The right to their own language, education, self-identification are even today basic universal and European human values. Today, I speak the Macedonian language, just as our Slovak friends speak the Slovak language, thanks to the saints Cyril and Methodius, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, pointed out at the opening of the exhibition "Following the Traces of the Saints Cyril and Methodius" of the Slovakian author Pavol Demes, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Slovakia.

- Today I speak the Macedonian language, just as our Slovak friends speak the Slovak language, thanks to the saints Cyril and Methodius, President Ivanov said.

The spiritual tree of the Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Macedonian President added, is the wealth of Europe, which we call today unity in diversity.

Without this Slavic tree today, we would have an intellectually and spiritually poorer Europe. Therefore, the duty of our generation is to nurture and promote this legacy, thanks to which we have our worldview today, our uniqueness and identity, President Ivanov said.

The exhibition is on the occasion of the 1155 anniversary of the arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers on the territory of Great Moravia, the ancestors of the Slovaks and the Czechs, and the 25 anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Slovakia. The exhibition is a photographic biography of the Thessaloniki Brothers, the protectors of Europe, to which the author worked for three years. This is a selection of photographs which should show who were Cyril and Methodius, and at the same time why they are so important for the Slavic peoples. The exhibition also includes monuments from various countries, preserved from the time of the Saints Cyril and Methodius or dedicated to them.

Pavol Demes is an expert on foreign policy and civil society. He lives in Bratislava. He is actively photographing and his photographs have been several times exhibited and presented in Slovakia as well as abroad.