January 6, 2021 - Croatian chefs have been tirelessly cooking for the Petrinja earthquake victims, as well as for the volunteers on the ground. They arrived just three hours after the earthquake struck on December 29.

So far, they have prepared over 60,000 meals, and on Monday alone, about 11,000 meals were delivered. The chefs organized everything themselves, donated, paid the funds, and most importantly, were immediately in the field, ready to heal with the comfort of food. 

The entire catering industry has joined in, and the National Association of Caterers, the Croatian Culinary Association, Chefs Cook at Home, JRE, and various other catering associations and chefs from all over Croatia are on the ground.

HRTurizam reports that the sixth kitchen was opened on Tuesday, the second in Sisak.

Chefs are currently cook in the following locations:

Petrinja - Croatian Veterans Square 
Mošćenica - Dragutin Tadijanovic Elementary School (Cocktail bar Chef cooks at home)
Topusko - Catering school at Školska 14
Sisak - two locations - Sisak elementary school at Ul. Franje Lovrića 27 and Mije Goričkog 58 (Cocktail bar Chef cooks at home)
Glina - Drvni centar, Ulica Žrtava Domovinskog rata 71

On Tuesday, the caterers managed to arrange for the state to receive all the necessary cooking materials.

”We have arranged everything here, we have cooked about 60,000 meals as of today. Just yesterday, we shared 11,000 hot meals. Now, as we were told, the state will train Ina in Sisak to prepare 6,000 hot meals, and we chefs will stay for the next 7 days, but then we must slowly return to our jobs," said Marin Medak from the National Association of Caterers, stating that about 200 to 300 chefs from all over Croatia are cooking for the victims of the earthquake, as well as for volunteers.

"When we arrived in Petrinja at 4 pm on Tuesday, no one from the service was here. We only cooked 800 meals that day in my 'food truck'. We brought two units and burned through them as much as we cooked. The key for me was to feed the people, and the situation is now that the state must structurally take over the job of organizing hot meals. We will transfer all donations to them and now let Tomo Medved (Civil Protection Headquarters Chief for earthquake relief) take it over; it must not happen that people stay hungry. It’s time for the state to take the baton," Medak said.

The team of Croatian chefs led by Mato Janković, which you may know from the Facebook page Chef kuha doma, announced on Tuesday that they will stay in Petrinja until further notice, regardless of whether they will receive state aid or not.

"The Chef Cooks at Home Association remains at the disposal of people affected by the earthquake. So we continue to cook and help everyone who needs a hot meal every day. We don't care if the state wants to help or not. We collected donations through private and business contacts and the personal commitment and reputation we have built over the years. We distance ourselves from media reports mentioning that chefs are withdrawing from Petrinja if the state does not help.

Petrinja, Sisak, and Glina - We are still here for you!

Chef kuha doma team
Marin Rendić
Mate Janković
Igor Čimbur
Belizar Milos
Pero Savanović
Ante Božikov

We thank all our donors, partners, and people with big hearts!" they wrote.

For more on the Petrinja earthquake and to see how you can donate money, food, humanitarian, sanitary, and material aid, follow our dedicated section.

January 6, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Flydubai delays Zagreb return to May 2021.

Ex Yu Aviation reports that Flydubai has delayed its Zagreb return until May 14, 2021, and will run on a daily basis once restored. Flights between Dubai and Zagreb were initially to resume on March 29.

Recall, Flydubai is replacing the famous Emirates, which has temporarily canceled the line to Zagreb and will not operate on it in 2021, due to the impact of the pandemic.

Flydubai had initially announced it would operate its first flight to Zagreb at the end of March 2021 and would run four times a week on this route through April and May, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Now, Flydubai should operate daily from its new start date (May 14) until September 5 next year.

It was announced earlier that the number of weekly flights from September 6 will be reduced to four (Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) until the end of October. 

Flydubai will operate on the Zagreb - Dubai route with narrow-body aircraft type B737-800, and in the summer flight schedule, it plans to perform as many as 164 return flights.

This low-cost airline will offer more than 57,000 seats between Dubai and Zagreb in the summer flight schedule, which is significantly less than in 2019 when Emirates operated on this route with a B777-300ER wide-body aircraft with an average capacity of 358 seats per flight (in 2019, more than 152 thousand seats were available on this line, so the number of seats offered on this line will be lower by over 60% compared to 2019.)

Apart from the smaller capacity, the Dubai - Zagreb line will no longer have a first-class seat offer for which Emirates is world-famous. The number of offered seats in business and economy class will be drastically reduced. Nevertheless, the return of Flydubai to Zagreb will enable Emirates passengers to continue their journey to Zagreb with a partner company, which is very important for the market's recovery next year.

Flydubai also plans to return to its second destination in Croatia - Dubrovnik. The Dubai - Dubrovnik line should operate from May 13, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. From June 25, the airline plans to add a third weekly flight (Fridays), and scheduled flights are announced until the end of September next year.

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January the 6th, 2021 - Croatian musicians have gifted instruments to the students of the now destroyed Petrinja music school, which suffered during the recent earthquake which struck central Croatia.

As Morski writes, Croatian musicians Zlatan Stipisic Gibonni (52) and Niksa Bratos (61) launched an action to collect instruments for children attending the Fran Lhotka Music School in Sisak. The school was badly damaged in the earthquake on December the 29th, 2020, and Gibonni's official Facebook page announced everything regarding the initiative. The announcement also states that many Croatians musicians were also quick to join the action.

''The idea was originally Gibonni's. He soon called me to help out somehow, and of course I agreed. In such situations, we musicians usually play, we do a charity concert, but as it's simply not possible to do it now during the time of the pandemic, we thought about what we could do additionally as a group of people. Gibonni suggested that we help these young musicians out with some instruments and that's how the idea was born,'' explained Bratos, 24 sata reports.

This story, of course, will not stop at just the two of them, with more Croatian musicians eagerly getting involved.

''Soon, several more Croatian musicians, people from the stage and from the profession, all got involved. I might not come out with their names at this moment because someone new will join soon… And I don't think names are the key part of all this either,'' the Croatian composer and producer concluded.

Still, this nice idea with instruments will have to wait a while longer, as the Fran Lhotka Music School is 140 years old and suffered serious damage in the recent quake. First of all, a thorough renovation and rehabilitation of the building itself is necessary.

''We won't be able to do it alone, of course. It's a job that state structures have to deal with and raise funds for. We still don't know exactly what the situation is with the instruments inside the school, so we'll have to wait a bit. Some instruments children can take home, some will stay. We heard that the pianos were allegedly not badly damaged, we don't know the exact condition of the school yet,'' he added.

The whole story is on hold for now, but this part of Croatia will definitely need help for some time to come, and not just for the first few days of the new year.

''We haven't yet worked out these details, such as whether we'll buy these instruments or donate our own belongings to the school, but the initiative has certainly come to life. Because of some symbolism, I think it would be nice if these were our instruments, so that one day at school the children might play Gibonni's own guitar. In addition to guitars, I used to play wind instruments, I also have a saxophone, a clarinet… We'll adapt to their needs, that is now the least we can do,'' concluded Bratos.

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January the 6th, 2021 - Following a recent conversation with the principal, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blazenko Boban came to visit a now destroyed Petrinja school. The Ivan Goran Kovacic elementary school in Gora in Petrinja will be rebuilt by Split-Dalmatia County.

As Morski writes, Split-Dalmatia County has a long tradition of helping those who are the most in need, and this Petrinja school is no exception.

''Let's remember how we renovated the building of the City Administration in Vukovar and its associated road. Just like that, we'll help out here too because you never know when trouble may come knocking on your own door. We decided to go to the Petrinja school because in our county we mostly care about young people and rural areas. The goal is for the students to be in their school again in the new school year,'' said prefect Blazenko Boban, who handed the school's principal right computers for the school following the visit.

School principal Valentina Vujnovic is happy that students might be able to return to the renovated Petrinja school at the beginning of the next school year:

''We renovated the school last year, our county has invested a lot of money in energy renovation and in the renovation of the kitchen so that students have hot meals. I was at school when the earthquake happened. There are 81 students here in this school, 15 students in the regional school and there are 34 employees. Prefect Boban called me two days ago and pleasantly surprised me with his offer to help and I'd like to sincerely thank him and the county for thinking of us,'' she stated.

Sanja Miokovic, Head of the Department for Projects and Investments of Sisak-Moslavina County also commented on the condition of educational facilities in the affected area:

''Nine buildings are currently completely unusable. District schools are available but they don't have the capacities and they can only accommodate a small number of students. Schools suffered the most in the Petrinja area, a couple of them were quite badly damaged and must be demolished and there's no possibility of reconstruction. They also include sports halls used by schools and other associations, so the damage is huge. The staticians are on the ground, collecting data that we'll have by the end of the week so that we can start with the first phase.

Prefect Boban was accompanied by Tomislav Djonlic, Head of the Board for Education, Culture, Technical Culture and Sports, and Damir Gabric, Head of the Board for Croatian Veterans, Civil Protection and Human Rights.

After the tour and the agreement to rebuild the Petrinja school, they also visited the Red Cross to provide support to all of the volunteers, members of the rescue service, firefighters and others who are selflessly engaged in helping all of the injured.

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January the 6th, 2021 - Last year put the nail in the coffin for many a would-be entrepreneurial venture, but not everything is quite so bleak. The continental Croatian town of Koprivnica, for example, is making quite the name for itself when it comes to stimulating the growth of Croatian enterprises of various types.

As Novac writes, the economic crisis caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit the tourism-reliant Croatian economy extremely hard, there is practically no sector that hasn't been affected, but even in these extraordinary circumstances there are those who have found the knowledge, energy and new ideas needed to overcome this unprecedented and deeply difficult period.

Indeed, some of them have recognised the crisis as a period in which it is possible to lay the foundations for a new cycle of economic growth. Koprivnica is traditionally recognised as a strong economic, but above all industrial centre. Nevertheless, Koprivnica's local government is implementing a number of projects that stimulate entrepreneurship and make it easier for small Croatian enterprises to start up or expand their existing activities. In terms of the number of employees, Koprivnica is the 15th of all cities and municipalities in Croatia, and over 70 percent of the population is economically active. As a positive example, in this crisis-dominated year, the number of active craft owners increased by 8 percent when compared to last year, and there is even a slight increase in Croatian enterprises.

In Koprivnica today, there are the Dravska business zones covering 38 hectares with 23 business entities, as well as Radnicka with its 41 hectares and 20 business entities. These plots are fully equipped with communal infrastructure and are connected by road with the Podravina highway.

Furthermore, a year ago, in addition to the existing one, a new incubator for creative industries came to life, conceived as a space for the development of innovative and creative ideas, in October it celebrated one year of work. The fact that all rental spaces are now full speaks volumes about the success of the work going on there. Every day, the most modern technology is available to Croatian enterprises and entrepreneurs: holographic and VR equipment, a 3D printer, a gaming station and a teleconference hall.

In order to connect, share knowledge and collaborate, online DevCafe events are organised monthly, which allows all interested parties to get involved regardless of where they're located at that time. They are intended for anyone interested in topics from the fields of marketing, new technologies, design and IT. The project for the construction of the Creative Industries Incubator is worth 13.5 million kuna and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

It, as well as the Entrepreneurship Incubator, is managed by the entrepreneurial support institution Enter Koprivnica, which also implements several national and international projects in addition to that. As part of the ECOS4IN project, work is underway to establish a Digital Information Hub that will serve as the main place for informing the entire ecosystem and small and medium Croatian enterprises operating in the county and beyond, since Enter Koprivnica cooperates very well with the Varazdin Technology Park and the Technology Innovation centre of Medjimurje within the Digital Innovation Hub.

The most recent plan is to establish a database of experts that will be available to all small and medium-sized Croatian enterprises interested in business expansion and digitalisation. This will make it easier for SMEs to access knowledge, technology and funding opportunities. Enter Koprivnica has also been approved the SCALing up in the creative industries for SMEs and self-employed project, which aims to develop special tools for training employees in creative and cultural industries that will support them to improve their competencies and skills needed to strengthen their competitive advantage within this demanding sector.

The European Regional Development Fund also co-finances the project Services for SMEs through PPI Enter Koprivnica, which organises events for entrepreneurs from the county with the aim of facilitating access to business knowledge. All of the above, combined with a series of measures that Koprivnica has itself designed to encourage entrepreneurship, are an invitation to all small and medium-sized Croatian enterprises to develop their business in that town.

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January the 6th, 2021 - Very few people will remember the utter disaster that was 2020 with fondness. A return to the economic level of 2019 is now not expected until 2022, or even 2023. How is A1 Croatia planning to push economic growth forward, all while maintaining social and environmental responsibility?

As Novac writes, as has been estimated, the fall in Croatia's GDP could be eight to nine percent, and the growth in 2021 will be equal to about five percent. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the telecommunications sector into an unappealing corner much like it has with the rest of the economy. Companies are facing declining sales, rising bad debts and fewer visitors using roaming services, which significantly shapes their key financial indicators. However, A1 Croatia responded to this crisis with a different approach - a digital and green one, which opens up opportunities for the development of a more digital society.

Examples of smart cities

A1 Croatia, which employs about two thousand people and takes care of the needs of two million users across Croatia every day, welcomed 2020 in a largely digitally transformed way. Furthermore, it introduced a model of hybrid and flexible operation in response to employee protection during the pandemic and stepped up its overall investment in next-generation 5G and fixed networks based on optics to provide its customers with even more advanced services. In addition, to support the creation of better business and living conditions in the long run, they invested in a new data centre to further strengthen their capacities to support the digital transformation of the Croatian economy and smart cities, and joined the UN Global Compact initiative.

A1 Croatia, as part of the wider A1 Telekom Austria Group, is a leading provider of digital services and communication solutions in Central and Eastern Europe and has set itself the task of incorporating the ten basic principles of the UN Global Compact initiative into its business. Some of these principles are already being applied. The company's goal is to achieve full CO2 neutrality by 2030. In terms of sustainable development, A1 Croatia places great emphasis on the green economy, which is reflected in business IoT solutions that contribute to the community, such as smart waste containers, smart metres, air quality measurements and smart parking.

A1 Croatia's brand new data centre

The crisis that hit the globe also prompted A1 Croatia to offer even better business solutions through the accelerated digitalisation of Croatian society. Back in September 2020, the company launched an 11m-euro investment in its second data centre, which will be one of the most modern in the wider region. It will be built according to the Tier III standard and will be able to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 9 on the Richter scale, thus supporting the operations of Croatian companies in the digital transition. In parallel, A1 Croatia has implemented, in cooperation with local communities, several solutions that enable a digitised and greener future. Plin Vrbovec digitised the metres via the A1 NB-IoT network and connected them to the IoT system. As such, they collect data on gas consumption in real time, protecting employees from the possibility of coronavirus infection, as well as users because it can quickly warn them of excessive consumption. This year, A1 Croatia also introduced smart waste bins, which save up to 50 percent in waste management and 40 percent in the number of bins in cities.

In addition, A1 Croatia continues to invest heavily in real, gigabit 5G. In the next year, this operator will remain focused on the purchase of a 5G radio spectrum. They're already working intensively on 5G technology, and were the first in all of Croatia to demonstrate surfing speeds higher than 1 Gbps and a latency of 6 ms on commercial devices. They want to provide their users with just the experience of real 5G, ie a mobile network that offers gigabit speeds and extremely low latencies, which they're convinced will positively affect Croatia's position according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) which is published by the European Commission.

Developing the skills of the future

The basis for all these investments, savings and offers is the digital transformation of A1 Croatia, and at its core lies the development of future employee skills. In the last twelve months, 87 percent of A1 Croatia's employees have completed at least one form of education designed for their personal and professional development. The company has introduced Coaching and Mentoring internal programmes and placed emphasis on learning new technologies and ways of working in five key areas: Agile, 5G, Data Analytics & AI, Digital & Growth Marketing, Process automation.

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ZAGREB, 5 January 2021 - If standardised solutions are adopted in the reconstruction of earthquake-hit areas, more comprehensive reconstruction could begin in six to nine months, Construction Minister Darko Horvat said on Tuesday.

He was speaking to the press after a meeting at the Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering which was attended by architects, builders, seismologists and construction material manufacturers. They discussed the temporary accommodation of people who lost their homes in last week's tremor and the reconstruction of damaged buildings.

Horvat said that if standardised solutions were chosen, projects would be ready very soon and that the Zagreb faculties of civil engineering and architecture were willing to gift them to the ministry as intellectual property.

The projects, together with cost estimates, will serve to launch public procurement, he said, adding that he was confident construction could start in six to nine months.

Almost 20,000 buildings have been reported for inspection, including 7,000 that have been inspected, of which 3,049 have been assessed as totally or temporarily unusable, Horvat said.

Classically built and prefab homes

He said one model presented at the meeting envisaged classic construction and that another envisaged prefabricated homes. Both are permanent solution models.

The almost unanimous conclusion is that it is necessary to combine every technology and everything developers can make available, he said, adding that 3,000 houses could be reconstructed in two years.

Dragutin Kamenski of the Kamgrad company said that with smart preparation, Croatian builders and manufacturers could provide solutions for the reconstruction.

As for labour, given that quotas for foreign workers have been cancelled, Kamenski said he was sure enough workers could be found for the reconstruction but that most would certainly be foreigners.

Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering dean Stjepan Lakusic said it was necessary to make a quality estimate of the damage on the model of the earthquake in Zagreb last March, when the estimate was done by the Faculty and the relevant chamber.

The estimate should serve as the basis for drawing up documents to apply for money from the European Solidarity Fund, he added.

January 5, 2021 - Exciting news from Dubrovnik students who have produced beer from oats!

Several students studying in Dubrovnik participated in the craft beer production project in these challenging times; from procurement, production, transportation to marketing.

Students studying at RIT Croatia in Dubrovnik produced an unusual craft beer. Specifically, they received a donation of barley from America and made a pre-prohibition lager, HRT reports. Pre-prohibition lager is a specific lager for which one uses cereals and they have chosen oats.

The project aims to establish a supply chain between the United States and Dubrovnik. Students were fully involved in the production process; from procurement, production, transportation to marketing.

According to HRT, the product was supposed to be presented at a charity festival, but due to the coronavirus, unfortunately, this did not happen.

"There were 20 of us students. I enjoyed it, primarily because I gained a lot of practical experience. Now I know what it is like to work under difficult circumstances," said student Dejana Kušić for HRT.

The students discovered that the coronavirus forced them to adapt to the new way of working in a short time, but that made them ready for various changes, and they even expressed a desire to brew beer again and expand the project to other Croatian craft breweries.

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