Please join the Atlantic Council and the Embassy of the Czech Republic on November 18, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for a discussion about the business of transformation in Central Europe and beyond, the current state of Czech-American relations, as well as the principles which transatlantic security and cooperation have been built upon.


Twenty-Five Years of Freedom
Transatlantic Geopolitical, Security, and Economic
Challenges through the Eyes of Czech and American Envoys

Welcome Remarks:
The Hon. Paula J. Dobriansky
Board Director
Atlantic Council
Senior Fellow, John F. Kennedy Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Harvard University

Keynote address:
H.E. Jan Hamacek
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies
Parliament of the Czech Republic

Moderated by:
William Drozdiak
President
American Council on Germany

Kevin Klose
Former President
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.

Twenty-five years ago, the countries of Central Europe seized a moment of hope, freed their nations of communist control, and set forth on a remarkable transformation of their societies, political systems, and economies. These laudable efforts led to a successful integration of these nations into NATO, the European Union, and the greater transatlantic community. Today, this stability and prosperity is being put to the test by a newly aggressive Russia, whose actions in Ukraine are a stark reminder that the hard-fought freedoms and ideals of the Velvet Revolution should not be taken for granted. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe now face a fundamentally altered strategic environment which demands strong transatlantic unity and resolve.

As a sequel to Prague’s 2011 Lion and Eagle Symposium, this event will leverage the experience of former and current Czech and US Ambassadors to offer a frank discussion about the unfinished business of transformation in Central Europe and beyond, the current state of Czech-American relations, as well as reiterate the principles which transatlantic security and cooperation have been built upon. Two panels will offer unique perspectives, coinciding with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which reestablished democracy in former Czechoslovakia, and the fifteenth anniversary of the Czech Republic’s accession into NATO.

The event will be part of a week-long Celebration of Freedom, during which the Czech Embassy and its American friends and partners will commemorate twenty-five years of freedom and honor late Czech President Vaclav Havel’s inspirational legacy in the spirit of our shared values and freedom. The highlight of the celebrations will be the dedication of a bust of President Havel in the United States Capitol, a most honorable recognition voted upon by the US House of Representatives earlier this year.