NEWS

November 2019 marked the 30th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent events that brought freedom from communist domination to many countries of the former “Soviet-bloc.”  In Czechoslovakia, public demonstrations, spearheaded by student movements, sparked the relatively peaceful downfall of the communist government and began the country’s “return to the West,” […]

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, a forum titled Velvet @ 30: A Legacy to Uphold was held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The forum was co-sponsored by the Czech and Slovak Embassies in collaboration with Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.  The event featured welcoming remarks by Joel Hellman, Dean of the Walsh […]

FOS Board members and others in the Washington foreign policy and Slovak-interest communities participated in a roundtable featuring former Slovak Ambassador Martin Bútora and his spouse, sociologist Dr. Zora Bútorová.  The ambassadorial couple served in Washington, DC from 1999-2003 and had a significant impact on Slovak-U.S. relations, as well as opening Slovakia’s new embassy building […]

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 had a significant impact on Eastern Europe’s political scene. In Czechoslovakia, the Communist regime was replaced by a democratic revolution, which was led by student movements and dissidents. November 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, a non-violent transition of power with demonstrations against the […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Country Lost, Then Found by Rick Zednik is a touching account of his Slovak family, with a special focus on his father, Juraj “Jay” Zednik. Jay was lucky to be out of Czechoslovakia when the Warsaw Pact troops invaded in 1968. He sought asylum in West Germany and eventually settled in the US, where […]

John Palka, scion of one of the most distinguished families in the history of Slovakia, has written a masterful account of Slovakia’s history. The Hodža and Palka families played a significant role in Slovakia’s history. John Palka’s mother was the daughter of Milan Hodža, the last prime minister of interwar Czechoslovakia. Mr. Palka attended the […]

The Friends of Slovakia and Ambassador Peter Kmec co-hosted a reception and book launch on November 15th for Pavol Demes’ latest book, which explores Slovak-American relations. The event was attended by a large audience, including many members of Friends of Slovakia and Wendy Luers, who played a significant role in strengthening Slovak civil society. Ambassador […]

The Slovak honorary consuls in the United States were honored to join Amb. Peter Burian, now State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, in presenting the first annual Ambassador Peter Burian Roma Scholarship in Bratislava. The 2012 scholarship was awarded to Mr. Vladimir Gaspar, who will be studying […]