This year's Lukovo in Novska will be enriched with another event – the Meeting G2 conference, and its 11th edition will take place on October 17 and 18, 2025. The conference connects the Croatian diaspora with the Homeland, and it was announced at the Entrepreneurial Incubator PISMO powered by A1 by the Mayor of the City of Novska Marija Kušmiš, the President of the Meeting G2 Association Antun Buterin, the Director of the Development Agency of the City of Novska Vida Iličić, and the Vice President of the Meeting 2 Association Ante Lučić.
“Novska is honored to host this conference; connecting domestic and diaspora Croatia is not easy, our partners in the organization know this and have been successful at it for 11 years. I am glad that the eleventh conference is being held right in Novska when the topic is also interesting – a topic that resonates not only in Croatia but much wider, aimed at youth, gaming, and Novska as a host certainly has much to say about gaming and to witness how relevant this topic is among young people and how gaming has changed Novska. Novska is a city that preserves its traditional values, protects its people, strives to keep young families here in the city but also looks to the future and modern technologies. Gaming is certainly a lure for some new youth, and for new and future activities that will change Novska and Croatia. We strive with our measures and support not only to be a support to entrepreneurship but to retain young people and bring back those who have left Novska for various reasons, education, work, or other interests, but also to attract all those who see Novska as a place to live and as a place to create and expand families,” said Mayor Kušmiš.
The President of the Meeting 2 Association, Antun Krešimir Buterin, emphasized that this year's partner country for the conference is Sweden: “Our program is not based solely on the gaming industry, as that is a narrow niche, but we have built an entire program around gaming that encompasses various modern technologies: from AI, drones, and robotics to space technologies and IT in agriculture, as Slavonia is primarily a Croatian granary. Through all these topics and top 30-40 speakers and panelists, we want to show where Croatia stands on that technological map and what position we occupy in a global context. We are thrilled to bring top speakers to Novska. From Sweden, we have three guests: we did not invite the Deputy Mayor of Malmö, Roko Kursar, just because he is a successful Croat in Sweden, but because Malmö is the largest European center for the gaming industry, so we believe in possible cooperation between Novska and Malmö. Katarina Gospić is a prominent Swedish scientist researching AI and its impact on the human brain, while the Croatian ambassador to Sweden, Siniša Grgić, is also an innovative entrepreneur with a number of successful IT projects. Among the international guests, I would like to highlight the arrival of the highest-ranking Croat in the Argentine government. Nicolas Bronzovich is the director of the National Institute for Technology in Agriculture. Knowing that Argentina is among the largest agricultural producers in the world, we can certainly learn a lot from him. But he will also meet our other panelists and innovators, so perhaps we can encourage cooperation for mutual benefit.”
The Vice President Ante Lučić emphasized that the organizers, in the first 10 years of the Association's work, were mostly tied to Zagreb, except for Sisak. “With the new concept, we want to move outside of Zagreb to highlight many not-so-visible but attractive investment opportunities in other places and cities across Croatia, such as Novska. We are emphasizing the promotion of business cooperation between the homeland and the diaspora,” he said.
The Director of the Development Agency of the City of Novska, NORA Vida Iličić emphasized that: “Holding the conference in Novska can contribute to the development of the city in several segments, especially entrepreneurship. We want to enable our entrepreneurs to connect with entrepreneurs from the diaspora, across all branches of the economy, to achieve cooperation, exchange of knowledge, and experiences. Through our panel, we will present the potentials of Novska, and the crown of it all would be to attract a new investor.”
In the first 10 years, the conference gathered 2000 participants from 35 countries around the world. All entrepreneurs and investors, as well as anyone interested, are invited to participate as this is an opportunity for new acquaintances, friendships, and business collaborations, but above all, a conference that connects for the future. Tickets can be purchased through the Entrio platform.
