"The Little Pirate" directed by Milan Karadžić and written by Aleksandra Glovacki will be played on Sunday, August 18th at Purgatorije Festival in Tivat. The show premiered last year in Tivat on December 20th in the coproduction of Culture Centre Tivat and CityTheatre Podgorica. It will be performed on Sunday at 9 pm at the Tivat Summer Stage.

The play is inspired by Ante Staničić’s novel “The Little Pirate”. The Tivat writer found inspiration for his books on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, among his countrymen whom he considered very brave. 

“Ante Staničić's novel "The Little Pirate" marked time and space that everyone gladly remembers, through projects we happily return to him. For me, it was especially inspiring to return to Tivat after many years, wanting to do a play that would be loved to watch and play.

The play "Little Pirate" is an homage to good comics, adventure scenes and lucid film directors, on the one hand, and on the other, confronting our small towns and the inhabitants, not very well-intentioned towards our heroes, those rare ones who have the courage to be different, their own. Our story puts the wind in the back of everyone who carries that grain of courage,” the director said.

This adventure story, in the form of a musical with elements of comedy and melodrama, happens in the 18th century when pirates seized the seas. The work depicts, among other things, the lives of Bokelian mariners and their customs from that time. In addition to exciting and dramatic events, the story also sends a strong message of love, both to other people and nations and to the family.

Cast: Pavle Popović, Goran Slavić, Miloš Kašćelan, Jelena Đukić, Miloš Pejović, Marija Maša Labudović, Dubravka Drakić, Pavle Ilić, Sanja Popović, Branko Ilić, Marija Đurić, Jelena Simić, Katarina Krek, Branka Femić Šćekić, Omar Bajramspahić, Ivan Kašćelan.

The show “Little Pirate” is for ages 7 to 107.

16. August 2019 - "Girl with Strings" continues the drama program of Budva Theatre City Festival on Saturday, August 17th. This modern drama opera directed by Marjan Necak will be played on stage between churches at 9 pm, as announced by the Festival Press. The play is a co-production of the Slovenian National Theatre in Ljubljana and the Moving Music Theatre in Bitola. At the Viminacium Festival in Serbia, "Girl with Strings" was voted the best performance by the jury.

The website www.dalmacijadanas.hr published:

“The modern dramatic opera by Marjan Necak, Maja Hrgovic and Ana Bunteska accompanies a young violinist traveling by train through Europe in the hope of a career as a top musician. But without a family and social foothold, from a girl who lived (for) her dream of happiness and deserved accolades, she increasingly becomes one of the many creatures who live from gigs in the streets and squares of indifferent European metros,. Consciously alluding to Andersen's Girl with Matches, Girl with Strings does not end in utter hopelessness, because on the symbolic-metaphorical plane of the violin strings they are still more powerful than everywhere threatening barbed strings. The roles are interpreted by Barbara Cerar, Uros Furst and Branko Šturbej (voice)."    

Zoran Popovic says in his review of this contemporary drama opera:

Marjan Necak is not only a composer of fantastic music drama, but instead moves with scores of light and colors, stage arrangements, collecting inspirational pictorial compositions. This is how it is located in the stage space - a small universe of the enclosed contemporary world which is also an intimate area in the wires of a girl, which can more clearly recognize her fairy tale, builds a magical, visually real ambience where the distant times and places, reality and imagination through which she spreads - searches for the reality of events. "

The directing, composition, stage design and lighting design were done by Marjan Necak, the lyrics written by Ana Bunteska, and dramaturgy by Darja Dominkus. Costume design is by Natasa Filipovic, while the editor is Tatjana Stanic, video author Marin Lukanovic and choreographer Žigan Krajnčan.

The ten best beaches in Montenegro, recommended by Visit Montenegro, are Ploce, Trsteno, Kamenovo, Jaz, Velika plaza, Mogren, St. Stefan, Queen's Beach, Lucice and Blue Horizons.

The beach Ploce is well thought out and designed: four seawater pools, free parking, showers, cafes, restaurants, sunbeds, rescue services and ambulances, and massages, and the beach also organizes various parties.

Trsteno beach is said to be ideal for families with children offering sunbeds, restaurants, and parking.

They recall that Kamenovo has chameleon water, which changes color depending on the angle of the sun's rays from turquoise to azure. Here the sun stays for a long time and the sunsets are stunning. It offers restaurants and cafes, parties and attracts younger people.

Jaz beach has a number of restaurants and tourist facilities. It was declared as the best European beach in 2015 by Lonely planet.

At Velika plaza and Ada Bojana the beaches boast the most spectacular sunsets. These beaches attract writers, poets, actors, singers and bohemians. Ada Bojana is a nudist paradise, known for its moderate wind perfect for kite surfing, which is the number one sport here and clubs offer equipment and training.

Ulcinj - Velika plaza

Mogren Beach consists of two beautiful beaches connected by a tunnel. This beach has a blue flag, which is a symbol of high environmental standards and quality and clean water, they state. The beach is easily accessible by foot from the Old Town of Budva. The walk offers views of the old town and the skyline.

Sveti Stefan beach is a trademark of Montenegro, and on the peninsula is the luxurious resort Aman Sveti Stefan. The left side of St. Stefan beach is free, while the right side is private and 50 euros are required to enter. The Queen's Beach is part of the St. Stefan's Amman Resort and is only available to hotel guests. If you want to use the beach you have to pay 70 euros per person. It is such a combination of rich vegetation, cultivated nature and clean water.

Lucice Beach offers refreshments in cafes, by boats you can visit the islands Katic and St. Nedjelja, there are no sunbeds on half of the beach, and a water slide and playground have been made for children.

The beach Blue Horions is suitable for families with children, and visitors have beach access, sunbeds and cabins, and a seafood restaurant. For lovers of active beach holidays, there are sports fields for volleyball, basketball and tennis, one can rent a boat or water ski, jet ski or go fishing.

Text by Boka News, on August 16th, 2019, read more at Boka News

The government, in cooperation with the municipalities, should provide free textbooks for all elementary students to comply with the constitutional provision on compulsory and free primary education, according to the Center for Civic Education (CCE).

The CCE's analysis, "Why Do Student Textbooks Cause a Headache?" States that changes to the textbooks each new school year did not lead to a qualitative improvement in formal education and represented a financial burden for parents.

"And reform processes are mostly now chronically unplanned, affecting teaching staff, textbook deficiencies and huge costs," the analysis concludes.

According to CCE data, the Government has allocated a minimum of 7.3 million euros for textbooks over the past six years, of which 6.3 million for printing, about 864 thousand euros for authors' fees and 135 thousand for reviewers’ fees.

Expenditures for textbook editors should be added to this, as the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids (ZUNS) has such a systematic job vacancy, so editorial expenses are paid through monthly earnings.

Expenditures for textbook editors should be added to this, as the Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids (ZUNS) has such a systematic post, so editorial expenses are paid through monthly earnings.

The CCE said that the prices of textbooks do not change much, and that for the last school year the kits, depending on the grade in the elementary school, were from 43.1 to 94.2 euros, and for the upcoming year betweeen 39.8 to 94,2 euros.

In gymnasiums, these prices range from 59 to 106.8 euros for the previous year, and from 50.5 to 106.8 euros for the upcoming one.

The prices of textbook kits for secondary vocational schools are unavailable because they vary depending on the school and the direction. Therefore, for analysis, the CCE took an example of the second grade of law school in the Secondary School of Economics and came to the figure of 110 euros.

"Given that textbooks are being sold, parents and several municipalities are paying for textbooks, only €4.63 million was paid for primary school kits for 2018/2019, which is significantly more than the annual cost of producing and printing of these textbooks," the analysis states.

To that, the amounts for secondary schools should be added, where it is difficult to reach the indicative figure.

The CCE said that the lack of transparency in certain segments of ZUNS's work is also something to worry about.

This NGO did not receive a list of all paid authors and reviewers that were engaged, with the explanation that ZUNS does not have such lists for the period before 2018.

"However, data for 2018 also indicate that a number of persons participating in the development of the school curriculum appear as textbook reviewers in various segments, and up to 12 times in some examples," the analysts said.

It is stated that there is no clearly defined fee for authors, but this varies considerably, as does the number of authors hired per textbook, and there are no published tenders for obtaining manuscripts for the period before 2018.

According to CCE, Obod Cetinje Printing plant has been the leader in the amount and volume of funds allocated for the last six years which is 1.5 million euros, and is the only one that has been publishing textbooks for years, while other suppliers print smaller volumes and with less allocated resources.

Allegations from that NGO state that errors and omissions in the printed textbooks were noted, but also that there was no revision of the printed copies, nor is it known that anyone was responsible for this.

In addressing these problems, the CCE also made a number of recommendations.

"First of all, the Ministry of Education needs to make an estimate of how much money is needed at the yearly level to provide free textbooks for elementary schools, and the Government, in cooperation with municipalities, to provide free textbooks for all elementary schools," the NGOs said.

Thus, according to the CCE, the constitutional provision on compulsory and free primary education would be respected, would contribute to equal status among students, but would also lead to a more rational approach of the Institute of Education, that would stop it from changing the content of textbooks for each new school year.

"Also, in the five-year period, future options for plans and programs should be strategically determined to define textbooks for primary schools, in order to avoid continuous changes to the content of the textbooks. It would also be savings for the Montenegrin budget, and would also allow for a "textbook inheritance", according to the CCE recommendations.

The NGO also believes that the procedures for selecting authors and reviewers must be regulated, so that one circle of the same people do not constantly write and review textbooks, as this can lead to corruption.

In particular, they said, responsibility should be taken for all authors found to have plagiarized textbooks or syllabuses, and they must be excluded from all further engagements.

"The Institute of Education must determine from the professional assets of secondary education institutions a list of missing literature and textbooks for secondary vocational education and hire authors to produce the missing textbooks," the CCE stated.

According to them, printing plants that make errors and mistakes in printing textbooks must bear responsibility for the mistakes made and compensate for the damage, as well as those who coordinate the process in the competent institutions.

The CCE believes that the ZUNS should provide a sufficient number of printed editions of textbooks for vocational courses in secondary schools for the library fund of the school, namely those textbooks that are in PDF format on ZUNS website.

In this way, they explained, they would rent the same number of textbooks to new generations every year, with the obligation to return textbooks at the end of the school year, similar to the Slovenian model.

“Finally, in order to make the process transparent, the CCE appreciates that textbooks should be published annually on the ZUNS website with precise amounts and names of the companies or authors and reviewers who were paid, indicating for what exact purpose, as well as all accompanying payments in the textbook design," the analysis concludes.

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

The event “Vakuf Olive Month”, organized by the Islamic Community (IC) Bar and the Old Bar Dzemat Committee, has started in Old Bar.

Until September 15, as part of the event, olive groves will be arranged in vakuf IC Bar - Gusta, Gvozden brijeg, Marovici, Dzidzharin and Zaljevo, which will be rejuvenated with new olive groves.

Opening the event, the vice-resident of Bar Municipality, Radomir Novakovic, expressed his satisfaction that last year's good results were achieved.

"You have done your best to show that you are taking care of what has been left to you, and that you care to leave it in a better condition to the future generations. You have accepted a great job and I wish you a happy and successful work," added Novakovic.

President of Dzmet-Vakuf Board of Stari Bar, Fahrudin Zaganjor, said that EUR 23,500 was raised last year in money and donations, that "work was done throughout the winter," and that over 90 percent of vakuf parcels had been cleared during the first event.

He added that two months ago, the cadastre registration of Vakuf plots "on which we counted all the trees" was completed.

"We have 3,145 olive roots, of which a hundred new ones were planted in 2018. Last year, the emphasis was on landscaping the plot Veliko Dabanovo, where there were about a hundred overgrown trees. We also fertilized olive groves, over two thousand roots, as well as the sanitary cutting of 300 trees. We have leased 460 olive roots for a long-term lease, with the obligation of tenants to look after them as their own, we also purchased an off-road vehicle for maintaining all olive groves in vakuf, and we also upgraded the design of a bottle of vakuf olive oil, which is a significant source of revenue for us," Zaganjor presented the results of last year's action.

He said this year would be followed by "a broad action over the next five weekends", which is opened by fencing works on the plot Gvozden brijeg, supplying water and electricity and preparing the ground for planting another 300 olives.

"We will purchase 400 olive tree seedlings of three to five years of age, which will be fruitful each year. On the plot Zaljevo, which was cleared and built last year, we will plant a hundred new seedlings on 5,000 square meters. Olive groves Gusta, Marovici and Dzidzarin will be arranged," they added. The activists of NGO “Orijent” will arrange a plot of land near Kurila, which this NGO has leased.

IC Bar has the most olive trees in Montenegro, which it received as a gift from believers in vakuf. Vakuf is one of the most important institutions of Islamic culture and the religious community, as a material good that human and noble people have extracted from their property and donated to the community for the benefit of all people.

Text by Radomir Petric, on August 15th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

15 August 2019 - The goal of the Law on Restriction of Using Tobacco Products is not to punish the citizens and to collect revenues from fines, but to protect the citizens’ health, claims the Ministry of Health of Montenegro.

Prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places in Montenegro entered into force on Wednesday, August 14th, after the Law on Restriction of Tobacco Use was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro on August 7th.

The representative of the Ministry of Health of Montenegro, Slađana Pavlović said for Vijesti daily that the aim of this law, which was unanimously backed by the government and the parliament, is preserving and protecting the health of all the citizens, both those who do consume and those who do not consume tobacco products.

According to Pavlović, the main principle behind this law is the prohibition of consuming tobacco products in enclosed public spaces and in working spaces. She highlighted that smoking is strictly forbidden establishments where food and drinks are served, adding that the possibility exists to dedicate a separate part of the establishment for this purpose.

“The law clearly stipulates the conditions of insulation, surface, position and equipment of that part of the space: the room must be insulated in such a way that no tobacco smoke can flow into the rest of the space, and the surface must not be less than 10 square meters, must not occupy more than 20 per cent of the workspace or public space and should not be intended for passage to other spaces,” said Pavlović.

As TMN reported previously, the new law also prohibits the sale of tobacco products that are not labelled with printed warnings covering 65% of the front and rear end of a pack.

Violation of the Law on Restriction of the Use of Tobacco Products will lead to strict penalties going up to 20.000 EUR.

Still, Pavlović emphasized that the goal of the Ministry of Health, as the institution which will supervise the implementation of the law, is not punishing and collecting revenues from fines. She highlighted that tobacco, “a silent killer”, is a fundamental cause of death among the global, and thus also among the Montenegrin population.

Seniors cards are likely to be in use in Tivat soon, as announced by the municipality secretary for Youth, Sports and Social Affairs. “The Strategy for the Elderly is being drafted and, following some examples from practice, I think we will soon have Senior Cards, in addition to Youth Cards. These cards will help the elderly population in the city in the best possible way. They will have discounts at certain institutions, retail chains and the like, which will at least make their age a little easier,” MSc Darka Ognjanovic, secretary of the Secretariat for Youth, Sports and Social Affairs of the municipality of Tivat said.

Senior cards have an age limit, which is prescribed by law, meaning that all residents of the city over 64 will be able to obtain it. According to her, entrepreneurs need to recognize their interest in humanity and thus be the bearer of social responsibility towards the eldest.

She also highlighted the great success with the Youth card, which is in use in Tivat. Graduates are now at an advantage as they will be entitled to discounts in the cities where the excursion takes place for the first time, namely in Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Ognjanovic pointed out that the municipality of Tivat may be the first to draft legal acts that serve as an example to other municipalities. The Decision for Alternative Accommodation for Persons in Social Need is in preparation, the first such model. Otherwise, the Social Housing Programme, one of the first in Montenegro came to life.

"After five years, the Commission for Reduction of Social Rights in Housing for Social Category started to work, so we expect that in the spring we will have a new Public Call for the allocation of apartments to people in social need. Some people have outdated rights, some have lost them and some have changed status. This is an entire area that has been covering only three people from the Secretariat for three months now," explained Darka Ognjanovic, announcing the idea of ​​joining a major project next year - building a Day Care Centre for the elderly.

These centres are different from nursing homes, she pointed out, giving an example of a Center of this kind in Maribor, which she has seen. The institution looks completely different from the nursing home - various educational and entertaining courses fill the time in a quality way for the users.

Source Radio Tivat

After several days when the temperature in Podgorica was 40 degrees, a refreshment arrived.

Podgorica was hit by storm at 2 pm, followed by heavy rain and hail.

Hail in Podgorica (Photo: Reader of "Vijesti")

The Bureau of Hydrometeorology and Seismology has previously announced that from mid-day the weather will be variable and unstable, sometimes with rain or thunderstorms.

Take a look at what happened in Podgorica thanks to the photos of “Vijesti” reporter Luka Zekovic.

Text by Vijesti  online, on August 14th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

Although the inspection will only be able to penalize citizens and legal entities for smoking indoors in just a month, the use of cigarettes was banned in many restaurants and the ashtrays were removed from the tables on Wednesday.

In the cafes and restaurants in Podgorica that “Vijesti” visited, no one used tobacco products.

The owners of the restaurants said they were considering ways to retain smokers. However, more caterers praised the adoption of a new law that explicitly bans smoking in closed workplaces and public places.

Jovan Lausevic from Podgorica's café “Scottish Pub”, told “Vijesti” that he supports the new law and that he sincerely hopes that everyone would abide by it.

Although enforcement of the Tobacco Restrictions Law began on Wednesday, the inspection did not control whether there was any smoking indoors, both public and work.

"The entities have a legal deadline of 30 days to adjust the business to the new law, so the inspection will begin to control the entities after this deadline," said the Inspection Directorate.

It's all due to the health

The Ministry of Health said that the aim of the law is not to punish and collect revenue on the basis of penalties, but to protect the health of all citizens.

The General Director of the Directorate for International Cooperation and Harmonization of Regulations in the Ministry, Sladjana Pavlovic, said that the essence of the law is that it is forbidden to consume tobacco products in closed public and workspaces.

"What has been the biggest interest in the past few days is the catering facilities and the possibility of consuming tobacco products in them. Namely, it is strictly forbidden to smoke in the facilities or parts of restaurants, cafes, restaurants, where food and drink are served,” Pavlovic emphasized.

She said the owner could designate a special part of the space where tobacco products would be consumed exclusively.

She recalled that the law stipulates the obligation to designate the room as a smoking area, a minimum area of ten square meters, and a maximum surface area compared to the entire workspace - a maximum of 20 percent of the workspace.

"This room must be isolated so that no smoke cannot flow into the rest of the area and must not be intended for passage to other rooms. The room in question must also be equipped with ventilation devices, ashtrays, fire extinguishers, air purifiers and the like," Pavlovic said, noting that in the room will not be allowed to serve drinks or food.

Europe wants smoke-free countries

Montenegro is the record holder in Europe for the number of smokers, as tobacco is consumed by as much as 34.5 percent of the adult population. Another 18 percent of citizens used to smoke cigarettes during their lifetime.

Every year, 400 people get lung cancer, and over 95 percent of these cases occur as a result of smoking.

The latest European Commission progress report states that Montenegro should ensure further alignment with the European Union (EU) acquis in the field of health protection, in particular with those related to tobacco control.

The most stringent laws in Europe regarding the ban on smoking are in the UK, Ireland, Greece, Bulgaria, and Spain.

Consumption of cigarettes in restaurants and bars is banned in Italy, Norway, and Lithuania.

At its last summer session, the Austrian Parliament, just like the Montenegrin, adopted a decision on the ban of smoking in all catering establishments, which will be applied from 1 November.

Sweden began applying a stricter law at the end of June compared to the earlier one in 2005 when smoking in bars and restaurants was banned. In that country, it is now forbidden to smoke outdoors in some public places, such as playgrounds and cafe terraces.

Serbia is drafting the same law, in Croatia smoking zones in cafes

When it comes to the region, Serbia follows the instructions of the World Health Organization and this year the Ministry of Health will send to the Government a law that completely prohibits smoking in closed public and workspaces.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have not yet adopted a ban on smoking in cafes, restaurants and workplaces. Croatia, an EU member state, also bans smoking in closed public spaces.

However, catering establishments that serve only drinks and which cannot meet the requirements for the construction of a special smoking room may also have a smoking area, or part of a café where tobacco is allowed to be used.

Albania has a ban on smoking in closed facilities.

Text by Ana Komatina, on August 15th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

The hybrid ship "Graciana", of the Italian company Bella Boka, with a capacity of 60 passengers, is scheduled to start operating from Monday 19th August on the route Tivat - Herceg Novi in ​​five terms.

It is a 19m long trimaran with a capacity of 60 passengers and a ticket to Herceg Novi is 4 euros.

Departures will be from Tivat from the Pine waterfront and from Herceg Novi from the City port.

The first departure from Tivat is at 8.30 am, and later at noon, 3.30 pm, 7 pm and 10.30 pm. From Herceg Novi to Tivat, the boat leaves at 9.15 am, 12:45 pm, 4. 15 pm, 7.45 pm and 11.15 pm.

Text by Boka News, on August 15th 2019, read more at Boka News