Doc. PhDr. Michal Vašečka, PhD (1972) is sociologist by background and focuses his interests on issues of ethnicity, race, antisemitism, and migration studies. As an Associate Professor he operates at the Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts (BISLA) since 2015 and he is a director of Bratislava Policy Institute. He operated at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in Brno in 2002-2017 and at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the Comenius University in 2006-2009. As a visiting scholar he operated at the New School University in New York (1996-1997) and at the University of London (1998), in 2008-2009 he lectured at the Georgetown University in Washington, DC, in 2015 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, in 2016 he was a scholar-in-residence in the ISGAP at Oxford University. Michal Vašečka is a founder of the Center for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture, he served a director of the CVEK (2006-2012). In 1998-2005 he operated at the Slovak think-tank Institute of Public Affairs as a program director on expert analysis of the Slovak transformation process with a focus on national minorities and the state of civil society in Slovakia. He has been a consultant for the World Bank in 2000-2008 and in 2011-2012. Since 2012 Michal Vašečka serves as a representative of the Slovak Republic in the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), human rights body of the Council of Europe. He is also as a vice-chairman of the governmental committee VRAX tackling extremism and racism in Slovakia. Michal Vašečka serves as a non-resident research associate at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg. In 2018 Michal became a laureate of the Award for special contribution in the field human rights of Minister of Justice of Slovakia.
Experts
Michal Vašečka
Luboš Veselý
Born in Prague. Graduated at the Institute for International Studies at Charles University (BA) in 2002. Student of Russian and Eastern European Studies at the Institute for International Studies at Charles University (MA). Part-time employment at the Foreign Politics Department of the Office of the Czech President in 2001-2002. Founding member, and since 2001 President of the Association for International Affairs. Former member of Prague Model United Nations Secretariat. Since 1998 works for People in Need Foundation (Human Rights and Democratization Projects). Author of several articles in International Policy, Respekt and Literární noviny magazines. Co-author of the Czech part of The Dictionary of Dissidents.
Alexander Vondra
Born in Prague. In 1984 graduated from School of Natural Sciences in Charles University and in 1985 earned the degree of Doctor of National Sciences from the same school. In 1980’s participated in the activities of Czechoslovakia’s democratic opposition. In retaliation for his organization of demonstrations in January 1989 and for the petition A New Sentences”, he served a two-months sentence in prison. In November 1989 Co-founder and leading member of the Civic Forum movement. 1990-1992: Foreign Policy advisor to President Vaclav Havel. Former First Deputy Minster of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Former Ambassador to the United States. Awarded National Endowment for Democracy’s Democracy Service Medal. The Czech Deputy Foreign Minister for Security. Governmental Commissioner of the Czech Republic for NATO Summit.
Ed Vulliamy
International reporter for the Guardian and the Observer in London. Honoured with several British journalism awards for his coverage of the war in the former Yugoslavia, including the James Cameron Award in 1994. Named International Reporter of the Year 1993 and 1994. Gratuated from Oxford University and the University of Florence.
Anna Wiśniewski
Counsellor,Consulate General of Hungary in Krakow. Holds PhD in International Economics (Modernization strategies and Monetary Accession: a comparative study of Poland and Hungary, University of Economics and Administration, Budapest, Hungary) and also has a Masters of Arts and Economics degree. Works as Associated research fellow at Institute for World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 2001 worked as a consultant responsible for Poland in Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary. Schollarships at Jagiellonian University, Catholic University in Lublin, University of Mons-Hainaut, Belgium.
Nina Witoszek-Fitzpatrick
Polish professor at Oslo University and Oxford University. After graduating with a degree in linguistics from Wrocław University, in 1988 Witoszek received a doctorate in comparative cultural history from the University of Stockholm. At the beginning of 2005 she was included among the top 10 most outstanding Norwegian intellectuals in a ranking published by Dagbladet magazine. Witoszek is also a novelist and screenwriter. The collection of short stories entitled Fables of the Irish Intelligentsia and published under her pseudonym garnered a prestigious literary award in Ireland and the story The Loves of Faustyna (translated into polish) have created a sensation on the British literary market. In 2005 she was awarded the prestigious Freedom of Expression Prize for "bringing novel, Eastern European perspectives into the Scandinavian public debate". She donated part of the award to establishing the Solidarity Europe Association. Her recent books include Culture and Crisis (Oxford, New York, 2003) and Daimons (New York, 2003).
Jacek Woźniakowski
Professor of history of art. Uniwersytet Jagielloński and Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski. He also was the chairman of the board of Villa Decius Association, now its Honorary President. He cooperated with Tygodnik Powszechny, was chief editor of Znak and chief editor of publishing house Znak. 1989 he took part in the Round Table negotiations. 1990-1991 he was mayor of the of city Kraków. Author of dozens of books: "Zapiski kanadyjskie", "Góry niewzruszone" and articles, interpreter of Bennett and Greene. For special merits for France in field of culture awarded with Croix de la Légion d'Honneur.
Maciej Zaremba
Born in Poland. Journalist. Emigrated to Sweden in 1969 and became Swedish citizen in 1978. Cultural editor at Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, the largest daily newspaper in Sweden. In 1997 revealed the scandal of forced sterilisation of more than 60.000 people by Swedish government between 1935 and 1976.
