Zelena akcija / FoE Croatia is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and, to mark the occasion, we are hosting a conference on civic initiatives, an activist exhibition and a screening of a film by Nebojša Slijepčević. The entire event will take place on 23 May at the Zelena akcija premises (Frankopanska 1, Zagreb).
It is not easy to sum up more than three decades of active work at local, national and international levels, and we are not the best at self‑praise, but we shall single out a few of our major successes. Over all these years we have highlighted various harmful decisions, offered and implemented solutions, and encouraged civic activism. Thanks to our campaigns, many environmentally and health‑damaging projects have been halted, including: the thermal power plant in Lukovo Šugarje; the “Družba Adria” oil project; the Ombla hydroelectric plant; the Plomin C coal‑fired power station; the waste incinerator in Zagreb; new oil and gas exploration in the Adriatic; the plastic “recycling” plant in Vrginmost; the golf resort on Srđ (for which we were even sued); the medical‑waste incinerator at Rebro; building works in Savica Park; the so‑called Zagreb Manhattan on the hippodrome and fairground; waste incinerators in Sisak and Kutina; the hydroelectric plant on the River Una; and so on.
The topics we have addressed—and continue to address—are numerous and varied, yet one thing unites them all: in none of these struggles were we alone. By working with local communities and supporting them directly, we helped small initiatives achieve great victories, and they, in turn, strengthened us. Without such mutual support, the outcomes listed above would look very different.
Finally, we cannot imagine a better celebration than spending time with inspiring initiatives, associations, our own activists and volunteers, and our dear collaborators and co‑fighters. Zelena akcija would not be what it is today without our activist and volunteer collectives: the Activist Group, the Bike Repair Workshop, the volunteers who organise monthly swap parties, the Šiv‑pop collective and the Fix It Together group. Thank you to every single person who has contributed to the successful work of Zelena akcija over all these years. Come and raise a glass with us to the next 35 years!
To mark our 35th anniversary, Zelena akcija invites you to the conference “Great Victories of Ordinary People”, to be held on 23 May at 17:00 in the Zelena akcija space (Frankopanska 1).
We will talk with representatives of several civic initiatives whose passionate, persistent activism has successfully stopped harmful projects and protected both the environment and public health.
GUESTS:
• Tanja Rastović, Save the Una initiative
• Snježana Sužnjević Vago, Siščani ne žele biti smetlišćani and Zaštitimo Sisak initiatives
• Maja Turniški, Stop Phaten Plastic Recycling initiative
• Maris Špero, Maksimir Citizens for Zagreb initiative
• Jasna Šumanovac, Zelena akcija
CHAIR:
• Ivana Perić, journalist
After the conference there will be a reception, including a speech by Dora Sivka, President of Zelena akcija.
The conference is organised within the CPR (Civic Space Preservation and Restoration) project, financed by the EU under the CERV programme. The project leader is Zelena akcija, with partners Zelena Istra (Croatia) and GLOBAL2000 (Austria).
This short film by Nebojša Slijepčević—winner of the 2024 Cannes Palme d’Or for Best Short Film—received its premiere at this year’s ZagrebDox and tells the story of residents of Zagreb’s Savica district fighting to preserve their park.
In 2016 the Church and Zagreb city authorities planned, bypassing due process, to build a new church on the site of a children’s playground in the park. The residents of Savica successfully thwarted the scheme through activist resistance. The film showcases the power of civic activism.
During the celebration you are also invited to visit our exhibition of activist banners and props, titled “We Make a Racket and We Paint, Yet We Still Rock”. As the name suggests, one of the most important aspects of our work—and what makes us most recognisable to the broader public—is our street actions, where banners and a variety of props convey our critiques and messages. Sometimes those messages are loud, sometimes humorous, but generally sharp and sincere. Yes, we are noisy—we shout with our voices, whistles and banners—but we still (at least sometimes) manage to bring about positive change. Happily, we are prone to hoarding old things and find it hard to part with banners and props, so we have preserved quite a collection of intriguing messages. Come and have a look—you will not be disappointed.
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