Cross-Border Dialogue
Silesia
Become part of the movement that will shape the region's future.
Silesia today faces questions that don't stop at national borders. What will the future of industry, energy, or young people in the region look like? Cross-Border Dialogue Silesia connects those who want to search for answers together.
November
Date
Český Těšín
Czieszyn
Location
Participants
Countries
What is Cross-Border Dialogie?
Cross-Border Dialogue (CBD) brings together young people, experts, and partners from various Central European countries to have an open conversation about topics affecting our shared future: from democracy and energy through innovation and education to regional development and other challenges that transcend individual national borders.
We believe the best solutions arise where different experiences, perspectives, and disciplines meet. That's why we connect participants across borders and create opportunities to collaborate on real-world challenges.
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Schedule
12. 11. Open Conference
Key notes, panel discussions, and networking bring up topics that reach far beyond the region's borders. You'll meet inspiring people from different fields, make new connections, and come away with ideas you can keep developing.
13. – 15. 11. Hackathon
Four days of intensive collaboration on real-world challenges created by our partners. Working in international teams, you'll search for concrete solutions using design thinking, foresight methods, and AI tools. From the initial idea all the way through to its practical development.
Why Silesia?
Over the centuries, Silesia has been shaped by Czech, Polish, Slovak, Austrian, Prussian, and German influences. The local language, cuisine, art, and architecture form a living blend of Central European influences. It holds traces of many cultures, but belongs only to itself.
It's one of the few places in Central Europe where three nations share not only a border, but also a common industrial and cultural heritage and a similar set of challenges at the same moment. That's a unique opportunity, one that calls for an exceptional conversation. Cross-Border Dialogue exists to make full use of that potential.
Silesia's transformation is already underway. The question is who is steering it, who takes part in it, and who it affects.
The future of Silesia cannot be shaped without the people directly affected by its transformation. Without young people, workers, entrepreneurs, or local communities, and certainly not separately on each side of the border. That's precisely why we're bringing Cross-Border Dialogue to the region: a proven format that connects young people across countries and gives them the chance to work together with partners and political representatives to find solutions that can have a real impact.
Challenge topics
Talent shortage, requalification needs and brain drain
Small modular reactors and shared energy models
Cross-border mobility as a catalyst to development
Technology, AI & Society
The future and rebranding of tourism in Silesia
Democracy: The ownership gap
The Cross-Border Dialogue community is a little addictive. I went to the first year of CBD as a participant, the second as an organizer, and this year I'm leading it. Seeing so many motivated people come together and create meaningful, far-reaching innovations in just a few days is something truly special.
Sign up
and don't miss the Cross-Border Dialogue in Silesia.
Partners
Patronage
of the Governor of Moravian-Silesian region, Ing. Josef Bělica, Ph.D., MBA
FAQ
Attending the conference (day one) is free. Hackathon participants receive scholarships covering most costs; the personal contribution is minimal. Waivers are available in cases of financial hardship.
Not essential, a connection to the Czech, Polish, or Slovak context, plus an interest in European dialogue, matters more.
4 days, one open conference day plus three hackathon design days for selected participants.
Applicants rank their three preferred challenge topics. We try to meet your preferences and assign you to your top choice.
English, to make the program accessible to all international participants. English proficiency is therefore required.
The conference is a one day event that is open to the public.
Scholarship recipients are expected to participate for the full duration of 4 days, the conference and the hackathon.
Challenges are developed in collaboration with a partner organization. The goal is to maximize practical application and real impact of the problem statement and the solution. It depends on the partner, if they decide to invest further into the solution, adapt it or expand it.
Browse solutions from last year here: https://hub.crossborderdialogue.eu/
Not only! While creating an incredible community is a welcome by-product, the program emphasizes collaborative problem-solving.
Still looking for answers?
Get in touch!
Michaela Macko
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