In late 2016 I started thinking about applying to a New Year’s event and, even if they were a lot and all really amazing, I did not really need to get through all the options that AEGEE offered this year because I knew from the start that I wanted to go to the one taking place in Skopje. I decided to apply to “Win Up: It’s Snow Time Deluxe Edition” because the programme was incredible, with lots of fun activities, but also because I had heard beautiful stories about it so I wanted to experience it at first hand.  

The event took place in the Macedonian capital city from the 30th of December 2016 to the 5th of January 2017, even if my first day was the 31st of December. In fact, on the 30th of December in the early morning, me and two other girls from AEGEE-Cagliari took the plane from Cagliari to Milan and then from Milan to Sofia. We waited seven hours in a bus station and at midnight finally we found a bus. The bus was really small and the luggage was placed in a small cart trailer, but after this long trip we finally managed to arrive to Skopje in the early morning the next day.

They took us in a wonderful city tour showing Saint Mother Theresa’s House, the Old Bazar of Skopje –  which is the second biggest bazar after Istanbul’s one from the time of the Ottoman empire, the Fortress of Skopje, the Holocaust Museum and the beautiful city centre, where we closed the day ice skating. Afterwards, we suited up for the NYE party, which was really amazing. Before it started the organisers held a workshop about alcohol and during the celebrations in a room close to the dance floor they prepared for us some typical food and chips, pretzels etc.

On the 1st of January, the organisers took us to the wonderful Vodno Mountain, where some of us climbed the mountain to reach the top, while others took the cableway. The view from the top was incredible, and it was one of the greatest experience I have ever had in my life.

Then we joined a workshop about Orthodox Christmas. The organisers offered us some Rakija and a typical cake and showed us some pictures. One of the traditions is a bread which has a coin hidden inside, and the one who finds the coin will have a lucky year. After that, we went to the city centre to play to an alcoholic treasure hunt. We were separated in different teams, each one with a team leader. We had to execute some tasks to have clues and each task earned you some points. Imagine what inhabitants could have been thinking seeing a group of more than 30 AEGEEans running around in the city centre of Skopje. The following day we changed location and we moved to Bulgaria, in Bansko. The journey was quite long so we just had the time to accommodate in our rooms and enjoy the first part of the European Night.

On the 3rd and 4th of January some of us took the chance to ski down the incredible Pirin Mountain, or to enjoy the beautiful Bansko and the Hotel SPA; while part of the group went to Sofia to spend the day there instead. We also enjoyed European Night part 2 and 3, since AEGEE-Skopje’s crew decided to separate the European Night in three different nights. I think that this was a smart decision, because we could appreciate more the alcohol without getting totally drunk and I have noticed that we put more passion in the presentation of our countries. Monika Borovcanska, one of the organisers, told me that the decision to split the European night in three parts was made “so that we would have three special nights. The result was amazing. In this way we avoided food/drinks leftovers and it was more exciting for everyone. Those who were supposed to present their countries put a lot of effort into doing it in the best way. All of them had the possibility to be better heard by everyone, since the whole concept was like a Treasure Hunt. There were five groups and five rooms with different presenters. All of the presenters had around five minutes to present their countries to the groups, that were coming one after another”.

On the last day, the 5th of January the group split in two; some of us went back to Skopje, while the others went to Sofia, because we had our flights back home from there. Organising an event in two different countries might seem difficult, but it was a desire that Monika had for some time now: “Organising an event in another country is always a challenge. However, skiing in Bansko is something that I have been doing for the last ten years, so I can say that it was easy to get in touch with some contacts.

The Bulgarian language is close to the Macedonian, so the communication was not a problem. An event in there has been my wish for some time and finally it happened”.

I have seen a lot of amazing things during this event, like the beautiful monuments in both Skopje and Sofia and, finally, real snow.

I come from an island settled in the Mediterranean sea, so for me it was surreal to be in a winter wonderland. But I have also learned a lot through the workshops and talking with people who have different cultures than mine. In the end, I can say that this event was really deluxe, they treated us like princes and princesses, we slept in real beds during the whole event -and for an AEGEE event is not that bad-, we ate a lot of delicious typical things and the social programme was insane. We definitely perceived the passion and committment that the organiser put into this event.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

The students protests started in November 2014 as a response to the government’s interference with the university system. The first reply was after the Macedonian Government announced that they will implement a new law regarding higher education. The law, which would be implemented for the generation of 2017, implied that the students should give a national exam, which consisted out of two tests, the first one given in the second year of studies and the second one before the graduation. The students had three chances to pass the exam, if they would fail to do so, they would be expelled. 

The students organised a movement called “Student’s Plenum” on the 17^th of November 2014 which gathered more than 5000 students in the capital of Skopje. The movement raised the people’s and the Government’s interest, although they ignored them at first; however, it soon became a hot topic on social networks, sites uncontrolled by the media.

The Prime Minister of FYROM (Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia), Nikola Gruevski,  claimed that the approved law had as a purpose the control of the quality of the university professors. The idea of implementing this law came from rumors which spoke about students bribing professors in order to obtain the diploma. Gruevski replied: „The students will benefit from the examination because at the end they will obtain a degree that will help them in the future […] we are aiming with this law to force students to pass the exam with the adequate knowledge” (source: Balkans in Europe Policy Blog – article here)

The second protest came in December and gathered more than 10 000 people. FYROM citizens started protesting along, supporting their cause and also fighting against other issues that were wrong in the country. The respons of the FYROM police with tear gas injured a few people, and in the fight between the Albanian military and the Macedonian police a few people got killed. One of the recently reasons for protesting, in 2015, was the covering up of a young policeman’s death in 2011. (source: Wikipedia, article here)

Professors from the University organised as well a „Professor’s Plenum” protesting for the student’s cause.

The number of protesters kept on growing and on the 12 of February 2015 the students occupied the faculties of Philosophy, Philology, Law and Economy of Skopje University, proclaiming them “autonomous students’ territory”. They asked with an official letter to the authorities the resignation of Gruevski, but their petition was rejected. Moreover, the Government manipulated the media making them speak little of the movements, saying that there were only 3000 protesters and that they were politically oriented. 

Andrea Ugrinoska (Advisory Board member of  AEGEE-Skopje) wrote a very emotional and informative article entitled Student’s revolution in Macedonia (article here) on the 12 of February, right from the middle of the occupation, from the middle of her new family.  She spoke with joy and pride about how ”the whole Country started waking up” and the citizens became more united.

On the 18th of March Jirka Lhotka (AEGEE-Praha) wrote for The AEGEEan about the continuing protests in Macedonia. At this time, Nicola Gruevski had revealed  for the journalists of Macedonia that he had agreed to suspend the adaoption of the law for one year. (article here)

Following “the biggest march of the past two and a half decades in Macedonia.“(source Autonomus Balkan Informbureau: article here) we have asked Andrea Ugrinoska a few questions, in order to keep the AEGEEan’s readers posted.

The AEGEEan: Hello, Andrea! How are things going in the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia?

Andrea: Hello ! How are things going? There is a whole camp set in front of the Government, streets are being blocked for 7 days already, and no one is planning to leave until the Government, along with the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, resigns. However, things are not as easy and as beautiful, as they might seem. The Prime Minister organised a contra-camp, in front of the Parliament, along with it’s blind nationalistic followers, and they are calling themselves the “Democracy keepers”.

You can imagine the satiric level of the whole ridiculous situation. However, the “Camp of freedom”, as we like to call it, knows no nation or ethnic identity. You could see Macedonia, Albanian, Turkish, Serbian and LGBTI flags, all standing next to each other, as well as people from all of the cities in Macedonia. Our demand is very clear and understandable, and we are not planning to leave until we get what we want. However it may look like, this is a clear sign for the Macedonian people, that we are building our democracy.

People started realizing that things are not right and went out to fight for it. The occupation in front of the Government is the most peaceful movement I have ever seen. Whenever I pass or go there I feel like I enter a new dimension of creativity and vision, combined with an everlasting freedom. There is music every night, debates and speeches about how we envision the new Macedonia, and yesterday there was a panel on “The future of Macedonia” where we, from the National Youth Council, were invited to speak and give our point of view regarding youth. That was seriously a big step. The opposition is giving its support, and showing a whole new mature approach to solving these everyday issues.

However, people have lost trust in the political figures, public authorities as well as institutions, to the point you would not see a single person in the “camp of freedom” claiming that they support any party. No, we are here non-partisan, do not label us, regarding of the support of the opposition, and this is as clear as day, and it is something that the opposition, besides its interest of course, tries to respect as much as possible. It’s a story of mutual understanding and cooperation towards bringing this Government along with it’s leader down, and start re-building this country the way we want it. It’s no longer about who belongs where, but it’s about uniting an fulfilling a higher purpose. It truly is amazing.

On the 12 of February, during the University Occupation you wrote in your article: „And this is where I am right now, with happy tears in my eyes”, referring to the unity of the students. How do you feel now, four months later?

I feel the same. The unity of the students is on the same level, and we are one of the key supporters of the initiative of the camp of freedom. Like nothing has changed. Maybe we won a small battle, but we still have a whole “war” to manage, and we do not plan to quit. Solidarity with the citizens of Macedonia will go until the end.

Written by Gabriela Cioată, AEGEE-București

Note: The article was written on the 27th of May 

After the government tried to impose harsh changes to the higher education systems and refused to discuss them with those concerned, the students have decided to take over.

Note: The core of the article was written on the 24^th of February 2015.

It is the 17th of November 2014, International Students’ Day, and somewhat around 5,000 students are gathering in Macedonia’s capital Skopje, to vent their frustration about the new exam system the government of Nikola Gruevski decided to establish.

This new exam is supposed to consist of two tests. The first one would be taken by the university students after two years, the latter after four. Not passing these tests three times would automatically mean failing your studies and thus, having to leave the school. However, it is not just this concept that enraged the masses. It is the government’s interference with the autonomy of universities.

Discussing the future

Sixteen years ago, the Bologna Process was born. It was a series of ministerial meetings held in several European cities. Their goal was to design standards and ensure the comparability of higher education around Europe, so that the mobility of students would be possible. They created the well-known credit-points system. The Bologna Declaration had been signed by ministers of almost every European country including FYROM. According to the Declaration, as well as several Communiqués that came after it “students should participate and influence the organization and content of education at universities…” and the institution is responsible for the quality of educations it offers.

That is exactly the problem young Macedonians are having with Gruevski’s government initiative. The autonomy of the world of higher education has been a mark of developed societies and with the state organized testing system, there would not be much left of it. This is yet supported by the fact that the students have been angry about the way the government treats them for quite a while – they have been complaining about the poor research funding or the fact that they do not have many of the student advantages which the rest of the Europe takes for granted. But, as they say on their official site, this new bill was the last straw.

Fighting the government

Nonetheless, the first protests were ignored by the government as well as by the Minister of Education and Science Abdilaquim Ademi. That led to a second march, this time with more than twice as many attendants. Desperate students turned to the Student Parliament for help, but even there they did not find a helping hand. Making a dramatic gesture, they put wreaths at the door of the Student Parliament Headquarters to bury it symbolically. Disappointed by those who were supposed to defend their interests, they have instead established a new organization – the Students’ Plenum, making sure that the students’ true voice will be heard from now on.

They have not, however, stopped there. On December 11^th, the day the second protest took place, the students went through the city, right to the port of the Ministry of Education and Science demanding minister Ademi to face them and discuss the bill with them. After the minister refused to stand up for his very own law, the students sent him an official letter suggesting his resignation. By that point, the issue became so serious that the Prime Minister Guevski began to claim there had been a political motive behind the protests, desperately trying to –according to the students at least – discredit the students’ initiatives.

Nevertheless, the problem is rooted deeper than it may seem. The reason for the introduction of the new law was clearly stated in a speech by the PM. He questioned the quality of higher education in the Republic, mainly due to an allegedly high level of corruption and acted by implementing the controversial law. The students criticize his hasty approach. According to them, there should first be a proper analysis, that would support these claims, then, if these whispers were to be confirmed, a discussion about how to reform the higher education system followed by a law based on the results of the debate. Taking a quick decision based on a couple of rumours is not the way the country should be run, the students say and more and more people join them in their efforts.

The climax of the tension was reached on February 12^th when, during another march, the students occupied the faculties of Philosophy, Philology, Law, and Economy of Skopje University, proclaiming them “autonomous students’ territory”. But as we have implied above, this time, it was not just the students – suddenly, professors and other academics joined as well. Together, they have since been sleeping in the university buildings, making an open student environment which could be compared to some of the West European squats – they organize concerts, give lectures, learn from each other and they are supported, not only by the professors- who also give their talks- but also by the public, which supports them in their efforts to regain their autonomy. More about what exactly is going on in Skopje can be found in an article by Andrea Ugrinoska from the local antenna.

The future in question

So far, Nikola Gruevski has agreed to suspend the law for a year. But that is not enough for the Student’s Plenum anymore. Even when the government tried to calm them with a “softer” version of the testing, they said no. Instead, they require the right to be involved in making decisions concerning higher education.

It will be truly interesting to see how things end up. So far we can only keep our fingers crossed for our Macedonian friends, but it is fair to say that even now, this protest has already been one of the greatest ones in the recent history of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The success of this movement could lead to a positive change in the society, prompting it to realize that change can be achieved and as such, many Macedonians predict there is more of protesting and marching to come. Let us hope it will be just as peaceful and fruitful as this one has been so far. Viva la revolución!

Written by Jirka Lhotka, AEGEE-Praha with the kind help of Bara Kubicova, Charles University