Special recognition for new Macedonian museum

Skopje-based Museum for Macedonian Struggle was a candidate for the Luigi Micheletti Award 2013 in the category of history and military-history museums, administered by the European Museum Academy (EMA).

The Museum said in press release Tuesday that in a competition of 21 top institutions from Europe, it was honored with a special recognition for the enthusiasm and achievements in preserving the national treasury, as an encouraging sign of the viability of European practice.

EMA Director and Chairman considered the Museum's presentation as rather innovative, saying that it may serve as an example to future candidates.

At a ceremony held in Bursa, Turkey, the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden, Germany, was announced as the winner of the 2013 Micheletti Award.

The Luigi Micheletti Award is the European prize for innovative museums in the world of industry, science and techniques. It is one of the leading activities of the Luigi Micheletti Foundation.

The criteria are concentrated on those aspects of a museum which – more than the quality of the exhibitions, of the building, etc. - contribute most directly to attracting and satisfying visitors beyond their expectations. Kenneth Hudson, the founder of the European Museum of the Year Award and the European Museum Forum, called it 'Public Quality'.

From the DASA of Dortmund, the first winner in 1996, to the TIM of Augsburg, the winner of 2011 Edition, the story of the Luigi Micheletti Award confirms that the concept of "museum's quality" is a reality from a changing, bur recognizable, face.

Info-museum section at Skopje airport opens

The Customs Administration will acquaint passengers on their rights and obligations when entering and leaving the country through an info-museum section, comprised of a display, banners and brochures on the type of goods that are allowed and forbidden, i.e. commodities to be reported with customs.

Customs Administration director Vanco Kargov opened the section at Skopje-based airport "Alexander the Great" on Wednesday, in the attendance of Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska and Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska.

"The goal is to give passengers entering or leaving the country simple information, since they are not exposed to unnecessary difficulties. This is a practice used by other countries too", said Kargov.

Special glass showcases include different types of commodities and items that are allowed or forbidden for entry and exit, commodities and items subject to customs taxes, trademark commodities and items, products of animal origin, artifacts and archaeological items subject to protection by international conventions, as well as info-brochures towards improving the passengers' knowledge of their rights and commitments when entering or leaving Macedonia's customs area.

The section is placed in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Museum of the City of Skopje, the Cultural Heritage Protection Office, Confiscated Property Management Agency, and the Ministry of Interior.

Bitola Museum nominated for European award "Luigi Micheletti"

National institution Bureau and Museum-Bitola, which pays special attention to museum operations in line with European standards, has been nominated for European award "Luigi Michelleti", presented by the European Museum Academy (EMA).
EMA national coordinator Gordan Nikolov and EMA official Andreja Rihter said 21 European museums compete for the award.
Nikolov said the Bitola museum was the only Macedonian nominee, since it meets the EMA criteria."The Bitola Museum is visible everywhere. One can see everything at its website, which is unfortunately not the case with other museums. It includes practical information for every visitor, which is owed to the excellent management of this national institution", added Nikolov.
Museum director Liljana Hristova said another EMA monitoring team would visit Bitola in the course of January, in light of the final decision for the "Luigi Micheletti" award.
The Luigi Micheletti Award, established in 1996, is the European prize for innovative museums in the world of industry, science and technics.

Tose Proeski Memorial - Among Top Three projects for Building of 2011

Memorial House of Macedonia's late pop star Tose Proeski has great chances to win the People's Choice Award - the building of 2011, launched this year within the prestigious World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Barcelona.
The Memorial House Tose Proeski has two rivals - the 'Atmosphere' building in Kolkata, India, and the Museum of Memory and Tolerance in Mexico City. This morning Proeski's Memorial has top the list with 6,900 on-line votes on the following web site: http://openbuildings.com/peoples_choice/waf/leaderboard. The voting is opened by November 4.A total of 704 buildings, located across the globe, have been competing for the award.
Under the support of the Ministry of Culture, the project of Proeski's Memorial will be presented at the Festival's closing day - November 4.Dejan Sekulovski, one of the designers of Proeski's Museum, expressed hope that the project could even win the award.
WAF is the world’s largest, live, inclusive and interactive global architecture event and features the world's biggest architectural contest – The World Architectural Festival Awards.

Memorial museum for Ataturk

A corner stone was laid Sunday in the village of Kodzadzik - Centar Zupa municipality - marking the start of a construction of Memorial House of Kemal Ataturk - the founder of modern Turkey. The greatness of Ataturk's deeds, a man who was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, is being recognized in Turkey and beyond its borders, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said. Many memories connect Ataturk with Macedonia, including the fact that the house of his parents is located exactly here in the village of Kodzadzik.
This memorial is of special significance for the Turkish state, Turkish community in our country and for Macedonia, Gruevski said at the ceremony. Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska and Turkish Deputy Culture Minister Nihat Gul also addressed the event, referring to the good cultural cooperation and friendly relations between the two countries.
The memorial will be build on the foundations of the old residence of Ataturk's father - Ali Riza. The project - worth about EUR 650,000 - will be realized by the local authorities of Centar Zupa municipality and the Government of Macedonia.