On September 17, 2018, the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) and the POLIS Foundation with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) organized a public debate in Žilina Youth, Slovakia and Europe. The event took place within the IVO project „Country at the Crossroad“, consisting of a series of public discussions with participation of experts and citizens on topical issues of society’s development in several Slovak cities.
Sociologist Oľga Gyárfášová (IVO/Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of Comenisu University), political scientist Grigorij Mesežnikov (IVO), secondary school teacher Janka Mladenková and student Barbora Palušová (both Bilingual Gymnasium, Žilina) took part in the discussion. Discussion was moderated by Lucia Faltin (POLIS Foundation).
Participants focused in the discussion on factors influencing formation of young people's values, position of youth in contemporary Slovak society, its role in the process of democratization, reforms and European integration of the country. Particular attention was paid to the current trends in the engagement of members of today‘s young generation in civic activities, the purpose of which is to achieve the positive changes in the state of rule of law, justice, and fight against social grievances. The topics of discussion also included the problems of the education system and search for suitable starting points for their solutions. IVO experts reported about findings from the research-analytical projects of the institute focused on youth and the relationship of young people to democracy and Europe, to identity issues.
