Ambassador Adam Sterling’s address to 17 and 18 year old high school students in Senica highlighted his recent visit to the Zahorie region of western Slovakia near the Czech border. Sterling spoke about his native New York and experiences with diversity in an appeal to young people to reject hate-based ideologies. Sterling also had meetings with newly elected mayors in Senica and Skalica, and toured the production floor at Kovotvar Kuty; a manufacturing facility that has won acclaim from activists for its efforts to employ members of Slovakia’s marginalized Roma community. Sterling closed his trip with a visit to Skalica’s historic Franciscan monastery, where he tried his hand at making Skalica’s regionally famous trdelnik, a wood-fired pastry.
