On June 29, the Institut français de Slovaquie – French Institute in Slovakia and the Institute for Democracy at UMB in Banská Bystrica organized a meeting on the topic of democratic resilience, civil society and its engagement in Slovakia in the presence of experts from various backgrounds.
The discussions highlighted the area of research and fieldwork of the Institute for Democracy at UMB, presenting the results of ongoing research and the project “Together for Resilient Democracy” and the format of the Small Human Forum implemented in Slovak regions.
In his introductory speech, the director of the Institut français de Slovaquie – French Institute in Slovakia, Mr. Olivier Favre, recalled the words of José Ortega y Gasset: “Civilization itself is nothing more than an effort to limit the use of force as a last resort.”
Jozef Michal Mintal, a researcher at Matej Bel University and co-founder of the Institute for Democracy at UMB , began his presentation by recalling that “democracy is more than just an idea” and expressed the institution’s wish to “reinvent democracy through the necessary creation of spaces of trust”.
During the discussion, geopolitical analyst Grigori Mesežnikov spoke and supported the “creation of communities of dialogue”. During the presentation of the “Human Forum”, Mrs. Zuzana Janíčková called on the attendees to celebrate democracy, and everyone reminded of the importance of the fight for “resilient democracy”.
Text and pictures: French Embassy in Slovakia