Building on the success and progress over the last few months, UMD’s Next Generation Program, which educates, empowers, and unites young Macedonians worldwide – Generation M (Gen M) – officially launched in Toronto, Canada. The first strategy-planning meeting was held on January 17, 2015 at the Canadian Macedonian Place Board Room attracting around twenty young Canadian-Macedonians.
UMD Canada member Vele Tosevski who is the Canadian co-chair of Generation M led a presentation joined by U.S. co-chair Filip Jotevski who traveled from Columbus, Ohio on what Gen M is and why young Canadian-Macedonians should get involved. A very productive discussion followed where all the participants gave their feedback as to potential future events and expanding the program in other parts of Canada. Ideas included organizing a Toronto Ajvar 5K, an Entrepreneurial/Business Leadership Conference at the University of Toronto, as well as Model Macedonia, a Model UN type program for young Macedonians, among others.
One of the most important and exciting topics discussed was Birthright Macedonia. Birthright Macedonia is a program in the works, which would have a goal to pair young Macedonian students abroad with internships in Macedonia for not only a valuable work experience but also an immersion in Macedonian culture while residing with a local Macedonian host family for a 2-3 week period during the summer.
“It is absolutely necessary for the existence of a program such as Generation M. It will help unite all of the Macedonian youth that are scattered across Canada. I am very proud of the ideas presented and the commitment exhibited by the people in attendance. Toronto is only the first step towards our vision of an organized network of Macedonian students and young professionals worldwide” said Tosevski.
The Gen M launch also gathered support from several distinguished guests. In attendance were UMD Canada Director Jim Daikos as well as Macedonian Companions member Stephen Mangos who is the Owner and Founder of Canadiana Flowers. Generation M extends a very special gratitude to Mr. Daikos and UMD Canada for sponsoring the event and the Canadian Macedonian Place for allowing their space for the launch.
“The support, feedback, and overall enthusiasm we received from our launch Saturday completely reassured the future plans and vision of Generation M. It’s such an exciting time to be young and Macedonian and we are 100% committed to keeping the momentum going and working towards our mission of organizing and uniting the Macedonian youth around the globe,” said Jotevski.
Generation M has already started planning launches in other cities and alongside the creation of a new Toronto Committee (with meetings occurring once every month), the Gen M team is looking forward to organizing many other successful events in the Greater Toronto Area.
Generation M encourages all young Macedonians to become members of the program, attend all of its events, and join the movement. Toronto is only a stepping-stone towards a bright future for the next generation of young Macedonians. Congratulations, Gen M!
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