The Lika Destination cluster participated in the final conference as part of the Swiss-Croatian cooperation program
On April 5, 2022, the Office for Associations organized a final conference on the occasion of the completion of the implementation of projects within the Swiss-Croatian cooperation program.
In her welcoming speech, the Director of the Office for Associations, Mrs. Helena Beus, pointed out that 94 civil society organizations from Croatia, 10 civil society organizations from Switzerland, 77 primary schools, 37 secondary schools, 19 units of local and regional governments and 14 institutions. As many as 25,899 children and young people participated in the implementation of 363 training programs for sustainable development in primary and secondary schools throughout Croatia, and in this way improved their knowledge and skills about sustainable development by applying innovative and interactive approaches and methods in learning. 9 civil society organizations from Croatia and 10 civil society organizations from Switzerland and 3,450 participants took part in the activities of strengthening Croatian-Swiss partnerships for local socio-economic development and exchange of knowledge and experience, and as many as 66 models of good practices from Switzerland were presented and developed. in achieving the goals of sustainable development in the local community, including concepts of social and solidarity economy, digital innovations, models of housing cooperatives and socio-cultural centers, management of protected natural areas, education for global citizenship and solutions related to city traffic and child safety in traffic.
Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in the Republic of Croatia H.E. Emilija Georgiev thanked all organizations and partners for their cooperation and support in the last three years, during which it was shown that changes in society are possible and achievable.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds, Mrs. Spomenka Đurić pointed out that the Swiss financial contribution is aimed at the new members of the European Union and is an expression of Swiss solidarity with Europe in order to reduce economic and social inequalities in the territory of the European Union. She also noted that investment in civil society activities is recognized as one of the priority areas within the next financial perspective, and that talks are ongoing between the Swiss and Croatian sides with the aim of continuing cooperation, and a framework agreement is expected to be signed in the fall, which will enable the implementation of new projects within the Swiss-Croatian cooperation program.
As part of the conference, two panel discussions were held: the first on the topic "Education for sustainable development - a tool for a more sustainable society?", in which the state secretary of MRREFU, Ms. Spomenka Đurić, prof. Ph.D. Mislav Ante Omazić from the Faculty of Economics, Mrs. Vesna Hrvoj Šic from the Ministry of Science and Education, Mr. Roland Python from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Mrs. Helena Beus, director of the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
In the second panel discussion entitled "Experiences of civil society organizations in the implementation of projects of sustainable development of local communities", representatives of users who implemented projects within the Program participated: Ms. Viktorija Rogić from the Lika Destination Cluster, Ms. Ivana Marin from the Argonaut Association, Ms. Branka Mrzić Jagatić from the association Parents in action - RODA and Mr. Milan Medić from LAG Vallis Colapis.
The conference was attended by 50 participants who were also shown a video promoting the achievements of association projects implemented within the Swiss-Croatian cooperation program, also available on the Youtube channel of the Office for Associations.
Retrieved from: https://udruge.gov.hr/
