Your Magnificence,
Distinguished Mr. Rector,
Distinguished deans, professors, students,
Esteemed attendees,
Ladies and gentlemen,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia, it is an honor to address the prestigious University of Wrocław in the friendly Republic of Poland. Poland is a country that was a symbol of freedom in the darkest periods of the European continent. In a time when the European countries were annexed by Hitler one by one, Poland was the first country to resist it, consequently encouraging the civilized world to stand resolutely against the evils of fascism and Nazism.

The Polish society helped end the Cold War. Solidarity marked the beginning of the end of the Warsaw Pact. In 1981 the famous Yugoslav rock band "AZRA" wrote the song "Poland in my heart" expressing the sympathy and solidarity of the Yugoslav youth with the authentic movement for freedom and justice.

The care that the Polish country provided sheltering the Refugee children from the Greek Civil War was also embraced by the Polish science by showing considerate interest in their mother tongue – Macedonian. It is no coincidence that precisely your prestigious university conferred an honorary doctorate degree to the academician Blazhe Koneski in 1973, 45 years ago, which represents the first such title ever awarded to a Macedonian in Poland (Sokołowski, 2001).

Moreover, we are only three days away from the day Blazhe Koneski passed on 25 years ago, in 1993. Therefore, I will start my address with the end of his life.

Shortly before his death, the exhausted Koneski called his colleague, the acclaimed Polish-Macedonian Slavist Zuzanna Topolińska and dictated his last published testimony to her (Koneski, 1993). In that very brief, but profound epistle to his and future generations, he addressed, for the last time, the issue that haunted him almost his entire life.

As a linguist and a writer committed to the development of the Macedonian literary language, he was aware that there are three things that were casting shadow over his life's work. First, the Macedonian language is spoken by barely two million people. Second, the full codification of the Macedonian literary language was only finished in 1945, after the Macedonian state was formed. Third, the Macedonian language was and it is still disputed.

Faced with these three facts, Koneski had the courage to publicly ask a very difficult question: What is the point to write, to create in such a small language?

This question meant re-examining his whole scientific and literary work, and overall, the meaning of his life.

Regardless how small it is, the Macedonian language has its own greatness.

It is the language that was geographically closest to the source of the first written Slavic language – the Old Slavic. We know that in 855, based on the spoken language of the Slavic tribes Sagudates, Drougoubitai, Belegezites and Rynchines inhabiting Macedonia, st. Constantine – Cyril and Methodius created a new alphabet – the Glagolitic. With the aid of the Glagolitic alphabet, they did not translate, but recast the Bible into Old Slavic. And, recasting is always much more difficult than translating. That shows the copiousness of the language and their ingenuity.

Using that written language, St. Cyril and Methodius and their disciples, among which St. Clement and Naum of Ohrid, banished the spiritual darkness and the fog of ignorance and they unlocked the immense spiritual, intellectual, cultural and creative potential of the Slavic peoples. Accordingly, in 1980, one of the great Slavic sons, Karol Wojtyła - the Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter Egrigae Virtutis declared St. Cyril and Methodius co-patron saints of Europe.

Nevertheless, the Slavist Reginald De Bray writes: "By an irony of history the people whose ancestors gave to the Slavs their first literary language, were the last to have their modern language recognized as a separate Slavic language, distinct from the neighboring Serbian and Bulgarian" (De Bray, 1980).

Why is it so? Max Weinreich humorously noted that "a language is a dialect with an army". Throughout the long centuries of foreign political and spiritual governance, our language was systematically repressed and prohibited. During the 19 and the first half of the 20 century alone, hundreds of Slavic inscriptions were erased, thousands of Slavic manuscripts were destroyed, hundreds of thousands Macedonians were coercively renamed and their identities forcibly changed. That also includes Koneski's identity whose last name was once changed to Konevikj, then to Konev, depending on which neighboring country was ruling his fatherland Macedonia.
Faced with such conditions, in 1939 Koneski sets down the famous verses: "So much did woe cry out within me / that I was born into a tribe in need" i.e. into disenfranchised people.

However, that changes with the conclusion of World War II. Using their sovereign right to self-determination, the Macedonian people established the modern Macedonian state on 2 August, 1944. One of the first documents of the Macedonian republic is the resolution "to introduce the Macedonian language as an official language of the Macedonian state."

In order to implement the resolution, a Commission on Language and Orthography was set up. As one of its members, Koneski was aware that the language issue is one of the most important in resolving the Macedonian issue. Same as Krste Petkov Misirkov, he knew very well that the affirmation of the Macedonian literary language is a prerequisite to the completion of the Macedonian's national consolidation.

Therefore, he dedicated his whole life to a single goal. And that is to help his people develop and affirm their Macedonian literary language.

Koneski was one of the most active participants in the codification of the Macedonian standard language. He had a pivotal role in the production of the key documents for the Macedonian linguistics – the alphabet, orthography, grammar, vocabulary, historical phonology, language history (Vidoeski, 1986, 2013). As a linguist, poet and translator he drew the attention of the world linguistic and literary public to the Macedonian language. As one of the founders of the most important academic institutions and magazines, he contributed to the thriving of the Macedonian studies.

Through the efforts of Koneski and his generation the Macedonian language ascended to a modern European language with a bright future in very short time.

However, that kind of success woke the old Balkan phantoms of denial. The Macedonian language is still facing many deniers today, who in their attempt to erase or rename it they are conducting a type of symbolic oppression of the Macedonian identity.
Koneski, experienced these circumstances personally. I will provide an example.

In 1968, 50 years ago, Koneski became an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the University of Chicago. However, the American Slavist and Macedonian specialist, Prof. Victor Friendman revealed that a real political drama surrounded that doctorate (Friedman, 2011).

Namely, back in 1964, the Polish-American Slavist and Head of the Department of Slavic Languages at the University of Chicago, Prof. Edward Stankiewicz proposed conferring an honorary doctorate to Koneski. The proposal quickly found its way to the agenda of the competent Committee on Honorary Degrees which was seriously considering the matter. Nonetheless, some of the Committee members were afraid from the Greek reaction. They believed that such an award can be considered as a hostile act by the Greeks, which were denying the existence of the Macedonian language, Macedonian identity and, in general, the Macedonian people. Therefore, the decision on the honorary doctorate was postponed until 1968. That may be the only recorded case of postponing a decision to confer an honorary doctorate at the University of Chicago, solely due to the great fear from a small language.

Although, the fear was partially justified, because just right after the ceremony the president of the University started receiving protest letters expressing dissatisfaction over the recognition of a "non-existent language" from a "non-existent people" (Friedman, 2011).
Precisely half a century has passed since that incident. However, that very same fear, unfortunately, is still present, and not just in America. If you search for the documents regarding our region on the official web-pages of the European Union institutions, you will notice something peculiar. Most of the documents are translated in the official languages of the countries in our region. Yet, only in our case, instead of Macedonian language, it says "the language of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". As far as I know, there is no such language in the Slavic studies.

In the official vocabulary of the Brussels' bureaucracy and diplomacy, the terms "Republic of Macedonia" and the adjective "Macedonian" do not exist. Instead, many Brussels' virtuosos of political correctness use the most beautiful epithets for my country and my people, with one purpose only - to avoid the terms Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian language, Macedonian people, Macedonian identity, and Macedonian culture. So, if you hear someone talking about a very beautiful European country and in the same time avoiding mentioning its name, the chances are that they are talking about the Republic of Macedonia.

This practice became so alarming that I sent a letter in 2011 to the President of the European Commission at that time, Barroso, where I stated that I will not accept a European Commission Progress Report on the Republic of Macedonia if that report does not contain the adjective "Macedonian". That practice is not in the spirit of "unity in diversity". Moreover, the European Union is not the only one. Several years ago, there was an attempt to erase the term "Macedonian language" from the official United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database. I had to send a letter to the Secretary General at that time, Ban Ki-Moon, in order to prevent such unprincipled intention.
What does all of this tell us? Those who deny the Macedonian identity and the Macedonian language perceive through a crooked mirror. Instead of adjusting their distorted image to the factual reality on the field, they are trying to adapt the reality to their crooked worldview. Worldview where it seems there is no place for the Macedonian language and identity.

Faced with these experiences, Blazhe Koneski exposed the logical fallacy of the deniers.

Double standards lie in the core of the problem. There are nations, Koneski says, whose rights to history are not disputed, and on the other hand, there are nations whose rights are disputed. The powers that do not make peace easily with the independent development of the peoples are prepared to utilize a whole scientific apparatus in order to protect their non-scientific and unprincipled positions (Koneski, 1968). Yet, a politicized science is not a true science. For that reason, on an occasion he says: "no matter the approach used to create the Macedonian literary language [...] they would still find a fault in it. Because from the depths of their souls they oppose the Macedonian language itself, not just some specific form of it" (Stojchevska-Antikj, 2017).

The people and the language are historical phenomena and as such they have a right to their own history. Therefore, refusing to acknowledge the historical right to linguistic independence of a certain people is equal to tyranny. The solution, Koneski says, is not in petty bargaining with those who tend to hold the key of the past of a certain people, and with it disputing its right to history, but in acknowledging the right to history to all peoples that mustered strength to shape a modern nation (Koneski, 1968).

Why do I speak of Koneski so much? Because his life reflects the life of the Macedonian people and the Republic of Macedonia.
That is exactly why he warned, that for us, the Macedonians, "more than to any other in the world, the language represents, with everything that was created using it, both spoken and written text, the closest we can get to an ideal fatherland, it is, actually, the only complete fatherland of ours" (Koneski, 1986).

The best indicator of the values of a certain nation is the consensus over the things that are not for sale, the things that cannot be bargained or negotiated with.

Today, unfortunately, some of the major gains he fought for are being put to question. Generations have come who seem to have forgotten the legacy of Koneski and started bargaining with those who tend to hold the key of our past.

While I am speaking here, the Republic of Macedonia is possibly facing the biggest challenge since its formation – to renounce the right to history and the right to self-determination.

The right to self-determination means that the nation has a right to decide its own fate, and that no one is authorized to forcibly intervene in its life, to destroy its schools and other institutions, to commit violence towards its customs and habits, to eradicate its language or to deny its rights. The right to self-determination means that the nation can regulate its life in accordance with its own will. It has a right to regulate its life autonomously. It has a right to a full secession (separation). The nations are sovereign and they are all equal.

From the right to self-determination emerges the right of the people to choose their own name and the name of the country they have established, as well as the name of the language they speak. The right to choose a name is an inseparable element of the right to self-determination.

Nevertheless, with the Prespa Agreement, Greece imposes us a new name and demands erga omnes application of that name – both for international and national use. A change of our Constitution is stipulated. Under this Agreement, Greece will gain constant supervision over how we name ourselves, but also how the other countries address us. The Agreement renames our institutions, censors the content of our children's textbooks, and prohibits the right of the citizens to express their own Macedonian identity. It regulates how we name our Macedonian language. A really important part of our way of life will depend on the will of Greece. It is a censorship on the world and a self-censorship on the collective consciousness of the Macedonian people. That is violence against our historical memory. The same thing the Greek state did to the Macedonians in Greece, now, under the Prespa Agreement, they want to do it to the Macedonians in the Republic of Macedonia.

Modern history has shown that the Balkans is a birth place of precedents. If harmful precedents limiting our sovereignty and political independence are established, then it is a matter of time when those precedents will be used in other countries as well.
In contrast to the politicization of science by many European and world centers of power, we have the example of Poland, the Polish science, and the Polish Slavic studies.

I have already mentioned that Poland opened the doors for the Macedonian Refugee children from the Greek Civil War and became a second home to the homeless and shelter to the persecuted. Today, these people represent a firm bridge of friendship between the two countries and peoples. One of them, Kole Simitchiev, was even a professor at this University.

Our two countries established diplomatic relations 25 years ago. The first democratically elected president Tadeusz Mazowiecki defended the right of the Macedonian people and the Republic of Macedonia to self-determination and human dignity. The relations were strengthened in 2005 when the Republic of Poland decided to use the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia in bilateral communication. We are sincerely thankful for that decision made on principle.

The Republic of Poland is a great friend, a sincere partner and a vocal supporter of the Republic of Macedonia in the European Union and NATO.

Their support was put into practice during the European migrant crisis. The Republic of Poland was one of the few European Union member-states that correctly realized that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link. On the European continent, that link is the Republic of Macedonia. My country persevered through the migrant wave influx thanks to the help we received, not from Brussels, but from the Visegrád Four and the countries alongside the Balkan migrant route.

While I am speaking here, there are Polish police officers patrolling the southern Macedonian border. They help the Macedonian Army and the Macedonian Police in safeguarding Europe from the threat that comes from European Union territory. That is a paradox – police officers from a European Union member-state are deployed on a territory of a country that is not a part of the EU in order to protect Europe from the threat that comes from the territory of an EU member-state – Greece. For that reason, as President of the Republic of Macedonia, I publicly express our gratitude to Poland and the other countries that help us safeguard Europe.

Besides the Polish country, we are grateful to the Polish science as well.

The Polish science has shown a lively interest in Macedonia and the Macedonian language. In a time when the neighboring propagandas were appropriating the Macedonian language, the renowned Polish Slavist Mieczysław Małecki unequivocally stated that the Macedonian dialects should not be treated as Serbian or Bulgarian, but as a separate language. Małecki systematically studied several archaic Macedonian dialects from the surroundings of Solun shortly before the Greek state wiped them out from its linguistic map. By doing so, not only did he confirm the theory of the origin of the Old Slavic language, but he also left a permanent testimony about the presence of the Macedonian language in that area (Vidoeski, 1977, 2013).

The great Mieczysław Małecki was one of the founders of the Macedonian studies in Poland. His work was carried on by the renowned Slavists Zbigniew Gołąb, Włodzimierz Pianka, Zdzisław Stieber, Krzysztof Wrocławski, Zuzanna Topolińska who is now the first lady of the world Slavic studies, then Mieczysław Karaś, Jan Sokołowski, Mira Solecka, Stanisław Karolak, Irena Sawicka, Iwona Łuczków, Anna Когуtowska and many, many others.

Through the Seminar on Macedonian Language, Literature and Culture, the Republic of Macedonia became a destination for hundreds of Polish linguists.

A circle of trust was built throughout the years where the Macedonian specialists from the Republic of Macedonia pose the most difficult questions for the Macedonian language without a shadow of doubt over the sincere intentions of their Polish counterparts. Part of that intellectual bouncing of ideas is the project "Grammatical Confrontation of the Polish and Macedonian language", led by the academicians Zuzanna Topolińska and the late Bozhidar Vidoeski. This joint project between the Institute of Polish Language of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Linguistics Department of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts is closing on four decades of existence. I am grateful to the Rector Jezierski who helped publish the last volume of this project. We have the professor Jan Sokołowski with us today who at the moment is running this project within the University of Wrocław.

As the Republic of Poland takes the side of justice, likewise Polish science resolutely stands on the side of truth. That is exactly why I feel free to convey the following to you: 25 years since the epistle of Koneski, still the Macedonian language is spoken by a small amount of people; some circles still consider it as young language and due to that they still dispute it. The same question is asked 25 years later: Is there a point to create and communicate in a small language?

I believe it is worth it for at least two reasons.

First, as an intergenerational code for communication, the language is a link between the ancestors and the descendants. The language, its semantics, the symbols and grammar are formed based on the perception that the peoples and the communities had of reality. It is worth it to speak and create in a small language that has a unique perception of the world because that makes the world richer. Our Europe is richer.

Second, the Macedonian language is lingua franca, and thanks to it a member from one ethnic community can understand the members of the other ethnic communities in the Republic of Macedonia. It is part of our social contract. Our strength is in our diversity, and our diversity is guaranteed by our unity. That unity is articulated through the Macedonian language.

Preserving and creating in Macedonian language is an obligation towards our past and an investment for our future. All of the Macedonian specialists, especially the Polish Macedonian specialists, are guardians of that language and that legacy. The Macedonian Studies Workshop by the Institute of Slavic Philology at the University of Wrocław, which is the most serious partner of the academic institutions in the Republic of Macedonia, takes an exceptionally important place (Topolińska, 2016).

Thus, in these times of serious challenges for the Republic of Macedonia and the Macedonian people, we need our friends again to safeguard what we can so easily lose ourselves. The Polish Macedonian specialists and the Macedonian specialists around the world are the guardians of our complete fatherland because, as Koneski said, "our fatherland reaches as far as our language does."

Thank you.

Esteemed excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia, I have the honor to address you first at what is my last participation at the Conference of the parties.

In the past 10 years I have witnessed high expectations and soaring disappointments, great obstacles and even greater resolution of a handful of people, a global creative minority, that was determined to bring us, the policy and decision makers to Paris. To bring us just to find out that Paris was but a start line of a long race that will determine the fate of our humanity. With their contagious passion, they helped us see beyond the banal priorities of next elections into the essential needs of this and next generations.

We are no longer running a race to win, but to survive as human species. Racing with global warming, we have to train and learn as we run, because we are running out of time. We have to make profound changes in our lifestyle, production, consumption and development. We need to replace selfish consumerism with sharing philosophy. Without eternal morality, we will have ephemeral humanity. Only by changing the habits of our hearts will we start changing the heart of the unsustainable global energy system.



The Republic of Macedonia is continuously aligning its manner of reporting with the European Union standards. We are changing the way in which strategies, policies and laws are being drafted and revised with transparent and wide participation of all stakeholders. But even that is not enough. As I speak here, many of my fellow citizens are breathing in some of the most polluted air in Europe. The path is narrow, and we need to compact the ranks. We need to forge a circle of trust among politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, teachers, activists, because we are not racing against each other, but together as a team. Energy, agriculture, transport and construction sectors have to take climate change into consideration. It is necessary for the health of the people, especially the most vulnerable categories. So, our permanent commitment must be green growth and development and lower carbon emissions. But that is possible only if we create green work places. Therefore, we support the Solidarity and Just Transition of Silesia Declaration that deals with prequalification of workforce.

We expect COP24 to place the general rules for monitoring the progress of countries' implementation of the Paris Agreement. The guidelines must be clear, comprehensive but also flexible enough for every country to make assessments and report on its advancement towards the global goal. The Republic of Macedonia belongs to one of the most vulnerable regions in the world in terms of climate change. Therefore, along the climate change mitigation rules, the decisions climate change adaptation of the most affected sectors. There must be a parity between mitigation and adaptation. This is especially important in the context of finance.

The Republic of Macedonia remains dedicated to these efforts. We need to run this race not to win, but to survive, not for ours, but for future generations.

Thank you.

Distinguished attendees,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia, I am honored to address the Peace Forum in Paris. We are here to talk about peace and security, environmental protection, sustainable development, new technologies, inclusive economy... But the solution to these global challenges lies in one thing - and that is our worldview.

The contours of the worldview in all of us are drawn as early as in childhood. Three needs are crucial in shaping young people - attention, affirmation and affection. Children who receive attention, affirmation and affection from their parents and teachers grow into empathetic, confident and caring people. These are self-confident people who inspire confidence, who love the truth and strive passionately for social justice and peace, sustainable development, fight against climate change. These are people who believe in human rights and freedoms and respect the dignity of diversity.

But if we look around us, we will see that exactly these values we increasingly miss.

The lack of responsibility has led to a crisis of confidence. The world is going through a major transformation in which the boundary line between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong dissapears. Societies are fragmenting, families are falling apart, individuals are becoming isolated. Ghettos without walls are created, in which the different are merely tolerated without being truly respected. Humans set themselves as masters over nature, without being able to master their own greed. The fragile climate balance is broken.

There are numerous reasons for this situation, but I will refer to only one - education. In many countries in the world, the formal education, unfortunately, does not offer enough attention, affirmation and care for young people. The dominant Humboldt model of education is based on negative attention. We are punishing mistakes instead of rewarding successes and stimulating creativity and innovation. This approach affects the worldview of young people.

As a university professor, I recognized this problem. But the chance to make a fundamental change came only after some of my students became politicians and decision makers who in 2009 proposed me as a candidate for a President of the Republic of Macedonia. And what should a professor do when he becomes president? The answer is simple - he opens his own school. So, in 2010, with my team, I launched the School for Young Leaders, which later became an International School.

As a parent invests in his children, as a President, I wanted to invest in the youth. Our goal was to give the most talented and most successful young leaders in the Republic of Macedonia and the region what they cannot obtain within the formal education system.

First, we have to recognize the most successful and give them the necessary attention.
Secondly, we have to affirm everything that they have achieved by then, all of their humanitarian initiatives, encouraging self-confidence in young people and building a culture of trust.
Thirdly, we must take care of their further development as leaders by investing in them.

To achieve this, we had to return to the source, where the water is the purest, to Aristotle. We know that Aristotle practiced 3 levels of transfer of knowledge.

The exoteric lectures were intended for those who wanted to expand their knowledge but only to the level of general culture.

The esoteric lectures were for the dedicated students who could understand the complex concepts with the power of the mind. Fortunately, most of these lectures are preserved.

However, the most sublime are the achromatic lectures that Aristotle taught face to face. For already 24 centuries those lost lectures are being sought after. Based on the actions of his best students, we can restructure some of the basic principles. It is assumed that some of these achromatic lectures are the four golden rules, which are part of all major religions. Probably, Aristotle told his best, most noble disciples to:
1. Be patient
2. Always learn from the other
3. Seize the moment
4. Be prepared for any sacrifice, if you want to succeed.

The one who hastens, makes mistakes; his opponent learns from him, awaits him to make a mistake and uses the moment. The right moment appears only once. The whole philosophy in these four basic principles of the most sublime achromatic lectures is that they occur at one point, when readiness to sacrifice is required.

Knowledge becomes obsolete, wisdom never. Therefore, our aim in creating the School for Young Leaders was to make wisdom and skills of proven leaders accessible to the future social leaders in the Republic of Macedonia and in the Balkans.

In our School, young leaders have a chance to talk face to face with some of the most successful leaders of today, and be taught how to apply knowledge and skills. It includes interdisciplinary and applicative knowledge, practical advice and mentorship by top world leaders.

So far, over 350 young people from the Republic of Macedonia and the region of different academic and professional focus have been trained by over 200 top leaders in the fields of politics, business, innovation and communications.

We wanted to build leaders with real values, integrity and open mind. I reminded every generation of Einstein's thought that the mind is as parachute – it is useful only when open. Only open-minded young people will be able to think outside the patterns, find new, innovative and creative solutions to local and global challenges.

Young leaders belong to the Millennials, the Y Generation. Therefore, we cover topics that are close to their heart and are based on sharing philosophy. Sharing philosophy implies sharing economy where young people share access to products or services rather than being their individual owners. We train them to use crowdfunding and crowdsourcing in order to find funds for their projects from a large number of Internet users. We organize trainings on sustainable development and start-up philosophy. We encourage them to use the power of networking in order to bring about positive changes in society. In other words, the School for Young Leaders is a start-up school for future social leaders of Macedonia and the Balkans.

Perhaps the most important thing we want young people to learn is the lesson on moral leadership. It has become popular to say that it does not matter if a political or business leader is moral or not, as long as he does his job well. The ability, not the character is what matters. But pragmatism without morality leads to short-term solutions with long-term harmful consequences. Leaders without moral are part of the problem, not of the solution.

Therefore, we try to develop awareness in young leaders that we all sail on the same global ship. To be able to protect our economies and states from shipwreck, we need an anchor. That anchor is the three principles of every successful economy, also valid for successful politics and education. If any country or company implements meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty - it will succeed.

With meritocracy, we choose the best to be our leaders. If you are surrounded by successful people and if you support successful people, you will also succeed. High criteria are necessary for this.

With pragmatism, we learn and use the best of others. To learn is not enough to know. Knowledge should be applicable.

With honesty, we try to eradicate corruption and promote honesty in private and professional life.

How much does this cost the taxpayers of the Republic of Macedonia? Not a bit. The implementation of the School for Young Leaders is fully funded by the private sector in the Republic of Macedonia, but also by the global brands. It is about companies that have recognized the importance and value of our project and have supported our mission, confident that they are investing in future social leaders. The school founded by the president of the state and financed by the private sector is an example of a public-private partnership that aims to invest in the society and the future.

This investment is already paying off. Many young leaders from previous generations have already started taking over responsible leading positions in different social spheres, becoming a positive example for others. These are young, future-oriented people, who think of the future and want to reach the future, not only for themselves, but for as many people in the society as possible.

Thanks to all this, the World Business Angels Forum declared the "School for Young Leaders" the best socially responsible project in Europe for 2017.

Some may say: Mr. President, there are already many leadership schools in the world. True, but most of them are extremely expensive and affordable for just a few. There are almost no presidential schools that are actually free because they are supported by the private sector. This makes our School an exception to the rule. And that exception makes a huge difference for us.

Other may ask: how does this model of leadership school solve the global challenges for which we have gathered here today? Our model can be used to change the dominant educational paradigm, which must be solution-oriented. This creates a new generation of leaders with real values that will not run away from the problems, but will solve them. Leaders who will not dominate and discriminate, but will cooperate and include. Leaders who will spread hope in their societies and in the world instead of fear.

We have succeeded in establishing a recognizable model that served as an inspiration for other current and former heads of state to start their own leadership schools following our example. I believe, however, this success is only the beginning.

My message to you, the leaders of today is: do not look until the next election, but until the next generation. Investing in future leaders should become a new fashion, a new trend. Such ideas should not require copyright. This is very necessary in every society. I would be overjoyed if I hear that other heads of state and government have established leadership schools. That the future leaders are given attention, affirmation and care and thus are prepared to take over the helm. Only in this way will success become the basis for a new success. Because, through investment, young leaders are called upon to recognize responsibility as future leaders.

As we speak, the Millennials, the Generation Y, are already taking their place in the world. Right after them is the post-millennial Generation Z that does not know a world without Internet. At this very moment, we are witnessing the birth of the so-called Alpha Generation that is to live in the 22nd century. It is our responsibility to prepare those who come after us to take their rightful place in our global ship. We should provide them with a compass and a map and thus prepare them to be moral and ethical leaders with character, integrity, humility, focused on people, responsible and passionate. To not be afraid of the unknown, but bravely and wisely face challenges, so that we can finally start sailing smoothly. Only changed individuals can change the spirit of the world.

Respected Members of the Scout Association of Macedonia,

Dear Scouts from all over Europe,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my huge honor and great pleasure to be with you at the opening of the European Scout Academy. The organization of such a significant event in the Republic of Macedonia testifies to the place and importance of the Macedonian scouts in the European and world scout movement, which includes over 50 million young people and has a history of more than a century. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the official start of the organized scouting in the Republic of Macedonia.

In the past decades, the Scout Association of Macedonia has contributed to the proper upbringing and education of thousands of young people in our homeland. Today, the Scout Association of Macedonia operates on almost the entire territory of the Republic of Macedonia, with 25 active scout units.

Using the scout method and informal education, it is an organization in which young people find their interests and learn skills. With its dedicated work, the Scout Association of Macedonian contributes to the proper development of young people by embracing their self-esteem, teaching them the real values, encouraging them to respect other people with all their differences.

The Association offers the scouts a moral compass, besides the magnetic compass. The moral compass helps the scouts build character and integrity, be humble and ready to serve others, work for the common good. The moral compass helps them focus on people and encourages the best in them. To be responsible for each other. All this is done with an almost infectious passion.

Dear friends,

For 65 years, the Association is an example for working with and for young people. Therefore, as President of the Republic of Macedonia, I made a decision to award the Charter of the Republic of Macedonia to the Scout Association of Macedonia. This Charter is a gratitude for everything that you, as an association, have done in the past decades. I am convinced that it will be an additional incentive to continue with your noble mission. To be a community of trust in which young people feel secure and accepted, where they can freely share their problems and thoughts and build themselves and become individuals with high moral values. But even more than that.

This Charter is at the same time a challenge to engage in the rebuilding of the values ​​in the Republic of Macedonia. Such rebuilding is however more than necessary. If only one day we monitor the developments in our country, our social networks and the media, both in the virtual and in the real life, we will see how much good scout values ​​are in fact needed for the Macedonian society.

Truth has never had so many enemies as it has today, in our time of fake news and wars of perception. Public decency became an exception rather than a rule. Courage and endurance have become rare and expensive. The absence of responsibility has led to a crisis of confidence. All this is contrary to the principles on which scouting is based. Scouts radiate with confidence. That confidence is acquired by the scout by acting responsibly, that there is a sign of equality between his or her thoughts, words and deeds. These things are indeed the foundation not only of the life of the virtuous individual, but also the foundation of every free society.

Therefore, it is necessary to find again the golden balance that will help us build virtuous, moral and responsible individuals. Individuals who, with their talents, knowledge and skills, will contribute to their personal well-being, but also to the well-being of the whole society. I am confident that the Scout Association of Macedonia has a great role in rebuilding social values.

At the very end, I use this opportunity to wish a successful scout academy and a pleasant and unforgettable stay in the Republic of Macedonia to all the guests from almost all European countries.

Thank you.

Distinguished attendees,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honor to welcome you to the first National Conference on Byzantine and Medieval studies. While I was staying in villa "Biljana" this summer in Ohrid, professors Filipovski and Cvetanovski approached me and invited me to become a patron of this conference. All along our conversation on Samuil we had Ohrid and Samuil's Fortress in sight. Although we are 1000 years apart from the fall of Samuil's State, nevertheless, the current events in the Republic of Macedonia indicate that the lessons we still have not learnt are repeating themselves.

Since I have the opportunity to open this scientific conference, allow me to deliver my opinion on the subject matter. As a university professor who is teaching Political Theory and Political Philosophy for almost two decades, the political theories and institutions of the Eastern Roman Empire are also within the scope of my interest. Part of my address is focused there.

When Basil the Armenian became Byzantine Emperor with an overthrow in 867, he needed all available arguments to legitimize his reign. One of those arguments was the fact that he was born in the Byzantine theme Macedonia which encompassed just a small portion of the broader historical and geographical region of Macedonia. That was the reason to call his dynasty Macedonian. Following this narrative, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus built a perception of an alleged genealogical link between his grandfather Basil I and the ancient Macedonian dynasty in order to strengthen his legitimacy. Some people today call that antiquization.

Of course the Byzantine Macedonian dynasty benefited from the fact that, at that time, there weren't any other state entities invoking the glorious Macedonian tradition. However, things changed quickly.

The Slavic saints and scholars Cyril and Methodius and their disciples St. Clement and Naum of Ohrid set the conditions for cultural, educational and spiritual, and as a result socioeconomic improvement of the Slavic peoples, and particularly – the people from Macedonia. The seed they sow germinated and it developed a root which sprouted a young shoot. In 969, using the Byzantine preoccupation with the East, the comitopuli David, Moses, Aaron and Samuil staged an uprising against the fragile Bulgarian governance. In 976, five years since Byzantium abolished the First Bulgarian Empire, Samuil's State was established as a new geopolitical reality on the Balkans.

Ostrogorsky says that considering both the composition and its character, Samuil created a new empire. The political, spiritual and cultural essence of that state was in the south-western part of Macedonia. Both the first and the second capitals were there – Prespa and Ohrid.

As a "constantly restless and warlike man", Samuil used the civil war in Byzantium and in a relatively short period of time he created the biggest Slavic state in the Balkans which extended into three seas and was bounded by the Danube and Sava on the north. Being a great military strategist, Samuil invested in the defense of the state's core with several fortifications. Moreover, the Bulgarian territories that were obtained were primarily used to protect the territory of Macedonia.

This new state entity had its own specific state interest – controlling the strategic corridor Via Egnatia that went from Solun to Durrës.

Samuil established new ecclesiastical center in Prespa. In order to strengthen the legitimacy of the church of the people in Macedonia, Samuil translated the relics of one of the attendees of the First Council of Nicaea – St. Achillius of Larissa to Prespa. Later, he moved the spiritual center to Ohrid where the Glagolitic tradition was preserved, one that did not take root in Bulgaria.

Samuil's State was also essentially different from the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empire because of the tolerant approach towards the Bogomil heresy. In that respect we can observe the outlines, to a certain extent, of what we call today the Macedonian model of cohabitation and respect for diversity.

These are the indisputable facts. There are many open issues that are still debated. Was Samuil crowned a tsar or a king? What was his ethnicity – Armenian, Macedonian-Brsjak or Bulgarian? Despite these dilemmas, one thing is for sure – the loyalty of the populace for the ruler does not rely excessively on his ethnic identity, but rather on his competence to meet the socioeconomic and cultural needs and interests of the population. The people of Macedonia accepted Samuil as their ruler. Not only is there no evidence of dissatisfaction among the people from Samuil's reign, but also a large army could be mobilized by him and his descendants up to the very last battles.

All of these facts point to the conclusion that Samuil's State was essentially different than the Bulgarian Empire. And yet, today, 1000 years later, science still debates over the Bulgarian character of Samuil's State. How did that happen?

First, the Byzantine writers use the term Macedonia only for the parts of Macedonia that are under Byzantine authority. They carefully distinguish between the terms Samuil's State and the Byzantine theme Macedonia in order to monopolize the name Macedonia for their needs only. We have an example for such monopolization even today. The modern Greek state insists on using the name Macedonia only for the administrative region within its borders. The bureaucrats in some international organizations erase the name Republic of Macedonia and the adjective Macedonian as zealously as the Byzantine chroniclers 1000 years ago.

Second, the official Byzantine historiography refuses to acknowledge and legitimize Samuil's State. In contrast to the First Bulgarian Empire that was recognized by Tsarigrad and the Bulgarian tsar was considered a spiritual son of the Byzantine Emperor, Samuil and his state were not. John Skylitzes calls the comitopuli's uprising a rebellion, and Samuil a tyrant. In such conditions of non-recognition and isolation, Samuil turned to Rome. Whether he received a crown from the Pope or not is beyond this debate, but the fact is that the great Byzantine offence in 1001 happened after the crowning of Samuil. We were faced with a similar challenge. The first attempts of independent Republic of Macedonia at international recognition resulted in an aggressive diplomatic offence by Greece that culminated with an illegal economic embargo and long-term blockade of our integration.

Third, Jonathan Shepard notices the difference between the asserted and the true goals of Basil. Although conquering Samuil's State was his publicly asserted goal, nevertheless his true goal was securing an internal cohesion of the Empire and control over the army and the ambitious generals. As long as Basil fought Samuil successfully, his rule was not brought into question. Annexing Samuil's State in 1018 deprived Basil of further excuses to control the army. Are we observing something similar nowadays, where the Greek politicians use the name issue of the Republic of Macedonia as a tool to mobilize the voters before every election?

Fourth and final, the writers convey the perceptions of the epochs they are writing in, the epochs they study and the epochs they write of. According to Stephenson, Basil II got the nickname "the Bulgar Slayer" 150 years after his death in order to justify the Byzantine conquests against the Second Bulgarian Empire. The nickname of Basil II became one of the key arguments about the Bulgarian character of Samuil's State and its people.

I do not want to be misunderstood. I am not trying to equate Samuil's State with the Republic of Macedonia, nor the Byzantine Empire with the modern Greek state. I am only mentioning these parallels because they reaffirm Hegel's conclusion - we learn from history that we do not learn from history. We could have made much wiser decisions if we carefully read history, especially the one of Samuil.

What does it all mean to us presently?

Since we are in Ohrid, I will use a practice associated with the patron saint of the city as a metaphor. St. Clement was well-known, among other things, for teaching the people how to graft fruit trees. As a result, even today, the Ohrid cherries are called klimentici. However, besides grafting fruit trees there is grafting of theories, histories and worldviews.

Someone else's branch is grafted onto the tree trunk of Samuil's State. That foreign branch represents the official Byzantine perceptions of the character of Samuil's State. Since then, instead of its own, the tree trunk produces foreign fruits. That is why many chroniclers and historians consumed the fruits of the scion for decades and centuries thinking they are the fruits from the original rootstock.

Things started to become even more complicated after the French Revolution when the ideas of a nation state penetrated the Balkans.

While the West developed the Westphalia model of a sovereign state separated from the church, the East kept the pre-Westphalia symphonic model. After the collapse of Byzantium and the Ottoman conquest, the patriarch's miter became substitute for the royal crown. The patriarch became the leader of the millet i.e. millet-başı, accountable to the Sultan for the peace and order among the believers.

With the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the non-territorial millets became territorial devlets (TN: states), the dioceses of the local Balkan churches became the borders of the new Balkan states. The religious identities became national identities. The modern nation states started to emerge inside the shell of the pre-modern millet system.

Seduced by the virus of imperialism, the Balkan elites conceived projects of greater states in the Balkans. But, in order to colonize space, they had to colonize time. They started simplifying the pre-modern complex processes and interpret them through contemporary categories. They started perceiving events from distant past through the prism of contemporary nationalism. Or, as Czesław Miłosz says, "The later nationalism appears somewhere, the more fervent are its aspirations to tie itself to the age of tales." Therefore, Stojan Pribićević rightfully concludes that "the nationalist and cultural prejudices lead to presence of false facts, dubious theories and wrong assumptions in many Slavic and non-Slavic texts on Macedonia."

It is accurate that history is written by the victors. However, it is also accurate that the defeated create the legends which, even though they do not always stick to the facts, they still convey the gist of the events. In contrast to the modern person, raised in the spirit of rationalism and Cartesian skepticism, the prime focus of the pre-modern person is not the facts, but the essence. That is why it is said that knowledge comes, but wisdom ligers. That wisdom is acquired through the experience of numerous generations.

Samuil was defeated, his State was annexed, and the subsequent uprisings were quelled. But, the collective memory of the people retained the remembrance of that brief sparkle in the long Macedonian night. When the archbishop Theophylact arrived in Ohrid in the last decade of XI century, the Ohrid citizens welcomed him with victory songs celebrating the dissolved Samuil State to spite him.

Maybe that is the reason why Panko Brashnarov, fighter in the Ilinden Uprising, while opening the first session of ASNOM in 1944 will say with elation: "This act washes away the ten centuries long slavish shame from the Macedonian people, caused by the failure of Samuil's State and sees the birth of a new, bright and free Macedonian state."

That ASNOM Macedonia is a shoot that sprung from the same root as Samuil's State. This shoot provided the true fruit, one that has been long forgotten and repressed by the grafted foreign branches of propagandas and ideologies. The result of that labor, among others, is also an independent and sovereign Republic of Macedonia, where you, the historians, have full academic freedom to do research and write. That freedom enables you to question the engraved dogmas, which were treated as general knowledge by some of your colleagues from the neighborhood for decades, free of fear and with a critical eye.

However, these days, unfortunately, attempts to graft a foreign branch onto that shoot have been made. That foreign branch is the Prespa Agreement. Article 8, item 5 prescribes the formation of a "Joint Inter-Disciplinary Committee of Experts on historic, archaeological and educational matter." Even though the committee should look into the objective scientific interpretation of historic events, nevertheless the supervision of its work by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs from both countries is symptomatic.

The writers of the Prespa Agreement, whoever they are, show fundamental ignorance of Balkan history or a troubling indifference toward the complex processes that create the Balkan identities. Sincerely, I do not know which of these two alternatives is worse. But, they take a step further by denying many universal values. Foremost, they deny the right to self-determination which states that only the nation has the right to decide its own fate, and that no one is authorized to forcibly intervene in its life, to destroy its schools and other institutions, to commit violence towards its customs and habits, to eradicate its language or to deny its rights. They deny the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and also the right to an opinion and expression guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Under the Prespa Agreement, your academic and educational work will be supervised by politicians, diplomats, bureaucrats who will zealously censor the textbooks that you write or use for teaching.

One of the reasons for the failure of Samuil's State was the duplicitous nature of its elites who shifted sides in favor of titles, insignias, stipends and prestige. We are observing something similar today.

Such conditions, unfortunately, always give rise to someone that will accept to write politically correct history in which portrayals are imposed tailored to the will of our southern neighbor. The fruits of that new graft will be dispensed to our children in the schools and our students at the universities.

The great diagnostician of the modern Greek society, Nikos Dimou, says that the Greeks have a need to mythologize themselves and demythologize the others. The Prespa Agreement aims to turn us into a footnote in someone else's version of history and by doing so to close the chapter on the self-determination of the Macedonian people and its sovereign and independent Republic of Macedonia.

Experience has shown that all of the problems in the Balkans arise when politicians start dealing with history, and historians with politics. One might say "Mr. President, your speech is also dedicated to history." However, I am not speaking of history. I am speaking of the principles and the values that are called into question due to the politicization of history, and I contribute with indisputable historical facts. My duty as President of Republic of Macedonia is to protect the benefits our ancestors fought for and achieved. Those benefits inevitably involve the truth about our past, as a basis for our present and future.

I am speaking not only as a President, but as a university colleague of yours. Let us not allow someone to politicize the science of history. Let us not allow someone to create a politically correct history. Let us not allow someone to limit the academic freedom and censor us.

Censorship is a child of fear and mother of ignorance because the fear from the truth gives birth to ignorance. Censorship is but a fear from deconstructing the national myths created at our own expense.

Millennium ago, Samuil's State was facing similar challenges as the modern Macedonian state – Republic of Macedonia. Those challenges are denial, non-recognition, attempts at blockade, isolation and being given an inaccurate name. Whether we preserve academic freedom or we leave a censored and falsified history to the future generations depends on us.

Thank you.

Respected citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

On yesterday's referendum, the people rejected the Prespa Agreement. By refusing to vote, the people clearly pleaded against hasty, imposed and harmful decisions adopted without a previously reached national consensus. The silent majority decided. The boycott is the voice of those who are underestimated and not heard.

The message from the people is sent to those who must hear it.

The reality is that the referendum did not succeed. Do not try to change this reality. Do not underestimate the sovereign will of the Macedonian people. We cannot talk about the will of the majority in conditions when the legal census on the referendum is not fulfilled. 36.9% turnout is not the will of the people, but 63.1% who did not go out.

No matter how much you try, you cannot change the reality. And the reality is that the referendum is unsuccessful. It is time for responsibility before the Macedonian people.

The support for the EU and NATO is collateral damage to the unpopular referendum. The support for the EU and NATO of over 80%, you reduced it to only 36.9%. You are also manipulating our citizens, and selling false ideas and perceptions to our European and Euro-Atlantic partners

A state is not led by a free and unauthorized interpretation of the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Macedonia. At the same time, I expect the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission to consider seriously the complaints about the irregularities at certain polling stations.

I advise those who interfere in the internal affairs of the Republic of Macedonia and unprincipled take sides to respect the international conventions on diplomatic relations. Those who have a democratic deficit cannot impose solutions contrary to the sovereign will of the Macedonian people.

Dear fellow citizens,

Just a couple of days ago, from the United Nations podium, the US President, Donald Trump, said that "freedom, peace and democracy are only possible in sovereign and independent states". Yesterday, the Macedonian people showed its sovereign will. Like the French President Macron, I believe in the strong identity of every nation, I believe in the history and ambition of our Macedonian people.

The referendum is not a poll. The decision of the citizens obliges. In a referendum, citizens directly exercise their sovereign power. The Assembly must respect that decision.

Therefore, I congratulate the Macedonian people, Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Roma, Bosniaks and Vlachs for their decision.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me turn to all the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia who came out yesterday and gave their vote in the referendum.

Only firmly united around our state interests, respecting the constitutional and legal order, we can walk along the path to the European and Euro-Atlantic family. We have no doubts that the place of the Republic of Macedonia is in the EU and NATO. But we need to enter there with our human dignity, without blackmail, pressure and double standards. Only in this way can we deal with the two big challenges:

The first challenge is serious and thorough reforms in all segments, because without real judicial reform, without justice and the rule of law, without the fight against corruption, without the fight against party elitism and clientelism, there is no membership in the Union and NATO.

The second challenge is to rebuild our national consensus so that we can act, in one voice and unity, in defending our state interests and achieving our strategic goals.

In the end, as President of the Republic of Macedonia, I would like to remind you that in almost all decisive moments of the history of Macedonia, the people made wise decisions. It is our responsibility to respect that decision. This should be a lesson for all political parties to be careful what they promise and to whom.

As a citizen, however, I expect the ruling majority to bear responsibility for the failed referendum. We all face defeats in our lives. Some of us more, some less. The size of a person is to recognize and accept the defeat.

Yesterday, the Republic of Macedonia remained undefeated.

Long live the Republic of Macedonia.