Construction of Economics College starts in Bujanovac

BUJANOVAC - The cornerstone of a new facility of the Subotica College of Economics, which will cover 2,500 square metres, has been laid in Bujanovac, southern Serbia.

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport said on Tuesday it had required a lot of joint effort to get the construction under way.

The start of the construction is the result of great joint effort by all the people and expert teams, he stated, adding that the focus of the work there was the future of the young people from that region.

Serbia's Minister of Education and Science Srdjan Verbic has said that new schoold and colleges were important for every community, particularly in areas with mixed population.

"Colleges stimulate development, bring investments and create new opportunities. Their significance is even greater in multiethnic communities, where, along with respect and preservation of cultural and religious identity, they help achieve true integration," Verbic noted.

The construction will be funded by EU funds (EUR 800,000), the Serbian government (RSD 20 million) and the local government in Bujanovac (RSD 10 million).

The cornerstone was laid by Davenport, Verbic, OSCE Ambassador Peter Burkhard, OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Astrid Thors, head of the Serbian government Coordination Body Zoran Stankovic, President of the Municipality of Bujanovac Nagip Arifi, Dean of the Subotica College of Economics Nenad Vunjak and three students, an ethnic Albanian, Serb and Roma.

Burkhard said he believed the new college building would help spread the vision of the importance of the local community for the future among young people.

The laying of the cornerstone is the culmination of many years of hard...