Projects

Name of the project: Professional Development of Youth Workers: learning, researching, communicating values and theories influencing practice with diverse groups

Short name: PD4D

Lead partner: Tallinn University, Talinn, Estonia

Partners:

• University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
• Sojuz za mladinska rabota Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia
• National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland
• Victoria University Australia, Foorscray, Australia

Total budget: 400 000 €

Fund/programme: Erasmus+ program

Project duration: 1.9.2024. – 28.2.2027.

Description:

The overall objective of this project is to enhance the professionalism of youth workers in addressing the needs of diverse youth groups. The project encourages collaboration between educators and practitioners, facilitates the integration of theoretical knowledge with practical application, empowers youth workers to develop innovative approaches and activities, and promotes evidence-based youth work practices, thereby strengthening the quality and visibility of youth work.

Joint research, learning, analysis and discussion will be carried out, involving educators and youth workers. Youth workers will be supported in creating innovative activities and approaches tailored to diverse youth groups. Youth workers will be supported in researching and communicating their practice. Partner organisations will develop guidelines and methodologies for teaching youth work and diversity, as well as for researching and communicating this, based on cooperation and joint efforts.

The project will produce a report on the comparison of youth work programmes, identifying core values ​​and theoretical frameworks, with a focus on working with diverse youth groups. This includes a literature review and teaching materials. Guidelines and methodology for teaching youth work and diversity will be created, through collaboration between educators and practitioners. Likewise, guidelines and methodology for developing, researching and communicating youth work with diverse groups of young people will be created.

Name of the project: Peace School

Name of the initiative:“On the Paths of Gorski Kotar Peacemakers”: Preserving the Peace Heritage of Gorski Kotar and Revitalizing the Activities of the School of Peace in Gorski Kotar

Lead partner: Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Rijeka

Partners: 

• Primorsko-goranska county
• Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) Croatia
• Center for Peace Studies

Funding source: currently non-existent (previous activities financed from different sources or carried out pro bono)

Project duration: 21. 09.2022. –

Project description

The Peace School project is part of a broader initiative to preserve the peace heritage of Gorski Kotar, the only region in Croatia where peace and cooperation between ethnic Croats and ethnic Serbs was preserved during the 1990s. One of the key activities of this initiative is the revitalization of the Peace School, which was launched in Mrkopalj in 1994 by peace activist Franjo Starčević.

The vision of the modern Peace School is a society in which all members know how and why to cooperate constructively in peace, and violence is not an acceptable option. The goals of the modern Peace School are: a) preserving the experiences of the initial Peace School, its important social role, and the archives and memories of its founder Franjo Starčević; b) creating opportunities for acquiring and exchanging knowledge and experiences in the field of peace, tolerance and non-violent conflict resolution; c) promoting Gorski Kotar as a region of multiethnic cooperation and peace; d) contributing to the social and economic development of Gorski Kotar; e) contributing to building and preserving peace in Croatia and in the world.

From 2022 to 2024, this project carried out a series of workshops for high school students from Croatia (Rijeka, Moravice) and Serbia (Užice), workshops on reading and writing anti-war poetry, and a summer activist school for youth. In September 2024, the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Peace School in Mrkopalj was marked, with a memorial walk and a gathering of former participants and lecturers.

Name of the project: School and community

Short name: SiC

Lead partner: Institute for Social Research in Zagreb

Partners: 

• University of Rijeka, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies 
• First Croatian Gymnasium in Rijeka
• Center for the Culture of Dialogue

Funding: Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, University of Rijeka

Project duration: 1.1.2022. –

Project description

The School and Community project is being implemented in collaboration with the University of Rijeka, the First Rijeka Croatian Gymnasium, the Center for the Culture of Dialogue and the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. School and Community (SiC) is an optional subject of civic education in secondary schools, designed with the aim of changing the perspective on civic education by bringing the school closer to the community and the community closer to the school. The subject is an innovative and unique educational experience, and is linked and complemented by the cross-curricular topic of civic education as well as the outcomes in the curricula of subjects from the social and humanistic field of teaching and learning. SiC is based on the premise that in order to achieve personal and social well-being in students, it is necessary to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes about the importance of community connections and active individual action. Accordingly, students select, research, gain experience and propose solutions to certain phenomena and problems in the community that students independently identify from various thematic areas.

As part of SiC, a proposal for a curriculum for civic education in secondary schools has been developed. Activities implemented as part of the project include: training secondary school teachers to implement the subject, introducing and monitoring the implementation of the SiC in secondary schools, continuous mentoring support for teachers who implement the subject, and improving the existing SiC curriculum proposal with new knowledge and materials.

Document „SiC – Proposal for a curriculum for civic education in secondary schools

Name of the project: The Power of the Local

Lead partner: Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Rijeka

Funding source: Norvegian Embassy in Croatia

Project duration: One-time event – September 25, 2025.

Project description

An interdisciplinary international conference bringing together scholars and activists will be a unique opportunity to address these issues from multiple perspectives. The conference will be organized by the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Rijeka on September 25, 2025 in a hybrid format (live and online). Given the importance of the transgenerational transmission of positive memory and the criticality of the perspectives of new generations, the participation of young people will be encouraged.

The Public Policy Colloquium project is aimed at strengthening the capacities of the University of Rijeka, and in particular the University Institute for the Future, in the field of public policy. Although the University currently does not have a study program dedicated to public policy, a number of scientists working within the institution are active in individual sectoral policies. This project aims to create a platform for mutual cooperation and exchange of knowledge, as well as to encourage reflection on the introduction of a new study program in the field of public policy.

The project’s objectives include:

development of the institutional and scientific capacities of the University Institute in the field of political science, especially public policy,

conducting research in the field of public policy methodology,

strengthening cooperation among scientists involved in public policy,

encouraging dialogue between the academic community and the wider public,

dissemination of research findings to students and all interested stakeholders.

One of the key activities within the project is the launch of the micro-qualification “Public Policy Analysis”, which will enable students and professionals to acquire specific knowledge and skills in this important area.

The project is being implemented within the framework of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, in collaboration with political scientists from Croatia and abroad.

Project team members:

• dr. Marko Kovačić, Assoc. Prof. (University of Rijeka)
• dr. Ana Petek, Prof. (University of Rijeka / University of Zagreb)
• dr. Marjeta Šinko, Assist. Prof. (University of Rijeka / University of Zagreb)