SVU RESOLUTIONS

Resolution Approved by SVU  General Assembly
at its 40th Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MM, April 24, 1999

The Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences was initiated by Czech and Slovak intellectuals abroad in 1958, at the time when the communist regime in Czechoslovakia had repudiated the country's historical traditions and suppressed free expression. For some thirty years, until the end of the communist era, the SVU provided a forum for free development of Czechoslovak culture in exile and made the world aware of the Czech and Slovak cultural traditions that date back more than a millennium.

Following the Velvet Revolution, when the communist world finally crumbled, the Society became a bridge between the professionals in the Czech and Slovak Republics and those in other countries. It allowed scholars abroad to benefit from contact with their Slovak and Czech colleagues, and has helped to reintegrate the intellectual life of these two nations into the mainstream of world science, arts, and letters.

As the newly established democracies in both Czech and Slovak Republics mature, and the Czech and Slovak professionals and their institutions form worldwide linkages with their counterparts, the role of our Society, as a facilitator, will lessen. Although the SVU can still promote the good name of Czech and Slovak culture abroad through various academic and public cultural events, the time has come to return to its roots and to increase attention to the fruits of our cultural pursuits abroad.

It is in this spirit that we hold our special conference on "Czech and Slovak America: Quo Vadis?"  We aim to examine our present position and our future destination. Maintaining the vitality of Czech and Slovak communities in America is of paramount importance, as are the future relations with the Czech and Slovak Republics. We would like to see these relations to be further enhanced and brought to a much higher level in order that Czech and Slovak Republics will become primary beneficiaries.

With the assistance of the newly established National Heritage Commission, composed of the related major organizations in America, the Society has embarked on  new program of surveying historic sites, monuments, archival material and other memorabilia that have a bearing on the life and the cultural output of our ancestors who came to this country from the territory of the former Czechoslovakia. The aim is to preserve our cultural identity and heritage in America.

This will be a joint and long-term effort and will require the assistance of many organizations and many individuals in different localities throughout the US. We are hopeful that this effort will not only help to build a firm foundation for preserving our cultural heritage, but also will assist in revitalizing our organizations, reestablish their purpose for existence, and thus help to preserve the vitality of the entire Czech American and Slovak American community. 

This is, of course, only the first step. Eventually, we hope to have these treasures stored in safe places so that they can be forever preserved and made available to scholars and the general public. The question of cultural heritage is, however, much broader and must also include an effort to support the learning of Czech and Slovak languages, as well as the study of Czech and Slovak history and culture. Revitalization of our organization would be impossible without the active participation of the young generation of Czechs and Slovaks in America.

We must concentrate our efforts to attract this new generation - the vital link with the future.  Also, we must generate interest in SVU ideas among numerous visiting young scientists from the Czech and Slovak Republics who can serve as an important bridge between American Czech and Slovak communities and homelands. We thus appeal to our members, and particularly our young people, as well as members of other organizations, to join us in this noble cause and volunteer their services for the numerous tasks at hand.

Miloslav Rechcigl
President, SVU

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