On 29 and 30 May 2012, the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro organized the conference “Economy of Montenegro – The Road to Economic Growth”. This two-day event included panel and round table discussions covering a number of actual, economical development issues. A keynote address was given by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Mr. Igor Luksic, while the panel discussions were introduced by the Deputy Prime Minister, ministers, university professors, representatives of international institutions and prominent businessmen.

On 12 May 2011, a round table entitled “Sustainable Architecture - From Luxury to Necessity” was held In Podgorica. The round table was organized within a large ecological campaign “Ecological Link that Connects Us” launched by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.

On 10 May 2011, EXPEDITIO celebrated its 14^th birthday. We would like to extend our thanks to all those who follow our work an support us! Yours Expeditio

“Construction of road line around Boka Kotorska which would cut the vertical zone of the mountain range, along with construction of buildings would compromise the area which is in the list of World Cultural Heritage. One of the alternatives for resolving traffic jams is intensifying maritime transport. But, first it is necessary to identify the cultural and natural zones and limit the urbanization level in Boka Bay“ – maintains the expert on world heritage prof. Todor Krstev from international organization ICOMOS (UNESCO advisory body). He pointed out in the press conference for the organized workshop within the process of drafting the Management Plan for Kotor area of world heritage, held in the premises of the Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments that Boka Kotorska is a cultural and natural phenomenon and its heritage must be preserved.

Workshop within the process of creation of Draft Management Plan for Kotor World Heritage Site was held on May 2 and 3, 2011 organized by the Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments Kotor and NGO “Expeditio“ Kotor. Funds for realization of these activities were provided from UNESCO Participation Program 2010 – 2011 and partly from the Budget of Montenegro.

The aim of the workshop was to discuss the topics which are the most important for completion of the process of creation of the Management Plan:

• positions regarding key development projects
• proposals for protected surrounding of Kotor World Heritage Site (buffer zone)
• strategic priorities i.e. priority measures of the Management Plan for the following year

Apart from the members of the task force for creation of Draft Management Plan for Kotor World Heritage Site, the workshop was attended by the representatives of the Municipalities of Kotor and Herceg Novi, members of the task force for creation of the Estimate of Cultural Area of the Territory of Kotor as well as the consultants with relevant international experience regarding World Heritage, familiar with the territory of Kotor:

• prof. Todor Krastev, ICOMOS, Bulgaria and
• prof. Katri Lisitzin, Sweden

During the previous week, a representative of our ogranization, Biljana Gligorić, attended the activities within the Program Education for Sustainable Development in the Western Balcans. She was chosen to be a part of the team of mentors who will work during the year with 25 schools in the region of Drina basin with the aim of creating school development plans focused on education for sustainable development

We have the pleasure to announce that some of the most important remarks that our organization sent to the Ministry of Culture in the form of Komentara na nacrt Nacionalnog programa razvoja kulture were incorporated into the final document which you can download on ovdje. This particularly relates to addressing topics Youth culture and Independent Culture Scene. These topics were incorporated as compulsory in the Municipal Programmes for the Development of Culture.

Representatives of the SEE Heritage members Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Organization (Albania), Expeditio (Montenegro) and Suburbium (Serbia), the CHwB Regional Office in Pristina, and SEE Heritage Secretary, took part in the People to people (P2P) study tour in Brussels (Belgium) on 29 March - 1 April 2011. The meeting was organized by the European Commission, DG Enlargement.

The process of creation of Draft Management Plan for Kotor World Heritage Site, coordinated by the Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments Kotor, is in progress. The Institute formed the task force for creation of this strategic document for long-term management, protection and preservation of Kotor World Heritage Site. The work group comprises the representatives of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, the Republical and Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, the Municipality of Kotor, the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty for Tourism and Hospitality, the Institute for Maritime Biology and NGO “Expeditio“ Kotor.

The Prime Minister Igor Lukšić, at the National Council for Sustainable Development session today, was appointed as the President of this body, while Biljana Gligorić, a representative of NGO Expeditio was appointed as his Deputy. Thereby the committment of the Government to intensify the cooperation with the representatives of the civil society was confirmed.

Povodom reagovanja Direkcije za uređenje i izgradnju Kotora, dana 11. 04. 2011. u dnevnim novinama „Vijesti“, u vezi izgradnje zaobilaznice u Kotoru, želimo da ukažemo na par stavova koje smatramo zabrinjavajućim.

A representative of EXPEDITIO participated at the conference Modernization Lessons in Skopje in the period April 1-2, 2011. The conference was organized within the project Unfinished modernizations: Between utopia and pragmatism – Architecture and urbanism in socialist Yugoslavia and after it.

The conference was organized by the Coalition for sustainable development from Skopje, one of the partners in the project Unfinished modernizations, upon whose request the representative of EXPEDITIO participated at the conference and presented experience from Montenegro regarding the treatment of modern architecture.

You can find more information on the research project Unfinished modernizations, dealing with architecture and urbanism in socialist Yugoslavia and after it, as well as about the conference in Skopje on the project website www.unfinishedmodernisations.net.

You can find in the text below the description of the conference quoted from the website of the Association of Croatian Architects, the main partner of the project Unfinished modernizations (http://www.uha.hr/direkt2010.php?tekst_id=3507)

Nedovršene modernizacije: Između utopije i pragmatizma dvogodišnji je istraživački projekt koji je dio programa 'Kultura 2007-2013' kojega podržava Europska unija. Uz Udruženje hrvatskih arhitekata, glavnog nositelja projekta, partneri na projektu su: Institut za suvremenu arhitekturu (Zagreb), Trajekt (Ljubljana), Umetnostna galerija (Maribor), Društvo arhitekata Beograda i Koalicija za održivi razvoj (Skopje). Kroz projekt se interdisciplinarno istražuje proizvodnja izgrađenog okoliša unutar društvenog, ekonomskog i kulturnog konteksta socijalističke Jugoslavije te refleksija tih procesa na području današnjih nezavisnih država nakon njenog raspada. Istraživanja će nastojati raspoznati i kritički interpretirati arhitektonske i urbanističke modele i procese koji su predstavljali kulturni i socijalni doprinos modernizacijskim procesima, te preispitati načine na koji se naslijeđe modernizacije nastavilo razvijati ili dekonstruirati u tranzicijskim i post-tranzicijskim okolnostima.
Aktivnosti projekta su uz istraživanja u koja je uključeno 14 istraživačkih timova iz zemalja nasljednica Jugoslavije i konferencije koje će se održavati u svim zemljama uključenima u projekt (Zagreb, Skopje, Beograd, Split, Ljubljana), izložbe, publikacije i internetska stranica. Završna izložba na kojoj će biti prezentirani rezultati projekta bit će u Mariboru, europskoj prijestolnici kulture 2012.
Voditelji projekta su Vladimir Kulić (University of Florida) i Maroje Mrduljaš (Arhitektonski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu).
Projekt financijski podržavaju EU Program Kultura 2007-2013, European Cultural Foundation (ECF), ERSTE Stiftung, Ministarstvo kulture RH, Grad Zagreb.

Konferencija: Pouke modernizacija, Skopje 1. - 2.4.2011.

Izgrađeni okoliš u zemljama bivše Jugoslavije bitno je obilježen zahvatima sprovedenima nakon 2. svjetskog rata. Po njihovom obimu i impaktu, može se zaključiti da su modernistička arhitektura i urbanizam jedna od dominanti tog okoliša. Modernistička arhitektura na području bivše Jugoslavije često je u lošem stanju, dok se urbane matrice nastale u vrijeme socijalizma postepeno transformiraju. Svakako, naslijeđene modernističke urbanističke matrice teško možemo zadržati intaktnima jer su gradovi dinamički sistemi koji se neizbježno mijenjaju s vremenom. S druge strane, relikti modernizacija koji su napušteni (industrijski kompleksi), nedovršene zamisli (urbanistički planovi), pa čak i pojedini promašaji ili prostori sa negativnim konotacijama (bivše vojne zone) ponekad su resursi sa neočekivanim potencijalima.

Na konferenciji će se nastojati kritički raspoznati „pouke modernizacija“ i afirmirati njihove produktivne dosege. Također, ukazat će se na nove prakse u područjima arhitekture, urbanizma i politika prostora koje dijele bliskost sa idealima i progresivnim aspiracijama povijesnih modernizacija, ali ih i unapređuju i aktualiziraju.

Prvog dana Konferencije, uvaženi predavači i gosti predstavit će svoje poglede na političke aspekte jugoslavenskog urbanizma u vrijeme samoupravljanja, kao i rezultate te kompleksne stvarnosti koja je pokazala kako početne namjere tako i kasniju nemogućnost da ih se implementira. Među predavačima su Vedran Mimica (direktor Berlage Instituta) i dr. Vlatko Korobar (profesor urbanizma na Arhitektonskom fakultetu u Skopju). Divna Penčić vodit će javni intervju s profesorom Georgijem Konstantinovskim i arhitekticom Olgom Papesh, doajenima makedonske arhitekture. Biljana Stefanovska će javno intervjuirati nove urbane aktiviste kao što su Aneta Spasoska, Dragan Krstevski i Slavica Chavdarovska iz Prve Arhi Brigade te Jane Stojanoski, Nevenka Mancheva i Vesna Mitanoska iz Podmladuvanja.

Drugi dan programa donosi dvije javne diskusije o pitanjima progresivnosti i arhitekture te pokušaj da se identificiraju početni uspjesi modernizacijskih procesa i započne ponovno preispitivanje onih procesa koji su se na različite načine pokazali neuspješnima u smislu svog osnovnog cilja: društvenog prosperiteta. Nakon panel-diskusija uslijedit će predavanje dr. Lukasza Staneka (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich), istraživača na Arhitektonskom fakultetu i kustosa izložbe PRL™ Izvozna arhitektura i urbanizam socijalističke Poljske (Muzej moderne umjetnosti u Varšavi, 2010).

Uz sve navedeno, Konferencija će biti popraćena i izložbom o Borbinoj Saveznoj nagradi za arhitekturu. Izloženi će biti nagrađeni radovi jedine savezne nagrade za arhitekturu u socijalističkoj Jugoslaviji, koju je dodjeljivao dnevni list Borba. Ova prestižna nagrada bila je glavno službeno mjerilo arhitektonske izvrsnosti u bivšoj Jugoslaviji, istovremeno odražavajući i promovirajući koncept “bratstva i jedinstva” i formiranje pan-jugoslavenskog identiteta. Namjera izložbe je opisati politički, društveni i ekonomski kontekst jezikom izgrađenog prostora, ali i pružiti priliku da se procijeni kako uopće prolaze arhitektonske vrijednosti socijalističkog društva u današnjim radikalno izmijenjenim okolnostima. Ova izložba po prvi će puta na jednom mjestu pokazati sve dobitnike Borbine Savezne nagrade, od 1965. do 1990.

During February, a representative of our organization, a member of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Biljana Gligorić, was appointed to be a member of two work groups within the Council. The first is Work group for sustainable consumption and production, and the other one is Work group for review of the Strategy for sustainable development and creation of III report on implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.

Within the Software Donation Program realized by TechSoup Global with assistance from The Rockefeller Brothers Fund-a, our organization was awarded a donation in the form of Microsoft software in the value of $10,935.00.

On March 2-6, 2011, in Istanbul workshop "Making places for the art" was held. The workshop was organized as a part of the project Istanbul Europe Express. A representative of Expeditio participated in this event.

EXPEDITIO je Centar za održivi prostorni razvoj, koji realizuje projekte u oblasti održive arhitekture, kulturnog nasljeđa i prostornog planiranja. Više informacija o Expeditio možete saznati na www.expeditio.org

Atlas TV is presenting a series of short 10-minute programmes called "Moj grad - moj dom". The Project was initiated by Ministarstvo uređenja prostora i zaštite životne sredine and ATLAS TV, in cooperation with our organization. The programmes have educational character and they are aimed at raising awareness in citizens of Montenegro on the principles of sustainable spatial development. You can see previous programmes on YOUTUBE.

On 5 February 2011, in Dubrovnik, a “MITTELMEERLAND” Symposium was held within the “AA Visiting School”. The purpose of Symposium was to examine how the Mediterranean region can position itself as a ‘territory’, one that is based on climatic and economic conditions, and subject to specific social, political and spatial dynamics and experiences. A representative of EXPEDITIO held a presentation at Symposium. For more information, please visit http://www.aaschool.ac.uk

EXPEDITIO newsletter published in January 2011 is available here. If you wish to sign up for receiving our news, subscribe in the "Join Our Mailing List" module in the right column of our website.

In order to provide support in the implementation of projects funded under the South East Europe-SEE and MED transnational programmes, the Ministry for European Integration organized, in cooperation with the Capacity Development Programme-CDP, a training in project implementation and secondary procurements for grant beneficiaries. The training, held in Budva on 1-3 December 2010, was attended by Expeditio representative.

“Elaboration of the Management Plan of the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor” is one of the four projects approved in Montenegro under the UNESCO Participation Programme 2010-2011.

This partnership project has been prepared and submitted, with the assistance of the National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, by the Institute for Heritage Protection from Kotor and EXPEDITIO.

The project aims to elaborate the draft Management Plan of the area of Kotor, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Dear friends, have a wonderful Holiday Season, with happiness and prosperity throughout the coming year ! your EXPEDITIO team

EXPEDITIO submitted comments and remarks about the draft Urban Development Project of Perast within the public debate that took place between 15 November and 15 December 2010.

The comments and remarks can be viewed here: Komentari na nacrt Urbanističkog projekta Perasta (189.76 kB)

EXPEDITIO representative attended the General Assembly of the Association CIVILSCAPE, which was held in Antwerp, Belgium, on 10-12 December 2010. At this meeting, following the decision by the CIVILSCAPE’s Executive Board, EXPEDITIO was admitted to membership of this association.

CIVILSCAPE is an international association of civil society organizations. These are non-governmental organisations (NGO) which dedicate their work to landscape protection, management and planning, according to the “European Landscape Convention” (Florence, October 20th 2000). Currently, CIVILSCAPE has 41 members from 21 countries.

“Landscape” means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors. Therefore our activities covers natural, rural, urban and peri-urban areas. It includes land, inland water and marine areas. It concerns landscapes that might be considered outstanding as well as everyday or degraded landscapes. “Landscapes” are an essential component of people’s surroundings, an expression of the diversity of their shared cultural and natural heritage, and a foundation of their identity.

CIVILSCAPE is dedicated to creating an enabling environment for civil society organizations, documenting the civil society organizations community, strengthening the infrastructure of the citizen sector , and promoting collaboration, both among civil society organizations and between civil society organizations, political or administrative bodies and other actors, to advance the public good in Europe and beyond.

For additional information on CIVILSCAPE, please visiti www.civilscape.org.

On Friday, 10 December 2010, Expeditio representative attended a round table for representatives of NGOs and the local government of Kotor that was held in Bizanti Palace. The aim of the round table was to identify obstacles, challenges and opportunities regarding the cooperation between NGOs and the local government. The round table presented some good practice examples in the engagement of NGOs in the creation of local public policies. The final aim is to establish priorities in the further process of development of cooperation between NGOs and the local government.

On Friday, 10 December 2010, the 19^th session of the National Council for Sustainable Development was held. A representative of our organization had the task to coordinate activities of the working group responsible for reviewing the Action Plan of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD) and to present their results. This process was conducted in close cooperation with the Office for Sustainable Development. After completing the Action Plan revision, the working group recieved a mandate to continue, in the same composition, its work in the following year, prepare the third annual report on the NSSR implementation, and participate in the revision of the Strategy itself.

The Study of Natural and Cultural Heritage of Kostanjica was awarded special recognition at the 19^th International Salon of Urnabism, held in Šabac on 8-15 November 2010.

The International Salon of Urbanism is a traditional annual event of the Serbian Town Planners Association. The 19 International Salon of Urbanism gathered 176 authors from 14 countries: Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Srpska, Germany, Portugal, etc. with 144 entries in totally 11 categories.

The Study of Natural and Cultural Heritage of Kostanjica was awarded special recognition in the category 7 - Urban Studies and Researches.

The Study was commissioned by the Municipality of Kotor for the purpose of amending a Detailed Urban Plan of Kostanjica. The works on the study were lead by the Faculty of Architecture in Podgorica, while EXPEDITIO representatives were members of the working team responsible for its creation.

A jury report from the 19^th International Salon of Urbanism can be viewed here.

Expeditio representative participated in the seminar “Edicating Public Officials about the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest” that was held in Kotor, on 24 November 2010, in the Assembly Hall of Bizanti Palace.

This was the tenth in a series of seminars organized by the Commission for the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest of Montenegro and intended for local public officials, judges and prosecutors in the Municipalities of Kotor, Tivat and Herceg Novi, the media and NGOs.

The seminar focused on the implementation of the new Law on Prevention of Conflicts of Interest, which went into effect in 2009 laying down greater restrictions and imposing stricter penalties for public officials than the previous law from 2004. The seminar also presented the work of the Commission for the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in the previous period, as well as experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this field.

For the second time EXPEDITIO was a host to Albanian students from the Polis University - International School of Architecture and Urban Development Policies | www.universitetipolis.org | from Tirana, who visited the Bay of Boka Kotorska on 28 November 2010. The study visit included a sightseeing tour of the Old Town of Kotor, followed by a presentation on the activities of NGOs in Montenegro and activities of EXPEDITIO, held by EXPEDITIO representatives at the Assembly Hall in Bizanti Palace. After the presentation, the Albanian students had a chance to see the inner part of Boka Kotorska Bay (Kotor and Risan Bays) and visit the town of Perast. This study vistit offered the students possibility to learn more about the history of Boka Kotorska, its natural and cultural values, the threats it faces, as well as some activities currently implemented in this area.

Expeditio representative attended the announcement of the international conference “Energy Management in Cultural Heritage” which was held in the UNDP Montenegro office. This conference will take place in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 6-8 April 2011. We take this opportunity to bring this event to your attention.

A Preliminary Technical Assessment (PTA) for the reconstruction and renovation of the Winter Palace of King Nikola in Rijeka Crnojevića is taking place. The PTA is conducted as part of the programme “Cetinje – the City of Culture 2010-2013” approved by the Government of Montenegro. EXPEDITIO representative is a member of the PTA working group, which was formed by the Coordination Team for the implementation of “Cetinje – the City of Culture 2010–2013” programme.

A representative of Expeditio is taking part in the Advanced Course on Sustainability and Action. This course takes place at the Venice International University in Venice, Italy from November 7th-13th and at the REC in Szentendre, Hungary from November 13th – 17th, 2010.

Over the past few weeks, our organization has been involved in a project aiming at promoting energy efficiency in small and medium-sized hotels in Montenegro, which is implemented by SNV - Netherlands Development Organisation. This project encourages the involvement of SEE region into a larger European project calledHotel Energy Solutions. EXPEDITIO had a consulting role in the project, consisting in transfering our knowledge of the current situation in this area in Montenegro.

Our organization was invited by the Foundation Mies van der Rohe to nominate, as a group of independent experts, examples of modern architecture built in 2009/10 for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award 2011.

Expeditio representative, Tatjana Rajić, has been invited for the second time by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation to nominate, as an independent expert, examples of contemporary architecture for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award.

On October 7-10, 2010, a workshop “The Arts in Public Spaces ~ New Komshilook/ Neighbourhood” was held in Užice, Serbia. A representative of Expeditio participated in the workshop with a lecture entitled Reading Public Spaces - My real Facebook.

Within the project “Environment for People in the Dinaric Arc”, which is implemented by IUCN, WWF and SNV, a joint meeting of Local Action Groups (LAG) of Montenegro and Albania for Sustainable Development of Prokletije was held in Andrijevica, on 23 September 2010.

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Expeditio representative was awarded a certificate for successful completion of the training for performing energy audits of buildings. The certificate awarding ceremony was held in Podgorica on 14th September 2010.

U periodu 23-29. avgusta 2010. Godine održana je Letnja škola arhitekture u Baču. Letnja škola arhitekture je pokrenuta u okviru projekta LEGATIO Kluba Mladih Arhitekata (KMA) iz Beograda. Projekat okuplja domade i strane stručnjake i studente arhitekture iz zemalja bivše Jugoslavije oko zadataka čiji su predmet rada i istraživanja raznovrsni procesi koji se odvijaju u celinama i objektima koji su zaštideni kao spomenici kulture.

EXPEDITIO set up three new educational programmes/ documentaries from the series "The space around us" on our YouTube channel. These programs are dealing with the following topics:  sustainable development, natural heritage and historic monuments. Department for Education of Montenegro participated in an international project R.A.V.E. Space - Raising Awareness of Values of Space through the Process of Education, which was approved by the INTERREG III B CADSES (March 2005 - December 2007).

During July 2010, a representative of our organization participated in a Municipality of Kotor Commission for allocating funds to non-govermnental organizations in 2010.