Placed at the center of content is an increasingly powerful video game industry, which is becoming the focal point of development in Novska.
As explained by the President of the Meeting G2 Association, Antun Krešimir Buterin, “gaming” served as the basis of the program that presented some of the best Croatian companies, startups and experts in other technology-related topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), drones, robotics, space technologies and IT in agriculture.
On October 19, 2025, the two-day MEETING G 2.11 international conference ended in Novska with a visit to the construction site of the unique Gaming Industry Center and a trip to Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. The leading international gathering that has been connecting homeland and diaspora Croatia for over a decade, aiming to strengthen economic cooperation, increasing investments in Croatia, as well as exports from Croatia, brought together in Novska more than 250 participants from over 20 countries from all over the world, from Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and Canada to the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland and Germany, to far off Australia.
The organizers of the Meeting G2 Association particularly highlight the business delegation of about a dozen Australian Croats and 45 young people from 15 countries who have been learning Croatian for months in Croatia through the Croaticum program. In addition to almost all the countries of South America, among the guests of MG2.11 were young people from Japan, New Zealand and Canada.
From the stage of the PISMO2 Business Incubator in Novska, 40 top speakers and panelists from Croatia and throughout the world addressed the audience, including the First Deputy Mayor of Malmö in Sweden, Roko Kursar, the respected Swedish researcher of Croatian origin, Dr. Katarina Gospic, an expert on AI and brain research, and Croatia’s Ambassador to Sweden and Latvia, Dr. Siniša Grgić. From the other end of the world, from far-off Argentina, came the most senior Croat in the Argentine government – Nicolas Bronzovich, Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Technologies (INTA).
At the conference, the Meeting G2 association exclusively presented the results of its global survey of the Croatian diaspora, in which about 500 businesspeople of Croatian origin from throughout the world participated. In addition to Buterin, the research was conducted by economic analyst Velimir Šonje and professor at the Faculty of Croatian Studies of the University of Zagreb, sociologist Ivan Burić, who also presented the results. The most interesting part relates to the fact that about 46% of respondents stated that they are considering returning to Croatia within the next two years, while about 9% highlighted that their return is completely certain or highly likely.
The research reveals a strong correlation between improving the business climate and a higher immigration rate, with Croatia being very attractive to emigrants from South America, followed by those living in North America, and to a lesser extent to those from Europe and Australia.
Safety and low crime rates are universal factors of Croatia’s appeal, while social security, interpersonal relations and care for children and families are specific factors of appeal for emigrants in the US and Canada. The interviewed emigrants show an extremely strong emotional attachment to Croatia, which is significantly greater than the emotional attachment to the country where they currently live. Croatia must take advantage of this, especially when considering the strengthening of the economy.
The President of the Meeting G2 Association, Antun Krešimir Buterin, pointed out that it was no coincidence that the conference was being held in Novska: “Here, where tradition and innovation meet, the Meeting G2 shows our guests and friends from abroad that Croatia is not a small country, but a great country of great opportunities,” said Buterin. “Our mission from day one has been clear – to connect Croats from all over the world through business, investment, entrepreneurship and innovation. If our football players and other athletes, born in the homeland and the diaspora, can win medals together at the world stage, we believe that this can be achieved in the business sector as well,” he concluded.
The conference was opened with the performance of the Croatian anthem, as well as the immensely successful hit song Igra by the popular female pop group MERITAS, who are returnees from Germany. The end of MG2.11 was marked by the emotionally charged talks by the fearless long-distance swimmer Dina Levačić and peacemaker Marijan Gubina, whose life story during the Homeland War served as the basis for the feature film 260 dana (260 Days), which is coming to theaters soon.
The MEETING G2.11 conference was supported this year by the highest state institutions: The President of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Parliament, the Ministry of Demography and Immigration and the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, as well as Sisak-Moslavina County. The conference was organized by the Meeting G2 association, in cooperation with the City of Novska and NORA, the Development Agency of the City of Novska.
Over the course of its first 10 years, the Meeting G2 conference has gathered about 2,000 participants from 35 countries around the globe.
Text and photo: Meeting G2
