PDCS / The Joy of Learning, Deliberation, and Change

The Joy of Learning, Deliberation, and Change

Our mission is to educate people and help them to reach a consensus directly, to engage them in public decision-making processes, to understand the distinct worlds people live in, and to cope with the changes around us. We try to keep people talking. We are a non-governmental organization from Slovakia, which is where we do most of our work. However, our activities and projects transcend Slovakia’s boundaries, as they reach pan-European dimensions. We are also part of the global Partners Network - 22 organizations from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and Latin America that are connected by the values of democracy and non-violence.

People are driven to radicalism by very human needs

Fascinating interview with Julia Ebner. A researcher who has entered many violent radical communities. She went undercover to their meetings, learned their ideology, made friendships and contacts.

Nonviolence as superpower

Nadine Bloch: Is it possible and good to eliminate violence from social conflicts? What does it mean nonviolence? Nadine is an activist, facilitator and trainer, a woman who lives the nonviolent methods of social change through her career. She is a member of the organization Beautiful Trouble https://beautifultrouble.org/ that collects wisdom and experience with positive change by nonviolent methods.

What we do

We work on the capability of people to talk to each other.

We educate people in the areas of conflict and development; we conduct community meetings and processes of participatory decision-making. We focus on three main areas:

Our projects

Projects help us fulfill our mission.

  • Project: Panorama: The Pan-European Observatory for Mitigation of Hate Speech

    The PANORAMA project (2022 - 2023) analyzed online hate speech through its patterns and dynamics with the aim to counteract hate speech worldwide. It breached the challenges of addressing hate speech, which lay in the lack of understanding of its online trends and characteristics.

    • Lukáš Zorád / Director, Programme Manager

      Lukáš Zorád / Director, Programme Manager

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  • Project: PROTEUS

    Protecting EU Values and Fundamental Rights through Public Participation and Civil Society Assistance in Central Europe

    The growing social polarization and political illiberalism in the EU, but especially in the Central European Member States, pose great risks to civil society, which are increasingly evident through tighter controls on CSOs, cuts to their financial independence, intimidation of civic activists, and the portrayal of civil society as a public enemy. All this puts at risk a strong and dynamic civil society which is a fundamental requirement for a liberal and pluralistic democracy.

    • Lukáš Zorád / Director, Programme Manager

      Lukáš Zorád / Director, Programme Manager

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  • Project: Digital Activism Program

    Across the world, the spread of disinformation is on the rise. Its volatile growth is the result of the strategic use of online disinformation, which undermines democracy, and polarizes societies. While ways to combat disinformation are currently trending in the media, the existing tactics are primarily directed at fact-checkers and journalists, leaving wider civil society actors to their own devices.

    • Lukáš Zorád / Director, Programme Manager

      Lukáš Zorád / Director, Programme Manager

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We provide tailored services

Is your organization going through a process of change, and does it need to define its strategic goals? Are you planning a ting with different stakeholders? Are you an organization looking for a partner to create a study visit for your participants? Have you finished a project and you are looking for an evaluator? Check out our offer of services. We will be happy to help you implement your plans and activities, and provide consultation.

  • Would you like to contact us?

    Are you interested in our services and you would like to establish cooperation with us? Are you looking for project partners in the topics we deal with? Contact us.

  • PDCS

    Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia

    / +421 2 5292 5016