serbia-montenegro.usaid.gov
Mission Director: Michael T. Harvey
Serbia
Knez Milosa 50
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Telephone: (381-11) 361-9344
Fax: (381-11) 361-8267
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Serbia Overview
USAID programs seek to support Serbia in its goal to be democratic, pros-perous, and progressing towards Euro-Atlantic integration. The USAID Serbia and Montenegro Strategy for 2006-2011 profiles the social, political, and economic contexts for USAID’s work in Serbia and defines the strategic objectives of the mission’s activities. The strategy incorporates three key themes in addressing transitional challenges while adopting an innovative approach that integrates key democracy and economic growth components. It was also designed to respond to potential changes in circumstances including upcoming political events and optimizes resources and program impact through alliances with non-traditional partners.
Serbia in Action
 Nine New Municipalities Certified for ‘Enhanced Disaster Resilience’
Recently, nine municipalities were certified by USAID’s Preparedness and Planning program for “enhanced disaster resilience” in acknowledgement of the progress these municipalities have made in increasing disaster management capacities... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Environment
 Three Serbian Municipalities Earn “Business Friendly” Designation
During a certification ceremony at the end of September 2008, the first three Serbian municipalities to attain Business Friendly designations—Inđija, Kragujevac and Loznica—were announced... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 USAID Helps Serbian Communities Deal with Water Shortages
Five south-central Serbian municipalities have been severely affected by acute water shortages due to recent droughts and insufficient water reservoir capacity in this part of the country... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Infrastructure
 Fiennes to Film “Coriolanus” in Serbia
River Road Entertainment will film a modern day version of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” in Serbia, directed by Ralph Fiennes who will also portray the legendary Roman leader... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Expert Advice Promises Higher Yield for Serbian Agribusinesses
For agricultural producers and processors staying abreast of new technologies and market requirements is an essential prerequisite for attracting new buyers and producing value-added products... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Junior Achievement Serbia Companies Vy for Top Honors
At a recent, USAID-sponsored regional competition in Kopaonik Mountain, Serbia, Junior Achievement (JA) students gathered to award the best of 12 creative and hard-working student companies... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Education
 Computerized System Boosts Transparency, Confidence in Serbia’s Courts
For four years, USAID has been working with commercial courts in Serbia to help restore public confidence in the judicial system by improving the speed and quality of court services... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Serbia Stages its Comeback on the International Film Scene
With support from USAID, three Serbia-based production companies – Art and Popcorn, Testament Films, and Dream Company – participated in the Marche du Film festival and Producers Network conference in Cannes in early 2008... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Serbia Gets its First ‘Disaster Resilient’ Municipality
In summer 2008, the Serbian city of Kragujevac, in cooperation with the local Red Cross and USAID, hosted a best practices fair for disaster management and prevention... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Institutional Reform
 MosBuild Expected to Generate 1+ Million Euros in Contracts for Serbian Firms
Eight Serbian companies report success from their first-ever participation in the International Building and Interiors Exhibition (MosBuild) in Moscow, one of the largest trade fairs in Russia... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Renovated Belgrade Youth Center Plans for Opening Night
Located in the heart of Belgrade, the Youth Center serves as a venue for major cultural events targeted to the city’s youth, hosting over 700 events and over 180,000 visitors annually... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Social Programs
 Serbian Newspaper Earns “Freedom of the Press” Award
On World Press Freedom Day 2008 (May 3), Serbian daily Danas was awarded the prestigious Concordia award in Vienna... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Democracy
 Ag Fair Deals Total 1.5 Million Euros for Serbian Farmers
Thanks to support from USAID agribusiness and economic security projects, 13 Serbian agribusinesses and associations participated in the 75th International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad—the largest event of its kind in Southeast Europe... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Film Documents Community Action Success in Serbia
“To Be Continued . . .”, an original, 30-minute documentary produced by local NGO VOF Productions offers a unique look into USAID/Serbia’s recently completed, six-year, $200+ million Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Democracy
 U.S. Offers Disaster Relief, Support to Serbia’s First Responders
The U.S. recently provided humanitarian assistance to flood victims and protective equipment for Serbia’s firefighters through USAID’s Preparedness and Planning Program... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Environment
 USAID, Divac Teams Up To Promote Town’s Investment Potential
Vlade Divac officially retired from professional basketball in a celebration the size of which the 15,000 residents of his hometown of Prijepolje had never seen. For one day, the population of Prijepolje doubled with a star-studded list of celebrities... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Building Serbia’s Capacity to Plan, Explain Reforms
Since the shift to a democratic government and a market economy in 2000, Serbia has experienced strong economic growth, low inflation, higher wages, and other positive developments–though not without some ups and downs... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Democracy
 Serbian Commercial Courts Awarded for Increased Transparency
Serbia’s Commissioner of Public Information recognized Serbian commercial courts as the public institution which has contributed the most to establishing national good practices in implementing Serbia’s freedom of information law... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 USAID Helps Serbian Community Achieve Economic Growth
While on a visit to USAID missions in the Balkans, USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Dr. Douglas Menarchik officially opened a reconstructed bridge and road project in the municipality of Arilje, in western Serbia... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Serbian Radio Discovers Hit with Café
At the new “in” place near the beautiful pedestrian area of Novi Sad, books and CDs are launched, panels are hosted, and local Youth Theatre actors deliver free weekend performances for children while continuing their strike... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 International Basketball Star, USAID Team Up to Help Village
Residents of Riđica decided almost two years ago to take their destiny into their own hands and improve their economic lot through advanced agricultural production... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Changing Market Poses Challenge for Top Resort
Since Roman troops pitched their tents here in the first century, the hot springs of Vrnjačka Banja have attracted generations of road-weary travelers. By modern times, Vrnjačka Banja had become one of Serbia’s best known spas... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Smart Cards, Smart Jobs
In February 2007, Belgrade’s Singidunum University opened the first training program for smart card technology in southeast Europe. An estimated 200 students are projected to complete the course in its first year... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Education
 Family Business Lauded as Serbia’s Micro-Enterprise of the Year
The idyllic scenery surrounding the river Pčinja where the town of Trgovište is situated provides far more than just beautiful views. The Stošić family has long known that the plants of the forest yield many sought-after natural products... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Cross-Border Cooperation in Balkans Gains Momentum
While some in Serbia still treat cross-border exchanges with suspicion, many others see them as they are—efforts by local governments to reform and improve their work... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Democracy
 Students Enhance Communications between Gov’t and Citizens
Too often, governments can seem distant from those they serve. Citizens may voice their opinions at the polls, but there are few mechanisms for continued involvement between elections... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Education
 Produce Prices at a Farmer’s Fingertips
Information is money. Easy-to-use technology can mean better prices for agricultural producers. In agriculture, wholesale buyers know at what prices they can sell produce for at terminal markets... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Serbia’s Citizen Centers Offer Fast-Track to Bureaucracy
The process of going to municipality offices for birth or marriage certificates, notary services, construction permits or other municipal services is generally a tedious undertaking... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Institutional Reform
 Ethno-Network Strives to Make Handicraft Production Profitable
Until recently, those looking for well-made, traditional handicrafts in Serbia had to look pretty hard. Good quality products were being made but only shoppers in-the-know could easily find them... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 USAID-Funded Documentaries Garner Festival Prizes
Two films, produced by TV Cacak and funded by USAID, took honors at the International Golden Beggar TV Festival in Kosice, Slovakia... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Education
 Ready for Business, Serbia Redefines its Image
You can't export if people are afraid to do business with you. This is a problem that has faced Serbia. Tasked with helping Serbian companies increase revenues and create jobs... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 No Ordinary Ribbon Cutting: Ethno Evening Highlights Work of Serbian Artists
“An Evening with the Ethno-Network” in Belgrade gave a chance for artisans from around Serbia to promote traditional, handcrafted products. The highlight of the June 29th event, which gathered several hundred artists, fashion designers, government officials and diplomats... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 First Luxury Chocolate from Serbia Enters World Markets
In December 2005, Belgrade chocolate maker Mirjana Kostic formally launched Adoré Chocolat, Serbia's first luxury chocolate brand... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 USAID Micro-Grants Help Serbia’s Vulnerable Residents
In late 2004 a special project "Start Your Own Business" was launched as part of the Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Timok Club Helps Serbian Youth Start Businesses
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe estimates that youth unemployment in Serbia exceeds 50 percent. The Timok Club, an NGO established in southeastern Serbia in
1997... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Education
 Junior Achievers Earn Profit and Win “Best Company” Award
Srdjan Obradovic, a 17-year-old high school student from the Southern Serbian town of Aleksandrovac, has a natural predisposition for business... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Education
 Ethnographic Artwork Debuts on the Catwalk
USAID's Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program was started throughout Serbia in 2001. One of the program's areas of emphasis is the country's ethnographic arts and crafts industry... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 USAID Supports Serbian Efforts to Eradicate A “Quiet Killer”
In Serbia, some estimate that domestic violence affects up to half of all women regardless of socio-economic or ethnic status... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Social Programs
 Rescuing a Troubled Parking System
Indjija, a municipality located in northern Serbia, has long suffered from critical parking problems. In the city's downtown area, the few available public lots were filled with long-term and residential vehicles... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Infrastructure
 Forty Families in Need Receive New Homes
The Mladenovac municipality, located south of Belgrade, recently awarded 40 renovated apartments to refugees, internally displaced persons, and locally vulnerable residents... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Social Programs
 Serbian Local Government Reform Program Helps Officials Connect With Citizens
While public budget hearings began in smaller Serbian communities two years ago, implementing the same mechanism among the residents of Belgrade's 12 municipalities... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Democracy
 USAID Beneficiaries in Serbia Send Help to Hurricane Katrina Victims
When Sasa Beljic and two other members of the first Agrarian Association of Medvedja in Southern Serbia learned of the opportunity to donate to relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, they jumped to action... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia
Municipal Authorities in Western Serbia Award Local USAID Program
The Western Serbian municipality of Loznica has presented USAID's Serbian Local Government Reform Program (SLGRP) and its implementer DAI Inc. with an award for their contribution... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Social Programs
Helping to Formalize Refugee Businesses
DUO STIL is the name of a newly registered furniture production and repair company. It is co-owned by the Dabic and Tasic families, internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kosovo and Metohija... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 New Methods Extend Markets for Serbian Raspberries
Technicians at the Libertas fruit company, with help from the USAID / Serbia Enterprise Development Project (SEDP), are testing storage and shipping methods... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Serbian Jam Gets a Makeover
With help from the USAID/Serbia Enterprise Development Project (SEDP), the Belgrade based Foodex Company is preparing an international launch... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 American Football Gains Ground in Serbia
Through the USAID-funded Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program, Larry Kentera and Eugene Felker, couches from the United States, spent three weeks in Serbia as volunteers... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Social Programs
 Roma Family Rebuilds Life and Looks to the Future
The Jahiris are a Roma family of ten who escaped the Kosovo conflict in 1999. They once lived on half a hectare of land, growing greenhouse vegetables... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Serbia Opens its First “Business-Incubator” Center
Eight small enterprises in the southeastern Serbian municipality of Knjazevac are the first to have the opportunity to get the jump-start they need to become economically viable... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Cultural Cooperation in the Dayton Triangle
The Igman Initiative, a network of 140 NGOs from Serbia and Montenegro (SaM), Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), led by the Novi Sad-based Center for Regionalism... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Democracy, Rule of Law
 Serbian Knitwear Maker Doubles Revenues, Continues Growth
For Serbian knitwear maker Ivkovic Trikotaza, the future is looking as bright as the company's innovative fashions... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Belgrade-Chicago Sister City Relationship Brings Dawn of a New Era in Serbia Diaspora Relations
The establishment of a Sister City relationship with a US city with a strong Serbian Diaspora was a top priority when USAID first began working with the City of Belgrade in February 2005... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
Youth Debate Club Sparks Spirited Discussion on Key Challenges
Debate, negotiation, and compromise are areas of great need for any politician, but also points of weakness in inter-party dialogue and within and between parliament and government... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Women’s Cooperative Reinvents Traditional Craftmaking
Economic changes in Serbia, including structural adjustment and privatization policies, have led to dramatic increases in poverty and insecurity for poor women... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Serbian and Iraqi Engineers Benefit from Knowledge Exchange
Based on the extensive capacity developed over the past three years in implementing USAID's large-scale Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program.... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Infrastructure
 New Value-Added Tax Generates Revenue for Serbia
The introduction of a value-added tax (VAT) is a prerequisite for EU accession and a logical successor to the sales tax that provided Serbia's single largest source of state budget revenues
(around 40%)... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Institutional Reform
 New Center Serves Children and Youth with Special Needs
In the west Serbian town of Valjevo live Marija (21) and Darko (18), a sister and brother both with special needs. Marija was institutionalized in Belgrade until she was 18... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Social Programs
 Serbia Holds Its First Moot Court Competition
The Philip C. Jessup International Competition, a 45-year-old moot court tradition observed worldwide, includes the participation of more than 2,000 law students from approximately 600 law schools... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Junior Achievement Partnership Prepares Student Entrepreneurs for Business
With a population of over 110,000, the central Serbian town of Smederevo is among the largest municipalities in the nation. Resting on the edge of the Sumadija region and stretching to the banks of the Danube and Morava rivers... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 Supporting Tourism Entrepreneurship Along Serbia’s Corridor X
Roughly 10,000 vehicles per day travel along the Serbian stretch of the so-called Corridor X, a portion of the Munich-Athens international road that stretches... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 USAID Support Helps Special Courts Improve Administration
USAID assistance to the Special Courts for War Crimes and Organized Crime reached completion in mid-September 2004. Over the past year, USAID—through the National Center for State Courts (NCSC)... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Progress toward Pension Reform – Labor Takes a Seat at the Negotiating Table …
Beograd, Serbia - Two USAID projects teamed-up to discuss the benefits of pension reform with labor and government. USAID partners BearingPoint and the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS)... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Institutional Reform
U.S. Government Supports Regional Workshop on Fiscal Equalization
On November 19 and 20, the Fiscal Decentralization Initiative, in cooperation with the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, will hold a two-day regional policy workshop on local government finance reform and fiscal equalization... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Democracy
Ambassador Michael C. Polt to open the John Kingsbury Health Dispensary in Pranjani
On Monday, November 1st, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, Michael C. Polt, and Dr. Ljubisa Sumarac, Director of the Gornji Milanovac Health Center, will inaugurate the newly reconstructed John Kingsbury Health Dispensary... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Health
Bridge Renovation Encourages Increased Cross-border and Interethnic Cooperation
For nearly a decade, cooperation between the communities of Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Bajina Basta, Serbia and Montenegro, has been virtually non-existent... Read More ...
Related Items: Bosnia-Heregovina, Serbia, Infrastructure
Underwear Maker Jasmil Prepares Exports to US
Arilje-based textile producer Jasmil has been preparing its first batches of children’s underwear to be shipped to the United States in February 2005, thanks to deals made during Jasmil’s participation in autumn fashion fairs in New York... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Business Development
 $25
Million Raised for Balkans Through Public-Private Partnership:
Donors Leverage Funds to Solidify Democracy
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the
German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), and the
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation are pleased to announce a
new $25 million initiative to support good governance in
Southeastern Europe. The grant-making effort, called the
Balkan Trust for Democracy, is a project of GMF made possible
through a public-private partnership between GMF, USAID,
and the Mott Foundation. Read
More ...
 Serbia
Heating and Energy Efficiency Program
In the immediate aftermath of the resignation of President
Milosevic in October 2000, the new government of Serbia faced
critical shortages of electricity in large part caused by
extremely low prices that artificially increased demand.
Serbia’s use of electric heating is much higher than
elsewhere, where it is usually more expensive than other
heating methods. In March 2001, USAID funded a Heating and
Energy Efficiency program to help citizens deal with energy
shortages as well as with the large increases in prices that
were widely understood to be inevitable. Read
More ...
 Southern Serbia: Sowing Seeds of Change
The Presevo Valley is a remote finger of Serbia located
between Bulgaria to the east, Macedonia to the south, and
Kosovo to the west. Its gently rolling farmland lies nestled
between mountains to the north that separate it from the
rest of Serbia, even higher ranges on the east and west that
demarcate its respective boundaries with Bulgaria and Kosovo,
and a broad plain it shares with Macedonia to the south.
The area is flecked with a few major towns and numerous small
hamlets which are generally either ethnic Albanian or Serb. Read More ...
 The
Building Blocks of International Relations
(Appeared in the Bowling
Green News, 9/12/02)
As we approached the airport the scene from above appeared
one of tranquility and beauty. Small villages sprawled throughout
a rural landscape, country houses with tiled roofs and farm
animals roaming in nearby fields. Read
More ...
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