Embassy Monthly In-House Video Series

Ambassador Reeker takes picture with the Red Cross Volunteers who participated in the Global Day of Service. (LP).  video in: English | Macedonian &  Albanian.

Remembering 9/11 by Giving Back to the Community
A Day of Service: Community Blood and Food Drive

On October 21st the US Embassy partnered with the Skopje Red Cross to collect blood, food and financial donations for the citizens of Macedonia. President Barack Obama provided the impetus for this event when he asked embassies worldwide to organize an action where diverse religious, ethnic and racial groups would come together to work towards a common cause. He believed this would be the best way to honor the victims of the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. As a result of this event, more than 100 people volunteered to donate blood. In addition, the Red Cross received food and funding which they will use to provide for families during the coming winter. When addressing volunteers and participants, Ambassador Reeker stressed that events like this show us what is possible when we put aside our differences and focus on the things that unite us. The Embassy would like to thank those that joined us on October 21st and encourage those who could not to visit one of the Red Cross offices and make a donation. Collectively we can address any challenge we face but we all must do our part.

◊ To see a short Embassy video product about this event, please visit our Embassy  video channel (English | Macedonian | Albanian).

◊ To see Ambassador Reeker’s speech (WMV-size 6.27MB) at the event, please click here, to read the text, please click here.
◊ To see coverage from MTV1 in Macedonian (WMV-size 2.55MB), please click here.
◊ To see news coverage on Alsat-M TV in Albanian (WMV- size 3.33MB), please click here.

Youth of different genders, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds play together at OFFS regional camp in Ohrid. (LP)  video.

Macedonian and Albanian Football Camp in Ohrid

August 22-26, 2009

One hundred twenty schoolchildren from Macedonia and Albania came together to participate in the Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) regional camp in Ohrid over the last week of August. In addition to playing football and building new friendships, the participants cleaned waste from the shores of beautiful Lake Ohrid in a project focusing on the environment. The Embassy collaborated with OFFS, a project implemented by the Cross Cultures Project Association - Copenhagen (CCPA) in cooperation with the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) that is active in youth and community projects throughout Macedonia. The diverse group of participants hailed from the SOS Children’s Village in Skopje, the Mala Prespa region in Albania, and the municipalities of Suto Orizari, Kavadarci, Sveti Nikole, Dracevo, and Ohrid.

◊ To see more photos from the event please click here.
◊ To see a short video about this OFFS regional camp in Ohrid, please check out our Embassy  video channel. | More videos on the Embassy  channel.

Ambassador and Mrs. Reeker, APAO John Surface, and Bitola Mayor Talevski take picture with Cultural Envoy Merrilee Cunningham, AC Bitola staff and the children of the Creative Writing Workshop in Bitola. (LP)

The Tradition Continues – 2009 Summer Creative Writing Workshop: The Art of Words

With Professor Merrilee Cunningham
July 20th – 24th, 2009

The Tradition Continues! Inspired by the excellent feedback from last year, the U.S. Embassy in partnership with Writers in the Schools of Houston, Texas, this summer again organized the Creative Writing Workshop for children and teenagers and hosted Professor Merrilee Cunningham at the American Corner Bitola. Cunningham, an accomplished poet, university professor, and experienced creative writing teacher from Houston, Texas, was delighted to see some of her former students and to teach many new “young authors” in Bitola. During this free-of-charge five-day writing camp, 30 children, aged 7 to 14, engaged in writing stories, poetry, essays, and plays, as well as directing and acting their own plays. On the forth day of the workshop, the United States Ambassador to Macedonia Mr. Philip Reeker and Mrs. Solveig Reeker came, with the Mayor of Bitola, to give certificates to the children. Beside their great memories from this summer camp, the children went home with a stage performance of their plays, many awards and certificates and anthology CDs with pictures and all writings completed during the workshop.

◊ To see more photos from the event held at the AC Bitola, please view a video slide show on the Embassy channel on . | More videos on the Embassy  channel.

Students from primary schools collect  plastic waste, promoting the concept of recycling under the motto “Collect PET for a better world”. (LP) / video in: English | Macedonian | Albanian

USAID Plastic Recycling Project

A few years ago, illegal dump sites and scattered plastic bottles were regular scenery throughout Macedonia—in the capital, along main roads, and even at tourist locations. This desperate situation could only by changed through the commitment and engagement of local governments, public utility companies, NGOs and citizens. The American people, through USAID, invested $1.3 million toward the Plastic Recycling Project. Today, after only a few years, plastic waste collection has increased dramatically and an estimated 5000 people earn a living in the recycling industry.

◊ To see a short video about this USAID Plastic Recycling Project, please visit our Embassy  video channel (English | Macedonian | Albanian). | More videos on the Embassy  channel.

People walk over the Stone Bridge in support of “Go Pink” initiative. /(LP)  Kanal TV 5 video footage-3MB. Photo slideshow - video.

Skopje Turns Pink

May 17, 2009

May 17—According to media reports, approximately 2,000 people participated in Skopje’s first annual breast cancer awareness walk, Go Pink! Local NGO partners BORKA and Integrity Alpha Omega co-hosted the event, with sponsorships from the Agency of Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Health, Avon, Syscom, Infomedia, Alkaloid, most major media stations, and others. All told, the event raised more than 350,000 MKD, which will go towards renovating a chemotherapy clinic for women with breast cancer. Ambassador Reeker opened the event by welcoming the crowd. He said, “Your volunteerism is changing lives. When you walk today, you are taking a stand. You are standing up and saying that you can be counted upon to help.” This project is part of the strategic partnership agreement between the U.S. and Macedonia. The Embassy would like to thank all of those who supported this event and came out and participated.

◊ To see more photos from this event, please view a video slideshow on .
◊ To view local coverage (Kanal 5 TV footage- WMV file size 3 MB) of this event, please click here.

Merrilee Cunningham, writer in residence at American Corner Skopje, teaches her students about odes. /  - video/(YouTubeCannel)

Watch Our New Video About American Corner Skopje!

American Corner Skopje is much more than just a library, and membership is free.  Are you looking for books written by American authors to borrow? Do you want to read the latest US magazines? Sign up to attend our presentations held by native speakers? Are you thinking about attending university in the US or taking the TOEFL or GRE test? 

◊ To check out the Corner, View a video footage (WMV file - size 29 MB) on /(Embassy YouTube Cannel)

◊ For more information about our other corners in Tetovo and Bitola, click here.

Happy Faces of the Pupils in Renovated School  (LP)/ - (YouTubeCannel): English, Macedonian, Albanian.

Renovation of Primary Schools Across Macedonia
USAID PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (PEP)

Since 2001 the American people through USAID have made significant investments to improve the quality and relevance of education in Macedonia. One important component of USAID’s assistance is the renovation of primary schools, many of which have not been renovated for decades and do not provide students and teachers with a good environment for learning and teaching. In total, USAID will invest $3,000,000 for school renovations in Macedonia. To date, USAID’s Primary Education Project has renovated 41 primary schools to improve the learning environment and increase energy efficiency. By 2011 USAID will have renovated up to 120 schools, which is nearly one-third of the primary schools in Macedonia...more. | View a video clip on (WMV/size 9.3MB)/(Embassy YouTube Cannel)
, in English | Macedonian | Albanian.

Ambassador Reeker congratulates Miron Kokaljari on his essay. (LP) See AC Bitola new video on (YouTubeCannel)

American Corner Bitola Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary

October 30, 2008

“This Corner has taken a small slice of a building and created an American presence that far exceeds its physical space,” said U.S. Ambassador Philip Reeker during his remarks to celebrate American Corner Bitola’s fifth anniversary. “Congratulations on all that you have achieved.” American Corner Bitola is a collaboration among the U.S. Embassy, the Ministry of Culture, and the Macedonian American Alumni Association. The mayor of Bitola, Vladimir Talevski, also spoke at the event. In addition, young American Corner members read essays about what they’d learned at the Corner, the Ambassador and coordinator Tasha Jovanovski gave certificates of appreciation to local partners and active Peace Corps volunteers, and the Corner presented video highlights of the first five years. Live music and a fabulous cake featuring both the American and Macedonian flags completed the event.

See American Corner Bitola’s new video, a collaboration between the Corner and YMCA Bitola, on /(Embassy YouTube Cannel).

Fulbrighter Oliver Janevski tours New York  - size 18.3 MB

Coffee Diplomacy:  The Fulbright Program

Have you heard about the Fulbright program?  It offers scholarships for graduate study and research in the U.S.   There are different kinds of Fulbrights—programs for students and scholars, scientists, mid-level professionals.  But the Fulbright is about much more than academic education.  It’s a chance to live in the United States, to get to know a city or town inside and out, and to talk to people—really talk to them.  The Fulbright was founded in 1946 through legislation written by J. William Fulbright, a US Senator, who thought that it was only through this talk, through mutual understanding, that we could avoid nuclear war.  So far, about 285,000 people have participated in the program, which operates in more than 155 countries.  More Fulbright alumni have won the Nobel prize than those of any other academic program.  Fulbrighters are citizen-diplomats, or as we like to say in our office, coffee diplomats. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by filling out an application. [see this video file - size 18.3 MB | See this video on /(Embassy YouTube Cannel)]. 

For more information, please see these sites:http://fulbright.state.gov/ | http://macedonia.usembassy.gov/
Or contact us directly by calling or emailing Gazmend Ilazi at 2116-180 ext. 2169 or ilazig@state.gov.

Macedonia:  Post Launches Monthly In-House Video Series on Embassy Website

August 8, 2008

To offer programming to Macedonian audiences who may have missed live performances—or want to enjoy them again--Embassy Skopje has launched a tri-lingual in-house video series that will be featured on the website and in the Embassy’s biweekly newsletter to alumni.  Each video will  highlight a cultural, educational, or other program.  To see the first video production about the Stacey Fox Trio in English, please click here.  The Stacey Fox Trio toured Belarus, Minsk, and Greece through the Performing Arts Initiative program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  While post estimates that approximately 800,000 Macedonians heard of the Trio while they were here, we know that now their reach will extend even further.  Stay tuned for next month’s video, “On Safari with National Geographic Photographer Sarah Leen.”  As part of this SEED-funded program, Leen will lead an ethnically diverse group of young amateur photographers on a tour of Macedonia as they see their own country through a new lens. [see this video file; size 31 MB | See this video on  ]