July 27, 2020 - Organized in partnership with Global NGO Executive Committee, the UN Civil Society Communications Workshop Series will consist of several workshops taking place online during the period of July - September 2020.

Srećko Mavrek, a Croatian international educational expert based in New York, participated in the UN Civil Society Communications Workshop: Communication Challenges and Opportunities in the COVID-19 Era on Thursday, July 23, 2020. This workshop was organized in partnership with American Counseling Association, International Council of Nurses, Medical Women’s International Association, NGO Committee on Education, Learning and Literacy, and Akshar Foundation.

“The first session Tools and Techniques of Effective Communication for NGOs addressed civil society communication challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 era and some contemporary issues related to disparities and discrimination. Participants were exploring the role of effective communication strategies and resources. The second session Transforming NGO Communications: From Conversation to Advocacy, Action and Social Policy addressed the issues of communications regarding complex, global, contemporary societal issues resulting in disparities and discrimination. Both sessions focused on intersectionality as the main cause of all disparities and inequalities,” said Mavrek.

He gave his opinion on the matter: “For nearly 30 years, a flawed theoretical concept of intersectionality has been one of the standard categories in over exaggerated discussions of race in American life, but its proponents sometimes have difficulties with their subjective biases. Identity politics, group identification and tribalism have not led to the social progress and inclusion, but to more divisions by ignoring individualism, character, achievements, and talents. More important questions are how to overcome fake news and social media censorship, how to improve civic culture in communication, and how to protect the right to free speech in the COVID-19 era?”

July 27, 2020 – OPINION: Marc Rowlands downplays the doom and gloom, claiming it will take even more than 2020's disasters to permanently damage Zagreb

International readers must think the city has fallen. After the triple hit of COVID-19, the strongest earthquake in a century, and last weekend's floods, they must imagine the people of Zagreb to be largely underwater, the tips of their toes resting on rubble, struggling to breathe above the waves through their surgical masks.

Their suspicions would only be justified if they're reading the comments sections of the coverage. “Oh, whatever next?”, “What will become of us?”, “May God save us!”, “First an earthquake, now snow! It's the end of the world!”, “It's because of global warming, I told you years ago. Now, not even my bitterness can save us”. Jadni smo (poor us).

That's because there are two types of people in this world; the doom-mongers - useless pessimists who sigh, tut, and briefly sympathise while reading the news, and then there are the positive thinkers who actually get up off their ass and help out. Sadly, the internet is full of the former. Thankfully, Zagreb is full of the latter.

Take for example Mirna Mrčela, who rescued a man from a sinking car on Friday night. Did she stop to worry about the implications for her or for the sunken city before diving into waters on Miramarska street to save him? She did not.

What about the young Zagreb residents who gave up their free time to help rebuild people's homes following this year's earthquakes? Or those who volunteered to help move children from the damaged wards of a hospital? What about the thousands of Croats who thought of innovative or compassionate schemes to raise money for those affected? Or the many more who donated? Or those who used their own drones to help assess damage to buildings? Was their assistance delayed by worry and self-pity? No.


Thousands of young people have been gathering outside the Croatian National Theatre at weekends. The real picture in Zagreb © Marc Rowlands

Even aside those who actually helped out, the story of Zagreb in the wake of both the earthquake and the floods has been one of irrepressible resilience, optimism, and joy. Thousands of young people have gathered outside the Croatian National Theatre at weekends simply enjoying to be, and each other. In recent weeks, Ribnjak Park, Zrinjevac Park, and Strossmayer Promenade in the city have come alive with gastronomic events, music, and people enjoying themselves.

On Monday 27 July, as the sun shines brightly above Zagreb, the last remnants of the flood are all but gone. People are at work, as usual, and some tourists can be seen taking tours around Tkalčićeva and the cathedral. No matter what news story comment sections might tell you, this city is open for business. Zagreb has seen much worse than this. And it will take a lot more than rain, earthquakes or, yes, even snow to dampen its spirits.

July 27, 2020 - For the third time in history, Croatia will have two clubs in the Champions League qualifiers.

HRT reports that in the two attempts so far, Croatian clubs have not managed to win group competitions, and it will not be easy for Dinamo and Lokomotiva this season either.

Croatia had two clubs in the qualifications of the elite competition for the first time in the 1999/2000 season when the Croatian colors were defended by Dinamo, i.e., the then Croatia, and Rijeka. The Zagreb team was successful, while Rijeka was not.

The Blues had only one obstacle; in the third qualifying round, they knocked out the Hungarian club MTK and qualified for the group stage. After the 0:0 result in Zagreb, the team led by Osvaldo Ardiles won 2:0 in Budapest, and the hero of the match was the double scorer Josip Simic (58, 86).

Dinamo played in the group stage with Manchester United, Marseille and Sturm that season. Although they were the last in the group, the legendary “zero” at Old Trafford is still remembered.

Rijeka started the qualifications in the 2nd qualifying round, where they lost to Partizan. The Belgrade team celebrated 3:1 in front of their spectators, and in the return match at Kantrida with 3:0.

The following season, in the summer of 2000, Croatia also had two representatives in the Champions League qualifiers. They were Dinamo and Hajduk, and both clubs were eliminated.

Dinamo started as champions in the third qualifying round, but was knocked out by Milan. The Blues took the lead at San Siro in the first match with a goal by Renato Pilipovic in the 19th minute, but the Rossoneri turned the score around with three goals (Sevcenko 23, 42, Comandini 60).

Milan was convincing in the return match and celebrated 3:0 at Maksimir with goals by Shevchenko (23, 42) and Jose Maria (55).

Runner-up Hajduk started in the second qualifying round and was immediately shocked by Hungarian club Dunaffer (0:2, 2:2). The Hungarians won the first match at Poljud 2:0 (Tokoli 57, Eger 90), while the second match ended 2:2. In the return match, Hajduk led thanks to two goals by Mate Bilic (9, 28), but Dunaffer returned both times (Zavadszky 20, Tokoli 87).

Dinamo and Lokomotiva will fight in the third attempt for Croatian clubs in the elite competition. 

Dinamo will start the hunt for the Champions League from the second or third qualifying round.

If in the Champions League round of 16, Lyon is eliminated by Juventus on August 7, and Napoli a day later by Barcelona, ​​Dinamo will start their European journey in the third qualifying round. However, if at least one of the two clubs qualifies for the Final Eight, Dinamo will have to play the 2nd qualifying round.

The Blues will be the winners in both the second and third rounds, and perhaps in the final “play-off round”. Relegation in the Champions League play-offs brings a direct placement in the Europa League groups.

Lokomotiva starts from the 2nd round of qualifications, and it is inevitable that they will not be the top seed in the draw.

The name of their opponent will be known on August 10, and one game will be played, which is scheduled for August 25 or 26.

Relegation to the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League brings placement to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, however, if the Croatian runner-up skips the first hurdle in the qualifications, they will have guaranteed a European autumn. Namely, relegation in the 3rd round of the Champions League means direct placement in the Europa League group stage.

We emphasize that only one match will be played in all preliminary rounds, and a draw will decide the host. The only exception is the last, play-off round in which the standard two matches will be played.

The preliminary round of the Champions League will be played between August 8 and 11, the first qualifying round on August 18 and 19, the second on August 25 and 26, the third on September 15 and 16, and the playoffs on September 22 and 30. The group draw will be held in Athens on October 1, and the competition begins on October 20.

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July 27, 2020 - With four days to go in the month, Croatia has recorded more than two million tourist arrivals in July, which is 54 percent of the arrivals achieved in the same period last year, the Croatian National Tourist Board announced on Monday.

Transmitting eVisitor data, the Croatian National Tourist Board annouced there were also 14.7 million tourist overnight stays, which is approximately 59 percent of last year's result, reports Htz.hr.

Of the total number of arrivals, foreign tourists realized 1.8 million (51 percent of last year's result) and 12.5 million overnight stays (56 percent of last year's result), while the turnover of domestic tourists is at 90 percent of last year's traffic measured by arrivals and 78 percent overnight stays.

In the current part of July, the leading market for arrivals is Germany, where 92 percent of last year's result was achieved, followed by Slovenia with 91 percent and Poland and the Czech Republic with about 82 percent of last year's result measured by arrivals in the same period.

The destinations with the highest number of arrivals so far in July are Rovinj, Medulin, Crikvenica, Poreč, Umag and Split.

"We are conducting intensive promotional, but also those information campaigns in which we communicate that Croatia is a safe tourist destination in our nearest emitting markets. These are, given the circumstances, excellent indicators and a good announcement for August in which we expect the continuation of positive trends. This is confirmed by the number of about 700 thousand tourists who are currently vacationing in Croatia, "said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic.

He stressed the importance of further responsible behavior in order to maintain the perception of Croatia as a safe tourist destination.

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ZAGREB, July 27, 2020 - A hail storm hit Zagreb around 8 pm on Sunday, leaving many properties and streets flooded. 

Firefighters responded to 41 emergency calls, mostly to pump out the water and remove fallen trees, the national fire service said on Monday.

This is the second time in two days that a torrential rain caused flooding in the capital after a heavy storm struck during the night between July 25 and 26.

The director of the children's hospital, Goran Roic, told Hina that the hospital's basement and canteen were flooded again. He said that hospital staff continued to provide health care without interruption.

ZAGREB, July 27, 2020 - Nearly one in five Croatian businesses operated in the trade sector in 2019, or 28,814 out of 136,260 enterprises, data from the Financial Agency (Fina) shows.

Businesses engaging in expert, scientific, and technical activities accounted for 15.8%, construction companies for 11.9%, and those in the manufacturing industry for 10.9% of the total number of enterprises.

Fina said that an analysis of financial reports showed that businesses in the trade sector had predominated in the last 20 years.

The 136,260 enterprises employed 969,776 people, which is 6.4% more than in 2018. Most of them were employed in manufacturing and trade, namely 240,081 (24.8%) in manufacturing and 195,927 (20.2%) in trade.

In nominal terms, the number of workers increased the most in trade (by 20,521), construction (by 9,867), manufacturing (by 6,351), hospitality (by 6,250), and information and communications (by 3,701).

The largest revenues and expenditures were generated by trading companies (HRK 275.6 billion in revenues and HRK 266.1 billion in expenditures).

Manufacturing businesses generated HRK 185.5 billion in revenues and HRK 176.6 billion in revenues, and construction businesses posted HRK 59.98 billion in revenues and HRK 58.22 billion in expenditures.

By net profit, businesses in the trade sector performed the best, earning HRK 7.4 billion, down by 4.1% compared with 2018. Manufacturing businesses reported HRK 7.2 billion in net profits and businesses engaging in expert, scientific and technical activities posted HRK 3.9 billion.

(€1 = HRK 7.516985)

ZAGREB, July 27, 2020 - The government has responded to President Zoran Milanovic's statement that the national coronavirus crisis response team is a "paraconstitutional" body, saying that the decisions by the team are not constitutionally questionable and that it is odd that he wants the new virus to be accepted like tooth decay.

"It is odd that the President of the Republic wants us to accept the coronavirus like tooth decay while at the same time calling for the declaration of a state of emergency, i.e. activation of Article 17 of the Constitution. The decisions made by the national coronavirus crisis response team are not constitutionally questionable or political. They are made based on guidance from medical professionals and their primary aim is to protect the lives and health of our citizens," the N1 television channel published the government's response on Sunday evening after President Zoran Milanovic's appearance in its current affairs programme earlier in the day.

The government recalled that the legal basis for the crisis response team's decisions was the law on the protection of the population from contagious diseases, the civil protection law and Article 16 of the Constitution.

The restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the virus and protect human life were proportionate and well balanced, which is also in accordance with the Constitution, the government said.

"The team will continue to do their work responsibly and efficiently and prepare new measures to contain the spread of the infection, while further monitoring the development of the epidemiological situation," the government said in its response.

N1 said that the Constitutional Court declined to comment on Milanovic's statement.

In the interview, Milanovic said that war was not the only state of emergency. "Is the situation we are now living in normal and usual? Of course, it is not. War is not the only state of emergency. This is a natural and economic disaster and it is on this ground that we are having our rights restricted. At first, they are absolute, but you cannot live in a community where your rights are absolute and your obligations non-existent," the president said.

He also commented on the role of the national coronavirus crisis response team. "It is not normal that a group of people who have not been elected by the people should decide how many people are allowed to attend a wedding celebration. I am in favour of taking an initial decision by a two-thirds majority. The government needs a power of attorney for how many people can attend a wedding celebration and I would give it to it if I could."

July 27, 2020 – A breakthrough by Croatian-led team has far-reaching implications for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's

A team of Croatian-led scientists have discovered a gene that protects against Alzheimer's disease. The remarkable discovery was made by a Croatian-led team at Queen Mary University of London in collaboration with scientists at The Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb. The discovery has far-reaching implications for both the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's is a degenerate brain disease that can be brought on by dementia. The main challenge in testing treatment drugs in trials is that participants need to already have symptoms. But, once people have symptoms, it is usually too late for treatments to have a significant effect, as many brain cells have already died.

Because of an extra chromosome they carry, people with Down's Syndrome have a 70% chance of developing the disease. So, the Croatian-led team took hair cells from people who have Down's Syndrome and genetically re-engineered to become stem cells. The stem cells were then grown into brain cells in a laboratory dish.


Queen Mary University of London © John Winfield

Studying the cells, the scientists were able to see Alzheimer’s-like pathology develop rapidly. They were then able to take two drugs and test their effectiveness in inhibiting the progression of the disease. Within six weeks, they proved that the drugs prevented the onset of Alzheimer’s-pathology.

The research also found proof of an Alzheimer’s suppressor gene (BACE2) that exists naturally within the brain. By increasing the activity of the gene, it is hoped Alzheimer's can be slowed in its progression or eventually prevented altogether. The research has far-reaching implications for testing those who may eventually develop Alzheimer's and on testing drugs for the prevention and treatment of the disease.

The team at The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London was lead by Croatian Professor Dean Nižetić. The international team that published their findings included another young Croatian scientist, Ivan Alić, who worked alongside Nižetić in London, plus Željka Krsnik, Goran Šimić, Ivica Kostović and Dinko Mitrečić from The Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb.