Heritage

My name is Filip Jovanov, I’m 17 and I come from Veles.  I started my education at the Primary School “Blaže Koneski” in Veles, where I gained my solid knowledge foundations. Ever since I was demonstrating a huge interest in math and science, so I started participating in a lot of competitions. Afterward, I enrolled at the Gymnasium “Kočo Racin” here in my hometown, where I continued my secondary education, currently being in the second year of studies. Moreover, I have been also actively playing volleyball, since I was 8 years old.

Success Story

My success story dates back early to my primary education, where I was competing in math, chemistry, and biology, winning numerous awards. Those awards motivated me to continue my secondary education in the Gymnasium “Orce Nikolov” in Skopje – known as one of the best gymnasiums in our country. As soon as I was accepted in “Orce Nikolov”, something unexpected happened – I was rejected from the state boarding school for the reason that a gymnasium of that kind already existed in my hometown. To be honest, I was a little disappointed, but also motivated! I enrolled at the Gymnasium “Kocho Racin” and continued to compete and be motivated like never before. In the first year, I won a second prize at the regional math competition and I participated in the national one, too. I also participated in a chemistry competition on a national level. In April last year, together with my teammates, I participated in the World Scholar’s Cup in Strumica, where I won 4 medals (3 gold medals and 1 silver). In addition, together with a teammate, I participated in the European Money Quiz, where we won the 13th place, out of 142 teams competing. Last year, all these awards lead to me being selected as the best student in the class. On another note, this year began with winning one volleyball award as well. In December I was awarded the Best Young Athlete of the Municipality of Veles, and my team was selected as the third Best Young Team. Of course, I continued with the science competitions, but more in the field of physics. I won the second prize in a local competition in physics, third prize in a local and regional competition in math, and the first prize in a local competition in chemistry, which lead me to national qualifications. Unfortunately, they were temporarily stopped as a result of Covid-19. Thanks to my achievements I was chosen for an Erasmus+ exchange. The project was titled “Solving Medical Mysteries with Mathematics”, but unfortunately it was also halted. During the quarantine, I found a new hobby – making infographics. I created one for the needs of my school, which the professors liked a lot. So maybe, my future plans will be connected with the IT sector. Why not?

Macedonia 2025/ Giving Back to Homeland

I’m a person who believes that everything in life happens for a reason. The only thing I don’t understand is people’s terrible need to pollute the environment. Nevertheless, there are also those who care about it and are here to remind others that trashcans are made for a reason. Because of the first category of people, this year I decided to be part of the Macedonian Working Brigade, which existed since my grandfather’s time. The mission of the brigade is to protect the environment through various environmental actions. Thanks to this actions, I made new friends all over the country. We all share the same goal, continuing the tradition of our grandparents, but above all, living in a clean environment. Another similar activity I was involved in, was the project organized by the Fund for Innovation and Technological Development called “Challenge for Young Researches”. The aim of this project is to encourage creative thinking among young people and support research projects based on a scientific method. My teammates and I had wonderful ideas that unfortunately did not materialize because of the current pandemic crisis.