Skopje, 1 April 2026 (MIA) - “Pillar of the Macedonian Nation and Collective Memory” is the slogan under which the State Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia officially marked the 75th anniversary of its founding at a ceremony on Wednesday. After seven and a half decades of existence, a new challenge the institution now faces is the digitization of its documents. The head of the State Archive, Dimitar Bogeski, said analyses are underway to determine the cost of digitization not only of the State Archive but also its nine regional branches.

Bogeski said they will draft a plan about the technical conditions that need to be created for the State Archive for the next hundred years and present it to the Government.  

“The era of electronic documents is coming, they will need to be stored somewhere. Information systems will need to be established – whether on the cloud or on servers and then these systems have to be protected from cyber-attacks. We need to work on that during this period. We do lack staff, especially in IT, but we are managing, and we are training our employees. Starting from September, the State Archive will offer financing for additional training for a certain number of employees that lack the necessary knowledge,” Bogeski said. 

The head of the State Archive said it prides itself on old and rare documents and their appropriate preservation. The oldest document in the Archive’s possession is a 12th century Gospel of Luke, discovered in the 19th century collection of the Robev family from Ohrid.

“In our depositories we hold documents that even the Ottoman Empire itself did not possess, which from 1629 to 1912 remained here in Macedonia, though the Empire did not have them. Based on a memorandum of cooperation, researchers from Türkiye came here, digitized the collection, and now they have access to it, but only in digital form. What we can truly take pride in is that the originals are preserved with us in the State Archive. And not only that, the entire continuity of Macedonia’s statehood, the foundational documents, are kept in the State Archive. That is why today our motto is ‘Pillar of the Macedonian State,’” Bogeski said.

The State Archive also cooperates with Türkiye in researching their Ottoman‑period archives related to Macedonia, in line with the memorandum.

“Based on that memorandum and our experience so far, we have no difficulties with research. The only challenge is financial resources. When we have sufficient financing, we send researchers there, the archive is open, and we encounter no issues in exploring that treasure trove of documents related to Macedonia,” the head of the State Archive said. 

At the event marking the anniversary, Bogeski presented recognitions to the supporters and friends of the State Archive. 

Photo: MIA