During 7 days from August 22 to August 28, 14 films were screened, out of which 8 were premiers and 6 were re-runs. The Mayor of Niš Mr. Miloš Simonović greeted the actors and the citizens at the opening of the festival with the words: "I would like to greet all the actors who will be here with us during the festival. I hope that this year the festival will satisfy the criteria of unique Niš public who has always known how to salute the actors. Niš Film Festival has been cherished for

many years as unique cultural manifestation. I am glad that Niš audience turns up in such great numbers every year". Niš City Mayor greeted the mayors and the presidents of 35 cities and municipalities from all over Serbia saying that their presence proved the national importance of this unique festival dedicated to the achievements of the actors. "I am proud that the City of Niš is the host of the festival which lasts for so long and which is

Summer stage at Niš Fortress was the venue of the 44th Niš Film Festival.

44th NIŠ FILM FESTIVAL

44th NIŠ FILM FESTIVAL

44th NIŠ FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS

26th INTERNATIONAL NIŠVILLE JAZZ FESTIVAL

NIŠ CONTINUES REALISATION OF THE REGIONAL PROJECTS

JOINT PROJECTS OF NIŠ CITY AND GADŽIN HAN

MUNICIPALITY

REGIONAL COOPERATION – CONDITION FOR FASTER

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

LET'S TRAVEL TO EUROPE

GUILLOTINE OF REGULATIONS

VIRTUAL ENTERPRISES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

NEW CALL CENTER AT NIŠ CITY ER DEPARTMENT

THE CAVE OF CERJE – NIŠTOURISM POTENTIAL

PHOTOFINISH

THIRD INTERNATIONAL CARTOON MOVIE COLONY FOR

CHILDREN

COOPERATION BETWEEN NIŠ AND OHRID

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44th NIŠ FILM FESTIVAL AWARDSdedicated to the actors. From this moment on the City of Niš becomes officially the city of the actors", said Mayor Simonović on the occasion of handing out the keys to the city to the festival jury president Mrs. Dara Džokić. Mrs. Gorica Popović, the art director of the festival, said that Niš Film Festival was the rare tradition and that festival managed to survive due to the loyalty of the public and to good films. Upon the request from Mrs. Popović, 3000 film lovers opened their yellow, green, blue and red umbrellas which were the trademark of this year festival. The ceremony of the official opening was complemented by the fireworks and appearance of tens of actors on the stage to take a bow before the Niš City audience.

The glamorous festival atmosphere was enhanced by the symbolic opening of the Niš fortress summer stage gates and the red carpet placed from the gates to the stage itself. The first to appear on the red carpet was the Niš City Mayor Mr. Simonović and the president of the festival jury Mrs. Dara Džokić. The opening of the festival was broadcasted directly on the national TV station.

The awards the Emperor Constantine and the Empress Helen were awarded to Gordan Kičić and Milica Mihajlović for best male and female leading roles. The award for exceptional male role was given to Miloš Samolov and the award for exceptional female role was given to Mirjana Karanović. The awards for best supporting male role went to Petar Božović as well as the award "Radmila Savićević and Žika Milenković" by Niš National Theatre. Jelena Djokić won the best supporting female award. The awards for best first time appearance in the film was given to Milena Predić.

The award of the public for the best actors's pair was given to Sloboda Mićalović and Ivan Bosiljčić. The award Pavle Vujisić for the greatest contribution to the domestic film was given to Bogdan Diklić.

44th Niš �lm festival jury awarded the festival grand prix Naisa to Lazar Ristovski for the overall best performance in this year Serbian cinematography production.

City of Nišwww.ni.rs

NIŠ FILM FESTIVAL PHOTO GALLERY

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26th INTERNATIONAL NIŠVILLEJAZZ FESTIVALThe international Nišville Jazz Festival has begun in the City of Niš.

From August 13 to August 16, 2009, 40 bands from over 24 countries performed in the open air, opposite Studio 77 within the Fortress. Two stages with 3.000 seats for music lovers hosted about 300 musicians during the festival. The third stage erected in front of Belgrade Gate hosted 13 artists and all visitors free of charge. At the very day of Nišville, at noon, there was a parade of all of the Nišville bands and musicians in front of Business Center Kalča. In the evening, there was also a special program for the children who performed near the Mountain-eers' Club within the Fortress. Belgrade jazzist group performed the compositions from the famous Disney cartoons for the youngest ones.

Somebody who has been a director of RTB Big Band for years, Mr. Vojislav Bubiša Simić, had the honour to proclaim the 26th Nišville Jazz Festival officially open and was granted the Prize for Life Achievement. The first evening of Nišville Festival was dedicated to the Dutch sax player Candy Dulfer and her special guest, the American keyboard player and singer, Chance Howard, the founder of The Time band and a member of the legendary Prince's band, New Power Generation. During a four day festival, the jazz lovers in the City of Niš listened to 40 bands, among which was Darko Rundek and his Cargo Orchestra, dedicating a special composition to a late jazz legend, Šaban Bajramović; Boban and Marko Marković's brass band; followed by the Arabic legend known worldwide, the Egyptian drummer Yеhyа Кhаlil; the pioneers of the British jazz scene, Incognito; and at the end the honour to close the Festival was granted to a five time Grammy Award winner Randy Brecker.

Photo by Photo�nish, see page 7

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NIŠ CONTINUES REALISATION OF THE REGIONAL PROJECTSThe Municipality of Soko Banja signed the Agreement on Communal Waste Disposal.

Niš City Mayor Miloš Simonović together with his associates visited the municipality of Gadžin Han. On this occasion the officials discussed the possibilities of cooperation on the implementation of the regional projects which would improve the overall development of the region. The president of Gadžin Han, Mr. Saša Djordjević, presented the economic and demographic situation in the municipality emphasizing that Gadžin Han was one of 40 least developed municipalities in Serbia and the cooperation with the City of Niš would be of extreme importance for Gadžin Han. On this occasion Mayor Simonović announced that one of the joint projects of Niš and Gadžin Han would be the opening of the regional landfill. The Mayor also mentioned that the common interests of two local administrations were the better regional development and utilizing of the potentials of mountains Suva Planina and Seličevica. The Mayor Simonović spoke about the commitment of Niš City to the implementation of the regional development policies and the realization of common regional interests. The common regional objective of all local self governments in the region should be the support to

By signing this Agreement, the municipality of Soko Banja joined the City of Niš and the municipalities of Doljevac, Gadžin Han, Merošina, Svrljig and Aleksinac, which signed this Agreement earlier.

The objective of the joint waste disposal management is establishing long term regional system of waste disposal management in the way which is the least harmful to the environment and to the health of present and future generations due to the rational usage of the resources and due to the respect of the contemporary principles in waste management.

On this occasion Niš City Mayor said that regional priority was finding the solution to the accumulated regional problems which were the consequence of the bad regional development policy in the past. Regional strategic plan for the joint regional waste management is in the process of developing and the expected the result is finding the most sustainable and the most efficient economic solution.

This regional plan represents the comprehensive programme document respecting the principles of integral waste management and all legal measures related to this area. The regional plan will cover the period of 10 years and it will be revised every 5 years.

JOINT PROJECTS OF NIŠ CITY AND GADŽIN HAN MUNICIPALITY

Тhe Мunicipality of Soko Banja

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REGIONAL COOPERATION – CONDITION FOR FASTER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Niš City Mayor Miloš Simonović with his associates visited the municipality of Merošina.

The management of Niš City and Merošina municipality management discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the implementation of the joint projects related to resolving issues of vital importance for the improvement of the life quality in both local communities. The issues of communal waste disposal, public transport in Merošina, water supply systems, the lake of Oblačina resort as tourism potential were discussed in details.

The Municipality of Merošina has at its disposal a lot of undeveloped land properties which could be utilised through the realisation of different projects together with the City of Niš.

Mayor Simonović suggested the joint approach in applying with joint projects at relevant institutions. He emphasized that the basic task of Niš region was to define the common regional interests and to create institutional frameworks for the development of the regional cooperation. The Mayor reiterated that the City of Niš remained committed to the promotion of the regional policies.

Merošina municipality representatives repeated that smaller municipalities in the region were dependent on the Niš City development and they spoke about the initiative from 2002 to incorporate the municipality of Merošina as Niš City municipality.

institutional efforts to achieve comprehensive and sustainable region development by creating healthy business environment and fertile ground for attracting direct foreign investments, networking and cooperating with other regional, national and international institutions.

The Municipality of Merošina

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Fifteen (15) students from the University of Niš travelled to European cities within the project - LET'S TRAVEL TO EUROPE. The project was organised and implemented by European Movement in Serbia in cooperation with the Austrian Embassy and the City of Belgrade. 200 best students from whole Serbia who have never traveled to Europe before were selected to visit European cities of their choice and become familiar with the culture, cities and citizens of European countries and institutions. The City of Niš supported 15 best students from Niš with financial assistance of 200 euros per student. The financial assistance was provided with the help from the donors, i.e., AIK Bank from Niš. The long term cooperation between AIK Bank and the City has resulted many times in positive actions to the benefit of the citizens. Supporting the students in their first travel to Europe is another proof of the successful cooperation between the local self government and business sector.

LET'S TRAVEL TO EUROPE

City of Nišwww.ni.rs

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GUILLOTINE OF REGULATIONSIFC team held the last out of seven planned focus groups with the representatives of the business and civil sector within the second phase of the project which was implemented jointly by IFC and the City of Niš.

This second phase refers to collecting suggestions, comments, complaints and recommendations from the representatives of the business community and its associations and from the representatives of civil sector which relate local and republic regulations. The citizens and businessmen were invited via internet, printed and electronic media to speak out and point to

business operations were discussed. These focus groups were very valuable since they provided the input for the simplification of the administrative procedures. The greatest number of remarks referred to the delays and unnecessary documentation. Some of the remarks were related to the attitude of the city and municipality clerks towards the clients.

inconveniences in obtaining the services from city and municipality departments. IFC team together with regional Chamber of Commerce from Niš organized seven focus groups which gathered 37 participants from business community and civil sector from July to August. The administrative procedures in the areas of civil construction, economy and

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The project will be implemented in 12 professional secondary schools: Secondary School of Electronics Nikola Tesla, Secondary School of Electronics Mija Stanimirović, Secondary School of Mechanics 15. maj, Secondary School of Polytechnics 12. februar, Seconadry School of Civil Engineering Neimar, Second-ary School of Culinary, Secondary School of Fashion and Beauty, Secondary School of Medicine, Secondary School of Art, Secondary School of Tourism and Secondary School of Trade.

Entrepreneurial Skills in Professional Secondary Schools which is realised through LDIB Programme. The project objective is building capacities of professional secondary schools so that they could be better prepared to respond to the needs of contemporary local labour market. Another objective is the promotion and acceptance of the entrepreneurial skills among professional secondary school pupils. It implies additional classes focused on IT skills related to entrepreneurial skill development. The total value of the project is 2.368.700,00 dinars. The contribution from Niš City is 936.000,00 dinars.

VIRTUAL ENTERPRISES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLSTwelve secondary professional schools on territory of Niš City will include into their regular school curricula the classes on the development of the entrepreneurship and managing enterprise skills.

These additional classes are part of the project - Promotion of Entrepreneurial Skills in Secondary Professional Schools. The secondary school which specializes in food and chemical processing was the first one to start the implementation of the project. 8 virtual enterprises have been formed. The business plans for those enterprises have been prepared by the students. These virtual enterprises will deal with the production of the paper bags, decorative boxes and beads. During following school year, the students will learn haw to start, run and close an enterprise. Niš City Council decided tosupport the project - Promotion of

Milan Ranđelović, Head of OLED

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The photo club FON in cooperation with Niš Tourism Organisation and Serbian Photo Association organised the photography competition and the exhibition called Photo-�nish in the period from August 14 to 16, 2009.

The City of Niš was the host to the top photographers from Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. 24 photographers had the task to react in the most creative way to 24 given subjects related to history, archaeology, ecology, architecture, street life and waters of Niš. International jury composed of 24 members evaluated the created photographies. The best ones were exhibited at European House. This exhibition will be shown all over Serbia.

PHOTOFINISH

These are the first works done on the protection of the cave after 30 years. The construction of the dams, bridge and entrance paths is financed by Ministry for Environment Protection. The road to Cerje cave in the length of 3.5km is also planned and it will be financed by the City of Nis. Niš City Management has established the cooperation with the Slovenian diplomatic representatives and the representatives of their local administrations related to the implementation of the projects of reviving the Cave of Cerje and utilizing the tourism potential of

THE CAVE OF CERJE – NIŠ TOURISM POTENTIALThe construction of ancillary facilities which will enable easier access for the visitors to the Cave of Cerje has started in the village of Cerje.

Two concrete dams on Cerje stream have been constructed to prevent the formation of alluvium which makes the entrance into cave inaccessible. Second phase of the construction envisages the bridge over the stream of Cerje which is the only way to the cave entrance. The visitors will not have to walk through the stream in order to reach the cave entrance and the cave will be reachable all the visitors during whole year. Some future activities envisage the construction of the paths, parking lots and the steps which will lead into the cave.

these parts of Serbia. The revitalization of the Cave of Cerje will be the most important project for which the City of Niš will apply together with Slovenian colleagues for EU funds.

The present call center cannot receive adequately all the emergency calls, locate the patients fast enough and direct the teams in the filed. In order to overcome these problems, Niš City Council decided to co-finance the installation of new call center. New call center will help the citizens to reach promptly ER by phone and thus enable the emergency patients to receive the timely medical care. New 10 phone liens will be installed as well as the system for monitoring ER vehicles in the field. The vehicles will have GPS which will additionally speed up

the time needed for the ER team to reach the emergency patients. The ER teams in the field will have 10 radio stations at their disposal which will facilitate the work of the medical teams in the field. The Niš City ER Department will use two phone communication lines - the land line and the cellular line in order to overcome the problem of patients not being able to reach ER call center either by using mobile phone your land line. The total value of the project is 10.525.000,00 dinars. The City will participate with 1.500.000,00 dinars.

NEW CALL CENTER AT NIŠ CITY ER DEPARTMENT New state-of-art call center will be installed at Niš City ER Depar-tment and it will improve the work of the doctors and medical sta� at that institution.

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Niš City Mayor Miloš Simonović and the Mayor of Ohrid Aleksandar Petreski met to discuss the possibilities of the tourism cooperation between Niš and Ohrid. Mayor Simonović presented the touristic offers of the Niš City and this part of Serbia which could be of special interest for the tourists from the neighbouring Macedonia.

Two mayors exchanged their experience regarding the cooperation with EU funds. They considered the possibility of working jointly on common projects to apply with EU funds and to speed up the tourism development in the region.

COOPERATION BETWEEN NIŠ AND OHRID

40 participants from Russia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Serbia attended the workshops about movie creations during seven days. The workshop participants had the chance to become familiar with the history of Niš. European House was the venue where the movie retrospective was screened.

Cecil Gonar, professional French animator was the guest of honor at the colony this year as well as Miomir Raičević, the representative of the International Center for Children and Youth Films

which gathered the animators from 60 countries all over the world. This colony was of special importance because it gave the children the chance to show their creativity and to become actively involved in the creation of the movies.

The patron of this manifestation was the city municipality Pantelej. The organizers were Cartoon studio 98 and Association of the Citizens Anima.

THIRD INTERNATIONAL CARTOON MOVIE COLONY FOR CHILDREN Third International Cartoon Colony for Children entitled Pantelej 2009 was opened in Niš.

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Aleksandar PetreskiMayor of Ohrid