For the first time in Macedonia, a Festival of the best events for the past year will be organized - BEAM (Best of event awards Macedonia), the initiative and organization are the Association of the event industry IVAP, and the registration of the projects is ongoing.

The BEAM festival aims to recognize creative ideas and events, but also to highlight and encourage the importance of events in the marketing plans of clients and companies. BEAM celebrates the creativity, uniqueness, innovation, hard work and dedication of all actors in the event industry.

- The goal of BEAM is mapping the industry and valorizing the work of professionals in the event industry. This festival is a chance to give a second life to our events, to tell the story and to affirm everyone who was part of an event. The prize, in turn, will mean immortality for that event. We believe that both the clients and the organizers, as well as the creative energy and budgets they have invested, deserve this kind of valorization - the organizers of BEAM point out.

The best events will be selected in 15 categories, and will be evaluated by a jury-commission composed of experienced and proven professionals in various sectors of the creative industries.

The commission includes Ana Zafirova, freelance journalist and communications expert; Aneta Andonova, responsible editor of the First Program Service - MRT 1; Aneta Antova Pesheva, co-owner and director of "Ultra/Unet" DOO Skopje, president of MASIT - Chamber of IC Technologies, honorary consul of Canada in RS Macedonia; Biljana Kolemishevska, marketing, communications and PR in "M-Car" Macedonia; Boris Eftimovski, founder of "Marketing 365"; Vancho Bogoev, graduate producer, MKC; Vardan Tozia, film and TV director; Violeta Simjanovska, head of the cultural management department at the Sibelius Academy, UNIARTS, Finland; Dejan Projkovski, theater director; Dušan Marković, corporate marketing and PR director – "Maliqi Group"; Emilia Zografska, corporate communications expert at "A1 Macedonia"; Zlatko Pankov, founder of Panex, Iva Dujak, chief operating officer at Brand Union, Kosta Petrov, founder and CEO of Pi World; Ljupco Jolevski, journalist; Marta Naumovska Grnarova, general manager of "Zavar"; Milcho Alexandrov, light designer; Mite Dimovski, artist, composer and music producer; and Risima Risimkin, choreographer, artistic director of "Dance Fest Skopje" and Skopje Dance Theater, dean of the Film Academy at "Goce Delchev" University in Shtip.

The festival was founded on the initiative and organization of the Association of Event Industry IVAP, and the events will be selected in 15 categories. To participate, each company needs to register their event by filling out an application, which can be found on the BEAM website (www.beamfestival.mk).

Registration lasts until February 20, 2023, with the possibility of early registration until February 3. The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony in mid-March.

- We expect a large number of applications in all categories, we had a beautiful and fruitful year with many events, so we encourage our colleagues to submit their works. We have created a system of work that guarantees impartial and objective assessment, we are completely transparent in the rules and criteria and therefore we expect the best to win - said the BEAM festival.

(The text was published in "Cultural Press" No. 164, in the print edition of the newspaper "Free Press" on January 28-29, 2023)