People: Emilija Simovska

I could not fake research results
 

Professional experience: I have dedicated 26 years of my work to scientific-research activities at the Institute for Sociologic and Political – Legal Research. At the beginning, as all junior assistants I worked in different fields which I was not always interested in. However, in the last 15 years I have been working on problems related to the ethnic relations and their implications on the security. I also teach Political Culture and Communications to post-graduate students at the Institute and Public Relations at the American University in Skopje.  

Engagement in the civil sector: I used to be a member of the Managerial Board at the Open Society Institute - Macedonia for several years in which I had the opportunity to contact a number of CSOs I still cooperate with. I used to work for MCIC projects in several occasions. I help the small civil society organizations in the preparation of projects. I spend a great deal of my time in this field.  

Hobbies and interests: I do not have a hobby. Apart from what I do, I am interested in sports, mainly football and car races.  

Toughest decision: I could not choose one, since when I make them, I am usually quite sure in what I am doing, so I do not find it hard. I may just have been lucky not to be faced with dilemmas.  

Ambitions: Not to put myself in a position to abandon some principles of mine.  

In her free time she reads: Unfortunately, only professional literature; there’s too much to read, so I rarely have time for fiction: I usually miss or run late with a lot of good books that are worth reading. 

Where does she go in her free time: I go walking and than sit in a cafe.  

At weekends: The weekends are not very different from the rest of the week. However, when they are free, I use them to fulfill some family obligations, visit friends, etc.  

Which national / local problem does she find especially important and why? Respecting the laws. If we can achieve that, everything else in Macedonia would be better.  

Which global problem does she find especially important and why? Environmental protection (without it, there wouldn’t be any problems, but there wouldn’t be people either).    

Advice/message: I do not believe in widely spread messages. I do not listen to them either. When I give advice, It refers to honesty and professionalism, but I have to make sure that the advice makes sense for the one that listens to it.  

I could never: Fake results from a research as some of my colleagues do just to court the political parties.