Collaborators

Maša Kolanović is an associate professor in the Department of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb and a fiction writer. Her works include the poetry collection Leeches for the Lonely (Pijavice za usamljene, 2001), the novel Underground Barbie (Sloboština Barbie, 2008), the prose poem Jamerika (2013), and the short story collection Dear Pests and Other Chilling Stories (Poštovani kukci i druge jezive priče, 2019). Following her monograph Strike! Rebel? Consumer… (Udarnik! Buntovnik? Potrošač…), which she completed in 2011 for her PhD in Croatian Language and Comparative Literature, she has published essays on literature and popular culture. She co-edited Komparativni postsocijalizam: slavenska iskustva (Comparative Postsocialism: Slavic Experiences, 2013) and The Cultural Life of Capitalism in Yugoslavia (with D. Jelača and D. Lugarić, 2017).

Tamara Džebić-Šaljan graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb with a degree in Croatian language and literature, and Italian language and literature. From 2005 to 2013, she worked at Croatian Radio in the Culture Editorial Department within the news program where she hosted and edited cultural content shows, conducted live broadcasts, and managed major projects and reports. Since 2013, she has transitioned to television, continuing her work as a field reporter, and daily hosts and edits the show “Cultural News” on Croatian National Television, among many other television formats. Currently, she hosts and moderates various cultural events, concerts, and promotions.

Dragan Nikolić graduated from the Faculty of Science in Zagreb (Geology and Geography). During his professional career he has worked at the Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) from 1993 to 2023 where he went through all the levels of reporting and editorial work. As an International Affairs Correspondent, he followed all the most important global events, including wars, numerous crises, and the most relevant elections in Europe and the world. He is the author of foreign policy reports, as well as 38 current affairs documentaries from five continents. He is an alumnus of the Lille College of Journalism, the Moscow School of Political Studies (under the umbrella of the Council of Europe), the COPEAM Academy, the Academy of Political Development (APR), and the UN Academy in Croatia (HDUN).

Seid Serdarević graduated with a degree in Comparative Literature and Czech Literature from the University of Zagreb. He was one of the founders of the literary magazine “Zor” and has worked as an editor at a number of literary and cultural magazines. In 2002, he co-founded the publishing house Fraktura where he works as editor-in-chief He has edited more than 400 books written by both domestic and foreign authors, both fiction and non-fiction. In 2007, he won the Kiklop Award for editor of the year in Croatia.

Rudi Pavlović graduated with a Master’s degree in Journalism and Political Communication from the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb (2012). Rudi has performed as a stand-up comedian, and has periodically worked at Croatian Radiotelevision as an author, story editor, comedian, actor, journalist, reporter, and host. He also worked at RTL Television as a host and he was a supporting actor in Rajko Grlić’s movie Ustav Republike Hrvatske. He is currently working at RTL Television as an author, screenwriter, actor, comedian, story editor, and journalist.He is currently the official commercial voice for Apple Croatia, and many others.

Vedran Očašić works at Croatian National Radio. He has been working as the official announcer of Hajduk (the Croatian professional football club based in Split) for several decades. He was the sound producer for the Davis Cup, the World and Euro handball championships, the basketball qualifications for the Olympic Games, and Croatian national team matches in basketball, football, volleyball, futsal. He was the narrator in several documentaries and promotional movies/videos.

Stipe Blažević is an audio engineer at Croatian National Radio, specializing in sound processing. Over the past ten years he has worked as a sound moderator at numerous sports competitions, including world and European championships in handball, European championships in water polo, and the basketball qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games. Notably, he has also been involved in recording and producing klapa music and folk songs to preserve Croatian cultural heritage.

Franka Karabatić Jurić holds an MA in Italian and Russian Language & Literature from the University of Zadar, Croatia. She is fluent in 4 languages. Besides teaching, she is interested in tourism management. For this project she has provided voiceover and recording, as well as the original photographs for the textbook.

Ivan Baranović is an actor, producer, presenter, and art director of “Rhythm of Play.” He graduated from the Theatre Arts Department at the Arts Academy in Split, Croatia. He is active in theater, film, production, and radio. Profoundly convinced of the therapeutic power of art, in 2017 Ivan joined the Red Noses Clowndoctors as an animator/clown. Thanks to his involvement with this organization, he has been able to take part in a number of international trainings, lectures, and workshops in the field of sketch comedy.

Martina Grgić graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism at the University of Split. Today, she works as a licensed tour guide. In her free time, she is active in several civil initiatives that operate in the field of ecology and environmental protection. As a proud mother of two girls, she is an active member of HURA (Croatian Association of Parents Activists), which is the host of various humanitarian events at pediatric departments in hospital centers throughout Croatia.

Marko Borota studied Visual Communication Design and Type Design at the Academy of Arts in Split, Croatia. He was also an assistant professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy in Split, Croatia. Marko has more than 10 years of work experience as a designer, type designer and art director. Currently working at 404 Agency in Zagreb, Croatia. Designed the logo of the project.

Ariel Pitre Young holds an MA in Government from the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on Comparative Politics and Eastern European politics. Her work focuses on ethnicity, nationalism, and the intersection of music in politics in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. She is a three-time Foreign Language and Area Studies fellow for Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian. Ariel was also a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2023-24 academic year. In addition to B/C/M/S study, Ariel is fluent in French and holds a BA in French and Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Gergely Garami is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a BS in architectural studies with a heavy focus on the intersectionality of architecture, geography, and language. Gergely has a professional background in applied data science and has worked in freelance graphic design for local startups in Budapest, Hungary. Proficient in several European languages, he is interested in Natural Language Processing, as well as the application of data visualization in the realm of international development.

David Michael Castillo is a Ph.D. student of history at the University of Texas at Austin, studying the former Yugoslavia and its successor states with current research focusing on historical questions of gender power dynamics, masculinity, intercommunal violence, and propaganda. His studies in the Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian languages have been funded by the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship and have taken him across the Ex-Yugoslav space over a span of three years.