Skopje, 16 December 2025 (MIA) — The Faculty of Philosophy, the country's first higher education institution, celebrated its 105th anniversary Tuesday evening.

In a speech delivered at the celebration, Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska highlighted the pivotal role of the faculty, now part of the state university Ss. Cyril and Methodius, in the development of Macedonian society.

"More than a century of contributions to building our society, to building generations of scholars, researchers and social visionaries who have shaped the country in the past and are shaping it now," she said, thanking faculty professors and staff for their dedication.

Janevska said higher education was crucial for the development of modern society. She added that universities were not only institutions to obtain a degree from, but spaces where critical and socially responsible citizens were made.

"105 years of the Faculty of Philosophy means more than a century of intellectual and spiritual growth, tradition, scholarly excellence and social maturation. This is a legacy we must preserve and nurture," she said.

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University rector Biljana Angelova said the Faculty of Philosophy was "a living testament to the history, culture, scholarly maturation and spiritual development of Macedonian society."

"The Faculty of Philosophy is an institution that has created generations of scholars, intellectuals, researchers and visionaries," she said. 

Stressing that it was the first higher education institution in the country, Angelova said it had contributed to the development of "Macedonian philosophy, pedagogy, history, psychology, archaeology, sociology, social work, special education and rehabilitation, library science, gender studies, peace studies and many other disciplines today's education system or society as a whole cannot be imagined without," she said.

Faculty of Philosophy dean Oliver Bakreski said the faculty was a pillar of educational integrity as well as a treasury of Macedonian educational wealth.

"The Faculty of Philosophy is more than a living organism. It breathes with the thoughts of its students, it grows with the work of its professors and it is renewed with each new generation setting foot in its amphitheaters and lecture halls," Bakreski said. mr/