October 27, 2020 - An important gathering for the strengthening of ties between Croatia and its diaspora takes place next month as the 6th edition of Croatia Meeting G2 takes place in Zagreb.
One of the things I have been monitoring over the last few years has been the growing cooperation between Croatia's entrepreneurial sector and the business-minded members of the Croatian diaspora - it has been an exciting journey to observe as a foreign fly on the wall.
On the surface, things should be fairly simple. The diaspora are successful, weatlh-creating and extremely patriotic. Croatia should be an obvious place for investment and economic cooperation. And while it is true that foreign remittances from the diaspora was more than direct foreign investment to Croatia last year, it is also true that many in the diaspora are extremely reluctant to throw money in Croatia, having suffered many bad experiences with money sent and invested during and in the aftermath of the Homeland War.
One of the key things missing is trust. Finding the right partner in the homeland is not always easy, especially when the culture over the generations is to put trust and faith in a distant cousin in the homeland, often with disastrous results.
Thankfully, things are changing, and there are now various initiatives bringing the diaspora closer to the private sector in Croatia. Croatia's young entrepreneurs are engaging more with their diaspora counterparts, relationships are being formed, and business is getting done. Trust is returning as private business engages with private business.
One of the best of these initiatives is Croatia Meeting G2, which is organised by a mixture of Croatian and diaspora professionals, all of whom are committed to a strengthening of ties and a better Croatia. Held each year in Zagreb, Meeting G2 returns for its sixth edition next month, and it is one of the premier diaspora networking events in the Croatian business calendar.
As one of the few foreigners with no Croatian heritage to attend these events, I find it fascinating to watch so many sections of Croatian society to come together - some without even a common language, but all bonded by a passion for Croatia itself. Some diaspora conferences are more about emotion than substance, but I have always found the G2 programme stimulating, with a wide selection of guests and topics - and I have never left it without making new friends and several new interesting stories for TCN.
This year's event - Croatia Meeting G2.6 takes place once more at Forum Zagreb Congress Centre in Green Gold, with a wide variety of local, diaspora and international speakers on some fascinating Croatia-related topics. Having attended the event for some years now, I am delighted to be asked to speak at the conference for the first time. I will be participating in a panel on the second day called 'World' First Haven for Digital Nomads.' Moderated by Eugene Brcic Jones, the other panel speakers will be digital nomad visa champion Jan de Jong (from Split via Zoom), Tanja Polegubic, Andres Wil Gerdes (from Malta via Zoom) and Katarina Bulic Bestulic.
You can check out the current schedule of sessions below.
Day 1 - Wednesday, November 16
Day 2 - Thursday, November 17
For more information about the Meeting G2 sixth edition, and to register, visit the official website.
For more news from the Croatian Diaspora, follow the dedicated TCN section.
