MONTENEGRO

NATIONAL PAVILION EXPO MILANO 2015 ______THEME STATEMENT

Podgorica, October 2013

Name of Official Participant:

Date of Participation Notification: 28 January 2011

Date of Application: 22 November 2013

1. Principal thematic message of Montenegro:

Healthy with Every Bite!

2. Main motto of Montenegro’s pavilion and participation:

Small country of great possibilities

3. Theme of participation - concept and educational plan:

Awareness of one's own values, significance of and need for self-sustainability, need for relying on one's own potential and capacity, and a strong willingness for change, have relatively quickly blown away stereotypes about Montenegrin agriculture, as part of the country's economy, being static. Turned to itself and its own resources, leaning on plenty of innovations and encouraged by huge market changes and demands, Montenegro is making rapid, both quantitative and qualitative steps in the development of its agriculture.

“Kiss the piece of before throwing it away” – has always been a warning to those, truly not many, who would treat with disrespect in traditional Montenegro. These words of warning and reproach at the same time, as an expression of responsibility and stance towards life hardships, have become almost a part of genetic code of people here, while their treatment of food has come to resemble a kind of a cult. To feed your family and receive a guest, known and unknown, invited and non-invited, has been and still is a measure of honour and dignity.

In that sense, in line with the main theme of Expo Milano 2015 - "Feeding the Planet, Energy for life”, and current cultural model, /as a set of conceptual efforts to build up on the fundamental traditional values, centuries long spiritual and cultural legacy, and, simultaneously, on contemporary economic and scientific impulses, and create

2

something that could be most broadly described as a comprehensive cultural and value-based transformation of our society/, we will present how modern Montenegro treats food in sociological, cultural and economic terms, through three integrated topics.

I Ecological state

Convinced that the environmental protection is a fundamental aspect of national development and that the majority of Montenegrin citizens that they represent share the same vision, members of the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro issued on 20 September 1991 the “Declaration on the Ecological State of Montenegro”, the first ecological state in the world.

“We, members of the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro, are aware that, in view of the threat to nature, protection of the identity of the land in which we live and work has become our most immediate and pressing task.

Bearing in mind our debt to nature, a source of health and our inspiration for freedom and culture, we are devoting ourselves to its protection for the sake of our survival and the future of our posterity.

We recognize that all our differences are less important than the changes in the environment we live in. Regardless of our national, religious, political and other sentiments and convictions, we are fully aware that dignity and blessedness of a human being are intrinsically connected with blessedness and purity of nature.

Man and creation in him and around him are one in their depths, their meaning and denotation.

Thus the abuse of man has always entailed the abuse of nature. And being committed to the struggle for the dignity of man, we are also called upon to struggle for the dignity of nature.

By adopting this Declaration, Montenegro defines its attitude towards nature as a state policy and calls upon all the people to show wisdom and prevent an impending ecological catastrophe.”

Montenegrin “Declaration on the Ecological State” was not an objective per se. It is a story about a living concept, an expression of attitude and determination, an embodiment of a modern vision and aspiration of the society to upgrade the existing towards new values or, rather, to give the proven values modern form and content. It is an endeavour to catch up with

3

modern achievements and use new technologies and methods in order to maintain the high quality of healthy soil and be able to produce healthy products, more and more and better and better.

II Organic food

Agriculture is one of the pillars of Montenegrin economy. Agriculture is important not only from economic perspective but also as a branch overarching a wide spectrum of significant dimensions – environmental, social, food safety, sustainable rural development, rural traditions and cultural heritage preservation, support to tourism etc.

Geographic position of Montenegro, its relief features, and its regional (coast, continent and north) and climatic variety have facilitated the development of several forms of agricultural production. Accordingly, the coastal zone favours fishing and fish and farming, growing, citriculture, early and medical herb growing and plastic house farming; the central continental part – early vegetable, growing, viticulture, egg, meat and production and, in rocky parts, livestock, particularly goat raising; while the northern mountainous part is dominated by and fruit growing and extensive animal husbandry (cows and sheep).

Expressed through the prism of statistics and numbers, Montenegro has 518,067 ha of agricultural land, or 38% of the total territory of the country or about 0,84 ha per capita, of which arable land, orchards and vineyards account for only 58,262 ha or 12% of agricultural land, while the rest consists of meadows and pastures that are mostly unexploited. The share of farming, hunting and forestry in the country’s GDP is 11.3%.

Montenegro’s agriculture offers organic food of outstanding quality, which is produced in well preserved environment (unpolluted soil, clean air and healthy water) and thereby helps in maintaining traditional products, rural communities and their distinctions, biodiversity and desirable existence of local forest .

To represent organic food, impeccably pure drinking water, traditional healthy products, intact nature, small Montenegrin farms and possibilities for the development of agriculture and overall society on the principles of sustainable development – is an objective of prime importance.

4

III Four vacation seasons

If, decades earlier, Montenegro declared tourism to be its priority of development; if tourism generates, directly and indirectly, about 25% of GDP; if most reputed international travel and tourism magazines have been placing Montenegro among 10 top must-see destinations in the world for several years now; if Montenegro has beautiful nature and about 270 sunny days in a year; if it has a clean sea and kilometres of astounding sandy beaches; if it also has 5 national parks: Lovcen Mountain, Durmitor Mountain, Skadar Lake, Prokletije Range and Biogradska Gora, as one of the two last virgin forests in Europe; if it has the Kotor Bay as one of 25 most goergous fiords in the world; if it has the Tara Canyon as the longest and deepest canyon in Europe, and the second deepest in the world after Colorado, the Tara River being the purest river in Europe (“the tear of Europe”); if it has some 30 natural glacier lakes; if it has UNESCO protected old towns of Kotor, Perast, Budva and Ulcinj; if it has beautiful monutments of culture in the town-museum of Cetinje and numerous religious buildings of all faiths: Cetinje Monastery, St. Tryphon Cathedral in Kotor, Husein-Pasha Mosque in Pljevlja, Ostrog, Piva and Moraca Monasteries; if you can swim in the sea and ski on Durmitor all in one day and eat sea fish in a restaurant at the coast or local , proscuitto or lamb in milk at a cottage high in the northern hills; and we can continue for hours if it has…, if it has …, if it has …; then it is clear why tourism is so special for Montenegro and why it has to have a special role in the Exhibition – importance of tourism for Montenegro cannot be overestimated. Tourism is related to every aspect of our life, economy, living standrad and lifestyle of citizens; it boosts employment and general prosperity.

If the two previous topics (environment and organic food) are, in mathematical terms, “a necessary and sufficient precondition” for a good vacation, it is quite obvious that you can actually enjoy your vacation in Montenegro (its international marketing slogan being “Wild Beauty”) any of 365 days and any of the four seasons in a year.

Strategic goals:

- Develop identity and positive image of Montenegro - Position Montenegro as a distinctive and quality tourist destination - Present Montenegro as a growing country, a positive story in the Balkans - Position Montenegro as a country that shares the values of modern democratic societies - Develop trade in the field of agriculture and increase sale of Montenegrin products

5

Promotional goals:

- Raise awareness of Montenegro - Raise awareness of Montenegro as an ecological state - Improve distinctiveness /recognition/ of Montenegro in international community - Develop the brand of Montenegro as a tourist destination - Present Montenegro's natural strengths /intact nature, pure rivers and lakes, sandy beaches, mountain ranges, forests and .../ - Present Montenegro as a synonym of organic food, healthy food, clean water, drinking water and ... - Present Montenegrin products that have the status of organic food - Present companies and products labelled by a collective stamp indicating “Good from Montenegro” - Develop solidarity and not allow millions of people to be starving to death around the globe

Principal message of Montenegro during the Universal Exhibition:

It is comprised by the above mentioned strategic and promotional goals, and could be summarized as follows:

- Welcome to the ecological state of Montenegro; visit us and enjoy the beauty of the nature, valuable cultural heritage and perfectly tasteful organic food, - Let’s preserve the environment, - Let’s do everything we can to provide enough food for all and let all children in the world grow up…

Target groups:

Definition of our own identity, and the method and content of our communication with potential target groups, is the corner stone for the determination of target groups. By not trying to become everything to all, we have an opportunity to become something to someone.

1. International public/visitors, printed and electronic media, social networks/ 2. Domicile population 3. Experts in food /production and preparation/

6

The Theme Guides:

Through its presentation, Montenegro will give its full contribution to the successful implementation of the Exhibition, while its basic idea will be implemented through the topics presented primarily in the form of gastronomic and cultural content.

Since the Organizer offered the principal theme guides, Montenegro will certainly address each of those themes, in different forms, and every one of them will have a particular role in defining the final concept of the presentation.

- The History of Humanity, stories of food:

Through the presentation of former agricultural households, their traditional products, method of production, way of preparing food, and the cutlery, tools and dishes used in the process of food preparation, we will go years back into the past and give a picture of life in old Montenegro, showing how healthy food used to be produced and prepared once.

- Abundance and shortage: the contemporary paradox:

In this Theme Guide, Montenegro will focus on the importance of food and the need for reduction of poverty and malnutrition. We wish to point to the necessity of bringing international cooperation in these issues to a higher level, to the fact that there is enormous poverty and lack of food in many countries, starvation and death being its consequence, as well as to the need for greater levels of solidarity and assistance to vulnerable countries and populations.

- The future of food:

When it comes to this Theme Guide, Montenegro plans to particularly highlight the importance of organic farming as the production of the future. To wit, organic farming is a system of sustainable agriculture, largely based on local resources and which maintains ecological balance and minimizes the negative impact of agriculture on the environment. It also includes the production in compliance with defined requirements under the Law and relevant standards, along with the control of the entire production cycle by an authorized organization for certification.

- Sustainable food:

Subject to the basic themes that Montenegro will lay out to present itself, this theme will also deal with environmental aspects, this involving environmental protection, traditional Montenegrin products, certified organic food and the like.

7

- Taste is knowledge:

By organizing two methods of preparing and presenting food and Montenegrin /cold appetizers and Montenegrin specialties in a separate restaurant area within the pavilion/ we would also like to present the Montenegrin way of life and diet culture. We will present some specific Montenegrin food and drinks and thus show the quality of .

- Cluster

Participation in the Exhibition within the Mediterranean cluster is a natural choice of Montenegro both owing to its geographical position as it is geographically part of the Mediterranean, and as it belongs to the same cultural milieu and diet culture. It is necessary to emphasize the need for Montenegro to contribute to quality presentation of the and culture by presenting its specificities and diversity.

4. Architecture and technology

Design of the Montenegro pavilion regarding the external appearance, size and key parts is limited by requirements given by the organizer. Therefore, Montenegro opted for the presentation within the Mediterranean cluster, in the pavilion of 250 +250 m². The pavilion will thus be on two levels, whereby the ground floor will serve as the space for exhibition, the preparation and presentation of food, as well as for the necessary supporting facilities, whereas the upper level will be used for offices, utility rooms, and multipurpose gallery.

The intertwining of the traditional and modern ways of presentation, promotion and information, the use of different types of material, equipment and furniture, and the use of electronics and information technology will be the essential elements of the interior design.

Montenegro will use the area of its pavilion within the given time and space to the extent possible and with a view to achieving the set objectives:

- Active and interactive experience /organization of exhibitions, concerts, theatre shows, performances, literary evenings, various presentations, lectures and the like, as well as the introduction with Montenegrin food, ways of preparing and serving/

- Cyber Expo – Montenegro plans to develop its own website and to make its own materials available to the organiser and thus allow all interested parties

8

who are not able to directly visit the Montenegro pavilion and the Expo Milano 2015 to do so in this way. As the EXPO participant, Montenegro will surely be present at the biggest global social networks and thus contact projected target groups.

5. Exhibits and active content

Montenegro’s response to the topic "Feeding the planet, Energy for life" will certainly be multidisciplinary. As stated in the thematic areas and objectives of the presentation, we are planning to present Montenegro to the fullest. The focus will surely be on the main theme, but a great deal of the story will be told through the world of arts /visual arts, literature, music, dance, drama, film ... /

In addition to the permanent exhibition, Montenegro will organize the following on permanent or temporary basis:

- Exhibition of paintings by famous Montenegrin artists - Performances - Theatre plays - Musical program - classical music - An evening of the Montenegrin folk music and folklore - Literary evenings

Within this active part, special attention will be paid to the presentation of Montenegrin food through:

- Introduction with all kinds of the Montenegrin cuisine /short workshop- presentations/ - Short day workshops on the properties and quality of Montenegrin food - Organisation of presentations of food preparation - Sharing of certain Montenegrin recipes, experiences, tips and the like - Daily opportunities of food consumption from the selection of the Montenegrin cold appetizers - Daily opportunities of using the specialized restaurant to organise dinner parties and consume the top quality Montenegrin dishes and drinks prepared by the best Montenegrin chefs

6. Commercial activities and food services

The aforesaid activities must be considered in two levels:

I. Activities related to the sale of Montenegrin souvenirs and food and beverages in all types and forms of packaging II. Activities related to the provision of service of various food and drink tasting

9

- The sale of Montenegrin souvenirs and food products will be organized by opening specialty shops - souvenir shops at the bottom of the pavilion. Montenegro will thus get closer and present itself to a worldwide audience – consumers especially through products that bear the collective trademark “Good from Montenegro” to signify products of the highest value and quality. Visitors will also have the opportunity to buy most of the organic and traditional Montenegrin products.

- Tasting of Montenegrin food will be organised in two ways:

- without stopping along the way, purchase will be made at the counter that will be in the bottom of the pavilion, with the cold appetizers offered throughout the day and - in a specialty restaurant that will be open in evening hours and where top Montenegrin dishes will be prepared by the best chefs from Montenegro

For the implementation of this segment of the exhibition we plan to invite the relevant culinary experts from Montenegro who will take obligatory periodic turns in food preparation.

7. Conclusion

The Theme Statement that we hereby present was prepared in line with the instructions given by the organiser and it certainly represents just the first step on the long road to preparing the final version of the Montenegrin pavilion. Therefore, with this formal proposal for participation we focused on the basic level of details, which will be followed by progressive corrections should the organiser approve the proposal. We are confident that the underlying Theme Statement integrates all the elements necessary for achieving the set strategic goals.

10

8. Applicant's contacts

Name: Ivan Saveljic Commissioner General

Address: Jovana Tomaševića 9/5, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Telephone: (+382 020 241 050 ) E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (+382 020 230 493)

11