NEWS

Beata Balogová, editor-in-chief of SME, a major daily and news site in Slovakia, delivered the 2021 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 17, 2021. Her lecture, presented virtually from Bratislava due to covid-19 travel restrictions, was entitled “How Journalists Survived Backsliding and State Capture.” Her talk combined a history of threats to press freedoms during the Mečiar and Fico years in Slovakia, a personal account of her decision to become a journalist, and a warning that democratic institutions are again under attack in Central Europe.

Dr. Tomáš Cihlář, an internationally recognized Czech biochemist, delivered the Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 18, 2020. His lecture was entitled “The Role of Czech and International Scientists in the Fight Against the Pandemic” and focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and global efforts to combat it.

Katarína Cséfalvayová  & Simon Panek delivered the 2019 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 13, 2019. This special double-lecture event lecture was entitled “30 Years of Czech and Slovak Freedom,” commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which saw the return of freedom and democracy to both countries on November 17, 1989. Katarína […]

Mikuláš Dzurinda, former Slovak Prime Minister (1998-2006) delivered the 2018 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 16, 2018. This lecture was entitled “Miracles in the Heart of Europe,” celebrating the governmental reforms that enabled Slovakia to enter NATO and the European Union in 2004. 

Msgr. Tomáš Halík delivered the 2015 Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. In his lecture titled “Long Period of Healing,” Msgr. Halík emphasized the vital role of religion in the transition from Communism to Democracy.

Michael Žantovský, a distinguished Czech politician, writer, and diplomat, delivered the 2013 Czech and Slovak Annual Freedom Lecture titled “The Uncertainty of Freedom, and the Freedom of Uncertainty” at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. on November 12.

Martin Bútora, who served as the Slovak ambassador to the United States from 1999 to 2003 and was one of the key figures behind the Freedom Lecture Series, delivered the 2012 Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 16. A capacity crowd filled the Woodrow Wilson Center auditorium to hear his reflections on “20 Years of Independence: Reflections on Freedom and Democracy.” Following the lecture, Joe Senko, the Chairman of Friends of Slovakia, and Ted Russell, the Founding Chairman Ambassador presented Ambassador Bútora with the FOS Medal of Honor. Tom Dine, the President of American Friends of the Czech Republic, then presented the speaker with a Certificate of Appreciation.