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16 Apr 2019, 15:17 PM

With the multi-media program "Bar in April 1979" in the Castle of King Nikola last night, the Municipality of Bar paid respects to the victims of the catastrophic April Earthquake in 1979 and to all the heroes of the city's renewal that began right after the main impact on 15th April, precisely 40 years ago.

Moderator of the panel "Memories that Warn", journalist and publicist Zeljko Milovic pointed out that it was a time when "fear was the primary human emotion" in this area, but also the time of the heroism in which Bar "recovered incredibly fast, with the solidarity of the whole Yugoslavia".

"Josip Broz Tito visited the coastal zone on the same day, urged the people in Yugoslavia to help reconstruct the demolished, and no one could refuse him. While I was watching the video recordings from that time, two sentences were specially imprinted in my memory: then five-year-old Dragana Ostojic described the earthquake moments by saying she thought the day was collapsing, while an older lady in Crmnica, who lost her family, said that the one who grieves only for their house after the earthquake is a happy man," Milovic said.

Stressing that "today it is impossible for us to see what we have experienced", the vice-president of the Bar Parliament assembly at the time and the Commander of Civil Protection Staff Jusuf Kalamperovic said that the greatest loss in the earthquake was human lives, "and in Bar there were exactly 49 killed, the dead were laid on the grass".

"The mountains were shaking, and in this area, most people were killed, there was a huge distrust in the countryside stone houses. The city did not have water and electricity, there was no bakery or petrol station open, only five liters of petrol were given to the hospital and bakeries as per a written approval. The municipality could not be visited, so we left Krajina and Crmnica to Titograd. In such a situation, organizing life was extremely difficult, but the behavior of the entire population was unbelievable, we did not have any theft, no crime for months, and all the shops were wrecked, then there was unseen solidarity, the bus companies made the decision to work for a month free of charge," Kalamperovic said.

He added that the peasants were then much more courageous than the people in the city "where the panic spread," and recalled the story of the volcano in Lisinje, when a fire broke out on the top of the mountain "and I knew someone burned the grass to escape".

"Tito, who was then in Igalo, went to the Shipyard Bijela and said only one sentence in his style, 'Our people and folk will repair this'. Nothing else was needed; the whole Yugoslavia rose to their feet. We saw the first help on April 15th from Dubrovnik, the boat brought us drinking water, and four days later the Italian warship delivered 800 tents, the law was approved in the Assembly of SFRJ on providing the assistance to all the republics," said Kalamperovic.

Dr Ljubo Zivkovic, Executive Director of the General Hospital in that time, said that the day before the earthquake in Bar came the famous GINA - the General Inspection of the National Army - to test that this city would function in war conditions, and in faked conditions of war sanitation, and the hospital staff received a high rating from GINA.

"The next day, when the earthquake struck, Rumija and Lisinje on fire, the hospital was severely damaged. The Saturday training now was supposed to play live. In record time, all of our workers were there, there was no call when I got to the hospital, there was already Dr. Anto Martinovic, and we sent all the moving patients home, the non-moving ones to Mala Mirovica, hundreds of beds and hundreds of patients under the blue sky. Triage was executed by the most experienced surgeon Dr. Danilo Malic, and the most difficult cases were sent by helicopter to Titograd. The graduates from Kragujevac who were on the excursion in Canj came to give blood, a medical team from Maribor and Ljubljana brought a Polish hospital, the Red Cross from the Federal Republic of Germany built us a prefabricated 20 objects assembled by the Germans and opened at the end of May by their Ambassador, four doctors from Sabac have come to assist us. The Medical Center of Bar was officially declared the best of all in the earthquake affected area, we got six medals for merits of the people," said Dr. Zivkovic.

He stressed that it is nice for young people to hear that even before them there were worthy people whose efforts should not be undermined.

"Bar was lucky enough to have Blazo Orlandic, a visionary who despised superficiality and improvisation, who knew what he wants. In his memoirs, I dedicate my aforementioned memory," Dr. Zivković concluded, whose inspirational speech was greeted by a long applause.

The then vice-chairman of Municipal Assembly of Bar responsible for reconstruction and construction, Milos Suster pointed out that the restoration of Bar was helped by the famous Polish architect Ciborovski who gave advice to approach the restoration without fear, according to the plans. In Bar, five urban plans were made in 42 days; they were made on paper, corrections were resolved with a razor, and plans were made day-and-night by urban planners from Skoplje led by great Krste Todorovski.

"Already in July, construction of solid building materials had begun, in November the first buildings were completed. In awkward conditions exceptional results were achieved because people who were doing such knew what they were doing and what they could do. We were able to restore 700 apartments and brought back the people from the tents by February 1980, and the whole Bar was a large construction site. Hundreds of prefabricated buildings for socially endangered were built, hundreds of households for elderly people were built, followed by renovations of schools and health facilities, and then business facilities, so in 1984, then federal Prime Minister Milka Planinc opened the renovated Port of Bar," said Suster.

He stressed that Bar made the most in rebuilding after the earthquake consequences from all other cities because it "had a powerful state behind it, and municipalities had greater autonomy and better human resources".

"All the functions were covered by quality people. Hotel Sozina in Sutomore was the first new one built after the earthquake on the coast. Among the people who were most crucial in making Bar do the most, are unfortunately now deceased, Blazo Orlandic, Cedo Cejovic and Krsto Todorovski," said Suster.

Prof. Dr Srdjan Jankovic from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Montenegro reminded visitors and participants that Montenegro was an extremely earthquake-prone area and that there would be "more earthquakes", and therefore it is very useful to develop awareness of the reduction of seismic risk.

Remembering the April Days in 1979 was evoked by Irina Dabovic, then Zonjic, who was a member of the four-member journalist section of the Gymnasium, who assisted the team from Radio Bar, radio amateur Goran Dragovic, who pointed out that the world's first news of destruction was broadcast by radio amateurs of the club "Volujica" Rajko Radulovic and Goran Sekulovic. Vojo Banovic, the then President of the Youth in Bar, said he had formed a youth center in the elementary school "Mexico", which received six work brigades "and was proclaimed the best on the coast of six such settlements." Igor Gojnić has talked about the participation of the selection of Bar at the then very polar inter-national TV “Game without borders” in Chioggia in Italy. "We sent a message to the world that Bar is alive."

Before the panel, President of Bar Dusan Raicevic opened a photo exhibition on the Earthquake, in the Castle, and reminded that 240 apartments and 300 houses were built in only three months in Bar in 1979 and 400 apartments were renovated. Raicevic emphasized the importance of the late Blazo Orlandic and Cedo Cejovic in the reconstruction of Bar. The documentary film "Memories" by Dejan Senic was also presented.

Text by Radomir Petric, on April 16th 2019, read more at Vijesti

16 Apr 2019, 15:14 PM

The sixth-grade students from elementary school "Marsal Tito" in Ulcinj, Ylies Rama and Milos Blagojevic, and a pupil of ninth grade of "Jagos Kontic" from Niksic, will represent Montenegro at the final competition for English language knowledge "Hippo Competition", which will be held in May in the Italian town of Lido di Jesolo near Venice.

They showed the best results at the preliminaries held in Ulcinj and Niksic.

Coordinator and project organizer, English language professor Medina Coba said that the placement in the finals of Rama and Blagojevic is already a great success.

"Elementary school “Marsal Tito” in continuity has winners and finalists in competitions from English and German languages throughout the country and Europe. Winning in this competition is really a great success, but our ambitions are bigger," said Coba.

She stated that this is the sixth time in the last seven years that the school “Marsal Tito” represents Montenegro in prestigious English language competitions.

Text by Samir Adrovic, on April 15th 2019, read more at Vijesti

16 Apr 2019, 15:12 PM

Managing Director of “Sava osiguranje”, Nebojsa Scekic and co-owner of Montenegro Stars Hotel Group, Zarko Radulovic, are the winners of the Association of Managers of Montenegro (AMM) for the most successful managers in large companies and joint stock companies.

At the award ceremony, sponsored by the Government, the chairmen of the board of directors of companies "Celebić" and “Zetagradnja”, Tomislav Celebic and Blagota Radovic were elected for entrepreneurs of the year.

The manager of the year in the category of medium-sized enterprises is the commercial director and founder of the company Simsic Montmilk, Milutin Djuranovic.

The Minister of Economy, Dragica Sekulic, said that AMM managed to become a quality partner to the Government and its ministries, and its mission, goals and activities have made it become an important partner to the state.

The government invests constant effort to make the business environment even more attractive. It seems that in the past two years we have contributed to high economic growth and I hope that through a partnership with the economy, we will do the same in the years ahead," Sekulic said.

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She recalled that the Ministry supported 102 companies last year, which is 40 percent more than in 2017.

AMM President Budimir Raickovic said last year was characterized by a high five-percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth, but concerns remain about the accentuated trade deficit.

"We also hope that a high budget deficit will not cause further tax and other burdens to increase, which would harm domestic and foreign investment and economic growth," Raickovic said

The business environment, as he said, is generally upgraded, but remains a major part of his further alignment with the needs of the real sector.

Executive Director of M:tel-a, Vladimir Lucic, said that every winner deserved to be one.

"I would like to thank the Government for its excellent business environment, which contributes to our investment. Our owners have invested an additional 60 million euros in our company this year, with the desire to expand into Montenegro," Lucic said.

The AMM prize in the category of small businesses has been awarded to the co-founder and strategic leader of Logate, Ivica Tatar.

The manager of the year in micro-companies for the last year is the Executive Director of “Fashion and Beauty House Zoran”. Nikola Kovacevic, Mezon's CEO, was declared the young manager of the year.

 

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The project manager of the year is the program director of the conference Spark.me, Vladimir Vulic. The title of the most successful female manager in public institutions, institutions and local administrations was given to the Director of staff management, Svetlana Vukovic.

AMM's award for life achievements was awarded to Slavko Drljevic and Vladimir M. Vukmirovic.

Special recognition for Management and Entrepreneurship contributions last year was presented to the founder and executive director of “Comp Comerc”, and for the area of digitization to Cikom's general manager, Vladan Tabas.

Graduates in the past year earned a total revenue of 114.3 million euros, net profit of 17.3 million euros, a total investment of 70.5 million, and run with nearly 1.6 thousand employees.

Text by MINA Business, on April 15th 2019, read more at Vijesti

16 Apr 2019, 13:08 PM

April 16, 2019 - A consortium made up of Adriatic Marinas - Porto Montenegro and Damen, a global-level company engaged in shipbuilding and super-yachts, is launching a program for recruiting candidates to shipbuilding and refitting yachts that will work in the shipyard in Bijela.

For the Days of Open Doors on April 17th in Bijela (Administrative Building of the Adriatic Shipyard Bijela, 10 am - 2 pm) and April 18 in Tivat (Building of the Army House, 3 pm-7 pm), all interested candidates will have the opportunity to meet the members of the management team, and discuss the company, its plans and employment opportunities. The candidates are expected to bring several copies of their business biographies.

Companies will recruit a wide range of skilled workers: yachting workers, mechanics, pipe workers, engine engineers, carpenters, maintenance engineers, doctors and transport specialists, supervisors (by disciplines), metal workers, but remain open and familiar candidates of other professional occupations.

We are looking for candidates who will share our passion and commitment to the exciting transformation of the former Adriatic Shipyard Bijela into a new service for the maintenance and repair of yachts and mega-yachts. First of all, we are looking for worthy people full of enthusiasm, who nurture the teamwork necessary for the shipyard to embark on a new, successful period of its existence. The willingness and ability to learn and the desire to achieve the highest in their profession are a vital part of this story because that is the essence of the success of the yachting industry, says HR Manager Porto Montenegro Sandra Kapičić.

Benefits for the economy of Montenegro will be significant, as it is expected that more than 300 people will be re-employed in the shipbuilding industry. Bijela, that is, Herceg Novi and Boka Kotorska, are the historical position of this industrial sector in Montenegro, and with this project, the region will again provide recognised services of this kind to the entire Mediterranean maritime market.

The consortium is working on recruiting the initial workforce to participate in the planning and transformation of the Bijela shipbuilding facility into a new refurbishment facility, and for the possible early start of preliminary operations - the provision of certain shipyard services on the current west wing of the shipyard, while the restoration of points and yachts in the eastern part.

15 Apr 2019, 23:41 PM

15 April 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković delivered keys to ten new flats to healthcare workers built by the Government of Montenegro, the Capital City of Podgorica and the Housing Cooperative of Health Workers of Montenegro "Healthcare".

"There are 27 flats here, and 63 flats were provided to health workers in Nikšić in late 2018. We have reason to be pleased to say that, apart from working on the quality of health services, we also make efforts to advance the living standards of those who provide healthcare services to our citizens. I want to congratulate the Housing Cooperative "Healthcare" on these activities. I got information about how many flats were assigned to workers across Montenegro. This is a truly impressive result, favourable prices of apartments with privileged conditions for their redemption," said the Prime Minister.

He added that in the past two years the Government has allocated to this housing cooperative unit more than 750.000 EUR to build flats for health workers and that it will continue with these activities. He added that the Capital City of Podgorica played an important role in this project worth about 3,5 million EUR, by investing more than 550.000 EUR.

"We see that besides serious problems that we have in society - low living standards of employees in healthcare and in education and in other sectors - the Government works intensively to improve their working conditions not only through procurement of equipment, but also by improving the conditions of work in health institutions in Montenegro, quality of life of employees in the health system. We will continue to work in such a way. I believe that the results of the Government's policy in terms of social growth, stabilisation of public finances, which should be finalised under the Stabilisation Finance Programmme at the end of this year, give the opportunity to talk about higher wages in health and education, and in other sectors. Therefore, I ask healthcare and education workers to understand the general social environment and the Government's efforts to improve this environment in order to enter the next, very important phase for healthcare and education employees in terms of increasing their wages. I believe that the end of this year and the beginning of 2020 is a good time for this new policy that will be promoted by the Government of Montenegro," Prime Minister Duško Marković highlighted.

Government Delivers Keys to Ten New Homes for Healthcare Workers

Minister of Health Kenan Hrapović said that in this way the Government has allocated 1,8 million EUR in three years in order to enable health employees to solve their housing issues under favourable conditions.

"It is the responsible attitude of the Government and the Ministry of Health," said Minister Hrapović, adding that in this way, 322 employees in the healthcare system will resolve the housing issue.

"It is 54 flats per year, it proves that the Government really takes care of employees in the healthcare system," he underscored, noting that negotiations with trade unions in other cities and with local administrations are underway.

Director of the Housing Cooperative of Health Workers of Montenegro "Healthcare" Vladimir Pavićević thanked the Prime Minister and the Health Minister for supporting the Housing Cooperative "Healthcare".

"The Housing Cooperative solves this problem for employees of the Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Health Centre Podgorica, the Institute for Public Health, Blood Transfusion Institute, Emergency Medical Assistance Office, Montefarm, Health Fund and the Ministry of Health, which makes almost 4,000 employees. We are hopeful that we will continue to enjoy support from the Government and the Capital City," he underlined. He added that the structure of those who resolved the housing issue in this way is equal to the structure of the employees in the healthcare system.

15 Apr 2019, 15:48 PM

On the 12th of April, the Center for Security, Sociological and Criminal Investigations of Montenegro Defendology, within which operates the Day Center for Children and Families with the same title, marked the International Children's Day at the city square in Niksic. The children of RE population carried banners with the inscriptions "The Street Is Not My Home", “Give less and do more”, "Do Not Close Your Eyes in front of Children Begging", "We Have the Right To Play", to draw attention to the problem of begging while the elders paid attention to the vulnerability of giving money to children and the need to better understand the phenomenon of begging in order to donate food and clothes instead of money.

"Defendology Daily Center is the only daily center in Montenegro that directly deals with working with children from the street. This day is a good opportunity for citizens of Niksic and others to point out that children should not be given money but that systematic approaches can affect the fact that begging will come to an end by donating food to children instead of money," said Jelena Milic, coordinator in the Defendology center.

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The Center has been doing the activities "The street is not my home" and "Give less and do more" to show the public the difficulties of the work and the lives of the children on the street.

"Children on the street are often legally invisible, experiencing various forms of violence. The most common exploiters are their parents, and research has shown that most commonly boys are forced to beg, although there is also a certain number of girls. What sets us out of our practical work is that children on the street experience insults, maltreatment, and even cases of sexual abuse," Milic said.

Since the establishment of the Defendology Center, 338 children have passed through it, who have different behavioral problems, and among them about 25 children who have been or are still engaged in begging, and over 70 parents.

"There have been a lot of cases that children are being taken off from the street, but that does not mean that the problem is solved because the next day you have a new child on the street. Therefore, for these categories it is said that children are beggars and are at risk of becoming children from the street. Such centers would be necessary for many municipalities in Montenegro because begging is a major problem in all of the country," Milic said.

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There were also children from JPU "Dragan Kovačević" at the square and they all walked to the building of the Municipality where they spoke with the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality, Sonja Nikcevic and Secretary of the Secretariat for Sport, Culture, Youth and Social Welfare, Milan Korac about the work of Defendology Center and its positioning in the local community.

The International Children's Day has been celebrated since 2011 in over 130 countries.

Text by Svetlana Mandic, on April 12th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

15 Apr 2019, 15:43 PM

Adopting the law on the life partnership for persons of the same gender will be a key moment in the lives of LGBT people, which will show that the deputies are concerned for all the citizens despite their differences, it was said by the Director for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Juventas, Jelena Colakovic.

"Why do I say the key moment? Because the same-gender communities are a reality which is only necessary for the state, or legislator, to legally determine so that the community and the people of the same sex have the rights of heterosexual couples in extramarital or marital communities," explained Colakovic.

As she said, in the current situation there is a gray zone that is susceptible to discrimination and violence.

"In this case, with the rights that the LGBT people will receive through this law the gray zone will be regulated. In that case, we have individuals who have higher quality lives, are more satisfied and contribute to their community and to their future," said Colakovic.

Specifically, she added, adopting the law would, among other things, also entitle the right to inheritance.

"For example, a couple who lived and created a life together for a long time would not be in a situation where, if something happens to one of them, the other could not inherit the property, i.e., what they acquired and what they built over time," said Colakovic.

According to her, everyone is trying to create something in the communities that is important and what they will use in the future.

"So also, the people who are in the same-gender communities want security. We know that when someone close to us, for example, a partner is in an intensive care, not everyone can enter to see him, but only family," said Colakovic.

As she said, they want the law to provide basic things, which is primarily just living their lives.

"Someone will think of this as something special, and in reality, it is only the life itself and only what everyone should have, regardless of what their sexual orientation and gender identity is," said Colakovic.

On the other hand, the state would get happy individuals.

"We know that happy individuals make a more satisfied society and we hope that with this message of taking care of all its citizens, not only by the state, but also by the deputies in parliament, to show concern for the citizens regardless of their differences," said Colakovic.

She added that everyone, both those who bring and those who enforce laws, will be somewhat more responsible towards LGBT people.

As she said, they would be more responsible in the context of their lives, "and it seems to me that this will also affect those citizens themselves."

"They will see that someone really takes care of them and that the negative things they are exposed to are slowly diminishing or trying to be fixed by implementing a legal solution that will in any case improve the quality of their lives," says Colakovic.

She told the decision makers that the key thing is to take care of all the citizens, regardless of what their diversity is.

"The fact is that Montenegro needs more satisfied people, and if you show that you worry about them, I think you will have citizens who will be grateful to you," said Colakovic.

The text was written in co-operation with the non-governmental organization "35mm" within the project Engaging content, in order to promote different experiences and attitudes through media content. The project is part of the Balkan Media Assistance Program, supported by USAID, implemented by Internews. Content is the exclusive responsibility of the agency MINA. Text can be downloaded and published without restriction, with mandatory source references.

Text by MINA News, on April 14th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

15 Apr 2019, 15:42 PM

NGO activists from the "Ecologic Movement Donja Bukovica" and villagers who gravitate to this river on Durmitor organized an action to clean part of its bed about two kilometers long.

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This is another one in a series of actions that, apart from ecological character, are aimed at fighting the construction of two mini-hydropower plants. Meanwhile, it also stands as a commitment to put the river Bukovica under protection, which is famous for its drinking water and peat trout, says in the NGO "Ecological Movement Donja Bukovica".

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"By organizing this action, we once again wanted to show that we are still here, along with our river, and that we will fight for its protection till the end. This is only the first in a series of actions we have planned for this spring and summer," said the NGO "Ecologic Movement Donja Bukovica" and stressed that during the Labor Day holidays they will organize a protest against the planned construction of the small hydropower plants on this river.

Text by Obrad Pjesivac, on April 14th 2019, read more at Vijesti

15 Apr 2019, 13:16 PM

April 15, 2019 - The Bay of Tivat was good for the final day of the 44Cup Porto Montenegro with three races held and the most worthy winner in Igor Lah's Team CEEREF. The Slovenian team led this first event of the 2019 44 Cup from the outset. Today, neither they nor Vladimir Prosikhin's team Nika won a race, but showed impeccable consistency, both enjoying a trio of podium place results, elevating team Nika from fourth to second overall.

Today's opening race went underway in light conditions, but eminently easy to race by the nimble RC44s. In this, Chris Bake's Aqua was winning and then team CEEREF ultimately finished ten boatlengths ahead.

"We missed doing another two of those," said Chris Bake. "It was a little shifty, but the boat was set up well. A big rotation of team members required work this week, but they seemed to be doing pretty well. The venue is magnificent - phenomenal infrastructure-wise."

On Thursday, Kirill Frolov on Bronenosec Sailing should have won the first race, holding a massive lead until their spinnaker exploded. The St Petersburg Yacht Club team made up for this in today's second race. After a giant split left and right up, they chose the favoured left and followed team CEEREF at the top mark. Then John Bassadone's Peninsula Petroleum took the right side of the run to claim the lead. Finally on the next upwind Bronenosec edged ahead, led at the top mark and on to the finish.

"If you are not in the hunt you can sail a freer race and everyone else isn't so worried about you," said tactician Cameron Dunn. "Overall we sailed our best day of the regatta. We felt like we made some nice improvements to our speed and generally got off the start line better."

It was the turn of Hugues Lepic's Aleph Racing to win the third and what turned out to be the final race, held on a new axis course, the wind having veered to the west. In what tactician Michele Ivaldi admitted was their first good start of the week, the French RC44 won the pin but then tacked over to cross the fleet. They benefitted on the right side of the course to lead at the top mark. From there the French RC44 was never challenged.

"It was great day but it was hard all the way through - that is what is so great about this class," said Lepic. "For us it was great to be able to finish on a high. The team now is stable and very high quality and we are very pleased about our manoeuvres. We hope to get some better positions over the course of this season."

Team CEEREF's victory at the 44Cup Porto Montenegro was by seven points from second placed Team Nika, in turn two ahead of Team Aqua, with Peninsula Petroleum relegated to fourth after a disappointing final race. Incredible, even though Lah's team won the seasons in both 2016 and 2017 and came close last year, the 44Cup Porto Montenegro is their first event win since the World Championship in Sotogrande three years ago.

44Cup race44Cup Porto Montenegro, Copyright: Studio Martinez

However Lah was most proud to have won with his son Tine on board. "I feel proud that he's sailed his first regatta and won it," he said. "We had great starts. Everything was in place like it should be, and the teamwork was okay, especially since we only had one day of practice. I was really surprised, because I had a feeling we weren't going to race at all and then we got in nine races – Montenegro has been brilliant."

Team CEEREF's British tactician Adrian Stead added: "We said today 'no matter how many races we have, just try and keep your nose clean and sail your own races'. But there were moments in all three races.

Igor's concentration - particularly in the tight stuff, when he needed to put a tight leebow on someone or to tack in front of someone, was very good at executing it. Plus we didn't have a bad start all week. I am really pleased with how the team is, given we have three new people.

Having Tine sailing with us is excellent. He is not very experienced, so it really made us think about our manoeuvres. By coaching him it makes you do your things in a slightly different way."

While the racing is over, tomorrow a Pro-Am race will be sailed on a long distance coastal course, the nine RC44 sailing more guests on board than usual.

From Montenegro, the RC44s head up the Adriatic to Rovinj, Croatia for their second event of the season, the Adris 44Cup over 29 May to 2 June.

15 Apr 2019, 12:52 PM

Between 1.300 and 1.400 Montenegrin students live abroad, and most of them are in the faculties of economics, management and business, architecture and political sciences.

Most young people from Montenegro are studying in Italy, then Turkey which is increasingly popular, followed by Austria, Slovenia and Russia.

"We can find our students around the world, on all continents, except Africa and Antarctica. Because of the proximity between the states, the number of scholarships and finances Europe is the foremost destination. Most of them are in Italy, and in recent years Turkey has been the main candidate to take over the first position as a destination for studying," said Vildan Ramusovic, President of the Organization of Montenegrin Foreign Students' Organization (OCSI).

This organization founded eight years ago has over 350 registered members and most of its representatives are in Italy in seven cities - Rome, Milan, Trieste, Bologna, Bari, Turin and Padua.

Connecting students around the world for eight years

Ramusovic explains that OSCI, as a non-political, non-profit and non-governmental organization, brings together students at regular studies abroad, exchange programs for a year, as well as students in the following year after graduation (Alumni). Apart from students, target groups are high school students, as well as representatives of Montenegrin academic, artistic, diplomatic and entrepreneurial Diasporas.

"OCSI was founded on the initiative of five perspective young people who have been conducting regular studies abroad - Aleksandar Jacimovic, Bojana Minic, Fedja Pavlović, Milena Stankovic and Tonja Ratic. The main goal of the organization is to establish a platform for efficient and effective cooperation among Montenegrin students in the aim of stimulating professional, scientific and other types of cooperation," explains Ramusovic.

Among the activities of the OSCI, he says, are the formation of Montenegrin students in foreign universities and the establishment of cooperation among them, cooperation with young professionals from Montenegro, promotion of the state and its natural and cultural heritage, and support to Montenegrin high school students in the choice of future education.

"I must point out that all the members of the OSCI Managing Board accepted their obligations without financial compensation, all because of the desire to create a strong network of people abroad who will be of help to future generations. However, money is needed for these projects. In one-part, certain alumni members who are already working abroad help financially, but this is not enough".

Ramusovic was elected President of the OSCI Assembly at the end of last year, and his main task is to lead the global Alumni network and to coordinate the network of local branches and organize the summer and winter assembly:

"Of course, besides this, I want to contribute with my work in all areas of the organization. Together with my colleagues, I try to create a strong network of people abroad who would further help our citizens on their way to achieving their goals.

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Ramusovic was elected president of the OCSI Assembly as a student in Slovenia and a representative in Maribor, who was elected at the end of last year. "Since I knew a lot of our students here, and at the suggestion of an old representative of Montenegrin students Ivana Picuric in Maribor, I was chosen for the new one. Already then, I joined the Organization of Montenegrin students abroad. The first task, together with colleagues from Ljubljana and Kopar, was the organization of the event "Montenegrin Embassies Open House" at the Montenegrin Embassy in Slovenia," said Ramusovic. He says he subsequently applied for the OCSI Presidential Competition, and after two weeks of elections and digital voting he was elected for that year. It is perfect to be a student in Slovenia


Ramusović, although at the master studies in Podgorica where he still has to pass his master thesis, enrolled another master last year at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation and Architecture in Maribor.

He decided to study in Slovenia primarily for the bilateral agreement between them and our country.

"If you enroll, your education is free. Otherwise, one year costs 3.500 euros. In addition, it is possible to study and work here.

The program is designed in a way that you are greatly prepared for future work after college. Recently, on one subject we had contact directly with the investor. All of us, who received tens of dollars (among the top nine groups, two were Montenegrin) were rewarded by the investor.

In addition, he has funded the best publications. During that process, I saw a document regarding the preservation of intellectual property for the first time. The Faculty thus protected its students from misusing the idea and the project itself. In Montenegro, I did not have the opportunity to see such things," says Ramusovic.

"Architects in Montenegro have come to a very bad position, at least those who keep up to their profession and the basic postulates of architecture," Ramusovic says. He argues that it "is perfect to be a student in Slovenia because of all the comforts offered by that republic".

"Every working day, one meal is subsidized, so for two to three euros, you can get soup, a main course, salad and fruit. There are no canteens in Maribor, and everything is at restaurants. For each type of food, we have a discount — both in the city and the whole country. Visits to cinemas, theaters, museums are also subsidized. On specific dates, some are even completely free of charge.

Ramusovic says he has mastered the Slovenian language a lot in one pub where he works in the afternoon. Even though he passes the mornings at the faculty and afternoons at work, he still has time to socialize. "The students from Montenegro meet regularly. At least once a week," he says. Ramusovic will be in the Gran Canary Islands in Spain for several months because he has been awarded with the Erasmus scholarship to spend one part of the education there.

Although he misses Montenegro a lot, he does not exclude the possibility that after his master's thesis he can work in Slovenia.

"Maybe I'm going to start my work here and perhaps pursue doctoral studies in another country. What I am confident of is that with the help of my profession I want to help my homeland. Often those of us in foreign countries say that knowledge and money acquired abroad we want to return to Montenegro. Perhaps a bit selfish from the countries we study in, but we do it for the benefit of future generations in Montenegro. We want to contribute to the system being such that a student wants to stay in his state where he will be given everything – a comprehensive education and a perfect job to be paid according to his merits," Ramusovic says.

Student life in various countries in seven days

OSCI is currently working on two projects, "Me Studying Abroad" and "Outside the Amphitheater", led by students Kristina Djendjinovic and Nikolina Cabarkapa. "The aim of the project 'Me Studying Abroad' is that the Montenegrin students who are abroad tell us their story, show the city they live in, faculties, presentations, festivals, concerts, performances, nightlife, as well as the library, cafeteria, road from homes to faculties, well-known and less well-known places, how they learn, how to spend time, all through photos, Instagram stories and announcements. All this with the help of our official Instagram page. The student who gets the opportunity to participate in the project has seven days to present the above mentioned. With the project "Outside the Amphitheater" we present our members (CSI athletes and artists) whose amphitheaters are podiums, terrains, ateliers and winning podiums. We write about their dreams, notes, balls, cups and medals, black belts, tears and smiles," says Ramusovic.  

He explains that he is officially working on two other projects, among others, the "Summer Assembly 2019", which is written and for which they are currently seeking funding.

Many doors are open to award-winning students

Ramusovic, together with two fellow students, won the competition for the interior design of a famous hairdresser brand in Ljubljana, and this project has already opened many doors and introduced them to the world of the profession in Slovenia.

"Immediately afterwards, for the same investor, we got to do two more projects. The final project whose performance is underway is the "Cut & Art & Wine" project. Throughout the day, the building serves as a barber shop, and in the afternoon it becomes an art shop and a place where the best Slovenian wines are tasted. The task was extremely unusual, but also very difficult because we had to merge activities that otherwise are not functioning together. The competition was preceded by many types of research and detailed analyzes. All furniture is unique, that is the product of our design," says Ramusovic.

Text by Ana Komatina, on April 14th 2019, read more at Vijesti

15 Apr 2019, 12:45 PM

April 15, 2019 - The Organizing Committee of the Civic Movement #ODUPRISE last weekend organized a tour of 11 Montenegrin cities to spread the idea of the movement in direct conversation with citizens and mobilize them to join the movement in designing and conducting actions aimed at overthrowing Milo Djukanovic's regime.

The caravan visited Kolasin, Mojkovac, Bijelo Polje, Pljevlja, Žabljak, and Savnik on Saturday and Sunday and organised gatherings in the cities of Budva, Tivat, Herceg Novi, Kotor, and Cetinje.
 

#ODUPRISE Kolašin

 
Representatives of the Citizens' Movement started the caravan in northern Montenegro by visiting Kolasin, where they talked about the future actions with gathered citizens in the city square. 
 
Representatives of this movement announced more frequent actions in Montenegrin cities.
 
"We are continuing the path we have set for the liberation of this country and the regime's fall and the construction of a better future for all of us. The Odupri Se organization will continue to act more and more because we want constant pressure on the authorities and institutions that do not do their job. We will bring them to the point of having to turn against those who hold the shackles in their hands or will resign," said Nikola Grdinić of the organizational board of the #ODUPRISE movement.
 
Oduprise KolasinOdupri Se, Kolasin
 

#ODUPRISE Mojkovac

oduprise mojkovacOdupri Se, Mojkovac

 

#ODUPRISE Bijelo Polje

 
Speaking on behalf of young people, a student of the Faculty of Political Science Amar Sadikovic said that no country acts against itself as Montenegro, which "does what it does best."
 
"This power is even taking electricity of the citizens for Dukanovic's family. It is our country. They steal and take our steam. The electricity bill has two items that are in contradiction to the Constitution, law and international law. They only serve Blažo and Milo Djukanovic," Sadikovic said.
 
Branka Mrdak said she had watched various troubles, opportunities, and troubles, but wants to talk about what is currently happening to educators.
"We are not giving education to our children, and our institutions have lost their primary educational impact since this is peer violence, so we do not deal with it," Mrdak said.
 
oduprise bijelo poljeOdupri Se, Bijelo Polje
 

#ODUPRISE Pljevlja

 
"Citizens have finally woke up, like the youth of Montenegro, so that this evil will finally end, because we are a state, and we are young people ready to fight for freedom, justice, and truth," said Milovan Markovic from Podgorica, one of the organizers of the caravan at a protest at Pljevlja.
 
Luka Jovanovic said the Montenegrin youth does not agree with bending the spine in front of fraudsters, villains, and thieves.
 
"Love of Montenegro is measured with the will and the strength to rid this corrupt companion," Jankovic said.
 
Mirsad Kurgaš called on citizens to actively engage in designing requests and actions to root the changes in the system.
 
oduprise pljevljaOdupri Se, Pljevlja
 

#ODUPRISE Žabljak

 
"We came to meet and to jointly make new actions in every form against this plague that has been eating us for years," said Nikola Grdinić, a member of the organizing team of "Odupri Se  97,000" at the gathering in Zabljak.
 
Dragan Sošić said the goal was to link, exchange views and agree on future actions.
 
"First of all, I congratulate you on the defense of the lake. We, free Montenegrin citizens, defend every square of this country from the criminals who have been usurping for 30 years so that we can do it only together, regardless of party affiliation," Sošić said.
 
A citizen activist from Žabljak, Aleksandar Dragićević thanked the representatives of the organizers that came to Žabljak.
 
"From the beginning, I have been with the movement "Odupri Se" as someone who supports all possible civil issues when it comes to anything, especially about overthrowing this malevolent government," Dragićević said.
 
oduprise zabljakOdupri Se, Žabljak
 

#ODUPRISE Šavnik

oduprise savnikOdupri Se, Šavnik

 

#ODUPRISE Budva

 
The Sunday Caravan Movement started from Podgorica, and the first station in the southern region was Budva.
 
oduprise budvaOdupri Se, Budva
 

#ODUPRISE Tivat

 
Mirsad Kurgaš of the Organizational Committee of the Movement said that citizens would quickly go "without those who brought us into this black, destroying the state and industry, factories and hotels."
 
"The only thing left by this company is our nature- our sea, the rivers, the lakes, the forests, but they are on the path to destroy it. The only way we can prevent them is to take them from power and send them to a deserved place - in Spuž," said Kurgaš. He called on citizens of Tivat to join them, not to look just behind the windows "because it is not just our struggle but the struggle of all of us."
 
On behalf of his family, whose 11 members attended the gathering, the Organizations of the National Liberation Army fighters Tivat and Matica Boke, the meeting was welcomed by Mato Brguljan.
 
"My satisfaction is that here are my sons and their children, from the youngest one who has one year to me who is 71 years old. It is just the beginning, And this is the only way to overcome this power," Brguljan said.
 
oduprise tivatOdupri Se, Tivat
 

#ODUPRISE Kotor 

 
The Sunday protest gathering in Kotor followed the local protest against the SDP initiative for dismissing Mayor Vladimir Jokić.
 
pduprise kotorOdupri Se, Kotor
 

#ODUPRISE Herceg Novi

 
"Herceg Novi is one of the few free towns in Montenegro, so we came here to take part of that positive energy and share it with everyone in Montenegro," said the "Odupri Se - 97,000" movement organized on the main city square.
 
Members of the Organizing Committee of Civil Protests, Nikola Grdinić, Dragan Sošić, Mirsad Kurgaš, Vladan Šćepanović and Danijela Đurović (SNP) from Herceg Novi spoke.
 
According to the organizer's words, a civil protest could soon be reported by the traffic blockade, the blockade of the instructors and the system.
It was stated that from the lousy privatization of Herceg Novi there are many, the Igalo Institute should now be defended.
 
oduprise herceg noviOdupri Se, Herceg Novi
 

#ODUPRISE Cetinje

 The weekend caravan ended its journey around Montenegro by organizing the meeting in Cetinje.
 
oduprise cetinjeOdupri Se, Cetinje
 

#ODUPRISE representatives today in the meeting with opposition parties

 
A new session of representatives of the parliamentary opposition and the civic movement "Odupri Se" will be held in Niksic at 15.00 today.
 
The host of the meeting will be the Social Democratic Party, the party said.

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