In Germany, at the university in the Bavarian city of Regensburg, the Croatian language school Croaticum, alongside its constituent Lectorate for the Croatian language and culture, has commenced its work. This marks an exceptional academic and political step forward, considering that in the entire German-speaking area, the Croatian language has not been represented in terms of an independent university lectureship until now.
The Lectorate for the Croatian language and culture, as an integral part of Croaticum, will start its activities from the academic year 2023/2024 under the Institute of Slavic Studies, University of Regensburg. The establishment of the Lectorate was one of the initiatives highlighted when launching the bilateral Center for European and German Studies in March 2023. The Center was founded by the universities of Zagreb and Regensburg as a joint institution with a regional focus on Southeastern Europe, following the establishment act signed in Zagreb by the institutions’ respective heads.
The establishment of the Lectorate for the Croatian language and culture is a further step in the development of the long-standing academic cooperation between the University of Zagreb and the University of Regensburg. The Lectorate will start working under the agreement signed on 11 July 2023. The signing ceremony was held in the Senate Hall of the University of Regensburg, with the agreement signed by the Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia, Prof. Radovan Fuchs, PhD, and the President of the University of Regensburg, Prof. Udo Hebel, PhD.
Along with President Hebel and Minister Fuchs, the guests present at the ceremony were addressed by the Bavarian Minister of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, Michaela Kaniber, the State Secretary in the Bavarian Ministry for Science and Art, Rolf- Dieter Jungk, PhD, and the Vice-rector for International and Inter-institutional Cooperation of the University of Zagreb, Prof. Jurica Pavičić, PhD.
The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Croatia to Germany Gordan Bakota, the Consul General of the Republic of Croatia in Munich Vladimir Duvnjak, the Head of Unit for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Science and Education Staša Skenžić, and members of the UniZG delegation: the Head of the Center for German and European Studies at the University of Zagreb, Prof. Siegfried Gehrmann, PhD, the acting dean of the Faculty of Croatian Studies, Prof. Mario Grčević, PhD, Prof. Nevenka Čavle, PhD (Faculty of Economics and Business), and the Head of the Central International Relations Office Branka Roščić, PhD.
It is worth remembering that establishing Croaticum (Center for Croatian Language and Literature) at the University of Regensburg was preceded by the signature of the Joint Statement on the establishment of Croatian language and culture lectureships. The statement was signed in December 2022 by the Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia Prof. Radovan Fuchs, PhD, and the President of the University of Regensburg Prof. Udo Hebel, PhD.
Vladimir Duvnjak, Gordan Bakota, Mario Grčević, Jurica Pavičić, Udo Hebel, Radovan Fuchs,
Ursula Regener, Branka Roščić, Staša Skenžić, Siegfried Gehrmann, Nevenka Čavlek
