This page focuses on the current project of IRMO’s Department for Culture and Communication CULTMED – Interdisciplinary Research on Cultural and Media Policies and Practices: Developmental and Democratic Potentials (December 31, 2023 – December 31, 2027), funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026, NextGeneration EU program.
CULTMED focuses on research related to the development of culture and cultural policy, media and media policy in Croatia and defines the local, regional, national, European and global environment of Croatian culture and media. The project aims to establish the necessary structural conditions for ongoing research in the fields of culture and media by setting up two centres of excellence: the Centre for Cultural Policy Research, Development and Cooperation (CULTURELINK) and the Centre for Media Sociology and Digital Society (CEMEDIG). These centres will also engage external collaborators who will be actively involved in the centres’ activities.
By building such a framework, the project seeks to improve the sustainability, visibility, and systematic long-term approach to cultural and media research. The two centers will provide the communication infrastructure needed for the implementation of the planned activities during the project duration and ensure long-term monitoring of research in these areas beyond the four-year project cycle
This page also contains information on other current and completed projects carried out within the Department for Culture and Communication, an archive of conferences organized by the Department and the Culturelink Network, as well as selected scholarly monographs published by the Department’s researchers.
News – Culture and Media
DEVELOPER Project Research Presented at the Srce Conference
Dr Paško Bilić, principal investigator of the project Digital Data, Infrastructures and Development (IP-2022-10-2780), presented project findings at the Srce DEI 2026 conference organised by the University Computing Centre Srce. The presentation, entitled “A Typology...
Save the date: Culturelink Guest Lecture Series – Dr Katja Praznik: Comrades or Colleagues? The Class Challenges of Participatory Research and Policy Advocacy for Cultural Workers
As part of the CULTMED project, CULTURELINK – Centre for Research in Cultural Policy, Development and Cooperation, invites you to the eighth lecture in the Culturelink Guest Lecture Series. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 16h, in the library...
Discussion on cultural democracy and international cooperation held at IRMO as part of the Oracle Cultural Network’s Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the European network Oracle Cultural Network, titled Culture, Public Space and Democracy in Times of Disruption took place in Zagreb from 23 to 25 April 2026. As part of the programme, a discussion on cultural democracy and international...
IRMO at the 7th International Scientific Conference “European Realities: Peace” in Osijek
Upon the invitation of the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, IRMO was one of the co-organisers of the 7th International Scientific Conference “European Realities: Peace”, held in Osijek on 14 and 15 April 2026. Researchers from the Institute for Development and...
Dr Paško Bilić will present the book Rethinking Media and Communication (DeGruyter Brill, 2026) to the international academic community (IAMCR book talk)
Dr Paško Bilić and Dr Thomas Allmer (University of Paderborn, Germany) will present the book Rethinking Media and Communication: A Critical Sociological Lens, published in 2026 in the Studies in Critical Social Sciences series by DeGruyter Brill. The book brings...
Jaka Primorac, PhD, to participate in an ENCATC talk on challenges, inequalities, and transformations of creative work in Europe
Jaka Primorac, PhD, Senior Research Adviser at the Department for Culture and Communication of the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), will participate in the online discussion Creative Work in Europe: Challenges, Inequalities, and New...
Dr Jaka Primorac gives a lecture at the BLOK and SPID educational program
On March 18, 2026, Dr Jaka Primorac, collaborator at the CULTMED project, gave a lecture entitled 'Main Characteristics of Work and Employment in the Cultural Sector' at the Croatian Architects' Association. The lecture was organised as part of the educational program...
Researcher from the Department of Culture and Communication participated in the training programme CLIMB #1 in Italy
Dr Dea Vidović, Senior Research Assistant and associate on the CULTMED project, participated as one of the facilitators and lecturers in the three-day international training programme CLIMB #1, held from 17 to 20 March 2026 in Piemonte, Italy. CLIMB #1 was developed...
Dr. Barbara Lovrinić Higgins and Dr. Aleksandra Uzelac participated in the international conference 11th ICARUS Croatia Days: “(Re)Discovering Archives: From Research to Storytelling”
The 11th ICARUS Croatia Days were held in Stubičke Toplice from 18 to 20 March 2026 under the title (Re)Discovering Archives: From Research to Storytelling. The conference brought together numerous participants from Croatia, Montenegro, Hungary, Estonia, and other...
New edited volume published: Creative and Cultural Work in Europe (Routledge)
The book Creative and Cultural Work in Europe is published by the renowned international publisher Routledge. The volume is edited by Bård Kleppe (Telemark Research Institute, Norway), Jaka Primorac, research associate on the CULTMED project, Miikka Pyykkönen...
Dr Eleonora Redaelli held the lecture “Invisible Cultural Policy in America”
On Wednesday, 26 February 2026, the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) in Zagreb hosted a guest lecture by Dr Eleonora Redaelli, Associate Professor at the University of Oregon (USA), entitled “Invisible Cultural Policy in America”, as part...
CULTMED Project Coordinator Participated in the International Conference “Cultural and Creative Industries & Heritage: Ecoexperience”
Dr. Aleksandra Uzelac, coordinator of the CULTMED project, participated in the international conference “Cultural and Creative Industries & Heritage: Ecoexperience”, which took place in Petrovac na Moru from 4 to 8 March 2026. The conference was organized by the...
CEMEDIG CENTER
CEMEDIG – Centre for Sociology of Media and Digital Society
The CEMEDIG Center promotes and directs the research of the Department of Culture and Communications in the field of media sociology, a special branch of sociology characterized by interdisciplinary openness to related disciplines in the field of social sciences and humanities. This particularly applies to economically oriented topics, such as the political economy of the media, and legal and political topics, such as media regulation. In the context of digitization, the term digital sociology is often used as a term close to media sociology, and the focus is on specific development topics such as data infrastructures, platforms, digital data, digital media literacy, and data justice.
CULTURELINK CENTER
CULTURELINK – Centre for Research in Cultural Policy, Development and Cooperation
CULTURELINK Centre was established in 2024 as a result of IRMO’s long-term engagement in coordinating the Culturelink Network. The Centre aims to build on and further develop IRMO’s affluent research repository and decades-long commitment to coordinating the global cultural network (culturelink.org) for research and collaboration in the field of cultural development, which gathered more than 2000 institutional and individual members from all continents since its establishment in 1989. Culturelink Centre’s work and activities will provide an organizational and infrastructural framework for the Department of Culture and Communication national and international research partnerships and collaborations c contributing to the wider outreach and better visibility of the Department’s research results.
