NEWS

Friends of Slovakia invited former Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda to present the 2018 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture at the Woodrow  Wilson  Center. The lecture was entitled “Miracles in the Heart of Europe.” The transcript of the former Prime Minister’s optimistic and visionary presentation is below. FOS hopes you will enjoy it as much […]

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. 

Former Economic Advisor to President Havel, 2008 candidate for President of the Czech Republic, and Professor of Global Political Economy at Columbia University Jan Svejnar gave the 2017 Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture at the Wilson Center on November 7. Friends of Slovakia co-sponsored the lecture with The American Friends of the Czech Republic and […]

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.

The Friends of Slovakia is pleased to introduce five scholars studying at the Fund for American Studies (TFAS) this summer. The scholars included Barbora Bodnárová (TFAS’s Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems), Katarína Mináriková (Institute on Business and Government Affairs), Adam Šebesta (Institute on Political Journalism), and Ivana Smoleňová and Alena Čierna (both […]

In 2014 Friends of Slovakia will commemorate several critically important events in recent Slovak history through its popular Wall of Honor plaque program. The program offers individuals, organizations, and businesses a unique and personalized way to honor family, friends, and associates, while also supporting a wide range of FOS activities. The FOS Wall of Honor, […]

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.

Czech Ambassador to Great Britain Michael Žantovský will deliver the 2013 Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture. Amb. Žantovský was formerly Czech ambassador to the United States (1992-1997). The lecture will be hosted by the Wilson Center for International Scholars from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. An invitation will be forthcoming. The event is sponsored by […]

Friends of Slovakia was able to sponsor five very deserving Slovak Scholars to attend one of the Fund for American Studies (TFAS) summer institutes in Washington, DC at George Mason University. To honor these students and introduce them to FOS members and the embassy staff, Amb. Peter Kmec and FOS co-hosted a luncheon at the […]

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.