INSTITUTE BURJA EXPLORING EUROPE UNDER ERASMUS+

By implementing learning mobility of staff within the framework of the accredited Erasmus program in 2022-2027, we are improving approaches to the informal education of members of ethnic minorities in Slovenia.

As part of staff mobility, members of the Burja Institute visited the municipality of Đurđevac between June 8, 2023, and June 10, 2023, where we were welcomed by Mayor Hrvoje Janči, Silvija Lukačin, head of the administrative department for development projects, and Martin Mahović, head of the economy department, finance and development projects. Although Thursday was a non-working day in Croatia, the hosts accommodated us without any problems finding a suitable time for the visit and included Saturday for that purpose because otherwise, our stay could have had to wait for some other time.

That is a rarity even in the non-governmental sector, even less we would expect something like this from a representatives of the public administration sector. But this kind of approach and mentality fueled the last development of the town. The team, full of enthusiasm, guides it through all the successes.

Đurđevac is located in north-eastern Croatia. From an administrative point of view, it belongs to the Koprivnica-Križevci County. Đurđevac is the centre of that district along the Drava river – Podravina. State and local government institutions, high schools, health institutes, commercial buildings, over a hundred different companies, a local gallery, a cinema and various sports grounds are located there. Đurđevac is a town full of lovely churches, good food and even better wine. The landscape is suitable for one-day trips to the geographical and botanical reserve Đurđevački pijesci, which is also called the Croatian Sahara, to the natural reservoat Križnica, where gold is washed, to the Mura Drava regional park, which is under the protection of UNESCO, and much more. The municipality itself is medium-sized and has around 7,500 inhabitants.

The place’s most interesting cultural and touristic event is the local Picokijada, which dramaturgically recreates a mythological story from the time of the Turkish campaigns in that region. Every summer, on the last weekend of June, thousands of visitors flock to the town to relive how the residents defended themselves against the Turkish attack by shooting a rooster at the invaders from a cannon. Rooster is also a trademark of the town.

We had a lot of working meetings with the hosts, during which we got to know a wide range of examples of good practices. We also exchanged examples of different good practices and different work methodologies. During the visit, we also attended a round table in the local library to get to know local organisations more quickly, which the hosts organised for this purpose. We actively presented examples of good practices and opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ program to interested stakeholders.

Among other things, we were able to see the newly built facility of the society for people with special needs, the Little Prince. We visited the local gallery in the Old Town and the multimedia centre Đurđevački pijesci. We were also introduced to many projects carried out in the local community in co-financing with various programs of the European Union. The locals told us that the municipality of Đurđevac has recently concluded many infrastructure projects, which are of vital importance for the further development of the town, and recently they have been investing more and more energy in the contents. That’s why they want as many local community organisations as possible to connect internationally and take advantage of every opportunity to create connections for collaborative projects in this area.

For this purpose, we also visited the local society of Gurads of cultural heritage. The society leader showed us the house they had designed as a museum, where we could also find old tools for making yarn and fabrics. She also demonstrated the techniques of knitting from linen, cotton, etc.

Thus, the representatives of the municipality of Đurđevac and the representatives of the Burja Institute have expressed desire to improve our future relations. We have shown great interest on both sides in working with various organisations of the municipality of Đurđevac in the future on long-term projects within the framework of different European programs. Once again, we thank the host for the very organised visit and look forward to our future cooperation.