University of Hawaii Welcomes Senator of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Jaroslava Moserova

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Rena Higa, (808) 956-6940
Office of International Education
Posted: Apr 2, 2004

The University of Hawaiʻi School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies (SHAPS) and the Office of International Education will host Senator of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Jaroslava Moserová for a reading of her play "A Letter to Wollongong" on Wednesday, April 7 at 2:30 p.m. in the Ernst Lab Theatre.

Following the reading, Moserová will present a lecture entitled "The U.S. Returns to UNESCO: An Eastern European Perspective" at 4 p.m. in the Center for Korean Studies conference room.

Moserová is an associate professor at Charles University in Prague. She has served as the President of the 30th General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 1999-2001 and is a former ambassador to Australia and New Zealand.

Also an accomplished writer, Moserová has written a number of essays, screenplays and plays produced on stage. She translates English literature concentrating mainly on the novels of Dick Francis.

"A Letter to Wollongong" is based on the events around the self-immolation of Jan Palach, a Czech student who set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in 1969. Moserová was the burns specialist who was the first doctor to treat Palach. The play evokes the divisions between Czechs living abroad and those who remained at home, and was conceived in the hope of healing some of these divisions.

UNESCO promotes collaboration among nations in education, science, culture, and communications. The United States withdrew from UNESCO in 1984. In 2001, the House voted to authorize the $60 million dues payment required for the United States to rejoin the organization. The United States officially returned to UNESCO in 2003.