On Monday, 29 January 2013, Expeditio representative, Biljana Gligoric, took part in the programme “Otvoreno” at RTCG. The programme was dedicated to the topic of energy efficiency.

“Are we sufficiently aware of the value of our old towns, or if they are often a burden to us? Do we know how to valorize the beauty of Old Ulcinj ramparts or a unique atmosphere of Kotor streets? The problem is that the decision-makers do not know how to turn culture and tradition into a high quality product”, said Biljana Gligorić. A full article can be read bellow:

NGO Coalition - By cooperation to the Goal, advocates to improve the framework for the development and operation of the NGO sector in Montenegro, improve relations with the Government of Montenegro, local governments, the Parliament of Montenegro and commercial entities, as well as improving the program and financial transparency of NGOs. From December 2012, there is a local board of the NGO Coalition in Kotor. If you wish to join the coalition, please fill out the application form and read more about its past activities.

On 17 January 2013, the second meeting of the Local Committee of NGO Coalition “Through Cooperation to the Aim” was held in Kotor at Expeditio office.

Dear friends, nearing the end of 2011, we use this opportunity to present, in brief,· the most important projects and activities implemented by Expeditio over the past 12 months. We wish you all the best in 2012 and thank you for being with us and following our work ! Your Expeditio team

EXPEDITIO established contact with CIAV - International Committee of Vernacular Architecture with the aim of exhchanging experiences and initiating cooperation related to the project of vernacular heritage valorization in Montenegro.

CIAV is a Scientific Committe of ICOMOS  - International Council on Monuments and Sites, one of the most important international organizations dedicated to cultural heritage protection.

An energy audit of the Primary School “Branko Božović” in Podgorici is being conducted. Expeditio’s program director, Biljana Gligorić, is a member of the team responsible for the audit. The audit is performed as part of the MEEP - Montenegrin Energy Efficiency Project.

On Friday, 14 December 2012, a meeting was held of the Steering Committee of NGO Coalition “Through Cooperation to the Aim”. At this meeting, Expeditio became a member of the Steering Committee.

On 13 December 2012, within the project Public Dialogue on Sustainable Use of Energy in Southeast Europe, Expeditio representative, Biljana Gligoric, held a lecture entitled “What it means to be a “green” company and how to become one / placing emphasis on energy efficiency”.

On 11 December 2012, a meeting of the Local Committee of NGO Coalition “Through Cooperation to the Aim” was held in Kotor. The aims of the Coalition are to:

Improve the framework for the development and operation of NGO sector in Montenegro.
Improve relations with the Government of Montenegro, local governments, the Parliament of Montenegro and business sector.
Increase the visibility of work and financial visibility of NGO sector.

By the beginning of December 2012 Expeditio website www.expeditio.org has had over a million hits.

EXPEDITIO representative, Biljana Gligorić, took part at the 4^th session of the Network for Corporate Social Responsibility, which was held on Friday, 30 November 2012.

A representative of Expeditio took part in the seminar “City to City Dialogues: Urban Planning and Land Management”, which was held in Budva on 5-7 November 2012. Among others, the seminar discussed the following topics: the pressures of urbanization in conditions of financial constraints (story of five towns), how urban development creates land value and practical tools for balancing public and private interests and benefits. The seminar was attended by representatives from Montenegro and the neighbouring countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The seminar lectures were expert collaborators and representatives of the organizer, as well as the speakers from the USA.

At the invitation of the non-governmental organization ANIMA from Kotor, a representative of EXPEDITIO took part at the final conference of the project “Promotion of the European charter for equality of women and men in local life”. The conference was held in Mostar, on November 2, 2012. A chapter of this charter is dedicated to the topic of Planning and Sustainable Development treated from gender perspective.

On 4 November 2012, the round table “Activities for the protection and valorization of chestnut forests and Vrmac Hill” was held in Kostanjica. It was organized by the Association “Kamelija” and the Local Community of Stoliv as part of the traditional event “Kostanjada Stoliv 2012”.

Representatives of Expeditio Tatjana Rajić and Jelena Pejković completed the course "Living Laboratories: Resilience and Sustainability of Municipalities" which took place on Isola di San Servolo, Venice, from November 26, 2012 to December 5, 2012. A total of 27 representatives of Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia were invited to participate in this course.

From 21 to 28 October 2012 a workshop on “Dragon Dreaming” was held on the island of Brač.  Dragon Dreaming is a holistic method for the implementation of creative, collaborative, sustainable projects.

The workshop on urban planning, tourism and (agri)culture entitled „Cetinje / Bajice or the Town out in the Fields”, organized by the Petrović Njegoš Foundation, in cooperation with the Municipality of Cetinje, Architectural Faculty from Podgorica, NGO Expeditio, NGO Green Home and Vukica Martinović, began on 3 October 2012 in a Martinović family memorial house in Bajice.  The workshop will last until 11 October 2012. It is a continuation of the Meetings of Petrović Njegoš Foundation organized during the first ten days of September 2012, when the workshop “Agriculture, Landscape and Economic Development” was held in the village of Gornja Lastva

A report on the dry stone worshop held in Boka Kotorska on 30 September 2012 and organized by Expeditio and Dragodid has been published on Dragodid’s website.

The report entitled With EXPEDITIO in Boka Kotorska can be read here.

On Sunday, 30 September 2012, a workshop and presentation on dry stone masonry techniques were organized by EXPEDITIO and the association Dragodid from Croatia. The workshop was held in an olive grove in the village of Tići on Luštica Peninsula. The workshop was led by Filip Bubalo and Grga Frankeš, representatives of the Dragodid association.

The workshop was followed by a public presentation on dry stone masonry techniques and activities of the Dragodid association. The presentation was held at 8.00 p.m. at the Gallery of Solidarity (Flour Square – next to Pima Palace) in the Old Town of Kotor.

Expeditio representative Jelena Pejković was selected to participate in the UNESCO Regional School on Sustainable Energy Governance in Dubrovnik, Croatia from September 29 to October 5, 2012. The school is a unique educational opportunity to enhance capacity-building in sustainable energy by conveying in a single venue a substantial capital of knowledge developed in UNESCO designated sites (World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves) in Europe. Experienced lecturers will highlight the links between advanced technology in the field of energy efficiency and the preservation of historical buildings and natural settings. The course will include a number of team-working sessions and field exercises using the World Heritage site of Dubrovnik as a real training scenario laboratory.

Architectural Studio Sinestezia from Belgrade organized an international architectural competition for the Preliminary Architectural Design for the Boka Artist Residence in Boka Kotorska. By the decision of an international jury composed of seven members, including a representative of Expeditio, the winner is a Japanese architect Tomohiro Hata from Kobe.

Expeditio representative took part in the workshop “Participatory approach to spatial planning, strategic documents development and public policy making”, which was held in the Municipality of Tivat on 13 September 2012.  The workshop, as a part of the LAMP project, was organized by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism in cooperation with the World Bank. The workshop included presentations held by: representative of the Municipality of Tivat, LAMP representative -Dragan Cvetković, lawyer Rade Jovanović, journalist Dušanka Pejović, Svetlana Jovanović – representative of the Republic Institute for Urban Planning and Design and spatial planner Dragoljub Marković.   

Expeditio received a one year license for using the latest version of ArcGIS software throught the Esri Nonprofit Organization Program.

From 1 to 10 September 2012, an international workshop entitled “Agriculture, Landscape and Economic Development” was held in the village of Gornja Lastva, Tivat. The workshop was organized by the Petrović Njegoš Foundation and NGO “Cultural Heritage Association NAPREDAK Gornja Lastva“, Tivat, in cooperation with NGOs EXPEDITIO from Kotor and Green Home from Podgorica.

We wan to inform you that Expeditio office will be closed August 1^st-20^th, 2012, due to summer vacations.

Between 9 and 20 July 2012 a Regional training on sustainable energy and transport entitled “Young leaders for sustainable future” was held on the island of Šolta, Croatia. A total of nineteen representatives of organizations from Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in this event.

Nevladina organizacija EXPEDITIO uputila je Reagovanje na izjavu gradonačelnice Opštine Kotor i medija (novinara Skala radia i TV Atlas) o dostavljanju pogrešnih informacija Komitetu za svjetsku baštinu UNESCO od strane NVO Expeditio. Reagovanje može učitati ovdje.

NGO Expeditio engagement in matters relating to the issue of the roundabout in the Municipality of Kotor was in the form of participation of the Expeditio representative in the labor of the Expert team for expert opinion with proposed measures to address the issues of detour in the Municipality of Kotor.

On 17 July 2012, Expeditio organized a presentation entitled ”A new approach to learning the traditional building techniques" – Restoration of the architectural heritage through examples of Regional restoration camps organized in Gjirokastra, Albania”.

On Wednesday, June 13th 2012, visiting NGO Expeditio were students from the University of Vienna BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Applied Natural Sciences) who were from June 10th to 16th, 2012 in the study visit to protected areas of Montenegro. A representative of the NGO Expeditio, Tatjana Rajic, in the hall of the Music School (in the hall of the church Holy spirit), gave a presentation on the Expeditio activities.

Recognizing the attractiveness the action “Joga in the Park” has had for the citizens of Kotor and tourists visiting the town, the Tourist Board of Kotor decided to support financially the follow-up of yoga practicing in Kotor Park.

Expeditio representative, Zorica Tomanović, took part in the conference “The role of civil society in the promotion of sustainable transport”, which was held in Brussels on 26-29 June 2012. Additional information on the conference can be found here.

Reagovanje povodom teksta objavljenog 24. juna 2012. u dnevnim novinama „Dan“ nastalog na osnovu izjave direktora NVO „Mladi zeleni“ g. Dejana Kovačevića: „Vlada povela duple predstavnike“

Uredništvu dnevnih novina "Dan": Povodom  teksta pod nazivom „Vlada povela duple predstavnike“, objavljenog u Vašim novinama dana 24. juna 2012. godine, dostavljamo Vam sljedeće reagovanje  sa ciljem da se javnost pravilno informiše, odnosno da se ne unosi zabuna pogrešnim podacima iznijetim u navedenom tekstu.

From 22 to 24 June 2012, a two-day course on permaculture was held at the House of Free Thought in Kavač. It was attended by 17 participants from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The course, led by the lecturers from Slovenia, presented a chance for the participants to learn about the basic principles of permaculture.

Meeting of the Network of Open Society Foundations and NGOs of Montenegro, was held on Wednesday, 20th June 2012, at the Hotel Podgorica Congress Hall. The meeting represented discussion and exchange of opinions, and among the 30 NGOs representatives from Montenegro, the meeting was attended by representatives of Expeditio, as well.

Our colleague Biljana Gligoric is current located in Rio de Janeiro at the third World Summit on Sustainable Development Rio +20. At the Rio +20 conference, world leaders, along with thousands of participants from government, private sector, NGOs and other groups, along will consider possibilities of how we can reduce poverty, improve social equity and ensure environmental protection in order to create the future we want. 

Dragi prijatelji/ce, nakon 3 dana vježbanja joge, prethodnog vikenda u kotorskom Parku Slobode, nastavljamo projekat "Joga u parku" u Velikom gradskom parku u Tivtu. Od 22-24.06.2012, vježbaće se svakog dana po sljedećem rasporedu:
09.00 - 10.00 h Joga
12.00 - 13.00 h Joga, disanje
15.00 - 16.00 h Joga, meditacija
18.00 - 19.00 h Joga, disanje, meditacija
19.00 - 20.00 h Predavanje: Joga za zdrav i srećan život
Učešće je besplatno.

The representative of Expeditio Martina Đeković participated at the 10th annual meeting of the SEE Heritage Network, which was held in Skopje in the period from June 8th till 10rh, 2012. The meeting was followed by training on accession to EU funds, with particular emphasis on the IPA. 25 representatives of the SEE Heritage Network members from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia participated in the meeting and training. During the meeting, participants had the opportunity to listen to the presentation of the TASCO office in Skopje, who presented the work of TASCO in the region and the possibility of EU funding for civil society organizations. 
 

Training on accession to EU funds to representatives of SEE Heritage Network members, was held also by representatives of TASCO office in Macedonia.

The organization of the meeting and training was financially supported by the Headley Trust UK.

Building with wood is an initiative that promotes wood as building material. Through informing professionals (architects, builders, investors and companies), as well as general public, it aims to increase the use of wood in construction. Expeditio representative will participate in a basic two-day seminar focusing on new wood products and wood structures designing, new modern European technologies and simple solutions suited to Serbian standards. The seminar, intended for achitects and civil engineers, will take place in Belgrade on 13-14 June 2012.

Biljana Gligoric, Vice President of the Council for Sustainable Development and representative of NGO Expeditio, chaired the 24^th session of the National Council for Sustainable Development, held on June 1, 2012. The session was an opportunity to discuss a draft expert document that is to form the basis of the Platform for the presentation of Montenegro at the Third World Summit on Sustainable Development (the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20), and a draft of the Fourth annual report on the implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development during the period  January 1 - December 31, 2011.

At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, will come together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get to the future we want.

Within the Second Coordination Meeting of Project Coordinators of Ljubljana process II, held in Bar on May 16-17, 2012, the representative of Expeditio gave a presentation on "Process of Development of Preliminary Technical Assessment (PTA) through Example of Old Town Bar"

A representative of Expeditio participated on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at the conference on homelessness organized by the Housing Center from Belgrade. Housing Center, in partnership with the organization DISC from the UK, is realizing the project “Social Inclusion of Homeless Persons in Serbia“, and one of the activities within the project was organizing of the mentioned conference.

We would like to thank all those who contacted us by e-mail and FaceBook to congratulate us for our birthday. We would like to apologize in advance if we fail to reply to all of you individually, but we want you to know that we were very glad and touched by your contacts and your support.

On May 10, 2012, Expeditio is celebrating 15 years of its existence. Our first, student project - Expedition Perast '97 was realized in 1997. Since then, our organization has realized over 50 projects and a large number of various activities in the field of cultural heritage, sustainable architecture and physical planning.