68^th WORLD CONGRESS OF INTERNATIONAL P.E.N.
17^th – 24^th September 2002
OHRID, REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

MESSAGE OF WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT OF MACEDONIAN P.E.N.

    Dear colleagues,

    I am extremely glad to invite you to the 68th International P.E.N. Congress in Ohrid. It will, I believe, be a real event, at a real place, and in a real season. From the hotel balconies and terraces, across the azure tranquillity of the lake, we will see the domes of St. Sophia and the narrow streets of the ancient city winding up the hill towards the tenth-century fortress of Tsar Samuel.
    Over the past year I have often pondered on the significance of this World Congress, in the substance of which, as fellow writer has said, the whole universe is reflected as in a drop of water. In particular, I have thought about it in the light of the tensions and animosities that arose in Macedonia, which have reminded us once again of the utmost importance of our Charter. I believe that, despite the anxieties and tensions, the Republic of Macedonia has remained – as was shown by its acceptance of peaceful solutions to the problems in accordance with the suggestions of the international community – a haven however apparently fragile, of communication and co-operation on which to build. And I believe that International PEN’s presence here at the Congress, whose central theme is Borders of Freedom / Freedom of Borders, will bear out the principles of our Charter and support those efforts to build a peaceful future. We are reminded of the borders within ourselves, within our imperfect minds, and of the external borders, drawn by ourselves, of our imperfect world. The old millennium, especially in “old” Europe, should, I believe, be left behind with all its anachronistic boundaries – geographical, historical, racial, ethnic, state, linguistic, religious and cultural – and give way to the unfolding of the new millennium, to its open-mindedness and tolerance.
    For generations we in Macedonia have lived with a creed according to which culture and not warfare or power is perceived as the field for competitiveness among nations. The aims of the World Congress of International P.E.N. in 2002 perfectly correspond with the spirit of this creed, upon which we have defined a whole complex of themes for discussion, starting with Borders of Freedom / Freedom of Borders and moving on to The Future of Language / Language of the Future and the round table discussions on women writers, on young writers and International P.E.N., and on the Slavic Literatures in the Balkans. All these themes launch initiatives for the future, which is in itself symbolic of freedom in the way it opens before us.
    Writers everywhere must hope that in the course of the adventurous process known as globalization the so-called “small” languages, nations and cultures will not lose their identity, and that the World and Humanity will destroy neither themselves nor that wide spectrum of contemporary civilization, the range and diversity, the subtleties and nuances of which comprise the essence of any art and culture.
    All seminars and all literary readings are open to the participation of an international audience. Thus, the principles by which International P.E.N. exists – those of peace and tolerance, freedom of creation and freedom of language, open dialogue and intellectual co-operation – will be reaffirmed.
    Therefore, dear colleagues, I and my fellow Macedonian writers, invite you to join us in doing everything in our power to make the Ohrid Congress a memorable part both of the great history of International P.E.N. and, above all, of the effort to expand the boundaries of freedom, both human and creative.


    Thank you for your decision to come to Ohrid,

Dimitar Bashevski
President, Macedonian PEN Centre

all contents © Macedonian P.E.N.