CITY OF NOVI SAD SUPPORTS 233 PROJECTS FROM THE FIELD OF CULTURE
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The Call for Proposals has closed for the selection of cultural projects, including the art, professional and scientific research projects in the field of culture, co-financed from the Novi Sad City Budget. On the occasion, there was a press conference in the City Hall, hosted by the member of the City Council in charge of culture Vanja Vučenović and Advisor to the Mayor in charge of culture Tijana Delić.
- Results of the call clearly show that key selection criterion was the quality of projects. I am certain that the 233 supported projects whose beneficiaries are prestigious cultural institutions, as well as independent associations, contribute to better cultural offer of Novi Sad, as well as the obtaining of the 2021 European Capital of Culture title – said Mr. Vučenović, adding that he would like to thank the committee in charge of implementation of the Call and the City Administration for Culture which handled the task professionally and efficiently, with responsibility to the budget and all the citizens of Novi Sad.
370 beneficiaries with 593 projects submitted their project proposals within the deadline, requesting the 396 million RSD funding from the Novi Sad City Budget. After the examination and assessment of the submitted projects, the committee allocated grants from the Novi Sad City Budget, in the total amount of 135,200,000.00 RSD, to 189 beneficiaries. According to the president of the committee Tijana Delić, through this selection the City has made a shift in cultural policies, giving priority to clearly defined cultural quality and transparency.
- This is the first time that the call results are announced already in the beginning of April. This justifies that Novi Sad is a city of culture, treating its cultural values with respect, as befits – said Mrs. Delić.
Representatives of institutions and organizations that participated in the call also attended the press conference: Vice President of Matica srpska Branko Bešlin, Manager of the Serbian National Theater Aleksandar Milosavljević, representative of the Student Cultural Center Zdravko Vulin, representative of the Novo kulturno naselje association Marko Jozić and organizer of Koncert godine Obrad Škrbić. They praised the City’s relation towards culture, which is manifested not only in the co-financing of projects, but also in other types of support. They praised the City’s relation towards culture, which is evident not only in the co-financing of projects, but also in other types of support. The Manager of the Serbian National Theater Aleksandar Milosavljević emphasized the good cooperation with the City representatives and expressed his hope that it would continue.
- The City recognizes the importance of theater, which is a reflection of the time and society. We are unselfishly providing this art to all the citizens of Novi Sad, Serbia, but also to the people abroad, thus representing our city. We will strive to continue to contribute to Novi Sad’s status of the Serbian Athens, regardless of all the circumstances – said Mr. Milosavljević.
Representative of the Student Cultural Center Zdravko Vulin emphasized the progress in the implementation of the City’s cultural policies and pointed out that the most important thing is to determine universal criteria which would define what a cultural project can represent, in order to prevent the mistakes in the selection process.
Novi Sad, 6th April 2015