The Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, today opened the Tolerance Cup competition in Subotica. The event was attended by deputies, representatives of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and local officials; the visitors were welcomed by the Mayor of Subotica, Geza Kucsera, the Chairman of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Bojan Pajtic, and the Vice-chairman of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Tamas Korhecs.

Addressing the participants in the competition – students from Vojvodina, the Sandzak, Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja, Mr Markovic said that tolerance was the award of the tolerant, adding that one could not talk about several types of tolerance. It is the role of the state, according to Mr Markovic, to set the rules and to ensure they apply to all in equal measure, as well as that everybody should have the same opportunities; it is up to the people in the field, however, to implement this.

The Tolerance Cup is part of the Asserting Multiculturalism and Tolerance in Vojvodina project, implemented by the Executive Council of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Aiming at asserting and strengthening mutual trust among young people, the Tolerance Cup is a positive example of how young people of different ethnic backgrounds from all over Vojvodina can get to know each other and develop the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. This project, aiming at providing better mutual understanding between ethnic groups in Vojvodina, is another indicator of the importance of the initiative of the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Hungary, which resulted in the signing of the Tolerance Programme and the realisation of the first Youth Tolerance Camp earlier this year in Subotica, of the fact that co-existence has no alternative in Vojvodina, and that preserving all national characteristics is the way to European integrations.