Memoranda on the implementation of the program "People make cities" in Vranje and Novi Pazar signed

In order to implement the "People make cities" programme, the Minister of Family Care and Demography Jelena Žarić Kovačević and the Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Yakup Berish solemnly signed Memorandums of Understanding with the Mayor of Novi Pazar Nihat Biševac and the member of the Vranje City Council Danijela Milosavljević at the Palace of Serbia.

Minister Žarić Kovačević pointed out that "People make the city" is not just the name of the programme, but the essence of the state's approach and its policy. "This program is at the center of the Ministry's efforts, because it strives to create the best possible conditions for our families in our cities and municipalities. We want local environments to be places where people are happy to stay and do not leave, and families have a safe and stimulating future. The program is based on a simple but strong idea: cities and municipalities are not only made up of infrastructure, buildings and institutions, but people - their families, their needs, their hopes and their wishes," said Žarić Kovačević.

The minister clarified that the program identifies specific local demographic challenges, connects key actors from different sectors - education, employment, social protection, urban development - and creates measures that have real potential to improve the quality of life of citizens and to motivate people to stay, return or start life in the local environment. "Medium-sized cities, such as Vranje and Novi Pazar, are key carriers of regional, economic and social development, and in them we see the greatest potential and strength for facing challenges," said Žarić Kovačević. She thanked UNDP and all partners for their consistent support and understanding of the importance of demographic issues.

The permanent representative of UNDP in Serbia, Yakup Berish, expressed his satisfaction that Vranje and Novi Pazar, after the pilot project in Čačak, joined the initiative of the Ministry of Family Care and Demography and UNDP, whose goal is to respond to the challenges of depopulation.

"The essence of the program "People make cities" is to implement innovative solutions that respond to the needs of specific local governments. In Čačak, we worked with representatives of the private sector, primarily small and medium-sized enterprises, to help them improve their business policies to better support parenting, especially for working mothers. Also, based on the recommendations of citizens, we worked on improving public open spaces in order to better respond to the needs of different categories of the population, from children and families to the elderly. Our analysis showed that medium-sized cities are key to balanced regional demographic development. I believe that we will help both Vranje and Novi Pazar to create population policies that simultaneously contribute to economic and social development and strengthen the ties between urban areas and the surrounding local communities," said Berish.

The program "People make cities" is financed by the Ministry of Family Care and Demography from 2023 through the Population Support Fund project, which was created in cooperation with UNDP, and in response to recommendations from the Human Development Report for 2022, a document prepared by UNDP.