President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said she wanted to renew optimism and intensify dialogue with returnees and with relevant Croatian institutions which can help by removing obstacles to their return, one of them being the linguistic barrier.
"Each emigrant who returns to the homeland is a great bonus for Croatia as an increasing number of young people have been emigrating in recent years. Each and every returnee deserves all the possible assistance from relevant institutions, primarily from the local community, so that they can integrate into the economic and social life of Croatia as soon as possible," the president said.
Grabar-Kitarovic cited the slow, rigid and inflexible bureaucracy as the biggest obstacle, emphasising the importance of educational reform, assistance in overcoming the linguistic barrier, facilitating student exchanges, establishing a Centre for Croatian Studies in South America, launching online platforms for entrepreneur returnees, improving the business environment and simplifying the citizenship acquisition procedure.
Children of Croatian emigrants spoke of their experiences after returning to the homeland of their ancestors. They said their experiences were mostly positive, although the adaptation had not been easy, the biggest problem being their insufficient knowledge of the language.