Voices of Tolerance: Katarina Kobylinski In Focus
Katarina Kobylinksi is one of the “Promoting Tolerance” 2015 fellows. Currently, she works as a Market Research Analyst in Prague; her previous experience includes work as an Economic Correspondent and as a Research Analyst. She holds a PhD in Economics from CERGE-EI, Prague, Czech Republic and a master’s degree from University of Warsaw, Poland. She is a member of the Czech Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Community in Prague, and the Jewish Community in Warsaw.
Watch a video with her, where she addresses the following questions: “Why is respect for human rights and tolerance towards minorities so important for her and her country?” and “Which is the major characteristic of anti-Semitism in her country?”
Voices of Tolerance: Katarina Kobylinski, Slovakia, Fellow 2015
She shares the following motivation to participate in the programme: “ Being an active member of the Prague Jewish Community as well as the Czech Council of Jewish Women, I see this program as an opportunity for me to network with other liberal and open-minded representatives of civil societies in Central Europe and the Balkan to exchange ideas on how to best respond to the growing threat of anti-Semitism in Europe.”.
Katarina Kobylinski at Promoting Tolerance 2015 Seminar in Belgrade
Katarina finds that: “My biggest motivation to participate in this program is to meet people who have experience with running projects addressing similar issues and especially in the context of ethnic minorities. Naturally, the possibility to gain hands-on experience from the United States offers an incredible opportunity to liaise with American colleagues, who traditionally have more exposure to minorities, ethnicities, and religious pluralism.”
In her essay “On the Roots of Anti-Semitism in Slovakia: Inferiority Complex, Intolerance and the Formation of Slovak Nationhood” Katarina Kobylinski concludes that: “We are in 2015, 26 years since the Velvet Revolution and 22 years since the modern Slovak Republic was established. Perhaps, we will have to wait 14 or 18 years more until a generation is replaced. Perhaps then, Slovak society will emerge stronger and more confident and thus ultimately also more tolerant and open-minded. I really hope so.”
Find her whole essay on "Anti-Semitism in Slovakia" here.
For more information for “Promoting Tolerance” programme: here.
Photos from the seminar in Belgrade can be found here: