With other Slovakian NGOs, VIA IURIS founded the Civic Platform for Democracy – a coalition of 60 civil society members – because civic space was deteriorating in countries in our region, and we wanted to protect the freedoms that are inherent in democratic countries.
Our mission was to make Slovakia a country where people aren’t powerless against the powerful and all are equal before the law. Our members work on everything from preventing conflict to protecting the environment, democracy and the rule of law, as well as education and youth.
Young people in Slovakia are deeply disillusioned with the political process, and whether it can improve their lives. Many are desperate to leave the country in search of a better future. This brain drain is one of Slovakia’s biggest problems.
That’s why, after a snap election was called in 2023, we carried out extensive polling to find out the concerns of 18-25 year olds. Our subsequent campaign was called Chcem tu zostat (‘I Want to Stay Here’).
We used Influencers to reach more than one million people through Instagram. Our campaign was political, but not partisan. It was designed to send a positive message for young people to be proud of their country, not in a nationalistic way, but to have a vision for how they can help build a modern, functioning society where everyone can fulfil their potential. And voting is a key part of that: a way for people to change the things around them. Voter participation is key to the quality of democracies.
Our campaign featured on billboards, in festivals and on commercial TV, and its overall recognition among the public was 40%. One measure of its success is that 70% of young people turned out for the election, according to exit polls – way above the expected 52%. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to prevent a return of the populist party that ran the country a few years ago.
Without Civitates, organising such a campaign would not be possible, and the support is a tremendous help for the coalition’s members.
Slovakia’s civil society is very vibrant, but the new government is putting it under real pressure, so we need to be ready and focused on the challenges that lie ahead.
