Annual Report 2013 | Page 15

American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia • Hosted a gathering for key AmCham supporters with DAS Reeker when he visited Skopje; • Sent representatives of the local enforcement community to AmCham Croatia’s annual IPR conference; • Met with the Director of the State Industrial Property Office, Safet Emruli, and the President of the National IPR Coordinative Body regarding increasing communication and coordination on projects of common interest; • Met with President Ivanov’s cabinet and Prime Minister Gruevski’s Advisor on HR and Education issues in preparation for the Business-University Cooperation event; • Met with the newly-formed U.S. Embassy Youth Council to gauge areas of mutual interest; • Met with the leadership of ZAMP, Macedonia’s main collective management organization of copyright music rights with regard to our IPR advocacy initiatives; • Met regularly with the Director of the “11.Oktomvri” orphanage to give/receive feedback on our CSR committee initiative as well as seek assistance with programrelated issues. Support of Student Initiatives Throughout 2013: • AmCham provided fundraising assistance to the 2013 Preparing Global Leaders Institute’s summer program held in Struga, Ohrid, Bitola and Skopje; • Helped recruit volunteer lecturers for the Summer Work and Travel Alumni Association’s StartUp Academy. Special thanks are owed to Verica Hadzi-Vasileva Markovska from Analysis and Advisory Group and Maja Nikolovska from Eurostandard Banka • Sponsored the Summer Work and Travel Alumni Association’s SmartUp conference. AmChams in Europe Best Practices Conference – Helsinki and Tallin AmCham Macedonia’s Executive Director attended AmChams in Europe’s 2013 annual Best Practices Conference from 18-20 September in Helsinki, Finland and Tallin, Estonia. At the gathering, 35 participants from 27 AmChams from across Europe had the opportunity to listen to views from key figures including Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki; Tiit Paananen, 15