Celebrations of 100 Years of Slovak-American Relations Starts in Brezova

Brezova pod Bradlom, August 10 (TASR) - In 1918 an agreement was signed in Pittsburgh that laid the foundations for an independent and democratic Czechoslovakia, and now US diplomats and embassy workers have decided to celebrate the centenary of this event in an unconventional way: they will drive across Slovakia in a caravan, TASR learnt on Friday. "It's a significant anniversary, so it's important to mark the friendship between the Slovaks and the Americans and to talk about our common history. We've been connected to date by a desire for freedom. We also need to talk about individual human stories; Slovaks have always been able to achieve success in America. My fellow American workers and I are looking forward to visiting the regions because we want to know what people are interested in, what they are worried about, where they see solutions. We believe that we'll learn much from people in the regions, and we hope that they too will learn something from us," said US ambassador to Slovakia Adam Sterling. The roadtrip entitled America on Wheels kicks off on August 13 in Brezova pod Bradlom (Trencin region), which is located in the area where Milan Rastislav Stefanik was born, and it will end at the celebrations of the 74th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) in Banska Bystrica. US diplomats will visit 26 towns in 17 days. "We'll stop mainly in smaller towns like Bytca, Dobsina, Sabinov. We want to talk to people, ask them about their opinion on Slovak-American relations, their expectations," noted US Embassy Public Affairs Officer Griffin Rozell. am/mch