A coalition of nearly 50 faith-based and human rights organizations and professionals, through the informal International Religious Freedom Roundtable, wrote to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov urging him to be the first Bulgarian Prime Minister to acknowledge and apologize for the deportation of Macedonian Jews during WWII. Click HERE to read the letter. This Friday,…
The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD), the leading non-partisan voice of our nation’s half a million Americans of Macedonian heritage, applauds the introduction of H. Res. 741 expressing support for the designation of the month of September 2022 as ‘‘Macedonian American Heritage Month’’ and celebrating the Macedonian language, history, and culture of Macedonian Americans and their incredible contributions to the United…
Social Media Outreach: 33 virtual events, gatherings, and videos 443,000 total views 36.4% increase in video engagements from 2020 Charitable Efforts: $13,000 worth of medical equipment was donated to the University Clinic of Neurology at Clinical Center Mother Teresa, Skopje. $6,000 worth of firefighting equipment, including shoes and masks, to the voluntary fire brigade Arhangel Bitola. $5,000 to the Sveti Spas…
The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) submitted written testimony as a proponent for the creation of a Commission on Eastern European Affairs and the Office of Eastern European Affairs for Ohio. The testimony was distributed to the members of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee of the Ohio Senate prior to their hearing on December 8, 2021. This is the second…
For 17 years, the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) has been working to reduce the inequalities facing Macedonian-identifying peoples around the world. Considering this year’s United Nations Human Rights Day theme on Equality, we, at the UMD are tripling our advocacy efforts to bring awareness about Macedonian challenges. This fall, UMD Australia provided a grant to fund Macedonian language classes in…
The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) issues the following statement regarding the resignation of Zoran Zaev as Prime Minister of Macedonia following his political party’s significant losses in the recent Macedonian local elections: UMD strongly opposed the so-called Good Neighborly Relations Agreement with Bulgaria, the Prespa Agreement with Greece, and the language law in Macedonia. UMD publicly stressed the detrimental implications…
Today, the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) – founded on October 28, 2004 – celebrates its 17th anniversary. Until UMD was founded, there was no permanent, professional, and persistent voice for Macedonians located in Washington, D.C. In May 2008, UMD became the first Macedonian organization to open an office in Washington, D.C. As a non-partisan, non-profit, non-governmental organization, UMD has led…
The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) issued the following statement on today’s passing of General Colin L. Powell, the son of immigrants from Jamaica, who served as the United States’ first African American Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: General Powell rose to become one of America’s most recognized statesmen, tirelessly advancing democratic causes, international security,…
With profound sadness, the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) mourns the passing of our 2012 UMD Lifetime Achievement Awardee James Saunders – a pioneer in the Canadian Macedonian community, a human rights champion, and an inspiration for future Macedonian activists. Saunders’ work for Macedonia and the Macedonian people spanned nearly eight decades. Saunders, who passed away at age 98, was born…
The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) is thrilled to announce that Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (Democrat-Michigan’s 8th Congressional District) has joined the bi-cameral and bi-partisan Congressional Caucus on Macedonia and Macedonian-Americans, which currently numbers 35 members. Michigan is home to the largest population of Macedonian-Americans in the United States. 5 out of 14 members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation are now Macedonia…
By Aleksandar Popovski, UMD Member, Florida After the main ruling and opposition party in Macedonia, along with the parties of the Albanian minority, signaled their support for the census, the boycott option has waned in popularity. Nonetheless, there is a significant number of fringe parties, both on the left and the right, that are openly calling for people not to…
By Aleksandar Popovski, UMD Member, Florida The modern practice of a regular population census dates back to the traditions of Ancient Rome, or more precisely, the Roman Republic. At that time, a census was conducted every five years, presided by two magistrates called censors. The censors were elected from a pool of candidates that previously served as consuls, the highest…