The first session of the second convocation of the government’s Council for Croats Abroad will take place in Zagreb.
On Monday and Tuesday, the first session of the second convocation of the government’s Council for Croats Abroad will be held in Zagreb. In addition to the election of the president and vice president of the Council, the session will consider the possibilities of enhancing and strengthening cooperation in economic, scientific, cultural and other fields between the Republic of Croatia and Croats living outside its borders, reports Večernji List on December 17, 2017.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the possibilities for improving the Croatian language learning system for Croats outside Croatia, the chances of cooperation in receiving funding from EU funds, the process of obtaining citizenship and other status issues.
During the first day of the Council’s meeting, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković will address the members. At its session held on 7 September, the Croatian government passed a decision on the founding and appointment of new Council members.
The Council is composed of representatives of Croatian communities from all over the world who, together with representatives of state bodies and institutions, the Catholic Church and civil society organizations from the homeland, have the task of assisting the Croatian government in drafting and implementation of policies, activities and programmes with regards to Croats outside the Republic of Croatia.
Members of the council are representatives of associations, organisations and institutions of Croats outside the Republic of Croatia. These are people who are respected in their communities, engaged in preserving and strengthening the Croatian identity of their communities and in promoting relations with the homeland. They are nominated on the proposal of Croatian communities from the countries they come from, for a four-year term (members of the Council do not receive financial compensation for their work).
The number of representatives of Croats outside Croatia in the Council is determined according to the number and importance of Croats in their countries, the activities and the links between the communities and the Republic of Croatia, as well as the activities on the improvement of the reputation of Croatia. Thus, Bosnian Croats have nine members, Croatian minorities in European and neighbouring countries 17 members, and Croatian emigration 29 representatives. Among members of the Council, there are also representatives of various state institutions and bodies from Croatia.
Translated from Večernji List.
