23 August 2019 - Ministry of Science of Montenegro and the COST Association will organize an Info Day dedicated to the European Cooperation of Science and Technology (COST) Programme on September 17^th at the Hilton Hotel in Podgorica. The event aims to promote part of the activities of this Programme. The Info Day will be opened by Dr Sanja Damjanovic, Minister of Science and Dr Ronald de Bruin, Director of the COST Association.

The outstanding importance of this programme is reflected in the networking of scientific teams and the promotion and enhancement of international scientific cooperation. The high reputation of COST, as well as the cooperative atmosphere in COST actions and their openness, especially for young researchers, are key features of the programme.

During Horizon 2020 (the largest European Union research and innovation program, with a fund of € 78.6 billion for the period 2014-2020), particular emphasis was placed on supporting excellence, openness and inclusion, supporting new ideas and sharing knowledge.

Since its founding in 1971, COST has been financing research networks/projects called COST action. It is a project dedicated to scientific collaboration, which complements national research funds and offers an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond), thereby fostering progress and innovation in research. In this programme, scientists and researchers have the opportunity to propose research topics themselves.

The average COST action includes about 25 countries, with an annual budget of about 130,000 euros and lasting four years. The United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Israel and Turkey are the leading countries in COST actions.

COST Association consists of 38 Member States (all 28 EU Member States are COST members), and one associate country, Israel. Since 2015, Montenegro is a member of this association and currently participates in 100 (out of 248) ongoing COST actions, and Montenegrin scientific teams and researchers have participated in 45 implemented projects, it has been pointed out from the Ministry.

COST Association representatives from Brussels, Dr. Ronald de Bruin and Judith Litjens will inform the attendees of the Hilton Hotel on September 17 about current opportunities in this Program, promoting and expanding research excellence and impact through networking. Procedures for the participation of researchers from Montenegro will be presented by national COST Coordinator Milena Milonjić, and experience in this program will be shared by participants in COST actions from Montenegro.

23 August 2019 - Tivat Municipality will participate, as a partner organization, in the project "European Axis West-East", as announced from the Municipality. This project will be realized by European Union funding under the Europe for Citizens Programme, Subprogramme 2: Democratic Engagement and Participation in Civic Initiatives. The aim of the Europe for Citizens Programme is to contribute to citizens' understanding of the EU, its history and diversity and to encourage the democratic participation of citizens at EU level.

The aim of the project is to create conditions for permanent cooperation between the cities of Western and Eastern Europe. The project enables meeting and the presentation of cities with different historical, cultural, economic and social models from Western and Eastern Europe, interconnection and exchange of information and experiences, discussion and agreement on mutual cooperation based on interests recognized through dialogue on a generational, cultural, economic and administrative level.

Within the project, the partners will sign a memorandum of cooperation that formulates common interests and a desire to cooperate.

The activities of the project are 6 civic forums in 5 countries, in the first week of September 2019 and a three-day international conference "European Axis West-East", which will be held 6-8 September in Sremski Karlovci, where the Tivat Municipality will take an active part. 

Sremski Karlovci and Tivat are twin cities, that cooperate especially in tourism and culture. With the promotion of Novi Sad, the main administrative centre of Vojvodina as the European Capital of Culture in 2021, the citizens of Tivat expect their town to participate in that beautiful story.

The duration of the project is 21 days, while the financial value is about 25,000 euros.

The leading partner of the project is the Danube Association 1245- Sremski Karlovci, and apart from the Municipality of Tivat, the partners are: Sremski Karlovci Municipality (Serbia), Torres Novas Municipality (Portugal), Novo Mesto Municipality (Slovenia), DRPD Novo mesto (Slovenia), Erdut Municipality ( Croatia), PORC, Dalj (Croatia), City of Ludbreg (Croatia), KUD "Anka Ošpuh", Ludbreg (Croatia).

23 August 2019 - The first edition of the manifestation Wine Until Dawn will be held on Sunday, August 25, starting at 8 pm in the gorgeous ambience of the restaurant Vista Vidikovac in Budva.

The very first Wine Until Dawn Montenegro event will feature an exhibition of wines with the possibility of purchase, and is designed as a unique gathering place for wine lovers and connoisseurs, renowned catering establishments and producers of the best wines from Montenegro and the region.

The event organizers have prepared a Workshop for catering staff, and after the workshop, guests will have the opportunity to learn about wine and food pairing. The party will last until the morning, and the organizers invite all interested individuals, both caterers and wine lovers, to come and enjoy the wonderful evening.

“We invite all producers, caterers and lovers of quality wines to take part in the Wine Until Dawn event, so we can spread the wine culture in Montenegro together”, says the announcement of the organizers. “Whether you are into producing a quality varieties of wine, or just enjoying the beauty of finest wine rituals, Wine Until Dawn is the event not to be missed,” states the organiser’s invitation.

Be the part of the first late-night wine event in Montenegro!

Event registration fee is 15 EUR and reservations can be made by calling 0038269180180.

Wine Until Dawn Schedule - Sunday, August 25, 2019

8:00 PM - 8:45 PM
Workshop for catering staff

8:45 PM - 9:00 PM
Opening ceremony of the salon

9:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Rose wine food pairing

10:00 PM - 10:30 PM
White wine food pairing

11:00 PM - 11:30 PM
Red wine food pairing

11:55 PM - 3:00 AM (overnight)
Until Dawn - Wine Party

Read more about events in Montenegro you should not miss at TMN's dedicated page.

The traditional Kotor festivity "Bokeljska Noc " will be held on Saturday, August 24, starting at 9 pm.

Boka News will stream Bokeljska Noc live on its FB page.

The beginning of the 'Feast of all feasts' will be marked by Kotor City Music and Sailing Club "Lahor". Entering the corridor, 45 ornate boats with a dozen towing boats will be presented to the audience and the jury and will compete for prizes, the fund of EUR 4.500.

The jury will be composed of Lana Bokan - sculptor and members of prof. Marina Dulovic - Secretary for Culture, Social Affairs and Sport and Vladimir Jovicevic - Academic painter and professor at the Academy of Arts in Florence.

After announcing the most imaginative creations, musical fireworks from the sea will follow.

After the performance on the aqua stage, the festivities will continue at the squares in the Old Town, with the City Music.

This year, local music bands have been hired, so only the music bands from Kotor will perform in the squares:

Trg od oruzja (Main square) – TRI KVARTA AND THE GROUP;

St. Tripun square - FOUR BLUES DRIVERS and JELENA KAZANEGRA WITH A BAND:

Museum square - MIJA AND SANJA;

Old prison square - VIS TETRA

St. Nikola square - ACOUSTIC THERAPY and

Skaljarska piazza - INCANTO KLAPA AND BAND SKURIBANDA

First Prize Bokeljska Noc 2018 Kotor in pictures

In cooperation with the Tourist Organization and the Maritime Museum of Montenegro Kotor, an exhibition of color photographs of Bokeljska Noc from 1959 was organized on the walls near the City Square, when Marshal Tito attended it.

Above the main city gates, next to the Bokeljska Noc banner, there is a banner featuring the figure and lyrics of Maja Perfiljeva's "Bokeljska Noc", which is the unofficial anthem of this biggest maritime feast in Boka bay.

On the day of Bokeljska Noc, the city's main waterfront parking will not be operational.

As a few dozen thousands of visitors are expected, and aiming to reduce traffic jams, drivers are urged to park their vehicles no later than 8 p.m.

The organizers ask special attention to be paid on the speed limit in the aquatorium, as a uniformed vessel will punish all malpractice drivers, who can damage the decorated parade boats.

The organizer is the Cultural Center “Nikola Djurković” in Kotor, co-organized by the local Tourist Organization and sponsored by the Municipality of Kotor.

Text by Boka News, on August 23rd, 2019, read more at Boka News

The flight control of Serbia-Montenegro SMATSA achieved a historic record on Saturday, August 17, when 3,201 flights were carried out in the airspace they are controlling.

Since the beginning of the year, the number of flights has increased by about nine percent over the same period last year.

SMATSA said the security level is high despite the numerous flights.

"Despite the increased volume of traffic, an extremely high level of security has been maintained, with delays that are much lower than in countries in the region and in Europe," SMATSA said.

Text by Boka News, on August 21st, 2019, read more at Boka News

The Hall Park in Herceg Novi held the first immersive opera in Montenegro - the opera Be My Superstar in collaboration with Operosa and the producer of the LOD Music Theater from Belgium.

Operosa and LOD team worked on this opera for days to get everything ready for the big premiere in Herceg Novi. Over 20 teenagers from Herceg Novi were involved in the opera through two workshops, when the opera was re-performed at the same location and at the same time.

The evening of opera reprise was free of charge for anyone under 18 years of age.

The third day of the festival was reserved for the Chamber Music Evening at Forte Mare Fortress, when some of the most beautiful arias of Vivaldi, Rosini, Bize performed as well as some of the most beautiful songs by local poets composed by young composer Jug Markovic.

The Operosa Montenegro Opera Festival 2019 ended with a performance of Mendelson's performance of Summer Night Dream at Kanla Kula starting at 9pm. 

For the first time this year, OMOF was honored to include UNDP in the list of partners and festival support. As part of the project "Low Carbon Tourism”, Operosa is proud to contribute to Montenegro's reputation as a new green and carbon-neutral tourist destination in the heart of Europe. This can be evidenced by the fact that Operosa is one of the few major festivals that makes minimal use of environmentally hazardous resources such as carbon dioxide.

Text by CdM, on August 21st, 2019, read more at CdM

22 August 2019 - The Kotor Tourism Organization invites you to the manifestation Boka Night 2019, which will take place this Saturday, August 24th at 9 pm in Kotor.

Boka Night is a manifestation usually held on the 3rd Saturday of August and is the crown of the summer happenings in the city of Kotor. This event gathers tens of thousands of visitors each year, and it is one of the reasons why Kotor has a fantastic reputation for its creativity and the spirit of the citizens of Kotor.

During Boka Night, people from Bay of Kotor decorate small boats and participate in a procession hoping to win the first prize for the most beautiful boat. After the best participants have been chosen, the celebration continues in the streets of the Old town, followed by the fireworks.

“This is a kind of manifestation specific to Kotor because everybody enjoys it! Young or old, kids or teenagers - everybody loves Boka Night,” say the representatives of the Kotor Tourism Organisation.

Boka Night 2019 will feature numerous Kotor-based musicians who will perform at the town squares:

1. Weapons Square (Montenegrin: Trg od oružja): Tri Kvarta and The Grupa
2. Square of St. Trypun (Montenegrin Pjaca Sv. Tripuna) - "Four Blues Drivers" and Jelena Kažanegra with the band
3. Museum Square (Montenegrin: Pjaca od Muzeja) - Duo of Mia and Sanja
4. Square of St. Lucas (Montenegrin: Pjaca Svetog Luke) - "Acoustic Therapy"
5. Škaljari Square (Montenegrin: Škaljarska pjaca) - "Incanto" and "Škuribanda" band

According to the Boka News portal, on the occasion of this year's Boka Night, the Public Institution of Maritime Museum of Montenegro and Kotor Tourism Organisation have prepared an exhibition of outdoor photographs.

The photographs show the Boka Night from 1959, which was organized on the occasion of the visit of SFRY President Josip Broz Tito. Photographs from that period show decorated boats, city lighting and rich fireworks. Older generations are happy to remember this spectacular Boka Night from exactly 60 years ago.

The exhibition is a small gift for the city, its fellow citizens, as well as tourists, to whom we want to show our long tradition of organising the Boka Night, organizers say.

The exhibition is set on the walls next to the main city gates.

Read more about events throughout Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

22 August 2019 - A beautiful summer night in Petrovac full of music, dance, rhythm and Mediterranean flavours awaits all locals and tourists who visit Budva on the evening of Friday, August 23rd.

The traditional Petrovac Night (Montenegrin: Petrovačka noć) is organised by the Tourist Organisation of Budva Municipality in order to promote the beautiful coastal area of Montenegro. The event will feature a rich offer of fish, wine and beer, as well as local sweet specialties.

Petrovac night is one of the largest traditional events of that city, an all-day festival of fish, wine and beer, which is held at the end of August. Each year, tourists and locals stroll through the promenade and enjoy fish, beer, wine and traditional sweets made according to the recipes of this area, take part in numerous sports competitions, listen to concerts of famous musicians with a big firework show at the end of the program. The night traditionally begins with a concert and the sounds of the City Music, and ends late at night, with concerts of pop musicians from the country and the region.

This year’s program will start in the afternoon with sports competitions on the waterfront, while seafood specialties will be available for guests from 5 pm on the plateau in front of the Red Commune Memorial House.

The atmosphere in this gorgeous coastal town will be further enriched by the tunes of the female vocal group Harmonija from Budva.

Following the defile on the promenade of Petrovac, Budva City Music will perform at 8 pm on the main stage near the Palas Hotel, followed by Montenegrin pop-rock singer Milena Vučić.

The star of the evening, renowned singer-songwriter Vlado Georgiev will present himself to the Petrovac audience at 10 pm.

Spectacular fireworks, at the end of another August, will light up the islands of Katič and Sveta Neđelja.

Program and schedule of the event:

4 pm - Sports Games – plateau near Lazaret;

5 pm - Concert of the female choir Harmonija - plateau in front of the Red Commune;

5 pm - Sweet corner - plateau in front of the Red Commune;

5 pm - Fish corner - plateau in front of restaurant Katič;

7 pm - City Music Defile on the promenade of Petrovac.

Main stage on the promenade, in front of the Palas Hotel:

8 pm - Budva City Music

9 pm - Milena Vučić

10 pm - Vlado Georgiev

“Looking forward to seeing you again at the Budva Riviera,” says the official invitation of the Tourist Organisation of Budva Municipality.

Read more about events you should attend in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

The Herceg Novi Municipality signed project financing agreements with the representatives of about forty Herceg Novi NGOs. With 75,000 euros, the local government supported 47 non-governmental projects this year.  The projects are related to cultural heritage, local community development, youth and the elderly, support for people with disabilities, education, sports and environmental protection.

Local self-government thus continues the practice of supporting the work and development of non-governmental organizations, recognizing their importance, driving force and orientation towards the progress of the local community to which they belong, said Secretary for Social Affairs and Sports Darko Klasic and Member of the Commission for Allocation of Funds to NGOs Tamara Vujovic.

Herceg Novi is one of the municipalities that allocates the most funds from the Budget to help NGOs, and to implement ideas that the commissioners themselves have judged to be excellent, purposeful and progressive, sometimes lack knowledge of how and where to apply.

For this reason, two projects were supported this year aimed at training other NGOs on how to apply for and receive funding, not only at open competitions of ministries, but also at EU funds and initiatives, as well as embassies of other countries in Montenegro.

“It is time to pool knowledge and lend a hand to each other for a better quality of life for our citizens, everyone in their field, that united with the voice of the citizens being heard, we as a community can move faster towards the European Union, where NGOs are an indispensable partner to all”, said Vujovic.

The total budget allocated to this purpose has been allocated in accordance with the Decision on Criteria, Method and Procedure of Allocation of Funds to Non-Governmental Organizations, namely to projects of non-governmental organizations that have previously proved to be good associates of local government in various fields, and that have applied for the Contest this year and filed proper documentation.

The contracts were signed on the basis of the Decision on Allocation of Funds for Project Financing for 2019, which was made in accordance with the Decision on Criteria and following a public competition for allocation of funds from the budget of the Municipality of Herceg Novi in 2019.

22. August 2019 - The seawater quality, according to an analysis from 100 public baths, conducted by the Institute of Marine Biology in the period from 13 to 16 August, in 90% of bathing areas was K1 class, while 10% of bathing areas were K2 class, as stated from the Public Enterprise – PE Sea Property Management of Montenegro. These results confirm that the seawater at Montenegrin beaches is good quality, i.e., that it is sanitary and safe for bathing and recreation. Namely, K1 class is excellent and class K2 is satisfactory.

At all 16 bathing areas in the Ulcinj municipality, as well as at all 13 in the Bar municipality, the seawater was of excellent quality. The K1 seawater quality was found at 25 bathing areas in Budva, while at one bathing area the quality of seawater was K2. When it comes to water quality in Tivat, out of a total of 9 bathing areas, the analysis revealed the quality of K1 at a total of 7 beaches, while at 2 bathing areas, the water was of the K2 class. In Kotor, out of a total of 15 bathing areas, the quality of K1 was recorded at 11 bathing sites, and at 4 bathing areas, the water had quality K2. Analysis of seawater quality on the coast of Herceg Novi showed the quality of K1 at a total of 19 bathing areas, while at 2 bathing areas, the water was of the K2 class.

Since 1996, this company has been implementing annual programs for monitoring the sanitary quality of seawater at public baths during the summer season in accordance with the provisions of the Water Law. The results of testing the sanitary quality of seawater, as well as the data on sea temperature, air temperature and salinity for each individual bathing area, can be viewed on a separate application available on the website www.morskodobro.com.