Ohrid, 9 August 2023 (MIA) - Professor Victor Friedman, one of the most famous American and world's linguists, Slavists, was presented with the  annual World Prize of Humanism at the House of Uranija in Ohrid on Wednesday.

The Ohrid Academy of Humanism has been presenting the award for 17 years.

In his address at the ceremony, Ohrid Academy of Humanism director and Ambassador Jordan Plevnesh said that a Balkan linguistic revolution was taking place in the holy city of Ohrid, because Victor Friedman is the first linguist, winner of the World Prize of Humanism in 2023, an award presented on all meridians, inspired by the pan-Slavic educators and 'equal-to-apostles' Ss. Cyril and Methodius, protectors of Europe.

"In the name of love for all languages you created the Balkan linguistic revolution, you, professor Victor Friedman, your Balkanophilia placed the Macedonian language on the world's linguistic map and St. Clement's dream, through the mythical roots of the spiritual and folk tradition, became an indisputable legitimacy for which the Ohrid Academy of Humanism included you on the grand list of winners," Ambassador Plevnesh said.

Ohrid Mayor Kiril Pecakov presented the laureate with the award, adding that for decades on a scholarly founded basis and in the most sincere and humane way, Friedman has been bringing the Macedonian culture closer to the American public.

"This makes him one of the greatest friends and admirers of Macedonia and the Macedonian language and culture. With this award, we Macedonians, keep our centuries-old code instilled by our Saint Clement of Ohrid for spreading humanism and philanthropy," Pecakov stressed.

Laureate and Professor Victor Friedman from the University of Chicago, expressed gratitude for the honor, and used the opportunity to mention the distinctiveness of the Macedonian language, a legacy of the first Slavic language whose modern form derives from the dialects intertwined in the region over the centuries.

"Ohrid was, is, and will always remain the center of multilingualism, which only confirms its title as a center of world humanism. In my five decades of research and numerous published papers, I have tried to maintain humanistic values, that all languages are worth researching and studying, not only the ancient, but also the modern, not only in Europe but everywhere," noted Friedman.

Friedman is the seventeenth winner of this exceptional recognition which Ohrid, the city of UNESCO, has already presented to Nobel laureates Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Herta Müller, as well as Daisaku Ikeda, Ravi Shankar, Peter Brook, Manoel De Oliveira, awaking the sources of spiritual memory of the first medieval school of humanism, founded by the students Ss. Cyril and Methodius, protectors of Europe.

As part of the ceremony, an International Conference was held, titled "Ohrid School of Humanism from the Middle Ages to Today". ssh/nn/

Photo: MIA