10 — 12 July 2025
Festival against violence on November 17 in Bratislava

Festival against violence on November 17 in Bratislava

The Festival Against Violence will unite four events in the center of Bratislava on November 17. The Concert for the Attentive, the White Crow, the Central European Forum, and the concerts at the Fuga club are united by one common idea – alongside the legacy of the Velvet Revolution, they aim to stand together against intolerance and the violence that stems from it.

25. October 2022

Central European Forum – Old Market Hall at 3:30 p.m

The Central European Forum is an international event organized by the non-profit organization Projekt Fórum and the Milan Simečka Foundation. Its aim is to promote the values of democracy, human rights, tolerance, and solidarity. Martin Putna, Oksana Zabužko and other special guests will speak about human dignity, loss of reason and emotions, Ukraine, but also Czechoslovakia in a discussion entitled "Are we like them?"

Concert for the Attentive – SNP Square at 5:00 p.m.

The programme of this year's Concert for the Attentive was created as a joint project of the Pohoda and Konvergencie festivals and will include several joint stage events on SNP Square. The concert will open at 5:00 p.m. with a performance by the Slovak Chamber Orchestra, accompanied by Jana Kirschner and Michal Kaščák. Michal will also take the stage with the band Bez ladu a skladu and Drť, this time accompanied by Fedor Gál. Chalani z chatrče and the bands Neha!, Rozpor, and Para will also perform. Vec, Tono S, and Zuzana Mikulcová will offer interesting collaborations and you can also look forward to a fusion of Slovak and Hungarian folklore in the performance of the bands Muzička and Varjos. The Jewish community will be represented by outstanding musicians as part of the Hasidic Songs project, and you can also enjoy the melodies of Rusyn culture at Štefan Štec's concert. The concert will conclude with more contemporary genres performed by B-Complex and Ukrainian singer and rapper Alina Pash.

Line-up:

  • 5:00 p.m. – 5:20 p.m. Slovak Chamber Orchestra
  • 5:20 p.m. – 5:25 p.m. SKO + Jana Kirschner + Michal Kaščák
  • 5:25 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Bez ladu a skladu
  • 5:30 p.m. – 5:35 p.m. Chalani z chatrče
  • 5:35 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. Drť + Fedor Gál
  • 5:40 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Neha!
  • 5:45 p.m. – 5:50 p.m. Rozpor
  • 5:50 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. Štefan Štec
  • 5:55 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Vec, Tono S ft. Zuzana Mikulcová
  • 6:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. Jana Kirschner
  • 6:15 p.m. – 6:25 p.m. Muzička + Varjos
  • 6:25 p.m. – 6:35 p.m. Para
  • 6:35 p.m. – 6:40 p.m. Hasidic songs
  • 6:40 p.m. – 6:50 p.m. B-Complex
  • 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Alina Pash (UA)

The 15th Annual White Crow Award Ceremony – SND at 8 p.m.

For the fifteenth time, the White Crow Award for civic courage will be presented – this time under the title "Resilience in Historic Moments". Zuzana Wienk says the following about the jubilee: "We live in a time of great historic challenges and turning points. A time that tests us to the very core. A time that encourages us to find the best in ourselves. To overcome obstacles and return to the essence of humanity." The White Crow Award represents various forms of strength, courage, and humanity in challenging times. The award will be presented by Bystriny in cooperation with the Slovak National Theater on November 17, 2022 at 8pm in the Opera and Ballet Theater Hall. In addition to the award winners, presenters Juraj Kemka and Martin Staňo will also welcome several artists to the stage – Jana Kirschner, Valeriia Kuts, Anna Makarova, Anna Prokopenko, Olena Chuyko, and Lernik Khachatrian.

FUGA: Drť + Fedor Gál, Vovk (UA), Stoned Jesus (UA) – at 7:30 p.m.

During the White Crow Award Ceremony, there will also be an event at the Bratislava club FUGA. The alternative band Drť will open the programme. After the albums Puntičkár and Minister, they will perform a new project with Fedor Gál. They will be followed by the Ukrainian VOVK (post-metal/progstoner), who are currently working on the follow-up to their debut album Lair (2019). The legendary Ukrainian trio STONED JESUS will close the programme. In addition to the legendary album Seven Thunders Roar (2012), they will also play new songs from the upcoming fifth LP (including the recently released songs "Porcelain" and "CON").

"I am glad that we managed to unite and coordinate four valuable events into one under the name Festival Against Violence. It is important that the square, which was the center of the Velvet Revolution, will belong to the artistic and civic celebration of freedom and tolerance. The dramaturgy includes several symbolic performances that represent the struggle of civil society for democracy, such as the Roma project Chalani z chatrče (Boys from the Shack), which was a reaction to the raid in Moldava and Bodvou. We want to show Slovakia as a country where minorities are treated with respect and seen as an enrichment of society, which is why we invited Roma, Hungarian, Rusyn, and Jewish artists. At the end of the Concert for the Attentive, the local scene will be represented by B-Complex – Matia Lenická, who is one of the most prominent faces of LGBTI+ people in Slovakia. I am happy that one of the leaders of the Velvet Revolution, Fedor Gál, will perform as a singer of the group Drť. And naturally, the finale of the whole event will belong to Ukraine – Alina Pash will be the special guest of the concert on SNP Square, and in the evening, two Ukrainian bands will close the event in Fuga. The Festival Against Violence is not only an artistic celebration of the anti-totalitarian and anti-communist revolution, but also a response to the protests of fascists and other anti-democratic forces. I believe that with this day-long festival we will also contribute to moving the country towards a better and full-fledged life for all people in Slovakia," says Michal Kaščák about the Festival Against Violence.

Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2i6XU28Ww

The Festival Against Violence is organized by the Pohoda and Konvergencie festivals, The White Crow, Central European Forum, Bystriny, SND, BKIS, and Fuga. The event was supported by the Bratislava City Foundation, the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia, and media partners Aktuality.sk, RTVS, Rádio_FM and Citylife.

The festival received a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA Grants as part of the Keeping up the Freedom project. The project was co-financed from the state budget of the Slovak Republic www.eegrants.sk .