Rotary Club of Niš

Rotary Club “Niš” Niš was founded on 3 June 1936, and Dr. Dragutin Petković, a respected Niš physician and one of the most prominent citizens of his time, was elected its first president. After its work was interrupted during the Second World War, followed by a pause of several decades, the club resumed its activities in 1995, and the formal charter ceremony was held on 2 March 1996. The first president of the renewed club was Prof. Dr. Vojislav Mitić, who played a key role in bringing the Rotary idea back to Niš and Serbia.

From the moment of its re-founding, the club paid special attention to humanitarian work. As early as 1997 and 1998, club members took an active part in PolioPlus, Rotary International’s global initiative to eradicate polio. Over the following years, a large number of projects were carried out to improve health care, support socially vulnerable groups and assist institutions of importance to the local community.

With the support of Rotary friends from Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, ambulances, medical equipment, wheelchairs, computer equipment and humanitarian aid were provided for health and social care institutions across Serbia. A particularly significant project was equipping the neonatology department of the Clinical Center in Niš with a modern prenatal diagnostic device.

Alongside its humanitarian work, over the years the Rotary Club of Niš has carried out numerous projects aimed at developing the local community and improving health care, education and international cooperation. A special place was held by projects that connected different cultures and promoted international understanding, most notably Japan Day, an event that brought together a large number of citizens and was supported in person by the then Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Serbia. At the same time, the club took part in major projects to procure medical equipment for health institutions in Niš, confirming its long-standing commitment to improving the quality of health care and supporting the local community.

The Rotary Club of Niš has made a significant contribution to the development of the Rotary movement in Serbia. Many new clubs have grown out of its membership and with its support, including the Rotaract Club of Niš, the Rotary clubs of Jagodina, Požarevac, Pirot, Zaječar, Beograd Kralj Petar Prvi and Prokuplje, as well as other Rotary clubs in Niš.

In 2013, as part of the project “17 Fountains for 17 Centuries of Christianity”, the Rotary Fountain was installed in the center of Niš as a symbol of the joint work of all the Rotary clubs of Niš and their contribution to the city.

In more recent times, the club has continued to nurture its tradition of expert lectures, international cooperation and community service. Over the years, club members and guests have had the opportunity to attend lectures by prominent experts and public figures from various fields, including lectures by Dr. Aleksandra Mirić on architecture and archaeology dedicated to the Bubanj site, lectures on breast cancer prevention, and visits by the celebrated basketball coach Boža Maljković and the sports journalist and analyst Vuk Brajović. At the same time, the club has carried out numerous community projects, including the donation of computer equipment to the “Branislav Nušić” Primary School in Niš, continued support for associations working with children with developmental disabilities, and a fundraising dinner to raise money for a CBCT scanner for the Clinic of Dental Medicine in Niš. Of particular importance was the establishment of international cooperation through twinning with the Rotary clubs Montana, Sofia Vazrazhdane and Radnevo from Bulgaria, as well as the Rotary Club Skopje West from North Macedonia.

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the greatest challenges in the club’s history. During this period, the club kept its work going and carried out one of its most significant projects – the Global Grant “All For Her”, through which a device for the early detection of breast cancer worth around 48,000 euros was donated to the Clinical Center Niš. In the same period, the club became a 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club and was named the most successful club in District 2483.

Work with young people holds a special place in the club’s activities. The Rotaract Club of Niš, founded in 1997, suspended its work during the COVID-19 pandemic and was re-established in 2023/2024.

In recent years, the club has continued to develop humanitarian, health, environmental and educational projects, notably the planting of Serbian spruce trees, the donation of a troponin analyzer to the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica, the organization of numerous expert lectures, and a major district-wide campaign to help the population affected by the wildfires in the Toplica region, carried out with the support of all the clubs of District 2483.