Professor Elisabeth Sherwin, PhD, a professor and research project leader at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, delivered the opening remarks on behalf of the partner institution in Arkansas. She emphasised the importance of international collaboration in vulnerability research and invited other researchers to become actively involved in future discussions and joint projects.
The panel brought together researchers and interested participants working on social and digital vulnerability, digital inclusion and exclusion, and methodological approaches to defining and measuring these phenomena. At the heart of the discussion was a presentation by DIGI-HR project leader Assistant Professor Erik Brezovec, PhD, who outlined contemporary theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding vulnerability.
In his presentation, Brezovec further developed the concept of vulnerability in the context of digital inclusion and exclusion, emphasising that it cannot be understood as a fixed characteristic of particular groups, but rather as a relational and measurable phenomenon. Vulnerability, he explained, arises when individuals or groups have reduced opportunities to access, use or benefit from digitally mediated forms of communication, participation and everyday functioning.
He particularly emphasised that vulnerability arises from the interaction between risk and response capacity, meaning it can be understood through the relationship risk + response = vulnerability, as well as from the broader interplay of structural inequalities, social position and limited resources that affect individuals' ability to anticipate, avoid or recover from adverse circumstances. This approach also enables empirical research into vulnerability through dimensions such as digital independence, dependence on support, and the consequences of digital exclusion for social participation and wellbeing.
He also stressed the importance of distinguishing vulnerability from resilience, emphasising that individuals or communities can be vulnerable in one respect while resilient in another.
In the context of digital vulnerability, key factors highlighted included the availability of digital resources, levels of digital skills, socioeconomic status and opportunities for social participation. It was emphasised that digital inequality encompasses multiple dimensions — from access and affordability to quality of use and digital competence.
During the discussion, Associate Professor Marica Marinović Golubić, PhD, from the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Croatian Studies also presented another international project that the Faculty is conducting with Michigan State University. The project investigates foreign workers from Asia in Croatia, focusing on various aspects of their lives, work and safety. It was emphasised that this group is often exposed to multiple forms of social and digital vulnerability.
The panel prompted a lively and substantive discussion among participants, raising numerous questions about operationalising the concept of vulnerability and its potential application in different research contexts.
At the end, it was announced that the next panel would take place in June with a wider range of participants. Other researchers working on social and digital vulnerability were also invited to join the continuing discussion and collaboration.