NEWS

2018 marks a special anniversary year for Slovakia, with celebrations commemorating the events of 100, 50, and 25 years ago. On January 19, the Slovak Embassy in Washington, D.C. kicked off the year’s celebrations with a special reception held in the ornate Members’ Room of the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill. The focus of […]

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 […]

The annual transatlantic security conference organized by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) has become the leading event in Washington D.C. focused on issues in Central and Eastern Europe. The theme of this year’s CEPA Forum 2017 was “Preserving Atlanticism in a Time of Change,” and was held on September 21-22 in Washington, D.C. […]

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 […]

Pavol Demeš had photos of buildings and areas directly connected to the saints’ lives. The place where they studied in Constantinople is still standing. There is a tiny church in western Slovakia that dates from the time they were working in that region. He also had many photos of places built to commemorate them, not […]

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.

TWO IMPORTANT EVENTS – ONE DATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013 PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE ANNUAL FREEDOM LECTURE AND THE FIFTH ANNUAL SLOVAK-AMERICAN AWARDS DINNER. NOON at the Wilson Center, Reagan Building: Pavol Demeš, former Minister of International Relations and foreign policy advisor to the first Slovak President will focus on the Velvet […]

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.