2008 press releases

Czech-American Award for Talented Students at Masaryk and Charles University

Prague, May 15, 2008

U.S. Ambassador Richard W. Graber announced today winners of the annual Czech-American Award for Talented Students while visiting the InfoUSA Center, located in the Moravian Library in Brno.  The works submitted to the competition showed an extraordinary quality and,  therefore, the jury decided to present awards to two contestants:

- Martina Horakova, student of Faculty of Arts at Masaryk University in Brno, for her comparative analysis of the biographies of North American and Australian female writers;

- Simona Hlavacova, student of Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague, for her work on Islam in the United States.

Jury member Marek Svoboda from American Center of the U.S. Embassy noted: “The themes and formulations of both texts are of very high quality and contribute to academic discussion in relevant branches.  The work of Simona Hlavackova is unique in Czech literature.  And Martina Horakova’s essay, written in English, shows notable comparative analysis.”  Both winners will be awarded 10.000 CZK, Hlavackova’s text will be published by the International Institute of Political Science in Brno.  Authors of other selected works will also receive TOEFL and GRE vouchers provided by the Fulbright Commission.

Some twenty students submitted their works to the competition this year. All university students could participate in the competition but the topics should be linked to the U.S., and focus on history, culture, and education.  International Institute of Political Science Director Bretislav Dancak, Head of Czech branch of the Fulbright Commission Hana Ripkova, and the American Center of the U.S. Embassy representative Marek Svoboda judged the competition. The next Czech-American Award for Talented Students will be announced this autumn.