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- Accepting otherness
- Making things easy
- It can be done differently!
- Eastern Slovakia matters
- Essen: From Grey to Green
- Going local all the way
- Roma workers: last chance for the East?
- Working together to uplift the region
- Believing in Slovakia’s future
- Attract and retain
- AI vs. white collar workers
- Tourists in their own country
- United to become greater
- Digitization must be effective
- Agility: a strategic imperative
- New legislation for businesses
- For your freedom and ours
- Committed to inclusive culture
- Work and life connections
Regional Development
Accepting otherness
United we stand, yet our society is split. Divided we fall, yet the
divisions are growing. The fact that there are multiple versions of
Slovakia does not come as a shock to anyone who follows the news (see
e.g. the latest Globsec survey) or talks to their neighbors. The list of
dividing lines we hold on to is remarkably long for a country that is
relatively egalitarian, ethnically and culturally homogenous. Public
discourse has at the same time become increasingly full of distrust and
patronizing towards the “others” - whoever they are - as each entrenched
group firmly believes that only they know what is in everyone’s best
interest. What is worse, such an approach not only sows division, but
also works to disintegrate trust - which, as research shows, is strongly
correlated with economic prosperity.
Making things easy
In his Utopia for Realists, R. Bregman states: “In the twenty-first
century, the real elite are those born not in the right family or the
right class but in the right country.” As a Slovak Easterner, I have
felt the truth of this thesis firsthand. I found that although I would
have loved to get into the practice of my graduate field, after years of
experience teaching, interning, and implementing security projects, I
was faced with the fact that my candidate profile only fit the job
market in Bratislava. All the ministries, institutions, and NGOs looking
for an international relations graduate were located there.
It can be done differently!
Slovakia’s quest to develop its regions and decrease its regional inequalities has been going on for decades. We strive to modernize the road infrastructure, increase the speed of the railway transport and the internet, attract investors to industrial parks spread out on the outskirts of regional towns, and create new job opportunities while maintaining the existing ones.
Eastern Slovakia matters
We live in challenging times. A time for which few of the current generation were prepared. A time that is a great test for someone like me, an idealist, a perfectionist bordering on utopianism. Despite very good prospects, Slovakia, at the beginning of 2020, found itself at the start of a crisis that has paralyzed us for many months.
Essen: From Grey to Green
At the height of the industrial revolution, Essen was a hub of innovation, technological developments and new ideas. Change is still engrained in its identity, but now the city is leveraging its former industrial glory to achieve new transition goals. The German city is pioneering a path that builds on its history to implement strategies towards a green and just future.
Going local all the way
Rapidly changing and evolving world characterized by the crises (incl. the COVID-19 pandemic and an unprovoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) reshaped the society in many ways – from how people live, work or interact in what had previously been believed everyday situations – requires adaptations.
Roma workers: last chance for the East?
It is a well-known fact that we are gradually running out of available workforce in Slovakia. However, there are significant regional differences in this trend. If we talk about the availability of work force in the perspective of ten to twenty years, Eastern Slovakia “wins”. On the contrary, in Western and Central Slovakia, there will be an increasing shortage of manpower. However, this bright tomorrow for the East has several twists.
Working together to uplift the region
Leonardo da Vinci was probably one of the last people able to do everything. In the modern world, duties and competences of players are split and specialized. To succeed, we need to be aware and support the needs of all stakeholders – children, teachers, parents, schools, deans, regional parliament, regional government, etc. Why is it important to interconnect private companies with local institutions and how can a big international company support the local ecosystem? Read more in an interview with Martin Džbor, Head of Strategy Development & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia.
Believing in Slovakia’s future
Almost two out of three young people (aged 18 to 25) are considering or already are studying abroad. This topic is even more acute for parents – up to 85% of them have confirmed that they have children abroad or are considering sending them there to study.
Attract and retain
The general lack of qualified people all over the country is a simple and well-known fact. We experience it in all regions, although the lack is more visible in areas of higher demand for qualified and skilled people.
AI vs. white collar workers
Two years ago, this author wrote a piece about the risks of automation for Slovak workers. Since then, AI has made progress in some unexpected areas, and the issue has been studied a bit more. Should we fear the robot apocalypse?
Tourists in their own country
Regional development can also take place through tourism. Visa has long-believed that travel and tourism can be forces for good — important drivers of economic opportunity and jobs as well as cultural awareness and appreciation. The Visa CEE Travel and Payment Intentions Study 2022 shows that Slovaks are looking forward to resuming their pre-pandemic travel habits this year.
United to become greater
Since the beginning of the year 2022, the largest alternative telecommunications provider SWAN and fourth Slovak mobile network operator SWAN Mobile (4ka) merged to create the third fully-fledged telecommunication company providing both fixed and mobile services in Slovakia.
Digitization must be effective
The recovery plan aims to provide citizens with digital services that address their most common life situa-tions in an attractive user form. Data is the essence and basic prerequisite for the good functioning of digi-tal public administration.
Agility: a strategic imperative
As humanity has evolved from one era to the next, we have gradually adopted new ways of moving forward and prospering from day to day. However, in recent decades, the development and adoption of new technologies has accelerated exponentially. Digitalization has transformed consumption patterns and forced most companies to change their strategies and adopt new ways of working at an accelerated pace.
New legislation for businesses
The following text presents a brief overview of legislative changes in the tax and payroll area which are most likely to influence your business. Experts from Crowe choose the most relevant legislation which has recently come to force or is likely to be adopted in the near future.
For your freedom and ours
On February 24, Europe and its peaceful times as we’ve known them have changed for good. The Russian Federation attacked an independent country, its neighbor Ukraine. We at AmCham Slovakia immediately expressed our solidarity with Ukraine and together with AmChams in Europe published a joint statement of solidarity with the people of Ukraine condemning the Russian aggression.
Committed to inclusive culture
Have you ever heard about crash test bias? While most of the dummies in the automotive industry represent an average man, the car safety tests lack those specifically designed for women and non-male body types. It is one of the issues that prove we need to openly talk about diversity and inclusion.
Work and life connections
Success comes at a price. Business leaders face difficult decisions regarding demands on their time on daily basis. The responsibility towards their families and their employees makes them carefully consider each minute of their day. We want to know how they like to spend their time out of work, what inspires them and motivates them.
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