Left their mark – Civil Society Organisations in Slovakia: challenges and perspectives

The event reflected the progress of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia programme, which supported Slovak CSOs in involving citizens in decision-making and public policy-making processes, in efforts to create better conditions for good governance, in protecting human rights and providing civic education, and in improving the position of vulnerable groups in society. It was also a nice conclusion to the Active Citizens Fund Slovakia programme as a whole.

The lectures and discussions were attended by a total of 49 participants, mainly grantees of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia programme, from various non-profit organizations from all over Slovakia. 

In addition to 13 speakers from Slovakia, we had the opportunity and honour to welcome a speaker from the Czech Glopolis, Jana Miléřová, and a speaker from the Croatian SOLIDARNA – Zaklada za ljudska prava i solidarnost, Ivan Blažević.

Programme and highlights of the event

The participants were welcomed by Peter Medveď from the Ekopolis Foundation, who gave an insight into the process of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia programme. The opening speech was followed by a series of lectures and panel discussions focusing on different aspects of civil society.

The main parts of the programme included:

Lecture on Social Cohesion: Hugo Gloss from the DEKK Institute presented important topics related to social cohesion with regard to Slovak society

• Lecture on civil society in Croatia and the Czech Republic: Jana Miléřová from the Czech Glopolis and Ivan Blažević from the Croatian Solidarna – zaklada za ljudska prava i solidarnost brought perspectives on the situation – how civil society is doing in the selected countries.

• Space for grantees: 2 discussion panels entitled “We care: for public things, for those in need and for our own development” and “We care: Human Rights and the Rule of Law” were discussed with the participation of organizations such as CINEFIL, Association STORM, Otvor dvor o.z., Rainbow in the East, Centrum Slniečko and VIA IURIS

• ACF Slovakia through the eyes of the evaluators: Krajinka, s.r.o. provided a view of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia programme from a different perspective, from the evaluators’ point of view. It also brought a lot of interesting and factual information arising from the data collection during the evaluation of the programme.

• Challenges and perspectives of the non-profit sector in Slovakia: Peter Medveď from the Ekopolis Foundation, Laura Dittel from the Carpathian Foundation and Ján Orlovský from the Platform for Democracy discussed the challenges and perspectives of the non-profit sector in Slovakia and answered questions such as how they assess the preparedness, coordination and solidarity in the non-profit sector in Slovakia? 

The event ended with a concert by the talented singer Lara Abou Hamdan, which was held in a pleasant atmosphere and closed a day full of inspiring moments.

Big thanks to all speakers and participants for their contributions and participation. We look forward to further meetings and continued discussions on important issues of civil society in Slovakia.

 

The final brochure of the event was also presented at the event, which contains charts, a list of supported projects, examples of good practice and reflects the overall course of the ACF – Slovakia programme. This brochure can be found at this link.

A video of the event can be viewed here 👇