Representatives of the Independent cultural scene of Novi Sad met with a Member of the City Council for Culture, Mr. Dalibor Rožić, and shared with him the challenges the independent scene of Novi Sad is facing.

As a basic problem, independent „culture workers“ have pointed out that the state and city institutions do not recognize as participants in the cultural scene, resulting in the lack of funds for NGOs in the field of culture, therefore their survival is threatened.

Members of the independent cultural scene have also pointed out that one of the problems is paying rent and association fee, which is mainly financed by projects, and the money from projects could not cover it. A member of the City Department for Culture, Dalibor Rožić, pointed out that the new regulations prepared by City Administration for Culture are going to change that, so the city will cover up to 45 percent  for current expenses  (ie rent and bills), which was not the case before.

Dalibor Rožić suggested that the associations write how they see themselves in Chinatown, because it should be a new neighborhood in which many associations will find their place.

Representatives of independent associations and city authorities agreed that in the future they should work on transparency in the allocation of resources in the field of culture, which is, after all, one of the problems mentioned in the recently adopted Cultural Development Strategy.

Rožić also promised that one of the members of the Working group that will work on the implementation of the Cultural Strategy of Novi Sad will be the representative of the independent cultural scene.