The Institute of Directors - Skopje cordially invites you to workshops on May 16 from 13:00 - 17:00 to M6 Education Center. Participants will have chance to learn about "Evaluation of capital investments" with Mr. Dejan Kalinikov (independent consultant on financial and strategic management) and "Protection of Intellectual Property in the food industry and beverages (alcoholic and soft) "with Dr. Valentin Pepeljugoski (lawyer and professor). For more information about the event, please open the invitation.

Dear visitors, please click here to download the Guide to intellectual property rights. AmCham Macedonia would like to express our gratitude to Att. Maja Jakimovska and Cakmakova Advocates for drafting the brochure text and the agency Futura 2/2 for its innovative design.

On the occasion of the observance of the Intellectual Property Rights Day, 26th of April, AmCham Macedonia, in cooperation with its IPR Committee, organized a nation-wide campaign to raise awareness on IPR issues and the need for protection of intellectual property, complemented by an IPR Conference held on April 25th. AmCham Macedonia would like to extend warmest thanks to Futura 2/2 Advertising and Marketing Agency for their ideas and tireless work on making our campaign a reality. The conference drew attention to the need of developing and protecting brands in Macedonia. It offered best branding practices and valuable legal advice from leading experts in that field in Macedonia, featuring Mr. Vanco Uzunov, Professor at the University Cs. Cyril and Methodius - Faculty of Law, Mr. Valentin Pepeljugoski, lawyer at Pepeljugoski Law Office, Ms. Maja Jakimovska, lawyer at Cakmakova Advocates, and representatives of well established global and national brands - Ms. Maja Mizo from Becutan, Alkaloid AD Skopje and Ms. Aneta Indovska, legal representative for The Coca Cola Company in Macedonia. According to the intellectual property protection index, out of 129 states, Macedonia jumped from 97th to 87th place in 2011, which testifies that many companies are interested in intellectual property rights protection. Participants concluded that intellectual property rights protection becomes even more important also for small and medium-sized businesses and for those who develop sophisticated products. This issue becomes essential for Macedonia’s economy considering the fact that many local companies are trying to promote themselves in foreign markets where the issue is of great importance. Special thanks to our conference sponsors: Alkaloid AD Skopje and Microsoft .

Makpetrol AD Skopje as a socially responsible company within the project Energy Efficiency in the road transport in the Republic of Macedonia organized a workshop on "Basic measures for energy efficiency in road traffic", held in hotel Makpetrol in Struga, on 9 May 9 2012. Mr. Lazar Gechevski, the Director of the Energy Agency of the Republic of Macedonia opened the workshop with introductory remarks from the field of energy efficiency. Makpetrol AD professional personnel presented the topics related to the importance and status of the regulation on quality of liquid fuels in the EU and the Republic of Macedonia and the place of the new family of Makpetrol ultra fuels and their efficiency. Special emphasis was placed on maintenance of quality throughout the process chain from warehouses to petrol stations.

Skopski Pazar celebrated 60 years of existence at the hotel Alexander Palace on 09.05.2012 (Wednesday). The company was founded on 09.05.1952 as the administrating body for the green markets on the territory of Skopje. Since its beginnings, Skopski Pazar constantly increases its scope of work, entering into new businesses, new investment, and new challenges. In the last few decades, Skopski Pazar as a company oriented towards the market economy built the brands SP Markets, Maxi D discounts, beauty center Unique, Restaurant 14, SP Planet and www.doma.com.mk. With each new investment the number of employees and associates grew as well. Last year, Skopski Pazar realized two major investments: construction of the Business premises and shopping mall Star Kvantashki and the reconstruction and modernization of the green market Taftalidze.

Semos Education continuously develops its educational activities in many directions and for different profiles, taking care of people on the margins of the system. Besides the education for blind people in 2007 using specially developed software for that purpose – e Speak voice synthesizer, this year our portfolio was enriched with a training customized for people with hearing and speaking disabilities, actively getting involved in the project "Inclusive design" as a partner of the British Council in Macedonia. “Inclusive design” is a regional project of the British Council with five participating countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia and the UK. The project is dedicated to the skills development of the young people with disability in the area of design and handicrafts. Activities under the project include workshops for handicraft courses for graphic design that will contribute to their easier integration in economic, social, educational and cultural processes that will lead to raising public awareness. Semos Education together with the State Center for School Education and Rehabilitation "Partenija Zografski" from Skopje, realized a training on graphic design for seven people with impaired hearing and speech disabilities in the period from 1 March to 10 May 2012. Classes are held at the school, and the moment of socialization is achieved with more meetings and visits in Semos Education.

The inaugural Balkan Venture Forum (BkVF) www.balkanventureforum.org was held in Skopje, Macedonia, on April 18 and 19, 2012. The goal of the BkVF is to help develop the ecosystem and platform to support innovation, entrepreneurship and investment throughout the region, and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to network, be mentored, and connect with investors and other strategic partners. More than a dozen prestigious business angels, venture capital, private equity and corporate investors gathered to meet top entrepreneurs and innovators from the Balkans. BkVF was co-organized by Crimson Capital (www.crimsoncapital.org), Balkan Unlimited(www.balkanunlimited.org) and Europe Unlimited (www.e-unlimited.com). The Patron of BkVF, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, President of Macedonia, officially opened the event with a keynote address. 

Acknowledging the exceptional quality in the domain of international payment operations, Komercijalna Banka AD Skopje is again awarded Deutsche Bank’s 2011 Straight – Through Processing (STP) Excellence Award. This award is even more significant having in mind the important role of the straight-through processing (STP) in decreasing the global transaction banking costs. The announcement of Deutsche Bank AG, being the global leader in this sphere, points out the success of Komercijalna Banka’s team and the significantly high rate of simultaneous processing of the international payment transactions with significantly low rate of manual intervention. This award confirms the leading position of Komercijalna Banka AD Skopje in following and implementing the latest trends and technologies in banking.

On April 26th, NOVA International Schools celebrated its 15th Year Anniversary with an official ceremony, followed by a cocktail in the Elementary and Middle School facility. In 1997, the school started its operation as the first registered private school in the Republic of Macedonia with the Government’s approval and verification given by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Macedonia. NOVA is also the first internationally accredited school in the country. Nowadays, the number of the students studying at NOVA is close to 500, with students coming from 40 different nations. The school has been a second home for the majority of families from the diplomatic community, as well as all major foreign investors. NOVA plays a key role in providing support not only to the international community in Macedonia, but also a large number of Macedonian families, whose ambition is to educate their children at the world’s most prestigious universities.

On the occasion of World Day for Health and Safety at Work - April 28, a daylong event was organized in Pivara Skopje AD when all employees in the company had the opportunity to test their knowledge of this area by participating in an educational quiz, demonstration exercises and specialized training. Occupational health and safety management is one of the areas where Pivara Skopje AD is a pioneer in Macedonia and an example of excellent practice in the beverage industry in the country.

The UACS Alumni Association is organizing an open day in the City Park’s Amusement park for the celebration of the International Family Day which will be held on the 20th of May. Besides the entertaining part, this event will be mostly intended for the youngest visitors (the children) and will enable them free ride for the whole day in the Amusement Park. It is expected a number of 8-10.000 visitors to be present on this event. We truly hope to see you at the event. For more information about the event, please contact the Executive Director of UACS Alumni Association, Mr. Nikola Cuculeski at uacs.alumni@uacs.edu.mk; nikola.cuculeski@uacs.edu.mk