A campaign called "Year of the German language in Croatia 2011/12", aimed at encouraging the learning of German, especially among young people during this school year, was announced at a press conference in Zagreb on Sunday by German Ambassador Bernd Fischer, Austrian Ambassador Jan Kickert and Swiss Ambassador Denis Knobel.
Croatian Education Minister Radovan Fuchs was also in attendance.
The three ambassadors said there were many reasons why learning German in Croatia should be intensified, including the fact that German is the most widely spoken language in Europe and one of the three working languages in the European Union, the fact that more than two million German-speaking tourists visit Croatia annually, and the increasing trade between Croatia and German-speaking countries.
Fischer said the opening of the EU's doors to Croatia offered many possibilities to all Croatian generations, notably young people, so he appealed on parents to consider the advantages that learning German as the first or second foreign language meant for their children.
Kickert said he was pleased that many people in Croatia spoke German when he arrived in Croatia, although he soon found out they were mainly elderly.
Knobel said the "family" of those who spoke German was very varied, adding that, for example, Swiss German was an older and purer version of the language, as it had not changed and adapted so much.
Fuchs supported the popularisation of learning German in Croatia, saying that about 50 per cent of pupils in senior classes of elementary schools were learning the language.
