disabled. by the end of the year, our buildings, most notably the one in the slavija square, will be accessible to everybody. in addition to this, the national bank of serbia organizes visits for the disabled to the money museum in our head office building ( 12 kralja petra street ). therefore, i would like to use this opportunity to invite all of the people present here to give us a call and set up the time and date of their visit – and we are ready to cover a part of the costs involved. today ’ s conference is an opportunity for me and my colleagues to acquire some specific knowledge and to hear about the experience of other people in this area, which will hopefully help us all in performing our public functions better. in terms of hiring disabled persons, as the governor of the national bank of serbia, which is an institution of public significance, i can only say that i see no reason for waiting for the adoption of the law on the employment of the disabled. i am deeply convinced that public institutions should take the lead in this respect and set an example for the private businesses. the nbs will resort to affirmative action in its staff recruitment so as to give the disabled a chance to become equal members of the society, which they will never become without jobs or stable income. and now let us look at the socially responsible practices of the nbs : this year, the national bank will give three scholarships to final year students, who will be obligated to work for the nbs once they complete their studies. more information on this will be available on our website. once the adaptation of our office buildings is completed, we will be able to increase the number of students doing their summer practice program in the nbs by five students with disabilities. finally, i would like to invite all the interested participants to gather again in september to exchange ideas and consult on the drafting of a public strategy on the employment of people with disabilities. and all of this for one single reason – to make our serbia more beautiful and its people happier.

or to stand in quiet contemplation in front of a caravaggio painting at the stadel. 4. turning to the ecb cultural days : how did the idea come about and what is the connection between culture and central banking? i have always felt that there is a profound link between the european union and its cultural identity. i trust this belief is widely shared by ecb staff and our executive board, governing council and general council. when i became president of the ecb, i was very happy to see that this initiative had already been launched by my predecessor, wim duisenberg. i was determined to give it renewed impetus. the event can be seen from three different angles. from the perspective of the ecb ’ s staff and the 27 national central banks of the european system of central banks, it is a way of celebrating all the national cultures and being proud of them. for frankfurt and the rhinemain region as a whole, it is a way of appealing to a large, cosmopolitan audience. for europe as a whole, it is an occasion to celebrate cultural unity and diversity under the auspices of one of its major institutions, the ecb. i should mention that the ecb and the national central bank co - organising the cultural days – this year banca nationala a romaniei – benefit from the remarkable support of the city of frankfurt and other active sponsors, whom i would like to thank for their contributions.