Today, at a solemn ceremony, President Stevo Pendarovski awarded Milica Stojanova, Milka Eftimova and Stojna Vangelovska with the Order of Merit for the Republic of North Macedonia and awarded the Charter of the Republic of North Macedonia to the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, the International Cinematographers’ Film Festival ”Manaki Brothers” and the National Institution Turkish Theater.
At the ceremony held at the Philharmonic of North Macedonia, President Pendarovski in his address said that the decorations are a satisfaction for the dedication, the effort and the effects thereof, for the recipients. But they are more than that – they are an argument that the wider community has reference points on which basis it can further build its development policies in all vital social spheres. Apart from displaying state priorities, the decorations also confirm that in the society there is a clearly marked path with evaluation criteria, within the human value systems.
The integral text of the address of President Pendarovski is below.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure, and at the same time a great honor, to pay tribute to the personalities and institutions that represent the backbone, the face and the honor of our time. If we want a society that reflects in each of its segments the modernity arising from the continuity, then we shall emphasize and inscribe in the national memory, those without whom our statehood would not have foundations for further upgrading.
How we shape public space, whether we preserve memory of inherited and living culture, how carefully we archive all segments of our complex socio-cultural identity, how we create them and how much we respect our own value systems – depends on us. In the social, cultural, but also in the individual and common space, it is our obligation and responsibility to constantly argue about the narratives that are crucial to the value verticals that build our plural cultural environment.
In the global political-historical moment we live in, which is characterized by mistrust and mass re-examination of most of the key benefits of civilization, which, unfortunately, are shaken as never before, nothing is more important than affirming examples of human excellence in culture, art, science, education and sports. In that sense, the decorations, in addition to being a gratitude to the recipients for their achievements, they also affirm the models of virtuous human behavior as signposts for future generations.
The decorations are a satisfaction for the dedication, for the hard work and for the effects of it, for the recipients. But they are more than that – they are an argument that the wider community has reference points on which basis it can further build its development policies in all vital social spheres. Apart from displaying state priorities, the decorations also confirm that in the society there is a clearly marked path with evaluation criteria, within the human value systems.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are two possible approaches in the culture of remembrance: one says that the present shapes our understanding of the past, and the other that the past influences what is happening in the present and what is expected in the future. These two approaches are indeed complementary and non-exclusive.
At the edges of the great historical narratives, it is important how we treat the valuation of the individual creative work and its memorizing. We must not allow our cultural and social symbols to be engraved in our time as well. That is why we need to re-read the values that were founded a long time ago, but which seem fresh and relevant today, after so many years. Because, the legacy without the current voice of support and recognition loses its power among the new generations. If we respect and preserve the place of individual creative flashes in living culture, then we can be assured that the foundations of our common home are deeply ingrained and stable.
Cultural, social memory belongs to the individual, theoretical, aesthetic and guild domain of valuation, but experiences the widest verification through the common, collective recognition. Such decisions are often, and should be, the subject of controversy, but there are individuals and institutions that, despite different valuation approaches, simply receive acclaimed support and approval.
Today’s recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of North Macedonia: Milica Stojanova, Milka Eftimova and Stojna Vangelovska, as well as the institutions decorated with Charters of the Republic of North Macedonia: Faculty of Dramatic Arts, International Film Festival “Manaki Brothers” and the National Institution Turkish Theater are examples of the highest national values that have existed for decades as indisputable constants in the Macedonian state and society.
I congratulate the recipients and thank them for everything they have done so far, for their nation and for their country.
Thank you.
