And Why should we consider it?

September 13, 2020 - Zagreb.

The topic of rising inequality between the poorest and the richest, both individuals and countries, has been in the media for some time now. What are the causes, and what are the consequences? There are many ideas and comments on the political systems and ideologies. For me, the question is, will it rise further, and what could cause this disparity to grow bigger, or to fall down?

In the 21^st century, it is clear that the most precious thing to possess, on an individual and organizational level, is knowledge, experience… etc. I predict that the construct of Human Capital will become much more important, and researched. Probably it is one of the factors that is making differences on the country level. How important, you can check in my previous article: Is human capital the only thing (becoming and) remaining important?

Differences between countries are already enormous, as you can see in the HC Index Map done by the World Economic Forum. However in the near future, where some things can develop exponentially, there might be a force that will boost development of some societies even faster. And this is why I proposed a concept and methodology to measure – National AI Capital. Draft is explained in this short article: Introducing Concept: National AI Capital.

I conducted (with a few supporting organizations) NAIC Initial Global Study to get first feedback from the experts in the field (AI community). Idea is to present gathered data in the next few articles, and at the end publish the whole survey as a document (will be shared with all those interested).

Responders from more than 50 countries

Analysed information from respondents (mostly experts in the IA field) coming from 56 different countries, and all continents, were included in the survey (3-digit number). Most of respondents came from European countries.

Picture 1 – NAIC IS: Continent Split

This information was very important for me, because I believe that accomplishments in the AI field will be influenced by the diversity of experiences and people involved. It was extremely useful to gather different perspectives.

Variety of profiles of experts involved in the survey

To get the right answer to my key questions, for me it was also important to not only have answers from different parts of the world, but also from the variety of professionals and experts in the field.

When I checked their involvement, it showed that we have almost every possible segment covered – AI Company owners and employees, Academics / Researchers in the field of AI, AI developers and engineers, members of AI start-ups and also a number of AI enthusiasts.

Picture 2 – NAIC IS Profile of responders

Is National AI Capital something that should be considered, measured and monitored?

One of the key questions in this phase was about the importance AI capital for every country. Responses exceeded even my expectations, because the most prevalent answer was that – Yes it seems like a very important concept. In direct communication with a number of responders I got a lot of of interest, proposals of cooperation, and wonderfully useful feedback. Overall conclusion was clear YES – NAIC is something that should be seriously taken into account.

Picture 3 – NAIC IS: Importance of AI Capacity on the national level

Until this point, few organizations and institutions helped me, and many more individuals. I will thank them all in the final document, but at this point my special gratitude goes to Croatian AI Association, which supported me for the domestic part of the research. 

Conclusion of Part 1

Confirmation of definition of National AI Capital, and its importance was first the phase of the project. In the second phases, we will work on segments of methodology and refining the concept.

COOPERATION: For second phase we will enlarge number of

academic institutions,

AI/tech associations,

companies that are willing to sponsor/participate and contribute

media who will become partners will get new data and articles first

If you are interested in collaboration, in any of those segments – contact me on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Donations

If you want to support further this project and share your enthusiasm, be free to donate symbolic amounts of Ethereum (ETH) to this address: 0x29e574B5A65e1d7De2B177b53996A26A6729514F

September 13, 2020 - The latest official COVID-19 in Croatia weekly report has been released by the Koronavirus government website, covering September 1-7.

CIPH report for the previous 7 days and daily report for the Republic of Croatia on the 7th of September 2020. 

A total of 94 people died in this epidemic wave. Most of the deceased had significant comorbidities or were of advanced age. The average age of the deceased in this epidemic wave is 76.4 years. Thirty - eight people died on a respirator.

There are currently 22 testing places in the Republic of Croatia that perform RT-PCR analysis and collect samples. All processed samples enter national Croatian Health Insurance Institute platform, which is accessible to all county public health institutes. County public health institutes submit data about positive cases, sources of infection and hotspots as part of their daily reports to the Croatian Institute of Public Health. The Croatian Institute of Public Health collects information about hotspots, hospital treatment of COVID-19 positive persons, COVID-19 positive patients on respirators and the deceased. You can find more about the test centers on the link.

Epidemiological indicators on 7 th of September

• Cumulative 7-day rate for the Republic of Croatia: 44,3/100 000
• Cumulative 14-day rate for the Republic of Croatia: 92,2/100 000
• Counties with a cumulative 7-day rate greater than 50/100 000 inhabitants: Bjelovarsko-bilogorska, Dubrovačko-neretvanska, Požeško-slavonska, Splitsko-dalmatinska, Šibensko-kninska, Zadarska
• Counties with a cumulative 14- day rate greater than 100/100 000 inhabitants: Brodsko-posavska, Dubrovačko-neretvanska, Požeško-slavonska, Splitsko-dalmatinska, Šibensko-kninska, Zadarska
• Total number of tests in the last week: 24 924
• Share of positive tests in the total number of tests in the last week: 7,3 %
• Total number of tests and share of positive tests in total number of tests: 193 153, 6,3 %
• The number of new cases in intensive care per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 7 days: 0,4/100 000
• Number of deaths in the last week: 15
• Total death rate per 1 000 000 population: 49,2/1 000 000

Geographical distribution of new COVID-19 cases by counties
In the period from 24th of August to 7th of September all counties recorded new cases of COVID-19 disease. The highest number of new cases are recorded in the Splitsko - dalmatinska County, followed by the City of Zagreb and Zadarska County. The lowest number of new cases were recorded in Međimurska and Karlovačka County. The Splitsko - dalmatinska County also has the highest 14-day rate, followed by the Šibensko – kninska and Dubrovačko-neretvanska County.

Figure 1. 14-day rate by counties

Epidemic by weeks, from 19 th – 28 th week of the epidemic
In the period from 29 th of June to 6th of September 2020, the number of cases per week (from the 19 th to the 28 th week of the epidemic) was from 460 to 1,948 and the rate from 11.3 to 47.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. The number of tests performed per week was ranged from 7,957 to 24,722 and the share of positive tests in those tested per week ranged from 5.8 to 12.5%. During this period, the weekly number of cases and the percentage of positive tests in the weekly number of tested varied. An overview is given in Table 1.

Table 1. Overview of the number of confirmed cases by weeks, from week 19 th – 28 th

In the period from 29 th of June to 6th of September 2020, the number of cases per week (from the 19 th to the 28th week of the epidemic) was from 460 to 1948. The number of deceased varied from 6-9 and showed increase in the number compared to 22nd, 23 rd , 27 th and 28 th week of the epidemic. The share of deceased on the respirator ranged in the weekly number of deaths from 16.7-60%. The mean age of deceased was 75 years or more, except in the 21 st week of the epidemic, when the mean age of death cases was 72,7 years. The death rate ranged from 0.1 in the 19 th week of the epidemic to 0.2 in the 27 th week of the epidemic with an increase in the 22 nd, 23 rd and 28 th week of the epidemic when it was 0.4 and 0.3. An overview is given in Table 2.

Table 2. Overview of patients on respirator and deaths by weeks, from week 19 th – 28 th

Table 3 shows the incidence of the 7-day rate in the last week with a limit of 50/100 000 inhabitants, which in some countries is taken as one of the criteria in assessing the epidemiological situation. In most counties, the 7-day rate is generally stable or slightly declining, while a significant jump in the 7-day rate was recorded in Dubrovačko - neretvanska County.

Table 3. Overview of 7-day incidence rates per 100,000 population in the last week

Clinical aspects - hospitalized, on a respirator and cured in the last week
Figure 2 shows the relationship between the daily number of confirmed cases and the daily number of hospitalized cases. Number of hospitalized cases per day ranged between a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 41, while the share of hospitalized cases in the total daily number of confirmed cases ranged from 8.9% to 21.4%.

Figure 2. Overview of the daily number of confirmed and hospitalized cases (1.-7.9.)

Figure 3 shows the proportion of hospitalized in the total number of weekly cases. In the last week, 230 people were hospitalized, which is 12.7% of the total number of patients in the given period. In the same period, 18 people were put on a respirator, which makes 1% of the total number of confirmed cases.

Figure 3. Relation of the total number of confirmed and hospitalized cases (1.-7.9.)

Figure 4. Movement of the total number of cases, recovered, deceased and active number of cases from 18.6.- 7.9.

Died from COVID-19, 29 th of June – 24 th of August 2020, age and sex
A total of 94 people died in this wave of epidemics. Most of the people who died had significant comorbidities or were of advanced age. The mean age of the deceased in this wave of epidemics is 74.6 years. Thirty - eight people died on a respirator.
An overview of the situation is given in Table 4 and Figure 5.
 

Table 4. Distribution by age and sex of the deceased people

Figure 5. Age and sex distribution of deaths from COVID-19 in the period 29 th June – 31st August 2020

In the last week, 15 people died, of which 8 (53.3%) were on a respirator. The distribution by age and sex in the last weeks is shown in Table 5, and by counties in Table 6.
 

Table 6. Distribution by age and sex of the deceased people in the last week

Table 6. New ill and deceased cases in the last week and total deaths and rates

Hotspots

Continental Croatia
In the last week, new cases were recorded in all counties of continental Croatia, but mostly in the City of Zagreb, Zagrebačka and Brodsko - posavska County. The highest 7-day rates on 7 th of September were in Požeško - slavonska, Bjelovarsko - bilogorska and Brodsko – posavska County. In most counties, there is still influx of patients whose source of infection is associated with holidays on the Adriatic, and in connection with this, sick students who have returned from graduation trips are also recorded. Groupings were recorded around wedding celebrations in Bjelovarsko – bilogorska, Požeško - slavonska and Brodsko - posavska County. Smaller grouping in one company in Brodsko - posavska County was placed under supervision, as well as grouping in health care institutions in Brodsko – posavska, Karlovačka County and the City of Zagreb. Patients with COVID-19 were also registered in one institution for accommodation in social care in Sisačko - moslavačka County. In continental Croatia, a significant proportion of cases are contacts of previously patients or they are imported cases from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Coastal Croatia
Cases of ill persons have been recorded in Coastal Croatia like in all counties as well. The highest number of patients was recorded in the Splitsko - dalmatinska, Dubrovačko - neretvanska and Zadarska County. The highest 7-day rate is in the Splitsko - dalmatinska, Dubrovačko - neretvanska and Šibensko - kninska County. In the Splitsko - dalmatinska County, smaller groupings were recorded in different departments of Clinical Hospital Centre Split, as well as in different types of service activities. In that county, the disease spread from a private gathering to a city institution and a bank department, but that hotspot soon came under the control. Also, smaller groupings were recorded as part of cultural events in the Primorsko - goranska and Šibensko - kninska County. Groupings of patients associated with wedding celebrations are also recorded in several counties of Coastal Croatia (Primorsko - goranska, Ličko - senjska and Dubrovačko - neretvanska County). A smaller grouping of patients in accommodation for the elderly in Zadarska County is also under supervision. As in the continental part of the country, a significant proportion of patients are contacts of previously recorded cases.

Start of working of educational institutions and sports activities
In Croatia, on September 7, all educational institutions started working at full capacity and another school year began with all the measures and recommendations that cover the educational system and which are designed and implemented precisely to protect the health of children and all employees in the best possible way. It is expected that with consistent adherence to measures and recommendations in all circumstances, this year in all educational institutions will take place without long interruptions. We still need to monitor the epidemiological situation on the ground very closely so that all further measures and recommendations can be planned and implemented in a right time. Due to the current situation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in several educational institutions, classes will be postponed or will take place online for the next ten days, until there aren’t conditions to start teaching in the classroom.

Sport is also important for health and good psychophysical development. It is therefore planned in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports the continue of sports activities of children and young athletes and as well as professional athletes and sport clubs within sport halls that are an integral part of school facilities. Every term and every step in undertaking such activities and making decisions is closely monitored as well as their connection with the epidemiological situation and circumstances in a particular local area, county or region.

Age-sex distribution of patients in the last week
In the previous week, a total of 1,1812 people fell ill - approximately the same number of males, 891 (49.2%) and females, 921 (50.8%).
The same distribution by sex is present in most age groups, except in the age group up to 1 year where are only girls ill, age group 7-10 years (lower grades of primary school) where the share of ill girls is higher (16 or 59.3%), in the age group 11-14 years where the share of boys is higher (20 girls or 57.1%) and in the age group 15-18 years (high school) where the share of girls is higher (51 persons or 58.0%).

In other age groups, the share of patients of both sexes is the same, but there is a slight deviation in favor of women in the age groups 31-40 and 41-50 years of age, where more women became ill than men. This could be explained by the fact that women of that age are employed, are more represented in occupations that come into contact with the ill people or in the health care system, social welfare system or in those activities where they come into contact with other people (e.g. trade, tourism, public services).

By age groups, 203 children became ill and they made the smallest share (11.2%) in patients in the past week. The smallest number of ill people are children under the age of 1, a total of 4, and children in the lower grades of primary school, a total of 27. The most affected were children of high school age, 88 in total, or 4.8%.

In general, adults made the largest share in the total number of patients last week, i.e. 1399 (77.2%). A one fifth of patients (391 or 21.6%) in the last week are young adults, aged 19 to 30, which fits into the epidemiological situation where a significant proportion of patients are associated with holidays and going out to night clubs. However, as the number of patients associated with this source of infection decreases, the share of young adults decreased from one third to one fifth in the total share of patients. In contrast to previous weeks, there is a shift in the age of patients towards older age groups, so after young people aged 19-30, most patients are in the age group of 51-65 years (388 or 21.4%), followed by patients in the age group of 31 to 40 (320 or 17.7%) and 41-50 years of age (301 or 16.6%). The lowest number of adult patients is in the age group 66 and older (210 or 11.6%), although this number is not negligible, because in this group of patients is the highest number of concomitant comorbidities observed, which in COVID-19 patients are associated with an increased risk of development of a more severe clinical picture. The full view can be found in Figure 6 and Table 6.
 

Table 6. Age and sex distribution of patients in the period 1.9.-7.9.2020

Measures
Measures to maintain physical distance, maintain hand hygiene and disinfection are still in force. Also, it is mandatory to wear face masks or medical masks indoors for all health workers and professionals, employees who work in social care system and the ones who work in hospitality facilities

Decisions of the Headquarters

• June 24 - Decision about changing the Decision on the manner of organizing public transport during the declared epidemic of the COVID-19 disease (mandatory face mask/medical mask in public transport)
• June 26 - Decision about controlling compliance with the Recommendation for the prevention of infection with COVID-19 in the catering industry of nightclubs (control of the implementation of recommendations in nightclubs)
• June 30 - Decision about a temporary prohibition on crossing the border of the Republic of Croatia (prohibition on crossing for third-country nationals, with the exception of those with long-term residence in the EU and other listed exceptions)
• July 10 - Decision about the necessary measures for the organization of gatherings attended by more than a hundred participants during the declared epidemic of the COVID-19 disease
• July 10 - Decision about the necessary measure of mandatory use of face masks or medical masks for the duration of the declared epidemic of the COVID-19 disease
• July 14 – Decision about changing the Decision on the necessary measure of mandatory use of face masks or medical masks for the duration of the declared epidemic of the COVID-19 disease
• July 14 - Decision about changing the Decision on the temporary prohibition on crossing the border crossings of the Republic of Croatia
• July 31 - Decision about changing the Decision on the temporary prohibition on crossing the border crossings of the Republic of Croatia
• August 13 - Decision about the necessary measure of limiting the working hours of hospitality facilities from the category bars /night clubs
• August 21 - Decision about amendment Decision on the necessary measure of limitation of working hours of hospitality facilities from the category "Bars"
• August 22 - Decision about introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the area of ​​the City of Imotski and the Municipalities of Cista Provo, Lovreć, Lokvičići, Podbablje, Proložac, Runovići, Zagvozd and Zmijavci
• August 25 - Decision about the introduction of the necessary epidemiological measure to limit wedding ceremonies for the Brodsko - posavska County
• August 26 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Splitsko - dalmatinska County
• August 28 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Zadarska County
• August 28 - Decision about the introduction of the necessary epidemiological measure of the manner of holding events, festivals and other events in the area of ​​Međimurska County
• August 28 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Dubrovačko - neretvanska County
• August 28 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Brodsko - posavska County
• August 29 - Decision about the introduction of the necessary epidemiological measure to limit wedding ceremonies for the area of ​​Virovitičko - podravska County
• August 29 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Šibensko - kninska County
• August 29 - Decision about the introduction of the necessary epidemiological measure to limit wedding ceremonies for the area of ​​Varaždinska County
• August 31 - Decision amending the Decision on the temporary ban on crossing the border crossings of the Republic of Croatia
• August 31 - Decision amending the Decision on the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the area of ​​Splitsko - dalmatinska County
• September 2 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Sisak-Moslavina County
• September 2 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the area of ​​Požega-Slavonia County
• September 2 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the area of ​​Koprivnica-Križevci County
• September 3 - Decision about the necessary measure of enhanced control of the implementation of the Guidelines for the Prevention and Suppression of the COVID-19 Epidemic for Social Service Providers in the Social Welfare System
• September 3 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Krapina-Zagorje County
• September 5 - Decision about the introduction of necessary epidemiological measures for the Bjelovar-Bilogora County
• September 7 - Decision amending the Decision on the necessary measure of limiting the working hours of catering facilities in the category "Bars"

CIPH recommendations

• Recommendations for the prevention of COVID-19 infection in the activity of multiplex cinemas in shopping malls
• Instructions for the implementation of the state matriculation exam during the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) autumn deadline - August and September 2020
• Supplement to the recommendation for the prevention of COVID-19 infection in the catering industry of nightclubs
• Possibilities of conducting extracurricular classes related to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Instructions for prevention and suppression of the COVID-19 epidemic related to the work of preschool institutions, primary and secondary schools in the school year 2020/2021.
• Recommendations for manufacturers of textile masks intended for schools
• Guidelines for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic in student dormitories with regard to the COVID-19 epidemic in the school year 2020/2021.
• Recommendations for the operation of dance schools during the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19)
• Recommendations for the operation of art schools during the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19)
• Priorities for testing for SARS-CoV-2, on contact handling, completion of isolation and self-isolation (Consolidated revised recommendations)
• Diseases and health conditions that may increase the risk for more severe forms of COVID-19 disease
• Selected health and organizational issues related to the work of preschool institutions, primary and secondary schools in the school year 2020/2021
• Recommendations for teaching at higher education institutions in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic with the application of anti-epidemic measures
• Organization of rest and food - Work of preschool institutions, primary and secondary schools in the school year 2020/2021 - additional clarifications

Recommendations and measures on global and EU level

Europe
On 10 th of August 2020, ECDC released an updated version of the risk assessment.
 
ECDC has additional documents and information available:
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19-pandemic
The number of cases and the 7-day cumulative incidence of COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide can be found on the ECDC dashboard.
 
Austria
Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz.
 
Netherlands
Government of the Netherlands
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
 
Germany
Rober Koch Institut
 
Slovenia
(gov.si)
National Institute for Public Health 
 
United Kingdom
gov.uk
NHS
 
World
WHO provides comprehensive information and documents
WHO COVID-19-Dashboard
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Weekly Epidemiological Update and Weekly Operational Update i Weekly Surveillance Report:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports
https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/weekly-surveillance-report


Sources of information

• https://www.hzjz.hr/
• https://zdravlje.gov.hr/

Information about the global epidemiological situation
More about COVID-19 in other countries can be found and learned on the ECDC website
The WHO Regional Office for Europe, the European Commission and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Health Policy have at their disposal the COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor (HSRM). There is information available about European countries and ways to respond to this epidemic. The focus is on health systems and public initiatives. 

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ZAGREB, September 13, 2020 - The National Competence Centres in the Framework of EuroHPC (EuroCC) project started on September 1, and as part of it the Croatian national high-performance computing competence centre will be established, the Srce University Computing Centre has said.

The goal of the project is to establish a network of national HPC competence centres in 33 member states of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), Srce said.

The entire project is worth €56 million, and the Croatian part of the project in the next two years is worth €800,000.

During the project, a consortium of Croatian institutions will establish a national HPC competence centre, where end users from science and higher education, industry and public administration will gain access to innovative solutions adapted to the degree of maturity of the national HPC infrastructure, the press release said.

Srce is the leader of the national consortium and a partner on the project.

Science and Education Ministry assumed the responsibility for the implementation of the EuroHPC JU in the Republic of Croatia, Srce said, adding that 50% of the eligible costs of the EuroCC project will be financed from the state budget, while the remaining 50% will be financed by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 programme.

Joining other European HPC competence centres will ensure the integration of Croatia into the European research area and the use of non-repayable funding from EU programmes for the development of research and innovation, underscored Ivan Maric, deputy director of Srce and head of the establishment of the Croatian national HPC competence centre.

Slaven Mihaljevic from the Ministry of Science and Education, who is a representative of Croatia in the EuroHPC JU governing board, said that participation in the EuroHPC JU was part of Croatia's strategic efforts to strengthen the research, development and innovation capacity of research organisations and to increase quality, international cooperation, working conditions and the attractiveness of the national research system, which would contribute to reducing the brain drain.

Through the establishment of national competence centers users from EU countries will gain access to a portfolio of services adapted to the national needs of the science and academic community, public administration and industry. Competence centres will become central places for the coordination of national initiatives and will facilitate national users' access to European HPC competences and opportunities in different industrial sectors and branches.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, September 13, 2020 - Over the past 24 hours, there have been 165 new cases of the coronavirus infection in Croatia and six fatalities, and there are currently 2,410 active cases, the national COVID-19 management team said on Sunday.

Of the total number of COVID-19 patients, 309 are being treated in hospital, including 22 placed on ventilators. Currently, 8,314 people are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first confirmed case of the infection was recorded in Croatia, a total of 13,533 people have contracted the disease and of them, 10,899 have recovered, while 224 people have died.

To date, 221,834 people have been tested for the coronavirus, including 5,339 in the last 24 hours.

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September 13, 2020 – The famous landmark is now visible out of daylight hours as a flood of colours sees the Vukovar water tower light up the night sky

With the recent completion of the VukovArt street art event 2020, you might have thought Vukovar would be retiring from the limelight for a while. Think again.

Over recent days, the Vukovar water tower has lit up the night sky over eastern Slavonia in a range of colours. The Vukovar water tower is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the town.

The multicoloured display heralds the opening up of the tower for visits. Famously damaged in fighting during the war, its scars are a constant reminder of the heavy bombardment the town received. The tower has been undergoing work in order that the structure can survive. The reconstruction and renovation has taken place over two stages. Around 37 million kuna has been spent on the project, with half of the money coming from donations, the other half from the Croatian government.

The water tower was built in 1968, stands 50 metres high and has a capacity of 2,200 cubic metres. At the time it was constructed, it was one of the largest water towers in Europe. In the times before the war, it also had a restaurant and offered visitors an incredible view over the town and Vukovar-Srijem County. During the war, it was hit with more than 600 missiles. It thereafter became a symbol of resistance, then of remembrance.

© Grad Vukovar

The town Mayor, Ivan Penava, announced that the Vukovar water tower will be open to general visitors at the end of October. Between now and then, the interior will be decorated, and a memorial room completed. Children from all over Croatia each year visit the town and the Vukovar water tower on organised school trips.

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September 13, 2020 - Continuing the recent TCN tour of the Elaphiti Islands near Dubrovnik, a quite spectacular Sipan Renaissance palace to finish. The glory days of the Dubrovnik Republic must have been glorious indeed!

Croatia has more than a thousand islands, and while it would be natural to assume that they are all very similar, nothing could be further from the truth. A few years ago I wrote an article to that effect called Croatian Islands: 25 Things to Know about the Gems of the Adriatic.

(Photos by Taliah Bradbury)

The oldest public theatre in Europe, the birthplace of cricket in Europe outside the UK, the bay where an abdicating British king started a naturist movement, the place were slavery was first abolished more than 500 years before the birth of the United States - the list goes on. One thing was very clear to me - no two islands were the same, and each had its own magic to contribute. 

One of the big holes in my knowledge of Croatia was filled this summer, as I finally got to visit the three Elaphiti islands close to Dubrovnik.  I knew that they were special, but I had little concept of what one could experience there.  

It turns out that they are very special indeed. 

My discovery was island by island, starting with the closest, Kolocep (Arise Kalamota! Kolocep, 30 Mins from Dubrovnik But a World Away), followed by Lopud (Lopud: Carless, Timeless, Carefree Dalmatian Sunset Heaven). And, after the perfect introduction to the final - and largest - island with lunch at Hotel Bozica on Sipan, it was time to wander down to the village of Sudjuradj, where some of the secrets of the island were revealed. 

There are only about 50 islands which are inhabited today, and their numbers are much, much less than they were 200 years ago. Emigration in search of economic opportunity is the main reason, and visits to islands such as Sipan are a reminder of the glory days of yesteryear. I was not sure what to expect on Sipan, but it was certainly nothing quite like this - a Sipan Renaissance Palace which must be among the most elegant buildings on all the islands.

Several weeks later, as I come to write this article, there was perhaps an even bigger surprise - almost no information online at all about this wonderful complex, especially in English. Easily the most impressive building on the island, but almost no information whatsoever. Indeed, the most comprehensive introduction was on the buying and selling website, Njuskalo, which was selling the property last year for a cool 2.5 million euro:

The summer residence / castle of Vice Stjepović-Skočibuhe on the island of Šipan from 1563 is a protected cultural monument in Croatia. It has an area of 800 m2 and the land of 3000 m2.

The larger one-story building is intended for family housing. It is made of worked stone. The smaller house was built for a family monk (main and auxiliary building). The chapel along the southern part of the family building was dedicated to St. Thomas.

Completely completed at the end of the 16th century, it consisted of a family house, two towers on three floors (to defend against pirates), a front and back garden with a rectangular promenade, the church of St. Tom, lodges, mill, cisterns in the house and in the tower, storage rooms, pavilion on the terrace, bridge and fortified entrance.

The mansion houses a renaissance rectangular fireplace with preserved stucco hood decoration (which is an exception in the Dubrovnik area!), An elegant Renaissance stone sink with embossed edges and a rare example of the only preserved wooden balcony (balatur over the staircase of the Lodge fence 16). century.

The mansion has all the characteristics of Dubrovnik countryside architecture. It is the only and completely preserved country house of its kind in Croatia.In the 2000s, it functioned as a museum.

The property did sell, and I managed to find a video tour of the property from the previous owner, a prominent dentist - see below.

How the Dubrovnik aristocracy must have lived at the height of the Ragusa Republic!

A visit and tour of the palace is possible by private arrangement, and we entered into a world gone by. A faded beauty which had seen better times, perhaps, but a beauty nonetheless, fully functional as a modern-day house (complete with televisions in the bedrooms) but firmly rooted in the authentic artifacts which make this an even more interesting heritage treasure. 

A gorgeous Mediterranean garden and courtyard to welcome the guests. 

Inside was a true journey back in time, the walls and furniture seemingly untouched for hundreds of years. 

The most magnificent room was on the top floor, a grand living room, as well as event hall, where singers would perform from behind the raised wooden platform.  

I didn't get a chance to check out the modern plumbing, but one would hope the toilet facilities were an upgrade on Renaissance times. 

The most fascinating room for me, however, was the kitchen - still fully functioning today. 

An outstanding collection of original kitchen and cooking tools, all of which were expertly explained by our guide.

A little video atmosphere of the heartbeat of the house, above. 

The palace was no less impressive outside, with plenty of additional features in addition to enjoying the summer terrace view, above. 

A private chapel, as one might expect for such a distinguished property, with a room for the priest nearby. 

And what would a rich Dubrovnik aristocrat be without his own source of quality olive oil?

The palace mill is still in existence today,  filled with original features, just like the rest of the complex. 

The Elaphiti islands. Magical and well worth the wait for my first visit. It will certainly not be that long until I return. 

And for those of you wanting to visit Dubrovnik but not be faced with the crowds, the Elaphiti islands offer a perfect alternative. All three are connected by regular ferry to the city (ranging from 30 to 60 minutes) and all three are a world away from the hustle and bustle of a major tourist destination. The best of both worlds.  

(If you would  like to have a tour of this wonderful Sipan Renaissance palace with excellent local guide Marija Goravica - and be sure to check out her carob flour and virgin olive oil, please contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Sipan, and we will put you in touch). 

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September 13, 2020 - The Croatian media reported about the sculpture near the Sava river earlier this year, in January. Now it's back in the news, as its author had to do more work on the favorite piece. 

Robert Zdarilek (65) is a Croatian sculptor who spent years creating the sculpture right next to the Sava river, close to the iconic Hendrix Bridge in Zagreb (we've written about that bridge previously). During one of his regular walks along the Sava, he found one of the rocks from an old bridge protruding from the mud and decided to turn it into a sculpture. He used an ancient renaissance technique of sculpting and has created a head/face of a creature that appears to be living in the mud, sometimes submerged completely as the level of the river rises and falls throughout the year. 

And now that the sculpture is living its riverside life, Croatian sculptor Zdarilek explains to 24sata how it's the first thing he does while walking his dogs, visiting Vodan and making sure everything is OK with his art. Nobody has damaged it in the past months, and sometimes other walkers spend time cleaning the face of the sculpture from Sava's mud. But, sometime during this last August things took a turn: in the morning, everything was all right, but in the evening, Vodan was covered with a lot of soil! Croatian Waters (Hrvatske vode) were performing some excavations, and just dumped the leftover soil right over Vodan! 

Zdarilek explains that it took him two days to fully clean the sculpture, and he's asked those in charge at Hrvatske vode to be a bit more careful when performing such maintenance, as Vodan is an important piece of 'land art', well-known and liked by the people of Zagreb! 

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September 13, 2020 – Around 70 soldiers are finally on their way back home to their families as the last Croatian troops leave Afghanistan

A flood of emotions is due over forthcoming hours as relatives and friends welcome back home loved ones in the armed services. For some, happiness will be the overriding feeling. For others, it will simply be relief.

The final 70 Croatian army personnel taking part in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission are at last coming home. The lowering of the nation's flag at Marmal camp in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan on Saturday 14th September marked the official end of the army's contribution to the effort and signalled the last Croatian troops leave Afghanistan.

Resolute Support was launched on 1 January 2015 as a replacement to the ISAF operation. The objective of the mission was to provide training, advice and assistance for Afghan security forces and institutions in order for them to deal with extremist groups such as the Taliban and ISIS. In the 13 years of the preceding ISAF mission, more than 3,500 foreign troops lost their lives. 2224 of them were American.

At the peak of their participation, around 100 Croatian servicemen and women were stationed in Afghanistan. Last year, 8,475 Americans were training Afghan forces in the country, 5,500 were engaged in counter-terrorism missions, 8,673 allied soldiers were supporting and 27,000 military contractors were also part of the effort. In July of this year, there were 76 Croatian soldiers left in the country.

As the last Croatian troops leave Afghanistan, anxious worry among those waiting at home can finally ebb away. It can't have been an easy time for them. As recently as last summer, Croatian troops positioned in the country were caught in a fatal attack.

On 23 July 2019, one vehicle in a five-car Croatian convoy was hit by a suicide bomber while on its way to Lyon camp. Three members of the Croatian Army were injured in the attack, two of them seriously. Tragically, one man died from his injuries the following day.

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All photos © Croatian army