Skopje, 9 September 2022 (MIA) – In a time when Europe needs unity like never before, we affirm Macedonian music through culture, a synonym of community. Today, we are among friends, in the beautiful city of Prague that schooled top names in culture from our country, especially in cinema, said Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska in honor of Independence Day (Sept. 8)  in Prague, where the Days of Macedonian Culture event takes place. “Happy Independence Day, which we celebrate today in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, in a country that’s a friend to ours! I thank our hosts for giving us the feeling that we’re home for our Independence Day, which is probably due to the fact that we share a rich Slavic past and a necessary European future with the Czech Republic,” the Minister said before the start of a concert by the renowned Bitola Chamber Orchestra and the soloists Vlatko Stefanovski and Tamara Todevska. The Minister of Culture, quoting the first democratically elected Czech president, Václav Havel, who was also a writer and human rights fighter after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Velvet Revolution, fought by cultural workers and students, said that tyranny and walls aren’t fit for art and youth, in fact, they are their biggest enemies. “We are among friends today, in the beautiful city of Prague that educated our top names in culture, especially in film art. Even today, we have Macedonian art students here. I look forward to meeting them. The showcase of Macedonian films, theater and the upcoming concert are only a small part of the exchange of our cultural values,” says Kostadinovska-Stojchevska. The Minister also emphasized that in a time when Europe needs unity like never before, we affirm Macedonian music through culture, a synonym of community, through the performances of the Bitola Chamber Orchestra and solo artists Tamara Todevska and Vlatko Stefanovski.  dk/ba/