The partnership between the European Union and the Nišville Jazz Festival has lasted for ten years. Plamena Halacheva, the Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, emphasized the importance of this collaboration at the press conference that marked the beginning of the 30th Nišville Jazz Festival. She highlighted that this partnership paves the way for new generations of jazz musicians.

“Through our cooperation, the Youth Stage was created, providing young musicians with the opportunity to be part of this significant festival and learn from the greats of the jazz music scene,” she stated.

Ivan Blagojević, the director of the Nišville Jazz Festival, took the opportunity to thank the European Union, which, as he mentioned, helped the festival survive in recent years. The festival has successfully implemented projects through the Creative Europe program and the Interreg – IPA CBC Bulgaria – Serbia program in the past few years.

Halacheva continued her visit to Niš by meeting with representatives of the National Coalition for Decentralization. This organization engages a large number of activists and experts whose key unifying value is decentralization. With EU support, the National Coalition for Decentralization is implementing the project “See You in EU,” which aims to highlight the significance and impact of the EU integration process on daily life and the development of local communities.

Program manager Tadija Mitić emphasizes that one of the requirements for organizations and informal groups participating in this project is to build and implement their solutions in the field of local democracy and public advocacy using best practices found in the European Union.

Speaking about the importance of this call for local organizations, program manager Danijela Radošević points out that EU integration is often a very distant and unknown topic for many local organizations. She adds that the “See You in EU” project is a good way to bring the European Union closer to citizens through direct communication with small local organizations.

The European Union positively impacts many aspects of life in local communities in Serbia. Individuals and organizations often break down prejudices with their positive examples, opening doors for others on the path of professional and community development. One such organization is the private company “Codemancy,” the first company from Niš to receive support from the Creative Europe program for the development of video games and immersive content. EU support for such projects is crucial in creating production conditions for content aimed at the global market.

Thanks to this support, “Codemancy” is developing the video game “Endless Night,” a narrative roguelike action game about a girl trying to fix a world that has survived a kind of surreal catastrophe. The game explores themes such as transformation, ideologies, traditions, and objective reality.

During her conversation with the creative team behind this game, Halacheva learned more about their future plans and the important aspects of support that Creative Europe provides to applicants through feedback and detailed explanations of certain advantages or shortcomings of project proposals. This approach goes beyond mere financial assistance, helping to strengthen capacities and better understand the team’s and project’s goals.

Halacheva concluded her visit to Niš at Nišville, a festival she particularly emphasized as a source of pride for the citizens of Niš, as it has given the city a special mark and international recognition.