Stephen Wordsworth

Red Dragons in Smederevo

The Welsh Rugby League team came to Smederevo to play against Serbia on 25 October, in the second round of the European Cup.  I was born and grew up in Wales, and played rugby when I was young, so naturally I was keen to see the game.  It was good to see the Welsh flag, with its red dragon, flying alongside the Serbian flag over the stadium.  Smederevo Mayor Predrag Umićević also came to enjoy the game. Rugby League is still a growing sport in Serbia; the Welsh team are all full-time professionals, while most of the Serbian team are not, so it was no surprise that Wales won.  But it was the enthusiasm of the Serbian team that stood out, together with the encouragement they are getting from other Rugby League nations and teams.  One of the Serbian team members plays professionally for an English team, Whitehaven in Cumbria, in North West England, and so Whitehaven have loaned Serbia a trainer and a physiotherapist to help them prepare for the contest.  A former international player from New Zealand is also working with the Serbian team; and there are players from England and Australia playing for Serbia because they have Serbian parents or grandparents. 

The Rugby League authorities want more countries to play; they need 40 countries to play for the game to be fully recognised internationally.  At the moment, Serbia is leading the way as the only country in the Balkans to play, so everyone wants to help the game grow here and spread in time to other countries in the region.  The Serbian team goes to Wales in two weeks' time, to play against Italy.  Whatever the result, the real benefit for the Serbian side is the international practice they are getting.  If the game goes on growing, Serbia could be a real force in Rugby League in a few years' time.

Posted at 09:51 26 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Pale blues in Serbia

On 22 October I hosted a reception to mark the 800th anniversary of Cambridge University.  Serbia ‘s existing Cambridge University alumni group was the ‘core’ of the evening, but we also invited some of our other Chevening scholars and (in view of the work we are doing this year to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, also a ‘Cambridge man’), some representatives of the Faculty of Biology of Belgrade University. 

To make it a bit more than ‘just another reception’, we began with a panel discussion on ‘British-Serbia Relations, Past, Present, Future’, with one of Serbia’s Cambridge graduates as Moderator.  The questions from the audience afterwards focused on Serbia’s EU integration, and the possible links between that and NATO membership and the ‘Euro-Atlantic security area’ ideas floated by Russia’s President Medvedev during his visit to Belgrade earlier in the week.   Several journalists asked for interviews afterwards, to go into some of the points in more detail. 

Our star guest for the reception that followed was Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic, who studied physics at Queen’s College, Cambridge, and spoke warmly of his time there.  We presented him with a Cambridge University sweatshirt as a souvenir of the evening.  We were also delighted that Serbia's Education Minister, Zarko Obradovic, was able to attend. 

This showed that, as in many countries, Cambridge still plays an important role here, not only for the academic training it provides to those fortunate enough to be able to study there, but also through its English language examination process and its textbooks.  The language exams give many foreign students of English an essential qualification for their future working lives, and a representative of the exam system (Cambridge ESOL) was there, as was a representative of Cambridge University Press.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening, reminiscing a bit about their times as a student, but mostly debating recent events and, as people do on such occasions, putting the world to rights.

Posted at 15:12 24 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Respect for the past and great ideas for the future

I visited Vranje on 14/15 October with my Swedish colleague, as part of our 'Outreach' programme - a series of visits by EU Ambassadors in Belgrade to other cities in Serbia.  We usually meet local political leaders, media representatives and businesspeople, and visit schools. The purpose of the trips is to talk to local people about the issues that interest them, to listen to their views and to learn from them, and to give them an opportunity to ask us in return any questions they want about the EU, and about our governments' policies towards this region and towards Serbia in particular.

Mayor Stojicic was very generous with his time, and explained in detail the challenges he is facing, in a city where several of the main industries have closed down (an important exception is the British American Tobacco factory, the UK's biggest single investment in Serbia).  He explained what he is doing to overcome the difficulties he is facing and to attract new investment, with a clear focus in particular on environmental issues. My Swedish colleague and I agreed on the importance of this.  Cleaning up the environment is central to the task of encouraging new investment, particularly in the area of tourism where Serbia has so much to offer. It's also an important part of the EU integration process.  As my Swedish colleague pointed out, some 40 per cent of the existing EU laws and regulations which new members are expected to adopt relate to the environment.

We also visited 'Bora Stankovic' school, and met a group of around 20 students and their teachers. The students had worked hard to prepare for the meeting, with each student making a short speech, in excellent English, about what most concerned them. Many of the presentations were about the environment, and the students clearly (and rightly) felt very strongly about the subject. Their pride in their country and its natural beauty came through clearly.  On European issues, it was encouraging how many of them approached the subject on the basis of trying to set out what Serbia could offer the EU, rather than, as so often, the other way around. The answer, of course, is 'a lot' - well-educated people, a functioning administration, important cultural and scientific achievements, a central geographical location in the region and a lot of development potential. But it was also striking how several of them talked about 'Serbia' and 'Europe' as though these were two quite different places. As I said to them, Serbia is already part of 'Europe' - Serbia was Chairman of the Council of Europe in 2007, successfully hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, belongs to many European cultural, sporting, scientific and commercial organisations, and stands on the threshold of an agreement which will allow Serbian citizens to travel without visas throughout most of Europe. I understand that the EU integration process can seem frustratingly slow at times, but the important point I tried to get across to the students is that, whether the integration process takes Serbia five years or a bit longer, they will spend by far the greatest part of their lives as citizens of the EU. And from what I saw and heard, they will be a credit to their country, and to the Union.

While in Vranje, I also took the opportunity to lay a wreath at the monument to the doctors and nurses of the Scottish medical mission, who came to Vranje in 1915 to care for wounded Serbian soldiers during the typhus outbreak that year.  Mission members also worked in Kragujevac, Mladenovac and in other locations around Serbia. Sadly, some of them lost their own lives to typhus.  Their sacrifice is still remembered by local people, even after so many years. Every year I have been invited to commemorative ceremonies, including in Mladenovac last week, where I was honoured to be asked to open a new public hall which has been named after the leader of the medical team there at that time, Dr Elsie Inglis. In Vranje, many of the doctors, nurses and other staff of the local hospital turned out to pay their respects to their medical colleagues of 1915.

The EU grew out of the recognition of leading Western European countries after the Second World War that a new framework was needed, to prevent Europe from being destroyed again. It has, of course, since become much more than that - a whole new way for European countries to support each other, work together, and build a better future. In Vranje - as, I am sure, in many other places across Serbia - the local people seem to have managed to keep alive a sense of respect for the past, while combining this with some very positive ideas about their future in Europe. 

Posted at 22:23 16 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Counting down to EXIT 09...

I went to Novi Sad on 7 July, to hand over a patrol vehicle to the head of the local police. We are just coming up to the annual EXIT rock festival in Novi Sad, and this year, as for the last two years, we are expecting about 9000 Brits to turn up.  They arrive in various ways, some by air via Belgrade or Budapest, others by bus, train or car: many will spend four or more nights camping at a special festival camp site. Altogether, some 100,000 people will attend over the whole period of the festival, but visitors from the UK make up the largest single foreign contingent. Many of the guest bands are British too.

After that I went with the Mayor and police chief to look at the camp site, where many Brits have already arrived. The site is new this year: last year one visitor from Macedonia was killed when a branch fell from a tree at the well-wooded site, and so they had to find somewhere new, and safe. The first idea was to place the camp by the river, but the Danube is very high this year and that site flooded. So the plans changed again, and another site was found, at an old army barracks within the Petrovaradin fortress itself (the festival site). Everything had to be got ready at top speed, but they managed it, and the first arrivals seemed very happy with what they found.

EXIT opens on Thursday; we will have an Embassy team on hand, to help with any consular problems. Let's hope there aren't any serious issues to deal with, and they can just enjoy the music too!

Posted at 09:30 08 July 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[6]

Universiade spirit... or not

The World University Games, or Universiade, opened in Belgrade this week, bringing thousands of athletes and officials from 145 countries to Serbia.  On Monday 29 June we organised a garden party to welcome the British team and officials, and some team members from other countries too.  We also hosted many Serbian guests, of course, including a group of school pupils from the Rade Drainac school who are supporting the UK team during their stay here.  With entertainment from the 'Orthodox Celts' - a local band that plays Irish music - it was a very international occasion.  All the weather forecasts had said it would rain, but they were wrong as usual, and everybody seemed to have a good time.  I was enormously impressed by the enthusiasm of the young UK visitors, none of whom (as far as I could find out) had been to Serbia before, who were all looking forward to their competitions.  They all seemed very happy with their accommodation, and with the welcome they had received.

 
On 1 July I went to the opening ceremony at the Belgrade Arena.  The flags were paraded in one by one to loud cheers and everything seemed to be going well until the flag of the USA appeared.  Then, unfortunately, a large section of the crowd to my left began booing loudly, and there were further boos, though less loudly, when the Croatian flag appeared a few minutes later.  This must have been very hurtful to the young US and Croatian athletes present, who had worked so hard to get to the competition.  It also left all the references to 'sportsmanship' and 'fair play' in the pre-scripted speeches that followed sounding very hollow.  After the speeches there was an entertainment programme.  The young people must have rehearsed hard, but I no longer felt like celebrating and left before the end.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Posted at 08:44 02 July 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[3]

Were we cycling the joint European future of the region?

Today we are hosting an entry written by Vladan Avramovic, member of our Projects team, and a 'Danube by Bike' tour participant.

A team of staff from the British Embassies in Budapest, Zagreb and Belgrade joined in the  'Danube by Bike'  Tour.  Altogether, four hundred people cycled the length of the Danube river in Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania last week. It was an opportunity to bring together people from all over Europe - EU member states, Western Balkan countries and Turkey - to encourage integration and dialogue, whilst raising awareness of the rich cultural heritage of Southeast Europe.

The British Embassy Team cycled from Budapest in Hungary, through Osijek and Vukovar in Croatia and on to Novi Sad and Belgrade in Serbia. The tour left the participants with a sense of pride, and a number of new friends.   We were only cycling – but we feel we contributed a little to the European future of the region.

Serbia leg of the tour

The Serbia leg of the tour started on Saturday 27 June in Novi Sad and took the group to Sremski Karlovci where it boarded the tourist train, “Nostalgia”. Several keen cycling enthusiasts carried on to Slankamen where they were rewarded with what is claimed to be the best fish soup on Danube.   The British Embassy Cycling Team agrees!

The day ended with an astonishing group ride through Belgrade which brought together more that 500 cyclists. It was a celebration of the European diversity and environmental consciousness, and for local, sometimes not very cyclist-friendly, car drivers, a unique opportunity to get the feeling of being an oppressed minority. It might help a few of them to respect cyclists'  rights better in the future!  

We posted news, views, photos and videos on the following Tumblr site throughout the tour, from its start in Budapest on Tuesday 23 June to the grand finale in Belgrade on the evening of Saturday 27 June: http://danubebybike.tumblr.com/.  There is more about the tour on: http://danubebybike.eu/home.html and on the Embassy FlickR pages.

Posted at 15:51 29 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[3]

Valleys, caves and monasteries

On 13 June, Culture Minister Bradic organised a tour for members of the diplomatic corps to eastern Serbia - Senjski Rudnik, the Resavska Cave and the Ravanica and Manasija monasteries.  The main business was to announce, in Senjski Rudnik, the launch of a project to assist in the transformation of this small coal-mining village into an 'eco-museum' and regional cultural centre.  The coal is all but exhausted, and there is no other industry in the area, but the region has a long and fascinating history, going back to the beginning of Serbia's industrialisation. The museum project, which is expected to get support from the European Commission and the Council of Europe, will help open up this past to future visitors, and provide future generations in the village with a secure livelihood. 

The two monasteries we saw nearby are well-known in Serbia, but almost unknown outside - I, at least, had never seen a photograph of either of them, or realised how beautiful they are.  Manasija in particular, with its strong walls still standing, is a very interesting place to visit.  And Resavska cave nearby must be one of the most impressive cave systems in Europe, but again seems to be largely unknown outside Serbia's borders.  All these sights are set in beautiful wooded valleys, which were looking at their best at this time of year. 

Travelling around the area, I was struck by the many similarities between eastern Serbia and my home region of South Wales.  There too we have beautiful scenery; an old mining village converted into a modern tourist attraction, at "Big Pit" a beautiful network of underground caves, at Dan-yr-Ogof; and monasteries, at Neath and Margam (though in our case they are ruins, thanks to King Henry VIII).  And just as, if you go a little further in eastern Serbia, you can get to the medieval castle of Golubac, or the Roman remains at Felix Romuliana, South Wales has castles such as Raglan, or Roman remains at Caerleon.  The two areas have a lot in common, but in Wales tourism is much more developed, and has created a lot of jobs.  Maybe I need to think how we can get some Serbian officials responsible for tourism development to go across to South Wales, to see what ideas they can pick up there.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Posted at 16:51 15 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Nice to see you again!

On Friday, 5 June, the Embassy opened its gates to a group of secondary school students from across Serbia who had made it to the finals of 'Hello Europe' Quiz, organised by RTS and the EC Delegation in Serbia.  

 
Some of you probably wonder why a 18-year old would be interested in Embassy work in the first place.  Unfortunately, for the vast majority of young people from the region, the only obvious link to diplomatic work is visa queuing.
 
Our aim this time was to give a brief and realistic impression of a wide range of the activities (political, development, commercial, project, culture etc.) undertaken by our Embassy in Serbia, and to try to explain not only what we do, but also why.  Our guests were also introduced to the history of the Embassy building and some artifacts that testify to the diverse and lasting ties that have existed between the UK and Serbia for 172 years of diplomatic relations.
 
The Open Day invitation was also extended to three journalism students who attended an internship programme in the BBC last year, and to the winning 'Hello Europe' Quiz team from the time of the UK Presidency.  Some members of this informal 'alumni' group admitted that they were pleasantly shocked with the invitation.  For us, it was fantastic to get in touch again and see that just a couple of years on some of them are in position to do useful and exciting things, or are - for example - doing their studies in Warwick!
 
Not to make things too serious on a sunny Friday afternoon, we also arranged an informal social programme in the Embassy garden.  All my colleagues who had the opportunity to participate in discussions with our guests were very impressed with quality of their spoken English, their general knowledge, and their keen interest in issues that go way beyond their local community.   This leads me to conclude once again that Serbia - similar to other countries in the region - has a tremendous potential in its younger generation. 
 
We are looking forward to similar occasions in the future, and to seeing where our quiz heroes move on to.

Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?

Posted at 10:44 10 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Down Sandzhak Way..

On 27 May I had a series of meetings in Novi Pazar and Prijepolje, in the Sandzhak region of south-west Serbia.  I saw the Mayors of both towns, other officials, and representatives of NGOs and the media.  The scenery is beautiful, but the region has a lot of problems.  Novi Pazar in particular was managed disastrously badly in the past, which has left the town in a desperate situation; and in both towns there is high unemployment and little if any recent investment.  The region has also long had a serious problem with organised crime, lying as it does on the edge of Serbia, with borders to Kosovo, Bosnia and Montenegro. 

The good news is that the two main communities in the region, Christian Serb and Moslem Bosniak, seem to get along quite well, but in recent days there have been tensions within the Islamic community, which is now divided between two rival religious leaders.  The UK runs a number of projects in the region, working with the OSCE and other partners, aimed at improving local administration, strengthening the justice sector, and helping young people.  But as I said to everyone there, outsiders can only do so much.  Ultimately, the region's future depends on its leaders; and the most important thing now is for any disagreements to be resolved by calm dialogue, not stirred up further with heated rhetoric.  That would only frighten outside investors away completely, and condemn the region to further years of hardship.

Posted at 10:18 02 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[3]

Young Lions

On 26 May I was invited to the Pasuljanske Livade training ground, where officer cadets of the Military Academy performed a military exercise, called “Diplomac 2009” - a sort of demonstration of all they had learned.  There were two parts to the exercise, the first a display of more traditional 'war-fighting' activity, with planes, helicopters and tanks blasting away at distant targets, the second a demonstration of 'peace-keeping' skills, with the cadets wearing blue helmets and UN flags flying. 

I found the second part more fun to watch, as the soldiers showed how they would search cars at a check point (we were asked to note how, at a UN checkpoint, the soldiers actually in close contact with civilians are always unarmed), and then checked individual civilians passing through on foot.  During the latter search, the soldiers 'discovered' that one man they were checking was carrying a concealed pistol, so he was led away for questioning, while his girlfriend followed behind, protesting vociferously (and in English) 'Let him go, he is my brother'! Let him go!', etc.  He was detained, but she was let go, and (predictably enough) she returned soon afterwards with 'angry villagers' who began attacking the checkpoint, pelting the soldiers with oranges (safer than rocks, for exercise purposes) and starting a small fire.  The soldiers remained calm, eventually some 'tear gas' (yellow smoke) was deployed, and the 'villagers' retreated.  At which point an even angrier 'villager' turned up and began firing at the checkpoint with a Kalashnikov, to which the soldiers - now allowed by their rules of engagement to use lethal force, in self-defence - responded. 

In all, it was a good show.  At the end President Tadic announced that Serbia plans to deploy a further group of soldiers to a UN mission in Chad, so the training should come in useful.  I wish them every success.

Posted at 09:24 01 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Better by Design

I spoke last evening at the official opening of Belgrade Design Week (BDW).  This is the fourth such annual event, and this year the UK (through the British Council) has supported it by helping to bring to Belgrade a large group of top UK designers and design journalists.  So I ended up making a speech, together with the BDW organiser, Jovan Jelovac, and Culture Minister Bradic. 

As I said in my speech, 'design' might sound like an indulgence in a time of global economic crisis, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth.  In the UK the creative industries contribute about €25 billion a year to the UK economy and employ some half a million people - one in five of all new jobs. 

Serbia is well placed to be a regional leader in this area.  BDW is already not just a regional, but a global, event.  And good design is not just about making things look better, it's about making things work better, to create a better world for everybody.  We are pleased, for example, that this year's BDW 'DesignPark' will include an exhibition of the work that the British Council has been doing under their 'Access for All' programme, with the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture, to promote the design of better facilities for disabled people, to make it possible for them to play a fuller role in society.  So we are proud to be BDW's partner this year - and we wish them every success.

Posted at 08:54 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Learning English

I gave an opening speech, on 22 May, to the annual English Language Teachers Association Conference, meeting this year, for a change, in Novi Sad.  This was the third time I have done this, and each year the event gets bigger and better.  Worldwide demand for English language skills is growing all the time, as English becomes ever more firmly established as the global business language, and the dominant language on the Internet.

The UK, through the British Council, is doing a lot here, and around the world, to help improve teaching methods and curricula, and provide other support to teachers of English.  The teachers attending the Conference were all very much aware that the future of the children they teach will be profoundly affected by how well they do their job, not just in teaching, but in encouraging their students to develop a real passion for learning and using the language. 

As I have said many times, I am constantly impressed by the level of English language skills among young people here in Serbia, particularly bearing in mind that few of them have had the opportunity to visit an English-speaking country.  This will be a very important factor in Serbia's economic growth in years to come.

Posted at 08:38 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[2]

BETA Anniversary

21 May - This evening I went along to the 15th anniversary party of the independent news agency BETA.  Nowadays, BETA is pretty well part of the media scenery, but when it was founded Serbia was a very different place.  It's hard now - particularly for an outsider - to realise just how much courage it took for people in BETA and other independent outlets, such as B92, to challenge the monopoly of the state information machine. 

There was a good turn-out there of Government Ministers, senior politicians, and other guests.  Today, the independent media face a different challenge, from the global economic crisis and the dramatic drop in advertising revenues.  We can only hope that the same courage and imagination that saw them through the 1990s will help them pull through now.

Posted at 08:31 26 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[0]

Free Media in Tough Times

I went on 18 May to help open the third Annual Meeting between the BBC and their partner radio stations here in Serbia.  There's been some good progress here in recent years - a stronger network of partner stations, better audibility, a growing audience.  But, as with all media companies, the global economic crisis is at the top of their agenda.  The print media and radio, in particular, have seen their advertising revenues hit hard, and many organisations are facing tough decisions. 

We in the UK see independent media as absolutely essential to the development of free democracies.  So we think it's really important, right across the world, that the independent media stay independent - that they are not forced by the crisis into over-heavy reliance on business or political interests, that then seek to influence their editorial policy.  We understand that it's hard, if the choice is between staff cut-backs or editorial compromise.  But, ultimately, it's all about staying true to one's original vision.   Of course, most people in the independent media in Serbia understand this very well, having faced much tougher challenges before.  We are proud to have them as our partners.

Posted at 16:48 19 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[1]

Remember the Past, Look to the Future

On 9 May I and many other Ambassadors joined Serbia's Defence Minister in an act of commemoration of Victory Day, at the Mount Avala memorial.  It was a beautiful day, but a solemn occasion, as we laid wreathes in honour of those who gave the lives for the defence of their country. 

It was sad also to reflect that, for many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, victory did not bring freedom, but another occupation, with eight years of Stalinism and, in all, some forty five years of repression and impoverishment before the wave of democratisation led to the break-up of the old Communist structures and a new era of freedom.  So it was fitting to move straight on from Avala to celebrate that change later that day, with the 'Day of Europe' events in Belgrade's Knez Mihailova street, which was unofficially re-named 'Europe Street' for the day.  Most EU countries, including most of the new members who achieved their democratic freedom in the early 1990s, had a stall in the street with information material, and many also organised events. 

We had visits to our stand from Serbs who play our national sports, cricket, rowing and rugby, and other celebrities; we also organised quizzes, and showcased some of our latest music with one of our own staff as DJ. Our efforts were ably supported by RTV B92 sport journalists and by DJ Marko Gangbengers, who brought an audience of all ages to our stand. Their knowledge of British sports and music was very impressive.  We got a great response from the passers-by, the sun shone, and I hope many people went away with the sense that 'Europe' - in other words, the EU - is a little more real for them, and a little closer.

Posted at 15:10 11 May 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth  |  Comments[5]