Speeches, Remarks & Statements in 2008

SEEU Graduation Ceremony 2008
Ambassador Milovanovic Congratulatory Remarks

June 6, 2007

Good morning.  Before we go further, I would like us all to give our applause to a special group of people: the parents.  Without them none of you would be here at this graduation today.

Rector Abazi, Deans, parents, families, faculty, guests, students and especially graduates. 
I am honored to celebrate your graduation with you today.  Thank you for inviting me.  You are a talented group of young people, starting out on the next phase of your lives.  You have learned a lot both in the classroom and from each other.  You have had the valuable opportunity to study in English, Macedonian and Albanian, and to learn other languages like French too.  You have benefited from high quality support services like the career center to help you prepare for the world of work.

We all know that, sadly, high unemployment means that formal jobs are scarce.  I hope that when you think of next steps you will think not just about existing paying jobs but be creative and also explore creating your own job, internships and NGOs.  All of these are ways to gain valuable experience, learn on the job, and demonstrate your abilities to future employers.

Whether you are citizens of Macedonia or other countries nearby, you are part of a quickly changing region.  Change means uncertainty, but it also means opportunity.  Your years at SEEU have given you the tools you need both to succeed personally and to contribute  to a better future for everyone.

I am very proud that  the American people – together with our European friends – have supported this wonderful university since it was founded seven years ago.  Looking at you each of you, I know that we were right to invest in SEEU.  Like your  predecessors, SEEU graduates, you have made the most of the opportunities SEEU gave you.

I hope that each of you will be active, engaged citizens.  As the recent elections in Macedonia showed, democracy and citizens’ rights cannot be assumed.  They must be defended every day by everyone.  Defended by insisting on rule of law and on one’s legal rights, and by holding elected officials and public institutions accountable. 

This is one country and as one country it has and must enforce one law applicable to all and one set of rights and responsibilities for every citizen and every public servant.

The violence and intimidation we witnessed both before and during the election threaten to harm Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.  This was a serious setback.  But if there is widespread re-voting, without violence, intimidation or further fraud, there is a good chance to repair not only Macedonia’s international image but, more importantly, the faith of its citizens.

These are big issues and big challenges.  You may ask yourself “What can I do?  I am just one person.”  Believe me, you can do a lot.  And if you do nothing that will also have a strong impact – a negative one.

For several years at SEEU you have studied, lived, worked and socialized with people different from yourself.  You have had a chance to be enriched by an environment of multiculturalism and multilingualism.  You have seen that stereotypes are wrong and harmful and that different is not better or worse, inferior or superior.  It is just different.  

These are experiences, lessons and knowledge that you can share with the broader society.  You may be only one person, but you have a unique contribution to make, for example, in fostering tolerance. 

In closing, I want to congratulate you again for all you have achieved to get to this point.  I believe you can and will accomplish great things.

Thank you.