09 July 2019 - Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanović participates in the Global Conference for Media Freedom: London 2019, organised by the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada.

The conference was attended by representatives of 120 governments, while Minister Bogdanović delivered address during the first day of the panel discussion entitled "Media Freedom in the Western Balkans and a New Approach to Work".

In his address, Minister Bogdanović emphasised that Montenegro is continually committed to strengthening the freedom of the media and expression, which, as he pointed out, is a fundamental human right and the foundation of a democratic society, on whose values Montenegro sees its European future, as stated in the announcement by the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro. 

Precisely at the proposal of the European Commission, Montenegro was the first country in the region where, with the support of experts from the European Union and the Council of Europe, the project "Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe" was conducted. According to the information adopted by the Government of Montenegro on this occasion, the level of fulfillment of the recommendations of the subject analysis is at an extremely high level, and its main guidelines are the development of media policy that promotes and reinforces freedom of expression as a key goal. 

Furthermore, he said that thanks to the complete decriminalization of defamation and insult, Montenegro achieved the standards of media freedom, which ranks it among the rare countries in the region and beyond that took this step, which best speaks about activities to improve the overall environment of media freedom. 

Since the opening of negotiations with the European Union, the Government of Montenegro bought on the non-discriminatory basis debts of commercial broadcasters in the amount of EUR seven million – which is another example of supporting the development and protection of media pluralism. By creating the necessary conditions for media freedom and the sustainability of self-regulation, the Government of Montenegro provided at the same time a three-year transparent and independent financing model for self-regulatory bodies, which will be recognised by the new legal solutions as compulsory support for internal and external self-regulatory bodies. 

Minister Bogdanović also stressed that Montenegro remains fully committed to the regular updating of the Council of Europe's Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists.

On the margins of the conference, Minister Bogdanović met with OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, with whom he exchanged information on the dynamics and current activities regarding the media reform in Montenegro.  

On the first day of the conference, Minister Bogdanovic met with Head of the Western Balkans Department at the UK's Foreign Office Andrew Page.

Read more news about lifestyle in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

ADRINET Adriatic Network for the Marine Eco System held a meeting in Vlora, Albania last week. Experts from the University of Montenegro, Institute of Marine Biology of Kotor, participated at this third meeting of the partners of the project, which is dedicated to better management of coastal fishing in the Adriatic. The meeting in Vlora was organized by the Albanian partner on the project, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Agricultural University in Tirana.

Besides the organizers, at the opening conference spoke the representatives of the ADRINET project leader, Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bari. Montenegrin experts, Aleksandra Huter and Dragana Drakulović presented the results of the analysis of the concentration of heavy metals in the cephalopods, as well as the concentrations of pesticides - organophosphates and carbamates in the demersal fish species. So far analyzes carried out in the Herceg Novi aquarium have shown that the concentrations of these pollutants are extremely low or below the detection limit for the method. In the forthcoming period, our experts plan to continue the analysis of heavy metals and pesticides in order to obtain the results as reliable as possible. A sampling of commercial fish species (gilthead bream and common dentax) for the analysis on antibiotics and microplastic is also planned.

With colleagues from Italy and Albania, in the further course of the meeting, the results and goals achieved since the beginning of the project implementation were discussed, as well as future activities. The most important goals will be the development of the Environmental Risk Management Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding, which will define guidelines for cooperation between scientific institutions and professional associations of the three countries, both within the project and after its realization. The theme of the meeting in Vlora was also the financial aspect of the ADRINET project. As the main target group of the project are fishermen from the pilot project zones, colleagues from Vlora, Bari and Herceg Novi will have meetings in October and November, where they are planning to exchange experiences and establish contacts with the goal of better cross-border cooperation, having in mind that we all share the same resources. As foreseen by the project budget, these gatherings will be financed from the funds of the mentioned municipalities and from the Institute of Biology of the Sea, which invites interested fishers to apply.

In addition to education, fishers will be provided with secured and GPS devices, with which they will be able to know where their fishing gear is at any time, which will primarily prevent ghost fishing - losing fish stock in networks and other tools that are lost at the bottom of the sea. The implementation of ADRINET, under the EU IPA InterReg program for Italy, Albania and Montenegro started in May last year. Its main goal is a contribution to sustainability and ecological requirements for the conservation of coastal ecosystems through the education of fishers, the provision of modern equipment and basic scientific analysis in project pilot areas. In Montenegro, that is the aquatorium of the Herceg Novi Bay, in Albania Vlora, while the project in Italy is carried out in the area of Pula, Bari and Castro.

Three new hiking trails have been completed, from the center of Kolasin to Bašanjeg hill, Bakovic cliff and across Bašenjeg hill to Kukunovac. The layout of the track was part of the public works project, which was sponsored by the local Tourism Organization (TO), in cooperation with "Friends of Kolasin" and NGO "Natura". 

"The trails are intended for recreation and families with children, are not too physically demanding and will certainly complement the tourist offer of the city. The promotional material will be delivered to all registered lessors of apartments in the city.  Currently, there is the final phase of the project – setting up information boards along the hiking trails," said TO Director Aleksandar Vlahovic. The total length of new hiking trail is approximately 21 kilometers.

The longest is to Kukunovac, which passes next to the historic site Barutana and climbs to 369 meters.

The time needed for this pedestrian tour is about three hours.

The other two tracks are shorter and with a lighter climb and the hike lasts for one to two hours.

Vlahovic announces that he is working on the preparation of the mountain biking trail, which will also start in the center of the city.

Thus, Vlahovic said, it will be available to a large number of tourists.

Text by Dragana Scepanovic, on July 9th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

The assembly hall in Budva will be embellished by the painting "Sea Bird" by the well-known Montenegrin painter from Budva Jovo Ivanovic, whose purchase from the deceased artist the municipality will cost 12 thousand euros. This is stated in the notice on the outcome of the public procurement procedure signed by Mayor Marko Bato Carevic, stating that the entire procedure was conducted in accordance with the applicable regulations.

As stated to "Vijesti" from the Mayor's Cabinet, at the initiative of the President of the Municipality, the Secretariat for Local Self-Government initiated the procurement of the painting "Sea Bird" by the painter Jovo Ivanovic, who will soon adorn the hall of the local parliament.

"The idea of ​​this purchase is to emphasize culture and its importance for our municipality. It is a work belonging to an acknowledged local author whose aesthetic and motive are poetically related to the city of Budva and whose physical characteristics correspond to the frontal wall of the assembly hall," said the cabinet of the President of the Municipality.

It was added that "with his poetry, Ivanovic celebrates the beauty of his ancient city and the Mediterranean landscape and that this is particularly reflected in the color and motif of the "Sea Bird". The blue color that dominates this painting is the additional argument that makes this piece of art the best solution for our assembly hall."

Jovo Ivanovic is one of the most prominent Montenegrin painters, a key name in the field of affirmation of fine art at the local, Montenegrin and European level.

The love of Budva Ivanovic has selflessly demonstrated through the endeavor of linking it with genuine and true art flows through the founding of the Modern Gallery, which has been very successful under his leadership for over three decades and which is carrying his name today.

Text by Vuk Lajovic, on July 9th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

The results of the seawater quality analysis of 100 public beaches, carried out by the Institute for Biology for the purposes of “JP Morsko dobro”, show that the seawater on the Montenegrin coast is of good quality for swimming.

"At the 98 beaches, the quality of seawater was of the K1 class, while at two baths it was the K2 class. These results confirm that seawater in Montenegrin beaches is of excellent quality and safe for swimming and recreation," said “Morsko dobro”.

Out of the total 16 beaches where the water quality analyzes are carried out in the Ulcinj Municipality, 15 were of excellent quality K1, while the water level was K2 at one bathing area. In Bar, the water quality in all 13 bathing areas was K1, while in the municipality Budva, out of a total of 26 locations, 25 measured K1, while one was K2.

When it comes to Boka Bay, the water was excellent in all nine beaches in Tivat, and the same for Kotor where the water quality was K1 in all 15 sampling locations, as well as in Herceg Novi where the results showed water quality of K1 class at 21 beaches where the analyzes were executed.

The program for 2019 provides monitoring of the quality of sea water at 100 locations along the Montenegrin coast, namely: 16 in Ulcinj, 13 in Bar, 26 in Budva, 9 in Tivat, 15 in Kotor, and 21 in the territory of Herceg Novi Municipality. It is anticipated that the analyzes are carried out at fifteen-day intervals between May and October. As they clarified from the company “Morsko dobro” in accordance with the Montenegrin regulations, as well as the EU Water Quality Directive. The program encompasses the monitoring of two mandatory microbiological parameters (Escherichia coli bacteria and Intestinalneenterokoke)."According to the Article 13 of the Decree on Classification and Categorization of surface and underground waters, seawater which is used for bathing and recreation, based on compulsory microbiological parameters, are classified into two classes: K1 class - excellent, K2-satisfactory, while samples whose values exceed the boundaries for these two classes are classified into the group “Out of class” (Van klase VK).On the results of the analysis, the Public Company regularly notifies the competent municipal and republic water management inspectorates as well as the competent institutions and the public. If the score exceeds the permissible limit (out of category), it is re-sampled to determine whether it is transient or polluted," said “Morsko dobro”.

Text by Vuk Lajovic, on July 9th 2019, read more at Vijesti

Bokelian D Minor should become the pillar around which the image of the Centre of Culture Tivat would be built, whether it will remain in this organizational sense, or become a real theatre", said Neven Staničić, director of the Cultural Centre Tivat at the Press conference dedicated to the premiere of the renewed theatre play "Bokelian D-minor". 

Bokelian D Minor, written by Stevan Koprivica and directed by Milan Karadžić, premiered in April 2000, launching the theatre production of the Centre and bringing it four awards at the Sterijino Pozorje festival of theatre. The story about the girl from Perast and a French naval officer at wartime is not only a tragic love story, but above all a story about freedom, situated in the old town of Perast in Boka Bay. It was also the first in the "Bokelian Theatre Trilogy" (Bokeški D-mol - B, Betula u Malu Valu and Innominato). Bokeški d-mol was already renewed five years ago bringing young Montenegrin actors on the scene, first of all, Jelena Simić in place of Jelena Đokić for the role of heroine Katarina Šparović. And tonmorrow night, for the first time, the audience is going to see the third young Jelena – Jelena Đukić in this role. In the part of her mother, Marija Šparović, which has been played by the legendary late actress Milena Dravić, is Montenegrin actress Dubravka Drakić.

"This edition of the play has been very consciously put from a large to a small scene, as we will consciously place it on the repertoire as a permanent setting, as a show that should symbolize our work. We will follow the Montenegrin acting scene through it and all the young people who will be shifted into supporting roles and someday we might also change the director”, Staničić announced.

For this renewed edition of Bokelian D Minor, the music has been composed by Irena Popovic. In the role of lvo Šparović remains Mladen Nelević, Stevan Radusinovic plays Bando, Dejan Đonović plays Captain and Goran Slavic plays Vlajina. Furthermore, Pavle Popovic plays Stanko; Vule Markovic is Renee; Anka is Marija Maša Labudović; Senka is Marija Đurić; and Eugene is Omar Bajramspahic.

"Bokelian D minor is the first love of the Tivat Centre of Culture, but also our process of learning theatre work", Staničić explained the nature of Tivat's attachment to this cult performance.

"We were very fortunate that Milan Karadzic was our first professional director and that he had specific dramaturgical requirements to work on reader's tests, so we had more time to sharpen and fine-tune everything and learn the theatre organization."

On behalf of the acting team, Dubravka Drakić emphasized that the work on this play is an extremely important process for all actors, who are aware of its importance, which is the same for Tivat and the Montenegrin cultural scene now as it was 20 years ago.

"It is a great obligation to achieve what is a representation of meaning for all of us who have watched it many times, for us who were delighted with the bokelian language, the story of Stevan Koprivica, great actors. First of all, Milena Dravić, who, with her participation in the show, turned the cultural reality of ex Yugoslav territories to Tivat and to everything that happened here in the past 20 years. 

I am pleased that my students and me, together with the elder actors, have gathered in such a project. We will try to justify the trust, above all Neven’s, who showed us the honour to be a counterweight to everything that Bokeski was and what it will be like a core around which the further repertoire of the Cultural Centre Tivat, or a possible theatre, will be turning."

The premiere, which was planned for tonight but was cancelled because of the weather conditions, is now Thursday night at 9.30 at the Atrijum Buća stage.