The Second National Forum ‘Demography – A Condition for Croatia’s Future’ was ceremoniously opened on Saturday in the Preporod Hall of HAZU, organized by the National Forum Association.
This event brought together eight experts from various fields, who will analyze the current demographic situation through aspects of population policy, immigration, and emigration of the population from the Republic of Croatia, and offer possible solutions to prevailing problems.
The forum began with an introductory letter from Academician Zvonko Kusić, President of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, followed by a speech from the President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipović, who expressed his support for this initiative and congratulated the organizers on choosing the topic of demography, which is of strategic importance for the country.
– We have two major tasks ahead of us, which are working on pro-natalist policy and designing a policy that will attract foreign citizens. The time of narrow-mindedness is over; Croatia has enough strength and capacity to accept young intellectuals who will undoubtedly contribute to the development of Croatia’s pro-natalist policy – said Josipović at the end of his speech.
The forum covered four thematic blocks: The Demographic Picture of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatian Emigration as a Demographic Reservoir, Croatia as a Land of (Un)Knowledge and (Im)Possibilities, and Croatia as the Florida of Europe.
The key role of women in demographic trends was emphasized by Prof. Dr. Smiljana Leinert-Novosel.
- In Croatia, there have been two opposing concepts regarding the social position of women for the last twenty years. The first is traditional, which sees women primarily in the role of family or possibly involved in the workforce in less important positions, while the second, modern, aligns with the choice of one’s own life path while respecting the values of equality and ensuring equal opportunities for both genders – emphasized Leinert-Novosel.
The President of the National Forum, Nikica Gabrić, assessed that Croatia’s social, economic, and development platform is sustainable with seven million inhabitants, a number that, in his opinion, is not unattainable. Croatia will not reach this number unless it takes concrete steps in the form of establishing a National Council and a Fund to determine the strategy of national population policy. All social forces – government, science, the church, civic initiatives, and youth and student associations – should gather to develop the strategy, said Gabrić.
Special emphasis at the meeting was also placed on Croatian emigration and the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a kind of ‘demographic reservoir’, and the Bishop of Banja Luka and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Franjo Komarica, warned of the fact that the exodus of Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina has negatively affected the demographic picture of the Croatian people in these areas. Bishop Komarica particularly warned that Bosnian Croats, who are one of the constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are at risk of becoming a national minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Reflecting on the long-term demographic processes in Croatia, which are a challenge for the 21st century, Academician Alica Wertheimer, who has been warning for many years about alarming indicators of demographic trends, stated that a new wave of economic emigration is expected by 2050 due to rising unemployment. Therefore, she emphasizes, an urgent, stable, and explicit population policy is needed, which should be treated as part of development policy. The decline in living standards is the main reason for the decreasing number of children in families in transitional countries and the developed world, it was stated at the meeting.
The consequences of the economic crisis on the demographic picture of Croatia will be visible after some time, and that is precisely why it is necessary to act proactively and offer concrete measures and solutions to curb negative changes in Croatia’s demographic structure, experts warned. The issue of demography is crucial for the further development of Croatia, and a quality pro-natalist policy is necessary, because if negative trends continue in the coming decades, Croatian society will increasingly age and lose its working-age population, which will have direct consequences on economic development, it was concluded.
Participants in the meeting agreed that a consensus of all social structures in Croatia is needed to stop negative demographic trends, and that Croatian population policy is no longer just a demographic issue but a strategic issue of national importance.
