Weekend.19 kicked off on Thursday for the first time this year, with the inaugural day of the festival opening with Health.Weekend at the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj.
The new initiative brought together experts from medicine, technology, pharmaceuticals, business and the wellbeing industry to discuss topics that are increasingly moving beyond doctors’ offices and into everyday life — from smart devices and at-home diagnostics to employee health, longevity and the future of healthcare.
“Health.Weekend is not a new idea — it was developed by Iva and Krešo Pihler, who recognized the potential of connecting healthcare with the energy and format of Weekend. Today, we are at the very first Health.Weekend, with an incredible turnout confirming that the idea has arrived at exactly the right time. This is only the first of eight festivals, and tomorrow we move to the old Tobacco Factory,” said Tomo Ricov, director of Weekend.
“We want to transform both the system and the way we approach health, and let this event be our first step in that direction,” said Ana Soldo, president of the Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists.
Health, Technology and Changing Consumer Expectations
During the panel “The Health Industry: Global Trends,” Victoria Loomes, Head of Trends at TrendWatching, presented a broader view of a rapidly evolving health industry and discussed how technology and new services are changing people’s expectations and the way they think about health.
“Consumer trends are essentially patterns of new expectations. People themselves may not change that quickly, but every new technology and experience changes what they expect the next time — how quickly they will receive an answer, how accessible a service will be and how personalized it will feel.
“Those expectations do not stop at the boundaries of a single industry. What we expect from a healthcare service today, we will expect from other services tomorrow — and from our employers as well,” Loomes said.
Healthcare Is Moving Into the Home
The Medikor-sponsored panel “Healthcare Is Moving Home” explored how home diagnostics, self-monitoring and telemedicine are changing the way people keep track of their health.
Prim. Dr. Sc. Borka Pezo Nikolić, a cardiologist at University Hospital Centre Zagreb, emphasized the importance of reliable at-home measurements and their correct interpretation.
“Skepticism is the only thing that is always welcome. We can never be too confident in ourselves. I support patients carrying out measurements at home,” she said.
Mario Ravić, Business Owner Services at Ericsson Nikola Tesla, said self-monitoring will become increasingly important as healthcare systems face a growing population and longer life expectancy.
“The self-monitoring trend is happening because of mathematics. We are living longer and there are more of us, and the healthcare system cannot keep up with that on its own,” Ravić said.
Health.Weekend Continues With Longevity, Pharmacies and Healthcare 2030
The Health.Weekend program continues throughout the day, with upcoming discussions covering the future of pharmacy, longevity, resilience, organizational excellence and the future of healthcare systems.
Ana Soldo will discuss the role of the pharmacist of the future, while Jack Kreindel, founder and CEO of WellFounded Health, will address whether longer and healthier lives are built in specialized clinics or through healthier societies.
Mirna Radošević, Executive President for Culture and Organizational Excellence at Salveo CEE Group, will discuss resilience, focus and mindset.
During the “Health 2030” panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ana Bobinac, Head of the Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and Health Economics and Vice Dean for Science at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka; Filip Glavan, director of Croatia Poliklinika; and Ivan Šipek, co-founder of Mediion Technologies, will discuss financing, technology and the future of healthcare.
The discussion will be moderated by Ognjen Bagatin.
Weekend.19 Expands Across Eight Festival Formats
Health.Weekend serves as the introduction to Weekend.19 this year.
Starting Friday, the program expands with Finance.Weekend, HR.Weekend, Tech.Weekend powered by Telemach and Education.Weekend, which will take place on Friday and Saturday at the Rovinj Tobacco Factory.
Energy.Weekend powered up by E.ON will be held on Friday at the Grand Park Hotel, while Investment.Weekend is scheduled for Saturday at the old Tobacco Factory.
Following a Thursday dedicated to health, Weekend.19 will continue with topics covering media, finance, human resources, technology, education, energy and investment.
But Thursday Does Not End With the Final Panel
For the first time, the Rovinj Tobacco Factory will also host Slušaona powered by Rotary Audio, a program designed for vinyl enthusiasts and fans of high-quality music listening.
The program will be opened by Emil Tedeschi, aka SMS Deutsch.
The evening will also feature an MTV farewell party, with a DJ/VJ performance by Stanko Bondža and Anđelko Preradović, bringing back the atmosphere of the MTV era through music and iconic music videos.
The 19th edition of Weekend has only just begun — and it is already picking up speed.
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