President: Missionaries' Legacy Is Independence, Equality and Education

Bratislava, 5 July (TASR) - In a speech he delivered during the celebrations of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Day at Devin Castle in Bratislava on Sunday, President Peter Pellegrini stressed the importance of the missionaries' legacy in three key areas: independence, equality and education for all. According to the president, these three principles drawn from the historical legacy of the Thessalonian mission are more important today than ever before. He said that the answer to the challenges of the modern age and the arrival of new technologies must remain high-quality education and a well-educated nation. "When mentioning Saints Cyril and Methodius, the first words that come to mind for many are scripture, faith, and culture. However, today I would like to draw attention to three other words that are also encoded in the historical legacy of the Thessaloniki mission and are more important today than ever before. They are independence, equality, and education for all," stated the head of state. Pellegrini recalled that Great Moravia was seeking the pillars of its independence in the 9th century, including cultural ones. "So when I speak of independence, we can confidently say today that without the education of the whole nation, culture, and awareness of its historical roots, it is impossible to preserve its independence in the long term," said the president. According to the head of state, Saint Cyril demanded equality when he fought for the equal status of Old Church Slavonic with other languages ​​in spreading the word of God. The fact that this was achieved was described by the president as a huge international diplomatic success. "Even today, it tells us that nations and their languages ​​have equal rights, regardless of their size or history," he said, adding that it also concerns the equality of all citizens, regardless of their origin, religion, skin colour or sexual orientation. "All citizens of Slovakia have the right to live together in their homeland in peace and have equal chances for their development," he stressed. According to the president, education was a benefit of the new language, as it made education accessible to the broad masses of people. "Today we live in times when technological achievements surpass even the boldest forecasts. However, exactly the opposite is happening to what the Thessalonian mission brought to Great Moravia," he said. He noted that the wealth contained in the unimaginable amount of information and modern technologies is concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations or even in the hands of a few individuals worldwide. "People who have never been elected by anyone, yet who nevertheless hold ever-growing power," he warned, adding that these people can directly decide who is allowed to use these modern technologies. "This is in sharp contradiction to the equality of people and nations," stated the president. At the commemoration of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Pellegrini called in particular on the younger generation not to stop educating themselves and not to let their creative minds be "fall asleep and degraded by the achievements of artificial intelligence". The president added that the answer to today's era and the rise of modern technologies must remain high-quality education and a well-educated nation. ko