Скопје, 30.03.2022 – Дигитална трансформација, зајакнување на претприемачките капацитети, иновации во функција на поголема конкурентност, холистички пристап преку примена на ЕСГ (environment, society, governance) стандардите, се дел од темите кои ќе бидат во фокусот на годинешниот Самит на Македонија 2025. На овој престижен регионален настан кој претставува платформа за споделување знаење, поврзување и поттикнување промени во регионот, ќе присуствуваат повеќе од 40 говорници, врвни експерти во својата област. На Самитот ќе се разговара за регионални и глобални теми меѓу кои се и стратешко лидерство и ChatGPT. Дел од панелите ќе бидат посветени и на значењето на СТЕМ образованието во процесот на градење на просперитетна економија која напредува со иновации, на креативноста и на трендовите за здрав живот и навики.
Самитот ќе се одржи во Скопје на 26 и 27 април годинава и се очекуваат околу 400 учесници, кои освен што ќе ги слушнат излагањата на панелистите, ќе имаат и уникатна можност за вмрежување со исклучителни професионалци и остварување на нови партнерства и соработка со потенцијални инвеститори. Во насока на унапредување на овој сегмент Македонија 2025 има подготвено платформа за просперитетна иднина, која нуди основа за обединување на сите засегнати страни и усогласеност на клучните приоритети за долгорочен развој и за подобра иднина на Македонија и на регионот.
Дел од говорниците на Самитот ќе бидат: Н.Е. Димитар Ковачевски, претседател на Владата на Република С. Македонија, Роберт Доар, претседател на Американскиот институт за претпријатија, Кетеван Бочоришвили, поранешен заменик министер за економија и одржлив развој на Грузија и управен партнер на „Бизнис Грузија“, Кам Бакнер, претставник на државата Илиноис, поранешен кандидат за градоначалник на Чикаго, Тед Саудер, поранешен дел од менаџментот на Google, Никола Јуришиќ, основач и управен партнер во Transfiguration Advisory, Иван Артуковиќ, извршен директор на Франк, Живко Мукаетов, извршен директор и претседател на Управниот одбор во Алкалоид, Вал Јусуфи, извршен директор на Институтот ЛЕОРОН, Бранко Станчев, главен комерцијален директор во Македонски Телеком АД, Гурудут Банавар, научен и технолошки иноватор, претприемач, инвеститор и хуманист, Сурав Синха, партнер и раководител за стратегија во Longevity Vision Fund, Никола Велковски, ко-основач и извршен директор на Howitzer и многу други истакнати личности во повеќе области. Повеќе информации за учество на Самитот се достапни на официјалната веб-страница: https://www.macedonia2025.com/summit/.
Пред официјалниот почеток на Самитот, на 25 април 2023, Македонија 2025 ќе организира и неколку дополнителни активности во соработка со претседателот на Република С. Македонија и Стопанската Комора на Северна Македонија.
Самитот на Македонија 2025 годинава се организира по 12-ти пат, а го организира меѓународната невладина организација Македонија 2025, чија главна мисија е креирање и унапредување на динамична платформа за споделување на знаења од областа на бизнисот, економијата, технологијата, лидерството и иновациите, во насока на поттикнување на економски развој и одржливост.
Many non-standard forms of employment are not easily identified in labour force surveys or labour market registries. Disguised employment relationships and dependent self-employment; temporary agency work or other multiparty employment arrangements; platform work; and on call work may all be difficult to discern, or have characteristics that are difficult to discern, through standard labour force surveys or labour market registries. One way of dealing with this dearth of information is through primary data collection. In this regard, the ILO has commissioned Maceodnia2025 to undertake a field study and to prepare a report on the non-standard forms of employment in Macedonia. The filed study will be implemented through focus groups and semi-structured interviews both with workers engaged in non-standard forms of employment and employers who use such employment contract/arrangements. Moreover, interviews and focus group discussions will be held also with employers’ organizations and with workers’ organizations (trade unions). Some of the research questions include: What is the profile of people in the different contractual forms mentioned above?; Why are workers in this situation? Is it voluntary, because of greater flexibility, for example, or is it because no other options are available?; Why do firms avail themselves of the non-standard forms of employment above? Flexibility, to avoid taxes, nonwage costs?; Are workers happy with the situation?; What policies could lead to a reduction in non-standard forms of employment?; Do employers negotiate with worker organizations the scope of nonstandard forms of employment in the firm?
There are two main written outputs of the project: 1) Qualitative primary study (narrative report) with the main findings of the filed research and 2) Integrative report which will combine the findings from the economic analysis (analysis of the Labour Force Survey on non-standard forms of employment), a legal study and the qualitative primary study. The latter will also include policy recommendation. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will be the primary user of the reports and recommendations, which should feed into the new Labour Law that is currently under preparation.
Financial intermediation in the Republic of Macedonia is at a relatively lower level than the average in the European Monetary Union. In this text, we analyze the reasons for this situation based on data on access to certain financial services for citizens as well as access to technology published by the World Bank. The low level of economic development is the main reason for the lower level of financial intermediation. However, the financial institutions encouraged by the development of new technologies can contribute to the further development of financial intermediation.
The banking system, mandatory private pension funds and insurance companies have the highest share in the financial assets/money of the financial system and, almost constantly, contribute the most to its absolute growth. The other segments of the financial system almost constantly record a relatively dynamic growth, but still individually and together, occupy a very small part of the total assets of the financial sector.
According to the latest available data published by the National Bank, the financial assets/broad money of the financial sector in the Republic of Macedonia amount to 111.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the same time, the financial assets/broad money of the financial sector in the European Monetary Union, as it can be seen in graph 1, amount to 219% of GDP at the end of 2021.
Graph No.1: Financial assets/Broad money % of GDP, 2021
Source: European Central Bank and National Bank
According to the presented data, in the Republic of Macedonia there is still a large space for the deepening of financial intermediation.
Since 2011, the World Bank has regularly published the Global Findex Data Base report, which is a source of data on global access to financial services. The 2021 edition is based on representative surveys of a sample of 128,000 adults in 123 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The database contains indicators of access and use of formal and informal financial services and digital payments, and also identifies the reasons for the low level of access and use of financial services by women and poor adults.
The main reason for the low level of financial intermediation in Macedonia is certainly the lower standard of living. As an indicator of the level of standard of living, we analyze the data on realized savings.
Graph No. 2: Percentage of citizens who managed to save money, 2021
Source: World Bank
(Macedonia, EMU)
The data in graph 2 show that only a modest 38% of the population in the Republic of Macedonia managed to save some money, in contrast to the European Monetary Union where this percentage is 77%. Money saved is the main basis for the financial intermediation development.
Availability of financial services
The availability of financial services is certainly an important factor for deepening the financial sector. The data in the World Bank database indicate a relatively lower availability of financial intermediation services in the Republic of Macedonia.
Graph No.3: Transaction account (%, over 15 years), 2021
Source: World Bank
(Macedonia, Euro area)
As it can be noted in graph 3, 15% of the population in the Republic of Macedonia does not own a transaction account, that is, it is not part of the financial sector in the country at all, whereas more than 95% of the population of the European Monetary Union owns a transaction account. However, this is a better performance than the figure for the entire world, according to which 26% of the world’s population does not own a transaction account.
The biggest reason for a lack of a transaction account ownership is a bank account ownership of a family member (49%). Other reasons for lack of transaction account ownership include: lack of money, expensive financial services, lack of personal documents, lack of trust in the financial sector, as well as religious reasons.
Graph No.4: Percentage of the population that owns/uses debit card, 2021
Source: World Bank
(owns a debit card, Uses a debit card, Macedonia, Euro area)
Graph 4 shows what part of the population owns a debit card and what part uses it. The data indicate that in 2021 only 53% of the population in the Republic of Macedonia owns a debit card, whereas a modest 37% use it. At the same time, in the European Monetary Union, as much as 88% of the population owns a debit card, whereas 81% actively use it.
A debit or credit card ownership is actually an indirect indicator of the level of the shadow economy in a country. Namely, the higher percentage of the population uses debit and credit cards or other modern electronic payment methods, the lower the gray economy will be. Credit card ownership data show a similar situation.
Credit card ownership data shows a similar situation.
Graph No. 5: Percentage of the population that owns/uses credit card, 2021
Source: World Bank
(Owns a credit card, Uses a credit card, Macedonia, Euro area)
The graph 5 indicates that in Macedonia less than 20% of citizens over 15 years of age use credit cards, whereas in the European Monetary Union more than 40% of citizens use this service. The website of the National Bank has numerous data on the type of credit cards that banks issue. According to the data, almost all bank cards issued in the Republic of Macedonia are digitized, but less than 1% of the cards support payments through smart devices for making contactless payments.
Technology contribution to financial intermediation development
However, in addition to the level of the standard of living and the availability of financial services, the development of financial intermediation is influenced by numerous other factors, especially technological development. First, we analyze the indicators of access to technology that show the conditions and opportunities for the financial sector development.
Graph No. 6: Access to technology, 2021
Source: World Bank
(has access to the Internet, Owns a mobile phone, Macedonia, Euro area)
According to graph 6, 88% of the population in Macedonia has access to the Internet, which is only three percentage points lower than the average in the European Monetary Union. At the same time, the percentage of the population that owns a mobile phone is higher in the Republic of Macedonia. Such data indicate that the technological conditions represented by these two indicators are at a high level and enable the development of financial intermediation similar to that in the European Monetary Union.
For the financial sector development and deepening, it is certainly necessary to use this technology.
Graph No.7: Uses the Internet to check the transaction account, 2021
Source: World Bank
(Macedonia, EMU)
Graph 7 shows that a modest 43% of citizens older than 15 years use the Internet to check their transaction account, in contrast to citizens of the European Union where more than 70% use modern technology to check their money balance. Despite the high percentage of citizens who use the Internet (almost the same as in the European Monetary Union), a small proportion use the Internet to check their transaction account.
Graph No. 8: Made digital payment, 2021
Source: World Bank
(Macedonia, EMU)
In addition to using the Internet to check the financial account balance, citizens also use it for digital payments. The data show that 66% of citizens who use the Internet to check their transaction accounts also made a digital payment via the Internet. In the countries of the European Monetary Union, this percentage is really high, i.e. 96%.
In the World Bank database, there are additional numerous data that represent indicators of the use of technology in financial intermediation, such as online sales, saving with a mobile wallet, and the like.
Brief conclusion
This analysis of the World Bank data points out that our financial sector, mostly the banking sector (86% of the total financial sector), needs to further invest both in access to new technologies in financial intermediation and in technological and financial education of citizens. Certainly, the Fin-Tech industry is expected in the upcoming years to take its place and significantly contribute to the financial sector development and deepening in the Republic of Macedonia.
My name is Stanisha Stankovikj. I come from a small town called Kavadarci in North Macedonia, raised only by my mother, while the word, “father” for me is quite a “cold” and unknown noun. Even in the early high school days with activism in civic organizations and unions, with the aim of calling for actions to respect human rights and freedoms, fight against violence and discrimination, but also public focus on climate change. Today I am studying and living in Belgrade, Serbia, part of the first young organisation for children and youth from single-parent families in our country, activist for human rights and Young European Ambassador of Western Balkans.
Success Story
My first official winning award was started by Open Society Foundation Macedonia as a competition of high school students, on the topic “My Education” in Skopje, North Macedonia in 2019. It was my first public speech in front of the Minister of Education, representatives from various state institutions, directors, educators and my peers. That was my motive for future maturation as a young person in participation in a lot of projects supported and funded by the Embassy of the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Netherlands during 2020 and 2021. A large number of projects, debates, campaigns dedicated to human rights and relations. My personal involvement in this kind of education helps me to learn something more about the European Union, Council of Europe and European Court of Human Rights. Two of my favorite official visits were to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France and Brussels, Belgium! All of these gave me “power” to bring something positive to our society. In the organization of UNICEF MK, as a youth speaker on the World Children’s Day for 2021, I highlighted my commitments and activities. Addressing the problems faced by young people from single-parent families, their requests, needs and creation of essential initiatives and youth policies to the competent institutions and authorities. At the last event of the Youth Council of the US Embassy in North Macedonia, I was promoted as a strong individual with a successful story as part of a marginalized group of people. But that was not all, with exploits in organizing the first march of single families in the history of Macedonia, up to one of the winners of the award for youth participation on the occasion of the International Youth Day for 2022, in an informal group-category, supported by the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Agency of Youth and sports and NYCM.
Future Plans
Sometimes I wonder why exactly me, why I have to be the one who has to go through a whole hectic journey to reach a certain desired point. Over the years, I realized that each of us has a chance, that each of us is going through his own “fight“ within himself, the environment or part with the state. But I learned that we, all of us can overcome those life challenges! In the future, I see myself as a consistent fighter and activist for human rights as Promoting non-discrimination, equality, tolerance, peace and love. Whether through state, private or civic organizations, I will let time decide. I believe, I know, I must and I can succeed first for myself, for my loved ones, and then for all those who have been a huge support to me so far. Improving our local, national and regional macedonian community in every sense of the word is my valued priority. Be greeted till next time!
Фондацијата МК2025 го објавува повикот за прием на апликации во склоп на Фондот за поддршка на талентирани средношколци “Таленти денес – лидери утре„ за тековната 2023/2024 година.
По успешноста на пилот-проектот за стипендии во 2019/2020 година, Фондацијата МК2025 обезбедува средства за финансиска поддршка на талентирани млади од Македонија. Преку овој фонд, и оваа година ќе стипендираме 10 млади таленти. Поддршката за секој/а стипендист/ка изнесува 60.000 (шеесет илјади) МКД, исплатени во 10 (десет) еднакви месечни износи на годишно ниво. Стипендиите ќе се доделуваат само за месеците во кои се одвива настава (почнувајќи од јуни 2023г. до мај 2024г.).
Критериуми за аплицирање
• Средношколци (од прва до трета година) на редовни студии во државни средни училишта;
• Средношколци со успех над 4.70;
• Добитници на награди или учесници на државни и/или меѓународни натпревари во областа на природни и општествени науки, компјутерско програмирање и друго, при што предност ќе имаат кандидати од областите STEM;
• Кандидати-ученици кои доаѓаат од социјално ранливи семејства со вкупен финансиски приход (бруто) во семејството до 550.000 МКД годишно.
Корисниците на стипендија за 2022/2023 година потребно е повторно да аплицираат на отворениот повик за стипендии.
За да аплицирате, потребно е да ги прикачите следните документи на македонски јазик.
• Биографија (CVEuropass или друга слична форма);
• Потврда за редовен ученик/чка и потврда за успех (просечна оценка) во последните три завршени училишни години;
• Дипломи од награди од државни и/или меѓународни натпревари во различни дисциплини (не постари од 3 години);
• Мотивационо писмо во кое се посочува зошто е потребна поддршката (задолжително во мотивационото писмо да се наведе дали кандидатот/ката е корисник на друга стипендија);
• Релевантни документи за приказ на годишен (бруто) финансиски приход во семејството односно Уверение од Управата за јавни приходи за остварени приходи по разни основи (приходи од самостојна дејност, приходи од вршење земјоделска дејност, приходи од имот и имотни права, приходи од капитал, капитални добивки, добивки од игри на среќа и други наградни игри, други приходи) за последната календарска година пред аплицирање за родителите/старатели на кандидатот, поединечно и за самиот кандидат;
• Најмалку 1 препораки од професори/релевантни институции или индивидуи вклучени во образование на кандидатот.
Важно: Детални инструкции и појаснување за потребната документација за стипендии за Фондот за поддршка на талентирани средношколци “Таленти денес – лидери утре„ се достапни на платформата за е-стипендии (долниот лев агол).
Покрај редовната стипендија, Фондот ќе се потруди да поддржи и обезбеди менторство и обуки за личен и професионален развој на кандидатите, пракси во истакнати македонски компании, и слични активности/поддршка кои ќе бидат во интерес на професионалениот развој на корисниците. Стипендистите ќе бидат поканети на годишните настани и активности во организација на Фондацијата МК2025.
Крајниот рок за испраќање на документите е 10.04.2023 год. (повикот се затвора во 23:59 часот) и треба да ги прикачите електронски на платформата E-scholarships/macedonia2025.
Процес на селекција
Административната селекција се врши од страна на Фондацијата МК2025.
Откако ќе заврши процесот на административна селекција, апликациите ќе ги разгледува Комисија составена од истакнати членови и партнери на Фондацијата МК2025. Избраните кандидати кои ги исполнуваат сите горенаведени услови и критериуми ќе бидат контактиранинајдоцна до крај на месец мај 2023 година. Пред да се донесат финалните одлуки, можно е дел од кандидатите да бидат повикани на дополнително интервју.
Дополнителни напомени
По завршување на процесот на селекција, избраните стипендисти потпишуваат Договор за донација, каде се дефинирани сите услови и правила за користење на стипендијата. За лицата под 18 години, договорот се потпишува во присуство на родител/старател на лицето корисник.
По изборот, стипендистите се должни да доставуваат квартални извештаи за своите достигнувања, како би покажале посветеност и отченост во својот личен и професионален развој, во рамки на стипендијата.
Програмата им овозможува на македонските компании да бидат советувани и поддржани од искусни канадски консултанти со богато искуство и врвни достигнувања. Консултантите ќе работат на конкретните предизвици со кои се соочуваат македонските компании, придонесувајќи кон побрз раст, повисока конкурентиност и интеранционализација на компаниите.
Секоја компанија ќе биде поврзана со консултант чија експертиза и искуство одговараат на потребите на компанијата. Консултантите ќе ги пренесат најдобрите бизнис алатки, процеси и системи за подобрување на организациските, производствените, аналитичките и маркетиншките процеси на компаниите, преку обуки и менторства, во времетраење од 2 недели. Главните сектори кои ги опфаќаат консултантите вклучуваат: финансии, туризам и угостителство, агро-бизнис, ИКТ, менаџмент на природни ресурси, обновливи извори на енергија, прехранбена индустрија итн, иако програмата не исклучува ниту еден сектор.
Програмата е основана во соработка со Catalyste+ (https://www.catalysteplus.org/), (поранешна СЕЅО SACO) канадска организација со 50 годишнo искуство во областа на меѓународниот економски развој. Организацијата работи на развој на приватниот сектор и на зацврстување на структурите кои ги поттикнуваат економските и општествените промени на локално, национално и меѓународно ниво.
Што обезбедува Македонија2025?
Во склоп на програмата, Македонија2025 ги покрива сите консултантски трошоци. Исто така, организацијата спроведува евалуација на апликациите, водење на целиот процес на селекција, закажување интервјуа со интернационална комисија и претставници од Catalyste+.
Што треба да обезбеди компанијата?
Претставници на организацијата континуирано ја следат соработката помеѓу консултантите и компаниите. Компаниите треба да обезбедат:
• Лице од компанијата кое ќе биде постојано достапно на консултантот, најтесно ќе соработува со него за време на посетата и има добро познавање на англиски јазик
• Сместување и трошоци за храна во текот на целиот престој на консултантот
• Локални патни трошоци за консултантот (доколку е потребно)
Кој може да се пријави?
Програмата е наменета за микро, мали и средни компании* кои ги исполнуваат следните услови:
• Минимум една година од постоење на компанијата;
• Сопственик и управител на компанијата е македонски државјанин и жител;
• Лице од компанијата кое ќе биде постојано достапно на консултантот, најтесно ќе соработува со него за време на посетата и има добро познавање на англиски јазик;
• Високо ниво на посветеност од страна на менаџментот на компанијата;
• Во добра финансиска состојба (има можност за спроведување на промените и препораките од консултантот);
• Ги исполнуваат критериумите за микро, мали и средни компании.
По можност да работат во следните дејности: финансии, туризам и угостителство, агро-бизнис, ИКТ, менаџмент на природни ресурси, обновливи извори на енергија, прехранбена индустрија итн.
*Предност ќе имаат компании кои се извозно ориентирани и нудат иновативни решенија.
Компании кои досега учествуваа на програмата
Како да се пријавите?
Потребно е да испратите:
• Пополнета апликација на англиски јазик, која може да ја симнете тука
• Краток опис на вашата компанија, како и за тоа зошто ви е потребен консултант (на англиски јазик);
• Дополнителни документи, брошури или каталози за компанијата се добредојдени.
Сите заинтересирани компании, документите треба да ги достават до Координаторот на програмата, Воислав Илиевски, на следната адреса – voislav@macedonia2025.com
Крајниот рок за доставување на апликациите е 20 февруари 2023.
Macedonia2025 supports Macedonian business leaders to grow, enhance their competencies and performance, and to contribute to the further development of the Macedonian economy and workforce. Congratulations to Aleksandar Manev, Klime Buloski, Dimitar Popovski, Vladimir Nikolikj, and Marko Kutrevski, our Zafirovski Executive Education Program scholarship recipients, for successfully completing the Executive Development Program (EDP) at Kellogg School of Management – Northwestern University. Welcome to the Kellogg Global Alumni family! During their three-week immersive experience in Chicago, the Macedonian scholars had the opportunity to meet the patron of the program, Mike Zafirovski and his wife Robin, as well as Mitre Kutanovski, a Macedonia2025 Board Member, and his wife Sophie. Macedonia2025 is grateful to the Zafirovski family for elevating leadership in Macedonia!
Under the auspices of the President of North Macedonia, H.E. Stevo Pendarovski
Application Deadline: 31.01.2023
Macedonia2025 is a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to building strong partnerships and linkages worldwide, and working together towards building a stronger nation. We represent a platform for all Macedonians around the globe to unite and join our efforts in supporting the economic and democratic growth of Macedonia.
Ohrid Hi-Tech Excellence Camp provides an opportunity for youths of Macedonian origin to further their knowledge in coding and robotics. Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to get in touch with their roots and network with Macedonians from all over the world, in an inspiring environment by the Ohrid Lake.
Macedonia2025 announces an Open Call for Scholarships for the third Ohrid Hi-Tech Excellence Camp, which will take placein Ohrid, North Macedonia, on July 19-25, 2023.
Ohrid High-Tech Excellence Camp combines traditional summer fun with an exclusive opportunity to develop and practice coding, STEM, and robotics skills with peers from all over the world. Based on the specially designed STEM curriculum of the Israeli license for STEM international programs presented in over 50 countries in the world “Young Engineers” through an official representative within the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia “Young Engineers Skopje Macedonia”, children will be introduced to an interdisciplinary approach of learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with use of LEGO bricks. Furthermore, the participants will learn how to program and use the FABLE components. Participants will be challenged to innovative thinking, will need to identify a problem that people face and propose a solution through the creation of an innovative project and the presentation of the basic human skills that are necessary for the achievement of a common goal by a group of different people who need to show mutual respect and care. These aims will be achieved through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations as challenges on which participants will work together and will learn to try and not give up, to be the next generation of leaders and innovators, tackling the world’s most difficult challenges.
This Camp is also an opportunity to establish friendships, strengthen and build on native Macedonian culture, explore local nature and our cultural heritage, and experience Macedonian cuisine and specialties.
KEY BENEFITS
– Improve high-tech skills (coding, programming and robotics);
– Promote greater enrollment of youth, and especially young women, from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics);
– Establish connections and networks among young Macedonians living in North Macedonia and young diaspora members, and support cross-cultural exchanges between them;
– Establish and strengthen the connection of young diaspora members with their homeland, developing their sense of giving back to our homeland/community; and
– Interact with some of the top leaders in the country, including the President of North Macedonia and top business leaders from the country.
PROGRAM CONTENT
This weeklong camp will consist of both theoretical and practical sessions that teach medium/advanced coding and robotics skills.
The training sessions will take place over the course of 5 working days (4 hours/per day). The rest of the day will be filled in with organized activities, such as cultural events, socialization, field trips to local sights, beaches, and sightseeing. Supervisors, lecturers, or volunteer chaperones, will accompany participants at all times.
Participants will be equipped with the following:
• Interdisciplinary skills in STEM basic and advanced STEM principles, coding, robotics, by internationally licensed Young Engineers / Robotics & Innovation Academy;
• Skills and abilities necessary for the 21st century, such as: Programming languages; Science and Engineering; Problem-, product-, project-based learning; Teamwork; Core leadership values; Outside the box thinking; Critical thinking; Creative thinking; Problem-solving;
• Becoming Generations of Global Citizens who realize their power to build a better future with the use of technology
The program delivery will focus on modern, highly effective teaching and learning methods. The program curriculum will be delivered by certificated STEM lecturers. Participants will work in groups or in pairs to complete a customized project. Participants will work with exclusively available know-how for innovative learning based on a strategic plan and educational system supported by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, iCarnegie at Carnegie Mellon University, and New York State Education Department, awarded by the British Ministry of Education.
Besides the core activities of the Camp, Macedonia2025 will enrich the Program with:
• A meet and greet with President Pendarovski, a discussion on Democracy and Leadership, and an accompanying visit to the presidential villa “Biljana” in Ohrid;
• Motivational discussions with members of the Macedonia2025 Board of Directors, with rich professional experiences and high competencies in computer science and engineering, passion for technology, and an entrepreneurial mind.
The Cultural Socialization and Networking will be comprised of the:
• Orientation and team-building activities
• Networking with youths from different countries, engaging in cross-cultural learning experiences, exchanging ideas, and building networks for future international cooperation
• Public speaking activities that will enrich communication and increase the presentation skills of participants, as well as their creative and critical thinking
• Improving foreign language competencies (English/Macedonian)
• Cultural activities and programs in partnership with the largest national music and arts festival, “Ohridsko Leto”.
DATE AND LOCATION
Ohrid Hi-Tech Excellence Camp will take place on July 19-25, 2023in Ohrid, North Macedonia. The venue (a 3+ star hotel facility) will be announced in due time.
COVID-19 NOTE
Macedonia2025 continues to monitor and follow policy, procedures, and safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The safety and well-being of our community and participants are our top priority. We are collaborating with state, and local agencies to implement best practices aimed at managing the spread of Covid-19.
We remain optimistic that the camp and its activities will be realized. However, the situation with Covid-19, domestic Covid-19 safety restrictions, and international travel regulations are beyond our control.
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
The official language of instruction is English. However, we highly encourage the use of the Macedonian language in communication outside of the classroom.
ELIGIBILITY
• Students aged 11-15, who are interested in deepening their knowledge in the fields of coding and robotics
• Macedonian students and those of Macedonian origin from the diaspora
• Adequate knowledge of the English and Macedonian languages is appreciated
• Basic knowledge of Coding, Programming and Robotics
• Youths from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds will be given priority in the selection process.
Note: Gender and ethnic balance will be promoted.
APPLICATION
In order to apply, you need to submit a completed application (HERE) and Parent consent form (MK andEN) on the Macedonia2025 E-scholarship Platform (HERE).
The instructions and clarification for required documentation for scholarships for OHRID HI-TECH EXCELLENCE CAMP 2023 are available on the E-scholarship Platform (bottom left corner)
UP TO 20 CANDIDATES WILL BE SELECTED THROUGH THE FOLLOWING SELECTION PROCESS:
• Administrative pre-selection of the applications by Macedonia2025
• Selection of successful candidates by a Selection Committee
• The selection committee will have a personal interview with the protentional candidates
• Selected candidates from the diaspora will be notified by January 20th, 2023, while candidates coming from Macedonia will be selected by February 20th, 2023.
Gender, ethnicity, and participation from different countries will be taken into account when creating a diversified group of participants.
PARTICIPANT’S FEE
The scholarship fully covers all costs for the Camp.
The Camp scholarship is covering classes, camp set of materials, FB accommodation, excursions, and transport costs.
Note: The organizers reserve the right to provide partial scholarships, based on individual socio-economic background. The organizers will provide for the participant’s travel arrangements from Skopje to Ohrid.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
• The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski – Official Patron of the Camp https://pretsedatel.mk/
Trying to become a better version of yourself and seeking continuous growth, both as a manager and a leader, were always high on my personal goals. So, when the opportunity to participate in the Executive Development Program (EDP) from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University arose, I grabbed it immediately. I chose the three weeks of in-person immersive options of the program in Evanston, USA.
44. 100. 140.
That is 44 classes, 100 readings and 140 learning hours from Sunday through Friday in immersive three weeks of interactive learning from inspiring, world-class, interdisciplinary professors, and even more importantly from bonding, sharing and exchanging experiences and ideas with a diverse group of managers and executives from 12 countries from all over the world.
The whole program was structured in a form of a story that unravels itself as the classes and sessions are progressing. It did not matter if we were discussing finance, marketing, and accounting; talking about VUCA environments, macroeconomics or decoding global crisis; or doing break-out sessions and realistic computer simulations; jumping deep into the world of digitalization, AI, and Omni channels; or even talk about cultural differences and psychosocial profiles. This was one big interconnected educational puzzle that formed into one big clear picture at the end.
I am utterly grateful to Macedonia2025 and Mike Zafirovski for making it possible. Kellogg’s EDP is a life-changing experience that I would recommend to any manager and leader, especially if you are committed to personal and business growth.
Leadership is a lifetime journey. Never stop growing.
Participant: Dimitar Popovski, General Manager Company: TZG Europe DOOEL
