About

For nine years, she has been actively learning Chinese. During the first four years she had a teacher in Croatia; afterwards she spent three years attending the Chinese school Unifons through online classes, and since April 2025 she has become the youngest student at the Confucius Institute of the University of Zagreb. For a year and a half she has also been actively learning Dutch with a teacher in the Netherlands through online classes, while she has been formally studying English for seven and a half years, and since 2026 she has also started learning German.

For nine years she has been engaged in painting and drawing and is completely self-taught. Three years ago she began actively writing stories, fairy tales and poems. She has been very successful in various art and literary competitions, and in the last two school years alone she has won awards in three literary and more than fifteen art competitions, including major international competitions in Austria, Greece, the USA, the United Kingdom, India, China, Japan, Slovenia, Serbia…

She has had the honor of holding two solo exhibitions. The first was organized by the City Children's Library in Samobor in 2021, and the second by her school, Milan Lang Primary School in Bregana, in 2022, on the occasion of the School Day.

The public got to know her better when, in February 2021, she was given the opportunity to be a guest lecturer at the "Ivo Andrić" Primary School in Zagreb. At just nine years old, she gave a lecture about the People's Republic of China (PRC) to sixth-grade students and taught them about the history, geography, traditions, music, food and language of that beautiful and, to us, so distant country - China. This was also her first major lecture in her life. After that, she continued giving lectures about the PRC at other events as well. Thus, Ema was the first girl (child) to be given the opportunity to lecture at that school, whereas on the same list of guest speakers there had previously been only adult, eminent people from different walks of life.

Alongside all the activities she pursues - and for which she has already been awarded multiple times - on 15 October 2022, on Samobor City Day, she conceived and organized her first humanitarian initiative entitled "Child for Child," in which she raised financial donations. At Samobor's main square, King Tomislav Square, T-shirts were sold featuring two of her artworks. She raised funds that helped children without adequate parental care, cared for by the Samobor association "Nova budućnost" ("New Future"). The outcome of the initiative was excellent because, in just one weekend, with the help of a large number of people who responded, she managed to raise a substantial amount for the children of the "Nova budućnost" association.

That same day, she had the great honor of receiving - personally, for her - one of the most significant awards to date: the City of Samobor Plaque for 2022. Ema is the first child ever to receive this important recognition, awarded by the Mayor of the City of Samobor, Ms Petra Škrobot. At the ceremonial session on 15 October 2022, on the occasion of the City of Samobor Day, she presented Ema with the plaque for outstanding contribution, humanitarian work and promotion of the City of Samobor.

In April 2023, the first Hakuna Matata chocolates by Hedona Chocolate Factory from Križevci went on sale. Ema had the great honor of conceiving and designing four chocolate wrappers, and a year later her artwork design won the competition for the cover of a notebook by the company Lipamill.

On 28 May 2023, she participated for the first time in the Chinese language knowledge competition for non-native speakers in Zagreb entitled "Chinese Bridge." The competition was held under the organization of the Confucius Institute of the University of Zagreb and the Embassy of the PRC. In the competition of the same name, Ema won with 98.73 out of a maximum of 100 points and, as the youngest participant, earned the opportunity to represent the Republic of Croatia at the world Chinese language competition in Kunming, China, in October 2023.

At the world championship, she won an outstanding ninth place in a strong field of as many as 58 competitors from all over the world, from five continents. In China, at the championship, she also won a special prestigious award that is given to only one child. She was awarded as the most creative child of the world championship – "Most Creative Award 2023."

Only two months later, in December 2023, her artwork based on the famous legend of the Chinese warrior "Hua Mulan" won at an international competition in China for artists, calligraphy connoisseurs and Chinese language learners, with more than 1,500 artists from all over the world participating. The competition is specific because it has no age limit; in addition to talent, the requirement is that competitors have knowledge of Chinese. This made the competition even larger and more demanding.

She is very proud of the fact that she has had the opportunity to collaborate on numerous projects organized by the Confucius Institute of the University of Zagreb in cooperation with the Embassy of the PRC. She has delivered several important speeches and lectures at major events of the Embassy of the PRC in Croatia.

In January 2024, she had the exceptional honor, at the invitation of the well-known Croatian psychologist, professor and author of numerous books, Dr. Sc. Majda Rijavec, to give an inspiring lecture on her many activities, achievements, life, reflections and approach to everything she does and is involved in. The lecture was attended by fifth-year students of the Faculty of Teacher Education in Zagreb. Dr. Sc. Majda Rijavec mentions Ema over several pages as an example of a gifted child in her book entitled "Giftedness in Society."

In October 2024, Ema published her first novel for children and young people entitled "The Life of a Dog." In the first year, the novel sold more than 6,000 copies nationwide. In December 2025, the novel was declared a 2025 bestseller as one of the best-selling novels for children and young people. In some primary schools, Ema's book has been included as optional reading. The book has been translated into English and Chinese, and children around the world have begun reading it.

In September 2024, she received an exceptional honor. H.E. Qi Qianjin, Ambassador of the PRC to the Republic of Croatia, awarded her the "Little Ambassador" award of the two countries - Croatia and China - for her contribution to the culture of both nations, the development of Chinese language learning and encouraging young people to start learning it.

That same month, as one of the winners of an international competition for artists and calligraphers, she won a two-week study program in China. She spent two weeks in three cities in the PRC: Beijing, Quzhou and Xi'an, and during that period she left more than 15 of her artworks as a legacy in all three cities, which she is very proud of. During the last nine days of her stay in China, she studied with students and professors at the prestigious "Fanyi" University in the city of Xi'an, as by far the youngest participant. During the two-week program in China, she completed training in Chinese language, calligraphy, history, art and painting.

In China, her work "Hua Mulan" is currently part of the exhibition at the "Quzhou Chinese Confucianism Museum," and before that the painting was part of an exhibition in the same city at the "Yuandao Culture Museum." Thus, Ema is the youngest Croatian woman to have her painting in China as a permanent part of exhibitions in different museums.

Among her most notable art awards, in 2024 she won: first prize in Croatia, organized by the "Forum for Freedom in Education"; first prize at the international "Picasso Art Contest 2024" in India as a "Golden Artist"; and in February 2025, first prize at the international art competition in the USA (Washington) entitled "Neuroscience for Kids Drawing Contest," organized by Dr. Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D.

On 17 May 2025, Ema participated for the second time in the Chinese language knowledge competition for non-native speakers in Zagreb entitled "Chinese Bridge." The competition was held under the organization of the Confucius Institute of the University of Zagreb and the Embassy of the PRC. In the same competition, she was again the best and won convincingly, qualifying for the world championship for the second time, which was held in Beijing and Tianjin, China, in September 2025.

In July 2025, before going to China for the world championship, Ema won the prestigious international "Grand Prize" at the art competition for children and youth in the spirit of Sino-European exchange - "The First International Xu Beihong Painting Competition." In addition to the valuable award itself, she is especially honored that her work will be part of an exhibition in February 2026 in one of the most renowned galleries, at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The exhibition at the Hofburg will be dedicated to the renowned Chinese artist Xu Beihong, celebrating his legacy and influence. Ema's work will be exhibited alongside Xu Beihong's works, which is an exceptional achievement for such a young artist from Croatia. This recognition represents an important turning point in her artistic journey and fills her with pride and motivation for future creative work.

In September 2025, Ema participated for the second time in the World Championship of Chinese Language Proficiency (non-native speakers, primary-school category), "Chinese Bridge 2025," in China. She achieved an outstanding result: she was among the top two in Europe (TOP 2) and entered the world top ten. The chief judges, impressed by her talent, creativity and versatility, also awarded her a Special Award for Excellence and her overall performance at the championship. Ema was featured on CCTV, Tianjin TV and Yunnan TV, as well as on various portals such as China Daily…

In January 2026, at the recommendation of the Embassy of the PRC in Croatia, Ema participated in an art competition in China, and her artwork "Two Cities, One Shared Home" (dedicated to the friendship between the cities of Zagreb and Shanghai and their 45th anniversary) was selected for an exhibition in China - among the 4,000 works submitted to the competition - as a part of the project "China - Europe Cultural Exchange Train 2025." The first exhibition was held at the Sichuan Institute of Fine Arts, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and Europe. The exhibition and competition were organized by the Center for International Exchange of the Ministry of Education in China.

In June 2026, Ema held her third solo exhibition, this time at the Vladimir Horvat Gallery in Zagreb, becoming the youngest artist ever to exhibit there. The exhibition was dedicated to Chinese art and calligraphy, reflecting her deep and continuous connection to Chinese culture.

On 8 September 2026, she won a new award: the Gold Award at the 2026 International Children and Youth Chinese Painting Competition, organized by the International Children Culture & Arts Development Association, Hong Kong.

In October 2026 the same Hong Kong association also gave her a Bronze Award for calligraphy, for her work 全心而行 (Go with all your heart), inspired by the words of Confucius. She was the only awarded artist from Europe.

She is now working on her second book, a picture book for which she writes the story and creates all the illustrations herself.

In mid-September 2026, Ema was invited to a two-week study program at Chengdu University in China, where she further developed her knowledge and skills in the Chinese language, history, calligraphy and painting. She spent the last three days of her stay in the city of Tianjin, China, where, as last year's award winner and finalist of the World Chinese Bridge Competition, she served as an ambassador of the European continent and representative in support of this year's European finalist. On this occasion, Ema once again represented Europe, standing alongside and supporting this year's representative, and presenting on the world stage her continent, herself, and the new competitor.

Over the past year and a half, alongside all her activities, Ema has devoted herself to writing lyrics and music in the field of pop music and to learning to play the piano. She presented her first original composition to the public at the world Chinese language competition in 2025 in Tianjin, China: she wrote the composition in Chinese, dedicated it and performed it herself. Her second single, "Loved," was released a few months later with a professional male vocalist, with whom she competed (as the author of the lyrics and music) at the prestigious "Dora 2026" competition, Croatia's selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, and she became the youngest author ever to submit her song. She wrote her third single in Croatian and it is still waiting for the right performer to sing it.

Ema actively travels around Croatia, visits schools and libraries, and gives motivational lectures, encouraging young people to persevere, learn, work diligently and discover their talents. She is a great motivator for both children and adults and an excellent speaker in several languages. She remains strongly involved in humanitarian work, primarily helping children in need and animals.