Photo by TanjugUnpaid salaries for June and July have actualized the long-standing problem of Kolarč's endowment - financing. There is a legal basis, but not an obligation for the City and the state to finance an institution with the only concert hall in the state
The employees of the Ilija M. Kolarca Endowment received their salaries for June and July, thanks to the donation of a member of the Board of Directors, who wished to remain anonymous, thus solving the long-standing problem of this important cultural institution to some extent.
The members of the Board of Directors are: Aleksandar Šapić, Mayor of Belgrade, Jasna Dimitrijević, theater producer and former director of Kolarc for many years, Maja Gruden Pavlović, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Branislav Mitrović, academician, Bojan Bugarčić, SANU - manager of affairs, Rade Vojnović, Ministry of Culture and Information, and Obrad Tadić .
The help from the City that they expected did not arrive, although in the Law on Culture, both the City and the Republic have a legal basis to co-finance the material costs of the Endowment in the amount of up to 45 percent. It is a legal basis - but not a legal obligation.
The employees did not receive those two salaries because Kolarac is mostly self-financed, and during the summer it has a reduced number of programs and therefore income. According to the final account, they provided almost 82 percent of the income themselves.
Aleksandar Peković, director of the Foundation, who has only been in that position for one year, announces that next year the summer break will not catch them, because they will organize a program for tourists. He also announces the reconstruction of the building.
In 1878, Ilija Kolarac bequeathed all his property to his people, and the board of his Endowment had the task of maintaining and issuing it, and directing the rent money to that institution so that education and culture, which the Endowment deals with, would be protected .
However, with the nationalization after the Second World War, the property of Kolarč's endowment was confiscated. Now they are in the process of restitution, they are hoping for a positive outcome, which would allow them to make a profit thanks to their property. The building has 4.500 square meters, and the park and the "Staklenac" building on Trg Republike are the property of the Endowment. That building has no owner registered in the cadastre, does not have a use permit, and has been commercially exploited for 30 years. Of course, the Endowment does not benefit from it. Now he is in the process of restitution, he hopes for a positive outcome.
After the change in the Law on Endowments in 2011, Kolarac became an institution of civil society, like cultural and educational communities, and did not receive regular financial support from state and city institutions.
Since then, 75 percent of the costs have been covered from own revenues: from programs and renting out space to other organizations, as well as participation in competitions announced by the city of Belgrade or the Ministry of Culture of Serbia.
Somehow, since then, the financial problems of the Endowment have continued, and the status of the institution of special importance, which it received during the time of the previous manager, Jasna Dimitrijević, did not bring it any relief. It is known that this institution lacks, first of all, permanent funding, like when Dragan Đilas was the mayor, and then a good program with big world stars that would attract sponsors and bring in profit.
The building of Kolarc National University was built in 1932, according to the design of the architect Petar Bajalović. 90 years ago, the National University of Kolar was founded. The Center for Music, the Center for Lectures with a gallery and library, the Center for Teaching Foreign Languages and the Center for Publishing are operating within the endowment.
The hall in Kolarčeva endowment is the only real concert hall in Belgrade. It is home to the Belgrade Philharmonic, and there is no significant musician or orchestra that has not performed there - it is not worth singling out individuals. Annually, more than 90.000 people attend the hall in Kolarca.
The School of Foreign Languages was founded in 1933, even before the establishment of special departments at the Faculty of Philology. Lectures in the field of natural sciences are also heard at Kolarac - during the visit of the quantum physicist from the University of Oxford, Vlatko Vedral, people sat on the stairs of the hall, and memorable lectures by Ranka Radović on architecture, lectures by Miloš Crnjanski or the visit of the famous world philosopher Jacques Derrida.
Kolarac is synonymous with culture, music and education for the whole of Belgrade and the whole nation, and it should be returned to him.
S.Ć./ NovaS/ Politics
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