About us

 

SlavCon 2020 is the 14th year of the international three-day festival of fantasy, science fiction, history, mythology and pop-culture. It is dedicated to all fans of literature, film, TV shows, games, history, LARP and fine arts. 

The festival will this year take place on the premises of FIIT STU on Ilkovičovej 2 in the dates 17. to 19. april 2020.

We bring our visitors meaningful and creative experience. In addition to presentations - talks, we offer a wide range of creative and movement workshops, as well as various accompanying program. We present famous figures, LOCAL HEROES, who contribute to and positively influence the cultural scene in Slovakia. We also think about our future, which is why we are introducing a new program line - FUTURE EARTH, which connects ecology with technology. We are likewise supporting concepts of Zero Waste or Smart Cities. Additionally, we organize contests, which you can join in advance or on the stop - it is entirely on you.

SlavCon
By fans, for fans!

 
Our vision is to offer space for presenting thoughts, to create an open and tolerant community, to teach respect and acceptance of diversity, and to provide meaningful entertainment. It is our hope every visitor will at each of our panel, workshop or accompanying activity that they participate in, learn something new and hence enhance their knowledge and skills. 

The aim of the festival is to broaden the horizons of our visitors in the area of their interest, to educate in an entertaining form, and to allow meeting with interesting guests, experts in their field. We create a festival that supports the community of pop-culture with an emphasis on personal, but also social development. Last but not least, we wish to spread the ideas of mutual cooperation, tolerance and friendly atmosphere. 

The horizon of the festival is broad. The primary target group is in the age category of 18 to 35 years, but we see also younger and older generations.

In recent years, the visitor base has expanded to students of high school, who took interest in our topics, talks and workshops.  We are preparing a special section dedicated to this group, where the students can present their ideas, school projects and in this way help them in choosing their future studies and career. 

In the past few years we have welcomed visitors from different regios of Slovakia, from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, but also Germany. 

There are many festivals, but there is only one SlavCon.

SlavCon differentiates itself from other festivals in several ways that make it unique. Those are the free line FUTURE EARTH, the famous LOCAL HEROES, the interactive LARP-like WEEKEND AT HOGWARTS and most of all our diverse, but united and strong COMMUNITY.

Future Earth
We think about our future, therefore we introduce a novelty FUTURE EARTH (The Earth after us), a concept that brings together ecology and technology. Lectures on technology that saves and protects the environment will shed light on what is important: means how we can all help our planet. We support the concepts Zero Waste and Smart Cities, which we plan to connect with popular sci-fi movies and TV shows, and in this way bring closer to a young visitor. 
The topic of Future Earth is seen throughout the whole festival, giving the visitors food for thought about the ways we spend our day, month, year, or entire life - because each of our decisions is a decision about how will our descendants get to live here decades after us.

Local Heroes (The heroes among us) – we include this concept in our program, because we deem it important to notice our heroes, who every day together with us live the (un)common reality. We wish to point out that also heroes are just people; or that even a common person can become a hero. You may not even recognize them, but even thanks to them you are able to buy a book in your favourite bookstore, to watch your favourite TV show with subtitles in your language, or go to the cinema to see a movie with a great voice-over. These heroes contribute to facts such as that your friend, who used to hate Computer Science, may graduate in this field with straight As, or that you may know what the weather will be tomorrow, or they generally make the life in your area better. They do a lot and their work and achievements may be directly influencing even you. You may not appreciate it or even know, who is behind it. It is time to introduce a few interesting people-heroes among us. People from the world of literature, technology, science, but also acting and dubbing have accepted our invitation to present their knowledge and abilities at SlavCon. 


Weekend at Hogwarts is an interactive line, which enables the fans of Harry Potter to find out how it is to be a wizard for a few days. Through countless entertaining and educational presentations, workshops and competitions will the visitors get to know how magic intertwines with real life. During previous years we've had, among others, the opportunity to hear the lecture of a botanist and dendrologic Eva Záhradníková, who works at the Chair of Botany on the Comenius University's Faculty of Natural Sciences, about magical plants that we can find even here in Slovakia and to which our ancestors ascribed healing or other powers. The whole educational process at Weekend at Hogwarts is presented as a game, during which the visitors collect points for their Hogwarts House. At the end of the festival, the best House is inscribed on the House Cup, and therefore wins eternal glory.

The SlavCon community includes people with very similar interests. Since these interests stem from your own preferences, we can safely presume that in this community you shall find not only friends, but even soulmates. SlavCon's community connects people who are enthusiastic about fantasy and develops this interest in the context of knowledge, fun, and social life. It is therefore a benefit for our lecturers, audiences, debaters, or even curious newbies. 

For more information and news, go to our Facebook page SlavCon.