The Third Greencajt Opened – The Largest Regional Sustainability Festival

The third edition of the largest green festival in the region has begun, taking place at the old light bulb factory (TEŽ) in Rougemarin Park, Zagreb. The Greencajt festival hosted over 80 domestic and foreign speakers from as many as 10 countries. They arrived in Zagreb to discuss sustainable solutions and concrete examples of how to create an environment for a sustainable future.

‘Issues related to sustainability are not reserved for specific social groups, but concern each and every one of us.‘, said Festival Director Vinko Filipić, emphasizing that this year’s Greencajt focuses on the theme of sustainable tourism. ‘We want to send a message that today’s climate challenges are ours, and that the time for action without catastrophic consequences is running out, which is why we must be part of the solution, not the problem.’, concluded Filipić. ‘Sustainability also means democracy, social equality, and security policy. A fair green transition is a priority for the European Union. So let’s start here and initiate a green transition towards success.’, said Member of the European Parliament Terry Reintke at the opening of Greencajt, concluding that to achieve sustainability goals, we need to work together from local to global levels.

Before the first panel on the topic “Sustainable Tourism: Are We Polishing Our Image or Are We Serious?”, the Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac addressed the attendees, highlighting that this government has been thinking about how to change the paradigm of Croatian tourism since the very beginning of its mandate. ‘The Government of the Republic of Croatia has secured almost 1.3 billion euros for the tourism sector from European and budgetary funds to achieve sustainability goals and strengthen the competitiveness of Croatian tourism by 2030. I especially want to emphasize that we have enabled green and digital transitions through the NPOO for private projects and that by 2025 we will have tourist infrastructure built or reconstructed according to the highest European standards.’, said Minister Brnjac, announcing that for the first time at the beginning of next year, a Tourism Act will be adopted that will allow for the management of tourism development based on data tailored to each destination, the resources available, and the needs of the local community.

Namely, revenue from tourism in Croatia’s GDP is convincingly the largest in the European Union and is one of the key economic sectors in our country. At the same time, mass arrivals of tourists significantly impact the environment, natural resources, and cultural heritage that Croatia has positioned on the world tourism map. ‘We are aware that neither too little nor too much is good, and that the boundary is exactly where the interest in sustainable tourism begins.’, it was concluded at the panel where the Mayor of Split Ivica Puljak, the Director of the Tourist Board of Međimurje County Rudi Gula, a member of the Management Board of Valamar Riviera Ivana Budin Arhanić, and Prof. Božo Skoko from the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb spoke.

A concrete example of how to creatively signal that changes are necessary was presented by representatives of the idyllic town of Salla in Finland. The fact that winters, which used to last seven months, are now getting shorter motivated them to nominate Salla to host the Summer Games in 2032, as they say, skiing will soon be replaced by beach volleyball. They are aware that neither Salla nor Finland can do much alone, but they are pleased that this campaign has raised awareness of the negative impact of climate change and increased social discussions about climate change by an incredible 879 percent.

The Greencajt program will feature a series of interesting topics, panel discussions, and lectures by experts, organizations, companies, institutions, scientists, public figures, and creatives. The festival will feature a lecture by Mark Shayler, a leading British expert on the environment and innovation, Alessia Terzia, an economist at the European Commission, Marc Silva, a BBC News journalist specializing in climate misinformation, and the awarding of the Green Prix and Greenlider awards.

Greencajt also offers excellent evening entertainment provided by regional music stars. Thus, the first day of the festival will conclude with the long-awaited major concert by Gibonni, while on Thursday, the audience in Rougemarin Park will be entertained by Konstrakta & Zemlja Gruva. More about the Greencajt festival can be found on the website www.greencajt.hr and on social media FB, IG.