The Institute for Migration Research marked 60 years of continuous operations of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, 40 years of publication of the academic journal Migracijske i etničke teme (Migration and Ethnic Themes), and also presented the Institute’s current academic projects and publishing activities.
On December 18, the Institute for Migration Research in Zagreb organized the Day of the Institute. On this occasion, 60 years of continuous operations of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (since 1965), 40 years of publication of the academic journal Migracijske i etničke teme (Migration and Ethnic Themes) were marked, and the Institute’s current academic projects and publishing activities were presented.
The day of the Institute, which was held in the Croatian Heritage Foundation’s Great Hall, was enhanced by numerous distinguished guests, including Prof. Nikola Mrvac, Ph.D., State Secretary in the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, Mato Arlović, Ph.D., Deputy President of the Constitutional Court and Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, Veljko Kajtazi, Member of the Croatian Parliament and Member of the Parliamentary Council for National Minorities, Žana Čorić, Ex Officio Advisor for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Envoy of the State Secretary of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, Zvonko Milas, and on behalf of the Director of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, Ivana Dvorneković, Head of the Culture, Science, Education and Publishing Unit, attended the Day of the Institute.
As part of the jubilee celebration, the program was opened by Ivan Tepeš, Ph.D., who presented the development of migration research in Croatia since the establishment of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies in 1965, the forerunner of today’s Institute for Migration Research. In his presentation, he highlighted the key research and institutional milestones that led to the merger with the Center for Migration Research in 1984.
“Given that Croatian ethnic areas were affected by large waves of emigration in the 15th and 16th centuries, then at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, and even in the interwar period, the idea of organizing a scientific research institution for the study of emigration existed even at the time of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia; more specifically, in 1937, within the Emigrant Commissariat located in Zagreb. However, it was not realized at the time due to financial reasons. The idea was re-actualized within the Croatian Heritage Foundation in the second half of the 1950s, and its realization was made possible only with the achievement of the necessary basic conditions for its operations, made possible with the completion of the construction of the Home of Emigrants in March 1964, within which the premises of the future research institute were envisaged. The Home of Emigrants, i.e. the building in which we are located today, was also the home of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, which was led by Većeslav Holjevac, and in whose term in office the Institute was founded,” explained, among other things, in his presentation Dr. Tepeš, and he revealed a few more interesting details about the Institute itself, but also its connection with the Croatian Heritage Foundation. The decision on the establishment of the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies was made at the session of the CHF’s Executive Board on May 26, 1965.
“In the first three years of the Institute’s operations, a key role as link between the Heritage Foundation and the Institute was played by Franjo Tuđman, who had been a member of the CHF’s Management and Executive Board since 1964 and who, in his capacity as President of the Heritage Foundation’s Committee for the History of Emigration, had an introductory presentation at the aforementioned session advocating the decision on the establishment of the Institute,” said Dr. Tepeš.
The history and development of the scientific journal Migracijske i etničke teme were discussed by the former editors of the journal, Sanja Lazanin, Ph.D., Sanja Klempić Bogadi, Ph.D., and Margareta Gregurović, Ph.D. An overview of the academic journal’s current situation was provided by Ivan Balabanić, Ph.D., the current Editor-in-Chief.
The activities of the Institute were presented by the heads of three fundamental scientific departments: Filip Škiljan, Ph.D. (Department for Diaspora, National Minority and Ethnic Research), Ana Perinić Lewis, Ph.D. (Department for Cultural and Island Studies) and Sanja Klempić Bogadi, Ph.D. (Department for Migration and Demographic Research), presenting current research projects and thematic directions of operations. In the final part of the program, Josip Lasić, Ph.D., presented the Institute’s publishing program, with an emphasis on new and planned editions in 2026 and future publishing activities.
In addition, within the Day of the Institute, the exhibition M I G R A R T – Collaborative Art Project 2025 was opened. Participating in the exhibition were professional and amateur artists – mostly descendants of Croatian emigrants who have returned to the homeland of their ancestors or intend to do so – who responded to a public call announced last year.
Text and photo: CHF
