Thanks to groups like the Sexual Law Reform Society and Stonewall, and initiatives like Pride, there has been huge progress towards ending the unfair treatment of people on the basis of sexual orientation and creating a society in which everyone can be their true selves without fear or favour.7  6  See https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20091005104048/ http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page20571 7 The Bank of England aims to be an LGBT+ inclusive employer, taking part in the London Pride parade every year and flying the pride flag atop its Threadneedle Street building. The Bank has a thriving LGBT+ & Allies Network which was launched in 2006 and now has around 350 members and allies. In 2018, the Bank supported the rollout of rainbow lanyards in the spirit of creating a visibly inclusive and supportive environment – these are now worn by more than 1,000 colleagues. We complete the Stonewall benchmarking exercise each year and were pleased to have increased our ranking by over 100 places in 2018. 5  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  5  The Bank of England is committed to ensuring our banknotes are as inclusive as possible. That means celebrating the breadth of human achievement in this great country from science to the arts to statecraft to literature. And it means featuring a range of individuals who reflect the vibrant diversity of UK society. The design of the note Let me conclude by unveiling the image for the new Turing £ note. The design recognises the breadth and variety of Turing’s contributions to science.

Anita Angelovska Bezhoska: The denar was and remains one of the key pillars of the stability of the Macedonian economy Address by Ms Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia, on the 29th anniversary of the monetary independence, Skopje, 26 April 2021. * * * Monetary sovereignty is one of the main components of the sovereignty of any state. Today we mark 29 years since the laying of the foundations of our monetary independence – the day when the denar replaced the Yugoslav dinar, and the National Bank began to function as an independent central bank, facing numerous challenges in those turbulent times of separation from the former Yugoslav state. Looking back through years, we can freely say that the monetary independence took place in an extremely difficult period marked with high macroeconomic instability as its main feature. Frequent exchange rate devaluations, when there were almost no foreign reserves, along with structural problems, ignited inflation, which reached four-digit levels, and all this had strong effects on the economy and the living standards of citizens. The economy has been declining 1996, when economic growth of 1.2% was registered for the first time since independence. Hence, no doubt that establishing a stable macroeconomic environment required great courage, commitment and professionalism of the National Bank team. The efforts of the National Bank, together with other policy makers and the academic community, have played a key role in ceasing the inflation spiral and stabilizing the exchange rate of the domestic currency.