Skopje, 26 April 2024 (MIA) - The Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM) adopted a decision on Friday to establish the "Goran Stefanovski" foundation, in light of the birthday of the great Macedonian playwright - April 27.

The foundation is based on an initiative of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts-Skopje (FDA), where Stefanovski used to teach drama before moving to the United Kingdom. In addition to representatives of the academic community and Stefanovski's family, the organizational structure will also include the Skopje Drama Theater, where most of his plays were staged and met with great success, FDA said in a press release.

The goal of the Foundation will be to protect and foster the legacy of our greatest contemporary playwright, Goran Stefanovski, as a lasting cultural value, publication of his published and unpublished works, both in print and digital versions, improving accessibility to his work in all languages worldwide, fostering culture - going to the theater and appreciation for dramatic arts among new generations, including promotional projects and support for the overall Macedonian dramatic arts.

The Foundation will provide scholarships to all talented students, and those studying dramatic arts, as well as support and promotion of talented amateur students and young people engaged in film and theater. It will also encourage and support informal education for writing plays, holding educational debates, workshops, seminars, artistic and scientific conferences, as well as humanitarian performance-based and audiovisual projects to support vulnerable groups of people, reads the press release.

Goran Stefanovski passed away five years ago in Canterbury, England, at the age of 66. He wrote several plays: Wild Flesh, Flying on the Spot, Yané Zadrogaz, The False Bottom, Tattooed Souls, The Demon of Debar Maalo, etc. He co-created the popular TV series for children The Crazy Alphabet and several movie scripts. Stefanovski studied at the Faculty of Philology, specializing in Literature Studies, and received his MA at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) in Belgrade with the dissertation entitled Stage Directions as the Foundation of the Theater of Samuel Beckett. He later worked at the Drama Department of TV Skopje, and later as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philology in Skopje. In 1986, he founded the playwriting department at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Skopje, where he worked as a full professor until 1998.

Goran Stefanovski was awarded the Stale Popov, 11th OCtober, Vojdan Chernodrinski, Sterija awards. He was also a member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU). ssh/ik/

MIA file photo