“MG2.11 in Novska gathered 250 business people and students from Croatia and the diaspora
‘Life is a game – Croatia is your playground”
NOVSKA, 20. listopada 2025. – With a visit to the construction site of the unique Gaming Industry Center and a trip to the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, the two-day international conference MEETING G2.11 concluded this weekend in Novska. As a leading international event that has connected the homeland and Croatian diaspora for over a decade with the goal of strengthening economic cooperation, increasing investments in Croatia, and boosting exports from Croatia, the conference gathered over 250 participants from more than 20 countries around the world in two days, from Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, and Canada, through the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, and Germany, all the way to Australia.
The organizers from the Meeting G2 Association especially highlight the business delegation of about ten Croatian Australians and 45 young people from 15 countries who have been learning the Croatian language for months in Croatia through the “Croaticum” program. Besides nearly all South American countries, guests at MG2.11 also included young people from Japan, New Zealand, and Canada.
This year’s conference was held under the slogan “Život je igra – Hrvatska je tvoje igralište” (“Life is a game – Croatia is your playground”), since the increasingly powerful video game industry, which is becoming a central development point in Novska, was placed at the core of the program. As explained by the president of the Meeting G2 Association, Antun Krešimir Buterin, “gaming” served as the foundation for a program presenting some of the best Croatian companies, startups, and experts in other technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), drones, robotics, space technologies, and IT in agriculture.
From the stage of the PISMO Entrepreneurial Incubator in Novska, 40 top speakers and panelists from Croatia and the world addressed the audience, including the first deputy mayor of Malmö, Sweden, Roko Kursar; noted Croatian-Swedish scientist Dr. Katarina Gospic, an expert in AI and brain research; and the Croatian ambassador to Sweden and Latvia, Dr. Siniša Grgić. From the other side of the world, from distant Argentina, came the highest-ranked Croat in the Argentine government – Nicolás Bronzovich, director of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology INTA.
The Meeting G2 Association exclusively presented the results of its global survey of the Croatian diaspora at the conference, involving around 500 businesspeople of Croatian descent from all over the world. The survey, conducted by Buterin along with economic analyst Velimir Šonje and sociologist Ivan Burić from the Faculty of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb, revealed that about 46% of respondents are considering returning to Croatia within the next two years, while approximately 9% indicated that their return is completely certain or very likely.
The research highlights a strong connection between improved business climate and increased immigration rates, with Croatia being particularly attractive to emigrants from South America, followed by those in North America, and to a lesser extent, those in Europe and Australia. Safety, low crime rates, social security, interpersonal relations, and care for children and families are especially attractive factors for emigrants in the USA and Canada. Respondents show extraordinarily strong emotional bonds with Croatia, significantly greater than their attachment to the countries they currently live in, which is a factor Croatia should better leverage, especially when paired with economic growth.
Opening the conference, the representative of the President of the Republic of Croatia and deputy advisor for the economy, Martina Ciglević, emphasized that sustainable economic growth must be based on investments in innovation, technology, and digitization, creating new added value and a competitive economy. “From North and South America to Australia, there are significant potentials in knowledge, experience, and capital that we can use for the economic growth of Croatia. Small, open economies like Croatia’s cannot afford to be mere spectators of global trends – our economy must become an active driver of development through exports, business internationalization, and investment in knowledge and excellence,” she concluded.
The representative of the President of the Croatian Parliament, MP and mayor of Petrinja, Magdalena Komes, highlighted that Novska is achieving exceptional success, proving that smaller cities can make great strides too. “Entrepreneurs are the backbone of the economy – the economy lifts or breaks society. Croatia is currently in its greatest upswing and among the fastest-growing economies in the EU, reflected in GDP growth. The Croatian diaspora, our dear entrepreneurs – your help, cooperation, and advice are needed more than ever,” Komes said.
The representative of the Prime Minister of Croatia, Minister of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Marin Piletić, stressed the importance of connecting homeland and diaspora and investing in youth, family, and new technologies. “Croatia has never been closer and more accessible to its diaspora, and the diaspora has never been more involved in Croatia’s daily life,” he said, adding that government politics is focused on improving relations with the diaspora and creating opportunities for young Croats worldwide. “Through scholarships, young people can come to Croatia – to get to know Zagreb, Vukovar, Dubrovnik, and also smaller towns in the interior and on the coast, to see the opportunities being created,” he said.
The minister also highlighted that the state encourages youth return through Croatian Employment Service programs and other measures. “We enable the return of those who are still undecided – whether to stay in Europe or take the wave and return home – because Croatia today achieves significant macroeconomic results: highest wages ever, most jobs ever, and highest support ever for starting your own business,” Piletić said. He added that the negative emigration trend stopped in 2022: “Enough talk about emigration – it is time for Croatia to become a country of immigration,” he said, thanking the Meeting G2 Association for its project that “awakens emotions and connects Croats regardless of the kilometers.”
State Secretary in the Ministry of Demography and Emigration Mladen Barać said that Meeting G2 has become a hub for meeting and building bridges between homeland and diaspora Croats. “More than 300 companies connected so far, hundreds of successful business friendships prove that this conference is not just an event, but also a movement of unity, vision, and trust,” Barać said adding a personal note: “We are the gaming generation – we played computer games, but as a father of five children I see how new technologies affect children’s development. Children and youth need the most the sense of belonging to this space and the belief that they can fully develop their potential in the homeland. Croatia really is a playground – challenging, beautiful, and full of opportunities, but we must build it on shared values: honesty, innovativeness, and unity.”
Mayor of Novska Marija Kušmiš emphasized that Novska is now recognized as the center of the Croatian gaming industry but also as a city “that turns ideas into reality.” In the last decade, this little town in Slavonia has developed into a center of innovation, digital entrepreneurship, and new technologies: “The city’s economy traditionally relied on wood, metal, construction, and textile industries, but a few years ago we bravely turned to new challenges, following the trends of the digital revolution. Back then, gaming development in Novska seemed crazy, but today we proudly say it was courage,” said the mayor. Today, there are 80 startups operating in the PISMO incubator, and the first Croatian high school program for video game development technicians has been introduced. Construction of the 70 million euro Gaming Industry Center, which will cover nine hectares, is underway.
President of Meeting G2 Antun Krešimir Buterin pointed out that it is no coincidence the conference is held in Novska: “Here, where tradition and innovation meet, Meeting G2 shows our guests and friends from the diaspora that Croatia is not a small but a big country of great opportunities,” Buterin said. “Our mission has been clear from day one – to connect Croats from around the world through business, investments, entrepreneurship, and innovation. If our football players and other athletes, born both in the homeland and diaspora, can unite to win world medals, we believe we can do the same in the business sector,” he concluded.
The conference was opened with the Croatian anthem and the performance of the popular female pop group MERITAS, who are returnees from Germany, while the conference finale was marked by emotionally charged speeches from the fearless long-distance swimmer Dina Levačić and peacemaker Marijan Gubina, whose life story from the Homeland War was recently turned into a feature film “260 Days,” soon to arrive in cinemas.
MEETING G2.11 was again supported by the highest state institutions: the President of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Parliament, the Ministry of Demography and Emigration, and the Central State Office for Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, as well as the Sisak-Moslavina County. The conference was organized by the Meeting G2 Association in cooperation with the City of Novska and the Novska Development Agency NORA.
In the first 10 years, the Meeting G2 conference gathered about 2,000 participants from 35 countries worldwide.
