Dear colleagues, friends and collaborators of HOPS,
It is with deep sorrow and pain that we inform you about the death of our beloved colleague Ivica Cekovski, an Executive Director of HOPS – Healthy Options Project Skopje. His passing was sudden, unexpected and left us in disbelief and deep sorrow.
On this occasion, we would like to express our sincere condolences to his family.
Ivica Cekovski had a brief, but productive career. Born on 28th August 1985, in Kriva Palanka, he spent his childhood and finished primary school in his home town. He graduated at the Secondary Medical School Dr. Panche Karagjozov in Skopje, receiving his bachelor degree in medicine from the Medical Faculty, St. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje. From there he continued to acquire a Master’s degree in Public Health, attending the international studies at the Institute for International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University – Edinburgh, UK, and the Royal Tropical Institute, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Ivica Cekovski began his professional career early in high school, as an activist and instructor at H.E.R.A. in Skopje, remaining active in this organization from 2002 to 2008. Simultaneously, he worked on OBSCE and UNFPA projects and particularly excelled as a youth educator and representative in many national and international youth networks.
As of 2012, we had the honor and pleasure to share in Ivica’s knowledge and experience, and further enrich the work of HOPS, where he held several positions as a doctor, researcher, and work in the field of advocacy and public relations. He contributed unreservedly in each of these.
In June 2019, Ivica Cekovski took the position of an executive director of HOPS, dedicating himself unconditionally to the tasks and challenges, having the opportunity to demonstrate the benefits his youth and knowledge had to offer. This was his last job position at HOPS, however, we shall never forget the profuse enrichment he bestowed to our lives.
Goodbye Ivica, rest in peace, we will always remember you in our hearts!