New York, October 4, 2022 - Srecko Mavrek, an internationally recognized educational expert, attended a reception on the occasion of the 25th Austrian American Day at the Austrian Consulate General in New York. In 1997, President Bill Clinton proclaimed September 26 as Austrian-American day in gratitude for the many gifts that Austrian Americans bring to the life of the USA. The event was hosted by the Austrian Consul General Ms. Helene Steinhaeusl. Attendees were honored and delighted by the presence of H.E. Karl Nehammer, Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria H.E. Alexander Schallenberg, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, and Major General Jürgen Ortner from Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in New York, with whom Mavrek had a long and interesting conversation about bileteral relations between Croatia and Austria and the current situation in Europe.

Mavrek’s connection with Austria dates back to the 2000s when he worked as a research fellow at Karl-Franz-University in Graz between 2001-2005. In cooperation with the Austrian-American Educational Cooperation Association, he was hired as an international teacher by the New York City Department of Education in 2005. Since then, he received numerous professional awards including President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Community Leadership Award, SHAPE America Eastern District High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, National Service Award from the Council for Aquatic Professionals of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation, etc. He also served as a professional representative of Kappa Delta Pi – International Honor Society in Education to the United Nations Department of Global Communications. Mavrek has been passionately preserving and promoting Croatian heritage and culture worldwide since the 1990s. and is currently one of the Croatian Radio New York hosts.

Srecko Mavrek with the young Austrian diplomats

Srecko Mavrek and the Austrian Consul General Ms. Helene Steinhaeusl at the Summer 2021 reception