Prime Minister Andrej Plenković received in Banski dvori the participants of the third generation of the "Homeland Summer School", organized by the Central State Office for Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, who are staying in our country. These are young members of the Croatian emigration who, through this experiential trip, are strengthening their ties with Croatia.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman.
"Welcome home and welcome to the Government of the Republic of Croatia", said Prime Minister Plenković in his speech to the participants of the Summer School.
He emphasized that the descendants of Croatian emigrants are bound by the same love for their homeland and Croatian identity.
He praised the work of the Central State Office for Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, which, he said, is trying to open today's free, democratic, modern and contemporary Croatia to new generations of Croats, who live quite far from Croatia, but also from Europe.
He said that such programs have several goals, which are to make young people aware of what Croatia is like today, to encourage them to keep the connection with Croatia alive and dynamic, to inspire them to improve their Croatian language and to potentially return to live in Croatia.
The Prime Minister said that it was good that they visited various parts of Croatia in order to get a complete impression of the homeland, which, although different by region, is always unique and indivisible, like the relationship between the emigrant and the homeland Croatia.
He emphasized that Croatia's progress, which has been very visible in recent years, is aimed at further democratization, but also at the economic and social development of our homeland.
"We dropped the anchor in the very heart of the European Union", pointed out Plenković, saying that Croatia recently joined the Eurozone and the Schengen area, and in a year and a half it will become a member of the OECD.
He also said that there are certain challenges in Croatia, such as the issue of declining natural growth, stressing that demographic revitalization is the main priority of the Government.
"We will continue to work on raising the standard of living in Croatia in order to bring young Croats like you back to our homeland," said Plenković.
Croatia is a small country with a heart the size of the whole world
Minister Grlić Radman expressed his satisfaction that he has the opportunity to greet these young people in the homeland of their ancestors.
He added that he visited all the countries from which the participants of the "Homeland Summer School" come, and he had the opportunity to hand over to some of them a decision on receiving Croatian citizenship. He pointed out that in the conversation with their grandparents and parents, he felt a strong sense of belonging to the Croatian people.
Grlić Radman emphasized that today Croatia is an independent and free country, with an international reputation and the second safest passport in the world.
Welcoming the participants of the Summer School, he pointed out that Croatia is a geographically small country, but that's why it has a heart the size of the whole world.
The aim of the Summer School is to strengthen the connection of young members of the Croatian diaspora with modern Croatia
The manager of the "Homeland Summer School" project, Croatiana Gregurić, on behalf of the Central State Office for Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, thanked Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Minister Gordan Grlić Radman for welcoming the third generation Summer School participants.
"This meeting is the best possible welcome for them," she emphasized.
She said that the goal of this project is to strengthen the connection of young members of the Croatian emigration with modern Croatia through the opportunities that our country provides for them, from learning the Croatian language, studying, to support for self-employment.
It is inspiring to watch Croatia continuously develop
Summer school student Daniel Marin Šango also thanked Prime Minister Plenković and Minister Grlić Radman for today's meeting.
He said that he was happy because he had the opportunity to visit Croatia as a child, but also as an adult, pointing out that it is inspiring to see how our country is continuously developing.
He emphasized that Australia, the country he comes from, has a strong Croatian community, which is proud that Croatia and Australia share many Western values, taking as an example the strong support for Ukraine.
He emphasized the importance of further deepening the ties between the emigrants and the homeland of Croatia, which, as he said, the Croatian Government is dedicatedly working on.
Source and photo: Government of the Republic of Croatia
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