Currently, over 200 students of Croat roots, who live abroad, are enrolled in Croatian universities, and their number has increased after the introduction of a special enrollment quota for students from Croatian minority communities and the Croatian diaspora in 2018, with the support of the University of Zagreb and the Ministry of Science and Education, Milas said at the opening of the 29th Forum of Croatian Minorities in Zagreb.
This year's forum theme is "The Role and Significance of Croatian Minorities in Promoting Croatia - Challenges in Implementing Branding Programmes for Minority Communities". The forum addresses various aspects of the life of Croatian minority communities in Austria, Bulgaria, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Italy, Kosovo, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Serbia.
The goal is to highlight the role of ethnic Croats in promoting Croatia and discuss the importance of Croatian minorities in presenting the country's rich heritage, tourism industry, cultural routes, and heritage destinations in the countries where they live. There will also be discussions on the positive practices of Croatia's promotion in minority communities, as well as the future and challenges of branding Croatia.
The Sabor Speaker's envoy, MP Zdravka Bušić, spoke about Slovenians being recognised as an ethnic minority in Croatia while ethnic Croats do not enjoy such status in Slovenia, despite there being 55,000 of them. She also mentioned the huge difference in how much Croatia does for the Serb minority, compared to what Serbia does for the Croat minority.
The director of the Croatian Heritage Foundation (MHI) , Mijo Marić, emphasised the importance of holding the forum, saying it provides an opportunity to reflect on how to improve the status of Croats in twelve European countries.