Participation in subsidiary organs

Other intergovernmental organs

Intergovernmental Committee on World Heritage
Member (Term expires : 39th General Conference)
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
Member
Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Member (Term expires : 2021)

Addresses delivered in the general policy debate by the Head of Delegation at the General Conference

37 session of the General Conference

S. E. Mme Andrea Zlatar Violiæ, Ministre de la culture de la Croatie

Speech delivered during the General Policy Debate of the 37th session of the General Conference - revised and corrected version of the verbatim records of plenary meetings

36 session of the General Conference

H.E. Mr Jasen Mesic, Minister of Culture

Speech delivered during the General Policy Debate of the 36th session of the General Conference and posted as received

35 session of the General Conference

H.E. Mr Božo Biškupić, Minister of Culture

“I (…) avail myself of this opportunity to thanks Mr Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura (…). Croatia will continue to give our full support to the reforms that will focus on the identification of the Organization’s clear priorities and subsequently attain and appraise the results and enhance UNESCO’s visibility. We are convinced that the new Director-General Madame Irina Bokova to be elected in this General Conference will provide leadership and continue to guide UNESCO’s Member States in achieving our common goals.”
“We express our full support to the normative activities of the Organization and we continue to implement the regulations of these legal instruments (…)”.
“Allow me (…) to thank UNESCO and all the members of the Inter-governmental Committee for Intangible Heritage for recognizing the efforts and endeavours of the Republic of Croatia in the field of intangible heritage and inscribing seven Croatian phenomena on the prestigious List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity these days in Abu Dhabi.”
“As a Member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression Croatia will continue its support to the establishment of policies that will favour cultural diversity in all the Member States as well as enable the greater visibility of the Convention.”
“Cultural Heritage has a special place and role in Croatia’s overall development strategy, particularly its economic development. (...) We are therefore very carefully working on the alignment of the Representative List and possible trans-border nominations that we would like to establish in the field of intangible heritage, too.”
“The International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, proclaimed as a UNESCO Category II Centre fosters general efforts to enhance in the cultural dialogue in the Mediterranean and beyond.”
“In the field of Natural Sciences, Croatia’s priorities are in accord with UNESCO’s activities in regard to sustainable development, particularly concerning the environment, testimony of which is our bilateral cooperation with Hungary regarding the proclamation of a joint biosphere reserve.”
“Within the Educational Sector Development Plan 2005-2010, the Government of the Republic of Croatia follows intensively UNESCO’s goals of Education for All. In order to ensure equal opportunities for all pupils and students throughout Croatia, the educational standard was adopted in 2008 that guarantees equal working conditions in all educational institutes across the country. (…) Different affirmative measures introduced by the Croatian Government, and especially measures ensuring equal access to quality education for vulnerable groups (…) show that Croatia sees education as an enabling right for full integration of its citizens to the society (…).”
“The role and support of UNESCO’s Venice office in our joint endeavours has been of utmost importance. Croatia will continue to cooperate in the development of capacities and initiation of projects in the region and beyond. We are pleased that the response to our seminars on intangible and underwater heritage has been impressive and that we were given the opportunity to host prominent experts and guests from all parts of the world and thus jointly contribute to the realization of UNESCO’s goals.”

34 session of the General Conference

H.E. Mr Bozo Biskupic, Minister of Culture

The Republic of Croatia congratulates Montenegro for becoming a new member and Singapore for rejoining UNESCO.
Croatia expresses its strong support to the continuance of the initiated reforms and to the clear defining of the Organization’s priorities, especially within the United Nations.
Croatia also supports the Organisation’s normative work and is happy to confirm that the country has ratified the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the Convention against Doping in Sport. Croatia actively participates in the drafting and elaboration of normative texts and plans to continue so in the future.
Croatia announces the candidatures of Stari Grad Plain and Lonjsko Polje (mixed site, which is in the last phase of preparation) for the World Heritage List.
The country has also signed the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. The Croatian Government is glad to announce the creation of the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar.
Croatia has carried out a set of reforms in the education sector, followed by a budgetary increase for this area. The priority goals of the Bologna process have been implemented and a special focus is given to teachers’ training, quality education and social cohesion through education.
Croatia supports UNESCO’s efforts in promoting Human Rights education. The Associated Schools network in Croatia with the National Committee for Human Rights Education has actively participated in the development of intercultural education, multilingualism and education for sustainable development.
Croatia strives in promoting the transformation of the country into a society of knowledge. A national programme of scholarships for young women scientists has been continued with the help of UNESCO and L’Oreal.
Croatia has a special responsibility towards water in the Adriatic Sea and takes part in the work of the International Hydrological Programme. The country is also reactivating its participation in the Man and Biosphere Programme.
“Croatia has been actively cooperating with all the countries in the region, and we give our full support to the UNESCO’s Venice Office in its efforts to stimulate the cooperation in the South-East Europe.”

Celebration of anniversaries

400th anniversary of the death of Faust Vrančić, polymath, linguist, inventor, bishop (1551-1617) (with the support of Hungary, Montenegro and Slovakia) (2017)

Faust Vrančić was a remarkable person who lived during the Renaissance. His masterpiece, Machinae novae, features technical drawings of some ingenious inventions of Leonardo Da Vinci. While he himself was not the author of the inventions, his work contributed to the execution of the devices. While he would not normally be considered a scientist, even by the standards of the time, his work could be compared today to that of an industrial designer or engineer. His ideas targeted practical solutions in the construction of buildings and objects, which appears to be the case in his well-known drawing of a suspension bridge and the parachute in the drawing Homo Volans. His most relevant work was his five languages dictionary, which happened to be the world's first Croatian Dictionary.

200th anniversary of the birth of Josip Juraj Strossmayer, statesman and humanist (1815-1905) (Croatia, with the support of Montenegro and Serbia) (2015)

Josip Juraj Strossmayer contributed actively to the advancement of education, science, literature and the arts at the national and sub-regional levels. He was instrumental in the founding of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1867 as well as the re-establishment of the University of Zagreb in 1874. He initiated the building of the Academy Palace (completed in 1880) and set up The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters (1884) in Zagreb. He aided the creation of the printing house in Cetinje. Strossmayer continuously used the money obtained from his diocese to fund the building of schools, galleries and public libraries.

400th anniversary of the publishing of the book “Machinae novae” (New Machines) by the inventor Faust Vrančić (1615) (2015)

Machinae Novae, of Faust Vrančić, had been devised as a handbook; Vrančić described 56 different contraptions and technical solutions, methodologically arranging them so as to show the development from familiar devices and projects to his own new inventions. The ingenuity of the author mind is evident in the images of projects that only could have been carried out a century later following new physical and technical discoveries.

100th anniversary of the death of Antun Gustav Matoš, poet and writer (1873-1914) (2014)

One of the most important Croatian writers of the nineteenth century, Antun Gustav Matoš significantly modernized the prose, poetry and literary criticism of his country. His texts are peopled by local characters but their psychological and philosophical dimension gives them a universal dimension.

200th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Mažuranić, poet (1814-1890) (2014)

Mažuranić is one of the most important literary figures of Croatia. He developed the first modern Croatian dictionary and his reputation as a poet was well established in the region. He established the first South Slav University in Zagreb in 1874. He played a very active role in the administrative and cultural development of Croatia. In view of his contribution to the study and development of the Croatian language, and to the modernization of the education system, UNESCO could be associated with this anniversary.

150th anniversary of the birth of Milka Trnina, opera singer (1863-1941) (2013)

Milka Trnina or Ternina (1863-1941) was the greatest Croatian opera artist and one of the most important tragic actresses to have performed Wagner: her performances in Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, and Parsifal are internationally renowned.
Having lost her father at the age of six, she went to live with her uncle – a writer and government adviser – in Zagreb, where she studied singing. She continued her singing studies at the Conservatory of Vienna, where she obtained a diploma and gold medal.
In 1890, she was engaged by the Royal Opera of Munich, where she remained until 1899. There she gave remarkable performances of the works of Richard Wagner, who subsequently invited her to Bayreuth. She sang at all the major venues of that period, both in Europe and America.

450th anniversary of the death of Andrija Medulić/Andrea Meldolla Schiavone, painter (c. 1510-1563) (Croatia, with the support of Italy) (2013)

Andrea Meldolla, also known as Andrea Schiavone, Lo Schiavone or Andrija Medulić, was an Italian painter and etcher born in Zara. He was a Mannerist of the world-renowned Venetian school, and produced remarkable works involving the use of bold colours.

300th anniversary of the birth of Ruder Josip Boškovic, physicist, astronomer, mathematician (1711- 1787) (2011)

Rudjer Joseph Bošković was a Jesuit, physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat and poet. He is famous for his atomic theory, given as a clear, precisely formulated system utilizing principles of Newtonian mechanics. This work inspired Michael Faraday to develop field theory for electromagnetic interaction. Bošković also made many important contributions to astronomy, including the first geometric procedure for determining the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature and for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position.

100th anniversary of the discovery of the Mohorovicic Discontinuity by Andrija Mohorovicic (1910) (2010)

Andrija Mohorovičić was a notable meteorologist and seismologist. In 1909 an earthquake struck the Kupa Valley with an epicentre about 40 kilometres south-east of Zagreb. Mohorovičić carefully measured the seismic waves created by the earthquake at the Zagreb observatory. By analysing data received from more observation posts, Mohorovičić concluded that the Earth consists of surface layers above an internal core. He was the first scientist to establish, based on the evidence of seismic wave behaviour, the discontinuity that separates the crust of the planet Earth from the mantle.

450th anniversary of the birth of Marko Antun de Dominis, philosopher and scientist (1560-1624) (2010)

Dominis was a member of the colleges of Venice. A trace of that time can be found in his celebrated works of physics: De radiis visus et lucis in vitris perspectivis et iride. This work is in fact a compilation of his lectures in physics in 1591 and 1592, thus 20 years before Galileo’s demonstration of the telescope. The book was published in Venice in 1611. Here Dominis explained the origin of the rainbow, the work of telescopes, the basic functioning of the eye and so on. In a second work: Euripus seu de fluxu et refluxu maris, he interpreted the ebb and flow of the tide as a result of the work of the sun and moon upon the earth with a force similar to magnetism. This was confirmed almost a century later by Newton when he explained gravitation.

500th anniversary of the death of Ivan Duknović (Iohannes Dalmata), sculptor and architect (1440-1509) (2009)

Giovanni Dalmata was a famous sculptor who was active in Dalmatia, Italy and Hungary and considered to be one of the leading sculptors in Rome in the second half of the fifteenth century. He was born in the Dalmatian town of Oriovica (today Vinišce in Croatia). His creations can be admired in many places including the World Heritage properties of ''Historic City of Trogir'', Croatia and “Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura”, Italy/Holy See. His relief of the Virgin with a Child is placed today above the Tomb of Pope John Paul II in St. Peters Basilica in Rome.

500th anniversary of the birth of Marin Držić, playwright and lyricist (1508-1567) (2008)

Marin Držić (1508-1567) is considered the finest Croatian, and a significant European Renaissance writer. His works cover many fields: poetry, pastorals, comedies, political letters and pamphlets. Držić`s pastorals and comedies are still highly regarded as masterful examples of the genre, and are among the best in Renaissance European literature, filled with exuberant life and vitality, celebrating love, liberty and sincerity and mocking avarice, egoism and petty tyrants – both in family and in state. He was trained and ordained as a priest in spite of his rebel temperament and he was extroverted and had a warm personality. He had different careers as Rector of the University of Siena in Tuscany, interpreter, scrivener and church musician.

150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla, scientist (1856-1943) (2006)

Physicist and electrical engineer, Nikola Tesla is the inventor of the alternating current induction generator, a device that transforms mechanical energy into alternating current electricity, and the Tesla coil, a transformer that changes the frequency of alternating current. He is also well known for his contribution to high frequency technology and wireless communications. The impact of Tesla’s numerous inventions (more than 700 patents) on the development of modern civilization is inestimable. The unit for magnetic induction (Tesla) was named after him (Conférence générale des poids et mesures, Paris, 1960).

150th anniversary of the birth of Dragutin Gorjanovic Kramberger, geologist and paleoanthropologist (1856-1936) (2006)

Dragutin Gorjanovic Kramberger has contributed to the development of geology, paleontology and paleontropology in Europe and worldwide. He has also contributed to the investigation of the richest collection of Neanderthal man remains in Krapina. He was the first in the world to use X-ray for analysing fossil bone structure. He is the author of monumental monography of Krapina Neanderthals („Der Diluviale Mensch von Krapina in Kroatien“) published in 1906.

100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Prelog, chemist (1906-1998) (2006)

Vladimir Prelog was a renowned scientist who contributed to the development of chemistry, particularly of organic chemistry. He was a winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1975, “for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions” (shared with John Warcup Cornforth).