Nebraska SVU Conference

June 14, 2001

Press release for immediate release

For more information contact Dr. Mila Saskova-Pierce, phone (402) 472-3745 or email mzs@unlserve.unl.edu.

Czechoslovak North American Conference to be held in Nebraska

The Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences will hold its biennial North American Conference, titled "The Czech and Slovak Legacy in the Americas: Preservation of Heritage with the Accent on Youth" at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Aug. 1-3. The conference will be held in conjunction with the 40th annual Czech Festival in Wilber, Neb., the Czech Capital of the U.S.A.

The Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU) was officially organized in 1958 by Czech and Slovak intellectuals living abroad at a time when the communist regime in Czechoslovakia had renounced the country's historical traditions and suppressed free expression.

The SVU worked to provide a forum for the free development of Czech and Slovak scientific research exchange and cultures in exile, and to make the world aware of those cultural traditions, which date back more than a millennium.

The society is nonprofit, nonpolitical, and cultural, dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, the free dissemination of ideas, and the fostering of contacts among people. It brings together people throughout the world who have a professional, cultural, ethnic, or other interest in the Czech and Slovak Republics, their histories, peoples, and their cultural and intellectual contributions.

Society activities, as outlined in the original bylaws, consisted of supporting and coordinating the educational, scholarly, literary, and artistic endeavors of the Czechoslovak intelligentsia abroad. However, the society was subsequently broadened into an organization open to all individuals, regardless of ethnic origin, interested in fostering Slovak and Czech culture.

Following the end of the communist regime in 1989, the SVU's functions greatly expanded. Now, in addition to its original mission, the society has become a bridge between Czech and Slovak professionals and those in other countries. It allows scholars abroad to benefit from contact with their Czech and Slovak colleagues, as well as helping to reintegrate the intellectual life of these two nations into the mainstream of world science, arts and letters, from which they were separated for so long by political barriers.

More than 100 scholars and speakers will take part in the conference in more than 20 sessions on the Czech and Slovak legacy in the Americas, the preservation of heritage, and youth issues.  The topics include: genealogy; contributions of Czech and Slovak settlers and their descendants; the history of immigration; the role of youth in preserving Czech and Slovak heritage; museum and library holdings; cooperation with Czech and Slovak Republics; and the role of ethnic organizations in the preservation of culture and heritage. Between sessions participants will have the opportunity to experience exhibits and collections of family memorabilia, art, music, and unique archival material.

Conference attendees are invited to bring an accordion to take part in a jam session, or a poem to share at a poetry reading. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet leading dignitaries, scholars, and community leaders from all parts of the United States, Canada, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. These dignitaries include: Jan Kavan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic; Petr Pithart, a leading dissident during the communist rule of Czechoslovakia, member of the Czechoslovak government after the Velvet Revolution, author, scientist, and a presidential candidate in the upcoming Czech presidential elections; Jan Drabek, Czech-Canadian-American author, diplomat, politician, personal friend and classmate of President Vaclav Havel; and other well-known authors, politicians, and human rights activists who all played a role in the shaping of the new democracy.

Banquets will be held on Aug. 2 and 3. Advance reservations are required. A free dance will be held Aug. 2 at the Cornhusker Hotel Grand Ballroom and will feature Dean Hansen’s Polka Band. The Academy Award-nominated film "Divided We Fall" will be shown at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater in Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery on the UNL campus for the duration of the conference and through the second week of August.

On-campus housing will be available at the Esther L. Kauffman Academic Residential Center. The center, which will house students in the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management, has suites with private bathrooms as well as many other amenities.

Sponsors of the conference are the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Modern Languages, Czech Komensky Club, European Studies, Czech Language Foundation, the Nebraska Czechs of Lincoln, and the Nebraska Czechs of Wilber.

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Nebraska SVU Conference