On February 26, the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) in cooperation with the Center for Independent Culture “Citadela” organized a public discussion in Rimavská Sobota on the topic Is Slovakia resilient to external threats? The event took place as part of the IVO project Road Show “Experts to the People”, supported by the Open Information Partnership. IVO experts Zora Bútorová (sociologist), Miroslav Kollár (media and political analyst) and Grigorij Mesežnikov (political scientist) discussed with the citizens of Rimavská Sobota. The event was moderated by Miroslava Čierna (Citadela). 65 citizens were present, mainly from Rimavská Sobota, but also from Banská Bystrica, Veľký Krtíš and other locations.
In their introductory contributions, IVO experts addressed various issues related to the ability of society and individuals to resist attempts by external forces (foreign authoritarian states) to undermine the cohesion of a free society, weaken democratic institutions, reduce trust between people, spread false historical narratives, and question the country's pro-Western foreign policy orientation. The discussion with citizens focused on factors that increase or decrease the resilience of society, in particular the role of social actors (politicians, representatives of state institutions, civic activists, media representatives, etc.).
Zora Bútorová and Grigorij Mesežnikov gave an interview to online platform rimava.sk:
The first part of interview of Zora Bútorová and Grigorij Mesežnikov with Katarína Pavlík Smaczna (rimava.sk)
The second part of interview of Zora Bútorová and Grigorij Mesežnikov with Katarína Pavlík Smaczna (rimava.sk)
Photo credit: Eva Nagyová
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