Venue

BELGRADE COLLAGE; Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Belgrade_collage.jpg;
Author: NeroN BG; Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The location of the conference is the capital of Serbia, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.

It has been permanently settled since the mid Neolithic period, the time when its area played host to the Vincian culture, more than 4,000 years B.C. The Greeks came later, followed by the Romans who pushed the Celts across the Sava and Danube rivers, installing their fourth legion, the Legio Flavia, at Singidunum. They built a mighty fort on the Kalemegdan ridge with a city next to it. From the Celtic dun and the Roman castrum the city grew into a significant border fortification of the Huns and then the Byzantine emperors Anastasius and Iustinianus, the Avars, Bulgars, Ugars, Serbs, Turks and Austrians, until it became the capital of modern Serbia during the 19th century.

Belgrade, with just over 1.7 million inhabitants, is the third largest city in South–Eastern Europe after Istanbul and Athens.

The city is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and had a number of symbolic names, such as: House of Winds, Combat Hill, Thinking Hill, House of Freedom… The name Belgrade was first recorded in a letter on April 16th, 878, when Pope John VIII notified the Bulgarian Emperor Mihail Boris that he had removed from office Sergi (“episcopus Belgradensis”) due to sinful living.

Citizens of Belgrade like being in motion and therefore the streets, walkways, cafes and restaurants are always filled with people. Open and ever ready for fun, many Belgraders will claim to be true hedonists — and many of them really are — knowing all there is to know about good food, wine and music.

It is the city of youth. More than 40% of its citizens are between 15 and 44 years of age.

The conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade hotel, which is one of Belgrade’s most sophisticated event and meeting venues, located in New Belgrade. Hotel is only five minutes by car from the Belgrade city centre, old city of Zemun and within walking distance of Sava Centre and Belgrade Arena. It is also just 15 minutes from the Belgrade Airport.

Lectures were held in spacious, elegant and well–equipped Crystal Room with classroom setup and supplemented with modern audio–visual and interpreting equipment. Its spacious foyer, overlooking the atrium and magnificent lobby, will be used as a pre–function and exhibition area.