As a photo of the year we have chosen a detail from spectacular return of Croatian national team to the city of Zagreb, with a bus reliably driven for several hours by a nice lady (on the photo) along impossibly stuffed streets, without any accident or any injury. This is a feat maybe even more amazing that the wins of Croatian national football team agains teams like Argentina (led by outstanding world class Messi), England and the Russian Federation. As the family of the year we have chosen the family of Luka Modrić, sharing in this way the opinion of millions of fans throughout the world.
Category: People
Nikolina Sustic Stankovic of Croatia ultramarathon world champion in 2018
Nikolina Šustić Stanković is the world ultramarathon world champion (100 km!) for 2018. This is one of the greatest achievements of Croatian sports. Native of the city of Split, employed as a computer software tester, she leads a humble life, and became a top sportswoman without any trainer whasoever! This makes her achievment even more amazing. The city of Split is a cradle world class sportsmen and sportswomen: Goran Ivanišević (tennis), Toni Kukoč (basketball), Blanka Vlašić (high jumping), Ivano Balić (handball), … , to name just a few.
Rimac Automobili Croatian company manufacturing electric hypercars
Mate Rimac is CEO and founder of the RIMAC Automobili company. We provide several interviews about his company founded in Sveta Nedelja near Croatia’s capital Zagreb. In 2013 Mate Rimac founded a company called Greyp, closely related to the Rimac Automobili, manufacturing high-performance electric bicycles. By the end of 2018, the company has nearly 500 employees from 27 countries (15% of foreigners). Rimac Automobili is an acknowledged electrification partner to many automotive manufacturers: Porsche, Automobili Pininfarina, Aston Martin, CUPRA, Renault, and more out of the public eye.
Boyan Slat founder and CEO of the Ocean Cleanup project
On May 11th 2017, Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch foundation developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic, announced a design breakthrough allowing for the cleanup of half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 5 years. The main idea behind The Ocean Cleanup is to let the ocean currents do the work. An installation of U-shaped screens channels floating plastic to a central point. The concentrated plastic can then be extracted and shipped to shore for recycling into durable products. Boyan Slat has been recognized as one of the 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide (Intel EYE50), and is the youngest-ever recipient of the UN’s highest environmental accolade: Champion of the Earth .
Nenad Zvonarek former selector of Chinese handball representation
Nenad Zvonarek was selector of the Chinese handball representation. He was active in China since 1997, directing the handball team of the Province of Jiangsu (population of nearly 80 million people, a leading Chinese province in finance, education, technology and tourism ). Nenad Zvonarek, professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb, received a Medal of Friendship from the Governement of the Province of Jingsu in China in 2016. He is a honorary citizen of the city of Suzhu, China.
Branko Grünbaum 1929—2018 distinguished American mathematician born in Croatia
Branko Grunbaum was born in 1929 in the city of Osijek, Croatia. He started his studies at the University of Zagreb, and then moved in 1949 to Israel, where he completed his studies in 1954 and earned his PhD at the Hebrew University in Yerusalem in 1957. In 1966 he became full professor at the the University of Washington, after spending time at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, Hebrew University and at the Michigan State University. Branko Grunbaum wrote a very interesting survey paper “The Bilinski dodecahedron, and assorted parallelohedra, zonohedra, monohedra, isozonohedra and otherhedra” (27 pp.), dealing with the work of distinguished Croatian mathematician Stanko Bilinski.
Steve Novosel Croatian-American jazz bassist and educator
Steven (Steve) Novosel is an American professional jazz bassist and educator whose 40-plus year career has spanned numerous genre, from traditional jazz to swing, bebop, mainstream and avant garde. Born in Farrell in 1940, Pennsylvania outside Pittsburgh in 1940, Novosel is of Croatian-American heritage. Although left-handed, Novosel mastered the double bass playing it in a right-hand set up.
Carmen Verlichak ellected a member of the Argentine Academy of Arts and Sciences of Communication
Author of numerous literary and historiographic books Carmen Verlichak has become a memeber of the Argentinian Academy of Sciences and Arts Carmen Verlichak: Testimonios de dignidad, Krivodol Press, Buenos Aires, 2018. Drago…
Dino Radja enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018
Dino Radja (211 cm), Croatian basketball player born in the city of Split in 1967, continued his career as NBA player in Boston Celtics, USA, since 1993. He was a memember of Croatian national team which won the silver medal at the Olympic games in Barcelona in 1992. His very close friends were NBA stars Dražen Petrović and Toni Kukoč, also from Croatia.
Luka Modric of Croatia named UEFA Player of Year for 2018
Luka Modric of Croatia, on Aug 30, 2018, received the accolade of UEFA Player of the Year in Monaco after his Champions League exploits. “My father always pushed me to fight for my dreams, I owe him a lot for everything,” said Modric, whose silky midfield skills helped Real to a third straight European crown and then propelled Croatia to the World Cup final. “It’s incredible moment for me, I feel really excited and proud of this great award,” said the 32-year-old, who started out at Dinamo Zagreb and then had four years with Tottenham before Real prised him away six years ago.
Nenad Bach, Dragica Kragic and Sven Maricic participating at prestigious MTF Stockholm Sep 7-9 2018
The talks stage features an incredible lineup of inspiring people from around the world in conversation – representing all areas of industry, academia, the arts, sciences and public life. Rather than a series of keynotes, speeches, panel sessions or powerpoint presentations, the magazine-style interviews and intimate performances at MTF Stockholm provide a personal insight into the world and the stories of each of these amazing individuals. Three Croatian representatives are invited: Nenad Bach (with his project World Peace In One Hour ), Danica Kragić (a leading expert in robotics) and Sven Maričić (expert in 3D printing).
Oliver Dragojevic 1947-2018 distinguished Croatian pop musician and composer
Except in Croatia, he had concerts at Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas, Royal Albert Hall in London, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Opera House in Sydney. Umra je Oliver. Zamuča je rašpavi glas koji smo svi volili. Michael Bolton iz Vela Luke. Zamučala je Dalmacija, zamučali smo smi mi koji smo uz njegove pisme živili. Resli, jubili, pivali, guštali, sičali se, sanjali. … Ne znan kako vaman, ali meni je ona najtipičnija slika Dalmacije zalaz sunca iza otoka, bonaca, i zvuk četverotaktnog motora na trabukulu negdi u kanalu. A najtipičniji glas Dalmacije voljene je Oliver. Bog ga blagoslovija! Maja. Written by Maja Cioni (b. Bulić), Paris.
Sanja Falisevac Croatian sculptress and poet enriching us with her deafblind world
Sanja Falisevac began to portray at the age of 14, when she was already completely blind and deaf. She remembers from her childhood beautiful pictures of snow under sunset and Christmas. Her mother used to play with her by writing letters with her finger on her back, which Sanja easily recognized. She now communicates with the outer world in a similar tactile way, by writing on her palm. Her sculptures reveal her as a born artist, and she is now a member a the Union of Professional Croatian Artists. According to her own description, although being blind and deaf, she sees the outer world very clearly in her mental pictures and communicates by using touch. She is a perfect example for all those who think that their life is difficult.
Jakov Radovcic distinguished Croatian paleonthologist and an expert in the Neanderthal culture
NEANDERTHALS represent a magical and mystical idea of the prehistoric people of Europe. They are one of the many secrets of the beginning of our species. Who were those people who lived between 30,000 and almost 300,000 years ago? How did 19th century science discover and interpret the finds and what do we know now, at the beginning of the third millennium, about these Stone Age people who used to hunt for rhinoceros in this area 125,000 years ago? If you want to find out the answers to these questions, visit the new KRAPINA NEANDERTHAL MUSEUM, in Krapina, in Croatia! On the photo Jakov Radovčić, the leading Croatian paleonthologist, a discoverer of the Neanderthal jewelry.
Stjepan Radic 1871-1928 a great Croatian politician, humanist and martyr
In 2018 we commemorate a tragic death of Stjepan Radić, one of the greatest Croatian politicians and humanists in history (on the photo with his grandchildren), assassinated in 1928 in the Belgrade Parliament. We provide an articl written by Dr. Ante Cuvalo, an information about a new street in the Prague bearing his name (and his wife Marija was a Czech schoolteacher), as well as an article about him written by a Danish writer Karin Michaelis, who used to know his family in person. We conclude the article with a very interesting article of Stjepan Radić about the Russian Branch of the noble Croatian family of Jelačić.
Nenad Bach interview – Glazba je jezik duse
Od svih hrvatskih umjetnika čija su imena postala poznata još početkom Domovinskog rata svakako je najpoznatije ime Nenada Bacha, rođena Zagrepčanina, odrasla i školovana u Rijeci. Bach je nadaleko poznat je po svojoj pjesmi Can We Go Higher? , koja se izvodila širom svijeta i upoznala tada taj svijet s ratom u Hrvatskoj i Bosni i Hercegovini. Nenad Bach surađivao je s brojnim umjetnicima kao što su Luciano Pavarotti, Bono iz U2, Brian Eno, Garth Hudson & Rick Danko (The Band), Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead), John Malkovich, Ellen Burstyn, Martin Sheen, Michael York, i brojni drugi. Prenosimo intervju koji je s njima za Vijenac obavila Gloria Fabijanić Jelović.
Zvonimir Mihanovic distinguished Croatian hyper-realistic painter living in the city of Split
After completing his elementary and high school education in Split, Croatia Mihanovic went to Paris in 1971 to study at the L’Ecole des beaux-arts. Major galleries in the United States promote his art and organizing exhibitions, including galleries in New York, Chicago, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, and Aspen. He is represented by Mihanovic International of Aspen, Colorado, USA. Mihanovic’s distinctive style of painting, recognized by art critics as a particular expression of contemporary hyper-realism, places him among the most sought after and in-demand artists in the world today. As a colorist, he is creative and unsurpassed, capturing not only detail but exact and precise colors.
Danica Kragic professor of robotics at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden
Danica Kragic is a Professor at the School of Computer Science and Communication at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH. She received MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Rijeka, Croatia in 1995 and PhD in Computer Science from KTH in 2001. She has been a visiting researcher at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Brown University and INRIA Rennes. She is the Director of the Centre for Autonomous Systems and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and founding member of the Young Academy of Sweden.
Kristian Krekovic's portraits exhibited in Sweden upon the initiative of Ljerka Galic
Kristian Kreković (1901-1985), distinguished Croatian painter, spent the years 1948-1952 in Sweden, where he made several portraits of members of the Schmitz family in Malmo. It is known that during that period Kreković made a portrait of the Swedish King Gustav Vth. He also portrayed Mahatma Gandhi in his atelier in Paris in 1931, who often visited him. Upon the intiative of Mrs. Ljerka Galic of the Croatian Foundation Heritage, an exhibition of Kreković’s works of art has been organized in Malmo in October 2017.
Miro Gavran to be awarded with "Gold Merit Badge of the Republic of Austria" by president Van der Bellen
Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria made a decision to award Miro Gavran with “Gold Merit Badge of the Republic of Austria”. It will be awarded on March 20th 2018. He received international “Dr. Alois Mock Europa-Preis” award for affirmation of European values in his literary works in December in Vienna. Prominent publisher from Vienna – “Seifert Verlag” published four of his novels in hardcover. Gavran has had nine theatre premieres in German in Austria and Germany so far and there is one more premiere coming up in Vienna in Septermber 2018.