Golden Drum Festival and Macedonian Telekom Announce the Winners of the Young Creatives Competition

Ahead of one of the most prestigious advertising festivals in the region — Golden Drum, and with the support and partnership of Macedonian Telekom, a Young Creatives Competition was organized in Macedonia under the theme “Break the Prejudice.”

The winning concept was created by Vedran Šurbanovski with his idea “What Will the Neighbors Say?” while Simona Simonovska with “No Thinking, No Prejudices!” and David Trajanović with “Running Out of Time?” took second and third place, respectively.

The winner of the competition will receive a festival pass, hotel accommodation, and covered travel expenses for the Golden Drum Festival, which will take place on October 13th and 14th in Portorož, Slovenia. The authors of the second- and third-place ideas will receive a new T-Tablet 2 and T-Phone 3, respectively.

The jury tasked with selecting the winning idea consisted of Jovica Rafajlovski (Art Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Skopje), Suzana Šterjova (Marketing Communications and Media Expert, Telekom), and Andrej Pavlovski (Golden Drum Ambassador).

“We were genuinely pleasantly surprised by the number of authors who submitted their work, but also by the quality of the entries. It wasn’t easy to choose a winner, as each idea stood out in its own unique way and carried its own distinct character. This brings us great joy and gives us hope that these young creatives will one day be on the Golden Drum stage as winners in the main competition. On behalf of Golden Drum and Telekom, I’d like to congratulate all the awardees — and to Vedran Šurbanovski, I wish a safe trip and hope this experience inspires him to keep sailing the creative waters,” said Andrej Pavlovski, Golden Drum Ambassador for Macedonia.

The jury would also like to give a special mention to Bojana Ardjelieva, the youngest participant, whose visual concept stood out with a clear and powerful message, striking aesthetics, and a mature approach to the theme. Her work demonstrated that creativity knows no age — and that young voices can create strong visual expressions that leave a lasting impression.

For more information, the competition winners can contact [email protected].

Prejudices and stereotypes are part of our society — a part that we can and must change for the better. As a socially responsible company, Macedonian Telekom supported and promoted this competition for young creatives to raise awareness about this important issue and encourage young people to express their views through art — because in the world we live in, even one voice can make a big difference.

Art has the power to create change.

1. Place: Vedran Šurbanovski - “What Will the Neighbors Say?” 

2. Place: Simona Simonovska - “No Thinking, No Prejudices!” 

3. Place: David Trajanović - “Running Out of Time?”