DANUBE INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR, 03 APRIL 2015, NOVI SAD

The third day of the seminar, began with the visit and lecture at NIS, which is one of the leading companies in Serbia and the region, in the field of research, production and processing of oil and gas, transportation of petroleum products, as well as the implementation of projects in petrochemical industry and energy. Representative of NIS presented the history to the participants of the seminar, information about the operations and projects of the company, as well as transport of oil by ships on the Danube. The logistical capacity of the Danube is known, and that a significant share of trade and transport in the region is provided by the Danube, so this topic is very relevant. This topic left the participants enough space for thinking in that direction.

After the visit to NIS, on the third day of the seminar, representatives of Obrenovac City presented the situation with floods in May last year. In addition, they spoke about the problems that occur in situations of such major disasters. This topic is extremely important, because it gives insight into problems caused by flooding, which large rivers such as the Danube can cause - if preventive measures are not fully sufficient to protect cities and entire regions. The participants expressed interest in this topic, which is closely associated with environmental protection.

The Regional Development Agency Backa, also presented its activities aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of local governments, promotion and support in the implementation of development programs and projects at the local and regional level, strengthening human capital through training programs and professional development within the area of strengthening small and medium-sized enterprise project management, as well as in the framework of supporting the development of agriculture, tourism and other sectors related to the improvement of socio-economic development of the territory in which it operates.

Seminar participants visited the Museum of the City of Novi Sad, where they learned about the culture of Novi Sad, which will contribute to their knowledge about the culture of the entire Danube region. After this, they visited the most important places in the city center, which are strongly associated with the history lecture and can serve as a practical example of historical facts to the participants. Participants went on this tour, accompanied by a professional tour guide, and found out the symbolism and legends behind these places, which originate from ancient times. This is a unique opportunity for the participants to explore Novi Sad and to test their newly acquired knowledge of culture, art and history in the Danube region. In addition, participants had the opportunity to socialized and have fun in the evening, and to explore the nightlife of Novi Sad. This way, the study visit to Novi Sad will be completed, because the participants will have the opportunity to get to know all the facilities Novi Sad offers.

About the City of Obrenova and floods

On the third day of the "Danube International Seminar", which was held from April 1st till 4th in Novi Sad, at the Cultural Center of Novi Sad, was organized a lecture called "The floods in Serbia." The participants of the seminar spoke about this tragic event with the Assistant Mayor of Obrenovac and commander of the flood protection unit Ivan Jegorovic. After the presentation there was a discussion, and the participants were asking questions to the presenters from Obrenovac, the city that suffered the most damage during last year's floods. The lecture was attended by Dalibor Lazic who rescued 120 children.

Jegorovic said Obrenovac is one of 17 municipalities of Belgrade, with 80 thousand inhabitants, situated 30 kilometers from the capital. During the flood, he said, 80 percent of the municipality was under water, which in some places was six meters high.

The flood was very high, we did not expect it and we were surprised. At that point, we did not have the capacity for fighting the flood, but we tried to "defend" the city. It all started at four o'clock in the morning, on the 15th of May last year, when the water woke us up. We were very surprised because we did not have any information from the institution "Srbija vode" that such a thing will occur. Obrenovac is surrounded by rivers Sava, Kolubara (which can grow very quickly) and Tamnava. The water broke through the embankment in the morning, people woke up and watched the water arriving -Jegorovic said.

At that time about 85% of Obrenovac was under water, there was not much time for the evacuation of people, and the biggest problem were communication systems, because there was no electricity, telephones and drinking water. We were moving through Obrenovac by boats, warning people and telling them they have to leave their homes. However, they said, many did not want to do that, because they thought that the water will not reach them. About 30 thousand people from Obrenovac were evacuated, the evacuation lasted three days, and after breaking one of the dams of water slowly began to go into the Sava river and its level began to decline. After four days, the reparation of the city slowly started, because the city was destroyed. Ten thousand houses, five thousand cars and three thousand offices were destroyed. Obrenovac has not fully recovered from this disaster until this day.