November 14, 2019 - Steve Arrick has been Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Podgorica since June 2019. Helen Reynolds-Brown spoke to him and his partner Meriem about their experiences learning Montenegrin, and how it has helped them since their arrival in the city.

TMN: How were you prepared in terms of the language, before you arrived?

Steve: I was quite fortunate because in the summer of 2018, I went on a short course organised by the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs that included regional and cultural activities, as well as language.

Meriem: To be honest, I didn’t know much about Montenegro before Steve got the job, but then I found out that it had been part of Yugoslavia, and also found out a bit about the local language. I also managed to get free language lessons through the UK Foreign Office before we came here.

Steve: Generally, for us, there are ten months of training in London, and then one-month immersion. We want to do this in Montenegro, but as we don’t have many diplomats here, we tend to do it in the region instead. I spent two weeks in Banja Luka and two weeks in Mostar living with families.

TMN: Do either of you have a language background?

Meriem: I am Algerian, and speak Arabic and some French. China, where we lived for six years, was the first completely foreign country where I was forced to learn a language. After China, nothing is as scary. People here speak great English. China was very different from that, and you were basically stuck if you didn’t speak any Mandarin. We got pretty good over the six years we were there.

Steve: Before I transferred to the Foreign Office, I had school-level French. Mandarin was the first language I took to a decent level. The Foreign Office has “language slots” and “non-language slots”. Both here and China for me were language slots, but even for non-language posts, there is some optional language training provided.

TMN: So how much do you use your Montenegrin here in Podgorica both personally, and professionally?

Steve: I use my language every day, but not as much as I’d like to. I’ll often introduce myself in meetings, but I’d like to be able to make all my speeches in the local language. In a personal capacity, we use the language every day in restaurants and shops, so it’s super-useful. I’ve never found that people feel pushed to switch to English with us, but I’m not quite pushy enough myself to insist they speak their language to us either. People are always pleased to hear you’re learning their language, even when you make mistakes.

Meriem: I’m a teacher of English as a second language in an international school, which is what I did in China. I don’t use the local language at work at all, as we all speak English, however, I do use it a lot in taxis and shops. I’ve only had one or two instances when people have got frustrated with the speed of the conversation, but other than that people are really understanding. We’re also trying to keep up with the Mandarin, which we speak with some friends who are still in China.

Steve: I think the Mandarin was something that we were worried about losing. I had grand plans of signing up for weekly lessons, but I haven’t got round to that yet!

TMN: What do you find most difficult about learning the language?

Steve: It’s the grammar for me. Even in school, that was the part that I didn’t really like about languages. With Chinese, there is some grammar, but not very much. So when you start a Slavic language, well, there’s a lot of it! Cases (padeži) are the worst. Our press officer told me he frequently questions himself if he got it right, so I know it’s not just me!

Meriem: I would say the grammar as well. I try to get it right, and end up spending more time thinking than actually speaking. By the time I’ve worked out what I want to say, people are like, “Look, we’ve already figured out what you want…!”

TMN: Have you had any proud moments learning the language?

Meriem: Well, I’m taking my driving theory test in Montenegrin, which is a challenge! I do evening classes, and the teacher doesn’t speak any English. I did a sample test recently, and I did pretty well on it, so I felt very proud of myself! It’s that immersion style of learning, and you just have to get on with it.

Steve: I hadn’t had anything as impressive as that, although a couple of days ago, one of our local members of staff from Tirana took me for a local here when I spoke the language. That felt good, but my local colleagues found it hilarious! You get the odd moments like that, and it feels like the effort’s paying off.

TMN: What, in your opinion, is the general impression of the UK and the British here?

Steve: It seems very positive. People seem to have a lot of respect for British history and culture and there’s generally a very positive image of what the UK does here, which I’m sure is in part because of the work of the Ambassador and her predecessors.

TMN: And do people ask you about your background, Meriem?

Meriem: Yes, because a lot of my colleagues had never met an Algerian before. I was pleasantly surprised, people know more about Algeria than I expected. From what I know, our previous president Boumediene was very good friends with Tito and that’s one of the reasons. A lot of the small cultural things are also similar. I don’t know whether it’s a Mediterranean thing, but there are lots of everyday things that remind me of Algeria.

TMN: How much of Montenegro have you managed to visit together since you arrived here in June?

Steve: We’ve done quite a bit, but there’s still a fair list of things we’d like to see. We’ve been on road trips over the summer, to the coast, and then up into the national parks, but many places we've only visited for a day. I’m keen to try the skiing here, but we’ll see how the winter goes (looks at the rain outside).

Steve and Meriem have very much enjoyed their time in Montenegro so far, and are looking forward to what more the country, and the language, have in store for them.

Helen Reynolds-Brown

Following the invitation of representatives of local self - governments and citizens, Kotor - Tivat dog shelter workers take out abandoned and lost dogs daily, especially in the city center, Radovici, Ostrvo cvijeca, Krasici, Gradiosnica, Donja Lastva and Seljanovo.

In the Tivat municipality alone, 177 dogs were collected last year, said the newly elected Dog Shelter’s Director, Milan Popovic, stating that, to their knowledge, vans from neighboring cities and the north are coming and leaving dogs in the territory of the two municipalities.

He stressed that the biggest problem facing the workers and animals is overcapacity: "At this moment we have approximately 220 dogs, which is 70 more than the number predicted by the current shelter’s capacity.

The capacity is 150 dogs, and we have about 220 of them. Vans from neighboring coastal towns and one from the north come to leave about twenty dogs each, and we are obliged to collect all these dogs from the territory of the municipalities of Tivat and Kotor upon the request of citizens and institutions, and then they create a problem for us."

Solution to this problem is expanding the capacity and upgrading the dog shelter for which there is a design, but in addition to the budget available, additional funds are needed, Popovic points out: “The Utility company has addressed our investors, municipalities Tivat and Kotor for additional funds to this budget and we hope that by the end of the year when the draft budget will be in preparation and ready for public debate, that the funds planned according to this design will be allocated."

The Dog shelter’s capacity expansion project requires over €100,000 in funding, which will mean that the funding and all other costs that will follow that expansion will be much higher, Popovic concluded, telling anyone who would like a dog to visit the shelter because the primary goal of this institution is to care for and provide home for each abandoned animal, especially puppies.

Please visit the site if you want to adopt or volunteer https://www.azilkotor.org/

Text by Radio Tivat, on November 11th, 2019, read more at Radio Tivat

The use of winter equipment for all motor vehicles will be mandatory from November 15 this year until April 1 next year. That means drivers have time until Friday to replace summer tires with winter ones.

Although not the case before, the proposal for a Road Traffic Safety Act, which is in the parliamentary procedure and is pending its adoption, stipulates that all four tires must be of the winter type, which means that those operating vehicles should be guided by the new legislation.

Text by Radio Tivat, on November 12th 2019, read more at Radio Tivat

November 13, 2019 - In the forthcoming period, Kolasin will be a town of broadband investment, as investors’ interest surges.

Apart from the announcements about the construction of a textile factory, a great number of hotels will be built in Kolasin. One of them will be located in the Bjelasica mountain, so that skiers can reach ski resorts right from their hotel rooms.

A great amount of investment in hydro potential has been planned and some important steps have already been taken.

“Our goal is to make life in Kolasin better by implementing different development projections we have planned. Implemented investments and creation of new jobs will confirm development”, said Mr Milosav Bato Bulatović, the mayor.

The first step was completing the equipment of the Business zone in Baković.

“This used to be an industrial zone in the last century. We’ve started preparations for opening the Business zone. Now, we need to establish transport communication within the zone and complete the infrastructure. We are ready to undertake all the incentive measures and to be real partners within our investment possibilities”, says Mr Bulatović.

A textile company from Turkey is interested in the construction of textile factory in Kolasin.

Negotiations on the project included the provision of the workforce, between 250 and 300 female candidates from Kolasin and neighboring municipalities.

“Candidates would go through a two-month training and then they would establish an employment relationship. I’m talking about textile production for famous world brands. Employees will have very convenient working conditions and good salaries. We are about to begin preparations for this project”, said Mr Bulatović.

As he pointed out, investment in tourism is of utmost importance for the local administration.

“West Point Sheraton company, owner of Sheraton hotel, has already started construction of a hotel in Jezerine. It will be a prestigious hotel, offering amenities for both winter and summer season. This is a very important investment as it starts construction of hotel capacities in Bjelasica”, points out Mr Bulatović.

Breza will also see important investment – construction of tourism complex linking the offer of the south and the north of Montenegro.

Chief architect approved of the project in Rijeka Mušovića where a hotel and 10 tourist villas will be constructed.

Construction of a hotel in Milutina Lakićevića street has also been approved. This hotel will have over 20 rooms.

“Investors from Russia, Turkey, Albania and Western Europe expressed interest in investing in Kolašin. Investors from Montenegro are also very interested. Haus majstor company, owned by Mr Zoran Popović, opened a four-star hotel in  Gornji Pažanj. Mr Vlado Bojić, an investor from Kolašin living and working in Belgrade, bought from Russian investors three half-finished facilities in Breza and has already started finishing works”, reminded Mr Bulatović.

Since Kolašin is rich in hydro potential, investment schemes in hydro energy are very important. BB solar company from Podgorica is building a mini-hydro power plant, “Bistrica”. A mini hydropower plant will be built in Paljevinska Rijeka, as well as a small hydropower plant in Trebaljevo.

Text by CDM on November 13, 2019, read more here.

To read more about travel in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page.

November 12, 2019 - Parliament speaker of Montenegro Ivan Brajović opened the final regional workshop today in Podgorica on strategies and technical approaches to strengthening cooperation between parliaments and supreme audit institutions. The three-day event organized by the parliamentary Committee on Economy, Finances and Budget alongside the World Bank, provides the basis for experts from parliaments and supreme audit institutions to share practices, summarize strategies and technical approaches in fostering mutual cooperation.

In his speech, Mr Brajović stressed the importance of activities implemented by the Network of parliamentary committees on economy, finances and EU integrations, which significantly contributed to networking of parliamentarians in our region, and mentioned the contribution of the World Bank and their experts who have been continuously providing support to MNE and its institutions in various areas.

Speaking about the cooperation between the Parliament of Montenegro and the State Audit Institution, he said that current joint work has been based on the principles of mutual trust, independence, and common interest, in line with the Constitution and competencies defined by the law.

Text by CDM on November 12, 2019, read more here.

To read more about politics in Montenegro, follow TCN's dedicated page.

The Porto Montenegro team is working hard to prepare the second edition of the Polo lifestyle and sporting event in the marina Porto Montenegro, scheduled for August 2020. The polo spectacle is surely an event that marked the summer in Tivat nautical resort, but also on the Riviera - and in two days, thousands of international guests and citizens enjoyed the polo pop-up Arena, bringing home great impressions.

A 'life less ordinary' concept and motto in Porto Montenegro fits perfectly into the dynamic calendar of events that will certainly be the leitmotif of the season in the coming year.

Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh (Pacho) of Jaipur, one of the most prominent representatives of the world polo, did not hide his enthusiasm for the project and the beauties of Montenegro. When he heard that the next edition had already been scheduled, he added: Porto Montenegro is one of the most spectacular places where I have ever been lucky to play polo. I really hope to be back next year.

The event is organized by the Global Citizen Forum, and Polo in the Port is one of the key social and sporting events this summer, combining world-class sport with a beautiful setting, with a view on some of the best yachts in the world.

The partners of the first polo tournament in Porto Montenegro were Arton Capital, Regent Porto Montenegro, Universal Capital Bank, Voli Motors, Plantaze, Petite Geneve / Rolex, Azimut Yachts, Beluga, La Martina, Boadicea the Victorius and Sunreef Yachts, who joined forces to commemorate this event at the marina.

Polo 2020 will reunite world players, as well as international and local audiences in the pop-up arena, and it will be a three-day spectacle featuring local artists, folklore associations, children from schools, as well as other active members of the local community and partners.

Text by Boka News, on November 11th, 2019, read more at Boka News