If you visited Kalemegdan and walked down its Sava esplanade during March, you probably noticed the exhibition of photographs from our Natura 2000 in-frame competition, which we jointly organized with the “EU for Natura 2000 in Serbia” project.
The exposition was officially opened on 5th March, and visitors were able to see selected 34 photographs, including the three winning ones.
The goal of this exhibition is to show important values of biodiversity and beautiful landscapes in Serbia through incredible photographs and raise public awareness of the importance of nature conversation, diversity of flora and fauna and the benefits of the Natura 2000 network in Serbia.
Opening the exhibition, the Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, congratulated the talented Serbian photographers who recorded the important values of biodiversity and stunning landscapes of Serbia. “We have gathered here to celebrate nature, and I think that now, more than ever, it is necessary to show that we respect nature and live in accordance with it. One of the things that the pandemic pointed out was that it was necessary to have a healthy planet because that is the only way we can have a healthy life”, emphasized Ambassador Fabrizi.
Serbia has a unique biodiversity and unique habitats in Europe and is home to a large number of endangered species. From March to October, 10,000 records on 163 species and 57 habitat types were collected, and some findings were very interesting: the presence of rare birds that had not been registered for more than two decades. Within the EU project for Natura 2000 in Serbia, the EU provides support to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia to establish the first list of potential sites in Serbia that will be part of the European Natura 2000 network and ensure long-term survival of the most valuable species and habitats.
Let us remind you, the winner of the competition, Levente Szekeres, has been photographing nature since 2011. He has won numerous awards and participated in several exhibitions in Serbia and abroad. Violeta Milutinović took second place and participated in 250 exhibitions in 30 countries worldwide and more than 200 awards. The third winner in the competition is Anica Župunski, a doctor by profession, and she has been engaged in photography for two decades.
We hope that you will enjoy in photographs of the nature in our country by walking around Kalemegdan, but also in reading our new issue as we have prepared a variety of stories and interviews for you.
The citizens of Cyprus are facing severe effects of climate change, droughts and water shortages, and challenges in adopting the circular economy principles. The ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Serbia Demetrios Theophylactou was talking to our journalist, revealing if their Government was succeeding in finding the right mix of solutions for climate change adaptation.
Elias Pöyry is the Co-Founder & CBO of Europe’s fastest-growing electric vehicle charging company Virta. Since the company has also been present at our market as a partner in charge&GO – the first regional EV charging network, we asked Pöyry to give us insights on key trends that will change the market in the coming years and advice on how to prepare infrastructure for an EV future.
At the head of the Science Fund, in the position of acting Director, is Milica Đurić Jovićević, PhD in electrical engineering and computing. Given her extensive experience in implementing multidisciplinary projects which link science and economy, we asked about opportunities to support innovation in entrepreneurship. However, the main topic of our conversation was the plan for the development of projects of our young researchers under the auspices of the Fund managed by Milica.
