April 21, 2022 - Đakovo is one of the hosting cities of the Ghetto Games Euroleague, a unique street football tournament. It was established as part of the "Medicines for Europe's Ghettos" initiative, with the main idea being the use of street sports as "medicine" for underdeveloped areas in Eruope.

It is supported by the European Union's Erasmus+ program in cooperation with some of the largest street sports organisations in Eruope, including Ghetto Games from Latvia, DGI  from Denmark, Fryshusetfrom Sweden, Malta BMX  from Malta and the Estonian Street Sports Federation. 

As Glas Slavonije writes, the Croatian portion of the tournament will take place at Strossmayer Square in Đakovo, starting on Friday, 22 April at 5 pm. The competition itself takes place in a cage (which is approximately 18 meters long and 10 meters wide), and three such cages will be ready for the competition. Two age groups are participating in the competition, one including ages 16+ and the other focusing on those younger than 16. There will also be a special category for girls/women. As for the entertainment aspect, a competition with the best eight freestylers from this part of Europe is planned. Online qualifications have taken place for this part of the tournament. Additionally, there will be a "1 v 1" competition in a specialized cage, smaller than the others.

The tournament is held in nine other EU cities (Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, Copenhagen, Berlin, Warsaw, Rome…), which means that Đakovo has now taken a spot on this prestige list as one of the great ones. The arrival of numerous sports participants, clubs, players and influencers from Slavonia is expected. The competition will be live streamed worldwide, and the event will be broadcast on many channels on social networks.

The partners include the EU, Ghetto Games, the City of Đakovo, the Tourist Board of the City of Đakovo, as well as Rafael Spajić, the man who brought Ghetto Games to Đakovo in the first place, after having played street football for over 17 years.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

April 21, 2022 - Osijek is fast developing and is on the road to restoring its glory as the regional centre of eastern Croatia. The city's administration takes pride in the various EU projects which they have been implementing, whether it's infrastructure and development, or education and employment. The latest - free communication skills training in Osijek!

SiB.hr writes about one of the more recent programs of the Osijek City Administration in collaboration with the Algebra University College and the EU Centar Association, which is the continuation of the EU project "Green Jobs and Communication for Work - a Guarantee of a Better Future in Slavonia". Deputy Mayor Dragan Vulin, the Head of the Administrative Department for Social Welfare, Pensioners and Health Romano Kristić, and President of the EU Centar Association Domagoj Vidaković spoke about the next activity of this project.

"I would like to thank the EU Centar Association and the Algebra University College, which are implementing a project worth more than 1.1 million kuna together with the City of Osijek. It has been running from July 16, 2020, and will continue until July 15 this year. It is important to note that the entire project was funded from the European Social Fund. These are wide-reaching funds that remain in our area and are spent for good purposes. Software development training is currently in progress, for a total of 250 hours during four months. We have 28 participants, who should finish the course by the beginning of June this year. Today, we are starting a Facebook campaign or a public call for all those interested in another activity, which is communication skills training. It will last 22 days, starting after May 1. The main goal is to ensure that our participants are more competitive when entering the labour market," said Vulin, adding that these activities will also help provide the economy with staff in the field of development technologies.

According to the head of the Administrative Department Roman Kristić, the contract for this project was signed in 2021 and will be successfully implemented. The City of Osijek helped select the target group of unemployed people who will undergo training in the Python program and education in communication skills, and provided them with top experts and mentors.

Domagoj Vidaković from the EU Centar announced that the communication skills training will be intended for marginalised groups and the long-term unemployed, from 18 to 29 years of age if they have been unemployed for at least 6 months, and those above 29 who have been unemployed for 12 months or longer.

"We invite them to get information about these activities and apply through the project website Zelena zanimanja”, said Vidaković.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 24 Jan 2022 - Two new play centres and toy libraries for children from disadvantaged families will be opened in the northern Međimurje region in February, and the project, financed with EU money, is adapted to Roma children and families.

UNICEF and 11 partners are implementing a pilot project as part of "Phase III – Testing the Child Guarantee in the EU Member States", a programme aimed at enabling children to access basic services such as health care, education, nutritious food, quality housing conditions and childcare.

It focuses primarily on children with disabilities, children from disadvantaged families and children - members of ethnic minorities.

The project is being implemented in seven Međimurje communities, where, as many as 40% of children aged 3-6 are not included in pre-school education.

Intervention focuses on three areas - services of child protection and family support, early intervention services, and access to pre-school education.

In addition to an existing play centre, the new play centres to be opened will be places for informal child education and learning through play. The play centres and toy libraries will cover more than 450 children, they will employ three education experts, plus three Roma assistants to help adapt activities to Roma ethnic minority families.

The project also includes three carefully designed training courses for 55 kindergarten teachers.

On July 19, 2017, Split locals Michael Freer and Ivan Rako took action against a seemingly insignificant nuisance, which had a concrete effect thanks to their ingenuity and Popravi Grad.

The Synagogue

Tucked into the western walls of Diocletian’s Palace in the narrow street of Židovski Prolaz (Jewish Passage) you will find the third oldest continuously used Sephardic Synagogue in the world stemming from the 16^th century. Sephardic Jews came from the Iberian Peninsula (Span and Portugal) as refugees. It was once a church however; it was rented and later bought by the Jews who converted it into their place of worship. It is housed on the second of two attached medieval houses and does not resemble a synagogue from the outside.

The Aron Hakodesh, an ark and inner sanctuary which is the most sacred place of worship as it faces Jerusalem, is constructed in the Classicist style using black and white marble. The Aron Hokadesh and the Torah are actually embedded within the Roman walls of Diocletian’s Palace. The Sinagogue has no resident rabbi however; this does not prevent this tight-knit community to meet for Sabbath.

You can visit the synagogue from Monday to Friday between 10am and 2pm but we suggest you call ahead on +385 (0)21 345 672 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Jewish Community of Split

In nearby Salona (Solin), Jewish artifacts have been excavated, proving that this community first lived in the area somewhere between the 3^rd and 5^th century however, it is believed that they first settled in the palace in the 7^th century in what later became known as the Jewish Ghetto, or just “Get” today. Recent archeological digs also revealed several limestone carvings of menorahs in the eastern part of the basement, thought to have belonged to the first synagogue in Split which was destroyed when the palace burned in 1507. Another Jewish claim to fame is the northeast tower of the palace dubbed Židovska Kula (Jewish Tower) by locals as the Jewish community defended the city from the Ottoman invasion from this tower.

The Synagogue is located in the tight streets of the Jewish Ghetto, known as Get today and it was within this quarter of the palace that the Jews lived. Actually, the gates of the Jewish Ghetto were locked every night in order to prevent any religious outbreak between the Christians and Jewish communities. Actually, only one incident ever occurred when a fascist group robbed the synagogue of its silver and plundered the Jewish bookstore “Morpurgo” on Pjaca. The Morpurgo bookstore still exists today, bearing the same name and distict wooden green façade as it did in 1860.

Image from panoramio.com

Pre-WWII there was a slim population of 300 Jews in Split however, 50% died between 1941 and 1943 and today, Split has a Jewish community of about 100 members.

The Jewish Cemetery

Permission was given to the Jewish community in 1573 to construct a cemetery on the eastern slopes of the Marjan hill, looking over the city. It is known to be one of the oldest Jewist cemeteries in Europe and there are more than 700 graves with readable tombstones in Sephardic double-curved Hebraic text from the 18^th and 20^th century. The gravestones are constructed according the Sephardim tradition where they lie horizontal instead of standing vertical.

The last burial took place in 1945 before is was closed as a monument. Today there is a Jewish section and a Holocaust memorial at the public Lovrinac cemetery west of town.

You can reach the cemetery within a 10-minute walk up the stairs to Marjan from the Varoš neighborhood just east of the palace. If the gates are locked, you can pop into the neighboring café, “Vidilica,” and the waiter will open it up for you.

Image from zost.hr