The “Your Rights Are Not a Privilege” Conference will be held on the University of Dubrovnik Campus on 20 and 21 November 2025. Through a rich programme featuring panels, lectures and a workshop, the conference will welcome a well-known athlete, a comedian, a TV host and many other engaging guests. Students will have the opportunity to share their own experiences, from physical challenges to learning difficulties.

The conference is organised by students of the Faculty of Media and Public Relations at the University of Dubrovnik as the central event of the Academic Inclusion project.

The conference opens on Thursday, 20 November at 17:00. Paralympian Mihovil Španja and writer and publicist Davor Novevski will share their experiences of overcoming physical challenges in the panel “Behind the Medal, Behind the Joke.” The panel will be moderated by Prof. Lelia Kiš Glavaš, PhD, Chair of the Committee for Students with Disabilities at the University of Zagreb.

The lecture “Challenges and Support: Experiences of Deaf Students” will take place at 18:10, followed by a sign language workshop, both delivered by Ivona Katušić and Vedran Kastrapeli, President and Vice President of the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

On Friday, 21 November at 10:00, the programme continues with the lecture “The Support System for Students with Disabilities – Past, Present and Future”, delivered by Kiš Glavaš.
A one-on-one conversation titled “Dyslexia” at 10:55 will feature TV host Mia Kovačić and student Sara Kalogjera, who will discuss their experiences with dyslexia.
At 11:40, adventurer and travel writer Slaven Škrobot will hold a lecture titled “A Journey Without Steps,” reflecting on life with a disability.

The conference concludes with the panel “Colleagues, Friends, Partners – Between Support and Challenges” at 13:00, featuring Katarina Gjenero, mag. psych. (Polyclinic for the Protection of Children’s Mental Health, Dubrovnik General Hospital), Lukša Vragolov, mag. paed. soc. (Family Centre Dubrovnik), Silva Capurso, PhD (Community Service Centre Dubrovnik), Ante Kolunđija, student of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Dubrovnik, and Jelena Bupić, mag. psych., psychologist at the University of Dubrovnik.

This event serves as a reminder that the Academic Inclusion project was conceptualised and organised by students of the Faculty of Media and Public Relations with the aim of raising awareness of the challenges students face throughout their academic journey. The “Your Rights Are Not a Privilege” Conference was preceded by a series of nine lectures held at the University of Dubrovnik from 16 October to 14 November 2025.
As with the lectures, the conference is open to all students, lecturers and members of the public who wish to contribute to creating a more accessible and inclusive educational environment.

The Academic Inclusion project was funded by the Student Union of the University of Dubrovnik. The project was also supported by the following sponsors:
Restaurant Nautika, Love Bar, G-Moda, Plavo, Vidmar Zulab, Slatko kao cukar, HoneyDu, Cukarin, Sanitat Dubrovnik, Viva, Vinarija Bubrig, Mezzanave, Digital Print Pogon, DB-Kantun, Caffe bar Time, Turistička zajednica grada Dubrovnika.