Skopje, 8 December 2025 (MIA) – The St. Clement of Ohrid 2025 Award was presented Monday at a ceremony in Parliament.

Philosophy and classical philology scholar Vitomir Mitevski, composer Zhivojin Glishikj and visual artist Bedi Ibrahim are the winners of this year's St. Clement of Ohrid national awards for outstanding achievements in education, culture, arts, health care and environmental protection.

Mitevski is being awarded for his contributions in the field of education. Glishikj and Ibrahim are being awarded for their achievements in culture and the arts. 

This year’s recipients of the award were selected by a board for allocation of the St. Clement of Ohrid award, chaired by writer Tomislav Osmanli.

Speaking on behalf of the winners, academic Vitomir Mitevski thanked the board and emphasized in his speech that culture represents the cultivation of the human spirit, an essential trait of humanity.

“The award is significant, and for me I would also say beautiful, because it bears the name of our first teacher, of a saint – St. Clement of Ohrid. Not only is he the founder of our Church, but at the same time he is a spiritual leader and a founder of our cultural identity, of our culture. When I speak of culture here, I experience the original meaning of the Latin word ‘culture,’ which signifies both culture in the broad sense of the word and education, which we recognize as cultivation — the cultivation of the spirit. Cultivating the spirit is an essential trait of human beings. We differ from other living beings in many ways, but perhaps most of all in relation to them through our culture. We create ourselves through our culture. Culture also has meaning on a national level, because, as some of our national revivalists and other figures from the past understood, culture is what is essential for a people. One of them said, ‘Culture is the soul of a nation,’” Mitevski said.

Mitevski stressed that a country that nurtures its culture and appreciates its cultural values deserves full respect.

The St. Clement of Ohrid award is the highest recognition for lifetime achievement in education, culture, arts, healthcare, environmental protection and social activities of public interest in the Republic of North Macedonia.

Photo: MIA