“Devoted to providing a fairer, safer, and brighter future for Skopje and all our citizens. As an OECD Champion Mayor for Inclusive Growth, I am dedicated to tackling inequalities and advancing the inclusive urban economic growth agenda. It is a great honour to be part of this unique platform which helps elevate local government voices in national debates and global agendas, facilitate exchanges, and address inequality by sharing concrete solutions among city leaders.”
Danela Arsovska is the first woman to be elected Mayor of Skopje. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University and an executive education from the University of Oxford and University of Sheffield. In 2014 Arsovska was elected as President of the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce, the union of national chambers of commerce where she chaired until she was elected Mayor. She was appointed Chair of the Macedonian Union of Employers’ Organizations in 2015. On the national level, Ms. Arsovska was Representative in the Parliament National Council for European Integration since 2016. She was also the Macedonian representative in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), served two consecutive terms as elected General Council Member in the World Chambers Federation, and was part of the US Department of State IVLP for emerging leaders. Arsovska served on the Panel at The World Bank ICSID in Washington, USA since 2016. In 2017 she was appointed as Court Member at the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in Geneva, Switzerland and was also Court Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.
In recognition for her work in 2018, the World Business Angels Investment Forum recognized Arsovska as “Best Business Woman Role Model of South East Europe”. In 2019 at the 6th Entrepreneurs Summit of Central and Southeast Europe, she was awarded with the Recognition for her special contribution to entrepreneurship development. In 2022 she was appointed Head of National Delegation in the Council of Europe COE – Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and becomes part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leader Initiative. In 2023 she was elected Chair of the UN Forum of Mayors an officially established United Nations body and Executive Committee member of the Global Parliament of Mayors. That same year the European People’s Party (EPP) in the Council of Europe COE Congress of Local and Regional Authorities elected her Vice President.
Skopje commenced a green transition to neutralize the consequences of the long-term neglect of the city. The goal is to create an environmentally friendly city with a better quality of life for all its citizens. The City of Skopje plants over 100,000 trees and plants per year by organizing spring and autumn planting with city enterprises, city high schools and partner civil society organizations. The Skopje Urban Greening Master Plan includes among its activities the implementation of a Green Cadastre, creating 5 new mega parks and new botanical garden in the city, as well as the construction of a Skopje waste water treatment plant, new wells, and the implementation of the ISO 14 001 environmental standard.
Under the leadership of Mayor Arsovska, Skopje has been awarded the prestigious title European Capital of Culture 2028. The comprehensive program with the motto “Culture over division” was presented to the EU and won the heart of Europe. This selection is a prestigious recognition for Skopje as part of Europe, and in the years that follow up to 2028, Europe will unite with Skopje through the prism of culture and art. The vision includes youth and creative industries, connected with innovative eco-practices in all processes and cultural events that will take place 365 days in Skopje. The program will begin to be implemented from 2024, and during the following years united national and European artists will participate in hundreds of cultural events that will culminate in 2028.
The City of Skopje is a city of solidarity, care, inclusion, equal opportunities, and unity. This is why Mayor Arsovska is devoted to ensuring that people with disabilities have the same opportunities, and works hard to develop an inclusive culture, inclusive policies, and practices on the local level. Achieving better outcomes for all citizens in Skopje is the Mayor’s key priority, and this means working together to provide good quality social care for the elderly and disabled people. The City supports people to be as independent as possible for as long as possible so they can do as much as they can for themselves with the support they need. For the City to achieve the ambition for inclusive growth, it will be vital that everyone who lives and works in it thinks about what actions they can take to support this vision. With good use of available resources, better outcomes can be achieved for all. Skopje continuously supports the city day center for children and people with disabilities, the center for care of the elderly, and the homeless shelter.