On 20 October 2026 in Zagreb, at the invitation of Zdeslav Milas, MSc, Director of the Croatian Heritage Foundation (Hrvatska matica iseljenika), Assoc. Prof. Dejan Tubić, PhD, professor of professional studies, Dean of Virovitica University of Applied Sciences and President of the Council of Universities of Applied Sciences of the Republic of Croatia, and Ivana Vidak Teskera, senior lecturer, Head of the Library Centre, attended the presentation of the monograph Povjestice – Monograph of the University School of Croatian Language and Culture (POVJESTICE – Monografija Sveučilišne škole hrvatskoga jezika i kulture).
Guests were welcomed by Prof. Stjepan Lakušić, PhD, Rector of the University of Zagreb, and Zdeslav Milas, MSc, Director of the Croatian Heritage Foundation. Also taking part in the ceremonial launch were Zrinka Jelaska, PhD, Jasna Novak Milić, PhD, Prof. Lidija Cvikić, PhD, Asst. Prof. Igor Marko Gligorić, PhD, Sergio Fernandes de Lima, and the authors, Marija Bošnjak, PhD, and Lada Kanajet Šimić.
The monograph describes the origins, development and activities of the University School of Croatian Language and Culture. It marks 45 years since the first Croatian Language Summer School in Croatia, launched in 1980 by the Croatian Heritage Foundation together with the University of Kansas; 35 years since the University of Zagreb took over the academic language programme; and 15 years since the launch of the Croatian Internet Course HiT-1 (Hrvatski internetski tečaj HiT-1). This year also marks 75 years of the Croatian Heritage Foundation’s work.
The book covers the institutional framework and partnership between the Croatian Heritage Foundation and the University of Zagreb, the development of the teaching of Croatian as a foreign language, and the programme’s influence on other activities of both institutions. It draws on archival material, documentation, professional and scholarly sources, and the testimonies of participants and collaborators, which show authentically and vividly the importance of the programme for their personal and professional growth and development, and also give the wider cultural and social context in which the School took shape.
Attending the presentation also opened up possible topics and areas for future cooperation between Virovitica University of Applied Sciences and the Croatian Heritage Foundation.
Photo source: matis.hr
