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.

The NGOs Nova from Podgorica and Expeditio from Kotor produced comments to the Draft National Programme for the Development of Culture 2011-2016, related to the support to the independent cultural scene in Montenegro. The comments were submitted to the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro in July 2010.

From 1 to 4 August 2010, a conference within the event entitled "Let's not talk about architecture" was held in Singapore. The event was organized in partnership between the associations mAAN (modern asian architecture network) and Re:Act (Really Architecture).

Enclosed you can the comments to the Draft National Programme for the Development of Culture 2011-2016 that our organization submitted to the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro. In preparing the comments, we were assisted by the partner organization Relais Culture Europe (France) with whom we cooperate within the Sostenuto project.

Between 24 July and 2 August 2010, a ten-day long course on permaculture was held in the Theth valley in the Albanian part of Prokletije Mountain. The course was organized by the Peace Park Bakans organization and it was run by Steve Read from L'Université Populaire de Permaculture in France. The course was attended by eight participants from different countries, including a representative of EXPEDITIO.

Famagusta Walled City in Cyprus is one of the most ancient cities in the Mediterranean. It is a museum under the open air with abundant cultural heritage which, based on its history and richness of culture, represents a great tourist potential. In Famagusta, there is an association of citizens called Famagusta Walled City Association, MASDER.  On 26 July 2010, representatives of this associatin visited our organization within their study tour through Montenegro and Croatia. The aim of their visit was to become acquinted with the examples of good practices in the field of cultural heritage in these two countries.

Наоко једанаест километара западно од Зајечара, у источној зони Подунавqа, тамо где се у давним временима, при крају старе и почетком нове ере, простирала Приобалска Дакија, налазе се рушевине некада велике и моћне Ромулијане - данашwег Гамзиграда. Реч је о рушевинама касноантичког царског града који је основао римски император - цезар, а касније август, Галерије, крајем трећег века... Feliks Romuliana

За оне који познају и воле старине, који их обилазе и разгледају, Дабар и некадашња Дабарска жупа у Херцеговини, средњовјековни Видошки град изнад данашњег Стоца, Ошанићи - некада главно станиште и највећи град древног илирског племена Даорса, долине ријека Брегаве и Радимqе - можда најљепших вњодотока на западу Балкана и југоистоку европског континента - су као отворена кига. Несвакидашња и занимљива...Oštanići, Dabar, Vidoški Grad

Autor putopisa: Dragiša Spremo, Banja Luka

Увек је лепо и занимљиво доћи на бедеме Старог Раса. Посетити најстарију српску престоницу, прошетати пропланцима са којих се пружа импресиван поглед на питоми кањон реке Рашке и долину Јошанице. И видети масивне камене зидине и куле, остатке некада најмоћнијег града-тврђаве у држави Рашкој... Stari Ras

EXPEDITIO representative participated at the International conference on "Transboundary Cooperation in the Dinaric Arc", which was held in Čapljina, in the period from 29 June to 1 July 2010.

The conference on "Transboundary Cooperation in the Dinaric Arc" was organized within the project "Environment for People in the Dinaric Arc“.

mAAN*Y is a biennal architecture event organised by members of mAAN (modern asian architecture network) in collaboration with partners from the host nation.
mAAN*Y is conceived as a flexible platform for the exchange of fresh ideas in the advancement of Modern Asian Architecture. Targeted specifically at the younger generation, the event takes place on alternate years as a couterpoint to the mAAN conference. The first edition of mAAN*Y will be held in Singapore in 2010 with the theme "Let's not talk about architecture" and is co-organized by mAAN and re:ACT (Really Architecture), a Singapore based group of visionary architecture enthusiasts concerned with the development of architecture in the Asian region.

Dragi prijatelji/ce,

putem mailing liste, naša organizacija je nedavno otvorila pitanje rentiranja skupih poslovnih prostora za rad, sa kojim se suočavamo ne samo mi, već i druge NVO-a u Crnoj Gori.

Smatramo da bi organizacije civilnog drustva, kao neko ko djeluje u interesu javnosti, morale imati povoljniji tretman u obezbjedjivanju prostora za rad tj. da ne bi smjele biti prepustene konkurenciji na trzistu koje diktira poslovno okruženje. Takođe smatramo, da bi opštinske i nacionalne vlasti morale prepoznati svoju ulogu u kreiranju okvira za održivost civilnog sektora, što je već praksa u zemljama regiona i EU.

Obratili smo se kolegama/nicama iz NVO sektora sa molbom da nam se jave sa predlzima i idejama. Dobili smo oko 40 e-mailova iz Crne Gore i regiona i medju njima je bilo veoma mnogo korisnih iskustava, savjeta, primjera, sugestija i ideja.

The European Union (hereinafter EU) is holding a summit on the Balkans, which is to take place in Sarajevo, on the 2nd June 2010. The summit should bring together the Balkan countries and  the EU high level representatives in order to confirm the EU’s commitment to the Western Balkans.

Using this opportunity, the civil society organizations from the region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), with the support of the Open Society Insitute offices in these countries, have prepared a Statement of the Western Balkan Civil Society, which insists on reaffirmation of the EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans.

The statement will be presented at a press conference in Sarajevo, on Monday, 1 June 2010, on the eve of the EU-Balkan summit.

EXPEDITIO is one of the signatories of this Statement.

The text of the Statement can be downloaded here.

During May, EXPEDITIO joined the coalition “Together for LGBT Rights”. The leaders of this project are the NGOs Juventas and Monitoring Centre from Podgorica. The main goal of the project is to promote and support LGBT people’s human rights in Montenegro. Our organization will be active within the activity Public Advocacy Campaign and we will try to assist in the work of the Coalition with our knowledge and experience, whereby we want to contribute to improving the rights of sexual minorities and human rights in general in Montenegro.

This project is funded by the European Union, managed by the European Union Delegation to Montenegro and implemented by Youth Cultural Center Juventas.
Ovaj projekat je finansiran od strane Evropske Unije, posredstvom delegacije Evropske Unije u Crnoj Gori , a sprovodi ga Omladinski Kulturni Centar Juventas.

On 19 May 2010, in Igalo, a Partner Search Forum was held under the IPA Cross-Border Programme Croatia - Montenegro funded by the European Commission. Representatives of Expeditio attended the forum because we are interested in establishing partnerships with colleagues from Croatia, in order to apply jointly with projects of cross-border cooperation between Croatia and Montenegro. All potential partners, who are interested in the topics of our activity (spatial planning and management, sustainable architecture, cultural heritage ...) and willing to cooperate with us, can contact us on e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or telephone +382 32 302 520 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +382 32 302 520 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

On April 23-25, 2010, the eighth meeting of the SEE Heritage Network was held in Rijeka, Croatia. The meeting was organized by the NGO Pro Torpedo - Association for the Promotion and Preservation of Industrial Heritage of Rijeka, which is one of the SEE Heritage Network members. The meeting focused on the theme of industrial heritage of Southeastern Europe and it was held in parallel with the Fourth International Conference on Industrial Heritage organized by Pro Torpedo.

For the purpose of the conference, the SEE Heritage Network members have prepared posters featuring the industrial heritage of their countries.

The meeting was funded by the foundation Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB).

Additional information about the meeting, together with its report will be posted soon.

Comments on the Draft Detailed Spatial Plan (DSP) for the area of multiple reservoirs on the Morača River and the Draft Report on Strategic Environmental Assessment of this plan were submitted to the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment of Montenegro.

The comments can be downloaded here