NEWS

Friends of Slovakia hosted an invitation-only discussion with Doc. Michal Vašečka, PhD. and Rasťo Kužel, independent analysts from Slovakia, on the snap parliamentary elections scheduled in Slovakia on September 30, 2023. They discussed the latest developments in domestic politics, possible scenarios for a new coalition government, impact on Transatlantic relations, and how foreign interference plays […]

In partnership with the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington, D.C., and the Slovak American Society of Washington, D.C. (SASW), Friends of Slovakia hosted the fourth event in Slovakia@30 Series, a conversation on “30 Years of Slovak Civil Society” with Zuzana Wienk. Zuzana Wienk is an accomplished former journalist and current affairs writer, as […]

An online conversation with Ivan Mikloš on the myths and facts about the Slovak economy, the first years of transformation and reforms following the fall of communism, and what the future holds for the country, given the war on its borders and global economic trends.

On October 2, 2022, FOS held a webinar on Jozef Tiso’s Leadership of the Slovak State During World War II and the “Jewish Question.” The featured speaker was Madeline Vadkerty, program coordinator at the Holocaust Documentation Center in Bratislava.  J. Luke Ryder, historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, moderated the webinar.  Before moving to Bratislava, […]

Written by Dr. Elizabeth Guran, FOS Board Member The Ukraine War and its impact on democratic societies was the topic of the final Student Summit sponsored by Friends of Slovakia and its partners at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Over 60 students from Matej Bel University, […]

Friends of Slovakia hosted a webinar featuring Jan Orlovsky, Director of the Office of Migration at the Slovak Ministry of Interior, who discussed Slovakia’s response to the humanitarian crisis that resulted from the February 2022 full-scale war in Ukraine. In addition to the government response, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support from nongovernmental […]

The Friends of Slovakia (FOS) International Student Summits are off and running! Two successful virtual summits were held in 2021 and a third summit will occur in April 2022. All three events address the theme, “Challenges of Democracy.” The students, faculty, and expert guest speakers from past summits have all participated virtually due to covid-19 restrictions and will continue to do so for the third Student Summit.

Friends of Slovakia hosted a webinar of leading experts who reviewed the most important political, social, economic, and foreign-policy implications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for Slovakia and beyond. 

The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group hosted a virtual discussion with Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic to discuss Slovakia’s democracy agenda and how his government intends to further its commitments to restore trust in democratic institutions and build deeper transatlantic cooperation and coordination to […]

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.