary trends in the development of museum visitors. To that end, we always have stimulating programmes for the local community such as a family day, a rich music and film programme, various gatherings, conversations, and educational programmes.

AN IMPORTANT PARTNER IN THE REGION How important is regional cooperation?

— It is very important because, as a significant place of remembrance, the Museum of Yugoslavia gathers in one place different memories of people throughout the region, as well as of those who temporarily or permanently left this part of the world. With its approach in the interpretation and presentation of heritage, the Museum is locally and regionally recognized as an institution that applies modern and develops innovative museum practices.

Hence, in the regional context, it is recognized as an important and relevant partner to various institutions, organizations and individuals in the processes of (re)interpreting the Yugoslav heritage and developing new institutional policies and methodological approaches.

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by Žikica Milošević

DIPLOMACY

From Belgrade With Love: What are the Former Ambassadors to Serbia Doing Now Missing friends and the atmosphere in the times of uncertainty n addition to important topics, every issue of Diplomacy & Commerce magazine also covers the diplomatic corps, as well as news & events that have happened in the diplomatic community in Serbia. In this issue, we wanted to tell our readers where are the former ambassadors to Serbia now and what are they doing.

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01.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE YOU LEFT BELGRADE?

02.

We are presenting the ambassadors of five countries: Brazil, Finland, Israel, Switzerland, and the USA. We asked them what they did after leaving Belgrade, what they missed the most about Serbia and how much has the pandemic changed diplomacy and the daily life of a diplomat.

WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST ABOUT SERBIA?

03.

HOW MUCH HAS DIPLOMACY AND THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF A DIPLOMAT CHANGED DURING THE PANDEMIC?

My Last and Best Posting was Belgrade

KYLE SCOTT USA (Retired)

say: “My first and best 01. posting was Zagreb, as I met my

For many years I would

wife there”. But Belgrade was “My Last and Best posting”. The irony of having retired on Nov 29 is just proof that I came a full circle. I retired after 40 years as a US diplomat, and couldn’t imagine another job I would have liked more.

So a new chapter began as we returned to our home near Washington, DC. While I continue to follow events in the Balkans and have participated in seminars and lectured at universities, I am en-

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joying my new-found freedom and free time immensely.

Part of that new-found freedom has included the right to express myself openly about politics during this extremely exciting election year in the US. No longer having to represent the policies of the Trump Administration has come as a great relief to me, and Joe Biden’s victory offers my country the opportunity to regain some of the values that I proudly defended throughout much of my diplomatic career.

Another part of our grand retirement strategy included extensive travel, but unfortunately, the pandemic has forced us to put a halt to it for now. We had just departed for our first ma-

jor travel adventure to Argentina and Peru when the pandemic hit, but within days of arriving in Buenos Aires, we were forced to cancel everything and return home and keep safe. I have been alarmed to see how many people refuse to follow sound advice from doctors and experts regarding wearing a mask and social distancing. I thought this was a shadow on American culture, but I am saddened to see similar problems throughout Europe, including in Serbia. the politics or seeing my 02. face on the front page of the tabI certainly don’t miss

loids! We miss the active cultural life - all the great theater, Nisville, BDF, Pančevo Jazz Festival, Guitar Festival, museums, live jazz, Vesna Mandić’s American High Fashion in our back yard, my tennis buddies… We miss Serbia’s natural beauty. We miss the great wine and the warm atmosphere of friends gathered around a table groaning with Serbian specialties.

But the hospitality of Serbian peo-

ple stands out the most. We keep up with many of our dear friends through social media and by phone.

I left the active diplo03. matic service before the pandemic hit and imagine every contact is more difficult with social distancing requirements of the COVID-19 era. But in its essence, diplomacy is about establishing relationships with the people of the country where you serve. The best times I had were spent on the road in Serbia, going to places near and far, meeting people, discovering their problems and accomplishments. A warm smile goes a long way in any profession, and many of the greatest insights I gathered came over a warm meal or at an informal gathering -- all things we need to avoid at this time. But the new vaccines are promising, and soon, with effort and mutual encouragement, we will continue to advance our shared goals with Serbia and the Serbian people. Looking forward to seeing you again!

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Serbia in All its Diversity in my Heart H. E. JEAN-DANIEL RUCH Switzerland

work there as Ambassa01. dor of Switzerland in Israel. My I moved to Tel Aviv to

mandate will come to an end in the summer of 2021. it is a whole atmosphere 02.

I am missing, like an impressionIt is hard to be specific:

mantije in a simple Novi Pazar fast food, or the autumn wine festival in Novi Sad, where I was made a knight, or a visit to my friend Edmund in his organic farm in Šumadija….. What I miss about Serbia is… Serbia in all its diversity.

Very much and very lit03. tle. The aim remains the same: cultivate and enhance our

ist artwork with a variety of colours: some remind me of the warm people and intense friendships, some of the tremendous nightlife and smoky jazz-clubs, some of a spring morning light on the Danube in Zemun, some others of a late night or early morning breakfast at Autokomanda….. But it is not only Belgrade: a plate of

relationship with the State and the people of the country where we are active. The method has had to change. Instead of large parties and events, we are now focusing on small and high-quality gatherings. Zoom has become a common feature of our work. But wherever I am, whatever the circumstances, my commitment remains firmly the same: identify untapped potential and make it profitable for all.

the sense that the administration has been able to reinvent itself, thanks to the critical support of modern technology. In this context, videoconferences, both at the national and international level, have been growing on importance and successfully replacing travelling. This year, for the first time in its history, the 75thUNGA has been entirely realized through videoconferences. I think that will be one of the legacies of this period,

since videoconferences are extremely practical, reduce travel costs and aviation carbon footprint thus contributing to the development of a sustainable economy. Nevertheless, I think that, when the vaccine becomes available, the present situation will go through some kind of re-adjustment, because direct human contact, at all levels, will always be essential to forge ties and friendship among human beings.

I Miss Momo Kapor, Belgrade's Nature and People H. E. ISABEL CRISTINA DE AZEVEDO HEYVAERT Brazil

capital, Brasília last year, 01.

I have been assigned to the DeSince my return to my

partment of Europe, that covers the three main European geopolitical areas, including the Balkans.

My core missions are based on Think Thank working methods and the promotion of deeper political e economic analyses of relevant European issues. Besides, in 2019, the Brazilian Strategic Partnerships, encompassing the EU, the Brexit, Davos, G-20 and topics relevant to the 74th United Nations General Assembly occupied an important space in my professional agenda. por, with whom I share 02. a vivid enchantment of Belgrade.

I have to say Momo Ka-

Mine is amplified by the fact that the city, with its trams and buildings, reminds me of Belo Horizonte (State of Minas Gerais), the beautiful city of my childhood, which, “hélas”, has gone through a profound transformation, not always in the best sense, such as the discontinuation of electric trolleybus and trams. What I really miss about Belgrade is the overall atmosphere, created by a combination of nature (first and foremost, the Danube), the people and the history, infused with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for life.

The diplomatic practices 03. in general have changed a lot since the onset of Covid-19.

The pillars of protective measures, confinement and social distancing were also implementing in Brazil, emptying offices and confining diplomats and other governmental officials to their homes. Nevertheless, so far, the results have been very positive, in

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The Caribbean Magic Interrupted Finland

ful European Union member state. I miss these friendly discussions.

01.

My work changed radi03. cally in March when we had to bring home a lot of Finnish

H. E. PERTTI IKONEN

Since my homecoming in June 2019, I have been working as the Ambassador for the Caribbean countries. By now, I have visited 8 countries there and become the Finnish Ambassador for The Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and Grenadines and Suriname. bia, together with the 02. other Nordic embassies, we had a During my years in Ser-

profound dialogue with the Serbian authorities on the best practices regarding becoming a success-

tourists from the Caribbean Islands. For instance, we organized a special Finnair flight to Havana to bring all Nordic and Estonian tourists to Helsinki. Since March, the Finnish civil servants have mostly worked from home. Meetings are held via web in Finland, the EU and even the Caribbean States. A 5G network was installed in our house so we always have enough power for our communications as my wife and son are also working online in the same house.

Serbia? Big Heart, Optimistic Lifestyles H. E. YOSSI LEVI Israel

a year and a half ago - I 01. was appointed Israeli Ambassador In summer 2019 - almost

to Lithuania. Vilnius is a great city, and I love it, but nothing compares to Belgrade. You can leave Serbia, but Serbia doesn’t leave you. I had 3 years of confusion after I finished my tenure as the Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro. I felt that I reached a ceiling in my career, and that the joy and excitement of being a diplomat in beloved places will never happen again, as in Belgrade.

There was magic in Belgrade, and magic does not happen twice. I heard similar claims from many ambassadors and DCMs who finished their service in Belgrade, and felt really sad afterwards. I used the interim time in Israel to finish a novel which I started to write in Belgrade, called “Michaela’s Autumn”. The story takes place in an imaginary city in the Balkans called Novigrad. It is a

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very sensual, sometimes even erotic story about a senior diplomat - a woman in her fifties - who, one day, meets an amazing, mysterious, young, and handsome man called Marco. What ensues is a big surprise. The book was published just recently in Tel Aviv. In summer 2019, I applied again for a position abroad. I was happy to be posted in Vilnius, a pretty European city with a huge Jewish history.

I visited Belgrade twice since I left.

The first time was with my family; it was emotionally challenging for our son, who spent all his childhood there, to see his hometown again. I also was crying a lot.

My friends, my col02. leagues from the embassy who

The people, of course.

also became close friends. I miss the great energy of people. The optimistic lifestyle. The big heart of the Serbs. I sometimes miss Serbia so much that it hurts. I think I also miss myself when I was there. I was younger and I thought life can be only wonderful. Good things happened to me in Belgrade. This place treated me really

well and I felt at home; more so than in Tel Aviv. I still keep in contact with President Vučić, who was and still is a close friend of mine and I miss him, as well as Nebojša Stefanović and others. It is not about politics. It is about friendship between people. As I am writing these words, I feel like booking a flight and going there to visit.

4We entered a dark time 03. of uncertainty. Look what a tiny virus has done to us.

Lithuania used to be a “green” country for a long period. The summer was wonderful. We traveled to Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

But this autumn the country suffered from the severe outbreak of the epidemic and it moved into the ‘red zone’. It also had an immediate impact on our routine.

Just like everybody else, we are trying to minimize the number of meetings and we prefer to work online. It is absolutely no fun. I really miss you, Serbian friends.

Hope to meet soon!

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by Mina Vučić

CONFERENCE

Let Justice Rule!

The rule of law as a prerequisite for a democratic and stable society n November 25, 2020, a virtual conference called 'Let Justice Rule' was held in Belgrade, organized by the National Convent on the European Union.

Respect and implementation of the rule of law is a prerequisite for a democratic and stable society, which is especially important for Serbia in the process of accession into the European Union. The goal of the Let Justice Rule project is to bring together the wider professional community and highlight the need to understand and importance of Judiciary and Fundamental Rights (Chapter 23) in the negotiating chapters, Competition Policy (Chapter 8), Energy (Chapter 15), Social Policy and Employment (Chapter 19), Environment and Climate Change (Chapter 27), and Consumer and Health Protection (Chapter 28).

Due to frequent changes in the law and inadequate dissemination of information, it's often the case that citizens do not know their rights, which calls into question the realization of those rights. The Convent's project 'Let Justice Rule' informs citizens about their rights and mechanisms for protecting those rights.

With the aim of doing more than just having „words on paper“, at the final conference we discussed why the rule of law is the most important chapter in the EU negotiations and how the daily life of citizens, living standard, business

O

and overall development of our country is affected by lack of rule of law in any policy.

In her opening address, Nataša Dragojlović, coordinator of the National Convent on the EU,

working groups and 5 cross-sectoral working groups. The Convent has linked the various negotiating chapters which content seems rather isolated, thus showing that the connection between

negro, stated that the MATRA programme, which provides supports to this project, has been implemented since 1993. The focus has always been on strengthening civil society and a healthy di-

DUE TO FREQUENT CHANGES IN THE LAW AND INADEQUATE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION, IT'S OFTEN THE CASE THAT CITIZENS DO NOT KNOW THEIR RIGHTS, WHICH CALLS INTO QUESTION THE REALIZATION OF THOSE RIGHTS pointed out that the Convent brings together more than 760 civil society organizations in 25

them and that there is no progress in one negotiating chapter if there is no progress in the rule of law (Chapter 23).

H.E. Gilles Beschoor Plug, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Serbia and Montenegro, also gave an opening address in which he pointed out that he was proud that the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands supported the project, precisely because such activities help keep the rule of law high on the agenda.

He added: "The promotion of the rule of law is an integral part of our political DNA and is one of the foundations of our engagement in Serbia, the region and the European Union.

Aleksandar Momirov, Senior Rule of Law Adviser at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Serbia and Monte-

alogue between society and government, and on joining the European Union as far as this region is concerned, in addition to the aforementioned.

Jovana Spremo, Coordinator of the Convent Working Group for Chapter 23, YUCOM, also spoke at the conference, pointing out that the working group mapped basic rights that are potentially jeopardized, as well as problems that people may encounter in protecting their rights in the areas of – competition policy, energy, social policy and employment, environmental protection, consumer protection and public health. After that, they mapped the institutions in charge of enforcing the rule of law in the country, which should be more active in terms of monitoring the progress of the rule of law in these areas.

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WATCH THE CONFERENCE

CONFERENCE

Online conference ‘Food Talk – You are What You Eat’ The Food Talk 2020 regional gastro conference, which brings together the biggest names from the world of gastronomy and winemaking in the region, was held on November 26, for the first time online he conference was officially opened by the Provincial Secretary for Economy and Tourism, Nenad Ivanišević, followed by two panel discussions and two case studies.

‘You are What You Eat’ is this year's conference’s theme and slogan.

During the first panel entitled "The Ajvar Case", the panel participants talked about the protection of geographical origin and the branding of countries and regions with the help of food and drink. The panel was moderated by Vanja Kovačev, a PR expert, and the following panelists participated - Nataša Pavlović, Director of the Vojvodina Tourist Board, Tomaž Kavčić, Michelin star chef and Honorary Consul of Serbia in Slovenia, Marija Radulović, President of the Croatian Business Club, Pavle Đukić from the Serbian Tourist Board, Dimitrije Acevski, Executive Chef and Bojana

T

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Maljukanović, Assistant Ambassador of Sweden to Serbia.

After the first panel, a case study dedicated to the benefits of functional food was presented by Ivan Zorić, Imlek's new product development manager.

The second panel, titled "You are What You Eat, You Eat What You Choose - How Food Affects Our Immune System" brought to-

ki Gurman blog and the writer of the book “Gurmanske Veze”, while Marizela Šabanobić, nutritionist, Ana Radević, psychologist, Emil Pavelkić, athlete, Ivan Zorić from the Imlek Company and Zvezdana Ljubenković, nutritionist took part.

Tamara Ognjević, director of the Artis Centre, closed the first online conference "Food Talk 2020", with a presentation dedi-

since 2013, bringing together several hundred participants, lecturers and exhibitors. The conference is organized by the team from culinary magazines published by the Color Press Group together with the event agency Color Media Communications.

Food Talk is a brand that gathers the most renowned regional experts from the world of gastron-

THIS REGIONAL CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO GASTRONOMY, WINE AND BEER HAS BEEN HELD IN NOVI SAD SINCE 2013, BRINGING TOGETHER SEVERAL HUNDRED PARTICIPANTS, LECTURERS AND EXHIBITORS gether doctors, nutritionists, psychologists and athletes who talked about how food affects our immune system and how important it is that, in addition to the body, we also feed our mind healthily. The panel was moderated by Maja Petrović, author of the Vit-

cated to the 165th anniversary of the first Serbian chef, while Lars Ekberg, the chef at the Swedish ambassador’s residence in Belgrade, gave the closing word.

This regional conference dedicated to gastronomy, wine and beer has been held in Novi Sad

omy, diplomacy, hotels, restaurants, farms and companies who dictate trends in food, wine and beer production through their participation in the conference.

Companies Imlek, ISKON and AMS Osiguranje were official partners of this year’s conference.

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ONLINE GATHERING

READ THIS ON WEB

Digital Fashion Week Serbia A unique online gathering of designers, fashion experts and influencers igital Fashion Week Serbia, organized by Color Media Communications and Serbia Fashion Week, is a digital event where fashion lovers can see relevant Serbian and foreign designers, have the opportunity to enjoy current collections directly from the comfort of their home. In six days from 23.11. to 28.11. every evening from 8 pm, all those interested could follow the program on the YouTube channel Digital Fashion Week Serbia.

The event itself was opened by the Minister of Culture and Information, Maja Gojković, together with welcoming speeches by Svetlana Horvat and Robert Čoban in front of the entire organization.

"The potential of fashion creation as a part of cultural diplomacy, which Serbia has and which it has not fully used, is extremely great.

D

"Italy, France, Great Britain, the USA, Spain have made good use of this, and lately many Asian countries are increasingly catching up with European countries and using the potential of fashion as cultural diplomacy," said Minister Gojković.

culture, thus making a great contribution to the development of cultural creativity.

We had the opportunity to host for six consecutive days in one of the many formats a large number of people known to the general public, especially those ac-

THE TOPICS WHICH WE COVERED AFTER THE SHOWS OF THE CREATORS AND THEIR COLLECTIONS ARE FASHION TRENDS, AND WHAT AWAITS US IN 2021 Recalling the connection between culture and fashion, Gojković pointed out that there is an influence of certain areas of culture, such as filmmaking and music on fashion and vice versa. At the same time, many large fashion houses and brands in the world have foundations dedicated to

tive on many social networks.

Some of them are designers Marija Šabić, Bata Spasojević, Ana Vasiljević, Suzana Perić, Irena Grahovac, Zvonko Marković, influencers Vladimir Gašić, Anastasia Grujić, Dušan Petrović, Katarina Bezmarević, Vojislav Lepojević, actress Vjera Mujović, fashion historian

Stefan Zarić and many others .

The topics which we covered after the shows of the creators and their collections are fashion trends, and what awaits us in 2021. One of the main topics being - how young and talented YouTubers, Instagrammers, and Tik-tockers see fashion, and what exactly these networks brought to the scene. Other topics includefashion from the point of view of fashion editors in Serbia, fashion marketing, sustainable fashion, and meet-ups with Koko Chanel and Milena Pavlović Baril, discussing less popular topics of how education is power for the fashion industry. You can see the entire program at digitalfashionweekserbia.rs You can also follow all our activities on our social networks, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

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READ THIS ON WEB

Next Year in Fener Remains of the Byzantine past of Istanbul REPORTAGE

By ROBERT ČOBAN

rom the Pera Palace Hotel, I descend the steep streets of Istanbul's Pera district towards the shores of the Golden Horn, not far from the place where a chain was put during Byzantium that was supposed to prevent the ships of the invaders from approaching Constantinople. The chain did little to help in 1204 when the Crusaders conquered and looted the city, or in 1453 when it finally fell into the hands of the Ottomans. Parts of that legendary chain are exhibited today in the Maritime Museum on the shores of the Bosphorus, not far from Dolmabahçe Palace, as well as in Galata Tower.

The next boat that is supposed to take me to the other side of the Golden Horn leaves in an hour, but the local boatman Murat offers to take me to Fener for 40 lira, which is about 4 euro. We cross the smooth waters of the bay towards Fener, the Greek quarter of Istanbul where several surviving Orthodox churches testify to who made up the majority of the population in this part of the city until just 70 years ago. I jump ashore from Murat's boat and we agree that he will wait for me for an hour and then take me back to the Pera for the same price. On the right side shines the Bulgarian church dedicated to St. Stephen.

Also known as the Bulgarian Steel Church which was built from a metal structure delivered from Vienna across the Danube and the Black Sea. The Vienna-based company, R. Ph. Wagner made the

F

RUINS: Abandoned Church of Saint Mary of Consolation in Fener

steel parts of the skeleton of the church weighing 500 tonnes from 1893 to 1896. The church, built in a mixture of neo-baroque and neo-gothic style, was completed and consecrated in 1898 and is still in the service of the small Bulgarian community in Istanbul.

This is one of the "steel churches" that the British Empire made and sent to its distant colonies in the 19th century, all the way to Australia. Gustave Eiffel designed several such temples that ended in the Philippines and Peru. On the occasion of 120 years since its construction, after an extensive renovation, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov visited the St. Stephen Church together in 2018.

The Fener district in Istanbul, once mostly Greek, today pre-

ISTANBUL GREEKS: FROM 31% TO UNDER 0.2% IN ONE CENTURY Only a small number of Greeks who survived 1453, the Gre-

THE FENER DISTRICT IN ISTANBUL, ONCE MOSTLY GREEK, TODAY PRESERVES THE REMNANTS OF THE ANCIENT GLORY OF BYZANTIUM

SAINT MARY OF THE MONGOLS: The only Byzantine church that was never turned into a mosque

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serves the remnants of the ancient glory of Byzantium. Orthodox people lived here after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The only Byzantine church that has never been converted into a mosque is the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols. In his book "The Fall of Constantinople 1453", Steven Runciman, cites sources from that time who say that streams of blood flowed through the steep street next to this church for days after May 29, 1453. Some Orthodox churches, such as the Church of Saint Mary of Consolation, are today in ruins and overgrown with vegetation.

co-Turkish war and the exchange of population in the early 1920S and the pogrom of 1955 live in these streets today. It is incredible to see that a mosque was built next to each of the churches to, I can only guess, mark the territory and make it known to the remaining Orthodox population on whose land they are located.

The reason that the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols was never converted into an Islamic place of worship lies in the fact that Mehmed II the Conqueror gave it to the mother of Christodoulos, the architect who built the Fatih mosque for him. Bayezid II approved that Christodoulos' son should inherit this gift. The next few sultans wanted to turn this church into a mosque, but it was not possible against the ferman (oath) of the conqueror of Constantinople. A copy of the mentioned decree of the greatest Turkish sultan is still exhibited on one of the walls of the church.

The life of the only spared Byzantine church in Istanbul was not easy even during the era of the Turkish Republic. Namely, the church was ruined in the so-called Istanbul pogrom in 1955, when almost all Greeks from the city were annihilated. Turkish authorities first staged a bomb attack on their consulate in Thessaloniki and then orchestrated a "spontaneous" reaction from the Turks in Istanbul. The city's lowlife, aided by "like-minded people" brought in by buses from all over Turkey, were deployed around the city and given instructions to attack the last Greeks of Constantinople.

Along with the Greeks, other Christians also perished in-

BULGARIAN STEEL CHURCH: St. Stephen Church on the shores of the Golden Horn

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THE DRINA BRIDGE: Graphite in Istanbul

cluding the Armenians, Georgians and Jews. An enraged mob stormed their apartments and houses, looted shops, set fire to and destroyed their property.

There is a photograph of Istiklal Street, which was full of scattered and broken Christian things. The scene is almost identical to the Night of Broken Glass in Germany in 1928. Murders took place, many women were raped, and cases of forced circumcision were also recorded, including on a priest. The data show that in 1919, as many as 31% of the population who declared themselves as Greeks lived in Istanbul. Five years later, after the Greco-Turkish War, that number dropped to 19% and after the pogrom of 1955, it declined from about 5% to below 0.2% today.

MIDNIGHT AT THE PERA PALACE HOTEL The atmosphere of multiethnic Istanbul, as it was in the mid1920s, is described by the American author George King in his book "Midnight at the Pera Palace Hotel: The Birth of Modern Istanbul". At midnight, on December 31, 1925, the citizens of the newly proclaimed Turkish Republic are celebrating New Year’s Eve, for the first time ever, in line with the Western calendar and time. Istanbul, the crossroads between East and West, is home to generations of Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and as of recently, the White Russians, who fled the October Revolution. There are Bolshevik assassins, Trotsky, German professors, spies, British diplomats and American businessmen. All of them are eagerly waiting for the New Year of 1926 in the most luxurious hotel called the Pera Palace in Istanbul. The novel will be screened soon and we will be able to watch it on Netflix as an 8-episode-series. The hotel is, by the way, one of those where each wall tells history. It was built in

STILLS OF LIFE: The kingdom of cats and a wooden building in Fener

1892 for passengers of the Orient Experts, and it was inhabited by Ataturk (memorial room still exists at the hotel), Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway and in 1940, Josip Broz, a communist activist with a refined taste for luxury. Ilham Gencer, a 94-year-old Turkish pop star, plays the piano here every Friday and Saturday from three to six in the afternoon.

While wearing a face mask (Istanbul has high penalties for

PLAY IT AGAIN...: Ilham Gencer (age 94), at the piano at the Pera Palace Hotel

icons were painted over again and Chora was no longer a museum but a mosque again. On October 30, the first Muslim prayer was held in Chora, which reverted to its name it bore as a mosque - Karia.

I could not see that in person because the paths leading to the church were blocked by construction fences bearing information on how the building is in the process of restoration.

ON OCTOBER 30, THE FIRST MUSLIM PRAYER WAS HELD IN CHORA, WHICH REVERTED TO ITS NAME IT BORE AS A MOSQUE - KARIA not wearing one), I continue to climb the steep streets of Fener to check the information about the scandalous "reconstruction" of the Church of the Holy Saviour, known as Chora. This Byzantine place of worship from the 5th century, which is considered one of the most valuable temples from the time of the Palaeologus, became a mosque in 1453 when its precious icons were painted over. After a ten-year restoration, just like in the Yugoslav movie "A Time of Miracles", the icons started showing again under a thick layer of lime. In 1958, the Turkish Republic gave it the status of a museum, like Hagia Sophia.

A few months ago, the world was shocked to find out that the

As I was leaving, a bagel seller next to the church approached the fence through which a small Muslim cemetery can be seen in the church gate, raised his hands with his palms facing him and began to say a prayer.

I am going down to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the part of Fener just off the coast of the Golden Horn. I pass small restaurants and cafes that used to be full of tourists. Today, locals occupy them and unlike many similar tourist districts in other parts of Europe, this area still seems very lively.

WHAT THE CRUISERS STOLE, THE POPE RETURNED There is strong security at

UNDER RECONSTRUCTION: Former Chora Museum becomes a mosque again

the entrance to the Patriarchal Church, a consequence of the bomb attacks from 1993 and 2004. Visitors are only allowed to enter during service. Disappointed, I go down to the shore and meet a priest. I tell him that I am from Serbia and ask him if I can see the inside of the Patriarchal Church. He takes a Motorola out of his pocket and calls the security guards who are standing twenty metres away to let me look inside the temple. While we were greeting each other, he says that he is from Thessaloniki and that Greeks and Serbs are brothers.

I go through a security detail and enter the port of the Cathedral Church of St. George from 1600. The bones of two saints - St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St. John Chrysostom - which were looted by the Crusaders in 1204, were returned to the Cathedral by Pope John Paul II, exactly eight centuries later, in 2004.

A gruesome episode from the turbulent history of the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire took place right here. In 1821, Sultan Mahmud II, dissatisfied with Patriarch George V’s stance during the Greek uprising, ordered for the Patriarch to be killed and that his body should hang for three days at the Patriarchate’s entrance.

I return to the port of Fener where Murat is waiting for me with his boat. Climbing back to the Pera Palace Hotel, I pass by a large mural that reads "Bosnia" and the letters depict a visit to the Drina Bridge, built in 1577 by Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic, and celebrated by a Nobel laureate, Ivo Andrić, almost four centuries later. Kosovo, to which we are going to return ‘next year’ if we were to believe the messages on the Belgrade murals, is called ‘Bosnia’ on the wall of a Renault car service shop in Istanbul.

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by Vanja Kovačev

CULTURE NEWS

National Theatre in Belgrade Upcoming performances in December 2020

13 DEC

IMPURE BLOOD

by Borisav Stanković / Maja Todorović 12:00 · Main Stage

Impure Blood by Borisav Stanković is one of the greatest novels in Serbian literature; it is difficult as well as redundant to list all of the reasons why. On one hand, great novels offer abundance of motifs, ideas, themes and characters, thus representing huge challenge for dramatization and staging. On the other hand, the audiences are well acquainted with the novel, therefore they have certain expectations from its staging. It has often been the case that even good films done after great novels have been, somewhat unjustly, assessed as unsuccessful or “good, but not as good as the novel”.

20 DEC

THE NIGHT WRITER written and directed by Jan Fabre 12:00 · Raša Plaović” stage THE NIGHT WRITER is a visionary and disarming hymn to the subversive and intriguing artist Jan Fabre. His personal diaries feed into an intimate and provocative autobiography. (Name actor) brings in The Night Writer Jan Fabre’s unique world of ideas to life and performs his texts on stage. It is an excellent opportunity to discover Fabre’s intriguing Night Diaries as well as his poetic (theatre) texts. Instead of introducing the audience to the visual artist or the theatre maker, The Night Writer concentrates on an aspect of Fabre that has remained in the shadows: his texts.

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26 DEC

SMALL MARITAL CRIMES drama by Eric E. Schmitt 12:00 · „Raša Plaović” stage

We always expect the Other to have the answer, we expect him/her to be the answer, which is the source of all the pain we inflict on each other in love. In love, we do not accept things that remain inexplicable: remoteness, emptiness that lingers after sexual satisfaction, contented body, everything that opens the way to soul and therefore, represents a way to separation between human beings.

27 DEC

COFFEE WHITE comedy by Aleksandar Popović 12:00 · Main Stage Aleksandar Popović’s new play Coffee White makes us think that the renowned author’s individual theatre concept has been altered lately. The thought, however, can be taken only provisionally. It is certain that Popović’s piece shows a more concrete composition of the plot, but it is also true that all other characteristics of his dramaturgy remained unchanged. Undoubtedly, there is a special language, an intensive rhythm, a principle of open interpretation which demystifies stage illusion (…) because, everything evolves on the limit between dream and reality in Popović’s plays.

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