of none other than myself, Am. This blog will be about anything. Updates about my writing, my day, maybe some snippets of my writing. Who knows what this experience will bring?
In 2010, I saw heartbreak, disappointment, and just a bad overall time. There are a few things that happened this past year that ruined me. But, it all started looking up right around Samhain (Halloween for those of you don't understand).
I opened 2010 with happiness and hope. Not knowing what to expect in the coming year. I was hopeful that I would be happy and would find a way to keep the happiness that was surrounding my life. Within days of ringing in the year with my parents and someone I really cared about, for the first time being home for the ball dropping in Times Square. A few days later, my life was turned upside down with heartbreak and disappointment.
Things weren't that great for me at all. Four different occasions of heartbreak, although two did not know they did anything. And one occasion of pure sadness for the year is when my best friend (well, wifey ;D ) left our little town in Connecticut to move to Illinois. (I was really happy that I got to see her over the winter break though!)
Now, for some resolutions. I never really come up with any, I think of them pointless and when I don't succeed, I feel like I failed myself... But this year, I decided to write some. Maybe this year I won't disappoint myself.
#1: Do not go back to my "old self." I don't really feel like explaining this, but some of my friends understand this.
#2: Finish Senior year with good grades. I haven't done so well in the past, so I hope to bring the rest of this year around.
#3: Finish my first novel. I've been working on it for two-ish years now, and it's about time that I get something done.
#4: Lose weight. Eat heatlhier. Gain some self-esteem. These all go together, because they all have to do with how, right now, I don't like how I look.
#6: Find love. Bonus points if it lasts through the end of the year. (Double bonus points if it goes on until 2012)
The only thing I can look to is the future right now, and I hope it will look bright. With graduation in six months and sixteen days (June 17th), and college just a couple months after that, I have to look to the future and be who I want to be. Maybe this year will be the brightest time in my life.
My only regret is not having someone who was very important to me here with me to see me grow into an adult.
And aw! I'm sorry my moving made you so sad. But six-ish months until I see you again?! Unless you hijack with Allison for spring break :P
And, the eating from sadness thing?! OH MAN. We should like work on our weight loss together - inspire each other?! YES.
On October 9, in cooperation with the Customs Administration, the American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia organised an informative session where more than 20 member companies attended. The members had an opportunity to discuss with the Director of the Customs Administration Gjoko Tanasoski about the newly-introduced status of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) as a new trend in customs operations, […]
More than 80 guests attended the grand opening of the Sensory Garden at the School for children and youth with impaired vision Dimitar Vlahov – Skopje, on September 28th. Attendees included, the U.S. Ambassador Jess Bailey, the Minister of Education and Science Arber Ademi, children with sight impairment and their parents, local residents and municipal representatives led […]
On September 8 AmCham and its members celebrated Macedonia’s Independence Day by engaging in a social service activity and volunteered to help in the last phase of construction of AmCham’s Sensory Garden. The Sensory garden is a safe places for students to practice many physical skills they need in the outside world, including: walking or […]
Following two successful Young Professionals Networking events and the requests for a repeat, on August 29, AmCham organized the third Young Professionals Networking evening in Skopje. Over 45 young professionals from various companies, government institutions, international & civil organizations and the diplomatic corps attended this non-formal gathering and got the chance to learn about and […]
As part of our Executive Leadership Talks series, on August 23, AmCham hosted Nicola Bertolini, the Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union in Macedonia. Nicola talked about the main challenges of the private sector in the country with special emphasis on public sector support to business, referring to the development of […]
Following the success of our first Young Professionals Networking and the requests for a repeat, on June 19th 2018, AmCham Macedonia organized the second Young Professionals Networking evening in Skopje. Over 40 young professionals from various companies, government institutions, international & civil organizations and the diplomatic corps attended this non-formal gathering and got the chance to learn […]
Over 26.000 elementary school pupils learned how to care about health, safety and the environment About 8.400 pupils in 112 elementary schools in 17 municipalities and cities have gained additional practical knowledge in the field of health and safety this year too. This is the main goal of the educational project of Pivara Skopje, which […]
With over 5,400 registered participants in wonderful sunny weather, Stopanska Banka Skopje had organized the 4th edition of the already well-known voluntary race “VOZI PRAVO, VOZI ZDRAVO”. With this we’ve succeeded for a short time at least to have streets without vehicles and people could walk freely and safely. Riding a bicycle, scooter, roller skates, skateboards, does […]
As part of our Executive Leadership Talks series, on May 29 AmCham hosted Benjamin Perks, the UNICEF representative to Macedonia. Ben talked about the need for strategic and concerted investment in the development of children as a precursor for a stable and prosperous society. He also pointed out that investment in children’s education has to start very early […]
Last week AmCham Macedonia’s Executive Director Dijana Despodov attended the annual AmChams in Europe visit to the US to network, exchange experiences, advocate with the US Government, and visit innovative companies. The trip consisted of two parts: an advocacy-focused part in Washington, D.C. and company visits in Chicago. In Chicago, the executive directors of the […]
AmCham Macedonia continues to focus on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a European regulation that affects all companies that collect personal data from EU citizens. On Wednesday we hosted Piperevski & Associates, a premier cyber security company and AmCham member, for a three-hour workshop on the path to GDPR compliance. A huge ‘thank you’ […]
More than 80 young professionals from AmCham member companies, government institutions, international & civil organizations and the diplomatic corps attended the first-ever AmCham Macedonia Young Professionals Networking (YPN). The main purpose fоr organizing this session was to inspire young professionals to expand their network, to learn about and become more involved with AmCham Macedonia, and […]
On February 28th, AmCham hosted an open-for-all event focused on the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The session was facilitated by PwC’s Ivan Mishev and Daniel Jordanovski, covering the requirements needed for businesses to implement the GDPR and protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens. In the first part of the session, […]
On January 25th, Pivara’s Lambro Patce, Public Affairs & Communications Manager and Dushan Mitrev, Chief Financial Officer, offered a “behind the scenes look” at the creation of Pivara Skopje’s first Socio-Economic Study. Lambro Patce stressed that they share a common goal with all the investors and business entities in the country, a stable and favorable business climate that […]
On December 6th, 2017 we opened the holiday season with over 130 guests from our member companies, international organizations, state institutions, associates and contributors. In addition to taking in the many disco-themed costumes worn by our guests, the beautiful Restaurant Kamnik setting and disco beats provided by the DJ, the group heartily applauded the now […]
AmCham recognized the member companies that donated in response to our call for building the first Sensory Garden in Macedonia, at an event hosted by U.S. Ambassador Baily and Mrs. Capie Polk at their residence on Vodno. Ambassador Baily spoke about the giving spirit of the season and thanked the Macedonian business community for their […]
On November 15th, Sanja Risteska & Marija Linin, Managers at Grant Thornton Macedonia, shared their expertise on tax incentives related to the Corporate Income Tax Law changes. They provided concrete examples of the amended articles in the sections of: Tax treatment for documented expenses for transportation and lodging for individuals; as well as Tax Incentives for donations […]
A day before the opening of this year’s AllWeb, we had the pleasure of hosting Robert Petkovic for a thematic workshop: “Measuring Your Digital Marketing Activities”. In the first part of the workshop, Mr. Petkovic offered insights into useful tools and techniques that will allow the marketer to know more about their customer. He also emphasized […]
On Friday, November 10th, AmCham Macedonia hosted a seminar on “Accountable & High Performing Company Cultures” led by Mark Beliczky, from The Carlyle Group, a leading global private equity firm headquartered in Washington, DC. More than 50 participants from various types of organizations (Entrepreneurs, SMEs, Corporates) had the opportunity to learn more on several topics, such as: What are business academics […]
This November, AmCham hosted a member-to-member learning session where Gorana Konevska Jankoska, Business Consultant at Meloski Consulting, led representatives from 10 member organizations on how to get the best out of “Microsoft Office 365”. Ms. Konevska Jankoska shared very useful insights into all the applications that Microsoft Office 365 contains, the licensing options and the […]
We were pleased to welcome the following members to our Board of Directors at our 17th annual General Assembly: Jelena Arsovska, Managing Director, McCann Skopje; and Radosh Vukichevich, CEO, Tikvesh Winery. Thank you to all of the candidates as well as to the 62 member companies present at this important annual meeting. We would also like to thank […]
IWM Network: The Importance of Website and Digital Marketing for Corporate Businesses September 29, 2017
On September 27th, IWM Network’s co-founder & partner Damjan Dano, delivered a presentation on the Importance of Website and Digital Marketing for Corporate Businesses. He emphasized that the interaction with the companies’ customers is very important and there is a need for originality in the messages businesses send when trying to capture the audiences attention. In […]
On September 20th, Prof. Marjan Bojadziev, PhD, Rector at University American College Skopje (UACS), and Makedonska Dimitrova, Assistant Lecturer at UACS and Director of the Scientific Board at the UACS Entrepreneurship and Leadership Development Institute led 20 representatives from AmCham member organizations through an engaging presentation on efficient 21 century leadership styles. Mr. Bojadziev presented […]
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development (CEED) CEED Macedonia has been playing an important role in creating successful business stories through networking, know-how business solutions, access to finance and new markets for ten years. CEED Macedonia started operating in September 2007 as a third center in the CEED network of centers for managers and […]
The American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia (AmCham Macedonia) on Thursday, June 29th, organized an event in the spirit of promoting fair competition and responsible business conduct, by hosting a debate on ethical advertising in Macedonia. Top regional experts from this field presented at the event, in an effort to promote the critical role that […]
On May 25th, member KPMG Macedonia held an M2M session to introduce interested members to the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Package and discuss its short and long term implications for MNCs working in Macedonia. KPMG’s Koce Jovanov led the session, providing a brief historical overview of the BEPS, pointing out 15 measures […]
On May 9th, Elena Atanasovska, Tax Consultant at Deloitte Skopje, shared her expertise on overcoming challenges related to companies reducing their tax and social contribution obligations with respect to expat staff. She provided concrete examples of cases she had managed where companies were unable to take advantage of international agreements that Macedonia had signed in […]
On April 20th, AAG – Analysis and Advisory Group’s Managing Partners, Verica Hadzi Vasileva-Markovska and Tereza Serafimova, presented the main advantages of successful Enterprise Performance Management System (EPMS) implementation, the pressing need for having an agile workforce and the value it brings both to the employees and the customers. AAG’s team emphasized the role that HR leaders […]
Pivara Skopje presented the new filling equipment in which the company invested over 1.4 million euros, making the total investment of the company in the production of beer and soft drinks over 40 million euros in the past decade. With a filling capacity that reaches one million bottles per day, the new sophisticated equipment increased […]
For the third time, AmCham Macedonia hosted a gathering of procurement professionals from foreign companies and potential local suppliers. This time, local companies from a variety of sectors met with Delphi Electronic Systems Macedonia, Pivara Skopje and Lynx Europe (SASA mine). Each company presented their current procurement needs as well as success stories, challenges and opportunities that […]
On March 28th, Deloitte Macedonia and Serbia’s Tomislav Limbevski and Aleksandar Andrejin, presented Deloitte’s high level understanding of ERP implementation and expansion trends globally and in the region, emphasizing the need for companies to maximize the available benefits. The Deloitte team demonstrated the importance of companies engaging objective experts to provide quality assurance services prior to and […]
On Wednesday, March 22, AmCham Macedonia in cooperation with the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM), organized a Mixer with Business Journalists. More than 40 member company leaders, corporate communications professionals and working journalists had an opportunity to expand their social and professional network. MIM’s Director, Biljana Petkovska, noted the challenge of gaining interest in and space for business issues, given the protracted […]
On Thursday, March 9, AmCham Macedonia organized an event in the spirit of advancing cooperation between companies that are serious about investing in human resources and four Skopje-based faculties within Saints Cyril and Methodius University (UKIM). Roughly 100 guests from the business community, university representatives, diplomatic corps, international organizations and state institutions attended the event. […]
On February 8th, Goran Zivkovic, CBRE Macedonia’s Managing Director, presented the main advantages of Retail Parks as new real estate opportunities, both for potential investors and for future tenants. The audience was comprised of representatives from member companies and CBRE’s business partners in Macedonia. Mr. Zivkovic highlighted the main differences between Shopping centers and Retail parks, as well as the key benefits on why […]
On January 31st, Norik Selimi, Founder & CEO, initiated a dynamic discussion with representatives from 7 member companies from a variety of sectors at our latest M2M Learning Session. His presentation highlighted direct and indirect competition companies face when seeking talent on the local marketplace, particularly for employees with advanced IT skills. The group also […]
On Wednesday, January 25 at the Holiday Inn, five AmCham member companies (Pakomak, Sparkasse Bank, Feni Industries, Roche, Seavus Incubator) shared insights on their award-winning CSR projects, recognized last November by the Corporate Social Responsibility National Coordinative Body. The event included presentations from: Iko Brdaroski, Pakomak – “ECO cafes & restaurants” project Todorka Sajkova, Sparkasse Bank – “Employee humanitarian […]
On December 14th, 2016 we opened the holiday season with over 110 guests from our member companies, international organizations, state institutions, associates and contributors. In addition to taking in the many celebrity-themed costumes worn by our guests, the beautiful Hotel Park holiday setting and movie soundtracks performed by Caravania the group heartily applauded 5 of […]
Special recognition for members that donated to “Skopje Floods” and “Think of Us” campaigns December 5, 2016
On an event hosted by U.S. Ambassador Baily and Mrs. Capie Polk at their residence on Vodno, AmCham recognized the member companies that donated in response to Skopje’s floods this summer and/or Red Cross Macedonia’s “Think of Us” campaign against hunger. A total of 20 of our members responded to this summer’s Skopje flood with roughly €474.000 […]
Few days after opening this year’s AllWeb, we had the pleasure of hosting Blagica Bottigliero for a thematic workshop: DIY: Digital Marketing Campaign with (almost) no budget. Before the start of the workshop, Ms. Bottigliero offered insights into her career achievements, background and connections to her Macedonian heritage. The workshop had it all: Engaged participants, […]
PwC led an M2M Info session on their PayWell 2016 Salary & Benefits Survey. The participants had a chance to hear about PayWell’s main benefits and advantages: – Reliable information on compensation, benefits and relevant HR policies, as well as with comparative market data; – Detailed report on compensation and benefits policies, operated by the […]
During this past week, AmCham Macedonia in cooperation with LinkAcross, organized a several events led by Bett Mickels, American Franchise and Operations Brand Strategist. On November 10th, over 80 participants from various types of organizations (Entrepreneurs, SMEs, Corporates, International Organizations, NGOs) attended a Business Expansion Strategy seminar, focusing on several topics: Replicable, Scalable Businesses Expansion Feasibility […]
On Tuesday, November 8th, AmCham and Pivara Skopje hosted an Entrepreneurship session at Pivara Skopje’s Educational Center, led by Bett Mickels, American Franchise and Operations Brand Strategist who has held leadership positions in a number of iconic US brand name companies, including Starbucks, Yum! Brands, Ford Motor Company and Jamba Juice. More than 50 students from AmCham’s […]
Habitat for Humanity Macedonia hosted a team of 31 volunteers that came for Thrivent Financials from the USA in order to help Macedonian low-income families get safe, decent and affordable homes. Thrivent Top Producers team volunteered at Habitat’s construction site in Veles. Together with the future homeowners that will soon move into the apartments, they […]
On October 20th, in honor of the U.S. Cyber Security Awareness Month, AmCham held an info session led by representatives of the FBI Legal Attache Office from Sofia, Bulgaria. It was an opportunity for company representatives to gain from FBI insights into cyber investigations, hacker tools, techniques and future threats. The presentation emphasized that individuals […]
Employees and management of Pivara Skopje, Pakomak and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Macedonia, cleared over 3 km of the Vardar riverfront in Skopje. The entire dry waste that has been collected, will be properly selected and recycled, ensuring its appropriate eco-treatment. Following the global leadership of the Coca-Cola HBC Group in the field of […]
We are pleased to welcome the following members of our Board of Directors elected at the 16th General Assembly: Slavko Projkoski, Chief Financial Officer, Makedonski Telekom AD – Skopje; Ljupco Georgiev, General Manager, Microsoft DOOEL Skopje; Mihael Solter, General Manager, Philip Morris-Tutunski Kombinat Prilep, DOO Skopje; Jovan Radosavljevic, General Manager, Pivara Skopje AD; and Georgi Markov, Senior […]
On Thursday, September 22nd , 2016, AmCham Macedonia organized a round-table discussion on “The Real Market Value of Copyrights” in cooperation with the Hospitality and Tourism Association (HTA) within the Economic Chamber of Macedonia (ECM) and the EU Twinning project “Strengthening the protection of copyrights”. This lively discussion included roughly 40 key stakeholders, including Ministry […]
On August 31, Microsoft Macedonia’s Martin Maksimovski and Jovce Plastinovski led an interactive learning session focused on maximizing team productivity in the cloud. Attendees learned how Microsoft products (Office 365, One Drive and Power BI) can boost productivity, increase data security and make intra-company communication simpler and better. All participants gave high grades to the […]
Mr. Timur Shomansurov, PayNet General Manager, shared “Plati Brzo’s” story during a M2M InfoSession held on Wednesday, June 15th. He presented the first and only alternative payment system in the country operating 24/7, designed to process payments for utilities, loans, insurance, taxes, online shopping, gaming as well as local money transfer services. The event was […]
AmCham Patrons, Pivara Skopje & Ecotip, celebrated their successful cooperation by hosting an unique event for AmCham’s Corporate members that took place at Pivara Skopje headquarters at the beginning of this week. Business partners, colleagues and friends were greeted by Pivara Skopje’s General Manager Mr. Jovan Radosavljevic. The guests got to tour the factory and learn from Pivara’s […]
Viva juices attracted the vast interest from the companies of the food sector which were part of one of the most prestigious world fairs, the PLMA World of Private Label held in Amsterdam that hosted 2.400 exhibitors. “The high standards that our company implements in the production and the quality of our products were recognized […]
With the launch of the Dot.up Media program, the IT giant Seavus officially opened the doors of the Seavus Incubator. The most important corporate social responsibility project of the company was announced on a press last week, which had a great media coverage and was attended by representatives of the international community, NGOs, media and […]
As part of the AmCham “Open a Door” internship program, on May 19th, twelve enthusiastic students attended a half-day presentation by Motiva on “Marketing yourself to potential employers and generating small business ideas” at Pivara Skopje’s Educational Center. The students, from low income families across Macedonia, are seeking internship opportunities in a variety of fields, […]
NOVA’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) organized the 10 annual PTA Family Bazar fundraising over 4000 euros aimed at improving conditions for the children and youth with impaired vision from the State School “Dimitar Vlahov” and for the support of NOVA’s extracurricular activities. The event was opened to the whole community under the motto “Equal opportunities […]
Over 8.000 students will be educated for safe and healthy school days At the celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work – 28 April, Pivara Skopje, for a third consecutive year continues with the implementation of the voluntary project for education of the primary school students on topics related to health […]
Pharmaceutical products are the most strictly and highly regulated category of products worldwide, and delivery of quality, effective and safe medicaments is the credo each serious pharmaceutical industry should follow. Rigorously controlled conditions for pharmaceutical production are the prerequisite for ensuring high quality medicines; hence, pharmaceutical quality control is an essential part of our manufacturing […]
Sparkasse bank with a big event promoted the new platform for social responsibility called “Sparkasse Life”. In the future, the bank will focus on sports in function of health. “The aim of today’s platform is to promote the slogan Sparkasse Life as a platform and logo under which we will perform all activities of social […]
Today, AmCham held a member to member learning session featuring a presentation from Ms. Anita Stojkovska, CSR Officer at Cementarnica Usje on their approach and lessons learned with respect to reporting on the whole range of non-financial topics required by the UN Global Compact. She also shared her knowledge of global trends and challenges in […]
On April 19th, AmCham held an information session on U.S. anti-corruption legislation with international implications as well as corruption prevention programs in local companies. U.S. FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Martin E. Hellmer, presented details on the U.S. the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), while Ruzhica Panarin, National Compliance Officer at EVN, and Lidija Bundaleska, Group Compliance Director […]
AmCham Macedonia organized an event on Advancing Business – University Cooperation with University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola (UKLO) on Thursday, March 24th, 2016 in Bitola. Over 80 people from the Bitola-area academic and business communities attended. From UKLO, attendees heard from the Vice Rectors for Science, Student Issues and the Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. […]
On Wednesday, February 17th, 2016, AmCham Macedonia held a round-table discussion on “Consumer Protection and Competition” with representatives from member and non-member companies, the State Market Inspectorate and the Consumer Protection Organization. During the discussion we included presentations from the following speakers: Sonja Solevska,Head of Unit, State Market Inspectorate (presentation); Vesna Gavrilovska, Attorney at Law, […]
On Tuesday, February 9th, our Patron member, Wabtec MZT, welcomed a number of small to medium company owners to tour its Skopje factory and to offer free training opportunities on topics such as total quality management. The effort is well-aligned with AmCham Macedonia’s ongoing efforts to promote cooperation and knowledge transfer between foreign investors and […]
On December 10th, 2015 we opened the holiday season with over 120 guest from our member companies, international organizations and state institutions. We celebrated a successful year and marked our 15th Anniversary in 20’s fashion stile with live jazz music, traditional holiday food and best american drinks. We would like to thank Pivara Skopje for providing beverages […]
On November 25th, we gathered our member company representatives for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Makedonska kuka. This year, we again invited our members to support Red Cross’ Campaign “Think of us”. Before the traditional dinner started, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we highlighted the efforts of those companies that donated over 13.000 euros, and […]
On Tuesday, November 17th, Aleksandra Gjeorgieva, Sales Specialist at Nextsense shared the features of their e-archiving system. She explained the process of system’s document organization, distribution, and classification, highlighting that the system supports integration of all documents that one company receives and creates. Another useful toll that is part of the system’s functionalities is usage of bar […]
The last weekend of October, AmCham Macedonia in collaboration with Summer Work and Travel Alumni (SWTA) Macedonia and the U.S Embassy organized a workshop on “Real lessons of social entrepreneurship: How to build from scratch”, led by Sam Vaghar, a young social entrepreneur and the Executive Director and Co-founder of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN). Mr. […]
On Friday, October 30th, Emilija Zaevska, Digital Communications Manager at McCann Skopje held one-hour learning session on “New trends in digital marketing”. Over 25 representatives from member companies showed interest to learn more in which digital marketing areas to focus in the upcoming period. At the opening, Ms. Zaevska gave short intro on Wave 8, one of […]
We are pleased to welcome the following members of our Board of Directors elected at the 15th General Assembly: Stefan Peter, Management Board Chairman, EVN Macedonia; Borka Petrovska, Administration Manager, Feni Industries, Kavadarci; Sonja Todorova, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Pivara Skopje; and Selim Simbil, General Manager, Wabtec MZT Skopje (BOD member 2013-15, re-elected).
On Tuesday, October 13th, we gathered CSR specialist from our member companies to hear from the Macedonian Red Cross how to design and manage their CSR Programs. The workshop was led by Red Cross well prepared team including their President Mr. Sait Saiti, covering the following topics: What makes a good CSR program for your organization?; How to choose […]
On Tuesday, October 6th, 2015 our patron member, EVN Macedonia held a learning on “Idea Management – Driving a Continuous Improvement Culture” led by Elizabeta Nikolovska, Head of Business Excellence Office. The session was divided in two parts. The first part was conceptual and participants had an opportunity to learn more about the Idea Management process. Ms. Nikolovska, explained the […]
On Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 at Restaurant 14, we hosted a Cocktail in honor of visiting Executive Directors from AmChams in Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania. Over 50 guests enjoyed in the networking evening, catching up with their colleagues and learning more about the business activities of the AmChams in the region.
On August 18th, 2015 our member company Neocom held a learning session on “How the Cloud can Make Your Business Better” led by Jane Antov, System Integration Executive Manager and neoCloud Chief Operation Officer. During the session, Mr. Antov explained the benefits from integrating cloud solutions in companies’ work, pointing out that these solutions can provide faster services […]
On July 9th, 2015 AmCham members had an opportunity to learn more about the role and importance of filtration in the modern wine-making process and to taste wines. Namely, our Patron member Ecotip invited member companies to see the Pall Corporation (USA) filtration system at work at Stoby Winery. After the short presentation guests enjoyed a lovely […]
On Tuesday, June 30th, AmCham members from various industries gathered on morning learning session on Hidden Risks from an Insurance Perspective, led by representatives from our member company Euroins Insurance. Euroins Insurance’s CEO, Ralitsa Guberova opened the session by giving overview of the topics that will be covered and introduced her colleague Maja Nonevska Hristovska. […]
On Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015 AmCham Macedonia hosted representatives from the business community, local universities, government officials and student organizations to discuss the models of cooperation between the businesses and universities that will enhance country’s workforce. The first hour networking opportunity was followed by an official opening by H.E. Jess L. Baily, U.S. Ambassador to […]
On Thursday, June 11th, 2015 AmCham members gathered for an interactive learning session on Efficient Legal Risk Management with Ljupka Noveska and Leonid Ristev, Attorneys at Law, at Karanovic & Nikolic. During the session, they gave introduction on the doctrine and comparative approach on efficient legal risk management and presented the results of the regional research on legal risk management […]
AmCham Macedonia hosted its second annual gathering on increasing the cooperation between the foreign investors and the local suppliers in Macedonia on Wednesday, June 10th, 2015, at Skopje Fair – MBC Diplomatic hall. This year, we invited procurement professionals from the metal industry: ArcelorMittal Skopje, Feni Industri Kavadarci and Wabtec MZT Skopje to present their procurement […]
As a tribute to the 90-year legacy, Pivara Skopje made an original blend of the most famous representatives of contemporary art in Macedonia and the art of making beer. Part of the collection of artworks by renowned Macedonian painters of the XX century of Pivara Skopje was presented to the public for the first time, […]
On Thursday, May 21st, 2015 at Pivara Skopje’s training facilities, 18 students met with representatives from 10 member companies to discuss internship opportunities as part of AmCham Macedonia’s internship program “Open a Door”. The Program was developed for students from low income households and officially launched in April 2015. In the first hour, our member company Motiva […]
On Friday, May 15th, 2015 representatives from four consulting companies (Deloitte, EY, KPMG & PwC) members of our Legal and Tax Committee, offered Introductory Training on Transfer Pricing for 23 inspectors from Public Revenue Office.
In honor of World IPR Day, on April 28th from 9:00 – 13:00, members of AmCham’s IPR committee offered IP enforcement-related training to local police and market inspectors. The event helped raise the basic awareness of market inspectors and economic police to maintain attention on this area of their work, given that it is just one […]
On Wednesday, March 31st, AmCham hosted a “CSR Project Design & Management” Workshop with Lisa McIlvenna, Deputy Managing Director, Business in the Community Northern Ireland. The event was officially opened by Valerie Colby, Public Relations Officer, U.S. Embassy Skopje and Nikica Kusinikova, Executive Director, Konekt. During the interactive workshop, Ms. McIlevenna offered AmCham members practical and actionable […]
AmCham convened a round table discussion on “The Procurement Profession: Trends and Challenges” on Wednesday, March 4th at Holiday Inn hotel – Millennium 1 hall. This high profile event started with an opening address from the U.S. Ambassador Jess L. Baily, who pointed out that in public procurement it’s important to secure equal conditions and […]
As part of AmCham’s efforts to promote good business practices and share experience from other countries, we invited Barbara Operschall, longtime CEO of Best Western Central Europe in Vienna, Austria to held a “Customer Service as a Marketing Tool” Seminar. The event took place on Thursday, February 26th at M6 Educational Centre. After the official […]
On February 4th, AmCham members and representatives of other business associations and chambers attended an info session with Dr. Stuart Gilman, an anti-corruption expert with vast global experience.
A huge “Thank You” to everyone who came to our Holiday Party (December 12) this year, to kick off the Holiday season with country music, traditional food and the best American drinks. We are very pleased with the turn-out and hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. We had over 150 guests!! We would also like to […]
As a membership organization, we’re expected to engage our members. That’s why we are so proud that no less than 85% of our members engaged with us in some form this year. On November 20th, 2014 in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we highlighted those people and organizations whose contributions went above and beyond to make […]
On November 12 & 13, AmCham organized a Presentation & Public Speaking Workshop with Kaitlin Turck, Cultural and Educational Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje. As an award winning public speaker who has actively competed in speaking competitions, performed on stage, taught, and appeared on television for the last 16 years, Kaitlin gave valuable […]
Member company representatives from different business sectors met with Rick Wion, Allweb 2014 speaker and McDonald’s first-ever Director of Social Media, on November 12th, 2014 in AmCham premises. During the meeting, participants had chance to hear about U.S. trends in social media, their usage for products and services promotion and sale. He transferred his knowledge and […]
We are pleased to welcome the following members of our Board of Directors elected at the 14th General Assembly: Emre Kozlu, General Manager, Philip Morris, Ltd. Skopje; Miroslav Marchev, Tax and Legal Services Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. Skopje (BOD member 2012-14, re-elected); Slavko Projkoski, COO, T-Mobile Macedonia & CFO, Makedonski Telekom Inc. Skopje and T-Mobile Macedonia.
DHL Express Macedonia marked the Global Volunteer Day with the athletes of the Special Olympics Macedonia October 2, 2014
As part of the company’s Corporate Responsibility initiatives – GoHelp (Delivering help) and GoTeach (Improving educational opportunity), on Saturday, September 30th, DHL Express Macedonia together with the athletes of the Special Olympics team of Macedonia, marked the Global Volunteer Day.
On September 29th, 2014 AmCham hosted the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund in Macedonia, Mr. Patrick Gitton. In his expose, Mr. Gitton referred to IMF’s various missions, functioning and its main challenges as global institution, with over 160 member countries from all over the world, underscoring that the IMF has evolved over the past years in order to better […]
AmCham members attended the opening of an after-school room on September 24th within the Primary School for Children with special needs “Zlatan Sremec”. The room was renovated with funds raised at the DMWC International Charity Bazaar 2014 as well as a generous contribution from AmCham member, Cementarnica USJE. The gathering was opened by the Honorary President of the […]
The first phase of Okta’s campaign “Chance for Life” has been completed. Pulse meters, aspirators and perfusors are already installed and functioning at the Intensive Care Department at the Children’s Clinic. “This is the first part of Okta’s donation. Furthermore, we will continue to raise awareness and to gather donations from citizens, organizations and other […]
AmCham Macedonia organized an info session with representatives of Johnson Matthey, EVN Macedonia and Van Hool presenting to local suppliers opportunities for cooperation, and established key procedures and standards in the procurement process.
AmCham’s conference on ”Improving the cooperation between universities and the business community” was part of working toward meeting our strategic objective to encourage the business relevance of higher education programs and increase the number of internships. The event was officially opened with addresses by Ms. Michelle Osmanli, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in […]
In order to raise awareness among young people about intellectual property (IP) concepts, AmCham Macedonia translated and adapted two publications “Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents“ and “Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Arts & Copyright” into Macedonian and Albanian, published by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2013. This […]
Last week, not only did the citizens of Skopje enjoy the lovely weather, but they also had the opportunity to have a bite of the new healthy snack Biters2Go from Vitalia. Through the innovative campaign with the skate company of Biters2Go, the citizens tried the new product from Vitalia, a company with a 20-year tradition in the production of healthy food.
AmCham Macedonia in cooperation with KPMG Macedonia published OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations in Macedonian, on March 20th, 2014 in Hotel Karpos. More than 50 representatives of the international business community, international organizations and local enforcement institutions attended the cocktail to mark the completion of this important project.
This year AmCham Macedonia in cooperation with LinkAcross and financially supported by the U.S. Embassy for the first time organized a Motivational Sales Seminar with Mike Moore, a popular American motivational speaker.
On the event attended over 90 participants, mostly sales managers and key staff from our member organizations. According to the event evaluation sheets 73% gained new knowledge, 14% new contacts and 88% gave high rates for the speaker and the format of the event.
On December 11th AmCham Macedonia hosted a holiday gathering, with live jazz music, famous and delicious U.S. wine and spirits, door prizes and a traditional U.S holiday buffet. AmCham Macedonia Executive Office wishes you all Happy Holidays!
On December 3rd, AmCham Macedonia hosted a traditional Thanksgiving Lunch in cooperation with the Centre for Media Activities, an association responsible for the street magazine “Face to Face” (Lice v Lice). This year, the following Amcham members donated funds and goods in kind to the Association: Advisory and Analysis Group (AAG), Alliance One, Habitat Makedonija […]
We are pleased to welcome the following members of our Board of Directors elected at the 13th General Assembly: Vladimir Dimovski, Managing Partner – McCann Skopje and Universal Media Skopje, Mirjana Tanevska-Efremova, Member of Mgmt Board – Makedonijaturist AD Skopje; Liza Popovska, Financial Director/CFO – Pivara Skopje (BOD member 2011-13, re-elected); Selim Simbil, General Manager – Wabtec MZT […]
As part of its effort to raise general awareness of intellectual property rights, AmCham Macedonia joined forces with Microsoft Macedonia’s Partners in Learning program to organize a competition among grade school teachers to design projects that would introduce IPR themes into classrooms around the country. There were 13 submissions to the competition and on October […]
On September 26th, AmCham Macedonia organized a WD Best Practices Session with Viviana Guerrero, Human Resources Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia on performance management, recruitment and job evaluation/categorization in the U.S. State Department.
Advantages of Gender Diversity in Organizational Leadership, Strategy and Innovation September 11, 2013
On September 11th, 2013, AmCham Macedonia organized a Conference on “Advantages of Gender Diversity in Organizational Leadership, Strategy and Innovation” at hotel Aleksandar Palace. The conference featured impressive speakers from both the United States and SE Europe: – Ms. Emily Fowler, SVP, Strategy & Business Development at Fix Challenges, Inc.; and – Ms. Mateja Forstnaric, Partner […]
AmCham Board of Directors and Patron member representatives hosted a cocktail reception in honor of DAS Philip Reeker’s visit to Macedonia on June 17th. The cocktail was a nice opportunity to visit with the popular former U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia as well as touch base with many of AmCham’s biggest supporters. Current U.S. Ambassador Wohlers […]
On June 12th, over 100 top executives and line managers from companies and public institutions attended a joint AmCham Macedonia-LinkAcross seminar entitled, “Employee Engagement: Proof of Effective Leadership”. Our speaker, Ms. GeGe Beall, was a business consultant from the United States with over 20 years of experience in human resources, organizational and leadership development. During […]
On April 25th, 2013 AmCham Macedonia held its 6th Annual Intellectual Property Rights Conference: Enforcement and Education. The event was opened by Mr. Valon Saracini, Minister of Economy. The main program consisted 3 panels and expert presentations. In the second part of the Conference, an Info session for teachers on the IPR Curriculum Competition was held. This event […]
On April 9th, AmCham organized an info session: Process and Implications from Mandatory Listing, in order to inform companies of the impact of the new legal requirement for certain companies to list on the MSE. Attendees had opportunity to learn about the MSE listing application process (e.g., deadlines, available tools, fees, “listing sponsor” requirement, the role of […]
On March 28th, over 180 high profile guests from the academic, business and government community gathered in Aleksandar Palace to attend AmCham’s conference on “Exploring Opportunities to Advance Business-University Cooperation”. To read the complete report on conference findings and conclusions click here. To learn more about what was covered at the event, be sure to have a […]
AmCham’s IPR committee meet with the IPR Coordinative Body at an offsite session in Krusevo on January 30-31st. The group discussed the implementation of the 2009-12 National IPR Strategy as well as identify possible improvements to the 2013-16 strategy to be drafted this year.
On December 14, 2012 AmCham hosted a holiday gathering for members and friends. Ms. Liza Popovska, President of AmCham’s Board of Directors briefly presented AmCham’s priorities for 2013-2015. The evening continued in the holiday spirit with traditional music played by the Trio Drijada string band, egg nog, mulled wine and other typical delights served in the United States at this time of year. AmCham would like to […]
On June 19, 2012 AmCham in cooperation with its CSR committee successfully organized workshop “Use of Social Media in the CSR”. Our guest speakers: Ms. Iskra Trajkovska, HR Manager at Nextsense and Ms. Sanja Bozik, Project Manager at Httpool provided the audience with tips and tricks on how to use social media to better CSR. […]
As the European Union is thinking of introducing quotas for women in corporate boardrooms, AmCham Macedonia is proud to contribute to the timely and important discussion on the need to increase representation of women in corporate and business leadership positions in Macedonia. In order to add to the debate about gender equality in the corporate […]
On March 7th, the AmCham Macedonia Mentoring Workshop was successfully held, and encompassed three presentations of best corporate practices (conducted by Ms. Iskra Trajkoska from Nextsense, Ms. Marija Popova Majstorova from ONE Telekom Slovenia Group and Ms. Angjela Trpeska Kostova from T-Mobile Macedonia), as well as a general mentoring introduction presented by Ms. Natasa Ivanovska, […]
The AmCham business lunch with Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Pesevski, Minister of Economy Valon Saraqini and Minister of Information Society and Administration Ivo Ivanovski was held on March 5th and provided for a fruitful exchange between the Government of Macedonia officials and the Macedonian businesses – members of AmCham Macedonia. AmCham Macedonia would like to […]
IPR Workshop – “Synchronization of procedures between State Institutions responsible for intellectual property rights protection” December 17, 2011
During December 2011, the American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia, in cooperation with International Development Law Organization (IDLO) Alumni Association in the Republic of Macedonia, organized two day IPR workshops (15-16/12 and 19-20/12). The event was sponsored by our Patron Member – Microsoft. On the workshops attended more than 50 representatives from the Ministry of […]