‘Christmas discussions about economy’ is a title of traditional meeting of all students, professors and friends of postgraduate studies «Entrepreneurial Economics». It is an unusual way to organize a discussion about economy.

Discussions are organized every year on January 6, at 9.00 p.m. There are no invitations for the meeting and nobody is obliged to come.

The host of the discussions is Veselin Vukotic, the Dean of postgraduate studies. Along with him, the traditional guest is professor Ljubomir Madzar. It is a custom to have at least one or two other guests. After a short introductory speech, the participants start the discussion. The discussion lasts until 11.45 p.m. After that, the students from the previous generation bring food and drink and the discussion becomes informal. In such a manner it can last until early in the morning. All food and drinks are brought by students and participants. Everyone can bring whatever he/she wants. Thus, the guests can be served various several specialties, good vines, cakes prepared by our female colleagues, cheese, fruit...

In the last few years ‘Christmas discussions’ have become a multimedia events covered by several TV stations and news agencies.

How was the idea of Christmas discussions born?

When I was a student, a small group of people (no more than ten of us) used to gather on Christmas Eve in the office of professor Bosko Gluscevic, at the Institute IDEI.. These were informal meetings where we used to listen to interesting stories told by Professor Gluscevic and had food and drinks we would bring ourselves). These meetings were attended almost every year by the same persons: Veselin Pavicevic, Bozidar Sisevic, our friend Arsenije Jovanovic, Dragan Radonjic and myself, Veselin Vukotic. Every year new people would join this group which depended on the political rating of this group, especially on the political rating of professor Gluscevic. And indeed, those meetings weren't naive at all. Many ideas were born there; some of them influenced great events in Montenegro in the eighties.

After professor Gluscevic died my colleagues Pavicevic, Sisevic and myself, decided to organize Christmas discussions every year. We did it because we had the ambition to keep the tradition. The first discussion was held on January 6, 1994 in the classroom number III. Apart from me, this discussion was attended by our guest professor Ljubomir Madzar and by another 14 participants, four people from the School of Economics, ten students and one person, whose identity we did not find out. It was during the period of anti-reformism in Montenegro, the period of strong political watchfulness.

From 1994 on, we have organised Christmas discussions every year. Apart from professors Veselin Vukotic and Ljubomir Madzar, other people also participated: Vlado Goati, Ph.D. (several times), Mladjan Dinkic, Nebojsa Medojevic, Slobodan Vucetic, Slavko Drljevic, etc.