Dear friends “The only way to have a friend is to be one“,

with this quote we would like to present ourselves, the recently chartered Rotary Club Zagreb Medvedgrad. The whole story about the birth of Rotary International Clubs, first in the US, and then all over the world, is a story about a person’s historic need to be a friend and to be surrounded by friends! If you are surrounded by friends, no problem is unsolvable and everything is better, easier, more beautiful and more successful!

Zagreb Medvedgrad Rotary Club today joins this great family of Rotary clubs, also in our District 1913. As a result of the initiative from our “charter” club Zagreb Gradec, and with the great effort of its member-friend Duško Čorak, we gradually expanded our circle and brought in new friends. We will be gathering Thursdays at the beautiful Hotel "Esplanade Zagreb” whose atmosphere enriches our every meeting and welcomes us with warmth and the good old spirit of Zagreb. Our club received new members / friends from diverse professions in areas of science and art and will continue to do so. Every new member / friend has contributed to the creation and profiling of our club as the oasis of friendship, promoting ethics and moral values, pleasant conversations and interesting themes. During these talks and discussions we have decided to name our club Medvedgrad as a symbol of centuries-old Croatian tradition and history, the name of the old town on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain, which after its renewal symbolically continues to watch over our Zagreb.

We would like to point out the reason for chartering this new club. Friendship! And through this friendship and synergy of all our members/friends, with their knowledge, abilities and personal achievement we will strive to build success and advancement for all! Our club will spread the main ideas of Rotary: comprehensive understanding, good will and encouragement of peace among people! Our main charitable work will focus on the field of health care, education and helping the impoverished, because through history, not all people have been blessed with the same life chances!

And finally, we would like to repeat once again what is very important to us at the Rotary Club Zagreb Medvedgrad - better understanding of ourselves, our role in society, accepting humans for what we really are, and through the acceptance help our neighbours as good friends, and not as strangers!

Nenad Debrecin

President 2007./2008.  & 2008./2009.