Croatians united worldwide: Vukovar event highlights emigrant contributions

Vukovar (Private album)

Vukovar – Grad Heroj – a place of special reverence among the Croatian diaspora, recently hosted a traveling exhibition of Croatian emigrants and the presentation of a book accompanying the exhibition titled “HRVATI UJEDINJENI KRAVATOM” (Croatians United by the Tie) at the Croatian Home.

Representatives from the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, Vukovar-Syrmia County, the City of Vukovar, Vukovar City Museum, Vucedol Culture Museum, Vukovar Tourist Board, Croatian Home Vukovar, Academia Cravatica, and many other Croatian emigrant organizations united by the tie presented themselves to the Hero City.

The director of Croatian Home Vukovar, Mrs. Ivanka Milicic, greeted the attendees, welcoming everyone to such a special event that aims to highlight the exceptional importance of connecting the diaspora and the homeland through exhibitions in Croatia and introducing the wide masses at the global level to the rich cultural heritage of prominent Croatian emigrants.

Nada Pritisanac Matulich, the initiator and coordinator of the project “Kravata istaknutih Hrvatica i Hrvata iseljenistva” (Ties of Prominent Croatian Emigrant Women and Men), president of the American Croatian Congress and the civil representative of Croatia at the UN in New York, explained that the idea for the project originated while observing other nationalities proudly representing their countries at the UN.

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Emphasizing that the goal of this project is to connect the homeland and the diaspora, as well as to establish partnerships between international universities and Croatian universities for student and faculty exchange, where this exhibition and book presentation will be hosted.

The book “Hrvati ujedinjeni kravatom” (Croatians United by the Tie) by author Branka Bezic Filipovic was presented by Ruza Maric, the cultural advisor of the City of Vukovar, who described the book as a comprehensive collection of Croatian emigrants, ranging from historical figures to contemporary individuals from all continents. The musical part of the program featured performances by students from the Dragutin Tadijanovic Elementary Music School.

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Josip Palos, the head of the Department of Social Activities, spoke on behalf of the City of Vukovar, expressing gratitude to Croatian organizations such as the American Croatian Congress, CroDiaspora, and the Association of Croatian-American Professionals for including Vukovar in the exhibition program in Croatia. He stated, “We Croats know our worth, and we are prominent everywhere through our work, but it is important for us to have our symbols that make us recognizable, and the tie is one of those symbols. I thank all the participants of this project for making Croatia recognizable beyond its borders.”

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The attendees were also addressed by Croatiana Greguric from the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, serving as a special advisor for Croatian emigrant issues, Mr. Mihovil Matkovic from Academia Cravatica, and Ana Lovrencak, the head of the Tourism Department of Vukovar-Syrmia County, representing their respective organizations.