The Forum Minority Research Institute or Forum Institute (''Fórum Kisebbségkutató Intézet'' or ''Fórum Intézet'' in Hungarian and ''Fórum inštitút pre výskum menšín'' or ''Fórum inštitút'' in Slovak) is a Slovak

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

with its main focus on ethnic minorities living in Slovakia, especially

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

. The NGO's scope of activities are the study and documenting of ethnic minorities, publishing these findings and the keeping of a database of historical documents and photographs. It also speaks out on government policy-making on a regular basis, especially when the policies affects the minorities in a negative way, which sometimes triggers criticism from Slovak nationalists.

History

The institute was founded in 1996 by the Katedra Foundation and the

Forum Foundation Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States * Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city ** Roman Forum, most famous example *Interne ...

Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda (; hu, Dunaszerdahely; german: Niedermarkt; he, דונהסרדהיי) is a town located in southern Slovakia ( Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most culturally significant town in the Žitný ostrov area. The town has a p ...

. In 1999, two partner institutes were founded: the

Forum Information Centre Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

provides civil training and civil service, while the Forum Regional Development Centre is engaged with rural development and small area planning. Together with the Forum Minority Research Institute, these three organizations form a consortium, the

Forum Institute The Forum Minority Research Institute or Forum Institute (''Fórum Kisebbségkutató Intézet'' or ''Fórum Intézet'' in Hungarian and ''Fórum inštitút pre výskum menšín'' or ''Fórum inštitút'' in Slovak) is a Slovak think tank with it ...

. In 2002 the Forum Institute moved to Šamorín, where it resides up to this day. The president of the Institute is

political analyst Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

László Öllös László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. Other versions are Lessl or Laszly. The name has a history of being frequ ...

References

1996 establishments in Slovakia Think tanks established in 1996 Think tanks based in Slovakia Ethnic groups in Slovakia {{poli-org-stub