3rd Croatian Diaspora Congress Opens in Osijek Tomorrow

Third Croatian Diaspora Congress under the slogan “Departure – stay – return” will be held this week from June 29^th until July 1^st in the building of the Faculty of Economics in Osijek. The topics of the Congress are set wide and include a variety of different areas with the aim of developing cooperation and proactive action to strengthen the connection of Croatian diaspora with the homeland.

The long-standing economic and political crisis has left a trace in all segments of our society, and, in recent years, we have witnessed mass emigration of work capable, mostly educated people, and often of entire families from Croatia to EU countries, but also across the ocean.

This year’s Croatian Diaspora Congress is devoted to discussing the reasons for the emigration and the unattractive nature of the return; when and why did the emigrants leave their homeland, what is their experience in new environments, if and under what conditions would they return to their homeland. The congress will also focus on members of the second and third generation of descendants of Croatian emigrants, as well as the possibility of their immigration / return to the home of their grandparents.

A great potential lies in Croatian healthcare for the development of cooperation between our homeland and Croats living abroad, together with the opportunity for encouraging and attracting investments, but also patients, from our diaspora. A panel discussion focused on Croatian healthcare entitled “Towards a healthy future” will be held on Friday, June 29^th from 13:00 to 14:00.

The presentations on this panel will be held by the following lecturers:

Ognjen Bagatin (Bagatin Clinic)
Nikica Gabrić (Special Hospital for Ophthalmology “Svjetlost”)
Arijana Hegediš Došen (Arithera Specialty Hospital)
Jasenka Čandrlić (Lege Artis Clinic)
Martina Bienenfeld (Zagreb Tourist Board)
Stjepan Orešković (University of Harvard)

Encouraging even better entrepreneurial development in Croatia, focus on keeping high-quality work force and encouraging the return of our people, will be the main topics on the panel discussion dedicated to entrepreneurship entitled “Entrepreneurship – the road to Croatian prosperity – export knowledge not people” which is scheduled on Saturday, June 30^th form 14:00 to 16:00.

The presentations on this panel will be held by the following lecturers:

Berisalv Sokač (Run Croatia)
Marjan Jakobac (UP Energy Beverages)
Marko Emer (Moj-eRačun)
Hrvoje Kapetanović (Undabot)
Fran Mikuličić (fm Consulting)
Ivan Ćosić (LjetoINCroatia)
Vitomir Tafra (Education group Zrinski)
Ognjen Bagatin (Bagatin Clinic)

Let’s work together on the development of a climate which favors business, create a better business environment and evoke in our youth the love for entrepreneurship by following successful examples. Our common goal is to prevent the emigration of highly educated and high-quality workforce and, with the positive examples of successful Croatian entrepreneurs, attract and encourage investments in Croatian economy.

We invite you to contribute with your presence to the actuality, attractiveness, quality and success of this Congress.

Click here for the full programme.