3 September 2009

Commissioner Ján FIGEĽ opened the XIV Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean – Seven Gates: Skopje Biennial 2009
 

On 3 September, Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figeľ paid a two-day visit to Skopje, taking part in the opening of the XIV edition of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean – Seven gates (3-12 September 2009) at the main square of the capital.

With the ten-day Biennial, under the patronage of Commissioner Figeľ, Skopje will receive more than 700 artists from 46 countries and their creations will be exhibited in the public spaces of the city, which will become a meeting point for intercultural dialogue. “I am happy that this edition of the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean takes place in 2009, which is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. There is nothing like culture and arts to better promote peaceful and constructive dialogue across political and cultural borders”, stressed Figeľ at the opening. The Biennial is supported by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), responsible for the management of certain parts of the EU's programmes in the fields of education, culture and audiovisual.

On the same day, Commissioner Figeľ took part in the panel discussion on "EU opportunities for youth and students from the Western Balkans”, held at the EU InfoCentre. He said, “European Commission took measures to make more and more scholarships available for the students of the Western Balkans in the framework of the Erasmus Mundus Programme and a new wider scholarship scheme targeting students at all levels and academic staff". Since 2004, nearly 1,200 students or scholars from the Western Balkans countries benefited from the two Erasmus Mundus Mobility schemes, including approximately 130 students and academic staff from the country. He encouraged the students to take full advantage of the extended opportunities offered under the EU's Erasmus Programme for mobility.

Furthermore, Commissioner Figeľ addressed the participants at the 3rd informal meeting of Cultural Contact Points (4-5 September 2009). Cultural Contact Points from Austria, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Croatia, UK, Finland, France, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Montenegro and their host – the Cultural Contact Point from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, gathered at the EU InfoCentre in Skopje. The objective of the meeting was to address the new challenges that the CCPs are facing in the implementation of the Culture Programme 2007 – 2013. The Minister of Culture, Ms Elizabeta Kančeska Milevska, also addressed the participants.

As part of his visit, Commissioner Figeľ met the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Vasko Naumovski, the Minister of Education Nikola Todorov as well as with the Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska.