Monday, July 27, 2009

New Yorkers in Sombor

By Ljiljana Samardzic

Sombor, July 10 (Serbia Today) - A third year in a row, a New York - based collective of composers, The South Oxford Six, is organizing one-week seminar Summer in Sombor 2009. This musical education oriented seminar lasts from July 5th till July 12th. The main aim of these workshops is to decentralize culture, but also introducing students with contemporary music through practical work and lectures. This year workshops are led by Alexandra Vrebalov and Daniel Sonenberg, both members of The South Oxford Six.
According to Alexandra Vrebalov, the reason why this kind of international seminar is organized here is that Ms Vrebalov originates from Serbia. Besides, during her education, she had the opportunity to be part of different summer camps, but never in Serbia. The fact that composers and performers are spending one week together, discussing music, playing and studying music, makes this seminar unique.
Some changes are being made in this year’s seminar. “In the first two years we had a string quartet as guests and all lecturers were from The South Oxford Six. This year we have a string quintet and two lecturers from Serbia”, said Ms Vrebalov for Serbia Today. Zoran Eric, professor of composition at the School of Music of Belgrade’s University and Ivana Stefanovic, established Serbian composer, will spend two days with students.
“Participants in these workshops are students of composition, except one boy, who’s playing piano, but alongside he’s composing. He is also the youngest member, he’s 17 and the oldest are in the middle thirties”, said Ms Vrebalov. This generation gap is useful because it is easy to create an “atmosphere where everyone can learn something from each other and spread personal views.”
Regarding a daily workshop structure, it consists of ensemble rehearsals, individual classes where each student will have at least one consultation with each of instructors, and group sessions. On one of the sessions, Daniel Sonenberg presented his own works and later on, he discussed it with students. These works are interesting because contemporary music includes innovative approach to the matter.
The accent is on contemporary music. It is “isolated and specific area, which has to exist because it represents the highest thing in human spirit, solely nude abstract creativity”, said Ms Vrebalov. “Its existence is necessary because it shows that society has a strong enough grounding to enable something like this to find its own place.”
This seminar represents something that is very close to ideal music education, only in small edition. Studies in United States have more open and creative approach unlike studies in Serbia. But, Serbian students gain great theoretical base. Ms Vrebalov finds that something in the middle of those two approaches would be ideal for students.
Concert of contemporary music will be held at the very end of this course, on Sunday, July 13th. By playing, students will display just the small part of all things they have learned in one week.

The Anniversary of Milena Pavlovic Barilli's Birth

By Jelica Tapušković

Belgrade, July 03, (Serbia Today) - One of the best surealism artist from Serbia Milena Pavlovic Barilli was born 100 years ago, on November 5th in Pozarevac, little town about 100 kilometers from Belgrade. She was the only child of duke’s Karadjordje grand grand daughter Danica Pavlovic and italian composer and journalist Bruno Barilli.
She showed her interest for painting while she was still a child. Milena studied at the Academy of Art in Belgrade at first, only to continue his studies abroad in Munich. She left Serbia in 1930, and started living and working in European metropolis London, Paris and Rome. There she acquired a reputation as really good painter. She was a friend of a group of very excentric and famous artists known as representers of avanguardian artistic scene – Jean Cocteau, Andre Breton, Giorgio de Chirico, etc.
Beside painting, her huge love was poetry, so she was also known as a good poem writter. In one period of her life, she lived in America. There, she worked as comercial designer, and ilustrator for fashion magazines Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and journal for exterior and enterior Town and Country.
She also designed costumes for Gian Carlo Menotti’s balley Sebastian.
During her life in Paris she met pianist Rodrigo Gonzalez from Cuba, and very soon he became her big love. She died on 6th mart 1945, and her grave is in Rome.
There was no doubt for critics that her art was unique. They like to say that she was arhitect of dream and dreaming. Milena’s paintings are full of unreal world, magic, liric and fantasy. Her work can be separated in three periods – so called „munich“, „antique“ and „renesanse“. Some like to say that her work is part of „return to order“ art, which dominate on europian art scene in 20th and 30th years of 20 century.
Most of her paintings were made out of Serbia, but many of it, including graphics and drawings are in her home in Pozarevac (today it is Gallery of Milena Pavlovic Barilli), in Museum of contemporary art and Museum of applied art, both in Belgrade.
Because of importance of this fabulous painter, Ministry of culture of Serbia, organized the Board for organization of the 100th anniversary of Milena Pavlovic Barilli birth. The Board decided to organize her exhibition in gallery of Serbian academy of science and art (SANU), which will be held from July 17th till 25th august.
After that, exhibition will move to other Serbian towns and abroad. During the exhebition visitors will see her most important oils on canvas, drawings and graphics. Beside that, Board planned to promote her artistic opus – paintings and poetry, on one big science happening. Author of exhibition is custos from Gallery in Pozarevac, Jelica Milojkovic, who also wrote a monography aboot Milena. The Board also made a deal with University in Bologna and Belgrade’s Fashon and Design Art School to make textyle designs inspired with her drawings.

Household spend most of their income on food

By Rina Mihajlovic

Novi Sad, July 9 (Serbia Today) - The most common characteristic of poor societies is a central share of personal consumption in their GDP. In Serbia personal consumption absorbs a considerable portion of total income, which is either irregular or devaluated.
Households in Serbia have average monthly budget of approximately 45.853 dinars (500euro) in Vojvodina , and 46.326 dinars in Belgrade. Average monthly expenses are 37.668 (410euro). Most of that money goes to food and beverages, the total of 40 percent.
In 1990s personal consumption accounted for 60 percent of GDP and drastically jumped to 77 percent in the last few years. Salaries decreased as well leaving people with nothing to put aside and save on. Many of them worked only for food and utilities. Involuntary leaves mostly unpaid, created a mess in Serbian economy creating larger gap between poor and rich.
The biggest share for the “lucky” ones who got paid, goes to food which is extremely expensive according to economic specialists considering that in other countries people give 15-20 percent of their salaries for food. Another problem is that the prices constantly go up and families are left with the same amount of money but with fewer groceries. For example we buy much less food than we did last summer for the same amount of money.
The average salary last year was 420euro and this year it decreased to 340euros. If we add to it the constant fall of dinar it is obvious that consumers buying power is melting down daily.
The biggest problem is that most people can only dream about monthly budget of 500euro because many of them don’t even have a minimum wage which is approximately 165euro. How they manage to survive and buy everything they need from food to clothes is a million dollar question. These people can’t even afford to pay monthly expenses and not to mention put food on their table.
Wages, as well as prices, vary from town to town. People are forced to go to another town just to buy more for the money they have. For example, you pay the same price in Novi Sad for pork meat as you pay for veal in Novi Pazar and we know well the difference in quality. In Kraljevo you can buy cheese for 100dinars while that same cheese costs four times more in Zrenjanin.
In this case, a multiple jobs holding becomes a phenomenon because there is no other solution for this situation; but with the economy being at stake it is hard to find not only a second job but a primary one as well.

Chinese Donation to Belgrade University

Chinese donation to Belgrade University

Belgrade, July 7, 2009 – Serbian Minister of Finance Diana Dragutinovic and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Wei Jinghua signed yesterday an agreement concerning the handing over of computers and language laboratory equipment provided by the Chinese government to the University of Belgrade.
Dragutinovic said that at a time when Serbia does not have the means to make major investments in education this donation is very welcome. The Minister said she hopes that successful cooperation between Serbia and China will continue in the future. Wei Jinghua said that this donation will improve the quality of education at various faculties in Serbia, adding that it will also help develop friendship and cooperation between the two countries. The Chancellor of Belgrade University Branko Kovacevic said that the equipment will be distributed to scientific and research centers at Belgrade faculties, adding that the equipment received so far, which includes computers, video conferencing terminals and projectors, is worth €650,000, while early next year another €350,000 worth of equipment will arrive.He recalled that Belgrade University cooperates with 10 universities in China, especially in medicine, adding his hopes that this cooperation between the two countries will be equally successful in the future.

More than 15.000 homeless dogs in Serbia

Belgrade, July 06, (Serbia Today) – The capital of Serbia still does not have a shelter for homeless and abandoned dogs and cats in spite the fact that there are more than 15,000 homeless animals wondering streets and parks of Belgrade.
A large number of citizens of Belgrades’ several boroughs are reporting each day to the emergency rooms due to the injuries from the attacks of the stray dogs. The attacks are happening in all parts of the city, but mostly in the big parks and on the city outskirts, where stray dogs usually wonder in packs.
The problem of the stray dogs exist in Belgrade since the time of Milosevic’s rule, when economic embargo, industrial collapse, Balkan wars, civil unrest and bombing of the city, caused many impoverished dog-owners to simply abandon their pets, as they were unable to provide food and care for them.
“Belgrade will get its first dog shelter by mid-July” – Vladimir Terzin, Assistant Secretary for the public Affairs of the City Government told for Serbia Today, “it will be open in the Borough of Rakovica and its capacity will be 500 dogs, he added.
There are plans in work for the building of the animal shelters in other parts of the city. The idea is to catch stray dogs, give them proper medical care, neuter them, and offer them for adoption, Terzin said.
Serbian Parliament recently passed a new Law on animal welfare that prohibits cruelty against dogs and other house pets, and execute penalties of 100,000 RSD ( about $1500) for pet owners, who deliberately abandon their animals .

Is Serbia ready for Gay Parade?

By Ljilja Cvekic

BELGRADE, July 06, (Serbia Today) – To be gay in the Balkans is not exactly something one would wish for –one’s options are mainly to be quiet and invisible or be stigmatized by society and sometimes even beaten up by nationalist extremists and soccer thugs.
This summer, however, Serbia’s gay men and women hope to take to the streets of their capital in the Pride Parade for the first time officially supported by the authorities and well-protected by the police. The first and last attempt to organise a gay parade, in 2001, ended up in participants getting beaten up by nationalist gangs led by an Orthodox priest while police looked on.
“We have the legal right to organize the Pride March and the state has the legal obligation to secure it,” said Boban Stojanovic of the Queeria gay rights group.
“The risk always exists, not only here. We cannot postpone it from one year to another, living in fear of a handful of extremists,” he told Serbia Today in an interview on Thursday. “There are just 80 to 100 of those in Belgrade, who come to each public event to make a trouble.”
Serbia’s authorities, which in previous years were not eager to get involved in the issue, are now making encouraging noises suggesting a shift in the political and social climate.
“Belgrade and Serbia are ready for the Pride Parade,” Serbia’s Human and Minority Rights Minister Svetozar Ciplic said last month. “In essence, that is one of the moments that will identify Serbia as a country ready to respect and tolerate differences.”
The government will not take part in organisation or promotion of the gay parade, but will offer a political and moral support, he said.
Unofficial studies suggest an estimated 600,000 homosexuals live in Serbia, making them one of the country’s largest minorities, albeit the most silent. In comparison, some 300,000 ethnic Hungarians and 135,000 Bosniaks have their own parties and MPs representing them in parliament.
Thomas Hammarberg, the human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe, said in a report last year that gay men and women are one of three most discriminated groups in Serbia’s society, along with Roma and people with disabilities.
“The notion of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons is in its infancy in Serbia, and safe, open discussion on the issues remains taboo,” Hammarberg wrote. "They remain victims of discrimination, prejudice and intolerance.”
Seventy percent of Serbs consider homosexuality as a disease and only 38 percent see gay individuals as “the same human beings as we are”, showed a survey conducted in 2008 by the key gay advocacy group Gay-Straight Alliance and the independent monitoring and polling organization Center for Free Elections and Democracy.
Lagging 18 years behind the World Health Organization, the Serbian Medical Society declared homosexuality was not an illness only last year.
“Serbia is a homophobic society with systematic violence and discrimination against LGBT individuals”, reads a report on the survey, according to which 67 percent of Serbs has a negative stand towards gay people. One in two Serbs believes that homosexuality is very dangerous for society and feels the state should work on its suppression.
Psychologist Zarko Trebjesanin says there are many factors influencing homophobia, including the closed society of the 1990s, as well as family, school, media and books and movies that offer stereotypes. Aggression against homosexuals, he said, might even increase as the economic crisis takes hold, since dissatisfaction in people will rise and they will look for “a victim” they can direct their anger to.
With some polls showing that still one fourth of the population is in favour of violence against gay people, and following threats by nationalist gangs, organizers of the Belgrade Pride decided to get first a liability study with detailed security recommendations that will be worked out together with police to avoid any incidents.
Although justified by the facts on the ground, this level of care seems odd to those who remember the freer gay scene in Belgrade in the 1990s. As the capital of the former Yugoslavia, Belgrade was more liberal and tolerant, a center of free thought and an oasis for those who were different and felt stifled in their towns and villages. Many gay people from Skopje, Sarajevo and Podgorica moved to Belgrade, seeking less restricted lives in the relative anonymity of the capital.
“I felt free at that time. Although meeting places were not official, everybody knew about them, and there was no fear that someone would kill you. Belgrade was Mecca for gays from all over the ex-Yugoslavia,” Cedomir, 47, told Serbia Today. “Today, the aggressiveness of those kids is such that you have almost no wish to leave home.”
But as Yugoslavia broke up, wars stoked a new obsession with national identity. Combined with the revival of religion and patriarchy after 50 years of socialism, the influx of ethnic Serb refugees from less developed parts of ex-Yugoslavia shifted Serbian society towards a rigid nationalism and conservatism.
“Today, to be a Serb means to be Orthodox and heterosexual,” Stojanovic says. “The macho warrior culture of 1990’s is the root of Serbia’s homophobia today.”
The country’s first legal document explicitly banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was passed this year, part of a set of anti-discrimination laws needed to move forward on the path towards the much-coveted European Union membership.
“Harming those who do not harm anyone else has no excuse either in law or in ethics,” said human rights ombudsman Sasa Jankovic. “The protection of the right to express differences, including sexual ones, is the business of all of us.”

Solana met Serbian Leaders

Belgrade, July 14, ( Serbia Today) – High Representative for Foreign Policy and Safety Javier Solana began his visit to Belgrade Monday with a meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić. They expressed their confidence that the citizens of Serbia will soon receive good news from Brussels in regards to the visa regime liberalization.Minister Jeremic spoke to Solana about Serbia's EU future, and that Kosovo was discussed in the context of regional security. At the meeting with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, both Javier Solana and Cvetkovic agreed that visa liberalization is of the utmost importance to Serbia and its citizens. After meeting with Solana, Cvetkovic said that his cabinet is dedicated to EU integration and full cooperation with the Hague tribunal.
Solana commended the Serbian government’s efforts regarding EU accession and overcoming the crisis. Speaking about the global crisis, Solana said that we can see "the light at the end of the tunnel", adding that the first concrete results will be visible after the September summit of the Group of Twenty.First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic informed Solana about the criteria from the road map that Serbia has fulfilled and the moves that the Interior Ministry undertook to improve police cooperation in the region. He also pointed out to the practical importance of cooperation between the Serbian police and UNMIK and EULEX, as illegal activities in the region can only be prevented by joint efforts.
At the meeting with Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic, Javier Solana and Bogdanovic agreed that it is unacceptable that the problems in the southern Serbian province are solved by unilateral decisions without the consent of the Serbian government and Kosovo Serbs.Bogdanovic told the press after meeting with Solana that the main topics of the meeting were the police, judiciary and customs in Kosovo.
Solana said after meeting with Serbia's president Boris Tadić that the EU is not complete without Serbia and that there will be no new pre-conditions for Serbia's candidacy for full EU membership. Solana commended the Serbian government's decision to start implementing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) unilaterally at the beginning of this year, and expressed hope that by completing cooperation with Hague Tribunal, Belgrade would create the conditions for the EU decision on unfreezing SAA. He expressed his conviction that the Serbian government will do everything to meet the last pre condition of completing cooperation with the Hague and that things will move forward more speedily.

Every Government Has to Be Controlled

By Ljilja Cvekic

BELGRADE, July 12 (Serbia Today) – After years of failing to conquer corruption, deeply rooted in the state and society, Serbia hopes it has set now the right tool to win the difficult and long battle, of which depend both the country’s European Union aspirations and desperately needed foreign investments.
The top anti-corruption body, elected by the Parliament, will be in charge of controlling the state administration and identifying conflicts of private and public interests with an authority to demand prosecution, propose sanctions and amend laws.
“Every government, even the most democratic one, has to be strongly controlled, since it can easily fall into tyranny and disrespect of law,” University professor Cedomir Cupic, head of the Anti-Corruption Committee, told Serbia Today in an interview on Friday. “The highlight in the battle against corruption should be on laws and independent institutions, and not on a good will of any politician.”
As in other former socialist countries, corruption has flourished in Serbia in 1990’s with start of the period of transition and privatization of state-owned and public companies, worsened by economic and social crisis, wars in territories of ex-Yugoslavia and the international sanctions, when corruption, fraud and law evasion were considered a survival art.
“Causes of corruption are authoritarian governments – tyrannies, dictatorships – and poverty,” Cupic says. “Wherever there is a power that is above the law, there are also possibilities for corruptive actions. The logic of that power is the following: If the one above me can violate the law, I can also violate it for those who are below. And that is how the pyramid of corrupted power is being created.”
The European Union has warned Serbia on several occasions that it needed to take tough measures to fight corruption and organized crime.
Thomas Hammarberg, the human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe, has said corruption remained widespread, presenting a serious problem, “despite the fact that the fight against corruption has been a priority for all Serbian governments since 2002.”
“The widespread perception of corruption in the public and private sector seriously undermines citizens’ trust in the proper functioning of state institutions and in political decision-making processes,” he wrote in his report.
Although Serbia has adopted several laws and established a number of various bodies for control of conflict of interests, political parties funding or use of budget funds, without possibilities to have sanctioning of perpetrators as a consequence, all proposals for prosecution ended up as complaints ignored by the government.
Cupic said the adopted laws have proved to be insignificant and limited, such as the law on prevention of the conflict of interests, since it provided just an appeal to ethics without setting sanctions.
He quoted German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who believed that well structured political order should not use repressive measures, but said that in certain social and political situations when law existed but did not function, it was necessary to provide strong criminal sanctions to stop destruction of both the society and the state.
According to Serbia’s law, sentences for corruption are between six months to five years in prison or fines from 50,000 to 500,000 dinars ($770 to $7700). The Anti-Corruption Agency, as an independent state body, will have the power to decide whether the criminal act or misdemeanor has been committed and the prosecutor’s office and the court will be obliged to act.
The Committee, as the body that supervises and controls the Agency, has also the authority to pass the new laws and amendments to the existing ones to the parliament.
“I would like to see the MPs who would speak and vote against stronger sanctions in the country with such high level of corruption,” Cupic said.
Britain has managed to solve its problem with soccer thugs not by building the high fences but by extremely strong sentences – faced with a 10-year prison sentence, not a single fan is ready to run onto the soccer field.
“Wherever powerful laws and the rule of law exist, the chances for corruption are brought down to minimum.”

14 years after Srebrenica, Mladsic still at large!

By Milen Vesovic

Belgrade, July 11, (Serbia Today) – Today marks 14 years since the terrible genocide of Bosnians in Srebrenica. Unfortunately, Serbia still did not arrest and delivered to the Hague tribunal, General Ratko Mladic, the main suspect of one of the greatest war crimes in contemporary world history.
Srebrenica Genocide took place on July 11, 1995, by killing more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys, as well as the ethnic cleansing of 25,000-30,000 refugees in the area of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by units of the Army of Republika Srpska under the command of General Ratko Mladic during the Bosnian War. The Srebrenica massacre is the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II.
A large number of non-governmental organizations call on the President of Serbia Boris Tadic and the Serbian government to arrest Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. NGOs requested the State to tell the people of Serbia what had really happened in Srebrenica and of what crimes are the suspects accused.
President of the opposition Liberal-Democratic Party - Cedomir Jovanovic on this event said: „ Fourteen years have passed from the tragedy in Srebrenica, while its causes and proportions did not receive any attention in the public they deserve. I think that first of all, the policy that led to the genocide ensured that the life of so many people was determined who they are today, or they were convicted before the Courts for the most serious crimes or are still hiding from justice…”
New 500 identified bodies will be buried today in the memorial center Potocare.
Boris Tadić stated that for the sake of the victims of Srebrenica but also other victims, those who committed war crimes must be in the Hague Tribunal.The president said on Saturday in Belgrade that Serbia is committed to cooperation with the tribunal and is doing everything to finalize it, not only because it is "our legal obligation", but also "for our own sakes and the sake of reconciliation between peoples and a more prosperous life in the Balkans".“By honoring the victims of Srebrenica, we are honoring all those innocent killed," he said, according to as statement from his press service. Serbia is doing everything to arrest Ratko Mladić and complete cooperation with the Hague, he also stated, and stressed that there is no such thing as a nation's collective guilt, but rather that those who commit a crime "have names and surnames". On the 14th anniversary of the Srebrenica crime, PM Mirko Cvetković also reacted by stating that no crime committed in the past on the territory of former Yugoslavia must be forgotten, his press service said.

A New Generations of Serbian Politicians

By Ljiljana Samardzic

Backi Monostor, July 08, ( Serbia Today) - The Fourth summer school of social democracy has been finished today, in Backi Monostor. During past seven days, 60 participants, youngsters from Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina had opportunity to learn about social-democratic ideas and skills as well as how to put newly acquired knowledge into practice.
This school is organized by Friedrich Ebert Foundation every year and one of their aims is to gather young activists from social-democratic parties, nongovernmental organizations and syndicates from ex-Yugoslavia territory. This project started in Grabov (Belarus) three years ago and general goal of this project is promoting social-democratic ideas.
Some of the subjects that students had opportunity to study were political ideologies, European Union, Church and government, global challenges of social democracy and alike. In daily workshops students applied team work, communication and conflicts, negotiations into practice. The main subject in this year’s summer camp was “Asset and skill of solidarity as crucial responses to existing crises”.
Lecturers were recognized public figures from Serbia - Nenad Canak, the president of Vojvodina’s Social-democratic League, Zarko Korac, the president of Social-democratic Union, Gordana Comic, vice president in Serbian Parliament, Dragoljub Micunovic, the president of Democratic Party’s Council and others.
Regarding relevance of this event, Nenad Canak said for Serbia Today “any regional gathering caries seed of good relations and that is way we should nourish it and take care of it.” According to his personal point of view, “the idea of social democracy is the only one that can bring peace and stability in this region”.
Gordana Comic said that importance of this camp lies in the fact that these young people are gaining adequate knowledge for the future. “The main problem in Serbia is lack of knowledge”, she said, “and it is situated in field where it mustn’t be such as political scene and other public jobs and public sectors”.
On the last day of Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s summer school, “Social democratic week 2009” participants received diplomas for “accomplishments and active participation in school’s work”.
This brings hope to Serbia that future generations will be more acquainted with political ideas, problems and their efficient solutions. On the other hand, regional based school promises better international relations in future and, therefore, stability in the region.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

14 years after Srebrenica , Mladic still at large

By Milen Vesovic

Belgrade, July 11, (Serbia Today) – Today marks 14 years since the terrible genocide of Bosnians in Srebrenica. Unfortunately, Serbia still did not arrest and delivered to the Hague tribunal, General Ratko Mladic, the main suspect of one of the greatest war crimes in contemporary world history.
Srebrenica Genocide took place on July 11, 1995, by killing more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys, as well as the ethnic cleansing of 25,000-30,000 refugees in the area of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by units of the Army of Republika Srpska under the command of General Ratko Mladic during the Bosnian War. The Srebrenica massacre is the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II.
A large number of non-governmental organizations call on the President of Serbia Boris Tadic and the Serbian government to arrest Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic. NGOs requested the State to tell the people of Serbia what had really happened in Srebrenica and of what crimes are the suspects accused.
President of the opposition Liberal-Democratic Party - Cedomir Jovanovic on this event said: „ Fourteen years have passed from the tragedy in Srebrenica, while its causes and proportions did not receive any attention in the public they deserve. I think that first of all, the policy that led to the genocide ensured that the life of so many people was determined who they are today, or they were convicted before the Courts for the most serious crimes or are still hiding from justice…”
New 500 identified bodies will be buried today in the memorial center Potocare.
Boris Tadić stated that for the sake of the victims of Srebrenica but also other victims, those who committed war crimes must be in the Hague Tribunal.The president said on Saturday in Belgrade that Serbia is committed to cooperation with the tribunal and is doing everything to finalize it, not only because it is "our legal obligation", but also "for our own sakes and the sake of reconciliation between peoples and a more prosperous life in the Balkans".“By honoring the victims of Srebrenica, we are honoring all those innocent killed," he said, according to as statement from his press service. Serbia is doing everything to arrest Ratko Mladić and complete cooperation with the Hague, he also stated, and stressed that there is no such thing as a nation's collective guilt, but rather that those who commit a crime "have names and surnames". On the 14th anniversary of the Srebrenica crime, PM Mirko Cvetković also reacted by stating that no crime committed in the past on the territory of former Yugoslavia must be forgotten, his press service said.

Dragana Ognjenovic Fashion Show

By Lola Tapuskovic

Belgrade, July 08, ( Serbia Today) - In spite of the rain Dragana Ognjenovic’s fashion show was held last night near big stairway in the Kalemegdan Fortress. The show was presented in the context of the Universiade follow up programs. The Organizers were Belef and fashion agency Fabrika.

Dragana Ognjenovic fashion show is a second part of “Belgrade Fashion Nights 09" , and it represents Italian and Serbian fashion called “The day of Italian fashion – Pin Up Stars”, and “The day of Serbian fashion – fashion show of Dragana Ognjenovic”.

Dragana Ognjenovic is designer identified by her original, simply, sophisticated style. This time, on fashion review she exalted not just her public, but everyone who has subtle taste. This collection of her, made especially for Universiade, which is held in Belgrade from 1st till 12th July, inspired with Kalemegdan, Kalemegdan’s stairway and this big manifestation. Shown models were in her traditional black and white colors, but also in gray and orange. Lines of it are simple and unusual. The designs were made of natural materials – silk, cotton and wool., The time needed to prepare this collection wasn’t much longer then it usually takes her, Dragana Ognjenovic said for Serbia Today. This particular collection will be shown only to the public in Belgrade and it won’t be shown in other towns in Serbia.

“Universiade wasn’t the only inspiration for this collection. I get inspiration from the everyday life as well. It is just the continuation of something that I’ve been doing for years, and of something I am planning for the next season”, said Dragana Ognjenovic.

Dragana Ognjenovic founded her brand in 1992, when she also had her very first fashion show. During her career she had shows, and took part in fashion weeks in Italy, France, Austria, Mexico, Cyprus, Romania, England, and now she is designing costumes for the Parisian Theatre d’Atelier.
Beside clothes she designed products for home made of wood, wool, metal, glass and porcelain. This brand is called “DO home”. She also had third line “Software”, which represents casual wear, bags, shoes, accessories etc.
Dragana Ognjenovic shows collections few times a year, and she told us that these days she is finishing autumn collection.

We should mention that this designer is helping in many humanitarian actions, and tonight’s show was one of them . All the proceeds from the show are going to the Homeless Children Shelter. She is also one of organizers of action “My little table” dedicated to children with special needs.

The Day of Italian fashion was also held tonight. Belgrade’s public had a chance to see very popular Italian brand Pin Up Stars. This brand is identified by swimming costumes. This collection is made of many different materials and is made of different colors, like black, violet, gold, blue, and with many applications.

Pirot's Kilims

By:Bojana Jankovic

Uzice, July 15, (Serbia Today)- An Ethnographic Exhibit of traditional Pirot’s kilims is going on in Uzice, from July 13th to July 20th. The exhibit itself is held in “Jokanovic Home”, a landmark house built in Oriental-Balkan architecture of early 19th century.
This exhibition is organized by the Circle of Serbian Sisters Uzice, City of Uzice, Women's Center, National Museum and the Tourist organization of Uzice. At the opening remarks were given by Biljana Diković (poet), Slobodanka Mira Stankovic-Cirkovic (president CSS), Nikola Gogić (Director of National Museum Uzice), Zagorka Nikitovic (ethnologist).
With great attention and joy all present listened to the speakers and then to the music performances of Milos Colic (secondary Music school Vojislav Lale Stefanovic), Women's singing group Ethno Association Homeland (Sladjana Djokic, Ljiljana Bosiljcic, Ljubinka Milicevic, Snezana Cirovic and Snezana Tomic Jokovic) and Slavica Nikolic (singing group Association Ere Uzice).
The main reason for this gathering was the artistic contribution by the design studio Zidajn from Uzice, Media Radio Luna, Vesti, TV 5, and many admirers of the humanitarian work of the Circle of Serbian Sisters. Exhibited were rugs and kilims of women who inherited them from their grandmothers, and kept them as their greatest treasures.
Hand made wool rugs and kilims were always respected elements of the traditional Serbian households. With interesting ornaments, sophisticated selection and combination of colors, impeccable texture and excellent wool quality, they were used not only for floors, but as bed coverings, or as decorations on a wall.
The President of the Circle of Serbian Sisters Uzice , Slobodanka Mira Stankovic-Cirkovic said for Serbia Today, “This exhibition is an expression of our efforts to keep an old Serbian tradition alive, and we will continue working hard on it, because the golden hands of all those beautiful girls and women in the villages made such artistic creations that it would be such a shame if they ended up somewhere in boxes, and not seen or shown. A lot of gentleness, kindness, and beauty is interwoven in those kilims, and we will work on keeping that Serbian tradition alive for the benefit of this people. The younger generation need to see this, because when they do, they will feel the spirit of their ancestors.”
The Circle of Serbian Sisters Uzice ( formed in 1992) has 35 active members and their projects do not get any financial support . All the work is done voluntarily. Due to great interest for this exhibition of Pirot’s kilims, the closing date will probably be postponed.

Djavolja Varos

By:Jelena Jovanovic

Belgrade, July 15, (Serbia Today)- Djavolja Varos, the official nominee of Serbia in "New 7 Wonders of Nature" campaign, was placed in the list of the Top 77 nominees. Last week, at the end of the first circle of the campaign, Djavolja Varoš was at the first place in the category Canyons, Caves and Rock formations. At the beginning of this campaign, people from all over the world were able to vote for the candidates on Internet. (At the official web site of the campaign and other web sites)
In the third, final circle of the campaign, Panel of experts will choose 28 finalists. That list will be announced on July 21st.
The New Seven Wonders Foundation was established in 2001 by the Swiss-born Canadian filmmaker, author and adventurer Bernard Weber to contribute to the protection of the world’s human-built and natural heritage and to foster respect for the cultural diversity on our planet.
Djavolja Varoš is a natural landmark in the South Serbia, 27 kilometers south from a small town Kuršumlija. It gathers two rare natural phenomena at the same spot: 202 stone formations created by erosion and two springs of extremely acidic water with very high mineral content.
Stone formations are between two and 15 meters in height - the middle diameter is 1 meter, and heavy stone blocks at the top weigh 100kg. These geological forms have indeterminate origin. Each reference to this location of peculiar landforms describes it briefly as erosion of volcanic rocks. Those erosions had lasted for centuries.
Djavolja Varoš is mystical place with many legends that explain forming of this rare, unusual and attractive landscape. According to the first legend, humble, calm and religious people had inhabited this area. This had annoyed the devil who made “Devil’s Water” to make people forget their lineage. The fairy interrupted a devil’s plan, and according to the legend, she still keeps this area under her protection.
The campaign for the election of new 7 world wonders started in 2007. Serbian natural monument Djavolja Varos started to compete thanks to the company AD `Planinka` from Kuršumlija, the sponsors of Djavolja Varoš.
Snežana Ilić from AD Planinka explains for Serbia Today that Djavolja Varoš had an intensive promotional campaign, supported by the Ministry of Diaspora and Serbian Institute for the Nature protection. She said, “We do not know yet the exact number of votes given to Djavolja Varoš. We had an intensive campaign and we were in obligation to send all information about campaign to the organizer. We just know that over 2 000 people voted over our official web site. That is the only thing we could measure.”
Djavolja Varoš , Serbian wonder of nature, has been under the State protection since 1959. In 1995 it became a natural wonder of an outstanding importance and got the first-category level of protection.
Main rivals of Djavolja Varos in the last circle were candidates from Bulgaria – Belogradchic Rocks and from Australia – Uluru, Ayers Rock.
As a result of this successful promotional campaign for Djavolja varos and its good position on the list of new 7 wonders of nature, more tourists came to this area. Before this campaign Djavolja Varoš had 2- 3 000 visitors per year. In 2008. there were 50 000 visitors. This year, in the first 6 month, we had 35 000 visitors. It had significant economic effects on this area. If Djavolja Varoš manages to place on the list of the first 28 candidates, it would mean a lot for the tourism of this area and for the tourism in Serbia in general.

Every Government has to be controlled

By Ljilja Cvekic

BELGRADE, July 12 (Serbia Today) – After years of failing to conquer corruption, deeply rooted in the state and society, Serbia hopes it has set now the right tool to win the difficult and long battle, of which depend both the country’s European Union aspirations and desperately needed foreign investments.
The top anti-corruption body, elected by the Parliament, will be in charge of controlling the state administration and identifying conflicts of private and public interests with an authority to demand prosecution, propose sanctions and amend laws.
“Every government, even the most democratic one, has to be strongly controlled, since it can easily fall into tyranny and disrespect of law,” University professor Cedomir Cupic, head of the Anti-Corruption Committee, told Serbia Today in an interview on Friday. “The highlight in the battle against corruption should be on laws and independent institutions, and not on a good will of any politician.”
As in other former socialist countries, corruption has flourished in Serbia in 1990’s with start of the period of transition and privatization of state-owned and public companies, worsened by economic and social crisis, wars in territories of ex-Yugoslavia and the international sanctions, when corruption, fraud and law evasion were considered a survival art.
“Causes of corruption are authoritarian governments – tyrannies, dictatorships – and poverty,” Cupic says. “Wherever there is a power that is above the law, there are also possibilities for corruptive actions. The logic of that power is the following: If the one above me can violate the law, I can also violate it for those who are below. And that is how the pyramid of corrupted power is being created.”
The European Union has warned Serbia on several occasions that it needed to take tough measures to fight corruption and organized crime.
Thomas Hammarberg, the human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe, has said corruption remained widespread, presenting a serious problem, “despite the fact that the fight against corruption has been a priority for all Serbian governments since 2002.”
“The widespread perception of corruption in the public and private sector seriously undermines citizens’ trust in the proper functioning of state institutions and in political decision-making processes,” he wrote in his report.
Although Serbia has adopted several laws and established a number of various bodies for control of conflict of interests, political parties funding or use of budget funds, without possibilities to have sanctioning of perpetrators as a consequence, all proposals for prosecution ended up as complaints ignored by the government.
Cupic said the adopted laws have proved to be insignificant and limited, such as the law on prevention of the conflict of interests, since it provided just an appeal to ethics without setting sanctions.
He quoted German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who believed that well structured political order should not use repressive measures, but said that in certain social and political situations when law existed but did not function, it was necessary to provide strong criminal sanctions to stop destruction of both the society and the state.
According to Serbia’s law, sentences for corruption are between six months to five years in prison or fines from 50,000 to 500,000 dinars ($770 to $7700). The Anti-Corruption Agency, as an independent state body, will have the power to decide whether the criminal act or misdemeanor has been committed and the prosecutor’s office and the court will be obliged to act.
The Committee, as the body that supervises and controls the Agency, has also the authority to pass the new laws and amendments to the existing ones to the parliament.
“I would like to see the MPs who would speak and vote against stronger sanctions in the country with such high level of corruption,” Cupic said.
Britain has managed to solve its problem with soccer thugs not by building the high fences but by extremely strong sentences – faced with a 10-year prison sentence, not a single fan is ready to run onto the soccer field.
“Wherever powerful laws and the rule of law exist, the chances for corruption are brought down to minimum.”

The 4th International Motorbike Rally in Uzice

By: Bojana Jankovic

Uzice, July 9 (Serbia Today)- With the support of the city administration of Uzice, the motto club ”Ere'” organized the Forth International Motorbike Rally, which took place from July, 3- 5, in Uzice.
On July 3, at 10 AM the camp opened to await the motor bikers from Europe and from all over the territory of former Yugoslavia( Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia)
After a full day of activities, encountering new and rediscovering old friends, the evening brought enjoyment with the trumpets band of Ivan Jovanovic, and the band Night Shift.
Saturday, July 4, at 10 AM a trip to the cave Potpecka was organized as well as the breakfast for all. A few hours later, the motor bikers paraded through Uzice, and ended in the Big park. One of the participants was the world champion of motorbike competitions, a 23 years old Hungarian Toni Vek, called ‘The Street Fighter” He performed with his bike on the Square, and left the audience in awe with his skill and ability.
”There are two groups of motor bikers. The first group consists of children of rich parents who want to prove themselves with speed and very often make problems. The second group consists of true motor bikers, who love and respect life, music, and free spirit. They don’t drive too fast their motorbikes and don’t represent a danger for themselves or for other participants in traffic. They simply enjoy the ride, travel a lot, and see the world, which help them understand the meaning and beauty of life. I belong to this second group, as well as 95% of us here.” A motor biker from Doboj said for Serbia Today.
The same night at 8 PM, a competition of pulling the rope was held. The fight was tense, but friendly. The first place and the award (roasted pig), was awarded to the motor bikers from Auto motto Club “Keinac” from Cacak.
The night was again filled with music. From 9 PM the trumpet band of Ivan Jovanovic was performing, and from 11 PM the rock band “Van Gogh” which won the MTV Europe music award in 2007. All 10 000 people present were singing along with the band.
On Sunday, July 5, all the guests and motor bikers, happy and full of positive impressions, left Uzice.
The next Day, we talked to the President of the motto club “Ere”, Mr. Dragoslav Simic, who said for Serbia Today, “ The guests and we, are all satisfied with this event. Not even the rain, which was falling, did prevent the arrival of bikers. All were delighted of the innovations that we introduced (like the techno bar, motorbike shops, ethno shops). The guests were in abundance, as well as the equipment, food and drinks. All the hotels filled to the maximum, which did not happen for a long time. For next year we are preparing even a greater spectacle, perhaps in another place (because we expect even greater attendance), with some popular foreign bands, and more numerous motorbike riders.''

Support the action: Free Venice!

By Natasa Tepavcevic

Belgrade, July 12, (Serbia Today) - The serial of Jacques Charlier’s drawings “100 artists’ genitalia” printed in form of posters will be shown in the center of Belgrade on public press boards, from July 11th. Citizens, local artists, theoreticians, all culture workers as well as tourists are warmly invited to make photos of them with posters “100 artists’ genitalia” in the cadre, and to send the photo/s on the address: info@jacquescharlier-venise2009.be.
The residents can participate in the photo game “Free Venice” and win a catalogue published for the occasion. At the same time, a Quiz Art specially conceived by Jacques Charlier allows everybody (via the website www.jacquescharlier-venise2009.be) to win a t-shirt displaying the motif of the genitalia of the artist Jacques Charlier himself.
Curator of Museum Of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, Zoran Eric, organizes this action, as specific kind of support in struggle for the human right of free speech and media. The same support the artist has got from various cities and institutions: Muhka, Antverpen; Stiftelsen , Bergen; OK Offenes Kunsthaus Oberösterreich, Linc; Mudam and Luksemburg; Frac Lorraine, Mec; Musée provincial Félicien Rops, Namur.
The work has been made and supported from The Ministry of Culture and Broadcasting of the French speaking and the project was officially submitted to be included in the collateral events of the 53rd International Art Exhibition. However, in a letter dated 18 December 2008, the director Daniel Birnbaum stated that he regrets “to inform that after careful evaluation of the proposal he does not believe that it is possible to include it in the collateral events”.
Is it up to the Biennale to castrate artists by deciding for them what might offend those whose very existence consists of forever extending the limits of freedom?
In short, about work: In 1973, Jacques Charlier began a series of drawings of “artists’ genitalia”. Using caricature, he set himself the task of making imaginary portraits of the “procreative organs” of artists whom he considers to have been major figures in 20th century art since Marcel Duchamp. Through the years, Jacques Charlier has put together a veritable gallery of portraits based on conceptual analysis and personal interpretation of the “artistic attributes” of major representatives of modern and contemporary art, thus enabling, among other things, a humorous and satirical re-reading of recent art history.

Dositej in Belgrade - The Road to Higher Education

By Lola Tapuskovic

Belgrade, July 12, (Serbia Today)- The exhibition „Dositej in Belgrade – the road to higher education“ opened on July 7th in the national landmark building „The Question Mark“, which is also the location of the oldest tavern in Serbia, built in the middle of the 18 century. The organizer of this exhibition is the Foundation “Dositej Obradovic with the support of the City Government. It was envisioned as one of the follow-up events of the 25th Universiade held in Belgrade this summer.
Dositej Obradović was born in the village of Čakovo (now Ciacova, Timiş County, Romania) in Banat, probably in 1739. He was from his early age imbued with the passion for study. In1757, he became a monk in the Serb Orthodox monastery of Hopovo (in Srem region) and acquired the name Dositej (Dositheus). After devouring the contents of the monastery’s library he hungered for further learning in 1760, left the monastery of Hopovo bound for Hilandar, Mount Athos.
For forty years thereafter, he traveled Europe and Asia Minor: Albania, Dalmatia, Corfu, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Germany, Romania, France, Russia, England, Italy, Poland. Finally, he went to Belgrade, at the invitation of Karađorđe Petrović, to become a Minister of Education in the newly organized government. He died in 1811.
Obradović helped introduce to the Serbs the learning of Western Europe. As one of the most influential proponents of Serbian national and cultural Renaissance, he was advocating ideas of European Enlightenment and Rationalism. He and Vuk Karadžić, whom Obradović influenced, are recognized as the fathers of modern Serbian literature. Also, Obradović introduced potato cultivation in Serbia because the population of Serbia often suffered from famine at that time.
Obradović, besides Serbian, spoke 10 other languages. He translated into Serbian many western European classics, including Aesop's Fables.
The exhibition “Dositej in Belgrade – the road to higher education“ according to Mirjana Dragas, the director of the Dositej Obradovic Foundation, is the part of one of Belgrade’s tourist routes this Summer called “Dositej’s road to higher education”. It starts at the Monument of Dositej at the Studentski Square, then goes to the Vuk and Dositej Museum, continues to Saborna Cathedral, where Dositej was laid to rest, and finishes in “Question Mark” It is believed that Dositej Obradovic was a regular guest of the tavern “Question Mark” in the years between 1807 untill 1811, when he died.
“Especially for this exhibition, - Mrs. Dragas said, -the Foundation published a catalogue about Dositej’s life in Belgrade, his biography and a special map of his European travels. Many photographs are included, as well as that of his birth house in Chakovo, Romania. The catalogue is so compact, it could be used as a professional tourist guide.”
“At the moment we are preparing several events for the next year as a part of the celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Dositej’s appointment to the position of the Minister of Education in the very first Government of Serbia.” Mrs. Mirjana Dragas told Serbia Today.

New Elections Needed Now!

By Ljiljana Samardzic

Sombor, July 14(Serbia Today) – “The development program for Serbia in the times of economic crises 2009-2012 “- was the main topic of discussion at the conference of the Serbian Democratic Party held on Monday in Sombor. The main speakers at the conference were Nenad Popovic PhD, the president of Serbian Democratic Party’s economical council, member of Serbian Parliament, professor at Moscow University and successful businessman, Zeljko Tomic, the member of Serbian Democratic Party’s executive board as well as a member of Serbian Parliament and Zoran Loncar PhD .
Beside promoting their party’s developing program, they also appealed for new elections in Serbia as the only way of stopping the ongoing crises.
At the very beginning, Mr. Tomic said that Government uses current economical problems and crises only as an excuse for their failures and incompetence. He spoke about unfulfilled Government election promises.
Mr. Popovic presented the outlines of their development program. He expressed his belief that economic crises is not over yet and that even bigger one is around the corner.
“Before an economic crises, there was a financial crises, but the worst part is yet to come”, according to Mr. Popovic –“ the next is social and then deep political crises”.
Based on Serbian Democratic Party’s program, there are three important aims: preservation of domestic industry, preservations of jobs and standard of the citizens.
According to Mr. Popovic,” there are two things that need to be done after new elections in order to stop further crises in Serbia. First, shrink the size of the Government, particularly the number of Ministers, and second is to look for assets from Serbian logical economic partners - Russian Federation and European Union”.
Speaking to a reporter of Serbia Today, Mr Popovic said that Serbian economy is currently on its knees. “Instead of 200 000 new working positions, we have an army of unemployed people which counts nearly one million and it’s increasing on daily basis”, he continued.
“Under these circumstances, with steps which are taken too late or are irregular, the only way are elections”, he said. According to Mr. Popovic, it will take one year at least, maybe even 3 or 4 years to make things right.
“The government led citizens to the edge of the existence, so the main question isn’t who will win the elections, but who will survive the economic crises”, finished Mr. Popovic.

Milijana Biletic returns to RTV

By: Milen Vesovic

Belgrade, July 10 (Serbia Today)- Milijana Baletic, in accordance with Novi Sad Court’s ruling, returned to work today in the public Radio-Television Vojvodina. With that decision the journalist Associations in Serbia were dissatisfied, to say the least, especially the NUNS and NDNV.

The Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV) highlighted that they consider the Court’s decision unacceptable and scandalous. "It is a big slap in the face of all journalists’ profession and of all the citizens of Vojvodina and Serbia, who still remember the reports and newspaper articles by this woman, filled with hate and anger, and which, undoubtedly, were in the function of war crimes and genocide," said Dinko Gruhonjic, president of NDNV.

President of the Independent Association of Serbian Journalists (NUNS), Nadezda Gace said for "Serbia Today" that NUNS always advocated the moral and ethical principles and the journalistic code in the newspaper profession. Unfortunately, Milijana Baletic did not follow any of these, especially in the period of ethnic wars.”

To remind, Milijana Baletic, a former journalist of Television Novi Sad, was fired in 2003. Few years later, she appealed to the Court to reverse that decision, which the Court did. Radio-Television Vojvodina confirms that Milijana Baletic is at work today.

During the war in the 90’s, being in service of Milosevic’s political machine, M. Baletic reported from war zones of the former Yugoslavia, and with the inflammable content of her articles she was, in opinion of many, stirring up the passions, promoting the war, intolerance, and hatred.

Hip Hop in Backo Gradiste

By Milen Vesovic

Novi Sad, July 14 (Serbia Today) – The Festival EXIT in Novi Sad, allows every year young and upcoming musicians from Serbia to present their talent and musical skills to the Festival visitors. Among the lucky ones this year was a Hip-hop group “Gradishte Ghetto” from Backo Gradiste.This is their third appearance on the Festival EXIT. Previous years they performed on "MTV Stage", "Agora Stage," and this year the audience saw them on “Suba Stage”."Gradishte Ghetto" exists since 2007, and its members are : the Emperor (Goran Ivanisevic), Shkomi (Milan Nikolic) and MC Marko (Marko Sekulic). They had noticeable performances in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, Becej and Zabalj. Goran Ivanisevic told Serbia Today after the performance, that he hoped the organizers of the Festival will call them to perform next year as well . They hope until then to publish their first album.

New Yorkers in Sombor

By Ljiljana Samardzic

Sombor, July 10 (Serbia Today) - A third year in a row, a New York - based collective of composers, The South Oxford Six, is organizing one-week seminar Summer in Sombor 2009. This musical education oriented seminar lasts from July 5th till July 12th. The main aim of these workshops is to decentralize culture, but also introducing students with contemporary music through practical work and lectures. This year workshops are led by Alexandra Vrebalov and Daniel Sonenberg, both members of The South Oxford Six.
According to Alexandra Vrebalov, the reason why this kind of international seminar is organized here is that Ms Vrebalov originates from Serbia. Besides, during her education, she had the opportunity to be part of different summer camps, but never in Serbia. The fact that composers and performers are spending one week together, discussing music, playing and studying music, makes this seminar unique.
Some changes are being made in this year’s seminar. “In the first two years we had a string quartet as guests and all lecturers were from The South Oxford Six. This year we have a string quintet and two lecturers from Serbia”, said Ms Vrebalov for Serbia Today. Zoran Eric, professor of composition at the School of Music of Belgrade’s University and Ivana Stefanovic, established Serbian composer, will spend two days with students.
“Participants in these workshops are students of composition, except one boy, who’s playing piano, but alongside he’s composing. He is also the youngest member, he’s 17 and the oldest are in the middle thirties”, said Ms Vrebalov. This generation gap is useful because it is easy to create an “atmosphere where everyone can learn something from each other and spread personal views.”
Regarding a daily workshop structure, it consists of ensemble rehearsals, individual classes where each student will have at least one consultation with each of instructors, and group sessions. On one of the sessions, Daniel Sonenberg presented his own works and later on, he discussed it with students. These works are interesting because contemporary music includes innovative approach to the matter.
The accent is on contemporary music. It is “isolated and specific area, which has to exist because it represents the highest thing in human spirit, solely nude abstract creativity”, said Ms Vrebalov. “Its existence is necessary because it shows that society has a strong enough grounding to enable something like this to find its own place.”
This seminar represents something that is very close to ideal music education, only in small edition. Studies in United States have more open and creative approach unlike studies in Serbia. But, Serbian students gain great theoretical base. Ms Vrebalov finds that something in the middle of those two approaches would be ideal for students.
Concert of contemporary music will be held at the very end of this course, on Sunday, July 13th. By playing, students will display just the small part of all things they have learned in one week.

Concert by David Byrne

By Natasa Tepavcevic

Belgrade, July 10, (Serbia Today) – For the third time Belgrade was privileged to host David Byrne. On July 8 in “Sava Centar” legendary David Byrne performed a wonderful concert, organized by “Sava Centar” and “Avalon Production from Skoplje”. This concert is part of his tour “Songs of David Byrne and Briana Enoa”.
Byrne performed the songs like: “My life in the bush of Ghosts” and “Everything that happened will happen today” (the album “Everything That Happen will Happen Today” can be listened for free at: http://www.everythingthathappens.com.), as well as the best songs of Talking Heads. Every song was followed by choreography performed by three performers. Beside that, Byrne had three back vocals. The concert outlasted more than two hours and Byrne returned on the stage three times. Audience was dancing and singing all the time. The culmination of energy was during the hits of Talking Heads: “Road to Nowhere" and "Burning Down the House". Concert of David Byrne was a real multimedia spectacle! Everyone who was there will remember this event for whole life.
These days in Belgrade, Byrne will also have a promotion of his new book: “Bicycle Diaries”. This book is published by “Geopoetika” and translated by Borivoje Gerzic. The book is full of images from Byrne’s bicycles trips, more than 120 illustrations. The author advocates bicycle transportation for the future in the big cities. David Byrne is also designer of bicycle’s station.
He is also a visual artist, and has shown his work in contemporary art galleries and museums around the world since the 1990s. He has also created a number of public art installations, many of them anonymous. He is represented by Pace/MacGill Gallery, NYC. In 2008 he designed nine bike racks around Brooklyn and Manhattan: "David Byrne bike racks".
Byrne also appeared as a guest vocalist/guitarist for “10,000 Maniacs” during their MTV Unplugged concert, though the songs in which he is featured were cut from their album. One of them, "Let the Mystery Be", appeared as the fourth track on “10,000 Maniacs” CD single "Few and Far Between".
He worked with "Queen of Tex-Mex", Tejano superstar diva Selena, writing, producing and singing a song ("God's Child (Baila Conmigo)"), included on Selena's last album, "Dreaming of You" before Selena's untimely death.
In late 2003, Byrne released a book with a companion DVD called Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information (ISBN 3-88243-907-6). The work included artwork composed entirely in Microsoft PowerPoint.
In 2005, Byrne initiated his own internet radio station, Radio David Byrne. Byrne has released a number of studio albums as well as scores and soundtracks, live albums, a remix album, and several singles. His main studio albums include: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno) (1981); Rei Momo (1989); The Forest (1991); Uh-Oh (1992); David Byrne (1994); Feelings (1997); Look into the Eyeball (2001); Grown Backwards (2004); Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with Brian Eno) (2008).

Red Star Fallout over one million Euros

Belgrade, July 9 (Serbia Today) – Fallout is at hand after the season in which the basketball team Red Star has organized, consolidated its finances and results, and formed a new ambitious, young and talented management with Svetislav Pesic as director.
While everybody expected a confirmation that the trophy master Slobodan Vukicevic will continue his cooperation with the red and white team, he submitted his resignation as a president of a club and main investor (there is a rumor that he infused 2 million Euros in the club accounts).
The reason for his resignation is purely of financial nature. The management could not provide an annual budget of 4.5 million Euros, as the operating management, that is, the manager Milan Opacic and a coach Svetislav Pesic have determined.
Vukicevic closed the financial structure at 3.5 millions, but according to his words, “the players and the management team were not willing to lower their incomes during this period of global economic crisis.”
Both sides, of course, consider themselves to be right. It is however, interesting to compare the above-mentioned numbers with the neighboring teams. The Red Star would have the highest budget of all the clubs in Serbia! However, they will not compete in the Euro league as Partizan will, nor they will have so many expenses, or the income coming from that elite division.
The sport’s director of black and white’s, Mladjan Silobrad said their last year’s budget was around 3 million Euros and they had functioned very difficultly. “The global crisis has entered our backyards, so we will lower our budget and it will be certainly smaller than 3 million Euros”, he added.
The main people from Hemofarm have at their disposal 2.5 million Euros (including the women’s team, which is the state champion), while FMP with the best youth categories and 3 Halls in possession, will not spend more than a million Euros.
The days of uncertainty are in front of the Red Star. If the compromise is not reached at the last moment, the team will stay without a president Vukicevic, a coach Pasic, and probably without a big number of lead players. They are at the edge of an abyss.

The 10th Exit is on!

By Rina Mihajlovic

Novi Sad, July 12 (Serbia Today)-The 10th EXIT has begun on Thursday night. It takes place in Novi Sad, on Petrovaradin Fortress and lasts from July 9-12th . It is a music festival with more than 500 performers on 20 festival stages.
Music lovers came from all over the world and Novi Sad is like a multinational town these days. The clock is ticking 96 most musical, fun and crazy hours. These four days the town breathes music, music and more music.
The streets are already flooded with foreigners from Monday and you can hear different languages everywhere around you.
You can see girls walking in their bikini tops and boys without their shirts on. You have a feeling you are somewhere in a summer resort and not in the middle of the town. Without shame or sense of time, the young people are sitting in the outdoor cafes during the day putting their sun lotion on and trying to catch some sun, while drinking cocktails.
Most of them are staying in the camp that is set 3km from the Fortress, 20 minutes on foot. The ones who prefer more comfort could rent a room or a whole apartment for these four days.
Amy Baker from San Diego California said for Serbia Today, that six of them heard about this festival from a British friend and couldn’t wait to come and see it for themselves. They love the town, people and food.
British people are not the only fans of this festival even though they are the ones who have sold the most EXIT tickets in England. There are other nations present as well, especially from the former YU Republics, showing that music is stronger than separation.
It is interesting to mention that some of the biggest names are performing here some of which performed yesterday: Lilly Allen, Arctic Monkeys, Roots Manuva, Partybreakers, The Stone, Draconic and so on. Tomorrow we have Manic Street Preachers, Overdrive, Orthodox Celts, Korn, Max Romeo, Andy C, etc. On Saturday big attraction Moby will perform along with Patti Smith, Kraftwerk, Sabaton, Cinnaman, Baloji, Steve Angello, etc. For Sunday we have the band that so many people are eager to see: The Prodigy plus Walls of Jericho, Elvis Jackson, Mancho Diao, Atheist Rap, Bryan Gee, etc. These are only few performers of the rich and outstanding EXIT’s offer.
The bridge is closed for transportation during the night but still there are many bus lines and taxis to get you to the bridge. The entrance is open from 17h until 3 o’clock in the morning. The drinks can only be bought with tokens in order to avoid big lines, crowds and money handling. There are over 30 bars, three ATMs, one exchange office and 433 toilets. Besides food and drinks, people can buy souvenirs as well.
The river of people was going toward the fortress yesterday and many of them were walking holding beer bottles in their hands warming up for the “party”.
During the whole night, it seemed like the whole town was dancing, the music was so loud that we had a feeling it was coming from the backyard. The town will not sleep these days and neither will we. It is nice to be a metropolis, for once at least.

Summer Time Jazz Festival

Summer Time Jazz Festival: Concert Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Victor Wootan- memorable performance!
By Natasa Tepavcevic
Belgrade, July 12, (Serbia Today) - Last Thursday, July 9, in Sava Center, Belgrade audience had an opportunity to listen three of the world's great jazz bassists!
Big names such as Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Victor Wootan attracted hundreds and hundreds of fans, not just from Belgrade and Serbia, but also this big event was reason for many people from region to come and enjoy real jazz attraction: the greatest bass musician today! They are simply bass acrobats, heroes of electric bass! The crowds in energetic applauses were drawing out the dialogue between them and audience. The audience were on their feet clapping and cheering all the time during the concert. Sava Centar had more then 900 visitors that night.
Dream team Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wootan for first time performed together in October 2007. The occasion was a concert in honor of the award, which Stanley Clarke has got for life-work in the art field of playing bass guitar.
At the beginning of 2008 they entered the studio and recorded the CD entitled “Thunder”. During the same year they started summer and autumn tour. Since then, concerts performances of three living bass legends and their supporting band were all over the world. Wherever they have a concert, they simply burn the mind of audience. Considering that, their promotion of album is continued in 2009, so Summer Time Jazz Festival was one of the stations.
Last year, Belgrade had extraordinary opportunity to listen Marcus Miller band, but this time master of electric bass accompanied by no less than two giants of the same instrument: Stanley Clarke and Victor Wootan.
It was enlightenment for many, including myself, I felt like I was in jazz heaven.
For people who are not familiar with these names, as they represent themselves through the solo jam sessions during the concert, in follows lines I would like and I have honor to introduce them separately.
Marcus Miller is a Grammy Award-winning jazz musician, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is perhaps best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn as well as a prolific solo career. Miller is classically trained as a clarinetist and also plays keyboards, saxophone and guitar. Miller's proficiency on his main instrument, the bass guitar, is generally well-regarded. Not only has Miller been involved in the continuing development of a technique known as "slapping", particularly his "thumb" technique, but his fretless bass technique has also served as an inspiration to many, and has taken the fretless bass into musical situations and genres previously unexplored with the electric bass of any description. The influences of some of the previous generation of electric bass players, such as Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius, are audible in Miller's playing.
As a composer, Miller wrote "Tutu" for Miles Davis, a piece that defined Davis' career in the late 1980s. He also composed "Chicago Song" for David Sanborn and co-wrote "'Til My Baby Comes Home", "It's Over Now", "For You To Love", and "The Power of Love" for Luther Vandross. Miller also wrote "Da Butt", which was featured in Spike Lee's "School Daze".
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores.
During the 1970s he joined the jazz fusion group Return to Forever led by pianist Chick Corea. The group became one of the most important fusion groups and released several albums that achieved both mainstream popularity and plaudits from critics. Clarke also started his solo career in the early 1970s and released a number of albums under his own name. His well-known solo album is School Days (1976), which, along with Jaco Pastorius's self-titled debut, is one of the influential solo bass recordings in fusion history. His albums Stanley Clarke (1974) and Journey to Love (1975) are also notable.
Clarke has long been associated with Alembic basses, and the much of his recorded output has been produced on Alembic instruments, particularly a dark-wood-colored custom bass in the Series I body style.
In the late 1970s, Clarke was playing Rick Turner's first graphite neck on his Alembic "Black Beauty" bass, and he decided to have an all composite bass made. He commissioned designer/luthier Tom Lieber to design and build this bass, having purchased one of Lieber's Spider grinder basses in 1979. In 1980 Lieber and Clarke formed the Spellbinder Corporation and produced a limited run of fifty Spellbinder basses. One left-handed bass was built as a gift from Stanley to Paul McCartney. After the run the molds were destroyed. In 2007 Clarke once again teamed up with Lieber and Rick Tuner to reform the Spellbinder Corp. and produce a limited run of 125 of the Spellbinder Bass II, which Clarke is currently playing on the RTF reunion tour. Clarke has also played a Ken Smith BT Custom, and a German made Löwenherz Tenor Bass.
Since the 80s, Stanley has been turning his energy to film and television scoring. He is currently scoring the ABC Family Channel series “Lincoln Heights” in addition to writing the show's theme song. In October 2006 Clarke was honored with Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award. Bassists Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten presented the award at a ceremony at New York City's Millennium Broadway Hotel. A multi-Grammy award winner, Stanley was the first “Jazzman of the Year” for Rolling Stone magazine, won Music Award - Best Bassist from Playboy magazine for 10 straight years, and is a member of Guitar Player magazine's “Gallery of Greats.” He was honored with the key to the city of Philadelphia and put his hands in cement as a 1999 inductee into Hollywood's “Rock Walk” on Sunset Boulevard. In 2004 he was featured in Los Angeles magazine as one of the 50 most influential people.
Victor Wooten is an American bass player. He is known for his technical virtuosity and his skills as musician, composer, and author. Wooten has won the "Bass Player of the Year" award from Bass Player magazine three times in a row, and was the first person to win the award more than once. In addition to a solo career and collaborations with various artists, Wooten has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988

The "Art Scene" behind Exit Festival

By Natasa Tepavcevic

Belgrade, July 12 (Serbia Today) - Art Scene was a part of support events to the music happening called EXIT Festival in Novi Sad.
On July 8th in “Synagogue”, visitors of Novi Sad could enjoy video work of Cedomir Drce and Slobodan Tisma “Opera Aperta”, concert of pianist Branka Parlic and piano duo of Gareis and Polh from Switzerland. Branka Parlic performed “Orpheus suite for piano solo” of Philip Glass and duo from Switzerland which was a premier performance: compositions of: Steve Reich, Gavin Bryars, John Adams and Aleksandar Rabinovic.
Opera “Opera Aperta” is composed from three parts: Aesthetic 1-3, Unvisual-36 times blue and The Fumes.
The video installation of Ivan Milinkov, specially produced for this occasion, was visual support for the concert of Branka Perlic. Milinkov used in his video the cadres from a movie “Orpheus” of Jean Cocteau, because concert of Branka Perlic reminded us of the anniversary, 120 years from Cocteau’s birth and 60 years from appearance of “Orpheus” movie.
Concert “Strictly minimal”-piano duo of Gareis and Polh started after Branka Parlic’s performance. Audience had rarely opportunity to listen one of the oldest Steve Reich’s composition “Piano phases” from 1967, as well as Gavin Bryars’s composition “My first Homage”, John Adam’s composition “Hallelujah Junction” and Aleksandar Rabinovic’s composition “Liebliches Lied”.
This program was organized and realized by support of Provincial Secretariat for Culture and The Citizens' Pact for South-East Europe.

Milena Pavlovic Barilli

By Jelica Tapušković

Belgrade, July 03, (Serbia Today) - One of the best surealism artist from Serbia Milena Pavlovic Barilli was born 100 years ago, on November 5th in Pozarevac, little town about 100 kilometers from Belgrade. She was the only child of duke’s Karadjordje grand grand daughter Danica Pavlovic and italian composer and journalist Bruno Barilli.

She showed her interest for painting while she was still a child. Milena studied at the Academy of Art in Belgrade at first, only to continue his studies abroad in Munich. She left Serbia in 1930, and started living and working in European metropolis London, Paris and Rome. There she acquired a reputation as really good painter. She was a friend of a group of very excentric and famous artists known as representers of avanguardian artistic scene – Jean Cocteau, Andre Breton, Giorgio de Chirico, etc.

Beside painting, her huge love was poetry, so she was also known as a good poem writter. In one period of her life, she lived in America. There, she worked as comercial designer, and ilustrator for fashion magazines Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and journal for exterior and enterior Town and Country.

She also designed costumes for Gian Carlo Menotti’s balley Sebastian.

During her life in Paris she met pianist Rodrigo Gonzalez from Cuba, and very soon he became her big love. She died on 6th mart 1945, and her grave is in Rome.

There was no doubt for critics that her art was unique. They like to say that she was arhitect of dream and dreaming. Milena’s paintings are full of unreal world, magic, liric and fantasy. Her work can be separated in three periods – so called „munich“, „antique“ and „renesanse“. Some like to say that her work is part of „return to order“ art, which dominate on europian art scene in 20th and 30th years of 20 century.

Most of her paintings were made out of Serbia, but many of it, including graphics and drawings are in her home in Pozarevac (today it is Gallery of Milena Pavlovic Barilli), in Museum of contemporary art and Museum of applied art, both in Belgrade.

Because of importance of this fabulous painter, Ministry of culture of Serbia, organized the Board for organization of the 100th anniversary of Milena Pavlovic Barilli birth. The Board decided to organize her exhibition in gallery of Serbian academy of science and art (SANU), which will be held from July 17th till 25th august.

After that, exhibition will move to other Serbian towns and abroad. During the exhebition visitors will see her most important oils on canvas, drawings and graphics. Beside that, Board planned to promote her artistic opus – paintings and poetry, on one big science happening. Author of exhibition is custos from Gallery in Pozarevac, Jelica Milojkovic, who also wrote a monography aboot Milena. The Board also made a deal with University in Bologna and Belgrade’s Fashon and Design Art School to make textyle designs inspired with her drawings.

Summer on Gardos

By Jelica Tapuskovic

Beograd, July15, (Serbia Today) - From July 6th- August 30th , in Zemun will be held a manifestation called “Summer on Gardos”. Zemun is, for sure, one of most picturesque parts of Belgrade located on the banks of River Danube. In the middle of Zemun are old quarters called Gardos with its focal point Gardos Tower.
The whole architecture of Gardos is different from the other parts of Zemun. It is specified by its position, lane streets with cobblestone and a tower, which is built at the end of the 19th century on the place where was once a Middle Ages fortress.
That tower was built on the most southern spot of the ex Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, Gardos is known as a favorite promenade for people from Zemun, and all people who like to enjoy in beautiful architecture and view of Danube.
Considering all those facts, City Hall Zemun and people, who were in love with that part of town, organized a Summer Festival of theater and music on Gardos in 2002. During the time, it developed in a real festival of culture. That fact is confirmed by a growing number and blend of various visitors. This is also the longest manifestation in region because it is open for almost two months.
The Summer Festival stage was designed in a shape of an old amphitheatre. Selector of manifestation Ivica Klemenc said for Serbia Today that they made an effort to give to the public enjoyment and opportunity to see something new, something that is impossible to see in theaters during the regular season.
He explains that Summer on Gardos has a concept which implies that Sundays and Mondays are reserved for children spectacles, Wednesdays for short performances as monodramas, duo dramas, poet nights and concerts for classical guitars. On Fridays, the public can enjoy in theater shows played on an open stage, and having their premiers here. On Sundays, the public can enjoy in concerts.
This Summer there are standard guests, like Milan Lane Gutovic, Zijah Sokolovic and music band Garavi sokak”, said Klemenc for our magazine. One of the Premieres will be a musical show “Prayer for South” from a theater of Novi Sad, which was seen only in Edinburgh, Zagreb and Budapest. It is good to mention a comedy “Romantic fools” directed by Mirjana Karanovic, and a tale from Homolje “Muma paduri”. Klemenc underlined that there will be few more interesting happenings, like a concert of Vlada Rackovic band, which is the only bend in Serbia that plays Dixieland jazz, concert of actress Ljiljana Stjepanovic who will sing gypsy and Russian songs, and a concert of Vlada Kanic’s tambourine band.
The manifestation will be closed on August 30th, with a concert of Bistric band and fireworks. In case of rain, the shows will be held in a Home of aviation in Zemun.

Ruth Bianco - SOHO Video Instalation

By Natasa Tepavcevic

Belgrade, July 12, (Serbia Today) -From 26. 06 -17.07.2009 lovers of visual art have the opportunity to visit art gallery “Remont” and to “consume” video installation of Ruth Bianco, entitled “SOHO”.
SOHO is a double-video installation created as part of The Philosophical Brothel, a group-show provoking reflection on the reconfiguration of time, space and art processes in contemporary practice - now, a 100 years on from Picasso's Les Demoiselles.
Concerned with a territory marked out for the consumption of sex, the SOHO videos document the masked realities of lure and seduction that become the object of the way we trade "gaze". The sleaze surrounding the consumerism of the "human market" is aligned with the surreptitious "gaze" of the filmmaking process - a film made specifically with a partly hidden camera inside the porn shops of Soho, and another tracing the Soho streets, London's red light district.
The fragmented and multi-dimensions of the cubist frame is conceptually transposed into the manipulations of the moving image, the layering of the screen and breaking up the projection space.
“My art practice springs from an urge to "unfix" in an interdisciplinary approach. I look upon my material as processes, seeking threads of connections in the boundaries between information and transformation”, that’s how Ruth Bianko explained her work.
Generally, her work involves time-based and other combined media, installation, video and sound, photography, drawing and research. She is born and raised in Valetta, Malta. At the moment she lives and works between Malta and the UK. Find more about her work her: www.ruthbianco.com

Concert Sinead O'Connor, Belgrade

By Natasa Tepavcevic

Belgrade, July 06, (Serbia Today) - Summer time Jazz Festival started on Friday July 3rd with the concert by Sinead o’ Conner, Irish singer and composer. Interest of spectators was huge and Sava Center concert hall was overcrowded.
O'Connor arrived on the pop scene in the late-1980s. With the 1990 release of O’Connor’s second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, the baldheaded singer-songwriter became an international star. Driven by the phenomenal success of the smash hit single “Nothing Compares 2 U” (a once-obscure song written by Prince and first recorded by a band called the Family), the album shot to the top of the Billboard charts and nabbed O’Connor four Grammy Award nominations including Best Album, Best Song, Best Female Vocalist, and Best Alternative Album. The video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” won the MTV Award for Video of the Year, and O’Connor was named Artist of the Year in 1991 by Rolling Stone.
She is also well known because of her outspoken comments that attracted lots of media attention over many years of her career. On the concert in New Jersey in 1990 when O'Connor refused to set foot on stage if the American national anthem was played, prompted Frank Sinatra to threaten that he would "kick her ass". She ripped up a picture of the Pope on US TV show Saturday Night Live in 1992 and declared on MTV that the US and England had a history of terrorism "no better than Saddam Hussein". She then denounced MTV as well.
In Belgrade, she showed her emotional and peaceful energy. It was an “intimate concert” , as she has promised on press conference before the performance. The audience could walk through the hits from all of her albums and Belgrade was privileged to hear some compositions, which are planned to be published next year on her new album. She had good connection with the audience. Long applauses followed each song. The last song Thank you for hearing me she performed without the orchestra. Listening attentively her overwhelming voice, was an amazing experience.

Zlatibor's Tourist Offer

By Bojana Jankovic

Uzice, July 07, ( Serbia Today) - “Zlatibor, ask Tara, if it remembers its old love…”- is a refrain of a popular song by Uzice’s singer, Slobodan Mulina, of which local people are so proud.
In addition to its successful tennis, basketball, and football players, Serbia is well known for its natural beauty. When we say “the natural beauty of Serbia”, we are really speaking of Zlatibor, a mountain which offers peace, presents a refuge from everyday life, and presents an escape from the fast life ... the mountain that connects the incompatible, gives happiness and satisfaction. It is located on the southwestern part of Serbia, near the town of Uzice, and extends to the surface area of approximately 1000 km2.
This “air spa” or wavy hills are known as a summer and winter’s retreat, but first and foremost as a climatic health resort. It holds sources of natural mineral water, and one of them is Vapa Spa, next to the village of Rožanstvo. This water has curative effects on skin and eye diseases, and for the treatment of bronchial asthma and other skin’s sicknesses, the climate of Zlatibor itself is sufficient. The Summers are hot and the Winters relatively cold. Frequent rains and snows from October to May make the holiday of every individual, different and special. In the summer period, Zlatibor’s sun color one’s skin in superfine gold, slowly turning in the color of bronze, while the dark skinned people will be refreshed by the glow, on which many will be jealous.
We must not forget the national kitchen that “melts in the mouth”. Kajmak, cheese, prosciutto, lepinja, kacamak, hoecake, sarma, all kinds of pie, uštipak ... are just part of the pleasure which Zlatibor offers.
“The Rose of winds” is in full bloom here on Zlatibor.
Numerous restaurants, first-class service, and a rich selection of food and drinks just add to this dream holiday. Along the edge of the Zlatibor’s lake, as a part of the apartment settlement “Royal’s konak” is located the restaurant “Jezero” in which every guest feels royally. One of the pearls of restaurants offer, is surely a restaurant “Kneginja”, situated between the bus station and basketball courts. The restaurants worth mentioning are also: “The Smell of the Quince”, “Vizantija”, “Koliba”, “Vodenicar”... each different by its specials, but all same in the quality and specialty of services.
When tired of walking through the fresh and clean air over large meadows, lush forests, or when tired of skiing in the wintertime, you can rest by a brief stay in one of the many cafes. For the younger population, an evening life is available, among which the most popular are the clubs Vendom and San Set.
During the past years, its many luxurious hotels, apartments, resorts and private accommodation can only commend the accommodation facilities on this mountain. Olympus Hotel, located at the entrance to Zlatibor, with its position, harmonious architectural lines, opens the gate to the central Zlatibor plateau. Staying in a hotel VIS, every guest becomes enriched with a variety of memories, filled with the smell of meadows, colors of conifer trees, the sounds of crickets in the summer, crunching of an untouched snow in winter, and the warmth born out of human care, attention and good will.
Hotel Jugopetrol is recognizable by its staff courtesy, professionalism, and content that makes it stand out as a modern, well-equipped hotel. Surrounded by greenery, pine forests, with the highest view of the ski center Tornik, on the slopes of Kamalj, is located the Hotel President, and is an ideal place in summer as well as in winter. The modern hotel Zelenkada, is situated in the most beautiful part of tourist complex Zlatibor, at the altitude of 1030m, and offers comfort, recreation and entertainment. In the center of the mountain, with 90 comfortable rooms and suites, is situated the hotel Mona, which, in addition to national, offers as well an international cuisine.
What every human being needs to live, is health, and there is a special hospital for thyroid gland, and metabolism diseases- Čigota. This specialized hospital is equipped with: a ward for stationary treatment, out-patient-polyclinic ward, department of nuclear medicine, division of physical medicine, and the branch for balanced nutrition and recreation.
Depending on the desires and needs, the prices of the accommodation capacities are different and range from 4000 to 25,900 dinars, or 43 to 280 euros in the summer time, while in winter the prices are just slightly corrected. All hotels in their offers include a bar, restaurant, fitness center, spa center, relaxation center for massage and beauty salon care.
In order to ensure the certainty of the truth of this fullness of beauty, of the relaxation and pleasure which Zlatibor offers, for Serbia Today’s readers, we have asked some of the tourists that we found on this beautiful mountain, while some were contacted by phone.
Ana ( from Belgrade): I come to Zlatibor 1-2 times a year and it gives me an amazing vacation. The air is clean and I can breathe with full lungs.
Nikola (from Bor): I have just returned from Zlatibor. Walks, activities with friends, bicycling, a tour of Mokra Gora, Sirogojno, idleness in the garden of selected bars and restaurants - all of that recreates and regenerates me. After the Summer heat and crowd on sea, this mountain agrees so much; It pleases me during Winter, but also in Spring and Fall.
Nenad (from Cacak): The service, food, prices, music ... everything was perfect. I bought proschiutto, kajmak and lepinja, and brought it to Cacak and I enjoy in life.
Mitrovski (from Skoplje): It is neither a village nor a town. But it is pleasant and relaxing. It cleanses the spirit and body, restores strength and energy. I didn’t believe in those stories, but now that I'm here ...I have no words. Everything is so unreal. I nipped and bit myself, but it was not a dream. This is the reality. From now on I will plan at least two times a year to come here to Zlatibor.
Joshua (from London): This is mt first time on Zlatibor, and I think that from now on, I will regularly visit this great mountain. I love nature.
Sladjana (from Novi Sad): We are going in a private accommodation and are always extra satisfied. And when we return from Zlatibor, I think that the happiest are our immediate relatives when we drag tons of cheese, kajmak and proschiutto.
Andria (from Podgorica): Zlatibor is the best place to come to, after the sea, the heat and “sea sicknesses”. People are kind here, and they will make everything to make all the guests feel royally. I always come here with my friends and our nightlife is perfect. For our night outings, the best is Vendom ... and then afterwards, in late hours (pardon, early ones) the walks beside the lake ... represent an incredible challenge. However, none of this can be fully described in words. It is necessary to come, see, feel, breathe the air, touch the earth under your feet ...
This mountain has one rule: the season is always. Summer, winter, spring or autumn, the pride of Uzice region always has something to offer. Experienced guides lead visitors to the inmost secrets of Zlatibor. What is certain to be seen, are the beautiful mountain pastures, hardly passable thick pine forests, rivers, streams, lakes, waterfalls, which take the breathe away, the highest peaks, the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, monasteries, the lookouts with a magnificent view ...

TERRAtory - an unusual exibit

By:Una Zabunov

Belgrade, July 16,(Serbia Today) – As a part of the BELEF’s visual program, Knez Mihajlova Street, the heart of downtown Belgrade, has been transformed in the open space gallery. People going up and down the street are somewhat confused, but mostly amused with the site of the sculptures made of terracotta placed on the street pavement. The exhibition "TERRAtory " is a part of the Belef Festival program.

The Sculptures are sorted in groups and they have caused great interest of the audience . Forms of the sculpture are simple, such as: human portraits, chess figures etc.

The Authors of these figures are 150 students of Art Schools, as well as several already established Artists from Florence, Temişoara, Belgrade and Novi Sad.

After the end of the 18th traditional Summer Festival, all of the terracotta figures will be donated to schools, kindergartens and hospitals.

The Festival's visual program concept carries on the initiative from BELEF and continues to explore the possibilities of Modern Art production in public areas.

The city remains in focus as a theme, an element on which an intervention is carried on, a field of research and interpretation, where art is offered to the widest public completely avoiding gallery showrooms.

The Fourth BINA

By Natasa Tepavcevic

Belgrade, July 03, (Serbia Today) - The Fourth Belgrade International Architecture Week - BINA '09 was held in past week on variety of places in Belgrade: The ARTGET Gallery (Belgrade Cultural Center), O3on Gallery, GRAD Cultural Centre, Italian Cultural Centre, Austrian Cultural Forum, French Cultural Centre, Goethe Institute, Vračar Municipality, Windows in Knez Mihailova Street, Institute of Urbanism Belgrade.
It was a collaborative project of Society of Architects Belgrade and Cultural Center Belgrade.
Belgrade International Architecture Week 09 gathers various professionals involved in REthinking of the urban and architectural context, various generations ready to share the old with the new ideas, and the representatives from different countries across Europe and the USA.
BINA RE…- defines the post-war residential architecture of Europe, with a special focus on the architecture of New Belgrade, thanks to the help of eminent architects from Italy, France, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, the USA and Serbia
The Society of Belgrade Architects and the Belgrade Cultural Centre have named this year’s BINA “RE…“. This prefix implies an acute issue regarding our attitude towards the existing architectural and urban environment and potentials of its constant REproduction, REconstruction, REvitalisation, REgeneration, REaffirmation, REintegration….into the pulsating courses of our life.
The turbulent history of Belgrade tells us that our city has often passed through all the above-mentioned RE-phases.
Let me explain the purpose of BINA RE… Fourth Belgrade International Architecture.
Thinking is performative act, but re-thinking is connected with an emancipator claim.
That’s why it is necessary to distinguish between the terms “thinking” and “re-thinking”.
History is not given. The restruction of society throughout changes of laws as well as changes of social mind we called transition process. Transition means legal restructive of the society, accepting laws that will enable and guarantee changes not only in economical sphere but also in domain of culture, education, architecture, medical services…
Restructive process in culture is actually transferring, both political and contextual. What we accept as cultural articulation is in fact the result of transferring.
At the other hand, what is the aim of globalisation: (re-)constructing the territory called “Central Europe”. In short, the purpose is: clean the space from the previous ideology. It is clear to all of us that “professionals” from abroad, working as teamwork on this project together with our architects, will exclude social realism-as a form of previous regime, and will take into the consideration only those projects which have position which is supposedly against the communist and socialist regime.
What I want to anticipate with this short explanation of entitle of Fourth Belgrade International Architecture Week is fallowing statement: Neoliberal hegemony, which is so powerful today, started as a small one - cultural hegemony.