Interview with Tamara Mitkovska, Leader of the Club for Young Conservatives
The conservative ideology is a moving force in Macedonian society
You are a young student who is yet to start steering in academic waters, what is the reason for you to be in the Sarissa Institute, especially in the youth club of the Institute?
Yes, I am a first year student at the Institute for Security, Defense and Peace at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. I have been in the Sarissa Institute since recently, ie since its inception. The conservative ideology and the values that this Institute stands for, have stimulated in me a series of thoughts, above all about what kind of family I grew up in and what values my parents have passed on to me, and which of course they inherited from their parents… Here I primarily mean tradition, culture, education, religion and customs. These are the values in which I found myself and I believe that they are the main driving force that we should follow in the future.
What is your role in the Sarissa Institute?
Our role, as a Club of Young Conservatives, is to unite as many young people as possible around this idea. In Macedonia, but also outside its borders, there are more and more young people, who return to traditional and cultural values, nurtured over the years and are getting louder in promoting these values. Today, young people are increasingly present in the Churches, are involved in many actions to help and support socially disadvantaged families, offer and participate in various projects to promote and maintain a stable market economy, maintain traditional values and actively participate in the development of cultural and educational processes in the country. However, this division by areas and the performance as individuals in their actions does not allow their voice to be heard enough, so that it becomes credible and taken into account when creating key state policies. Therefore, it is necessary to unite the youth, return them to the country and of course organized action. To that end, we want to develop a network of young conservatives in all cities in Macedonia and in the diaspora. I believe that we at the Sarissa Institute have the capacity to carry out this role.
In your columns and addresses so far, you emphasize several pillars important for young people, so if you can tell us something about it?
Yes, at the very beginning I set myself the task of setting up a few pillars on which young people should build conservative values. These are 5 pillars in total and refer to morality, belonging, continuity, effectiveness and consistency.
These 5 pillars can find their role in all forms of social life, including issues related to health, religion, culture, defense and security, education and science, economics, etc. This classification, on the one hand, creates a separation from the everyday “hot topics” that occupy young people from almost all media, which would significantly remove the prejudices that appear in public because of these issues and because of which we are often attacked as conservatives, and on the other hand, it is enough to emphasize the essence as sustainable in everyday life.
This division, in addition to covering several such topics that ripple the public every day, it imposes answers to a series of additional unresolved questions and views on which of course our short-term and long-term future depends.
What message would you send to the public, and what is crucial for the implementation of the idea you represent and the role of the Club of Young Conservatives?
I would like to send not one but several messages, which I consider more notable and which should reach the public, especially the young population, and thus as young conservatives to impose this ideological principle in reality.
We do not want to leave our country forever, because it belongs to our ancestors!
We want to be, not to have!
We look at the world with love and human dignity is imperative for us! In that way, through effective love, we can change the world.
Young people must be actors, not just silent observers left out and marginalized!
As a driving force, we must restore to the people the lost trust in the institutions and restore the value of their labor.
Therefore, we must be active, emancipated, involved and recognized, affirmative, consistent, constructive, eloquent… To stand for something, not against something!
Finally, how can young people who hear your messages join the Club of Young Conservatives?
On this occasion, I would like to extend an invitation to all young people up to 27 years old, living in Macedonia but also those from the diaspora, who believe that their life views are based on these conservative principles and have a desire to join and contribute to the Club for Young Conservatives, they can do it through the Facebook page of the Sarissa Institute or by email: info@www.sarissa.mk.
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