Foreigners in Slovakia, page 33
News and features on living in Slovakia
Swedish company appeals to Slovaks
SWEDISH furniture producer and exporter IKEA has become quite popular among Slovaks. Although it has only one complex in Slovakia, in Bratislava, it attracted three million visitors in 2013.
Swedish proposal wins in Trenčín
THE SWEDISH team Mandaworks AB and Hosper Sweden AB from Stockholm won the international urban design competition ‘Trenčín – City on the River’, with their Tracing Trenčín proposal, the Trenčianske Echo weekly wrote on May 22. According to the jury, the proposal meets the requirement of the city’s inhabitants by finding a smart way to link the historical city centre with both banks of the Váh River. “This is a work that takes into consideration all aspects of the assignment and the criteria of the competition the best,” said Thomas Matta from the HSR Rappersvill University in Switzerland and the vice chairman of the jury, as cited by the weekly. The 11-member jury assessed 59 proposals from more than 15 countries between May 14 and 15. They chose the three best projects and granted two special awards. The second prize went to a team of designers from Bratislava, consisting of Martin Berežný, Daniel Šubín, Katka Boháčová, Michal Ráchela, Martin Rariga, Danka Jurkovičová and Eva Fabová, for their proposal ‘Trenčín -water-life’. The APROX architects from Bratislava (Ľubomír Mezovský, Vladimír Hrdý, Peter Dolinajec, Branislav Groch, Marián Kriššák, Ján Vykroč and Milan Skýva) ended third. Special prizes went to Marko&Placemakers from London (UK) and GutGut from Bratislava for their joint project ‘Pohodové mesto’ and the proposal of Siebert + Talaš from Bratislava. “The proposals will become the backgrounds for the master plan of the central urban zone,” said Martin Beďatš, the senior architect of Trenčín and a member of the jury. “Before the final decisions are made, the winning works will undergo, apart from expert analyses, also a public discussion. We plan to start the public discussion in September, when we will also present the competing proposals publicly.” Trenčín Mayor Richard Rybníček sees the evaluation of the competition as an important historical moment for the city. “We are starting a new era of forming the future of the central urban zone and the city centre in connection with the Váh River,” said Rybníček. “Of course, there is a very difficult path in front of us but I am convinced that we will me manage it in cooperation with Trenčín’s citizens.” Drahan Petrovič from the Institute of Urban Development and the head of the expert jury considers the competition to have been exceptional. “For last 20 years I have not seen such a well-prepared competition,” Petrovič said, adding that this involves a quality process leading to the competition and workshops organised.
Offering vocational experience
MARKUS Wuketich believes that there can be no real reconciliation without coming to terms with the painful chapters of one’s own past. The Austrian ambassador to Slovakia also notes that younger generations are not that familiar with the period when Europe was artificially divided by the Iron Curtain, adding that, nevertheless, preserving peace and stability requires continuous hard work.The Slovak Spectator spoke to Wuketich about Austria’s experience with dual vocational training and how it could inspire Slovakia to address its own education sector woes, as well as the challenges of the labour market, cooperation with the Visegrad Four group and the status of German in Slovakia.
Austrian institutions and organisations in Slovakia
-Austrian Embassy Ambassador: Markus Wuketich www.bmeia.gv.at/sk/botschaft/bratislava.html-Advantage Austria, www.advantageaustria.org/sk-Austrian Culture Forum www.rakuskekulturneforum.sk-Slovak-Austrian Chamber of Commerce www.sohk.sk-Österreich Institut, www.oei.sk
Vienna tram back in Bratislava
EXACTLY 100 years after it launched, the so-called Vienna tram symbolically returned to Bratislava in early February. On the occasion of the anniversary of the launch of the railway connecting then-Prešporok and Vienna, Dopravný Podnik Bratislava (DPB), the city’s public transport company, in cooperation with the Club of Friends of Public City and Regional Transport, prepared two rides in Bratislava on a historical tram and carriages for the general public, the TASR newswire reported.
Slovaks care for Austrian seniors
THOUSANDS of Slovaks work in Austria taking care of seniors, drawn by salaries and a more transparent system than in Slovakia. They can earn as much as €1,000 for two weeks of work, a wage significantly above the average in Slovakia, the Pravda daily wrote in January.
Austrians prepared for Slovaks
AS IN previous years, Schloss Hof, a Baroque castle, the Carnuntum Archaeological Park and the Donau-Auen National Park, all near Slovak-Austrian borders, have prepared special events for Slovaks for the 2014 summer season, especially on Slovak holidays that are regular working days in Austria.
Rotting beauty
WHILE the idea of an exhibition on rotten food may not sound particularly appealing, the photo exhibition of Austrian photographer Klaus Pichler, entitled One Third, found in its subject a strange though decorative type of beauty that made visitors forget what they were seeing.
New home, new life for RKF
THE AUSTRIAN Cultural Forum (Rakúske Kultúrne Fórum, RKF) in Slovakia underwent a big change last year when it moved from a historical palace on Ventúrska Street to the brand new Astoria Palace on Hodžovo Square.
Austria: General facts
Political system: federal parliamentary republicCapital: ViennaTotal area: 83,855 square kilometresPopulation: about 8.2 millionOfficial language: GermanCurrency: euro
Expanding to Austria
THE NUMBER of companies, which after establishing themselves in Slovakia, have since successfully expanded abroad, is on the rise. To help Slovak start-ups, young entrepreneurs and bigger companies enter the Austrian market, the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia (ZMPS) has joined with the Vienna Business Agency and prepared a seminar on how to do business in Austria along with a series of workshops called Twinenterpreneurs.
Austrian Easter flair
THE SLOVAK Philharmonic offered several concerts to mark Easter this year, and one of them was a symphonic/vocal cycle that combined Joseph Haydn’s Mourning Symphony in E-Minor and Gioacchino Rossini’s Stabat Mater.
Sustaining business ties
ONCE separated by the ironclad Iron Curtain, since its fall Austria and Slovakia have resumed fruitful economic cooperation. During the 25 years some 2,500 companies in Slovakia have tapped Austrian capital to grow, employing more than 40,000 people. Total foreign direct investments from Austria in Slovakia amount to €6 billion, making it the second biggest foreign investor in Slovakia. For Slovakia, Austria is its fourth most important export partner.
Austrians interested in Slovakia
THE POPULARITY of Slovakia among Austrians as a tourist destination is growing. The number of visitors to Slovakia’s accommodation facilities from Austria increased from 50,000 in 2009 to 66,000 in 2013, the TASR newswire reported.
Austrians buy Slovak foil producer
AUSTRIAN company Schur Flexibles Group has acquired Moneta-S, a Trebišov-based manufacturer of flexible packaging, the Hospodárske Noviny economic daily reported on April 1. This world leader in innovative packaging solutions from Slovakia supplies about 50 companies across central and western Europe and Russia, including Mondelez in Switzerland and Kraft Foods. The Austrian company’s motivation to buy the Slovak firm was to obtain the technologies of Moneta-S and to penetrate eastern markets.
Slovakia – A family atmosphere (video included)
“It’s really difficult to be the friend of a Slovak,” says Daniel Vera, a PhD and teacher from Madrid, who lives in Bratislava. Two years ago, before Vera came to Slovakia as an Erasmus student, he thought he was going to country similar to Ukraine. Now he is enjoying himself, but notes that people are not used to the Spanish temperament.
Slovakia eager to attract more Irish investors
IN ADDITION to Slovakia’s favourable geographical location and its use of the euro, the country has another asset which Irish investors especially appreciate: a high number of Slovaks living in Ireland, who represent the potential for growing trade and social links between the two countries.
A mutual love of music and dance
QUESTIONS often arise around St Patrick’s Day (on March 17) about the similarities and differences between Slovak and Irish culture, which, despite the two countries’ geographical distance, manage to seem connected.
Riding the green wave
THE SLOVAK population in Ireland, estimated at 20,000 Slovak citizens, has integrated into Irish life and “is very well respected for its strong work ethic”, says Anne-Marie Callan, Ireland’s Ambassador to Slovakia. The Irish-Slovak connection will become even more visible on St Patrick’s Day, when for the first time ever a building in Slovakia will go green as a symbol of friendship with Ireland. The Slovak Spectator spoke to Callan about Ireland’s recent EU-IMF programme exit, business links between the two countries and the contribution Irish nuns are making to the Roma community in Slovakia.
Irish institutions in Slovakia
Embassy of IrelandAmbassador: Anne-Marie Callanwww.embassyofireland.sk
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