EN
HR
A year ago, this place was a Slavonian meadow.
If all goes according to plan, on March 11, 2027, EVE Music Hall, the largest private investment in culture in Croatia, will open its doors here. But this story is not about a concert hall. As impressive as the project from A to Z is, its greatest value is not just in its architecture, but in the message it sends: Global stories can also be created in Slavonia.
Because investments don't just change space. They change perceptionAnd that is perhaps the most important part of this story for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem.
When I launched the initiative to hold the Days of Croatian Tourism in Slavonia in 2017, one of the main motives was precisely this: to bring people and professionals to Slavonia. To see the area live with their own eyes. To experience Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem beyond statistics, negative headlines, stereotypes and perceptions that often arise from afar and create a distorted image.
Because only when you come, experience it for yourself, see the space and potential with your own eyes, do you start to think differently.
And it is precisely perception that is the hardest to change.
The Danger of a Single Story
You know the story from one of the most famous TED talks ever, “The Danger of a Single Story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie?
It talks about how dangerous it is when we only hear one story about someone, a place, or a community. Because after a while, we start to believe that one story is the whole truth.
I think that Slavonia has been just such an example for years.
Emigration. Demographics. Economic backwardness. Missed opportunities. These are all real issues. But they are not the only story.
In fact, we are increasingly witnessing the return of young people who are opening new businesses here, bringing new experiences, new ideas and a different perspective. And that is precisely why it is dangerous when one story becomes the only story. Because then we stop seeing the people, projects, entrepreneurs, investments and potential that also exist.
And that's why EVE is not just a concert hall for me.
This is an investment signal that global-level projects can also take place in eastern Croatia.
Because the biggest challenge all these years has been to change perception. On the other hand, we needed the proactivity of the Osijek-Baranja County Tourist Board.
We also needed investment confirmation through Hotel Materra. Although it is not the only one, a hotel has recently been opened in Đakovo, in Požega - Zlatni Lug, the renovated Hotel Dunav in Ilok... new modern wineries are opening, tourist infrastructure is developing, Vučedol is expanding...
Because it's one thing to say that Slavonia has potential, and another to show through numbers, business and people that a serious hotel product can live here all year round. Therefore, this investment should be viewed much more broadly and through its long-term impact on the perception of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem.
Because sometimes the greatest value of an investment is not only what it builds. But what sets it off. One investment leads to another, one project changes perception, and this opens up space for new ideas, people and capital. Like the effect of butterfly wings.
Although I was born in Zagreb, I have been living in Vinkovci for 18+ years and today I consider myself a Vinkovci resident and a Slavonian. Perhaps that is why I see the entire area of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem as one whole - tourist, economic, development...
Although many disagree with me, because everyone protects their local identity. Which I understand, but I think we need to look at the bigger picture. Because diversity only enriches the whole story and it is this authenticity that makes us who we are and represents our greatest tourist asset.
That's why I don't see EVE just as a project in Čepin, but as a signal for the entire eastern part of Croatia. New European cultural stage originates in Slavonia, and its story it's just beginning as well as all the new stories it will trigger.
And to answer the title question: Can EVE change the perception of Slavonia? It can and is already changing it.
