Zagreb Takes the LEAP
And we take second place!
This year, Zagreb hosted the third annual LEAP Summit, which brings together changemakers from all around the world for three days of one of the coolest conferences we have been to (and we have been to a lot). LEAP is organized by a Croatian NGO, Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation, and all of the organizers are under 30 years of age, which explains the cool vibe of the conference. Make no mistake though; the programing is top notch, with no gimmicks and no frills that conferences use to make up for the fact that their agenda is not strong enough. Speakers included Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac Automobiles, Kamran Elahian, serial entrepreneur and philanthropist and Lenja Faraguna, personal branding expert.
The absolute highlight as far as we are concerned was the sheer volume of very young people attending, even the infamous graveyard shift talks (post lunch on last day). Saturday was a miserable, rainy day and the summit was buzzing with students, innovators and entrepreneurs. This is something that Zagreb can be very proud of; it was unlike anything we have seen!
This is the first year of LEAP Awards, for extraordinary work in the social impact sector. Our Founder Tena Pick has been shortlisted as one of the Top Three Young Social Entrepreneurs and came second! The first place went to Toma Babic, Founder of Braille Riddles, a social business that creates educational tools for blind and visually impaired through the use of 3D printing. We must admit we have never lost to a more deserving company!
It has been an immense honor to be recognized in our hometown and to see the booming social impact scene in Croatia first hand. Working in the social impact space is a great honor and privilege, but also an immense responsibility to lead with utmost transparency, authenticity and integrity. LEAP Summit has shown all of those traits and more, from the organizers to the volunteers, from the speakers to the attendees. As a Croatian, I have never been more proud of my city than during the three days of LEAP.