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“We are opening new areas for cooperation between the Czech Republic and Thailand”

Linda Štucbartová and H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of Thailand

When it comes to Thailand, people are typically divided into two categories: those who have been there and keep returning and those who have Thailand on the bucket list so they can join the first group later. As soon as I set my foot over the doorstep of the residence of the Thai Ambassador in Prague, I experienced the concept of “Thainess” myself. The traditional Thai greeting “wai”, display of fresh flowers and lush greenery surrounding the recently reconstructed garden of the Thai Residence in Prague, felt like an oasis and escape from the rush of the busy city. The Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine is deeply grateful to H. E. Ureerat Chareontoh for becoming the first female ambassador to launch our new regular series of interviews with women leaders in diplomacy and business.

H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh has a long outstanding career in diplomatic service and Prague is her first posting in two aspects, in Europe and at the highest diplomatic rank. Mrs. Ambassador still recalls the moment when she received her accreditation from His Majesty the King of Thailand as one of her highlights, both as citizen and as a civil servant. Serving the Thai government is a family tradition, as the mother to Mrs. Ambassador was also a high-ranking civil servant herself. As soon as one enters the private residence, you can feel the deep gratitude and respect for the Czech Republic, as H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh has displayed her photographs with the three Czech highest-ranking state representatives. We continued discussing women and their role in trade, government, and diplomacy. In Thailand, there are also women present in the highest ranks of the Army. We also reflected on the role of diplomats and diplomacy. From the Cold War and closed residences, Ambassadors are now more and more open to the public. As cooking is a passion of H.E., she has toured the country while presenting Thai cooking in various towns and cities, from high-school students to most recently volunteers and firefighters who worked hard to fight the pandemic, as she joined the initiative of the Mayor of Prague 1. In 2019, she opened the residence to the public and organized presentations of the Thai business community together with cooking classes. This event will be hopefully repeated in 2021. But remember, there is much more to Thailand than Thainess. Explore also other opportunities for cooperation, as H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh has set a purpose to redefine mutual relations beyond the tourism.

Your Excellency, my first question is quite obvious. What is the current situation in Thailand with regards to the pandemic?

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is a direct and pressing challenge to all countries, notwithstanding Thailand and the Czech Republic. It is more than just a global public health state of emergency, it is an unprecedented challenge facing humanity and human security. Many countries in Europe are experiencing high infection rates, which have come with tens of thousands of fatalities. Fortunately, both of our countries responded to the situation quite quickly and effectively.

Thailand’s economy, like many others that are deeply integrated into the global economy and supply chain, has been affected by the disruption of global economic activities due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The latest estimation of the country’s GDP growth rate of the year 2020 is 1.5-2.5%. At the moment, the Royal Thai Government is focusing on two key areas of work. The first concern is the health issue, meaning the Government

is employing all means to reduce and contain the spread of the COVID-19 and enhance the capacity to treat the infected patients. The second concern is the provision of assistance to all Thai citizens, to support their livings. In response to the effect of COVID-19 on the country’s economy, the Government has approved an economic stimulus package amounted to CZK 1.23 trillion, corresponding to approximately 10% of GDP.

Thailand has been a very popular tourist destination also for many Czech travelers. When can the Czechs look forward to coming back?

Our tourism industry accounts for around one-fifth of Thailand’s economy. In normal circumstances, April is considered the peak holiday season in Thailand, with the Songkran Water Festival as the magnet event to attract tourists from around the world. Unfortunately, this year the Royal Thai Government had to cancel the celebration of the Songkran Water Festival to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The Government has declared a state of emergency from 26 March to 30 April 2020, which later extended to 30 June 2020, to combat the spread of the virus effectively and efficiently. However, once travel resumes, Thailand looks forward to welcoming foreign visitors, especially Czech friends. I was pleased to hear that many Czechs are planning a visit to Thailand as soon as it is possible – as soon as the European Union opens the borders. At present, the situation of the spread of COVID-19 in Thailand is getting better, the Government has started to implement lockdown relaxation, and people are allowed to resume their daily life activities under the “new normal” and “social distancing”. The low infection rate of COVID-19 in Thailand has clearly reflected Thailand’s strength and capacity in the medical and healthcare sector.

Thai people and their culture are known for the concept of Thainess. I admit that my country lags in the areas of service and fresh food. Have you found any means or places that at least slightly commemorate Thainess?

I think that Thainess is all about Thai hospitality, which is a unique characteristic of Thais and cannot be duplicated elsewhere. It is what makes people want to come back and visit Thailand again and again. What I miss the most is Thai food, especially street food in Bangkok, or fresh seafood, cooked by the seaside in any beach town in Thailand. It is not only the food itself but also the ambiance. But here in Prague, I love the farmers’ markets, both in Prague 6 and Náplavka, that I go almost every Saturday if the weather is nice. I love the ambiance there. It is so lively and relaxing plus the food there is also good and fresh.

Let us talk about the new tomorrow. You have been working on extending the areas of cooperation between the two countries beyond tourism, which seems to be obvious.

Indeed, there are many other possibilities for future cooperation, such as defense and security industry, health or research and development (R&D), to name a few.

In terms of R&D, especially in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), I believe that the COVID-19 situation will help accelerate the momentum of bilateral cooperation in this field as STI is vital in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic and the “new normal”

of social distancing will also accelerate digitization as the key to bringing about global progress and development. The Czech Republic is renowned for being very advanced and having rapid developments in STI, thus, sharing and exchanging knowledge and best practices in STI between our two countries is one of the key cooperation that should be further promoted in the post-COVID era.

For defense and security cooperation, since Prime Minister Andrej Babiš visited Thailand on the occasion of the state official visit in January 2019, there have been many follow up high-level visits between the two sides, which led to the establishment of the Coordinating Committee (Working Group) for Cooperation in Defense Industry in order to work on the potential projects and details of cooperation, especially in aerospace, military vehicles, weapons and ammunition, disaster relief, and cyber and information technology. Thailand has also extended its invitation to the Czech private sectors to consider investing in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in which many companies from the Czech sides have shown interests.

Regarding the health sector, the two countries place importance on health security and aim to promote more on this aspect. A few Czech companies, such as Linet, are doing business in Thailand but currently, with the pandemic and the growing capacity of the Czech business in the health industry, the Embassy will encourage more cooperation and more Czech companies to consider investing further in Thailand in this field, as well as in medical and pharmaceutical sciences. In addition, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University of Thailand, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI), situated in Prague, to promote cooperation in the use of cannabis extracts for the treatment and development of cannabis and cannabis extract research projects. It is the first collaboration between ICCI and a country in East Asia and South East Asia as well as an important step for the ICCI’s international cooperation with countries outside Europe.

On another related note, there are also approximately 30 Thai students currently pursuing medical studies in the Czech Republic, mostly at Charles University. At the same time, around 10 Czech medical students participate in internship programs at several hospitals in Thailand each year.

Finally, technical cooperation in third-world countries, to promote human security and empower the underprivileged, women and children is also a potential endeavor that Thailand and the Czech Republic could expedite in the near future.

H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of Thailand

We are launching the new series of women ambassadors and thank you very much for being the patron and the first leader to be featured. What is your message to women professionals?

First of all, I would like to thank the Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine for this initiative. Right now, there are approximately 20 of us, women ambassadors in the Czech Republic, covering all continents and I hope that the number will increase. We now have a “WhatsApp” group of “Prague Women Ambassadors” thanks to my dear friend, the Ambassador of Canada, who created it. Recently, we participated in a project raising awareness about World Bee Day, initiated by the Ambassador of Slovenia. I admire each and every one of the women ambassadors, and actually all women professionals, for doing their job the best way, while balancing it with their personal lives. Just do your best and have no regret for the outcome.

How do you manage to maintain a work-life balance? What are your passions and hobbies?

As a working woman, I learned how to balance my work and my personal life a long time ago. But I also had been helped by my family, my parents, and my brother. In the past, when work demanded and I had to work during the weekend, I chose to bring work home and did it together with my children while they were doing their homework. Three of us were in front of our laptops at the dining table. Some of my colleagues prefer to go to the office finalizing their report over the weekend, while I prefer bringing work to my home. At least I could be with my kids. I could say that once you are doing things you love and have passion with, I mean both work and family, it is easy to balance it.

As a woman and as a mother, I was always happy to cook for my children from when they were very young. I love to explore recipes, learning new ones from friends and colleagues, or try some new recipes from YouTube. It was fun and my children loved it. Now as they are all grown up and we do not live with each other, I still enjoy cooking, especially during the weekend.

I also like to travel. I think it is the best way to learn about the country you are living and working in. Since I arrived in the Czech Republic a year and a half ago, I have visited many cities here, Český Krumlov, Karlovy Vary, Telč, Liberec, Znojmo, Mikulov, even Ještěd, to name a few. And I will continue to do so during my term here.

What is your final message to Czech and Slovak Leaders readers?

Visit and experience Thailand yourself and not only the major and well-known cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Phuket. There are many other provinces in Thailand to be explored and we are looking forward to welcoming you all. Also, think of Thailand as a perfect destination for investment and business with regards to many future-oriented sectors. Thailand and the Czech Republic have great potential to cooperate in security, automation and robotics, smart electronics, next-generation mobility solutions, medical and comprehensive healthcare, and last but not least food industry. Doing business in Thailand will allow you to experience “Thainess” not just during vacations.

By Linda Štucbartová

Photos: Jitka Tomečková

“The state of our society has been a pleasant surprise”

General Petr Pavel

General Petr Pavel is a soldier by profession, who gradually worked his way up to become Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces. He subsequently became Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, as the very first representative of a country in the former Warsaw Pact to reach the highest military role within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. During this pandemic, he has set up the “Spolu silnější” (Stronger Together) initiative, which raises funds for those helping on the front line. His name is also currently being discussed in regard to a possible candidacy for President of the Czech Republic in 2023. My interview with the General took place at a time of still restricted contact, at home in my garden. One of my first questions to him was about his possible candidacy for the presidency. This was followed by questions about the role of the army during the pandemic, and our interview went on to look at strategic geopolitical areas: the relationship between the Czech Republic and NATO, and the EU and defence. We finally moved on to leadership, but there was again a parallel with global politics. What mistake has General Pavel openly admitted to? And what has most pleased him? More in the following interview, which I consider to be one of the most comprehensive and informative that I have done in recent times.

General, my first question will be somewhat unorthodox. With whom am I currently doing this interview? I know you are a former general, current leader of the Spolu silnější initiative, and perhaps you are a future candidate for President of the Czech Republic.

I am currently a pensioner. I’ll leave open your question regarding candidacy. A few conditions need to be met before I feel motivated to run. My health and family situation are the most important. A lot will depend on political developments here. If the leading candidates in the presidential election are mainly decent people whom I myself would vote for, then there will be no reason for me to get involved. But if that is not the situation and those with a good chance of election are people I would not like to see heading this office, then I will do all that I can. On the one hand because of my own conscience, but also because many people have encouraged me to take this step.

Have you got a specific date by which you will make your decision? I don’t expect you to announce your decision right here in my garden, although as a journalist it would be a dream come true. Two candidates from previous elections and two entrepreneurs have already announced their decision to run. Political scientists are also calling on potential candidates to place their cards on the table so the public can keep an eye on future candidates and weigh them up.

I follow what political scientists say, and I do respect them because as experts they know what they’re talking about. But my objective isn’t to run in the presidential election at any cost. So I don’t feel any pressure to announce my candidacy. I do what makes sense to me, and that includes acting within public consciousness. Once I feel I have reached a crossroads and I need to choose my path, I will do so. Once this coronavirus crisis is over, I’m looking forward to going back to giving talks on security, integrating the Czech Republic into NATO and the European Union, and international relations, because that’s something I enjoy and which fulfils me.

Moving on to your current Spolu silnější initiative, which helps people on what’s termed “the front line”. What have you found out about Czech society during this pandemic?

The state of Czech society has been a pleasant surprise to me during this pandemic. Many of us had been somewhat sceptical. Even at public discussions I had held, there were often expressions of frustration at the state of Czech society. According to one public opinion survey done by Czech Radio for the 30th anniversary of November 1989, some of the traits of Czech society did not sound very positive. However, we can see that when we are put under pressure, and it affects us all similarly because the virus does not differentiate between political allegiances, then we can come together, we can help each other, we can disregard what divides us and we can be inventive. In any case, we’ve always been inventive and we should work on developing that skill, as well as our creativity and flexibility. As always, a few negative traits have also expressed themselves, but there have been more positive traits, and it would be good if we could build on these and not let them slip away.

How did you come up with the idea of setting up the Spolu silnější initiative?

The impetus came from a number of sources. From the beginning of the crisis, I’d felt certain withdrawal symptoms from not doing anything, because I’ve always been used to being active in crises and focusing my efforts on particular goals and problem- solving. Suddenly there was a crisis and I was sitting at home because I couldn’t travel anywhere, not even to my public discussions. I came up with many different activities I could do, but I wanted my contribution to have the greatest possible impact. After donating to the production of face-masks and to charities, I thought I needed to help those who are already providing help now. I gathered people around me who may not have been skilful enough to produce respirators, or who may not have had the professional skills to provide quality social care, but who were able to secure the resources needed so that the professionals could perform their essential activities for as long as they could, without having to worry about funds. Last autumn, I set up Spolek pro bezpečnou budoucnost (the Society for a Secure Future), so I, my colleagues from this society and others founded the Spolu silnější initiative. We’ve been operating for two months, and I can feel that our initiative is going in the right direction. I must confess that the opportunity to see the activities of non-governmental organisations and charities up close has been a great lesson for me. Until now, I had little awareness of all the things they do, and how much personal effort and courage they put into their work. (Author’s note: As of the end of May, 624 people had supported the Spolu silnější collection, raising a total of almost 1.4 million CZK, divided up amongst 38 projects).

General Petr Pavel

Speaking of resources, let’s look at one resource which seems to me to be little used during this crisis, specifically the army of yours, and its deployment or non- deployment during this pandemic.

Let me just correct you a little: it’s actually our army. Deployment of the army is about division of roles. The army’s role is primarily to secure external security. Therefore any actions of the army within the state must be clearly defined by laws and rules. Under the previous regime, there was a risk the army would be used against its own people, so army deployment has always been a sensitive issue and has been strictly defined. Within the emergency services system which was gradually built up, the roles of key responders to a crisis were assigned and the army was defined as providing support. It has considerable capacity, but will only be deployed when internal security components no longer suffice. During the floods, the fire services were operating at almost full capacity, since the large area impacted meant fire-fighters were everywhere, while the army sat in garrisons waiting. When I was Chief of the General Staff, mayors of villages where there were garrisons based and ready to help turned to me. It was hard at that time to explain to people that I was unable to give the order for deployment, because the Central Crisis Staff had not given the instruction for army deployment. I learnt from the situation, and the decision was made that deployment would depend on the specific options available at specific times and specific places. This pandemic is seen as a health and internal crisis. Ministry of Health and Ministry of the Interior components have been activated, and the army has taken on a support role, deployed in resolving logistics tasks, transporting materials and unloading aircraft. So the army has been deployed, it’s just that not much has been said about it. Soldiers using military equipment have transported the same amount of material as the fire services have. They have used hundreds of vehicles and pieces of transportation equipment, and not just in loading but also in transporting and unloading. So I personally do not perceive the army’s deployment during this pandemic as being merely supplementary. Remember that special chemical and biological teams have also been deployed in specific cases.

Now let us look at international issues. During this pandemic, we haven’t had the opportunity to properly celebrate the anniversaries of our joining NATO (12 March 1999) or the European Union (1 May 2004). And since most news reports have focused on statistics around the Covid-19 disease, these important milestones have not been widely publicised.

I think they were noted, and it is good that we aren’t holding any grandiose events; we don’t need to arrange massive parades or rallies. It’s true that I would have expected both these events to be spoken of by our leaders as clear positives. I would also have expected brief statements on the anniversaries from the President or Prime Minister. Although this crisis has overshadowed these events, many people have talked of how beneficial membership of both these organisations is for the Czech Republic. Even in terms of the current crisis. If we hadn’t been members of the European Union, the government would certainly not have had the funds available to it to support entrepreneurs which the European Union has released.

Newspapers are currently full of information on fighting this invisible virus, but you are referring to the broader geopolitical context and the need to secure internal and external security, including appropriate expenditures on our army. During this pandemic, the need for security has not diminished, and the coronavirus has not reduced the security risks that exist in the world. The government should continue to ensure modernisation of the army in order to complete the tasks arising from our involvement in securing our collective defence. It is important to realise that there are no borders between us and NATO, or us and the EU. We still haven’t got used to the fact that we are NATO, and we are the EU. Safeguarding our security within a system of collective security is the cheapest and most effective method available to us. We don’t have to invest that much in security, but we do have to play our part. If we don’t do that, and other states behave similarly, then we cannot expect our collective defence to be effective, because it will be underfunded. In this regard, we should be extremely cautious about cuts in army budgets. Investments in modernising the army are not investments in “toys for soldiers”, but rather investments in the security of us all.

Confidence in the army is high in the Czech Republic, and it has been one of the most trusted institutions here for many years. But mere trust and popularity are not enough.

Confidence not just in the army, but also in the police, is higher here than in other NATO and EU countries. On the other hand, if you ask people how many of them would take an active part in defending the state personally, the percentage falls to about a third to a quarter, because defence is seen as a matter for the army. Yet security is a matter for all of us. We’ve entrusted safeguarding security to soldiers. But we should all be providing material support, resources and moral support. Many people enjoy taking part in army outreach events, such as NATO Days, Cihelna and Tank Days in Lešany, and open days at various garrisons. Tens of thousands of people visit these events. But if NATO asks us whether we’re allocating sufficient funds, all you need is a single populist declaration from a top politician, and suddenly we’re willing to get rid of the army altogether, or let it get by with 40-year-old technology. And if that army with its old technology is deployed somewhere and a failure occurs, who is responsible? The army and its command. If we are to be proud of our army, it must be capable of defending us, and it will only be able to do so if it has the resources it needs in order to be modern, effective, well-trained and ready.

This interview is for Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine. What is your concept of leadership?

Leadership is a very popular topic today; just look at the number of links the Google search engine will find. And my colleagues who have left top positions in NATO or in the American army are also setting up various think-tanks focused on modern or strategic leadership. I don’t think you need to make too much of how to lead people. Leadership is about integrity, clarity and transparency. And to those characteristics I would add civility, that is to say a human, ordinary approach. If a leader is not just to lead, but also to be followed, then they must be understandable and credible in order to persuade others. Consistency of opinions does not exclude development of opinions, but you cannot turn about-face in a matter of days. Leadership doesn’t require detailed specialist knowledge; a successful leader is able to delegate. When someone pretends to understand everything, this is mere pretence and lies. When a leader tries to do everything him or herself, tries micromanagement and is always seen and heard, then they aren’t giving others space or initiative. And initiative offers great potential which it is good to make use of.

Leadership also involves making mistakes and being able to admit to them. What is the greatest mistake you admit to?

I have made many mistakes. With hindsight, I’ve come to realise that I could have done some things better. Talking about a mistake which I perceive as a failure, then that would be joining the Communist Party under the last regime. I was too young to see things as they were, and I joined with the hope that the party could be changed for the better. I still feel bad about doing so today. Many people at the time had a similar lack of knowledge and objective cognisance. I myself was the product of a military education from the age of 14, and my opinions then had been shaped and controlled. Basically I had had no access to alternative ideas.

Being open and fair in admitting to mistakes is what takes us forwards. In my leadership roles at many levels, I have seen that it isn’t just giving space to the people I am leading that works, but also admitting that something has failed because I gave a bad assessment of the situation. The ability to acknowledge a mistake and take a constructive approach to ensure it does not happen again is an expression not of weakness, but rather of strength. We should not fear it. We do not have to achieve declared success in everything merely in order not to display weakness. In the end, this approach can be exploited by critics of the West, specifically Russia and China, who use it in their disinformation campaigns. One of the ways we can defend ourselves against these campaigns is to be more open and fair in regard to ourselves. If we sometimes admit to making a mistake, not only are we taking the wind out of the sails of those carrying out the disinformation campaign, because they won’t have the space to come up with speculation, but we are also showing our own people that we are able to admit mistakes and learn from them. Unfortunately, we don’t always do this. And there have been a large number of examples of times when we didn’t want to back down and admit we had made a mistake. Such as Libya.

By Linda Štucbartová

Heroes of Covid-19

On Women, Children, Missing Computers and Long Shopping Lists

For many, the undisputable heroes of these days are the medical doctors, nurses, social care workers and shop assistants.  I would like to write about those who have been forgotten…single mothers or parents. There are about 200 000 incomplete families in the Czech Republic and most single mothers have lost employment due to the quarantine measures.  Many of the single parents (both men and women) were working part-time, contract based only, so the Czech government’s compensation scheme designed for workers and entrepreneurs does not cover this vulnerable, yet specific group.  Labor offices as well as social institutions are mostly closed, so there is no access to temporary relief funds or services. Alimony from ex-spouses has stopped.  Many of the single mothers live in rented flats, which is an additional stress.   Then add in the pressure of uncertainty, stress from the future, missing income of the second parent and the troubles with home-schooling as well as being in lock down for most of the day.  Instead of partially subsidized lunches, they cook two meals per day.  How many dishes are you able to cook for about a half euro per day?  Single mothers belong to the most economically deprived group, one-half having less than 20 000 Czech crowns per month, and one-third less than 10 000 Czech crowns.  Join the Single Mothers’ Facebook group, which has more than 11 000 members, to get a real picture of daily life and some inspiration.  And, as the day comes to a close, recipes are mostly exchanged for solutions of algebra homework.

One-way Czech frontal education has switched to on-line learning, and mostly it remained one-way communication only.  Traditional Czech schools started to send out homework and assignments, expecting that every household is equipped with several computers, computer savvy parents and super-fast internet connection, printers and scanners included, of course.  One computer per household is not enough, as most Zoom and on-line sessions run simultaneously.  Ideally, each child should have their own device, which is not a standard in even many middle-class families, let alone the lowest income ones. Children from vulnerable social groups have started to lag behind their peers or were penalized for delivering homework late or for sending them via mobile not scanned (as teachers considered this cheating).    

By the way, if you think that helping providing PCs is an ideal CSR activity for some popular retailers, the most popular on-line store offered to provide five (sic!) computers via its foundation, with a cumbersome paperwork process.  Further, it offers a monthly lease for 300 CZK, which is a sum that single parents cannot afford.

When Tereza Vohryzková, an activist and a mother of two, started a Facebook appeal to collect computers to help single mothers and their children, I decided to help her.  Let me thank all my friends who donated their old computers, those who helped with on-line advice regarding maintenance and my daughter, who became a part-time PC upgrade expert.  Until I became involved, I did not imagine that delivering four upgraded devices would take me almost two weeks.   

So far, Tereza has helped to distribute more than 100 notebooks, computers and printers. When I sent her a thank you note I got from a single mother, sharing that not only did I deliver the computer but I was the only one who bought Easter eggs and chocolates for her kids, Tereza remarked, “It feels sad how little people believe that someone would help them.”  When asked to make an appeal regarding her experience with this charity project she continues,  “I wish people would start to pay more attention to others and start asking if someone actually needs help.  Many people are willing to help, they just do not know that someone, maybe a next-door neighbor or a family of their children’s classmate, is in need.”

It is true that single mothers have often been let down by their partners, families, officials, government representatives, teachers, school directors and many others.  However, they do have one fervent supporter. Nora Fridrichová, a famous Czech TV investigative journalist, is known for protecting the most vulnerable ones in the society.  Her most popular reports during the Covid-19 crises dealt with single mothers and seniors.  She has been supporting single mothers for more than two years. Last year, she started a collection of clothing for single mothers.  Later, she managed to turn the basement of the Czech Television into a storage with winter clothes and equipment for children.  Now, during the Covid-19 crisis, she is organizing shopping with delivery for single mums.  Her appeal raised more than two million Czech crowns within one week.  Nora herself was surprised that the appeal attracted the attention of men as, up to now, mostly women were concerned about helping women.     

I had the privilege to ask Nora a few questions regarding single mothers and the current situation for the Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine.

Nora, how would you compare the situation of Czech single mothers to the other states in the EU?

Financially, single parent families are not in a good position anywhere, but in the Czech Republic, single mothers easily fall into the group endangered by poverty.  You have already mentioned the monthly income of less than 10 000 Czech crowns.  Only every fourth mother has the means to buy fruits and vegetables regularly.  I see two problems – low alimony and the lack of affordable housing.  The average alimony is about 2000 Czech crowns, which is the price of one pair of quality shoes.   As only one-half of single mothers owns their own housing, they are forced to spend a substantial part of income on rent.  I see that most packages go to tiny villages where the rent is low.  However, without a car, children are not able to participate in any afterschool activities and thus social exclusion is passed on to the next generation.

Based on my information, there is no woman represented in the expert crisis management circle of the Czech government.  Is this one of the reasons why the most vulnerable groups, such as single mothers, single parents, pregnant women or seniors were overlooked or forgotten during this pandemic?

Well, there are two women ministers in the government, Minister of Finance and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.  Both could be actively engaged in this issue; in reality, help to single mothers comes as the last priority.  I personally explain it through a political pragmatism – single mothers do not represent an interesting or influential voters’ group.  Only six weeks after the crisis, some financial schemes were provided for contract workers, many of them working exactly under these schemes.  Instead, the government kept providing more security for employees, which was already at a sufficient level.  It is useful to remind everyone about the upcoming elections in the fall. 

You mentioned that you were quite surprised by the engagement of men in this issue.  Next to finance, is there a possibility that men will continue their interest in other issues related to gender gap?

I cannot say.  At least male politicians have stopped sending unwanted advice to single mothers about “finding a better partner or a sponsor”, which was the case of one politician from the Christian-Democratic party.  The fact is that my fundraising for single mothers truly took off after Karel Haring, a sport journalist, supported it.  I thanked him on social media, as I always do, and others started to write that they wanted to join.  Until now, I have had experience with women donors.  Currently, the ratio is 50:50.  It is very important that men began to be involved in the issue of single parents.  It is proven that once an issue for a group becomes an issue for the whole society, there is a bigger will to find a permanent solution.

Covid-19 has shown many positive stories of mutual help, solidarity and assistance.  Personally, I am worried about the widening of the scissors between the poor and the wealthy in our society.  What are your thoughts?

Single mothers are truly strong.  They can manage with so little.  1000 Czech crowns represent a big sum and they can make miracles.  For me, they are the true heroes of these days and the smartest group in terms of saving and economic thinking.  For example, if they have a chicken, they find ways to use every last bit.  If these women were asked to think about some investments, I believe that it would be money well spent.  Despite being in an economically detrimental situation, they will manage somehow.  The question to ask is about the quality of life when you are permanently worried and afraid of what tomorrow may bring.

Many individuals are trying to help in many ways. Donating clothes, food, cosmetics or even time for distance learning.  Any help counts. My daughter has helped with installing upgrades on computers.  She also finally cleared her room and donated a pile of clothes to a less fortunate teenage girl.  My friends started to supply me with older but functioning phones, tablets and computers.  My very dear friend, and a former mentor of mine, Brigitte Lintner, an Austrian living in Prague, for more than two decades, offered English or German language lessons on-line to children.  “Soon after the state of emergency was declared, I noticed a request published by Nora Fridrichová, asking for volunteers to run schooling sessions on TV. Since I am not a teacher and since I do not speak Czech well enough, this request did not seem to be for me.  A few days later, I changed my mind.  I got inspired by various volunteer activities of my friends in Ireland; I realized I could offer some English or German conversation classes for students, to make sure they don’t lose their courage and ability to speak and to bring a bit of “fun” into their days of isolation at home.  I got in touch with Nora, she liked the idea, posted the news on Facebook and very quickly I had kids contacting me via various social media. They are all wonderful youngsters, at different levels, calling in from different parts of the country.  I can see that they are eager to speak, learn and try to be creative in getting their message across. They are all very brave to have the courage and talk to me as a complete stranger, in a foreign language. Yes, I am not a teacher, nor am I a native speaker but I have tutored English for many years; for me English is the second “mother tongue”.  A few days ago, I expanded the offer and now started to include English for Moms as well – let’s see how that will develop. I am ready to listen to them as well, I am ready to help them get out of their comfort zone and brighten up their days by doing something else than cooking, checking  homework or worrying about things we have no influence over.  I find on-line tutoring truly rewarding, I enjoy meeting these promising youngsters on-line, meeting some of the mothers and knowing I can make a difference for a few people at least – and YES, we all CAN do that!

Any ideas how to help single mothers?Write us at linda.stucbartova@czechleaders.com and we will be happy to provide the connection.

By Linda Štucbartová

European Belonging

Tomáš Zdechovský, Member of the European Parliament

On Dreaming and Planning

H.E. Barbara Richardson, Ambassador of Canada

“I am here to give back”

Opher Brayer, Israeli mentor, coach and teacher

Opher Brayer is a leading Israeli expert on talent development, mentor, coach and teacher, known for his activities in both the corporate and educational world.  In 2016 he started his educational activities in the Ústí nad Labem region.  In his interview he does not only discusses his activities but also his views of Czechs, today’s world and philanthropy followed by business opportunities.

For more information, go www.stages.global or to YouTube channel.

Opher, you started your educational activities in Ústí nad Labem.  To use an Israeli parallel, will Ústí nad Labem become the second Ber-Ševa?

Each country has its own specifics.  Ber-Ševa in fact can serve as an example of a city built in a desert, which thanks to a great university and continuous support of the Israeli government became a technology hub for many IT companies and is now leading in cyber security.  Ústí nad Labem will have to find its own model.  In general, I see the great potential the Czech Republic has to offer.  Strategically, its position between the West and the East can truly impact Europe. Czechs are intelligent people with great intellectual capabilities.  You need to add entrepreneurship, in the form of both action and courage, and then Czechs can make an impact on the European Union level.  Having said this, I need to stress one important element that Czechs are lacking: the vision.  I see that the country is living on its past results.  You have many entrepreneurial icons, such as Baťa, but his success dates back more than a half of the century.  Since then, the world has profoundly changed.  Look at companies such as Amazon, Apple or Google that have emerged in the US.  From many discussions with Czechs, I have the feeling that you want to live in the past which you tend to romanticize.  I was not surprised to find out that the Czech Republic is a country being officially branded as a land of stories.  However, the stories are based on past successes, not the current ones.  Let us take an example of contact lenses.  Such a great invention, but who made money out of it?  Americans did.  Regardless of nationalities people have the need to feel proud.  What are Czechs proud about in regard to current achievements?  What is the leadership they demonstrate with regards to a particular industry?  I do not see any.  On the other hand, I tend to see a focus on the comfortable life style.  You tend to retreat to private life a lot, you go and pick mushrooms, ride bicycles, have a nice time with family, you smile, and you choose to be happy. 

You mentioned that without a vision, there is no future.  What is your vision for Czechs to achieve relevant results with regards to today’s value?

In the past, you were a successful country of engineers.  Those were times where you had vision, you worked hard to achieve it and you succeeded.  You were amongst the best in chemistry and engineering.  This seems to be lost now.  My aim is to take the Czech Republic and to change ten cities.  It is hard to change the whole country.  But if you take ten cities, you change the country.  My project consists of four elements and it is centered around the very ecosystem of cities.  Cities represent an ecosystem for growth.  If you take an example of Ústí nad Labem, 30 percent of people left the city in the past seven years.  There are no jobs, which means no future.  More cities are likely to follow a similar path of decline, as the companies will be closing their subsidiaries due to international competition and other reasons, such as often mentioned Amazon factor. 

The first thing to do is to educate people about what is going in the world to prepare them for the future.  I talk to many parents and they themselves do not know what is happening or understand the current world.  Most people do not speak English in the Czech Republic.  Most information regarding the latest research and development, is easily accessible on the internet, but it is in English.  I myself study every morning for two hours about the latest developments.  Czech teachers do not know English.  They cannot follow the latest trends at a YouTube channel, for example in the sphere of robotics which will take people’s jobs.  If teachers do know themselves, they do not feel the need to prepare children for the future.  Therefore, educating the people is the first step to the system change.  Since people will be driving the change, they need to be engaged and to do so, they need to be aware. 

Your project is called Stages.  Your work with teachers represents only the first stage.

I started with educating the teachers as they impact the children.  Teachers spend up to six hours with children every day.  Currently, I work with 26 teachers at eight different schools in the area of Ústí nad Labem and Mnichovo Hradiště.  These 26 teachers teach 531 kids.  I started this project in three months, after I came as a visitor to the Czech Republic.  I trained the teachers, they started to teach the kids and we have phenomenal results.  All the information is available on our YouTube channel documenting the Stages project.  We have many stories about how teachers transformed themselves and the children. 

Now, we go to the second phase, when the parents will be educated through teachers and other parents.  In August, I spent one-week training eight “Master teachers” who will become the teachers of the teachers in the future.  Next year, I plan to work with 15 cities and our aim is to train 400 teachers, which will impact already 8 000 children.  We did not change anything in the school curriculum, as the systemic level change is the most difficult one to pursue.  We simply enhance the children’s ability to learn.  The teachers spend three to seven minutes in the beginning of the lesson playing games that enhance the ability to learn.  In addition to the numbers of teachers involved and teachers impacted, I am proud to say that we have received positive media coverage, without paying any PR agency.  Currently, we are discussing the possibilities to get government support.  We hope to spread the concept into adult education and new professions.  I intend to bring investors from the United States to invest in the cities to change the whole ecosystem, as I have mentioned in the beginning.  We have volunteers, we have supporters, such as ICUK (Innovation Centre of Ústí nad Labem Region) and UJEP University and until now all the investments has been made by me and my partner. So far, we have not received any financial support at all. 

You mentioned that the reason why you came to the Czech Republic is to pay back the help Czechoslovakia provided to Israel by providing arms during the War of Independence.   I understand this emotional part.  However, Israelis are also known as good businessmen and investors.  What is the business side of your project? 

I maintain that coming to the Czech Republic and helping to advance the educational system is purely my personal motivation. I am not supported by the Israeli government either.  The investment money will follow later but not from the education system.  I came to change the education because this is what I know the best.  Let us assume I will help to raise 2000 geniuses, true experts in science, technology and AI.  They are most likely to leave the country because there is no ecosystem ready to absorb them.  There is no need to raise the geniuses if you do not have the system ready to support them.  That is why I talk about the ecosystem.  I can illustrate this by a very moving story.  In one of the teachers training, a teenage boy aged 16, came to me and begged the teachers to use “Stages system” to support his little brothers not to leave the region.  He said: “You have already lost me as I see I have no future here.  I wish I could change this for the others.”  Had this statement appeared in the US on the Oprah Winfrey show, all the US would be crying.  In the Czech Republic, it seems that no one cares, that is why we make money in Singapore, Silicone Valley and other countries. 

Working with underprivileged children is a feature that makes your project unique.  Often, educational projects concentrate on finding and cultivating the top talents. 

Again, Israel can serve as an example.  A unique project Unistream was founded approximately 30 years ago, bringing Jewish and Muslim children together to build start-ups.  These teenagers are helped and mentored by CEOs of major companies, and they also get investments from venture capital.  Imagine that children from underprivileged environment have much better ideas than some talented adults.  The project was started by an individual who came from a similar poverty-stricken environment and he decided to launch the project to help others.  It proved to be successful.  In the Czech Republic, we work with Roma kids.  What is their main challenge?  The same faced by the majority of population.  Remember how I talked earlier about people’s need to feel proud?  Roma children have very low self-esteem.  Working with my methodology, they realized that they are talented and that they can solve riddles very easily.  In mixed classes, Roma kids see they have the same abilities as other kids, because they can problem solve like their peers.  We are back to the self-esteem.  In the Czech Republic; I hear everywhere “It is not possible”.  Only people with low esteem have a fear of failure and that is why Czechs are obsessed with waiting for the academic proof.  There was not academic proof behind Google, Facebook, and Airbnb before they were invented.  We live in the disruptive world.  In the US, people say “Yes, we can”.  The world can change.  In Israel, we say “Just do it”.  This is what I do.  I am always interested in partnering, get in touch if you know about an educational institution, city or a region that is interested in joining Stages or if you are interested to partner as a business.

By Linda Štucbartová

On Keller Williams as an Extended Family, Values and Changing People’s Lives

William E. Soteroff, President, Keller Williams Worldwide

“Did you start your day with a hug?”  Well, you probably should have.  William Soteroff, a true leader, an entrepreneur, an expert in franchising, and a motivational speaker, is a strong believer in the seven hugs per day practice.  I would characterize him as a man of contrast and clarity at the same time.  Contrasts as to his life story which took him from an archeology student to an accountant and eventually to real estate, followed by leaving the most successful company as he did not feel the values and people were respected, to join and help build Keller Williams, the biggest real estate franchise with more than 180 000 real estate agents in 950 Market Centers.  Clarity as to the values and his walk the talk authentic leadership.  He was born in Canada, but currently lives in Austin, Texas.  He connects the seemingly unbridgeable in bringing values, modern technologies and community spirit to an industry that we tend to associate with solo-entrepreneurs, one-time deals and traditional haggling approaches.  Our interview held at the opportunity of Keller Williams entering the Czech market, turned into amazing and enlightened discussion about history, business and leadership.  We ended with a hug. 

Great leaders can be recognized by the ability to connect, by showing a genuine interest in others, by their capacity to inspire others and last but not least by creating a comfortable environment in the volatile world of today. After I witnessed Bill launching the first official training day for KW market center agents, I fully understood why KW was mentioned as the no. 1 training organization across all industries, no. 3 on list of happiest companies to work for in 2017 by Forbes and one of the top 50 Franchise for Women.

Bill, welcome to Prague.  The Czech Republic joined a big family of KW on June 4, 2018.  How do you perceive the Czech Republic?

I truly feel connected to your country and to the region in many ways.  I was born in Canada and since my childhood, I have been interested in history.  Already as a school boy, I followed the news of the Hungarian uprising in 1956.  Growing up in Canada, I knew many famous Czech immigrants, such as famous Tomáš Baťa or Tomáš and Marie Jelínek, the famous ice-skating pair siblings, who did not want the Canadians to forget what happened in 1956.  As a high school student, I witnessed, albeit from distance, 1968 Prague Spring and subsequent Soviet Occupation.  I remember that when I went to Berlin, from the West part I was allowed to visit, I could not see the front side of the Brandenburg Gate.  I want to share with you the most amazing moment I had when my daughter took me back to Berlin recently and I was able to see the Brandenburg Gate, as I had never imagined I would live to see the regime change.  And by the way, in 1989, I was working in neighboring Austria so again I had a chance to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent Velvet Revolution from the region.  Every city I visit, I want to know what happened there.  Therefore, the first place I have visited in Prague was the church of Cyril and Method where the parachutes died after assassination of Heydrich.

My next question is about the current real estate market.  I will refrain from the traditional question whether to buy or sell, rather I am interested in trends and outlook.

This is a question I am always asked.  Everywhere in the world, people want to live in a house or an apartment and they always want to improve the living conditions.  The challenge is that you do not know exactly how much your place is worth.  That is why you need an expert to find out the exact price.  The economy in today’s world changes so dramatically, that within just a couple of weeks, the price can skyrocket or plummet.  I see three really good economies in Europe, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. The Czech market place is very robust and strong.  But I always make sure people are cautious.  Like men’s ties go wider and thinner or women’s dresses go longer or shorter, do not get too comfortable in any economy with a long period of recovery.  Keller Williams leader and founder Gerry Keller points out that the shift in the economy will come eventually.  Our job, as real estate agents, is to know when the shift is coming and it’s necessary to help our clients during the shift.  Do not believe that the shift will not happen.  Politicians seem to be always surprised but we as experts must be ready to advise properly.

William E. Soteroff, President, Keller Williams Worldwide

You mentioned that this is the perfect time for Keller Williams to enter the Czech market.  However, the main reason is not the current stage of the economic cycle, but the leadership represented by Jana Hrstková, the Czech market leader and Operating Principal of KW.

(Note:  Those who know Jana Hrstková personally, are aware that she is one of the most modest people when it comes to her achievements.  However, she has made a successful career, both as an entrepreneur and a lawyer.  She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the President of Harvard Alumni Club.  With her passion for art, she is also on the Board of Jan and Meda Mládková Museum Kampa Foundations, a co-organizer of Burn’s Night in Prague, a founder of several start-ups with her husband, and a great mother).

My job is to look and search for the great leaders.  Jana, being an excellent lawyer, and, entrepreneur, has gone through the challenging one-year process to launch the Market Center.  Under the auspices of Keller Williams Systems, she has successfully formed a business within the Keller Williams system and she became the Operating Principal. She works closely with the Regional Director who is responsible for growth and the Regional Administrator. She found another great lady, Jarmila Rádlová, who will lead the first franchise Keller Williams Prague Prime and they also engaged 24 market center agents.

As you can see, our systems are more advanced, not relying on usual individual or a couple scheme opening a real estate office.  We did not allow Jana to open the market prior to nine months of coaching and training, including several visits to Austin, Texas and finding the right people.  Why? One person cannot change anybody’s mind.  Currently, we have one market with 24 market center agents, my expectations to have four market centers quite soon.  I have mentioned during the press conference that the future belongs to females and we are proud that we have Jana Hrstková and Jarmila Rádlová as visionary women leaders at Keller Williams.

Jana Hrstková, Czech Market Leader and Operation Principal, Czech Republic

You are known to attend every KW family reunion that each country holds.  How many trips have you scheduled for 2018?

This is the question for my wife!  She will know for sure.  She is the most important person in my life.  By the way, in July, I will be celebrating my 38^th wedding anniversary.  Let me get back to your question.  In 2018, I have travelled about 180 000 kilometers.  I have attended family reunions in Portugal, USA, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, and South Africa.  I have visited 10 more countries.  In last ten days, I have visited South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and now I am in Prague.  The most important thing for me was to see hundreds of people who were coming to get special training, advanced education and were part of Keller Williams culture.  Real estate agents are everywhere, some are better, some are not so good.  As I mentioned, at Keller Williams, we offer training, education and the culture exchange that makes the difference.  Yesterday, I witnessed a special moment.  Imagine ten people having a conversation in different languages but at one moment they all simultaneously said: Keller Williams.  I stopped them and mentioned that this is the momentum I want to create.  We have representatives from countries where we are present or where we will launch our franchise, we have agents, we have market center leaders, regional leaders but altogether we are Keller Williams as one family.

You are successful in whatever you do.   As a leader, an entrepreneur, an expert in franchising, a motivational speaker.  Why did you choose the traditional business of real estate, as opposed to trendy areas of law, finance, politics or science and technology? 

Except my wife, no one has ever asked me.  I met my wife at university and I was studying archeology.  I quickly learned that you cannot eat dirt.  There were no wealthy archeologists I knew at that time.  As you probably noticed throughout our discussion, I still love archeology and I have a passion for art and history.  Then I wanted to enter politics because I wanted to change the world.  I worked with the government for a while and I realized that politicians do not want to have vision and change the world.  Governments do not create businesses.  People do.  When I wanted to get married and have a family, I looked for the most stable business.  Guess which?  I went into accounting.  Can you imagine me in an office with 70 men, all lined up at little desks and working on big machine calculators?  No one talked, no one moved, they just sat and were doing…accounting.  One day I left after my lunch break and never came back.  I realized I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I also needed some stability.  I got married and I joined the Canadian construction company which provided the stability but also allowed me to bring my entrepreneurial spirit.  By the way, I currently teach this very subject “Corporate Entrepreneurs” at the University of Colorado.  After 10 years I learned a lot and experienced both side of cycle, as we discussed before. On December 22, I got a message from the CEO about the recession coming and the need to reduce the staff by 30%.  I had 16,000 people working for me at that time and I had to get rid of thousands of them.  They did not do anything wrong, it was not their fault and many of them had became as close as my family.  Companies never reduce payments to shareholders, they never sell property.  They always reduce people.  I hate that.  In 1987, I gave the list with three names – the one of the CEO, the president’s name and my name.   I said: “We are supposed to be leaders and we are the ones who did not prepare the rest for the change.”  My wife mentioned: “Do you know that we have one year old daughter?  And I replied: “I am doing the right thing because I believe that people are truly valuable”.  By people, I mean team members, employees, customers, shareholders and suppliers.  They should be treated equally, and nobody should be put in front of anybody else.  In the US, where I live now, you hear mostly about shareholder value.  I often ask and what do we do for team members and all employees?  When recession comes, I always suggest reducing shareholders. If you reduce the employees, you reduce your business.  To make the long story short, I joined the real estate business, RE/MAX company.  I was responsible for RE/MAX Europe and RE/MAX International 98 countries.  I left because I did not believe in the company anymore.  Keller Williams called me five years ago to develop new markets for them. I said no as I had not heard about them before.  They had been quite persistent and kept calling for about a year: “Come and visit us”.  I went, and I found everything I had been looking for: valuing people, developing the culture, having a vision for the future.  The one thing I regret is that I had not joined 20 years ago.

KW has been mentioned as the no. 1 training organization across all industries.  No. 3 on list of Happiest companies to Work for in 2017 by Forbes and one of the Top 50 Franchise for Women.  Is the secret sauce of Keller William the notion that you are not a mere organization, you act more like a family?

I joined Keller Williams when I was 58.  I had a fear of failure, like everyone has.  I moved to a new city, there was a different company culture, I did not know the people, I was not sure if I could be successful again.  I met the company founder, Gerry Keller, and I heard:  Fail often and fail forward.  I replied: “Where have you been all my life?”  I have been afraid to fail.  We all are.  The more often you fail, the more you will learn and the more you will do well.  Every month we discuss not only successes but also failures.  Good leadership shows how you deal with things that did not go well.  What does it mean for my team?  It gives us strength, power and confidence.  We are afraid of nothing.  Now, it is my job to support 33 countries in the world.  We have monthly calls, quarterly business reviews, we get together up to six times per year and we openly shared what we tried and what worked or did not work.  We do not work in isolation.  Jana and the Czech team is supported by colleagues around the world.  Jana will be featured in both our annual meetings in August 2018 and February 2019 and I want her to share her story.  I have four other markets opening and they will learn a lot from her.  To all newcomers to Keller Williams I say three things: “I want you to be part of the worldwide family Keller Williams.  I want you to learn the systems and models that we have to work as estate agents.  I want you to feel confident that you are not by yourself.  And I want you to be successful, so you can make more money to take care of your families.”

Bill, thank you for one of the most amazing interviews I have ever done.

Following on what you said about the future belonging to females, I will ask Jana Hrstková for the final words for Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine readers.

I will follow up on the Bill’s words.  Come and visit us at our inspiring premises at Václavské náměstí 3, Prague 1.  Whether you are looking for a place to live, whether you are selling, and you need a trusted estate agent or even if you are considering a career change.  The extended family of Keller Williams has a lot to offer to everyone.

By Linda Štucbartová

One Woman, Thousand Opportunities

Silvia Lepiarczyk, Entrepreneur and Philantropist

Imagine that you run your first business at the age of 18.  At the age of 32, as a young blonde woman, you become CEO of Autohaus Verlag, the biggest publisher for the automotive industry in Germany.  By the age of 40, you achieve the position of CEO for Central and Eastern Europe at Ringier publishing, being responsible for 96 magazines in seven countries, a dream position at the corporate level for many.  You remember the promise you made to yourself and to your friends and decide to leave the corporate world by the age of 40.  After a sabbatical, you use this new beginning to follow your dreams and you return to university studies.  In addition to running a consulting business, which might not be a surprising career trajectory, you pursue your passion and support new start up projects, in the emerging field which combines Artificial Intelligence and Alzheimer disease.  She has chosen Prague as her hometown, however, she could rank herself to the millennial generation, as her businesses are connected to both Berlin and Vienna.     

Meeting with Silvia Lepiarczyk was like meeting a kindred soul.  It was one of those meetings that based on facts, you have known the person for less than an hour but based on feelings, you have known someone in another lifetime.

Despite the geographical distance, as she was born in “the West”, and I was from the “East”, we both experienced being exposed to leadership positions at quite a young age, in an industry not traditionally associated with women.  We both gave up corporate careers to pursue our dreams and we both are passionate about new forms in learning and development.  As a social cause, we both strongly care about Alzheimer disease and I was glad to connect Silvia to the Seňorina center, the leading care institution for Alzheimer in Prague. 

Silvia started her introduction by saying that she was born in the last millennium which defines her to a great extent.  Despite her interest in artificial intelligence, big data and technology, she was truly pleased to receive a hard copy of our magazine, as she claims she loves to touch and experience “the real stuff”, not the virtual ones.  The second thing she mentioned, was the value of hard work and physical work, which she learned to appreciate during her childhood, being born in the industrial Essen area and her ancestors being coal miners.    

Silvia, your career seems to be proof that the German “dual education system”, combining apprenticeship and formal education is working.  In your case, you got your first job in management at the age of 18 while studying a university degree in psychology.   

My father died when I was young.  Luckily, I was able to receive some funding from the owners of the dancing school I attended.  As a high school student, I tried to reciprocate, and I was giving dancing lessons.  Suddenly, the owner of the school fell very sick and she asked me to take care of the place.  Simultaneously, I managed to graduate from the high school and to enter the university to study psychology.  However, being connected to the business, I was not interested in becoming a therapist, instead I was interested in applied psychology, particularly diagnostics and creating a suitable working environment.  As to my first real job after the university, I became a headhunter for a prestigious company in Cologne and for two years I specialized in the areas of banking and science.  I was 23 years old, and I found myself facing men two times older than me and asking them challenging questions while doing diagnostics or career advising.      

Year 1989 marked the history.  I was living the Velvet Revolution, Germany celebrated the fall of the Wall and on a personal level, that is when your career in publishing and media started.

I was 25 when I got the offer to join the Bertelsmann international media enterprise in Munich, joining the HR department and being responsible for its development.  I truly loved the job and, at that time, Bertelsmann already had quite an elaborate system of educating and training young talents.  I also had a great mentor who helped me a great deal.  As the company was acquiring another publishing house in the USA, I was sent to New York to oversee the acquisition from the company culture point of view.  You can imagine the clash of a small-town Germany culture of acquiring firm versus the New York style culture of the company to be acquired.  So, I found myself living in New York at the age of 27 and, needless to say,  I enjoyed it. 

The following promotion led to the HR Director of Bertelsmann with the responsibility for professional magazines.   

What was it like to be the HR Director under 30?  I became the acting director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the age of 27 and I remember how many times I was asked to take the minutes, to prepare a coffee or to wait for a “male director”. 

At Bertelsmann, we were all quite young and we were given the responsibilities but also the trust and freedom.  At first, I oversaw HR, but later I had to restructure the whole company and downsize the staff, including firing people, by no means an easy task in Germany.  Apart from HR, I was also in charge of operations, overseeing the internal infrastructure as well as the construction of the new premises.  In addition to HR disciplines, I was again challenged to get closer to business, to negotiate with third parties and so on.  I proved my management skills and another acquisition came.  I was asked whether I would like to be the CEO of this company. 

Let me guess…Was it Autohaus Verlag?  32, blonde and in charge of car publishing magazines. 

Luckily, my psychology background has helped me to deal with this challenge.  I was responsible not only for the magazines, but also for a training academy and a printing company.  I learned everything about traditional publishing from beginning to end, with some on-line content slowly emerging.  Just to remind you, we are talking about 1994 with heavy Nokia communicators.  As the publishing house was expanding, the company became international as well as the nature of my job, we had branches in most countries of the Western Europe, but all that travelling happened while enjoying my life style in the gorgeous town of Munich.       

Now, I am expecting the shift that brought you “Eastward”.    

Some juicy stories are coming.  My partner and I separated, my former boss also left, and he started to work for Ringier.  I was in Munich alone, not enjoying being by myself anymore.  I got the offer to come to Prague.  I did not speak Czech, I was still rather young, and I knew it was going to be another big challenge.  I had nine months leaving period from Bertelsmann, as they were not willing to let me go.  This time, it played to my cards.  The first position I was offered was the publisher of the magazines.  During the nine months, the former CEO left and so eventually I became the CEO of Ringier, Czech Republic, with the responsibility for 1200 people, combined business of both magazines and newspapers (Týdeník televize, ABC and Blesk to name the most prominent), all this in a foreign country still having the former eastern bloc mentality.  In 1997, people were still not leaving toilet paper in the company restrooms as it was stolen, most staff were wearing funny slippers and everyone was working from 6 am until 2 pm and then leaving sharply.  I restructured the whole company and made many changes regarding the company culture.   I remember constantly reminding most of the staff that the salary is not paid for one’s coming to the office but for getting the work done.  I was working from 7 am until 10 pm every day.  Slowly but surely, I gained the confidence of Czech people, as they saw my ability to make decisions, bring changes and get the results.  Nevertheless, I did not get the best publicity from our competitors, calling me “German cruel lady not having a pity on people”, which was not true.  Most people who left did so with relevant packages at the time of almost zero unemployment and they thanked me. 

I am proud that with the help of my team, we became the no. 1 on the market, Blesk circulation at that time was 700 000 copies per day.  We sold Lidové Noviny.  At the verge of the millennium, I also became responsible for Slovakia. 

Then you got the promotion to the regional role in Zurich, Switzerland.  In many cases, this is the decisive factor, as the nature of the work changes completely and not everyone enjoys the shift.

As I enjoyed living in Prague, I accepted the offer based on the condition that I will fly to Switzerland.  But as to the nature of the job, in my country role, I was used to the freedom and ability to make decisions.  In Switzerland, at headquarters, everybody was telling me what to do.  The first day I was asked, are you the trainee coming from Slovakia? My reply was:  No, I am your boss.  Being a female manager in the Czech Republic even not speaking the language was much easier that being a female manager in Switzerland.  After I had the job for nine months I was considering leaving, because I was not happy, another shift came.  I was appointed the CEO of Ringier CEE.  I was not sure about accepting the position, but my colleagues also supported me to get this role as they knew me, and they preferred to work with me than with someone coming from outside.  I had the position for five years, sometimes being on the airplane three times per day.  I was travelling not only to get the staff, the partners but also the competitors and last but not least, the politicians.

Being a journalist myself, I will not press you to reveal sources or details.  But how was the relationship between you, representing the media and the politicians, often resisting them?

One politician stood out from the crowd and I admired him.  Václav Havel.  As to the rest, I had no illusions, so I could not be disappointed and there were no pleasant surprises either. Unfortunately, I faced one of the most difficult personal and professional decisions, in an issue related to Václav Havel.  The tabloid Blesk got the story of a scandal around Dagmar Havlová.  To publish it or not to publish it?  Well, for the type of the magazine, it was a good story and it was true.  I gave permission to publish it, with a special edition on Sunday.  Dagmar Havlová then invited me for a cup of tea, accusing me of being a horrible person.  I tried to explain to her what I have done many times to others:  it was not the press that created the problems, at least at that time, it was the improper behavior that got exposed and subsequently caused the problems.

It seems that you have seen it and you have lived it all, at least with regards to the publishing business.  What made you to leave it?

At the age of 35, I made a promise with a group of friends to retire by the age of 40 to pursue our dreams.  When the time was coming, I was 43 and I told the owner of Ringier that it was my dream.  He tried to stop me, he offered so many incentives to keep me.  I made a deal.  If the company would reach 25 % ROI, I would leave for a one-year sabbatical.  I surpassed the figure and my boss kept the promise.  In 2007, I went to Myanmar for one month.  It is a beautiful country, I was alone with a local guide and as there was no phone connection, only land faxes between the hotels, I truly could disconnect.  This was important not only for me but also for my team members, as they truly had to realize I left and they had new leadership. 

After one-year sabbatical, they tried to lure me back to work, but I declined.  I enjoyed slower travelling, being able to stay at one place for several weeks.  I went to see my friends and I was so glad to be able to keep so many relationships.  I also wanted to support social causes, so I joined the CARE supervisory board.  During my second-year sabbatical, I started to invest in start-up companies, on-line businesses etc.  I also met my current partner, the perfect match for me, as it was impossible for me to have a relationship while working for Ringier.  I accompanied my partner to Vienna and we lived there for three years.  I was working for CARE and travelling to Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, Ethiopia, Nepal, India and other places. 

Silvia, your life story could easily become a book.  However, I have the feeling that the next chapter brings it full circle.

My partner also quit his job and spent three months in Berlin.  We became familiar with the start-up scenes, particularly with the artificial intelligence (AI).  Now, I am interested in solutions that AI can provide for Alzheimer and dementia related diseases.  I hope that dialogue toys and other IT solutions will be providing stimulus for the patients and at the same time relief to the families.  I am looking forward to collaborating with interested institutions and companies.  Finally, I can truly pursue my mission by bringing all my life experience as well as my expertise from university studies together.  I am excited about it.         

By Linda Štucbartová

“Doing business is in my genes”

Hana Němcová, CEO, Infiberry

You may not be entirely familiar with the company Infiberry, but if your resolution for 2018 is to do something to protect the planet and reduce plastics consumption, I recommend you check out its product – the FRUSACK original bags. Hana Němcová, along with Tereza Dvořáková, pioneered and developed these trendy Czech environmentally-friendly and compostable bags for holding fruit, vegetables and bread. Their successful start-up company is evidence that even students of traditional fields can come up with innovative ideas and make their mark in the business world. How does a medicine student become a businesswoman? How can she manage study, building a global company and bringing up her small son? And what did she get out of her participation, and a great 4th position, in the global Women Start Up Competition?

We had had to postpone our meeting because Hana’s young son was sick. When the same thing happened three weeks later, I decided to make the trip to Hana’s home. We completed the interview in one hour, during which time Hana made a number of telephone calls, with an investor and with her colleague regarding co-ordinating pre-Christmas orders from the e-shop, we filmed a video of the interview and discussed the poor range of appropriate waste sorting bins available for the home. Perhaps another new product? It was clear that Hana is a young woman with a lot of energy and hard work.

Hanka, you decided after almost four years to stop studying medicine at Charles University, and return to first year. You have started studying at a private university focused on business and financial management. Was this a difficult decision?

It was obvious to me, although I was always being told how much of a shame it was. I had my finals and compulsory practice ahead of me in medicine, and these are very difficult in themselves. Besides business, I also look after my four-year old son. I knew I didn’t want to work in medicine itself, so I made the pragmatic assessment that it would be a waste of time and energy. I would have been just an average doctor, and this would have been hard to come to terms with for me. I want to dedicate myself fully to doing business, something I enjoy and which fulfils me. The part-time aspect of the course suits me and I’m happy I’m able to use the knowledge I acquire in my specialisation of Financial Management in practice.

How is your Frusack product doing three years in?

They’re doing really well; thanks for the question. We’ve moved on from our dreams to implementing specific plans. We’re growing on the Czech and Slovak market, and in the new year we’re planning to develop global international distribution in collaboration with Amazon. I’m glad that we have made progress in developing the material further, in collaboration with our supplier. The process wasn’t easy; nobody knows how a new material is going to behave. The material is still compostable, made from corn starch, but we can now make it more quickly and more cheaply, and this is key when transitioning to wholesale distribution. Transition to wholesale distribution is a stress test which many projects are unable to pass. Very often, a product and its design are very good, but production costs are too high. I should say that Frusack is just one product, and a key pilot project. Our company, Infiberry, aims to continue to focus on environmental solutions to food purchase and storage, to go on to offer large shopping bags, and then boxes for storing foods. Food waste is an area very closely related to food packaging. Many foods are distributed pre-packaged. But back to Frusack. We need to be sure we can handle all the steps not only involved in production, but also in distribution, in order to succeed globally. Incidentally, little is known, and little is written, about these phases. In the fascination over new and successful projects as part of various crowd-funding campaigns, it is not mentioned that people have not always been able to bring an initial idea all the way to a successful end. It is frequently logistics, a distribution network and all subsequent processes which are missing. As such, it is these issues we want to look at now. Until recently, it was only my colleague and I, with assistance from the investor and his team, although they were not part of the company. Now we have an assistant who helps with administration, and we have a trainee who takes care of co-operation with stores. Now Frusack isn’t just available from our e-shop, but also in brick and mortar stores. There are about a hundred people involved in production, and the owner of the Czech company which sews our bags together has essentially become our head of production.

What drives you personally? Business in general, or environmental business, or is it rather a matter of social responsibility?

I’ve always enjoyed business in general. I could choose from loads of simple or even profitmaking areas. But I need to see positive impacts and the changes they bring. I just found those plastic produce bags really annoying. I led a healthy life, bought loads of fruit and vegetables and the bags which built up at home basically led me to my current line of business. I wanted to start using reusable produce bags, but there was nothing on the market. I didn’t have as much information then about the harm caused by plastics, in particular in terms of their accumulation at the bottom of the oceans and their impact on sea creatures. That makes me even more pleased that public awareness is greater, particular in terms of the new carrier bag charge as of 1 January 2018. I’m pleased to be able to contribute towards dealing with this problem; whether through people purchasing and using Frusack bags, or because we have helped make people talk about the problem.

What are Czech consumers like in terms of acquiring new habits?

I don’t know whether this is peculiar to Czechs only, but I feel that we are rather lazy. Loads of people really like the look of Frusack, but then they say they would forget to bring the bags to the shop. But it always takes effort to build up any habit! It’s like regular exercise. I’ve learnt to bring my keys, mobile, wallet and Frusack bag containing four other reusable bags when I go shopping. This situation will be dealt with when such plastic bags are charged. There are now charges for carrier bags, and you can suddenly see how everyone carries foldable fabric bags with them, and net bags can once again be seen in the pages of fashion magazines. Statistics show that each year up to 400 plastic bags per person are consumed in the Czech Republic. Last year in Great Britain, charges were placed on even the smallest, thinnest bags and within half a year their consumption fell by a full 80%. Basically the economic aspect will always have the greatest impact. Yet according to our research 70% of people have information available to them on the harmfulness of using plastics.

You and your story in business demonstrate the success of Charles University’s Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer in supporting transfer in practice.

Yes; I took advantage of the opportunity to study Science and Information Management. This was the first time I had had the opportunity in my studies to come across socalled soft skills, both in terms of management and presentational skills. The rector of Charles University himself is a great advocate of students knowing how to sell what they learn at the university. Another benefit was that this subject was open to students at all 17 faculties. I met a colleague there who was studying marketing and PR, and he helped us at the outset. I remain in contact with the Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, and they have helped furnish us with contacts for potential investors.

Your generation is spoken of as a generation of start-uppers who want to do business and are not interested in being employed.

I think the pressure is a double-edged sword. All those successfully publicised stories of student entrepreneurs can put pressure on others who might get the impression just studying is not enough. Or for other women, studying and raising a child. I think it is important for us all to know what makes us happy and what we want to do. Then we have the chance of being the best at what we’re going to do. There are many options, and establishing a company is easy.

You represented the Czech Republic last year at the Women Start Up Competition; congratulations on your fourth place. Looking back, what specifically did the competition give you?

It was fascinating to meet the winners from all the countries; the bar was set really high. We still remain in contact. We also had the opportunity to take part in a three-day mentoring programme. We’ll see which of the recommended steps and in which form we execute them in the end. In general, I think mentoring is really important; we chose our current investor because he is also a mentor to us.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I trust that Frusack and Infiberry will still be around, and we’ll be doing well internationally too. My son will be 14. I’d like to travel more. And I’m looking forward to getting to a stage where I have more time for personal development. I haven’t had a holiday for two years. I’ve been to visit my parents in the USA, but the whole time I was in contact with and managing the company. I feel that I’m getting to a stage where I’m going to need more time for myself and my partner. So I’m looking forward to building a strong team.

By Linda Štucbartová

Wait for fortuitous circumstances, or be well-prepared?

Aleš Baran, CEO, Serendipity

In his work, Aleš Baran brings together different continents, spheres and projects. He links corporations up with start-ups, companies with possible grant projects, experienced workers with students. His companies, surprisingly enough, are not based in Prague or Brno, although he spends a lot of time in both cities, as he remains loyal to his home town of Přerov.

Aleš, your first company was named Serendipity. The term “serendipity” has also been described as one of the ten expressions in English most difficult to translate into another language, and is loosely translated into Czech as “fortuitous circumstances”. How many times have you experienced fortuitous circumstances? And what about your clients?

I’m grateful for every “fortuitous circumstance”. Besides my wife and family, who are fortuitous indeed for me, in my professional life I see fortuitous circumstances in the establishment of co-operation with Martin and Miriam Margala from Massachusetts University (author’s note – you’ll find an interview with Martin Margala of Massachusetts University in the Ambassadors without a Diplomatic Passport section). I share the same values as the Margalas, and also the energy and vision to kick-start co-operation between the Czech Republic and the USA in the field of science, research and innovation. Getting to know them has allowed me to meet other fascinating people and given me opportunities for which I am extremely grateful. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak about international projects within the Czech and Slovak Leaders magazine.

Your motto is: Don’t share your plans, instead show results. What results are you proud of?

In 2017, Serendipity prepared the “IT, Languages and Polytechnic Education in the Town of Přerov Accelerator” project, which offers young people in and around Přerov the most cutting edge facilities for informal education and meaningful use of leisure time, especially in afternoons and at weekends, i.e. at times when schools are closed. I am proud that this project has received full marks in an anonymous assessment.

Another Serendipity project is ENAGO. This time, this isn’t a foreign word, but rather an acronym for European North American Grant Office. There is still little awareness within the Czech Republic of the opportunity for funding through European Union and North America joint grants. Why is that the case?

Four years ago, I took part in Kenneth Hoffman’s seminar, “Fundraising from the USA and Opportunities for Czech Charities” at the American embassy. The host posed a key question there: Why do so few non-profit organisations in the Czech Republic apply for grants from the USA when the option is there? Two years later, I came up with the ENAGO project idea in response to this question. I endeavour to accelerate and facilitate the process of establishing contacts, placements and study visits, and thus initiate the implementation of more projects between the USA, Canada and the Czech Republic. In order to successfully exploit grants from the USA and Canada, not only is a perfect knowledge of the English language important, but also the presence of a local representative in North America who is familiar with local conditions. The Margalas I have already mentioned play an important role, because they are familiar with both the European and American perspective.

In terms of joint grants, here you can’t just rely on fortuitous circumstances, but you need to be perfectly prepared. What is fundamental to success?

The actual process of applying itself, regardless of the outcome, can be considered key for the reputation of the institution applying for a grant. It is important to realise that even these projects help boost the Czech Republic’s visibility on the North American continent. Applications for these grants require not just innovative, but also commercially viable ideas, convincing references, partnerships with local institutions, stamina and will, and last but not least a lot of effort. As of yet, we have not acquired any grants from the USA or Canada. We have, however, acquired a valuable partner and supporter. This is Ms Kristal M Johnson of FundJoy from the USA, with whom we plan to contact leading American foundations to offer them the CSR Index project. This is a kind-of LinkedIn focused on the social responsibility of citizens, corporations, municipalities and nonprofit organisations with the option of setting up your own social responsibility index with a number of other functions leading to improved global sustainable development.

You are also a member of the expert council of the Science Research Innovation Fair, which is taking place in May 2018 in Brno. What makes this fair unique?

The Science Research Innovation international fair offers a unique opportunity to provide a space for discussion and presentation from researchers, application companies, science, research and innovation supporters and young scientists at one site. It is a new platform for bringing together the science and research and application sectors. The fact that the number of fair participants, both in terms of exhibitors and participants, has doubled over the past two years demonstrates its continuously growing potential. No researcher who wants to commercialise the outcomes of his research should overlook it, and nor should any company which wants to exploit the latest scientific knowledge within its innovative products. Exhibitors are sending their registrations for the third year right now. Serendipity has decided to take on organisation of the accompanying Youth Startup Festival on 16 May 2018 which involves the presentation of up to 500 leading youth projects and start-ups from the Czech Republic and beyond. As such, I am a member of the expert council and am happy to be there. The fair’s motto speaks for itself: “Creating a great future together”.

We’re meeting up at the start of 2018. What are your plans for this year? And have you made any resolutions?

For 2018, we have decided to focus on the ENAGO, Accelerator and CSR Index projects. Future grant funding available will help guide us as to what further challenges may lay ahead for us. On the basis of the Czech Ministry of Labour’s published calls for funding proposals in December 2017, there may well be one original project we might initiate, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. In terms of personal resolutions, I want to spend more time with my family, improve my professional English, see myself more frequently in the gym mirror and find an investor for the already mentioned CSR Index project.

What is your final message for readers of Czech and Slovak Leaders?

I hope that all your readers will find fortuitous serendipity on their side many times in 2018, and that all instances of “unfortuitous serendipity” pass them by. We are donating two free tickets to the Youth Startup Festival as a gift for readers who tell us of the fortuitous serendipity they encountered when they began their business. The Czech Republic is commemorating 100 years since the establishment of Czechoslovakia. It was small and medium-sized companies which played a key in the past, and it will be my honour to support such entrepreneurs.

By Linda Štucbartová

Ambassadors without diplomatic passports

How do you perceive today’s world?

Professor Martin Margala, UMass Lowell

Dr. Martin Margala is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts and a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Electrical Engineering. He was born in Bratislava where he also completed his first university degree in engineering.

After the Velvet Revolution, he earned his PhD at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, where later he became a professor. After living in Canada for about ten years, he moved to the Unites States. Since 2006, he has been living in Massachusetts, fulfilling his dream to live in a state where education is the main “industry” and focus.

I met with Martin and his wife Miriam two years ago. Our meeting immediately confirmed the saying that great minds and kindred souls think alike. Right away, we started to discuss how to change the approach towards education in the Czech Republic.

Out first meeting took place at the US Embassy, where Martin was chairing a panel on innovation and entrepreneurship with other three leading education specialists from the US. I was the only panel participant representing the Czech side. While the event attracted a lot of attention from the private sphere, academics, NGO representatives, and officials from the public sphere were missing. There is still a lot to be done! I admire Martin’s experience, drive and his ability to connect the Old and the New world. Having grown up in Europe and becoming very familiar with the “old continent’s” attitudes does not prevent him from challenging the status quo and bringing fresh and innovative ideas. And he definitely wants to see results sooner rather than later.

So, how do you perceive today’s world?

I am a great optimist. Even though today’s world might be perceived by some people as too challenging and some may even have a rather defeatist attitude, I see it as a world full of new opportunities. In fact, to me, these are exciting times to be living in. The advancements of technology are penetrating all areas of our society and will help increase markedly the standard of living everywhere. New significant discoveries will become more and more frequent. Major diseases will be eliminated, many discoveries will help fight poverty and close the inequality gap in the world. It may sound too idealistic – but there is so much happening, so many people do work with one large goal – to make a difference and make life better. If you work in research and education, if you are surrounded by people with a positive mind set – preferably in a very international and global context – then I think you can only be optimistic and driven to work every day on positive things.

How do you perceive today’s Czech and Slovak Republics?

Both countries are still very young. I see both countries undergoing a generational shift. You can observe a push and pull dynamic between the old thinking and the new thinking; the past and the future. Young men and women that were either children or not even born at the time of the Velvet Revolution are becoming more involved, more interested in what’s going on around them and more liberated from old traditions. Again – I can only repeat myself, I am an optimist. I do see exciting times ahead – but it is a long process; it is not easy and not at all smooth. There are and will be many challenges, many failures – but I do believe that in both countries, there are people who are able and ready to take risks and contribute to positive changes. In my work, especially through my international collaborations, I interact a lot with young people from both countries – there are many dedicated, excited, hard working young people and every day, their goal is to move ahead, whatever challenges they have to face.

When we come to the topic of the US-EU scientific co-operation and its potential, is the glass half empty or half full?

It is definitely half empty. I am not turning into a pessimist here – but the status quo is really not suited and efficient for today’s global world. The funding systems setup in the US and in Europe have always been inward looking. There has been a very limited support for truly international collaborations in research and education and virtually no funding mechanism that would connect willing global partners. However, many national governments have recently started to realize that there is an untapped potential with many benefits for all involved partners. These efforts are growing and new programs are being set up. It is important that people interested in true international collaborations and global partnerships do not give up and simply charge ahead. From my own experience, I have to say that it has been frequently an uphill battle but a battle that one can – and should – fight because the results are really worth it. One has to be very vocal – I have been talking incessantly for very many years to anybody who would listen: researchers from universities all around the world, funding institutions/managers, government representatives, diplomats, attaches, ambassadors – any opportunity, I just take it and use it. Of course, you actually have to show results – once you have concrete examples of successful collaborations, it becomes easier. There are many exciting opportunities and I have been fortunate to be part of, or in charge of, many endeavors. The Czech and Slovak Republics have been trying to launch such efforts – and again, they have to persevere. Just because there will be ideas that may fail does not mean they should give up. Any failure or mistake is a learning opportunity – and will help you to fine tune your efforts, formulate better plans and forge better, successful collaborations.

You have been very active in the sphere of higher education, bridging various spheres together – municipalities, corporations, NGOs and universities. While such approach is common in the US, the Czech Republic still has a long way to go. What do you suggest to start with to bring about a change?

As I mentioned previously, it is the drive of likeminded people that get behind a mutual goal: setup a new program, new activity, new project, whatever it is, and go after it until you see results. The problem in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is that the societies have been built as sets of silos, a sum of entities that co-exist, but were never built to network/interact with each other. What I mean by that is a local municipality was never setup to collaborate on new innovations with the local university or high school to solve everyday problems and improve services for its citizens. No programs exist that would support such collaborations and if they do, nobody knows about them or how to go about taking advantage of them. Another example is that there is no mechanism where municipalities – large and small, NGOs, companies and the education sector can interact to bring new innovation ideas to practical implementation.

To bring about a change in such a system, one has to work from bottom-up and seek supporters/likeminded men and women to get behind one project at a time and use any medium possible to publicize all the sucess stories that there are. We have been cooperating on the new project of Youth Startup Festival in May 2018 in Brno.

Can you tell us more about this unique and truly revolutionary project?

The Youth Startup Festival aims to combine several elements that I mentioned previously. It links innovative ideas and projects with the next generation of young men and women, the millennials, and will try to demonstrate how to become a transformative individual in the modern society. There are many programs around the globe that try to invest in the education at the elementary, middle and high school level to teach young students to become comfortable expressing new ideas that support innovation and change, especially ideas that are high risk/ high reward so that young people become comfortable with and learn from failures. Plus, this festival will be located in Brno for a good reason. This region has been at the forefront of the innovation revolution and is an example from which many other regions are trying to learn how to navigate the world of innovation, research and collaboration in a silo-based society and how to find an effective way to implement changes and innovation; bring innovations to practice as fast as possible.

Your final words and a New Year’s wish or message for Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine readers?

Let the year 2018 be even better than 2017.

By Linda Štucbartová

Digital diplomacy

H.E. Daniel Meron, Ambassador of Israel in Czech Republic

The fact that each interview is unique is hardly a surprising statement. However it was during my meeting with the Israeli ambassador that I experienced a role reversal; the interview did not start with me asking the prepared questions but Mr. Ambassador asking about me. I was able to experience firsthand the fact known to many: Israeli diplomacy, especially towards the public, is the best in the world. It came as no surprise that Mr. Ambassador, being not only a great speaker but also a very attentive listener, addressed the issues of my interests, beyond the originally outlined questions. Here you can expect some insights on digital diplomacy, women in technology and also a rather refreshing expat view on both Czech society and culture. Daniel Meron has previously worked at Israeli embassies in USA, Norway and Cyprus. In Washington, he was a commissioner for the Congressional affairs, which mediated relations between the Israeli government and the US Congress. In Norway and Cyprus, he held the post of deputy ambassador.

Mr. Ambassador, we started our interview talking about the changing nature of diplomacy in the 21st century and the role of Ambassadors without diplomatic passports, which was the title of my book and a subsequent series of the Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine. These people are not diplomats yet, by being leading personalities in various domains, they promote and influence the image of a country abroad.

I see the role of such individuals growing and becoming more important. I can name few leading personalities representing Israel: Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress and a model, famous for portraying Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe movie; a violinist and a conductor Pinchas Zukerman; and an Israeli professional footballer Eran Zahavi, currently playing in Guangzhou, China. However, even many of my colleagues, being traditional diplomats, are expanding beyond diplomacy. One of my colleagues has just started culinary diplomacy at Twitter, as she likes cooking.

How has diplomacy changed and what is the right diplomacy for the 21st century?

I love this question. Just today, I spoke to our department of digital diplomacy. This department did not exist five or even two years ago and many countries still do not have this department. We put a lot of emphasis on social networks. This is just one example of changing diplomacy due to technology. I am known for challenging the traditional way of diplomatic reporting back via cables. I maintain that we should use more open communication. I believe that headquarters should go to my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account to find out about my activities in the Czech Republic, rather than waiting for some formal large reports. I see the trend coming, it will take another five to ten years.

H.E. Daniel Meron with his wife Jill Meron

I have seen your Youtube message you used as an introduction to the Czech Republic (you can see it below). Is this the new way of introduction for each Israeli ambassador?

Each new ambassador gets a gift from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You get a team of a movie director, a cameraman and a writer of the script. You give them an idea and they prepare the story for you. I come from Jerusalem and I pointed out many similarities between Prague and Jerusalem. One of my colleague is from Tel Aviv, so he talks about the city of tomorrow, regarding the high-tech. Another colleague is a daughter of a Holocaust survivor. She talks about her story and what it means to her to be a diplomat, representing a Jewish state in Europe, having special memories and legacy.

How did it feel shooting a three minute movie and being a star in the spotlight, rather than a diplomat in the background?

It was exciting. It was great to have my daughter joining me for a beer in the market. I have shown this movie to many young people, as I go to schools very often. When young Czechs see this movie, they usually say that they did not have an idea what Israel was all about. I try to convey a message that Israel is a very modern, developed country, in the front line of technology and culture. Some people still had the image of a desert country with camels walking around. Yes, we have camels but we have much more modern features. My daughter is in high tech, now finishing her fourth year at the university, specializing in computer and electrical engineering. She works in Jerusalem in a company designing an autonomous car, also featured in my introduction video. Moreover, she volunteers in a special program at Hebrew University, called QueenB. A group of young Israeli women with high-tech backgrounds decided that there had been enough talking about the need to get young women into sciences, high tech and other technical disciplines, it was time to act. The university students now teach the high school female students, my daughter is teaching coding.

You have mentioned one thing I find disconcerting: the fact that young Czechs do not know Israel. How is that possible, given the fact that the Czech Republic is the closest ally of Israel in Europe? The Czechoslovak and Czech Israeli relations have very long and deep roots. Did we fail to pass on the common history to the younger ones?

I do not wish to compare one generation to another. I believe that the young people know a lot thanks to social media. The Israeli band Lola Marsh had a concert in Acropolis and it was totally sold out, even though it was their first visit to Prague. The culture is known thanks to the personalities. It is rather due to the complexities of the politics in the whole region that makes it more confusing. Let us not forget that during the communist times, it was also challenging to get to the right information. We have to go even further back in time, to Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, his fight in Hilsner affair, him coming to Palestine in 1927 and then the sad history of the Holocaust and its survivors and Jan Masaryk and his fight for the State of Israel, helping displaced Jews come then to Palestine and then sending arms. All this information used to be shared within a generation concerned. Now, it is up to us to teach the younger generation also about these historical events.

H.E. Daniel Meron with Karla Šlechtová, current Czech Minister of Defence

What do you personally do to bridge the knowledge of culture with the knowledge of shared history?

As I mentioned, I visit many schools, I show my introductory video and then I have a presentation. I usually talk about the great relationship between the two countries. I tend to mention three specific examples. Our two countries have a great cooperation in the field of water technology; the Czech Minister of Environment came to Israel has met me and shared his concern about the lack of underground water the Czech Republic is facing. At first, I thought it was a sort of a joke. A country with abundant rainfall, snowfall, with green hills, forest and pastures is coming to a desert nation, asking for advice? It is true that Israel is among the top countries with regards to water technology and water management, practices such as drip irrigation, desalination, reuse of water for agriculture etc. In September 2017, a delegation of 50 people went to Israel to learn about water technology. On the other hand, the Czech Republic can help Israel with ideas for solving the issue of water pollution. ŠKODA AUTO and the automotive industry is the second example of our mutual cooperation. The automotive Czech industry can connect to the digital industry in Israel. They both complement each other. In Israel, there are more than 150 start-ups producing various technological solutions for the automotive industry, such as radars, communications, smart batteries, sensors etc. ŠKODA AUTO will partner with an institution in Tel Aviv and will open an innovation center. By the way, ŠKODA is the third most frequently sold car in Israel. Cyber security is the third domain where we have great exchange of communication and cooperation.

It is often mentioned that the Czech-Israeli relations are the best in history. What can be done to improve already strong and stable relations?

In short, we are further exploring the cooperation that will bring the best from both countries. High-tech, start-ups and scientific cooperation are other areas where we can progress a lot. I know that Czech scientific diplomat, Mrs. Mikolášová, is also featured in this issue, so you are familiar with the exact details of our cooperation in this field. The next topic that is becoming very relevant, is the future of smart cities. And I could continue with many topics from the sphere of economy or commerce which can prosper thanks to mutual cooperation.

How do you like the Czech Republic?

The Czech Republic is a beautiful country. I find the people very friendly and I appreciate the fact that they are friendly and positive toward my country, Israel. Czech culture is not affected by antisemitism. I arrived nine months ago and I have listened to the advice of my friends, recommending me to visit also the countryside. I am proud to say that I have been to all 14 regions. Every second week I leave Prague to get to know the people, visit ancient Jewish synagogues, monuments and cemeteries, attend schools or universities. I love doing that. There are many beautiful places and a lot of Jewish history that is still not very known.

This is also my advice to other foreigners coming to the Czech Republic, make sure you explore the whole country.

By Linda Štucbartová

Photos: Archive

“My life-long talk show”

Andrea Vadkerti, Executive Coach

I have a lot in common with my friend and colleague Andrea: coaching and writing, interviews with wellknown personalities and the desire to support women in their careers. Andrea herself has presented not just many hundreds of Slovak news reports, but also major interviews, including with such personalities as Placido Domingo and Niki Lauda. She left television suddenly in order to prioritise her marriage. She left not just her job, but also her native Slovakia, following her husband to France. She currently lives and works in Singapore. She has moved from the highest levels of journalism to the highest levels of business. As Executive Coach, she focuses on neurobehavioral modelling and accessing the emerging business development.

Does this all sound like a story from a pulp author? Well you shouldn’t be surprised, as all famous writers agree that the best plots arise from life itself.

Some may remember Andrea Vadkerti as a presenter on Markíza Television, which she joined in 1995 after winning an audition of over 5000 candidates. During her television career, she also managed to study International Finance and European Law at Faculty of Management Comenius University in Bratislava. She presented the main news on Markíza until 2000. Despite her heavy workload, she missed the opportunity to be creative in her role as presenter, and so in addition to the news she also presented a radio talk show. She left Markíza in 2000 when her then-fiancé was starting the rival TA3 television station. She helped him to create this new television channel, which was described as Central Europe’s CNN, but did not join the channel because she could not imagine working for her partner and for her boss and manager in one person. She then penetrated the world of business, taking on the post of Head of Communications and PR in Slavia Capital between 2000 and 2003. She penetrated the world of mergers, acquisitions and trading while also meeting her current husband.

In 2003, she accepted an offer to return to the television studio, this time for Slovak public television RTVS. This marked the start of the risky, but she says most interesting, “Vadkerti talk show” format, in which RTL journalists were also involved. She broadcast her final talk show during her eighth month of pregnancy, something which involved an in-depth interview with three female murderers and an 80-member audience made up of other prisoners. The fact that Andrea does everything to the full also applied for her career break, when she focused on her children and family, with her son Raphael joining her daughter Sophie within 13 months. Again, she was missing creativity and continued writing scripts. In 2007, she returned to the media, with another offer from Slovak Television. Once again, just one career was not enough and at this time Andrea began to work in coaching, receiving her first international certification. In 2010, she returned to TA3 to launch her new interview show, Portret. She received the Journalism Prize for Best Interview in Electronic Media two years in a row for her in-depth interviews with the rescuer of Jewish children, Sir Nicholas Winton, and legendary CNN host, Larry King. Next year, French television channel Arte will be broadcasting her interview with Pierre Richard as part of a jubilee documentary on this unforgettable comic.

2018 marks not just 100 years since the founding of Czechoslovakia, but also 25 years since the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Republic.  Andrea, you were born in Czechoslovakia, and then you became a citizen of the Slovak Republic, you’ve lived in France and now you work in Singapore. What is your identity? Czechoslovak, Slovak, European, or do you see yourself as a citizen of the world?

As Adriana Sklenaříková has said, I was born in a country which no longer exists. In a Hungarian family in the south of Slovakia. My mother tongue is Hungarian, and I was taught Slovak at school. English has become my language at work, and French is a language I have worked on through my heart and life in Nice. I am a citizen of the world with the blood of old Europe coursing through my veins.

Imagine looking at your biography in the introduction as a journalist. What would the first question you ask be? And what would your response be?

I would probably be interested in each new beginning. What it’s like to keep pulling the rug out from under yourself and try to do something you’ve never done before. The first commercial television news, the first daytime talk show, the first non-dubbed interview with a foreign figure, the first neurobehavioral modelling coaching in a land which does not even have a professional term for this speciality. And the response? It is incredibly exciting to be an experimenter and adventurer in your profession. To believe in something and go for it. Your belief drives you, you play your cards on luck and talent. There’s no waiting, only doing and success is not guaranteed.

Okay so now to my questions. While they say cherchez la femme, from your experience up to now, it seems that you have often instead responded to your partners’ situations. At the same time, you have managed to keep your own identity. What has been your underlying mission?

I’ve never lost my head because of my career or relationship. Whether I’m doing something or believe in something, I go for it. But not to extremes. When one thing got the better of me I have moved on to something else. And that has always helped me stay unsinkable.

I get the impression you have missed the space for creativity in the roles you have held, whether as a presenter or even mother. What brought you from writing to coaching?

Coaching and presenting have a lot in common. You pose open questions, you seek various perspectives. You are driven by curiosity and you are constantly finding out more. Except that coaching takes place in complete intimacy; in a television interview you try to induce intimacy, but the whole world is watching you. Writing is a highly intimate affair. For me, when I’m in complete concentration it has always been a kind of meditation. Creativity is my escape from everyday reality.

How do you see yourself as a coach?

I see myself as a consultant who knows when to call upon coaching as the best tool to achieve an objective. With my client, we might be focused pragmatically, dealing with a problem resourcefully. Complexity and finding a solution is our platform. As I’m coming from background in neuropsychology, this is an opportunity for me to literally change the client’s paradigm of thinking. To open up new worlds to them. I am witnessing my clients becoming more humans every single day.

How do your clients describe you?

An open minded, pragmatic, someone who can hit the nail on the head, unravel a problem. Holistic, disciplined, understanding. These are the kind of characteristics I see most in my reviews.

They say the media is addictive. Do you miss the shine and fame of the television studio?

I don’t miss the television studio so much as the opportunity to spread valuable ideas through the media. Many times I come across someone and I tell myself what a great interview we could do, how many people could get a really meaningful message …

In your experience, is a double-career marriage possible?

Yes, but both of you have to be willing to sometimes sacrifice your career for the good of others. Your career is not a dictator.

Three years ago, you moved from France to Singapore. What other chapters in your life are you planning to write?

I’m literally writing one now. I’m writing a book on the power of the ego and how to live with it. It is a compilation of my own true stories and those of my clients and neuroscience. In Singapore, I have everything I need to complete it. My ten-month old third child Philip is slowing me down a little right now. I’m trying to enjoy all the times I have with him. We’ve also begun Atairu leadership training for women and the Odyssey mentoring programme.

Your final message for Czech and Slovak Leaders readers?

When ego shuts down to silence, your heart starts singing.

By Linda Štucbartová

“I wanted to secure the best possible education for my children”

Kateřina Bečková, Founder and Executive Director, International Montessori School of Prague

The story of the International Montessori School of Prague brings together a number of fascinating worldwide trends. The first of these trends is glocalisation – a combination of globalisation and localisation, with the American Montessori Society global accreditation creating a framework, while the school is also adjusted to the Czech environment and conditions. Kateřina Bečková, founder and executive director says: “We have to, and we want to, meet not just the American accreditation standards, but also take into account the Czech environment and its distinctiveness. Children from 27 different nationalities attend IMSP, but half of our children are from the Czech Republic. As such, our curriculum must not just accommodate the European metric system, but also the method of teaching mathematics, for example the method of multiplication and division which is specific to us.”

The second trend I would like to note is that Kateřina is an example of what one could term a “self-made female entrepreneur”. Female entrepreneurs offer something specific. In contrast to men, who focus on doing business in fields which are perceived as economically beneficial such as construction, electronics and IT, women more frequently focus on doing business in social services or small retail. This female type of enterprise is often at a disadvantage in terms of access to funding and technologies, while it is also highly regulated by complex laws.

A third major trend is the issue of leadership and education. At the start of the new school year, the Czech Management Association published a report stating that the Czech Republic could become more competitive if it had more self-confident leaders. The standard Czech education system does not consider working with leaders, despite research which suggests that the key characteristics of future leaders can be developed mainly up until a child’s 10th birthday!

Kateřina Bečková founded the private International Montessori School of Prague in 2002. The spark for doing so was an endeavour to secure high quality education for her own three children. Over 15 years, IMSP has become one of the best schools in the Czech Republic with places for 110 pupils aged from 15 months to 13 years. Today, the school employs 16 full-time teachers and 4 part-time teachers. As well as preschool and school education, IMSP also provides after school play and other clubs. The teaching staff includes specialists in art, Spanish, drama, music, physical education and library science amongst other fields.

Kateřina put her energy, vision and herself into building the school. When you meet her, you would hardly believe that this naturally shy woman is the director of a major educational institution and her mission is to bring an integrated and holistic approach to education to prepare children for the future. Kateřina is one of the greatest Czech experts in education and the Montessori method, having achieved the necessary training while running the school. She originally studied economics, and subsequently completed a master’s degree in Special Education. She has completed the Montessori Leadership programme and continues to learn about leadership in the Czech Republic and abroad.

Kateřina, IMSP celebrated its 15th birthday in spring 2017. How do you look back on this time?

I take stock. As you noted, my kids were my main drive for founding the school. But they’ve already finished school and I am pleased that they are so well prepared for further studies and for life in general. I still love working with kids, which gives me great satisfaction and I am proud of our school and the stable and professional team I have managed to build up. I think we have achieved the optimum in terms of size and operation. I don’t plan to expand the school with additional branches, nor do I want to increase the number of pupils in our classes, or increase the number of classes. I think we have gone through the difficult phase of building up the school, and we have constructed a solid foundation. Now, we want to focus on further increasing quality. We enjoy continuing to work on communication, focusing on increased effectiveness, and achieving sustainable results. I think that this kind of work is a great reward for me. Most recently, we have been focusing on defining a new mission, the values linked with that mission, and how to put them into practice.

What are you most proud of in relation with IMSP?

Of all the accreditations we have achieved, because we are the only American Montessori Society fully accredited school in Europe. Our most recent accreditations, both American and Czech, gave us top marks. The fact we are full to capacity demonstrates our quality and popularity. I couldn’t achieve that alone; I rely on a stable, professional team of accredited colleagues. I am also proud of our premises; our school has a large garden over 4000 m2 in size next to a wood. We have an aviary in the garden, fruit bushes and trees and a vegetable patch, and looking after our plants and animals is an integral part of our teaching. Last but not least, we are successfully building a community of parents and school advocates who are spreading Montessori education principles further throughout Czech society.

There remains great interest in Montessori in the Czech Republic. The method is suitable not just for children, but also for older people. In July this year, Prague hosted the International Montessori Congress. For those who didn’t take part, it was a prestigious event which takes place once every four years, with 2000 participants and more than 100 experts from around the world visiting the Prague congress. What makes Montessori different?

It’s important to realise that the Montessori method is not just about tools, but above all about the approach. One pitfall here is the fact that the Montessori method is not a copyrighted patent so, often, schools purchase the tools and immediately put “Montessori method” into their name. The Montessori method is about the philosophy and putting it into practice, about the ability of the teacher to manage to work with both the whole class and with individuals and about seeing the unique potential of each child. The tools themselves are secondary. Another challenge is the fact that many Czechs advocate traditional educational methods and it is difficult for them to entirely trust a new approach based on free choice. There is a general prejudice that the Montessori method means chaos, but actually the opposite is true. We have to work to balance the expectations and boundaries while offering free choice.

IMSP is a leader in bringing new trends to education. Which trends do you think are fundamental?

I think there are three fundamental trends: recognising your own unique talent, the ability to cooperate and a love for education. When interacting with children, we focus on holistic child development, helping them to grasp and also express their uniqueness. We teach children not just to solve problems, but also to cooperate effectively. Today, individual development and assertion is often stressed, but without interaction and effective cooperation with other individuals you cannot do anything on your own in society. Montessori is based on the principle of “help me to do it myself” from an early age. Even the youngest children take part in cleaning and tidying and the preparation of snacks; they are much more independent in communication, and also hygiene habits and the ability to look after themselves compared to their peers. We focus on the different components of intelligence – social intelligence, emotional intelligence, bodily/kinaesthetic intelligence and moral intelligence. We work with four key values – respect, consideration, responsibility and kindness, and we place great stress on overall integrity. Last but not least, we make appropriate use of technology which is going to play an even greater role in education.

How do you see yourself as a leader?

We use the Talent Dynamic profile tests at school, meaning we build on the natural talent of individuals, not on acquired skills. Using this approach, my profile is “Trader,” and my leadership is based on long-term relationships, care for others and building a community. My approach is to undertake individual actions together with a team. People can rely on me; my door is always open both to my team and to parents. And now I’m learning to delegate more; I want to focus more on strategic decisions and spend less time on day-to-day operations. As I said, I’m looking forward to sharing everything we have managed to build with the wider community which we are helping to build.

What advice do you have for parents of school children in relation to the start of the new school year?

I’m an advocate of good routines which can save time and energy. Take enough time to sleep and then for your morning, your breakfast, journey, so you aren’t stressed every morning. Trust your school and children and make enough time for them. Especially at the beginning, don’t just speak to your children, but also the teachers and school management. You are our partners and we are here for you.

What are your plans and vision for the future?

My mission is to bring a holistic approach to education in which every child can express their uniqueness. Specifically, I am trying to bring the above discussed Montessori methods of education to our country so that we can truly activate the uniqueness of each one of us. I have already spoken about the community of parents and advocates we are building, and we are preparing a series of educational workshops for them. We want to focus more on working with our youngest children, where we see the greatest potential. We want to provide parents with a detailed guide for creating a Montessori home environment. And, of course, we will continue to evaluate and improve all our approaches within our holistic approach to education. One of the problems of Czech education is not just its focus on knowledge, but also how rigid it is.

By Linda Štucbartová

“Our doctors are on a par with our Harvard colleagues”

MUDr. Kateřina Vacková, Loono. Photo by: Martin Faltejsek

Although she officially received her MUDr title at her graduation ceremony in Karolinum’s ancient Great Hall in July, Kateřina can boast of having saved 36 lives – cancer was discovered in 34 people in time through Loono’s preventive programmes, and two more people recognised they had serious heart problems on the basis of Loono’s new campaign. Kateřina founded Loono three years ago in order to promote the importance of self-examination, and awareness of and responsibility for your own health amongst the general public. She founded Loono based on her own experience as a patient, when at 22 years of age she was given that dreaded diagnosis: cancer. Kateřina set out to combat not just the disease, but also the low level of public awareness, particularly amongst the young. In 2016, Forbes nominated her amongst the “30 most talented Czechs under the age of 30”. Loono and its witty information campaign which does not frighten, but rather informs of the necessity to self-examine your breasts and testicles, drew the attention not just of young people, but also the general media. Over the whole time Kateřina was studying hard at the medical faculty, she had two jobs, one paid as a project manager and the other in Loono, unpaid until this August. During her studies, she undertook specialist placements in Austria and Portugal. Loono today comprises over 70 volunteers – educators and the main organising team made up of 10 collaborators. This year, besides completing her studies at Charles University’s First Faculty of Medicine, Kateřina also completed a placement at Harvard, undertook an inspiring trip to San Francisco and launched another campaign with the Loono team, this time focused on prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Each meeting I have with Kateřina is incredible inspiring. I admire how much energy this beautiful and petite young lady has in her, I listen with wonder of her vision and plans and I cross my fingers for her. Kateřina calls herself a citizen of the world, and her desire to change the world is not just a proclamation, but something she is demonstrating in real life every day and in every step she takes. I first met Kateřina at a talk for Oxford and Cambridge university alumni. Speakers are often nervous in front of an audience used to high-level debate, but Kateřina didn’t show it. She began her talk with the firmly posed questions: “When did you last have a preventive examination at the doctor’s? Do you know what examinations you are entitled to? And when did you last undertake a self-examination?” One might be so bold as to claim that Kateřina looks after fitness within her own team. As the organisation name, Loono, is not subject to declension as standard Czech words are, anyone from the internal team who says it incorrectly has to do three push-ups. Luckily this only happened to me once during the interview…

Kateřina, in July you got your MUDr title. What has changed since your graduation?


I’ll begin with the graduation. I was at the graduation ceremony, a wonderful occasion, with my whole family; it was moving and my parents were proud. Personally, I had been wondering for a while whether to do clinical practice after graduation or whether to concentrate on Loono. I think I would have felt bad not focusing on Loono. So I started in August, becoming the first person working there on a full-time basis, and now I’m enjoying spending every day dedicated to the organisation, and even in the first 14 days we have made incredible progress. We have expanded our team, we’re still recruiting, we have successfully applied for a grant and we’ve gained another sponsor.
Sponsors are really important for us right now; I’d like to be able to employ more people full-time and I would also like to expand the scope of our education, to focus not just on the general public but also to have the opportunity to educate medicine students who will then educate others. I don’t want them to have to take up part-time work in fast-food joints, but rather that they have the opportunity to acquire practice in the field they are going to be working in, while also receiving a certain remuneration to help them, e.g., in financing their student dormitories. Over the past two years when I have had the opportunity to work with medics, I have observed what experience they have gained and how this has subsequently helped them in their medical profession.

You yourself represent the emerging generation of doctors, and you have also had the opportunity during your placement to work in the hospital at Harvard University. What insights have you taken from the USA?

Positive ones. I believe in us, the new generation of doctors, but I also greatly appreciate the previous generation. Healthcare is at a great standard in the Czech Republic, well organised, compared to abroad we have markedly shorter waiting times both for examinations and operations. Since healthcare here is paid for from the public health insurance system, a comparison with the USA or the UK is not always appropriate, but even compared to countries with the same funding system we come out very well. Our doctors are skilled. I would advise the upcoming generation to support two areas in particular: interest in innovation, and also communication with patients. At Harvard I saw that although our American colleagues have better equipment

and a different style of work, our qualitative medical education and approach to patients are entirely on a par.

You didn’t want to stay in the USA; you returned to complete your studies and focus fully on Loono. In the meantime, however, you also stayed in San Francisco. What did you bring back for Loono from there?

I went to San Francisco on holiday to relax and practise yoga. I enjoyed the coffee bars and galleries. Naturally, I had loads of discussions about preventive healthcare in the USA, and I visited Silicon Valley in order to find out more about the latest projects and start-ups in the healthcare field. I received great feedback on our work and the results we have achieved despite our limited funding. Everyone around me supported my belief that we should expand Loono and its activities into other countries. I also had the opportunity to meet with Czechs working in Silicon Valley in some great companies or start-ups. The stories of people who have decided to set out and take up work in a foreign country for large projects are always a great inspiration for me. I myself have had this experience during my placements in Austria and Portugal.

What are you most proud of about Loono?

Definitely the 34 lives saved through prevention, and also my whole team. When I was beginning, I was worried whether someone would join me, would believe in my idea and spread it to the world with me. People want to co-operate with us; Loono is now perceived as a brand others want to work for, and we are given as an example of good practice in non-profit organisation communication. I’m blushing, but I’m glad we can inspire others in how to spread your own mission effectively.

Regarding prevention, do Czechs value their health?


I wouldn’t want to relate this question to Czechs alone. In general I think the situation is improving. People are seeking out health information on their own, are more open to changing their habits in regards to a healthy lifestyle, very often on the basis of a personal meeting. After my stay in the USA, I consider myself a citizen of the world, so I think everyone on this planet, regardless of race, gender and nationality, deserve high quality accessible information on preventive care. And this is the mission I’m now setting out into the world for.

Loono is a leader in terms of non-profit organisation communication, this interview is for Leaders magazine; how do you see yourself as a leader?

I personally still see myself as a junior leader. I’ve been leading Loono for under three years and I learn something new every day. Every bit of feedback I get from the team or people I work with through Loono also moves me forward. I also ask a lot of questions of older and more experienced businesspeople and mentors.

Leadership as such, for me, is about kindness and an individual approach. Only in this way can you support and motivate your team at the same time. A strong vision is also important, and your management and actions must follow this vision, both in your working and personal life. It would be very difficult for Loono to serve as an example of a healthy positive lifestyle if I myself didn’t exercise five times a week, didn’t meditate or didn’t eat healthily.

Let’s discuss your vision more; what will Loono look like in the coming years?


It will certainly become a global organisation, though I can’t give you a precise timescale. I myself want to find out more about other countries and their cultures, and I also want to help develop people. I think everyone needs to know about prevention, regardless of their country of origin. We can open this up anywhere where there is a medical faculty, and hopefully we will then be able to even in areas without one. And there’s more! Imagine some kind of Erasmus work programme being established in Loono for students who want to try working not just in another country, but also with other specialists from other fields to aid them in preparing for their careers. Loono is not just about medics; our team includes specialists in communication, PR, marketing, social media, HR and more. Team members can enrich each other. I want to help everyone equally, and I have great plans and also great self-confidence.

A final word?

Look after yourself in time, be active for the good of your body and for life in general. If my story and Loono’s message has touched you, then support us!

By Linda Štucbartová

Martin Herman, President, American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies

Martin Herman is the president of the American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies (AFCSLS, www.afcsls.org), a fund of Czech and Slovak Americans dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education in their old homeland. AFCSLS is a successor to the American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees founded in 1948 by Dr. Ján Papánek, the first Czechoslovak Ambassador to the United Nations. The fund helped thousands of Czechs and Slovaks escape communism and settle in the United States. In 1976, Martin emigrated from Czechoslovakia to the United States. For twenty years he worked as an economist at the World Bank, later free-lancing on projects all over the world. His experience as a teenager, a university student in Prague, and later as a student in the United States convinced him of the importance of education, especially of a solid foundation gained in primary and secondary schools. AFCSLS gave him an opportunity to make a practical contribution. Martin conceived, developed and has been managing AFCSLS education programs since 2008.

In 2016 he became the president of AFCSLS, succeeding Henry Kallan, a longtime president and one of the fund’s most generous contributors. Martin studied at University of Economics in Prague in Prague and Cornell University and George Washington University in the United States.

Talent is a precondition for excellence. It tends to fizzle out without the desire, determination and discipline during formative years. Children need a system to help them develop their talent. This is the premise on which AFCSLS builds its education program. Martin brought in the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), Johns Hopkins University, a leading world authority on talent development, with the objective of establishing a CTY affiliate in Prague. This idea encountered immediate and massive local resistance. Influential experts on education labeled it “elitist, commercial and helping talented teenagers escape to prestigious universities abroad”. Martin persisted. Two years into the program, he brought in the Center for Talented Minds (CTM, www.ctm-academy.org), Prague non-profit, which has become the extended arm of AFCSLS. Only last year it has become possible with the help of CTM and RSJ foundation to secure the program for the long term.

Mr. Herman, before we get into the specifics of your program, please tell us first how you perceive today’s world?

Where do you want me to start? The whole world is confronted by massive and accelerating advances in science and technology. Yet, partly be- cause of failing education in too many parts of the world, many people are ill equipped for today’s world and the future. They have difficulty to cope, to hold their jobs, to secure a worthy purpose for themselves and their families. Often, they find purpose in money, amassing worldly goods. If they fail, they tend to blame others. They are vulnerable to voices promising easy fixes. Their leaders promise but fail to deliver compromised by special interest and unable to deal with mounting problems. Local and global conflicts tend to persist, fresh ones lurking around the corner. How will mankind cope with all this is in the stars. I believe knowledge, spirituality and strong ethical code bring more satisfaction than just money and consumerism. This is why I focus on education. It gives me an opportunity to help teenagers find their purpose, develop their talent and one day possibly make the world a better place for us all.

And how do you perceive today’s Czech Republic?

Czech Republic is confronted with much the same issues as the rest of the civilized world. Moreover, it is still struggling to recover from the nightmare of communism imposed on it by Stalin and helped by local useful idiots 70 years ago. There is no doubt with Marshall Plan and as part of Western democracies, Czechoslovakia today would be one of the richest countries in the world. Instead the communists made it one of the poorest. It is now back, member of the European Union and NATO. It is becoming more prosperous as time goes by. Still, years of communism and persistent Kremlin influence keep many confused and disoriented. Some even equate Brussels with Kremlin, perhaps because too often people have been betrayed. They mistrust their leaders. They tend to be suspicious of anything foreign, envious of natural talent, suspicious of success by others, and believe they have superior answers for everything.

Education is a key indicator of prosperity. Yet, education in the Czech Republic has been neglected at all levels for years. Teachers have the lowest salaries in the civilized world. Schools at all levels are stuck in the past. Boredom and disinterest prevail. Proposals for improvement remain on paper. Still, at all levels there are pockets of excellence but rather than others learning from them these pockets become targets of envy and abuse by those less capable. I have experienced it firsthand with our program. Disgruntled parents are taking matters into their hands starting private schools for their children. Those seeking superior university education prefer to study abroad.

You also have activities in Slovakia, do you perceive the countries being same or different?

They are similar. I am happy Slovakia is independent and becoming more prosperous. The Slovaks are more decisive. The Czechs favorite decision is “maybe”. The Euro is a case in point. The Czechs would debate the Euro forever waiting for some- one to decide for them. Slovakia is even more dependent on car manufacturing than the Czech Republic, a risk for both with robots taking over assembly lines and repetitive manufacturing jobs in the near future.

Education in Slovakia suffers from much the same neglect. However, Slovak teachers actually strike for better salaries. Czech teachers debate strikes. Perhaps the biggest difference is superior university education in the Czech Republic. About 25,000 Slovaks account for about 70% of all foreign students at Czech universities.

Mr. Herman, please tell us now more about your program.

We offer Czech and Slovak children opportunities to develop their talent, to accelerate and enrich their learning with CTM Online, Discovery Saturdays and CTM and CTY Summer. CTM Online is the most popular. It offers students 12-18 years of age online courses in English guided by experienced CTM instructors leading eventually to Advanced Placement (AP) exams of the American College Board. Students can choose from over 100 courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and many other subjects. CTM Online is the only opportunity for students in Czech and Slovak public schools to measure their academic accomplishments directly with their peers in the rest of the world. Students find it highly motivating and rewarding. They really learn. Some schools integrated CTM Online into their school curricula. For the first time this coming school year, CTM Online will be used directly in class at three participating schools. CTM Online evolves from our long-term association with CTY to which we added Florida Virtual School Global (FLVS) and the University of Nebraska High School (UNHS); all prestigious online learning institutions, to provide effective, affordable and flexible ways to learn. Also, CTM offers its own online courses for younger students to get them used to online learning environment, technical English and instructor support. I keep scouting all the time for the best possible online content for our students.

What are the results of the program?

I cannot be happier with the results of our students. They excel in the most popular and the most demanding courses in the AP system of the College Board. AP courses offer college-level curricula and exams. They teach critical thinking, reasoning and learning through inquiry. Students gain detailed knowledge of key subjects, substantially improve their technical English and become well prepared for AP exams. By taking AP exams, they prove their interest, ability and determination to succeed in university studies. CTM is a College Board partner for administering AP exams at Czech and Slovak schools.

CTM students rank consistently among the best in AP exams earning on average a 4.06; much superior to the global AP average of 2.89 with “5” the top grade. Every year in May, more than seven million students from all over the world take AP exams. Over 1,000 CTM students have participated since 2011. Great results helped over 100 to scholarships and admissions to universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Johns Hopkins, NYU, MIT and others. Most students continue at Czech universities, some moving later to graduate work abroad.

Where are the biggest obstacles to achieve more support?

By now, CTM Online would be making a huge impact if most schools would be like the five we started with in 2011. These schools have excellent directors. They have appointed effective school CTM coordinators who inform students and parents, and with the teaching staff integrate CTM Online courses into the school curricula. These schools plus a few others are the most active, some with 15-20 students every year. This school year we expect about 350 students in CTM Online. We are immensely grateful for the support of RSJ foundation in sharing the program cost.

Our biggest obstacles are people – school directors, teachers, and some education experts (those with their superior answers). They are out of step with the times, resisting change, killing the natural interest of children to learn. We have visited most Czech and many Slovak schools; some many times over. When we come, they are excited promising to take part. After we leave, nothing happens. From some directors we even hear: “No, we do not have any talented students here”. Some teachers tell students: “Why CTM Online? Is my class not good enough for you?” These and similar stories we hear all the time.

How do you wish to see AFCSLS and CTM in 10 years’ time? (what is your vision?)

We do all we can to build CTM into a force for excellent primary and secondary education in Central Europe. We are making solid progress in difficult Czech environment, in Slovakia and with occasional interest elsewhere in the region. In four years, we would like to see 800 – 1,200 students in CTM Online, maintaining AP exam scores well above the global average. This year, we start preparations for AP International Diploma, equivalent to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma but more flexible and affordable. Naturally, some education experts are suspicious of the idea. With no access to the IB program, many parents may find CTM Online ideal for their children. But first they would need to convince their school director. Our top priority is to hire the very best CTM Online instructors with salaries equivalent to top professionals. Instructors make a huge positive difference in students’ outcomes as confirmed by responses from students and parents in CTM Online evaluation surveys.

Your final words…

We would love to do much more to help Czech and Slovak children prepare well for the future. The best possible education for all must become the top national priority. We look all the time for partners and supporters to join us in our quest.

By Linda Štucbartová

“Asia remains a great unknown for us”

Martin Klepetko, Director of the Asia Pacific Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Martin Klepetko played trumpet at the conservatoire in Pardubice, studied Musicology at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts and studied Conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts’ Music Faculty. He taught for five years at the conservatoire in Pardubice.

In 1993, when the need arose for new diplomats following Czechoslovakia’s partition, he applied to a recruitment process led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the basis of a newspaper ad. He was successful and since that time he has followed a career as a so-called universal diplomat, who has covered various fields of expertise and territories over his diplomatic career.

Martin Klepetko was involved in the International Observer Mission in the former Yugoslavia, then worked at the embassy in Tehran as chargé d’affaires e.p., and at the embassies in Baghdad, Sofia and Hanoi as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. At headquarters, he has worked for the South-East and Eastern Europe department, Analysis and Planning, was Director of the Human Resources Department and currently heads the Asia and Pacific States Department.

Our interview focused on parallels between conducting and diplomacy, career diplomacy in general and last but not least we spoke about Asia as a region which is still misunderstood and underappreciated in terms of its history and potential in the Czech Republic. And our meeting incidentally took place over a cup of tea brought back from his journeys in China and Martin told me of the rule he had learnt that in China tea is steeped briefly and repeatedly. The third steep is meant to taste the best.

Martin, in line of your previous studies and work, I must start with the question of what parallel there is between conducting and diplomacy.

As was mentioned in my introduction, my journey from conductor to diplomacy was not a planned one. But after it happened, I discovered that both professions have a whole lot of shared features. The principal commonality is management skills. It is well known that a conductor must be a good musician, must be able to play one or more instruments, yet he himself plays not one note. He must convince the other players, whether they are large in number as in a symphony orchestra or a few individuals as in a chamber ensemble, of his idea, enthuse them with his own concept and this is then reflected through overall shared efforts. Diplomacy is similar. If you’re sent abroad, it’s not a symphony orchestra you’re given, but rather a chamber ensemble and so it is all the more important that the collective act as one and not rather as occasional solo performances which do not resonate or complement each other. This parallel convinced me how important it is to be able to enthuse others and convince them of your own vision. As for myself, I am not someone who likes authoritarian management.

Your words validate one of the latest trends in management training in which managers try to improve their style through working with an orchestra.

I realise that it is easier for some people to manage others using a traditional authoritarian style through orders and tasks. I believe that despot conductors are a thing of the past now. A wise conductor knows that he has very high quality players available to him, and his task is to make sure everyone is working in harmony. This is also the task of a good diplomat. That’s why I prioritise opportunities to sit down with my colleagues and discuss what we can expect and then everyone knows what their role is and carries it out as they see fit.

What was it that led you to a career in diplomacy in 1994?

There is a Czech saying that necessity led Dalibor to play the violin, but for me it was the other way around; necessity led me to diplomacy. After five years working in the field I studied, I realised there were limited opportunities for career development. I didn’t want to wait for my older colleagues to retire so I could move into their positions. Remuneration in education remains a subject of debate today, but in the early 90s the situation really was terrible. To begin with I tried to earn extra money through various business activities but this just made me realise what a poor salesman I am. One day I came across an ad in the newspaper for diplomatic roles requiring a university education and two languages. I met both these conditions, applied and succeeded from amongst hundreds of candidates.

What was it like to undergo such a major change in occupation?

The change really was tough. I transferred from the relatively free career of a teacher with 22 teaching periods per week and all the school holidays into an institution where the working time was at least from 7.45am-4.15pm with 20 days’ holiday. From the outset, however, I was working in fascinating countries and so I dealt with the new situation well. In contrast to today’s new recruits, I was able to choose my agenda. I was able to choose between culture, Slovakia and the Middle East. I had left the cultural sphere, I didn’t consider Slovakia abroad and so I chose the Middle East. My work covering the Middle East was fascinating; I was in charge of Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, countries which are today the centre of attention and taking up the front pages of newspapers, but at that time the situation wasn’t quite as tense.

It looks like you chose your departments strategically; today China, another department you managed, is also on the front pages …

You’re right, I deliberately haven’t chosen easy or might I say time off countries… I tell myself I have time for time off countries when I’m coming up to retirement. Time off countries can be considered those which in terms of development are calm, or countries far from Czech foreign policy’s main focus. Even in such cases there’s still stuff to do; monitor developments in the country, prepare reports and meet with colleagues and partners, but these are safe countries where there are no emergency situations. I have operated in countries which were not safe, or where things were happening…

I know it’s very hard for a diplomat to name names, but in light of the above, could your position in Sofia be considered a time off one?

But my position in Sofia preceded my position in Iraq. I grew fond of the Balkans, and Bulgaria is unique in terms of close relations, and also unique in terms of the large Czech expatriate community resident there with a history dating back over a hundred years. I’d like to say here that warm friendly relations are really important, because diplomats aren’t always positioned in countries favourably inclined to them. I also added to my role there by collaborating with a number of orchestras, and I conducted more than 10 concerts, including one opera performance.

What’s it like to work in a country not favourably inclined to us then? The task of diplomacy is surely to nurture close relations…

There are territories where we are simply on different sides politically. Take my position in Iran, for example. The Czech Republic is highly critical of Iran’s current political class, and although we endeavour to develop economic relations, differences in our perspective on democracy and human rights persist. In Iran, there were significant areas of friction, and for me as a diplomat my work was not easy because it was extremely difficult to organise a meeting on any topic at all. Furthermore, there are not a lot of visits or delegations travelling to the country. But diplomacy isn’t just about simple and pleasant topics and destinations. On the other hand, Iran is a wonderful country, the people there are incredibly hospitable, so you need to differentiate between ordinary citizens and the political representation with whom you disagree.

You and your career are an example of a universal diplomat, where you interchange between countries, bilateral and multilateral relations and further specific agenda at headquarters. What is the opposing model?

The USA to some extent, but especially Russia and China, have diplomats who have very narrow specialisations. They can then speak the language of the particular country and repeatedly return there. Here, we try to avoid sending people repeatedly to the same country.

Although only eight candidates a year are accepted at the Diplomatic Academy, diplomacy is still attractive to young people. What is your message to young people who want to enter diplomacy with a desire to change the world?

If you want to change the world, then do something else. Diplomacy is about change, but very slow, indiscernible changes which move the world forwards. Diplomats should instead try to maintain stability, not make revolutions in international relations. Diplomacy really is about learning to say not entirely pleasant things so that they don’t sound offensive, retaining credibility. One of a diplomat’s main characters should be loyalty; loyalty to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself. Political representations frequently change, and Czech foreign policy emphasis changes with them. A diplomat should not have their own idea of what agenda to implement and to stick to it. Diplomats must respect the policy of the government and specific minister, and must also be able to identify with these steps. You can’t do things in the long-term which you are not persuaded by. So it’s about seeking compromise and that’s how to recognise who is suitable for diplomacy in the long term, and who isn’t. Basically, diplomacy is a service of the state; today we are part of the civil service. For me personally, the ratification of the Civil Service Code has not changed much; since joining I have perceived my role as to carry out a service to the state within an institution in which I cannot reflect my own political convictions.

You’re now in charge of the Asia Department; you’ve just returned from China. What is your message about this territory to close this interview for Czech and Slovak Leaders readers?

I’ve been on two brief trips during which I wanted to see the workings of our missions in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. You can’t describe China in one sentence. Each region is different; you need to realise that China as a country is incredibly large and diverse. Regions differ not just in terms of natural conditions, but also in mentality and even cities differ from each other. I was surprised how well China works, how ordered and clean it is. The standard of living is a lot higher than people here usually imagine. On the basis of our own experience, we associate socialism with things not working and a pervasive dysfunctional bureaucracy, but that just doesn’t apply here. And as an artist I admired the long history and maturity of Chinese civilisation. When you take a walk through gardens, parks and past churches, you can see a true reflection of a culture going back millennia. There is an engrained and natural harmony there. That can’t just come about from one day to the next. Asia as a whole is a great unknown for us. Asia is a region of the future, it is the most dynamically developing region of the world and it certainly deserves attention. We don’t know how the countries there work, and our entrepreneurs still don’t know how to behave correctly there. You need to deal with Asian partners differently to how you deal with Europeans or Americans. We need to approach the region with greater humility. With the exception of Japan, Korea and partially also China, we look at the region as we do at a developing country which is more or less below our level of development and to whom we can impart our knowledge. Yet these are ancient civilisations who live in a different manner, with different values, different priorities and a different idea of how to manage things and how things work. It is certainly inappropriate to impose things on them. We may well disagree with their concept of human rights, for example, but it is not right to impose our ideas of a political system or institutional arrangements upon them.

Linda Štucbartová

 

“We observe the rise of female talent”

Leyla Boulton, Special Reports Editor and Executive Editor, Financial Times

Leyla Boulton studied Russian literature and history at the University of Cambridge.  She started her career as a foreign correspondent in Paris and Brussels for Reuters before joining the FT in Moscow, followed by a posting to Ankara. She spent a decade as a news editor and digital pioneer, before moving into editorial management position.  She is married to a Reuters journalist with whom she has a daughter, 21, and son, 18. 

This British-American dual national is editor of FT special reports, which every year include a series of articles on Women in Business. We met while covering the Global Female Leaders Summit in Berlin in May.  I used the opportunity to ask Leyla to give an exclusive interview to the Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine.  Not to add to the typical gender-biased interviews, I decided to skip the questions about combining motherhood and work, and working abroad.  Instead, we focused on the profession for which we share a passion – journalism – and its future.  

Leyla, we met at the GFL summit in Berlin.  In what aspects did you find this summit targeted for women but not addressing purely “women’s issues” different?

What was so good about the global female leaders forum was the way it combined a discussion of some of the most important issues of the day – whether technology or health care – with an environment more conducive to women speaking out, and networking. In a male-dominated gathering, whether at conferences or senior corporate boardrooms, women may be more hesitant to speak up than their male peers. But in a female-majority setting like the GFL, I found it much easier to meet fellow professionals with whom I had more in common on the personal front. So instead of say football or golf, conversational icebreakers for me included my department’s watches and jewellery report, and my son’s healthcare drama (ft.com/max)

Do you think there are any women issues and men issues and women writing as opposed to men writing?

I believe there are no female or male issues or types of writing – but there are differences in tone of voice or approach to issues. And it is this we think of at the FT as we work to increase our proportion of female readers. So we are experimenting with things like our mix of commentators and stories to discover what appeals to both sexes. And this is also why companies pursue diversity of gender in management and thinking – it is good for business. In politics we observe the rise of female talent to join the ranks of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. The most recent example of a rising female political talent was Ruth Davidson, the gay head of the Scottish Conservative party who is seen by many as the only winner of the latest UK election. At the same time, Theresa May and Hillary Clinton’s setbacks after lacklustre campaigns show you cannot win on gender alone. To succeed you also need to be a good and authentic communicator with policies people can support – as Marine Le Pen in France, a good orator with poor policies – discovered when she lost the presidential election to Emmanuel Macron.

You are a special reports editor for Financial Times.  Recently, FT within this series presented a story about two girls growing up, one from the US, one from China.  What are the themes that you try to accentuate and how have they evolved throughout the years?   

The Financial Times special reports department which I lead produces 150 reports a year on countries, sectors and themes of interest to FT readers. But we are testing and introducing new approaches to the issues our readers are interested in. Showing how girls’ fates are often sealed by decisions made in adolescence (ft.com/growing-pains), for example, helps readers think how to make more of half the world’s potential labour force. Closer to your readers’ geographical home, I hope to have by the time this magazine appears, a new online tool for covering the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This will complement our existing coverage of central and eastern Europe ft.com/reports. Our recent highlights included a great interview with the Slovak finance minister who talked of steering his country past ‘a lasagne of deceit’ (ft.com/kazimir) – a reference to Europe’s different layers of populism.

Classical journalism and printed newspapers and magazines face the same disruptive changes as happen in other spheres.  In fact, the Czech and Slovak Leaders magazine has remained the only printed English language magazine in both countries. We both listened to the session where Bloomberg mentioned cooperation with Twitter.  How do you perceive the future of journalism?

The first priority is to promote more able women on merit where they are in short supply regardless of their age. Once they achieve a critical mass in management, good female leaders can help good male leaders effect other positive changes – like ending an unhealthy focus on younger female faces in some broadcast media.

We discussed age diversity in the journalism sphere.  In the Czech Republic, there is a trend to have particularly young journalists, anchorwomen and anchormen, yet they do not represent all generations in society.  Do you see it as a problem?

Journalism needs to adapt to disruption by providing what readers want and need and will pay for. The good news is that this increasingly includes demand for reliable and balanced reporting. That is what we at the 129-year-old FT have been doing ‘without fear or favour’. So has the Washington Post, whose new Trump-era motto declares that Democracy dies in darkness. That is one reason I love leading the FT department which produces high-quality Independent journalism that advertisers are willing to pay for – because that is what our readers will read.

How would you define leadership within the context of journalism…

Leadership in journalism is nurturing talent and anticipating and leading change.

Your final words for Czech and Slovak Leaders readers…

I would love to learn from visiting your part of the world what a Britain divided over Brexit can learn from your two countries’ experience of a formal split. When I last visited, Czechoslovakia was a single country behind the Iron Curtain. I loved Prague and I also enjoyed working on a youth exchange forestry project in what is now Slovakia. As a reporter in Moscow for the FT in the early 1990s, I was greatly helped by the  Czechoslovak representative in reporting the unwinding of Comecon – the Soviet-led trade bloc. And I have had a couple of important friends over the years of Czech origin, including one of my professors at Cambridge University – and my favourite Cold War TV drama is Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – whose Brno scenes were apparently shot in Glasgow! So on a both professional and personal note, chatting to you has been a delight!

By Linda Štucbartová

“Women (don’t just) enrich the army”

Lenka Šmerdová, first female Brigadier General in Czech Republic

It’s been three weeks since you were named in your role, Brigadier General… What does it feel like to be the first woman in the position in the Czech Republic? Have you got used to it?

It’s an incredible feeling. It’s still new to me. Every day there are situations which are unique and sometimes touching. You can’t get used to that. I think I’m always going to be aware of the great appreciation and also trust I have received for my work, and the work of my colleagues. I very much appreciate it.

You’ve said that your appointment could open the doors to other women. This is your second time being first; you were also the first woman appointed to the position of colonel. What advice do you have for women who want to get a higher position in the Czech army? And for women in general regardless of where they are?

I’m pleased that equality isn’t just something that’s spoken about in the army. Women have shown in recent decades that we belong to the army and we can enrich it. That’s why I believe that my appointment could encourage other women and give them the courage and support in endeavouring to achieve their goals. And there are many other women around me who have fought for their position, respect and esteem and I admire them greatly, regardless of whether they are in uniform or not. It is important to get the opportunity, not to waste it and to keep working on yourself. It also demands self-confidence and the strength to pursue your goals. We all have desires and wishes. Some of these are met through our partners and children, but others we have to achieve ourselves.

You’ve been in the army since 1984 and you work in personnel and recruitment. How has the approach to this area changed over time?

I think an important milestone was the movement from the unpopular compulsory military service to a professional army which is gaining ever greater favour not just amongst men, but also women. We have now even managed to fill up our so-called active reserve force with volunteers. Understandably, personnel work and recruitment has grown in importance over the years in a professional army. This involves working with people and especially for people, and it is people who are the army’s most valuable resource. I also consider my appointment into general rank as an expression of the importance of my work not just in acquiring human resources for the army, but also in our care for them, training and educating high quality soldiers.

Many private companies are suffering from recruitment problems at a time of low unemployment. How is the Czech Army dealing with this situation?

Although Defence is perceived as a responsible, reliable and attractive employer, it is getting harder and harder to find new military personnel. We’re not alone in this on the labour market; besides civilian bodies, other branches of the armed forces and security and rescue forces are in the same boat. And we are all interested in the same individuals; young, healthy educated people.

The army’s good work at home and abroad is not enough to promote it. We have to actively draw the public’s attention to the opportunities offered by the army – as such the army must be seen and heard all the time. We’ve got a campaign currently running on a number of radio stations, we’re active on the internet, we use social networks. Interested candidates can apply from the comfort of home. We have also published reports in the regional press. We further arrange recruitment activities in the field, at large nationwide or smaller regional events. Recruiters also travel to job exchanges, to schools and to various sports events where they have the opportunity to meet scores of active people. We must constantly seek out new methods and opportunities to appeal to the public and gain the candidates we need. In this regard, the army must not be left behind.

You’re married and have a son. How do you manage to combine work and family?

My family is incredibly important to me. Without the support of my husband and son I would not be able to manage this job. I’m not able to do everything at home on time or absolutely perfectly, but for us it is most important to be together so I appreciate all the time we spend together, which we all enjoy and savour.

You are also an advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Czech Armed Forces. Could tell us more about this role? What strategic issues are you looking at in the security field?

I’m an advisor in the field of human resources and for the army as well as me this is a new situation because we were not previously used to considering human resources from a comprehensive perspective. As such it will be my task to consult on these aspects within the context of other tasks and work them into individual development concepts.

From your expert position, do you see today’s world as safer or less safe? And what about the Czech Republic?

All of us are undoubtedly thinking about the outlook for global security and how its development will influence us in future. Most experts agree that the situation is currently more unstable and hard to predict than before. I can see specific impacts through society and peoples’ interest in security, which has grown in recent years. In the context of events, ever more citizens are aware that stability and security doesn’t just cost something, but it is also important that they get actively involved, whether by deciding to join the military professionals, or perhaps taking the path of being an active reservist combining a civilian and military career in one. I think that is a fundamental change which should inspire optimism.

Linda Štucbartová