Despite the harsh conditions in the global oil market, NIS did not cut investments in the local community and it allocated the same amount of funds for projects as last year – 110.5 million dinars in total for projects implemented in the cities and municipalities in which the company operates. Those are Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Čačak, Pančevo, Zrenjanin, Kikinda, Novi Bečej, Žitište, Kanjiža and Srbobran. In this way, the company affirms social responsibility as its strategic commitment, and the projects will be realized by institutions, civil societies, sports and trade associations chosen in a public contest run by NIS. This year, 971 projects were submitted under the public contest, and the decision about which projects will be supported was made by a commission comprising representatives of NIS and local governments, as well as prominent figures from these communities, as independent members. When selecting the projects, the jury paid attention to equally support projects in the five fields important for a long-term and sustainable development, as well as for raising the quality of living in local communities: sports, culture, science, environmental protection and aide to socially vulnerable groups. The contest results are available at http://zajednicizajedno.nis.eu, as well as at the websites of local communities. Deadline for the completion of projects is 31 March 2017. Together for the Community programme is designed to improve the quality of living and development of local communities in which NIS operates. Knowing that success is not complete if not shared with the community, the company has been successfully realizing and supporting socially responsible projects for eight years running. Almost RSD 800 million has been invested and over 760 projects supported through this programme to date.
