Help glow up Croatia with vegan flags

For this year's World Vegan Day, Animal Friends Croatia need support to make 101 vegan flags to hang across their capital, Zagreb, and surrounding cities to plant a seed of veganism as a compassionate, sustainable, and popular lifestyle.

Veganism in Croatia

Veganism is becoming more and more popular in Croatia every year, and an increasing number of people decide to change their lifestyle and choose veganism as a way of life. This is mostly witnessed by us as an association, because a large number of people who have become vegans as a result of our actions, articles, performances, and the ZeGeVege festival. In addition, the increase in vegan offerings in stores and restaurants has never been higher. Every store, even the smallest one, has some ready-made vegan products.

Many members of various associations in Croatia that fight for the preservation of the planet, for awareness of the consequences of climate change, and for animal protection, are vegans. This only confirms that the fight for a better world without cruelty to animals, and the prevention of climate change, go hand in hand with veganism. People's awareness of a fairer world towards animals and our daily choices for the benefit of the planet is increasing more and more – this gives us the wind at our backs to continue our work. Without the enormous support of the people of Croatia, we would not be able to realise so many wonderful projects and bans on animal exploitation.

Although people's awareness of the benefits of veganism is growing throughout Croatia, there are still those who have never heard of the word ‘vegan’ or know what it means – they don’t see what is wrong with eating animals or how it affects the planet. They keep dogs on chains and they believe that experiments on animals are essential for the development of medicine. By educating citizens daily through our work, lectures, tastings and sharing of vegan food and our vegan festivals, we help spread veganism in Croatia in a positive way.

The leap in veganism is best shown by the data that shows that in 2007 there were about 160,000 vegetarians and vegans in Croatia – today there are over 200,000 of them. Although we see significant progress regarding animal protection in many ways, we still have a lot of work to do. We will not give up until we live to see a world in which the abuse of all animals is looked at the same way as the abuse of humans, until we empty every cage and completely stop the exploitation of animals. Our plans are big, and we are ready for the challenges that lie ahead. We invite everyone who dreams of a better world; one where solidarity, compassion, and love for all come first, to join us or give us support.

When we founded our association 20 years ago, breeding and killing animals for fur was allowed in Croatia, and abandoned animals were being killed in shelters. In circus performances, tigers and lions jumped through hoops and were terrified of whip sound, and the practice of microchipping dogs did not exist. Today, it is unthinkable for us to even understand that some of these practices took place as recently as the last decade.

Many of the legal changes regarding animal rights were the result of the exhausting engagement of our activists and our work. This involved numerous public and well-publicised actions, petitions, countless letters to relevant institutions, and communication with citizens. They recognised and supported us as sincere animal advocates, have raised public awareness of many areas of animal protection and rights.

World Vegan Day

To mark World Vegan Day, the City of Zagreb has permitted us to hang 29 vegan flags across our capital Zagreb to mark this important day and to introduce the idea of veganism as a compassionate lifestyle to our fellow citizens. We also get permission from other Croatian cities to hang vegan flags. In Zagreb, vegan flags will hang in several locations: Ban Jelacic Square, King Tomislav Square, Republic of Croatia Square, Eugen Kvaternik Square, Roosevelt Square in front of the Mimara Museum, Avenija Večeslav Holjevac near Avenija Dubrovnik and Avenija Večeslav Holjevac near the INA building. We are also going to light up The Mestrovic Pavilion, also known as the Home of Croatian Artists, as well as The Zagreb Fountains – both highly popular places for young people in Zagreb, in the colours of the vegan flag.

It is quite difficult to get this kind of permission, so we are happy that we managed to convince our city officials how important it is to be a part of this campaign. We will place a total of 72 flags in other Croatian cities. The Croatian cities that will mark World Vegan Day are Opatija, Pula, Makarska, Zadar, Samobor, Čakovec, Krapina, Vukovar, and Slavonski Brod. In total this year we will set up 101 vegan flags in Croatia, which is great news and a step forward for the vegan movement in Croatia.  All locations for vegan flags that we will place in Croatia are carefully selected for the most frequent positions in cities that will be seen by as many people as possible. Most of them are either the strict center of the city or the entrance to the cities with the busiest traffic.

This is an innovative way to affect the citizens who are less familiar with the concept of veganism, and we firmly believe that this is making a great impact. It is young people who are most likely to adopt changes in their diet and lifestyle which is why we believe we are very likely to influence them. Furthermore, the lighting up of the art pavilion and the fountains is a modern and innovative form of activism that will spark interest.

We are also planning to set up an information stand in front of the Student Center in Zagreb, where students can pick up a flyer, ask questions about veganism and taste delicious vegan food. Citizens are always delighted when we offer vegan food for tasting, and we get a lot of positive comments from all generations.

A Historical Moment

This is going to be the third time that we get to see our city in vegan colours and a second time to see other Croatian cities in vegan colours, which is why we feel that this is a historical moment for vegan activism in Croatia; a big step toward modern and compassionate society. We believe that marking World Vegan Day by placing vegan flags and painting Croatia in the colours of veganism is a big step towards a positive and better world for animals, the environment, and people – not only in Croatia but also in other countries that can follow our example.

The flags would hang for 13 days on the city's official flag poles, and once we make all the flags, we will use them in the coming years. We would be more than thrilled if you decide to support our project. Our resources are quite scarce and to make our ambitious plan possible we need to find some source of funds.

We would be highly grateful if you could support us in this project and mark World Vegan Day with us – every donation, even the smallest one, is very important to us.

You can contribute to the campaign directly to the account of Animal Friends Croatia:

We would very much appreciate your help in any form.

Today's world is still a dark place for animals. Together we can make it a little brighter.

Join the battle for a more just society for all living beings.

Images taken by Matej Čelar.

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