The Institute for Public Affairs (Slovak: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, IVO) is a non-governmentalthink tank, registered to operate in the Slovak Republic. It was founded by Grigorij Mesežnikov and Martin Bútora, with the aim of promoting the values of an open society and a democratic political culture in public policy and decision-making. IVO brings together experts from many different areas of study. Mesežnikov has been President of the institute since 1998.[1]