American Czech and Slovak Association
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American Czech and Slovak Association | |
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| Founded | 1990 |
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| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Location |
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Key people | Robert Miller, President Oliver Gunovsky, Vice President |
The American Czech and Slovak Association (ACSA), originally American Czechoslovak Society (ACS), was a Washington, D.C.–based national organization with a mission to facilitate contacts and cooperation between people, institutions and organizations in the United States and the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and assist in the transition to democracy and market economy in Czechoslovakia after the Velvet Revolution, which ended Communist rule in the country. It was founded in 1990, and in 1994 it served as a foundation for the new American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR).
In 1989, the communist governments of Central and Eastern Europe were in a state of collapse. The Polish Solidarity trade union and popularity of John Paul II helped force an election in Poland that created a new non-communist government. Hungary opened its borders with Austria, and in East Germany the Berlin Wall had fallen. Next month, on November 17, 1989, the Czechoslovak communist government-sanctioned ceremony took place in Prague to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1939 shutdown of Czech universities by the Nazi government, in which 1200 people were arrested, and 9 students murdered. This ceremony devolved into a peaceful anti-government protest in the streets of downtown Prague, and eventually culminated in the Velvet Revolution, which brought (without violence) a transition of power from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to a democratic federal republic.
As in many other former communist countries, the collapse of the communist regime excited many people of Czech and Slovak background who sought ways to extend support to the new fledgling republics in their transition to a democratic form of governance and in the transition to a free-market economy. In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, there was a void for the presence of such organizations for Czechoslovakia.
In Washington, D.C., a political refugee from Czechoslovakia, Robert Miller, along with George Levendis,[1] using an ad in The Washington Post, called for a founding meeting of the American Czechoslovak Society (ACS). The meeting took place in the Georgetown Public Library on February 7, 1990, with Hana Palec,[2] from the Czechoslovak desk at Voice of America reporting. The meeting was attended by 75 people, split between those with and without Czech or Slovak ethnic background. Resolutions on key organizational steps were adopted and, subsequently, the ACS was registered as a Delaware corporation[3] (Company #2221522), subsequently receiving the IRS Code 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
After the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993 – called in reference to the Velvet Revolution – the "Velvet Divorce", the ACS changed its name to the American Czech & Slovak Association (ACSA).
In February 1993, the ACSA moved from its original offices on 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW to the historical Investment Building, closer to the White House, on 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005.
In 1994, with more focus given to the advocacy role, the ACSA became the foundation for the newly founded and also Washington, D.C.–based non-profit organization, American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR).[4]
Description and Statement of Mission
The ACSA was a leading national Czech and Slovak focused non-profit organization registered in 1990 in Delaware[5] with a mission to facilitate bilateral U.S.–Czech and Slovak cooperation in various areas of human endeavor and to assist the new democracy and free market reform. It was not primarily a diaspora and ethnic-based organization; rather, it brought together individual Americans and American private and public sector organizations sharing an interest in bilateral cooperation and supporting the post-Velvet Revolution era development in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
| External media | |
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| Images | |
 American Czech and Slovak Association Newsletter, ACS News, Volume 4/1, January 1993 | |
| Video | |
 "Situation in Czechoslovakia". The ACSA sponsored a forum to talk about the situation in Czechoslovakia. The panel of speakers talked about the breakup of Czechoslovakia and the future relationship of the two republics.[6] |
Statement of Mission
A nonprofit, nonpolitical, nongovernmental membership organization to:
- Promote friendship between the people of the United States of America and the people of Czechoslovakia.
- Celebrate the history and culture of Czechoslovakia and promote in the people of the United States appreciation for the contributions of the people of Czechoslovakia in philosophy, religion, education, arts, sciences, industry, diplomacy and other fields of human endeavor.
- Promote social, cultural, educational, professional and commercial relations between the people of the United States of America and the people of Czechoslovakia.
- Promote and assist in the development of pluralistic democracy and free market economic system in Czechoslovakia.
- Support the Embassy of Czechoslovakia in the United States and serve as a resource and point of contact for Czechoslovak delegations to the United States.
- Facilitate and encourage cooperative ventures among United States and Czechoslovak commercial and professional interests.
- Facilitate and encourage cooperative ventures among United States and Czechoslovak religious, cultural, educational, civic and social organizations and their members.
- Organize, sponsor and conduct, either alone or in conjunction with other organizations, conferences, seminars, social meetings and other events, both in the United States and in Czechoslovakia.
- Facilitate exchange programs among families, individuals and institutions in the United States and in Czechoslovakia, and to provide hospitality, accommodations, information and other resources for persons from Czechoslovakia visiting the United States, and to create reciprocal programs for persons from the United States visiting Czechoslovakia.
- Sponsor instruction in the languages and customs of Czechoslovakia.
- Support and participate in the social, cultural and educational activities of Czechoslovak American organizations and other organizations fostering appreciation of Czechoslovakia.
- Support and cooperate with the Society of Friends of the United States (SPUSA) and similar organizations in Czechoslovakia, and with Czechoslovak organizations in the United States.
- Produce and publish a newsletter and other print, audio and video materials.
- Conduct fund-raising necessary to this Mission.
- Perform any and all other nonprofit activities as shall be consistent and appropriate to this Mission.