The morning of the 22nd Visegrad Summer School began with inspired opening remarks from Director of the Villa Decius, Dominika Kasprowicz who welcomed all the guests and participants to the official opening of the VSS. All the guests were thanked, those present and those in absentia, beginning with the Donors: the International Visegrad Fund, the city of Kraków PL, and the Małopolska Region. Gratitude was also shown to the partners: the Václav Havel Library, People In Focus, the Bratislava Policy Institute and the Cracovia Express Foundation.
We started VSS with the V4 Diplomats’ Debate which focused on the role of the Visegrad Group, its capacities and efficiencies during turbulent times.
There were four participants making up the V4 Consular Corps:
H.E Břetislav Dančak, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Poland;
Madam Consul Lenka Pifkova Consul of Slovakia (in the stead of Madam Consul Zlata Šipošová);
Márta Ritecz-Sekulic, Consul of Hungary in Krakow, and
Rafał Domisiewicz, Deputy Director of the European Policy Department in Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Adam Balcer, Program Director at the Jan Nowak-Jezioriański @College of Eastern Europe, moderated the discussion.
The debate was lively and proved relevant to contemporary Europe. One of the key points emphasised was the role of the Visegrad in the face of the assaulting war on Ukraine, the positioning of Hungary and Slovakia, and that of Poland and the Czech Republic vis-a-vis Russia’s aggression. H.E. Dančak stated that reconciling the vital needs of each of the V4 while also showing solidarity against forces threatening to destabilise the V4 cooperation and the EU proved to be the common theme in political forums.
The debaters also considered the necessary steps to achieve stern unity. Madam Consul Pifkova emphasised communication as a key matter in all socio-political discourse. Madam Consul Ritecz-Sekulic considered joint operations and information sharing on education, healthcare and other prominent industries that could solidify the V4 even further.
Attendants of the VSS were also encouraged to ask questions and many seized the opportunity to challenge the debaters with tough questions on the relationships navigating the V4 conglomerate, the future of the Green Deal, and ultimately, the future of young people and their role in their political communities.
The debate concluded on a note of positive engagement from students and experts alike, and it marked a successful start to the summer school.
Stay tunned for more updates ❤
fot. P. Mazur
