The St. Adalbert Conferences have long been devoted to the issue of closer cooperation between the countries of the Central European area. The annual conference is devoted to a different aspect of Central European cooperation. The change, we are facing together, is not dissimilar in its impact to the situation ten centuries ago, when the basic map of the organization of Europe was being created. In Central and Eastern Europe at that time, the process of building national states was directly connected with non-violent christianization linked by the personality of St. Adalbert, whose legacy appeals to us even after a thousand years.
On the eve of the conference, the presentation of the St. Adalbert Award (Pretium Sancti Adalberti) is also held every year, with which the association Patrimonium Sancti Adalberti expresses recognition to personalities for their exceptional contribution to the strengthening of Central European traditions and values. At the end of each conference, its participants address the public and the political representatives of their countries in order to strive for the deepening of such cooperation.
2024
"CENTRAL EUROPE AT THE CROSSROADS"
October 25 - 27, 2024, OREA Hotel Pyramida (Prague, Czech Republic)
The time when changes in the global world took place somehow in the background, so-called behind the curtain, is over. From now on, the changes in the setting of the world order are beginning to be generally visible, and it is necessary to react directly and visibly to them.
The existence of two distinct parts of Europe became a reality.
One part, especially to the west of our borders, is multicultural, progressive and considers its main task to solve the so-called climate change and the rights of various minorities, including LGBT+ communities, and is connected to the process of drastic deindustrialization of Europe.
The second part, especially in our broader Central European area, does not want to give up its national identity, Christian cultural roots, the idea of a nation state, traditional values, e.g. classic family model, and wants not only to produce, but also to survive in global economic competition.
The world is becoming more dangerous, less predictable and divided. The old order turns into chaos. Old alliances are falling apart and new ones are forming. Thus, the only certainty remains only the national state, which is based on belonging, solidarity and coherence, capable of helping its citizens to overcome this difficult period.
That is why we say that we are now at a crossroads. Either we will realistically defend our interests, or we will simply disappear from the map. The conference in 2024 focused mainly on security threats, mutual economic cooperation and, last but not least, also on the role that the countries of the wider Central European area have to play in a changing world.
2023
"FUTURE OF THE CENTRAL EUROPE"
October 13 - 15, 2023, OREA Hotel Pyramida (Prague, Czech Republic)
The 2023 conference reflected in particular the fact that in the changing global order of the current world there is no alternative to closer cooperation between the countries of the Central European area.
Therefore, Central Europeans should not just wait for the outcome of the agreement of the great powers about a new world order, but should take the initiative at this moment and actively participate themselves in the process of defining and politically shaping the geopolitical space in which they live.
The discussion within the conference working groups focused on the following themes: The basic building block of Central European cooperation are nation states. For their healthy formation, it is necessary to renew national economic thinking, launch joint infrastructure projects and foster a pro-population policy, which alone testifies to the healthy development of society.
2022
"SAINT ADALBERT AND THE CENTRAL EUROPE"
June 10 - 12, 2022, OREA Hotel Pyramida (Prague, Czech Republic)
The first year of the international conference "Saint Adalbert and the Central Europe" was held under the patronage of H. Em. Archbishop Cardinal Duka in June 2022 in Prague, with the participation of representatives of six Central European countries, namely the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia and Serbia.
Laureate of the St. Adalbert Award (Pretium Sancti Adalberti)for 2022 was Vladimír Palko, the Slovak mathematician and former Minister of the Interior of Slovakia, who presented his keynote address "Power and its Temptations".
The international conference itself was mainly devoted to the question of the common values of the countries of the wider Central European area, in which the basic identifying stone is the values brought by Christianity.