NEWS

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 […]

In partnership with the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington, D.C., and the Slovak American Society of Washington, D.C. (SASW), Friends of Slovakia hosted the fourth event in Slovakia@30 Series, a conversation on “30 Years of Slovak Civil Society” with Zuzana Wienk. Zuzana Wienk is an accomplished former journalist and current affairs writer, as […]

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, […]

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 students, faculty, and expert guest speakers from past summits have all participated virtually due to covid-19 restrictions and will continue to do so for the third Student Summit.

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).

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 […]

During a splendid reception Saturday for the 2017 FOS Slovak Scholars, hosted by FOS Board member Dr. Eva Jenkins and her husband Robert, FOS stalwart & enthusiastic pilot Richard Marko informed the Scholars he would offer them all a flight over the NYC skyline before they depart.Bravo to Eva and Robert for that warm sendoff to our […]