NEWS

On January 28, 2016, Friends of Slovakia co-sponsored the opening of an exhibition of unique photos commemorating the Holocaust entitled “Last Folio”. The opening event was held at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. in cooperation with the Embassy of Slovakia and the Embassy of Canada. The exhibit is open to the public until […]

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.

On July 22, the Slovak Embassy held a reception to honor the 2015 FOS Slovak Scholars. The event was co-hosted by Ambassador Peter Kmec and FOS Board Chairman Joseph Senko, who gave speeches thanking the students and scholarship donors. U.S. Ambassador Theodore ‘Tod’ Sedgwick, TFAS President Roger Ream, FOS Founding Chairman Ambassador Ted Russell, and […]

Five Slovak students have been chosen to take part in the summer program at the Fund for American Studies (TFAS). The TFAS program, which takes place annually in June-July, offers both coursework and internships, providing students with real-world experience in an English-language setting.  Between 2004 and 2014, FOS sponsored 30 Slovak students for the TFAS […]

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 […]

The 2014 Scholars were welcomed to Washington with an informal reception on June 15. Hosted by Board member Scott Thayer and his wife Nena amidst their gardens and ponds, the reception also benefited from unseasonably comfortable weather. The Scholars celebrated the end of their first week of classes while enjoying Slovak beer and international nibbles […]

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.

Slovakia has made significant progress in transitioning from being part of a socialist, pro-Soviet republic to an independent, democratic nation. However, there is still much hard work ahead, as highlighted in the 2010 Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture by Prime Minister Iveta Radičová.