Europe Day in Novi Pazar - European Values at Work

Today, 67 years later, during which the European Coal and Steel Community grew to become the European Economic Community and subsequently the European Union (EU) as we know it today, this date is perceived as a turnabout in relations among European states – the beginning of the creation of a community of countries on the formerly exclusively nationally oriented “Old Continent”.

In addition to its flag and common currency, Europe Day is now a symbol of the EU. Every year, it is an opportunity to highlight the prevalent European values – respect for human and minority rights, peace, freedom of the media and expression, equality and solidarity. As elsewhere in the world, the EU Delegation to Serbia celebrates 9 May by numerous initiatives promoting these values and uses the events to engage citizens in their implementation in their local communities.

The campaign “You are Europe”, one of the long-term initiatives the European Union has supported over the past year in partnership with the Swiss Government, is implemented in 34 local self-governments in South-East and South-West Serbia through the European PROGRES development programme. The campaign involved “Encounters with Europe” in Aleksinac, Leskovac, Prokuplje and Priboj to provide the youth in these municipalities with the opportunity to learn more about the EU integration process and the benefits it brings. Particular attention was devoted to promoting opportunities for volunteering and studying in the EU Member States, as a chance for them to broaden their horizons and gain new knowledge they can apply upon return in order to contribute to the development of their home towns and communities.

Members of the Team Europe – a network of national experts specialised in the EU topics – intensively communicated with the youth during these events. They also visited secondary schools in ten European PROGRES municipalities and held lectures at colleges in Bujanovac and Novi Pazar. They say they are delighted by the huge interest young people have shown in the programmes the European Union is offering them.

“I want to invite all young people between 17 and 30 years of age to familiarise themselves with the opportunities for studying and volunteering, as well as involve themselves in sports activities, travel and get to know Europe through the Erasmus+ and European Volunteering Service programmes,” said Europe Team member Naim Leo Beširi, who specified that he himself had made use of these opportunities, which had helped him in college and to build a successful career.

A competition for secondary school students in these municipalities was organised as well, in order to boost the young people’s team spirit and idea of togetherness. The students and their teachers wrote project proposals on how to improve the quality of education and the conditions for working and studying in their schools.

The following two teams – the Novi Pazar High School “Ambassadors” and Bujanovac Vocational School St. Sava “Health Knights” – won the grand finale of the competition, organised in Novi Pazar on 12 May to mark Europe Day. They displayed the most knowledge about the EU and EU accession related topics and were each awarded 100,000 Dinars  to implement their project proposals.

The Bujanovac school will implement a project that will help their peers adopt healthy eating habits through educational workshops in Serbian and Albanian and by providing “healthy meals”. A school cafeteria, in which the “health food” will be prepared by the students studying to become cooks and pastry chefs under the guidance of their teachers, is to open in September. The school students and staff are convinced that the project will bring multiple benefits: the students will have the opportunity to apply in practice what they have been learning in school and will change their eating habits. The teachers proudly emphasise that Europe has reached their school as well, because the students have demonstrated genuine European values – active participation, tolerance and togetherness.

A competition for local and regional media outlets was organised through European PROGRES as means of supporting and fostering media freedoms and the freedom of expression, in cooperation with the EU Delegation and the Serbian EU Integration Office (SEIO).

An expert jury chose eight of the best 67 reports submitted by 23 outlets in the various competition categories.

The European Union and the Swiss Government awarded prizes to the competition winners through European PROGRESS – new audio, audio-video and computer equipment worth up to 5,000 Euros. The winning authors went on a four-day visit to Brussels, organised by the EU Delegation, and subsequently visited the relevant national institutions involved in the EU integration process in Belgrade, with SEIO’s support.

The article by Ljiljana Stojanović of Nova Naša reč, entitled “Europe, Here I Come”, was awarded in the best newspaper report category, while the awards for the best television and radio reports went to Novi Pazar, to journalists Aleksandar Nićiforović of Radio Television Novi Pazar and Nikola Kočović of Radio Sto Plus, for their media coverage of activities on flood protection of the river Raška basin. The prize in the category of the best online report published by an independent online media outlet went to journalist Dragan Marinković, a reporter of the news agency Jugmedia, while the portal Info Liga based in Ivanjica was awarded a prize for the best series of media reports. The winner in the category of best entrepreneurship report is a journalist of Južne vesti Nikola Marković, who reported on the self-employment of persons with disabilities, while Alma Sofić of Sandžak TV is the author of the best report on a project funded by the EU and the Swiss Government. Journalist Biljana Ljubisavljević of the Niš-based Media Investigation Centre won the award in the category dedicated to potential projects with a piece that dealt with the need for the construction of an irrigation system in Bela Palanka.

Steffen Hudolin, the Head of Operations II of the EU Delegation, presented the awards to the journalists at a ceremony moderated by Gorica Nešović and Dejan Ilić, the “Wake Up” radio show hosts. Hudolin underlined that the European Union has been investing in strengthening the media sector in Serbia for a decade now, because free media facilitate the development of a stable democracy and are crucial for empowering both individuals and communities.

European PROGRES will continue spending time with youth during the summer months, at festivals organised in the municipalities in the Programme’s Area of Responsibility. All the news about the events can be followed on European PROGRES’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.