NEWS

Friends of Slovakia and the Slovak American Society of Washington, D.C. look forward to seeing you at our Annual Picnic on Sunday, May 19, 2024! Time: 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. Location: Arlington Knights of Columbus, 5115 Little Falls Road, Arlington, VA 22207 Cost: $15 per person (high-school age and above). Children younger than high school […]

Join Friends of Slovakia (FOS) at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a momentous Economic Summit on Thursday and Friday, May 2-3, 2024. This unique forum, co-organized by the FOS, will bring together delegations from the USA, Czech Republic, and Slovakia to discuss the consequences of modern […]

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.

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.

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.

A delegation of Friends of Slovakia Board Members led by chairman Scott N. Thayer traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to participate in events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the building dedication of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library (NCSML).

The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Embassy of Slovakia to the United States hosted a conversation with Karen Donfried, President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and Ivan Korčok, foreign minister of the Republic of Slovakia, on Slovakia’s emerging leading voice in Europe, including in the European Union […]

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 […]