The First Ladies of Macedonia, Turkey, Slovenia, Latvia and Azerbaijan attended the International Congress in Ankara on the “International cultural heritage and music”, held from 4 to 6 November 2010, organized by Bilkent University, one of the best private universities in Turkey, under the auspices of the First Lady of the Republic of Turkey, Ms. Hayrunnisa Gul.

This gathering was an opportunity for Ms. Maja Ivanova, along with the present First Ladies, Hayrunnisa Gul, Barbara Miklic Turk, Lilita Zatlere and Mehriban Aliyeva, to participate in strengthening cultural exchange between these friendly countries, and, through their speeches and moderating separate sessions, to present some of their traditional features in culture and music. Besides the First Ladies, this event was attended by many prominent persons from the Republic of Turkey, as well as famous musicians and musicologists. Among the others, Maestro Lorin Maazel took part in the Congress, the most famous contemporary composer, conductor and violinist.

Ms. Maja Ivanova addressed the congress and presented the Macedonian culture and music in the best possible light, highlighting the features and characteristics of our culture and music.

”The art, tradition and culture are essential integration thread of each nation. Traditions and achievements of previous generations are a source of immense power that helps me to overcome obstacles and gives me the will to confront new challenges. In this regard, I support all initiatives for cultural, artistic expression, preservation of tradition, folklore, creating new forms of expression through poetry, music and art. Macedonian folklore is one of the most recognizable values of Macedonian identity. In our folklore, one can recognize the characteristics of Balkan peoples, but, furthermore, it reflects and generously embraces and celebrates the triumph moment of recognizing its own features, of the Macedonian tradition. This is yet another fact that Macedonia has always been a mixture of different cultures”, said Mr. Ivanova in her speech.

The session she moderated gave her the honor to announce the highest dignitaries despite the present First Ladies, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Turkey and the UNESCO National Coordinator of the Republic of Turkey. As the topic of the Congress imposed the necessity and pleasure, Ms. Maja Ivanova with great honor presented the Macedonian Culture through the Macedonian folklore, entwined in the folk dances and songs of the ensemble "Tanec". Generally accepted was the feeling that the performance of "Tanec" united all present guests and brought closer everyone to what our folklore has managed to maintain throughout the centuries.

The host of this event, the First Lady of the Republic of Turkey, Mrs. Hayrunnisa Gul, in her speech, referred to the features of the Turkish culture and music, stressing that: "Culture is not only hammams and inns. Music is a universal language to achieve understanding, while education and culture help in correcting all irregularities of the past". According to the First Lady of Turkey, the protection of cultural heritage diversity is supported and is facilitated greatly, thanks to UNESCO.

The First Lady of the Republic of Latvia, Ms. Lilita Zatlere, presented the folk characteristics of her country, as Ms. Turk of Slovenia did. They both had excellent presentations on how the state supports the development of culture and music. The First Lady of the Azerbaijan Republic, Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva, said that music is a universal instrument of dialogue and stressed that the world should not be unified, but it needs diversity.