At the Sunce Assembly, held on April 15, 2025, both at Sunce’s premises and via the Zoom platform, 20 active members participated out of a total of 35 active members of Sunce. The Assembly was opened by Executive director Gabrijela Medunić-Orlić, who greeted all attendees and confirmed the quorum.
She emphasized the process of aligning the new organizational structure established at the end of 2023, which was carried out throughout 2024. Thus, 2024 was marked by the elections for the newly established Executive and Supervisory Boards. Upon completion of the election process, efforts continued to harmonize organizational documents related to the restructuring (decision on job systematization and employee salaries, executive board rules of procedure, work regulations, volunteer engagement rules, etc.).
The new structure resulted in increased stability and resilience of the organization, as well as improved operational efficiency. In order to enhance employee motivation for retention and prevent staff turnover within the organization, salaries were increased. Furthermore, the number of employees in 2024 was the highest since Sunce’s establishment, reaching 27, with 20.64 full-time equivalents throughout the entire year.
Adoption of the 2024 Work report
The 2024 Work report was presented at the assembly, along with the results achieved in line with the goals of the Strategic plan. The results related to Strategic Goal 1, which pertains to waste management on land and at sea, were presented by Matea Taraš, assistant at the department for Environmental protection and sustainable development. In 2024, there was continued intensive work on projects, services, and initiatives aimed at reducing waste, improving sustainable waste management, and raising awareness and capacity within local communities, with a special emphasis on the issue of marine litter and reducing plastic pollution.
We continued to advocate for the reduction of single-use plastics and the promotion of sustainable practices in organizing public events, especially through the “Together without plastic” campaign. After several years of persistent advocacy efforts targeting the City of Split and public event organizers, we achieved success: for the first time at the Split Advent event, reusable plastic cups were made available for certain types of beverages as an alternative to single-use ones.
Strategic Goal 2, focused on education and promoting environmentally responsible behavior, was presented by Margita Radman, Head of the Education and information department. In 2024, the emphasis was placed on implementing educational programs for preschool and elementary school children, as well as for representatives of educational institutions. A total of 14 different educational activities were conducted throughout the year, involving more than 670 participants. Over 830 citizens attended our public events during 2024.
The positive trend in strengthening relationships and communication with members and volunteers, who provide additional support for Sunce’s advocacy efforts, continued. We decided to shift our focus to quality over quantity. We have integrated the work of volunteers and members while simultaneously developing activities intended solely for members. The “Šizika” sewing workshops are a step in that direction, and we plan to offer similar member- and volunteer-exclusive activities in the future. The number of volunteers and volunteer hours increased, and at the end of the year, Sunce established its first volunteer club, SoleSTerra, as noted by Marija Majić, Expert Associate in the Education and information department and coordinator of volunteer members.
Youth involvement was further encouraged through the organization of service-learning programs and internships at Sunce for students from Split universities, who contributed a total of 652 hours of service toward improving the local community.
The section on communications and Strategic Goal 3, which focuses on influencing public policies in the field of nature protection, was presented by Maja Jurić, Head of the Communications and advocacy department. An increased number of projects generated more content for the website and social media. A total of 307 articles were published in public media. On Sunce’s main website, 150 articles were published. By the end of 2024, the total number of social media followers was 15,625, with 980 total posts. During 2024, four communication and two advocacy campaigns were carried out.
We continued the informational campaign Sustainable Tourism and implemented Creative Fridays. We also conducted a traditional awareness campaign for the 13th Split Bike Ride. Additionally, we participated in the SKOCKANO information-communication campaign as a certified quality label holder. Two advocacy campaigns were conducted: Where do you anchor? and Together without plastic.
We participated in ten consultations related to environmental and nature protection topics and others important for civil society operations. Despite the lack of capacity due to the departure of our legal advisor and the ongoing recruitment for the Green phone role, we continued cooperating with citizens, civic initiatives, and NGO networks.
Strategic Goal 4, focused on nature and marine protection, was presented by Zrinka Jakl, Head of the Nature protection department. In 2024, the focus was on strengthening the efficiency of surveillance in marine protected areas and the ecological network, especially regarding illegal fishing, anchoring, and the discharge of wastewater from vessels. We continued advocacy activities for the designation of new marine protected areas.
We also participated in the work of national networks: Green forum, Croatian Green phone network, Anti-plastic coalition, GOOD initiative, Croatian youth network, and international networks: EEB, SeaSatRisk, Mediterranean Posidonia Network (MPN), and BioNET. Through network engagement, we collaborate, exchange knowledge and experiences, and jointly advocate for resolving environmental and nature protection issues, as well as challenges related to the work and functioning of civil society.
Samanta Šećer Bilić, Head of the Finance, organization, and administration department, presented the financial segment of the report, highlighting that the 2024 income of €959,353.49 represents Sunce’s highest income to date.
Adoption of the 2024 Supervisory board work report
The restructuring process at Sunce led to a clearer and more efficient organizational structure. It introduced a Supervisory Board with a designated coordinator. Through this process, the organization laid the foundations for more effective work and balanced development.
The Supervisory Board is the highest body overseeing the management and operation of the Executive Board between two Assembly sessions. On behalf of the board members, the report was presented by Andrijana Parić, Coordinator of the Supervisory Board.
The Supervisory Board’s mandate began on April 15, 2024, and will run until April 15, 2028. Since the Board only began operating in April 2024, two sessions were held during the current year.
Project “Let’s Sail into STEM waters – map to 2030” presented
In March 2025, we launched the project “Let’s Sail into STEM Waters – Map to 2030.” The goal of the project is to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations through training, the design and implementation of STEM workshops, and public events for children. Through educational workshops and public events, we aim to bring natural sciences closer to children in a real and exciting way. We selected topics relevant to them: marine litter, eutrophication, coastal infill, ocean acidification… These activities aim to foster interest and a positive attitude toward STEM among children and youth, as well as to encourage environmentally responsible behavior and civic engagement.
The project is implemented with financial support from the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) under the “Effective Human Resources 2021–2027” Program. It is being carried out based on the Call for Project Proposals “Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations for STEM Promotion,” with the aim of enhancing civil society organizations’ capacity to develop and implement educational activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
The project is co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The views expressed in this material are the sole responsibility of Sunce and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.