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CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES |
Unforgetable Moments
Insights and Impressions from the Bratislava SVU Congress
The consensus among all of us who took part in the SVU Congress in Bratislava is that this was a truly extraordinary event.
Most of the participants started arriving in Bratislava on Sunday July 5 and were accommodated in modern hotel rooms at SUZA or DRUZBA, In the afternoon there was an open house at SUZA , i.e. a continuous Social Get Together with flowing open end sandwiches and other refreshments which were constantly being replenished. This gave an opportunity for meeting old friends or making new acquaintances from both sides of the Atlantic. The general mood was festive and very cordial.
Opening ceremony of the 19th SVU World Congress took place at 10 A.M. on Monday, July 6, in the beautiful "Aula" Hall of the Comenius University, Safarik Square 6. The event started with the academic procession of Rectors, Deans and other university dignitaries, dressed in their colorful academic gowns and golden chains, signifying their university rank, with trumpets playing. It was an unforgettable sight.
The large
gathering of SVU members and invited guests which filled every available seat of the
magnificent Hall, was officially welcomed by the Rector of Comenius University Prof. Ing.
Ferdinand Devinsky, DSc., who hosted the meeting. The text of his remarks, as well as that
of other presenters, appears elsewhere in this issue of Zpravy SVU. He was followed by Dr.
Ing. Igor Hudoba, CSc., Rector of the Slovak Technical University, who greeted the
gathering on behalf of the Slovak Conference of University Rectors, of which he is
President. The SVU Congress was officially opened by the President of the Czechoslovak
Society of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Miloslav Rechcigl. The next speaker was His Excellency
Ralph Johnson, the Ambassador of the U.S., who presented his views on the future relations
of the U.S. and Slovakia. Then came an enjoyable music interlude by the chorus
"TECHNIK," followed by brief addresses of Dr. Jaroslava Turkova, President
of the Prague SVU Chapter and Prof. RNDr. Ing. Alexander Tkac, President of the SVU
Chapter Bratislava and the Chairman of the Bratislava Organizing Committee. The ceremony
was closed with "Gaudeamus igitur."In the afternoon there was a plenary session
held in the Moyzes Hall at the Music Conservatory, comprised of six major addresses,
including that of Miloslav Rechcigl, Juraj Stern, Jozef Tino, Zlatica Plasienkova, Jan
Morovic and A. Tamir. The festive day was concluded with a reception and a cultural
program of folk music and dance at SUZA.
Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning and afternoon and Thursday morning were devoted to
academic sessions, many of which reflected the central theme of the 19th SVU World
Congress : "Sciences and Arts on the Eve of the 21st Century." In addition, the
program included a variety of symposia, and panel discussions on various topics,
organized by different disciplines of human endeavor.
Tuesday afternoon was reserved for a guided tour through the historical Old Town, followed
by a concert at the St. Martin's Cathedral, with the participation of the opera singer
Zuzana Vasekova, Maros Kittner, organ, Milan Vonderka, violin, Lucia Majerska, violin,
Dimitrij Kopcak, Eva Sochmanova, viola. The music repertoire included music of J. S. Bach,
F. Handel, W. A. Mozart, A. Dvorak, F. Schubert and M. Markiezy. The program included
words of welcome by Father Anton Srholec and poetry reading by Ladislav Chudik. The
Congress participants were then received in the Lord Mayor's Office at the Primacial
Palace and treated to the music of W.A. Mozart and Antonin Dvorak by the Bratislava
Capella Istropolitana Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Robert Marecek. The
extraordinary evening was concluded by a hospitable reception of scrumptious food and
wine.
On Wednesday evening the Congress participants were taken by bus to the Bratislava castle to view the art exhibits and hear music by Mikulas Schneider, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Fryderyk Chopin and Antonin Dvorak. The performers included two leading opera singers: Zuzana Vasekova, soprano and Peter Mikulas, baritone and two piano virtuosi: Daniela Varinska and Marian Varinsky. Then followed a reception with light refreshments to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences.
The Thursday afternoon program comprised of two plenary sessions, one of which was devoted to a historical overview of the work of SVU local chapters throughout the world. The academic program was concluded with three keynote addresses, beginning with that of Petr Zuna, Rector of CVUT in Prague, who talked about the role of the Czech technical universities at the turn of the new millennium. The other two speakers included Father Anton Srholec from Bratislava who talked on the subject "Role of God in the Contemporary World," and Igor Kiss " Is Humanity on the Way Out?" The talks by the representatives of the Catholic and Protestant faiths, respectively, were duly followed by an extemporaneous presentation of Prof. Pavel Traubner, M.D., Ph.D., Honorary President of the Union of Jews in Slovakia. The academic program was formally closed by the SVU President who expressed thanks to his American collaborators and the Bratislava co-organizers, headed by prof Tkac, for the time and effort they put into organizing the 19th SVU World Congress. On Thursday night there was a farewell reception in SUZA with a cultural program, featuring a virtuoso on a cymbal whose mastery cannot be equaled.
Friday was
reserved for a bus excursion into the Slovak picturesque countryside, with a guided tour
of the Devin Castle and visit of the Smolenice Palace where the participants were
served lunch. The group was then taken to Dolna Krupa to view the house of Beethoven and
learn about the composer's private life and productive stay in Slovakia. Then followed an
unforgettable visit to Modra and its famous ceramic artistic factory and laboratories
"Majolika." The very enjoyable day ended in the small Slovak village of
Budmerice where the Congress participants were treated to first rate goulash and other
Slovak goodies, accompanied with wholesome Slovak wine and beer. While the eating and
drinking was going on, the musicians played in the background the old tunes. Then people
began dancing, while others sang.... I almost forgot to mention that we were first
welcomed by the honorable Mayor of Budmerice who expressed his joy over our visit in his
town and as a token of appreciation presented the SVU President a historical chronicle of
Budmerice. As you can imagine, the overall mood was genial, exuberant, enchanted,
fantastic.. What a way to end the Congress !
Irrespective of the criteria used, the Bratislava Congress must be judged as a highly
successful event, not only in terms of its content and quality but above all,
how much it contributed to enhancing understanding between one another, between
Czechs and Slovaks, as well as other nationalities, between those in our old country and
those abroad, between scientists, artists and humanitarians, as well as across the gender
and the age lines. It has clearly fulfilled the society's aim as a cultural,
nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, dedicated to the principles of free search for
truth and knowledge, free contacts among peoples and free dissemination of ideas.
Miloslav Rechcigl
SVU President
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