As part of the BaBe project, which is being implemented with the support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, the second thematic conference entitled 'Reconciling family and work life: the role of employers in creating balance' was held on 29 November 2024 at the premises of the Croatian Employers' Association. The conference brought together numerous experts who spoke on this current topic, and a video from the 'Equality without excuses' campaign was also premiered.

President of the BaBe association Petra Kontic opened the conference by emphasizing that the main goal of the conference is to identify obstacles in working practices that can be changed without significant investment, which will benefit both employees with young children and employers, taking into account the difficulties faced by working parents. As an interesting part of the research, she particularly highlighted the statements of male respondents who said that they do not participate in household chores because they do not know how, and that this is why we are running a campaign with the motto 'If you don't know, learn. Let's share the chores at home', in collaboration with the designer Gogom Golik, gave ten instructions on how to perform simple household chores.

Gender Equality Ombudsperson Višnja Ljubičić She spoke about the importance of balancing work and private life, and in this context the position of women in the labor market, creating conditions for the active inclusion of women in the labor market through appropriate balancing of work and private life, the activities of the Ombudsperson institution, including those from the EU Ombudsperson project "Towards real equality between men and women: balancing professional and family life".

Anita Dzapo from the Croatian Employers' Association emphasized that employers should provide employees with both flexible working conditions and adequate support. As concrete measures, she suggested the possibility of working from home or remotely. She particularly emphasized the importance of lifelong learning and the need for more active engagement of local authorities in solving problems such as the lack of kindergartens and preschool teachers.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, Department of Sociology, addressed the gap between the theory and practice of gender inequality in unpaid domestic work in Croatia. She emphasized that changing the position of women is made more difficult by the transmission of unequal relations to new generations, with girls copying their mothers and boys copying their fathers. She also added that, unfortunately, there is no country in which complete gender equality has been achieved.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada from the University of Zadar addressed the situation of working parents in Croatia, emphasizing that men are increasingly involved in childcare, while women still bear the bulk of the burden in other aspects of household responsibilities. She presented the results of research conducted in 2022 and 2023, which examined what family life is like in Croatia and what changes could improve their situation. The research in six Croatian regions revealed, among other things, that women are more likely to work part-time, while as many as 15% women in the coastal region were employed "on the undeclared basis". She called the stigma and ridicule that men faced for taking parental leave particularly worrying.

Dr. Blanka Čop from the Faculty of Law in Split warned that the conflict between private and professional life negatively affects the quality of life, health and productivity of employees. She particularly highlighted the problem of overlapping work and private obligations, noting that the results of the survey showed that 54.71% of respondents were contacted by employers outside of working hours, while 461% worked overtime. When it comes to sick leave due to a child's illness, mothers more often took on this responsibility (641%), while the fact that 181% of respondents did not have the opportunity to use sick leave in such situations is worrying. On the other hand, 601% of respondents had the opportunity to perform private obligations during working hours, but here too men were in a more favorable position, as they used this opportunity more often.

Asst. Ph.D. sc. Željka Zdravković from the University of Zadar spoke about the working conditions of young people in Croatia and presented the results of research on the transition of young people from adolescence to adulthood, with finding their first paid job, entering into a marriage/partnership and becoming a parent being some of the most important life events. The research showed the presence of gender differences in the labor market, while working conditions are the most important predictors of young people becoming independent from their parents, entering into a life partnership and becoming a parent.

The lecture was followed by a panel on examples of good practices of employers who encourage the creation of a positive work environment, which was attended by representatives of various companies: Andreja Gracin (Telemach), Antonija Vojnović (Span), Danijela Haralović (Helen Doron), Martina Bastašić (Undabot) and Kristina Volf (Brigada).

The participants presented a range of measures that their companies are implementing to make it easier for employees to reconcile family and work life. These measures include free medical check-ups, gifts for newborns, paid leave to take a child to the doctor, a day off on the first day of school, reboarding for mothers returning from maternity or parental leave to adapt to changes in the workplace, flexible working arrangements, remote work, flexible working hours, breastfeeding rooms, and the organization of family days within the company. These measures show how employers can actively contribute to the balance between employees' work and private obligations.

The conference brought together 38 participants from various sectors, including representatives of employers, ministries, local authorities, academia, civil society and the media, which enabled a dynamic exchange of experiences and ideas. It is expected that the conclusions of the conference will contribute to the design of concrete measures and initiatives to facilitate the reconciliation of family and work life in Croatia.

We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition as part of the campaign "Equality without excuses", which will be held on Monday, December 2, 2024 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Rijeka (University Avenue 4). The exhibition is being organized by the association BaBe Be active. Be emancipated., and will be open to visitors until Friday, December 6, 2024.

With this exhibition, we want to draw attention to the problem of the unequal division of household chores in the family, where most of the burden still falls on women, who participate in these chores in a significantly higher percentage. Men often miss out on everyday household duties, citing reasons such as: "I never learned that.", "I don't have that habit.", "I'm better at other things.", "It's not for me.", "Tell me what to do and I'll do it.". At the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to explore steps and tips that encourage equal participation of all family members in household chores. With a shared understanding and sharing of responsibilities, everyone can contribute to a fairer and happier family environment.

The exhibition is part of the campaign "Equality without excuses" which is implemented within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society in the area of 'Reconciling private and professional life'. Through the campaign, we aim to stimulate a broader social debate and raise awareness about a more equal distribution of household chores.

We look forward to your arrival!

We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition as part of the campaign "Equality without excuses", which will be held on Monday, November 25, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., at the Matija Petar Katančić Memorial Center, Valpovo (Trg kralja Tomislava 12). The exhibition is being organized by the association BaBe Be active. Be emancipated., and will be open to visitors until Thursday, November 28, 2024.

With this exhibition, we want to draw attention to the problem of the unequal division of household chores in the family, where most of the burden still falls on women, who participate in these chores in a significantly higher percentage. Men often miss out on everyday household duties, citing reasons such as: "I never learned that.", "I don't have that habit.", "I'm better at other things.", "It's not for me.", "Tell me what to do and I'll do it.". At the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to explore steps and tips that encourage equal participation of all family members in household chores. With a shared understanding and sharing of responsibilities, everyone can contribute to a fairer and happier family environment.

The exhibition is part of the campaign "Equality without excuses" which is implemented within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society in the area of 'Reconciling private and professional life'. Through the campaign, we aim to stimulate a broader social debate and raise awareness about a more equal distribution of household chores.

We look forward to your arrival!

On October 23, 2024, from 9:00 to 15:00, at the premises of the Judicial Academy in Zagreb, Maksimirska cesta 63, the sixth workshop for judicial officials was held as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project, with the aim of strengthening capacities to combat online violence against women. The workshop was attended by 17 participants.

Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, gave a presentation on the topic Criminal acts of violence against women committed via the Internet or with the use of information and communication technologies: legal qualification of acts committed online and presentation of the most common criminal acts committed online and their specificities, with an emphasis on the most common criminal offenses. Renato Grgurić, an expert in IT forensics from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, gave a presentation on the collection of digital evidence and cross-border access to electronic (digital) evidence for the purpose of effectively prosecuting online violence against women and searches of holders of electronic (digital) evidence. Judge of the Velika Gorica County Court Ivana Bilušić gave a presentation on the topic of PThe European Court of Human Rights' ruling on the issue of online violence against women and examples from case law and concerns.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

On October 21, 2024, the fifth in a series of workshops for judicial officials as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project was held at the Regional Center of the Judicial Academy in Osijek. The workshop was attended by 9 participants, employees of the county court and municipal and county state attorneys' offices from the Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Virovitica-Podravina and Slavonia-Brod counties.

Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, gave a presentation on the legal qualification of crimes committed online, with an emphasis on the most common ones.

Renato Grgurić, an IT forensic expert from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, gave a presentation on collecting digital evidence and cross-border access to electronic (digital) evidence for the purpose of effectively prosecuting online violence against women and searching for holders of electronic (digital) evidence.

Ivana Bilušić, judge of the Velika Gorica County Court, gave a presentation on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights related to the issue of online violence against women and presented examples and concerns from case law.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

On October 17, 2024, the BaBe association hosted a Syrian delegation as part of a study visit organized as part of the project "Education for Peacebuilding", in cooperation with the EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) and the Duderi organization. The visit aimed to exchange knowledge, experiences and best practices between Croatia and Syria in the field of education and peacebuilding. The delegation consisted of Dina Aboul Hosn, Sabiha Khalil, Alise Mofrej, Alice Chempf, Doris Awwad, Dania Yakoub, Naz Hami and Louise Bouzar. All participants have many years of experience working on education and peacebuilding in Syria. The representatives of the BaBe association presented an overview of their activities to promote gender equality in education, with a special emphasis on projects aimed at youth and human rights education. They particularly highlighted the experiences from Croatia in advocating for gender-sensitive education policies. The Syrian delegation showed interest in the specific challenges Croatia has faced in implementing gender-sensitive education initiatives and ways of engaging with decision-makers in this field. They discussed how these examples could be adapted and applied in the Syrian context. The importance of education as a tool for fostering peace and stability, especially in conflict-affected societies, was highlighted.

As part of the BaBe association project, which is being implemented with the support of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, the first thematic conference entitled "Reconciling family and work life: perspectives and challenges in public policy". The conference was held on 9 October 2024 at the House of Europe in Zagreb, with the aim of opening a structured dialogue with the Ministry of Demography and Immigration and other relevant stakeholders. The focus of the conference was on identifying current challenges and needs in implementing policies that enable a better balance between private and professional life, as well as on planning future activities in this area.

Introduction and key topics

The conference was opened by Petra Kontić from the BaBe association with a welcoming speech, presenting the importance of the project and the need for coordination of public policies that support the balance between family and work responsibilities. Keynote speakers from different sectors presented their expert opinions and experiences, highlighting different aspects of the problem.

Dr. Željka Josić, MD, State Secretary of the Ministry of Demography and Immigration, held a presentation on the topic "Demographic policies and measures: balancing work and family in contemporary society"She highlighted the challenges facing families in today's society and presented the demographic measures that the Government is implementing to facilitate the reconciliation of family and work obligations.

Iva Prpić, M.Sc. from the City Office for Social Protection, Health, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities presented the activities of the City of Zagreb regarding the reconciliation of work and private life. The City of Zagreb is implementing a number of measures that include support for parents and social services for families.

Assistant Professor Anka Kekez Koštro, Ph.D. from the Faculty of Political Science highlighted the importance of public services in the process of balancing family and work life. High-quality and accessible public services, such as kindergartens, schools and social welfare, are key to enabling parents to more easily balance their private and work obligations.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada from the University of Zadar spoke about the specific challenges faced by families in Croatia. In a presentation titled "Families in Croatia: work, housework, children", Barada highlighted gender inequality in the division of household chores and childcare and their impact on women's employment.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suzana Košir from the University of Maribor shared the Slovenian experience through the topic "Political participation and private life of women: the example of Slovenia"Slovenia has had some successes in promoting gender equality, but challenges remain, particularly in the context of women's political participation and their private responsibilities.

Research results

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada presented the results of a public opinion survey conducted in 2022 as part of the BaBe association project entitled "The impact of public policies on the quality of family and working life and on the demographic picture of Croatia - spaces of change", conducted by the Department of Sociology, University of Zadar. The research showed that in Croatia there is still a pronounced imbalance between the family and professional lives of working women and men. Women are more affected by the conflict between work and family obligations, which negatively affects their quality of life.

It was found that the reconciliation of family and work responsibilities is closely linked to social policy, flexible working conditions and the availability of public services. The conference participants agreed that it is necessary to create a comprehensive public policy that will encompass the above aspects and enable a better balance between private and work life.

Conclusion and recommendations

The conference opened the space for further public debate on topics related to the reconciliation of family and work life and laid the foundation for recommendations for improving public policies. In particular, the need for harmonization of strategic documents at the national and European levels was highlighted in order to create a comprehensive framework for achieving a balance between family and professional obligations of women and men.

The conference brought together 35 participants from different sectors, including representatives of ministries, local governments, academia, civil society and the media, which enabled a rich exchange of experiences and knowledge. It is expected that the results of this conference will contribute to the development of concrete measures and activities that will facilitate the reconciliation of family and work life in Croatia.

On Friday, October 4, 2024, the fourth in a series of workshops as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project was held in the Regional Center of the Judicial Academy in Split.

The workshop was intended for judicial officials, judges and state attorneys, with the aim of strengthening capacities to combat online violence against women, and 11 participants participated in its work.

The workshop leaders were Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, and Ivana Bilušić, judge of the County Court in Velika Gorica.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

On September 27, 2024, the third in a series of workshops as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project was held at the Regional Center of the Judicial Academy in Rijeka.

The workshop was intended for judicial officials, judges and state attorneys, with the aim of strengthening capacities to combat online violence against women, and 13 participants participated in its work. The participants are employees of the Municipal Court in Rijeka, the County Court in Rijeka, the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Rijeka, the County State Attorney's Office in Rijeka, the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Pazin, the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Pula, the County State Attorney's Office in Pula, and the Judicial Academy.

Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, gave a presentation on the topic Criminal acts of violence against women committed via the Internet or with the use of information and communication technologies: legal qualification of acts committed online and presentation of the most common criminal acts committed online and their specificities, with an emphasis on the most common criminal offenses. Judge of the Velika Gorica County Court Ivana Bilušić gave a presentation on the topic The case law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the issue of online violence against women and Examples from case law and dilemmas.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

On September 27, 2024, we hosted 14 representatives of the FEM Süd organization from Vienna, who marked their 25th anniversary with this study visit. FEM Süd is a health center for women, parents, girls and young women that offers counseling, workshops and lectures on mental and physical health, as well as sexual and reproductive rights.

The meeting was held with the aim of exchanging good practices, knowledge and experiences. At the meeting, we presented the work of the BaBe association through programs and projects in the field of prevention of violence against women and gender equality. We talked about the position of women in Croatia and Austria, the economic problems women face, mechanisms for protecting women victims of violence, the availability of health services and the reconciliation of private and professional life.