Members of the Croatian Women’s Network are successful women from around the world, who share Croatian heritage and ancestry and come together to celebrate achievements, to inspire, champion and mentor younger generations. The aim is to connect like-minded members around the world. The Croatian Women’s Network was founded by Caroline Spivak in Canada in 2015. One of the recipients of the Croatian Women’s Network Award for 2020 is dr. Elizabeth Kera (on the photo) from New Jersey, USA, who is a specialist in the field of neuropsychology.
Category: Education
Yoko Nishii distinguished interpreter of pianistic works by Croatian composer Dora Pejacevic
On 5th March 2023, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Tokyo celebrated 30 years of unwavering diplomatic ties between Croatia and Japan. The esteemed presence of H.I.H. Princess Tsuguko of Takamado and other distinguished guests who have contributed significantly to our relations made the event even more special. The celebration was further enhanced by a wonderful performance of Japanese pianist Yoko Nishii (on the photo), paying tribute to the legendary Croatian composer Dora Pejačević on the 100th anniversary of her passing on the same day in 1923.
Marija Miletic Dail 1934-2022 filmmaker from "Zagreb Film" Croatia to her "Animation Cottage" USA
Maria Miletić Dail started at “Zagreb Film” in Croatia, continued as animator in Canada and Hollywood, worked upward into the position of director and producer. She was interested in meaningful filmmaking using original ideas. Worked in own “Animation Cottage” studio with twenty artists on ABC network series of specials. Tried to keep all work inside USA. She lectured at UCLA, CalArts and CCLA on animation. For her film “Think Earth” she won Presidential award in 1992. Her husband Sukhdev S. Dail (from India, Sikh) she prepared a few films dealing with Indian themes.
Miroslav Blazevic 1935-2023 legendary Croatian football trainer
Miroslav Ćiro Blažević was a legendary trainer of Croatian football representation. Under his leadership, it won sensational thrid place at the 1998 FIFA World Championship in Paris. Due to his leadership, Croatian football representation became universaly known. Under his baton, his team was composed of world class sportsmen such as Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban, Slaven Bilić, Robert Jarni, Robert Prosinečki, Igor Štimac, and others. His successor Zlatko Dalić, also born in BiH, considers himself to be a student of Ćiro Blažević.
Dubrovnik gets a new sister city – Sorrento in Italy due to an initiative of Ivana Marija Vidović
The Charter on twinning and cooperation between the City of Dubrovnik and the City of Sorrento was signed on Feb 5, 2023, by two mayors, Mato Franković on behalf of the City of Dubrovnik and Massimo Coppola on behalf of the City of Sorrento. The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and the Sorrento Dubrovnik Festival, as well as the Dubrovnik pianist Ivana Marija Vidović and conductor maestro Paolo Scibilia, are the most responsible for the intensification of cooperation between the two cities.
Paul Bradbury: Life as a Croatian Postman on the island of Hvar
Of all the interviews and feature stories that Paul Bradbury has done on his Total Croatia News internet project over the years, few were as much fun as an impromptu interview with his local postman over a beer in the town of Jelsa one day in 2016, as he explained to him the incredible Dalmatian GPS system they used to deliver mail on island of Hvar, Croatia. Mr. Bradbury lives in Croatia since 2003. He has published more than two thousand articles about various aspects of culture, life and bussiness in Croatia.
Joginder Singh Nijjar recipient of an Indian state recognition for streghtening links with Croatia
Mr Joginder Singh Nijjar, Croatian citizen of Indian origin, received the presitigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2023 in recognition of his contribution in the field of Art & Culture/Education. Mr. Singh was awarded during the Valedictory Session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2023 on 10 January 2023 by the President of India Mrs. Droupadi Murmu, also in the presence of Mr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, serving as the Minister of External Affairs of the Governement of India. The ceremony took place in the city of Indore, capital of the state of Mhadya Pradesh in central India.
Janica Kostelić eternalized in 2002 at Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
Janica Kostelić is without any doubt the greatest female skier of all times: she won three gold medals and one silver at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, USA. She also won five gold medals at the World Championships. In World Cup competition, she won thirty individual races, three overall titles, three slalom titles, and four combined titles. She is the greatest Croatian sportswoman in history. Her brother Ivica Kostelić is the most successful Croatian skier in history. Their successes are a result of a long-term family project, directed by their father Ante Kostelić.
Buddha – one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages
Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was – Buddha? After ten years of researche, Katarina Livljanić and her ensemble Dialogos, bring the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha’s life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs sing the legend about the king’s son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace – songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic…
National Mathematics Day of India marked in Zagreb Croatia on 22nd December 2022
According to the initiative of H. E. Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava, the National Mathematics Day of India was marked in Zagreb on 22nd December 2022. Each such event is dedicated to the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), the greatest Indian mathematician in history. Several Croatian mathematicians participated in the event: Professors Hrvoje Kraljević, Marko Tadić (Fellow of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts), Marcela Hanzer, Rudi Mrazović, and Neven Elezović. The first such event was organized in Zagreb in December 2021.
Anthony F. Lucas the father of Petroleum Engineering entering into the history of cooking
Anthony F. Lucas (1856-1928), born in the city of Split, Croatia, discovered the first major gusher in 1901, in Texas, Spindletop. He is the father of Petroleum Engineering. An excellent illustration of the possibilities of this petroleum was provided at a dinner given at Port Arthur, Tex., in 1901 to the directors of a large producing and refining company. A special salad was served with some show of ceremony and, after the guests had partaken of it, the toast-master asked them for their gastronomic opinions. The verdict was favorable — unanimously so. They then were informed that the oil used on the salad was not a ‘ ‘Lucca oil,” but a “Lucas oil”.
Ivana M. Vidovic in Granada with Frano Kakarigi – encounter of pianist and double bassist
For any musician who has been involved in music, in this context classical, since early childhood, performing in the imposing and magnificent Granada with a Spanish-Hispanic repertoire perfectly arranged with great colleagues in the ensemble, but also with another Croat, Frano Kakarigi, our respected double bass player from Dubrovnik with an address in Granada, it is probably like one of the dreams come true that all those who are truly involved in music could long for!
MICROBLINK a mobile vision software development company founded in Croatia in 2012
Microblink is a mobile vision software development company. BlinkID enables scanning of over 100 international identity documents including driving licenses, national identity cards, passports and others. PDF417 SDK or WEB API enables scanning and parsing 1D and 2D barcodes such as QR, PDF417, and others. PhotoPay SDK captures payment information from standardized and non-standard payment slips and it’s often used in mobile banking apps. BlinkReceipt SDK captures raw OCR data or structured information from retail receipts. This technology grew out from experience accumulated from PhotoMath, created by Jurica Cerovec and his colleagues in Croatia’s capital Zagreb.
Croatian football team winning bronze medal of golden glitter at the 2022 World Championship in Qatar
Croatia 2 – Marocco 1 is a result in Qatar which enabled Croatia winning its second bronze medal (in 1998 in France and in 2022), besides silver medal won in 2018 (in the Russian Federation). Continuity of excellent results of Croatian team are due not only to talent, but also to perserverance and hard work, under the baton of Zlatko Dalić, and under the baton of Ćiro Blažević in France. The result is all the more amazing when one sees some truly top quality representations being left behind Croatia: Brazil, England, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Japan, Marocco, Italy, Belgium, etc. (altogether 211 countries).
George Mikan Lakers Jersey Retirement Ceremony in 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers retired George Mikan’s No. 99 jersey in a ceremony on October 30, 2022, when the Lakers hosted the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. All fans in attendance received a George Mikan replica jersey. The 1948 National Basketball League MVP and four-time All-Star helped lead the then Minneapolis Lakers to five championships (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954) and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. Donning a Lakers uniform, Mikan led the league in scoring in three consecutive seasons (1948-51) and was the league’s leading rebounder in back-to-back campaigns (1951-53). He was six-times the All-NBA First Team selection.
Croatian – Indian Links, monograph marking 30 years of diplomatic relations 1992-2022
The publication Croatian-Indian Links: Thirty Chapters for Thirty Years of Diplomatic Relations (1992-EUR”2022) marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between and India and Croatia and highlights a legacy in which the contributions of our writers, scholars, artists, travellers, politicians are unified in one volume. Some chapters in the volume present certain important individuals and others present some themes or groups of individuals. Preparing this publication was suggested by H. E. Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava, ambassador of India to Croatia (on the photo).
Nenad Bach & PingPongParkinson appearing at ESPN / Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan, visited the WTTC
ESPN produced segment about Nenad Bach and his journey through diagnosis of Parkinson. ESPN ( Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ) is an American-based global cable and satellite television channel. Her Royal Highness, Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan, visited the WTTC (World Table Tennis Center) on Sunday, February 6th 2022, as the first stop on her visit to New York metro area to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the global non-profit PingPongParkinson . The purpose of Princess Zeina’s visit to the New York Metro area was to participate in celebrating and promoting the growth of PingPongParkinson .
Mladen Bestvina delivered a plenary lecture at International Congress of Mathematicians for 2022
Professor Mladen Bestvina (on the photo with his wife) is a Croatian-Americna mathematician, born in 1959 in the city of Osijek, Croatia. He completed his studies of Mathematics at the University of Zagreb. He was a successful competitor at International Mathematical Olympiads for High School students. In the past twenty years he achieved spectacular results in Geometric Group Theory, for which he had an honor of delivering a plenary lecture on 10th July 2022 at the International Congress of Mathematicians. The ICM is organized every fourth year, and for each Congress about 14 pleanry lecturers are chosen who had the most important contributions in the field of Mathematical sciences in the previous period.
Peljesac bridge connecting Croatia with EU and China
The Peljesac Bridge, constructed by a Chinese consortium led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, across the Bay of Mali Ston in the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia, connecting the country’s mainland with the Peljesac Peninsula, has officially opened to traffic on Tuesday, making it easier for locals to travel. As the largest construction project of transportation infrastructure since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Croatia, the Peljesac Bridge, 2,440 meters long and 22.5 meters wide, is also a model project for China, Croatia and the EU to carry out tripartite cooperation.
Gustav Likan 1912-1998 distinguished Croatian-American painter and the Father of Acrylics
Known as the Father of Acrylics, Gustav Likan was originally from Croatia, he lived and painted in Argentina, Chicago and finally in 1969 he moved to Austin. In 1950 he began a two year commission for Eva Peron, painting murals in all the Argentina schools. He emigrated to South America in 1950 where he began a two-year commission for Eva Peron painting murals in the schools of Argentina. He later moved to the United States arriving in Chicago in 1957. He was appointed to the staff of The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts as an instructor where he taught until 1967. The remainder of his life he resided in Texas. He taught at the Laguna Gloria Museum in Austin.