HETTEŠ, M. - KRÉMER B. - STECK, P. (eds.) 2014. Sociálne investovanie. Zborník z medzinárodnej vedecko-odbornej konferencie. Bratislava: SKTS, 114 p. ISBN 978-80-971606-0-9. The international scientific conference titled "Social Investment" was held on February 24, 2014 in Bratislava. ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PERMANENT CONFERENCE OF THIRD SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC AT THE OPENING OF THE FIRST JOINT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF SKTS AND ICSW

Over the past twenty years of building the third sector, many civic associations and organizations have grown and "found their feet," but there are still many that strive to carry out their activities as conscientiously as possible, yet face various difficulties on a daily basis despite their work being irreplaceable for the state and its policies.

One of the strategic goals of the Permanent Conference of Third Sector Organizations of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter SKTS) is to establish a partnership with the Government of the Slovak Republic and individual ministries, as well as to create synergies of cooperation with international institutions. SKTS has created a platform for its member organizations to streamline cooperation and create space for achieving their goals, as well as to provide financial assistance to its members.

SKTS is a civic association founded in 2010, currently with more than 350 non-governmental organizations as members. On March 18, 2011, SKTS was accepted as the most representative nationwide Slovak organization representing the third sector of the Slovak Republic as a full member of the International Council for Social Welfare (ICSW). This council is the oldest and main organization of non-governmental organizations in the social field on a global scale. ICSW has advisory status at the UN, ILO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, the World Economic Forum, etc. The Permanent Conference of Third Sector Organizations of the Slovak Republic will thus promote the interests of Slovak civil society at the world forum and transfer the best results in this field among hundreds of Slovak third sector organizations. The ICSW Governing Board appreciated that the Permanent Conference of Third Sector Organizations of the Slovak Republic had met all the necessary requirements for granting the status of a full ICSW national member. On December 13, 2011, SKTS was accepted as a member of the Economic and Social Council of the Slovak Republic, to contribute significantly as a new member to deepening the development of dialogue within civil society in Slovakia.

During its activities to date, SKTS has submitted more than 85 project proposals to individual state ministries to improve work in healthcare and nursing, environmental protection, crime prevention, social work, youth education, and early-career science, and offered the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family more than 3,000 jobs in third sector organizations in the Slovak Republic for young people under 29. We regret that this ministry was unable to respond to this offer despite the high, over 30% youth unemployment rate in the Slovak Republic.

In my opinion, social investment encompasses everything that state administration and volunteers do for the benefit of the satisfaction of Slovak citizens, to improve their work, remuneration, and overall way of life.

Currently, SKTS is a member of the Government Council of the Slovak Republic for Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organizations and a member of the Government Council of the Slovak Republic for Crime Prevention.

We immediately and positively responded to the proposal of the French member organization of ICSW to organize a joint event on issues of poverty, guaranteed social minimum, and social investment. We are pleased that a partner organization from Hungary actively supported us in our endeavor. Both partners accepted our invitation to Slovakia. We are very glad that we received their trust and were able to host this important joint event. The conference aimed to address both professional and lay audiences on the significance of social investment.

Jozef Behýl Chairman of the Permanent Conference of Third Sector Organizations of the Slovak Republic

CONTENTS

  1. Address by the Chairman of the Permanent Conference of Third Sector Organizations of the Slovak Republic (Jozef Behýl)
  2. Social Investment (Balázs Krémer)
  3. Poverty and social inequality. France, Europe, and worldwide. (Philippe Steck)
  4. Social Investment (in Slovakia?) (Miloslav Hetteš)
  5. Human Capital and Cohesion – Starting Points of EC Policies on Social Investment (Mária Čierna)
  6. Learned Helplessness in the Education Process as a Determinant of Poverty (Peter Ďurkovský)
  7. Purpose, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Accountability of Social Investment (Mária Kovaľová)
  8. Psychological Aspects of Financial Well-Being and Empowerment in the Context of Social Development (Katarína Mášiková, Zdenka Macková)
  9. Mediation as an Effective Means of Conflict Resolution with an Emphasis on the Insolvent Client (Jana Porubcová)
  10. An Attempt to Support Social Enterprises in the Slovak Republic from 2008 to 2009 – Pilot Testing (Ladislav Setnický)
  11. Through Education to a Change in Thinking. Social Development Begins with Upholding Moral Principles. (Peter Slovák)
  12. Universities of the Third Age – An Important Element of Social Investment (Oľga Škorecová)
  13. Employee Education in a Business Entity (Martina Tokarčíková, Lucia Orlovská)

Title: Sociálne investovanie Editors: Miloslav Hetteš, Balázs Krémer, Philippe Steck Text underwent language proofreading Reviewers: prof. JUDr. Vojtech Tkáč, CSc., (Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety, Bratislava) prof. PaeDr. Gabriela Korimová, PhD. (Univerzita Mateja Bela, Banská Bystrica) Publisher: Stála konferencia III. sektora SR v Bratislave Place of publication: Bratislava Edition: first Year of publication: 2014 Number of pages: 114 Print run: 200 copies Binding type: CD-Rom ISBN 978-80-971606-0-9 EAN 97880971606

The conference was organized by: