On May 11, 2021, two-hours online seminar “Czechs and Alaska” is to be hosted by the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, which is also in charge of the State of Alaska.
Join our webinar here.
The working language of the webinar is English.
It might appear that the inhabitants of the Czech Republic – a not particularly populous Central European country lacking an ocean –would have little interest in events happening in the far corners of the globe, to say nothing of the Arctic Circle.
But it turns out that the reverse is true, with accounts attesting to significant Czech activities in Alaska, spanning exploration, discovery, scientific research and sports.The two-hour-long program of the webinar will be opened with an introductory speech by H. E. Hynek Kmoníček, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States of America, explaining the Czech Republic´s application for Observer Status in the Arctic Council.
The historical and scientific part of the webinar will start with Amb. Jaroslav Olša, Jr., historian and writer and Consul General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, and Amb. Zdeněk Lyčka, polar explorer, writer and translator from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, introducing their forthcoming exhibition and a book “Czechs and Alaska. From the Heart of Europe to the Northern Edge of America”. Prepared on the occasion of the 230th anniversary since the botanist Thaddäus Haenke became the first person from the historical Czech Lands who set foot on Alaskan soil in Yakutat Bay. Both panelists will present the activities of Czechs in the US state of Alaska and its Aleutian Islands, as well as the connections and observations of the inhabitants of the country in the heart of Europe with respect to this farthest part of the United States.
