The Croatian Diaspora
Sunday, 29 December 2019
500 Scholarships to Be Awarded to Croatians Abroad
ZAGREB, December 29, 2019 - The Central State Office for Croats Abroad has announced it will award 500 scholarships to Croatian students living abroad for the current academic year, of which 100 for study programs in Croatia and 400 for programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Scholarships are given for a period of 10 months, in monthly amounts of 700 kuna. The total budget is 3.5 million kuna. Applications are invited until 22 January 2020, and eligible are Croatian students residing and studying in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and…
Saturday, 28 December 2019
How Election Voting Patterns Highlight Diversity of Croatian Diaspora
December 28, 2019 - The Croatian diaspora is diverse and complex - a look at voting patterns in Croatian elections and referenda. There are an estimated 4 million Croatians living abroad, a diaspora numerically as large as those living in the homeland itself. They are located literally all over the world, with the latest official estimates a few years ago claiming the largest group (1.2 million) are in the USA, followed by Germany (350,000), Argentina, Australia (250,000) and Chile (200,000). EU entry has increased the number of those living in Germany considerably, and new diaspora centres, such as Ireland, have…
Monday, 23 December 2019
Žigmanov Accuses Local Government in Subotica of Discrimination Against Croat Minority
ZAGREB, December 23, 2019 - Councillors of the DSHV party representing the Croat community in Serbia on Monday walked out of a Subotica Council meeting in protest against obstruction of the formation of a Croat school centre in the northern city. DSHV president Tomislav Žigmanov said after the DSHV representatives left the meeting that although a year ago this party had proposed amending the decision on Subotica's network of pre-school institutions and elementary schools as a precondition for the registration of the Croat school centre, this item had not yet been added to the council's agenda. "This is a more…
Sunday, 15 December 2019
Venatus Jones, Returnees Sparking Change in Croatian Attitudes to Business
December 15, 2019 - Small steps to change the business mindset in Croatia are underway - a first business breakfast from returnee business consultants, Venatus Jones. Last week I met with a group of returnees from Australia, Germany and Canada who have a very lofty goal. Gathering impressive experience from working abroad in Western free-markets under the umbrella of Venatus Jones, a consulting agency, they vowed to become an agent of change that will totally shift Croatia’s mentality toward business. "It’s part of the Western mind frame isn’t it, to aim high?” asked Associate Director Gerhard Saric from Munich…
Saturday, 14 December 2019
Croatian Government Allocates 90,000 Euro for Croatian House in Subotica
ZAGREB, December 14, 2019 - The Croatian government on Friday awarded 90,000 euro to the Croatian minority in Serbia for the construction of the Croatian House in the northern city of Subotica and for staffing purposes of the Croatian National Council (HNV). An agreement to that effect was signed at HNV headquarters by the state secretary of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, Zvonko Milas, and HNV president Jasna Vojnić. The agreement was signed on the occasion of the national holiday of the Croatian minority in Serbia. Milas said that by supporting a strategic project of this kind the…
Saturday, 7 December 2019
Austrian Croats Urged to Develop Unity and Stronger Bonds
ZAGREB, December 7, 2019 - The Croatian Home in Vienna on Friday held a conference in the Austrian capital city, bringing together members of the Croatian community in that country as well as representatives of the Croatian people from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The speakers at the event, which was held in Austria Center Vienna, called for building firmer bonds among members of the Croatian community and for unity. They agreed that it was necessary to generate greater synergy between representatives of associations of Austrian Croats with the aim of better promotion and protection of their identity, language and…
Sunday, 17 November 2019
Croats Day Marked in Hungary
ZAGREB, November 17, 2019 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman took part in the marking of the 19th Croats Day in Baja, Hungary on Saturday, underlining the connection of Croats and Hungarians in the past and the present. It is a well-known fact that Croats and Hungarians are linked by a shared past and a European present, he said, according to a press release from the ministry. Croats are a recognised national minority in Hungary. The minister said the contribution of Hungarian Croats to the nurturing of Croatian customs and cultural heritage was visible at many levels, and that…
Tuesday, 12 November 2019
Diaspora Remittances Important Part of Balance of Payments
ZAGREB, November 12, 2019 - Remittances by Croatian citizens living abroad are close in amount to net tourism revenues and represent a very stable source of financing, but Croatia must generate an innovative economy to motivate them to generate those earnings in Croatia, economist Mladen Vedriš said on Tuesday. He was speaking at the "Returnees and economic development" conference. Over 2 billion euro in informal remittances, gifts, aid and pensions go into Croatia's balance of payments, according to the central bank, and the trend is rising, but the question is how much the people who have formed families abroad will…
Tuesday, 12 November 2019
Croatian Night in Frankfurt Features Croatia's Biggest Music Stars
November 12, 2019 - Gibonni, Petar Graso, Mate Bulic, Miroslav Skoro, Domenica, Indira Forza, Prljavo kazaliste, Mladen Grdovic, Klapa Rispet and Zeljko Bebek will perform at the Croatian Night in Frankfurt this weekend. Namely, Dalmacija Danas reports that Croatia’s biggest music stars can be found in the same place on Saturday, November 16, in Frankfurt, where they will perform at the largest Croatian diaspora concert for an estimated 12,000 Croats and their guests at the Fraport Arena. “As organizers, we are proud that 'Croatian Night' is recognized all over the world and has established itself as the most significant event…
Saturday, 9 November 2019
Plenković Says Croatia Proud of Its Diaspora
ZAGREB, November 9, 2019 - The Council for Croats Abroad on Saturday started a two-day session in Varaždin, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković saying on that occasion that Croatia was proud of its diaspora and that his government's goal was to create conditions facilitating the return of a part of the expatriate community. "The fact that Croats live in many countries and that many contribute to their homeland... with their business, cultural, artistic, sports and other activities reflects the great unity of the Croatian nation and of the expatriate community and the homeland. That unity is high on the government's…
Wednesday, 6 November 2019
Emotion to Business: G2.5 Redefining Croatian Diaspora Relationship with Homeland
November 6, 2019 - Meeting G2.5, the fifth edition conference connecting the business-minded entrepreneurs of Croatia and its diaspora took place this week. A great success with some very positive seeds planted. Of all the complicated relationships and aspects of life in Croatia, none is arguably harder to understand for a foreigner like me than that of the Croatian diaspora and the homeland. When I started TCN four years, I had little concept of the Croatian diaspora, and none whatsoever of the differing relationships between various sections of that diaspora. It didn't take me long to get my first lessons... …
