The presentation featured addresses by HMI director Zdeslav Milas, Zdravka Bušić as representative of Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman representing Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, historian Ivan Tepeš and Yearbook editor Vesna Kukavica.
Milas said the HMI serves as a bridge between Croatia and its diaspora, connecting people, preserving the Croatian language and culture, and strengthening a sense of belonging to a single Croatian nation.
Grlić Radman said the Croatian diaspora was becoming one of the country's greatest strengths as a partner in development, cooperation, investment, science and culture, adding that the government would continue to support projects linking Croatia and its diaspora.
Bušić said the HMI had successfully connected Croats abroad with the homeland, noting that Croatian history is inseparable from the history of emigration from Croatian lands.
Tepeš said Croatian emigrants had been active participants in historical periods shaped by their search for work and freedom. He outlined two key phases in the HMI's work: the period from its founding in February 1951 until April 1990, and the period following Croatia's democratic transition.
Kukavica said the new volume contains 29 contributions covering Croatian communities in around 30 countries worldwide. The Yearbook is divided into six thematic sections: Signs of the Times, Croatian Philological Horizons, Bridges, History, Science and New Books.
Founded in 1951, the HMI is a public institution tasked with preserving and promoting the national, linguistic and cultural identity of Croats abroad, focusing on emigrants and their descendants, Croatian minorities in 12 European countries, and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina where they are a constituent people.