22-Dec-2023
The Board of Directors of the Tesla Memorial Society from New York have announced that on Friday, 22 December, the title of Tesla ambassador was awarded at the JAS Press Center in Belgrade by ambassador Dr Ljiljana Nikšić, the national coordinator of the strategic campaign of Serbian diplomacy “Tesla-Energy of Peace.” This award is being presented on the occasion of eight decades of the culture of remembrance of a world renowned Serbian scientist; it was established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dačić, and the members of the Tesla Memorial Society from New York were awarded as being a part of the oldest organization in the world that deals with preserving the memory of Nikola Tesla’s image and work since 1979.
The awards were received by the following:
- Posthumously, Dr Ljubomir Ljubo Vujović, President of the Tesla Memorial Society from New York (1933 – 2021).
- Marina Bulatović, BoD member of the Tesla Memorial Society since 2010.
The Tesla Society from New York was founded over four decades ago, Dr Vujović being a physician, writer, film producer and one of the leading figures of the Tesla movement in the USA. He worked tirelessly at New York’s Metropolitan Hospital for over 50 years, and his many years of volunteer work will never be forgotten. Dr Vujović has collaborated with New York City leaders, providing them with the necessary documents and information to install the Nikola Tesla Corner sign at the corner of 6th Avenue and 40th Street. Thanks to him, on 10 July 2001, Tesla’s commemorative plaque was unveiled at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan. In addition, he is the author of the documentary film “Nikola Tesla – The Genius Who Lit the World,” which was made in cooperation with the Nikola Tesla Museum from Belgrade. The film received international recognition as the world’s best documentary film about Tesla. The film was made in English, though it was translated into German, French and Serbian, and shown by numerous TV stations around the world.
The Executive Board of the Tesla Memorial Society from New York reiterates that till the end of his life (in 2021) Dr Vujović worked with journalist Marina Bulatović, a member of the BoD of the Tesla Memorial Society, on the proclamation of the Tesla’s National Day of Science in Republika Srpska. The two launched an initiative that bore fruit, and the Republic of Serbia for the first time in 2011 celebrated the National Science Day on 10 July, Tesla’s birthday.
“As the bearer of the title of Tesla Ambassador, which I received from my homeland and which has a special import and significance for me, I can say I’m proud that the motherland has recognized our decades of volunteer work in the diaspora in this way. Our Memorial Society has its own website (www.teslasociety.com) which contains numerous information, photos and documents about Nikola Tesla, Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin and Mileva Marić-Einstein, and thus it is interesting to many researchers. The site was visited by over 3 million people, of which the largest number are from the so-called Global South – India, Russia, China, which is why I was happy when I heard that Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India and Yván Gil Pinto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, had each received a Tesla ambassador title. I especially liked the 700-page Tesla Bulletin, containing a collection of articles about Nikola Tesla and the Tesla Year. It’s a true masterpiece created by my fellow representatives of the fourth estate,” said Marina Bulatović, a journalist and promoter of the introduction of the international Tesla Day.