Diplomacy&Commerce #83

BOJANA BORIĆ BREŠKOVIĆ TELLING THE STORY OF SERBIA’S PAST AND PRESENT

EVENTS

KUWAIT NATIONAL DAY: 62 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE 32 YEARS AFTER THE LIBERATION

GORAN VESIĆ

WE ARE INFRASTRUCTURALLY CONNECTING OUR CITIES

BUILDING TRUST IS A KEY TO SUCCESS SPECIAL EDITION

SULTAN WHO LOVED OPERA

by ROBERT ČOBAN

FOCUS ON: REAL ESTATE URBANISM AND CITY PLANNING

H.E.

BHATTACHARJEE GREETINGS FROM CHILE

9772466380002

THERE IS STILL TIME TO SAVE OURSELVES

NENAD KULAČIN BEING A JOURNALIST IS NOT EASY, WHEREVER YOU LIVE

SUBRATA

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Serbia

Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

BRANKICA JANKOVIĆ

H.E. ANNIKA BEN DAVID

FOCUS ON: REAL ESTATE

HYATT REGENCY HOTEL 20

FOLLOW US TO STAY UPDATED

5 THERE IS STILL TIME TO SAVE OURSELVES BRANKICA JANKOVIĆ

Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

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BUILDING TRUST IS A KEY TO SUCCESS

H.E. ANNIKA BEN DAVID

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Serbia

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DRAGAN

ROBERT ČOBAN Director robert.coban@color.rs

OGNJEN TRMČIĆ Advertising Director ognjen.trmcic@color.rs

ALEKSANDRA RISTOVIĆ Advertising Manager aleksandra.ristovic@color.rs

Design and prepress ISIDORA RISTIĆ

Translation SNEŽANA BJELOTOMIĆ

Photos GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ SHUTTERSTOCK

Contributors:

Dragan Nikolić, Robert Čoban, Miloš Mihajilica, Duška Jovanić, Žikica Milošević

Print BIROGRAF COMP D.O.O. Zemun, Atanasija Pulje 22

THE STAGES OF GRIEF WHAT THE LOSS OF SILICON VALLEY BANK MEANS FOR SILICON VALLEY THE ECONOMIST

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PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW HOW TO GET THROUGH WITH NO BRUISES DANICA POPOVIĆ

Professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade

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TELLING THE STORY OF SERBIA’S PAST AND PRESENT BOJANA BORIĆ BREŠKOVIĆ

Director of the National Museum

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THE LIST: PEOPLE WHO CHANGE BELGRADE New featured column by DUŠKA JOVANIĆ

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BEING A JOURNALIST IS NOT EASY, WHEREVER YOU LIVE NENAD KULAČIN

Journalist

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TRAVELOGUE: OMAN SULTAN WHO LOVED OPERA ROBERT ČOBAN

SPECIAL EDITION

FOCUS ON: REAL ESTATE URBANISM AND CITY PLANNING

The Price of Unnecessary Wars

Ever since the war in Ukraine started over a year ago, I have been thinking how it’s sad that such a great nation like Russia is constantly putting itself in the situation where it’s waging unnecessary wars while lacking the necessary economic strength. Since the 1094/05 war with Japan when they sent the ships from the Baltic Fleet 18,000 nautical miles from Petrograd to Japan just to be defeated there, to the unnecessary war that the Soviet Union waged in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, after which the USSR fell apart, to the aggression against Ukraine today.

In Capri, I found records of Russian intellectuals - Maxim Gorky being the most famous one among them – who ended up in this Mediterranean island after leaving Russia as a sign of protest against the pointless war against Japan in 1904/05. After the October Revolution, millions of people who didn’t agree with the new regime left Russia, and many of them ended up in our regions. Whoever could flee from Stalin’s rule used that opportunity, and this continued until the disappearance of the Soviet Union in 1991. In the past few centuries, people from Russia have been leaving – the Russians are leaving, the Jews are leaving, tycoons are leaving in order to preserve their wealth, the poor are leaving in search of a better life, whoever finds a way is leaving...

I will be happiest when I see that a new generation of Russians has entered the scene, one that is aware that they have to turn their country into a desirable place to live, first of all for the residents of the Russian Federation, and then it also needs to become attractive for tourists, digital nomads and everyone else who wants to enjoy the natural beauty and cultural heritage of this country. As long as Russia tries to prove to itself and to others the status of a superpower and a new “empire where the sun never sets” by waging unnecessary wars, people will leave it, which will make some new societies richer and will forever impoverish their own country..

French newspaper illustration shows The Battle of Mukden during the Russo - Japanese war in 1905

There is Still Time to Save Ourselves

What is particularly worrying is that violence is becoming a part of everyday life

As someone who, unfortunately, has a lot of work to do, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, always has time to discuss current topics that are a great challenge both for her professionally and for our society as a whole.

The recent earthquake in Turkiye and Syria claimed over 50,000 lives. And while on the one hand, it has revealed a high degree of humanity and solidarity, on the other hand, it unveiled a rather terrifying fact. Syria was left without almost any help from the West. How do you comment on this situation that could be called „the downfall of civilization? As a global society, we have found ourselves in a situation where some victims are less important than others.

‘The downfall of civilization’that’s a good definition. Still, we have a chance for salvation - it is not dark and it is not nighttime - but we have good enough reason to be deeply concerned. Not being treated the same in a natural disaster that was not your fault, not being equal and not having the same rights require us to ask ourselves what is wrong. We, Europeans, should be the first to ask ourselves this, as we are the authors of many human rights conventions in different segments. We are the ones who have met or are still working to meet international standards in this regard. I do not want to say that the UN as a global organization does not have the same responsibility, but I am speaking from the position of a European institution for the protection of equality. One’s life cannot be more or less valuable, just as human rights have no gender, nation or religion, but apply to everyone. Nevertheless, throughout history, we have had different views on victims and tragedies, which were influenced by many factors and circumstances. Unfortunately, poverty is one of them and yes, it significantly determines the attitude towards a problem. The relationship between democracy and non-democracy and poverty is closely related and influenced by numerous variables. Where there is no democracy, some

BRANKICA JANKOVIĆ Commissioner for the Protection of Equality

other things dictate attitudes and approaches.

After the earthquakes in Syria and Turkiye, the scale and manner of sending and providing aid in these two countries is a glaring example of the existing social inequality. Syria has received some aid, but it was not the way it should be in situations such as an earthquake or floods that leave tens and thousands of people homeless – it should have been faster, more efficient and more extensive. It is immoral to differentiate between people just because of their nationality or the regime that is in power in their country, that is, because of the prevailing political attitude about that country. In the end, times change, as do policies and attitudes, and solidarity between peoples in trouble is long remembered and is often an opportunity, a sad one indeed, but still an opportunity to improve relations between countries.

In this situation, Serbia was far more responsible and humane than many countries and societies that are preaching their moral lessons to us. How much should we be concerned about this polarization in the world today and where we stand in that division?

Helping others in an unfortunate situation is part of our cultural identity. I am glad that we, as a country and society, have been perceived that way this time as well. We are a small country, with insufficient capacity for large-scale material aid, but sending our rescue team and police officers has certainly helped people in Turkiye. I was proud of our exceptional men when they returned to Serbia. Sometimes that kind of help is even more important than material assistance, which, by the way, I think is easier to organize - there are always enough rich people in the world who should be able to fill trucks and ships with aid and swiftly deliver them to the accident site. It would be shameful if that was not the case. Each of us can find ourselves in the same situation as Syria or Turkiye in a matter of minutes. We need to think about that because we live in an unprecedented time, when we

are facing numerous challenges because of so many crises and changes that affect all of us, but mostly those people who are already in a difficult position and whose mobility is the most limited. Serbia showed, especially during the pandemic, that it managed to preserve (although mistakes were made) what was the most important thing in times of crisis - solidar-

tance of solidarity, as a special social value that should be preserved, despite challenging times. Although no one is really sure how it is preserved, because the system (read the state) must not rely on people’s coping skills, this has to become the golden standard. Intergenerational solidarity is key and the basis of our pension and health insurance, as well

ity. I spoke about this at the Kopaonik Business Forum during the Social Cohesion in the Age of Crisis panel discussion about the topic of solidarity resistance or resistant to solidarity.

The conclusion here is that in our country, almost all social factors, including the economy, strongly recognize the impor-

as, in my opinion, a fundamental social contract that can be a good example of preserving this value. Our elders say that hard times produce strong people. I don’t know whether the time we live in is hard - maybe there is too much abundance for the privileged on one side, while on the other, there is hunger, hardship and survival. All around

us, there are divisions and polarizations which suit those who want to keep the status quo and those who encourage permanent crises. Such crises cause damage to institutions, the economy and communities, and at the internal level, they encourage divisions where they should not be any. Serbia is not spared from global trends, but where does it stand? It is still there, in the hilly Balkans in Europe and I don’t know how it is still not a formal EU member, something that our country should have been granted a long time ago. Also, a lot more should have been done sooner. We are certainly stable, and reliable and provide strong support for our allies, even when, for various reasons, we do not have enough strength and capacity to respond to all challenges equally. These are complex times indeed.

Our country is still dealing with problems stemming from xenophobia, homophobia and femicide. The recent case of graffiti popping up in Kisač showing hatred towards Slovaks is certainly not a reflection of our society, and it is quite worrying. How to deal with such phenomena? Should the punishments be harsher or is better prevention necessary?

Writing messages that incite religious and national hatred is not only prohibited by law, but it is particularly harmful in multinational environments, given that these are places that reflect the abundance of diversity and cherish the values of the common life of citizens of all nationalities and religions. In such cases, both punishment and prevention are important. I have the strongest possible condemnation for what happened in Kisač and similar individual incidents. I would also like to underline the importance of mutual respect and tolerance and at the same time, the need for serious understanding and sanctioning of such incidents. In every society, you have people who function according to the ‘worse the situation, the better for us’ principle and we must put a stop to that. Although these people can be quite loud, that does not mean that they are strong. Fortunately, I have

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKES IN SYRIA AND TURKIYE, THE SCALE AND MANNER OF SENDING AND PROVIDING AID IN THESE TWO COUNTRIES IS A GLARING EXAMPLE OF THE EXISTING SOCIAL INEQUALITY

the privilege of having a team of very dedicated and energetic people in the institution that I helm, who are ready to oppose and react in accordance with our legal boundaries, to clearly state that it is forbidden to express the mentioned and similar ideas and thoughts that incite national, racial and religious hatred or bigotry. This is not a true picture of Serbia and I am confident that most people in Serbia have completely different views regarding differences among people. Words are powerful and certain people come up with such terrible messages like the one in Kisač too casually (sometimes they are completely devoid of awareness and knowledge), or like the one at the Sephardic Jewish cemetery or in the case of the Pride Info Centre and others.

We should be much more careful about the language we use, because the language of insults, curses, primitivism, hate speech, and discriminatory be-

haviour has become too common. This is why it seems that different positions on many issues often take the form of what might be called a life-ordeath struggle. And this is how we arrive at human rights violations. Everything reflects on human rights, and they must be protected every day and every-

things can happen all over the world, but we still don’t seem to have adequate answers to what encourages criminals to repeat their acts.

The suspected perpetrators of this attack were found and criminal charges were filed, which is certainly good but also

forever. Democracy is, unfortunately, very fragile everywhere and especially when we talk about human rights and the rule of law, and that is why their protection requires constant engagement, especially by the institutions that are founded for that purpose.

where because there are always people willing to violate them. European standards have been established in this domain, so they should be respected and not questioned.

A hate crime was committed recently on a member of the LGBT community who sustained severe injuries after being attacked in downtown Belgrade. Does this country have a system in place to deal with such dangerous incidents? Similar

expected and normal. The state must have the ability to deal with various problems, including the problems you’ve just mentioned, and it has shown both the will and intention to deal with such problems in the past years. The fact is that the numerous crises facing the entire world are re-invigorating some of the problems we thought were on the way to being finally solved. However, if democracy wins once that does not mean it will keep winning

At this moment, our society is only partially mature and there is a willingness to discuss the problems of the LGBTI+ community, but unfortunately, homophobia and transphobia are deeply rooted, which is especially evident in smaller communities. LGBTI+ people are exposed to hate speech, threats and violence, which often go unreported. We need to work on getting to know each other, showing tolerance and constantly being educated so that the fear of diversity does not become the main obstacle for us seeing the people around us, above all, as only people regardless of their sexual orientation, skin colour or religious

OUR ELDERS SAY THAT HARD TIMES PRODUCE STRONG PEOPLE

and national affiliation. You cannot reduce a person to just one personal characteristic. A man is much more than his sexual orientation.

A woman was killed by her ex-husband in Pirot recently. This was just one in a series of examples of terrible crimes committed against women. Why does society tolerate it and why isn’t it more vocal in its condemnation? Is the patriarchal upbringing to blame for that?

As long as a woman is seen as a man’s property in some parts of society, and as long as society perpetuates the notion that women belong in the kitchen, I am afraid that family fights will continue to be viewed as nothing more than bickering between a couple in the neighbourhood, which no one should interfere with, and that the victim would not have been beaten if she had remained silent. This is a consequence and cause of deeply ingrained attitudes, values, norms and prejudices about women. Gender stereotypes persist and they imitate and keep alive historical power relations of men over women. They are so present that sometimes we don’t recognize them easily, and often we don’t even have a choice to resist them because we are taught to obey and be patient. Sometimes they are perfidiously concealed or seem banal, but they have been around forever and are often the cause of numerous problems and inequalities. As a result, they take on various forms of discrimination. You don’t have to be a gender equality expert to understand how much all of the aforementioned stems from deep-rooted stereotypes and prejudices, on the ideology of sexism and ingrained patriarchal understandings and patterns of behaviour, which have been consistently incorporated into our society for centuries.

Fearing the abuser, feeling shame because of the experienced violence, fearing condemnation from people that are close to the victim, unfavourable economic situation and distrust in institutions are the main reasons why women do not report domestic vio-

lence. What would encourage women to report violence is having support from family and friends and institutions, as well as financial support. This was shown in the research titled “Why do women not report domestic violence?”, which we completed this year in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Regarding gender-based violence, we must create a social climate where being a victim of violence is not stigmatized, condemned and victimized, but rather implies support, first from the people closest to the victim and the ones that are most competent to deal with the issue, and then from society as a whole. Much more needs

society, but also to the media’s readiness to change, things are moving forward. However, we have to achieve much better results in this matter.

It is a known fact that in serious social crises and instability, people instinctively start to worry only about themselves and thus ignore the injustices and violence happening around them. Why is this so and why do we not realize that if we shouldn’t remain silent about violence as we could be the next victim?

Violence is a problem for the entire society, and its victims are often women, children, the elderly, as well as people who belong to sensitive social

to be done to change the consciousness, especially of men. The educational process is of great importance, but so are the media, which must be aware of their responsibility. In search of sensational news, they are often a tool used by bullies and perpetuate violent social patterns. The reporting is often sexist and demeaning to women. Violence is relativized, the abuser’s actions are justified and women are blamed. Thanks to us, civil

groups, such as Roma or members of the LGBTI+ population. What is particularly worrying is that violence is becoming a part of everyday life, as does aggressive communication, which was made possible by people hiding behind anonymous or fake profiles on social media and websites. Also, there is too much violent content in the media, which, in turn, use sensationalism in reporting to draw in the audience.

We are becoming desensitized to what is happening around us. Everybody is focused solely on their problems and does not react to other people’s problems. I have already mentioned solidarity as something necessary for every society to exercise. The uncertainty in which modern man lives causes fears, anxiety and even diseases. People partly do not react because they often encounter inadequate reactions from institutions. Unfortunately, we had the opportunity to see for ourselves cases when the expected protection was not provided. On the other hand, life struggles and working several jobs just to survive, significantly reduce the space for empathy and proper reaction to the environment. People are afraid and as a result, their turn their heads away. However, there must be responsibility, both for the institutions and for all of us who do this job, as well as for each individual. What are we going to turn into if we only mind our own business!? Let’s be aware of the evil in us and as soon as we feel it, let’s get rid of it. There are various methods and experts could tell you how.

How many educational programmes does your institution have? In what way does the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality participate in school programmes and how can we, through education, change the consciousness of young people in the medium term?

IN EVERY SOCIETY, YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO FUNCTION ACCORDING TO THE ‘WORSE THE SITUATION, THE BETTER FOR US’ PRINCIPLE AND WE MUST PUT A STOP TO THAT

Without understanding, cooperation and synergy with young people, it is difficult to promote equality and fight against discrimination. We have realized that we must first understand each other, learn to communicate in the same language and understand what our true needs are. We can only achieve this by listening to each other. We will fail if we don’t understand and hear each other.

The Discrimination Chasers youth panel is our favourite programme in our institution which was launched 10 years ago. It gathers a group of children and young people from Serbia, who participate in specially designed educational programmes, workshops and activities in areas related to various segments of human rights, suppression and protection against discrimination, but also in many other areas and policies important for the daily life of young people. They always need fresh and clean air but also new knowledge, ideas and support of all kinds. We try to provide them with those, at least as long as they are with us, so they always take some of the energy and emotion with them when they finish a programme. There are so many things that we have learned from the m too. I would like to thank children and young people for everything they did. By engaging in conversations and activities,

they have the opportunity to express their opinions, ask us questions that are important to them, speak about the problems they face and the challenges as they are growing up and in school, propose preventive programmes and activities that they think would have the biggest effect on young people, as well as to transfer the acquired knowledge to their peers in order to improve the position of children and young people in our society.

We have been constantly pointing out that it is necessary to implement public policies at all levels, and that young people need to participate in order to be more involved and improve

ally, we hold a Moot Court trial simulation in the segment of protection against discrimination. Also, under the auspices of „I can or will not” prevention programme, the Commissioner trained peer educators from the Autonomous Women’s Centre, i.e. young women between the ages of 15 and 25, how to protect against discrimination. We have devised and implemented many more programmes, given opinions and recommendations and launched initiatives related to children and young people and preventing their discrimination.

We also participated in the development of the European Network of Equality Bod-

Many people still find it difficult to accept that some people define themselves as non-binary or to accept gender neutrality in language, while in the West, these have become the main topics of human rights activities, where denying or misunderstanding these two categories were sufficient reasons for cancellation. Who determines such narratives and prescribes what is socially acceptable and what is not? Don’t you think that the fight for human rights is now the polar opposite of what it should be?

their position. By doing so, we are encouraging them to stay in our country, to live and work here. We have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Youth of Serbia Umbrella Organization, which gathers 109 youth associations in our country, to improve the equality and position of young people, as well as prevent discrimination against young people. We also agreed on ways in which we will cooperate and activities in the coming period. Tradition-

ies manual to promote work with young people, and we also saw from the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the challenges faced by young people are similar throughout Europe and the world, especially about their participation in political life and the decision-making process, access to employment and the transition from graduation to the labour market, as well as sexual and reproductive health.

The conversations about gender-sensitive language are good because they show that there aren’t enough good arguments against it. Our language has gender nouns and besides, language is a living thing and adapts to the time in which we live. Some words have been in use for centuries, while others become archaic and disappear. More and more women work in traditionally male professions and vice versa, so the use of gender-sensitive language is a reality that will be spontaneously widely accepted. The fight for human rights did not start yesterday, nor is the socalled “cancellation culture” the goal of that fight. The same applies to using gender-sensitive language, that is, linguistic gender neutrality when it comes to addressing someone who doesn’t want to identify themselves as male or female. I think that by focusing on certain things, the attention is diverted from the essence of the issue to something that is a hard pill to swallow for some people, but which certainly does not jeopardize them. This is all part of a big positive process and I don’t see a single reason why it should bother anyone. I would characterize it as the backwaters of a large and powerful river of changes whose real goal is improving the position of those people who are different, and whose equality and basic rights are therefore threatened. If you sail on that river towards your destination, there will surely be people who will want to sail into backwaters or focus on mosquitoes or mud on the coast, and they will be so distracted that they will lose sight of where and why they are even sailing.

THE UNCERTAINTY IN WHICH MODERN MAN LIVES CAUSES FEARS, ANXIETY AND EVEN DISEASES

Greetings from Chile

Directly from beautiful Chile, we received a postcard from Subrata Bhattacharjee, former ambassador of India to Serbia. H. E. Mr. Bhattacharjee, who now serves as Indian Ambassador to Chile, shared with us new experiences while he explored the cultural and natural wonders of this South American country. He also revealed to us what he misses the most from the Serbian capital besides his favorite view of Belgrade from the Kalemegdan fortress.

What (and who) do you miss the most from Serbia?

Serbia was a very satisfying posting for me, and I loved every moment of my stay there. Serbia is a country that shows a great understanding of India’s viewpoint. It was not only the Serbian Government officials but also many common Serbians with whom I felt this affinity. Serbians took a spontaneous interest in Indian literature, Indian dances, Yoga, Ayurveda, and almost anything Indian. This is the reason why I remember the Serbians most. I also miss my friends in the Serbian government and would be happy to meet them again. I enjoyed moving around in Serbia. In Belgrade, I often went to Kale (the fortress) and spent time walking around there and looking at the confluence of the Sava and the Dan-

ube. I certainly miss that. Serbia has one unique India connection. During my time, many Indian movie production companies were coming to Serbia to shoot some parts of these movies. It gave me the opportunity to interact with the renowned Indian movie actors coming for this. On these occasions, I also spoke at length with the film crew members and learned a lot about movie making. I deeply miss that. Serbia produces an amazing variety of fruits – fresh cherries, strawberries, berries, and apples, just to name a few. There are also many types of honey; I brought a few bottles of these with me to Santiago. I do miss this. Last but not least, I miss my Serbian colleagues at the Indian Embassy in Belgrade.

What have you been doing since you left Belgrade?

I left Belgrade in July 2021 and came straight to Santiago as Indian Ambassador to Chile. In the initial days of my stay here, Chile still had pandemic restrictions. But after some months, these were eased. During my stay of the past 1 to 1 ½ years in Chile, I have organized a number of activities. These include Ministerial visits, cultural events, and business meets. More importantly, I have been to many areas of Chile. To foreign visitors, Chile offers phenomenal diversity such as the desert in the north and the glaciers in the south. A few thousand Indians and Indian-origin persons live in Chile. Indian cuisine is available in plenty, with more than 30 Indian restaurants operating in Santiago. I am very much enjoying my professional life and my stay here.

Building Trust is a Key to Success

Sweden will drive the EU agenda forward, for a greener, safer, and freer Europe

Sweden took over the presidency of the EU at a moment of difficulties for European security due to the war in Ukraine, which has shaped the presidency’s priorities to a great extent. We talked with the Swedish Ambassador to Serbia, Annika Ben David, who shared her thoughts about her country’s EU presidency and its priorities, how Sweden managed to become a leader in ecology, and the new investments in our country.

From January 1, Sweden took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. What are the priorities of your country during the six-month presidency?

Sweden is driving the EU agenda forward, for a greener, safer, and freer Europe. We have set four priorities: providing security for EU citizens and strengthening the EU’s role in the world, speeding up the climate transition: fossil-free energy, green

a central focus for the Swedish presidency. We welcome that many of our close partners have aligned with EU foreign and security policy positions, as is expected by an EU candidate country. We will continue to call on Serbia to do the same.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS OBVIOUSLY RUSSIA’S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE WHICH DEFINES OUR PRESIDENCY

jobs, innovation, strengthening the EU’s competitiveness for the jobs of the future, and safeguarding the EU’s fundamental values and stopping organised crime and corruption. The biggest challenge is obviously Russia’s war against Ukraine. The war defines our presidency. EU support to Ukraine – political, economic, military, humanitarian, and legal – will constitute

This is a watershed moment for Europe and the world. This means that alignment on the EU’s foreign and security policy and meeting EU criteria on the fundamentals with shape opportunities for progress.

How do you currently see Serbia’s position within the framework of EU accession? Do you think the concept of negotia-

tions with the Western Balkans countries should be changed?

The geopolitical realities have brought a new sense of urgency to EU accession. Russia’s war against Ukraine underscores the importance of a strategic partnership between the EU and the Western Balkans. Candidate countries now have an opportunity to advance and we encourage our partners to make use of it. However, the fundamentals apply: the benchmarks are there. There is a clear path, a clear methodology. We want to see the accession process accelerate, based upon reforms, fair and rigorous conditionality, and the principle of own merits. A strict and fair approach. Serbia also needs to counter the perception that it is siding with Russia. By showing progress, Serbia will make progress on its EU path. We believe there are

© All photos: Courtesy of the Swedish Embassy

ANNIKA BEN DAVID

H.E. Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Serbia

strong reasons why countries outside of the EU, wanting in, should have strong opportunities to do so. But there are equally strong reasons why those coming in should be capable of meeting the tough criteria for membership. It will take dedication by the Western Balkans countries to make a case for themselves that they are ready to join the EU. Because the EU is not only a political union. It is a community of values that rests on the rule of law and respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual.

One of the best examples of regional cooperation and good neighborly relations is Scandinavia. How do you assess the current relations in the Western Balkan region? Has there been any progress, and what processes are hindering the reconciliation of the peoples in the Balkans?

There are still numerous challenges in the region, and many of them are quite similar. The overarching issue is the lack of competitiveness and quality of life, which often creates short-term thinking and an overall lack of trust. Building trust by avoiding inflammatory rhetorics and seeking areas of meaningful cooperation is key. There are different examples where even small gestures from ordinary citizens or politicians contribute massively to improving the overall sense of normality. Hopefully, this will gradually lead to more and more individuals, institutions, and enterprises finding reasons to cooperate and move cross the borders, gradually elevating the standard of life. And the EU is doing an important job in trying to help in numerous areas. And frankly, these processes take time. It certainly took us time in the Nordic region, but here we are today. Let me also add that we are convinced that green experiences from the Nordic region are relevant for Serbia on its path towards a greener future. We have recently completed our joint project “Nordic Green – Solutions for Serbia”. This was an initiative that showcases Nordic green technologies, production methods, and business models to protect the environment, fight climate

change and improve sustainability in Serbia. This initiative was a follow-up to the 2021 project “Boosting Circular Economy in Serbia – Nordic Experiences”. We are most grateful for the financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers in this regard. We will continue to showcase to our partners and interlocutors in Serbia and the Western Balkans that Nordic countries fully share the vision for a European Green Deal and a greener, non-toxic and resource-effective production process in the coming period.

For over two decades, Sweden has provided strategic, predictable, and long-term support to Serbia’s reforms necessary towards its EU path. We are Serbia’s assigned lead donor on environment and climate, and the third-largest bilateral donor in total. Our development cooperation focuses on Chapter 27 - the environment and climate part of Cluster 4. We are also committed to supporting Serbia’s implementation of the EU Green Agenda for the Western Balkans through the EU for Green Agenda in Serbia project. We

Sweden is known for putting environmental protection and sustainable development at the top of the political agenda. Do you notice Serbia’s progress in this area, and where do you see the main problems? How did Sweden manage to position itself as one of the leaders in the field of ecology?

team up with the government of Serbia, the EU Delegation, UNDP, EIB, Switzerland, and others to make this happen. In the last few years a lot has been done in transposing environmental legislation; the recent adoption of the national air pollution program is one concrete example. However, as shown in the EU

progress report Serbia is still at some level of preparation, with a lot remaining, and we need to step up our joint efforts. We have seen important progress in implementing requirements for investments not at least in the areas of wastewater and waste management. For example, with EU and Swedish support, Serbia is now building a wastewater treatment plant in the City of Niš, and we have teamed up on a large-scale waste separation reform in 17 municipalities all over the country. With more loans and funds available for infrastructure investments in the sector there are important challenges ahead. The institutional resources, including hiring professional environmental experts, need to increase rapidly on the central and local levels in order to plan and monitor the expansive investments and safeguard high environmental standards. If Serbia invested in more institutional resources progress could be faster and better. Sweden managed to position itself as one of the global leaders in ecology by setting high environmental targets and matching targets with long-term systematic financing schemes, including investments in education and institutional capacity. The strong EU environmental framework, and the close cooperation with neighboring countries, have been key. A critical factor for success is the broad involvement of society in the green transition; people and businesses want to participate and have great solutions and engagement to offer. The Government needs to have a close dialogue with all parts of society.

In the previous period, the growth of Swedish investments in our country was noticeable. More than 100 Swedish companies are operating in Serbia today, employing almost 10,000 people. What are the most significant projects and investments in the plan for 2023 and the following period?

As I said, Sweden’s engagement in the environment and climate in Serbia is long-term and strong. This is certainly one of the key areas where we expect that ongoing Swedish

WE ARE SERBIA’S ASSIGNED LEAD DONOR ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE, AND THE THIRD-LARGEST BILATERAL DONOR IN TOTAL

(and Nordic) and Serbian cooperation will facilitate development and expertise while creating better conditions for greater Swedish business engagement in green and sustainable technologies. Swedish companies operating in Serbia have, in general, a positive view of the business climate in Serbia. This is mainly due to the country’s strategic location, well-educated labor force, good English language skills, investment incentives, and freetrade arrangements with key markets, particularly CEFTA and the EU. We are witnessing continued growth in the bilateral trade between Sweden and Serbia, which at the end of 2021 amounted to EUR 437 million –an increase of over 22% in comparison to 2020, despite the pandemic. We believe bilateral trade figures for 2022 could be approaching the EUR 500 million mark. As for some ongoing significant investments during 2023, we hope that IKEA will complete the development of the second phase of its retail shopping park next to the flagship store in Belgrade which will create additional jobs at this location. We are also aware that the Swedish company Rimaster continues to expand its

wire-harnesses manufacturing facility in Paraćin, which is great news for that part of Serbia. Another major Swedish company is planning to enter the market by providing reverse vending machine solutions to a client in Serbia. And we hope to see more Swedish business interest and developments in areas such as software and ICT services, renewable energies and energy efficiency, retail, sustainable mining, and many more innovative areas where Sweden leads the way.

The previous year was marked by the war in Ukraine, which significantly influenced the geopolitical deliberations of a large number of countries, including Sweden. Your country applied for NATO membership together with Finland, which marked the end of nearly two centuries of Swedish military neutrality. How do you see this process?

Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine is an absolute game-changer for Sweden, the EU, wider Europe, and the world. The new war in Europe defines our EU presidency; how we view ourselves, the world, and what we are doing

now and next. It has prompted us to abandon 200 years of military neutrality, which goes to show the enormity of this watershed moment. The full-scale invasion by a nuclear power on a neutral and democratic Orthodox Slavic brother nation reminds us that freedom and democracy must not be taken for granted. This is an attack not only on Ukraine, but a war on our values, our system of governance, and the norms of international cooperation. The outcome of this war will shape Europe’s future. Ukraine must win this war, otherwise, it means that invading another country and undermining the rules-based international order pays off. Then it can be done elsewhere, or by others. The situation requires a unified response. EU support to Ukraine – political, economic, military, humanitarian, and legal –therefore constitutes a central focus for the Swedish presidency. Sweden’s application for NATO membership is based on an independent, democratically reached decision. Sweden’s membership will strengthen NATO. As a member, Sweden will contribute to the security of NATO as a whole, in the spirit of solidarity.

In a short time, you left a good impression on the Serbian public and became known for your interesting posts on social networks. How do you like life in Serbia and Belgrade? How similar are Serbs and Swedes?

Thank you! Belgrade is a wonderful city to live in. It is at the heart of Europe and there is so much to discover in every direction. It is easy to feel welcome. For someone who likes cafés and culture, it is a great place to live in for a time. As a diplomat, you have the privilege to be a guest for a few years in other countries, places. That is a chance that you are given, over and over. I am grateful for this opportunity, and I know my now adult children are as well. Every place has its charm. Here, I am encountering so much generosity and hospitality. People in Serbia are informal, just as we Swedes, and it is easy to interact. But I have one major grievance: the poor air quality. I am suffering for Belgraders. That’s why I am proud that Sweden is Serbia’s biggest donor on the environment and works with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the University of Belgrade on how to make the air in the city better to breathe.

THE OUTCOME OF THIS WAR WILL SHAPE EUROPE’S FUTURE

Who is Doing Worst in Our Continent?

Well, we know a lot about the BEST, but what about the REST? Meaning, who is doing worst in our continent? One factor must answer the question: HDI (The Human Development Index). HDI is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. It is a standard means of measuring well-being. It is used to distinguish whether the country is devel-

oped, developing, or underdeveloped and measure economic policies’ impact on quality of life. Countries fall into four broad categories based on their HDI: very high, high, medium, and low human development. All European countries fall into the very high or high human development category. We are in the “high” group, including our neighbours. The worst is not the poorest, in fact. Azerbaijan has an HDI of 0.745 in 2021, an enormous improvement from

2020 (0.730). Armenia follows it with 0.759, and Moldova, North Macedonia, and Ukraine (before the war) with 0.767, 0.770, and 0.773, respectively. The 6th place is taken by Bosnia-Herzegovina with 0.780, followed by a surprising EU member, Bulgaria, with a falling result of 0.795, and Albania with a rising 0.796. Serbia and Georgia complete the Down 10 with 0.802, with Serbia falling for 0.002 in the 2020-21 period. No wonder people are moving from these countries.

PHOTO STORY

Advocating for women’s rights, Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet is on the front line of efforts to restore Cameroon’s ecosystems.

Photo: © UNEP

The Second DiplomatSki Slalom Race on Jahorina Takes Place

In early March, the second slalom race called DiplomatSki, organized by the Jahorina Olympic Centre and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Bosnia and Herzegovina, took place on the Poljica track

The start of the fantastic slalom race was preceded by a welcome speech given by the director of the Jahorina Olympic Centre, Mr Dejan Ljevnaić, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia, His Excellency, Mr Damijan Sedar, the initiators and organizers of the traditional ski race of representatives of international institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the participants in today’s race was His Excellency Ambassador Damijan Serdar, who, at the press conference, expressed his great satisfaction at the successful implementation of another joint project by the Embassy and the Jahorina Olympic Centre.

“The DiplomatSKi giant slalom competition takes place for the second time and is organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the Jahorina Olympic Centre. As we have a considerable number of interested people this year and have had an excellent experience with the previous one, the number of participants in this event is much higher this year. Some of the resident ambassadors in Bosnia and Herzegovina say that DiplomatSKI 2022 was one of the best events in the diplomatic corps world in recent years, which is a great compliment to us and at the same time, an obligation as we are expected to organize a ski race that is at the same level as last year’s, particularly because in 2024, we will mark the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games (held in Sarajevo). Next year, in addition to the diplomatic corps and well-known business people, we expect the arrival of well-

known Olympic skiers, such as Bojan Križaj and Jure Franko. The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely honoured to have excellent cooperation with the Jahorina Olympic Centre,” Mr Serdar said.

After last year’s very successful Ambassador’s race, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Jahorina Olympic Centre decided to continue their extraordinary cooperation and organize another race. Exactly one year

THE DIPLOMATSKI GIANT SLALOM COMPETITION TAKES PLACE FOR THE SECOND TIME AND IS ORGANIZED BY THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA TOGETHER WITH THE JAHORINA OLYMPIC CENTRE

60 competitors took place in the race which started exactly at 3 p.m. and successfully ended before the start of the media conference, at which the director of the Jahorina Olympic Centre, Mr Dejan Ljevnaić, said the following: “The reason for our gathering today at the Poljica track is the second DiplomatSki slalom race, which last year brought together 33 competitors from embassies and international organizations from 13 countries.

after the first race, today, we have twice as many competitors, which, I must admit, after last year’s great experience, did not surprise us. The idea of repeating this event was met with a great response, so this year we had as many as 60 competitors, of which 18 were ambassadors and 42 competitors competed on behalf of embassies, European delegations, EUFOR and NATO. The slalom race ended successfully, and now we are all

waiting for a fantastic party in the Olympic bar with a DJ and excellent food” and added: “Good reputation reaches far and the good reputation we earned last year, thanks to the excellent cooperation with the Embassy of Slovenia, went even farther. That is why we have received plenty of great compliments about this idea, our organization of the event and the hospitality, for which we are widely known. I would like to take this opportunity to especially thank the Ambassador of Slovenia, His Excellency Mr Damijan Serdar, with whom it was a real pleasure to collaborate in organizing today’s event. I am confident that we will continue the tradition of this race in the years ahead.”

After the successful completion of the slalom race, all the participants in this sporting event attended the prize ceremony, which, along with a party and traditional lunch for them, took place in the Olympic Bar, at the top of the Poljica ski track.

Ambassador Levanti is a career diplomat. She joined the Diplomatic service as Embassy Attaché in 1997. Her diplomatic career includes postings at Greek embassies in Brussels (1999-2002), Tirana (2002-2004), Damascus (2010-2012), and Rome (20152019). She held various posts at the Greek Foreign Ministry, including that of the Directorate for Personnel and Administrative Organization, the Directorate for Turkey, the Diplomatic Cabinet of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Directorate of Foreign Common and Security Policy, where she was Head of Section for Common Security and Defense Policy.

In 2020 she became head of the Directorate for NATO and the OSCE in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, and before her posting as ambassador to Serbia, she acted as Head of the Directorate for Personnel and Administrative Organization. She

H.E. Bassem Jouman Agha

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, received the credentials of the newly appointed Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic, Bassem Jouman Agha, and wished him a warm welcome and successful work.

President Vučić and Ambassador Agha stated that the ties between the two countries are based on friendship that dates back to the time of the SFRY and joint engagement in the Non-Aligned Movement, but also that there is room for strengthening bilateral relations. President Vučić

thanked Syria for its principled and consistent support for preserving Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, pointing out that our country will always be on the side of international law, which implies respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all UN member states. He expressed the hope that Syria will overcome difficulties based on a solution that is in line with the aspirations of the Syrian people and embark on the path of recovery. On this occasion, Ambassador Agha expressed his satisfaction that he is starting diplomatic work in Belgrade.

holds a Degree in Political Science from the Athens School of Law, Economics, and Political Science and an MA in International Relations from Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies.

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, welcomed the new Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic and wished her a successful diplomatic mandate. Ambassador Levanti expressed assurances that Greece does not change its position on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, recalling the statements of Prime Minister Mitsotakis.

President Vučić and Ambassador Levanti expressed the hope that the development of Serbian-Greek relations will continue for mutual benefit, with the expectation that a new session of the High Council for Cooperation between Serbia and Greece will be held.

H.E. Maria Levanti

New Ambassador of Greece to Serbia

New Ambassador of Syria to Serbia

Archbishop Gangemi was born in Messina in 1961. He was ordained a priest on 28 June 1986 by Archbishop Ignazio Cannavò of Messina.

On 27 January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named him Titular Archbishop of Umbriatico and Apostolic Nuncio to the Solomon Islands.

On 24 March 2012, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea. He was replaced in those positions on 16 April 2013. In November 2013, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Guinea. On 5 February 2014, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Mali as well. Before he

was appointed to Serbia in 2022 by Pope Francis, he was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to El Salvador. President Vučić thanked the Holy See for its principled position to respect the territorial integrity of Serbia and not recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.

He also noted that the Holy See is willing to hear and understand the views of Serbia, which he also saw during his visit to Pope Francis.

Archbishop Gangemi conveyed the assurances of the Holy See that they would not change their position on the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, received the credentials of the new ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, Leyde Ernesto Rodríguez Hernandez, and on this occasion, wished him a welcome and a successful mandate in our country.

President Vučić reiterated Serbia’s commitment to friendly relations with Cuba based on mutual understanding and support. He added that Serbia is interested in strengthening economic cooperation with that country, with special emphasis on agriculture and the food industry, medicine, and other areas of common interest. Also,

From 2020 to 2022, fifty-five-year-old Jozsef Zoltan Magyar was the responsible deputy state secretary for European cooperation in Hungarian MFA. He has extensive experience in working with the countries of the Balkans: he was previously a representative for Serbia, Macedonia, and Croatia, worked at the embassy in Zagreb on several occasions, and was also the ambassador to Croatia. President Vučić welcomed the Hungarian ambassador to Serbia and expressed his pride because of the sincere friendship between the two countries and the bilateral relations, which have never been at a higher level.

President Vučić stated that he expects that during the mandate of the Hungarian ambassador, the already excellent economic cooperation with Hungary will

continue to strengthen, emphasizing that Serbia is interested in further intensifying ties in the field of energy, infrastructure, the agricultural and food sector and other areas of common interest. President Vučić expressed his gratitude for the active support that Hungary provides to Serbia in the European integration process, as well as for the understanding of our country’s strategic issues.

The Hungarian ambassador, handing over the credentials to President Vučić, conveyed the greetings of President Novak and Prime Minister Orban, as well as his satisfaction with the excellent Serbian-Hungarian relations. He also said that he would work on specific joint projects and strengthen cooperation, which will be contributed to by the new joint session of the governments.

President Vučić expressed gratitude for Cuba’s principled adherence to international law and support for Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. President Vučić pointed out that it would be a great pleasure for him to host President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez in Belgrade.

Ambassador Hernandez announced the visit of President Díaz-Canel this year, which, he expects, would contribute to the strengthening of cooperation. He also added that he sees his mandate in Belgrade as an opportunity to turn good political relations into better economic ties, taking into account the existing potential.

H.E. Archbishop Santo Gangemi

H.E. Leyde Ernesto Rodriguez Hernandez

H.E. Jozsef Zoltan Magyar

New Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Serbia

New Ambassador of Cuba to Serbia

New Ambassador of Hungary to Serbia

Kuwait National Day marked in Belgrade

On the occasion of the 62nd Anniversary of the National Day and the 32nd Anniversary of the Liberation Day of the State of Kuwait, the embassy organized a ceremonial reception at the Hyatt Hotel. Hosted by the Kuwaiti Ambassador H. E. Fayez Al-Mutairi, it was attended by representatives of the government, military, religious communities, the cultural life of Serbia, and the diplomatic corps. On this occasion, he wished his country and people to maintain stability, prosperity, security, and further development. Kuwait was the first state of the Persian Gulf to gain independence from the UK in 1961.

Ceremony on the occasion of the end of the initiative “Nordic Green Project –Sustainable solutions for Serbia”

In the residence of the Norwegian ambassador, a ceremony was held on the occasion of the completion of the “Nordic Green Project – Sustainable Solutions for Serbia” initiative for 2022/23. This initiative presented Nordic green solutions to the domestic public, that is, Nordic green technology, business models for environmental protection, and solutions in the fight against climate change, all with the aim of creating a sustainable future. The ceremony was attended by Ministers in the Government of Serbia, Tanja Miščević, Minister for European Integration and Dubravka Đedović, Minister of Mining and Energy, ambassadors of four Nordic countries, Susanne Shine – Denmark, Kimmo Lähdevirta – Finland, Jørn Eugen Gjelstad – Norway, and Sweden’s Annika Ben David, as well as representatives of local self-government, business associations, the academic community, and others.

The 63rd birthday of Japanese Emperor Naruhito celebrated in Belgrade

The Embassy of Japan in Belgrade hosted a reception on the occasion of the birthday of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, the 126th emperor of that country. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirović, Ministers without Portfolio Edin Đerlek and Novica Tončev, Minister Dubravka Đedović, as well as other officials and members of the diplomatic corps. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, who turned 63, was crowned on May 1, 2019, after his father, Akihito, abdicated. Ambassador of Japan to Serbia Katsumata Takahiko greeted those present and thanked the Government and people of our country for their long-standing friendship. I would like to use this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Government and people of the Republic of Serbia for the long-standing friendship with Japan, which last year marked its 140th anniversary – said Ambassador Takahiko at the reception held in Belgrade. The ambassador recalled the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Serbia and his meeting with President Aleksandar Vučić and added that relations between Serbia and Japan are entering a new era of bilateral, regional, and international cooperation. The most significant turning point was the late Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Serbia in 2018 – said Ambassador Takahiko and emphasized: His meeting with President Vučić opened the way to improving our relations in various areas. As he added, he is proud of the projects and investments in Serbia in many areas and said that the common goal of these projects is the promotion of sustainability and the development of human resources.

1 MARCH 2023

Cultural celebration „Georgia –an oasis of ancient European heritage“

In close cooperation and partnership with the newly opened, luxurious “Madlena Art Palace”, the Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Serbia organized an exclusive high-level cultural celebration, „Georgia – an oasis of ancient European heritage“. The event was opened with polyphonic singing performed by the National Folk Choir „Herio“. The National Ballet „Apkhazeti“also performed Georgian National Folk dance. Guests had the pleasure to see an exhibition of unique Georgian traditional costumes, degustation of Qvevri amber wine, and premium-level Wine Brandy „Sarajishvili“. The reception at Madlena Art Palance was attended by a large number of guests, including representatives of Serbian public life and numerous representatives of the diplomatic corps in Serbia.

Ivica Dačić opened the Month of Francophonie

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić opened the Francophonie Month in the Palace of Serbia. In addition to Minister Dačić, the importance of La Francophonie and Serbia’s contribution to that organization were also discussed by the Ambassador of Romania to Serbia, Silvia Davidoiu, in her capacity as president of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, the

Ambassador of France in Belgrade, Pierre Cauchard, in his capacity as vice-president of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, as well as the first lady of Serbia, Tamara Vučić. Numerous dignitaries then had the opportunity to watch a report produced by “TV5 Mond”, entitled “The direction of Francophonie – Serbia”, which was announced by reporter Ivan Kabakof.

A reception in honor of the Fest held at the French Embassy

The reception organized in honor of the French and Francophone delegation visiting the Fest was held at the French Embassy in Belgrade. Ambassador of France Pierre Cauchard greeted the crowd, which included actress Annabelle Langron, director from Madagascar Laza Razanayatovo, as well as Olivier Sabi, a member of the French Council of State. Ambassador Cauchard emphasized that the ties between Serbia and France are now lasting for 180 years. Those ties are particularly strong in the field of culture and film. Serbia is a big country with a rich history of film, especially during the time of Comrade Tito, who had a great passion for cinematography – said Cauchard and added that the Fest is at the center of those relations. We are satisfied with the numerous francophone delegation at the Fest and the fact that the festival works to promote women – Cauchard said.

1 MARCH 2023

2 MARCH 2023

The President of Germany honored Boris Mašić

By decree of Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Order of Merit was awarded to Boris Mašić from Apatin, who is the president of the “Adam Berenz” Association in this place and was awarded thanks to his many years of service related to the nurturing and promotion of the cultural heritage of Germans in Serbia. The award was presented to Mašić at a solemn ceremony at the residence of the German ambassador in Belgrade, in the presence of the Mašić family and Dubravka Korać, the president of the municipality of Apatin.

Moroccan Brunch at Hyatt Regency’s Metropolitan Restaurant

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in the Republic of Serbia, in partnership with the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade, is organizing lunches dedicated to Moroccan cuisine and its various traditional dishes at the Metropolitan Restaurant of the same hotel during the whole month of March. The objective is to introduce to Serbian foodies, members of the diplomatic corps, media, tour operators, but also customers the Moroccan cuisine, its richness and diversity around a whole ceremonial starting from the mint tea to the art of receiving in the Moroccan way on the background of ancestral Moroccan music. It is not only about lunches but also about an Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan, which will beautifully complete this culinary project that will last for a whole month. The first lunch on Sunday, 5 March 2023, was attended by representatives of embassies accredited to Belgrade as well as regular customers of the hotel restaurant who came with their families to enjoy Moroccan delicacies. The Metropolitan restaurant was dedicated to Moroccan gastronomy but also to the millenary culture of the Kingdom, with several items of Moroccan handicraft, books related to the various facets of Moroccan culture, brochures, and not forgetting the Moroccan tea corner, which inspired the enthusiasm and the amazement of all the guests.

What the Loss of Silicon Valley Bank Means for Silicon Valley

Regulators prevented a cash crunch but venture capital has not emerged unscathed

Silicon valley is a tough place to be a banker. Startup bosses call with references but no revenue. Loans can seldom be secured against physical assets. Many clients fail. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) netted nearly half of America’s venture-backed technology and life-science firms as clients by providing what a venture capitalist calls the “the white-glove, red-carpet treatment”. This was not just about the lunches and events put on by the bank: svb established itself as a reliable cog in Silicon Valley’s dream machine. In the Financial Times, Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital, a grand venture-capital outfit, lamented the loss as akin to a “death in the family”.

Thanks to regulators, SVB’s demise has not meant a Silicon Valley cash crunch. Tech workers need only worry about their jobs as much as they did before last week. For some, relief at a bullet dodged has turned into anger at the firms quickest to pull deposits, helping to bring down their beloved bank. The next stage of grief ought to be sober risk management. According to the venture capitalist, the chance to replace SVB as banker to Silicon Valley is a “tremendous opportunity”. There will be no shortage of institutions with eyes on the

$300bn of venture-capital dry powder waiting to be ploughed into startups. But SVB’s collapse will scale back Silicon Valley’s ambitions in other ways.

Exactly where the dust and deposits settle is uncertain. Reports suggest regulators are attempting another auction of SVB, having been unable to find a buyer at the weekend. Banks and private-equity funds are circling. Startups are

Valley’s cash in future. Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase can scarcely open accounts fast enough. Once there, startups can expect a safer, if less intimate, service. Call it the grey-carpet treatment. On March 13th svb’s British operations were acquired for £1 ($1.22) by HSBC, a multinational behemoth. The new business will account for less than 1% of loans, deposits and profits at the firm. Whether the largest banks

THERE WILL BE NO SHORTAGE OF INSTITUTIONS WITH EYES ON THE $300BN OF VENTURE-CAPITAL DRY POWDER WAITING TO BE PLOUGHED INTO STARTUPS. BUT SVB’S COLLAPSE WILL SCALE BACK SILICON VALLEY’S AMBITIONS IN OTHER WAYS

finding new homes for their cash. In the chaos of last week, companies with accounts elsewhere transferred their funds. Others tripped on red tape as they frantically opened new ones. Some even wired money to personal accounts. Fintechs had a busy weekend, too. Brex, one such firm, opened 3,000 new accounts. Yet relationships between fintechs and regional banks, which have suffered in the wake of SVB’s collapse, may scare off potential long-term clients.

The big banks are likely to be the main custodians of Silicon

reassess the way they bank the smallest tech firms remains to be seen, but such firms will never be their core concern.

Another question is what will happen to the venture debt market. SVB was a major player, with $6.7bn of such loans outstanding when it went under. Startups used this low-cost lending to top up balance-sheets between equity funding rounds. Most now expect such loans to become more expensive, especially for the youngest firms. Venture-capital outfits are unlikely to lower themselves en masse to the

comparatively small returns offered by this sort of lending. Other wheels on the venture-capital machine will need oiling, too. For example, SVB often provided bridge financing to venture-capital firms, allowing them to strike deals while awaiting cash from investors.

All this means that the loss of SVB is likely to have a chilling effect on an industry already suffering from higher interest rates. Bankers may have to wait some time to see venture capital’s dry powder hit their deposit accounts—after all, in the last quarter, the amount of money flowing into startups globally fell by two-thirds. Limits on financing and difficulties banking baby firms will make the industry’s adjustment to higher rates more painful still. After such an adjustment, trips to the bank will remind dealmakers of their own mortality. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

From The Economist, published under licence. The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

17 MARCH 2023

International Criminal Court judges issue arrest warrants against Putin

Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court IC issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the situation in Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms. Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. The President of the Russian Federation is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation and the unlawful transfer of the population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Pre-Trial Chamber II considered,

17 MARCH 2023

based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children. The Chamber considered that the warrants are secret to protect victims and witnesses and safeguard the investigation. Nevertheless, mind-

ful that the conduct addressed in the present situation is allegedly ongoing and that the public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to authorise the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.

Türkiye and Hungary support Finland in joining NATO

Türkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave his support for Finland joining NATO. He praised Finland’s authentic and concrete steps after the meeting with the Finish president Sauli Niinistö in Ankara. This approval should pass the vote in the Turkish parliament. At the same time, Türkiye will stay reserved for Swedish applications to join NATO, still accusing this country of supporting terrorism after Quran burning incident. Finland and Sweden abandoned their traditional military neutrality in response to Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine. NATO member Hungary has also held back approval for the two countries to join the defense bloc and has now backed Finland’s membership. Máté Kocsis, the leader of the ruling Fidesz party, confirmed that a vote in favor of Finland should pass the parliamentary vote.

© Shutterstock

© JRdes / Shutterstock

Belgrade has agreed on the implementation annex of the agreement on the path to normalisation of relations with Priština

Serbia and self-declared Kosovan administration in Priština have agreed to implement an EU-backed deal to normalise ties after 12 hours of talks, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said late on Saturday, 18 March, describing negotiations in Ohrid as difficult. Borrell also touched upon a proposed association of Serb municipalities in Kosovo, which would give greater autonomy to Serb majority municipalities, a long disputed topic, said Reuters. “Kosovo has agreed to launch immediately - and when I am saying immediately, I mean immediately - negotiations with the European Union facilitated dialogue on establishing a specific arrangement and guarantees to ensure an appropriated level of self-management for the Serbian communities in Kosovo,” the EU top diplomat said. The Parties also agreed to endorse the Declaration on Missing Persons, as negotiated under the EU-facilitated Dialogue, as a matter of urgency.

20 MARCH 2023

Macron’s pension reforms caused massive rallies and clashed with the police

The French government has narrowly survived a no-confidence vote following a fallout over its controversial pension reform. However, a second no-confidence motion,

tabled by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, is underway, said BBC. The French government has been forced to push through unpopular pension reforms

without a vote in parliament which provoked protesters all over France. On March 17, thousands of protesters rallied over the streets of Paris and clashed with police.

Josep Borell Twitter

People Want to Know How to Get Through With No Bruises

Economic growth has slowed down due to a devastated judiciary and an economic environment in which no one is safe

At a time when Serbia is threatened with sanctions and the withdrawal of investments if it rejects to accept the agreement with Priština, we spoke with Danica Popović, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, who believes that the fear is real and that our economy would suffer enormous damage if investors withdrew. Collapsed institutions and a devastated judiciary are responsible for the bad economic situation in the country, and of course, there is only one person to blame.

The Serbian president recently informed us that if we did not accept the European plan for the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, foreign investments would be cut off. Do you consider this a realistic consequence or is this just about scaring people and making excuses?

Foreign investors are “timid animals”, as economists like to say. None of them come to Serbia to stay, but to earn money. As soon as the risk emerges, they think about the profitability of moving to other locations. This is how every rational investor acts and calculations are made every day. If we add to that the fact that the West has made it clear that Serbia is in serious danger of being sanc-

tioned, then it is only a matter of days before foreign investors will stop coming, and the old ones will probably start packing up their things and leaving. What would that mean for Serbia? That would be the end of the exchange rate where 1 euro is 117 dinars. That would certainly happen because when there is no foreign currency influx, the dinar must depreciate. The exchange rate reacts like a pharmacy scale and the balance is disrupted in an instant. The

based on foreign investments. Why? Because investors bring three things with them that a country doesn’t have - capital, production and powerful export channels. No country has developed in a different way –just look at the experiences of all countries in transition, they are all the same in that regard. As for the subsidies given to foreign investors, this is exclusively a “Serbian thing” as no successful country has massively subsidized foreign investments. The practice of subsidizing was

What are the biggest mistakes of our national economic policy?

National Bank (of Serbia) could correct such disturbances only by spending foreign currency reserves, and that does not last long, because there are no new foreign investors to fill them. One must be aware of that.

We have seen in numerous examples that all those foreign investments were not really that good for us. So-called foreign investors here have often received huge state subsidies, so when they drained our coffers, they would usually withdraw, lay off workers and take their capital out of the country. Why do we then perceive foreign investments as something that our economy cannot do without?

The experiences of all successful emerging economies are

introduced by Mladjan Dinkić, and it remains in place to this day. Why is that so? Because investors were hesitant to come to Serbia if there aren’t subsidies. In Serbia, they lack legal certainty, the risk of doing business is high, and subsidies compensate for that. Without them, they would not have come.

Therein lies the answer to your question of why do domestic investors not receive subsidies. The argument is simple - because domestic investors are willing to work without state subsidies. Truth be told that should apply to all investors. Indeed, isn’t the state meant to help the disabled, the handicapped, the sick, and not healthy and genuine investors, regardless of where they are from!?

Serbia’s growth did not slow down because of a bad economic policy. The biggest mistake lies in the devastated judiciary. This is the reason why nobody is safe in the Serbian economic environment, especially those who enter the market game. When an investor is harmed in some way, nobody can be sure when or if the court will react at all. In such conditions, the majority of investors do not even want to invest money in Serbia, because the business risk is too high. This, of course, also applies to domestic investors, the wealthiest of whom are moving their companies to Cyprus, Malta, or other safer places. All of this could be rectified if only the judiciary functioned properly. Many successful foreign investors would take the places that are currently occupied by companies such as Yura, Leoni, Linglong and other infamous investors. This is a consequence of the disordered business environment, which is rarely discussed.

The recent dismissal of the public prosecutor who investigated corruption in the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) is very telling. It shows us that the state is afraid of being investigated, that there is very high corruption in the public sector and that society is disinterested. Why do you think we, as citizens, are not interested in how the government spends our money?

DANICA POPOVIĆ Professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade

IT WON’T GET BETTER AS LONG AS WE REMAIN SILENT AND ENDURE DICTATORSHIP AND THE DESTRUCTION OF INSTITUTIONS

How many people in Serbia know how to read and interpret budget figures? Why should citizens even have to do that? That is the task of the Serbian national TV frequences. They have to pool experts together who will inform the public about the state’s misuse of funds. Therefore, the problem is not whether we are interested in a certain economic problem or not, but the problem is that an objective public broadcaster does not exist, or rather it is managed by the servants of the ruling regime. This is the place where we can see how Aleksandar Vučić shouts at a TV host without interruption and at the top of his voice. By shouting at a TV host, he is, in effect, shouting at us too, no? The message here is that we should keep quiet, or we’ll end up worse than Zoran

While we are progressively getting poorer and prices are going crazy, the National Bank of Serbia’s governor claims that inflation will be even lower than projected. Is she right? Is the end of inflation in sight?

The president recently stated the exact opposite, namely, that we have never been wealthier than we are now. How and on what basis should we trust his words? How can you trust the Governor of the National bank who tells the public that the price of potatoes in Serbia rose by 152 percent because people rushed to hold weddings and celebrations after the pandemic?

Stanojević. So what should the ordinary people living here be interested in? How to get through with no bruises! Only the Serbian president knows how the government spends money. I am sure that he will tell us that one day, all tearyeyed. This is what Serbia looks like today.

How should we resolve problems in our public enterprises like EPS which is foreseen for privatization? Is there any justification for such a strategic enterprise to be handed over to a private company?

Do you think that state property will solve our problems? How did the state property protect us from having roast pit owner appointed CEO of EPS? It did not, at all. Let’s be clear, in the existing system, you have corruption, transfer of state money to the ruling party, nepotism, partocracy and everything else. Therefore, two steps are needed to secure private assets and all developed countries rest on these two steps, with one being the implementation of the rule of law, at least in the area of property rights, and only then can we plan privatization.

The last thing she said was that our inflation is mostly “imported”. It’s a mystery to me how did we manage to turn this “imported inflation” of ten percent into domestic inflation of fifteen percent. However, if it is any consolation, the data show that inflation in the world is slowing down. That’s a good sign.

Is the current dinar/euro exchange rate realistic and how is this exchange rate maintained? Is there any reason to worry?

Dinar/euro exchange rate is realistic because there are individuals, companies and institutions that want to trade in currency at that exchange rate. Whether that course is sustainable is another question. As I said, this course is maintained by foreign investments. So you have to decide - if you don’t want to see foreign investors here, you will have to forget about the current exchange rate.

What is your economic development projection for this year? Can we be optimistic or is the crisis continuing?

The state of the economy this year will be the same as it is today or slightly worse. It won’t get better as long as we remain silent and endure dictatorship and the destruction of institutions. And we can certainly change that!

DOMESTIC INVESTORS ARE WILLING TO WORK WITHOUT STATE SUBSIDIES

Vesna Lalić

Drugstore chain dm drogerie markt started 2023 by increasing salaries for its employees by 15 percent. This gesture by one of the most desirable employers in the country followed three increases during the previous year. Positive business practices, continuous monitoring of inflationary and other economic factors, along with market competitive wages are characteristic for work in this chain, which, following the quote “Work inspired by life”, strives to provide its employees with numerous intangible benefits as well. In addition to regular salary increases, dm strives to provide its employees and their families with better living and working conditions through various benefits. Just some of the incentives at the company are market-competitive salaries, the 13th and 14th salary during the year, taking care of employees’ health by introducing free systematic examinations, health packages and visits to a physiotherapist. Also, the smart working concept as an opportunity to work from home, professional training and education, as well as numerous activities for employees’ children.

MK Agriculture winner of the most significant award of the Vojvodina Chamber of Commerce

The Director of MK Agriculture Was Awarded the Prize “Kosta Mirosavljević“. The winner of the most important annual award of the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, “Kosta Mirosavljević” for successful business and achieved results in the field of agriculture for the year 2022 is the company MK Agriculture from Novi Sad, which operates within the MK Group. „We are extremely honored and pleased that this year MK Agriculture has been declared the most successful company in the field of agriculture. I would like to express my gratitude to the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, who noticed our achievements and recognized the effort and values we share. This award will be an additional incentive for us to keep up with world trends, along with MK Group’s investments in digitization and raising productivity. “

How to make your dinars work for you

Invest your savings at excellent interest rates and a favorable exchange rate. Economic uncertainty on the global market has been present for a long period of time, and many are postponing or halting their investment plans. Analysts advise that now the wisest investment is term savings in banks, in dinars. Savings in dinars is still more profitable than foreign currency, NBS data show, and this type of savings is growing month by month from June 2022. The yield from interest, for a term of 12 months, can bring significantly more benefits than potential investments in different areas, and the level of security that this type of investment provides should be taken into account. As one of the systemically most important banks on the market, UniCredit Bank recognizes real opportunities for the benefit of its clients, which is why a special offer for savings in dinars, valid until March 31, 2023, was formed. Namely, the NKS of 5.2% on dinars and the EKS of 5.27%, according to the decision of the NBS, clients are allowed to save without tax on capital income, and if they convert currency in order to pay dinars to savings, payment at a more favorable exchange rate compared to regular, which is practically a way for “dinars to work for the client”.

Another salary increase in the drugstore chain dm: “We grow as long as our employees progress”

Progress in all aspects of business for the fastest mobile network in Serbia

In 2022, A1 Serbia achieved a successful balance in the growth of revenue and users in all aspects of business, in a very competitive environment. Thanks to being innovative and nurturing a superior user experience, A1 increased it’s total revenues by 13.1% year-on-year, which amounts to 356.5 million euros. The company also received the highest number of recognitions for network quality so far and remained the network with the biggest number of new users for the second year in a row. As many as 42,492 of them decided to transfer their number from other networks to A1 Serbia. During the prevoius year, the company continued to invest in it‘s network infrastructure, achieving the biggest progress in improving the quality of the network among operators, as

02 BUSINESS NEWS

shown by RATEL’s national measurement. For the second year in a row Ookla®, a global leader in monitoring the performance of mobile and broadband networks, testing applications and related technologies and creator of speedtest® confirmed that A1 is the fastest mobile network in Serbia. A1 Serbia was one of the first companies to choose to invest in renewable energy sources, and set sustainability as a mandatory parameter of network quality. As the first operator to start using solar panels, the company implemented nearly 4,500 solar panels so far, committing to reach 5,600 by the end of 2023. Ambitious ESG goals have been set at the level of the entire A1 Telekom Austria Group by the end of 2030, which include achieving carbon neutrality.

Yettels first birthday

It is Our Privilege to Contribute to the Community’s Development

Deputy

We spoke with Vadim Smirnov, Deputy CEO of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), about sustainable development and socially responsible business.

When it comes to social responsibility among Serbian companies, NIS is at the very top. Is social responsibility a strategic commitment? Why is the company motivated to invest in such projects?

Imagine you want to plant a tree. It is not something you do only for yourself, but for your children, grandchildren, future generations who will know it was you who did it. Same works for NIS. We are recognized in the community for the social responsibility projects that we have been continuously implementing for years. We help renovate schools and kindergartens, equip classrooms, build playgrounds and sports fields, equip maternity hospitals and other healthcare facilities, implement environmental projects, provide scholarships to the best students in Serbia, support the popularization of science, culture, and art, and support professional and youth sport. Social responsibility, therefore, is our strategic determination, part of our business culture and a decision that we have translated into practice from which we do not deviate.

NIS is one of Serbia’s largest social investors. Since 2009, we have invested over 4.9 billion dinars in social responsibility projects. We are motivated by the long-term benefits for the society. As citizens of this country, we consider it a privilege. I would not call it investing in

the local community, but rather nurturing it and growing together. Only such a partnership is sustainable and fair.

What social responsibility projects is NIS working on and how do you contribute to the development of the community?

The two programs I would highlight are the “Common Cause Community” and the “Energy of Knowledge” and most of our social responsibility projects are part of them.

We have been implementing the “Common Cause Community” program for 14 years, in cooperation with partner cities and municipalities throughout Serbia. Together we build, renovate and equip schools, kindergartens, universities, playgrounds, sporting facilities, healthcare and social care facilities, and cultural institutions. So far, we have implemented over 1000 projects worth over 1.5 billion dinars. We pick projects that are crucial for the communities or that align with the national priorities. Last year’s cycle of the project was titled “For new hopes to be born”, as it was dedicated to the national goal of improving reproductive health and increasing birth rate.

The “Energy of Knowledge” program is ten years old now and is aimed at supporting young talents and cooperating with educational and scientific institutions in Serbia and abroad. By providing scholarships, we invest in the development of qualified employees for the company. We create the best conditions for young people to get an education and remain in Serbia to work. Until now, we have given scholarships to over 130 students, with over 60 of them already employed with NIS. Through this program and

Since 2009, NIS has invested over 4.9 billion dinars in various socially responsible projects

VADIM SMIRNOV

CEO of NIS

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES ARE PART OF ALL BUSINESS PROCESSES IN OUR COMPANY

other donations and support programs, we have invested about 6.3 million euro in science and education since 2009.

How important is it for large companies to publicly report on social responsibility and communicate their CSR activities?

All these efforts are our contribution to the achievement of the UN sustainable development goals. Sustainability principles are integral to all business processes in the company. Our activities directly support 12 out of the 17 sustainable development goals, which we are happy to report publicly. We publish our Sustainable Development Report according to the standards of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), world’s leading organization for sustainable reporting, and which is verified by an authorized auditor. I would like to point out that NIS is a pioneer in Serbia when it comes to sustainability reporting. We published the first report in 2011. This practice allows us to communicate to the stakeholders in a transparent manner, informing them about our business performance, investments in social responsibility projects, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, and employee development.

It is important for the public to have an accurate understanding of the social activities of large companies that must serve as the example for others. Our goal is not to dryly report on the company’s activities, including CSR, but to explain, what we do to improve the community we live and work in, help people develop and grow, and protect natural resources.

What is your biggest success in terms of corporate social responsibility?

Each year we do a corporate image study to get a clear picture of how stakeholders perceive us. This is one of the ways to understand the priority needs of the society so that we can direct our social responsibility efforts accordingly. It is important for us to know the society perceives us as a reliable partner and that humanity is one of the attributes people associate with NIS.

Our priority is supporting young people, as they are this country’s future. We also support socially vulnerable groups. We are particularly proud of the NIS Volunteer Club, which has been active since 2018 and now includes over 1900 members. They participate in many initiatives with a special focus on the environment and nature protection.

Our biggest success is seeing well-equipped clinics and schools, safe parks and playgrounds, the satisfaction of our employees and the happiness of people we managed to help, and knowing we did something good for the future generations.

Serbia is our common home. Our “Future at work” is to watch it evolve.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges businesses face nowadays, and petroleum companies are expected to act decisively to mitigate global warming. What does NIS do in that respect?

NIS has been supporting the green agenda for years. The three main avenues are implementing environmental protection projects, implementing business initiatives that have environmental benefits, and participating in environmental protection actions. Since 2009,

we have invested over 900 million euro in environmental projects and new greener technologies, with 120 million spent exclusively on environmental protection activities. One example is the deep processing unit in the Pančevo Oil Refinery. It cost us over 300 million euro and allowed to significantly reduce atmospheric emissions. We are working on new capital projects that will additionally improve the environmental conditions in Serbia. By 2030, we plan to have half of the electricity we consume come from renewable sources, and we are working towards that goal.

Numerous initiatives were implemented in cooperation with the community. Two years ago as part of the “Common Cause Community” program NIS implemented 29 projects to reduce air pollution, improve energy efficiency, develop solar energy, and equip parks with innovative elements.

Our employees actively participate in environmental initiatives. Our Volunteer Club organizes events where volunteers clean river and lake banks, public parks and recreation areas, plant trees, and educate children on the importance of environmental protection.

Your company has recently published a report on the 2022 results, which states you achieved the priority goals despite the global economic challenges. What are the plans for 2023?

In 2023, the plan is to invest twice as much as last year. Most of the investments will be done in the exploration and production of oil and gas. In the refining segment, our top priority will be to continue modernizing the Pančevo Oil Refinery, while increasing the processing efficiency. In the field of sales and distribution, we will continue growing and upgrading our filling station network. There is also a plan to reconstruct and modernize our tank farms. We will continue our efforts to develop electricity generation and trading. We will also work on projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and further digitization of the company.

SO FAR, WE HAVE AWARDED SCHOLARSHIPS TO MORE THAN 130 STUDENTS FROM SERBIA, OF WHOM OVER 60 HAVE STARTED WORKING FOR NIS

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MARCH

Karisma took over the majority ownership and management of the Dubrovnik hotel Plat : its revitalization is being prepared

08 MARCH 2023

13 MARCH 2023

Successful networking of bilateral organizations on Kopaonik

On March 6th, 2023, 8 bilateral organizations in Serbia gathered representatives of member companies at the “International Coffee Break” event, traditionally held during the Kopaonik Business Forum at the Grand Hotel. The gathering was organized by the following bilateral organizations for their members present at the Forum: Belgian-Serbian Business Association, British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Hellenic Economic Association of Serbia, Croatian Business Club, Chamber of Italian-Serbian Businessmen, German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Nordic Business Alliance and the Slovenian Business Club. The event was also supported by the renowned companies Adria Media Group, Mercedes Benz, and ProCredit Bank, recognizing the quality of this multilateral event. On behalf of all bilateral organizations, Doris Danilović, deputy director of AHK Serbia, briefly greeted those present, wishing for a successful mutual connection and the establishment of new business relations. International Coffee Break” is an excellent opportunity to gather business representatives, and members of bilateral organizations, to meet and exchange business ideas. At the same time, this event provided an opportunity for members to get to know bilateral organizations in Serbia, to be informed about their activities and opportunities for cooperation.

Modular Home Expo 2023 to be held in May in Zagreb

Modular Home Expo 2023, a fair of prefabricated and modular constructions, the first of its kind in Europe, will be held in the Zagreb Arena from May 4 to 7. More specifically, it is a real exhibition of houses, and as many as a hundred European exhibitors will present themselves at the fair itself. For four days, it will be a meeting place for those who sell prefabricated and modular constructions and buyers who want to build houses from prefabricated materials, in the form of their own homes or houses for tourism on the coast and the continent, and need information about the quality of the product, the speed of construction and assembly, and ways of reducing energy consumption.

Maja Maric promoted as Country Manager for CPIPG for the Serbian market

CPI Property Group has appointed Maja Marić to the position of Operations Manager and leader of the Belgrade office for the Serbian market. She will be in charge of the portfolio of companies in Serbia, more precisely for the management of retail parks of the STOP SHOP brand. Maja Maric had started her career in this company in 2016 and promptly progressed, so today she has become one of the company’s leading experts for the retail market of Serbia.

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13 MARCH 2023

Telling the Story of Serbia’s Past and Present

Preserving the Country’s Rich Cultural Heritage and History

The National Museum is one of the most important cultural institutions in Serbia, which houses an impressive collection of over 400,000 works of art, archaeological objects and other artefacts that depict Serbia’s abundant history. In this interview, Bojana Borić Brešković, director of the National Museum, talks about the Museum’s history, mission, the challenges it faces and its plans.

After being closed for a number of years, the renovated National Museum was opened in June 2018. What challenges did the Museum’s opening pose and what projects are you the proudest of so far?

The museum and all my colleagues faced numerous challenges, bearing in mind the complex and demanding undertaking of the thorough renovation of the National Museum. People in Serbia had very high expectations and our task was to welcome them to a museum that in every way meets the top museological standards and the needs of modern man. Based on the reactions of people who visited us, I would say that we responded brilliantly to the needs of our visitors. In addition to the permanent exhibition, modern museums include a multitude of accompanying programmes and activities specially created for target groups. I am extremely proud to say that our museum offers content for all ages and tastes and for everybody who enjoys learning and like being entertained. I am also very proud of our curators who, by studiously processing, exhibiting and publishing cultural artefacts

from museum collections, help us to learn something new about our cultural heritage every day. I am equally proud of the restorers and conservators who made sure that our cultural heritage has longevity and

The National Museum of Serbia traditionally celebrates the Republic of Serbia’s Statehood Day by staging a special exhibition every year. This year, we opened the exhibition titled “Modernity and the Nation” dedicated to

by Miloš Mihajilica

captivates us with its beauty and exceptionality. I am proud of all my colleagues, without their knowledge, skills and effort there would not be a single museum project in existence.

On the eve of Statehood Day, a central exhibition was staged marking the 150th birthday of our famous painter Nadežda Petrović. What makes this exhibition stand out and what can visitors see and learn about our great artist?

our great artist, Nadežda Petrović, marking the 150th anniversary of her birth. We aimed to present Nadežda Petrović’s creativity completely and comprehensively, in addition to the artwork that the National Museum has inherited, the artwork from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, the Nadežda Petrović Art Gallery in Čačak, the Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection and the Matica Srpska Gallery from Novi Sad were also exhibited. Apart from

the extraordinary paintings, which laid the foundation for Serbian modern painting, visitors have the opportunity to find out about Nadežda in her capacity as the first Serbian woman photographer.

Bearing in mind that our famous painter developed a unique approach to painting and formed an authentic artistic expression, the exhibition was created to reflect the leading themes and motifs indistinguishable from the context of her painting. Starting with her Munich period, paintings of the country and the people, the impressionist episode and the national narrative of the artwork created in Paris, which Nadežda became famous for in the world of modern painting by promoting the visual over the ideological, the exhibition, depicting seemingly conflicting phenomena, demonstrates how modernist postulates coexist in the thematic guise of the national and statehood context.

The beauty and uniqueness of this exhibition lie in its breadth and vividness, as well as the fact that it is the result of lively inter-institutional cooperation.

The National Museum has had a significant number of domestic and foreign visitors. How many people visited the museum last year? How do foreigners react to it and what do museum visitors like the most?

A substantial number of people visit the Museum every year and we hope that the trend of a growing number of visitors to cultural institutions, which was briefly interrupted by the pandemic, will continue. 112,885 people saw the National Museum’s permanent exhibition last year and we are confident that the number of visitors this year

BOJANA BORIĆ BREŠKOVIĆ Director of the National Museum

112,885 PEOPLE SAW THE NATIONAL MUSEUM’S PERMANENT EXHIBITION LAST YEAR

will be significantly higher. Their impressions are quite diverse, but I like hearing from our visitors about their impressions or reading what they wrote in the impressions book. Quite a few of them said that they felt proud during their visit to the museum. This means that we are doing our job properly, while continuously reminding the public that we should preserve the Museum and continue presenting the cultural heritage that belongs to all of us in the best and most professional way. Foreign visitors who often don’t have enough information and knowledge about our cultural heritage usually leave the Museum completely enchanted.

This year, you plan to restore the Ljubica Luković Legacy in Ljubomira Stojanovića Street, in the Professor’s Colony. How important is this project and what else does the National Museum plan for 2023?

The implementation of this project is extremely important for us. We tried to implement it earlier, but the confluence of circumstances was such that the project will start in the year of the great jubilee.

In terms of projects related to the restoration of museum buildings, we are trying to finalize them one by one systematically and rationally. After the renovation of the Vuk and Dositej Museum, we renovated and adapted the National Museum central building, and now

we are facing the renovation of the Memorial Museum of Nadežda and Rastko Petrović and the Gallery of Frescoes.

We are confident that, once we finish these projects, Belgrade’s cultural offer will be richer for two exceptional cultural institutions.

National Museum Day is celebrated every year on May 10. What can we expect to see this year, on the 179th anniversary of the Museum’s inception?

This year, we will celebrate National Museum Day with a very interesting exhibition. For this occasion, we decided to show a particularly interesting selection of works from the

you cooperate with and to what extent is our most important national cultural institution recognized in the European cultural space today?

The National Museum has excellent cooperation with foreign museums. Most often, these are cooperations relating to staging exhibitions, which require the artwork from our collections to be completed. At the moment, we are arranging and putting together the required paperwork to loan some of our exhibits to the Metropolitan. Also, some of our archaeological heritage is presented in the Field Museum. Apart from cooperating on exhibitions, we strive to foster inter-institutional cooperation, thanks to which

BY DIGITIZING AND THUS

collection of Serbian 18th and 19th-century paintings. Thanks to the exhibition put together by museum adviser Petar Petrović, visitors will see rare or never before exhibited the artwork of eminent Serbian artists and learn more about the ways museum collections are formed and museum collections that reflect a certain moment in time in their own way.

International cooperation is an important segment in the operations of every cultural institution. Which museums do

we contribute to building the capacities of museum experts. The National Museum of Serbia is known and recognized for taking care of exceptional cultural heritage and therefore represents a referential institution on the cultural map of Europe and the world.

What is the cooperation between the National Museum and educational institutions in Serbia like? Do our students have the opportunity to participate in education and museum programs?

One of our basic missions is to educate and generate interest in cultural heritage and its values.

For this reason, colleagues from the Visitors Department invest a lot of effort and knowledge to present this mission as thoroughly as possible. They develop numerous programmes intended for elementary and high school students who often and gladly visit us. Furthermore, our colleagues have also created a programme called the National Museum in Class, thanks to which we participate in classes and add museum-related stories to the curriculum.

In addition to elementary and high school students, we are strongly focusing on the members of the National Museum Children’s Club for whom we have put together guided weekly tours and workshops.

You used the COVID-19 pandemic, which at one point closed the museum, to present your collections via virtual exhibitions, which was another way to popularize our heritage. How much do you do to present our culture and art on social media, which today are considered important promotion tools?

The transition to the digital world has been going on for many years. By digitizing and thus preserving and protecting museum artefacts, we have created a wide base of digital content, thanks to which we can generate content for social media. While staying true to ourselves and our expressing, we are focusing on finding adequate channels and ways of communication both with our visitors and with those who have not been or never will be visitors but are interested in museum stories in their own way. I have the impression that in the digital world, we communicate just as well with followers as we do with museum visitors.

The secret of good communication in the digital world lies in the fact that we do not perceive social media as a bulletin board and promotional tool, but as a new space for communication with everyone who views cultural heritage as their own.

PRESERVING AND PROTECTING MUSEUM ARTEFACTS, WE HAVE CREATED A WIDE BASE OF DIGITAL CONTENT

All photos: © National Museum of Serbia

The List: People who change Belgrade

Belgrade, a city with a soul, where every street and every person tells their own story. Throughout this city’s history, people have left their mark and influenced its appearance, architecture, gastronomic offer, and the habits of the people of Belgrade. But here’s the thing about being influential: it’s not for everyone. It takes a certain kind of person to stand out in a crowd and be heard. Let’s take a look at some of the men and women who have made their mark on Belgrade, in a feature column by Duška Jovanić, which is out each month.

NOTE: The list is made in alphabetical order

When he was leaving Belgrade, he believed that he would never return. Marko Krunić. Forty-two years old. As an art photographer and visual artist, he deals with the best ideas every morning. In his spare time, he is a passionate hustler for finding everything that exists online. He is an ardent devotee of verbal communication and throwing his head in the right direction. He dreams with open eyes and open ears. It is authentic and eclectic, while wearing the artist’s expression, shoes and jackets, which are not really that. He’s always on his bike. In New York, for ten years, he worked professional-

ly with many world stars and the greatest artists of our time, such as Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, Naomi Watts, Boy George, Chloë Sevigny, Cate Blanchett, Dita von Teese... At the same time, he diligently photographed precious stones as his ‘bread and butter’. His return to his hometown was because of the inimitable Marina, an icon of conceptual art. Despite everything that had changed in the meantime, Belgrade did not disarm him. Today, he works for a large company that improves the quality of life on the entire planet. He’s ready to push this city forward whenever he gets the chance.

She is Marta Jovanović. A performance artist. In the silence of these activities, she feels at home. She will never tire of this form of expression, even though she is already teaching students this antidote to reality. If she had to choose only one adjective to describe herself, it would be “unpredictable”. Everything she does seems to make her original. In her performance titled “Motherhood”, she pounded on golden eggs representing fertile days. With the conceptual project “It is My Body” she exposed her body, and in “Love” she allowed people to throw pig hearts at her. At one opening of the October Salon, she was “Belgrade Mer-

maid”, lying down and waiting for the audience to pour water on her in virtual reality and bring her to life. Why did she choose art that happens now and never again? She likes to serve herself on the plate as a message for feminism and activism. She once sold her entire fashion treasure to wear the same outfit for a year because of “The Uniform” as a concept. She shot the documentary film “Born Just Now” about herself in Belgrade. The script envisaged her walking across the entire city. Her Gucci loafers were full of blood. Always dressed in black, she only believes in red lipstick and shoes that hurt feet.

© Goran Popovski

MARTA JOVANOVIĆ Performance artist

MARKO KRUNIĆ

Art photographer and visual artist

© Petar Vujanić

© Marko Krunić

The golden boy of the theatre, a young man with a renaissance personality, one of our most popular directors, who has worked in Munich, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Vienna and Ljubljana in the last ten years. Hardly anyone can sleep peacefully after seeing one of his works. Miloš Lolić has an undeniable sense for conjuring a multi-layered fresco of his characters, who seem real to us, and yet we experience them on the edge of fantasy. Although he is seductive as a director, he does not deceive us, nor sway us. Despite this, his performances are classified as special and different theatre concepts. There is an old joke that he studied directing to one day stage Shakespeare. He was most successful as the director of “Othello”, “The Jour-

nal about Čarnojević”, and the plays “Martha Stewart” and “Casper” in Belgrade. And then he threw himself into “Yankee Rose”, his first musical, and blew it out of the park. This wild, witty, but also deeply tragic piece with dancing and crying was seen as the saddest joke about a blonde. Lolić is not only the darling of Europe but also of Belgrade, where he keeps coming back for the culture, two cafés, ćevapi and landline phone. Only those who don’t know him think he’s fragile because he doesn’t swear even in rehearsals, except when he’s very angry. Although he is not looking for short-term pleasures, he has great fashion control. Every time he is about to be presented with an award, he fastens the button on his jacket first.

The young playwright and writer Vida Davidović was nineteen years old in 2017 when Belgrade’s curtain was lifted in front of her and very soon Belgrade bowed down to her. It remains to be seen whether this was all a trap. She was born in East Sarajevo and grew up in Banja Luka. She believed that life in Belgrade is lively and vibrant, as in all big cities, where bars are open until late at night, lights reflect on the asphalt, and girls in high heels carry equally high expectations, but also broken hearts. The orientalism she brought from Bosnia and the astonishingly precise identical reflections of dreams about happiness made her fall in love with Belgrade even before she

5

A prominent member of the capital’s circle of avant-garde connoisseurs. The city’s first hipster hedonist. A tireless gourmand and stylish revolutionary, who doesn’t skimp even on vacation. He has the grandmaster intuition of the owner of atypical cafés. When he graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, he decided to intern in the kitchens of New York and Boston. As soon as he returned, he founded Zaplet, a small factory of forgotten but also new flavours. Although he still has infantile bouts of gastronomic snobbery, he has become the big man among the café owners. Even those who don’t eat at restaurants know about him.

could call it her own. The author of several theatre pieces, screenwriter of five films and laureate of the Sterija Theatre Award for original domestic drama script, she dedicated her first novel “Nausea: About not Growing up” to Belgrade. Her heroines change places - one young woman left a big city, and another came to that big city. Vida writes about it as if she always knew it all already. Her words rhyme harshly to the rhythm of intellectual dynamism. When it comes to Belgrade, she didn’t stick to any strategy, especially not the desire to heal it. Go ahead and read Vida Davidović’s novels because “she will infect you with desire, pain, truth and beauty”.

He has been changing this city for years, by first changing himself. He is always as well dressed as if he slept in front of a mirror, he has two daughters and a girlfriend. After ditching his motorbike, he now only uses trolleybuses, and in addition to being tightly wound up, he also manages to read. Lucky bastard, the naysayers will say, who also rejoiced when he closed his restaurant Dijagonala. He took refuge in Baudelaire’s kitchen on time. At its new address, his restaurant Flowers of Evil is a place where gourmet poetry is on the menu. And there is an invisible inscription hanging on the kitchen door that says – “Quiet! Genius at work!”

VLADA MELENTIJEVIĆ Hipster hedonist

VIDA DAVIDOVIĆ Playwright and writer

© Boogie

© Katarina Marković

MILOŠ LOLIĆ Theatre director

© Marko Krunić

Being a Journalist is Not Easy, Wherever You Live

I want to defy them as long as I can because the situation in Serbia in terms of democracy, media freedom and free speech is devastating considering we live in the 21st century

NENAD KULAČIN Journalist, columnist and co-author of ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ podcast

While his colleague Marko Vidojković is put in safe hiding, Nenad Kulačin goes out for coffee only with people who are allowed to meet him and with tear gas in his pocket. In the meantime, he has found time to talk to Diplomacy&Commerce about the horrendous threats that he and his fellow journalists face.

What does life look like under constant threats? Do you fear for your safety?

Living with constant threats is very interesting, I would even dare to say unusual. Sometimes you ask a friend to go out together and have fun and you have to look under your car to see if everything is in its place before you get into it or you keep your

like to remind you that my mother was attacked in Bor because of what I do. Neither she nor any other member of my family should suffer. Whether I am afraid or not is a private matter, but it does not affect my work in any way. On the

life was threatened. Are you thinking of taking shelter too?

hand in your pocket the whole time because that’s where your tear gas is. Sometimes you don’t even go outside. Why would you even go out with the air being so polluted?! All jokes aside, my housemates are far more uncomfortable than I am. I would

contrary, it motivates me even more and assures me of the correctness of what I am doing. And that’s why - #ucutati necemo (#wewontbesilent).

Your colleague Marko Vidojković left Serbia because his

I don’t think about it, because I’m not able to. I wouldn’t want to reveal my private reasons so that the government wouldn’t see it as my weakness and then strike exactly where I am weak. Let’s just say that I want to defy them as long as I can because the situation in Serbia in terms of democracy, media freedom and free speech is devastating considering we live in the 21st century. This should be experienced and immortalized for generations to come.

What is it that gives the bullies who threaten you the wind in their sails? Does the system

© Luca Marziale / Danas

encourage them or is it just a feeling of anonymity and untouchability thanks to the digital “non-civilization” in which we live?

My colleague from Banja Luka, Aleksandar Trifunović, whose car was scratched in front of his building the other day, nicely defined the situation we are living in. In today’s Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, anyone is free to attack, insult and threaten journalists, because they know they won’t suffer any consequences. The regimes in Belgrade and Banja Luka are promoting these attacks and threats. Let’s just remember how Velja Nevolja’s people ‘disciplined’ journalists during the first inauguration of Aleksandar Vučić. They were not there because they loved Vučić, but because they were part of that government, which they listened to and did what they ordered them to do.

Why are the EU representatives not more critical of the Serbian authorities regarding the suppression of media freedoms and threats made to journalists?

You should ask them that question, not me. Honestly, it’s not

clear to me either. It seems to me that all of them together couldn’t care less about freedom and democracy in Serbia and that the only thing that matters is that Vučić delivers to them what they appointed him for after Boris Tadić refused to abolish Serbia’s parallel institutions in Kosovo. On the other hand, Serbia today does not have a proper opposition on which the EU would rely. The reason why we don’t have the proper opposition is that the EU had allowed Vučić to destroy it.

How difficult is it for small local media to break into the national media scene? You are one of the shining examples of this, when you started your programme “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (“Dobar, Loš, Zao”) on Šabac TV.

Local media no longer exist. I can count the local media outlets that are not under the control of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on the fingers of one hand. The same applies to news websites. There are several dozen untainted journalists in Serbia today, and all the rest are mouthpieces of the ruling party. The situation locally is even worse, because colleagues

who work locally have no one to turn to for help.

What is the secret behind the media scene in Šabac and the town in general considering that Šabac used to be a beacon of light and was unaffected by the ruling regime back in the day?

Freedom is the secret. There are no taboos and everybody is allowed to express their opinion.

I remember when Tomislav Nikolić was our guest before he became the country’s president. We greeted each other in a normal fashion and later talked. I jokingly complained to him

about the constant pressure and attacks of the then-head of the SNS branch in Šabac. Nikolić gave this man such a verbal slap that he immediately stopped harassing me and would not answer my calls to this day. Aleksandar Martinović was also our guest. I have never cited the words he used to criticise and condemn Vučić and Nikolić in my columns or public appearances. I asked him what if you happen to join the SNS one day? He answered with “there is no chance”.

It is very difficult to implement media freedoms in Serbia. Do you think they exist elsewhere or are there just different types of pressure on the media?

Being a journalist is not easy, wherever you live. Some form of censorship exists, probably everywhere, but in normal countries, there are journalists, not municipal politicians, that decide on editorial policy. That’s the difference. It’s up to them to try and stop us, and it’s up to us to fight back. There is another very important thing I would like to mention and that is financial independence. When journalists know that they can do their job well and that they will receive a decent salary these are a good foundation for them to do their job properly. As long as journalists depend financially on a political party, we will continue sitting at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak.

IT IS UP TO THEM TO TRY AND STOP US, AND IT’S UP TO US TO FIGHT BACK

© nova.rs

Sultan Who Loved Opera

The Sultanate of Oman, sandwiched between the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the mainland and Iran on the other side of the sea, looks completely different from all the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, thanks mostly to Qaboos ibn Said el Said, the controversial but progressive Sultan who ruled the country for exactly 50 years

by Robert Čoban

When I was in Zanzibar four years ago, I heard about the gruesome details of the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, which I wrote about for Vreme weekly (no. 1464, January 2019) in the article titled “On the Beaches of the Forgotten Genocide”.

During the Zanzibar Revolution, on January 12, 1964, Sultan Jamshid Bin Abdullah of the Omani royal family, which had ruled the island since 1698 (together with the British from 1890 to 1963), was overthrown. It is also interesting to note that in 1840, the Sultan of Oman moved the seat of his dynasty from Muscat in Oman to Zanzibar, thousands of miles away,

similar to when the Portuguese royal family fled from Napoleon and moved to Brazil in 1807.

This revolution was also special in that it is known as the only genocide in history that was almost entirely recorded on camera, thanks to a team

Italians managed to capture incredible scenes from the helicopter, which they later included in the film. We see endless columns of Arab civilians marching along roads between palm trees and looking like a giant white snake; when the helicopter approaches, armed

SULTAN QABOOS CAME TO POWER IN 1970 WHEN, WITH THE HELP OF THE BRITISH, HE OVERTHREW HIS FATHER SAID BIN TAIMUR (WHO RULED FROM 1932 TO 1970)

of Italian documentarians who were filming the film Africa Addio, dedicated to the decolonization of the Black Continent, who happened to be there. The

black guards are seen escorting them out; a little later, groups of a hundred people are separated and sent to pre-prepared shallow pits in which they were

Photo: Turandot Opera © The Royal Opera House Muscat

Photo: Sultan Qaboos © Wikimedia

thrown after they were killed. One of those who escaped this genocide was Farrokh Bulsara, who would later become the world-famous Freddie Mercury.

These were the images that raced through my head when my wife, I and our company disembarked last week at the port of Matrah near Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. Like several other institutions and toponyms in the country, the port is named after Qaboos ibn Said el Said, the controversial but progressive sultan who ruled the country for exactly 50 years.

We go through the usual rejection of offers from local salesmen that is so common in places like this. First, they offer you an official “hop-on hop-off” city sightseeing bus for 75 euros per person. A little further down is the first round of taxi drivers who offer a three-hour long sightseeing tour for the price of 100 euros per car with four people in. Then we finally reach the taxi driver at the very exit of the port with whom we agreed on the price of 60 euros per car, an acceptable 15 euros per person.

The first stop of our visit is the Grand Mosque, which, you guessed it, is named after Sultan Qaboos, who ordered its construction in 1992. Officially opened in 2001, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque accommodates 25,000 worshipers and has five minarets, the tallest of which is 90 metres. It is made

of 300,000 tonnes of stone with doors and windows made of wood and glass. The large “men’s

Women in our group were given headscarves and the men, who wore short trousers, could

THE ACT ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ACTS SULTAN QABOOS SIGNED AFTER COMING TO POWER

hall” accommodates 6,500 worshipers, while the smaller “women’s hall” can take 750.

rent an Arabic caftan dress for 8 euros. The first thing we see are large areas covered in flowers

and water. Ivo Andrić’s words come to mind: “It is difficult to find a building in the Orient that is entirely beautiful and clean, and that one has no objections about. But, on the other hand, there is no building in the East that, no matter how dilapidated and neglected it is, does not have at least an inch of green gardens, or a fountain of living water, or just a single pot of carefully tended fuchsias or floribunda roses”.

The Persian carpet in the Grand Hall has as many as 1,700,000,000 knots, spans 4,343 square metres and weighs 21 tonnes. It took the Iran Carpet Company four years to make the carpet. It was once the largest carpet in the world, but after the construction of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, it fell to second place. Above the carpet and the worshipers hangs a 14-metre-high chandelier (the work of the Italian company Faustig). It weighs 8.5 tonnes and contains 600,000 crystals and 1,122 halogen light bulbs.

The next stop on our visit is The Royal Opera House Muscat which from the outside is not as impressive as the one in Sydney, for instance, but its interior leaves you breathless. A guided tour of the Opera costs 8 euros.

The opera building is located in the street which, of course, bears the name of Sultan Qaboos, who was a great lover of

Photo: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque © Robert Čoban

Photos: Left - Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque © Robert Čoban; Right - chandelier in the Great Mosque © Robert Čoban

opera and art in general. The opera has 1,100 seats and was officially opened by the Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo where he sang Turandot. Andrea Bocelli and Renée Fleming performed on this opera stage too. While walking us around the spacious hall, the guide shows us the old and rare instruments that the sultan received as gifts, some of them dating back to the 18th century.

The driver suggests that we extend our tour by another hour because we still have to visit the Al Alam Palace, one of Sultan’s six residences. We can do everything else on foot. The palace was built 200 years ago by Sultan bin Ahmed who ruled Oman, the ancestor of the current ruler Sultan Haitham. The palace has a blue and gold façade and is not open to the public, but it is possible to walk up to the fence and photograph it. Next to the palace are the Al-Mirani and Al-Jalali fortresses, which were built by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

By the way, Sultan Qaboos came to power in 1970 when, with the help of the British, he overthrew his father Said Bin Taimur (who ruled from 1932 to 1970). While the deposed Sultan was spending his last days at the Dorchester Hotel in London, his son was consolidating his power in the country.

In addition to the reforms he implemented, Sultan Qaboos had

exquisite taste in the arts. He loved classical music and was a particular fan of the organ. He married his cousin in 1976, but the childless marriage ended in divorce three years later. The

Nevertheless, Qaboos will be remembered for the fact that, in a turbulent environment (civil war has been going on in neighbouring Yemen for years), he managed to make his

come for negotiations. When he overthrew his father in 1970, Qaboos ascended the throne of an impoverished sultanate rife with poverty, illiteracy and disease. The act on the abolition of slavery was one of the first acts he signed after coming to power. Life expectancy in Oman was 40 years and there were only 9.6 kilometres of paved roads in the entire country at the time he became a ruler. Today, life expectancy is 70 years, and over 90% of the population is literate.

The day after Sultan’s death, an envelope was opened in which Qaboos, who had no offspring, named his successor. The current Sultan Haitham bin Tariq is 67 years old, and has two sons and two daughters. The sultan’s older son is also the current minister of culture, sports and youth.

article on Qaboos’ death in 2020, which appeared in London’s The Times, speculated that the sultan might have been gay.

country the “Switzerland of the Arabian Peninsula” and a diplomatic port where representatives of the warring parties

We ended the ride at the souk (market) in the port of Matrah, from where, after a short sightseeing tour, we went to the Bait al Luban Omani restaurant, which was recommended to me a few hours earlier by an acquaintance from Novi Sad whom I happened to meet at the Grand Mosque. While we were enjoying Omani specialities, especially shuwa (finely chopped roast lamb served

OMAN LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO ABU DHABI, DUBAI OR DOHA, WHICH FEATURE MULTI-STOREY SKYSCRAPERS

Photo: © The Royal Opera House Muscat

Photo: Soukh Entrance © Robert Čoban

with rice) and Omani ginger coffee similar to the one I had at a place on Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, I got a call from Nenad Valentik, a colleague I worked with 20 years ago, who has been living and working in Oman for the past 10 years.

“Your flag flutters anywhere where someone is happy for you”, Djordje Balašević sang in his song “Živeti Slobodno” (“Living Freely”) and he was right. The greatest joy is when in each of the cities you arrive at, you have a friend with whom to share a bottle of wine and who will guide you through the side streets to the port when you are late for embarking a ship.

Nenad is waiting for us in front of the restaurant dressed in a white caftan, with an Arab cap on his head. He has grown a beard and looks like an authentic Omani. As we drive through

skyscrapers. It looks like “the Orient as it once was”, to paraphrase the famous advertisement for the Croatian coastline that aired on CNN (“The Mediterranean as it once was”).

palm trees in the glare of the afternoon sun were the perfect setting to end a day in the Sultanate. I couldn’t resist it so I went down the long stairs to the shore and fought for several minutes with the waves coming from the Indian Ocean as I tried to swim.

the suburbs of Muscat, Nenad explains how the country has long banned the construction of buildings that would tower over the mosque minarets, making Oman looks completely different to Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Doha, which feature multi-storey

Since there were less than two hours left until the departure of our cruise ship, we went to the terrace of the Crown Plaza Hotel, which offers perhaps one of the most beautiful views in this part of the world. The waves of the Gulf of Oman, sand and

When we arrived at the port, they were already calling out our names and cabin numbers over the public address system. We jumped over the “bridge” in the Costa Toscana like Jack and his mate in The Titanic. In my pocket, instead of a fridge magnet that we didn’t get around to buying, I had a few seashells that I found on the beach.

THE WAVES OF THE GULF OF OMAN, SAND AND PALM TREES IN THE GLARE OF THE AFTERNOON SUN WERE THE PERFECT SETTING TO END A DAY IN THE SULTANATE

Photo: Lamb © Robert Čoban

Photo: Omani Coffee © Robert Čoban

Photo: Omani Gulf © Robert Čoban

United To Fight Against Human Trafficking

I see education as a mission, as part of the journey to a freer world

The global ambassador of the Unitas Foundation, Ana Krstajić, is a young woman and mother, working in the world of influential people from America, Europe and Serbia, dedicated to the Unitas Foundation since 2014. In 2014, thanks to her personal and team effort, she provided several houses for families in Serbia, whose homes were destroyed in floods. A year later, Unitas started to focus on human trafficking prevention and education and Ana became the Foundation’s global ambassador. In an interview with Diplomacy&Commerce, she reveals what challenges she faces every day to implement her idea of a safer world.

What are the Unitas Foundation’s mission and vision in Serbia?

Our vision is clear and uncompromising, and that is to live in a world devoid of human trafficking and exploitation. We resolutely defined an almost utopian vision, because only when facing the horrors that victims of human trafficking have survived, do you realize that there are no compromises that can be, conditionally speaking, less ambitious. I truly believe that educating parents and children carries the greatest power in creating a safer world and I am very proud of the personal and team contributions towards accomplishing such a great goal. I understand every education as a mission, as part of the journey to a freer world.

In your effort to implement Unitas’ goals, whose support is most important to you?

Unitas’ project that focuses on protecting students from human trafficking was implemented with the support of experts from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking. I have to single out those two institutions as the most relevant. Under the auspices of the mentioned project, we designed and printed a manual for the educational sector, which is intended for educators. The film “The

ANA KRSTAJIĆ

The global ambassador of the Unitas Foundation

Observers” (“Posmatrači“) is an integral part of this project, which depicts three separate stories based on true events. The film focuses on the ways young people are groomed and abused through various types of exploitation. We have great cooperation with the Ministry of Telecommunications in terms of joint education aimed at teachers and children, which is related to knowing the risks and behaving safely on the Internet. Together with the Ministry of Tourism, we plan to hold a training session on how to recognize what constitutes human trafficking in the hotel industry. Without tooting our horn too much, I have to say that our ideas and results are extraordinary and this motivates us to constantly create new ideas and to keep up with all trends in technology development along with the risks that this development carries.

Is the topic of human trafficking sufficiently talked about in Serbia and what is the current approach to it?

This topic is still very abstract and insufficiently talked about in the media, except through impermissible sensationalistic reporting which only goal is to ensure a large number of shares and clicks when a tragedy occurs. For this reason and with the support of the EU Info Centre in Serbia, Unitas held free lectures for citizens. Time and time again, parents are struck by the fact that the physical presence of a child in the same room as them does not mean that the child is safe. Every time a child goes online, they are exposed to the rules of a completely new world, a “new planet” where there are more than 750,000 predators every given second.

You hold training sessions to educate people in different areas so that they recognize human trafficking when it occurs. What do these training sessions look like and what doubts do the participants face?

With every training session, we try to reach the most vulnerable population, meaning our children. We educate young people, educators, hoteliers… In

cooperation with the Serbian branch of the Red Cross, we educate children from 3 to 5 years old through age-appropriate games. We are present at children’s fairs where we always have our own stand, as well as regional children’s basketball tournaments and throughout our educational system - from elementary schools to faculties, which also support us by understanding the importance of education in this area.

What challenges do regional organizations and individuals with whom you cooperate face? What good example from practice do you think should be adopted and applied in Serbia, relating to the fight against human trafficking?

The biggest challenges concern the rapid development of technology, so we constantly need an update. Human trafficking, from the grooming stage to the actual sale of a person, takes place on the Internet, and traffickers always have new and more innovative ways to approach children and young people. The second challenge lies in the fact that, due to personnel changes in the institutions, we have to constantly re-present the content and goals of the projects

logical and emotional integrity. For instance, psychological violence, the so-called cyberbullying, as one of the risks on the Internet, can cause serious injuries to young people from which it is difficult to recover, and entering the chain of human trafficking means a complete loss of free will and personal identity. A victim of human trafficking lives in a world of the most brutal psychological and physical violence which is almost impossible to escape. Safe online behaviour should become an important part of the pedagogical culture, upbringing and education. This is a growing need of all people in all societies, which is why the Unitas Foundation directs all activities and actions precisely towards this goal.

What are the advantages of the Internet and social networks in the fight against human trafficking?

Social media are the basic platform for finding victims, but at the same time, they are the key places for education. During the pandemic, we launched the Surf Safely campaign in which influential figures from Serbian culture and theatre, who have a large following on

I became familiar with the unsuspected prevalence and horrors of this phenomenon. In the early days, I could not believe that anyone can be a victim of some form of exploitation, that human trafficking is not an accident that happens to some abstract person in a distant world and that human trafficking is an objective danger for all people, without exception.

What advice could you give to all of us when it comes to staying safe online?

First of all, a parent should not post photos of their children on vacation on social networks. Each child’s profile must be locked, nobody online should be able to locate or tag the child and the child should only have those people they know in real life as friends on social media. Posting photos of children from parks close to their place of residence, as well as photos showing the name of their school, should not be allowed. These are the basic premises that most parents and children do not adhere to due to ignorance of the problem, so the appeal for them to get educated on this topic is perhaps the most important.

What should everyone keep in mind when talking about human trafficking? What can potentially save us from trouble?

that were stopped in the implementation phase due to the restructuring of the institutions or re-election. Financial resources are generally a big problem because companies that invest in socially responsible business often do not make decisions about financing projects based on the priorities of the environment in which they operate. We cannot deal with talent development until we provide every parent and child with basic knowledge about primary safety and personal protection.

What does safe online behaviour imply?

It implies a possibility for a person not to be harmed, i.e. to preserve their physical, psycho-

social media, took part. They recorded educational clips every day which reached a huge number of children and young people. The regional campaign called Hope On is also ongoing. It takes place on social media and currently gathers 50 organizations from seven countries in the region. We created a special website - hopeon.today - for this campaign, where you can find all hotlines for victims and potential victims of human trafficking in Europe.

How much has your perception of this topic’s importance changed over the years?

Honestly, from the very beginning, I understood the importance of the topic, and over time

The first wrong step in potentially entering the chain of human trafficking is starting communication with an unknown person online, instantly trusting persons we do not know in the real world and sharing information from one’s private life. Every job ad abroad should be checked through the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR), the police and/ or at border crossings. Modelling agencies or sweepstakes that require entering personal information require special caution. The Internet provides unimagined opportunities for improving human life in modern society, but only on the condition that we know the rules of safe online behaviour. That’s why Unitas’ comic book for children is called “On the net, not in the net”. This slogan also applies to adults.

SOCIAL MEDIA ARE THE BASIC PLATFORM FOR FINDING VICTIMS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THEY ARE THE KEY PLACES FOR EDUCATION

Culture is FEMALE

Minister Gojković forwarded to the Museum of Yugoslavia an initiative to establish a Women’s Museum under the auspices of that institution

On the eve of International Women’s Day, the Ministry of Culture and the Belgrade City Museum hosted a traditional gathering of directors of cultural institutions, artists and representatives of the civil sector on March 3, with the topic of discussion being the position of women in culture.

At the working breakfast titled “Culture is Female”, held in the Spiritina House in Zemun, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and President of the Government’s Coordinating Body for Gender Equality, Maja Gojković, said that women could only improve their position in society by being united and highlighted the fact that the importance of women in culture was particularly noticeable.

On the occasion, Minister Gojković noted that she forwarded to the Museum of Yugoslavia an initiative to establish a Women’s Museum under the auspices of that institution.

“The idea is to dedicate it to all the women who were, are, and will be involved in culture. This is a global trend, and we have nothing to be ashamed of. I think it will be one of the most

prestigious and most visited museums in the future”, said Ms Gojković.

Minister Gojković also pointed out that the visibility of the role and importance of women throughout history, as well as their modern contribution to culture and society as a whole, was still not adequate, and in order to make themselves more visible, they needed to gather scattered and neglected data and testimonies about women’s lives and their contribution to creativity in one place.

According to Ms Gojković, the goal of the Women’s Museum’s activities in Serbia would be to inform the public about the achievements and creativity of women from these areas, especially bearing in mind that similar museums abroad play an important role in recognizing and promoting the contributions, experiences and perspectives of women throughout history and in the modern era.

Ms Gojković pointed out that the legal framework in Serbia has been significantly improved in the last few years, that an increasing number of women were represented in politics and leadership positions and in

Photo: Jelena Medaković, Director of City Belgrade Museum

terms of culture, we could say that “women absolutely rule”. “It’s fascinating to see how much the culture in Serbia depends on women”, Ms Gojković said and added we have every right to say that „culture is female“, which is also the motto of the now traditional gathering on the occasion of March 8th, the International Women’s Day.

She reminded that the latest research data published by the Institute for Study of Cultural Development showed that in national cultural institutions, the highest number of employees - 59 percent of them - were women, and in local cultural institutions, the percentage was even higher - 60 percent.

Pointing out that International Women’s Day evokes memories of all the brave women

our, but the whole year if we want to make big changes in all life segments.

that came before us, Ms Gojković said that that date was the best reminder that only united we could improve women’s position in society. „In modern times, women are fighting for their rights in a completely different way. We have really achieved a lot”, said Minister Gojković who also noted that women should not have only one day celebrated in their hon-

Ivana Bašičević Antić, PhD, Director of the Museum of Naive and Marginal Art, also addressed those present:

“In my opinion, Nancy Spero’s approach to women’s issues made her a quintessential fighter for women’s equality. This artist portrayed women as heroic figures and free actors and not as fragile victims. By evok-

ing goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology, her art impresses the viewers with scenes depicting powerful women. She was also quite an active participant and took concrete steps. Thus, by establishing a gallery, she facilitated the creation of a space where women artists and herself could exhibit, which implied taking her rights into her own hands. At the same time, it is very important that striving to be equal with men is not viewed as a fight against men, but rather as finding our own ways. Spero said: “I want my work to be strong, but not in a masculine sense.” Powerful, she said, in the sense that it carries a certain message and a message can be powerful.”

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT STRIVING TO BE EQUAL WITH MEN IS NOT VIEWED AS A FIGHT AGAINST MEN, BUT RATHER AS FINDING OUR OWN WAYS

THIS RENEWED EVENT IS BRINGING BACK THE OLD SPIRIT OF THE SUBURBIUM OF NOVI SAD

The Petrovaradin Carnival

Renewed after Eight Decades Break

Experiencing the Vibrant Carnival Culture in Novi Sad

The Croatian Cultural and Educational Society

“Jelačić” and the Association of Citizens “Petrovaradin media” renewed the tradition of the “Petrovaradin Carnival” this year after a break of eight decades. The main event was the Great Carnival Parade, which started on February 18 at 1 p.m. from the Church of St. George to the carnival stage, which officially marked the opening of this event. Orchestras, majorettes, and troops from different parts of Serbia paraded through the streets of Podgrađe of the Petrovaradin Fortress. According to Deputy Mayor Aleksandar Petrović, Petrovaradin has nurtured the tradition and customs of carnival gatherings for a long time, and now this renewed event is bringing back the old spirit of the Suburbium

of Novi Sad. “The very word carnival and the events themselves are not in the least a foreign concept to Novi Sad. For years, with certain interruptions, we have had the Samba Carnival, the Mimosa Carnival, and the

Children’s New Year’s Carnival before every New Year. I have no doubts that the enthusiasm and desire to promote this carnival will succeed,” Petrović said. Deputy Provincial Secretary for Culture Goran Kaurić

added that this carnival is extremely important and brings a new tourist event to Novi Sad. “Petrovaradin and this small town in which we are located is in itself a monument with great touristic capacities, and I am convinced that just like this, through this event in the coming years, because this should become a tradition, there will be more and more people visiting Novi Sad who will come to such events,” Kaurić pointed out. During the ten days of the festival, numerous exhibitions and workshops were organized in several places in the city. The Petrovaradin Carnival will apply for entry into the Federation of European Carnival Cities, and the foundation for membership is precisely its maintenance, which began in the thirties of the last century.

Spectacular Races in Three Serbian Cities for the Paris Olympic Games Qualifications

Tijana Bogićević’s concert as a special treat for visitors of the big race on the Petrovaradin Fortress

The Novi Sad Cycling Club and Serbia Epic are pushing the limits and after organizing very successful international cycling races, they are continuing with the same tradition. The new cycling race will win competitors points for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

After the sole international UCI cycling race held last year in Serbia, the Serbia Epic series, which also consists of qualification races for the Olympic Games in Paris, starts with three races on the Olympic track on Andrevlje, close to the Ceptor Hotel - Yason C3 on March 24, Djak Sport Andrevlje XCO on March 25 and Andrevlje XCO C1 on March 26. The series continues at the most attractive European location, the Petrovaradin Fortress, at the Serbian Post Offices/Petrovaradin Fortress Bike Festival, from April 15 to 16, then moves to Požarevac from April 21 to 22, where the UCI international MTB race will

be held for the first time. On April 23, the Serbia Epic series continues with the Salcano Turkish-Serbian Friendship Cup in Košutnjak in Belgrade.

The Serbia Epic series opens with a race on Andrevlje, which will bring 60 points to the winner. After Andrevlje, the series continues at the Serbian Post Offices/Petrovaradin Fortress bike festival, which will be held at one of the most attractive locations for mountain biking in Europe - the Petrovaradin Fortress – the location of the 2021

pete in Novi Sad. In addition to the race, there will be numerous events surrounding it, including a big concert and a traditional push-pull race for the youngest. The Tastes of Vojvodina organization will have booths with local products and delicious delicacies at the race, which makes this race a family event. The Petrovaradin fortress bike festival will be a real sporting treat both for competitors and visitors, as cyclists will compete on a trail that stretches from the ramparts, through tunnels to bridges.

FOR EACH ATHLETE WHO WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE RACES, THE CLUB WILL PLANT ONE TREE IN NOVEMBER 2023

European Championship. Two C1 races will take place during the Festival, as well as a race for the Cup of Serbia. Twenty teams from abroad and 200 cyclists from Serbia will com-

“UCI races, which are also considered qualifying races for the Olympic Games, are very appealing to foreign cyclists. In addition to professional races, we are also holding the Cup of

At the end of the event, the Serbian Post Offices/Petrovaradin Fortress bike festival will organize a concert by Tijana Bogićević, one of the most famous pop singers in Serbia and a former representative of Serbia at the Eurovision Song Contest. After a series of very successful concerts, we are looking forward to the event’s visitors enjoying Tijana’s great songs, vocals and her well-known hit songs “Hajde onda ništa”, “Tražim”, “Čudo”, “Blizu”, “Bezuslovno”, “U redu”, “Širina”, “Gotovo”… The musical programme will also feature the famous Novi Sad duo the Krstić Brothers, as well as DJWD 87-Darko Vajs.

Serbia races and special attention is paid to the youngest, who will have the opportunity to try out the GurGur race. Children entertainers are provided too,” said Nemanja Vajs, director of the Serbia Epic series.

The Novi Sad Cycling Club is very proud of the Serbia Epic series’ sustainability, with a focus on environmental protection. For each athlete who will participate in the races, the club will plant one tree in November 2023. The plan is that, in the next 10 years, more than 100,000 trees will be planted to create a Serbia Epic forest as a legacy for future generations. Serbia Epic is a unique sports-business-tourism concept that aims to affirm Serbia and tourist destinations in Serbia by including it in sporting tourism destinations.

The Serbia Epic series was supported by the City of Novi Sad, the City of Belgrade and the City of Požarevac, the City Administration for Sports and Youth, the City Administration for Culture, the City Administration for the Economy of Novi Sad, the Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth, the Serbian Post Offices, Auto Čačak-Škoda Serbia, Heineken, Halkbank a.d. Belgrade, Capriolo, Yason, Salcano, Đak Sport, Akov brandy, Sim Novi Sad, Dasigo, Turkish Embassy in Belgrade, Color Media Communications and AS FM radio station.

© Aleksandar Miškov

by Miloš Mihajilica

Serbia calling

Lobster Phone Ringing at Eurovision

After last year’s victory of Konstrakta at the Pesma za Evroviziju and her 5th position at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Italy, all eyes of the Serbian public were focused on this year’s national festival, where as many as 16 participants competed in the grand final.

One thing was noticeable: many new, young artists showed considerable courage, talent, and attitude that many popular singers in our region do not have. As every year, a couple of favorites were singled out, which were also discussed a lot in the media days before the final itself, but no one could predict with certainty who would be the representative of our country at the competition in Liverpool this year.

The winner was chosen by the expert jury, giving 50% of the votes, while the other half of the votes came from the audience. After an unusual vote by the jury, the votes of the audience decided that the successor of Konstrakta at this year’s Eurovision would be Luke Black with the song Samo mi se spava (I only want to sleep).

Young musician Luka Ivanović, better known as Luke Black, has been in the music industry since 2012 and has released three EPs during this time. Interesting fact is that he was shortlisted in 2016 to possibly represent Serbia at Eurovision but didn’t end up doing so.

As the title of the song suggests, Luka wanted to show with his message and performance that, unfortunately, in a world full of bad things and troubles, people choose to close their eyes and

sleep through what is happening, also alluding to the coronavirus pandemic, during which the artist wrote this song.

It seems that last year’s victory of the song In Corpore Sano by Konstrakta encouraged many artists in Serbia to take a new direction in music and to express criticism towards the state of society we live in today, which you have to admit is extremely brave, especially when

the comfort zone, more conceptual and different from the bad musical taste that has unfortunately become mainstream.

Can Luke Black repeat last year’s success?

First of all, it is important to point out that as much as some circles in Serbia say that Eurovision is an irrelevant competition that brings nothing to our country, in reality it is not so.

KONSTRAKTA ENCOURAGED MANY ARTISTS IN SERBIA TO TAKE A NEW DIRECTION IN MUSIC AND TO EXPRESS CRITICISM TOWARDS THE STATE OF SOCIETY WE LIVE IN TODAY

it comes from the younger generations who seem bolder and ready to fight for their rights and vision.

After the victory, Luke Black expectedly faced criticism from the Serbian media and certain public figures who assessed his performance as satanic, as something that cannot represent “Orthodox traditional Serbia” at any cost. Konstrakta received similar condemnations last year, but what is commendable is that despite all that, Serbia showed that it still appreciates something that is outside

The very fact that the previous final of this competition in Turin was watched by as many as 2.5 million people in front of TV screens in Serbia, shows that people are interested in this kind of show and that those patriotic emotions are still triggered on the night of Eurovision when we show the desire in each of us to achieve the best possible placement and for Europe to hear the Serbian language.

Serbia has enjoyed success in the Contest since its debut; it has only failed to qualify to the

Grand Final 3 times, missing out on a spot in the Grand Final by a small margin on each occasion and when Serbia won the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, it became only the second country to win the competition with a debut entry since Switzerland’s victory at the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956.

After a few years of poor success in the grand final, Konstrakta managed to enter the top 5 last year, after which the public in Serbia welcomed her as a true winner and as someone who additionally regained interest in the grand competition.

The song Samo mi se spava is quite conceptual, as was the performance that accompanied the song at this year’s national festival, so it is possible that a certain group of expert judges at Eurovision will not like it, bearing in mind that they prefer classic pop compositions that have a certain structure and big vocal moments.

What is new this year is that in the semi-final evenings, only the votes of the audience decide who will pass to the Grand Final, and taking into account the reactions of fans from abroad, the Serbian representative has a great chance of repeating last year’s success.

There is still a little time left until the month of May when the 67th Eurovision Song Contest takes place. In the meantime, Luke Black announced a surprise performance in Liverpool that will surely generate interest in Europe and show that a country like Serbia has something to show and send a strong powerful message that we should wake up and let our voice be heard.

Lost Architecture

A solo exhibition by Stefan Petronijević

THE STEPENIŠTE GALLERY, BELGRADE

This series of paintings, drawings, and collages present memories and notes about a “pearl” of modern architecture in Kneza Miloša Street. The building of the German Embassy in Belgrade, designed by architect Bogdan Ignjatović, was built in 1979. This is the author who had a lot of significant and representative buildings of Belgrade at the time behind him, such as Hotel Slavija, on the square of the same name, the Executive Council of Serbia in Nemanja Street, and the Gallery of frescoes. The German embassy is one of the examples of unfortunate practices in the field of protecting Serbia’s modernist architectural heritage and misunderstanding its cultural heritage. During his studies in Belgrade, the author used to walk through Kneza Miloša street almost every day, next to the embassy building, and was a silent observer of its disappearance. For this reason, he had the need to record what he saw in his waywith pictures and drawings that testify to the closedness, absence of life, and disappearance. The exhibition is open to visitors every day until April 3, 2023. (including weekends) from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

22 APRIL 2023

BELGRADE SPRING 2023 FESTIVAL

The tradition of holding the prestigious entertainment and pop music festival “BELGRADE SPRING” continues. The festival will be held on April 22 at the site of the former Hall of Dom Sindikata, which is today known as MTS Dvorana. The well-known music festival, which after a long series of years, was renewed in 2022, in the place where it was born, will be held in the organization of Mts Dvorana.

21 APRIL 2023

Big return of Eros Ramazzotti

Italian pop-rock musician, singer, and songwriter, Eros Ramazzotti, marks his great return with his new album “BATTITO INFINITO”, the world tour of the same name, and a grand concert on April 21, 2023. from 9 PM in the Stark Arena. An amazing adventure, a world tour called “BATTITO INFINITO” will take place from September 2022 to May 2023, and the maestro Eros Ramazzotti will visit many cities around the world and embark on a real musical journey with his army of fans.

The Belgrade Philharmonic’s On the right track

The Belgrade Philharmonic’s concert season “On the Right Track” takes the audience on a promenade through different parts of the world. The orchestra is moving around the world through 25 concerts, accompanied by the best international soloists and conductors, with each concert carrying the name of a city. Each concert takes place in Kolarac Concert Hall.

07 APRIL 2023

Beijing

The program conducted by Daniel Raiskin called Beijing opens with the latest work by the Chinese-American composer Tan Dun, Three Muses in Video Game. This concerto for trombone and orchestra, inspired by the sounds of Chinese instruments, was premiered in November of 2021 by Jörgen van Rijen. The second part of the concert will feature Song of the Earth, described as Mahler’s “greatest symphony” – an orchestral song cycle for two voices and orchestra.

21 APRIL 2023

Buenos Aires

After several cancellations of the most famous accordion ambassador, Ksenija Sidorova, the audience will finally hear her performing Piazzolla’s Aconcagua concerto. Nil Venditti also gives the feminine stamp, a young Turkish-Italian conductor with the suite by Manuel de Falla El amor brujo, as well as Argentine works, Libertango by Piazzolla and Dances from Estancia by A. Ginastera.

© The Belgrade Philharmonic’s

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