Full Coverage: Macedonia (FYROM)

31.10.2005 Over 90 percent of the citizens of Macedonia would want to see Macedonia as EU member state, while 56.3 percent believe that the country has fulfilled the accession requirements.

28.10.2005 Over 90 percent of Macedonian citizens want Macedonia to become a member-country of the European Union, and 56,3 percent consider that the country has fulfilled the membership criteria.

28.10.2005 Under the auspices of the E-Society international conference, a public panel discussion on Freedom of the Media on the Internet took place in the Hotel Aleksandar Palace, Skopje.

26.10.2005 The First Balkans Congress for the establishment of a Balkans Children Parliament will be held in Skopje and Ohrid, Octover 28 and 30, 2005. The Parliament will include representatives of the children parliaments from seven countries in the region, with the aim to promote and facilitate exchange of ideas for improvement of children rights in the Balkan countries.

26.10.2005 The “Days of Naim” Poetry Festival was held in Tetovo, Octover 20-23, with participation of poets from Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Italy, Romania, Greece and Israel.

25.10.2005 The Youth Education Forum, under the auspices of its “Anti-Corruption in Higher Education” programme, will organize the Republic-Do it Yourself happening, tomorrow, October 26, at the Youth Cultural Centre Skopje.

24.10.2005 The CIVIL Ngo for human rights and civil society development will organize the 6th Peace Unlimited Festival, October 25-30. This year’s edition of the Festival, organized under the auspices of CIVIL activities to reduce the number of guns in Macedonia is “The Sound of the City without Guns”.

20.10.2005 On the initiative of the Metamorphosis Foundation, and with the support by OSCE Mission to Macedonia and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, an International Conference on Information Technology and the Internet started today in Skopje.

In addition to todayÂ’s plenary session, technical expert discussions will be held in Ohrid, on cyber crime, October 25; Skopje, on freedom of the media on the internet, October 27; Bitola, on e-government, November 1; Tetovo, on e-education, November 2.

For additional information, materials from the Conference, please visit the website www.e-society.org.mk.

20.10.2005 Zoran Jacev, the President of Transparency Macedonia, said the Macedonian efforts to fight the corruption seem to be frozen into one place, according to its position in 103rd place on the global list of corruption, published last week by Transparency International.

19.10.2005 Last Sunday, October 16, the Women Organization of Sveti Nikole Municipality and its “Babylon” Project, organizes a football tournament, under the auspices of the European Campaign Against Racism in Sports. The tournament was sponsored by FARE (Footbal Against Racism in Europe) Network.

18.10.2005 The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung presented yesterday, October 17, the results of its survey designed to detect the most serious problems of the Roma in Macedonia and to propose future activities. The Survey was presented by Stephan Denert, Director of FES Macedonia, Eben Friedman, and expert on Roma issues, and Vladimir Bozinovski from the Institute for Democracy in Skopje.

17.10.2005 The Government of the Republic of Macedonia, at its session of last week, reviewed and accepted the proposed Draft-Law on Free Access to Information of Public Interest.

17.10.2005 The Centre for Interethnic Tolerance and Refugees (CMTB), announced the start of the campaign to provide assistance to the vulnerable social groups, both in Macedonia and abroad.

17.10.2005 Two years ago, most schools in Macedonia didn't have a telephone. Today they all have computer labs with high-speed Internet connections, and 95 percent of the country can get online through wireless, broadband service.

14.10.2005 Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, said yesterday that the Special Mediator Matthew Nimitz, doesnÂ’t plan to come forward with yet another idea to solve the dispute over the name of the Republic of Macedonia between Macedonia and Greece.

13.10.2005 Yesterday, October 12, a debate dedicated to the decentralization was held in Veles, organized by FOSIM’s NGO Development Centre-Veles. The Debate was another in the series of discussions organized by the Open Society Institute – Macedonia in several cities in Macedonia.

12.10.2005 Goran Stojkovski, Master of Political Sciences and editor-in-chief of “Media Mirror” Project for media monitoring in the Republic of Macedonia talked to OneWorld SEE about the project, about its importance and effects, and also answered the accusations coming from some media about alleged political ambitions of the project and its donors. (the interview was conducted by e-mail).

06.10.2005 The local authorities in Sveti Nikole, within the wider programme for reconstruction of the central area of the township, cut down the old poplars in the Municipal Park. The local environmental organization agrees that the trees were a public safety hazard, but warn that much attention should be dedicated to the follow up action and replanting of the park with new trees.

04.10.2005 The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, will visit Skopje on 5 October. He will discuss the democratic processes and the reforms in the country, including reforms in the judiciarry, rule of law, decentralization and election reforms.

03.10.2005 The “Media Mirror” is a monitoring project, intended to present a clear picture of the professional standards and information criteria of the Macedonian media and the manner in which they cover and interpret the key social and political processes and events.