FORD PRICES AWARDED

First Price for the Lake Dojran Project

Fouth year in a row, the Ford motor company in Macedonia awards projects and initiatives in the field of environment and culture. On the award ceremony, which took place on December 7, 2001 in Skopje, the national jury announced the three awarded projects. The first price was awarded to the project called” The Lake Dojran Lake-natural phenomenon”, by the professor Risto Stojanov, the second price was given to the project on the “Matejce” monastery, by the Cultural Heritage Center “Kalamus”, while the third price in the category of youth projects received the Youth Center from Probistip, for the Youth Action Plan for fight against young people alcohol, nicotine and drug abuse.

Every year, the organization and coordination concerning the competition and prices award was successfully conducted by the “Prestige” agency. The Ford program for conservation and environment gives grants to individuals or organizations for non-profit projects. The projects refer to four categories: environment, cultural heritage, protection engineering and children and youth projects.

Last year Ford grants winners were the project for revitalizing the Katlanovo Pond by the Revitalization Initiative Board, the project “One school-one monument”, by Dr. Pance Velkov and the project “The Last Balkan Lynx” of the National Forum for Animals Protection. The year before that the winners were the project for Macedonian eel rescue of the National Forum for Animals Protection, the project for rocky art and the project for the Big City island realized by representatives from the Journalist-Legal Enviro Center Erina and the Macedonian Ecologists Movement. The first year that Macedonia entered this competition, the project for Shar Mountain dog protection, by the young Marko Savovski, was awarded.

The Ford program for conservation and environment started as initiative by the legendary Henry Ford, the founder of one of the biggest world car companies. The fund that he established has been actively conducted in the last 18 years, in 50 world countries.

M.I.