International Conference of the SolidCareLab
Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
17-18 March 2027
Deadline for Abstract Submissions: September 30, 2026, via the form
Conference Theme
Philanthropy, Solidarity, and Care: Mobilising for the Common Good in Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe (SEE) is both a geographic region and a historically contingent, politically charged position within the world political economy. SEE is also a geographical referent with fluid boundaries. For this call, we use an inclusive working list of countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey (alphabetical; no implication for borders or recognition).
Across much of the region, structural disadvantages have deepened amid rising illiberalism and authoritarianism. While these conditions erode institutional capacity, they also provoke citizens to mobilize for the common good. Underfunded welfare systems, moreover, have given rise to emergent forms of care, mutual aid, and philanthropy that provide a distinctive window onto the contemporary politics of care in SEE.
At the same time, SEE continues to occupy a subordinate place within the global division of epistemic labour. Knowledge produced about the region is often filtered through Western analytical frameworks that inadequately capture local histories, institutions, and repertoires of civic action. As a result, forms of engagement that resist neoliberal restructuring and authoritarian tendencies, generating new solidarities are too often misrecognized or rendered theoretically derivative.
This conference starts from the premise that the region should be treated not merely as a site to which theory is applied, but as a site from which theory can be developed. We invite scholars, practitioners, and activists to present original research on citizen mobilization in Southeast Europe and to translate empirical findings into broader conceptual and theoretical contributions. In doing so, the conference aims to advance more adequate accounts of philanthropy, solidarity, and care, while also contributing to wider debates on how the common good is imagined, defended, and reorganized under contemporary conditions of crisis and transformation.
Conference tracks
Local Initiatives, Commons and Public Good: Who Owns Natural Resources and Public Spaces in SEE?
Across Southeast Europe, “public” assets (water, forests, parks, rivers, urban spaces) sit at the fault line of neoliberal commercialization and illiberal centralization. Civil society responses, ranging from hyper-local stewardship to country-wide mobilizations, test how commons can be defended, re-made, or co-governed. The stream asks: who actually exercises property-like control (legal owners, concessionaires, party networks, or communities), and which institutional designs protect the public character of shared resources under authoritarian drift and climate stress.
- Who determines what counts as the public interest and common good?
- Who truly controls access to, and benefits from, so-called public goods?
- How do authoritarian and illiberal drift reshape the rules of the game?
- In what ways are commons organized, managed, and governed?
- What role do philanthropy and solidarity play in sustaining or reclaiming commons?
- What are the reach and the limits of local initiatives?
Philanthropy and Social Welfare: Who Cares for the Vulnerable in SEE?
Welfare systems remain underfunded and fragmented across Southeast Europe. The gaps fall back on families, most often on women, who end up shouldering unpaid, often invisible care work. Simultaneously, civil society frequently assumes responsibility for addressing needs that public welfare systems are unable to meet. Various forms of mutual aid and philanthropy, in its many forms (foundations, corporate contributions, diaspora remittances, crowdfunding initiatives, etc.) often bridge gaps in areas such as healthcare, food security, support for the homeless, assistance for older adults and persons with disabilities, and protection from poverty and violence. Yet critical questions remain: does this mosaic of interventions re-publicize care by strengthening public capacity and rights, or does it instead entrench privatized survival strategies, where access depends on charity, chance, or social capital?
This stream interrogates:
- Who determines what counts as need?
- In what ways is vulnerability recognized and addressed?
- How is care structured and delivered?
- Who bears responsibility for ensuring the provision and quality of social welfare?
- In what ways do mutual aid groups respond as needs increase?
- What role does formal and informal philanthropy play when it comes to vulnerable groups?
- How does philanthropic logic reinforce, or conflict with, social citizenship and the state’s duty of care?
Keynotes speakers
Čarna Brković, University of Mainz
Heath Cabot, University of Bergen
Abstract Submissions
Abstracts should be submitted in English and should be between 350 and 500 words in length, not including references. Because submissions will undergo blind review, abstracts must be anonymized and should not contain author names, institutional affiliations, or any other identifying details.
To be considered for review, each abstract should include:
- a title
- a statement of the empirical and/or theoretical concern
- references to the relevant wider literature
- a concise account of the methodological approach
- the main argument, together with an indication of the supporting evidence
- a statement of the principal conclusions
- a statement of the main conclusions.
Registration fee
Standard rate: 80€
PhD students: free of charge
Important dates
Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026 via this form
Notification of Acceptance: October 31, 2026
Registration: November-December, 2026
Conference takes place: March 17-18, 2027 in Belgrade
Conference Academic Committee
- Bojan Baća, PhD, researcher Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Montenegro
- Bojana Radovanović, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia
- Büke Boşnak, PhD, Associate Professor, İstanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
- Catherine Herrold, PhD, Associate Professor, Syracuse University, USA
- Dominika Polanska, PhD, Associate Professor, Södertörn University, Sweeden
- Jelena Kupsjak, PhD, University of Zadar, Croatia
- Jelena Vasiljević, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia
- Lev Fejes, PhD, Director, Research Centre for Civil Society, Romania
- Ljiljana Pantović, PhD, Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia
- Majda Hrženjak, PhD, Researcher, The Peace Institute, Slovenia
- Maja Pupovac, PhD, Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia
- Sara Nikolić, PhD, Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia
- Srđan Prodanović, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Conference Host Comitee
- Bojana Radovanović, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory – chair
- Jelena Vasiljević, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Ljiljana Pantović, PhD, Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Maja Pupovac, PhD, Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Marija Radovanović, Research Assistant, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Nemanja Anđelković, Research Associate, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Nevena Mijatović, Research Associate, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Sara Nikolić, PhD, Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
- Srđan Prodanović, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory
About SolidCareLab
SolidCareLab of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade conducts interdisciplinary theoretical and applied research focused on the concepts of philanthropy, solidarity, and care. Taking their historical context into account, while placing primary emphasis on contemporary social challenges, SolidCareLab examines the theoretical, ethical, and practical conditions for building mutual aid, the common good, and care as key social and political values, particularly in the context of health, experiences of pain and suffering, as well as social inequalities and discrimination.