NEWS

We are thrilled to welcome Grigorij “Grisha” Mesežnikov, who was elected as a new member of the FOS Board at the 2024 FOS Annual Board Meeting on February 23rd. As the President of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a prominent political scientist, Grisha brings unparalleled expertise in understanding political systems […]

The Friends of Slovakia, together with The Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the United States, The Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, The American Friends of the Czech Republic, The Embassy of the Czech Republic to the United States, and The Transatlantic Democracy Working Group organized the […]

Rasťo Kužel, Executive Director of Memo 98, delivered the 2023 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 17, 2023 at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kužel discussed importance of free and fair elections for democracy in light of the recent outcomes in Slovakia and Poland and ahead of the US races in 2024.

On her 70th birthday, Friends of Slovakia’s Board Member Cecilia Rokusek, President and CEO of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, IA, was recognized for her excellent work and personal dedication, including as the Honorary Consul in Florida, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Wlachovský on June 27, […]

The Friends of Slovakia is thrilled to announce the selection of its new slate of officers following the successful conclusion of the 2023 Annual Meeting held on February 13th. This election marks a significant moment in FOS history as Martina Hrvolová becomes the first female chairwoman of the organization. Martina Hrvolová, a Senior Advisor at […]

Miloslav Stašek, current Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, delivered the 2022 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 15, 2022 at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC. Ambassador Stašek discussed the current conflict in Ukraine and its devastating impact on peace and stability in Europe and beyond.

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, […]

This report was prepared by Dr. Elizabeth Guran, chair of the FOS Committee on Academic Exchanges. 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 […]

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.

FOS is thrilled to announce the launch of an exciting new program that aims to foster understanding, engagement, and friendship between university students from the United States and Slovakia. This unique initiative has been developed by the FOS Student Exchange Committee led by Dr. Elizabeth Guran (committee chair), and supported by other committee members including […]