NAACP Washington Bureau Director Hilary Shelton visited Slovakia from February 29-March 2. During his visit, Shelton helped to re-launch the Embassy’s Youth Advisory Council, holding a discussion about diversity and civil rights at the Ambassador’s residence with students from Comenius University, the Economics University and the Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts. He also spoke about race relations in the United States at Comenius University as part of its “Politics within Reach” discussion series. At the InfoUSA Center in Bratislava, he hosted a workshop on “The Art of Activism” with members of civil society, and in Trnava, Shelton participated in an Embassy-sponsored “Face2Face” panel discussion on minorities and integration with representatives from the Muslim and Roma communities in Slovakia. In his engagements with Slovak students and civil society activists, Shelton helped to foster an open and frank discussion about Slovak perceptions of racial and ethnic minorities. He also spoke about the history of African-American civic activism in America and shared his experiences lobbying for greater civil rights with the NAACP. Mr. Shelton visited Slovakia as part of the Embassy’s Black History Month programming and helped the Embassy to encourage greater openness, tolerance and respect for universal human rights in Slovakia.
