"13 November" Awards for 82 Years of Free Skopje: Gjorgjievski Promises a Tidy, Green and Safe City

Marking 82 years since the liberation of Skopje, Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski handed out this year's "13 November" awards at a ceremonial academy in the Macedonian Opera and Ballet.

In journalism and non-fiction, the awards went to Leunora Kaliqi, for long years of work in journalism and publishing, and to Ognen Marina, for "The Skopje Project", a work devoted to researching how Skopje was rebuilt. The award for education went to the Faculty of Music Art at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, marking 60 years since its founding. Recognitions also went to Mirko Stefanoski, for his contribution to Skopje's cultural life, Marija Kichevska-Shokarovska, for a lifetime in ballet, and a group of authors of the textbooks "Preventive Dentistry" and "Children's Dentistry".

For protecting and improving the environment, the award went to the company "Man and Mountain" DOO Skopje; for humanitarian work to Ilija Kirovski; in sport to swimmer Melanija Kjulavkovska; and among pupils and students to Mihaela Blazhevska, for her educational achievements and the "Learn.mk" platform.

This award carries weight. Past winners include Blazhe Koneski, twice, Slavko Janevski, Simon Trpcheski, Nikola Martinovski and Igor Stefanovski - Idje. The day began with flowers laid at the Monument to the Liberators of Skopje at the Partisan Cemetery in Butel, at the grave of General Mihajlo Apostolski, and at the Monument to the Liberators in front of the Government building.

"Eighty-two years ago, on the streets of Skopje, it was being decided whether future generations would live with their heads bowed or walk free," Gjorgjievski said. He named his main commitment as building a tidy, green, safe and modern Skopje, in which every neighbourhood gets attention.

The liberators paid their debt with their lives. Far less is asked of today's authorities: tidy streets, greenery, safety. The four adjectives from the speech make a good checklist. Next 13 November is a good date to check how many of them made it from the speech into the city.