Skopje, 5 May 2026 (MIA) — Krste Misirkov Macedonian Language Institute celebrated Macedonian Language Day earlier Tuesday, honoring the Macedonian linguistic heritage and calling for the protection of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Elena Jovanova Grujovska, the institute's director, noted that the institute had been the first to observe the holiday when it was established in 2019. 

She said this year’s ceremony also marked several anniversaries, including the centenary of the death of Krste Misirkov, the language's first codifier. She also pointed out the 105th birth anniversary of the final codifier of the Macedonian language, Blazhe Koneski; the 85th anniversary of Macedonian poet Kole Nedelkovski's death; the 20th anniversary of Macedonian writer Petre M. Andreevski's death; and the 60th anniversary of the Struga Poetry Evenings festival.

"What they all have in common is they nurtured, preserved and elevated the Macedonian language. All their books, songs, poems were written in Cyrillic," Jovanova Grujovska said. 

"Cyrillic is the only Macedonian alphabet. It is our script that defines us to the world as unique and special. Our message to all citizens of Macedonia, especially younger generations, is to write in Cyrillic as our parents, our grandparents and our freedom fighters did," she said. 

"Cyrillic is our wealth, our cultural heritage that makes us our own, recognizable, different and unique in Europe and the world. It is our duty is to create in the Macedonian language," Jovanova Grujovska said. 

Hristina Nikolovska, the director of the state university's International Seminar on Macedonian Language, Literature and Culture, told attendees that international interest in the Macedonian language was growing.

Nikolovska said new Macedonian language departments have opened in the last three years in Tirana, Albania, and in Nitra, Slovakia, and a department in Naples, Italy, has been reopened. 

"The international seminar is committed to the development of Macedonian language departments abroad and centers where Macedonian studies are taught," she said. mr/