YOUNG PEOPLE ARE OUR BOTH PRESENT AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
16.12.2011
Many years of successful cooperation of the Institution for the High school pupils of Nis with Palilula Municipality is seen in big help for pupils with special needs. This is one good and very valuable example from practice. That is why we asked the president of the Municipality PhD Igor Novakovic to be the guest of our school magazine and answer a few questions referring to recent cooperation.

President Novakovic, the support to our institution is very much present. You regularly allow the usage of Municipal van for the transport of disabled children to the locations in Cair, Lipovac hostel, Nonius horse club and Donje Medjurovo village. You have also recently given new years presents to the pupils. What motivates you to help children, especially those with special needs?

Palilula Municipality in its own `Strategy of development` gives special attention to the connection of education, science and local self government. This activity is directed to the improvement and reformation of work in primary and secondary schools, but also in Palilula faculties, towards education and specialization of the employed and those not employed human resources, support to `young people of science`, work with gifted children, exchange of scientific and professional information. One of the important spheres in the process of reformation of educational system- we are supporting in practice is the realization of inclusive education that will be in the function of pupils and their developmental and educational needs. It means that our educational institutions should be adapted to educational needs of pupils and not only to allow education to the children and young people who cannot match and reach all the educational process streams. Every child has the right to quality education in accordance with his or her own possibilities and abilities. Inclusive education allows possibility to all pupils to be part of school community and prepare themselves in that way as grown ups to take equal parts in social lives.

Do you believe that there is perspective for young people in our town?

Young people are our present and our future of development. Society that wants to advance must invest in young people. That is why our Municipality supported the foundation of the Office for young that stands today as an immediate organizer or our partner (support) in organizing many events for the young. This activity significantly contributed to organizing young people and solving many problems of young population in the Municipality. The project `Elaboration of action plan for youth entrepreneurship`, proposed by this type of Offices of Palilula and Pantelej got USAID grant. The pupils of the last year of Svetozar Markovic gymnasium (grammar school) this autumn will be in possibility to have practice in private and public firms and state institutions in order to practically have view of certain profession profiles and could prove that this could be the job they would be perfect for and vice versa. Aiming at the project realization`Professional orientation of the young` initiated by Office for youth, Palilula Municipality,`Svetozar Markovic` and Palilula signed the protocol on cooperation with the representatives of certain institutions and organizations. The support and starting conditions for the work of this Office in 2011 provided the Ministry of youth and Sport of the Republic of Serbia.

You are successful in your job so that you stand for a positive example for young people. How does your working day look like?

The function of the president of one municipality I am actually fulfilling voluntary. I am a university professor. I am not living from and on politics and my motivation to come to the head of the Municipality was in order and together with coalition partners to make and reach the maximum so that Palilula could become modern European unit of local self government. My working day is usually hard, lasts for 15 hours and after successfully completed work, the satisfaction is even greater.

You have been the president for more than three years. How do you estimate the last work of your local government, what are the future plans?

Great number of the realized projects and positive management, investments in industrial zone Donje Medjurovo and the possibility for the employment of the young have been only some of successes of Palilula Municipality in the last period. The Quality standard about the work in the local governmental unit was adopted, municipal strategies of development, made faster the decision of potential investors and donors to invest in our development. We have realized the target that people from Palilula could be included in all activities of Municipality, but also to find out their needs and problems. Thanks to the proposals of the Citizen councils in our Programme of construction many amendments of the law have been brought into the Programme of structuring, so that more infrastructural problems have been successfully solved with this cooperation. We hope that the people living in Palilula are satisfied with our Municipal work.We have reorganized our inspection service with our aim to be more efficient in solving citizens demands and better results in the terrain. The biggest success in the sphere of social protection has been realized with the realization of the project `Strengthening of Municipal capacities for improvement of socially venerable groups` from Programme Exchange 3. Very soon we expect the continuance of the activities on the adaptation of Memorial complex `Bubanj` with the support of European Union. Today we are conscious of the fact that on the way of European integrations for the development of local community directed towards trade mechanism and that is based on the experience where economic improvement of certain area depends on the abilities of the community and that rationally engage material and specially human resources. We are working very hard for Palilula to provide the developmental way and place within the Strategy of development of the City of Nis and region to provide strategic priorities that really can be realized in future period of our development.

How much is important for you to have `oasis of your own`, place where you can recharge your batteries in the company of people you like to spend time with?

It is important to have `own oasis`. Mine is my family and my home, first of all and on the other hand my favorite café bar Street Café, café bar in city centre where I drink coffee and have causal conversations with my close friends. Batteries are not to be recharged, they have been `over voltage` since my birth.

Is there a question you wanted to be asked or something you wanted to say?

For example no one asked the question how we have had success to depoliticize Municipality and dedicated ourselves to our work. I don’t know the answer, but there has been certainly the wish of all political parties, that participated in our local government making, to work for the citizens’ benefit first of all and not for the parties.

Interviewer: Dragana Golubovic