May the 29th, 2021 - Split Tech City, which is authentically Croatian, is not only working to strengthen the IT sector, but is showcasing this historic Dalmatian city as a place which can be ideal for both life and work.

 As Novac/Ljubica Vuko writes, when the very first OpenCoffee was held back in 2008, nobody could have dreamed that this meetup would reach its 130th sequel and that the Split Tech City association would emerge from connecting several technology and entrepreneurship lovers.

The latest Split Tech City announced a get together which took place on the 27th of this month, and a new panel discussion was held with people who came from other cities and countries to live and work in Split. The presentation of a new website also took place.

''The community is constantly growing and progressing and we'll continue to contribute to Split being globally recognised as a technological hub where a balanced business and family life can be led,'' stated Toni Trivkovic, the founder and president of Split Tech City who performs this function on a voluntary basis. He is also the owner and director of the "Agilo" agency, which was launched back in 2011.

With the aim of connecting the technology community, Toni Trivkovic launched the OpenCoffee meetup thirteen years ago, which connects people from the technology sector. At these events, they meet, socialise, exchange their experiences, learn from leading Croatian and foreign technology experts who are guests as lecturers sharing their knowledge.

The Split Tech City Association was launched back in 2015, and today it has about 60 members, of which 45 are companies, and the rest are individuals.

''Split Tech City actively participates in the development of the local technology sector. When we started our activities back in 2015, our main motivation was to participate in building an advanced community, which will grow and where young people will stay, organise events where people can connect and learn something new, and also promote Split as an ideal place to work and live,'' explained Trivkovic.

He added that they constantly listen to the needs of the community, so the activities they carry out are successful because the community recognises that it is intended for them.

''We organise events where you can always learn something new, and through the portal split-tehcity.com we create content that inspires and advertises jobs. We're followed by students and professionals to find out about opportunities in the local technology community and this is of great value to companies because we provide them with visibility and access to potential staff,'' Trivkovic emphasised.

He also noted that he is most proud of the conference "Live locally, work globally" where more than 220 young people listened live, and many more followed through social media, to the stories of entrepreneurs who motivated them and showed that it is possible to create global companies from Split.

''Motivation is best spread by directly transferring experiences, sharing lessons learned by the method of one's own mistakes and pointing out all the good bits. The life and business stories of young people who, despite all the obstacles they've encountered, have started a successful business in their city, are also inspiring for others who are thinking about their futures. As soon as possible, we will organise the second edition of that conference,'' stated Toni Trivkovic.

He also pointed out that the association is financed exclusively from the contributions of its members, and thanks to that they have hired one person permanently and one person part-time. One deals with web content in Croatian, the other in English and contacts people from the IT sector who have moved to Split, mostly from abroad, and are developing their businesses here.

''We come into contact with people from other countries or from other cities in Croatia, there are already many people who have come to Split and want to stay here longer. We want to contribute to even more of them coming here,'' explained Split Tech City's Toni Trivkovic.

Today, Split Tech City's Agilo consists of 11 professionals, operating globally as a B2B (business-to-business) partner for digital design and web and mobile application development. Through their volunteer work, they also refreshed the Split Tech City brand and created a new website.

''The main inspiration is picigin, an authentic game from Split, where there are no winners, but it's important to keep the ball in the air as much as possible by passing the ball around. This also outlines what our association is about, so we chose the circle element as a trademark. We're creating a healthy story that is based on the market,'' added Trivkovic, noting that they still have a lot of ideas and plans under their belts, including the organisation of a festival of technology and entrepreneurship. He also said that Split Tech City inspired some other young IT experts from across Croatia who contacted them in order to organise themselves in a similar way in their own respective cities.

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