The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of the holiday - Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, visited Probishtip and attended the liturgy in the church “Assumption of the Holy Mother of God”, led by the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, H.H. Stefan and the Metropolitan of Bregalnica Hilarion.

“I would like to extend my greetings to all believers on the holiday, the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, and wish them good health, joy and happiness in their lives. We glorify the Mother of God as protector of our homes, families, mothers, children. Hence, this great Christian holiday is a moment to remember the obligations we have to our families, to our children. I also take this opportunity, from this site, Probishtip, to congratulate all miners in Macedonia their holiday and wish them joy, happiness and success in life”, President Ivanov said.

During the visit in Probishtip, President Ivanov attended the opening ceremony of the city market. President Ivanov also visited the Centre of Culture, where he was shown the mineral collection and the exhibition of paintings of the Lesnovo Paining Colony and visited the monastery “St. Gavril Lesnovski” in Lesnovo.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of the holiday - the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, attended the evening mass in the monastery “St. Atanasij” in the Leshok monastery.

The mass was led by the Leshok bishop Josif.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, this evening, in "Villa Biljana" in Ohrid, hosted a reception for the participants of the 52nd Struga Poetry Evenings.

President Ivanov congratulated the award "Golden Wreath", being one of the globally recognized awards for poetry and the greatest acknowledgment for the overall poetic activity, to this year's laureate, the Mexican novelist, translator and critic Jose Emilio Pacheco.

At the reception, the Macedonian President greeted the participants and organizers of the Struga Poetry Evenings and expressed his expectation that the successful organization of this prestigious international cultural event will continue, which is of particular importance for affirmation of Macedonian and world poetry art, as well as for enrichment of the Macedonian culture and promotion of the Republic of Macedonia in the world.

This year's poetry festival was attended by about 50 foreign poets, directors of festivals, important associations, publishers of Mexico and the region. Among the others, it was attended by the prominent Danish poet and academician, Pia Tafdrup, renowned poets from Israel, Egypt, France, China, Russia, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania, Spain, Chile, England, India, Poland, Germany, as well as one poet form the countries in the region.

In 2011, President Ivanov bestowed "Struga Poetry Evenings" with Order of Merits for the Republic of Macedonia.

In the past five decades, the festival Struga Poetry Evenings has been attended by more than five thousand essayists and critics, and 47 poets have received the award "Golden Wreath of Poetry".

Raymond Axel from France in men's, and Martina Grimaldi from Italy in women's category, are this year's winner of the Ohrid Swimming Marathon, held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov.

The race starts at the "St. Naum" monastery complex and ends at the Ohrid harbor. A total number of 28 swimmers from four continents, 17 male and 11 female, were competing in the 30km long race "Klime Savin". The Republic of Macedonia was represented at the 27th edition of the International Swimming Marathon by four swimmers, Evgenij Pop Acev, Aleksander Pancevski and Aleksander Ilievski, led by the experienced marathon swimmer Tomi Stefanovski.

Upon arrival of the winners at the finish, at the city harbor, President Ivanov congratulated them their success and bestowed them with a laurel wreaths.

In honor of the participants of the Ohrid Swimming Marathon, a reception was hosted where the Macedonian President handed over the trophies to this year's winners of the marathon.

"Allow me to congratulate wholeheartedly for the achieved results the winners but also those who did not win a trophy this year. Please note that there are no losers in this endeavor. All those who participate in this event and reach the final point are winners. I wish to see you as part of the Ohrid Marathon in the future, too. Rest assured that the doors of Ohrid, and Macedonia, are always wide open to you", President Ivanov told the participants of the marathon.

The Ohrid Swimming Marathon is one of the 12 races in the Grand Prix Series of the International Swimming Federation and is traditionally held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov.

Macedonia needs people who know how to lead now and in the future. We need leaders not only in politics but also in economy, culture, business, sports, everywhere, said today the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, at the opening of the Fourth School for Young Leaders.

President Ivanov urged the participants of the School, which he compared to driving a car, to look ahead, to firmly hold the wheel and have as many fellow passengers as possible, leading them in a different world filled with joy and happiness.

"The knowledge you gain from the School will always be in your thoughts several steps ahead of the others. You should always think from the aspect of the future and see all the consequences of the decisions you have to make. Be aware of what is transferred to you, what you should preserve and transmit to the future generations", the Macedonian President said.

The School, which is held for the fourth time at an initiative of President Ivanov, in his view, is a result of his willingness to continue to educate and transfer knowledge.

"It is recognition of the entire individual success achieved by the participants so far, because all the knowledge acquired in this school is later upgraded and improved. This is not a school just for knowledge, this is a school for many skills and experiences of our friends, who tell us what to expect from this generation. We live in a very quickly changing world. A world in which knowledge is quickly outdated and faces major challenges that require new solutions that sometimes go beyond the patterns we know. These solutions must be offered by people who are not burdened with the trauma of the past", President Ivanov said.

This emerging generation, President Ivanov added, should be taught to offer solutions and its own visions of this revolving world, thus being helpful not only for Macedonia but for the region and for the whole planet, because we live in a world in which the global issues have become local.

The former President of the Czech Republic, Dr. Vaclav Klaus, said at the opening that President Ivanov's idea of organizing leadership school is positive, creative, and thinks that it is not too late to copy it into his country.

"I think young people should have the opportunity to meet, talk and hear others who have already gained some experience in different spheres of life and their career", Klaus said.

The President of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, Ivo Shlaus, stressed that the School is innovation.

"The issue of leaders is intriguing in many ways, but we must look forward, be aware of what is going on behind us and we have to decide which way to go", Shlaus said.

Among the lecturers of the 4th School for Young Leaders are Mr. Donald Dave Meredith, Canadian Senator, Mr. Tafsir M. Awal, Director of Multimode Group from Bangladesh, Mr. Alexandre Sevigny, Director of post-graduate studies in communication management at McMaster-Syracuse and McMaster University in Canada, Mr. Boris Porkovich, Vice President of the Research Institute for European small states of Monaco, Mr. Donald Steel, Director of the British company Johnson Associates and former chief media spokesman at BBC, Mr. Sietse Bakker, Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest and CEO of the Dutch copany Wow!Works, and Mr. Dragan Stefanovic, retired US Army officer and professor at the Master of Public Administration program in the Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Among the lecturers are prominent individuals and successful leaders in companies and educational institutions in Macedonia, Spain, New Zealand, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and other countries.

This year's School is attended by 30 renowned lecturers from top educational and professional institutions, who will share their experiences and views on the leadership to a total of 40 participants of the training.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, in Ohrid today met with the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Cui Zhiwei, who delivered a lecture at the School for Young Leaders, held for the fourth time at the initiative of President Ivanov.

At the meeting, President Ivanov and Ambassador Zhiwei exchanged views on the bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as on the planned activities for the next period aimed at deepening the cooperation in many areas of mutual interest.