"Sit with us at our table!" This year on Americká, Family Next Door hosted visitors with food and stories from all corners of the world.

Slovo 21 loves those moments when people meet around a single table. That is why we made sure to be at this year’s Zažít Americkou jinak street festival, which transforms a Prague street into an open and friendly space every year. We brought along our long-running project, Family Next Door, and with it, some great food and a desire to chat. An improvised "living room" sprang up right on the street, where guests brought their traditional specialties. Aromas mingled, and strangers struck up conversations in no time. Because a simple lunch can connect even those who might never have met otherwise.

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Around eleven in the morning, Americká Street in Prague’s Vinohrady district is slowly waking up, but the first scents, music, and bustle are already greeting visitors. It takes a while to walk from one end of the street festival to the other. The attention of those arriving is constantly diverted by the abundance of colors and stimuli the street has to offer. An Italian bakery, a Persian breakfast, a smokehouse with plumes of smoke rising from it, Austrian wine, Argentine steaks, and mango lemonade—the flavors blend together, and every stall invites you to stop. A group of children carefully arranges dried plums on a folding table. "Come and try the orange lemonade!" they shout boldly to the crowd. A boy with a light green balloon on a string stops his father by some equally light green pistachio pastries, pleadingly scanning the display case that would have made for a perfect breakfast this morning.

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One table, a red tablecloth, and six chairs

The Slovo 21 organization’s stall is located roughly in the middle of Americká Street. At the edge of the promenade, there is a long table set up with a red tablecloth and six chairs. A rug, an armchair, and a chest of drawers behind the table complete the feeling that visitors are stepping into a living room. Coordinators Anastázie Slavíček and Yuliia Giorgelashvili are busy preparing paper bowls and cutlery. Passersby stop to look at flyers about the Slovo 21 initiative, which has moved today from private living rooms right here to Americká Street. For over twenty years, Family Next Door has been connecting Czech families with immigrant families, giving both sides a chance to gain insight into each other’s customs and culture through shared meals—whether through food, stories, or new friendships. "That’s why we have the table and the armchair here. So that people come and sit at one table, in a living room just like at dinner. And talk about... well, actually, about anything at all," Anastázie adds, explaining the intent.

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Stories of Mongolia and scents from Syria

Food is, quite simply, one of the universal languages that can connect people without a common tongue. That is why there are several opportunities today on Americká to have lunch at a single table. Before noon, the space in the stall is already being filled by the energetic figure of Gerolt, dressed in a bright yellow apron. "My dad sewed this!" he laughs, adding that at least he won't be missed anywhere. Together with his wife, he has prepared a traditional Mongolian treat—steamed dumplings filled with beef. The aroma of the dumplings quickly attracts curious onlookers, who stop for a chat with Gerolt. "When a bride is introduced to her parents in Mongolia, a special celebratory dish is cooked—a sheep’s head," he begins, and once he starts, he practically doesn't stop.

The other half of the shared table is now decorated with a Syrian flag. A smiling Amira and her children have brought four trays full of traditional Syrian food. A younger girl with long black braids sits at the table, while a little boy helps his mother explain in English exactly what is in each dish. "You’ll like this, it’s very sweet, like little donuts," she smiles, handing a bowl of treats to a group of children on the other side of the table. Gerolt’s story about how he used to drive to Mongolia through Siberia with his family now mingles with the scent of Syrian thyme and Amira’s smile. "It took me two days to cook all of this," she explains, while her youngest daughter at the table pulls a glittery blue polish from her purse and starts painting her nails.

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Evening on Americká

The Mongolian and Syrian cuisine is soon replaced by Palestinian baba ghanoush, hummus, and falafel. Mrs. Halina arrives with Ukrainian food. "These are varenyky," she explains. "Dumplings filled with mushrooms and potatoes. I brought exactly two hundred and forty-seven of them," she laughs. The table is full now. The flyers explaining the goal of bringing different cultures together are disappearing fast. The afternoon has slowly turned into evening, and the shared lunch is now more of a shared dinner. Mongolian is mixing with Syrian, Ukrainian, English, and a jumble of other languages.

A girl of about twenty stops near Amira and smiles at the little girl, who is fixing her glittery nails for the second time. Amira offers her food and starts a conversation. "Are you Czech?" she asks after a while, and the girl nods nervously. "That’s great!" Amira smiles. "I love Czech people so much; I couldn't live here without my Czech friends. They are my family."

As evening falls, traditional Roma flatbreads are sliced, and the last of the food is finished off at the table. The final goodbyes fade away, and whatever wasn't finished today will be told at home in the living room or again in a year, on Americká. 

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Slovo 21’s activities at the Zažít Americkou jinak event were carried out as part of the Prague Together 2025 project, funded by the City of Prague.