In the focus of interest of the majority of articles in this edition of the CHF almanac are women that have achieved affirmation in various fields of human endeavour, from the arts and sciences to the private sector. Indicative in this regard are the articles penned by ethnic studies expert Marijeta R. Iveta, diplomat Tuga Tarle, researcher Marina Perić Kaselj, opinion journalist Marija Peakić Mikuljan and, indirectly, the many other authors.
The latest edition of the CHF serial publication and its electronic Internet edition, which has achieved 26 thousand pages in its digital repository over its 61-year history, was presented in Zagreb on the 15th of February by CHF acting director Mirjana Ana-Maria Piskulić, associate professor Božo Skoko PhD, Marina Perić Kaselj PhD, and the volume’s editor Vesna Kukavica. The promotion event was moderated by Lada Kanajet Šimić.
In opening the event Šimić welcomed state secretary Marija Pejčinović Burić, present on behalf of Prime Minister Plenković, Ivica Glasnović, present on behalf of foreign and European affairs minister Davor Ivo Stier, Marko Sladoljev MP, present on behalf of Croatian Parliament Speaker Božo Petrov, representatives of the State Office for Croats Abroad, the chair of the parliamentary committee on Croats abroad Božo Ljubić MP and the other members of parliament’s committee on the diaspora communities. Also among the many on hand and prominent public figures, reporters, Almanac contributing authors and associates, were Katarina Milković, representing the mayor of Zagreb, Monsignor Nedjeljko Pintarić, present on behalf of Zagreb cardinal and archbishop Josip Bozanić, assistant minister of health Zdravko Vukić representing Minister Kušćević and writer Đuro Vidmarović a member of the CHF board of directors.
The eight thematic sections in the Almanac – Signs Of The Times, Croatian Philological Horizons, Heritage, Bridges, A History, Spirituality, Science and New Books – include summaries in English and Spanish – with thirty-two articles linking some twenty countries. The book spans 452 pages, with 65 original illustrations.
For the past eighteen years the Croatian Emigrant Almanac has been edited by Vesna Kukavica. In the focus of interest of the majority of articles in this edition of the CHF almanac are women that have achieved affirmation in various fields of human endeavour, from the arts and sciences to the private sector. Indicative in this regard are the articles penned by ethnic studies expert Marijeta R. Iveta, diplomat Tuga Tarle, researcher Marina Perić Kaselj, opinion journalist Marija Peakić Mikuljan and, indirectly, the many other authors.
The authors break down popular stereotypes by offering a credible mosaic of emigrant generations that are growing up outside the homeland in the 21st century in the multicultural milieus of the developed world. Symbolically, the eldest contributor to this edition of the Almanac is the first person to earn a doctorate in the field of Croatian emigrations, while the youngest is Marija Rotim, who recently earned her master’s degree on the topic of Croatian female emigrants in Australia.
Congratulations to the publisher and editorial board of the Almanac and support of this long-standing CHF publication were offered by Member of Parliament Marko Sladoljev and state secretary Marija Pejčinović Burić. Acting CHF director Mirjana Ana-Maria Piskulić greeted the gathered on behalf of the publisher and offered her own observations on the Almanac. Božo Skoko, an associate professor of public relations at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Political Science, spoke of the Almanac’s role in the process of the cultural integration of emigrant communities and the country of origin in modern times. In his presentation Skoko covered three of the eight thematic sections in the Almanac – Signs Of The Times, Croatian Philological Horizons and Bridges. Marina Perić Kaselj, the current director of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, spoke of the thematic sections on Heritage, A History, Spirituality, Science and New Books. The presentation was rounded off by the almanac’s editor and the head of our publishing department, who thanked her associates and the contributors. To date Vesna Kukavica has edited some thirty books and brochures, published several hundred feuilletons in the field of migrant culture and several monographs on the lives of Croatian emigrants.
A PowerPoint presentation, a visual narrative of sorts of the articles in the Almanac, presented an authentic picture of emigrant creativity – ranging from the arts to science – from the brilliant pens of authors from Sydney to Toronto, from Punta Arenas to Split, Zagreb and Paris. These include Jure Vujić, Walter Vori Lalich, Dubravko Barač, Marijeta Rajković Iveta, Marija Valčić, academicians Nikola Benčić and Vinko Grubišić, Danijel Labaš, Rebeka Mesarić Žabčić, Tanja Rudež, Tuga Tarle, Marija Peakić Mikuljan, Tihomir Nuić, Marijan Lipovac, Rajka Bućin, Ivan Kosić, Stan Granić, Ivo Žanić, Stjepan Blažetin and Tonino Picula.
Without a doubt we have once again seen that the Croatian Emigrant Almanac has a bright future ahead of it. A bright future we hope it will share with the Croatian Heritage Foundation – an institution into the activities and publications of which several generations of staffers have invested their enthusiasm and creativity and continue to do so to this day, noted Almanac editor Vesna Kukavica.
Text by: Diana Šimurina-Šoufek; Photos by: Snježana Radoš
