The 21st SVU World Congress

University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, June 24-30, 2002

Preparations for the 21st Annual World Congress of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences are in full swing. The Congress, which is going to be held under the auspices of the Chancellor of the University of West Bohemia and :Lord Mayor of the City of Pilsen will take place between June 24 and 30, 2002 in West Czech Metropole.

The Congress will be ceremoniously opened on Monday June 24 in the presence of distinguished guests and representatives of the Czech and Slovak political, cultural, and scientific life in the famed Pilsen Theater of Josef Kajetan Tyl. After a festive lunch there will be a plenary session dedicated to "Tribute to America"with the participation of the Ambassadors from the US and the Czech and the Slovak Republics.

Over the following four days, in representative historical halls in the center of Pilsen, numerous lectures, discussion panels and symposia will take place in a number of concurrent sessions. The task of organizing the panels was given to the Faculty of Human Studies of the University of West Bohemia, the Medical Faculty of Charles University in Pilsen, the West Czech Museum, American Center in Pilsen, Beer Brewing Museum, the Museum of Skoda History, and the West Czech Gallery. A number of themes will be devoted to general cultural and historic questions, including panels on Multiculturalism - Challenge or Threat?, Planet Earth Under Threat, Effect of Nuclear Energy on Environment, Will Central Europe Survive Until 2100?, Proteus' Face of Totalitarianism - A Comparative Critique of Communism, Nazism, and Fascism, the First Czechoslovak Republic - Legends and Reality.

Lectures on different cultural themes will be the subject of such panels as Czech Literature at the Turn of the New Century, Shakespeare in Czech Literature (Problems of English Writing Authors), Modern Czech Architecture, Czech Structuralism and its International Influence (the Personality and Works of Roman Jakobson), Transformations in the Czech Marionette Theater, and Czech and Slovak Music of the 20th century, Jewish Influences on the Central European Culture, Contemporary Czech Cinema, and the Czech and Slovak Theater.

Problems of science, education, and the economy will be discussed in the following panels: Universities and the Role of Education in the 21st Century, Possibilities of Present Medical Science, Information Technology, Economic Outlook of the Czech Republic, History of Czech Beer, History of the Skoda Company and Czech Industrial Tradition.

The contemporary themes of today's Czech and Slovak society, political and spiritual life, prospective and retrospective, as well as the life in the Czech and Slovak communities abroad, will be discussed in panels on Media and Democracy, European Integration: Euro-scepticism and Euro-optimism, Faith and the Czech Society, Czechs and Slovaks in America, Czech and Slovak Museums, Czech and Slovak Archives, Role of Ethnic Organizations in Preserving Czech and Slovak Cultural Heritage, Genealogy, and the Constitution and Election Systems: the Czech and American Experience.

Special attention will be devoted to different problems of today's younger generation which will be discussed in panels, i.e., Assimilation and Acculturation of Youth, the Youth Movement, Student Exchange Programs, and Teaching Czech and Slovak Languages. Twenty minutes will be allocated for individual presentations, followed by a five-minute discussion. Proceedings will be published in a book form.

It is already clear that the planned panels, covering the most important facets and themes of today's science, civilization, art, and politics; will be presented by scholars and scientists of note from both sides of the Atlantic. The presence of these people is guarantee that the endeavor, undertaken by the Congress organizers, to create congenial atmosphere amenable for intellectual discussions of the key issues and challenges laying before the Czech and Slovak societies on the threshold of the 21st century, will become a reality.

Among the better known personalities who are planning to attend are Professor Bedrich Moldan, former Minister of the Environment and well known popularizer of science, geologist and NASA scientist Petr Jakes, lrenej Kratochvil, Director of the Institute of Documentation and Investigation of Communist Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic; Professor of History Robert Kvacek; the translators and literary theorists Professors, Zdenek Stribrny and Jiri Josek; Senator Jaroslava Moserova; translator Docent Alena Moravkova; mathematician and former Chancellor, Jiri Holenda; leading surgeon, Professor Pavel Palko; mathematician, Professor Josef Rosenberg; the journalists Samuel Abraham, Karel Hvizdala and Petr Holub; religion expert, Docent Bretislav Horyna; historian and linguist and genealogy expert, Milan Buben; theater theorist and critic, Frantisek Cerny; ethnologist Zdenek Uherek; musicologist, Professor Jan Vicar; physician and anatomist, Professor Jaroslav Slipka; literary historian, Vladimir Papousek, Professor Zdenek David, and many others.

Attendees of the Congress will have an opportunity to take part in a varied cultural program, which will include a concert of the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, a piano recital by Professor Radoslav Kvapil, an opera in the Theater of Joseph Kajetan Tyl, and other concerts and theatrical performances of the local artists. Interested people can also sign up for various events in connection with the "Year of Josef Skupa and Jiri Trnka", and view a variety of interesting exhibits in the city galleries. Participants of the Congress will also be able to see some of the older classical Czechs films.

A special feature for the attendees from abroad will be a visit to the newly reconstructed chateau, Kozel, located in the vicinity of Pilsen, where they will be hosted in the beautiful surroundings of the chateau park. At the end of the Congress, interested individuals will be able to choose between a trip through regional castles and chateaus, or through renowned and often visited spa cities in the western part of the Czech Republic.

The organizers of the Congress are renewing their call to educators, scientists, artists, students, experts in various fields of human endeavor, government and community leaders, representatives and members of non-governmental and humanitarian organizations, businessmen, politicians, writers, journalists, and all who care about the transformations that are taking place in the present world, to come to Pilsen, and by their contributions enrich the Congress program and help create a truly friendly, and intellectually and spiritually stimulating environment.

It should be noted that the above description is limited to the program being prepared by our organizers in Plzen. In addition, a series of panels are being planned by the US co-organizers. Inquires and suggestions regarding the former should be addressed via e-mail to Dean Ivo Budil: budil@ksa.zcu.cz Inquires regarding the US panels and other issues should be sent to SVU President Mila Rechcigl at the following address: rechcigl@aol.com

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