Official Opening of the 13th School for Young Leaders of President Ivanov
With the Official Opening that took place last night at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Skopje, the 13th School for Young Leaders of President Ivanov on the topic “Moral Leadership” began, and it will be held in the period September 16-30, 2022.
This year’s 13th School for Young Leaders was opened and moderated by Prof. Dr. Katerina Veljanovska Blazhevska, a university professor and expert in public policies and strategic communication, who shared her experience with the School for Young Leaders and how the acquired knowledge and contacts she obtained at this School helped her in the formation of her personality.
The next speaker was the Mayor of Novo Selo, Gjorgje Bozhinov, who is also a former participant of the School for Young Leaders. He emphasized his pleasure to be a part of this School and how much it helped him in his professional development.
Maestro Simon Trpchevski gave a video address in which he welcomed the attendees and President Ivanov’s initiative to create this School for Young Leaders. Mentioning his latest project “Makedonissimo”, Maestro Trpchevski emphasized the importance of the promotion of the Republic of Macedonia as the cradle of culture and appealed to young leaders, wherever they go in the world, however successful they may be, to never forget where they come from and where their story began.
Bishop Mgr. Dr. Kiro Stojanov, who spoke about morality and ethics in modern times through a religious prism, encouraged young leaders to acquire new knowledge and believe in themselves and their abilities. The Bishop also read to the audience the Greeting letter that Pope Francis personally sent to President Ivanov, which was about the School for Young Leaders. In the letter, His Holiness referred to the importance of creating future leaders whose characteristics will be prudence, justice, moral fortitude and moderation. In the letter, Pope Francis expressed his sincere hope that the young people present will be able to offer moral leadership to build a future based on cooperation that will overcome the divisions in humanity, and he sent blessings of wisdom and peace to all who participate in the School.
After the letter from the Pope, former President Ivanov on behalf of the School for Young Leaders, through Bishop Mons. Dr. Kiro Stojanov presented His Holiness Pope Francis with the recognition “Moral Leader of the Present Day”.
President Ivanov addressed the audience and spoke about the topic of “Moral Leadership”, which is also the main topic of this year’s School for Young Leaders. He shared with the present his views on global processes, both political and economic, he also spoke about the crises that are happening at the global level, precisely because of the lack of moral leadership in modern social trends. President Ivanov also emphasized the importance of morality and ethics in politics, society and social events, as well as in everyday life. He also spoke about the challenges that globalization and the advancement of technology bring and how a true leader can deal with them. President Ivanov also spoke about the importance of taking concrete action in the processes in general, which is how the young man works to open new horizons and expand his horizons. He encouraged those present to learn, to upgrade themselves, to be curious, but at the same time to respect the family and respect the values that a good person has, to be good people who will do good deeds, to respect good customs and practices in order to achieve the common good.
This year’s school is being held in a combined edition, a week of online and a week with in-person lectures. The online sessions continue from today and will last until September 23, and the in-person sessions will continue from September 25-30 and will be held at the “Inex Olgica” Hotel in Ohrid, where the Closing Ceremony will also take place. The school has 40 participants from Macedonia and abroad and about 30 lecturers also from Macedonia and abroad.
Among the lecturers at this year’s President Ivanov School for Young Leaders are the former President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus; Denis Ilić, President of Ilitch Enterprises; Andrew Paykoff Jr., President of Niagara Bottling Company, Sunny Shaner, Chief Executive Officer and President of TAV Airports; Edze Ciftici, Chairman of the Board of SocialBen Foundation; Prof. Dr. Tom Guderian, professor of anthropology at the University of Texas; Prof. Dr. Robert Sterken, professor of political science at the University of Texas; prof. Victoria Trajkov, Ph.D., professor of political marketing at the University of Tourism and Management; Rashela Mizrahi, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia; Dr. Aleksandar Mitov, public health expert; Zoran Kostovski, Director of the company for business education, management consulting, education and training “Motiva”; Aco Momcilovic, co-founder of the Global Al Ethics Institute in Croatia; prof. Dr. Atanas Kirjakovski, professor of psychology at the International Balkan University.
In the program in Ohrid, a visit to the Municipality of Ohrid is planned, as well as three panels that will deal with the main topic from different aspects. Among the panellists are prof. Dr. Milan Djordjevic, professor at the Faculty of Theology at the University “St. Clement of Ohrid”; prof. Dr. Ali Pajaziti, professor at the University of Southeast Europe in Tetovo; Rashela Mizrahi, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia; Dr. Aleksandar Mitov, public health expert; prof. Dr. Atanas Kirjakovski, professor of psychology at the International Balkan University; prof. Dr. Metodi Hadji Janev, associate professor of legal sciences at the “General Mihajlo Apostolski” Military Academy in Skopje; prof. Dr. Zoran Ivanov, a member of the international entrepreneurship department at TOBB ETU and prof. Dr. Katerina Veljanovska Blazevska, a university professor, and expert in public policies and strategic communications. Moderators of the three panel discussions Dr. Kosta Milkov, President of the Balkan Institute for Faith and Culture; prof. Dr. Ivan Ivanov, International Balkan University, and prof. Dr. Anis Sefidanis, University of Information Sciences and Technologies “St. Apostle Paul” Ohrid.
The School for Young Leaders is an initiative of President Gjorge Ivanov, which began at the beginning of his first term. The first International Training for Young Leaders was held in 2010. Since then, during the 12 trainings so far, about 480 young people from the country and abroad, with different academic and professional backgrounds, have participated. As part of the School for Young Leaders, more than 220 renowned lecturers from the Republic of Macedonia, Europe and the world have given lectures over the years. In 2018, President Ivanov’s School for Young Leaders project received the award “The Best Socially Responsible Project in Europe for 2017” by the World Investment Forum of Business Angels.
