Program
07:30 – 09:00
Networking Breakfast
09:00 – 09:15
Opening Session
• Martina Kolesárová, Executive Director | Pontis Foundation
09:15 – 09:35
Even Vulnerability Needs Its Data (Executive Summary)
• Dominika Hajdu, Program Director | GLOBSEC
09:35 – 10:15
Leadership and Resilience
• Zuzana Čaputová, Former President of Slovak Republic
• Dominik Hašek, Legendary Hockey Goalie and Activist
10:15 – 10:55
The Role of Media in Building Societal Resilience (Panel Discussion)
• Ivan Antala, CEO | Bauer Media Group
• Lukáš Fila, Publishing Director | Denník N
• Alexej Fulmek, Publishing Director | Petit Press
• Peter Gažík, CEO | Markíza Group
• Laura Kellö Kalinská, Host | Journalist | aktuality.sk
10:55 – 11:20
Break
11:20 – 12:00
Power and the Resilience of Nations
• Dmitri Teperik, Co-founder and Director-General | Resilient Ukraine, Estonia’s National Centre for Defence & Security Awareness
• Zsuzsanna Szelényi, Founding Director | Democracy Institute Leadership Academy
• Zuzana Papazoski, Moderator | Resident Senior Director, National Democratic Institute
12:00 – 12:40
Business, Corporate Engagement, and Support for Civil Society
• Silvia Hroncová, Exucutive Director | Film Europe Media Company
• Andrej Zaťko, CEO | 365.bank
• TBC
• Lucia Okšová, Host | Editor in Chief, Forbes
11:20 – 11:50
The Impact of AI on Resilience
• Mária Bieliková, Founder | Kempelen Institute for Intellinget Technologies
• Vladimír Šucha, Visiting Professor | European University Institute, Florence
• Jakub Goda, Host | Publicist
11:50 – 12:00
Impact Stories: Stories of People Who Are Changing Slovakia I.
12:00 – 12:20
Personal Resilience of a Leader under Authoritarian Regimes (Online)
• Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement
12:20 – 12:40
The Belarusian Democratic Movement: A Voice from Exile
• Kryscina Šyjanok, Director | Office of Belarus Democratic Forces in the Czech Republic
• Karim Pedersen, Head of International Communications | Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
• Lukáš Onderčanin, Host | Head of Foreign Desk of SME Daily
12:40 – 13:40
Lunch Break
13:40 – 13:50
Democracy in Slovakia: What the Data Say About Its Resilience
• Martin Slosiarik, Director | FOCUS
13:50 – 14:00
Impact Stories: Stories of People Who Are Changing Slovakia II.
14:00 – 14:40
Two Perspectives on One Year
• Zuzana Kovačič Hanzelová, Journalist | SME Daily
• Martin Hanus, Editor in Chief | Postoj
• Iva Mrvová, Host | Researcher, Masaryk University
14:40 – 15:10
The Voice of Business and Philanthropy: Courage to Raise Important Issues
• Dalibor Dědek, Founder | JABLOTRON
• Martin Staňo, Host
15:10 – 15:35
Building Personal Resilience
• Adam Dolník, Negotiator | vyjednavame.cz
14:15 – 14:30
What Does Gen Z Think About Democracy? I.
• Pavlína Louženská, Founder | TrendBrews
14:30 – 14:55
What Does Gen Z Think About Democracy? II.
• Bára Stárek, Executive Director | Díky, že můžem
• Marek Mach, Chair | Mladí o.z.
• Elena Gallo Kriglerová, Moderator | Director, Centre for Research on Ethnicity and Culture
14:55 – 15:35
Strengthening Democracy from the Ground Up
• Gazela Pudar Draško, Director | Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
• Eva Bordos, Director | DemNet
• Zuzana Papazoski, Moderator | Resident Senior Director, National Democratic Institute
15:35 – 16:10
Break
16:10 – 16:50
From Dissent to Today
• Julia Sherwood, Translator
• Marta Šimečková, Translator
• Oľga Gyárfášová, Associate Professor | Comenius University in Bratislava
• Michal Hvorecký, Host
16:10 – 16:50
Truth in Times of Crisis
• Nataliya Gumenyuk, Founder | Public Interest Journalism Lab
• Jeremy Druker, Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief | Transitions
• Pavol Szalai, Moderator | Director, Reporters Without Borders Prague
16:50 – 17:00
Stories of Resilience
What do well-known public figures draw on when life gets difficult? In a series of short videos, Roman Samotný, Zuzana Baťová, Martina Kavalírová, Peter Kaščák, Katarína Koščová and Beata Balogová share the moments that tested them — and what helped them keep going.
17:00 – 17:25
When Belief in the Right Cause Outweighs Fear
• Nika Kovač, Founder and Director | 8th of March Institute
16:50 – 17:00
Closing Words
• Martina Kolesárová, Executive Director | Pontis Foundation
17:35 – 22:00