December 27, 2018 - Mayor of Budva Dragan Krapović presented a new strategic project in Budva - a traffic solution for the city center through converting the streets of November 22^nd and the Mediterranean into the boulevards and building a roundabout near the Main post office. Krapović reiterated that the Municipality proposed four strategic projects, which would give Budva an entirely new look.

"After we stabilized finances and total opportunities and entered the regular work area and established the system after many years, we came to the situation that after only two years we offer some strategic projects that would significantly improve the lives of all the people in Budva. Firstly, I mean the already presented project of paving Grdjevica, on two garages in the center of the city that would finally solve the problem of parking in Budva. For this project, we have the investor's interest and some solutions offered, and this will be disclosed quickly," said Krapovic.

He added that the Municipality believes that it is crucial to get a modern Mediterranean promenade.

"These three projects would bring a completely new, orderly and more functional city to the citizens, and a better, more comfortable and more desirable destination for our guests. Today we want to present you a traffic solution for the city center - November 22^nd street, which, worth 800 thousand euros, is in the plan of investments for 2019, a roundabout near the Main post office and then a new solution for Mediterranean street. If we were to implement these four projects in the next five to seven years, which is not unrealistic because we did not offer megalomaniac fantasies, I believe we would get a new functional city and an extremely competitive destination for the next 50 years," said Krapovic.

The presentation of the project was done by the docent dr. Biljana Ivanović, a graduate Construction Engineer.

Text by Vuk Lajovic, on December 26th 2018, read more at Vijesti

December 23, 2018 - The olive groves Džidžarin in Stari Bar and Valdanos near Ulcinj are the first in Montenegro to be officially mapped according to the most modern method, which is the current world hit in agriculture and is based on satellite images and other data processed by the Geographic Information System (GIS).

This spatial data management system enables the creation of "smart cards" with precise parameters, in the specific case, how much the olive is on which plot, and is enabled thanks to the trilateral IPA project "Cross-border Olive" in which the Municipality of Bar and Association for sustainable development, regional cooperation and olive growing Valdanos. "For now, there are" Wine Roads "- the wine routes in Crmnica, and this project aims to map the olives to their tourist valorization, that is, to the" Old olive trees," they announced from the Municipality.

Džidžarin is one of the biggest and most beautiful olive complexes in Bar municipality. Experts point out that its great and ambient value is that, together with the remains of the old town, stone bridges, and mills in its immediate surroundings, it is one of the most valuable microcircuits on the entire Montenegrin coast. Džidžarin in KO Bartula, has a total area of about 70 hectares, with about 10.000 roots of olive trees in possession of approximately 130 owners.

Experts at the University “Ka Foscari” in Venice and the Homeland Museum found the remains of Greek culture from the 4th century before the new era in Džidžarin which was established by laboratory analysis of samples in 2009 in Venice. It was then announced that this olive tree is older than two millennia by these analyzes. Earlier, among the olive growers of Bar, there were speculations that these trees are ancient. The total budget of the current INTERREG IPA project is 625. Four hundred forty euros and the Municipality of Bar received an IPA grant of 73,962 euros. The biennial project started on May 28^th this year, Džidžarin was chosen by Bar Secretariat for Agriculture and Rural Development by the project criteria for selecting a location for mapping olives in the GIS system.

The leading partner in the “Cross-Border Olive” is the Faculty of Agriculture in Tirana, and beside Bar and Ulcinj, the other partners are the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute from Bari, the Urban Research Institute in Tirana and the Venafra Historical and Agricultural Park of Olives. This kind of mapping of old olive trees will also be done in Albania and Italy.

Text by Radomir Petric, on December 22nd, 2018, read more at Vijesti

December 23, 2018 - The first edition of the book festival - Humanities of Culture and Art FesKK Kotor "Be careful what you are reading" was closed on Saturday.

On behalf of the organizers of the festival, the director of JU Museum of Kotor, Dusan Medin, greeted the present audience, who pointed out that during the days of the festival the main mission was realized - Cultural heritage of Pro futuro, to talk about the cultural heritage in a way that it can bring us benefits in the future , but also to remind us of all our cultural values, especially the value and character of Boka Bay, especially Kotor as its center.

The president of the expert jury, Jelena Djurovic, announced the winners of the awards; in the category of publishers the award was given to CANU publisher and the Supervisory Museum of Montenegro, for the publication "Red Rock", editor Robert Whallon for international contributions in the field of archaeological research on the territory of Montenegro and the National Museum of Montenegro for the scientific contribution of the book "Art Museum", by the author Ljiljana Zeković.

For innovative educational practice, the award was presented to publisher Gligorije Dijaku for the book " Čudesni svijet puha Đorđa " by author Žarko Vučinić for outstanding contribution to innovative practice in education. "

In the category of the awards for authors, the award was given to Jovica Martinović for the scientific contribution of the book "Socio-economic structure of the society in Kotor in the first half of the XIV century", by a comprehensive survey of the socio-economic circumstances of the medieval Kotor.

FesKK – closing December 2018.

 Festival editor Stanka Janković Pivljanin announced prizes awarded by the city of Kotor. The award was presented on behalf of the city by the Vice-President of the Municipality of Kotor Ljiljana Popović Moškov. The jury in the town of Kotor awarded two prizes to the publishers: Kotor Maritime Museum of Montenegro for the book "Lav Svetog Marka: simbol Serenisime predstavljen u umjetnosti grada Kotora", by Radojka Abramovic, in the category of a book that has a lasting value and achieves a scientific contribution. "This study, which is accompanied by an extraordinary illustrative material, has shown the maturity and cautiousness of the author as a critical investigator," said Jankovic Pivljanin.   

The second prize was awarded to the National Library of Montenegro "Đurđe Crnojević" for the book "Artistic treasures of Montenegro", in the category of reprinted editions of old books that have permanent value.

Two awards for authors were awarded to academician prof. Dr. Serbo Rastofer for the book "Komunisti i muhadžiri (1958 – 1971) slučaj Opštine Rožaje", in the category of books that provides an important scientific contribution. The second prize was awarded to prof. Dr. Miodrag Perovic for the book "Istorija matematike", in the same category.

The Special Award for Photo monography "Krsto Andrijašević", by editor Ljiljana Zeković, was awarded for a book that has a lasting value, published by Cano Koprivica Foundation and the National Museum of Montenegro.

"During the three days, the festival gathered 50 publishers and organized over 20 book promotions, it was successful," estimated Maja Grgurovic, a professor of literature and librarians at the Museum of Perast, at the closing ceremony of the festival at the Gallery Solidarnosti this evening.

Text by Boka news, on December 23rd, 2018, read more at Boka news

December 23, 2018 - The Kotor Tourist Organisation participates in several international projects and is waiting for the project selection within the open call of Interreg IPA CRO-BA-ME 2014-2020, which closed on 20 December 2018. Participation of the Tourist Organization of Kotor for each project is 15% of its costs, while 85% of funds should be provided through project programs.

The project "Explore Crossborder Aquatic Biodiversity - ExChAnge" Kotor Tourist Organisation is carried out with the Institute for Marine Biology at the University of Montenegro, the Tourist Association of Hercegovačko-Neretva Canton and JP Nature Park of Hutovo Blato from Čapljina. The project aims to create four new thematic routes linking the Aquarium in Dubrovnik, an aquarium that will be open in Kotor, the Hutovo Nature Reserve and the Neretva River and the Old Bridge in Mostar, to create infrastructure and to establish and respect the standards in promotion natural heritage. Activities of TO Kotor in this project amount to EUR 327,417.73.

"Augmented Cities-Digital Cities - AC-DC" project, in cooperation with the Tourist Board of the City of Sisak as a leading partner, Kotor Tourist Organisation performs and with two other partners - the Agency for Development of the Municipality of Tešanj and the Interpretation Center of Banovina Heritage. Partners in this project are working on the creation and exchange of ICT solutions created to modernize the tourist offer that will be enriched with digital content based on virtual and expanded realities and electronic databases on the cultural heritage on site in front of each facility — the activities of TO Kotor in this project amount to EUR 150.054,23.

The project "Joint development and promotion of newly developed NAUTICA CBC" TO Kotor is realized in partnership with the Faculty of Transport Sciences of the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Kotor and the Port Authority of the Split-Dalmatia County. The aim is to create a common tourist product in the field of nautical tourism and to create a framework for research, education, and promotion of the offer in this field — activities of the Kotor Tourist Organisation in this project amount to EUR 206,266.00.

The project "C-BH-M Border Triangle Cooperation - BTC" Kotor Tourist Organisation has been prepared in partnership with the Public Institution for Management of Protected Areas of Nature of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the Development Agency of the City of Dubrovnik, the National Parks of Montenegro, the Municipality of Ravno and the Municipality of Neum. The project is cross-border to improve the tourist offer, exchange of information and establish coordination in the conduct of joint activities to present in the best possible way the unified offer of the cultural and historical heritage of this area — activities of TO Kotor in this project amount to EUR 177,595.33.

Cross-Border Cooperation Program Interreg IPA CRO-BA-ME 2014-2020 is an instrument for implementing the policy coherence within the EU Member States on which it is based, and is performed with a view to establishing balanced development and strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion in order to stimulate growth in the EU member states and other countries participating in the program. Kotor Tourist Organisation is expecting a response to the project proposal under this program.

December 22, 2018 - The Ministry of Science will spend 91,893 euros at the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor for the construction of a marine aquaculture laboratory. Bearing in mind the significance of the project for the development of science and strengthening the capacity of the Institute of Marine Biology, as well as the fact that at the moment there are no funds for such projects, the Ministry has decided to co-finance the establishment of a laboratory.

The planned upgrading of the Institute of Marine Biology implies the construction of an additional 260m² of space to provide a laboratory working area and the premises for artificial breeding of microalga and shellfish, as well as a cabinet for the head of the laboratory and the technical staff.

"The new Laboratory aims to create conditions for artificial reproduction of shellfish, then breeding lettuce using the cultivated microalgae and increasing the production of shellfish in the area of Boka Bay. Several shellfish farms will be partners on the project and will be supplied directly with grown-ups, after which they will grow in the natural environment to reach the consuming size," the document adopted by the Montenegrin Government states.

This is about information on the realization of the project "Sustainable and innovative Agro food and fisheries value chain for SMEs cross border market - Food4health" of the University of Montenegro - Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor.

The results of scientific experiments in Laboratory will be directly applicable in the economic sector and influence its development, while the rich practical experience of shellfish growers will contribute to the final phase of the experiment- the promotion of domestic high-nutrition products and the branding of shellfish from Boka Bay.

As stated, the formation of such a Laboratory opens up the possibility of numerous scientific researches in the field of marine aquaculture, fisheries and primary production through various fundamental and applied researches - from artificial cultivation of endangered or vulnerable species to marine organisms, repopulation of certain species whose resources are transmitted, development of new protocols and improving taxonomic methodologies.

Otherwise, during 2018, the Institute of Marine Biology participated in the preparation of project applications under the IPA Interreg Call for Cross-Border Projects for Montenegro, Italy, and Albania. Institute reported the project in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Montenegro, the Albanian and Italian Ministries of Agriculture and three other scientific and research institutions from Italy and Albania.

Given the specificity of the area, the Institute of Marine Biology, as an equal partner in the project, proposed the upgrade of the Institute building to establish a Marine Aquaculture Laboratory, purchase of the necessary microalga breeding equipment and in vitro breeding of high economic value bivalve mollusks.

The planned start of the project is March 2019, and its implementation will last four years.

21 December 2018 - An international multidisciplinary systematic field research and study of the music and dance tradition and customs of Paštrović, titled Ethno Lab, which took place in Petrovac from December 10th to December 16th, has been completed.

This project is organized for the second year in a row by the Society for Cultural Development "Bauo" from Petrovac. The project was supported by the Municipality of Budva, HG Budva Riviera and the Tourist Organization and the Municipality of Budva, while the assistance was provided by Museums and Galleries of Budva and the families of Marina and Ilija Medin.

Several reference ethnomusicologists, ethnocorists, ethnologists and anthropologists, as well as other experts and researchers in the field of cultural heritage living and working in Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have contributed Ethno Lab project, including Zlata Marjanović (Academy of Arts Banja Luka), Dragica Panić Kašanski (Academy of Arts, Banja Luka), Vesna Karin (Academy of Arts, Novi Sad), Martina Karin (Academy of Arts, Novi Sad), Miloš Rašić (Ethnographic Institute SANU, Belgrade) and many others.

Professional associates on the project were Dušan Medin, archaeologist and master manager in culture, doctoral studies in archaeology at the Faculty of Humanities at the Faculty of Humanities in the Maritime University in Koper (Republic of Slovenia), also a longtime researcher of the material and non-material cultural heritage of Paštrovići, Milica Stanić Radonjić, Master of Communication (Museums and Galleries of Budva) and Itana Lalović, ethnologist and anthropologist (Museums and Galleries of Budva) and marketing advisor. The coordinator of the project is Mila Medin, executive director of the Society for Cultural Development "Bauo", which assisted in coordination and organization to 5 volunteers.

During this year's project, successful research was conducted, and a lot of valuable material was collected through interviews with twenty families of Paštrović.

As in the past year, it is expected that the results of the research will affirm the rich and representative intangible cultural heritage of Paštrovići, which, despite the current knowledge and results, is still multidisciplinary scientific study and valorization.

On each day of the project more discussions with the local population were organized, while on Saturday, December 15th, at the Memorial House "Red Commune", a lecture was held on which participants presented the project, the current research, and future development prospects in the future.

One of the ideas that was born during the research is the treatment of more recent issues.

"Why wait for someone to come in for 50 years and deal with some topics from the 1970s and 1980s when we now have younger people who I can talk to about that period. These are the topics and research we want, and they should be implemented as soon as possible," concluded Mila Medin, the executive director of the Bauo Cultural Development Society and the coordinator of the Ethno Lab project.

20 December 2018 - The implementation of the “Smart City Concept” within the Capital City of Montenegro includes the realisation of a pilot project related to the introduction of modern technologies, especially the promotion of the use of solar energy.

Podgorica has recently purchased six “Smart Solar Benches” of the new generation, which, through installed photovoltaic modules, accumulate solar energy as the only power source (the benches are not connected to any source of electricity). Generated solar energy allows the collection of data about the weather parameters that will be available to citizens through an application that the Capital will develop in the upcoming period. The bench has a WiFi access point, a rain sensor that turns off the bench in the case of heavy precipitation, a built-in LED light that illuminates the area near the bench at night. Users also have the option to wirelessly charge their newer generation devices (which support wireless charging), as well as standard device charging via two USB ports.

The benches can be found in five city locations, which had to satisfy the basic conditions for the functioning of the bench - direct exposure to the sun, and the frequency of citizens' movements.

There are two Smart Solar Benches at the Independence Square, one at the Square Argentina, one at Roman Square (Rimski trg) - between the cafés Astoria and Primicia, one near the Square of Vojvoda Bećir-Beg Osmanagić (the Stara Varoš district, in front of the Natural History Museum) and one at Zabjelo district, at the March 27 Street (near the Primary school "Vuk Karadžić").

Dragutin Đeković, head of the International Cooperation Service, said that this is only the first step in the introduction of modern technologies in Podgorica and their application in the field of environmental protection. He announced that in the forthcoming period, the Capital would set up a network of sensor stations that will continuously monitor air quality parameters and that in January 2019, the first phase of replacing current public lighting with LED technology will begin.

December 21, 2018 - The winter tourist season was officially opened at the ski center Vučje near Nikšić today. This year, one of the novelties in the ski center Vučje is the offer of domestic products from family farms, such as homemade ham, sausages, cheeses and the like. 

"It is especially satisfying that the weather conditions this year will be beneficial to the winter centers. The real additional qualities and benefits when we talk about this offer are domestic products from Vučje. The center of Vučje and what is produced in Vučje will be presented to all the guests who stay in these facilities, and then even in the wider region, "said Zeljka Radak Kukavicic, director of the NTO.

State Secretary in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism Damir Davidovic said that from the aspect of the Ministry's policy, in the next year, linking agriculture and tourism is something that will be given a special priority.

"The season in Montenegro has so far been clearly linked to the coast, the sun and the sea, and now in the north, extra accommodation units are being requested because of the great interest that exists for this area," added Davidovic.

During the past year, the Municipality of Niksic, together with the Directorate for Transport, managed to complete the artificial snow, which is located near the track, said the Mayor of Niksic.

"The artificial snow is on the surface of one hectare and certainly has about 30 thousand liters of water, which will be necessary for refreshment in the next winter season, where Jovović’s should purchase snow refreshers and I hope that together with the Ministry of Tourism and NTO this will be organized, because it is really necessary," mayor of Niksic said.

Since the ownership structure on Vucje has been completed, much has been done. Every year we are seeing an increase in the number of visitors, and we expect the same this year as well, because Vucje is one specific ski center that offers warmth," said Slavica Grgurevic from TO Niksic.

Text by Info Biro, on December 20th, 2018, read more at CdM

December 20, 2018 - Turning on the decorative lighting at the Independence Square officially marked the opening of the first Podgorica holiday market.

After the opening, a rich cultural and artistic program followed. At the main stage, the orchestra of JU Gymnasium "Slobodan Škerović", and then one of the symbols of the Montenegrin music scene - Piva Jazz Band, performed. 

We recall, following examples of world cities, Podgorica will, as of today until January 10, 2019,  have its first holiday market.

Each day, citizens will be able to enjoy rich cultural, artistic, entertainment and gastronomic content.

The setting of the wooden houses at the Independence Square makes a central holiday location where the products of businesspeople and artists from Montenegro will be presented, and the presents will be distributed to children with a full-day entertainment program.

On the main stage, which will be placed on the square, there will be music programs every day. Also, visitors will enjoy excellent art sections for children, theater performances, sports, and recreational activities and many other things.

Not far from the square, in Njegoš's park, there will be a skating rink that will round off the story of Podgorica winter holiday idyllic scenery.

Text by S.B., on December 19th, 2018, read more at CdM

December 19, 2018 - A Nordic skiing path, regular transport to the ski resort, more efficient maintenance of city streets and garbage collection, and more intensive promotion of the tourist offer are some of the novelties announced at the meeting with representatives of the tourism companies by the local government in Kolasin.

The director of the local tourism organization, Aleksandar Vlahović, announced that the season would be officially opened on Saturday, December 22nd, with a rich entertainment program at the Ski Center Kolašin 1450, as well as in the city square, as written by “Dnevne novine”.

The event is organized in cooperation with the National Tourist Organization (NTO), and on that day there will be a 50 percent discount on the ski lanes and free transportation to the ski resort, as well as free tasting of national dishes and wines. "For the first time this year, tourists and citizens of Kolasin will also have a Nordic skiing path, one and a half kilometer long, with instructors and the possibility of renting equipment in the two biggest hotels in Kolasin “Bjanka” and “Sheraton”. The track is in the sports zone just a few hundred meters from the city center. This project was implemented at the initiative of 'Let's activate Kolasin' and in cooperation with NGO “Natura”, said Vlahovic

As it has been announced, after several years, by mid-February and possibly even longer, transportation by bus from the city to the Ski center Kolasin 1450 and Kolasin 1600 in both directions will be organized. The price of the promotional card is one euro in one direction. By the end of the month, Kolasin's tourist website will be launched, which will be, as they say, one of the most modern sites in the country.

According to the director of the Utility Company Milivoje Bulatovic, great attention is paid to the maintenance of streets during the winter period. The citizens can already see the results of the operation of this company. In the upcoming period, they plan to clean the sidewalk, which has not been practiced so far. Novelties were introduced, which, Bulatovic claimed, resulted in more regular waste disposal, while around 200 light bulbs were replaced on the public city lighting.

The big problem in Kolasin are illegal dumps, that is, the disposal of waste next to the container. We are on the way to solving this problem. Soon, it will be organized regularly, and for each street separately, for the disposal of this kind of garbage, and citizens will be informed about the terms later," Bulatovic said. At the meeting, it was noted that the problems of Kolašin were also water supply, as well as the sewerage network. In solving these major problems, said Milosav Bato Bulatovic, will be given considerable attention, and state assistance is expected. Bulatovic announced a public debate about the amendments to DUP Center and invited the tourist workers to submit proposals that will "preserve urban autochthonism of the city, but also provide an open door to investors".

Tect by Dnevne novine, on December 19th, 2018, read more at CdM