AuthorMartin Hladík

Dagmar Hazdrová and Jan Vondráček, Photo: Petr Hejna, Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy

For decades now Prague city dwellers have been used to hearing a calm, modulated and well-known voice citing the names of the various stops on tram, bus and metro routes around the city. Who will have the privilege to be the voice that hundreds of commuters hear every day is decided by a public poll on test announcements read by some of the best actors and voiceover artists in the country.

Jan Vondráček, whose voice many Czechs associate with Moe the bartender from The Simpsons, has been chosen to be the new voice on trams and busses making the rounds in the capital city.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Klára Škodová

Miroslav Sekera, Photo: Tomáš Vodňanský, Czech Radio

Czech composer Bedřich Smetana is probably best-known for his set of symphonic poems Má Vlast, or My Country, as well as for his folkloristic operas and string quartets. However, the Czech music great has also written a number of piano compositions. Czech pianist Miroslav Sekera recently released an album dedicated to Smetana’s piano works, confronting them with those by Franz Liszt.

“Smetana’s compositions are not as well-known as Franz Liszt’s works, and yet in many cases they are true piano masterpieces of the 19th century. I would like to prove that Bedřich Smetana was a composer comparable with Franz Liszt and that his music deserves to be performed at major concert venues worldwide.”

It was with this goal in mind that Miroslav Sekera recorded the album, simply called Bedřich Smetana and Franz Liszt: Piano Works.

The connection between the two composers is not accidental: both were excellent pianists and the piano played an important role, especially at the beginning of their artistic careers.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Patrik Uhlíř, ČTK

People in Brno paid tribute to Monty Python’s famous Ministry of Silly Walks sketch last week on the occasion of the 10th edition of the annual international day of silly walking.

Source

Photo: Czech School Without Borders London

The Czech School Without Borders has been running in London since 2007, allowing children with a Czech parent to enhance their language skills and meet other kids from bilingual families. On a recent visit to the UK, I stopped by the school to meet the teachers and children and see how this unique school operates.

It is around 9am on a bright autumn day and a year 1 class at a school in North London are about to start their first lesson of the day.

But this is no ordinary school in England. For one thing this lesson is taking place on a Saturday. And secondly, the kids are reading out loud what they did at the weekend from their diaries – which they wrote in Czech.

The person behind the Czech School Without Borders is Zuzana Jungmannová, the partner of artist Hynek Martinec, who immortally portrayed her in a hyper-realistic painting that won the BP Young Artist of the Year award in 2007. She is the face in the portrait, but also the brains behind the school.

She says she first got the seeds of the idea for the school after completing her diploma. She studied art with a focus on classical textile weaving and for her final project, she helped people with special needs make a series of tapestries. In doing so, she discovered that she loved working with people even more than with objects. It was her first sign that perhaps she was better suited to working with others rather than sitting alone in a studio.

“We moved to London and I was thinking, ‘maybe it’s time to start something new.’ It was tiny steps – we started with a small group and continued. In 2010, we decided to make an official statute, a charity, cooperating with the Czech side as well, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture. We have lovely relationships here in London as well with the Czech Centre and embassy, and now we are a settled and complete school for bilingual kids.”

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Author: Anna Fodor

The Plzeň 35th Regiment, Photo: VHÚ

The Plzeň 35th Regiment, whose fame is reflected in a song familiar to many Czechs, was founded in 1683.

The military annals of the Austrian monarchy state that Emperor Leopold I commissioned George Frederick, Duke of Württemberg, to set up an infantry regiment in January 1683.

The unit received the number 35 under Empress Maria Theresa, when it fought under General Laudon against the Prussians under King Frederick II.

It was an elite regiment that, in the spirit of the motto “We will endure until we win” on its banner, fought in the Napoleonic Wars and had a very long history after that.

The Thirty-Fivers, as they were known, had a famous song written about them by the Czech musician Karel Hašler, in 1918 Entitled Hoši jako květ (Boys Like Blooms), it went on to become an anthem of Plzeň’s soccer and ice hockey clubs.

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The 10th edition of Prague’s ÍRÁN:CI festival of Iranian film gets underway on Wednesday. This time it is taking place in the shadow of four months of unprecedented protests and brutal repression in Iran – a situation which has greatly shaped this year’s festival. Just before it began, I spoke to founder Kaveh Dashemand.

“The focus of the 10th edition of ÍRÁN:CI is going to be on the main theme of all the uprisings that are happening at the moment, which is Women, Life, Freedom.

“We are bringing some of the films that can reflect on this very urgent topic.

“Of course it’s impossible to bring films that actually show what is happening in Iran, because it’s only four months that all the uprisings are happening.

“But we have put a theme together that can bring some of the most outstanding, but at the same time controversial and oppositional, films from Iran to the 10th edition of the festival.”

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Czech scientists, in cooperation with their colleagues from Great Britain, are carrying out research aimed at tracing the origins of medieval Gregorian chants. They are doing so with the help of computational algorithms, that are commonly used in biology.

The Gregorian chant is a form of unaccompanied sacred song in Latin, which originated in Europe in Medieval times. The chants could be heard in cathedrals and small churches and served to pass sacred texts onto the next generation.

That’s why strict care was taken to ensure that they didn’t differ in any way, says Jan Hajič from the Masaryk Institute and the Archives, who is heading the research team:

“In practice, however, it turns out that it wasn’t so uniform. That’s what makes it interesting in terms of cultural evolution.”

To trace the origins of the famous melodies that are hundreds of years old, Jan Hajič and his colleagues will draw on a digital database of more than 15,000 Gregorian chants.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, zuzana machálková

Photo: Masaryk University Brno

A team of scientists from Brno has announced a unique discovery that could contribute to an innovative and sustainable way of lighting in the future, possibly even replacing electric light bulbs. The results of their study, based on the inner mechanisms of a bioluminescent sea coral, was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Catalysis.

More than four decades ago, scientists discovered that organisms living at the bottom of the ocean are able to produce light thanks to a glowing enzyme called luciferase. Until now, however, it has not been clear how the mechanism works.

Scientists from Loschmidt Laboratories, RECETOX and the Faculty of Science at the Masaryk University in Brno, who have been studying luciferase isolated from the sea pansy called Renilla reniformis, have now come up with an answer.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

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The 2023 Dakar Rally was only a few days away from ending and Czech rally raid truck driver Aleš Loprais was in the lead. But he has now confirmed that he is dropping out of the famous race following an incident where a spectator died after being hit by his truck.

The tragic accident took place on Tuesday evening in the ninth stage of the competition. Loprais said that he had not even been aware that the collision had happened at all.

“A human life was lost and it was de facto my fault because I was behind the wheel, but I have to say that I didn’t know anything about it and neither did any of the crew. But there is video proving it and in any case, that doesn’t change the fact that a human life was lost. Therefore I want to express my sincere condolences to the family, his loved ones and friends – I’m very sorry and this will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Author: Anna Fodor

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Despite the Velvet Divorce, relations between Czechia and Slovakia still remain very close. This is perhaps most evident in the Moravian Slovakia region, which lies on the border between the two countries. Radio Prague International visited the area in December and has this report.

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Authors: Zdenka Kuchyňová, Guillaume Narguet, Thomas McEnchroe

Although still a largely unknown sport among the majority of Czechs, cricket has been played in Czechia since at least the 1990s. Today the country boasts several leagues as well as a national team that has even set some records. The sport is especially popular among expats from Commonwealth countries, but there are also promising signs that the next generation of players may be home-grown.

Strolling through the fields of Vinoř near Prague on a summer weekend, you may find yourself wondering whether Czechia is not in fact part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Cricket, England’s iconic sport, has recently been experiencing a significant boom in the land more commonly known for its ice hockey legends.

“Every year you see a lot of people joining us, the count increases drastically. That kind of shows that it is getting popular in Czechia,” says Satyajit Sengupta, the captain of Spartans Cricket Club, one of Prague’s many teams that have sprung up in recent years.

Taking a look at the team you may be excused for thinking that Czech cricket is the domain of Indian expats. Indeed, the majority of players on the pitch are from South Asian countries, with some Britons, Australians and New Zealanders getting ready to play too, but Satyajit says that the locals have also expressed willingness to learn how to use a bat.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

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Photo: Jolana Nováková, Czech Radio

Prague’s Municipal Library has recently become a hit among foreign tourists visiting the Czech capital. The reason? An artwork called Idiom that has been in the library’s lobby since 1998, and which has just recently become a hit on social media.

Since late December, long queues of people have been forming in front of the entrance to the city’s Municipal Library in the city centre. They haven’t come to borrow books, however, but to check out an artwork called Idiom, created by Slovak artist Matěj Krén. One of the thousands of tourists to visit the place in recent weeks is Craig from Canada:

“I do a lot of travelling and when I go to a new country, I do a Google search on top 10 things to see in that country and this came up as a destination to see. What I do then is I find it on a map and when I get to the country, I go and check it out. So I never saw it on an Instagram account and never saw a video of it, but when I got here, I took a video and photos and I of course posted it on my Instagram and TikTok account!”

The circular structure, known as Column of Knowledge, is made out of 8,000 books. When you look inside, mirrors installed within the column create an impression of an endless tunnel.

The artwork was installed in the lobby of the Municipal Library in 1998, when it reopened after a three-year renovation, but it has only now become such a sensation, after becoming a hit on social media, including TikTok, explains journalist Janek Rubeš:

“Kids that were in Prague looking into their phones suddenly saw a cool thing that they liked and they wanted to see it as well. And as it is in today’s world, everyone wants to have the same picture or same video, because it looks cool and they can get likes. So that’s why there is a big line of people taking the same picture.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Adina Biguine, Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Adina Biguine was born in Kyrgyzstan, but spent more than half of her life in Prague. She originally came to the Czech capital to study at the Faculty of Humanities, but instead of psychology, she decided to pursue the art of pastry making. Today she is an executive pastry chef at Prague’s Café Milléme which has become known for its wide variety of international flavour fusions, mixing all sorts of unusual ingredients, from yuzu lemon, matcha tea and wasabi to blueberries and saffron. I met with Adina to discuss her life and work and I started by asking her when she first visited Prague:

“I first visited Czechia in 2006 when I was 15 years old. Prague was the first European capital that I had ever seen. Until then, Europe was something I only knew from films. I immediately fell in love with the place and with its parks, streets and architecture.”

What were your first impressions of the city?

“I remember it was summer and there were a lot of tourists and everybody was friendly and spoke English with me. I was 15 and it seemed like another world to me!

“Everything was different, including the climate and the air, which was much cleaner and not as hot as in Kyrgyzstan. We also visited Karlovy Vary and Český Krumlov and I just immediately grew fond of the country.”

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

The Czech government has approved an amendment to the Road Traffic Act that will mean higher penalties for the most serious transgressions such as speeding and drink-driving, while allowing young people to start driving a year earlier, from the age of 17, under the supervision of a parent. The proposed changes are expected to go into force next year.

Czech roads are not the safest in Europe. According to preliminary statistics, 468 people died and over 1,600 were seriously injured in road accidents in Czechia last year.

The most serious transgressions, which often result in fatal accidents, are speeding, drink-driving and using a hand-held mobile phone while driving. Under the proposed bill, all of these transgressions will result in steeper fines. The penalty points system will be simplified to two, four or six points for a given violation. Transgressions such as speeding and drink driving will result in higher fines and a maximum six penalty points. With a maximum limit of 12 points this means “two strikes and you are out” for serious transgressions and “three strikes and you are out” for less serious ones. On reaching 12 points the driver’s license is confiscated for the duration of a year after which they have to take tests anew.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

On moving to the Czech Republic, many foreigners are surprised to find famous women such as Hillary Clinton and Meryl Streep referred to in the Czech media as ‘Hillary Clintonová’ and ‘Meryl Streepová’. Now one Czech news outlet has sparked debate on the matter, after dropping this practice for foreign women’s surnames.

Deník N published an editorial on New Year’s Day announcing that it was no longer going to use the suffix ‘-ová’ for foreign women’s surnames – a decision that has divided its readership, with some welcoming it and others strongly criticising it.

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Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Office of Czech Government

Monday saw no fewer than nine former Czech prime ministers attend a special dinner hosted by the country’s current head of government, Petr Fiala. The get together was organised on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of independent Czech and Slovak republics. A special concert, attended by Slovakia’s Prime Minister Eduard Heger, was then held in Prague’s Rudolfinum, where both leaders paid tribute to Czechoslovakia and its modern day successors.

After the traditional New Year’s lunch with the president on Monday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala sat down to a special dinner with his predecessors in office over the past 30 years.

“Despite some of us being political opponents who hold different opinions on things, I think it’s a good idea. I want all of us to be together. All of those who held the responsibility and had the opportunity to lead this country’s government, be in charge of the executive and help forge this country’s future. I want us to meet and celebrate this important anniversary.”

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Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Michaela Říhová, ČTK

Days after it ended, cabinet members publicly assessed Czechia’s presidency of the European Union on Tuesday. The Europe minister said the country’s success during six months at the helm of the EU had surprised fellow members – and improved its international image.

A special news conference on Tuesday looking back at the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU began with a glossy video.

Images of Czech leaders in action – and visiting European dignitaries – were accompanied by swelling music.

The government’s evaluation of Czechia’s six-month stint as the face of Europe was similarly upbeat, with the minister for European Affairs, Mikuláš Bek, telling reporters that the Czech presidency had been a “surprising success” in the eyes of many EU states.

“We have been receiving major commendations from our partners.

“This is undoubtedly in part because expectations weren’t so high; the Czech Republic had a name as a Hungarian satellite, somewhere on the periphery of Europe.

“And during those six months we managed to significantly shift perceptions of the Czech Republic.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Next year Prague is set to see the goodbye concert of Kiss, a return of Maroon 5 and the first ever visit of Jack Black’s Tenacious D. In Brno, locals can look forward to bands such as Deep Purple or the Hollywood Vampires led by Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper.

It’s not a Kiss concert unless it’s accompanied by lots of fireworks, flames, masks and effects. June will see Kiss perform its 10th concert in Czechia and, since this is part of the legendary band’s End of the Road World Tour, it’s guaranteed to be an epic goodbye in Prague’s O2 Arena. Czechia’s largest indoor stadium is set to host two Iron Maiden concerts in May.

The world-famous pop rock band Maroon 5 is also set to play in Prague. Three years after their last showing in the O2 Arena, the band led by American singer and songwriter Adam Levine is set to perform as part of the June Prague Rocks Festival. The concert will take place in Letňany.

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Authors: Klára Stejskalová, Thomas McEnchroe

Czechs and Slovaks are marking 30 years since they parted in what has become known as the Velvet Divorce. Although the two nations have gone their separate ways, culturally they remain very close and nowhere is this more evident than in the sphere of music.

Almost every year at least one Czech and Slovak duet hits the airwaves and many of them have become hits. We have selected some of the best Czech-Slovak duets born after the break-up. The first by the Czech band Chinaski and Slovakia’s No Name, recorded in 2007 is about the friendship that survived the divorce.

In the years following the break-up there was inevitably a feeling of nostalgia for the common state which lasted for over seven decades. This was a sentiment that Chinaski and the Slovak singer Bára Hosnedlová reflected in their song Česká vlajka má Slovenský klín – the Czech flag has a Slovak wedge –referring to the blue triangle wedged between the red and white strips of what is now the Czech flag.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Stigma around mental health issues and seeking professional help to deal with them has traditionally been high in Czechia. But a survey suggests attitudes may be changing, even among the older generation.

According to OECD data, Czechia seems at first glance to be a country where people suffer from mental health problems significantly less than elsewhere on the continent – only 15% of the population reported having a mental health problem in 2016, the fourth lowest proportion in Europe.

But the reality may be somewhat different. As the Ministry of Health points out in its Mental Health Action Plan for 2020-2030, the stigmatisation of mental illnesses is still extremely high in Czechia by European standards, both in the general population and among doctors. Because of this, people are afraid to admit that their mental health is suffering, so while it may seem that Czechs are mentally healthier than most of the rest of Europe, this may not be the full picture.

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Author: Anna Fodor

František Kupka was the first artist in the world to publicly exhibit abstract art and received a lot of negative reviews for doing so. But nowadays his abstract paintings sell for millions – in 2021 one of his works fetched over GBP 7.5 million (over CZK 230 million) at an auction at Sotheby’s in London, the highest amount a Czech painting has ever sold for at auction.

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Monument of Jaroslav Hašek in Lipnice, Photo: Eva Odstrčilová, Czech Radio

Jaroslav Hašek, author of the most translated Czech book The Good Soldier Švejk, died 100 years ago today ( January 3, 1923) before he had reached the age of forty. Vit Pohanka looks at the life and work of this improbable titan of Czech literature.

The adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War is considered to be one of the gems of European, if not world literature. This satirical anti-war novel was not an immediate success when it was first published. Some Czech critics even considered it “pulp fiction”. But a century after the author’s death Švejk is more than just a classic literary character: he is a phenomenon. Professor Pavel Janoušek works at the Institute of Czech Literature of the Czech Academy of Sciences:

“Švejk is a literary type that reaches the level of Don Quixote by Cervantes or Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. These are characters that in a way leave the original literary work and live their own life. People know (or think they know) who they are even without reading the books. There is no doubt that if Hašek had not written The Good Soldier Švejk he would never have gained such a high level of international acclaim and recognition.”

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: John Wilson / Netflix

One of the biggest movies in the world at present, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, has a Czech connection. The Netflix hit heavily features crystal sculptures made by a small company from North Bohemia.

The current number one film globally on Netflix is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Rian Johnson’s big budget movie stars such names as Daniel Craig and Kate Hudson – and a large number of Czech-made crystal sculptures.

They are the work of the company Pačinek Glass, which is based in Kunratice u Cvikova in North Bohemia.

Founder and master glass maker Jiří Pačinek says collaboration began when the film’s producers came across the name after entering “Czech glass” in a Google search.

It was a demanding commission, with 60 or so pieces – originals and copies – having to be completed in around a month.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Millions of people round the world have got used to seeing the New Year in with a grandiose fireworks display. Now Czech scientists from the Academy of Sciences are warning about the damage that the harmful chemicals from fireworks can do to our health.

On New Year’s Eve tons of harmful chemicals from a vast variety of fireworks are released into the air. The substances are not banned and no one monitors how much of them gets into the environment. Scientists can only make a rough estimate based on the amount of fireworks sold. Petr Klusoň from the Czech Academy of Sciences says the health hazard is underestimated.

“Many people who attend the celebrations feel bad the day after and sometimes for longer. They naturally put it down to having drunk too much champagne. In actual fact they are more likely to be feeling the effects of acute smog poisoning. On New Year’s Eve about 12 and a half tons of magnesium, ten and a half tons of barium, a ton of strontium, almost a ton of titanium, half a ton of copper and 1.2 tons of rubidium pollute the air in Czechia. That is the amount that eventually descends on us and that we breathe in. If ten percent of that mix was produced once a year by any factory, its management would end up in prison.”

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Martin Srb

Viktor Fainberg, Photo: Vít Šimánek, ČTK

Soviet-era Russian dissident Viktor Fainberg, one of the eight brave human rights activists who risked their lives to protest against the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, has died at the age of 91. Fainberg was locked up in a psychiatric hospital for five years for his brave action and later emigrated to the West where he remained a vocal defender of human rights the world over.

On August 25th, 1968, just four days after Soviet tanks rolled through Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring reform movement, eight brave Russians gathered in Moscow’s Red Square to protest against the invasion, unfurling banners that read “Hands off Czechoslovakia!” and “Shame to the Invaders!”. They were linguist Viktor Fainberg, academic Konstantin Babitski, student Tatiana Bayeva, philosopher Larisa Bogoraz, poet Vadim Delone, manual worker Vladimir Dremliuga, mathematician Pavel Litvinov and Natalya Gorbanevskaya, a young mother of two pushing a pram with her 3-month-old-baby. Their brave protest was short-lived. The square was full of secret police in plainclothes who cracked down on the group, knocking Fainberg’s teeth in and beating Litvinov over the head, before throwing them all into a police van. In an interview for Czech Radio, years later, Fainberg explained what made him take the risk.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Demand is falling and the economy is headed for recession according to the head of the Czech National Bank Aleš Michl. Meanwhile, the IMF’s chief Kristalina Georgieva has said that half of the European Union will experience a recession in 2023. So is a recession coming and how hard will Czechia be hit? Those are some of the questions I put to Cyrrus bank economist Vít Hradil.

“I do agree and I would be more specific than that. I would say that we actually are in a recession as we speak. Recession is defined as two quarters of real GDP decrease. We already saw the first one in the third quarter of 2022. Now we are just waiting for data for the fourth quarter, but I am pretty sure that there is going to be a decline there as well.

“So we already are in a recession, at least as far as I am concerned. I think that we will probably be more affected than most of the other countries in the EU.”

Mr Michl also said that getting on top of inflation would remain the priority for the Czech National Bank also this year and that the recession could help with this process. Do you think inflation will start decreasing noticeably in the spring, as the head of the Czech National Bank promised?

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

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The European Commission recently approved a new prostate cancer drug called Pluvicto, co-developed by a Czech researcher. The revolutionary treatment, designed for patients with advanced prostate cancer for whom other treatments have proved ineffective, is being administered in Czechia as part of a clinical trial at the Olomouc University Hospital.

Ladislav, who has suffered from prostate cancer for several years now, is one of the first patients in Czechia to receive the new radioactive drug. Two years ago he started hormone treatment and since February he has gradually switched to a clinical trial with Pluvicto.

The revolutionary treatment that delivers radiation to specifically targeted cancer cells was developed at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Andrea Skalická

Czechoslovakism, the idea of a unitary political Czechoslovak nation with two ethnic and linguistic branches, was one of the foundational ideas of the First Czechoslovak Republic. It was born of both political pragmatism and 19th century nationalism. However, by the time of the Second World War, the idea was clinically dead and would instead be replaced by a new strive for federalisation.

When the Czechoslovak state declared its independence from Austria-Hungary in October 1918 it identified as a unitary political Czechoslovak nation with two ethnic and linguistic branches. But where did this concept come from? And why did it fail?

The origins of Czech and Slovak identity

“We have to understand that national identities at the beginning of the 19th century were not yet completely defined. For most of the agrarian population, the fact that they spoke some kind Slavic dialect was not related to some sort of national identity.

“They usually had some territorial, local identity. They had very developed confessional identities, but not national ones as we know them today. That means that, for all nations in Central Europe, including Czechs and Slovaks, there were always more options in the 19th century.”

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Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Vladimír Mečiar and Václav Klaus|Photo: ČT24

This January marks 30 years since the end of the common Czech and Slovak state. While some of the phenomena that ultimately led to the Czechoslovak split can be identified already in the early and mid-20th century, the separation of the two nations ended up being driven by politicians. Three decades on, Czechs still regret the end of Czechoslovakia more than Slovaks.

The state of Czechoslovakia was born in an atmosphere of pan-Slavic brotherhood in October 1918. It survived both the Second World War as well as four decades of Communist rule. However, less than three years after the country re-emerged as a democratic nation, Czechoslovakia would end up becoming two countries – the Czech and Slovak republics.

Contemporary historiography argues that the causes of the Czech-Slovak split stretch back far into the past. They include the failure of Czechoslovakism to truly take root during the First Republic period or the inability of the 1968 constitution to successfully address the question of how to federalise.

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Author: Radio Prague International

“A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.” This is the maxim often cited to explain the sometimes arbitrary distinctions between languages and dialects. So what about the case of Czech and Slovak, which are generally considered to be mutually intelligible? Were they always considered to be separate languages, even when Czechoslovakia was one country? And has anything changed linguistically since the nations went their separate ways politically?

Tomáš is a computer programmer from Košice, Slovakia, who has been living in Prague for 13 years. He first moved here at the age of 18 to go to university and says the language was never a problem for him to understand, and he was able to pick up how to speak it after about a year. However, he says his spoken Czech is far from perfect.

“There was a prime minister in Czechia called Babiš, who is a guy of Slovak origin who moved in and learnt to speak Czech. But whenever he got angry he switched back to Slovak, and now he doesn’t speak either language properly. And I think I’m quite similar to him in this regard. I do understand Czech 100%, but when I speak I don’t get the declinations right – which doesn’t prevent me from getting the point across, but people recognise it after the first sentence, that I’m not from here.”

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Author: Anna Fodor

Traditionally, the arrival of the New Year kicks off the largest and most successful fund-raiser in the country. The Three Kings Collection involves thousands of children taking to the streets in groups of three dressed as the three wise men, singing carols and collecting money for charity.

Organized by the Catholic charity Caritas CR, the Three Kings Collection is the largest and most trusted charity event in the country. It was inspired by the Christmas tradition of caroling and, since its launch 23 years ago, it has collected over 1.3 billion crowns for the needy.

Throughout the country thousands of volunteers, mostly young children, take to the streets dressed as Kaspar, Melichar and Balthazar – the three wise men, later known as kings, who followed the star of Bethlehem to find the new-born Jesus. They go caroling from house to house, wishing people Happy New Year and leaving their initials – ‘K + M + B’ – on door frames as a symbol of blessing. The letters also stand for “Christus mansionem benedicat” (May Christ bless this house) and the chalks they write with have been blessed by a local bishop. In smaller towns and villages, people put their names on lists of households that the children have been asked to visit, so as to make sure they will not be left out.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

It weighs just two kilograms and can be packed for travel, but it sounds just like the wooden original. The 3D printed cellos made by the Přerov-based company Sensio.cz are being exported across the world and the business has plans to expand its instrument range further.

It was during the coronavirus pandemic that Ondřej Kratochvíl and his friend Jan Tobolík decided to buy a 3D printer from Prusa Design and start printing cellos.

“We tried to maintain at least the outlines of the instrument, so that our cello would resemble the original. It may have a slight modern futuristic feel, but it still contains everything that the musician needs. It even has a phone case for notes,” says Mr Kratochvíl.

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Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Alžběta Havlová

In response to the Taliban‘s crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan, several international aid organisations, including the Czech NGO People in Need, have suspended their programmes in the country.

Last weekend the Afghan Ministry of the Economy issued an order that all female NGO employees are no longer allowed to work until further notice.

Among the organisations that have been impacted by this measure is the largest Czech human rights NGO: People in Need. Tomáš Kocián is responsible for the Middle Eastern region within People in Need.

„Currently, women make up around a third of the 140 employees that we have in Afghanistan. Right now, we have to let them stay at home or we would lose our registration which allows us to operate in the country. We will have to see how the situation develops in the coming days and weeks.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Petr Král, zuzana machálková

Czech artist Yemi Ayinkemi Dele (professionally known as Yemi A.D.) is one of eight people selected to join Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on a trip around the Moon on board Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket next year. The dancer and choreographer with Nigerian roots, who has worked with Madonna and Kanye West, was handpicked from more than a million candidates. I caught up with him shortly after the news was announced to discuss what it feels like to be Czechia’s first space tourist, and started by asking him how he got involved in the project:

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

‘Dormant’, Toyen (1937)|Photo repro: Karel Srp, ‘Toyen’/Argo

Toyen was unconventional in many ways for a woman of her time and even by today’s standards, both in her life and art. She rejected gender conformism, favouring a gender-neutral pseudonym over her birth name, referring to herself in Czech using masculine grammatical forms when speaking in the first person, and often dressing in masculine-style clothing. She portrayed themes of violence and sexuality in her works at a time when this was very unusual for women, and joined several avant-garde artistic movements, including male-dominated surrealist groups. Her surrealist artworks are still highly prized by art collectors today.

See the rest here.

Lucy Erent’s father and grandparents, Leningrad 1977, Photo: archive of Lucy Erent

This is the last episode in our series A Stitch in Time, where young people tell stories from their family’s past. We have a taste of sugarcane from Guangdong province in China, we meet a Jewish boy in Baltimore who remembers his own circumcision, and a teenager from Brno takes us to a twilight zone of the unexplained.

These three very different stories reflect the complexities and some of the mysteries of the world we live in. Nathalie Rowe from Brno recounts an experience her father had as a soldier, for which no one has ever been able to offer a rational explanation. An-Li Frisk imagines her biological parents having to leave their life in rural China to go to the city, and Lucienne Erent tells the story of her father, leaving the Soviet Union as a thirteen-year-old for a new life in the United States.

See the rest here.

Author: David Vaughan

Ester Ledecká, Photo: Roman Vondrouš, ČTK

Ester Ledecká has been crowned Czech Sportsperson of the Year for the second time. The 27-year-old took her third Olympic gold medal in Beijing – but perhaps surprisingly says that wasn’t the high point of her 2022.

Ester Ledecká was named Czech Sportsperson of the Year at a ceremony at Prague’s Hilton Hotel on Wednesday night.

She received 1,593 votes in the 64th annual poll of sports journalists.

The 27-year-old finished more than 250 points ahead of her closest rivals, the tennis doubles pairing of Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková, while ice hockey star David Pastrňák came third.

Ledecká was previously named Sportsperson of the Year in 2018, the year she took Olympic gold in both parallel giant slalom, a snowboarding event, and the Super-G in alpine skiing.

It was the first time in history that a woman had topped the podium in two different sports at one Olympics.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Technologie hlavního města Prahy

The number of electric vehicles in Czechia is growing and according to official estimates their number could reach 100,000 by 2030. Most of them will be in the capital city. Prague has therefore decided to increase the number of charging stations available. Drivers will find them, among other places, in the smart lampposts lining the streets of Prague’s Vinohrady district.

The electric chargers are built into selected city lamps, to prevent new installations cramming sidewalks. Drivers should look for a black box with cables and pictograms explaining how to use the station. Most of the stations allow two vehicles to be charged at the same time, and a total of 13 new chargers have now been installed in Prague’s Vinohrady district.

Until the end of the year, Prague residents can charge their cars for free without registration, they just need to connect the cable. As of next year, it will be possible to charge in two ways. The first is a one-time recharge without registration via a QR code, the second is via registration, where drivers get a recharge chip. Tomáš Jílek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague Technologies explains.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Karolína Burdová

Virtually every Czech household will be eating some form of potato salad as part of their Christmas Eve dinner – but everyone seems to have their own recipe and surprisingly the list of ingredients can spark heated debate between the “traditionalist” and “liberal” camps. To find out what most Czechs put into their potato salad, and whether there are any significant regional differences, a team of data journalists at Czech Radio polled a number of listeners and did a statistical analysis on the results.

Petr Kočí, part of the team behind the survey, describes how the data was collected.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

This edition of Sunday Music Show marks the Fourth Sunday of Advent, called Golden Sunday here in Czechia, when people light the last candle on their Christmas wreath. To help you get into the festive spirit we’ll be listening to some of the best known Czech Christmas songs, featuring Karel Gott, Eva Farna and other Czech pop stars.

See the list here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Running a successful small business requires a combination of hard work, planning, and the ability to adapt to changing conditions. In order to achieve success, you must be prepared to go the extra mile and make smart decisions that will benefit your business in the long run. Operating a small business can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences, but it’s also one of the most challenging things you will ever do. Luckily, there are some important factors to consider when running a small business that will allow you to turn those challenges into opportunities.

A digital marketing strategy

As more people move online for information about new services and products, it’s crucial for your business to be present on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This can help you build your brand and get potential customers excited about what you have to offer. Not only that, but you should also create a professional website which can feature relevant blog posts for you chosen domain. Digital marketing strategies revolve around optimizing your content with SEO principles, which will make your pages rank high on the web. You can also advertise by creating video content on YouTube or by leveraging email strategies such as newsletters.

Good customer service

People want to do business with companies they trust, so it’s important that your company provides good customer service from start to finish. This includes making sure your employees are friendly and knowledgeable about your products or services, answering questions in a timely manner via email or calls. Customer service can also be enhanced if you automate a part of your responses using AI chatbots on your website.

Improving the work culture

It’s important for employees at all levels of an organization to understand why their work matters within the context of the overall mission. There are ways you can make this happen and ensure that everyone’s motivation and productivity is high. The workplace itself is a reflection of your work culture. And in order to keep everyone motivated you should maximally improve the way your office building feels and looks. You can do this by hiring Strata maintenance professionals to help you keep the company premises in perfect condition, whether that’s waste management, painting the walls or landscaping. In addition, you can include team building events and employee training to level up your work culture.

Planning measurable goals

Planning ahead for future growth opportunities can help ensure that your company continues scaling over time without having any issues with cash flow at any given point in time when things might get tough financially due to unforeseen circumstances, such as losing employees or dealing with sudden market changes. If you don’t have a plan, how do you know what to focus on? A good plan has a few key components: actionable goals that will continually inspire your workforce, and a timeline for achieving those goals so you know when to celebrate successes or when to try something else. Tactics are another important component, as they make your goals into a reality. They may vary depending on what kind of business you’re running, so think carefully about which ones will work best for you and your clients. Lastly, metrics allow you to measure how well your tactics are working, so that you know how and when to pivot.

Cutting costs

When you’re running a small business, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and forget about your resources. You might be so busy taking care of customers, hiring new employees and vendors, and ensuring that everything is running smoothly, that you don’t have time to focus on asset and resource management. That includes everything from how much money each department is spending on supplies to making sure your office space isn’t being wasted by housing too much furniture or not having enough electricity fixtures installed correctly so they actually work properly without having any power issues which could lead to safety hazards and added costs.

As you can see, planning your business is one of the best ways to ensure that everything runs smoothly and effectively. You should also pay attention to all the other business aspects such as improving your customer service, creating a better work culture, and cutting costs.

By Peter Minkoff

Peter is a lifestyle and travel writer at Men-Ual magazine, living between Ústí nad Labem and Antwerp. Follow Peter on Twitter for more tips.

The number of cross-cultural marriages in Czechia is on the rise. Last year alone close to 5,000 Czechs tied the knot with a partner from a different cultural background. Kevin Loo explores the challenges and joys of being married to a Czech partner and making a new home in Czechia.

Starting a new life with someone from a different cultural background can be exciting and challenging in equal measure. There are language barriers, cultural differences and even clashing values within the broader family to be overcome.

How hard is it for the foreign nationals who fall in love with and marry a Czech to settle here, make new friends and bring up their children far from home? Kevin Loo spoke with the spouses of Czech partners to find out more about their experience.

Lauren, who comes from the US, admits to initially being fascinated with classical European notions of romance.

See the rest here.

Author: Kevin Loo

Josef Moravec (left) was the first lung transplant patient in the Cz.rep. In the photo with doctors Pavle Pafek (right), Robert Lischek (second from left) and Jaromír Kabát (December 22, 1997), Photo: FN Motol

The first lung transplantation was performed by the team of Professor Pavel Pafko from the Prague Motol University Hospital on December 22, 1997.

The first patient with a lung transplant in Czechia is Josef Moravec, from Nymburk. The man, who was 41 years old at the time, was in the final stage of an inflammatory disease of the lung chambers that could lead to respiratory failure. A lung replacement was his only hope. The donor was a 26-year-old man who suffered a deadly gunshot injury. Moravec lived with his new lung for six years.

The lung transplant programme in Motol is currently headed by Robert Lischke. In 2014, he headed a team that performed the second ever combined lung and heart transplant in Czechia.

See the rest here.

For readers around the world, Josef Lada’s illustrations of the Good Soldier Švejk are inextricably linked to the famous character created by Jaroslav Hašek. But Lada did far more than illustrate Hašek’s novel, and his idealised paintings of carol singers and family gatherings are an enduring symbol of Christmas for many in Czechia.

Josef Lada was born in the village of Hrusice, just outside Prague, in 1887. His father was a cobbler and the family were poor, and little Josef lost an eye when he fell out of his cradle and landed on one of his father’s knives.

However, Lada seems to have had a happy childhood – and loved Christmas. Years later he recalled with relish the traditional foods his family prepared, and said he loved their small and modestly decorated Christmas trees more than wealthier boys whose trees reached the ceiling.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Kino Pilotů, Photo: Martina Kutková, Radio Prague International

Independent Prague cinema Kino Pilotů received a prize for Best Programming at the Europa Cinemas Awards earlier this month – the first time a Czech movie theatre has won. But what makes the small “kino” so special?

Film buffs and cinema enthusiasts are never at a loss for places to go in Prague – the city is home to several top-notch independent cinemas. One of the most popular is Kino Pilotů in Prague’s Vršovice district, which gets its name from the fact that it was operated by the former Union of Czechoslovak Pilots in the 1930s. The cinema has a history dating back to the early 20th century when it was a purely open-air cinema that screened films outdoors, before the present-day building was constructed.

But the cinema in its current form opened its doors in 2016, under the management of married couple Jan Macola and Alžběta Macolová. Alžběta spoke to Radio Prague soon after the prize was announced.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Martina Kutková

Over a million Christmas trees are sold in Czechia each year, many of them having been imported from as far as Denmark and Norway. A new initiative, called Zachraň stromek or Save a Tree, has come up with a more sustainable way of celebrating Christmas. It offers locally grown trees that would never make it to the market due to their imperfections. I discussed the project with one of its authors, Jana Brišová, and first asked her how she got the idea to sell crooked Christmas trees:

“We were actually on a hike with my friends in South Bohemia and as we walked through a forest, we saw a tree that was really twisted. My friends were making fun of it and I felt sorry for the tree, so I said I would have it in my living room at Christmas.

“This is how we got into a discussion about imperfect trees and whether every tree that farmers grow is perfect. We did a bit of research and found out it was just the opposite.”

Where do these imperfect, crooked trees come from?

“After our research, we approached small business and farmers in South Bohemia and we offered to buy these imperfect trees from them. Because they all have such trees that they have to get rid of. So we were decided to offer them to people so as to save them.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Nobody is as impacted by the freezing weather we have had recently in Czechia as the homeless. However, some are being helped by the Iglou, which offers an alternative to night shelters. The portable emergency shelter was introduced to this country by Frenchman Manu Chilaud and his partner Pavla Klečková – and the two are now bringing it to states as far afield as Canada. Chilaud spoke to me from Ostrava, where he has lived for some years and, alongside non-profit work with Iglou, is senior director of manufacturing for a major international firm.

“The Iglou looks like a small tunnel made of polyethylene foam, which is a professional insulation material, and which the person sleeping inside can close at both ends, with two doors that are made from the same material.

“This makes it so the person inside is warming the inside by their own body warmth and body temperature.

“This means you don’t need anything else than having the user inside to get 15 to 20 degrees Celsius additional inside, compared to outside.

“You can imagine, it’s minus 10 outside these days and a person sleeping inside would have some plus temperature.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Illustrative Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

Czechia’s six-month presidency of the European Union is slowly coming to a close. Petr Fiala’s cabinet took over the role at a challenging moment, with Russia still waging war against Ukraine and energy prices rocketing. So what have been the main achievements of the Czech presidency? That’s a question I put to Filip Nerad, head of the international news department at Czech Radio.

“I would say generally it was keeping the EU united during these very difficult times.

“Because you still have the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the energy crisis and the EU discussed a lot of measures to deal with these things.

“And even though there were some problems, some disagreements, in the end the Czech presidency reached an agreement and kept the EU united.

“From this general point of view, I think that was the biggest achievement.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

On Saturday, December 24, many Czechs will be putting up and decorating Christmas trees – and enjoying the common seasonal dinner of carp and potato salad. But while Czech seasonal traditions are much loved, some are relatively new – and have fascinating regional variations.

As the director of Czechia’s National Institute of Folk Culture in Strážnice, Martin Šimša is an expert on customs of all kinds, including Christmas ones.

Virtually every Czech home will be adorned with a Christmas tree on Saturday, with a lot of families erecting and decorating their tree on Christmas Eve itself.

But, Mr. Šimša told Czech Radio, the festive tree is a relatively new phenomenon in this part of the world.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

As our Christmas gift to you, RPI is showcasing some Czech Christmas traditions for you to try at home. Do you already practice any of these?

Watch the video here.

Despite the economic crisis, Czechs have donated a record amount to charity this year. According to preliminary statistics of the Czech Donors Forum, the final sum collected in 2022 is expected to reach some CZK 15 billion. This year, the money was mostly raised to help war-stricken Ukraine.

In recent years, Czechs have shown themselves to be increasingly charitable and 2022 has only confirmed the trend. According to preliminary data, private donors, including firms and foundations, have already raised around nine billion crowns. The final sum, however, will be much higher, says head of the Donors Forum Klára Šplíchalová.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Český Krumlov, one of Czechia’s best preserved historic towns, is celebrating three decades since it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The listing placed the town on the global tourist map with tens of millions of visitors having traveled there since.

While today Czechia boasts no fewer than 16 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, in the immediate years after the fall of Communism there were none. That changed in December 1992, when the international organization decided to admit the historic centers of Prague, Telc and Český Krumlov into the exclusive club.

The man in charge of administering the iconic castle in the center of the city, Dr Pavel Slavko, still recalls the moment when he got the news.

See the rest here.

Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Petr Kubát

Photo: Miloš Ruml, ČTK

Angels on stilts are one of the popular attractions that create a magical Christmas atmosphere in the historic center of Prague.

Source

Speech by H.E. Mr. Egemen Bağış, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Prague

Today on this cold winter day, most of us came here with our comfortable cars in our warm and cozy clothing. And we will stay here for less than an hour. However some people who were forced to be here in 1940’s were not as lucky. We are here to pay our respects to them.

Excellencies,
Director of Terezin Memorial, Mr. Jan Roubinek,
Historian Mr. Tomas Federovic,
Distinguished guests and the representatives of the diplomatic missions in Prague,

Together with you today, I have the honour to announce here, the placement of the memorial plaque by the Republic of Türkiye, in memory of the Turkish Citizens as well as all the other victims of the Holocaust who suffered in the Ghetto Terezin.

Although the Turkish territory remained outside the area where millions of Jews and others were brutally mass murdered during the Second World War, as a nation we have always been fully aware of the unique nature of the Holocaust. We condemn antisemitism in the strongest terms and continue to exert every effort to fight against it.

As some of you may already know, during the second World War, Turkish diplomats serving in Europe were the heroic pioneers of saving lives of the Jewish people who were suffering from the brutal regime and helped them secure their lives throughout Europe and Türkiye. I would like to mention here the names of Ambassadors; Mr. Selahattin Ülkümen, Mr. Necdet Kent and Mr.Behiç Erkin with respect and gratitute.

One of these heroes, Ambassador Ülkümen also lost his beloved pregnant wife after a subsequent air raid of the Turkish diplomatic mission. She was wounded and lived just long enough to deliver a healthy baby. In retaliation of then Consul General Ülkümen’s support to Jews, Nazi planes bombed the Turkish consulate in Rhodes. Killed after the bombing were Ülkümen’s wife Mihrinissa Ülkümen, leaving behind their newborn son Mehmet. The Germans quickly detained and deported Consul General Ülkümen to mainland Greece and confined him for the remainder of the war.

As Mr. Fedorović could much better inform us later, according to the information provided by the Ghetto Memorial, 9 people whose names are among the Terezin prisoners were or claimed to be Turkish nationals before being declared stateless by the occupying forces. Out of a total of 9 people, eight of them survived, and one woman unfortunately died.

There was also another group that included individuals who were either born in Türkiye or had Turkish origin, but their nationality was unknown. In this group, there were 23 people, only 9 survived but 14 died. Among the 24 names, one name in particular stands out, he was recorded as having parents who came from Istanbul. And that name was Siegmund Freud…

Our lands have always been a safehaven for Jewish people. Our country embraced Jewish people as she embraced all other people who were in need of security and peace. Through the centuries Jewish citizens of our country lived in peace and I believe that, as a nation, we display an excellent example of peaceful coexistence in a country which is a mosaic of cultures and religions.

Our country and government are fully concerned about the distortion and/or denial of the Holocaust as a rising phenomenon. With this understanding Turkiye became co-sponsor of the resolution titled “Holocaust denial” adopted on January 20, 2022 at the UN General Assembly. Turkish Republic also has become one of the signatories of the “Terezin Declaration” in 2009 and an observer country to International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) since 2008. We continue to contribute to the valuable work of the Alliance by promoting Holocaust remembrance, education and combating antisemitism.

Türkiye, in addition to actively supporting IHRA’s goals and work on the subject as an observer country, also takes part in the activities of other relevant international and regional organizations in this field. We should all be vigilant about new manifestations of contemporary forms of racism, antisemitism, xenophobia and anti-Islam. This arises from our common responsibility to make sure that such a tragedy never takes place ever again.

I would like to thank accomplished musician and writer Ms. Renan Koen who came all the way from Istanbul to represent the Jewish community of Turkiye. We will be listening to her piano recital during the second part of our ceremony.

I would also like to thank and extend our gratitude to Mr. Jan Roubinek, the Director of Terezin Memorial and his team for their support to the organization of the ceremony and to all our guests participating in this special ceremony which is very meaningful for us.

This event is another important step in Holocaust remembrance, reflecting and tackling injustices from the time of the Holocaust and combating antisemitism.

Photo: Mirekk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

The best place to live in Czechia is the Central Bohemian town of Říčany, followed by Prague according to this year’s Quality of Life Index put together by the Obce v Datech project. The annual list is created by using big data analysis to crunch a wide array of statistics ranging from community services, to work, education and health conditions.

If you’re looking for the ideal place to settle down in Czechia then Říčany, a town with a population of around 16,000 which lies to the east of Prague, is probably your best bet. At least according to the annual Quality of Life Index, which has placed it at the top of its list for the past five years in a row.

The town has the best access to health services, the best environment and the best access to jobs in the whole country, the index suggests.

Prague came in second overall in this year’s list, ranking highest in areas such as access to services, transportation, security and activities. However, the index placed it as one of the worst places in the country when it comes to affordable housing.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Jan Zwilling, BioRescue/Zoo Dvůr Králové

An international team of scientists working to save the northern white rhino from extinction has announced a major breakthrough. They have succeeded in cultivating primordial germ cells, the precursors of rhino eggs and sperm, from stem cells. I discussed the latest achievement with Jan Stejskal of Dvůr Králové Zoo, which is spearheading the international effort to save the rhinos:

“Basically, what is necessary to for us to save the northern white rhino, is to produce embryos, and there are two ways to achieve that.

“One is to collect the eggs from the last living donors that are now in Kenya and the other way is to produce eggs through reprogramming tissue in vitro.

“We started work on producing eggs in a laboratory environment years ago. The first step was to derive so-called induced pluripotent stem cells from a tissue sample. This was done in the Max Delbruck Centre in Berlin.

“Now, our colleagues in Osaka have made another breakthrough. They succeeded in creating primordial germ cells from these induced pluripotent stem cells. So it is one more step, and a very important one, on the way to acquire eggs in a laboratory.”

What other steps are needed to complete the process of creating artificial eggs and sperm?

“Now we have to learn how to turn these primordial germ cells into eggs and sperm. What might be interesting to your listeners is that primordial germ cells still contain two sets of chromosomes. So our colleagues have to learn how to produce cells that would have only one set of chromosomes.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

The Ambassador of Pakistan H.H Mr. Muhammad Khalid Jamali host at his resident a reception for the participants and organizers of 7th interfaith conference jointly being organized by Czech ministry of Foreign affairs, IIR, Anna lindh foundation and OIC informal Prague group.

Ambassadors representing the Muslim countries in Prague and other distingue guest attend the reception.

Next day the conference took place in Prague.

Photo: Barbora Nováková, ČTK

A new street dedicated to the late Czech president, dissident and playwright Václav Havel was unveiled in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The ceremony, marking a symbolic end to the Czech presidency of the EU Council, was attended by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel.

Dozens of people gathered in the Kirchberg district in Luxembourg on Tuesday to see the unveiling of Rue Václav Havel, a street named after the world-renowned dissident, playwright and former Czechoslovak and Czech president.

The street was inaugurated by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who said it was a great honour to have a street named after Václav Havel in Luxembourg. He also said it was proof that his government’s decision to build on the legacy of Václav Havel in its foreign policy was the right one.

Read more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Winternitzova vila

Architect Jan Kaplický earned an international reputation for futuristic projects that often resemble something out of a sci-fi movie. Now one of his earliest realised projects, a London apartment designed in the 1980s, has been brought back to life at an exhibition in Prague.

The exhibition Interior Dialogue at Prague’s Villa Winternitz recreates an apartment that Jan Kaplický designed in London in 1983.

The project was commissioned by the director of the city’s Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic.

It was one of Kaplický’s first realised projects – but already bore the hallmarks of the Prague-born architect’s futuristic style.

Adam Štěch is the curator of the exhibition.

“Jan Kaplický basically parked, symbolically, a cosmic spaceship into a conventional house in London.

“This was the concept of the interior, because Jan Kaplický envisioned a bachelor pad – because at that time Deyan Sudjic was still single – and he envisioned the interior as several interconnected modules made of aluminum.

“Everything which was technical, in terms of electricity and the water system and so on, was hidden covered with metal, aluminum panels.”

Unfortunately, the apartment had to be dismantled after a few years. Parts were damaged and when Deyan Sudjic had a child the sharp edges made it unsuitable as a home.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Juan Pablo Bertazza, Radio Prague International

Celebrated Argentine tenor, composer and conductor José Cura has a long-standing relationship with Czechia: in addition to recording an album of love songs by Dvořák in 2003, he was also a resident artist for three years with the Prague Symphony Orchestra between 2015 and 2018. Now the orchestra has invited him back to give two concerts at Prague’s Municipal House in celebration of his 60th birthday. In this exclusive interview with Radio Prague International, the artist reflects on his relationship with the city of Prague, the effects of the pandemic on him and on the classical music industry, as well as problems the industry is currently facing.

“A beautiful birthday present.”

That is how José Cura describes the invitation extended to him by the Prague Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of his 60th birthday this month.

“The orchestra told me that, when I turned sixty, they wanted to celebrate with two birthday concerts, that’s why the concerts are called ‘Happy Birthday, José’. And they also told me that the idea was not only to present my vocal work, but the entire spectrum of my musical activities: composition, singing and orchestra conducting.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Juan Pablo Bertazza

Photo: Odpovědné občanství

Václav Havel is coming to Czech schools. Well, not exactly, but an AI version of him is to be introduced into the civic education curriculum of several Czech secondary schools from January of next year with the aim of educating children about topics such as freedom, democracy and human rights. To find out more about the project I spoke to Alena Resl from the Czech office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, one of the organisations behind the project, and began by asking her what exactly DigiHavel is?

“DigiHavel is a modern deductive tool for civic education teachers. It’s actually an application based on artificial intelligence. You can imagine it as a digital human whose ideas were inspired by the first president of Czechia, Václav Havel. It is actually the first time that a digital human as a technology will be used in the Czech school system.

“It is not a clone of Václav Havel, because AI is not yet able to do that, but this digital human was programmed in a way that represents the ideas of Václav Havel about democracy, human rights and totalitarianism.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Czechs are not very mobile or quick to act. At least that is the generally accepted truth. But are Czechs as a nation really lacking in enterprising spirit, curiosity, and mobility?

There is a well-known Czech fairy tale character called “Hloupý Honza” or Silly Jack in English. He is a simple guy of humble origin unwilling to leave his cozy home. Driven into the big wide world by his parents, he wins riches and a wife by luck or miracle rather than personal initiative and returns home to live happily ever after.

So, is this what being a Czech is really about? Enjoy your beer and song in a pub, let the world go past, don’t worry, be happy!

Statistically speaking, this stereotype of a Czech who prefers the relative comfort of home to risking an uncertain if perhaps more interesting and profitable work and future somewhere abroad seems more or less right. Authorities estimate that compared to their Polish or Slovak neighbors, a significantly smaller percentage of young Czechs are willing to go abroad to work or gain experience. However, statistics can be misleading. Let me tell you two stories:

Czech plastic surgeon Bohdan Pomahač works in America. He led the team of doctors that performed the first full face transplant in the United States. He has earned admiration and numerous awards for his work in the United States and at home in the Czech Republic. But when I spoke to this graduate of the Faculty of Medicine of the Palacký University in Olomouc some time ago in Boston, I wasn’t that interested in the details of his work, but rather what prompted a native of Ostrava, a graduate of Palacky University, to leave the safety of home? Why did he set off in search of uncertain happiness and success across the Ocean?

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Google Arts & Culture

A new project on the Google Arts & Culture platform is a real treasure trove, bringing together over 3,000 Czech art works from some of the country’s top institutions. Entitled The HeART of Czechia, it was launched within the Czech EU presidency. I discussed it with Liudmila Kobyakova, program manager at Google Arts & Culture.

“The basic idea was really to show the artistic and culture scene in Czechia.

“The project is dedicated mainly to three main topics, which is art, architecture and design.”

What are some of the most important works that are to be seen on this online gallery?

“Of course there are many. The exhibition is really huge – it’s actually one of the biggest projects that we have done in the Czech Republic.

“There are more than 3,000 art works, more than 40 Street Views that we have taken, and more than 100 stories that were shared by partners.

“But to speak of some of the highlights, the first is definitely the Slav Epic [by Alphonse Mucha].

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

With Christmas just around the corner, there’s no better time than now to stop by one of Prague’s many Christmas markets. Czechs may be buying less this year but they are enjoying the good cheer.

It’s the most festive time of the year and despite the economic woes –a spiraling inflation and the energy crunch – Praguers are enjoying the city’s many Christmas markets.

The Christmas market season traditionally begins on the 26th of November and runs until the 6th of January, it’s also open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. The markets are spread out across the city, from Old Town Square to Náměstí Míru, and provide a wide range of traditional Czech Christmas fare, that people can buy as artisan gifts for friends or sample on the spot.

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola Schmidt

Photo: Patrik Uhlíř, ČTK

Czech scout troops have collected the Light of Bethlehem, a modern symbol of the Christmas season, from their colleagues at the Austrian border this past weekend.

They will now distribute it across the country, placing it in churches and various institutions, from where people can light their own lamps.

The tradition of the Bethlehem Light was established by a regional studio of Austrian state broadcaster ORF in 1986. Czechia has been taking part since December 1989.

Source

Photo: Czech Army

Ukrainian soldiers have begun training here in Czechia, days after the country’s legislators approved such a move. Meanwhile, the country’s commitment to helping the country is reflected in a report that one Czech factory is producing a tank every four days for Ukraine.

Only last week both houses of the Czech Parliament passed a bill allowing for up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers to train on this country’s territory between now and the end of 2023.

Troops from Ukraine have already begun exercising that right, with the chief of staff of the Czech Army, Karel Řehka, saying on Sunday that some were in action in the army’s Libavá military zone in the Olomouc Region in the east of the country.

When exactly they arrived, or in what number, was not disclosed for security reasons.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Karel Cudlín, Památník ticha

Unique photographs from the WWII Terezín ghetto are set to be shown at the European Parliament in Brussels as the six-month Czech presidency of the EU comes to a close. The photos had been lost for decades and only recently came to light.

Journalist Milan Weiner, who survived the Terezín ghetto and Auschwitz death camp, passed away in 1969.

However it was only recently that an album of 41 photographs from Terezín (Theresienstadt in German) among his possessions received attention.

Taken between 1942 and 1944, they are the only known photos capturing life in the ghetto other than stills from Nazi propaganda films.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Ian Willoughby

Photo: Václav Šálek, ČTK

A road in the fields between Tišnov and Jamný in the Brno region is newly decorated with an altar to St. Barbara created by amateur blacksmith Radim Tichý.

The roadside altar stands on a stone pedestal, cut and shaped from a rock by Tichý. The dedication to St. Barbara is related to the history of mining in this area. The altar is made of stainless steel and can be opened and closed by passers-by.

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The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), whose headquarters are located in Prague, is set to open up to visitors from the public this Friday and Saturday for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The rapidly expanding agency, which manages Europe’s navigation, observation and communications systems from space, has prepared a wide array of events, ranging from a satellite image exhibition to various workshops and lectures.

Unless you are a scientist, a description of all the space related systems that the EU’s Agency for the Space Programme handles may leave you a bit confused. But they are vital in helping us manage our daily tasks, explains EUSPA’s Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa.

“It is crucial for Europe to have space capabilities. All of them of course, but especially in the domains of navigation, earth observation and communications.”

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

At least two-fifths of Czechs believe that victims of rape are partly responsible for the crime, for example because of the way they dress or behave, suggests a new survey commissioned by human rights watchdog Amnesty International. The good news is that the number of Czechs who hold this view has been on the decline in recent years. I discussed the outcome of the survey with Amnesty’s campaigns and advocacy manager Irena Hůlová:

“Our survey shows that people still think that in certain cases, rape victims are co-responsible for what happed to them. They think that when the victim was flirting with the perpetrator, or was drunk or was walking home alone, that means that in some cases they are co-responsible for the act of rape.

“That is obviously not true and we always say that the victim is never responsible for what happened to them. It is only the perpetrator.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Petr Kubát, Czech Radio

The centuries-old Czech tradition of timber rafting has been newly added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. The nomination, submitted together with rafts men’s associations in Germany, Austria, Poland, Latvia and Spain, was approved by UNESCO experts this week.

Timber rafting, or vorařství, has had a long tradition in the Czech lands, ranking among highly respected and recognised, but also dangerous professions.

According to most sources, the first historical mention of timber rafting on the Vltava River dates back to medieval times. In those days, the biggest source of timber, needed for the construction of houses, was in South and Southwest Bohemia, and the fastest way to deliver the logs where they were needed was the river.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Roman Vondrouš, ČTK

One of Czechia’s most famous and respected architects, Josef Pleskot, was born on December 3, 1952, in the South Bohemian town of Písek. He was selected as the most influential person on the Czech architecture scene between the years 1990-2009.

Josef Pleskot’s work regularly represents Czech architecture at international exhibitions and he has received many prestigious awards. Originally, Pleskot wanted to be a painter, but his parents were against the idea. He therefore chose to become an architect instead. Among his most famous works are the Deer Moat (Jelení příkop) at Prague Castle, the headquarters of the ČSOB bank near Radlická metro station in Prague, or the New Palmovka town hall that is currently being constructed in Prague 8.

Pleskot also took part in the revitalisation of the industrial area of the ironworks in the city of Vítkovice and left his indelible signature on the centre of the East Bohemian town of Litomyšl. In 2014 he received the Architect of the Year award for his design of the Science and Technology Centre in Ostrava.

See the rest here.

Photo: Michal Kobrle, PETROF

Czech piano manufacturer PETROF is unquestionably one of Czechia’s best known brands. The company, based in the town of Hradec Králové, produced its first piano already in 1864. Today PETROF is the largest manufacturer of acoustic pianos in Europe and their instruments are played by musicians all over the world, among them Billie Eilish or Paul McCartney.

The company was founded in 1864 in Hradec Králové by Antonín Petrof, who trained as a cabinet maker in his father’s workshop. The fact that he turned into a piano maker was most likely due to chance.

A local choir master is said to have asked his father to repair his old furniture. He sent his son to inspect the job but his attention was immediately drawn to the choirmaster’s piano.

Ivana Petrofová is a great-great-granddaughter of Antonín Petrof and head of the Petrof Museum in Hradec Králové, located in the former factory in close proximity to the Cathedral of the Holy Ghost:

“Antonín followed his uncle to Vienna to learn how to make pianos. After five years he became a certified piano builder. He then took a job at two renowned Austrian companies, Schweighoffer and Egrbar, to further his knowledge and learn more about company management.”

At the age of 25, Antonín Petrof returned to his hometown and converted his father’s joinery workshop into a piano manufacture. In 1864, he built his very first grand piano, equipped with the so-called Viennese mechanics. A year later, Antonín Petrof was granted a trade licence and officially established his piano-making business. He secured his financial situation by marrying Maria Götzová, the daughter of a wealthy Hradec Králové tanner. She stood by his side and supported him not only in family life, but also in the company as a skilled proxy and her husband’s representative.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

There is a saying: “Every Czech a musician”. But is there any truth in it? One can hardly doubt, that this country has a very long and rich musical tradition. But are Czechs really more musical than other nations? Vít Pohanka set out to find out, whether this saying is more a cliché than reality.

I am at a rehearsal of a children’s choir in a small town in the middle of the Bohemian – Moravian Highlands. This music ensemble has existed in the small town of Žďár nad Sázavou for many decades and has brought up generations of amateur music lovers. After the rehearsal, I stop to chat with some of its teenage members.

Katya, for example, has been singing under professional supervision since the age of five. She tells me about the joy and fun it brings into her life. She doesn’t want to study music at the conservatory or sing for money. It just makes her happy.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Czech Literary Centre

Fumio Obata is a British-based Japanese comic artist who specializes in ‘comic reportage’. This summer, he spent a three-week residency programme in Prague, organised by the Czech Literary Centre in cooperation with the international Lakes Comic Art Festival, during which he worked on his new book about Franz Kafka. What sparked his interest in the writer? And how does Franz Kafka go together with comics? These are just some of the questions I asked him during his recent visit to Prague:

“I wanted to do something about Franz Kafka, because I have been a fan of his works for a long time. But I wasn’t quite sure about it, because he is an icon, a very influential writer and such a big figure to deal with.

“But after arriving here, I became sure about it and during my stay here I tried to sort out my direction for it. For me, it is like trying to make a personal investigation. That’s why I named it ‘Looking for Franz’.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Jiří Šeda, Czech Radio

Tunnel Vision by Lazer Viking is sure to feature in many Czech LPs of the Year lists. On this latest record the artist, AKA Jakub Kaifosz, has abandoned the guitars of previous releases for a pure ‘80s, super catchy synth pop sound. What hasn’t changed are Lazer Viking’s phenomenal vocals (unlike many Czech male vocalists, this guy can sing!) and as-good-as-it-gets songwriting.

See the rest here.

Photo: Derrick Clark

If you wander into any Czech chapel or church during the festive season you are likely to see elaborate nativity scenes on display. These ‘betlémy’, as they are known in Czech, have a long and interesting history – and a large private collection of them can be viewed at the Museum of Nativity Scenes in Karlštejn.

Karlštejn Castle is itself a popular tourist destination, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. But if you have a little more time on your hands, you will find the Museum of Nativity Scenes very close by. Housed in the Karlštejn rectory, the oldest building in the castle grounds, the museum building, including the wall that surrounds the entire complex, is a protected cultural monument.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

The recent case of Twitter shows us that we should work to create alternative futures for the Internet because we need it to be resilient, trustworthy and sustainable. These alternative futures have one thing in common: they are based on technological communities. That means open standards, free and open software and hardware, and open data. These are the ideal ingredients for restoring the health of the Internet, because they empower individual users and the community to run their own Internet services, rather than elevating one business entity to a dominant overarching entity.

In recent weeks we have seen many news reports about the well-known messaging service Twitter after a change of ownership and subsequent actions taken under its new management. Some sources like Forbes even go as far as to call it a “great exodus”, and major civil rights organisations, including the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, even called for a boycott.

Of course, Twitter is not an isolated case. The original decentralised vision behind the internet and the web has suffered from large-scale industry consolidation. That is why the Next Generation Internet (NGI) Initiative has been working towards alternative futures for the internet to create a resilient, trustworthy and sustainable internet. These alternate futures have one thing in common: they are based on technology commons. Which means open standards, free and open source software and hardware, and open data. These are ideal ingredients for restoring health to the internet because they empower the individual users and the community to operate their own internet services rather than elevate a single business entity into a dominant superposition.

ActivityPub and Fediverse

A key ingredient in the ‘social’ space is a standard called W3C ActivityPub, produced by the World Wide Web Consortium. ActivityPub allows one to have one’s own presence on the so-called Fediverse and actually to own your presence as a user – you can set up under your own internet domain, determine your own policies and community rules, establish your own privacy settings, and use the same account everywhere to interact with others.

One of the best-known Fediverse projects is Mastodon. Mastodon has been making quite the global buzz: in a short time, Mastodon has gained over 500,000 new users, hitting over 1 million active users today. The number of independent servers for Mastodon has also doubled recently. Unlike traditional social media, Mastodon is not a single website or service. To use it, you choose an account with any provider implementing the ActivityPub protocol (or run this software yourself), which lets you connect with the whole ecosystem on your own terms. Users can post text (500 characters limit), images, links and videos and their “Toots” are published strictly in chronological order (there is no algorithm ranking the “Toots”) without advertising.

Making the internet again a decentralised infrastructure

The European Digital Decade target for 2030 aims to empower businesses and people in a human-centred, sustainable and more prosperous digital future; decisions to support digital commons become relevant to preserve the original vision of the internet as non-monopolistic and non-privatised.

By offering citizens an alternative to the major commercial players, ActivityPub delivers the conceptual building blocks for cross-cutting cooperation. It also opens the door to widespread adoption of the Fediverse – making the internet again a decentralised infrastructure that can accommodate diversity, forming a free and more democratic alternative to today’s situation.

NGI supports many different Fediverse tools like Mastodon, PeerTube, Pixelfed, GoToSocial, Lemmy, and Owncast – each of which caters for its own use cases. The power of the Fediverse lies in its diversity: Mastodon instances are websites, and so are servers serving up PeerTube, PixelFed, etc. From the user side, the Fediverse can be seen as “just another class of web pages”. PixelFed is more photo-sharing oriented (like Instagram). Lemmy is a great alternative to Reddit. And Owncast allows for live streaming, just like Twitch. Each of these is already valuable by itself. Together, they offer a realistic alternative for users looking to move away from large corporation online social networks.

Besides more general purpose ActivityPub tools like GoToSocial, Bonfire, GNU Social, Mastodon and #Seppo, here are some of the more specialised efforts that received financial support from NGI programmes. For example Castopod, Corteza, Funkwhale, Inventaire etc.

Over 700 funded innovators reinventing the internet

NGI will keep nurturing diversity and decentralisation of the internet infrastructure. We see the potential for a sustainably open environment for our societies and economies, celebrating our values, promoting creativity, and achieving the next generation of the internet that is reliable, secure and energy efficient. Discover NGI solutions to see over 700 funded innovators re-inventing the internet to reach the full human potential for all generations.

The Next Generation Internet dialogues with citizens and constituency directly through the established EU Mastodon, becoming part of the Fediverse – the largest alternative to central platforms – based on federated, open source and standardised technology.

If you are involved with a project contributing to the further development of ActivityPub and Fediverse tools, we encourage you to apply to one of our NGI Open Calls – let us help you make a better internet. We look forward to your ideas and energy.

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About Next Generation Internet (NGI)

Next Generation Internet is an initiative of the European Commission, which aims to shape the Internet for the future as a powerful, user-centric (Internet of Humans) ecosystem that meets the fundamental needs of the population.

The NGI programme is supporting solutions in the fields of the Declaration on the Future of the Internet and it funds the best research and innovation projects in the field of the Internet, ultimately addressing the need for a more fair, safe, resilient, sustainable, human-centred and decentralized internet. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are the backbones of this envisioned future.

So far the NGI has funded more than 700 innovators with inclusive and trust-based complementary technology building blocks including services, applications, decentralized ledger technologies such as blockchain, data portability, AI, machine learning, networking, hardware and open source software.

Projects cover a broad range of subjects from private search, instant messaging and remote working tools with data privacy, health, energy, finance, supply chains, research, knowledge management and responsible media platforms.

Czech NGI-funded projects:

https://www.ngi.eu/discover-ngi-solutions/?country=1685

Photo: archive of Rade Meech-Tatić

We bring three very different tales of heroism during the 1930s and 1940s. The first is a classic story of wartime courage and adventure, as seventeen-year-old Rade Meech-Tatić recounts a dramatic episode in the life of his grandfather as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Then we turn to occupied Bohemia and Moravia, where eleven-year-old Amy Piper tells the story of her great-great-grandfather from the town of Čáslav, who warned his fellow citizens that they were in danger of arrest. And our third story takes us several thousand kilometres to the south and east. Sixteen-year-old Anushree Kshirsagar from Brno also has a tale of courage and resilience as she talks of the role of her great-great-grandfather in the struggle for Indian independence. Three young people whose home is here in the Czech Republic celebrate three very different family heroes.

See the rest here.

Author: David Vaughan

Photo: SchiDD, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Automatic Mills in Pardubice, one of the most famous buildings by the pioneering Czech architect and designer Josef Gočár, is currently undergoing a major transformation into a new multi-functional public space.

The monumental structure, standing on the bank of the Chrudimka River, was originally designed for the Winternitz brothers. Construction of the mills, built of red brick with stone elements, started in 1909. The façade of the towering, geometric building is reminiscent of the ancient Babylonian Gate of Ishtar.

The Automatic Mills worked without interruption until 2013, when the Goodmills company ceased operations there. Two years later, the building was declared a national heritage site.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Their paintings adorn the foyer of the National Theatre, the Municipal House and the Astronomical Clock. This Radio Prague International series presents artists who have achieved success on a global scale. They include the founder of Czech modern art, Josef Mánes, painter of Czech history Václav Brožík, Art Nouveau maestro Alphonse Mucha, abstract art founder František Kupka and great of European surrealism Toyen.

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Photo: Ondřej Mikulášek, České korunovační klenoty na dosah

Prague Castle has announced that Bohemia’s crown jewels and the skull of Saint Wenceslas will be displayed to the public in January next year, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Czech Republic. Next year’s exhibition will be all the more special as people will have the chance to view the objects within the spaces of Prague’s Saint Vitus Cathedral for the first time since 1955.

The crown jewels and the skull of Saint Wenceslas will be on display for five days, from January 17 to January 21, the head of the Office of the President, Vratislav Mynář, announced on Monday. For the first time in nearly seven decades, the viewings will take place in the Cathedral of Saint Vitus, specifically in its transept.

Those hoping to catch a glimpse of the symbols of royal Bohemian power will likely have to wait in a queue, not just because public viewings of the crown jewels are rare, but also due to the heightened security measures that are to be put in place for the occasion.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Myco

Single-use plastic packaging contributes to landfill waste and microplastics in the oceans and drinking water. Small Czech firm Myco’s mycelium-based packaging material offers a completely biodegradable alternative – and received recognition for it at this year’s Energy Globe World Awards.

The fight against climate change can often feel hopeless. Too many actors, lack of coordination, competing interests, complex power structures and factors outside of an ordinary individual’s control – all these things and more can lead to feelings of ennui, resignation, and despair.

But the Energy Globe World Awards, held annually for the last 23 years, aims to counteract those feelings by honouring those who are working to come up with practical solutions to environmental problems. As Wolfgang Neumann, founder of the award, says, the solutions are already out there – it’s just a question of making people aware of and implementing them.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Czechs living outside their home country have until this coming Sunday, December 4, to register to vote in January’s presidential elections. Meanwhile the current government’s pledge to introduce postal voting has not become reality.

Direct presidential elections – which to date have been held twice – are the only such polls apart from general elections in which Czechs resident in other countries may cast their ballots.

To do so they must register in person or in writing at least 40 days before the date of the elections. Those for the successor to incumbent Miloš Zeman are set to begin on Friday January 13.

If no candidate takes more than 50 percent of the vote, the two leading candidates will face off in a second round a fortnight later.

Czechs living abroad need to travel in person to their nearest embassy or consulate general, where they will receive voting slips. In view of time differences some may vote on the evening of Thursday January 12, local time.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Adam Kebrt, Czech Radio

Musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jiří Stivín turned 80 this week. As every year, he will celebrate with a concert in tribute to St. Cecilia, the patron of musicians.

Jiří Stivín was born 23 November 1942 in Prague. He graduated from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) and studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music as well as at the Prague Academy of Music (AMU). His extensive discography ranges from jazz to classical music and he performs music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

As a sololist, playing both the flute and saxophone, he has performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Slovak Chamber Orchestra, the Suk Chamber Orchestra, Barocco sempre giovane as well as with several other ensembles. He still lectures at the Prague Conservatory.

See the rest here.

Prague is currently hosting the fifth edition of the annual Czech Space Week festival, which features a wide range of events for experts in the field, as well as for related businesses and the wider public. The launch of the festival was accompanied by a government announcement that Czechia will increase its contribution into European Space Agency (ESA) programmes, a move that should also help domestic companies that are active in the space sector.

The space business has become less of a curiosity and more of a serious topic of conversation in Czechia in recent years. The country, whose capital houses the headquarters of the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), has a growing range of businesses and start-ups that specialise in manufacturing important components for rockets and satellites.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Not even boundless loyalty to the Soviet Union could save Rudolf Slánský, a general secretary of the Communist Party, from the death penalty in a trial that culminated on 27 November 1952.

Show trials of the so-called class enemy was a practice used in the Stalinist communist bloc from the 1930s. Nevertheless, the arrest of one of the highest-ranking Communists in Czechoslovakia at the time, Rudolf Slánský, surprised many observers. In the subsequent trial, 14 people were indicted along with Slánský, including his deputy, the foreign minister and seven deputy ministers. The vast majority of them were of Jewish origin.

See the rest here.

Author: Klára Stejskalová

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Young director Šimon Holý this week sees his film And Then There Was Love enter Czech cinemas. It is the second feature film by Holý, who in addition composes music for films and until recently was also a presenter on alternative station Radio Wave. Our tour of “his Prague” begins on the square Náměstí Míru, one of the centres of the Vinohrady district.

“I live half the time in Prague and half the time in Hudlice, which is a town near Beroun, but not so far from Prague.

“I can’t imagine moving somewhere else.”

Why do you also live in Hudlice?

“Well, it’s a long story of my father wanting to have a farmhouse and then buying another farmhouse and then just moving farther and farther from Prague [laughs].

“I actually like this, that I can be in the nature whenever I want – and then to move into the city whenever I want.”

Vinohrady is a big area. I discovered looking at the map earlier that it runs all the way from Folimanka to the Main Train Station and out to Hagibor. What’s your favourite part of the district?

“It was very interesting to me as well to find this out, because I didn’t know that.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

For two weeks this month, the nationwide ‘Den poezie’ or Poetry Day festival took place in roughly 50 towns and cities throughout the Czech Republic. The festival, now in its 24th year, takes place annually around the birthday of the great Czech Romantic poet, Karel Hynek Mácha. This year, there were two events in English – one involving a project where three Scottish poets and three Czech poets translated each other’s work – despite none of the Scottish poets speaking Czech.

Poetry is not everyone’s cup of tea. But the small and diligent group of people involved with organising Poetry Day hope that the festival will promote interest in poetry and share some of its joy among a wider audience. In this vein, all the events that are part of the festival are free.

Poetry Day is not just a day – it’s a two-week event. But its misleading name has its origins in the fact that the first Den poezie took place on just one day in 1999. Year by year, more and more towns and organisations joined in and the length of the festival gradually extended to reach its current two-week duration.

The festival describes itself as international and multicultural – this year, as well as featuring Czech poets, it included authors from Ukraine, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia. And for an English-speaking audience, one of the two English-language events in this year´s Poetry Day festival involved an interesting translation and cultural exchange project between three Czech and three Scottish poets – one of whom writes in Gaelic. The six poets worked together on translating one another’s poetry into their native languages.

Read the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Nine people are in the running to succeed Miloš Zeman as Czech president in elections in January, after fulfilling the necessary criteria. Two, Petr Pavel and Danuše Nerudová, collected 50,000 signatures, while the remainder secured the backing of legislators. But, now the field has officially been declared, who are the candidates?

Andrej Babiš

Mr. Babiš (68) became a billionaire as head of the Agrofert conglomerate and entered politics with the ANO party in 2011. Often dubbed a populist, he has served as minister of finance and later prime minister. The Slovak-born oligarch, a member of the Communist Party pre-1989, denies allegations he was a secret police agent.

Jaroslav Bašta

Mr. Bašta (74) is the candidate of the anti-migrant, anti-EU Freedom and Direct Democracy party. A one-time anti-communist dissident, he was jailed for over two years and signed the Charter 77 human rights document. He was a Social Democrat cabinet member under PM Miloš Zeman in the 1990s and served as ambassador to Russia and Ukraine.

Pavel Fischer

Mr. Fischer (57), who was an advisor to President Václav Havel, is a member of the Senate. A former ambassador to France and head of the STEM polling agency, he came third in the first round of presidential elections in 2018 on 10 percent. He is a social conservative and has drawn criticism for comments he made about homosexuals.

Marek Hilšer

Mr. Hilšer (46) also stood for president in 2018, coming fifth in the first round with 9 percent of the vote. A trained doctor who focused on cancer treatment, he first came to attention as a civic activist supporting Ukraine after Russia invaded Crimea. More recently the senator has called for a no-fly zone in Ukraine.

Danuše Nerudová

Mrs. Nerudová (43) is a former head of Brno’s Mendel University. An economist, she helmed a national committee on fair pensions and served as an informal advisor to the government during the Covid crisis. A centrist with little political experience, she has pledged to reach out to those on society’s margins.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Alfons Maria Mucha is still remembered today for his Art Nouveau paintings and graphics, such as his iconic theatrical poster of French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. His art adorns walls, ceilings and windows in grand buildings in the Czech capital, such as in the Mayor’s Hall at Prague’s Municipal House, and a stained glass window in St. Vitus Cathedral. But he came from very humble beginnings, and his success was not always assured…

Traditional marketing usually fails to move Generation Z’s members and it can be difficult to capture their attention. Businesses that can be considered the ones to attract the Gen Z audience — we can define them as those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s — are being shaped. We can say that Gen Z members desire those brands that appear to be young, trendy, bold, and very innovative, according to recent reports. They also focus on valuing those brands that can help customers with improving their image, those that offer customized or personalized products, the ones that are involved with customer communities, supporters of charities, and those that can make customers feel appreciated. There are many businesses now run by these new entrepreneurs and they are already taking off.

Generation Z’s members are sometimes considered hard to reach but that doesn’t mean we should ignore them. According to recent statistics research, Generation Z actually accounts for about 40 percent of United States consumers, and it is a huge number. So, your business should make it as it’s essential, to try and optimize its marketing efforts to connect with this fast spending power. So, what can you do to adapt your marketing in order to attract them? These types of ventures are actually becoming very popular among Generation Z members.

Creating Digital and Physical Products

When it comes to Generation Z, their interest ranges from designing and producing anything, from graphics and art prints to T-shirts and clothes, then selling these on different specialty sites or marketplace places. Most of the things they make are custom-made items that can be easily designed and made using different software, and instead of just simply following the latest trends, they can easily make made-to-order items that are more than just unique.

What made-to-order clothing manufacturers use is to customize their customers offers through their website so that you can get unique pieces, with fast production and easy shipping.

Social Media take over

Presence, marketing, and developing a business by creating vlogs or short videos to teach, for entertaining purposes, or to share some exciting things with people, is the way to do things these days. Or, simply try to use the amount of your following for getting noticed by brands who want to promote their products and services with you.

Financial success on different social media platforms, the ones like YouTube and Instagram can be a tough thing to achieve, but even the best ones have to start from the bottom. Having something like a specific niche is pretty good advice since it can help you do more exploration from different angles and you can then easily present those findings to a growing audience. Everything from how-to videos, reviews, fashion blogs/vlogs, weight loss tips, and many more can be a good starting point if you know what you are doing and aren’t afraid of presenting yourself out there.

Gaming

According to the Global Web Index stats, it is indicated that more than 60% of Gen Z members have an interest in gaming, which is about 10 percent ahead of Millennials. Everything from creating gaming studios to top-notch influencers and community organizers presents a space that Gen Z is expected to own as we move forward.

The Beauty Business

Another industry popular among the Gen Z audience is definitely the beauty industry. Over 35% of the Gen Z audience who underwent the survey expressed their interest in beauty, and a lot of small business owners achieved a certain degree of success in that space by creating their own products and pushing their own brands at the front.

Websites and Designing Them

You do not really have to be a master coder to create websites. What you actually need is to know how to use web builders like for example, WordPress, or maybe Wix and try to sell your services to new businesses that are in need of an online presence.

Website builders are usually used for small to medium-sized websites, and advanced coding knowledge is not really needed. You can usually start from small local businesses that should all have websites, so the starting point can be looking up something like a “mom & pop” shop that you pass by during your walks and see if they would have any benefits from a short landing page or a couple of product pages in order to drive their new business.

Now that you’ve learned some tips and tricks on how to better connect with Generation Z members, you can start getting some loyal customers, by trying to stand out among numerous very competitive social media feeds and posts and immerse yourself in the world where Gen Z members spend most of their time, the digital world. That will help you with becoming one of the top brands on their list.

By Peter Minkoff

Peter is a lifestyle and travel writer at Men-Ual magazine, living between Ústí nad Labem and Antwerp. Follow Peter on Twitter for more tips.

Photo: Miloš Ruml, ČTK

One sign that Advent is upon us in Prague is the reappearance of the man who lights gas lamps at some of the city’s most romantic locations. The uniformed figure has just appeared on Charles Bridge for the first time this season.

Around 4 pm on Monday visitors to Prague’s famous 14th century Charles Bridge got to experience an unusual sight: A man in an old-fashioned uniform using a two-metre wooden rod to light its historic gas lamps.

Nowadays the city’s gas lights usually work automatically, but during the Advent period leading up to Christmas this method is used to add to the festive atmosphere.

Street lighting was first introduced in 1847, when 200 gas lamps were installed. By 1940 there were reportedly almost 9,000 in the city. Gas light was also used to illuminate Prague’s parks, waterfronts and islands.

In the first half of the last century around 130 lamp lighters were reportedly employed by the city.

Gas-powered lighting was definitively discontinued in the middle of the 1980s, when eight cast-iron lamps on Hradčanské Square and the nearby Loretánská St. in the Prague Castle district were converted to electricity.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Kofola ČeskoSlovensko a.s.

Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most recognised brands, but if you are someone who’s spent any length of time in the Czech Republic you will likely have noticed that the Czechs have their own alternative – the similarly-named and similar-looking soft drink Kofola. However, Kofola has quite a distinct taste from Coke, Pepsi, and other cola-flavoured drinks – and for foreigners who are new to the Czech beverage, the flavour can come as a bit of a shock. Despite this, popular Swedish blogger SwedishNomad included Kofola on his beverage bucket list as one of the drinks that everyone has to try at least once before they die, so it does have a following abroad, if a somewhat niche one.

The visual resemblance of Kofola to Coca-Cola is no coincidence – the drink was in fact created as socialist Czechoslovakia’s answer to the popular American soft drink.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

The Prague food scene is becoming increasingly diverse, with more room for cuisines outside of traditional Czech food. While Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indian places continue to pop up, restaurants serving Carribean food, and specifically Jamaican cuisine, remain few and far between.

On four days a week, the farmers market in Jiřího z Poděbrad square bustles with people who shop for their weekly groceries, or stop by for a delicious bite of food. The market is a staple for Prague 3 residents, and provides a communal environment for them to enjoy the beautiful neighbourhood scenery and town square. While you can find traditional Czech bakeries, cheese stands, and butchers, on Wednesday’s you can also find a bright yellow tent selling wonderfully spiced foods, and if you can listen carefully, the sounds of reggae music might lure you over to meet the man behind it all.

Clyde Porter was born in Jamaica, and moved to New York when he was young. From there, he spent time in Germany.

Read the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

A WORLD OF COLORS CELEBRATION

Get 2023 off to a smashing start. Reserve at Hilton Prague now!

Kick off 2023 in impressive style! Hilton Prague’s annual New Year’s Eve party is going to become your favorite memory. Three delightful choices of dinners and a fabulous after-party, all including top-notch entertainment. Choose the way you want to celebrate and enjoy a spectacular night. Get ready for the ultimate party night in Prague!

DECEMBER 31, 2022 from 7 pm – 3 am

• Three inspired dinners to choose from
• Captivating song and dance performances
• Unbelievable midnight celebration with a countdown to the New Year
• A children’s playroom
• An amazing after-party
• …. and a few more surprises to blow you away!

All event details here.

Photo: Thomas McEnchroe, Radio Prague International

What is the European Union and the wider Western world doing to tackle financial crime? And can financial tools be used to curb hostile regimes such as the one in Russia? These are some of the questions that are being explored by the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS), a part of Britain’s leading security think tank – the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). I caught up with the founder and director of CFCS, Tom Keatinge, when he was in Prague attending an event organised by the Prague Security Studies Institute last week. He warned that dirty money is undermining European democracy and I asked him how.

“First of all, it should be said that it’s not an original idea because it was a point that was emphasised by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address in September.

“In any case, I think that for many years in Europe, when we thought about ‘dirty money’ we thought about criminal money coming from non-state actors, organised crime groups and and terrorists.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: archive of Eva Nováková

In the third episode of our series looking at the recent past through the eyes of the youngest generation, we hear a story of exile and return. Fourteen-year-old Eva Nováková chose the format of a short radio play to draw us into the world of her great-grandmother, Olga Szántová. Older listeners will remember Olga, who died in 2003. She was a legend of Czechoslovak broadcasting and a good friend to many of us here at the radio.

Eva’s play is called The Story of Radio’s Voice, and it takes us back to 1962, when Olga was thirty and her daughter, also Eva, was seven. By that time Olga had already been through more than most of us will experience in a lifetime. As the Nazi grip on Central Europe tightened, she and her parents fled Bratislava and then Prague in 1939, reaching New York via Norway, Sweden, the Soviet Union and Japan.

The family had good reason to fear persecution. They were Jewish and Olga’s father Dezider Benau was a well-known Social Democrat.

See the rest here.

Author: David Vaughan

Photo: Vianney Le Caer, ČTK/AP

Two years ago, a small Czech studio called Play By Ear released an interactive audio game, in which players navigate their way through a mysterious detective story using their smartphones. Now they have put out an English version, called Evidence 111, starring, among others, the famous British actress Rosamund Pike.

Evidence 111 is an interactive audio game with an open-ended story that develops based on the choices the players make as they navigate their way through the game.

Unlike the Czech version, set in the United States, Evidence 111 takes place in the small English town of Farnham in the mid-1980s. It follows the character Chief Inspector Alice Wells as she gets to the bottom of the mysteries surrounding an old inn called Harbor Watch.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Daniel Šabík, DPP

Many of Prague’s trams and busses, including the historic Ringhoffer and Irisbus Citelis 12 M are decked out for Christmas adding to the festive mood in the Czech capital. Passengers will be able to enjoy the sight until January 6, 2023.