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| # ![](med       |                                                    |
| ia/image1.jpeg) |                                                    |
| {width="4.17986 |                                                    |
| 1111111111in" h |                                                    |
| eight="0.5in"}  |                                                    |
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| eDigest         | [February 2008]{.smallcaps}                        |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| In This Issue   | # From the Mission Director                        |
|                 |                                                    |
| -   [From the   | I am pleased to introduce the first issue of the   |
|     Mission     | USAID/Macedonia e-Digest. The purpose of this      |
|     Directo     | monthly electronic newsletter is to share          |
| r](#from-the-mi | information about new developments at the Mission, |
| ssion-director) | USAID program accomplishments, as well as useful   |
|                 | resources. Our audience is diverse -- from         |
| -   [           | implementing partners and government officials to  |
| USAID/Macedonia | students and the business community. I hope that   |
|     in          | this newsletter will be interesting and relevant   |
|     Acti        | to each of you, and that it will help you learn    |
| on](#usaidmaced | more about our important work in this country. I   |
| onia-in-action) | look forward to your comments.                     |
|                 |                                                    |
| -   [Off the    | Patricia Rader                                     |
|     Wires](     |                                                    |
| #off-the-wires) | ## USAID/Macedonia in Action                       |
|                 |                                                    |
| -   [Inside     |   ---------                                        |
|     USAID]      | -------------------------------------------------- |
| (#inside-usaid) |   !                                                |
|                 | [](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6770833333333335in" |
| Things to Know  |                                                    |
|                 | height="2.1666666666666665in"}[**Economic Growth** |
| IRI releases    |   -]{.                                             |
| survey on       | smallcaps} Understanding the importance of a clean |
| politics in     |   environ                                          |
| Macedonia:      | ment comes from an early age. That is why children |
|                 |                                                    |
| [IRI Survey     | are the centerpiece of the USAID Plastic Recycling |
| Results]        |   Project'                                         |
| (http://macedon | s outreach campaign. With help from USAID, primary |
| ia.usaid.gov/Do |   school                                           |
| cuments/IRI_Pub |  students in Skopje, Strumica, Gostivar and Kocani |
| lic_Opinion_Sur |   le                                               |
| vey_Dec-07.ppt) | ap into action to educate their classmates, family |
|                 |   mem                                              |
| Media Watch     | bers and neighbors about the importance of plastic |
|                 |   recy                                             |
| USAID programs  | cling. Students of the Bratstvo School in Skopje's |
| featured in     |   Municip                                          |
| business weekly | ality of Karpos dressed in blue and yellow plastic |
| KAPITAL:        |   bags - b                                         |
|                 | lue for the collection of paper and yellow for the |
| [Interview with |   collecti                                         |
| Patricia Rader  | on of plastic -- to distribute collection bags and |
| and Marcia      |   educatio                                         |
| Wong,           | nal leaflets to households in their neighborhoods. |
| U               |   Mo                                               |
| SAID](http://ma | re fun activities for all ages are planned for the |
| cedonia.usaid.g |   upcom                                            |
| ov/Documents/Ka | ing Earth Day Fair on April 20^th^. The children's |
| pital-Patricia_ |   enth                                             |
| and_Marcia.pdf) | usiasm is inspiring, but equally important are the |
|                 |   publi                                            |
| [Interview with | c-private partnerships between the municipalities, |
| Aleksandar      |   public                                           |
| Sahov, BEA      | utility companies and schools, which will continue |
| Chief of        |   far                                              |
| Party](http://  | into the future. *Photo by Olya Catto: Children in |
| macedonia.usaid |                                                    |
| .gov/Documents/ | Strumica present an educational program on plastic |
| Kapital-Aleksan |   recycling.*                                      |
| dar_Shahov.pdf) |                                                    |
|                 |   !                                                |
| [Interview with | [](media/image3.jpeg){width="2.4479166666666665in" |
| James Maxwell,  |   height=                                          |
| AgBiz Chief of  | "1.90625in"}**[Democracy]{.smallcaps}** -- A truly |
| Party](http:/   |   free an                                          |
| /macedonia.usai | d open society is characterized by independent and |
| d.gov/Documents |   respo                                            |
| /Kapital_Interv | nsible media on one hand, and a vibrant and active |
| iew-AgBiz .pdf) |   civ                                              |
|                 | il society on the other. For years, USAID has been |
| USAID in        |   wor                                              |
| Numbers         | king with local media and NGOs to strengthen their |
|                 |   partners                                         |
| -   Over 3,000  | hip and to help them play a more prominent role in |
|     election    |   s                                                |
|     monitors    | ociety. On January 30^th^, the USAID Civil Society |
|     trained     |   Strengt                                          |
|                 | hening Project joined the Macedonian Institute for |
| -   1000 jobs   |   Media                                            |
|     created by  |  (MIM) in presenting the winners of the 2007 Civil |
|     the USAID   |   Society                                          |
|     e-Biz       |  Media Awards. Television station Kanal 5 received |
|     Centers     |   t                                                |
|                 | he top overall award, with other winners including |
| -   7,000       |   newspape                                         |
|     students    | rs *Utrinski Vesnik,* *Monitor* and *Dnevnik*, and |
|     enrolled in |   the                                              |
|     South East  | A1 television program *Rano Den*. The winners were |
|     European    |   sele                                             |
|     University, | cted through a voting process among all registered |
|     established |   NGOs,                                            |
|     with USAID  |  citizens' associations and foundations. The final |
|     support     |   deci                                             |
|                 | sion was made by a seven-member jury, comprised of |
| Who's Who at    |   promine                                          |
| USAID/Macedonia | nt NGO representatives and media researchers. This |
|                 |   is the                                           |
| Patricia Rader, | second non-monetary annual award conducted by MIM. |
| Mission         |   Las                                              |
| Director        | t year, the top prize was awarded to A1 television |
|                 |   stati                                            |
| <pr             | on, with recognitions given to Sitel TV, *Utrinski |
| ader@usaid.gov> |   Vesnik* and MRTV.                                |
|                 |                                                    |
| Marcia Wong,    |   !                                                |
| Economic Growth | [](media/image4.jpeg){width="3.1458333333333335in" |
| Director        |   height=                                          |
|                 | "2.2083333333333335in"}**[Education]{.smallcaps}** |
| <m              |   -- The                                           |
| wong@usaid.gov> | quality of education in any school, in any country |
|                 |   depend                                           |
| Michael Eddy,   | s largely on those who have the most effect on the |
| Democracy &     |   children                                         |
| Governance      | -- the teachers. In Macedonia, teaching techniques |
| Director        |   and e                                            |
|                 | quipment are often outdated, and instructors don't |
| <m              |   have                                             |
| eddy@usaid.gov> | access to modern teaching tools and materials. The |
|                 |   USAI                                             |
| Dwaine Lee,     | D Creative Teaching and Learning Project addresses |
| Education       |   th                                               |
| Director        | ese challenges by modernizing eight public Teacher |
|                 |   Trai                                             |
| <               | ning Institutions (TTIs) across the country. Since |
| dlee@usaid.gov> |   December                                         |
|                 | 2005, the project has invested over \$1,000,000 to |
| Olya Catto,     |                                                    |
| Communications  |  renovate facilities, install media labs and model |
| Director        |   classro                                          |
|                 | oms, update curricula and train future teachers on |
| <oc             |   innovati                                         |
| atto@usaid.gov> | ve teaching techniques at all TTIs. Most recently, |
|                 |   the proje                                        |
|                 | ct has equipped media labs at two faculties of the |
|                 |   Tetovo S                                         |
|                 | tate University with computers, printers, copiers, |
|                 |   te                                               |
|                 | levision sets and furniture. Selected teachers and |
|                 |   students                                         |
|                 |  from all TTIs were trained in the European Credit |
|                 |   Transf                                           |
|                 | er System, education for social justice, curricula |
|                 |   rev                                              |
|                 | ision and the use of information technology -- all |
|                 |   element                                          |
|                 | s necessary to bring Macedonian educational system |
|                 |   to EU s                                          |
|                 | tandards. *Photo by Olya Catto: Students in Tetovo |
|                 |   State University enjoy the new media lab.*       |
|                 |   ---------                                        |
|                 | -------------------------------------------------- |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | ## Off the Wires                                   |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | **[Politics]{.smallcaps}** -- Macedonian public    |
|                 | welcomed the victory of the pro-EU liberal Boris   |
|                 | Tadic in Serbian presidential elections on         |
|                 | February 3^rd^. Tadic's win is seen as a           |
|                 | stabilizing development that will help to bring    |
|                 | prosperity to the Balkan region and boost the      |
|                 | capacities for joint collaboration and progress    |
|                 | towards Euro-Atlantic integration. All eyes are    |
|                 | now on Kosovo as it prepares to declare            |
|                 | independence from Serbia.                          |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | ![](media/image5.jpeg){width="1.5625in"            |
|                 | height="1.5625in"}**[Economy]{.smallcaps} -**      |
|                 | Slovenian group ERA has begun construction of the  |
|                 | largest commercial and entertainment center in the |
|                 | region, ERA City Skopje. ERA Group will invest     |
|                 | about 150 million Euros in the project during the  |
|                 | next five years, and the entire investment will    |
|                 | create about 800 jobs. The 85,000 square meter     |
|                 | complex will feature a business center, a shopping |
|                 | mall, cinema and restaurants. (*MIA*)              |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | **[Education]{.smallcaps}** -- This month, the     |
|                 | Government of Macedonia will begin installing the  |
|                 | first of 100,000 computers targeted for primary    |
|                 | and secondary schools. In a meeting with the       |
|                 | Minister of Information Society, USAID agreed to   |
|                 | support the "One Computer for Every Student"       |
|                 | initiative through teacher training and adaptation |
|                 | of educational software into Macedonian and        |
|                 | Albanian languages.                                |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| Contact Us:     | ## Inside USAID                                    |
|                 |                                                    |
| <oc             | **[Mission Announcements]{.smallcaps}**            |
| atto@usaid.gov> |                                                    |
|                 | In January, USAID/Macedonia Education Specialist   |
| <bvelicko       | Natasha Murdzeva Buleska was featured as a keynote |
| vska@usaid.gov> | speaker at the Strategy Institute\'s 2nd Annual    |
|                 | Canadian Municipal Wireless Summit in Toronto,     |
| [http://mace    | Ontario. The conference, which attracts business   |
| donia.usaid.gov | and political leaders from around the globe,       |
| ](http://macedo | provided an excellent opportunity to showcase how  |
| nia.usaid.gov/) | USAID helped Macedonia become the first wireless   |
|                 | country in the world.                              |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | **[Mission Holidays]{.smallcaps}**                 |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | February 18^th^ -- Presidents' Day                 |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | **[Upcoming events]{.smallcaps}**                  |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | February 21^st^ - Macedonian Civic Education       |
|                 | Center project closing, Civil Society              |
|                 | Strengthening Project (CSSP)                       |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | March 7^th^ -- Open Day for Women in Parliament,   |
|                 | Parliament Development Project                     |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | March 15^th^ - Consumers Organization project      |
|                 | closing, CSSP                                      |
|                 |                                                    |
|                 | April 20^th^ -- Earth Day Fair at the Skopje City  |
|                 | Park, Plastic Recycling Project                    |
+-----------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| **The American  |                                                    |
| people, through |                                                    |
| USAID, have     |                                                    |
| invested nearly |                                                    |
| \$500 million   |                                                    |
| in Macedonia    |                                                    |
| since 1993.     |                                                    |
| USAID is        |                                                    |
| implementing    |                                                    |
| projects that   |                                                    |
| create jobs,    |                                                    |
| reduce          |                                                    |
| corruption and  |                                                    |
| improve the     |                                                    |
| quality of      |                                                    |
| education. For  |                                                    |
| more            |                                                    |
| information     |                                                    |
| please visit    |                                                    |
| [http://macedon |                                                    |
| ia.usaid.gov](h |                                                    |
| ttp://macedonia |                                                    |
| .usaid.gov/).** |                                                    |
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