The project "Spend a day with Macedonia's leading Chief Executive Officers" will have its second iteration from December 2018 to March 2019 under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, and organized by the Foreign Investors Council at the Economic Chamber of Macedonia.

Main goal of the project is to have ten ambitious young people from Macedonia spend a day with Macedonia's leading CEOs, whereby they will have a rare opportunity to get acquainted with the workday of top managers, to be introduced into the processes of running a company, to acquire new knowledge, practical experiences and skills which will contribute to the development of their entrepreneurial spirit.

The Award is presented by the President of the Republic of Macedonia to promote research and scientific thought of the youth in the Republic of Macedonia.

The public call includes all persons who will have reached their 30th year of age no sooner than 2018 and have achieved significant scientific results.

Candidates applying for the award are required to submit proof that they fulfill one or more of the following criteria:

• Award or recognition for scientific research
• Published results from scientific research
• Application of results from scientific research for the current year 2018

The aforementioned materials, along with CV and Certificate of Citizenship of the Republic of Macedonia should be submitted both in printed form and in digital form (CD).

The right to participate is extended to all citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who meet the application conditions.

The documents should be submitted to the Office of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, no later than 31/12/2018.

Office of President of the Republic of Macedonia
(Commission for the "Best Young Scientist" award)
Villa "Vodno"
"Aco Karamanov" 33A
MK – 1000 Skopje

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, met today with representatives from the National Council of Disability Organizations of the Republic of Macedonia, towards the International Day of Persons with Disabilities – 3 December.

The representatives from the National Council of Disability Organizations expressed their gratitude for the support they have received from President Ivanov so far, as well as for the opportunity to inform him, through these regular meetings, of the situation of the people with disabilities, of the current challenges they face, and also of the results achieved implementing the international norms and standards from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The collocutors familiarized President Ivanov with the current activities on the occasion of 3 December, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is observed in order to promote understanding for the challenges of disability, as well as to raise the awareness of the citizens and institutions for the purpose of exercising the rights and improving the situation of the people with disabilities in the Republic of Macedonia.

The Macedonian President pointed out that he will continue supporting the activities of the National Council in the future, stating that a continuous effort is required for the promotion of their needs and rights in order to fulfill the priority requirements from the disability organizations in the Republic of Macedonia.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the National Union of the Blind of the Republic of Macedonia, National Union of Deaf and Hard on Hearing of the Republic of Macedonia, National Union of People with Physical Disabilities of Macedonia – Mobility Macedonia, The Republic Center for Support of Persons with Intellectual Disability – Poraka, National Federation for Sport and Recreation for Disabled of Macedonia - Macedonian Paralympics Committee, as well as the National Association of War Invalids of Macedonia.

The Macedonian model of integration without assimilation is a model for the future, because in its essence it implies respect for differences, pointed out President Ivanov in his lecture at the Uludağ University in Bursa.

"With every passing day we upgrade and perfect this shared model of ours, which implies enjoyment of rights, but also respect and sharing obligations and responsibilities which arise from the constitutional order", underlined President Ivanov, emphasizing that Macedonia does not want to selfishly keep this model for itself, but to share it with the world, which, according to him, is especially important today.

"The Macedonian model of coexistence created people with open mind who accept and respect differences. People like Mother Teresa who is born in 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia. In a radius of no more than 100 meters from her birth home there were a Catholic church, an Orthodox church, a Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque. Mother Teresa became a synonym for a person who lives in oneness within difference", said President Ivanov in his lecture at the Uludağ University in Bursa.

Coexistence, stressed the Macedonian President, was also present during the fight of the Macedonian people for freedom and independence. All of the appeals, calls, manifests and declarations point out the respect for differences. According to President Ivanov, the Republic of Macedonia has installed and promoted this experience in its democratic model of integration without assimilation.

Republic of Macedonia, emphasized President Ivanov, is committed to intercultural and interreligious dialogue. "In 2003 we initiated the first Forum for Dialogue among Civilizations and we are active participants in the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations that was established in 2005 at the initiative of the governments of Spain and Turkey. Macedonia reaffirmed its commitment by hosting four World Conferences on Dialogue among Religions and Civilizations", said the Macedonian President.

According to him, the Macedonian model of coexistence is still a challenge for some of the countries in the Balkans, and in Europe. However, one thing is clear, said President Ivanov, our model ingrained on top of the positive experiences from the past, is in the same time model for the future. "If we were able to live and progress together in the past, we can and we must try to achieve the same thing in the future . The difference between open and closed space is in communication and integration. I oftentimes say that the one who communicates – integrates and the one who does not, ghettoizes himself and invents enemies", stressed the Macedonian President in his lecture at the Uludağ University in Bursa.

Претседателот на Република Македонија, д-р Ѓорге Иванов, во рамки на работната посета на Република Турција, денеска во градот Бурса оствари средба со претставници на Стопанската и трговската комора на Бурса.

Повикувајќи ги бизнисмените од Бурса да инвестираат во Република Македонија, претседателот Иванов во своето обраќање истакна дека двете држави и нивните институции вложуваат значајни напори за дополнително упапредување на соработката во областа на економијата.

„Република Македонија и Република Турција денес имаат исклучително добри претпоставки да се фокусираат на она што е најважно, економската соработка и инвестициите. Нашата држава нуди огромен број можности и прилики за инвестирање. Ние можеме многу повеќе и во инвестициите и во трговската размена", рече македонскиот претседател, додавајќи дека економските меѓудржавни договори го олеснуваат тоа.

Претходно, претседателот Иванов во областа Изник, ги посети историскиот храм „Аја Софија" каде што биле одржани двата Нијски Вселенски собори, Античкиот римски театар и познатата Фондација за чинии на Изник.

Утре, претседателот Иванов ќе оствари средба со Гувернерот на Бурса, г. Јакуп Канболат  со Градоначалникот на Бурса, г. Алинур Акташ и ќе одржи предавање на универзитетот „Улудаг".

Political, security, economic, transport and digital connection is necessary to make our companies more competitive at the global market, our countries more successful at creating conditions for prosperity of the young people, and our regions more attractive for direct foreign investments. This is crucial for sustainable peace and development for all, said President Ivanov in his address at the opening of the 9th Bosphorus Summit held in Istanbul.

Referring to the challenges economies face today, President Ivanov pointed out the small markets for large companies. "As the Balkans borders branched off, the border crossings multiplied, and markets fragmentized", underlined the Macedonian President. The second challenge, according to him, is the enormous drain of expert workforce. "We as countries managed to close off the Balkans migrant corridor for the illegal migrants. However, we have hard time preventing the migration of our young people. After all, it seems that illegal migrants and our young people have one thing in common, and that is their destination – the most developed European centers. There they can apply their business ideas and achieve their life plans. Our region is depleting. The people who with their talents, education and skills create real value are leaving. Both countries and companies pay the price", determined the Macedonian President. The third great challenge, added President Ivanov, is the outdated manner in which part of the companies operate. Although we are already in the first century of the third millennium, some of the companies in the region still work according to the rules from the second millennium. They risk becoming incompetent and as a result noncompetitive at the global market.

According to the Macedonian President, in order to go beyond the regional fragmentation, it is necessary to have political and security interconnectivity. For the Balkans that implies membership to the European Union and NATO.

"The European Union was the most successful peace project which mobilized the countries and societies from the Balkans. We have been voluntarily changing due to the transformative power of the Union. However, the enlargement fatigue gave rise to a waiting fatigue in our country and instead of taking up reforms, we started dealing with ourselves. Therefore, it is necessary for the European Union to start the membership negotiations with the Republic of Macedonia as soon as possible", said President Ivanov.



Speaking of the challenges in the region, President Ivanov assessed that economic and transport connection is required, as well as digital transformation of the outdated ways of operation.

When our countries and economies connect, then our region will become a single economic zone, offering many more opportunities to our young workforce, said the Macedonian President. He added that in order to be included in the European economic zone on equal terms, it is necessary to be an equal part of the European and Euro-Asian road, railway and energy corridors.

Goal of the Bosphorus Summit, which is held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Turkey, is to provide a platform for dialogue and to promote the economic cooperation among the countries.