In anticipation of November 22, when 104 years are marked since the adoption of the Albanian Alphabet, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, visited the Department of Albanian Language and Literature, Faculty of Philology “Blaze Koneski”, the oldest high education institution in Macedonia giving lectures in Albanian language.

The Head of State congratulated the holiday to the students and teachers who informed him on their work and the problems they face. They thanked him for being the first official who visited the Department in its decades-long existence.

“Language is a means of communication, and it is very important. You need to learn to communicate in order not to become isolated. This Department teaches and nurtures the Albanian language and tradition, and the translation branch brings together two cultures that existed together for centuries”, President Ivanov said at the meeting with the Dean, professors and students.

The students read poetry by Fatos Arapi and Blaze Koneski translated into Macedonian or Albanian respectively. They were informed by the President on the possibilities offered to them and on several initiatives under his auspices, such as the School for Young Leaders, the title “The Best Youngest Scientist”, the “Boris Trajkovski” scholarship for MBA in public administration at City College in Thessaloniki.

The professors complained to the President that there is no renewal of the staff and that the translation branch has only one lecturer, so they engage external associates. President Ivanov pointed out that there is a desire to hire new professors, but the reasons for not being able to do so are in the general economic situation.

Professor Valbona Tosca, Head of Department of Albanian Language, said that the Department is a rare example of integrated education, because at the translation and interpretation branch there are students to whom Albanian is not their native language, and many of them after graduation speak it fluently.

The Department of Albanian Language and Literature was established in 1971/ 1972.

The Day of the Albanian Alphabet, being the occasion of the visit of President Ivanov, marks the anniversary of Bitola Congress which the Albanian intellectuals from all over the world held from 15 October to 22 November 1908. Fifty Congress delegates from several cities created a unified contemporary alphabet for all Albanians. A decision was adopted to use the Latin letters, adapted to the needs of the Albanian language.

Macedonia expects momentum in the dispute with Greece following the invitation of Nimitz for a new round of negotiations. Macedonian Head of State, in a media statement today in Vienna, said that the Macedonian side in New York is acting in concerted manner.

It is good that the process of the talks on the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece is moved forward. Personally I insisted and urged the process to gain on dynamics”, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, said.

President Ivanov said that the announced meeting of negotiator Matthew Nimetz with both participants in this process, negotiators Zoran Jolevski and Adamantios Vassilakis, is as a positive step.

“Let’s see after the meeting what ideas will be expressed and what the considerations of Nimitz in this situation are. We, as state officials are coordinated and our representative Jolevski knows the state positions. Hopefully Vassilakis will also present the Greek government views and that this process will gain momentum. Status-quo is not in favor of anyone”, President Ivanov stressed.

The Macedonian President paid a working visit to Vienna, where he addressed the Congress “90 years of Pan-Europa” and met with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the International Pan-European Union Allen Terrenoire, as well as the Regional Policy Commissioner, Johannes Han.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, at last night’s meeting in Vienna with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, called for support, strong engagement and assistance for unblocking Macedonia’s EU integration.

At the meeting with President Ivanov, the President of the European Council underlined the expectations of the December summit of the European Council, the recommendation of the European Commission to be endorsed finally and Macedonia to get a date to start negotiations.

The Head of the European Council gave promise for his increased commitment for a further progress in the region. Herman Van Rompuy’s assessment is that in the next period, there will be positive developments and positive momentum for the Western Balkans.

“Van Rompuy pointed out that ever since the first day of his election to this office, he is committed the Western Balkans to be given a chance and start to moving forward in terms of its European integration”, President Ivanov said, pointing out that the Western Balkans deserves to be part of the EU.

The Macedonian President stressed that the European Union without the Balkans is not Europe.

“Van Rompuy said that he would personally advocate for what Macedonia deserves. That is the message, but we will see the outcome of the European Council meeting. It is important that we have accomplished the given tasks, and that is confirmed in the European Commission reports”, President Ivanov said.

President Ivanov, while participating at the Congress "90 years Pan-Europa" had a meeting with the President of the International Pan-European Union, Alain Terrenoire, who stressed that it is not possible to build Europe without one of its key parts - the Balkans. He pointed out that the Pan-European Union strongly supports and promotes the enlargement, and in this context, the Republic of Macedonia is completely unjustly blocked. President Ivanov, at the meeting with Terrenoire, noted that the assistance of all friends and partners, and in particular of the Pan-European Union, is highly appreciated.

The Head of State, in Vienna, met with the Regional Policy Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, where the interlocutors agreed that it is necessary to strengthen contacts with the Republic of Macedonia, to transfer European know-how and to absorb the grants and funds allocated by the Union for regional development.

With today's meeting with Commissioner Hahn and the visit of the Ernst Fuchs Museum, President Ivanov wrapped up his working visit to Vienna.

Integration processes should not be hampered by bilateral issues, such processes should be run in parallel, and as before, the Republic of Macedonia can rely on Austrian support for unblocking the status quo in the EU integration.

This was confirmed today by the Austrian President, Heinz Fischer, at the meeting with the President of the Republic of Macedonia Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, who is paying a visit to Vienna.

President Ivanov expressed his gratitude for the open and principled support of the Republic of Austria, saying that it would be in the interest of all if the process is unblocked – the Republic of Macedonia will continue its integration path, Greece will have a European neighbor in terms of standards and criteria, and the continuation of the process will be good news and incentive for other countries in the region.

Austrian President Fisher noted that the enlargement will not be complete without the Western Balkans, the continuation of the enlargement process will improve the situation in the Balkan countries, and this will change the situation in the entire region.

The meeting also discussed the latest developments in the region of Southeast Europe.

President Ivanov noted that the Republic of Macedonia is actively involved and is strongly committed to further deepening of regional cooperation.

The Republic of Macedonia is equally open and wants to build good neighborly relations and maximize cooperation with all its neighbors. The EU integration process in the Balkans is a tool to overcome bilateral differences. Greater communication and cooperation between neighbors will only increase the likelihood of bridging the differences between the Balkan states and the parallel process of integration will result in the long desired peace, stability and prosperity in the Balkans”, President Ivanov said.

At the meeting, the bilateral relations and economic cooperation were positively assessed, and it was noted that obvious is the continued positive momentum in the political dialogue. President Ivanov extended an invitation to President Fischer to participate as a special guest at the next SEECP Summit and the Dialogue of Civilizations, next year in Ohrid.

The Macedonian President, during his visit to Vienna, in the afternoon, will meet the President of the Pan-European Union, Alain Terrenoire, as well as the MEP and President of Pan-Europa Germany, Bernd Posselt, and this evening will address the Congress “90 years of Pan-Europa”.

On the occasion of the International Tolerance Day, today in the People’s Office in Skopje, presentation of the implemented project “Sport as factor for tolerance, unity and respect” was held. The project was implemented at the initiative and under the auspices of President Ivanov, in cooperation with the Geo-strategic Institute “Global” and the municipalities of Tetovo, Prilep, Center, Staro Nagorichane, Vrapciste and Shuto Orizari.

The purpose of the project, which was conducted in the period March - October this year, was the children from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds through sports to get to know each other and learn to respect the differences of others.

At today’s presentation, positive experiences from the beginning of this idea were indicated, the implementation of the project, up to the special recognition awarded for the efforts of the President for promotion and advancement of peace through sport, at the International Forum “Peace and Sport”, held in Sochi, Russia, at the beginning of November.

“Macedonia is a country of diversity, a country where people respect one another, a country in which the younger generations have a desire to socialize, learn from each other and share experiences, knowledge and their own values”, President Ivanov said at the event today.

Furthermore, the President recalled his childhood when, as he said, “our parents forcefully wanted to bring us home, because we were out all day with friends and growing up together, we learned about each other, and hung out with young children, Turks, Albanians in our daily play”.

"Today, parents are trying to make their children go out and play, because new technologies, Internet and Facebook, makes these new generations stay at home", President Ivanov said, adding that with this project we gathered the children together in the same field and showed them how young generations need to communicate, to get to know each other and learn about the importance of tolerance.

The prize from Sochi, as President Ivanov said, is a prize for all, a prize for Macedonia.

"The peace prize was only awarded to us as an example of a country that has always respected differences, a country trying to promote its traditions, heritage through sport, in order to attain peace and understanding", President Ivanov said.

Today's event, marking the International Tolerance Day with concrete results, was supported with the presence of the US Ambassador, Paul Wohlers, UK Ambassador, Christopher Yvon, and the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Maria Henriette Shurman. The project presentation was attended by the mayors of the municipalities and some of the children who were involved, a number of Macedonian sport legends, sport journalists and numerous sport supporters.

On the occasion of the World Science Day today in the People’s Office of the President of the Republic of Macedonia in Skopje, an exhibition of innovator’s projects and exhibits of young scientists was held, organized by the Union of Associations for Technical Culture of the Republic of Macedonia – Narodna Ethika and Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” - Skopje.

The exhibition included the projects of the students awarded at the National young researchers’ competition - YOUTH SCIENCE, organized by the Narodna Tehnika, as well as the best projects of students of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT). Young scientists from Skopje, Prilep, Veles Berovo and Pehchevo participated in the event.

The President of Narodna Tehnika, prof. Hristina Spasevska, expressed her gratitude to President Ivanov for enabling today’s exhibition to be organized in the Pople’s Office, as well as for his continuous support of the activities and events aimed to promote science among young people.

“The Union of Associations of Technical Culture – Narodna Tehnika, for already 65 years organizes competitions in which young scientists are competing with their own projects. The awarded students also receive scholarships from the Ministry of Education and Science. Today, here in the People’s Office, exhibits by young scientists from secondary and primary schools are presented that have participated in our contests and won prestigious first prizes. Also, projects of young scientists from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies in the field of automation, robotics and telecommunications were presented. We tried to gather primary and secondary school young scientists, as well as university young scientists allowing them to share experiences and views, and to initiate further joint projects”, prof. Spasevska said.

In his welcome address, the Faculty Dean, Prof. Dr. Mile Stankovski, congratulated the Science Day to the attending elementary, high school and university students, urging them to deal with science, and continue your studies at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.

"Our students win many international competitions. One such example is the one of the last week, when a group of our students of electronics for the second time won first place in the Balkan competition in robotics and electronics. This and last year they proved that indeed they are the best in the Balkans, Dean Stankovski said.

The Demonstrator at Feit, Branislav Girazov, who worked on the preparation and coordination of the students - winners of the first place in the Balkan competition in robotics and electronics in Banja Luka, said that the greatest merit for the award is to the students of the second, third and fourth year, who achieved the result through individual work with minimum supervision.

"The competition lasted one week. Previously, some general instructions regarding the task were given, but after the arrival at the Electro-technical Faculty in Banja Luka, we had five days to work out the robotic arm that will allow us to participate in the competition. There were a total of six competing teams, besides us, from Nis, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Banja Luka and Romania. For whole days we worked in the laboratory and eventually we were able to construct the entire system. Hard work led us to success. We won in the competition, which included combat of a robot against a robot. In the part of the games, we did not lose any, and we became champions", demonstrator Girazov said, who announced that the student teams from FEIT plan to compete in other international competitions.

The People's Office of President Ivanov remains open to all initiatives and events that aim to enable young people to develop their creative and innovative potential to compete and achieve success.