Juraj Zajonc
The leading event of the OIDFA meeting (The International Bobbin and Lace Organization) is the World Lace Congress, which takes place every two years. The location of the 11th World Congress was Prague. The Congress lasted from 12th to 23rd July 2004 and its programme was divided into three parts. The first part consisted of workshops where the participants encountered and learned traditional lace techniques. Two workshops were devoted to lace from Slovakia. The second part of the congress was the international exhibition of member countries of OIDFA, the fashion parade and many topical exhibitions. These were enriched by many seminars on the history and present of lace, mainly bobbin lace and the lace trade in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. Several accompanying events – the third part of the programme – took place in other cities of the Czech Republic as well as abroad. Congress participants also visited Bratislava. The Slovak National Gallery presented an exhibition of laces by Elena Holéczyová. ÚĽUV presented a collection of laces created through cooperation with artists and lace producers. The Slovak National Museum prepared a presentation of traditional regional types of laces from the territory of Slovakia at Bratislava Castle. The Slovak Lace interest associations exhibited a selection of amateur lace creation in the Town Museum. The 12th world congress of OIDFA in 2006 will be held in the capital of Greece – Athens.