Czech Ambassador To Speak At Conference Feb. 22

Martin Palous, the Czech Republic Ambassador to the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the Southwest Slavic Studies Association Conference, which will meet at Baylor University Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22-23.
Palous, who was appointed ambassador in 2001 and participated in the activities of Czechoslovakia's democratic opposition, will speak at a banquet scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, in the White Beckham Room at the Bill Daniel Student Center.
In addition to Palous' speech, the conference will feature panel discussions and presentations. Other conference guests include Jean Garner of Houston and Ivana Dolezalova from Prague, who will present papers on the development of independent media in the post-Communist states.
"We will have a huge variety of topics that focus on the research conducted on the post-Communist nations of Central Europe, Balkans or the former Soviet Union in fields of language and literature, history, political science, media development and censorship and civil society," said Dr. Michael Long, director of Baylor's Slavic Studies program and assistant professor of Russian.
Sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the lecture hall at the Armstrong Browning Library and are free and open to the public. Although the banquet is only for conference participants and other guests, some free seating in an adjoining room will be available for people who would like to hear the Ambassador Palous' talk. He will begin his lecture at approximately 7:15 p.m.
For more information, call 710-2618.