The 9th Book Night is being held online for the first time today and it includes about 200 programmes. They also published an annual research of readership in Croatia.

Readership in Croatia has increased by seven percent over the past year from 42 percent to 49 percent last year, according to the results of a Book Reading and Purchase Study conducted by the Kvaka – Agency for Creative Analysis in March this year on a representative sample of thousand respondents. 

Thanks to the enthusiasm of organizations and individuals whose ultimate goal is to increase readership and purchase of books, there is a visible shift in their efforts. These 49 percent of readers refer to the percentage of people in the Republic of Croatia aged 16 and over who have read at least one book in the past year, with the exception of compulsory literature in schools - Tamara Kraus from the Kvaka Agency explains.

The greatest number of readers are those who read two books in a year. Women are more likely to read books, 55 percent of them, also people aged 26 to 35, 60 percent of them, and high-educated people, 78 percent.

Read books are mostly borrowed from libraries (44 percent) or purchased (38 percent), and are mostly purchased by younger people between the ages of 26 and 35 and those with higher household incomes. When it comes to the type of books read, there is no major change from last year - still the most read is fiction (65 percent), followed by journalism and professional / scientific books (27 percent each) and manuals (22 percent). Fiction is more frequently read by women (78 percent) and the elderly from 56 to 65 (75 percent), while publicity is preferred by people aged 46 to 65 (36 percent) and highly educated (35 percent).

There is a definite trend of stagnation when it comes to buying books in Croatia: 23 percent of Croatian citizens have purchased at least one book in the last three months, which equals the results of the past four years (24 percent in 2019 and 25 percent in 2018 and 2017) ). Those who buy books usually buy one book in three months. More often than not, books are bought by people aged 26 to 35 (36 percent), highly educated (46 percent), while the percentage of those who buy books increases with the increase in household income. Books are still most commonly bought in bookstores (47 percent), followed by kiosks (18 percent) and online shopping (15 percent), and the analysis of places of purchase from 2013 to the present shows a trend of increasing online book purchases (4 percent in 2013) and the downward trend in kiosk book purchases (29 percent in 2013).

Fiction is most often bought, far more than other book categories (45 percent) and so on for years. A category of books, consisting of professional books, journalism, children's books, manuals, is purchased by 20 to 30 percent of citizens, while the third category - comic books and books by art, is purchased by less than 10 percent of Croatian citizens. The trend of buying books on discount continues, although in the last three years it has stabilized, so just over half of citizens (54 percent) buy books with a discount and the rest at full price.

DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS HAVE DIFFERENT REASONS FOR NOT BUYING BOOKS

The percentage of those who do not buy books due to lack of interest (43 percent) has fallen from previous measurements, and earlier always over half of the respondents), but still represents the most important reason why books are not purchased. About 20 percent of Croatian citizens do not buy books for financial reasons or because they borrow books at libraries.

There are differences in the reasons for not buying books in different demographic groups, so men and young people up to 35 years more often do not buy books because they are not interested, while older people (over 56) do not buy books anymore from financial reasons. Women also, more than men, do not buy books for financial reasons, while for the youngest (16 to 25 years old), library borrowing is a more common reason not to buy books than other age groups.

Although it was announced a few years ago that the e-book would replace the printed book, the share of those who read, and especially buy, e-books is stagnant and is only 2 percent. Nine percent of Croatian citizens read e-books. When in comes to Internet, for the 55 percent of the population of the Republic of Croatia daily newspapers continue to be the most sought after content on the Internet, followed by various portals and blogs with author, critical and other content – 27 percent, and blogs or groups / profiles, etc. dedicated to the book - 17 percent. It is important to note that as many as a third of the Croatian population does not even read content on the internet from time to time.

The Croatian National Tourist Board has become involved in a campaign launched by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the aim of promoting gastronomy as an important part of tourism and the overall tourist offer. This gastronomic project is part of a major #TravelTomorrow campaign that seeks to highlight the fundamental and enduring value of tourism, including the culinary heritage of UNWTO member countries.

As part of the project, each country will highlight its most famous national dish, which will be promoted through UNWTO's official website through video material, photos and original recipes. The richness and diversity of Croatian gastronomy will be presented through strukle, a traditional specialty of Zagorje.

-At this point, it is extremely important to maintain visibility and presence in our broadcast markets, and we do this through daily enhanced activities under the unified label of the #CroatiaLongDistanceLove campaign. Global actions, such as the latest UNWTO gastronomic campaign, are an additional way to directly promote Croatia in millions of homes around the world through a favorite traditional dish whose preparation skills are entered in the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia - said Croatian Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic.

In the video with which Croatia participates in the campaign, the process of making Zagorje strukli or struklji is presented, whose popularity has spread from the Zagorje region to other parts of Croatia, and today they are one of the trademarks of our gastronomy. At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has hit the tourism sector, the UNWTO aims to show that culinary heritage gives people a strong sense of belonging and brings a touch of local flavors to their homes to keep the dream of future travel alive.

Croatia takes part at WTTC and ETC promotional campaigns

Also, Croatian National Tourist Board will join the promotional campaign #TogetherInTravel by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), a global tourism authority representing the private sector and destinations in all parts of the world. The goal of this campaign is to highlight the importance of tourism worldwide by encouraging interaction by sharing promotional material in the form of videos and photos with the common tag #TogetherInTravel.

-With our participation in this project, we are promoting Croatia and supporting the entire world tourism industry - said Director Stanicic, adding that Croatian Tourist Board, in addition to several European tourism organizations, will also participate in major promotional project to be carried out by the European Travel Commission (ETC), through the promotion of several types of tourism products such as nature and outdoors, as well as creative cities, history and cultural heritage.

Huanita, a loggerhead sea turtle died yesterday in Pula. She is estimated to be about 25 years old, weighed 40 kilos and had a 68-centimeter armor.

Huanita arrived at the Sea Turtle Recovery Center in Pula Aquarium on March 13th this year and was found on Lastovo Island.

Before being transported to Pula, she stayed at a contract veterinary station in Split. Her condition at the arrival to Pula center was very critical – they explain at their facebook page, sincce Huanita was subdued and with minor injuries caused by accidental impact of the vessel. The fouling on the armor indicated that she had been floating on the surface for quite some time.

Upon arrival to the Center, they gradually raised the water temperature in the pool where Huanita resided, receiving daily infusions and antibiotics, but still refused food. Therefore, X-rays were performed, on which no foreign objects (hooks, etc.) were seen.

After about ten days of arriving to the Center, Huanita began to respond better, eating a little on her own, but yesterday- without any indication that her condition is getting worse - she has died.

An examination of the body revealed that the two plastic bottle caps she had swallowed had caused her death and had damaged her intestines to such an extent that she could no longer digest food. Unfortunately, it was not possible to detect such intestinal injuries (constriction, stenosis) on the X-ray, as well as the presence of plastic – they explained at the Aquarium Facebook page.

Another direct flight from Shanghai with 58 tons of medical equipment has landed at the Franjo Tudjman Airport in Zagreb yesterday, which is a continuation of the delivery of protective equipment and supplies to the Croatian health system in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.

This is mostly equipment that Croatia has acquired from the state-owned companies MEHECO and Sinopharm. A donation from the Deltron company from Split and their Chinese partners, Gree Electric Appliances Inc., for the Clinical Hospital Center Split and the Split-Dalmatia County Health Center, was also delivered.

With the coordination of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Beijing, the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts and the Ministry of Health will continue to get protective equipment with similar flights in the following days and weeks.

Every year on April 22nd, for 50 years now, numerous activities and actions around the world aim to encourage people to reflect on the importance of the environment and nature and by doing that – Earth Day is celebrated. 

The idea of marking Earth Day was first introduced in 1969, but it has been officially celebrated since 1992 when a far-reaching program to promote sustainable development was coordinated at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. In 2009, the UN General Assembly proclaimed April 22nt as the International Planet Earth Day, which was first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970, at US universities. This day has been celebrated in the Republic of Croatia since 1990.

The theme of Earth Day this year is climate change. The topic is extremely trending all over the world, especially in Europe, since the European Commission presented at the end of last year the European Green Deal, which reaffirms its commitment to meeting the challenges in the area of climate and environment.

The ambitious goals, measures and initiatives set out in the European Green Plan should meet the sustainable development goals, ensure a green and equitable transition and make Europe a climate-neutral continent by 2050. It is a new growth strategy that seeks to transform the European Union into a prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy in which there will be no net greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 and where economic growth is not linked to prudent use of resources. In addition, it seeks to protect, conserve and improve the state of biodiversity, the natural capital of the European Union, and to protect the health and well-being of citizens from environmental risks and environmental impacts.

CROATIA FULLFILLED ALL OBLIGATIONS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 

In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the joint action of all economic sectors, as well as the inclusion of all available resources, is necessary. In this context, the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union also began – Croatian Ministry of Environment and Energy writes.

As they explain, Croatia is involved in achieving the goal of preventing climate change globally by implementing the obligations of international deals - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC Convention), the Kyoto Protocol and its Doha Amendment. Croatia has also signed and ratified a new global agreement on climate change, adopted at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in December 2015, the so-called The Paris Agreement. So far, according to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Croatia has fulfilled all obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the Republic of Croatia adopted its first Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the period up to 2040, with a view to 2070, through coordinated action to increase resilience to climate change and reduce the occurrence of damage from extreme weather events. The following is the development of an action plan with priority measures. At the same time, through specialized programs, the Ministry is investing in research and development on climate change adaptation.

Ministry emphasizes that nature, especially through the ecosystem services it provides, can provide over 30 percent of the economical climate change mitigation needed by 2030. Nature-based solutions (NBS) are a key part of global efforts to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement to stabilize warming below 2 Celsius degrees. This includes the conservation and restoration of forests and other terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, sustainable agriculture and food production, which will be a direct contribution to achieving CO2 neutrality, as well as mitigating and adapting to increasingly pronounced climate extremes. In 2019, Croatia joined the Coalition for Nature-Based Solutions within which the NBS manifest was created.

Days like this when most of us are stuck at home are perfect for daydreaming where to travel next. And our recommendation for you is, as you can guess, Croatia! The newest video published by Croatian Tourist Board, promoting long distance love with our country, will make you want to book it as soon as it's possible.

-Just as we are sure you have found ways to virtually connect with your loved ones, while staying at home, we have found a way to bring Croatia to you. At the moment, this will be a long-distance kind of love – the Croatian Tourist Board explained, adding that sometimes due to circumstances beyond your control, you are unable to be with the one you love the most. Sometimes, you have to stay away from the people, places and things that make you the happiest, that leave you with a feeling of contentment and fill your heart with love. Long-distance love is never easy, but true love survives.

-Take a tour of Croatia and dream of a trip to our beautiful country. Choose from our breath-taking beaches or parks, famous food and wine, spectacular culture and history, watch any of the movies and shows that were filmed here, learn about our legends or just take a sail along the magnificent Adriatic. It is up to you to choose where you want to go. Learn more, see more, feel more and explore all Croatia has to offer. We can't wait to see you! – Croatian Tourist Board writes.
And now it's the time to start your long-distance love with Croatia – just click the video below!

CIES (The International Centre for Sports Studies) Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks countries worldwide according to the number of their representatives having played professional football abroad during the calendar year 2019. 

Croatia is in the top ten, or more precisely at nineth place with 446 players who are abroad, of which 71.5 percent is in top division.

Brazil is at the top of the table (1,600 players, of which 74.6 percentactive in top division leagues) ahead of France (1,027, 74.0 percent) and Argentina (972, 75.5 percent).

In total, 186 national associations had at least one player expatriated in the 141 leagues from 93 countries included in the sample. However, altogether, Brazil, France and Argentina provided up to almost one quarter of the total foreign workforce in global football (22.5 percent). Nigeria is the main African exporting nation (399 players abroad), while Japan is the principal Asian one (161).

You can see the full list here. 

Mayor Mato Frankovic held a meeting today with the director of the Sanitat Dubrovnik company Tomislav Tabak and they agreed on opening of the Gruz green market on Monday, April 27th.

Director Tabak informed Mayor Frankovic that Sanitat has provided all the necessary conditions and taken measures to ensure that the trade at the market is conducted safely and without threat to health, in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the Decision on the special mode of operation of markets during the declaration of the COVID-19 disease epidemic .

In order to ensure safe operation and adherence to security measures, the market bill will be fenced during this period and the number of stands will be reduced. The green market will have 10 stands and eight stands available for sale to the fish market. Working hours are set from 8am to 1pm, every day except Sunday.

It is imperative that all buyers and sellers to follow the safety precautions, and this includes the recommended wearing of protective masks and gloves, with mandatory hand disinfection when entering the market. Customers are obliged to comply with the mandatory distance of two meters from other persons. In order to reduce the contact of a large number of people with articles sold, it is noted that only sellers will have a contact with the products.