The Community Resilience Lab, held from April 22 to 26, 2025, brought together over 150 researchers, activists, artists, and community members to reflect on social inequalities, integration, and collective resilience during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through interdisciplinary exchange and participatory formats, the Lab explored how communities have resisted, survived, and reimagined futures of care, justice, and solidarity. The lab was a closing event of the ENDURE project funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. It was jointly organized by IRMO, the Center for Peace Studies, and the Center for the Theatre of the Oppressed – POKAZ.
The opening day featured a Research Forum on Community Resilience and Social Inequalities During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Hosted at Joyful Kitchen, the forum gathered registered participants for an in-depth dialogue on how communities responded to intersecting crises during the pandemic, with a focus on social, education and migrant justice, racial and class disparities, and community resilience.
The second day featured a public conference centering on integration as a multi-sited and contested process. The day opened with a keynote and workshop session led by Mohammed Badran (Syrian Volunteers in the Netherlands), titled Migrant Voices at the Center: Coalition-Building and Community Knowledge Production. Afternoon parallel sessions Rethinking integration: Lessons from the Shadow Report on the Implementation of the Integration Measures in Croatia explored pressing themes including: Anti-racist Politics: Policy Recommendations and Community-Based Approaches, Health & Wellbeing in Inclusive Societies: Public Health Access, Mental Health Support, and Social Care Policies, Schooling & Social Cohesion: Accessibility in Education and Inclusive Practices for Migrant Students. These sessions bridged research, policy, and grassroots perspectives on integration and social inclusion.
The Lab concluded with a Legislative Theatre performance and community conversation under the theme Thinking & Being With Community. This participatory event engaged the audience in reflecting on real-life struggles and imagining transformative responses. It was followed by a communal gathering featuring Taste of Home and culinary offerings from Lazeez, highlighting the link between food and community.
