News
04.12.2025 |
Survey: People in Slovakia Believe in the Power of Elections but Fear for Democracy
For the first time, Slovakia has measured perceptions of the state of democracy through the Democracy Perception Index. According to the results, people have strong confidence that elections can change the direction of the country. At the same time, however, Slovakia ranks among the European nations with the greatest concerns for the pillars of democracy. The survey was conducted […]
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01.12.2025 |
Slovakia Needs Greater Resilience. Impact Summit Will Show Where to Find It
The third edition of the Impact Summit brings discussions on both personal and societal resilience and connects people from business, public administration, and civic initiatives. Among the keynote guests are hockey legend Dominik Hašek, Czech entrepreneur and philanthropist Dalibor Dědek, and representatives of the team of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian opposition movement. At a […]
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04.11.2025 |
They Want to Create a Better World. Who Are the Ten Finalists of 2025 Impact Summit #nextgen?
Some work in international organizations, others are launching their own startups or have extensive experience in the civic sector. What unites the participants of the #nextgen program is a strong motivation to address societal challenges and bring innovative, meaningful solutions. Slovakia is experiencing a noticeable outflow of young talents abroad. At the Pontis Foundation, we […]
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17.09.2025 |
The Theme of This Year’s Impact Summit Is Resilience, with the Central Motto “The Power Within Us”
Resilience represents the ability to cope with challenges and obstacles we face every day. At a time when democratic countries are being threatened by hybrid warfare, legislative and verbal attacks from domestic politicians, as well as the threat of an actual military conflict, resilience has become a key skill for institutions and individuals alike.
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28.01.2025 |
Political Parties Benefit from the Division into “Us” and “Them” (Video)
Cultural anthropologist Helena Tužinská and social anthropologist Juraj Buzalka spoke with scientist Samo Kováčik about the collapse of trust in society from the scientific perspective.
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23.01.2025 |
How to Engage Young People in Public Affairs (Video)
The Swedish entrepreneur and philanthropist spoke about the Daniel Sachs Foundation, which he co-founded to support political innovation and explore ways to strengthen democracy in times of crisis.
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15.01.2025 |
Should Nonprofits Accept Money from Oligarchs? (Video)
Hungarian entrepreneur Zoltán Varga, Václav Muchna from the Czech Republic, and Andrej Kiska Jr. representing Slovakia discussed the responsibility of philanthropy and business in supporting democracy in the Central European region.
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10.01.2025 |
How to Prevent Radicalization and Heal the Society (Video)
A direct encounter with death led him to fight against terrorism. “It starts with ourselves,” says the survivor of Breivik’s attack. Watch the recording of Bjørn Ihler’s talk at the Impact Summit. The second year of the Impact Summit featured many powerful stories showcasing ways to tackle today’s challenges. One of them was shared by Bjørn Ihler, a […]
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11.12.2024 |
Impact Summit 2024 Opened a Debate About Trust
For the second year, Impact Summit connected over 300 people from civil society, business, and public administration to seek out solutions for current societal issues. The event is organized by the Pontis Foundation and this year’s theme was trust. Among the speakers were Norwegian extremism expert and a survivor of Anders Breivik’s attack Bjørn Ihler, […]
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13.11.2024 |
Hungarian Activist defends NGOs despite police raid
For Veronika Móra, the fall of the Berlin Wall was just the beginning. At the upcoming Impact Summit, she will share how the fight for democracy and the environment is ongoing and never truly ends.
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24.10.2024 |
Breivik attack survivor now helps fight extremism
Bjørn Ihler has survived a terrorist attack in his youth. A personal experience influenced his decision to start helping victims of extremism. At this year’s Impact Summit, he will talk about where denial of difference and diversity can lead, including how to create space for dialogue in a divided society, and how to find trust in people and the world.
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10.09.2024 |
We don’t trust institutions or each other in Slovakia. Trust as the central theme of this year’s Impact Summit
We are acutely aware of the state our country is in. Society is divided into camps, constructive solutions are being squeezed out by populism, and the civil sector, together with the rule of law, is facing a lot of pressure.
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06.12.2023 |
Impact Summit welcomed the advisor of President Barack Obama as well as an academic authority on social innovation
The event brought together over 250 people from civil society, business and government. Impact Summit also created an opportunity for conversations on topical issues such as recession of democracy, local engagement and social innovation.
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27.11.2023 |
From transparency to the climate crisis: Who makes our country better?
We present the changemakers from Slovak civil society organizations.
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23.11.2023 |
Democracy and citizens: how to increase people’s engagement at the local level?
The challenges facing the world in recent years are bringing about a recession of democracy and increasingly contributing to the polarisation of society. It is local governments that are proving to be more credible than national governments, because they have the ability to actively involve citizens and to respond both flexibly and innovatively to urgent […]
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16.11.2023 |
New perspective at the role of public administration in promoting democracy
Sustaining and strengthening a democracy that serves everyone is both a matter and a responsibility for all of us — not only for politicians, but also for civil society and people working in public administration. That’s why the Impact Summit will feature Multitudes Foundation, Sarah Durieux and Jeff Kwasi Klein. They will speak about an innovative perspective […]
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08.11.2023 |
Collective process increases likelihood of success, writes Johanna Mair
Quick pathways to impactful solutions are rare. Forming coalitions and prioritising collaboration over individual action can slow the implementation of social innovation. However, a collective process increases the likelihood of an innovation’s success in the long run.
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07.11.2023 |
Political innovations: a necessity for democracy and a bogeyman for authoritarian leaders
Johanna Mair, a Stanford professor, describes the new concept of political innovation in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. It was developed in response to the recession of democracy, which has been accompanied by an increase in polarization, authoritarianism and social conflict (1). This concept emphasizes that innovation can be an effective means of addressing the political problems that constrain democracy.
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06.10.2023 |
President Barack Obama’s advisor to speak at Impact Summit
Ben Rhodes will provide a global perspective on the recession of democracy, and we will also welcome an academic from Stanford University and public figures from Slovakia.
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28.09.2023 |
Social innovations and democracy will be the main themes of the Impact Summit
The conference will bring together people from business, civil society and government. Together they will seek solutions to key challenges facing society.
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