Zlatica Zacharová: Let’s stop looking at differences and start being inclusive and supportive
From 25 to 28 August 2025, Bratislava welcomed more than 700 experts from 54 countries for the EECERA 2025 conference, organised by the Faculty of Education of Comenius University Bratislava. The four-day gathering of Europe’s leading early childhood education association focused on diversity and inclusion, with debates ranging from care for the youngest children to opportunities for international cooperation. At the helm was Zlatica Zacharová of the Department of Psychology and Pathopsychology, who led the organising team and later reflected on the challenges of staging such a major event.
We meet as the conference draws to a close, in the foyer of the Slovak National Theatre. The final lecture has just ended on the main stage. How do you feel in these last moments of the event?
Honestly? Like a thousand trucks drove over me. I'm feeling exhaustion and satisfaction at the same time. For four days we mostly worked in English. The whole year of preparations was also in English – we communicated with our British partners from the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), who run the EECERA conference, and we had regular online meetings with them every month. I had to switch my mind and work systematically. What seemed frightening at the beginning eventually became a clear and structured process in which we knew exactly what had to be done and by when.
Why was Bratislava eventually chosen to host the conference?
I attended my first EECERA conference in Bologna in 2017. Back then I spoke with the association’s vice-president about the fact that the conference had not yet been held in our region, and I also became the coordinator for Slovakia. The organisers look for locations that are accessible to European guests but also financially feasible for participants from third countries. Bratislava was an ideal choice – close, affordable, and attractive at the same time. We chose suitable venues back in 2023, and a year later a delegation of the EECERA board (President Christine Pascal and the editor-in-chief of the EECERA Journal Tony Bertram, together with colleagues from CREC) came to inspect the premises we had chosen. They confirmed the Slovak National Theatre as the main venue for lectures and the Faculty of Arts as the venue for symposia. We considered the Faculty of Education, but opted for the Faculty of Arts building on Gondova street due to its proximity to the theatre as well as the beautiful space of the covered atrium and the Moyzes Hall, which became important spaces during the event.
Organising an event like this must have been extremely complex. What was the biggest challenge?
The budget was perhaps the toughest challenge. Creative work demands not only ideas but also careful accounting, with every euro checked to stay within limits. Venues posed another hurdle – Bratislava simply doesn’t have many halls for 800 or 900 people. And then there was inclusivity: ensuring full accessibility for wheelchair users, as well as catering that covered kosher, halal, vegetarian diets and a host of allergies and intolerances. Such details shape the atmosphere participants notice. We were deeply grateful to our catering partners for their professional service and for meeting every request from delegates, who even named us the conference with the best food. Because in the end, good meals, welcoming spaces and kind people matter just as much as the academic programme. Above all, we wanted participants to feel comfortable - and safe.
The programme also included a visit to an inclusive kindergarten, which drew great interest. How did you manage to organise that?
It wasn’t easy, because in the last week of August kindergartens are closed for hygiene checks. Thanks to the extraordinary effort of Dagmar Luknár, head of the Heydukova Inclusive Kindergarten in Bratislava, who secured the necessary permits and gained the cooperation of parents, we were able to welcome 43 international guests. They left delighted, and it was a tangible demonstration that inclusive education is possible despite bureaucratic and administrative hurdles.
What did the EECERA 2025 conference mean for Comenius University, and what opportunities did it create for Slovak experts in early childhood education and international cooperation?
The conference opened doors to the wider world, showing both our organisational discipline and our academic capacity. This year’s theme - education for all, celebrating diversity and inclusion - directly reflects the challenges we face in Slovakia, especially in caring for children aged 0 to 3. For PhD students it was a rare chance to present their work, gain experience, and make first international contacts and projects. International cooperation is crucial for us: it helps us track trends, build capacity, and open ourselves to new approaches. EECERA promotes the exchange of experience and the building of relationships that raise the quality of early education. Slovak experts thus had the chance to showcase their work on a global stage and draw inspiration from abroad.
Finally, what do you personally take away from the conference? And what message would you give to teachers and parents at the start of the new school year?
Gratitude, above all. I had a team that stood with me, colleagues who gave their all, and 55 wonderful volunteers (students of pedagogy, psychology and even secondary schools) who made sure everything ran smoothly. They were the invisible heroes of the conference, and I am very proud of them. Enthusiasm and positive energy spread quickly through the team, which made it much easier to tackle even the most difficult situations. And it’s similar in families in September. The start of the school year is always stressful. Teachers and parents alike should remember that children absorb stress from us adults. But when calm and good humour prevail at home, school also becomes a pleasant place. I share the view expressed by the regional governor at the opening: education must be fun. If we add humility and love for our work to that fun, inclusivity comes naturally - sometimes without us even noticing. To be inclusive, we don’t need countless methods or tools; it is enough to listen, to be aware of others’ needs, and to respond to them with respect.
Eva Kopecká