VIEWPOINT FROM LONDON

THE CROATS OF LONDON

by Brian Gallagher

The Croatian Herald, Australia No. 963 - 18 April 2003

 

There have been Croats in the UK for many decades - the dissident newspaper Nova Hrvatska was published here - but no substantial community. Over the last few years that has changed; there are now 2 - 3 thousand Croats here. A new community is now forming, largely in London, and its most important element is the Croatian Students and Young Professionals Network (CSYPN). The president is Marko Krznaric, whose hard work has made him de facto leader of the Croatian community; he is a real asset to Croatia in Britain. Your humble correspondent is the Vice President. So let me tell you something about us.

CSYPN members are in the UK either to work or study, and a number have permanently settled. Many are involved in finance, IT and the media. The membership have roots from all over Croatia, BiH and elsewhere so it is quite possible that we in London have the most diverse Croat community anywhere. There are even one or two Anglo-Croats.

There are also British members, friends of Croatia. There are a number of Australian Croats here. Indeed, one, Andrija Zuvela, is a CSYPN committee member.

CSYPN organises many social events, dinners, dances and simple nights out in the pub. The Croatian National Day celebration last year was the most important UK Croat social event of 2002. In the last couple of weeks we organised a major event, the 'Croatian Big Night Out' which attracted a hundred people.

We organised a highly successful lecture series on the Croatian language. Furthermore, we asked Marcus Tanner to give a talk to coincide with the second edition of his book on Croatia. The talk and subsequent questions was hosted by Adrian Chiles, a BBC TV business correspondent with Croat roots.

CSYPN goes to Croatian events in London such as the Croatian National Ballet in the Royal Opera House and more recently the New Life theatre of visually impaired actors from Zagreb.

A major plank of our activities are in sports; such as our basketball team. Marko recently organised a successful squash tournament. A CSYPN group went to support Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon, and CSYPN members appeared for both Hajduk and Dinamo's games against Fulham. The aforementioned Andrija Zuvela was interviewed for the Fulham/Hajduk programme and Adrian Chiles stepped in for the Dinamo programme.

As can be seen, we do a lot; without us the Croat community in London would wither. And given we are based in London, our potential importance and that of the whole Croat community here should not be underestimated.

As I say, we have Australian Croats here; so Croats in Australia - or NZ, or indeed elsewhere! - coming over to work or study should join us. Full details on our website at www.csypn.org.uk

 

© Brian Gallagher

My 'Viewpoint from London' column appears fortnightly in the Australian 'Croatian Herald'.