Diplomacy&Commerce 33 by DiplomacyandCommerce_Croatia

May 2021 | ISSUE No. 33 | ONLINE EDITION

09 FEB

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30 YEARS OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP

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NATIONAL RECOVERY PROGRAM IMPORTANT FOR CROATIA Sc. D. IVAN MALENICA

Minister of Justice and Public Administration

THE PANDEMIC ACCELERATED THE INEVITABLE PROCESSES SAŠA MUMINOVIĆ, PhD

President of SLO CRO Business Club

SLOVENIA’S 6-MONTH PRESIDENCY OF THE EU COUNCIL

EXCELLENT NORTHSOUTH COOPERATION!

H.E. VOJISLAV ŠUC

H. E. DIANA HELEN MADUNIĆ

Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in the Republic of Croatia Exhibition by Murtić Foundation

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FOREWORD

ROBERT ČOBAN Director

he first trip to Italy since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic: the Venice Architecture Biennale, which is taking place this year, instead of last year. While walking between Giradini and Arsenal, I’m passing through a typical Venetian street where clothes lines are stretched between the houses! One of the windows has a flag with a message “No big ships” and a crossed drawing of a cruiser. What used to be a major issue for the re-

NATIONAL RECOVERY PROGRAM IMPORTANT FOR CROATIA Sc. D. IVAN MALENICA Minister of Justice and Public Administration

SLOVENIA’S 6-MONTH PRESIDENCY OF THE EU COUNCIL

CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji Biblioteke Matice Srpske, Novi Sad 33 Diplomacy & Commerce / glavni i odgovorni urednik Žikica Milošević, 2016, br. 1 (mart)-.Novi Sad: Color Media Communications, 2016 - , -33cm Mesečno. ISSN 2466-3808 = Diplomacy & Commerce COBISS.SR-ID 303269895

the start of the pandemic – outdoor seating areas in cafés and restaurants were full throughout the city. Even the famous Vogalonga Regatta was held, where hundreds of boats, small ships and gondolas took part – thus celebrating 1,600th birthday of the city and its union with the sea. Judging by the scenes from Serenissima, life is returning to Europe. What will it look like, will we love and hate the same things with the same passion as we did before the pandemic – we will see for ourselves in the months ahead.

CONTENTS

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maining citizens of Venice (population number went down from 174,000 in 1951 to 52,000 in 2019), doesn’t seem to be such a big deal today, in a time of pandemic. Until the early 2000s, most visitors would come and stay in Venetian hotels for a few nights, taking a few days for exploring the city as a whole, visiting Venice beyond the landmarks, discovering the local life and culture. In recent years, along with a yearly staggering increase in the number of the visitors, the way of visiting the city has changed: many tourists now come to Venice as a day/ hour trip, as part of a cruise, for example, dramatically modifying social, logistic, economic and touristic aspects of the city. The residents of Venice were especially annoyed by dozens of thousands of passengers from the cruise ships who flooded the city every day – having breakfast and lunch on the ship, while they would spend ten or so euros in the city, on a souvenir or a slice of pizza. Then came the pandemic and shop, café and restaurant owners in the city would have been happy to have even guests like those, but they didn’t come, and they are still nowhere in sight. However, fine weather and the opening of the Architecture Biennale brought thousands of tourists to Venice (it seems that most of them were Italian) and for the first time since

H.E. VOJISLAV ŠUC Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in the Republic of Croatia

THE PANDEMIC ACCELERATED THE INEVITABLE PROCESSES SAŠA MUMINOVIĆ, PhD President of SLO CRO Business Club

EXCELLENT NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION! H. E. DIANA HELEN MADUNIĆ Swedish Ambassador to Croatia

A FULL POTENTIAL OF MJF 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CGS plus

30 YEARS OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP Politics

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CHOOSE LJUBLJANA TZ Lubljana

BOUNDLESS OPTIMISM IN TIMES OF CRISIS DANIJEL KOLETIĆ CEO at Apriori World, IPRA and UN awarded consultant for sustainable development goal number 10 – decreasing inequalities

LOCAL ELECTION’S COMMUNICATION IN CROATIA 2021 JAGODA POROPAT DARRER Business Communication Professional

DEJAN LJUŠTINA Founder of the new international consulting company Vision Partners

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INTERVIEW

National Recovery Program Important for Croatia This document will allow us to conduct structural reforms and investments over the next five years that will contribute to recovery and make us more resistant to potential future crises

Sc. D. IVAN MALENICA Minister of Justice and Public Administration

s a system, the judiciary encompasses a whole range of different segments, a large number of participants and different procedures. Our goal is to contribute to the acceleration of procedures and more up-to-date resolution of cases through the legislative framework and organizational activities, says the Minister of Justice and Administration, Sc. D. Ivan Malenica for Diplomacy & Commerce. There is a saying that justice delayed is justice denied. We want to make a turn here and the activities of the Ministry will be directed towards that.

When we talk about the judiciary in Croatia today, how much

is it at the level that you, as the line minister, would like to see and what is still missing to make it even more efficient? — When we look at two key indicators of efficiency of the judiciary, namely the number of unresolved cases in the courts and the

about 1,178,000 cases, resolved about 1,196,000 cases, and at the end of the year there were about 464,000 unresolved cases. The average duration of all procedures is over 140 days. We need to work on improving this data because it is precisely these two indicators: the

LAST YEAR, CROATIAN COURTS RECEIVED ABOUT 1,178,000 CASES, RESOLVED ABOUT 1,196,000 CASES, AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR THERE WERE ABOUT 464,000 UNRESOLVED CASES speed of their resolution, we certainly cannot be completely satisfied with that. It is indisputable that there is some progress in these aspects, but it is necessary to make bigger steps there. Last year, Croatian courts received

number of unresolved cases and the length of proceedings that are key to making the judiciary faster, better and of better quality. However, they are also crucial for improving the perception of the judiciary and strengthening citizens'

trust in the position that must be better. We are preparing amendments to the Law on Civil Procedure through which we will regulate those segments that affect the duration of proceedings more precisely. We are also working on changes to the Framework Criteria for the Work of Judges, which will also better regulate the issue of the so-called norms. These new benchmarks will certainly be in line with the Action Plans we presented about two months ago. Preliminary data on the implementation of the plans already indicate that all county courts and 2/3 of the municipal courts have met the set quarterly target. We have already talked to those courts that have not met their goals and we will continue to monitor the dynamics of resolving cases. Let me remind you that the Action Plans have three key objectives:

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to reduce the number of unresolved cases, to resolve cases older than 7 years during this year, and to resolve cases to which the statute of limitations could apply. It is certain that we must be more efficient in the fight against corruption and work harder on anti-corruption tools. We are moving in that direction through activities within the National Recovery and Resilience Program, but also in the development of a new Anti-Corruption Strategy. Our goal is to work on the prevention of corruption, on raising awareness that corruption is not acceptable in any segment of our society, and on continuing to strengthen independent institutions. An efficient judiciary and a stronger anti-corruption policy are key to strengthening the rule of law and legal certainty. Efficiency certainly encompasses human and material potentials. We are taking care of all this and we are working on it because our task as the executive authority is to create the preconditions for the judiciary to do its job independently.

You presented the National Recovery and Resilience Program in the field of public administration and judiciary. What would you single out as the bases of this program and what is its goal? — The National Recovery and Resilience Program is an important tool for the implementation of reforms and for transformation of Croatia. This document will allow us to conduct structural reforms and investments over the next five years that will contribute to recovery and make us more resistant to potential future crises. We proposed 77 reforms and 152 investments worth around 49 billion HRK to the Commission, and 10% of these funds will be invested in public administration, judiciary and state property. As a Ministry, we proposed reform measures and investments in three sub-components concerning the public administration, judiciary and fight against the corruption. In the first sub-component, “Further improvement of the effectiveness of public administration”, we put an emphasis on better human resource management, improvement and standardization of employment system, introduction of a new system of performance evaluation in state and public services and continuation of procedure digitalization as

well as optimization of the system of local and regional self-government units. In the “Modern judiciary ready for future challenges” sub-component, emphasis was placed on improvement of the judiciary through legislative, organizational, infrastructural and dig-

institutions, to make them more modern and efficient.

How far have you come in the process of alignment with the acquis and what are the biggest issues you have identified while adapting?

QUARTERLY DATA ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION PLAN INDICATE THAT 16% OF CASES THREATENED WITH STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN 2021 HAVE BEEN RESOLVED IN MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY COURTS ital changes. The aim is to use the reform measures to enable the acceleration of procedures, faster and better resolution of cases and additional education of judicial officials. In the third sub-component "Prevention and Suppression of Corruption", we plan to implement measures aimed at strengthening preventive mechanisms in the fight against corruption, stronger protection of whistle-blowers and transparency strengthening. The total value of investments in these three areas is over one billion and 280 million HRK. Our goal through NPOO is to act in three directions; legislative, organizational and developmental. We want to speed up procedures and processes through legislative activities. Use human resources to better manage the organizational activities. Use development activities, primarily through the introduction of new, digital tools, to rationalize the processes. The common goal of our part of the program is to strengthen the state and judicial

— By joining the European Union, the Republic of Croatia took on the obligation to harmonize its legislation with acquis communautaire. At the time of accession to the Union, we took over the acquis communautaire, and after that we continued to take over the subsequently adopted regulations. So, this is a continuous process. As a member of the European Union, Republic of Croatia is taking an active part in the procedures for the adoption of European regulations. Therefore the Ministry of Justice and Administration is continuously working on this process, through the competent organizational unit dealing with the issues of adjustment to acquis communautaire and cooperates on this with other competent bodies of the Republic of Croatia and the institutions of the Union. So far, a number of European regulations have been successfully transposed and numerous changes have been made to national legislation in various areas. When we talk about a certain

time interval, the deadline for implementing an individual regulation is usually two years from the entry into force of an individual regulation. I wouldn’t talk about the problems, but about the challenges that exist in every process of this kind. The challenges faced by our Ministry were related to the number, diversity and complexity of EU legislation. However, in the end, we manage to overcome these challenges as well.

How satisfied are you with the percentage of the reduction of statutes of limitations in processes? — I personally believe that the statute of limitation as a way of resolving cases is a problematic way of solving cases, and it’s something that should definitely be removed from practice. It’s also one of the reasons why we have set the resolution of cases in which the statute of limitations expires this year as one of the three goals for implementation through Action Plans. Quarterly data on implementation of the Action Plan indicate that 16% of cases threatened with statute of limitations in 2021 have been resolved in municipal and county courts. We will continue to monitor the dynamics of the implementation of the Action Plan, so I expect that these data will be even more favorable at the end of the year. However, when we observe the statistical records on the courts’ work in the past four years, we can see that in criminal cases conducted before municipal courts, the statute of limitations appears in 0.2% to 0.3% in the number of resolved cases. In criminal cases of the first instance which were conducted before the county courts, we can notice a decrease in the number of cases in which the statute of limitations occurred and a decrease in their share in the number of resolved cases. In 2017, the statute of limitations was present in 1.1% of cases resolved that year, while in 2020 the statute of limitations occurred in 0.2% of cases resolved that year. The progress is visible, but I believe that this form of decision-making should be minimized and I am convinced that we will be able to achieve the set goals through the Action Plans. How much does digitisation help a more efficient judiciary,

when it comes to both citizens and the economy? The legal system is one of the key elements in attracting foreign investors. — Digitization of processes and procedures in the judiciary and public administration is key to optimizing both systems and raising the level of quality and efficiency. It is equally important for the system itself and for citizens and business people. As a rule, we are taking digitalization in two directions - one direction is towards citizens and businessmen, and the other direction is the digitalization of procedures in the system itself and connection with other bodies. This enables all stakeholders to act quickly and with quality. Speaking of the judiciary, significant progress and investments in digitization in the value of around HRK 150 million have been made in the last four years. During that period, numerous changes or upgrades were made in the eSpis system, which is crucial for quality file management. New functionalities have been implemented: ePošta, eDostava, ePredmet, eOglasna ploča and one of the key tools is eKomunikacija, which enables electronic communication of the parties in proceedings with the courts. Today, eKomunikacija is used in commercial, county and municipal courts, as well as in the High Commercial Court and the Supreme Court, in the civil branch of trials. The latest amendments to the Civil Procedure Act introduced mandatory use of eKomunikacija for all state bodies, the State Attorney's Office, lawyers, notaries, court experts, appraisers, interpreters, managers, commissioners and legal entities. Citizens can also use this system, but they are not obliged to. We also upgraded the Court Register through the introduction of e-Osnivanje system, Epic - Electronic Public Identification Croatia, then the e-Osnivanje system was integrated into the START system, and the Court Register data were opened. In addition, we have carried out a number of technological and functional upgrades to the ZIS system to better manage the land data. We are currently working on upgrading the eSpis system to integrate administrative courts into the system. And in the long run, we are planning a number of digital solutions through the National Recovery and Resilience Program, among which I would certainly like to emphasize the integration of electronic systems in

THE NATIONAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PROGRAM IS DEFINITELY A NEW DIRECTION IN OUR DEVELOPMENT AND OUR ACTIVITIES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN LINE WITH THE PROPOSALS WE HAVE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION the Shared Services Centre, i.e. in the so-called government “cloud”. This will enable better and faster process management because all key systems will be networked and in fact it will be possible to "pull" data from the cloud itself. Digitization indisputably contributes to the creation of a more efficient judicial system and we plan to continue investing in this direction.

What are the most important projects of the Ministry in the upcoming period? — The National Recovery and Resilience Program is definitely a new direction in our development and our activities will be implemented in line with the proposals we have submitted to the Commission. As I have already pointed out, these activities will be carried out in three directions; legislative, organizational and developmental. The NPOO will certainly be crucial in the long run. In addition to the planned legislative activities that we have determined by the Plan of Legislative Activities for this year, the Ministry is working on a number of projects and plans. For example, the drafting of a new ten-year

Anti-Corruption Strategy is nearing completion. Its adoption in the Croatian Parliament is expected soon. It is a fundamental, strategic, anti-corruption document that will include a whole range of anti-corruption tools. The emphasis of the new Strategy will certainly be on the prevention of corruption and raising awareness of its negative effects on the society as a whole. Another important process that we have started is the development of new National Plans for Development of the Judicial System and the National Plan for Development of Public Administration for the period from 2021 to 2027. These are strategic plans with medium-term development goals through which we plan to improve, optimize and digitize processes in the judiciary and public administration. Then, we have a number of infrastructural investments ahead of us. Short-term investments will certainly have to do with the rehabilitation of the consequences of the earthquake. The Ministry has already invested about 10 million in the so-called rapid remediation.

A major renovation project of the former Standa building in Split is underway, which will provide new premises for the work of the Municipal Court in Split. This is a project worth about 60 million HRK + VAT, which is financed through the Norwegian Financial Mechanism with a share of 85% from the grant, and 15% of funds will come through the state budget. Also, works have already begun on the Jašiona building, which will be reconstructed and extended for the needs of the Land Registry Department of the Municipal Civil Court in Zagreb. The investment is worth around HRK 85 million, and the end of the works is expected during this year. The Loan Agreement for financing the Justice for Business Project provided investments in judicial infrastructure for the Municipal Civil Court in Zagreb, the Municipal Court in Kutina, the Municipal Court in Vinkovci and for judicial institutions in Varaždin. In the field of administration, digitization of services is expected to continue. In the following period, the e-Prijava životnog partnerstva (e-Registration of Life Partnership) service is expected as the second phase of the e-Prijava vjenčanja (e-Wedding Registration) service. So, there are a lot of projects that we have started and that we want to implement in order to make the judiciary and public administration faster and of better quality.

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INTERVIEW

Slovenia’s 6-month Presidency of the EU Council We will pay special attention to strengthening of EU’s resistance in the field of health care, as well as cyber security silience in the field of health and cyber security. As for our other priorities, I would mention the economic recovery of the EU after Covid with an emphasis on the digital and green transition, strengthening the rule of law, and in the foreign policy area we will focus on strengthening the EU-US relations and on the Western Balkans. An important topic will also be the Conference on the Future of Europe, which festively started on May 9 and will last one year, and most of the discussions at that conference coincide with the Slovenian presidency. The Bled Strategic Forum in September will also be dedicated to this.

SLOVENIA WILL LEAD THE EU COUNCIL TOWARDS CONTINUATION OF THE EU ENLARGEMENT PROCESS

H.E. VOJISLAV ŠUC Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in the Republic of Croatia

he period in which we faced the pandemic reminded us how important it is to be at the centre of future development of mankind, how precious life is, health is invaluable, how it is absolutely necessary to

build our relationship with nature, improve connections with other people, work on solidarity and working together, says HE Vojislav Šuc, Ambassador of Slovenia to Croatia, for Diplomacy & Commerce.

Slovenia is starting its 6-month presidency of the EU. What are official Ljubljana’s priorities,

and what will you pay special attention to? — In recent years, we have all seen that the EU is not adequately prepared to deal with large-scale crises, such as the financial crisis, then migration, and now the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, during its presidency of the EU Council, Slovenia will pay special attention to strengthening the EU's re-

What are the biggest challenges you see before Europe this year and how to solve them? — There are two mutually connected challenges, the first one is a successful exit from the crisis, and at the same time this way out of the crisis and the lessons we have learned give us the opportunity to move faster from the traditional economy towards the 4th Industrial Revolution which brings digitization, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and the transition to green sustainable economy. Are we capable of making that crucial switch or will we continue on the beaten path? It all depends on governments, civil society and EU citizens. It is the Conference on the Future of Europe that gives each one of us the opportunity to say what kind of Europe we want and it will be interesting to see the results of this widest debate ever held in the world.

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In the agenda of the Slovenian EU presidency, Southeast Europe region is high on the list. What would you single out as priorities in that sense (B&H, relations between Belgrade and Pristina…) and what are the steps towards resolving the accumulated problems? — Slovenia will lead the EU Council towards continuation of the EU enlargement process. As can be seen from local and global media, interest in the region and its future has been increasing recently. It is crucial to work together to create political will within the EU to make the Western Balkans its geostrategic priority for the sake of stability and security in Europe. This would encourage both the EU and the Western Balkan countries to make faster progress in the enlargement process. It has stagnated in recent years, so a breakthrough is needed with concrete steps in the negotiation process for Northern Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro. Unified EU messages on progress in B&H and Kosovo are also needed. An EU-Western Balkans summit will be organized in Slovenia in October to discuss these topics. Due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a strong impact in the Western Balkans countries, Slovenia will pay special attention to economic recovery in these countries, strengthening the region's resilience, connectivity, green agen-

WE HAVE A GREAT DESIRE FOR COUNTRIES OF THE WESTERN BALKANS TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE da and providing perspective to young people. We have a great desire for countries of the Western Balkans to be actively involved in the debate on the future of Europe, which I have already mentioned.

To what extent have the political, economic, and even global relations between countries shifted within the EU, but also outside of it? How much as the Covid-19 pandemic affected a new “dealing of the cards”? — Within the EU, there have always been different interests of the Member States that have been absorbed in the common interest, so the difference of opinion on certain issues in the EU is nothing new. An important fact is that the EU has strong institutions

through which conflicting interests and views are successfully resolved. Contrary to that, many opposing interests in the world are resolved in a violent manner, due to a lack of institutions and a lack of democratic dialogue. It is the values and principles on which the European institutions are based that make the EU the most successful integration in the world. But power relations in the world are changing rapidly and, if the EU wants to be a global player, it must actively work to strengthen internationally based rules and international law, because in a world order where they are truly respected, the EU can best project its strength and reach. The current pandemic has opened the door to stronger geopolitical in-

BACK TO NORMAL What did you miss the most during the Covid-19 pandemic and what was the first thing you did after “returning to normal” in a way? — Diplomacy is based on contacts, without which it loses meaning. So, I missed socializing in every way, both official and private. After receiving the second dose of the vaccine, I was finally able to travel to the sea with my grandchildren. Those few days with them, and especially their playfulness and mischief, brought me back to normal again pretty quickly.

fluence in some countries, the so-called “vaccination diplomacy” was a mirror of these efforts. But let's not forget to say out loud that the EU has exported more than 200 million doses of vaccine to ninety countries around the world, and spent two hundred million within the EU. This is not geopolitics, but pure solidarity.

Slovenia and Croatia are two neighboring countries that are very close and connected. We could say that they have a great relationship. Where do you see room for improvement (if we consider some still open issues) and how to address them? — Relations between our countries have improved significantly recently, there is an intensive dialogue at all levels. The prime ministers of both countries recently met in Portugal during the EU Social Summit, President Milanović was in Slovenia for the Brdo-Brijuni meeting a few days ago, co-operation in certain areas is very high, and on the eve of our presidency of the EU Council colleagues from Croatia, which chaired EU bodies last year, gave us valuable guidance and advice. Slovenia is conducting a significant trilateral process with Croatia and Italy to protect and promote cooperation in the North Adriatic. Admittedly, there are still a few open bilateral issues, but in an atmosphere of trust and political will, we will find a way to resolve them.

INTERVIEW

The Pandemic Accelerated the Inevitable Processes

Photo: Alenka Peterlin

Changes primarily in the digitalization process and changes in the method of work

SAŠA MUMINOVIĆ, PhD President of SLO CRO Business Club

LO CRO Business Club has successfully overcome the new circumstances. However, it is sure that the main goal of the club is to organize live events, and thus provide members with interconnection and networking. The pandemic situation has made this much more difficult than before. The fact that the membership in the club remained at pre-pandemic numbers is a good motivation for us, and a confirmation that we are doing well and have the trust of our members, says the President of SLO CRO Business Club, PhD Saša Muminović.

How do you see the economic climate in Slovenia and Cro-

atia, and beyond, in 2021, if we take into account all the circumstances caused by the Covid 19 pandemic? — As much as the pandemic caused by Covid 19 affected us on

We must also not forget that the pandemic has also contributed to strategic planning at the state level. We realized how vulnerable the globalization has made us because we have con-

THE WORLD BANK HAS GIVEN ITS ESTIMATE THAT THE AVERAGE PRICE OF RAW MATERIALS IN 2021 WILL BE AT LEAST A THIRD HIGHER THAN IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR the one hand, on the other hand it accelerated the processes that were inevitable. Working from home is unlikely to remain dominant after a pandemic, but some form of smart working will certainly continue to be relevant.

sciously or not given up on strategic production and become dependent on supplies from distant lands. All this is now slowly changing. The governments of Slovenia and Croatia have helped their

economies mitigate the effects of the pandemic with anti-crisis measures. It is now necessary to focus on recovery mechanisms and how to make the best use of EU funds and prepare the economies for the future.

What do the numbers say when it comes to economic activity between the two countries? — From 2009 to 2019, trade in goods (with an exceptional 2012) recorded an average growth of EUR 300 million, so that the decline of EUR 390 million in 2020 could theoretically be offset already this year. With the absolute amount of EUR 4.2 billion of exchange, we returned to the level of exchange we achieved in 2018. We are certainly optimistic in our forecasts.

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What actions has the SLO CRO Business Club undertaken towards its members and how did you overcome the new circumstances? — The work and activities of the SLO CRO Business Club are based on personal meetings, networking. For us, it was difficult to move to the virtual sphere. Of course we tried, and did everything so that the activities of the Club would not die down. We published the second issue of SLO CRO Business Mirror magazine, organised some webinars. Most importantly, last year we managed to take advantage of the periods when epidemiological measures were reduced to organize live meetings. At these meetings, it was clear how much our members could hardly wait for the live meetings. We helped to solve the problem of free movement of people between countries and thus eased the situation for some of the Slovenian border companies. We appealed to responsible ministries in both states and civil protection headquarters, to allow the border to be crossed without a test for anyone traveling for business reasons. Last year, and this year again, we co-organized the first virtual conference on the topic of tourism (Smart Tourism). Expert advice at this conference is applicable in the tourist sector in general. We had over 1000 online listeners of the conference from all over Europe. I believe that we have successfully overcome the new circumstances, but it is certain that the biggest goal of the club is to or-

Photo: Alenka Peterlin

Has the recovery already begun to happen and when do you expect us to return to pre-crisis levels in terms of economic activity? — Looking at the industry, it seems that the recovery has begun. For hospitality industry and tourism, we should wait for the season and hope that it will be significantly better than last year. However, the problem is that the growth is accompanied by a strong rise in raw material prices, which can very easily trigger inflationary trends. The World Bank has given its estimate that the average price of raw materials in 2021 will be at least a third higher than in the previous year. That’s what worries us and it will present a challenge in the second half of this year.

IT’S SOMEHOW ALWAYS EASIER TO FIND THOSE WILLING TO GIVE ADVICE THAN THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO LISTEN TO IT ganize live events, and thus provide members with interconnection and networking. The fact that the membership in the club remained at pre-pandemic numbers is a good motivation for us, and a confirmation that we are doing well and that we have the trust of our members. In any case, everyone at the club hopes for a rapid emergence of conditions for free conference activities and face to face meetings.

What are the SLO CRO Business Club’s plans for the upcoming period? — The SLO CRO Business Club implements the projects they estimate will encourage the Slovenian-Croatian economic cooperation. This year we are participating in the organization of the Smart Tourism conference. On World Bee Day, initiated by the Republic of Slovenia, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Zagreb and Atlantic Grupa, we set up a work

of art by famous Croatian artist Miron Milić in one of the busiest city streets in Zagreb, dedicated to the importance of bee protection and ecosystem sustainability. The EU has been supporting green and sustainable economy for some time already. We have to keep up with the times. This year, we supported Slovenian-Croatian cooperation and networking at the Textile Art Biennial in Kranj (BIEN 2021). Next month we plan to promote a project where we supported the Geological Survey of Slovenia, which scanned the seismic surface of Petrinja and Glina with special drones and analyzed the data on the basis of which a statistical assessment of the seismic hazard of Croatia and Slovenia was made. We plan to invite the Croatian Minister, Mr. Horvat, to this promotion. This year we also plan to organize a meeting between Slovenian and also Croatian ministers of economy – an excellent response of businessmen and

of the Minister to the previous meeting encouraged us to organize it every year. We also plan an economic delegation in Slovenia on the topic of investment environment. We will certainly organize a business breakfast on the topic of the future of logistics. In this area, the economy is facing a number of challenges caused by the pandemic, with the end of these challenges is nowhere in sight. In the autumn, we plan to publish the third issue of the SLO CRO Business Mirror magazine in which we will analyze the year at the Club. There will be a lot of activities and it’s going to be very interesting.

As EU countries and more developed economies in relation to most countries in the region, how can Slovenia and Croatia help bring the countries of the region closer to EU standards and is there any communication on this line? — It’s somehow always easier to find those willing to give advice than those who are willing to listen to it. The most important thing is that the will to listen is there. I am certain that both countries are prepared to share their experiences because progress of the region leads to its stability, and that is in everyone's interest.

INTERVIEW

Excellent North-South Cooperation! Tourism and Swedish FDI’s boost Croatian economy H. E. DIANA HELEN MADUNIĆ

of cooperation in the economic sphere between Croatia and Sweden. But of course, we also have the other well known companies like IKEA and Volvo and the rest. I was very, very happy last year when the Swedish companies still front purchase the Creation company, the gaming company. And the reason for that is actually this is kind of the new industry, the gaming industry, and I think that there is tremendous potential for cooperation between Croatia and Sweden, there is a similar interest in this industry, the ICT sector. So I was very happy when that happened last year, and we hope that there will be more examples of that sort in the future.

Swedish Ambassador to Croatia

n Croatia, people know about Sweden, and vice versa is increasingly happening. The immigration, tourism and Swedish investments helped strengthening the relations between the two countries. We are talking to H. E. Diana Helen Madunić, Swedish Ambassador to Croatia about the cooperation between one of the Northernmost and one of the Southernmost EU countries.

You are of Croatian origin. I think that the people like you could be the real bridge between the two countries. Even in Sweden, you were a bridge. And over here, you're a bridge. — Well, I hope that would be my wish, actually, to play that role. And I think the reason my government appointed me as ambassador to Croatia was actually to try to fill that those shoes trying to create this link between Sweden and Croatia and strengthening the relations between our two countries. So thank you very much for pointing that out. Sweden and Croatia are both members of the EU, though Sweden is militarily neutral. But the relations are very good in every aspect. How do you assess them? — I think that the relations since the independence of Croatia have been very good. But of course, since Croatia became member of the EU in 2014, those relations have been excellent. One example that I would like to highlight was the fact that we had a state visit from the King and the Queen of Sweden, just before Croatia joined the EU. So that was kind of a sign of the signal that from now on, we regard ourselves to be partner countries within the EU. It's true that Sweden is not a member of NATO. We are non-aligned, as we call it. But still, I think the possibilities of strengthening the relations and having good rela-

WE HAD A STATE VISIT FROM THE KING AND THE QUEEN OF SWEDEN, JUST BEFORE CROATIA JOINED THE EU tions between Sweden and Croatia lies mainly within the European Union and the platform that EU and Brussels provides for our relations.

How do you assess the economic cooperation between the two countries? — First of all, I have to say there is always potential for improvements. And that's one of those questions that we in our embassy are working very hard to try to strengthen the economic relations. But having said that, I do have to say that I was very positively surprised to see that in Cro-

atia, when I was appointed ambassador to Croatia, there are around 50 Swedish companies established here. Which is surprising, especially when you compare it to other countries. And they employ around 10,000 people in Croatia altogether. So I was very positively surprised to see this interest from Swedish companies to come to Croatia, especially after Croatia became member of the EU. And, of course, the bigger ones, one of the biggest in the country are Tesla, very well known and very successful country company in this country. I find that to be a very good example

There were few waves of Croatian immigrants to Sweden. Your family is a part of these waves. And the first way was after the World War Two, and in the 60s in the 70s. And then, I believe, after the joining of European Union. How do you, in Sweden, get along with the immigrants from Croatia? How do they enrich the cultural patchwork of Sweden as multicultural country in the last 70 years? — Well, since I am being one of them, maybe I'm a little bit biased when talking about it. But I would have, I would like to stress that, of course, the creations in Sweden have contributed tremendously to the culture and the development of Sweden, not least the economic development. Most of them came in the 60s, the 70s, when the economic growth was very high in Sweden, and we were crying out in Europe for more people to come to work in the Swedish industry. And of course, after the membership of the EU, we have had another wave. I would also mention during the war, that there was a number of people who came, of course after the war in the 90s. And I would like to stress that our impression is that they have integrated extremely well in Swedish society. Many of them you hardly even notice them be-

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cause they've been successful in their different careers. And I think there are a lot of good engineers coming from Croatia who are working in Sweden, not least in the Ericsson company, for instance. But I also think that there are a lot of doctors, for instance, you have excellent people working in the health sector, who came to Sweden, and so on. And some of them even became very famous and successful. We have this professor, well known in Sweden for her engagement in artificial intelligence, we are very happy to have her in Sweden. She is just one example. So overall, I think that the integration has been extremely successful. And well has also contributed tremendously to strengthening the relationship between Sweden and Croatia. Yes, that's, that's one of the one of the aspects of great relations.

What about the economic crisis caused by Coronavirus of course and pandemic. AstraZeneca is one of these partners Swedish as a vaccine. It is partly a British (Oxford) and partly Swedish. So, how the vaccination is going on in Sweden, the one would expect Sweden to be the leader in the world, because it's one of the co-producers of the most popular vaccines. How do you how do you cope with the with the vaccination process and with the crisis caused by Coronavirus? — Economically wise I think of course we have been hit like other countries but less so because we did not have the strict lockdown like most countries had last year. And now we have seen in the last months we have seen a very quick return. So we foresee that the growth will be will be substantial, when it comes to the industry and so on, when it comes to the vaccination process, my government have been very, very positively have a positive approach to the EU cooperation and coordination in this field. I think that all EU member states are more or less in the same kind of process when it comes to purchasing and distributing and vaccinating the population. In our case, we divided our population into four strict groups. We launched the third phase of the vaccination, which means those people between 60 and 64, will be vaccinated started to be vaccinated last week, the ambition is to finish the vaccination programme by mid August. And by then all the population every-

body above 18 years old are supposed to have been vaccinated in Sweden, hopefully it will be even quicker. But we will see at least within one shot, everything will depend on the industry and companies in the health sector and the amount of vaccines that they can provide. When it comes to the infrastructure and the launching of

and especially the elderly people, I speak from experience of my own parents, they can hardly wait to have their vaccines and the vaccination shots. So in that sense, there might be a slightly different attitude to towards vaccination and the whole process. I think, very, everybody's mainly in favor of the vaccine.

HERE IN CROATIA, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF VERY GOOD ENGINEERS WHEN IT COMES TO ICT SECTOR AND COMPANIES AND SO ON the vaccination all over the country of Sweden, everything is settled, and everybody is waiting. But of course, now, we are waiting for the vaccination doses to arrive. So everything will depend on that at the end of the day, but the ambition is still there to be more or less finished by mid August.

Finland, Estonia and Germany are leading in the vaccination process now. Can we contribute it to the northern Protestant mentality? In the South there is more skepticism. — The thing that I think stands out is that the population of Sweden is rather positive towards vaccination and getting their vaccines actually people are just waiting for the day when they can be vaccinated. So this negative attitude towards vaccination is not so widely spread in Sweden as maybe in other countries in the EU. I think that contributes

Swedish approach, together with the Belarusian one, during the corona-virus pandemic was unusual. What do you think, after 13 months, was it better or worse than the rest of Europe? — Well, you know, last spring, when we all were hit by this virus, I think that the Swedish strategy kind of stood out slightly. And I don't know why. But what are epidemiologists and politicians decided that we would kind of try to find a balance between different interests, so to say, not having a total lockdown. It relates to democracy, human rights, and the freedom of people, and also balance when it comes to economy. But I think what was most surprising is that they from the very beginning, they were thinking about this pandemic as something long term. And I heard them talk a lot about the fact that we have to kind of be able to keep up with these measures in the longer run. So to

say, I still remember when I mentioned to my staff in the embassy, that we will have this pandemic until the end of last year, and everybody was objecting saying that's impossible. But here we are, one more than one year later, we are still in this pandemic. And what I can say we're looking at in Croatia today, looking

around round here in Zagreb, and so on, I think that the measures are very much similar at the moment, I mean, there is no entire lockdown in Croatia, we are still trying to keep up the society, and live our lives and work and the rest of it to the fullest extent possible, given the pandemic. And I think that was the approach that the Swedish authorities took from the very beginning. And so here we are, I mean, the situation is what it is. In Sweden, we are now struggling with the third wave, which is very, very hard, especially on the health sector. But on the other hand, I can say when it comes to the number of deaths, Sweden is somewhere in the middle of the EU, you know, when it comes to comparing to other countries, at the moment, there are around 13,500 dead people in Sweden, from Corona, which is a terrible figure. It breaks my heart to think about it the number of people and families affected. But that is related to a population of more than 10 million people in Croatia, the figure is around what is it 6800 I think, the latest figure, and that population is around four plus 4+ million. So when you

compare those things, those figures, I would say the Swedish figures do not stand out in any particular way. That should be seen in the light of not having a strict lockdown last spring. And I think one should add one aspect as well. That's the mental health of people in this whole crisis, of course, which was also something that we looked took into consideration very early on, you know, what will be the mental state of people when we go through this and if we lock people up, so that was one reason that the decision was taken not to have a lockdown the strict one.

So you mentioned some 50 companies from Sweden operating in Croatia, and Croatia as the second poorest European Union country is hoping for more foreign direct investments. And can we expect more from Swedish side? Are there interested Swedish companies? — I think I think so honestly. And as I mentioned this, still front, the Nano Bit. purchaser is one example. I think the ICT sector has a great potential. Here in Croatia, there are a number of very good engineers when it comes to ICT sector and companies and so on. So I foresee that there will be more investments. Securitas is another example: very few people know that it is a Swedish company, it's all over Croatia and in any company any building you will usually have Securitas. And then we have another very big example we have a Swedish-Croatian company producing click parquet floors. The owner emigrated to Sweden and established a very successful company. And now he returned to Croatia. And he's building what is going to be the biggest parquet company factory in the whole world here in Croatia. I think absolutely that's a sign that there is an interest from Swedish companies, especially since Croatia became member of the EU, everything is so much easier to do business here. The regulations and everything is similar are the same. And so that, of course, is giving a lot of incentives for Swedish companies to come. One should remember that the Croatian market is rather small or limited. 4 million people is not the biggest market if you want to expand. But here we go. The Swedish companies are here and I see that there will be more of them in the future.

CROATIA IS ON TOP OF THE LIST OF THE MOST POPULAR COUNTRIES TO GO FOR HOLIDAYS IN SWEDEN Croatia has a splendid coast, and lots of tourists tend to come to Croatia during the summer time. And now we don't know exactly how it's going to roll on in the future. But we hope that it will be all settled down until July, August. How can we bring more Swedish tourists to the Croatian Adriatic coast after the pandemic is over or, at least, diminished? — Croatia is on top of the list of the most popular countries to go for holidays in Sweden. And I should start by saying that you know that Sweden is a cold country, we usually get everybody gets around five weeks of holiday every summer, and then Easter and the rest, Christmas. So, you know, when you have five weeks, you can take at least one or two even more weeks going to some country for some sunshine. The word about Croatia has spread among my friends, everybody's talking about going to Croatia, the Mamma Mia II film, of course, has also contributed to this whole story. In Sweden, it's been all over the media that this is the Croatian island in the film. So what we saw before the corona was the figures of tourists from Sweden increasing every steadily every year actually more and more popular Croa-

tia became. In 2019, we had more than 300,000 tourists from Sweden coming which is basically the same amount that you will get from a country like Switzerland, which is much closer to Croatia than Sweden is, and which does not have its own coastline. So to say we do have our own coastline or an archipelago even though it's not as warm and sunny as the Croatian one. So I proceed as soon as this pandemic is over where we get our vaccinations, the figures come back and start growing again. That's what I foresee.

Can we enhance the cultural cooperation between the two countries? Everybody knows about Swedish pop and rock band, for a start. — Swedish music industry is among amongst the biggest in the world in relation to population after the US and the UK. I think it all started with ABBA. And it has been developing ever since. I mean, we all know knew about a Avicii before he died, he was a star. Now we have Lisa Nielsen, for instance, and we have the rock setter. But I can tell you that I think the secret to the success story of Swedish music is that they are always trying to copy the UK pop music.

Yeah, but they have a brilliant accident. I think that a lot of Scandinavian bands basically, not only Swedish, but even Norwegian, or Danish, even the Finnish bands have this wonderful accent of English. It's because the Nordic languages are so similar, or actually the father languages of English. So they have beautiful accents. And you can't, you can't tell if they are from Sweden or from England or from Scotland or from Australia, you know, they're there, they have really, really good accents. So it really helps. It really helps to make a breakthrough in the English speaking world. — When I went to school, strictly encouraged to speak British English, not American English. So that explains something. But I think also the other area where I see a lot of influences: the books! There are a lot of Swedish authors that have been translated into Croatian. Fredrik Backman, for instance: I noticed so many of his books are all over there in the books shops here in Zagreb, for instance. This is an area where there's absolute potential for closer relations between our two countries. But I do also think that the fact that we have all these Croatian people living in Sweden, that's an automatic link between our two countries, but also when it comes to the cultures where books and music and, the rest. When I studied in Malaga in Spain 20 years ago, I noticed that there was a Swedish language radio in Andalusia, there was a lot of Swedish pensioners, they come to Spain or Portugal and live there and get their pensions from Sweden and they live in a cheaper country with sunnier climate. Can we expect a Swedish old people to flock and buy houses and live their final days in Croatia one day? — This is already happening. Especially the older generation who came from Croatia, emigrated to Sweden, and now when they are pensioners, they move back to Croatia. But what happens is that it is not affecting the register in Sweden. They keep they keep registered in Sweden, maybe having a small flat there. And then they have a house in Croatia. So you don't see them in the statistics of Croatia, but they are definitely there. I'm very much aware of that happening already.

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ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

NATIONAL DAYS

NIKOLINA SILOV KONJEVODA New Director of Procter&Gamble for Croatia and Slovenia Nikolina Silov Konjevoda started her career in Procter&Gamble 15 years ago, and during this time she was promoted from head of local sales teams and head of the category of clothing care products, to director in the category of personal hygiene products in the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. For years, in Croatia and Slovenia, Procter&Gamble’s brands have been occupying leading

positions in their categories among consumers in both markets. Ariel, Pampers, Gillette, Oral-B, Pantene, Head&Shoulders, Jar, Always, Lenor and numerous other products are among the leading brands that Croatian and Slovenian consumers have been using with trust for a number of years, and whose local activities they support by doing their shopping in partner retail chains.

of the Management Board, Telemach Croatia is further strengthening the company's management structures in order to support its new strategic direction and transformation into a fully converged telecommunications operator. By investing in construction of new generation mobile networks and the construction of the first Croatian 10 Giga optical network, Telemach Croatia ensures the top quality of its services.

OLIVER DÖRSCHUCK New Chief Executive Officer of D-Marin Group Oliver Dörschuck is the new Chief Executive Officer of D-Marin Group, leading operator of top marinas based in Athens. In this position,

ITALY

Festa della Repubblica

DENMARK

Constitution Day

SWEDEN

National Day

MISLAV GALLER AND NENAD ŠLIBAR New members of Telemach Croatia Management Mislav Galler, Chief Commercial Officer, and Nenad Šlibar, Chief Technical Officer, have been appointed as new members of the Management Board of Telemach Croatia. This way, in the future, the Management Board will function as a four-member management body of the company, with the President of the Management Board Viktor Pavlinić and Chief Financial Officer Jasmina Gregurek. With the expansion

JUNE

Dörschuck succeeds Steven Rudnitsky, the current President and interim CEO of D-Marin, who will remain actively involved as president.

RUSSIA

Russia Day

ICELAND

Republic Day

MALTA

ational Day N (St John the Baptist)

SLOVENIA

Statehood Day

CORPORATE

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POLITICS

by Svetlana Nenadovic –Glusac

30 Years of the Visegrad Group

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The Visegrad Group, or simply V4, was founded in 1991 and its members are Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic

The V4 heads of state: Caputova, Duda, Ader and Zeman

he Visegrad Group was founded on February 15, 1991 at a meeting of the President of the Czechoslovak Republic, Václav Havel, the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Wałesa, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, József Antall.

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF V4 The Visegrad Group, also known as Visegrad Four or simply V4, is an association of four Central European countries - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - to further European integration and to improve mutual military, economic and energy cooperation. For a while, the group was also known as the Visegrad Triangle, as the association initially consisted of three states un-

til the collapse of Czechoslovakia in 1993. V4 has a rotating presidency of 12 months, Poland presides until July 1, 2021, then Hungary takes over the presidency.

HISTORY OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP The Visegrad Group was founded on February 15, 1991 at a meeting of the President of the Czechoslovak Republic, Václav Havel, the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Wałesa, and the

Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, József Antall. This high-level meeting in Visegrad (Hungary) created a historical arc that linked the idea of this meeting with the idea of a similar meeting that took place there in 1335 and which was attended by John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, Charles I of Anjou (Charles Robert) , King of Hungary, and Casimir III, King of Poland took part. The central motive of the two meetings was the desire to intensify the mutual cooperation

THE VISEGRAD GROUP, ALSO KNOWN AS VISEGRAD FOUR OR SIMPLY V4, IS AN ASSOCIATION OF FOUR CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES - HUNGARY, POLAND, SLOVAKIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

and friendship between the three Central European countries. The formation of the Visegrad Group was motivated by four key factors: 1. The desire to remove the remains of the communist bloc in Central Europe; 2. The desire to overcome historical hostilities between central European countries; 3. The conviction that joint efforts will make it easier to achieve the goals set, ie to successfully implement social change and participate in the European integration process; and 4. The proximity of the ideas of the then ruling political elites. In the early days of its existence (1991–1993) the Visegrad Group played its most important role in talks with NATO and the EU. In the years that followed, the intensi-

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ty of cooperation between the V4 countries began to wane, as the idea was widespread that individual efforts to join the Euro-Atlantic integration formations would be more efficient. The Visegrad cooperation was resumed in 1998. After the collapse of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Visegrad Group has consisted of four countries since then, as both successor countries, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, are members of the Visegrad Group.

ABOUT THE VISEGRAD GROUP The Visegrad Group (also known as the "Visegrad Four" or simply "V4") reflects the efforts of the countries of the Central European region to work together in a number of areas of common interest within non-European inte-

ALL ACTIVITIES OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP AIM TO STRENGTHEN STABILITY IN THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN REGION gration. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have always been part of a common culture that shares cultural and intellectual values and common roots in different religious traditions that they want to preserve and further strengthen. All V4 countries aspired to become members of the European Union and viewed their integration into the EU as a further step forward in overcoming artificial dividing lines in Europe through mutual support. They achieved this goal in 2004 (May

1st) when they all became members of the EU. V4 was neither created as an alternative to Europe-wide integration efforts, nor does it attempt to compete with the existing functional Central European structures. Its activities are in no way intended to isolate or weaken relations with other countries. On the contrary, the group endeavors to promote optimal cooperation with all countries, especially their neighbors. Your ultimate interest is democratic development in all parts of Europe.

The Visegrad Group would like to contribute to the development of the European security architecture, which is based on effective, functionally complementary and mutually reinforcing cooperation and coordination within existing European and transatlantic institutions. In order to maintain and promote cultural cohesion, the cooperation within the Visegrad Group aims to promote the transmission of values in the areas of culture, education, science and the exchange of information. All activities of the Visegrad Group aim to strengthen stability in the Central European region. The participating countries see their cooperation as a challenge and their success as the best proof of their ability to integrate into structures such as the European Union.

CORPORATE

New International Consulting Company Vision Partners We live in a time when the amount of data is huge and if anything, else, consulting consists of anticipating change and making the best possible decisions. Even more, today’s circumstances affect the world of consulting at its core - its beliefs and business models

DEJAN LJUŠTINA Founder of the new international consulting company Vision Partners

or Diplomacy&Commerce portal, we spoke with Dejan Ljuština, an expert in the field of technology, telecom and energy and the founder of the new international consulting company Vision Partners.

Dejan, what can companies in Southeast Europe expect in the coming period when the world economy is slowly emerging from the crisis. And what prompted you at Vision Partners? Another consulting house? Explain that to us, please? — The big dispersion will shape the businesses and consumers for the rest of this decade. It is a third large disruption after the globalization and digitalization. It cuts out the middleman and eliminates supply chain costs, whether it is about watching the next Star Wars movie on your Disney+ in-

stead of going to the cinema, ordering from your favorite restaurant via Wolt instead of spending time to get there, ordering your groceries online, managing your finances via fintech app instead of going physically to the bank, talking to your doctor over the vid-

tion, financial, real-estate… On the other hand, we are seeing world recover from the big crisis with enormous amounts of money at hand of consumers but also investors. The amount of hunger for the new things – products, services and experiences will

THE BIG DISPERSION WILL SHAPE THE BUSINESSES AND CONSUMERS FOR THE REST OF THIS DECADE. IT IS A THIRD LARGE DISRUPTION AFTER THE GLOBALIZATION AND DIGITALIZATION eo-app instead of waiting in the waiting room and so on. One may say that those trends are triggered by COVID. That is partially correct, but COVID has been just an accelerant of the trends visible before and for sure after COVID goes away, those new norms are going to stay with us. Many sectors will be turned upside down … healthcare, educa-

be unprecedented and now is the best time to start something new. There is abundant financial capacity out there, but companies need to create and be brave to explore the new and less known. And of course, even consulting as an industry is not immune to these changes. The need for high-quality and relevant advisory support will increase. We live

in a time when the amount of data is huge and if anything, else, consulting consists of anticipating change and making the best possible decisions. Even more, today’s circumstances affect the world of consulting at its core - its beliefs and business models. Will the consulting industry stay the same in the future? Unlikely. I believe that the future of consulting is not in monolithic giant organizations, but in a network of agile and highly specialized consulting companies. It is also no coincidence that large consulting firms have in recent years bought agile companies with digital analytical skills, digital agencies, or even classic creative agencies to encourage creative thinking that is only possible in small and agile systems. Our response was to give knowledge, creativity and data-based experiences a new voice and a fresh form that is constantly changing: the new consulting firm Vision Partners.

What changes and opportunities do you see in the large industries you will be focusing on? — In the Telecom, Media and Technology Sector, companies generally proved to be winners during the pandemic crisis. Whether it’s telecommunications where people have increasingly used their services to stay and work from home, or technology companies that have seen a historic growth in market capitalization whether it’s cloud computing, e-commerce, streaming, gaming, artificial intelligence, or segment of the last mile. And they are in the best position to benefit in post-pandemic times. The sector is now more relevant than ever. But the key is to set new business models and ideas to create new value. The transition of energy to renewable energy sources has not lost momentum despite the crisis.

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And now that the U.S. is back on track to fight for global leadership in the energy transition, change in the sector is expected to accelerate. We will consume more and more energy and at some point, that energy will become mostly renewable. Today, the non-traditional company Tesla is leading the global energy transition through electric cars, solar panels and finding new energy-efficient forms of travel. Can we turn our energy companies into new unicorns? Or maybe they can work with the smaller and more agile who can become one? Big players have capital, strength, and a market, but they need a new vision and courage. But today, some of the fastest growing companies in Europe are innovative energy companies such as Bulb and Octopus Energy. As far as consumers and brands are concerned, we are entering a time of high consumption. If you have a relevant product and a strong brand, be prepared because people will consume it more and more. But you must be relevant to the habits of customers and their instinct, the psychological design of the product / service must be central to their needs. Do we see crazy 20s again in terms of consumption? Probably yes. Will everyone succeed? I doubt.

Dejan, you have been advising leading companies for 18 years, you have reached the desired partnership position and role for large industry (TMT) in huge geography (CEE), but you did not continue in that direction, but with partners, people who thought similarly, you decided for something new. How and why did you, as a top advisor, tackle personal and professional dispersion? — Founding a new consulting business of the future, which will be a company I will own along with carefully selected partners, has been my long-held dream. It’s also the ability to do things right and do them with the right people. Large systems of professional services have lost their entrepreneurial spirit and became corporations rather than partnerships. We are an agile and agile force in the market and instead of offering mass-produced products, we develop customized solutions for our customers with our personal signatures. In addition, to succeed in to-

day’s complex world, there must be a sense of common goal, partnership for the client and with the client. That’s why we’ve put together a carefully selected team of partners. For example, with partners in Vision Partners we hold key competencies, we come from different consulting environments. So, as you know, I come from PwC, Kruno comes from McKinsey and Deloitte, Lovro from Kearney, and not only that, we all also cover different areas of competence

concrete activities, and provable results. Thanks to our experience, we can understand real obstacles, due to the focus on solving real problems and following trends, we are able to anticipate upcoming changes or impacts that could significantly guide the client's success and success. The ability to understand, adapt and learn, as well as many successful projects realized in the past, give us the confidence that we can sign under the identity of our new company Vision Partners, Thinking Ahead.

WE LIVE IN A TIME WHEN THE AMOUNT OF DATA IS HUGE AND IF ANYTHING, ELSE, CONSULTING CONSISTS OF ANTICIPATING CHANGE AND MAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS in detail. Aleš is a senior partner who comes from the media segment, but with very strong capabilities for our industry and with rich experience primarily in change management at the highest level, which is a key aspect of success when we change companies to adapt to the future. At first glance, nothing new. What really unites us and is the common denominator of our entire performance, or if you want our identity, is precisely our relationship to clients and ability to successfully solve their problems. We do not believe in good and bad strategies; we believe in those strategies that in real business life can make changes that achieve the goal. And we are there all the time together with the client to the final goal,

What are some classic “consulting patterns” in business? And how to overcome them? — Let me start with what we are not going to do. There are three cases where clients seek advisory support: when they do not know the topic of the market, function, or industry well enough; when they need extra "calories" while their teams are stretched and the last for "compliance" reasons or so-called "seal". We are not here to give companies a stamp and to publish reports and put a logo on them. We are here to guide our clients and help them move successfully through complexity and do things for them and with them. We don’t work on the other side of the table; we are on the same side and

we are their real partner. Additionally, consultants are often perceived as distanced and formal. This is again a consequence of large systems which often do not see people. Large systems have procedures, policies, committees, grades, penalties, regimes and all the other things that stop creativity and turn down key talents. Also, such things repel clients as well. Agile systems work differently. They see people and are people. They genuinely care. They provide feedback, mentoring and support. They are true, authentic, and human.

Who will you work with in Central and Eastern Europe? — As experts we are globally recognized in our industry and we can mobilize the best experts for the topics we will work on. We have cooperation with a large global consulting firm with no physical presence in Central and Eastern Europe, we have several industry experts who are either former CEOs of large companies in our industry or were former partners in Tier 1 consulting firms. We also cooperate with prominent professors in the field of business consulting from the most prestige global business schools. Furthermore, we collaborate in the region with the two largest technology investment funds globally. It is a new, completely different, but agile and powerful model and we are very well positioned to provide the best expertise for any project we will have in the CEE region. In these post-pandemic times who do you think will be the winners? And what is the opportunity for regional companies? — The winners so far have been companies that had a vision of innovation and courage and the like will remain. In 2020, a record number of IPOs were recorded. A similar thing is happening this year, and the hunger for companies acting as market "disruptors" has never been greater. To win, you need to primarily know how to tell a visionary story so-called "storytelling" and likeability. People need to connect with your story, and investors need to buy it. You must be seen as a "career accelerator" - a place for the best young and smart people who can raise their careers with you. You need to be attractive to customers on a psychological level of basic human needs with your products.

CORPORATE

Choose Ljubljana You don’t need to go far for excellent experiences he improving weather and the lifting of restrictions have opened up opportunities to plan holidays and short getaways from everyday routine. There’s no place like home, as the saying goes, but after a year and a half of emergency conditions many of us are itching to see the world beyond the garden fence. City breaks are always a popular choice, whatever the season, since they offer the most varied combination of content for different interests and age groups. Not even the weather can spoil a city experience, since you can retreat from the damp streets to any number of wonderful museums, art galleries or restaurants and find sustenance for body and soul. City breaks are also a good choice on a hot summer’s day, although that is when visitors appreciate the natural shade of parks and urban woodland, of which there is no shortage in Ljubljana. Ljubljana is, in fact, famous for its many attractive natural areas – and is one of the greenest capital cities in Europe. Ljubljana is also green in the way it functions, thanks to its commitment to sustainability. Two key steps in this process have been the closure of the city centre to traffic in 2007 and the remodelling of the Ljubljanica embankments. These measures have brought life back to the city: cafés and restaurants have gained spacious terraces, while the city’s squares have been transformed from car parks into venues for countless outdoor events.

BUZZING SUMMER ACTIVITIES In a normal year without restrictions, up to 14.000 different events take place in Ljubljana, more than 1,000 of them free of charge. This is when the streets become especially lively, as they fill with tourists, day trippers, locals who won’t abandon their capital city even in summer, circus performers, theatre performers, salsa and tango dancers, buskers and professional musicians. Gardens, playing fields and parks are turned into open-air cinemas, while the river Ljubljanica

LJUBLJANA IS, IN FACT, FAMOUS FOR ITS MANY ATTRACTIVE NATURAL AREAS – AND IS ONE OF THE GREENEST CAPITAL CITIES IN EUROPE becomes an aquatic playground perfect for canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) and boat trips. The famous Triple Bridge can become a climbing wall and there are even volleyball matches played on a floating court on the river itself – a world first! The traditional Ljubljana Festival, which takes place from June to September, boasts a carefully selected programme covering a wide variety of genres, including ballet, opera, theatre, musicals, chamber and symphony concerts, and much more. During the Festival, Plečnik’s Križanke complex, Congress Square and the city’s cultural institutions host over 4,000 performers from more than 40 countries. Sports events are another traditional attraction, bringing thou-

sands of competitors and spectators to the city every year. Cycling events are among the biggest draws, particularly the Franja Marathon and its various supporting races (including for children) in the spring and the Tour of Slovenia in late June. The biggest running event is the Ljubljana Marathon, which takes place in October.

SHOPPING The traffic-free city centre is like a spacious and comfortable living room, with a huge range of bars and restaurants to choose from. Shopaholics will appreciate Ljubljana’s wide choice of domestic and foreign brands, and you can also find local crafts products with links to cultural heritage. Located not far from the city

centre is BTC City, a giant shopping and leisure complex with more than 450 shops and over 10,000 brands, where you can give your wardrobe or home a makeover, stock up on the latest hightech gadgets or treat yourself to some new sports equipment.

GOURMET LJUBLJANA Good food and drink are an essential part of any city break. Seeking out high-quality local cuisine is the perfect way to get to know a different culture. Ljubljana’s gastronomic scene has really come into its own in recent years, in every area from street food to top restaurants. Visit the gourmet-lj.si website for information about culinary events, chefs and traditional dishes. Last year was a difficult one for restaurants, but it nevertheless represented an important milestone for Slovenia’s gastronomic scene: for the first time in history, Michelin’s iconic guide highlighted restaurants in Slovenia, including quite a number from Ljubljana and the Ljubljana region.

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The most important accolade, the Michelin star, went to the Atelje restaurant, where chef Jorg Zupan and his team conjure up unforgettable gastronomic experiences. A further 13 restaurants received Michelin Bib Gourmand or The Plate symbols or a special award for sustainability. This year has seen the publication of the second guide to Ljubljana from international gastronomy experts Gault&Millau, covering not only restaurants but also a selection of the best shops, selected hotels, farm stays, microbreweries and other establishments that help make Ljubljana one of the very top gastronomic destinations.

HEAD OUT ON TRIPS OFF THE BEATEN PATH When visiting Ljubljana, do not only stop in the city centre, but explore also the undiscovered beauty of the Central Slovenia region. Ljubljana lies at the center of Slovenia, a scenic and diverse country where distances are short and major attractions easily accessible. The green outskirt of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is composed of 25 municipalities. This diverse area combines the mountains of the Kamnik Alps, pre-alpine hills, plains of the Ljubljana Basin, the unique natural environment of the Ljubljana Marshes, karst fields, subterranean caves, rivers and lakes. As these natural sights are not far away from towns and villages, the area is appropriate for interesting day excursions, as well as for longer explorations since the landscapes in the region are exceptionally diverse. Comprehensive visitor information on Ljubljana is available on the official website of Ljubljana and the Central Slovenia Region at www.visitljubljana.com. MADE-TO-MEASURE CITY BREAKS IN LJUBLJANA The staff at Ljubljana Tourism have taken into account the different tastes of visitors to the city and come up with six themed packages for multi-day experiences and four special one-day experiences. These are aimed at different target groups – from families and senior citizens, to wine lovers, food lovers and romantics. All the packages include bed and breakfast for two people (four in the case of family packages) in a three- or four-star hotel or private accommodation, late checkout (up to 2.00 p.m.), free parking

and Wi-Fi. But the differences lie in the details. When you buy the Ljubljana All-Inclusive package you get two Ljubljana Cards, which means that you can enjoy the city and part of the region in countless different ways: from a guided tour, admission to more than 20 museums and galleries, a boat trip on the river, a ride on the Urban electric sightseeing train and unlimited use of city buses (operated by public transport operator

tracks and visit the House of Illusions, the House of Experiments, the Woop trampoline park, Ljubljana Zoo and other attractions. Looking for ways to motivate the kids? Try a visit to a tempting cake shop or get them to count the dragons along the way – there are lots in Ljubljana. No visit to Ljubljana would be complete without a visit to BTC City, especially in the festive season. The Romantic Ljubljana Getaway package includes a boat trip

GOOD FOOD AND DRINK ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ANY CITY BREAK. SEEKING OUT HIGHQUALITY LOCAL CUISINE IS THE PERFECT WAY TO GET TO KNOW A DIFFERENT CULTURE

LPP), to a visit to the zoo, the Snovik thermal spa, the arboretum in Volčji Potok and much more besides. Ljubljana Dragon on Holiday is a package for families, because Ljubljana is also an ideal holiday destination for children: you’d be hard put to find such diversity and so many different activities anywhere else in Slovenia. As well as educational fun and games at Minicity and swimming at the Atlantis water park, families can advantage of numerous playgrounds, swimming pools, bike parks, BMX tracks and pump

down the Ljubljanica and the chance to view the city from a different perspective. Symbolically seal your love with a padlock on the love lock bridge, then head for Ljubljana Castle, where a trained sommelier will prepare you a tasting of local wines accompanied by snacks in the Castle Wine Bar – a wine bar with a view! The Urban Weekend Break offers a classic city break experience consisting of sightseeing on foot or by bicycle, shopping, local food, a visit to the House of Illusions and a boat trip on the river. Those who prefer a more pres-

tigious experience for a few days can opt for the VIP Ljubljana Weekend package, which includes a stay in a five-star hotel complete with pampering in the hotel’s spa. Another special feature is a visit to a Russian dacha, where as well as countless stories from the golden age before the First World War you can enjoy the finest sparkling wine and real Russian caviar. The package also includes dinner at a Michelin-rated restaurant and a wonderful view: a breathtaking 360-degree panorama with Ljubljana’s Old Town and Castle on one side and the Alps on the other. The Seniors Package offers a version of Ljubljana that is friendly to older visitors. It includes a presentation of highlights from the city’s millennial heritage at Ljubljana City Museum, where notable exhibits include the world’s oldest wooden wheel with axle and a wooden arrow estimated to be 40,000 years old. The package also includes comfortable sightseeing from a boat on the river or a Kavalir electric vehicle. A personal assistant is available to help you and can be contacted online or by telephone throughout your stay. For those who do not wish to stay overnight, Ljubljana Tourism has also prepared a range of oneday experiences: Take a Ride with the Ljubljana Dragon offers a great family day out. Have Fun in Ljubljana includes a visit to Ljubljana Zoo and the House of Illusions and the chance to win a prize by finding three mysterious dragons. Ljubljana Dragon Adventure offers a similar experience but also includes a round trip aboard the Urban electric sightseeing train. Last but not least, the city’s varied and diverse cultural attractions are another frequent reason for a visit. A Cup of Culture in Ljubljana includes admission to the City Museum’s exhibition of selected works by world-famous artists drawn from five private collections, the permanent exhibition of Slovene art at the National Gallery, and an exhibition of works by the world-famous French street artist Invader, best known for his mosaics of little aliens based on the classic video game Space Invaders, at the International Centre of Graphic Arts. As you will see for yourself, Ljubljana offers so many interesting things to do that you are sure to want to come back again as soon as possible.

You must be vertically integrated control the whole chain / user experience because that's important in the digital world. Your revenue must come from stable and predictable revenue coming from relationships with key customers, rather than being “transactional” in nature. Your services need to improve over the years - they are truly embedding the network effects, the more customers you have, the better your service gets. And your yin and yang ,growth and margins, need to balance each other out. These are some of the traits that are the characteristics of global winners. We know what it takes to turn clients into a global or regional winner, and we can work with clients to achieve that. And it’s possible even if the company wasn’t born in Silicon Valley - UI Path, a Romanian company that operated from a small office in Bucharest five years ago, successfully debuted in the NASDAQ at an IPO with a company value of $ 36B. As for regional companies, we already have several companies that are globally known and recognized… Rimac Automobili, Gideon Brothers, MEWS, Bolt and many others already have great opportunities. But, a biggest opportunity is to create new ones, that is. the next generation. What is lacking is specific knowledge, not so much from the R&D and engineering segment, but primarily from the commercial and financial - whether it is about creating a brand, product, platform or commercializing an innovation. Additionally, our promising companies need the highest quality global investors. Both segments are something where we can help.

What are the biggest challenges for the companies since the pandemic and what will be the biggest challenges after the pandemic? — Brick and mortar businesse will need to adapt fast to the new

WE WILL CONSUME MORE AND MORE ENERGY AND AT SOME POINT, THAT ENERGY WILL BECOME MOSTLY RENEWABLE changing norms. As already mentioned... cinemas, shopping malls, gyms, restaurants, banks, insurances, car dealers, doctors… have been dispersed to homes. Brick and mortar businesse will need to find new business models and work on their customer experience to catch-up with agile, digital and innovative challengers.

Some are predicting a new global economic crises, but you think otherwise. In your opinion there is abundant financial capacity out there. Even more, you say that the time of the big spend is ahead of us. Optimism, idealism or reality? And on what basis? — Central banks have printed money for last 12 months, one data says that 40% of the glob-

al currency supply has been created in thaty period. This money has been given as stimulus to people and companies and during the lockdowns there was no way to spend it. As measures will be removed, people will be keen to spend and buy products, services and experiences. At the same time, dry powder of the private equities is also at tha all time high so investmner activitiy is at record high already. So I am optimistic abouit the market recovery, but cautious on the negative inflation effects that will accompany it.

How did consulting change over the years? Or if I ask in another way: what was consulting 20 years ago, and what is consulting now? — It has changed significant-

ly. First, there is mich more usafe of digital technologies (data, AI) and ageny skills (creative, engagement). Second, there is much more specialisation of consultants (by industry, function etc..). But the key change in my view is in the domain of trust. And this is where the industry has become worse in my view. Firms got bigger, number of scandals grew, and intimacy and trust with the client has been diminished.

There are companies, that are financially stable but don’t have a big potential to grow, there are companies that have the potential to grow, but don’t have the necessary means. Do you think a good consulting firm can help one and the other? — Yes, we can help both cases independently – find new areas to grow if core market is saturated and help attract the funding if market is there but new investors are needed. And sometimes, pairing such two profiles into the JV is also a good solution.

ABOUT THE COMPANY Vision Partners is the new innovative management consulting firm founded by extop tier management firms’ partners and directors with 500+ projects of cumulative experience in strategy consulting and 80+ years of career as advisors. The firm acts as the trusted advisor to the largest companies and institutions in the TMT, Energy and Consumer space in the Central and Eastern Europe, currently from their physical locations in Croatia and Slovenia but with ambition to expand broader. Vision Partners provide integrated strategy, performance improvement, and M&A management consulting services.

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COLUMN

Boundless Optimism in Times of Crisis At the end of the tunnel, light is slowly visible

DANIJEL KOLETIĆ CEO at Apriori World, IPRA and UN awarded consultant for sustainable development goal number 10 – decreasing inequalities

here is almost no day when there is no news related to COVID-19. I believe that both the politicians and the whole system are already sick, not only of this news, but of the way of life. Thus, different policies took advantage of the COVID-19 virus situation for COVID profiteering. There is still no transparency that everyone is talking about regarding spending and investment during COVID. But who cares? If anyone is interested, that is a completely unimportant topic today. Are the ethical standards of those who talk about transparency only on paper or do they exist in reality? What is positive - everyone hopes for optimistic solutions and everyone lives for freedom of movement. While in some countries the vaccination process has been communicated in a professional, simple and transparent way, in some countries people unfortunately do not want to receive any vaccine. We are witnessing corporate games of vaccine manufacturers, spins, related to certain brands and doubts about their quality. Common sense tells us that every vaccine has certain side effects and that they depend on each individual. Of course, the media and media headlines, as well as those who created these crisis communication campaigns, have managed to impose on people the perception of the harmfulness of certain vaccines. Now it is a bit behind us, now we are all stakeholders in new topics, and that is the topic of freedom of movement. The

poor cannot afford not to be vaccinated. If they do not get vaccinated, they have to set aside 800 euros to test a family of four when entering and leaving the country. 800 euros for this category means eight days of paid apartment. Special passes are awaited, and legal experts and those fighting for human rights condemn any kind of booklets, codes that will separate people into those who have been vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated. COVID-19 exists, as do its 48 versions. Pills instead of vaccines are expected soon. Until as many people as possible are vaccinated and the purchased stocks or those that are yet to come are used up, I think that this topic will not cease to be our everyday life. Despite this, we believe that the sun is coming, that summer is coming that will cheer us all up, which in itself will bring an optimism that is already slowly being felt.

As soon as the first rays of the sun come out, people slowly hang out on the terraces. We are all looking forward to that June in which COVID-19 should disappear in the sense that spontaneous gatherings, events will begin and that people will finally be able to see each other, support each other, but also that they will be able to travel outside their countries. All of us as human beings have somewhat forgotten about all other diseases, the poor, the hungry, the disabled because these topics are not talked about at all. Public administration employees had to adjust to working from home. Those countries that started the process of investing in eGovernment a few years ago, approached it professionally and seriously, had much higher efficiency of public administration than those that did not. Unfortunately, in many countries of Southeast Europe, due to political em-

WHAT IS POSITIVE - EVERYONE HOPES FOR OPTIMISTIC SOLUTIONS AND EVERYONE LIVES FOR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

ployment and political quotas, the number of employees in public administration is growing from year to year, and their efficiency is decreasing. At a time when practical trust has been created in online shopping and ordering platforms, states are still lagging behind and citizens still have to go with one document to 3-4 locations to solve their issues. Not everything is so black because there is a bright example. Despite everything, there are visions of change. Never have more funds, either from the European Union or from credit institutions, been available. However, both the distribution and division of these things depend on politicians, freedom of recognition of ideas, and transparency of business. Unfortunately, as long as political leaders do not allow freedom of creativity and support through their decisions the market to create without political networking and political interests, young people in Southeast Europe will go to some other countries where the climate may not be so good, nature might not be as beautiful. However, those are countries in which they are not only well paid for their work, but also where public administration recognizes their ideas, gives them freedom in creation regardless of their political affiliation or family connections. We are in a new age in which we have all been able to think well, in which we have all been able to provide new strategies for the prosperity of states, companies. The only question is whether there is a will and desire for it. If something does not change, countries in the Balkans will have to be ready to become countries that will understand and accept differences, which means that due to weak demographic policies, even greater multiculturalism and diversity can be expected in the next 20 years.

CULTURE NEWS

Exhibition at HDLU With More Than 100 Works of Art of the Icon of Modern Croatian Painting At the exhibition co-organized by Murtić Foundation which will be set up until July 18, visitors will have the opportunity to see more than 100 works of art of the icon of modern painting, and aside from the works of Edo Murtić, the project includes also a number of other events – the international symposium Gesture and Freedom, which will be held in Zagreb and Rovinj in June

2021, the New Abstraction exhibition at Lauba – house for people and art from June 1 – 10, 2021, and a series of accompanying events such as reinterpretations of Murtić through street art at several locations in Zagreb and the creation of a tactile image to bring art closer to blind and partially sighted persons.

19th Queer Zagreb Season is Starting and the Dramatic Tour Performance “Usmeni Spomenik” Will be Performed Again The nineteenth Queer Zagreb Season will be held from 26 – 29 July this year at the Zagreb Dance Centre, Pogon Jedinstvo and on the streets of Zagreb. A number of performances, workshops, lectures will be presented over the four festival days, as well as two new titles from Domino publishing house, and an ethno queer fieldtrip to Ličko Petrovo Selo will be organized.

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CULTURE NEWS

Exhibition of photographs "Intruders" by Randa Maroufi

This photo exhibition, presented from June 1 to 30 at the French Institute, brings an inversion of archetypal notions of a culture. This exhibition opens a series of activities organized by the French Institute in Croatia and the French Embassy ahead of the Generation Equality Forum, the most important global feminist gathering, launched by UN

The first Jelsa Art Biennale titled “Saturn at Opposition” to be Held from 01 July to 02 August

Women and chaired by France and Mexico, to be held in Paris from 30 June to 2 July and it will bring together states, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to define a series of concrete actions to be taken to promote women's equality and women's rights around the world.

Summer at MCA This year’s Summer at MCA will be held from 5 June to 10 July on the plateau near the slide at the Museum of Contemporary Art, where the recognizable 4-in-1 formula will be implemented, with concerts, exhibitions, films and performances. One of the central cultural and entertainment events during the summer months in Zagreb will be held for the 8th time. Traditionally, it takes place during six Saturdays in June and July, in the afternoon and evening, when the visitors can see the current exhibitions at MCA, see a selection of films, modern performances, and a concert at the end of the evening.

The first Jelsa Art Biennale titled Saturn at Opposition will be held on the isle of Hvar from 01 July to 02 August. The Spanish eco-art collective Luzinterruptus, Portuguese Openfield Creative Lab, satellite search workshops, listening to the underwater and children's Landing on Saturn workshop, along with other numerous pop-up events of performative character, will make this event – which will be held under safe conditions – a celebration of gratitude for everything we often take for granted - civilizational achievements such as art and culture or the untouched nature we inherit on our islands.

COLUMN

Local Election’s Communication in Croatia 2021 Perhaps left in shadow over repeated verbal dueling between the president and the prime minister, local election candidates rhetoric seems to be generic, obsolete, and recycled JAGODA POROPAT DARRER Business Communication Professional

oters tendencies as well as engagement in political issues among Croatian citizens is rather low. Recent study led by Gong (knowledge Center in the field of civic activism and building of democratic institutions in the society within the framework of the Development Cooperation with the National Foundation for Civil Society Development.) and other relevant research institution in Croatia and Austria show that young people in Croatia are politically illiterate. Other studies suggest that Croatian citizens are not interested in political activism and overall political engagement. It can be detected a certain level of political lethargy among all age groups in Croatia. We will not dig for the response in that area, but it is certainly something the prospect local leader should take in consideration when addressing voters during campaigns. William Riker (1996) described campaigns as “a main point - perhaps the main point – between officials and the populace over matters of public policy.” But it seems by now none of local candidates took this information in consideration. Overall, the local campaign can be defined as generic, not authentical (with some ridiculous attempt in Zadar), effete and obsolete. Candidates recycled some already heard slogan such as “The best is yet to come” used by Donald Trump when seeking for his second term in 2020 elections. All implemented slogans promised introducing order (primarily getting cities’ finance in order), transparency, change, and furthermore, some slogans under-

lined the cruciality of the moment and voting for particular political option. Three most often used dimensions of modern campaigning are negative campaign, emotional campaign and the populist one. The use of negative campaigning strategies (Lau and Pomper, 2004; Nai and Walter, 2015) refer to what extent competing candidates attack their rivals instead of promoting their own program. The use of emotional appeals (Brader, 2006; Ridout and Searles, 2011) refer to why and how candidates use messages intended to stir anxiety, rage, enthusiasm and other emotions in those exposed to them, and the use of a populist rhetoric (Jagers and Walgrave, 2007; Rooduijn and Pauwels, 2011), refer, and independently of the populist nature of the candidate itself from an ideological standpoint, to what extent they promote a vision of politics as a conflict between the pure people and the corrupt elite, often relying to a simplistic and

demagogical language. Gerstlé and Nai (2019) assess the extent to which these three dimensions are more or less likely to capture the attention of news media and to determine the electoral fate of those who rely on them. Their analyses reveal that negativity and emotionality significantly and substantially drive media coverage and electoral results: more positive and enthusiasm-based campaigns increase media attention, but so do campaigns based on personal attacks and fear appeals. Looking at electoral success, negativity backlashes overall, and yet personal attacks can be used successfully to increase the chances of an electoral victory. Furthermore, both appeals to enthusiasm (but not when a lot of candidates compete) and fear (especially in presidential elections) work as intended to capture the attention of the public and transform it into better electoral fortunes. In Croatia, we witnessed all

THREE MOST OFTEN USED DIMENSIONS OF MODERN CAMPAIGNING ARE NEGATIVE CAMPAIGN, EMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN AND THE POPULIST ONE

three dimensions in local elections. Left oriented candidate in Zagreb within the platform “Možemo” built its narrative through emphasizing the negativness of his main opponent. Right wing candidates within the political parties “Domovinski pokret” and “Most” built their narrative playing on the emotional appeal and populism. Most of the candidates across the country keep stating that they are the right candidates bringing the change. Change is the most common notion used in political campaigning for the challengers and new candidates while keeping the status quo by promising that much more will be done in future is the most used strategy of the politician still in position of power (incumbent ones). Regarding the effects of communication on electoral results Gerstlé and Nai (2019) show that negativity backlashes, stating that “campaigns with a more negative tone tend to reap a more meagre bounty on election day, suggesting that only focusing on the opponents’ shortcomings is not enough to convince voters.” However, a certain type of attacks can be used successfully to increase the chances of an electoral victory: personal attacks. Turning to the effects of emotional messages, Gerstlé and Nai (2019) suggest that both enthusiasm and fear appeals work as intended to capture the attention of the public. Compared with candidates who use absolutely no emotional appeals, candidates who go ‘full enthusiasm’ score on average 40% more votes, and candidates who go ‘full fear’ score on average 50% more votes. Their results also show that the use of informal language and other components of populist rhetoric do not seem to drive substantially electoral success.

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