When Josipa Friščić first joined the Erasmus Student Network in Zadar, Croatia, it was her way of participating in student exchanges without needing the grades or exorbitant fees required to do so.
Little did she know that it would one day lead to her advocating for disability rights with the European Commission, the primary executive arm of the European Union.
From Croatia’s countryside to Brussels
Friščić was 18 when she moved from Croatia’s countryside to the Dalmatian coast of Zadar for her studies in Tourism and Travel Services Management.
This was where she started volunteering with the local Erasmus Student Network (ESN) – a non-profit organisation whose mission is to represent international students by providing opportunities for cultural understanding and self-development under the principle of Students Helping Students.
Friščić’s involvement with ESN was more than just for a line to spruce up her CV – it made her student life all the more vibrant. Source: Josipa Friščić
“That’s how I kind of got into communications in the first place,” says Friščić.
Her first role with ESN Zadar was as a Project Coordinator, organising activities and campaigns that promoted internationalisation and integration of international students into local communities.
Ten months later, she was quickly promoted to Communication Manager, where she produced a video that received an international award from ESN International and recognition from the President of Croatia.
The positions and projects she’s taken on in ESN since then include (but aren’t limited to):
- Project Coordinator at ESN Croatia, where she coordinated a team to work on SocialErasmus+, which brought international students to local primary and secondary schools to encourage an open dialogue across cultures to empower intercultural awareness.
- Project Communication Officer at ESN, where she and her team implemented Social Inclusion Days, an annual initiative providing opportunities for international students to expand their knowledge of their host countries’ cultures.
- Liaison Officer for Inclusive Mobility at ESN, where she worked on the reaction paper to the Commission Implementing Decision – framework of inclusion measures of Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps 2021-27.
“I spent seven years volunteering at ESN at a local, national, and international level, and every time it would be some kind of communications-related position,” shares Friščić.
They say that your university days are the best times of your life – Friščić could say the same too. Source: Josipa Friščić
Spending this much time working at ESN, Friščić slowly lost interest in her tourism studies.
She eventually quit.
In fact, those higher education credentials weren’t needed to land her a full-time job in Brussels. Her employer? The organisation that she’s been volunteering with all this time: ESN, through the European Solidarity Corps programme.
But after working for some time with them and moving on to two other companies, Friščić noticed there would always be some doors closed to her without a degree.
In the end, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Public Relations, and Social Media online from DOBA Business School, almost four years after she stopped her tourism studies.
Perhaps it was fate that Friščić ended up studying in Brussels, Belgium – the headquarters of the European Commission. Source: Josipa Friščić
How to get involved in regional organisations
Given Friščić’s extensive work with ESN and Inclusion Europe, an organisation championing the voice of persons with an intellectual disability and their families in the region, the dream of working at the European Commission shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“We attend a lot of training and workshop presentations, learning how to present yourself, public speaking, and all of those things are funded by the EU projects. All of your expenses are covered, and you gain knowledge,” she adds. “That’s how you feel that the EU invests in you, and when I entered the workforce, I had the sense that I wanted to give back and return on that investment.”
But she realised one thing she was missing out on compared to those already in the European Commission: people there had an average of two degrees and four languages.
With that realisation, Friščić chose to pursue a master’s degree in Communication Studies, Digital Media in Europe from Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
With Brussels being the headquarters of not one but multiple EU institutions, choosing to pursue her studies here simply made sense.
Plus, at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, she could learn from experts who worked in those institutions, and sure enough, one of her lectures featured professionals from the space who would speak on their job and how the theory she was learning would be put into practice in the real world.
And the cherry on top? Being enrolled in the programme allowed Friščić to join traineeships at organisations to earn credits. She chose The Right Street Digital agency to pick up Google Ads and enhance her client relationship management skills, something she credits for helping her close the gap in her CV.
Friščić’s work in disability rights has brought her to high places, such as the European Parliament, to receive the European Citizen’s Prize on behalf of Inclusion Europe. Source: Josipa Friščić
What advocating for disability rights in Europe looks like
There’s much to champion for in the world – better mental health initiatives, more women in engineering, and even more inclusive gaming for all.
Friščić chose to focus on disability rights across Europe.
While volunteering with ESN, she worked with communities that supported people with disabilities and other support needs.
“That propelled me into going to trainings to learn more about social inclusion and communication,” shares Friščić.
The turning point, however, was a summer workshop in Serbia funded by Erasmus+.
Friščić’s had joined on a whim, inviting along her friend Filip for the trip just so they’d get out of the house. They applied, got accepted, and on the day of departure, when Friščić asked Philip what the project was about, both realised that neither had read the brief.
“And it turned out to be the best event ever,” laughs Friščić. “We met the most inspiring people there, learned sign language, and how to communicate disability rights. That’s kind of what propelled me to disability rights, and I think that’s pretty much why I got the job at Inclusion Europe, because when I went on an interview, they asked how my interest in it started, and I just shared about my experiences, and they really liked that.”
This chance encounter would unveil to her a calling.
“There are not a lot of people – especially those without disabilities – advocating for disability rights,” she says.
“But there are people who will need more support systems, who don’t necessarily have the voice to communicate their needs. That’s something that others have to help them with.”
And Friščić is doing just that.
From advocating for disability rights amongst students to the wider European region, there’s no telling what Friščić will achieve next. Source: Josipa Friščić
Some of her biggest achievements to date include working on Inclusion Europe’s “My Talents for Diversity” project – a campaign that tackled promoting diversity management amongst private and public employers.
The project mapped good practices in terms of inclusiveness around Europe and offered capacity building and training to employers and employees with intellectual disabilities. This aimed to facilitate the process of employing people with intellectual disabilities, but also raised awareness amongst employers on the possibility of hiring them.
The work was acknowledged by the European Parliament and was awarded the European Citizen’s Prize, which recognises initiatives that contribute to European cooperation and the promotion of common values.
Another big win for Friščić was when Inclusion Europe was invited to be an official communication partner of the European Parliament in 2023.
“One of the biggest advocacy outcomes that we had the European Parliament, including making the official page easy to read,” shares Friščić. “It really goes to show how much they learned about it as well, and how much they think it’s important for everyone to have the information in a way that’s accessible for them.”
But perhaps what made this achievement all the sweeter was Friščić’s personal history with this particular piece of work. In 2019, she was involved in the European Elections as a student ambassador, and now, she’s making waves with them too.
Friščić has had a long journey in advocating for disability rights thus far, but she’s showing no signs of stopping. Source: Josipa Friščić
Last but not least, Friščić was named a Key Influencer in Social Inclusion Communication by EU Bubble Insider.
This title was granted to her alongside fellow advocates like Shada Islam, the Managing Director at New Horizons Project, which provides a range of advisory, communication, and strategy services to the EU, international institutions, foreign missions and embassies, as well as businesses and civil society organisations, and Wietse Van Ransbeeck, the CEO & Co-Founder at Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab), a platform that facilitates efficient citizen participation and helps in driving better policy decisions.
And to think, there’s more to come for Friščić, especially as she takes on her next role as a Communication Consultant at her dream organisation: the European Commission.
“It’s a really long-awaited aspiration to work directly for the European Commission,” says Friščić. “I’m so excited to work there, use my knowledge and skills to advance their work plans, and just to be there directly and learn from them.”
