SARAJEVO, 10 AUGUST (ONASA) – In the presence of representatives of the executive and legislative authorities of the Municipality of Centar and higher levels of government, co-financiers and friends of the project, as well as numerous guests, the newly built European House of Culture and National Minorities was officially opened today (in the Kemal Monteno Park at the location of the former Austrian houses, across the street from the Ciglane settlement).
The head of the Municipality of Centar, Srđan Mandić, and the Minister of Culture and Sports of the Canton of Sarajevo, Kenan Magoda, signed an annex to the agreement on the co-financing of the construction project, which closed the financial structure.
– I am really pleased that we gathered here today. We are proud that the European House of Culture and National Minorities is already serving its purpose today. Organized by USAID and the Municipality of Centar, the 8th Business Forum of the BiH Diaspora “BHdiaFor 2023” is being held today in this very place. This is the moment when we are all together and when we gathered around a good and important thing. Allow me to express my special thanks to the creators of the conceptual solution of the European House of Culture and National Minorities, Ilma and Zejd Kobilica, whose conceptual solution won the first prize in the competition held by the Municipality of Centar in cooperation with the Association of Architects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We also owe a great deal of gratitude to the co-financiers and partners of the construction project, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Sarajevo Canton, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the City Administration, the Ministry of Justice and Administration of the Sarajevo Canton, and the Construction Institute of the Sarajevo Canton. The European House of Culture and National Minorities is another representative building in the area of the municipality of Centar, and it will play an important role in the preservation and promotion of culture, history, art, social activities, traditions, and diversity within our society. This will be a new meeting place, exchange of positive ideas, birth of new friendships, a combination of culture, youth and experience. Sarajevo desperately needs these kinds of spaces. We are especially proud that the Council of National Minorities of Sarajevo Canton will have its premises in this space. For the next seven days, this facility will gather young people, producers and directors from all over the world as part of the Sarajevo Film Festival. This is a good example of how several levels of government should unite and unite around beautiful things, because together we are building the city, the canton and the country, said Mayor Mandić.
The Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, Nihad Uk, thanked Mayor Mandić for bringing the realization of this important project to an end.
– This is one of my favorite moments in these few months as the Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton. Today is particularly important to me since, as a councilor in the Centar Municipal Council, I launched an initiative for the construction of such a facility a few years ago. In this place, young people will spend their free time in a useful way through various educations, trainings, workshops, courses, and this is exactly what young people in Sarajevo Canton are missing. The European House of Culture and National Minorities will be the pride of not only the Municipality of Centar, but also the Canton of Sarajevo. Thank you to everyone who participated in this process, and as the mayor himself said, cooperation and joint engagement of different levels of government are a recipe for success in such a complex administrative state, said Prime Minister Uk.
The Chairman of the Council of National Minorities of the Sarajevo Canton, Davor Ebner, presented letters of thanks to Mayor Mandić and the Minister of Justice and Administration of the Sarajevo Canton, Darja Softić-Kadenić, for their understanding, support and achieved results in promoting equality, abolishing discrimination and improving the position of national minorities.
– With the construction and opening of this facility, members of national minorities and their associations will for the first time in history get a space where they will be able to develop and prepare projects, implement program activities and protect their valuable and rich cultural and historical heritage. On behalf of the Council, members of national minorities and on my own behalf, I sincerely thank the sincere friends of national minorities, said Ebner.
The construction project of this important cultural facility was jointly financed by the Municipality of Centar, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Canton of Sarajevo, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the City Administration, and the Ministry of Justice and Administration of the Canton of Sarajevo, and the Institute for Construction of the Canton, made an extremely large contribution to the resolution of property-legal relations. Sarajevo.
Since it is a large investment, the implementation of the mentioned project was done in stages.
For the construction of the European House of Culture and National Minorities, 2,935,537 have been spent so far.
Most of the funds were provided by the Municipality of Centar, while the project was partly co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton with 500,000 BAM, the Federal Ministry of Finance with 100,000 BAM, and the City Administration of the City of Sarajevo with 50,000 BAM