6-15 July 2026, Krakow, Poland
Call for applications is on!
Apply here: https://forms.gle/uW1UoHskpkmvn9JR8 - for people with a Google account
https://forms.gle/yBHXLYnpo63G53YJ6 - for those who prefer to send attachments (CV and/or recommendations) via e-mail to: summerschool@villa.org.pl
More on the eligibility: https://visegradsummerschool.org/how-to-apply-2024
Deadline: April 5, 2026
24 years of the Visegrad Summer School
Since 2002, the Visegrad Summer School has become a unique cultural and educational
programme catering for students, graduates, young researchers and professionals from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, as well as other Central and Eastern European countries. Given its international, macro-regional, and regional dimensions, the initiative proved successful in promoting a positive image of the region on an international scale, alongside the promotion of the intellectual and cultural heritage of the Visegrad Group and other European countries.
Every year, 30 students and graduates from diverse backgrounds, as well as young researchers and professionals, meet at Villa Decius for 10 days to deepen their knowledge and exchange ideas, experiences, and opinions on topics we consider crucial in this part of Europe. Lectures and workshops are facilitated by international experts, including intellectuals, researchers, politicians, people of culture, journalists, artists, as well as representatives of administration, business and non-governmental organisations. The list of distinguished speakers to date includes, i.e., Csaba G. Kiss, Isabelle Ioanides, Timothy Garton Ash, Aleksandra Przegalińska, Leszek Balcerowicz, Lászlό Rajk, Václav Burian, Martin Ehl, Miroslav Kusy, András Lanczi, Adam Michnik, Milan Nič, Michael Žantovský, Martin Palouš, Magdaléna Vašáryova, Pavel Fischer and many others.
Visegrad Summer School is organised in close collaboration with a longstanding and proven partners, which are Knihovna Václav Havel from Prague, Bratislavský inštitút pre politickú analýzu from Bratislava, Cracovia Expressz Alapítvány from Budapest. Continuation of the School for over 20 years would not be possible without the support of numerous institutions: International Visegrad Fund, Embassy of the Slovak Republic, Embassy of the Czech Republic, Embassy of Hungary, Embassy of Ukraine, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Małopolska Region, and City of Kraków.
24th edition of the VSS – Future of Information
For this year's edition, the theme is the Future of Information. The summer school focuses on the complex and urgent issue of how information is produced, used, and contested in contemporary societies. Amidst political polarisation, information warfare and declining trust in media institutions, it is important to distinguish disinformation, bias and manipulation. It becomes especially relevant with the ongoing conflicts, where narratives become as influential as military force, and Big Tech companies increasingly shape the information space, using data to drive innovations such as AI that affect socio-political life.
Thus, a key challenge is developing effective educational responses. Media literacy, digital skills, and civic education remain uneven across Central and Eastern Europe, creating gaps that authoritarian actors and populist movements can exploit. The project seeks to respond to these challenges by rethinking the future of information as a democratic value, a technological resource, and a societal foundation. These issues will be addressed by examining information in three dimensions: disinformation and education, information as a democratic safeguard, and information as a technological and economic resource.
Visegrad Summer School – a genuine educational response
The subjects addressed in the School's curriculum were changing over time, but always concerned ongoing issues and current challenges of the region, as well as key cultural and social issues faced by the societies of the region and worldwide. With its interdisciplinary formula and attractive range of activities, the School offers an engaging setting for the promotion of dialogue between nations and cultures, discussion about stereotypes and the often complex nature of historical heritage and the mutual planning of future actions. The project plays a fundamental role in aiding one's understanding of the economic, social, and political changes taking place in the countries of our region and addresses their sometimes negative consequences at both the international and national levels. It also helps prevent the development of undesirable social phenomena and the rise of attitudes that may undermine the idea of cooperation and the benefits of European Union membership. By discussing these most challenging topics with fellow students, as well as with ambassadors, ministers, European Union representatives, and outstanding intellectuals, the participants have an unrivalled opportunity to develop a broader perspective on the issues at hand and to understand partners' points of view and motivations.
Visegrad Summer School in numbers
In the last 23 editions, the Visegrad Summer School hosted more than 900 participants from 45 nationalities (Visegrad+ formula), 60 volunteers, and almost 400 distinguished experts from various fields. Together with the Visegrad Summer School community, we spent about 4,000 hours studying through workshops and lectures, and we travelled about 8,500 kilometres across Southern Poland and Slovakia during study visits. About 9000 photos were taken, and 16000 coffees were drunk while developing 500 projects and ideas to change the reality around us. All these numbers are just a reflection of the long-lasting relationships formed by the participants and the visions they took to their local communities. We are proud to observe their steps in professional life and the real actions they take in their work to build a better reality.
24th edition of the VSS – Future of Information
For this year's edition, the theme is the Future of Information. The summer school focuses on the complex and urgent issue of how information is produced, used, and contested in contemporary societies. Amidst political polarisation, information warfare and declining trust in media institutions, it is important to distinguish disinformation, bias and manipulation. It becomes especially relevant with the ongoing conflicts, where narratives become as influential as military force, and Big Tech companies increasingly shape the information space, using data to drive innovations such as AI that affect socio-political life.
Thus, a key challenge is developing effective educational responses. Media literacy, digital skills, and civic education remain uneven across Central and Eastern Europe, creating gaps that authoritarian actors and populist movements can exploit. The project seeks to respond to these challenges by rethinking the future of information as a democratic value, a technological resource, and a societal foundation. These issues will be addressed by examining information in three dimensions: disinformation and education, information as a democratic safeguard, and information as a technological and economic resource.
About the Organiser
Since its establishment in 1996, the Villa Decius Association has implemented many initiatives and activities to promote and develop culture, science and art at local, regional and international forums, cooperating with Polish and foreign scientific, artistic and economic communities. The programs of the Villa Decius Association can be divided into three main areas: developing humanistic thought and civil society; supporting and promoting artistic and literary creativity and exchange; and promoting and protecting the cultural heritage and tradition of Villa Decius. Under its auspices, the Renaissance palace of Decius became a forum for the exchange of ideas of representatives of different cultures, nationalities and areas of interest. Supported by scientists, diplomats, journalists, and non-governmental organisations, we have, for years, been creating a platform for dialogue at Villa Decius, a place for meetings and discussions on pressing contemporary issues. The international conferences and debates organised by us with the participation of the most eminent representatives of the world of science, culture and politics make Villa Decius, as one of the founding fathers prof. Jacek Woźniakowski highlighted – "a place of meeting and cooperation, a witness and participant in the radiation of European culture."
More information about the organiser: https://www.villa.org.pl/en
More information about the Visegrad Summer School: https://www.visegradsummerschool.org/
Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/VisegradSummerSchool
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/visegradsummerschool/
Contact persons:
Aleksandra Szymańska-Niekłań, Project Coordinator, email: aleksandra@villa.org.pl
Anna Słupek, Project Coordinator, email: anna.slupek@villa.org.pl.
