The international scientific symposium focused on current cultural, identity-forming, and revitalization processes within Slovak and Czech communities in Canada and Argentina.

This prestigious event took place on June 21st and 22nd, 2023, at our university and consisted of 16 invited lectures by leading experts, as well as young researchers and doctoral students. Among them were the researchers of the project APVV 20-0263 (with a similar name), and selected foreign guests who contribute to the project's objectives: Prof. Cecilia Rokusek, Dr. Dalibor Mikuláš, President and Vice President of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, Iowa (USA), who presented Czech and Slovak experiences in North America - documenting the realities of Czech and Slovak Americans in their museum; Prof. Marián Mark Stolárik, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor at the University of Ottawa (Canada), explained how Slovaks abroad helped the Catholic Church in Slovakia survive communism from 1948 to 1989; César Emílio Mangiaterra from the Slovak Cultural Association in Buenos Aires (Argentina) analyzed various data and posed several questions about Slovaks in Argentina, and Dr. Vendula Hingarová from Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic) presented a comprehensive work on Slovak, Czech, and Czechoslovak publishing activities and printing in Argentina. One of the keynote lectures was given by Prof. Ján Botík, Emeritus Professor at the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra, who discussed the situation of Slovak immigrant cotton growers in the province of Čako in Argentina.

The symposium was attended by partners of the project: the Chairman of the Office for Slovaks Living Abroad, Mr. Milan Ján Pilip, and the Chairman of the Trnava Self-Governing Region, Mr. Jozef Viskupič. A special guest and participant in the discussions was former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic and expert on Slovak-American relations, Dr. Pavol Demeš. The participants were greeted and welcomed by the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts of UCM, Dr. Demčišák.

On this occasion, the Rector of UCM in Trnava awarded commemorative medals to Professor Stolárik and Professor Botík on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of our university, in recognition of their long-term collaboration and contribution to the development of science and research at UCM in Trnava.

The symposium fulfilled its purpose not only in the context of achieving the project's goals but also contributed to the establishment of new relationships and the strengthening of further interinstitutional cooperation in the research and presentation of Slovak and Czechoslovak culture abroad.

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Thanks to Dr. Mikuláš (NCSML) for collaboration in organizing the symposium. Thanks to Dr. Kurajda (FF UCM) for organizing and ensuring the successful progress of the event.

For more information about the symposium, visit: https://ff.ucm.sk/sk/sympozium/
For more information about the project, visit: http://ketno.ff.ucm.sk/sk/apvv-slovaci-v-amerike/