Who are we?

The Croatian Healthy Cities network formally acts as an autonomous national network since the Republic of Croatia became an independent state in 1991. But, through the city of Zagreb participation in the World Health Organization Healthy Cities Project the Healthy Cities as the concept has been present in Croatia even before.

From the end of 1992 Croatian network is legally registered non-governmental organization and is functioning as a voluntary, open association of the "Healthy Cities" and their project teams. All the member cities are equal partners mutually connected through the shared aims, commitment to improve health and quality of life of their inhabitants, and willingness to share their knowledge and experience.

When we created the Network we decided that our overall aims are going to be those stated in the following documents:

• The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• The Health for All for 21st century,
• The 19 targets of the European Social Charter, and
• The European Charter on Health and Environment.

Innovative and crucial aspects of our work are following:

1. the Healthy City projects are providing a meeting ground for local politicians, professionals and citizens during all its phases (designing, starting-up, conducting and evaluating projects outcome). To be able to recognize needs of the individual cities we conduct applied researches on cities' demand (Rapid needs assessment, Consensus Conferences on HC Project priority areas and Evaluation Conferences). Through the project activities we create dialogue between different groups in the community, support collaboration on the win-win principles, empower citizens and encourage diversity of approaches and solutions used by cities;
2. through permanent growth (in quantity and quality) the Network is able to demonstrate vividity of the Healthy City concept and ideas and create a critical body of "health thinking" citizens and politicians able to influence regional and national policy makers and consequently, bring changes in public policy;
3. by building alliances with governmental departments (Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Ministry for Environmental Protection and Urban Development, Ministry for European Integration, Governmental Office for Non-Government Organizations, State institute for protection of Family, Children and Youth) and networking them with local authorities (our member cities) and non-governmental organization we are setting unique example in the country, of possibilities and strengths of such collaboration;
4. we are strengthening the national Healthy Cities movement and local projects by:
   • providing training and education inside the country (Motovun Summer School of Health Promotion, IUC Dubrovnik: "School: Health for All" Courses), by organizing city coordinators' meetings (business and annual meetings), seminars and training activities (Motovun Summer School of Health Promotion, Health Fair) with the aim to facilitate exchange of information and experience among them,
   • developing an information strategy e.g. facilitating exchange of information, experience and models of good practice between the cities nationally (Healthy Cities Newsletters, Conference and Meetings Reports, National Healthy Cities Resource Directory, Video tapes, Health Fairs, Cities models of good practice, Healthy Cities broadcasts on national television and radio, Internet links between the cities, Network Archives) and internationally (translate basic WHO documents, provide selected materials prepared by other European cities or networks, MCAP- groups or WHO Euro Healthy Cities Office, participation on international conferences, etc.),
   • mediating and advocating for Healthy Cities at local, regional, national and international levels, lobbying among reputable and powerful people and organizations (e.g. city executives, members of city councils and national Parliament, different political party leaders, politicians, members of academic community and respectable professionals, Association of Towns and Communes) with the aim to place health and health related issues higher on the agenda of decision makers.

Network Support Center is located at "Andrija Stampar" School of Public Health, Medical School, University of Zagreb, academic institution which is providing extensive support, first for the Zagreb Healthy City Project and later on, for the national network.

The role of the Support Center is to provide administrative, technical, informational, organizational and professional support to the local project teams, to advocate and market a Healthy Cities idea inside the country, to find resources for activities: supporters, sponsors and collaborators, to coordinate activities, and represent the cities interests toward the World Health Organization and other European project cities and networks (NETWORK), governmental and non-governmental agencies inside and outside the county.

Nowadays the most important issues for the Network stem from the war and its direct and indirect consequences on people's health and environment (for example cities have project on improving health of displaced persons and returnees, improving quality of life of disabled, elderly, children and youth, reconstruction and rebuilding of human settlements and urban infrastructure based on principles of sustainable development, community regeneration and community capacity building projects, etc.) as well as from the economic transition and its consequences (for example projects on reducing unemployment through development of the new city businesses area and industries, improving nutrition in kindergartens and schools, alcohol, tobacco and substance misuse reduction, etc.).

As the network we are dedicated to support our Network cities in establishing respectable Healthy Cities projects, which will be able to influence the process of building healthy public policy locally and nationally. Our aim is, as well, to extend the Network by involving each and every community/city/county in Croatia in it, and to work jointly towards the recognition of the preciousness of health, until the health will be considered as a resource for development of the cities and the country as a whole.

For The Croatian Healthy Cities Network
dr.sc. Selma Sogoric, coordinator