Europe Day, which is celebrated every year on May 9, celebrates European peace and unity. The date marks the anniversary of the historic "Schuman Declaration" from 1950, by which the then French Minister of Foreign Affairs proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the first in a series of supranational European institutions that gave rise to today's European Union.

The main message of this year's Europe Day is – Let's celebrate our stories!

This year, we celebrated European Week with a special celebration, because this May we celebrate the largest enlargement in history, the 20th birthday of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia in the European Union.

This year's Europe Day will take place with the slogan of the European Parliament "Use your voice." Don't let others shape your future." because exactly one month later the citizens of the European Union go to the polls: the European elections in Croatia will be held on June 9, 2024. The European elections are held every five years, and the citizens of the Union directly elect representatives who will represent their interests in the European Parliament. In the 2024 elections, a total of 720 representatives will be elected, 15 more than in the last elections, of which Croatia has 12 representatives.

This year's celebration of Europe Day in Karlovac, the 10th in a row, was dedicated to young people, EU enlargement, European elections and the promotion of the European movie.

The European Week started with the Cinema Club Karlovac with screenings of EU films in Ozalj, Karlovac and Ogulin. On Europe Day itself, we held the #EUFair workshop, intended for high school students, where the students, divided into groups, had to creatively present selected EU member states. After the workshop, they watched and commented on selected short films from the Four River Film Festival. The workshop was attended by the students of the Karlovac Gymnasium and the Karlovac School of Natural Sciences, accompanied by mentor professors.

In the evening part of the program, starting at 19:00 at Edison Cinema, there was a screening of the film "Vasil", a Spanish-Bulgarian comedy-drama from 2022, written and directed by Avelina Prat in her feature film debut. Vasil is an intelligent and charismatic Bulgarian immigrant who brings a different perspective on life to the four characters he meets during two months in Spain.

This year's partners in celebrating Europe Day were Kino Edison, Desk Kreativne Europe - Media and Kinoklub Karlovac. We would like to thank them once again for their pleasant cooperation and we're looking forward to new joint activities.

We had a good time, you can check it in the gallery.

Zrinka Ujević took over as Head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia on April 2, 2024.

In this role, she acts as the official representative of the European Commission in Croatia under the political authority of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. von der Leyen.

Zrinka Ujević was a Croatian diplomat for 30 years and has been a ambassador since 2014. During her diplomatic career, she systematically dealt with European affairs and thereby gained in-depth insight into the policies of the European Union and the work of European institutions.

Since 2016, she has been Director of the Directorate for Europe at the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, while from 2000 to 2014 she played an important role in Croatia’s mission to the EU.

She was in charge of political issues and previously the Head of Office of the Chief Negotiator.

She was also Deputy Head of the Permanent Representation of Croatia to the EU and, at the same time, the representative of Croatia to the Political and Security Committee.

She also worked as Deputy Head of the United Nations Department in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this role, she has dealt with a numerous international issues, including the area of security and peacekeeping.

Context

The Commission has representations in all capitals of the EU Member States and regional offices in Barcelona, Bonn, Marseille, Milan, Munich and Wroclaw. In all EU Member States, the Commission’s representations are the eyes, ears and voices of the Commission on the ground. They work with national authorities and stakeholders and inform the media and the public about EU policies, by appointing the heads of representation as their political representatives in the Member State to which they are assigned, the President of the European Commission.

EUROPE DIRECT – the network of the European Commission – is excited to announce the launch of the Europe.Coffee Tour, an innovative initiative aimed at fostering direct engagement with citizens across Europe ahead of the upcoming European Elections.

 

In a world where effective communication is key, EUROPE DIRECT recognizes the importance of meeting people where they are - in the heart of their communities, over a stimulating cup of coffee. The Europe.Coffee, affectionately named Europa.Cafe, is a mobile cafe on wheels, ingeniously converted from an Ape with an electric motor and adorned in the colors of the European Union. It will traverse bustling streets and vibrant squares, providing a relaxed environment for conversations about Europe.

 

At each stop along the Alps-Adriatic Europa.Cafe Tour, which includes the following cities Karlovac (16th of March), Rijeka (17th of March), Trieste (18th of March), Tolmezzo (19th of March), and Klagenfurt am Wörthersee (19th of March), the EUROPE DIRECT team will be on hand to address all manner of questions about the European Union. The primary goal of the tour is to connect with citizens, understand their perspectives on European issues, and stimulate thoughtful discourse about the upcoming European Elections.

 

"We believe that every citizen in Europe is also a European, and it's crucial for us to engage with them directly," said Marc Germeshausen for EUROPE DIRECT Carinthia. "Through the Europe.Coffee Tour, we aim to create awareness and spark conversations about the significance of European unity and the importance of participating in the democratic process."

 

This marks the first-ever Alps-Adriatic Europa.Cafe Tour, an ambitious endeavor to extend the conversation beyond borders and involve neighboring countries in the dialogue. Under the theme "Europe is also your cup of coffee," the tour seeks to promote cross-cultural understanding and inform citizens about the upcoming European Elections.

 

EUROPE DIRECT Karlovac invites citizens from all walks of life to join them at the Europa.Cafe on Saturday, March 16th 2024 at 11AM on the Promenade of Dr. Franjo Tuđman (near the Music Pavilion) and enjoy a cup of coffee, and share their thoughts on Europe's future. te uživaju u šalici kave i podijele svoja razmišljanja o budućnosti Europe.

Together, let's brew a brighter tomorrow for Europe.

Welcome to the world of news opportunities and media projects supported by the EU! Calls for proposals represent a unique opportunity for journalists, media professionals and organisations to contribute to strengthening media coverage.

 

The European Commission announces for the fourth year in a row support for the production of daily and reliable content on current events across Europe. This opportunity is intended for young Europeans, creating a space for expressing and exchanging ideas.

European Public Space: new media offer for young Europeans – 2023

Projects should start in the summer of 2024, with an expected duration of 14 months. The European Commission plans to support up to 4 proposals, with a maximum support amount of EUR 3.2 million. Questions can be sent to CNECT-NEWSMEDIA@ec.europa.eu by 22 January 2024 at the latest. The deadline for applications is 29 January 2024.

Partnerships in the Journalism Sector – Cooperation (2024)

The European Union calls for proposals for cooperation between media organisations focusing on innovative business models and/or journalistic projects across Europe. This is one of the two themes launched this year under the call for proposals, Partnership in Journalism. The information session will take place on 6 December 2023 from 11 a.m. to 12.00 (Brussels time) to present the invitation and answer your questions. The deadline for applications is 14 February 2024.

Partnerships in the Journalism Sector – Pluralism (2024)

The EU calls on organisations/intermediaries to establish specific financial schemes in the areas of media news of particular importance for democracy (such as local/regional media, independent and investigative journalism and news of public interest). The information session will take place on 6 December 2023 from 11 a.m. to 12.00 (Brussels time) to present the invitation and answer your questions. The deadline for applications is 14 February 2024.

These calls for proposals represent a unique opportunity for journalists, media professionals and organisations to contribute to strengthening media reporting and democracy in Europe. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of this inspiring journalistic journey. For more information, visit the European Commission’s official funding website.

On November 21, 2023, the presentation of the Union program was held in Karlovac, organized by Europe Direct Karlovac, the Creative Europe Desk - Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Media, the National Contact Point of the Union Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Program at the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia . The director of the Public Institution of the Regional Development Agency of the Karlovac County, Sandra Cindrić, gave an introductory address to all present, and the workshop program itself was divided into two parts

This was followed by the presentation of the CERV program - Citizens, equality, rights and values, where Saša Šegrt, advisor in the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, pointed out that it is the largest program in the history of the European Union intended to promote and protect the values of democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights, equality, equality, the fight against all forms of violence and discrimination, transparency and good governance, and the Union's program Creative Europe - sub-program Culture was presented by Morana Bigač Leš. Through the presentation of both mentioned programs, their main features were highlighted, as well as current information about the currently open and upcoming Public Calls in 2024. Gabrijela Mamić from LAB852 presented the MusicVille project, which is financed through the Creative Europe program in partnership with Slovenia, Croatia and Austria, and is also implemented in Karlovac County. It aims to transform the classical European musical form of Opera into a new, innovative and creative collaboration inspired by environmental awareness, nature, local crafts and tradition.

In the second part, we were introduced to the Funding and Tender Opportunities (FTOP) portal, and heard practical advice for the successful preparation of project proposals, as well as examples of good practice.

The event was attended by representatives of civil society organizations, public law bodies, institutions operating in cultural and creative activities, and other interested potential applicants.

Finally, we invite you to follow the web pages:

For the CERV program:

- website www.cerv.hr and subpage of the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia - https://bit.ly/3fcz9hn
- FB page Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program - CERV Croatia - https://bit.ly/3K5Pdja
Funding & tender opportunities portal - https://bit.ly/33c1ZvQ / / https://bit.ly/31OTSoc / / https://bit.ly/3Fm2tN0

For the Creative Europe - Culture program:
- web DKE - Culture https://bit.ly/3K7ddlN
- FB Creative Europe Desk - Culture Office Croatia https://bit.ly/3zPQhCR
Funding & tender opportunities portal https://bit.ly/3I0Lq4z

On November 14, 2023, the European Commission approved 171 new projects across Europe LIFE Programme for environment and climate action za okoliš i klimatsku politikuworth more than €396 millionThanks to the programme's co-funding requirements, it will mobilise a total investment of more than €722 millionwhich represents a 28,5 % increase compared to last year. Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from EU support under the following sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and clean energy transition.

LIFE projects contribute to reaching the European Green Deal's broad range of climate, energy and environmental goals, including the EU's aim to become climate-neutral by 2050. They support biodiversity and nature restoration, improve the quality of life of Europeans by reducing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, increase circularity in the economy and climate resilience, and accelerate the transition to clean energy across Europe.

At a glance: new projects under the €396 million of EU funding

Nature and biodiversity

The 29 nature and biodiversity projects nature and biodiversity projectswith a total budget close to €211 million (of which the EU will contribute around €140 million)will restore freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, and habitats; improve the conservation status of birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals; enhance governance; and support the implementation and compliance with relevant EU legislation such as the Birds Directives and the Habitats te Biodiversity Strategy for 2030Doing so, they will equally contribute to the EU's implementation of the Kunming/Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement..

 

Circular economy and quality of life

LIFE projects will mobilise over €298 million of which the EU will provide over €94 million to contribute circular economy and improve the quality of life..

A total of 36 projekata bit će usmjereno na potrošnju vode, električni otpad, kemikalije, onečišćenje zraka i onečišćenje bukom kako bi se poboljšala kvaliteta života građana EU-a i razvile tehnologije za potporu akcijskom planu za kružno gospodarstvo.

 

Ublažavanje klimatskih promjena i prilagodba tim promjenama

A total of 34 projects worth about €110 million (in which the EU will provides around EUR 65 million) will contribute to climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and climate governance and information related to climate change impacts.

 

Clean energy transition

67 projects with a total budget of more than €102 million (of which the EU provides around €97 million)will improve market and regulatory conditions in the EU for the clean energy transition, notably promoting and rolling out energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy solutions

 

Background

Over its 31 years of existence the LIFE Programme LIFE Programme has co-financed more than 6 000 environmental and climate action projects across the EU and associated countries. These 171 announced projects were selected from more than 751 applications submitted in the LIFE 2022 call for proposals, published in May 2022.

The European Commission has increased funding for the LIFE Programme by almost 60% for the 2021 - 2027 period, bringing it to €5.43 billion. The grants financed under the LIFE Programme are managed by CINEA - European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

 

More information:

Project summaries

LIFE Programme for environment and climate action

Europe Direct Karlovac, Desk Creative Europe Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Media the National Contact Point of the Union Programme Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values at the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia are organising the presentation of the Union programme in Karlovac, which will be held on Tuesday, 21st November 2023 at 10am in the Illyrian Hall of the City Library “Ivan Goran Kovačić” in Karlovac (1 Ljudevit Šestić Street).

In the morning, the first part, the Creative Europe Programme – Culture sub-programmethe only Union mechanism to support the cultural and creative sectors, and the CERV programme – Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values,the largest programme in the history of the European Union to promote and protect the values of democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights, equality, equality, the fight against all forms of violence and discrimination, transparency and good governance, will be jointly presented. The presentation will include acquaintance with the opportunities offered by these programmes, current information on currently open and upcoming calls and initiatives within the programmes themselves, and navigation through Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal (FTOP), the Union’s central portal for applying projects to Union programmes.

The participants will then, depending on their interest, be divided into two groups that will in parallel process the elaboration of project ideas and the corresponding project documentation. It will be an opportunity to learn about examples of good practice, so that those present can better understand what kind of projects can be supported under these programmes, consisting of getting acquainted with the project documentation for each programme.

The event is intended for civil society organisations, LAGs, schools and other educational institutions, local self-government units and other organisations and institutions active in the cultural and creative sectors and/or dealing with local community development, the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and the topics of protection against violence and discrimination.

For the event, it is necessary to fill in the application form and express interest in working in one of the groups in the second part of the workshop.

 

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

09:45 - 10:00 Registation

10:00 - 10:10 Introducing of Europe Direct Karlovac

10:10 - 11:00 Overview of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), Saša Šegrt, Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, National Contact Point of the Programme Saša Šegrt,

Ured za udruge Vlade RH, Nacionalna kontakt točka programa

11:00 - 11:45 An overview of important information on Creative Europe – Culture;

                                               Anera Stopfer, Desk Creative Europe-culture, Ministry of Culture and Media

11:45 – 12:00 Getting acquainted with the portal Funding and Tender Opportunities (FTOP)

12:15 - 12:30 Questions and Answers

12:00 - 13:00 Lunch

 Split participants in two groups according to registration in CERV/Creative Europe workshop

13:00 - 13:15 Key terms of the CERV/KE programme

13:15 – 14:00 Elaboration of project ideas - exercise, working in a group

14:00 – 14:15 Coffee break

Presentation of project ideas, analysis and comments & practical tips for

successful preparation of the project proposals

15:00 - 15:15 Questions and Answers; end of the workshop

In Šibenik, on October 18th and 19th 2023, the annual meeting of the EUROPE DIRECT network Croatia and partners organized by the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia was held.

The meeting was attended by representatives of 11 Europe Direct centers in Croatia, representatives of European documentation centers, the Office of the European Parliament in Croatia, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development - LIFE Program – HR National Contact Point and Europe Direct centers from Slovenia.

Meetings and workshops were held at two locations: on the campus of the Fortress of St. Ivan and the Croatian Coral Center Zlarin. The project of the construction of the Croatian coral center Zlarin and the restoration of the fortress of St. Ivan in Šibenik were financed with the help of different programs and funds of the European Union.

 

The topic of the meeting was the preparation of communication plans for 2024 with a focus on the European elections, other priorities of the European Commission and the possibilities of national and cross-border cooperation. The whole meeting was interactive with lots of interesting lectures and workshops.

 

The second part of our team was on a study trip to Zadar from 17th-18th October 2023. They attended the final conference of the Cross-Border Program INTERREG Italy - Croatia 2014-2020, where the results of cooperation in the cross-border area and an overview of the challenges were presented so as further opportunities for the period 2021 - 2027. During those two days, the achievements of the financed projects were presented, along with the presentation of an institutional book that gathers 92 implemented projects, in digital and printed versions, and a tour of successfully implemented projects.

 

Cross-border cooperation program INTERREG V-A Italy-Croatia 2014-2020. is one of the European territorial cooperation programs that supports the European cohesion policy and contributes to the harmonious development of the European Union by strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion, thereby encouraging economic growth. The public institution Regional Development Agency of Karlovac County participated in the implementation of two projects from the program. The STREAM project whose goal was to improve risk monitoring and increase management capacity for quick response to catastrophic floods by creating risk maps and developing a flood risk management plan in which Karlovac County was a partner. The goal of the EXCOVER project was to contribute to an increase in the number of tourists in accordance with the cultural and natural potential of the selected destinations in Croatia and Italy and to reduce the tourist seasonality of both countries. The project contributed to a more even distribution of tourists and to the relief of areas with an excessive concentration of tourists located mainly on the coast.

On October 4th, 2023, an online information workshop was held on the topic of: "Vouchers for the education of employed and unemployed persons" within the framework of the European Year of Skills, organized by Europe Direct Karlovac, Europe Direct Koprivnica-Križevci County, Public Institution Regional Development agency of Karlovac County and PORA Regional Development Agency of Koprivnica-Križevci County.

At the very beginning, the Head of the Europe Direct Koprivnica-Križevci County, Marina Šandor Krznarić and the Head of the Europe Direct Karlovac, Martina Mikaš, welcomed all present and thanked the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy for their active participation in this online workshop, attended by 40 participants, representatives of public law bodies, educational institutions and private and civil sector.

Mrs. Irena Bačelić, Head of the Labor Market Sector in the Directorate for Market and Employment of the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, presented the system of vouchers for education for employed and unemployed persons, which will last until 2026. She pointed out that these vouchers with an emphasis on green and digital skills are a great opportunity for all employed and unemployed people with the aim of increasing their competence and competitiveness on the labor market. Vouchers are also an opportunity to match the real needs of the labor market with the educational programs provided by adult education institutions.

At the very end of the workshop, participants had questions which Mrs. Bačelić answered and also invited all interested to send their enquiries related to this topic to the e-mail addresses: voucher@mrosp.hr; voucher@hzz.hr.; vaucer@hzz.hr.

Europe Direct Karlovac, Europe Direct Koprivničko-križevačke županije, Javna ustanova Regionalna razvojna agencija Karlovačke županije i PORA Regionalna razvojna agencija Koprivničko-križevačke županije i pozivaju Vas na

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koja će se održati

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Ova kratka on-line informativna radionica održat će se povodom obilježavanja Europske godine vještina, a sustav vaučera i dostupne programe u okviru istih svim zainteresiranima predstavit će gospođa Irena Bačelić, načelnica Sektora za tržište rada u Upravi za tržište i zapošljavanje Ministarstva rada, mirovinskog sustava, obitelji i socijalne politike.

Iskoristite mogućnosti koje Vam se pružaju, informirajte se i budite konkurentniji na tržištu rada.

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