Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/463339
VI This Week maltatoday, Sunday, 15 February 2015 Maltese-Serbian community NGO celebrates fifth anniversary Last weekend the non-governmental organisation Maltese-Serbian Community celebrated its fifth year of progress Tia Reljic The Maltese-Serbian Community (MSC), a non-profit and non-governmental organi- sation hosted a gathering for its fifth year anniversary on February 7 held at Sliema Pitch. The event saw a considerable turnout – including founders of the organisation, special envoy of the Prime Minister Alex Sceberras Trigona and Robert Arrigo, as well as Honorary consul of Montenegro, Alfred Barthet. As has been the custom so far, joining the occasion through Skype was Ambassador in Rome Ana Hrustanovic, delivering her supportive oration. The organisation was established with the aim of strengthening ties between the Ser- bian and the Maltese community, especially those residing permanently in Malta. Predrag Andrejevic, the President of the organisation, explained the initiative that gave rise to the NGO. In 2010, the former foreign minister of Serbia, on a visit to Malta, decided to organise an NGO of sorts for Serbs residing in Malta. It started from a small committee, which appointed Dr Andrejevic as President, now in charge of organising these events. Dr Sceber- ras Trigona was among the founders of this organisation, whose interest in the community stems from his long history of involvement in Yugoslav-Maltese relations. He also hosted a number of Serb students who came to study in Malta. One of these students was Jovan Kurbalija, with whom they established the Diplo Foundation oper- ating in Geneva, Belgrade and Malta. "We founded this society just five years ago," Sceberras Trigona explained. "It is useful because there are a lot of Yugoslavs who feel the need to coalesce and find a society of friendship with a Maltese coun- terpart." "I am glad the community has people from both sides of parliament and that this isn't a political issue," he added. Robert Arrigo, former mayor and director of Arrigo and Sons, has been supporting the community in many ways and offering em- ployment to its people. "This community is an example to other communities," he said. "The Serbian community has integrated exceptionally well within the Maltese com- munity." During the celebration, the President introduced the recent collaboration with two lawyers, offering their legal services in the area of Family and Employment law to the members of the community. The overall costs of consultations and court cases if necessary will be offered at a reduced price exclusively to members, for any cases involving marriages, separations, adoptions or any other matters involving children and custody issues, as well as regulations and disputes between employers and employees. The organisation also announced the es- tablishment of a new Branko - Bane Djuric Fund to offer aid to its members in case of sudden death in the family. Donations to this fund will be published to the website. The event also celebrated the tenth an- niversary of the St Sava football tourna- ment held annually in Malta. More than 20 Maltese nationals became new members of the MSC over the course of the evening and the majority of the attendants were young people. "This gives us hope that the organi- sation will continue," Andrejevic said. "We look forward to seeing more Maltese and Serbian youth in future events." Bishop Andrej of Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Malta and Archpriest Petar were awarded with honorary memberships. The MSC is also engaging Serbian profes- sionals attending relevant events in Malta. One of the highlights is an event taking place at the University of Malta Valletta Campus, a Conference and a Workshop, 'The Commonwealth and its People: Di- asporas, Identities, Memories'. "We want to explore how the memories of such commu- nities are captured by the institutions, be- cause the National Archives in Malta so far have limited material on people from these backgrounds. But this is something that could be done," Prof. Milena Dobreva, the Head of Library Information and Archive Sciences at the University of Malta, said. The event is organised by the University of Malta in collaboration with CHoGM Malta, the Ministry of Education and Employ- ment and The Ministry for Social Dialogue. Taking place between June 24 and 26 this year, the conference is based on the Com- monwealth and the importance of archiving memories of different communities – an aspect of great interest to the community. The MSC website (msc-malta.org) provides information on becoming a member, sup- porting the community and details on future events. The website is sponsored by Ofion Software and run by Ninoslav Jovanovic in charge of web design and digital market- ing. Featuring live during the anniversary celebration were musicians Sasa Ognjanovic and Red House Blues Band. The event was catered by Dragan Mirceta, Tania Kavaji and Jesper's Danish Bakery x Predrag Andrejevic, MSC President, with a young member of organisation "The Serbian community has integrated exceptionally well within the Maltese community" – Robert Arrigo Archpriest Petar, the Serbian priest in Malta, greeting via Skype the Serbian ambassador in Rome Ana Hrustanovic PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOB SAMMUT