Keynote speakers KOMPAS 2026

Edita Slunjski, PhD, Full Prof., University of Zagreb, Croatia

Edita Slunjski is a Full Professor of Pedagogy at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, where she teaches courses in early and preschool education, curriculum studies, and alternative pedagogical approaches, and serves as the course leader for Early Childhood Curriculum in the doctoral programme in Pedagogy. She began her professional career as an early childhood educator and pedagogue in kindergartens, an experience that has enduringly shaped her scholarly and professional work through a strong grounding in practice.

She is one of the most influential authors and experts in the field of early and preschool education curriculum in the Republic of Croatia. As the head of the expert working group of the Ministry of Science and Education, she led the development of the first National Curriculum for Early and Preschool Education of the Republic of Croatia, which came into force in 2015 and constitutes the foundation of the contemporary curricular approach in Croatian kindergartens. She also contributed to the development of the Strategy for Education, Science and Technology and to the development of a national methodology for monitoring the quality of early and preschool education institutions.

She is the author of more than one hundred scientific and professional papers and 25 books, six of which are scientific monographs used as required or recommended literature at teacher education faculties and faculties of humanities and social sciences in Croatia and the region. She is the recipient of the National Award for Science and the City of Zagreb Award for her outstanding contribution to the development of theory and practice in early and preschool education, particularly in the area of curriculum.

She is the President of the Croatian Pedagogical Society, a long-standing collaborator with numerous European universities, and a regular participant and invited speaker at national and international scientific conferences. Her research interests include early childhood curriculum, quality and leadership in educational institutions, qualitative research, and contemporary and alternative pedagogical approaches.

Cristian Fabbi, Director of Fondazione Reggio Children, Italy

Cristian Fabbi is an International Early Childhood Education Expert working for UNICEF. He is currently working in Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia and Uzbekistan to reform the ECEC curriculum and the in-service teachers' training programmes.

He is also Director of the Foundation Reggio Children, and has been President of Reggio Children SRL (2022-2025). He served as President of the Reggio Emilia Preschool system operating agency (Istituzione Scuole e Nidi del Comune di Reggio Emilia) from 2019 to 2022. He holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a master's degree in Early Childhood Education and is a certified Relational Psychotherapist. He worked as a school psychologist from early childhood to high school, working with children, teachers, and parents from a systemic perspective.

He started his working experience in the Documentation and Research Center of the Reggio Emilia preschools. He has extensive experience in managing Early Childhood Education systems in the public and private sectors. He worked in the Early Childhood Care and Education Unit at the International Bureau of Education (IBE) of UNESCO, developing programmes and initiatives to improve quality early education in Africa and Asia. Specifically, he worked in Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Chad, Eswatini, Guinea Conakry, Laos, Rwanda, and Seychelles. He extensively worked in Kosovo with different NGOs (Caritas, RTM) to develop quality pre-primary education in the Country. In Palestine, on behalf of Fondazione Reggio Children, he coordinated the licensing of private preschools across different directorates in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

In Albania, he worked with UNICEF on adapting the Child-Friendly Cities framework and on the in-service training of preschool teachers. He also worked for Save the Children on creating the Guidelines for ECCD, with the Observatory for Children's Rights on the guidelines for children's participation in urban planning.

Dženeta Camović, PhD, Assoc. Prof., University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dženeta Camović is an Associate Professor at the Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. She obtained her bachelor's degree (2005), master's degree (2011), and PhD (2017) at the Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo.

In her academic and scholarly work, she focuses on early and preschool education pedagogy, child development and parenting, creative pedagogy, and contemporary curriculum approaches.

She is the author of the scientific monographs Developmental Perspectives on Early Childhood and Parenting: A Supportive Family Environment and Child Development in Early Childhood (2021) and Developmental Perspectives on Creative Pedagogy: Understanding Development and Fostering Creativity in Early Childhood (2023), as well as the book Reggio Pedagogy – Understanding, Possibilities, and Challenges of Contemporary Educational Practice (2024). She is also a co-author of the handbook for preschool educators Healthy Growing Up (2021) and the author of approximately twenty scientific papers.

She has participated in several research projects and regularly presents at national and international scientific and professional conferences, actively contributing to the development of theory and practice in early and preschool education.

Tijana Borovac, PhD, Assoc. Prof., University of Osijek, Croatia

Tijana Borovac is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek. Her academic and professional work focuses on early and preschool education, with particular emphasis on initial teacher education, professional development of practitioners, leadership in early childhood education and care (ECEC), and action research.

She graduated from the Faculty of Education in Osijek, where she obtained the qualification of preschool teacher, and subsequently completed a degree at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek (majoring in Marketing Management). She earned her PhD in Pedagogy at the Doctoral Programme in Pedagogy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, with a dissertation focusing on children's social interaction in age-heterogeneous groups in early and preschool education settings.

In her academic teaching, she is involved in delivering courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels of early and preschool education studies, with a focus on integrated curriculum, leadership in ECEC, and action research. She is the author of numerous scientific and professional papers addressing issues of quality in early and preschool education, professional development of educators, children's play, executive functions, and children's participation.

She has been a member of several national and international scientific and professional projects (including projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, UNICEF, and the Adris Foundation), aimed at improving practice and developing competent systems in early and preschool education and care. She actively participates in national and international scientific and professional conferences and serves as a member of programme and organising committees of relevant conferences in the field of ECEC.

Together with Ida Somolanji Tokić, she is one of the initiators of the international conference KOMPAS – Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care, through which she actively contributes to linking scientific knowledge, teacher education, and educational practice.

Ida Somolanji Tokić, PhD, Asst. Prof., University of Osijek, Croatia

Ida Somolanji Tokić is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, where she works at the Department of Social Sciences and the Centre for Methodology and Professional Practice. She earned her degree in Pedagogy and Croatian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek, and completed her PhD in Pedagogy at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. Her doctoral dissertation focused on curricular meeting places in children's transitions from ECEC to primary school, under the supervision of Edita Slunjski.

In her academic teaching and research work, she delivers courses in ECEC pedagogy, integrated curriculum and project-based learning, children's play, educational transitions, and action research, and is involved in the delivery and coordination of methodological exercises and professional practice in kindergartens.

She is the Head of Sub-Department of Preschool Pedagogy, where she actively contributes to the development of study programmes, the improvement of the quality of professional practice, and the strengthening of links between higher education and educational practice.

Her scientific and professional interests focus on the integrated curriculum of ECEC, professional development of educational professionals, reflective practice, children's play, and transitions between educational levels. She is the author of several scientific and professional papers published in national and international journals and one of the co-authors of the first university textbook in ECEC pedagogy in the Republic of Croatia, which is used in the education of pre-service ECEC educators and pedagogues.

She actively participates in national and international scientific and professional projects, conferences, and training programmes aimed at improving the quality of ECEC. She is involved in the implementation of professional licensing examinations for ECEC educators and pedagogues working in kindergartens, thereby contributing to the development and maintenance of professional standards in the ECEC system.