December 17, 2025

On 29 October 2025, civic educators and civil society practitioners from Croatia and across Europe met in Zagreb for a NECE Lab focused on a question that has moved from the margins to the centre of local politics: how to build inclusive communities amid new migration realities.

Croatia is in the midst of a rapid migration transition. Labour market liberalisation in 2021 accelerated immigration, and since 2022 the country has recorded positive net migration. Many new arrivals are labour migrants from third countries, including Nepal, the Philippines, and India. This shift is reshaping workplaces, neighbourhoods, and public services. It brings economic potential, but it also raises practical questions about integration, civic participation, and shared responsibility in a context marked by demographic decline and labour shortages.

The NECE Lab formed the third day of the international workshop The Migration Transition in Croatia: Current State and Perspectives (27–29 October 2025). While the earlier programme concentrated on research findings and policy debates among academics, policymakers, employers, and civil society, the Lab created space for exchange and joint problem-solving. Its purpose was to move discussion closer to practice and to identify approaches that can be tested and adapted locally.

A central aim was to connect Croatian organisations with European partners and to examine civic education as a tool for integration. Contributions drew on concrete experiences from different local contexts. Esmeralda Breshani (Initiative ARSIS, Tirana), Traian Danciu (Arbeit und Leben NRW, Düsseldorf), and Aurora Meyring (International Rescue Committee, Berlin) shared insights grounded in everyday work with migrant communities. Their perspectives addressed community support, access to rights, labour mobility, and inclusion in the workplace, anchoring the discussion in lived realities rather than abstract models.

The Lab also highlighted the breadth of Croatian civil society responses to migration. Participants heard from initiatives working through dialogue, legal assistance, psychosocial support, arts and culture, youth engagement, and social enterprise. The organisations presented included the Center for Cultural Dialogue, Jesuit Refugee Service, Centre for Peace Studies, Youth Culture Centre “Ribnjak”, ACT Group in Čakovec, and the Rehabilitation Centre for Stress and Trauma. Together, they illustrated how integration efforts are already embedded across sectors and local settings.

In the second part of the day, participants worked collaboratively to map key challenges and identify gaps in current approaches. This was followed by a focused solution sprint, during which mixed groups translated shared observations into practical ideas, potential partnerships, and next steps that could be pursued beyond the event.

The workshop was organised by the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar within the Horizon Europe We-ID project, in partnership with THE CIVICS Innovation Hub and the association Znanje na djelu, with support from Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and ERSTE Foundation. The NECE Lab took place within the broader NECE framework, funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Stay connected

If you would like to learn more about the Lab or connect with the organisers, you can reach out to:

Damir Mužina (THE CIVICS Innovation Hub): muzina@thecivics.eu

Petra Ignjatović (Znanje na djelu): petra.ignjatovic@znanjenadjelu.hr

*This NECE lab was curated by THE CIVICS Innovation Hub in partnership with Znanje na djelu.

** NECE is financially supported by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education | bpb and led by THE CIVICS Innovation Hub.