At a conference in Poysdorf in Lower Austria, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg met with his Czech counterpart, Jakub Kulhánek, Slovakia’s Foreign Minister, Ivan Korčok, and Lower Austria’s Governor, Johanna Mikl Leitner. The event was held in the Slavkov/Austerlitz format, linking the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. The conferencewas dedicated to “digital humanism” and marked the end of Austria’s chairmanship of the group.
At their meeting, the three foreign ministers signed the “Poysdorf Declaration on Digital Humanism”, which affirms their commitment to the opportunities of digitalisation alongside the protection of human rights. In the declaration, the foreign ministers condemn the misuse of digital technologies for disinformation and emphasise the need for human-centred technologies. The topic of “digital humanism” wasdiscussed in several meetings and video messages from industry representatives such as Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, or Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.
What we want is a world where new technologies are based on the values and principles that are the building blocks of our societies: self-determination, freedom, respect for human rights and democracy. The virtual space must not be a legal vacuum,
said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in his address.
The Slavkov or Austerlitz format, named after the place where it was created in 2015, is a cooperation format between Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Regular exchange takes place at all political levels. The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent weather disasters in the Czech neighbourhood have clearly shown how important regional cooperation formats are. Foreign Minister Schallenberg stated:
The natural disaster has once again shown that our cooperation works. Austria will always be available as a friend and neighbour.
After Austria has chaired the group for a year, the Czech Republic now takes over.
It is a pleasure for me to thank my colleagues wholeheartedly for their support and good cooperation during the Austrian presidency of the Slavkov format, and to hand over to the Czech Republic,
concluded Alexander Schallenberg.
