24 November 2018 - The art exhibition of drawings by Nera Pletikosić was opened in the gallery "Josip Bepo Benković" on November 21st. In the introductory text of the catalog of works by Nera Pletikosić, art historian Jasmina Žitnik spoke.

"Nera is a poet that sings about the sadness and loneliness of humankind, but also of faith, hope, love. Her works include drawings of children, women, men, old and youth, who all seem to make one big family, or perhaps even an entire album of family photos. One picture, a man's coming, a change of generation, a life that wins and age and death," said Žitnik when asked about Nera's work.

Nera Pletikosić was born in 1990 in Subotica, Serbia. She finished elementary and mastered academic studies at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. She won the "Hand Palm Print" Award for the results achieved in the field of art in 2015, as well as the annual awards of the Department of Fine Arts for the most successful artistic work in the artistic discipline of drawing, and the University of Novi Sad Prize for achieving success during the studies.

She had several solo exhibitions and participated in collective exhibitions in the country and abroad, as well as in numerous art colonies.

The exhibition by Nera Pletikosić was opened by Jasmina Žitnik, the curator of the gallery "Josip Bepo Benković", and the exhibition will be opened for the visitors until December 4th.

24 November 2018 - The Agency for the Development and Protection of Orjen at the exhibition "Nature Connects Us - Parks Dinarides" in Slovenia, presented the most beautiful landscapes from Nature Park "Orjen" in Herceg Novi. The exhibition was set up in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park on Plečnik's promenade in an attractive open space.

"Photographs of protected areas, members of the Association of Parks of Dinarides, as well as photographs of the members of the Community Parks Park were presented. The photographs show the natural and cultural sights of the area and the advantages of protecting these areas for the local and regional population. Nature park "Orjen" has a task of protection, but also valorization of this mountainous area in the immediate hinterland of the Adriatic Sea. The park is famous for the forests of the endemic species of Pinus heldreichii, an unusual and rough karst relief, as well as a cultural landscape based on centuries-old efforts to gather stone from the earth," as stated in the announcement of the Agency for the Development and Protection of Orjen. 

The Agency also added that the park is gravitated by the inhabitants of Bay of Kotor: Herceg Novi, Tivat, and Kotor, as well as residents of Dubrovnik and Trebinje. Since this area is at the triple country-border, it is also a significant tourist area. Park will play an essential role as a destination for excursions to the hinterland.

The partners of the Tivoli Park and Parks Dinarides in the organization of the exhibition were the City of Ljubljana, Public Power Company which manages the Nature Park Tivoli, Rožnik and Šešenski hrib and WWF Adria.

24 November 2018 - The cruise ship "Artania" owned by the German company Phoenix Reisen sailed into Bar on November 23 for the first time and brought 1,054 tourists and 527 crew members to the country. This event has officially closed the “cruising season” in Montenegro, during which 16 cruisers arrived in the port with a total of 22,500 tourists.

According to Emil Kukalj, director of Tourist Organization of Bar, this cruising season was successful. He explained that cruising began to develop in Bar with the arrival of the Global Ports Holding and with the efforts of the Allegra agency, through which the first cruise ship sailed into the port. Cruising merely has continued to lean on the existing resources of Bar Municipality ever since. Cruising tourism, as a part of nautical tourism, has grown to become a financially powerful tourist industry in recent years. The world maritime cruise market is seeing growth in all its submarkets and, according to the estimates; it will become an increasing part of world tourism. The representatives of Bar Municipality are especially pleased that the city has become a destination of interest within cruising voyages, and they are particularly looking forward to positive projections for the future.

Compared to the previous year, the cruising season in Bar is significantly better. According to Tanja Novović, activities coordinator at the joint stock company “Port of Adria," it is announced that 2019 will bring 25 cruisers to the port with about 26,000 tourists. The companies that send their cruisers to Bar are satisfied primarily with safety and security in the port, port facilities, infrastructure and service, but also with the content of this tourist destination which offers the possibility of various excursion tours.

Captain of "Artania" cruise ship, Morten Hansen, has been visiting Montenegro for years. This occasion marks the second time he visited Bar Port. "It's a great opportunity to visit two ports in one day, Kotor and Bar. However, in Kotor space is limited, there is room for one cruiser, and the other is on the anchor. It is a small town, and coming with this many people, we have to pay attention to that. Therefore, it is good that we have another port in Montenegro. If there is a crowd in Kotor, we can choose Bar, and as far as I know from Bar, it is not far to get tourists through the excursion programs to Kotor, it's only an hour away. It is also an opportunity for tourists to see your beautiful country, Montenegro, "said Artania's captain Morten Hansen, who has been working for this company for 13 years.

In 2017, JSC Port of Adria accepted nine cruisers, with about 11,550 passengers arriving in Bar and Montenegro, while in 2016, it took seven cruise ships and 8,660 passengers.

Compared to the 2017 season, the growth of passengers in 2018 is 96%! The projected passenger growth for 2019 compared to the 2018 season is 16 percent. With the arrival of the German cruiser, the tourist season in Bar was extended, which is undoubtedly one of the priority goals of the Municipality.

24 November 2018 - In the northern coastal area of Montenegro, an annual Mimosa Festival has been conducted starting the first weekend of February since 1969. The Mimosa Festival is a traditional manifestation that celebrates the mimosa flower and the coming spring season. This is one of the most important tourist manifestations in the region that gathers hundreds of locals and numerous guests to the gorgeous port city of Herceg Novi to celebrate the sunny days that lie ahead.

Businessmen and the Municipality of Herceg Novi have a common interest in celebrating the 50th Mimosa Festival with high-quality content and by attracting the highest number of visitors to the city - it was concluded at today's meeting of representatives of local government and local companies in the Grand Hall of the Municipal Assembly. The new decade of this Holiday will be a sign of expansion to new European markets. The program was supported by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro and the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro.

At the invitation of the local administration, Herceg Novi’s businessmen took part in the meeting with the representatives of the Municipality and provided suggestions on how the traditional Festival should be improved in order to make its commercial effects more visible. Businessmen expressed their intention to keep their stores open during the celebration of the Festival and stressed that every event that creates demand for products and services aside from the main tourist season is important to them.

As concluded at the meeting, the Mimosa Festival significantly improved the offer of Herceg Novi as a tourist destination, but in recent years its economic and promotional effects are not at the level that this event deserves. In this regard, it is crucial to involve the city’s business people in activities and programs.

The framework of the program was created even before the summer, so the tourist season was used to share propaganda material. Package arrangements have been created and starting in December, intensive marketing campaigns will be launched in the cities of the region.

The participants of the meeting agreed that the Mimosa Festival should expand further over the regional borders. Starting with this year, the Festival growth will be achieved by the promotional Caravan of Mimoza which will reach Budapest and Vienna, by organizing dinners dedicated to the culture and gastronomy of European cities and countries, by the participation of foreign groups in the program, and by cooperation with the partner towns and embassies in Montenegro.

As concluded, the new decade of the Mimosa Festival will be in the wake of the expansion to new European markets, which is necessary to ensure the bright future of this event.

Traditionally, the Mimosa Festival will include many tourist, entertainment, cultural and sports programs. The most attractive programs are usually the costume ball for children and adults, “Mimosa, fish and wine festivals” along the Herceg Novi Riviera, International Flower Exhibition, concerts in town squares, various sports competitions, etc. The Mimosa Festival has grown into a complex tourist and cultural event with a multitude of visitors from all over the region. The executive producer and organizer of the Festival of Mimosa are Public Cultural Institution “Herceg Fest.”

23 November 2018 - The judgments of the European Court of Human Rights about Montenegro represent a real treasury of legal knowledge that guides us and illuminates the directions in which the Montenegrin legal system should be developed, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin noted.

23 November 2018 - Kolašin will welcome the forthcoming winter tourism season and holidays fully ready. Almost all accommodation facilities of famous hotels have been sold.

Ski Center Kolašin 1450, regardless of the snow cover, is ready to welcome the winter and the ski center will officially be open in the middle of December.

This season as well, guests from Albania will be the majority in the town on Tara. The only thing they are waiting for now is the snow. According to the forecast, it is expected at the end of December.

Director of the Tourist Organization Kolašin, Aleksandar Vlahović, says that the preparation of winter tourism season is in full swing. Promotion of the tourism offer of Kolašin will take place in the region, primarily in Tirana and Dubrovnik.

“Also, after a several years break, the bus line from the town center to the ski center is about to be open. We are also working on the creation of new website and profiles on social networks,” said Vlahović.

Vlahović expects great occupancy in the rest of winter season.

While you are staying in Kolašin, make sure to check the best restaurants in the town.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

23 November 2018 - The three-day event "Days of Hungarian Film", dedicated to the new Hungarian production, will be organized within the framework of traditional cooperation between Montenegro and the Embassy of Hungary in Montenegro from November 26 to 28 at the DODEST Hall, Cultural and Information Centre in Podgorica, starting at 8 PM. The entrance is free.

Monday: “Kincsem” (2017)

The opening of the event, Monday, November 26, is reserved for the "Kincsem" (2017), a melodrama based on the true story of a legendary racehorse. This Hungarian movie, directed by Gábor Herendi, presents the history of Kincsem, a thoroughbred racehorse who has the most wins of any unbeaten horse the history of the sport. Sired by a stallion owned by Queen Victoria, Kincsem became a sensation across Europe and a personal favourite of the Austrian emperor Franz Josef, winning all 54 of her races before retiring in 1879. Budapest’s main horse racing track now bears her name. The movie “Kincsem” stood as the most expensive domestic movie with a combined cost of 3 billion forints. The Hungarian National Film Fund shared 2,078 billion forints from the total production cost. The movie was released in Hungarian cinemas on 16 March 2017 and was later shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

Tuesday: “Kills on Wheels“ (2016)

The film "Kills on Wheels" (Hungarian: “Tiszta szívvel”) will mark Tuesday, November 27^th.
Tiszta szívvel is a Hungarian original, action-packed dramedy which tells a tale of two disabled teenagers from a Budapest rehab centre whose life changes completely after they become involved with a hitman who uses a wheelchair. Throughout the film, the director Attila Till keeps highlighting the fact that people frequently underestimate those they perceive as handicapped. He was inspired to make this film from his own experiences as a volunteer for the disabled; thus the movie inspires the idea that life should be lived to the fullest.

Wednesday: “Brazilok”(2017)

The film "Brazilok" (2017) will close the curtains of the event on Wednesday, November 28^th. The film tells a story about a small Hungarian village where the friendly football tournament turns into a much bigger issue. As Fabien Lemercier explains, “the film is an ethno-tale with plenty of humour and tears. The chaos begins in the remote village of Acsa, where the local mayor has been urged by the new, young priest to allow the Gypsy football team, called the Brazilians, to enter the local football cup. This year, the winning team is invited to Rio de Janeiro, thanks to funding from a local millionaire. The championship begins. Events, emotions and anger take the story in all kinds of unpredictable directions until those who finally win shouldn’t be the winners, and those who find love shouldn’t be together.”

23 November 2018 - On November 23, Prime Minister Duško Marković hosted the representatives of Qatari Diar, led by Executive Director Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah and during this occasion, officials discussed the exclusive five star hotel complex in Pržno.

Qatari Diar is a real estate company established by the Qatar Investment Authority in 2005 with headquarters in Doha, Qatar. The firm engages in investment and development of real estate including housing schemes, resorts, towers, etc. and it invests in the real estate market of Qatar.

The company is part of the Qatar State Investment Fund and with its three subsidiaries deployed on three continents, currently runs 60 development projects worth over 35 billion USD in 24 countries around the world. Qatari Diar has established itself as one of the world’s most trusted and respected real estate companies because of its commitment to quality, local community, partnership and sustainability.

Since 2010, the owners of Qatari Diar have 270,000 square meters of land in the hinterland of Pržno Bay in Krtoli near Tivat, where they intend to build an exclusive tourist complex worth 270 million EUR. The representatives of the company emphasized their commitment to the realization of this investment, for which the already-proven interest of the hotel chain Four Seasons, as the operator of the future portfolio, already exists.

As Total Montenegro News previously reported, earlier this year, the Ministry for Sustainable Development of Montenegro has issued five construction permits to the Tivat company QD Hotel and Property Investment Montenegro, founded by Qatari Diar, to construct a five-star hotel complex with a gross surface area of 33,5 thousand square meters, nine residential villas with a total surface of 8,3 thousand square meters, underground garages with a gross surface of 4,5 thousand square meters, support buildings, roadways and relevant infrastructure. Set up in Plavi Horizonti, on the Luštica Peninsula, this project will represent one of the most exclusive projects in the whole of Europe, considering the green surroundings on one side and clear blue water on the other side of the plot. Following projects from Seychelles all the way to Cuba and Tajikistan, company Qatari Diar has recognized Montenegrin potential and decided that their next project should be right on the Montenegrin coast of the Adriatic Sea.

During the meeting with Qatari Diar representatives, Prime Minister informed the interlocutors that the development projects worth over 4 billion EUR are currently being implemented in Montenegro, and that one of the Government's strategic policies is further improvement of the investment environment. He pointed out that the door is open to credible investors, from whom the country’s representatives expect not only money, but also transfer of business and management experience to Montenegro. Marković expressed satisfaction with the announcement of the start of this development project and assured that such projects will always enjoy full support from the state.

Read more information about the Qatari Diar project in Montenegro here.

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22 November 2018 - Freedom of expression is not an absolute right but is limited by the rights and freedoms of others; therefore the safety of journalists must be complete, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin emphasised at the opening of the conference on the freedom of the media and the protection of journalists in the Western Balkans in Podgorica. 

Besides the safety of the journalists, which represents the principal responsibility of the state, there are three critical preconditions for the full freedom of the media, which are the responsibility of the media community, the Deputy Prime Minister noted. 

The first condition is the level of professional competence of journalists and compliance with journalistic standards. In this context, DPM Pažin pointed out that a lack of effective media self-regulation is present in Montenegrin society to a considerable extent. He said that the media community could count on the full support of the Government in the establishment of unique self-regulation. 

He added that the Government is willing to provide means and efforts to help the principle of unified, independent self-regulation. "I have learned that dialogue within the media community is ongoing and I want to believe that we will soon have encouraging messages within the media community and that this principle of unique independent self-regulation will come to life and give the results that Montenegrin society needs," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed. 

The second important condition of media freedom is the independence of journalists within the media, i.e. the freedom of journalists to report in a professional manner without pressure from editors, managers and media owners. "The research data of the Trade Union of Media is really worrying. About 80% of the members of the journalistic profession point to the pressure they suffer from within the media, from the editors in the first place, about 80%, and then about 50% are pressed by the manager and then media owners. This, in some way, points to the lack of perception that has been present in society so far, that this pressure arises predominantly from politicians or government representatives. This research indicates that this is only a marginal phenomenon," DPM Pažin highlighted. 

Speaking about the socioeconomic status of journalists, as the third significant condition for free journalism, he noted that it is worrying that about 800 Montenegrin journalists have personal income below the national average, while every third journalist earns less than EUR 400 a month. "The Government will support the establishment of the Media Fund in the new media law, in order to encourage the freedom of the media, in order for the media to have their place in society and be sustainable, but at the same time we expect the media to take into account the existential status of journalists and to raise it far higher than the current level." 

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the safety of journalists is the dominant responsibility of the state. "If freedom of expression is not an absolute right, the safety of journalists must be absolute. And that's uncompromising." 

He recalled that four cases of violence against journalists were registered this year. In three of these four cases, perpetrators were identified and proceedings were initiated. "The most painful one, the attack on Ms. Olivera Lakić has not been fully investigated yet and it still arouses justifiable concern within the whole society. The success and the result of this investigation will be a criterion in assessing the outcome of the people who are responsible for solving these cases, and on the other hand it is also a test of trust that a society should have in these institutions." 

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that the Government had accepted all recommendations of the Commission for monitoring the investigation of attacks on journalists and media assets, adding that the Government fully supports the work of this Commission.