The program of the 4th and 5th Ceremonial Meeting of the Ivan Bulić Foundation began with the famous verses from the musical “Yalta, Yalta” interpreted by the moderator and secretary of the Foundation, Željko Rupić. These verses have been sung about 750 times since the long-ago premiere in 1971, and were symbolically taken for the very beginning of this ceremonial event. Just like the musical and acting masterpiece itself, this ceremonial event evokes in people a simultaneous intertwining of two opposing feelings: immense sadness and pain, and indescribable happiness and pride.
The Ivan Foundation was established four years ago in indescribable pain. It is exactly that pain which is the initiator of everything beautiful, noble and excellent that has been encouraged and realized through his Foundation from the very beginning. All the goodness and nobility that radiated from his character continues to live through the good deeds and hearts of the people who generously support this Foundation.
In addition to the memory of the young Ivan Bulić, the Foundation helps the processes of knowledge in the field of food, especially in bakery, pastry and confectionery. It makes easier for students, but also for young researchers, professors, scientists, engineers and technologists to achieve top results in their fields. In addition, it supports other projects within the profession, but also in the community in general.
Magnificent and strong, imbued with the deepest feelings, this year’s ceremony was held on December 14, 2021 at the Zagreb Comedy Theatre. Since the last year’s awarding ceremony had to be postponed due to the pandemic and epidemiological measures, its task was to award supports, scholarships, recognitions and prizes to two generations of winners, last year’s and this year’s.
The musical part of the program was enriched by the songs that Ivan enjoyed listening to during his life, and musicians Sandra Bagarić (vocals and flute) and Darko Domitrović (piano), Ana Rucner (cello) and Marko Duvnjak (drums), Luka Bulić (vocal), Nika Mutak (vocal), Andrej Hanžek (violin) and Martina Ivanković (guitar) spoke through music and verses about love and kindness.
After the student anthem “Gaudeamus igitur”, sung in honour of all laureates from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology University of Zagreb, the guests were especially touched by the words of the prayer-song of Hopi Indians “I’m not there” whose text was edited by Vladimir Bulić and musically arranged by professor Darko Domitrović especially for this occasion.
The Foundation Manager greeted all the winners and esteemed guests with a speech full of emotions whilst even the emotionally strongest could not hold back a sincere tear in their eye.
At these December gatherings, it is customary to hear honest words about what kind of a person Ivan was. Ivan’s closest friends Slaven Lerota and Ivan Jelčić shared their stories and feelings with esteemed guests.
Before revealing the names of the laureates who proudly carried the awards, it is important to say that several of 50 names unfortunately could not attend the ceremony due to epidemiological reasons and the necessity of negative antigenic tests.
All grants were awarded by members of the Foundation’s Management Board, the Expert Committee, the Business Council and the Foundation’s contractual supporters.
This year, the support was awarded to “Farmica”, an association for the welfare and protection of dogs, cats and other animals. The amount of 30.000 HRK, which was taken over by the president Ivana Varkonji, will be used for the renovation and cladding of the walls and roof of the animal shelter.
With the support in the amount of 20.000 HRK to Zagreb Elementary School “Fran Galović”, which was taken over by the principal Maja Lisska, the Foundation will bear the costs of school meals and trips for pupils whose parents cannot pay those costs.
In late December last year, a horrible earthquake devastated the Banovina. Twenty days after the strongest blow, the Foundation’s management decided to support financially some educational institutions in the area with the amount of 30.000 HRK each. On behalf of Petrinja High School, support was received by Jasmina Cvetnić, head of the school’s vocational program, and on behalf of Glina Elementary School, support was taken over by the principal Robertina Štajdohar. Unfortunately, the representative of the Music School “Fran Lhotka” from Sisak could not attend.
The decision to support the Secondary Vocational School “Antun Horvat” from Đakovo, for the project “Production of tea biscuits with chokeberry obtained from their own school cultivation” was solemnly handed over to the principal Mirko Ćurić, amounting to 20.000 KN, as well as to the Crafts School in Osijek whose representative was not present.
Student Sanja Kunštek from Petrinja High School was awarded a scholarship in the amount of 15.000 HRK per year. Scholarships were also given to the students Niko Bezak and Mia Antonia Vuković from the same school but they were prevented from coming.
Scholarships in the annual amount of 12.000 HRK were taken over by students of secondary food schools, Ivana Kešić from the Agricultural and Food School from Požega, Emanuel Kramarić from the Secondary Vocational School Antun Horvat from Đakovo, Nikola Rupčić from the Agricultural and Forestry School from Vinkovci, Josipa Vrkić from the Agricultural, food and veterinary schools of Stanko Ožanić from Zadar and Ivana Vržina from the High School of the Radić brothers from Kaštel Štafilić – Nehaj. Petra Švalm and Jure Budiša from the King Zvonimir Vocational High School in Knin were prevented from attending.
After the proclamation of school and pupil awardees, student scholarships in the individual value of 15.000 HRK per year followed.
Scholarships for the 2nd year of undergraduate studies were awarded to Monika Bestvina, Iva Mađarić, Katja Radolović and Laura Režek for the academic year 2020/2021 and Roko Rogošić for the year 2021/2022.
Last year’s laureates Nikša Bekavac, Gloria Kovač and Renata Mavrić were awarded the scholarships for the 3rd year of undergraduate studies. Marko Iveša, whose presence was disabled, also received the same scholarship.
On behalf of the 2021/2022 generation, scholarships for the 3rd year of undergraduate studies were solemnly given to Monika Bestvina, Iva Mađarić, Katja Radolović, Laura Režek, Barbara Tuzla and Maja Zečević.
The ceremony was also attended by the winners of the scholarships for the 1st year of graduate studies, generation 2020 – Amanda Gaši and Jelena Kaurinović. Ana Poščić and Ena Buljubašić failed to come.
Nikša Bekavac, Gloria Kovač, Lovro Marjanović and Renata Mavrić proudly took over their student grants and were awarded in the category of the 1st year of graduate studies, generation 2021.
On behalf of the generation 2020 for the 2nd year of graduate studies laureates Karla Tomljanović, Katarina Varga, Matija Pejković Prekslavec and Karla Kragić received the scholarships and for the same category of scholarships in the name of the generation 2021 the grants were awarded to Maristela Gavran, Petra Jukić, Jelena Kaurinović and Edina Smajić. Ana Poščić apologized for not coming.
Scholarships were also taken over by two students from the area of destroyed Banovina – Ejla Muratagić and Petra Roksandić. Adna Oraščanin was unable to participate.
The best final work in 2021 was written by Martina Novak on the topic “Instrumental determination of the texture properties of tea biscuits during storage”and thus earned support in the amount of 3.000 HRK.
The award for the best diploma theses in 2021 and support in the amount of 5.000 HRK went to Petra Golubić for the work “Physical properties of three-dimensional printed snack product enriched with processed wheat crops” and to Katarina Varga for the topic “Development of snack product recipes for patients with irritable bowel syndrome and non-celiac gluten sensitivity”.
Ivana Kuzmić from the 2020 generation won the award of the same name and support for her work on the topic “Sustainability of sugar-free biscuits with the addition of millet and buckwheat by-products”, but unfortunately, she could not attend the session.
The Annual Ivan Bulić Award for the best doctoral thesis in 2020 was given to Saša Drakula, PhD, for the work entitled “Development of gluten-free bread with improved aroma, increased nutritional value and extended shelf life”. The award also includes the support of the Foundation in the amount of HRK 7.000.
The best dissertation in 2021 entitled “Potential therapeutic biomolecules of probiotic strains of indigenous lactic acid bacteria” was written by Martina Banić, PhD, who failed to be present for justified reasons.
On behalf of all the winners of scholarships, recognitions and awards, a two-time scholarship winner Karla Kragić and a three-time scholarship recipient Nikša Bekavac thanked the Foundation Management and supporters.
The Dean of the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, prof. Jadranka Frece, PhD, addressed the present at the very end of the event.
This year’s ceremony ended with the pride and sublime emotions of all those present, with the announcement of the next, jubilee year’s celebration.
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SPEECH OF VLADIMIR BULIĆ, FOUNDATION MANAGER
Dear ladies and gentleman.
Dear pupils, students, proud parents.
Dear Dean, principals and professors.
Dear Founders, supporters, donors and sympathizers of the Ivan Bulić Foundation.
Dear musicians, guests, dear friends.Welcome to the joint 4th and 5th Ceremonial Meeting of the Ivan Bulić Foundation.
In times and moments when the dark clouds of still misunderstood and completely unconquered danger and threat have been hanging over human civilization and all its achievements for a long time, for which today we stand proudly and somewhat defiantly, but fully respecting the scientific achievements on protection against this monster, for the first time together we want to give recognition to two generations of pupils, students and beneficiaries of the Ivan Bulić Foundation’s supports.
In front of their happy parents and proud professors and mentors, we want to award them publicly the recognition for their effort, work and excellent results they have achieved with their diligence, persistence and desire for new knowledge and for all the benefits that knowledge brings to all people and to this unique space ball we call our home.Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for giving us the honour to have you here with us today in these difficult and strange times. Thank you for finding the time which is always lacking, for finding enough respect for the achievements of young excellent people, enough financial resources for support us and enough courage to be at this wonderful and noble gathering of like-minded people today, people who respect work, knowledge, success and who want to share kindness, joy and love with closes ones.
To share kindness, smile and happiness, joy and faith in the strength and power of knowledge, faith in young people and faith in tomorrow, just as my son Ivan and our Ivan did all his life. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been with us for five years, so we do it in his memory. As if he is here, I hear him say:Do not stand by my grave and weep. I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you are awakened in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there; I did not die.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to congratulate all our today’s laureates, pupils and students, and to all those who selflessly give a lot and ask for nothing back. We congratulate them and also to their parents, mothers and fathers by saying thank you for their work and results. We pay homage to their perseverance and sacrifice on the path of knowledge, trying to make this path a little bit easier by giving them supports, scholarships and awards.
We are here to convince them that they are on the road to good and that they need to continue exactly in the same way as they are doing it today.Because what and how they do it today will resonate in the future as invincible trumpets of infinite strength and power of knowledge in defending the security of the survival of our civilization and guaranteeing a sufficient and healthy diet for humanity in the centuries ahead.
Knowledge as a light that shines and shows our ways to a happier and more peaceful future.
Knowledge as a prerequisite for universal love, kindness and common life and respect for all people regardless of their diversity, their origin, their faith and their skin colour.What and how they do is what shapes them as people and determines them as future leaders, future scientists, future creators of a happier and more successful life for all the people around them.
Their results permanently and irrevocably make them different, better, special and excellent.Therefore, dear laureates, dear pupils, students, masters and doctors of science, dear parents, respected professors, all this today is because of you and for you.
Thank you all and sincere congratulations on the results achieved.
Be proud of yourself and your work, let the pride goes above the heaven, where the planes fly.Ivan would be proud of you. Of all of us.
Thank you very much.
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I AM NOT THERE
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.A song-prayer of the Hopi Indians, translated to Croatian by Vladimir Bulić, and set to music by professor Darko Domitrović.
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STORIES ABOUT IVAN
JELA
Dear laureates, guests and everyone present.
I am glad that we managed to gather in such a large number this year as well, and that in this way we can proudly remember my dear friend… our Ivan.
Ivan is here… Ivan is still very much with us … He is still with us today at this Ceremonial Meeting of his Foundation, which is simply filled and breathes with his character, deeds and spirit.
And therefore… don’t be angry, today I will speak directly to my friend, and you are free to listen.
Boy… I miss you… I miss our socializing, traveling, vacations, our conversations and banter. I miss our rides, especially the ones when I drive a car, because it was only in those situations that you took that smile off your face.. I often remember rides around Šibenik in your first race car or the ride I gave you and Boris around Bukovac in Vlatko’s ML… I know you remember that too because both of you were afraid… I miss it all… I miss you.
We miss your company and we remember you very often, we recount the days spent with you, there is a lot to tell. There are lots of experiences, stories – some are not even for the public ears, so let them remain our secret.
We often meet in your honour. Even when it is extremely difficult for us to realize that you are no longer physically with us, with a smile on our faces we retell the stories that marked wonderful friendships … happy, because we know how honoured and privileged we were for being your friends and how honoured and lucky we were to spend time with you.LERI
It is a great honour to stand behind this rostrum today, in front of all of you as one of Ivan’s closest friends. It’s just as hard to talk about him without my voice trembling. I will try to share with you the moments of our socializing, to present you Ivan’s character as well as the gestures and emotions that made him so special. Different. Unique.
Today, through this Foundation, we all gladly remember him. We remember the man who brought warmth, simplicity and kindness with his incredible energy and positivity into the lives of the people around him. He delighted our hearts with his deeds, and all his deeds and actions were imperatively based on honesty and sincerity. In all situations, he gave his all to us, and he considered the friends he made throughout his life to be his family.JELA
You were a real friend, very special … Although younger, again so experienced and wise. I will not even talk about empathy and goodwill because you were at the forefront, not only in society, but also beyond … and we were all aware of that, and we still are.
A lot of new things have happened here… Your godson Ivan Kološ grows like a mushroom (he is in the process of becoming a goalkeeper – I must admit that he defends better now than you defended ever at water polo / rugby matches in Šibenik)… Other kids are also growing… Čačić is not growing yet. Boris works all the time, Larry has retired, Ratko and I have not yet learned to pronounce all the letters properly… And so.
I could tell you about countless new events, but you know them anyway… because you are here with us… and we know you are as proud of us as we are proud of you.LERI
There are many beautiful moments spent with Ivan. These are the moments that marked me and that I remember very often. Every coming down the road leading to Makarska causes sadness and nostalgia in me because every summer we admired again the beautiful view from that road. I remember how we carelessly ran along the same road, listened loudly to the radio, enjoyed the natural beauty and the sun and looked forward to the summer ahead. We would look forward to night outs, and we went to the beach just to be able to say that we were there … Those were really nice times…
And when I just remember all those nights spent in front of the TV and watching reruns of Star Trek again…It didn’t matter what we did, but that we did it together.
You know, my mother would always greet us with burek; Ivan adored them. It was a tradition that does not change. And he expressed his gratitude for that little sign of attention.
These are situations that we don’t even think about, but they say a lot about the person.
I would like to end with the message that one should be grateful for every opportunity, because you are here today and you have been given a great opportunity, but never forget to be great even in small things. Such was Ivan.
And finally, I would like to congratulate all the winners of scholarships, awards, recognitions and supports. I am sure that Ivan is watching everything from above and that he is proud that the scholarships with his name are going to the right hands.JELA
We are very proud of this Foundation that bears your name, the name that is engraved in the hearts of all of us and that we will forever utter with respect, warmth and special strength.
Even now when I look at that name of yours written all over Comedy theatre, I am proud… proud and happy because the name, just like you, will be there forever. I look at that smile of yours… full of energy and uniqueness, the most sincere and wonderful… The contagious smile by which we know and remember you.
I miss you my friend and I love you, and those who we love do not leave, they walk with us every day.
So do you – invisible, inaudible, but always close… always there.
Forever in thoughts and forever loved.Ivan Jelčić & Slaven Lerota, Ivan’s friends
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THANK YOU SPEECH ON BEHALF OF THE AWARDEES
NIKŠA
Green.
The colour of nature, harmony and serenity.
No wonder it was Ivan’s favourite.
The colour of hope, new beginnings and forgiveness.
The colour of freedom.And that is what Ivan was like: free from materialism, free from religious, national and social burdens and complexes. He emphasized the importance of love, nobility and compassion in people, and excellence, perseverance and perfection in science.
KARLA
Dear Bulić family, esteemed members of the Ivan Bulić Foundation, dear guests,
we are extremely honoured to stand in front of you on behalf of all the winners of valuable scholarships, awards and recognitions.We truly thank the Foundation Board, as well as all its supporters, donors and sympathizers for recognizing our efforts and commitment and rewarding it with wonderful recognitions.
Many successes stand behind them, but also those less successful moments, so these awards are a reminder that effort and work always pay off to those who humbly and sincerely approach to the tasks they are occupied with.NIKŠA
In addition to the financial support, they are an incentive to continue our persistent, dedicated and hard work. We are extremely pleased that the Foundation supports the development of our profession, which is the basis of all its progress in the future.
Thank you for your support, kind words, wind at our backs.
Thanks to people like you, we believe in our present and our future.We would like to take this opportunity to thank also to those who have guided and supported us in our excellence so far and those who will continue to do so in the future.
Many thanks to our families and friends for the patience and love they selflessly give us. They always know how to encourage us and the best in us, what is exactly the thing that brought us here today. We are truly motivated by love for those who helped us to achieve this and by the desire to make them proud of us.
Thank you for making us believe that “Love is generous and benevolent…, it covers everything, it believes in everything, it hopes for everything, it endures everything. Love never stops.”KARLA
We are honoured to be able to actively participate in the work of the Foundation and strive to achieve its goals within the Council of Excellence. We will encourage others to strive for excellence and persistence, we will give them love and a sincere smile.
We will give to future generations everything that you have given us, thus making Ivan live through our actions.We would like to end this speech with Ivan’s words:
“Every day in which you didn’t learn something new and you didn’t do something to make our world better and more beautiful is another lost day.”Karla Kragić & Nikša Bekavac
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THANK YOU SPEECH BY PROF. JADRANKA FRECE, PHD
Dear ladies and gentlemen, distinguished entrepreneurs, esteemed founders, supporters and donors of the Foundation, dear students and proud parents, professors, guests and friends.
It is a great honour and pleasure to greet you on behalf of all employees and students of the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb.
Our faculty is a leading institution of high education and science in the field of food technology, and as such cultivates high criteria of excellence in its work. We are extremely proud of our scientific successes, placing Croatia at the very top of the world in the field of food technology. The SCOPUS scientific base announced that Croatia created the world’s most cited scientific papers in the field of “Food Science” in 2018. And the only two scientists who have achieved this among the elite of the most cited world’s scientists in the most prestigious Clarivate list published a month ago, that is present also in Croatia – you guess it – are from our Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology in Zagreb.
But our “core business” is not just science, our main task is to educate quality professionals based on that science, precisely those who in the next step become part of your economic sector, which is also excellent. Excellent on a global scale. This common quality of ours is not accidental: science, education and economy work great together in our case. This is especially evident in the field of bakery, pastry and confectionery industry, and the best proof of this wonderful intertwining that achieves excellent results is this solemn occasion that we are attending today.
As the Faculty, we are extremely happy to be a part of this story, to be built from the very beginning into the foundations of this Foundation, created in a huge sorrow and pain, and driven by the enormous strength of Mr. Vladimir Bulić. Together with the will to encourage, support and help.
We are pleased to point out that the Foundation fully achieves the goal of increasing interest in these specific technologies with its scholarships and awarding the best among the students of our faculty. I can proudly say that more and more young people who finish the studies, in the near future knock on your door, our esteemed and dear friends from the economic part of the bakery, pastry and confectionery community. Thank you on behalf of academia, students and university professors for supporting this excellence.
Congratulations to you, dear students, for being here today and making us professors proud. We know from experience that you will continue to be excellent, and return this good with another good many times over. And even better. Excellent.In addition to supporting personal excellence, I must thank the Foundation and to all of you who selflessly support it for another aspect of action – for helping those in need. In general, but also personally, and on behalf of the faculty. Namely, by the game of fate, our faculty was damaged recently. The earthquake caused a lot of damage, and the recent flood in Zagreb caused even more difficult situation, with the complete destruction of our most important lecture hall, and huge damage to some of the most important laboratories.
The Foundation was ready to help at the very moment. Many thanks for not only material help but also important emotional support in overcoming the crisis. Also, a big thank you for the scholarships to our earthquake-affected students. Thank you for not leaving us alone when it was difficult; the faculty will never forget that. In the days and months ahead, great challenges still await us, but I am sure that together we will successfully solve them, for the benefit of the Foundation, our faculty, vocation, profession and especially our students.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear entrepreneurs, dear students, colleagues and friends. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice and for your commitment to enable the daily functioning and work of the Foundation. I am happy to be here, I am happy to be together with you, I am happy to meet you in person finally, and to celebrate 5 years of flawless operation of this Foundation. Let us continue to be united by this kind of excellence and this kind of will to work for the common good.Finally, I wish you and your loved ones to be and stay healthy, to overcome successfully all the difficulties you will face, and to enjoy the peace and love of this special holiday season.