Makedonida was founded in 1998 in Skopje to provide support for the implementation of the One School – One Monument project aimed to introduce cultural heritage in the education of the young generations in Republic of Macedonia. This Project turned out to be an enormous success and allowed for Makedonida to become an important civil society organization in the field of cultural heritage on local, regional, European and global level. For almost twenty years Makedonida foundation has celebrated, lobbied and protected cultural heritage of Macedonia and
the Balkans. With its educational projects, its guide books on monuments of art and architecture, its campaigns for endangered heritage sites and its projects in the field of conservation of mediaeval churches and mosques, Makedonida is today recognized as one of the leading heritage organizations in the Republic of Macedonia.
Our values
We understand cultural heritage as a platform for building multiethnic and religious tolerance and as an important asset in the fight for democratic and prosperous society. Cultural heritage is not only a relic from the past that we are obliged to preserve, it is also a relevant, useful and significant part of our identity and an important potential for our social, cultural and economic development for the future. Cultural heritage needs to be respected and protected in any form of urban and rural development.
Our goals
- Promotion and protection of the national and regional cultural heritage through publications, documentary films, exhibitions and lectures
- Monitoring and conservation of heritage sites under threat on national and international scale
- Lobbing for preservation of cultural heritage at all level of governance: local, national and international
- Implementation and promotion of successful international projects for protection of cultural heritage in the fields of conservation, research, education and training of professionals and volunteers in cooperation with prestigious international academic and scientific heritage centers
- Putting Macedonia on the map of regional and European networks of governmental agencies, private foundations and civil society organizations in the field of cultural heritage and building partnerships on the principles of reciprocity and mutual respect
Makedonida foundation is a professional organization with around sixty active members: art historians , artists, conservators, historians, engineers, architects and journalists. The President of the Foundation and its founder is Dr. Pance Velkov, Engineer Conservator, Visiting Professor teaching on preservation standards and practices at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Among its members Makedonida counts distinguished professors from Macedonia, USA and Germany, like Nade Proeva, Professor of Ancient History at the Faculty for Philosophy at the University S.S. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Elizabeta Dimitrova, Professor of medieval art of Macedonia at the Faculty for Philosophy at the University S.S. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Ralph Achilles, Professor of Art History at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Phillip Niewöhner, Professor of Christian Archeology and Byzantine Art History at the Georg August
University in Gottingen and many others.
