The QLF Alumni Congress was constructed to include several interlocking components. Bookending the main event was a Pre-Congress Land Trust Study Tour and Post-Congress Tour of Rural Landscapes, both of which were held in the Czech Republic.
U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic William J. Cabaniss, Jr. and Mrs. Cabaniss joined QLF for the Tour of Rural Landscapes and hosted a final Post-Congress reception at the Embassy Residence in Prague.
Days before the Congress, U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Rodolphe Vallee hosted a gathering of QLF Alumni (from Slovakia) at the Embassy Residence in Bratislava. The Alumni gathering was a natural prelude to what followed and led by Host of the Congress, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary George H. Walker.
Photograph by Elizabeth Alling
Providing opening remarks at the reception and banquet of the Congress, Ambassador Walker introduced dignitaries from all QLF regions, and keynote speaker, Minister of Environment and Water of the Republic of Hungary, Miklos Persanyi. Ambassador Gulyas, Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Hungary, provided remarks on behalf of its President, Laszlo Solyom.
The working centerpiece of the Congress was the Stewardship Workshop under the direction of Jessica Brown, QLF Senior Vice President, International Programs, and Brent Mitchell, QLF Vice President, Stewardship. The Workshop was divided into six thematic “streams.” The Workshop was bookended by environmental and cultural field visits and special presentations provided by QLF Alumni. Ambassador Walker and Mrs. Walker hosted the final reception and gathering of the QLF Alumni Congress.