The Croatian Diaspora

October 16, 2021 - We are delighted to welcome back Nikolina Demark, the TCN Writer of the Year in 2017, who is now back in Rijeka after her 3-year assignment to report on Croatian emigration to Ireland. Part 1 - the accommodation reality.   In October 2018, I moved to Ireland. I had one box of clothes shipped to my partner in Cork  and boarded a plane with a carry-on and a backpack. My one-way ticket cost me €32.  A few years and one pandemic later, we’re back in Rijeka, Croatia. It was our plan from the start and we’re happy…

October 7, 2021 - Today is two years since I arrived in Croatia, without imagining that it would be my new home. In the latest article of the Croatian Diaspora in South America series, I share ten reasons why I think Croatia is an ideal and easy to adapt destination for those coming from South America. On a day like today, but two years ago, I landed in Zagreb without knowing that Croatia would be the country where I would stay to live, leaving behind twenty-four years of invaluable experiences, moments, lessons, and friendships made in my country, Peru. Now…

September 26, 2021 - Natalie Franćeska, the author of the children's book My Grandma is Like the Sea, draws upon the nostalgia of the bygone days in Croatia. There is something powerful about reminiscing about the nostalgia of the bygone days. Research supports this, where experts have shown us that the modest dose of nostalgia has positive effects on people and their wellbeing. It can also help facilitate growth, self-discovery and serve as a source of future inspiration. Nostalgia may also very well be a way some have helped ease feelings of distress during Covid-19. Personally, I have been able to…

ZAGREB, 20 Sept 2021 - Croats in the United States contributed to Croatia's international recognition and are today its unofficial promoters, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said in New York on Sunday, after meeting with members of the Croat expatriate community. "The Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius here is headed by the Franciscans from Herzegovina, and the Croatian school here brings together already the third generation of U.S. Croats," Grlić Radman said, noting that this bore witness to a wish to preserve one's national, cultural and linguistic identity. Croats "have given a major contribution to the prosperity of the U.S.…

September 15, 2021 - The Adriatic Freediving Cup competition was held the second week of September, where Venezuelan Iru Balic finished second and set a new national record, with less than 49 meters under the sea in the “Bialetas” modality. She spoke about how special it was to compete in Croatia, where her grandfather was born. The Venezuelan portal lapatilla.com interviewed diver Iru Balic, who recently achieved second place in the Adriatic Freediving competition in Krk, Croatia, and where she also broke the Venezuelan national record for free diving, better known as apnea. For Balic it was a special moment since she,…

September 9, 2021 - On the 20th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, we remember the lives lost that fateful day, including that of Lieutenant Anthony Jovic, the son of Croatian immigrants, who died at age 39. On a date like today, but 20 years ago, the world shook at the news of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. The shocking images went around the world live and on all the news on the planet. The world surely changed that day, and twenty years later the memory is still present. Moreover, after…

ZAGREB, 6 Sept 2021 - Croatia has set aside HRK 3.5 million (€467,000) for this year to support projects by Croatian diaspora organizations in 29 overseas and European countries.  Grants will be awarded based on a tender issued by the Central State Office for Croats Abroad. Applications are accepted by 1 October. Diaspora organizations are invited to submit projects of importance to their development, culture, education, science, sports, and tourism, as well as those that contribute to the preservation of the national identity and promote relations between the diaspora and Croatia. One organization can submit not more than two projects…

July 2, 2021 - Dedication to researching and developing the field of social sciences sees the Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute expanding scientific cooperation once again after Željko Holjevac's visit to Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ivo Pilar Social Research Institute, active as always, continues to expand its cooperation on scientifically explain social issues (symbolically noted as 2021 marks 30 years of the Institute). As reported on their official website, Institute headmaster dr. Željko Holjevac visited Sarajevo, the capital city of the neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, from June 21-23. The main story of that visit was a signed bilateral cooperation agreement…

June the 14th, 2021 - This article was co-written by Steve Rukavina and Anna Maria Sicenica, NFCACF Board Members. On Saturday, June the 26th at 11:00am Eastern time, the NFCA will be co-hosting with the Croatian Fraternal Union, a global webinar salute to the founding of the Republic of Croatia's democracy. The NFCA’s webinar will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Independence Day and the honoring of another “Statehood Day” (1990 milestone) and Croatia’s successful and historic road to democracy and its independence achieved especially in the 1990-1991 time frame. Please let us invite you to a virtual celebration to mark thirty plus years of Croatian Independence (Croatian: Dan Državnosti), filled with…

ZAGREB, 5 June 2021 - Marija Bistrica will host on 10-11 June an international conference focusing on numerous topics of importance for Croatia's expat communities and the relationship towards them, the Croatian Heritage Foundation has announced. The live conference is a continuation of the 4th Croatian Emigrant Congress, which was not completed in Zagreb last November due to the pandemic. About 60 participants will analyse the challenges and prospects of Croatian emigrants in relation to the homeland, demographic challenges, and emigrants as promoters of Croatia. The event will also be an opportunity to talk about the aid expats sent via their Catholic missions to the areas…