The event was opened by the Official representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Daniel Braun. In his address to the participants, Braun, emphasized, "As our democratic societies develop and change, political parties must also develop, in order to adapt to the wishes and expectations of voters. This is a prerequisite for gaining an advantage in a democratic election. Therefore, we as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation as well as the Party Research and Analytical Center "Ljubisha Georgievski" are pleased to have the opportunity together with the party leadership and the executive committee of VMRO-DPMNE to address these current challenges, as well as to discuss possible answers and solutions".
In his address, the Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the European People's Party, David McAllister, expressed satisfaction with the opportunity for the European People's Party to contribute to the support and strengthening of its sister party, VMRO-DPMNE, especially in anticipation of the campaign for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. McAllister openly encouraged VMRO-DPMNE to engage in a positive and constructive political campaign, which will be focused on solid and durable political solutions, within the framework of a political program that guarantees prosperity for the country. He also emphasized the importance of the outcome of the upcoming elections for the European Parliament, which will take place in June, stressing that these elections will undoubtedly be decisive for future generations and the European continent, which is at a crossroads. In this regard, the European People's Party strives to remain the strongest parliamentary group in the European Parliament, McAllister pointed out.
Christian Kremer, Head of the CDU International Office, welcomed the attendees in a live address via video link. Comparing the situations in the two countries, Kremer concluded that the shortcomings reflect negatively on the societies and disappoint people. "Young people react the most to these situations, so they become disillusioned with politics, and in your case they quickly move out from the country." Commenting on the current European integrations, Kremer emphasized that he strongly believes in the commitment of VMRO-DPMNE to move the country strongly forward through dedicated cooperation and dialogue.
The President of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski also addressed the participants, who expressed his sincere gratitude to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for selflessly and continuously providing support to VMRO-DPMNE, and we will gladly continue to invest in strengthening human capacities. President Mickoski referred to the party's strategic planning for the upcoming elections, what are the activities that have been organized so far and the plans ahead. He also added that the program for the next elections is also in its final phase, in which there are reasonable projects with a detailed approach and promises that aim to transform the country.
Within the framework of the event, the vice-presidents of the party Aleksandar Nikoloski, Vlado Misajlovski and Gordana Dimitrieska Kocoska, as well as the Secretary General Gjorgija Sajkoski and the Secretary for International Cooperation Stefan Andonovski gave their presentation to the participants. Within the framework of these discussions, the participants discussed the building of vision and leadership, strategic planning for political changes, etc.
As part of the event, an interactive discussion was held with Naum Stoilkovski, Spokesperson of VMRO-DPMNE and a long-time journalist, which covered the issue of key communication messages, preparation and delivery of an effective and efficient message, the importance of the message, as well as the correct communication of policies in public.
A panel discussion was also held on the topic of the election process and the role of the free media.
During the second day, the long-time journalist and editor Slavica Arsova, included the participants in a workshop on the best practices for participating in public debate. While the Professor and analyst, Vladimir Bozinovski spoke about the interpretation of public opinion polls.
The last day of the strategic event included two panel discussions on extremely important topics. “What makes the difference between great and average leaders?” was the topic of Aleksandra Janeska-Iliev, associate professor at the Faculty of Economics - Skopje, where the basics of leadership at the highest political level, as well as strategies and methods for building successful leaders was discussed. About the main geostrategic challenges for 2024, a moderated discussion was led by Ivica Bocevski, former Vice Prime Minister in charge of European affairs, Zhidas Daskalovski, Professor at the Faculty of Security - Skopje and Dalibor Jovanovski, Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy - Institute of History.
In the part of concluding observations of the training, Davor Pasoski, from Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Stefan Andonovski, Secretary for International Cooperation of VMRO-DPMNE joined the discussions. This part included a discussion with the participants regarding the needs and priorities in the upcoming period.
The three-day event addressed topics such as the role of top leadership in strategic planning, effective communication with citizens, relations with the media, as well as strategic positioning in the creation and communication of policies in the coming period.
