Croatian World Congress general secretary and Croatian World Games official coordinator Vinko Sabljo’s working visit to Zagreb on the 13th and 14th of January included a meeting with Daria Krstičević, Head of the State Office for Croats Abroad. The Games are to be held in Zagreb from the 18th to 22nd of July.
At the meeting the date of the Croatian World Games was set and a working office for the Games in Zagreb established. It is to be led by Ivana Perkušić as the official Games coordinator on behalf of the State Office for Croats Abroad, Žana Ćorić and Ivana Rora on behalf of the homeland office of the Croatian World Congress and by Mateja Mandić. This establishes a strong operational team in the homeland that will cooperate directly with Vinko Sabljo in his role as the Croatian World Games coordinator in the communities abroad. It was also agreed at the meeting that the participants of the Croatian World Games would be lodged at student dormitories. The official opening and closing ceremonies for the games were hammered out in principle as were the schedule of events at the Games and the method of conducting the athletic competitions. It was also emphasised that a number of culture events would be staged in the course of the Games with the objective of offering the young people from the Croatian communities abroad the best possible content during the 2017 Croatian World Games. Through the 2017 Games coordinator Vinko Sabljo the Croatian World Congress is tasked with gathering the participants and organising their arrivals in the homeland, while the State Office for Croats Abroad and other institutions that will work with the State Office as co-organisers tasked with organisational affairs in Croatia. As this is a large scale and very important homeland project for the Croatian communities abroad preparations and the organisation of the Games in Zagreb would start immediately, emphasised Head of the State Office for Croats Abroad Krstičević.
On the second day of his working visit to Zagreb Croatian World Congress secretary general Sabljo met with CHF director Marin Knezović and deputy director Željko Rupić at the office of the CHF director. Also participating in the meeting was the head of the homeland office of the CWC. In continuation of the excellent cooperation to date with the Croatian Heritage Foundation it was agreed that the Croatian World Congress would have its office at the CHF headquarters giving it an official address and office to even better run its operations as the umbrella organisation of the emigrant Croatian communities. It was also emphasised that the CHF would support the organisation of the 2017 Croatian World Games in Zagreb in collaboration with the State Office for Croats Abroad. The Croatian Heritage Foundation and the Croatian World Congress have enjoyed excellent cooperation from the inception of the CWC.
In the afternoon Vinko Sabljo visited Croatian Parliament were he was received by Member of Parliament Margareta Mađerić. The two agreed on further cooperation with and continued support of the work of the Croatian World Congress.
Text and photos by: Ivana Rora