Non-formal Education for All Conference

Conference programme

Speakers' medallions

• Gabriela Drastichová

  She has been the Director of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award in the Czech Republic for almost a year. She came to the DofE from Czech Radio, where for six years she led its endowment fund and the highly successful Světluška and Ježíškova vnoučata fundraising projects. Her original professional background was in adult education with a focus on teachers and public administration staff, and later in corporate education.
• Miloš Ondrášik

  Together with Marián Zachar, he co-founded DofE in Slovakia. Today he is the head of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award. He is passionate about experiential pedagogy, innovation in education and the use of non-formal education methods in youth work. In the organisations Iuventa, Eurodesk, Tvoj Buddy and ternYpe he has worked on the topics of inclusion of disadvantaged and Roma youth and increasing the mobility of young people.
• Peter Lengyel

  A social worker, lecturer, education consultant and preventionist for almost ten years at EDUSMILE s.r.o., he has been preparing traveling educational programs for students, educating teachers and preventing bullying and cyberbullying. He was Slovakia's first ever social worker in a state primary school. He is an expert for the Inclusive Education Centre.
• Karel Kovář

  The Deputy Central Inspector of Schools formerly worked at the Ministry of Education, where he headed the Sports Section and later the Regional Education, Sports and Youth Section. He was involved in the development of the government's strategic documents Health 2020 and the Strategy for Education Policy of the Czech Republic until 2030+.
• Alexandra Kurisova

  Lecturer and methodologist of non-formal education, youth worker and volunteer. She has worked with Youthwatch and in the past she was responsible for methodology and cooperation with young people in the DofE within the Stand By Me project. She is currently working with the DofE on the ERASMUS+ project DofE for All. Among other things, she has been involved in three national projects, and has experienced education in Colombia, a re-education centre in Denmark and inclusive education in Slovakia.
• Tomas Habart

  Graduate of FHS UK and Romance Studies at FF UK. He has long been involved in education, especially of socially disadvantaged children. Since 2008 he has been working for People in Need in the Variants programme, which focuses on methodological and supervisory support for teaching assistants.
• Lucia Koštálová

  She works as a school psychologist and teaches psychology. She is also a long-time leader, coordinator and expedition leader of DofE in Slovakia. She is involved in career counselling and mental health issues.
• Zuzana Mészárosová

  Programme manager of DofE for Banská Bystrica region and enthusiast for lifelong learning, experiential pedagogy and personal development. In the past, she worked on the Stand By Me project, which connected young people from Slovakia and Ukraine, and is currently in charge of the ERASMUS+ DofE for All project for the Slovak side.
• Laďka Marešová

  Since 2004, she has been working with boys with challenging behaviour at the Children's Home with School (DDŠ) in Bystřice pod Hostýnem. From the position of deputy director, ethnopaedist and head of the DofE centre, I ensure the integration of the DofE programme into the activities of the DDŠ.
• Vit Kravec

  She has been working as a tutor at the DDŠ Bystřice pod Hostýnem since 2021. I offer support to children with problematic behaviour in DofE activities as a therapy in their self-development.
• Linda Hurd

  Founder and director of the non-profit organization Talents and Skills o.p.s., which supports young people from children's homes and socially disadvantaged backgrounds in the field of career and personal development. The organisation helps students to find the right direction, to pass on personal experiences and new knowledge and to discover their hidden talents. At the end of the journey, they then connect young people with a specific company and show them how a particular profession works in real life.
• Marián Jakubička

  Representative of TESCO STORES SR, a.s., which is a corporate partner of DofE in Slovakia and actively supports the creation of job opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is also the first corporate partner to act as a Local Centre for the DofE programme. Marián is a regional manager, successfully leading a team and strategically managing operations in his region. Outside of his professional career, he is also the DofE Programme Manager for the Leaders of Tomorrow initiative.
• Alena Tomanová

  CEO

  He has been involved in non-formal education in the field of youth work since 2008. She worked at Iuventa - Slovak Youth Institute, where she coordinated the international training strategy and the network of consultants and trainers. She has experience in recognition of non-formal education in youth work, creating competency profiles and introducing the quality system into the organization. Today she works at YouthWatch, where she is involved in projects, methodology and research, and focuses on mapping trends in youth work.