PhD, studied Political Science and Political Philosophy at the University of Toronto and the Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. At the latter one he obtained his doctorate. Since 1996 he is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Kritika & Kontext and during 1996-2006 he founded and directed the educational institution Society for Higher Learning based in Bratislava. During 1996-2001 he was a representative of the Foundation Project on Ethnic Relations (PER) in Slovakia, based in Princeton, U.S., specializing in inter-ethnic conflicts. He teaches political science at the Comenius University in Bratislava. Author of the book An Attempt to Analyze Slovak Society. Regularly publishes articles in Slovak and English magazines on the subjects of Slovak politics, the EU, as well as political theory. Member of the advisory board of Eurozine – an online magazine providing a network of European Cultural journals. Director of Bratislava Institute of Humanism, a nonprofit organization. Since June 2006 he is rector and lecturer of Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts (BISLA).
Experts - international relations
Samuel Abrahám
Tamar Beruchashvili
Deputy State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. 1998-99 Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations,
1999-2000 Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, 2000-04 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2004 Deputy State Minister (Deputy Chief of the Government), 2004 Minister of State and Minister of Integration with European structures. She also has an great academic experience as the Assistant Professor of Economics Department of the Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, teaching International trade policy and commercial diplomacy and European Integration for the Master’s degree students and as a lecturer at the Georgian Institute of Public Administration (GIPA), Course for the Master’s degree students – Trade and Development. She is a member of the American Society of Public Administration, a member of the Georgian Information Society, board member of International Trade Policy and Law Center and a chairperson of the Government Commission for Gender Equality.
Josef Byrtus
Served as the Consul General of the Czech Republic in Katowice until 2007. He graduated from the Law Faculty of the Charles University and the University of Economics in Prague. He worked for the Ministry of Economy and Development (advisor on international cooperation, director of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, director of the board, advisor to the Prime Minister), Chief Director of the Office of the Ministry of International Relations. Subsequently, he begun his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (Director of the Office).
Jerzy Chmielewski
Deputy director in the Department of Europe in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. National coordinator for the Visegrad Group. Former Polish Ambassador in Zagreb, Croatia.
Lloyd Dakin
Lloyd Dakin is the Regional Representative of UNHCR based in Budapest. Since 2005, he has been responsible for UNHCR’s operations in Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. In 2008, the region for which he is responsible expanded to include Bulgaria and Romania. Mr. Dakin joined UNHCR in 1980 in Thailand. He has previously served with UNHCR in Pakistan, Tanzania and twice at its Headquarters in Geneva. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Dakin was as UNHCR’s Representative in Armenia from 2001 to 2004. He has an MA in International Administration.
Michael Daxner
Professor of sociology and president emeritus of the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Since 2003 he has served on an advisory mission to the Minister of Higher Education in Afghanistan. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the principal international officer for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo, and in 2002 became special counselor to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) office in Belgrade. He first started working with UNMIK as head of the Department of Education and Science while he was an international administrator of the University of Prishtina. He served as a German delegate to the Council of Europe Committee on Higher Education and Research in 1994 and on the board of the European University Association from 1998 to 2001.
Paweł Dobrowolski
Professor of Collegium Civitas. Consul at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh 1990-95, Vice Director of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office 1995-2000, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Canada 2000-2004, Director of Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Office 2006. Graduated from history at the Warsaw University. Author of books devoted to history of medieval Europe.
Olga Dorokhina
Graduated from Georgian Polytechnic Institute, has a diploma with honors of engineer-electro-energetic. After 10 years work in Georgian Railway Department she started activities with Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Georgian National Committee (hCa GNC). Since May 2000 program manager of hCa GNC. From 2002 - program manager of the South Caucasus Institute for Regional Security (SCIRS). Since 2003 she coordinates the work of Caucasus Center for Transborder Cooperation (under SCIRS). She is an author and co-author of more then 30 projects accomplished in Georgia as well as at the international level, number of articles and researches on the following issues - border management, transfrontier cooperation, migration, intercommunity dialog.
Eva Dvořáková
In 1997 finished studies in History of International Relations at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Charles University in Prague; from 1998 to 2001 worked at the International Relations and European Integration Department of the Czech Ministry of the Interior; since October 2001 has been working for the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central European Department (October 2001-September 2002 – desk officer for Hungary and Visegrad Cooperation, since October 2002 head of the Unit for V4 Countries, Baltic States and Slovenia).
Kristóf Forrai
Executive Director of the International Visegrad Fund from 2006. In 1982 graduated from the University of Economics in Budapest. In 1989 he obtained his second Master of International Affairs at Colombia University, New York, USA. He joined the Foreign Service after the collapse of the totalitarian regime as First Secretary on the Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C. (1990-1993). 1993 – 1997 he worked as Head of Department for the Government Office for Hungarian Minorities Abroad. In 1998 he became Head of the Department for Regional Cooperation in the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the same time Hungarian representative at the Danube Commission. Before being nominated V4 National Coordinator during the Hungarian Presidency (2005-2006) he worked for four years as Ambassador at the Hungarian Embassy in Prague.
