D-2483 DG's Newsletter February-March 2017

DG Velibor ZOLAK GOVERNOR'S NEWSLETTER No 8 - February/March 2017 Great attendance and publicity – the Centennial celebration THE GREATEST EVENT IN THE DISTRICT’S HISTORY! Nearly 500 guests at the celebration of a centennial of the Rotary Foundation and the 112th anniversary of the Rotary International at the hotel Hyatt Regency, on 25 February 2017, participated in the greatest Rotary event in the region. We have presented to the business and media community of Serbia who we are and what we do. The event drew great public attention, and the reports have been published, with many photographs, by the leading Serbian media: \"Blic\", \"Danas\", \"Kurir\", \"Ekspres\", \"Telegraf\", \"Nedeljnik\" and others. The celebration featured the screening of videos about the Rotary clubs Sremska Mitrovica, Kragujevac, Beograd-Skadarlija, Beograd-Metropolitan, Novi Sad-Alma Mons, Budva, Rotaract Club Beograd, and about the Rotarians Olivera Lola Stanic, Dr Nebojsa Kavaric, and Tanja Sobota - who organized a short exhibition of hairstyles and dresses. The art programme featured the Rotarians/artists: the mezzo-soprano Anna Sinicki, the pianist Iva Jova- novic, the cellist Dusan Stojanovic, the author Aleksandar Gatalica, the artist and anchor Iva Strljic, who read “Mostar Rains” instead of Pero Zubac, member of the RC Novi Sad- Petrovaradin-Fruska Gora, and the manager Slobodan Simic. A surprise for the end of the evening was the performance by the famous cellist Ana Runcer, member of the RC Zagreb Maksimir, Croatia. The entertainment programme included a performance of the band Koncert majstori.

As opposed to the previous events, this one was not organized by clubs, but by the District. In order to ensure Page2 successful preparations, a Jubilee Celebration Committee was established, comprising the Rotarians from 8 Belgrade clubs, while the Committee members were not elected as club representatives but as individuals and professionals. The District Jubilee Celebration Committee, which has done a great job, was comprised of: Olivera Lola Stanic, ADG, chair, Aleksandar Radojcic, RC Skadarlija, Srbislav Novakov, RC Zemun, Sveta Milovanovic, RC Stari grad, Zoran Cirovic, RC Singidunum, Milorad Djukanovic, RC Dunav, Daliborka Bradic, RC Sava, Gradimir Dragutinovic, RC Metropolitan, Ivana Zdravkovic, RC Zemun, Senka Ignjatovic, RC Skadarlija and Anja Vucetic RAC Beograd Vracar, and Nikola Mitic as a District Secretary. District 2483 Montenegro and Serbia owes a great debt of gratitude to Ana Rucner, who arrived to our celebration from Zagreb and performed free of charge, and Predrag Milutinovic, the owner of the largest production company in Serbia \"Megaton Production\", who provided, also free of charge, state-of-the-art equipment and 12 technicians, who were in charge of audio and video quality throughout the evening. The event has demonstrated that the success depends only on us, our faith, will, efforts. On the reputation we are building through our activities and actions. And on our friends! We can do nothing alone, but we can do everything together! On 25 February 2017, I was proud to be the Governor of District 2483, Montenegro and Serbia! Because, we can do whatever others can do! We can be even better than others! We can – if we want!  Donation to the Rotary Foundation SUPPORT THAT COUNTS – €3,400 FOR THE FOUNDATION A majority of clubs in the District adopted a recommendation of the Jubilee Celebration Committee to donate €100 each on the occasion of the observance of a centennial of the Rotary Foundation. This form of support to the Foundation is undoubtedly the best support!   

 Page3   Election of the District Governor for 2019/20 30 APRIL 2017 – SUGGESTIONS DEADLINE On the last day of February, the procedure of nomination of candidates for the District Governor for the Rotary year 2019/2020 was launched for the RI District 2483 Montenegro and Serbia. According to a decision of the District Conference, the election is done through a Nominating Committee. In the process of candidate selection, the Nominating Committee is not limited to the names proposed by the clubs. The Committee shall nominate the best- qualified Rotarian who is available to serve as a Governor. The clubs’ boards are obliged to remind all the members of the ele- ction rules and qualifications to be met by a candidate for Governor. The election guidelines are defined in the RI Bylaws: articles 11, 13 and 14, and the Rotary Code of Policies: Section 17.030.3(A), 17.040, 19.030, 26.070 and 26.080, while the qualifications to be met by a candidate are spelled out in articles 16.070. and 16.080. of the RI Bylaws. Each candidate must demonstrate knowledge of the qualifications, duties and responsibilities of governor and sign a statement that they understand clearly such qualifications, duties and responsibilities.  Rotary International rezoning completed IN THE SAME ZONE WITH OUR NEIGHBOURS At its January meeting, the RI Board completed the rezoning of its overall organization. District 2483 Montenegro and Serbia will be part of Zone 21 - Austria, Eastern Europe, Middle East, together with Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roma- nia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and other countries. Zone 21 will be comprised of 16 districts, 1,140 clubs and over 30,000 Rotarians. The first Rotary Institute in the new zone will take place in 2019  Conference of District 2483, Budva, 24 and 25 June 2017 ASHOK GUPTA – REPRESENTATIVE OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. GERM John F. Germ, President of the Rotary International has appointed Ashok Gupta form India as its representative at the Conference of District 2483 to be held on 24 and 25 June 2017 in Becici, Budva. Our guest, Past District Governor Ashok Gupta, is a Vice-Chancellor of the IIS University in Jaipur, India. 

New clubs – Organizational meeting of RC Kotor Page4 ROTARY CLUB OF KOTOR The first Rotary Club in the only Mediterranean fiord An organizational meeting of the Rotary Club of Kotor was held at the hotel “Cattaro” in Kotor on 23 March. Svetlana Radulovic-Bajkovic, the owner of the travel agency “Meridian DMC” and member of RC Budva, was elected as the President for the current Rotary year, while Mileva Pejakovic-Vujosevic, the Director of the Maritime Museum Kotor and former member of RC Budva, was elected as the President for 2017/18. The club that covers the municipalities of Kotor, Tivat and Herceg Novi, is sponsored by RC Budva, and it has brought together the prominent leaders in the field of tourism, trade, maritime industry, culture, healthcare and other walks of life. Regular meetings of RC Kotor are held on Wednesdays at 8 pm at the hotel “Cattaro” in the Old Town of Kotor. It is expected that RC Kotor will be chartered in May 2018. The Club can be contacted through its Secretary Aleksandra Ivanovic at: [email protected]  District seminars - PETS/SETS, Arandjelovac, 1 and 2 April 2017 PRESIDENT ELECT TRAINING SEMINAR Please be reminded that the PETS and SETS training seminars for presidents-elect and secretaries-elect of the Rotary clubs will be held at the hotel “Izvor” in Arandjelovac, Serbia on 1 and 2 April. The seminars are mandatory for all incoming presidents and secretaries and open for all Rotarians. Without having attended the PETS, the club presidents-elect may not take office as presidents. PETS will be attended by the RI Director, Corneliu Dinca, and the coordinator of the Club and District Support Team in Zurich (Europe/Africa Office, Zurich), Rosangela Merlino, without whose assistance it would be much more difficult to function. 

Club actions - RC Beograd Metropolitan Page5 BELGRADE CONNECT by ROTARY & KPMG Promotion of new innovative companies RC Beograd Metropolitan and the company KPMG have implemented the “Belgrade Connect” project - which brought together local start-ups and presented them to the industry professionals in Belgrade and Berlin. In addition to international networking of young people and knowledge transfer, the project is aimed at promoting the innovations in the region and spreading the culture of entrepreneurship. In the first phase of the project, 10 of the 40 start-ups that had applied were selected, and they had an opportunity to present themselves and answer the question of expert jury and the audience at the KPMG offices. The jury was comprised of representatives of the Rotary, KPMG, the investment fund SC Ventures ($40M), and the consultant Bane Seslija. In the second phase, the winners of the competition spent three days in Berlin and presented their innovations at “Startup Connect Berlin\" - http://startupconnect.berlin. Our teams BreakAphasia and Future Reality Systems were ranked first and third respe- ctively by the expert jury. The air travel costs have been covered for all teams, while the accommodation has been provided by the Rotarians from the Berlin-Global eClub. Belgrade Connect has received a great public attention, and the Rotary was presented for the first time to young entrepreneurs in this way, showing that its follows global trends. A large number of online media, TV channels (RTS, N1) and radio stations covered and supported the event. Belgrade Connect was organized by RC Beograd Metropolitan and KPMG Serbia. 

Club actions - RC Beograd Sava Page6 NATIONAL TEAM OF SERBIA AT THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS DANCING CONTEST The first dancing contest at the Special Olympics in Austria Rotary Club Beograd Sava has raised over €2,700 (80% in direct donations of the RC Sava members) to enable the participation of the National Team of Serbia at the Special Olympics Dancing Contest (22–25 March) in Graz, Aus- tria. The funds raised were used to cover the travel and accommodation and other logistics costs for the whole national team of 17 mem- bers. This is the first in a series of actions related to the dance club “Mladost” and the spe-- cial national dancing team of Serbia. For 20 years now, the Director Miodrag Kastrato- vic has been investing a lot of efforts, time and money in restoring smile to the faces and movement to the bodies of children and adolescents with serious diagnoses and disabilities (Down syndrome, cerebral paralysis, severe genetic diseases, and similar.)   Club actions - RC Nis Medijana SHORT STORY CONTEST An innovative cultural action Between 1 February and 1 March 2017, the Rotary Club Nis-Medij- ana organized a short story contest on any subject featuring over 300 contestants. The authors of the best three short stories received monetary rewards, and their stories, together with the stories of another eighteen contestants (21 short stories in total) will be included in the first collection of short stories “Spin the Wheel” to be published by the club. The first-ranked contestant is Gorana Balancevic of Kraljevo, with the short story “Renting”, the second-ranked short story is “Marisa in the Deception Room” by Andjelija Radivojevic of Nis, while the third-ranked contestant is Ajtana Drekovic of Tutin, with the short story “The Suit”. 

Rotaract club actions - Beograd Metropolitan Page7 HUMANITARIAN CONCERT A traditional humanitarian concert of the Rotaract Club Beograd Metropolitan La Notte di Veglia (The Night Vigil) was successfully held on 21 February before the full Mikser House. The piano concert by Iva Jovanovic was accompanied by a dance performance featuring the dancers of the “Lujo Davico” Ballet School, the famous dancer Milan Gromilic, and the opera arias performed by the opera singers Vladimir Andric and Branislava Podrumac. The event was also supported by the renowned Serbian actress Ana Sofrenovic. Net proceeds from this project (€600) were donated to the children’s ward of the rehabilitation clinic “Dr Miroslav Zotovic” for procurement of the equipment necessary for therapy administration.  Rotaract club actions - Beograd-Cukarica and Beograd-Balkan \"THE EVENT YOU MUST NOT MISS!\" Wannabe Magazine about the humanitarian fashion show of the Rotaract clubs The fifth Humanitarian Fashion Show organized by the Rotaract clubs Beograd- Cukarica and Beograd-Balkan will be held at the Mikser House on 28 March at 8 pm. The following thirteen fashion designers will be showcasing their works: Sisters–Code by SBC, Lada Dragojevic, Ina Plamenac Radulovic, Nina Karlavaris, Marija Grahovac, Kjara Fashion Studio, Kristina Mijacevic, Lepa Danojevic, Monika Belovanovic, Danijela Bozic, Jovana Petkovic, Irena Grahovac and Katarina Andrejic. In addition to the fashion show, the guests will have an opportunity to enjoy a dance performance by the well-known ballet dancer Milan Gromilic, an acrobatic trapeze act by Tanja Milanovic, and the fluo dance performance by the Inex Teatar Circus Company. The admission is 350 dinars and the dresses will be sold at the promotional price of €100. The entire proceeds will be donated to the paediatric hospital \"Dr Olga Popovic – Dedijer\". 