“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.