Europe Direct Karlovac and the Public Institution Regional Development Agency of Karlovac County in cooperation with numerous partners organised a series of events to mark the 10th anniversary of Croatia’s membership in the European Union and the 10th birthday of Europe Direct Karlovac. Europe Direct Karlovac started operating on 29 October 2013 as the first in Croatia and 500th in the European Union.
Here’s an overview of how we marked the big ten.
The celebrations started on 1st July and we joined the programme on the invitation of the organisers, the ‘ANNO’93’ association in Vienna, which brings together the Croatians there. The celebration of the 10 years of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union took place at the Yurovski Brod – Metlika border crossing point with two former Prime Ministers of the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia, Jadranke Kosor and Borut Pahor.
On July 6th in cooperation with our long-standing partners, Kinoklub Karlovac and Carpe DiEM, we participated in the ArtiKA Good Amusement Festival, which included various workshops, IKS Petrinja’s ‘Budi cool – Volontiraj!“ children’s exhibition and the ‘Writers to the City’ of members of the Bookshop Karlovac. 18 teams took part in the KA quiz by Dražen Cukina, with questions about the city of Karlovac and the European Union, and we secured prizes for the first three places with Carpe DiEM. The quiz and the award ceremony to the winners were followed by a screening of the European film ‘Night Travellers’.
The ceremonial celebration of ten years of Croatian membership in the European Union and the tenth birthday of Europe Direct Karlovac was held in the Aquatika – Freshwater Aquarium Karlovac on 10 July. We have prepared the exhibition “10 projects of KŽ for 10 years of the Republic of Croatia in the EU”, where we presented 10 successfully implemented projects from the territory of Karlovac County financed by EU funds. The projects that were part of the exhibition are: Meeting with the river, Water secrets Slunja, Atrium of Knowledge, STREAM – Strategic Development of flood management, Nikola Tesla Entrepreneurial Center, Promoting sustainable development of the Significant Landscape of Barac Caves, Grain Trade Route/Wineway, Kupa-Sava, Visitor Center Ivana’s fairytale house, Sweetwater Aquarium and River Museum – Kaquarium, RCK – profession and RCK – career. With selected projects we wanted to remind our guests and fellow citizens of the importance and benefits of membership in the European Union. Also, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Ireland, we have set up an exhibition “50 Years of Ireland in the EU” in order to introduce our fellow citizens to the rich history of Ireland, which could be seen from 7-12 July at the Aquatika Green Library.
Marijana Tomičić and Eva Maria Sobotik Pavan told us about the very beginnings of Europe Direct, who brought him to Karlovac. About the present and the importance of Europe direct Karlovac for the future, as well as the benefits of membership in the European Union, their thoughts were conveyed to us by the Director of JURRA dr.sc. Vilko Klasan, Mayor of Karlovac Damir Mandić and Mayor of Karlovac County Martina Furdek Hajdin. After visiting the exhibition we continued to socialise with longtime partners and associates and representatives of local media. We would like to once again thank all our partners and look forward to future cooperation and to address the challenges ahead.
The great final of marking the great 10 years was the fabulous concert of Matija Cveka & The Funkensteins at the Music Pavilion as part of the "Zvjezdano ljeto" in Karlovac, which delighted many audiences. The concert was a gift to our fellow citizens and their guests, so we celebrated together our 10th and 444th birthday of Karlovac City.
