News & Events

Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

The 2024 Freedom Lecture to be held on November 14 at the Hudson Institute

The event is co-sponsored by the Hudson Institute and our featured speakers are Czech Senator Miroslav Barta and Czech Army Colonel Otakar Foltyn, who will discuss the topic of “The Future: On Energy, Change, Innovation and Democracy”. Discussion will be narrated by one of our directors, Elliot Berke.

Read More
Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

AFoCR’s Directors Visit Prague

More than half of our directors visited Prague in mid-September to listen, discuss and extend our relationships.

Photo: AFOCR’s directors visit the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavsky.

Read More
Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

Understanding the Past to Build the Future

AFoCR is co-organizing Economic Summit, one of the key events initiating the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Czech and Slovak Library and Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Professor Jan Svejnar, AFoCR’s Advisor, is the key note speaker at the conference.

Read More
Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala Visits Washington D.C.

Czech Prime Minister Peter Fiala visited Washington D.C. during April 14 to April 16, 2024. His schedule included meeting with president Biden and multiple other meetings. He met with the AFoCR leadership during the ceremony commemorating the first Czechoslovak president Masaryk.

Picture: AFoCR directors with Mr. Fiala

Picture credit: CTK

Read More
Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

One Life - Heroism Triumphs Over Evil

One Life recounts the inspiring true story of Nicholas Winton, a young London stockbroker on vacation in Prague in late 1938. Witnessing the plight of Jewish refugees facing persecution by the Nazis, Winton skips a planned ski holiday to join the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia to help save endangered Jewish children.

Tom Dine (AFoCR’s Chairman) and Milt Cerny (AFoCR’s Co-founder) recently reviewed the movie and they remind us of our actions taken to make sure the events are remembered.

Picture credit: BBC Film

Read More
Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

How We Lobbied for NATO

In April 1990, Peter Bisek started publishing Czechoslovak Weekly, later renamed Americké Listy, in New York. By the mid-1990s, the publication already had a solid reputation, not just among its readers. It was extremely useful in the process of lobbying for the NATO expansion to include the countries of Central Europe. His recent article highlights the role of his publication, AFoCR and others in this process.

Read More
Jan Smilek Jan Smilek

25th Anniversary of NATO Expansion

AFoCR takes great pride in its successful effort to promote NATO membership for the Czech Republic in the years preceding final accession in 1999, exactly twenty five years ago.

In 2000, AFoCR held a gala in New York awarding Madeleine Albright, then serving as Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, with the AFoCR Havel Civil Society Award for her essential leadership in the effort to achieve NATO expansion.

Picture: Czech President Havel, AFOCR President Milt Cerny and Madam Secretary Albright.

Read More

Recent Newsletters