Assistant Paula Zujić participates in youth panel at the 7th Croatian Emigration Congress in Vukovar

Paula Zujić, Teaching and Research Assistant at the University Department of Sociology of the Catholic University of Croatia, participated in the 7th Croatian Emigration Congress, held in Vukovar from June 25 to 28, 2026, under the theme “How to Transform Croatia: Diaspora - Immigration - Demography.”

As part of the Congress programme, she took part as a panellist in the discussion “Young People in Croatia – Observers, Agents, or a Departing Generation? The Role of Youth in Shaping Social and Migration Processes in Croatia.” The panel explored the position of young people in contemporary Croatian society, particularly in the context of political, economic, demographic, and migration-related developments.

The discussion was moderated by Maria Bajić, MA in Sociology. Alongside Paula Zujić, the panellists included Gabrijel Lukić, President of the Youth for the Homeland Association; Bruno Penava, President of the Epsilon Association and Head of the Academy on Bosnia and Herzegovina project; and Ana Aračić, a student and member of Anomija, the Sociology Students’ Association at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb.

The discussion also drew on the findings of the Study on Youth in Croatia 2024, conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. Against this backdrop, participants addressed topics including young people's active citizenship, emerging forms of political and social participation, their relationship with public institutions, the challenges they face in Croatia, as well as new opportunities and perspectives for their involvement in shaping the country's future.

By participating in the panel, Assistant Zujić contributed to the interdisciplinary discussion on the role of young people in demographic, migration, and broader social processes, highlighting the importance of creating conditions in which young people are not merely observers of social change, but active participants in shaping it.