Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences

Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, until 1978 known as Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in America, is an international non-profit organization with the aim to connect people with interest in Czech and Slovak intellectual contributions all around the world, supporting cooperation in culture, sciences, and education. For six decades, the Society has been promoting Czech and Slovak culture, history, and achievements of all sorts in the world affairs. It connects individuals interested in joining an international community of mutual inspirations, but also institutions with similar aims.

The Society was founded in Washington DC in 1958 ^[1] on the basis of the Washington DC local chapter of the Czechoslovak National Council of America (headquartered in Chicago), by Dr. Jaroslav Němec,^[2] a lawyer and exiled chief military prosecutor, with significant support from Vlasta Vraz, president of the Czechoslovak National Council of America.

In the years 1961-1978, the Society was registered as Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in America in the New York State. From March 1965 to January 1975, the Society used a secretariat at 381 Park Avenue South, New York City. This office space became a meeting point of the Society's members and other intellectuals, including visitors from Czechoslovakia. Scholars could find useful books and periodicals here. It was also used as the Society's publications distribution center and archive.

In November 1978, the Society's head office was incorporated ^[3] in the nation's capital Washington DC, where it was incepted. In November 1978, also the Society's official name was changed - it was shortened to Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, to reflect its international character and new local chapters being created also outside of the United States.

All operations of this organization are carried out by unpaid volunteers. From its inception, the Society has been independent and non-partisan.

Founding personalities

Jaroslav Němec convinced world-renown mathematician Václav Hlavatý to become the first President of the Society. Němec became its first Secretary General. In the years 1968-1970, Němec served as the Society's President and in 1980-1985, he also edited the Society's newsletter SVU NEWS / ZPRÁVY SVU.

In the beginning, Němec was also able to get support for the project of creating this Society among known artists and writers: Jarmila Novotná, Rafael Kubelík, Rudolf Firkušný, Ladislav Radimský, and others. Among politicians, he got Ladislav Feierabend, Juraj Slávik, Jozef Lettrich, Arnošt Heidrich, Štefan Osuský. Among the founding members there were also Joseph Hašek (father of Eliska Haskova Coolidge) and Francis Schwarzenberg.

Society's periodicals

The Society publishes a quarterly newsletter SVU NEWS/ ZPRÁVY SVU, and an English periodical of scholarly and literary substance, the semi-annual KOSMAS - Czech, Slovak, and Central European Studies.

During the communist era in Czechoslovakia, the Society published a Czech language and Slovak language literary and humanistic periodical: PROMĚNY - PREMENY/ METAMORPHOSES for nearly thirty years, which included articles by forbidden authors.

Conferences

The Society held its First World Congress in Washington, D.C. in 1962, attended by more than 200 scholars, scientists, and artists from all over the world. There were sixty papers read at these meetings, their subject ranging from linguistics to sociology and science. This was followed by the Second World Congress in 1964, on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. This time, about 120 papers were presented by scholars - not just by the Society members but also by a number of invited guests from all over the United States, Canada, South America, Australia and Western Europe. The papers covered most major fields of intellectual endeavor, including history, literature and linguistics, music and fine arts, social sciences, and the biological and physical sciences.

Since then, every even year, the Society has convened a world congress. The program includes presentations of scholarly papers, discussion panels, concerts, artistic exhibits and social events. The lecture program covers a wide range of subjects and disciplines, providing platforms for exchanges of views. The lectures, seminars and symposia, as well as printed materials are generally presented in English.

The first fifteen world congresses were held in the U.S. or Canada, usually on university campuses. The Sixteenth SVU World Congress in 1992 was held for the first time in Prague.

The Society has established the practice of convening specialized conferences every other year, usually in between the World Congresses.

See also

• Václav Hlavatý

References

External links

• SVU Official Website