AuthorMartin Hladík

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

On Friday evening the Nicholas Winton biopic One Life gets its Czech premiere in Prague, where it is partly set. The film climaxes with Winton’s 1988 appearance on Esther Rantzen’s TV show That’s Life, when the discovery of how the Englishman saved 669 mostly Jewish children from the Holocaust allowed many of those survivors to connect with him for the first time

Among the children on the “kindertransports” to the UK organised by Winton and several others were half-sisters Eva Paddock and Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines, who are today aged 88 and 94. The women, whose maiden name was Fleischmann, came to Prague for the movie’s Czech premiere. Just ahead of the big event, I caught up with them.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Jan Ebr, Czech Academy of Sciences

Experts from the Czech Academy of Sciences have presented their first contribution to the LISA space mission. Approved by the European Space Agency (ESA) a few days ago, the Czech component will be crucial to the functioning of the giant satellite system, which aims to measure gravitational waves.

LISA, standing for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, is a space-based gravitational wave detector that uses precision lasers to do its job. Or at least, it will once it is finished – the mission is scheduled to launch in the mid-2030s.

Consisting of three spacecraft separated by millions of miles and arranged in a triangle, LISA will trail behind the Earth as it orbits the sun. These three spacecraft will relay laser beams back and forth between each other, and the combined signals will search for gravitational wave signatures that come from distortions of spacetime.

The technology developed by Czech scientists will be in charge of switching between the main and backup laser and will be critical to the functioning of the entire system, says Asen Christov from the Institute of Physics.

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Martin Srb, Sources:iROZHLAS.cz,NASA

Photo: Suchej únor

February is here – and for some Czechs that means putting down their pint glasses and taking a break from alcohol consumption for the month. The ‘Dry February” campaign aims to shed light on the problematic reliance some have with alcohol, and encourages individuals to rethink their relationship with it. To learn more about the campaign, I spoke with Petr Freimann from the Dry February organization.

For our listeners who may not be familiar with the concept of ‘Dry February’, could you explain it?

“Dry February is a campaign that sheds light on the fact that over one million people in the country are considered ‘risky drinkers’. Most of these people do not know if they control alcohol or if alcohol and other addictions control them.”

You said one million people here?

“It’s actually over one million. Addiction experts talk about the number being closer to 1.3 or 1.5 million people.”

And you said ‘risky drinking’ – is that drinking that could be classified as alcoholism?

“Alcoholism or heavy drinking is considered to be a different thing, but risky drinking means that an individual could be one step below what we would consider an alcoholic. That’s why Dry February is the perfect occasion to try and experience if we control alcohol, or if it controls us.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Barbora Linková, Czech Radio

Rapper Rohony has won fans around the country for music containing themes such as booze, football and Czech small-town life in general.

Adam Rohony, to give him his full name, is from Stařeč (population 1,700) in the Vysočina Region and was recently dubbed “the king of the villages” by the weekly Respekt. His most recent LP, entitled Superfly, came out in December and features tracks such as Neděle se dohrává (Sunday is Playing Out) and Toni Kroos (opening with the line “I wear the same boots as Toni Kroos”.)

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Roman Vondrouš, ČTK

Prague classical music buffs will soon get more regular opportunities to enjoy Sir Simon Rattle in action, after the world famous conductor on Wednesday signed as principal guest conductor with the Czech Philharmonic from next season. I spoke to Sir Simon soon after the big news was announced at the orchestra’s home, the Rudolfinum.

What were your motivations in accepting the invitation to become principal guest conductor with the Czech Philharmonic?

“Oh, it was pure pleasure. I fell in love with the orchestra the first time I came to conduct. Of course I had known them for years, but if you’re conducting it’s a different thing.

“I just thought, Look, this is a relationship I would like to keep – I would like not to be just an occasional guest; I’d like to be a bit part of this institution.

“And of course it is one of the greatest orchestras in the world – I hope everybody in this country knows that.

“So it’s selfish. I love the orchestra and I want to keep on making music with them.”

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Petr Kolmann, RAF Station Czechoslovakia

Richard Santus is a pilot and a vintage plane collector. He recently acquired a 1960 Czechoslovak-made Aero 145 aircraft and flew it all the way from Australia to his museum in Podhořany in east Bohemia. Due to all sorts of troubles, including several days spent in jail, it took him nearly two months to cover the 20,000-kilometre journey.

I met with Richard Santus shortly upon his return to Czechia and I first asked him what makes the Aero 145 so special that it was worth taking the trip:

“I think this airplane is the most famous design from former Czechoslovakia and there are only a few left in the world that are still flying. There are a couple more on static displays, but this one has been flying since 1960, when it was made in Czechoslovakia. “There was only one left in Australia, apart from two more which are in Czechoslovakia, one is in Czechia and one in Slovakia. So it was a sort of natural decision to go down and bring it back.”

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Lying mostly in Bohemia with a small portion of its territory in Moravia, the Pardubice Region has a varied terrain ranging from mountains to river plains. Combining modernity and heritage, it features beautiful castles and chateaux, a long tradition of horse-breeding and racing, and a musical connection as the birthplace of composers Bedřich Smetana and Bohuslav Martinů. It is also famous for its sweet gingerbread!

See the video here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Czechia has announced that it will abstain in the vote on an EU migration and asylum pact expected to take place later this month. According to government officials, the new draft of the proposal would reduce the possibility of effectively preventing illegal migration on the EU’s external borders.

A badly needed overhaul of the European Union’s asylum and migration system was years in the making as member states struggled with the practical impacts of several large waves of migrants from the Middle East and Ukraine. The first comprehensive draft of the pact was proposed in September of 2020 and it was not until December of last year that the EU reached a major breakthrough in the quest of a new common system for managing migration.

The aim of the new pact is to introduce more effective controls, secure a faster return of failed asylum seekers to their countries of origin and bring into effect a mechanism of “compulsory solidarity”, under which member states would have to accept a certain quota of migrants or else compensate overburdened countries financially.

The Belgian presidency of the EU Council is now working on finalising the details, and EU member states should vote on the draft’s adoption later this month.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová, Sources: Český rozhlas, Česká televize

Photo: Tomáš Zatloukal/ČT24

Little Martin, a two-year-old Czech boy with a rare hereditary disorder, is currently recovering in a hospital in France after undergoing a revolutionary new gene therapy. His treatment was paid for by public donations of more than CZK 150 million.

With his little head of curly hair, two-year-old Martin looks like a cherub in a Renaissance painting. But he was born with a very human condition – an ultra-rare inherited disease called AADC deficiency. Patients with this disorder typically experience developmental delays, weak muscle tone and inability to control the movement of their limbs. It is a long-term, debilitating and life-threatening condition that can lead to multiple organ failure and ultimately death, even before the sufferer is 10 years old.

The disease typically manifests within the first year of life and can appear with different degrees of severity, but Thomas Roujeau, one of the French doctors who operated on Martin, told Radio Prague that he had a very severe form of the disease.

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Guillaume Narguet

Source: Radio Prague International

Over a dozen children so far this year, primarily in the Karlovy Vary region, have ended up in hospital after consuming jelly sweets containing the psychoactive substance HHC. The Ministry of Health now wants to push for an outright ban.

In January, National anti-drug coordinator Jindřich Vobořil warned in a press release of new sweets and confectionary products containing the new semi-synthetic cannabinoid substance HHC being marketed to children. This substance, which has effects comparable to THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, is legally available to children in Czechia and can be bought from street vending machines in the form of candy.

A week later, a spokesperson for the Karlovy Vary Region police force revealed that they were investigating the case of five children – two middle-schoolers and three elementary school students – who had been admitted to hospital after eating sweets containing HHC.

Markéta Singerová from Ostrov Hospital in the Karlovy Vary region says that the number of cases has increased dramatically this year.

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Andrea Strohmaierová, Tomáš Pancíř, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Babylon / Czech Television

When Valerio Mendoza Guillén first arrived in Prague in 2009, he had no intention of staying away from his native Venezuela for long. Fourteen years later, the documentary filmmaker and teacher at FAMU has laid strong roots in the city and has even co-founded an NGO – La Casa Venezolana, that helps Venezuelans who are new to the country. I met Guillén in a Vinohrady cafe to learn more about what led him to make Czechia his second home.

How has integration into Czech society been for you over the years you spent here?

“It has taken a lot of time – after 14 years I would say it’s going well. I think the key element is the language, and I think you either have incredible self-discipline to learn it, or you’re forced to learn it from family or work – and neither have been the case for me.

“My work is 100% in Spanish and English, and my partner is also from Venezuela, most of my friends are not Czech, so I’m really never in a daily situation where I need to listen or speak in Czech, so my learning curve has been quite slow. I think if you don’t have great language skills, integration can be a challenge.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Michal Sladký, Czech Radio

Just days after Czechia’s centuries-old hand-made glass production was registered on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage, one of the oldest glass factories in the Czech Republic was forced to close its doors. Fortunately, a new buyer appeared on the scene in time to save the craft, which has been handed down from generation to generation since medieval times.

When the tradition of hand-made glass production made the UNESCO list of cultural heritage in December of last year, master glassmakers around Czechia were popping champagne bottles to the future of the Czech glass making tradition. However, the mood in the Kvetna glassworks –one of the longest running glass factories in the country – was somber. Its 82 highly skilled employees had been given notice just ahead of Christmas, since its then owner Cerve Bohemia announced it was closing production due to high energy costs.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Josef Vostárek, ČTK

The first foal of the year at the National Stud in Kladruby nad Labem was born on February 4. Old Kladruber horses have been bred at this location in East Bohemia for over 400 years.

Source: ČTK

Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Czech Radio

Czech legislators are spreading disinformation on the floor of Parliament – including those from government parties. So says political scientist Miloš Gregor, who is currently also an advisor on this subject to Prime Minister Petr Fiala. I asked him what kind of disinformation was being heard in lawmakers’ debates.

“We often hear that approval of marriage for homosexual couples would somehow increase the numbers of paedophiles, or perhaps ease their access to children, which is absolute nonsense.

“In the same way, some lobby groups try to equate gay marriage with surrogacy, which is not covered by the bill. So I would say the debate on homosexual marriage, whose bill is in Parliament right now, is mainly connected to these two topics.”

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Ondřej Tomšů, Radio Prague Int.

After spending time abroad in both Shanghai and Brussels, František Reismüller, CEO of CzechTourism, is back in Prague working to promote Czechia as an attractive destination for tourists coming from abroad, and also internally for natives of the country. I spoke with him about how his experiences outside of Czechia prepared him for his role as CEO, and what he is hoping to accomplish for the tourism industry of the country.

You’re based in Prague now, but I saw that previously you were the head of CzechTourism in Shanghai. Tell me about that.

“I should start by saying that I graduated from a Chinese studies program, so I’ve always had a special relationship with China. I previously worked for a Chinese tour operator here in Prague, and then I applied for the position of Director of CzechTourism in Shanghai – I basically established the office there. I spent four years there promoting the Czech Republic to potential Chinese tourists. To this day, I still call Shanghai my second home, and I love it and love China.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Illustrative photo: Anaïs Raimbault, Radio Prague International

Forty percent of global carbon emissions come from the construction industry, and a new exhibition at Prague’s Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP), A Lot With Little, features 10 architectural projects from the Global North and South that bring sustainable solutions in housing and building transformations. The designs featured are described as “bold but affordable”, so I asked head curator, Argentinian born architect Noemí Blager, how these two methods go hand in hand.

“Most of the projects in A Lot With Little have been made with smaller budgets, others with more generous budgets. When I talk about doing a lot with little, it’s not necessarily little money, it’s more about the projects having little or no cost in terms of their environmental impact. When we think about the word ‘bold’ here, it describes the nature of the projects. All the architects are very daring, because they don’t care about prejudice.

“For example, in Niamey, the capital of Niger, there is a project that has used compact earth to build housing for middle class people in the city. But society has a prejudice against the materials that were used, because people conceive it as a material for ‘poor people’. The architects had to overcome this prejudice, and build something that responds to the climate conditions of the area, that provides beautiful architectural spaces, without having to use something like concrete, which might be the expectation because it’s what is used in the west, even though it’s wrong for the climate condition of the specific place.

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Jaroslav Svoboda, ČTK

More than 250 athletes from 33 countries have gathered in the town of Nové Město na Moravě for the Biathlon World Championships, which officially got underway on Tuesday evening.

The event, which runs until February 18, was ceremonially launched on the town’s packed Vratislav Square by the president of the International Biathlon Union, Ole Dahlin and the head of the Czech Biathlon Jiří Hamza.

The gala evening started with a new circus performance called Biathlon in the Sky, which was followed by a joint entry of the flag bearers of all participating countries. The programme, attended by mostly Czech fans, ended with a concert by Czech pop-star Ewa Farna.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Markéta Vejvodová, Czech Radio

The summer palace Belveder, near Kutná Hora in central Bohemia, was once an architectural gem. Although it is now in ruins it has a powerful presence and many visitors say they feel a special energy within its ancient stone walls.

Most people, who are familiar with the Czech capital, associate the name Belveder with the beautiful Renaissance building in the Royal Gardens of Prague Castle. The summer palace which Ferdinand I built for his wife Anna Jagiellon between 1538 and 1560 , now serves as an exhibition space for fine art and is visited by millions of people every year.

But, away from the beaten tourist tracks, hidden in a forest on Vysoká Hill near Kutná Hora in Central Bohemia you can come across another Belveder – the Belveder Summer Palace which Count František Antonín Špork built on his estate at the end of the 17th century.

The monumental building, which hosted the nobility and artists of the time, eventually went to ruin, but its impressive octagonal shape, reminiscent of one-time grandeur, and its Chapel of St. John the Baptist bespeak of a fascinating past.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Markéta Vejvodová, Source:Český rozhlas

Visitors to the Prague Zoo can best observe the pinecone between 9 and 10 in the morning, i.e. immediately after the zoo opens, when the Indonesian Jungle pavilion’s night exhibit is still in daytime light mode. At that time, it often deftly climbs the branches. Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

On February 2nd, the first European-bred nutcracker chick will be one year old. Šiška is already weighed over three kilograms and eats roughly two-thirds of her parents’ ration every day.

Prague Zoo has prepared an extraordinary program for the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be a special meeting at 9:30 a.m. and a guided birthday feeding at 3:30 p.m. at the short-tailed nutcracker exhibit in the Indonesian jungle nocturne.

“Šiška lives to be a year old, and during that time she has become not only the first nuthatch bred in Europe – which is a great achievement in itself – but thanks to public interest, she has also become an ‘ambassador’ for wild nuthatch, helping to spread awareness of the threat to this group of animals by illegal hunting and trade,” said the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek, recalling the toast dedicated to Šiška, which was sent to the Prague Zoo by Jane Goodall.

The pine cone is the first cultivated nutmeg in Europe. In a year of her life, she became an “ambassador” of wild-living nutcrackers and thus successfully spreads awareness about the critical situation of these only scaly mammals in the world in the wild. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

However, the first weeks of the baby’s life were not without problems. Siška had a reasonable postpartum weight and she did not lack the zest for life, and her mother Run Hou Tang also took excellent care of her, but the problem was that she did not have enough breast milk. However, thanks to the lactation support products given to Run Hou Tang and the artificial feeding of Šiška, this unfavorable situation was resolved relatively quickly.

“Today, Šiška is already fully independent and lives in its own exhibition – from the visitors’ point of view, it is the first one next to the outhouses. She expertly prepares a nest in a house and likes to climb trees. Visitors can best see her in the first hour after the zoo opens when there is still daylight in the exhibit,” says breeder David Vala. Šiška’s parents, female Run Hou Tang and male Guo Bao, have successfully mated again in recent months. With any luck, an ultrasound examination could confirm the possible pregnancy already in the next few weeks.

Prague Zoo is the only Czech zoo and one of two in Europe that is proud of these scaly mammals. The main motivation for their breeding stems primarily from their threat. Nutcrackers are massively hunted in Africa and Asia and have long been among the most illegally traded mammals in the world.

The beginnings of Šiška’s life were not without problems. Although she was born healthy and with a reasonable postpartum weight of 135 grams, her mother Run Hou Tang did not produce enough breast milk. Supplemental feeding and substances to support lactation, however, solved the problem and today Šiška already weighs over three kilograms. Šiška is pictured last March at the age of one month. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

Prague Zoo strives to protect them both in Cameroon, where it runs the educational project Roaming Bus and in Southeast Asia, where it supported the construction of rescue stations. A nice gift for Šiška on her first birthday would certainly be to support the protection of her wild relatives. People can do so by transferring any amount to the collection account of the Prague Zoo We help them survive (no.: 43–680 466 0247/0100) or by purchasing souvenirs in the e-shop in the section called We help them survive: https://eshop.zoopraha .cz/souvenyry/pomahame-jim-prezit.html. And last but not least, of course, a visit to the Prague Zoo.

Photo: Olga Vasinkevich, Radio Prague International

Vysočina lies on the border between Bohemia and Moravia. An area of peaceful rolling hills and rural idyll, it has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other Czech region. Check out some of its landmarks in our photo gallery!

See photos here.

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Nové Město na Moravě lies in the heart of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and is a prominent sports resort. In winter, it is a mecca of Czech biathlon and cross-country skiing; in summer it hosts mountain bike riding events. Next week the town will host the 2024 IBU World Championships.

With just days to go to the World Biathlon Championships in Nové Město na Moravě, the anticipation in the mountain town of around 10,000 inhabitants is palpable. Winter and summer sports have been a big part of life in the town ever since the first ski race was organized there in 1910.

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Authors: Guillaume Narguet, Till Janzer, Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Embassy of the Czech Republic

A memorial plaque was unveiled in the French city of Marseille on Friday dedicated to former Czechoslovak diplomat Vladimír Vochoč, who helped to save hundreds of Jews from France during the Holocaust. Despite his service to the country, he was persecuted by the Communists and spent more than seven years in prison.

Vladimír Vochoč, who served as Czechoslovakia’s consular official in Marseille between 1938 and 1941, enabled hundreds of Jews to escape from France by providing them with Czechoslovak passports. His actions were linked to a rescue operation organised by US journalist Varian Fry.

The two men allegedly struck a deal: While Vochoč issued a passport to anyone proposed by Varian Fry, the American financed the printing of the false documents. They are believed to have saved around 2,500 people in this way.

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Authors: Anna Kubišta, Ruth Fraňková

Tennis is hugely popular but it also leaves behind a substantial amount of rubbish in the form of used tennis balls that take hundreds of years to decompose. A Czech start-up is looking at ways to keep the fuzzy yellow balls out of landfills by giving them a new purpose.

An estimated 400 million tennis balls are produced worldwide each year. Grand Slam events such as the recently ended Australian Open go through over 50,000 balls over the course of the tournament. Most of the rubber balls eventually end up in landfills, where they take more than 400 years to decompose.

While that might present only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions of tons of garbage produced every year, experts are trying to find ways how to keep them out of the environment, making tennis more sustainable.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Jan Kaliba

According to the Gender Equality Index, the share of women among the members of the boards of directors of the largest listed companies and supervisory boards in the Czech Republic is only 21%. Compared to EU countries, the Czech Republic is thus in 20th place. Together with a 17.7% pay gap against women, we are among the worst on the European continent. At the seventh meeting of the signatories and supporters of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) with the subtitle Equality Means Business, the main focus was on why change is so slow and difficult to implement and how to convince those who can accelerate change.

The panel discussion was led by Radmila Pinkavová Jirkovská, who recently took on the role of European coordinator of WEPs.

The meeting took place on Thursday, January 25 at the Embassy of Romania and was attended by 11 female ambassadors working in the Czech Republic. In her welcome speech, Ambassador of Romania Antoaneta Barta said: “Equality in business, as in other sectors, is a goal that has not yet been achieved. According to statistics, less than 30% of leadership positions are held by women worldwide. This is despite many studies that show positive results of equality on productivity, profitability, and innovativeness of businesses. The main causes of this situation are gender stereotypes and mentality, which lead to differences between the sexes in the labor market, differences in the remuneration of women and men, unequal involvement in various sectors of the economy and society.‟

The ambassador pointed out that in view of these facts, Thursday’s refusal to ratify the Istanbul Convention by the Senate is a very bad signal for those who strive to eliminate violence against women. She emphasized that “equality should not only be promoted by women, on the contrary”, and therefore it is important that the Women’s Empowerment Principles are also supported by men, especially those in top positions.

You can find out what was said at the panel discussion and other information about the Women’s Empowerment Principles in the attached press release ( in Czech ).

Photo : Michaela Danelová, Czech Radio

The Czech government has confirmed its decision to rely on nuclear power as the main source of energy for the future. At a press briefing in Prague on Wednesday the cabinet announced plans to expand the Dukovany tender to four nuclear reactors instead of one.

Wednesday’s press briefing in Prague brought a number of surprises. First, the cabinet said it was seriously considering the possibility to build four nuclear reactors in the coming years instead of one, and second it announced that the hot favourite in the Dukovany tender – the US company Westinghouse – was out of the running. Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela explained why.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová, Sources:Český rozhlas,Česká televize

Today at the Castle, President Petr Pavel met with two dozen young people from various fields to jointly plan the connection of the activities of the president and young people for the year 2024. The President listened to the group’s initiatives, which professionally calls itself the Youth Council, and discussed with it key topics of youth generation and possible events where he could open these topics.

“I welcome that most of the initiative comes from your side, because otherwise it wouldn’t make much sense. We can accommodate where possible. I don’t want the cooperation to be just formal, to take a photo at the round table, but also to have concrete content,” said President Pavel at the beginning of the meeting.

At the meeting with the president, representatives of the young generation talked about topics such as mental health, rape, the euro, housing affordability, education reform, the Istanbul Convention, or the shooting at the FF UK. This year, the plan includes regular meetings of the Youth Council with the president and KPR representatives, as well as various forms of involvement of President Pavel in individual events.

Photo: National Museum

Palaeontologists have discovered that the jaw of a prehistoric animal, found a few years ago near the town of Valeč in the Karlovy Vary region, belongs to a hitherto unknown species of mammal. The unique find is the oldest evidence of a cat-like animal in Europe.

The left lower jaw of the creature was discovered in 2017 during a geological survey by National Museum palaeontologist Boris Ekrt and his colleague Lucia Kunstmülerová from Charles University. On closer examination, it turned out to be a previously unknown species, Fejfarictis valecensis, named after the respected Czech palaeontologist and populariser of the field, Professor Oldřich Fejfar, and the place the fossil was found.

The jaw was found in rock strata dating to the mid-to-late Palaeogene period, i.e. 33 to 34 million years ago – a period from which not many beasts of prey have been found in Europe. Following several years of research by specialists from the Czech National Museum, Charles University’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Czech Geological Survey and the French University in Poitiers, the jaw was found to belong to a very early member of the suborder Feliformia, a group of animals consisting of “cat-like” animals, including today’s large and small cats, hyenas, and mongooses.

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Author: Anna Fodor, Source:ČTK

Following days of filibustering, the lower house on Thursday approved a government proposal to allow postal voting for Czechs living abroad. The governing coalition wants the bill, which faces two more readings in the lower house, approved in time for the 2025 parliamentary elections. I spoke to political scientist Petr Just about its significance and its chances of winning approval.

“I think the chances are quite high since the ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in both parliamentary chambers, and this is an electoral law which must be approved by both chambers equally. There is no possibility for the lower chamber to override the veto of the upper chamber since electoral laws have a special status. Since the government has a comfortable majority in both chambers, it’s very likely that the law will be adopted in time for the 2025 general elections and be used for the first time by Czechs living abroad.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Source: IPR Praha

The final design for the new Vltava Philharmonic was recently revealed. Danish design studio Bjarke Ingels Group won the bid for its vision of the modern music hall in May 2022, and has now developed it into a detailed architectural study. The space will naturally be home to the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic, but it will also serve as a public space. I spoke with Monika Habrová, Project Manager of the Vlatava Philharmonic Hall, to learn more.

Other than a music venue, how else will the space at the Vltava Philharmonic be used?

“Apart from the music, which of course is the main component, the building will be used for its educational spaces. In the building, there will be a creative hub, which will have a classroom, a musical library and a school hall. It’s designed as a space for students and kids to come and learn.

“The space will also be used for leisure. There will be two restaurants on the top of the building, one called the City View Bistro, and a fine dining restaurant. Another important destination will just be the building itself. The roof and terraces will offer new viewpoints of the city, so it will definitely be a destination for people.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

One Life is a British biographical drama film directed by James Hawes based on the true story of a British aid worker Nicholas Winton.

He made efforts to save a group of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia just before the beginning of World War II.

The main roles in the film were played by Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn as Sir Nicholas Winton.

Winton’s daughter requested that Hopkins should play her father. Winton’s son praised Hopkins’ portrayal of his father.

In supporting roles: Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Pryce, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, and Alex Sharp.

Filming took place in London and Prague.

The world première at the Toronto Film on September 2023, and London Film Festival.

Picture released it in the Czech Republic on 1st February 2024.

Photo: Czech Television

Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show is dedicated to Eva Olmerová, whom many consider to be the greatest Czech jazz singer of all time. Olmerová, who was born 90 years ago last Saturday, has been labelled by critics as “our own Bessie Smith”. Her enormous talent and potential was never fully realized due to political persecution and personal problems, but her popularity has lasted to this day.

See the rest here.

Photo: Radio Prague International

Czech scientists recently discovered what is believed to be the country’s oldest beech tree. Growing in a forest in Krušné Hory near the town of Horní Jiřetín, the tree witnessed the ascent of the Habsburg dynasty to the Czech throne, and is estimated to be at least 470 years old.

The sapling of the beech tree started to grow on a wooded slope near the Jezeří Castle around the time when Ferdinand I was crowned King of Bohemia, making the Habsburgs the most powerful reigning dynasty in Europe.

The oldest beech tree was discovered by researchers from the Department of Forest Ecology at the Czech University of Life Sciences. The fact that it was found in a production forest in Krušné Hory, in the close proximity of a brown coal mine, took them by surprise, says researcher Vojtěch Čada.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Illustrative photo: René Volfík, Czech Radio

The Czech health sector is currently short of around 3,000 registered nurses. What makes things worse is that a third of the country’s nurses are now over the age of 60 and are due to retire within the next ten years. Hospital heads are ringing alarm bells and calling for action from the government.

Daria Hrabánková is head nurse of the internal medicine clinic at the Prague Faculty Hospital. Although the work of a head nurse is demanding, her biggest headache is planning the shifts for the week ahead. The lack of nurses is an ever-present concern.

“We are currently addressing the shortage of nurses by closing hospital beds. And I try to rotate nurses within the clinic wherever they are needed. I might send them from one ward to another, so as to temporarily saturate an urgent need there. If that can’t be done, then there is no other option but to close beds”.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Vojtěch Tomášek, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Jan Schejbal, Czech Army

Czechia has just signed an agreement with the United States to buy two dozen F-35 advanced fighter jets. The procurement is seen as significantly boosting the Czechs’ military capabilities and integration with NATO and represents the largest defence contract ever signed by the country.

On Monday morning the Czech minister of defence, Jana Černochová, and the US ambassador to Prague, Bijan Sabet, put pens to paper on a memorandum of understanding on the biggest defence contract signed by Czechia in its history.

Under the deal, rubberstamped by the Prague government last September, Czechia is set to receive 24 fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter jets at a cost of CZK 150 billion crowns.

See more here.

Author: Ian Willoughby, Source:Česká televize

The National Gallery Prague (NGP) presents the exhibition schedule for 2024. Visitors can look forward to seeing the work of Michelangelo and other masters here for the first time, in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre.

An exhibition devoted to the theme of solidarity and the role of art in times marked by conflict will open in the Trade Fair Palace.

In the spring, the Kinsky Palace will welcome an unconventional project dedicated to the phenomenon of hockey.

The main event of the autumn season will be a show of Czech artists in interwar France. NGP is also preparing a Czech presentation at the 60th Art Biennale in Venice with the support of the Ministry of Culture.

This year’s exhibition plan reflects the institution’s development concept, which was approved by the Ministry of Culture, the founder of the NGP. The concept emphasizes, among other things, the creation of a safe and stable environment for the development of artistic projects. With its dramaturgy, the NGP devotes itself to expanding the European canon of history by Czech art. “Our dramaturgy until 2026 focuses on the themes of solidarity, Czech exile art, the representation of women in the history of art, or issues of the environmental crisis. In addition, the digitization of our collections is underway and we are making strategic investments such as building a new depository in Jinonice, which NGP urgently needs,” outlines CEO Alicja Knast.

The gallery’s key goals include expanding knowledge about the collections through basic research and multidisciplinary projects, the results of which are presented in the form of publications and exhibitions. As was the case, for example, with last year’s most successful exhibition Brandl: The Story of the Bohemian, which attracted over fifty thousand visitors.

In total, almost 434,000 visitors visited the NGP’s collection exhibits and short-term exhibitions last year, which is 15% more than in 2022. The number of Friends Club members is also growing, reaching almost five thousand. More than 46,000 children and adults visited NGP’s educational and public programs in 2023.

For more information you can read the document attached ( in Czech).

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Welcome to the Faces of Czech Music, the podcast where we introduce you to the fresh musical talent the country has to offer. On our first episode, we speak with musician, composer, producer, and DJ, Ondřej Mikula – better known as Aid Kid. Aid Kid is one of the country’s most popular electronic musicians – but as we discovered in this conversation, he’s so much more than that. From his collaboration with the Czech Radio Big Band musicians, to his work on the soundtrack for the 2022 film Arvéd, the introspective Aid Kid is a great example of a musician unbound by genre.

See the rest here.

Authors: Amelia Mola-Schmidt, Petr Dudek

Photo: X of Chemis

A Czech artist who goes by the name Chemis has recently unveiled a mural in Prague’s Smíchov neighbourhood. The artwork is in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders, and focusses on the civilians who are affected and injured by war, and pays tribute to the doctors working to save them. I met with Chemis to discuss the mural and the meaning behind it.

“The mural is in Smichov on quite a busy road. It’s a collaboration with Doctors Without Borders, an organization here in Czechia. They asked me if I would do a mural based on the work that they do, and I chose the topic of surgeries and the aftercare of war related injuries – bombs, gunshots, and things like that. The mural took half a year to plan and two weeks to make.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Luděk Peřina, ČTK

Colourful masks, folk dances and pig-killing feasts attract crowds of people to the streets and signal the approach of Czechia’s masopust (Mardi Gras) celebrations, traditionally followed by a 40-day fasting period before Easter. Ash Wednesday, which marks the end of Mardi Gras, falls on 14 February this year.

Source: ČTK

Photo: Štěpánka Budková, Radio Prague International

In recent years Ed Ley has won fans on social media for his in-depth research into the streets of the Czech capital. Indeed the Englishman has already explored the stories of all the streets of Pragues 2 and 3 in daily postings on Twitter/X – and is now halfway through the city centre Prague 1. How did he get started? And what are some of the most remarkable facts he has turned up? I discussed these questions and much more with Ed Ley at our studios.

Where are you from, and what do you do, Ed?

“I’m from the UK. I was born in London and grew up in Brighton, but I live in Prague.

“And I work in development aid, so essentially I work for a firm where we review projects which are financed by international donors, such as the EU, the UN and national governments. So rather interesting.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

One of the most eye-catching of a raft of proposals from the government’s economic council is to give Czech bosses more flexibility in hiring and firing, including redundancies without stated grounds. But how much would this radical idea, backed by Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, actually benefit the economy? I asked UK-based economist Tomáš Dvořak.

“In its core, it’s not a bad proposal, because we do have a problem with labour market flexibility.

“But having read the set of proposals from the economic council, this would probably come as my last priority. It’s not something I think is desperately needed at the moment.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

St. Brigid’s Day celebrates Ireland’s only female patron saint on February 1 and most people will be familiar with the popular tradition of making crosses in St Brigid’s honour. From 2022 it’s an official holiday in Ireland.

On this day the Embassy of Ireland in the Czech Republic as part of the celebration of St. Brigid’s Day, organize an event “Leading Irish and Czech women in Business” at the residence of Ambassador H.E. Mr. Alan GIBBONS.

The main speakers were Sonia Deasy – founder and Managing director of Irish cosmetic company Pestle & Mortar and Hana & Lenka Reuterova, Owner and Managing director of IDC Food.

Ambassador H.E. Mr. Alan GIBBONS welcomes the guest with a very interesting speech about women’s rights in Ireland.

More details in our next printed magazine.

Photo: Czech Foreign Ministry

A memorial was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

On Thursday afternoon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague held a memorial commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day (which falls on January 27) and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský, Ambassador of the State of Israel Anna Azari, and Ambassador of the United States of America Bijan Sabet were among those in attendance. Perhaps the most moving moment of the memorial was a talk given by Holocaust survivor Dita Krausová. Born in 1929 in Prague, Krausová and her family were deported to Terezín ghetto in November of 1942. After surviving the Holocaust, she and her husband emigrated to Israel. In a speech given by Minister Lipavský, he expressed the urgency to “defend and shape a democratic world in which we can live in peace and freedom, and which we can pass on to future generations.”

Source

Exotic pearls, attractive destinations across continents, and the most eye-catching tourist attractions in the Czech Republic. This will be presented by domestic and foreign exhibitors at the international tourism and regional tourism fair HOLIDAY WORLD & REGION WORLD, which will take place from March 15 to 17 at the PVA EXPO PRAGUE exhibition center. In Letňany, there will also be an accompanying program full of interesting things for experts and the general public.

As part of HOLIDAY WORLD, visitors will see exhibits from popular as well as completely new destinations and areas, such as the Italian island of Elba, popular Croatia with its attractions, Slovenia, but also more distant destinations such as Peru, Indonesia, and, for the second time, Japan. After a longer hiatus, he returns to Letňan Sri Lanka.

REGION WORLD will offer the most comprehensive exhibition of tourist locations, trends, and news from the territory of the Czech Republic. There will be inspiring exhibits including all vacation tips, a portfolio of tour offers around our country, as well as overviews of attractive places in individual regions. The Moravian-Silesian Region became the partner region for 2024.

Meeting of experts

The first fair day on March 15 will be dedicated to the professional public in the field of tourism, for which an attractive accompanying program has been prepared.

The 12th edition of the conference and educational platform Forum of Tourism, organized by the CzechTourism agency, dealing with current and future tourism challenges that fundamentally affect foreign and domestic visitors to the Czech Republic, will not be missed. From last year’s theme of sustainability, the conference will move to ESG (Enviromental, Social, and Corporate Governance), the program will also include a panel discussion regarding active and spa tourism and their current trends. On the same day, the 5th edition of MBM Tourism Prague will take place, with the possibility of personal business meetings with professionals. For the third time, the prestigious Grand Prize of Tourism 2023/2024 will be awarded at PVA EXPO PRAGUE, which is a competition announced by the communication agency COT Group. The competition will take place in the categories of Best Tourist Product, Innovative Marketing Communication, Best e-project, and Best Sustainable Project.

The region of my heart was voted on last year by Czechs in a poll organized by the editors of the Kam v Českú portal in cooperation with ABF, a.s. held under the auspices of the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic. Those interested can vote for their favorite location HERE until the end of February. The winners will receive their prizes during the accompanying program on the first day of the international fair.

HOLIDAY WORLD & REGION WORLD takes place in conjunction with the 15th edition of the motorhome and caravan exhibition FOR CARAVAN and the 7th edition of the boat and water sports exhibition FOR BOAT.

You can find more information at www.holidayworld.cz.

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

The names of three Czechoslovak ice hockey players will be used to mark the streets in a new housing development in Prague by real estate company Penta. The players, who were Olympic medal winners in the 1940’s in Czechoslovakia, were jailed without trial by the communist party in 1950.

A new housing development near Prague’s Radlice and Jinonice neighbourhoods called Nová Waltrovka will honour the memory of three Czechoslovak ice hockey players who were persecuted and jailed by the communist regime. Penta, the real estate company behind the new development, has selected players from the 1948 Czechoslovak national team who won an Olympic silver medal as the namesakes of two streets and the central square in the new district.

Augustin Bubník, Vladimír Kobranov, and Václav Roziňák are those who will be commemorated, and Martin Lánský, public relations manager at Penta, told me more about their story.

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

The Committee of Good Will – The Olga Havel Foundation (VDV) will award the thirtieth annual Olga Havel Award this year. The prestigious award goes to a person who, despite his or her health handicap, helps others. Candidates for this year can be nominated by the public via the online form on the website www.cenaolgyhavlove.cz from February 1 to April 1, 2024. The award ceremony will take place on May 27 in Prague.

“The Olga Havlová Award was first announced by Olga Havlová in 1995 to honor people with health disabilities who selflessly help others despite their handicap,” says Monika Granja, director of the Goodwill Committee – Olga Havlová Foundation. “During thirty years, we have met the destinies of exceptional people who have become an inspiration to overcome obstacles for others,” adds M. Granja.

The first Award ceremony took place on May 5, 1995 in the Liechtenstein Palace in Kampa. Mrs. Olga Havlová personally presented the award to Jana Hrdá. After 1990, Mrs. Jana Hrdá, who was completely paralyzed after a spinal injury, together with other wheelchair users founded the Prague Organization of Wheelchair Users and started organizing personal assistance courses for the independent lifestyle movement in the Czech Republic. She won the right to take care of her two children and, with the help of friends, gradually organized her life in her home. She participated in the implementation of the reform of social services in the Czech Republic.

A jury appointed by the foundation’s board of directors will decide who will become this year’s prize winner and receive Olbram Zoubek’s bronze sculpture “Encouragement”. Since 2017, VDV has also been awarding the Public Prize as part of the Olga Havel Prize, the winner of which can be voted for online. Like the winner of the Olga Havlova Prize, the winner of the Public Prize will be presented at a gala event that will take place on May 27 in the newly renovated Art Nouveau Fant building of the Main Railway Station in Prague.

Last year, Filip Pšenčík received an award for his efforts to help build barrier-free housing for people with medical disabilities. As a self-sufficiency assistant at the Wheelchair League in Brno, he advises clients on the selection of compensatory aids and modifications to their housing. During his tenure, a training apartment was completed at the organization’s headquarters, serving not only clients to practice living independently but also for training personal assistants and volunteers. Heřman Volf became the recipient of the Public Prize.

Candidates for this year can be nominated by the public via the online form on the website www.cenaolgyhavlove.cz from February 1 to April 1, 2024.

Photo: Adrienn Vigyinszki, archive of Václav Šulista

Václav’s story is one of transition and adaptation; from leading a team in a pharmaceutical corporation to embarking on an entrepreneurial path with his own consulting business. Apart from his professional achievements, Václav has been serving as the Czech Honorary Consul in Basel for several years.

Václav’s background is profoundly Czech: born in České Budějovice in South Bohemia, he went on to study analytical chemistry in Prague. And it was there in 1986, that he met his future wife: a young Swiss lady on a visit. They became pen-friends and romantically fell in love when Václav had to do his military service in still Communist Czechoslovakia. They got married two days after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the whole of Eastern Europe including Czechoslovakia was seized by a revolutionary wave.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Czechia’s score in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has hardly improved at all over the last eight years. While its position in the 2023 ranking remains the same as the year before, it still scored well below the EU average. I spoke to Marek Chromý, head analyst at Transparency International’s Czech branch, to find out why.

First of all, I’m curious how the CPI is calculated – isn’t corruption, by nature, something that usually happens secretly, behind closed doors? How do you get the data from all these different countries in order to be able to calculate it?

“You are right – corruption, in order to be successful, has to remain hidden – thus, it’s impossible to measure it. That’s why Transparency International developed the Corruption Perception Index, as it aims to score and rank countries based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be by experts, academics, journalists, business executives and so on.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Václav Vojtěch, ‘Námořníkem, topičem a psovodem za jižním polárním kruhem’, 1932

Ninety-five years ago, Václav Vojtěch, geography teacher, scientist and polar explorer, became the first Czech to reach Antarctica together with an American expedition.

Václav Vojtěch was born in 1901 in the town of Skřivany, east of Prague, and as the son of a forester, loved adventure and the great outdoors from an early age. He studied history and geography, and as an editor of Czechoslovak Radio he was able to visit Paris. There, he saw a film about the race to the South Pole between Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British adventurer Robert Scott and became obsessed with the notion to reach the South Pole himself. Eventually, after many attempts and rejections, he was able to join an expedition to Antarctica led by the American Admiral Richard Byrd. Vojtěch was twenty-seven, and although he participated in the expedition only as a gunner on a supply ship and later as a waiter, on January 27, 1929 his lifelong dream came true. That day he stepped onto the shore in Ross Sea’s Whale Bay on the coast of Antarctica.

See the rest here.

Source: Český rozhlas

Who doesn’t want to look younger? Now it’s much more easy and closer to you.

Official Hydrafacial center was newly opened in Prague city center. The center serves as a training center for clinics and cosmetic that work with Hydrafacial, and also provides this care to the general public.

Hydrafacial is a complete non-invasive device skin treatment said Renata Sičáková. She has been active in the field of healthcare, intensive care, dermatology, and cosmetics for over twenty years. During that time, she worked both with patients in the Czech Republic and abroad, as well as in the distribution of medical devices and cosmetics. Together with her husband, MUDr. Michal Sičák, operates a network of dermatological clinics, Derma Medical Clinic.

It uses patented vortex technology, which enables better dermabrasion and deeper penetration of active substances into the skin than conventional cosmetics. Treatments can be individually tailored to clients according to the needs of their skin. Care involves several steps. First, the skin is prepared with dermabrasion and peeling. It is then perfectly cleaned. The skin prepared in this way is infused with active substances. The result is perfectly clean, healthy, hydrated, and rejuvenated skin.

Hydrafacial is recommended by world leaders in aesthetic dermatology and cosmetics, such as plastic surgeons Dr. Paul Nassif and Jennifer Lopez.

Photo: Pavel Halla, Czech Radio

Vysočina can proudly boast that it has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other Czech region. It is an area of peaceful rolling hills and rural idyll, so don’t come if you like big city life – its largest urban settlement is home to only 50,000 people. But its towns and villages, though small, tend to offer rich cultural programmes and tight-knit communal life, as I found out when I braved the January cold to go there.

You would be hard-pressed to find a person with deeper roots in the Vysočina region than local journalist Vít Pohanka, whom you may know as the host of Czechast. His family has lived in the area around Žďár nad Sázavou going back as far as the 15th century – but the majority of Žďár’s 20,000 or so inhabitants are actually much newer transplants, he says.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Czech Foreign Ministry

Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, pilots have been unable to complete the required training necessary for their certification. In response to this, the Czech government has announced its support of a new project bridging the Czech Technical University and the National Aviation University in Kiev, where 20 Ukrainian students will train in the Czech air space and get their pilot certification.

On Tuesday afternoon at the Czech Technical University (CTU), Czechia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský announced a new project being funded by the state – a program in which young Ukrainian transport pilots are trained in Czechia. The training program is in collaborations with CTU and the National Aviation University in Kiev (NAU). Minister Lipavský explained.

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

The main communication topic of Czech tourism for the next two years is Active tourism. The key campaign of the CzechTourism agency Unexpected Wellbeing will show how to exercise, relax, and rest while traveling. It follows on from the original and imaginative visual of Unexpected Traditions from 2023, which was appreciated by experts, and moves the theme of active tourism into a non-traditional form tuned in cooperation with the regions. With a common goal not only with the Ministry for Regional Development: to attract as many travelers as possible to the Czech Republic from all over the world.

Tourism is of fundamental importance for the domestic economy. It contributes 95 billion crowns to the GDP and provides 214,000 jobs, which means that every 25th Czech Republic works there. * (*Source: Czech Statistical Office, data for the year 2021) Tourism has the largest share of employment in the Karlovy Vary Region, Prague, and South Moravian Region, and GDP in the Karlovy Vary Region, South Bohemia, and Prague.

“The importance of tourism for the Czech economy is unquestionable. It has a positive impact on the development of regions, prevents their depopulation, and supports investment opportunities. The benefits of tourism need to be brought closer to people – thanks to it, the infrastructure of basic and accompanying services has been built in many regions. We want the Czech Republic to be an attractive destination not only for tourists but also for investors and entrepreneurs. Therefore, one of the first things we did at the Ministry of Regional Development at the beginning of the year was to allocate 200 million crowns to support tourism. In two calls, we will support the equipment of tourist routes, the development of navigation and information systems in destinations, the modification of cross-country ski routes or environmentally friendly transport in tourist regions, and marketing activities,” says Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization and Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš.

Active tourism is a global trend, where everyone is trying to “get people out of their chairs”. The Czech Republic has all the prerequisites for this: the best system of tourist signage in the world, a great tradition of sports and outdoor activities, and high-quality world-renowned spas that are also on the UNESCO list.

“The good news is that we managed to negotiate about 27 million CZK more for tourism this year than last year. The budget of the CzechTourism agency increased to CZK 400 million compared to last year’s roughly 373 million. In this way, we will be able to strengthen the visibility of the Czech Republic abroad and at domestic events,” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism, adding: “Money naturally plays a very important role in how individual countries manage to attract guests from abroad. Although in the first three quarters of last year, mass accommodation facilities in the Czech Republic were visited by almost 2.3 million more tourists than in 2022, approximately 17.4 million, more than half of them were domestic travelers. There were 10.2 million of them, while 7.2 million foreigners came to us. At the same time, foreign tourists spend more than residents on trips to and around the Czech Republic. Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the USA and Great Britain were the most creditworthy markets for the Czech Republic from the 1st quarter of 2022 to the 3rd quarter of 2023. It is there, but not only, that we want to target our biggest campaigns this year.”

The new communication concept of the Czech Tourism Board’s 2024 and 2025 Unexpected Wellbeing campaigns is based on the idea that the Czech Republic is de facto one big spa. There is such relaxation, beautiful nature, and rich culture that even if you spend your vacation in the Czech Republic actively relaxing, you feel like you are in a spa. And so each one easily sports activity becomes an unexpected spa procedure. The visuals, which were primarily created in English, have slogans (claims) such as “unexpected steam room” for a photo of a cyclist in the fog, “unexpected pedicure” for a photo of bare feet walking on rocks in the forest or “unexpected aromatherapy” for a group of people walking across a blossoming meadow. In addition to the campaigns, CzechTourism is also planning a whole range of other activities.

“Of course, our biggest B2B event aimed at buyers and representatives of travel agencies from all over the world and domestic experts and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry will take place again this year under the name Czechia Travel Trade Day. It is held in a different regional city every year. Last year’s very successful one in Brno, on which we worked intensively with the Center for Tourism – South Moravia and the statutory city of Brno, was attended by 74 buyers from 23 countries around the world, and 1,800 individual B2B meetings took place over two days. We are preparing this year’s so-called TTD for April 29 and 30 in Hradec Králové, it will be the 7th edition,” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism, adding: “In addition, we will continue to develop our destination portals Visit Czechia and Kudy and Nudy, which last year recorded the highest number of visitors in history – VC more than 2.4 million, KzN more than 28 million visits. In general, it is clear that digitization and tourism are inextricably linked.”

“We are also preparing a new approach to the registration of accommodated tourists. Imagine not having to fill out lengthy paper forms when visiting an accommodation facility. Instead, we are entering the era of digital tourism, when a single digital place will be used to register tourists in our accommodation facilities. At the Ministry for Regional Development, we are working on an amendment that will reduce the administrative burden and adapt the tourism industry to new technologies. We will have data in real-time, which will benefit not only our ministry but also the foreign police, the statistical office, and the municipalities themselves. Each mayoress will see how many tourists they currently have in their cadastre and how much money they will get into the budget in fees thanks to them. These can then be used, for example, to develop infrastructure,” says Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization and Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš and adds: “This revolution in accommodation records naturally also includes tourists who use online accommodation platforms. Every visitor to our country will be required to register, in accordance with the European Union regulation currently being discussed by the European Parliament. Modern times demand modern solutions – we will not stand by, but will meet them.”

In 2024, the further involvement of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Kudy z nudy and Visit Czechia portals should also be analyzed in order to facilitate the work of users. On/s Kudy z nudy will continue to create thematic landing pages and conclude data alliances so that it is possible to use high-quality external data sources. Currently, CzechTourism, among other things, is helping to implement a project of the Ministry of Culture in the context of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. Not only thanks to this composer, the year 2024 is known as the Year of Czech Music, in which a whole series of events will take place in connection with classical music, information about which can already be found on a special signpost.

At KzN, people can also familiarize themselves with the upcoming news of 2024, sports events and what domestic spas are planning this year. And the Czech Tourism Office, in cooperation with partners, is also preparing the Tourism Forum, which will be part of the HOLIDAY WORLD & REGION WORLD 2024 fairs in March, the presentation of the Czech Republic at foreign fairs, various events under the banner of the Czech Convention Bureau, etc.

Photo: Film Europe

The annual SCANDI film festival, curated by Prague’s Edison Filmhub, showcases the best of contemporary Nordic cinema. For this year’s edition, Academy Award and two-time Cannes winning Danish director Bille August is in attendance to promote his latest work, The Kiss. I caught up with him ahead of the film’s screening.

Back in 2015 you said that the more Nordic cinema is, the more popular it’s become, and that staying true to that genre has brought much success. Do you still feel the same way today?

“I think film in general has become more international in the sense of the storytelling. What I think is unique about Nordic films is the way of storytelling, but also the light, the way we live with the dramatic changes of seasons. In the winter it’s cold, it’s almost a monochromatic world with snow everywhere, and the lack of ability to meet others because of the cold, but in the summer, all emotion comes out and it’s very colourful. I think these changes have a big impact on the way we live and our culture.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

At the beautiful Morzin Palace, where the Romanian Embassy is located, we celebrated the Culture Day of both Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The event was hosted by H.E. Mrs. Antoaneta Barta, Ambassador of Romania, and H.E. Mr. Alexandru Codreanu, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova.

The cultural program included a team of very talented International ballet dancers from Romania and Moldova.

On a personal note: I was born in Romania. As a child, I remember my older sister dancing as a ballerina. She was extremely talented, and what I remember most was her dancing as the dying swan in Saint-Saëns’ “Le Cygne”, from Carnival of the Animals. These memories came rushing back to me, watching Ballerina Alina Nanu performing this ballet.

Thank you very much for such a great cultural event.

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

Many Czechs have been shocked by a case in which a man got only a suspended sentence for raping his minor stepdaughter – after a court expert said the violations, which went on for two years, had not greatly impacted her. Following the verdict, the victim repeatedly attempted suicide. I discussed the case with Lucie Hrdá, a lawyer and women’s rights campaigner.

“We should rethink mandatory training for judges in victimology and the psychology of victims, and to do mandatory training… not only mandatory, it should also be something that they need to do before they can ask for a promotion.

“And I also expect Czech society to call for [ratification of] the Istanbul Convention. Because we really need and this is something that could help us and prevent other decisions like this.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

On January 25, 2024, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, led a parliamentary delegation on a two-day working trip to the United Kingdom. In London, she held talks with the Speaker of the British House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, about support for defiant Ukraine. She then discussed Czech-British relations with the Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord McFall of Alcluith. The delegation also had on its agenda, among other things, the resumption of the activities of the Friends of the Czech Republic group in the British Parliament, a meeting with the “Winton children” and a debate with Czech university students.

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, visited the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the head of a parliamentary delegation. In the House of Commons, she first negotiated with her British counterpart, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

“Our countries have long-term very similar views on several foreign policy topics. It concerns both the situation in Ukraine, and the role of Russia, but also the area of cybercrime and hybrid threats, or the observance of basic human rights and freedoms in the world. Our common values brought us even closer together when a brutal war instigated by the dictator Putin returned to Europe almost two years ago. It is our common interest and fundamental civilizational obligation not to let Putin win in Ukraine,” said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, after the meeting.

The parliamentary delegation consisting of the chairman of the inter-parliamentary group of friends of the Czech Republic – Great Britain Ondřej Lochman and member of the same group Aleš Juchelka also met with the chairman of the House of Lords Lord McFall of Alcluith. They also took part in the official launch of the renewed activity of the group of friends of the Czech Republic in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

“I very much welcome the revival of this group given the intensity of our mutual cooperation, the shared values of parliamentary democracy, and the historically strong ties between our countries and legislatures. Our strong bilateral ties at as many levels as possible are indispensable and irreplaceable in the post-Brexit era,” added the speaker of the House of Representatives, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

The work program also included a stop at the former headquarters of Czechoslovak military intelligence in Porchester Gate or a meeting with the “Winton children” Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines and Lord Alfred Dubs. They, along with almost seven hundred other girls and boys, were rescued from occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939 by the English humanist Sir Nicholas Winton.

Last but not least, there was also a debate with Czech university students and teachers working at prestigious British universities.

“Czech-British relations are excellent. Not only at the political level but also in the area of investments and mutual trade, where the mutual balance reaches pre-covid values again. Our cooperation also flourishes in the field of science and research or cultural life. No less important is that mutual interpersonal contacts also thrive. Approximately 80,000 Czech citizens live in the United Kingdom, and approximately 9,000 citizens of the United Kingdom live in the Czech Republic. This is an extremely promising investment for the development of our relations in the future as well,” concluded chairwoman Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

Photo: Michaela Danelová, iROZHLAS.cz

On this day 55 years ago, Sándor Bauer and Josef Hlavatý emulated Jan Palach’s sacrifice and set themselves ablaze in protest of the Soviet occupation.

Just a day later, two people followed Jan Palach’s example. The first was Sándor Bauer, a 16-year-old boy from Budapest, who set himself on fire outside the city’s Hungarian National Museum. Holding two national flags in his hands, he protested against the Soviet occupation of Hungary and Hungarian participation in the occupation of Czechoslovakia.

Later on the same day, a 25-year-old brewery worker from Pilsen, Josef Hlavatý, doused himself with kerosene, burning to death on the city’s Dukla Square. In his own words, he was protesting against the “Russian occupiers”.

See the rest here.

Photo: Paul-Henri Perrain, Radio Prague International

People passing through Prague’s Můstek metro station should find their commutes considerably brightened by some fresh greenery that has been placed there. A new six-metre-wide installation that extends from floor to ceiling contains around 30 plants growing in a smart greenhouse.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Tereza Bartůňková, Source:iROZHLAS.cz

Photo: Mystify / YouTube

Many music videos have been made in Prague over the decades. But perhaps the best known of all is the 1988 video for Never Tear Us Apart by the Australian group INXS. But why Prague? And how did the recording go in the still communist city? Director Richard Lowenstein looks back on a video shoot for the ages.

Sweeping shots of still unspoiled Prague. Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, even a saxophone player in the Old Jewish Cemetery. The video for INXS’s huge hit single Never Tear Us Apart – which delivered indelible images of the city to millions via MTV – has it all.

Thirty-six years later, its director, Richard Lowenstein, explains how the famous rock band ended up in the Czechoslovak capital.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ian Willoughby, Juan Pablo Bertazza

The President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, agreed with the head of the Office of the President of the Republic, Jana Vohralíková, to be relieved of her duties

The President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, agreed with the head of the Office of the President of the Republic, Jana Vohralíková, to be relieved of her duties. The reasons for her departure are personal.

The President of the Republic praised the work of the chancellor: “Jana Vohralíková did an excellent job during the extremely difficult time of the beginning of the presidential mandate and the building of the office. She was able to bring professionals into leadership positions, set up the organization and functioning of the entire team. My big thanks to her for that. I would be delighted to continue to use her experience or recommendations and stay in touch with her. The door to the Castle will be open.’

Jana Vohralíková will be replaced by Milan Vašina, who is one of the top managers in the country. Since 2007, he managed Slovakian T–Mobile and since 2011 he was the general director of T–Mobile ČR. He is currently the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute.

Read the interview with Jana Vohralíková from a few years ago :

“Having a job as a REWARD”

https://www.czechleaders.com/interviews/jana-vohralikova-2

Photo: Zuzana Jarolímková, iROZHLAS.cz

The Czech Senate rejected ratification of the Istanbul Convention in a hotly contested vote Wednesday night. The treaty, which Czechia formally signed in 2016, seeks to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence. So why have Czech politicians rejected it? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.

“I think part of the decision of the Senate is tied to what I would basically call disinformation.

“There have been a lot of attempts by people who defend the so-called traditional family, and traditional values, to depict the Istanbul Convention as something that could affect the standing of the family, traditional values and so on in the Czech Republic.

“Unfortunately it seems that a critical mass of senators decided to support this.

“They ignored the fact that the Istanbul Convention is already ratified in most Western European countries and that the Czech lawmakers will not find anything new there.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

On Wednesday 24th January 2024 at the beautiful Augustine Hotel, took place the opening of Helena Laisztner Kroftova exhibition “Colors of Woman 3D” – 35 years of living art.

The event was under the auspices of Terezie Radomerska – Mayor of Prague 1, with many distinguished guests, Ambassadors, media, models, and Helena friends.

We attached just a few pictures to this news article. More details and pictures are in our Spring printed magazine.

On the last Saturday of January, 28 years will pass since the departure of the founder of the Goodwill Committee — the Olga Havlova Foundation (VDV). A memorial meeting at the Havel family tomb in the Vinohradský cemetery with a symbolic lighting of a candle for Mrs. Olga will take place on Friday, January 26, from 2 p.m. Olga Havlova’s legacy will be remembered by the chairman of the board of directors of the foundation Vojtěch Sedláček and its director Monika Granja, the sermon will be delivered by parish priest Miroslav Erdinger. The commemorative event will be musically accompanied by the Besharmonie student choir.

“With a candle for Olga Havlová, we will continue to the year 2023, during which we organized many extraordinary events and projects under the banner of the campaign “Olga is here with us” on the occasion of Olga’s 90th birthday, which she did not live to see,” said VDV director Monika Granja. “For example, we continued with the planting of Olga Havel’s Trees, and we planted the symbolic ninetieth tree in Jelení kopá with the presidential couple Petr and Eva Pavlov. Over 100 commemorative and benefit events took place across the country,” adds the director.

Many partners and important personalities were involved in the commemorative year. Aneta Langerová in collaboration with Jakub Zitek, at the request of the foundation, composed a Song for Olga in honor of Olga Havel, which became the imaginary anthem of the year. Based on the photographs of Bohdan Holomíček and Ondřej Němec, directed by Martin Dušek, a cartoon video spot “Olga is here with us” was created, which was shown by Czech TV and selected cinemas throughout the Czech Republic. It was animated by Martin Máj, the illustrations were created by Adéla Marie Jirků. Her author’s drawing, a portrait of Olga Havlová and an illustration of trees were also the basis for a printed sheet of stamps with additional printing, which was published by the Czech Post in cooperation with the foundation. The year-long collection with the symbolic name Gift for Olga raised more than 860,000 crowns to help those in need.

The “Olga is here with us” campaign was a continuation of the foundation’s activities in the spirit of Olga Havel’s legacy. Even in 2023, the organization focused mainly on helping people with health and social disadvantages. From programs to support the elderly, the dying, and people at risk of social exclusion, the foundation supported 173 organizations with the amount of 7.9 million crowns. It contributed to the purchase of wheelchairs, hearing aids, and other compensatory aids and to movement therapies for 330 people with a medical disadvantage. Throughout the year, she supported 112 disadvantaged students with scholarships and involved 163 high school students in the “Give a Heart” call to help the needy. VDV, in cooperation with the OSF Foundation and the Scout Institute, continued to administer the Active Citizens Fund program, the aim of which is to strengthen civil society in the Czech Republic.

Photo: Štěpánka Budková, Radio Prague International

At a conference marking the 20th anniversary of Czech membership in the EU, the country’s top officials highlighted the numerous advantages of belonging to the alliance. One thing they were unable to agree on was the prospect of euro adoption.

While Czechia’s former sister state Slovakia adopted the euro in 2009, Czechs have been reluctant to relinquish their national currency: the crown. Past references to the country’s commitment to adopt the euro were made in a hazy manner, as something that was in the pipeline at some point in the future.

At the start of this year, the subject was raised by President Petr Pavel, who urged the government to act on this matter. On the 20th anniversary of Czech EU membership and with European elections looming, it was inevitable that the country’s top politicians should make their stand on this issue known and it revealed that, all in all, only two of the smaller parties in government are in favour of setting a time frame for euro adoption.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová, Sources:Český rozhlas,ČT24,ČTK

Photo: Kateřina Šulová, ČTK

This year’s celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Czechia’s accession to the European Union kicked off on Monday with a conference marking the country’s two decades of membership. It was the first in a series of events that will take place throughout 2024.

Czechia officially joined the European Union on May 1, 2004, but the first in a series of events highlighting the anniversary, a conference entitled “20 Years of Making Europe”, took place at Prague’s Liechtenstein Palace already this Monday.

Speaking at its opening, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that during the two-decades of EU membership, Czechia has repeatedly proven itself to be an honest and reliable partner to the other member states:

“We have proven, over the 20 years of our membership, that we can do the right thing in crises, that we are ready to show solidarity with the weak.

“I think both of these facts are visible today, when the EU and the whole of Europe are coming to terms with the consequences of Russian aggression, with a war raging close to our borders.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: archive of Jean Svoboda

Imagine knowing little to nothing about your roots, your lineage shrouded in the mists of time and distance. This was the reality for Jean Svoboda, an Australian with a Czech father and Latvian mother. Despite being born and raised down under, Jean’s heritage whispered tales from far-off lands, tales she knew she had to uncover.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Blanka Mazalová, Czech Radio

A valuable book from the early 16th century, which went missing from the Olomouc Archbishopric more than 80 years ago, was recently rediscovered. The postil, or a set of comments on Biblical texts, was officially handed over this week by the Italian police, who seized it at an auction in Trieste last year.

The lost and found 16th century book, which disappeared from the Olomouc Archbishopric in the 1940s, contains interpretations of New Testament epistles and gospels that were read at Mass during the liturgical year. Its editor was an unknown Dominican, William of Paris, who died in 1485.

The copy in question was published in Basel in 1518. It is lavishly decorated with woodcuts by a local artist and bound in brown leather adorned with a blind-print of the Crucifixion. How it got from Basel to Olomouc is also a bit of a mystery, says archivist Štěpán Kohout:

“We know that it was in the hands of a Bohemian Protestant who wrote down notes in the margins, some with a strongly anti-Catholic tone. Then it somehow came into the hands of the Olomouc priest David Pipper of Jáchymov, who was also the chapter librarian, and he donated the book to the library.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Blanka Mazalová

Scientists from Masaryk University in Brno set out on Wednesday on their 20th expedition to the Johan Gregor Mendel Polar Station on Antarctica’s James Ross Island. The 16-member team includes climatologists, geologists, but also two filmmakers. I discussed the goals of this year’s mission with Daniel Nývlt, head of the Czech Antarctic Research:

“The main aim is still the same: a long-term monitoring of climate and a complex evaluation of marginal Antarctic geo and ecosystems. We carry out long-term monitoring of local glaciers, permafrost and active layer, and also the deglaciated areas where numerous lakes and streams evolved. We also do microbiological research and the research of local biota, which is present in deglaciated areas of James Ross Island.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

The two-week-old female is the first addition to the group of gorillas living in the Dja Reserve pavilion. At the same time, she is also the granddaughter of the legendary gorilla Moji. She became the first ever bred gorilla in the Czech Republic, and her story can thus continue thanks to the new cub. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

The baby lowland gorilla, which was born at the Prague Zoo on January 2, Duni, is a female. The director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek, told media representatives. The gender was determined based on a special blood test performed at the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine.

The public will now have the opportunity to choose a name for the cub from ten suggestions made by children from the area of the real Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon, Central Africa.

“Yes, it’s a female!” said the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek. “And a lot of people were clear about that even before our announcement today. When I did two polls on different social networks about the gender of the baby gorilla, both came out roughly 2:1 in favor of female. The discussion posts also showed a firm belief that it was a female. Father’s Wish Thoughts? Perhaps. But I do not think that. I’m sure some people just recognized it. The little gorilla’s face has ‘girlish’ features that many of us perceive, even if only subconsciously. It wouldn’t be surprising. Gorillas are perhaps extremely close to us in all respects. As I say, they’re just slightly different people.’

The gender was confirmed based on a special examination in which DNA was isolated from the umbilical cord blood and umbilical cord.

“First, we isolated DNA from the placenta and umbilical cord. Here, we subsequently exposed the polymerase chain reaction with special primers, that is, with the help of those primers, we amplified the section located on the Y chromosome, which carries a gene called SRY – it determines the male sex,” explains Professor Jiří Rubeš from the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine in Brno. “We then used the DNA for gel electrophoresis, which determined whether the gene was there or not.

Prague Zoo decided to reach out to children from the area of the real Dja Biosphere Reserve in Central African Cameroon, who participated in the Roaming Bus project, to come up with name suggestions for the female gorilla. The public will then choose the final name from them. Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

So when we discovered the absence of this gene, it was clear that it was a female. In the case of his presence, on the other hand, the cub would be male.”

With the knowledge of the gender, nothing stands in the way of choosing a name for the baby. Prague Zoo asked children who live in the vicinity of the Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon, where the zoo has been running the educational project Wandering Bus for over 10 years. These children took a trip on the Wandering Bus and thus became guardians of the gorillas and the entire ecosystem there.

Starting tomorrow (19.1.2024), the Czech public can choose the winner of the poll from ten proposals in the local Badjoué dialect on the website idnes.cz.

“The little female gorilla is not only the result of the great work of the breeders at the Prague Zoo, but also the decision to build a new pavilion at the Reserve Dja. Without him, it would not be possible to continue breeding these critically endangered primates, and for a long time the only group of gorillas in the whole of the Czech Republic would live without the possibility of breeding. Everything went smoothly and now we are looking forward not only to the granddaughter of the iconic Moja, but also to the next cub that will be born in the spring,” said in her speech the deputy mayor of the City of Prague for the environment Jana Komrsková.

The baby gorilla is enjoying good health and her mother Duni is increasingly allowing other members of the group to approach the cub, especially the female Kijiva. The seven-year-old male Ajabu continues to be the most curious member. He regularly sits with Duni and the cub and tries to establish contact with him. People can watch these interactions from the comfort of a large auditorium in the warmth of the pavilion. The best time is when feeding around 10 a.m. and then again after 3 p.m.

Photo: Petr Veber, Czech Radio

Gustav Mahler, one of the greatest composers of the early 20th century was born in Vysočina Region, also known as the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Mahler’s birthplace in the village of Kaliště now serves as a guesthouse, restaurant, and concert venue adorned with the composer’s images and artworks.

Czechs like to think of themselves as a nation of musicians. While it’s challenging to gauge the musicality of over 10 million individuals, one undeniable fact is that this country has produced several globally renowned composers. Among them, Leoš Janáček and Antonín Dvořák are perhaps the most celebrated. Yet, there’s another luminary with roots in Czechia who gained fame far beyond its borders: Gustav Mahler.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: CES on-line/Centrální evidence sbírek muzejní povahy

Born in 1874, Josef Suk was known as one of the great Czech lyricists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of Antonín Dvořák’s favorite pupils, and also became personally close to his mentor – so much so that he married his daughter, Otýlie, in 1898.

What followed were some of the happiest years of Suk’s life. The couple had one child, a son, also named Josef, that same year.

But the second half of his life was marked by tragedy. Over the span of 14 months in 1904 – 1905, not only did Suk lose his mentor, Dvořák, but also his wife. Otýlie died of heart failure aged 27 in 1905, a year after her father. These events inspired Suk’s Azrael Symphony, named after the Angel of Death.

The first half of his life and career was markedly more cheerful. In his youth, Suk followed in the tradition of the Romantic composers. As well as Antonín Dvořák, he also learned from Johannes Brahms, whose influence can be clearly seen in his Symphony in E major, which he composed in 1899, a year after his marriage to Otýlie.

See the rest here.

The 2024 Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship is underway in Switzerland, and Czechia is on track to play for a medal for the first time since 2014. But the response from some Czech observers, has been far from supportive for the professional athletes dressing for their country. Two time bronze medal winner for the Czech women’s national ice hockey team Blanka Škodová posted a tweet about her thoughts on the response these young athletes have been getting, sparking a discussion around how female hockey players are treated. I spoke with Škodová about her thoughts on the matter.

I want to start by asking you what exactly you’ve been observing in regards to the online comments about the women’s U18 championship?

“I was not expecting much of this when I posted it on Twitter. I only meant to use my small platform to express my frustration over these comments, and I wanted to point them out. A few people reached out to me saying what a great initiative it was, and how they could support the statement too, and that really showed me that it was the right time to speak out. I really just couldn’t take it any longer, because I can’t imagine how these girls feel about it.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Václav Šálek, ČTK

Skaters took to the frozen surface of the Baťa Canal in the Hodonín region at the weekend. Some played ice hockey on the frozen waterway while others skated several kilometres between villages and other spots along the canal.

Source: ČTK

Photo: Prague 6

The first specialized center for victims of sexual violence in Czechia is due to open in Prague on Monday. The facility will offer victims psychological support and assistance, as well as short-term accommodation enabling them to take stock of their situation in peace.

The PORT center was established by the ProFem organization, which helps victims of domestic and sexual violence. The head of the organization, Jitka Poláková, says that a facility offering shelter and comprehensive support has been desperately lacking in this country.

“According to the results of our latest research, which has yet to be published, 20 percent of Czech women have experienced rape. This comprehensive help center is a pilot project and we hope that in due time other such centers will be created around the country.”

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová, Source:Český rozhlas

On Thursday 18.1.2024 at Prague Castle, President Petr Pavel welcomed several dozen representatives of the Integrated Rescue System who intervened in the case of a shooter at the University’s Faculty of Arts Karlovy on December 21 last year.

He met with police officers, doctors and paramedics, firefighters, as well as psychologists and interventionists. The President primarily wanted to thank them for their commitment on the day of the tragic event, but also to talk to them about what their work entailed.

“I am extremely appreciative of the fact that you did everything in your power and in accordance with the applicable rules. I want to thank you all and at the same time wish you never to do this again they did not have to participate in the intervention,” said President Pavel to those present at the beginning of the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Regional Directorate of the Police, Petr Matějček, the Director of the Fire Rescue Service, Vladimír Vlček, and the Director of the Prague Rescue Service, Petr Kolouch.

foto: Tomáš Fongus

On Monday, January 15, 2024, President Pavel started a three-day trip to the Middle East in Israel. The trip was planned for a long time, President Pavel received the invitation to Israel shortly after his election as president. He started his visit with a meeting with the President of Israel, Yitzchak Herzog , with whom he talked about the security situation in the country and assistance to Palestinian civilians. Due to the long-term strategic partnership between the two countries, business cooperation and the future of relations were also a big topic.

“I am happy to say that the Czech Republic considers Israel not only a friend but also a strategic partner. We stand in solidarity with your right to fight terrorism and defend your population, but at the same time we care about civilian victims, because civilians on both sides have the same right to be protected, and that is why we are concerned about the level of humanitarian aid and access to humanitarian aid,” said President Pavel after meeting with President Herzog. President Pavel also met with the Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ochana, and with the member of the war cabinet and the chairman of the National Unity Bloc, Benny Gantz, who served as the alternate prime minister in 2020-2021. He also held talks with current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At the press conference, President Pavel announced that the Czech Republic has decided to send a total of ten million crowns for humanitarian aid, five million for aid to Palestinian civilians, and five million for Israeli medical organizations.

President Petr Pavel met with the families of the kidnapped hostages in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz and visited the Austrian Pilgrimage Hospice at the Holy Family in Jerusalem.

The second day of the official visit to Israel was started by the President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, on his way to the Erez military base, which was affected by the terrorist attacks of October 7 last year. He met Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler here. The main topic of the meeting was the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

After that, the president of the republic discussed with the leadership of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, among other things, the cyber dimension of the war. The meeting was accompanied by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of cyber cooperation, which was signed by the director of NÚKIB, Lukáš Kintr, on behalf of the Czech side.

“The signing of this memorandum places us in an elite group of states that deal with cyber security at a top level. Here, too, we had the opportunity to see how dramatically cyber attacks have increased since October 7, not only against Israeli institutions but also against other states that express support for Israel in any way. I am glad that I could see it with my own eyes, because I can get a real picture not only of the situation related to humanitarian aid, but also of the situation related to cyber security, and therefore the security of all of us,” said the President of the Republic after the meeting at the press briefing.

President Pavel also addressed the topic of cyber security in the afternoon during a tour of the cyber security operations center.

In parallel with the program of the President of the Republic, the program of the business delegation accompanying him on the state visit was also taking place, including, for example, representatives of the Union of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic, the Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Medical Devices, the Association of Companies of the Czech Railway Industry, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry or cyber security companies CyWeTa.

The President of the Republic continued his trip to the Middle East on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, flying from Israel to Qatar. The main point of his agenda was a meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Sani in his palace. The topic was the role of Qatar in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but above all the cooperation between the two states, for example in the fields of energy, defense, and tourism.

“Qatar is one of the countries in the region with which it is important to have a dialogue because they are able to moderate sensitive issues and are inclined to have individual states communicate more with each other and try to find common solutions, which is definitely in our interest,” said President Pavel at the press briefing after the meeting.

President Pavel also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah.

He visited the traditional marketplace in Doha and at the Czech embassy, which has been operating in the country since 2022, he met with Czech compatriots who have been living in Qatar for a long time.

foto: Zuzana Bönisch

Photo: Czech Television

Palach Week, which occurred 10 months before protests that toppled Czechoslovakia’s Communist regime, began 35 years ago, on January 15, 1989. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed – but still signaled a growing willingness to reject the regime.

What became known as Palach Week, the most significant street protests in Czechoslovakia prior to the Velvet Revolution, began on Sunday January 15, 1989.

The initial aim was to commemorate the self-immolation of student Jan Palach in central Prague exactly two decades earlier.

Co-organisers Charter 77 had announced in advance their intention of laying flowers in tribute to Palach. The Communist authorities duly banned the event – and were waiting, says historian Jan Adamec.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Martina Schneibergová, Radio Prague International

Participants of talks on developing a peace formula for Russia’s war on Ukraine met in Davos last Sunday and President Zelensky subsequently asked Switzerland to organize a high-profile peace conference on the drawn-out conflict. I spoke to Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian, who represented Czechia at the Davos talks, to find out how much progress was made and whether the prospects for peace have improved.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Czech Foreign Ministry

Prague has been hitting back at propaganda launched after Czechia recently refused a Russian “summons” to the UN Security Council. With the social media campaign “Pro-Kremlin Fairy Tales”, the Czech Foreign Ministry is using humour to highlight the absurdity of Russian claims, combining storybook images with biting commentary. Karel Smékal, head of communications at the ministry, explains.

“This particular campaign is reacting to a number of preposterous statements from the Russian side that we noticed in the last couple of weeks.

“Of course, when those statements appeared the first, principal reaction that Czechia had, and has, is the official one, made by official diplomatic statement.

“But since in the last weeks we noticed that Russian propaganda has taken aim at Czechia in several cases we felt that it would be OK to also react in a maybe slightly non-traditional way.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Jaroslav Winter, Broumov Monastery

A copy of the Shroud of Turin, venerated by some as the believed burial shroud of Jesus Christ, was discovered at Czechia’s Broumov Monastery a quarter century ago. The rare artefact is now held at a different monastery, at Prague’s Břevnov, while a replica is on show today in Broumov.

The work was discovered in January 1999 in a wooden box behind a stucco wreath in a church in the Broumov Monastery by its then administrator.

According to a Latin inscription on the rectangular strip of cloth, it was donated in 1651 by the Archbishop of Turin, Julius Caesar Bergiria, to the abbot of the Church of St. Nicholas in Prague’s Old Town (and later archbishop of Prague), Matouš Ferdinand Sobek from Bílenberk. He dedicated it to Broumov Monastery.

See the rest here.

Photo: Barbora Němcová, Radio Prague International

Karel Janovický a Czech-born composer, pianist and broadcaster, died last week in the United Kingdom at the age of 93. Janovický escaped from communist Czechoslovakia in 1949 and settled in London, where he worked for the BBC and headed the station’s Czechoslovak section in the 1980s.

Karel Janovický, whose real name was Bohuš František Šimsa, left Czechoslovakia in October 1949 with his future wife Sylva, following the Communist takeover in February 1948.

He continued his studies in England, graduating from the Royal College of Music and eventually started working for the BBC. He spoke about it in an interview for Radio Prague in 2008:

“It took a long time for me to get some freelance work for the BBC at the beginning, and then I got into the gramophone department of Radio 3, which was the classical music station – in 1964 in fact – so it was quite late in the day. Before then I earned my living as a freelance musician, composer, teacher.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Petra Hajská, The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Renowned Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša granted an interview to the Czech Centre New York just before conducting the first of his three concerts with the New York Philharmonic and violinist Hilary Hahn.

How many times have you actually played with the New York Philharmonic?

“I’m performing with the New York Philharmonic this week for I think the fourth or fifth time. It’s always a great experience. The New Yorkers are an extremely technically equipped orchestra, which also has a very vigorous and lively sound, their concerts always have a lot of ‘juice.’

“However, we also fit each other very well personally. The ensemble has become much younger in recent years, and I can say from my experience that they are very open to both new repertoire and new ideas in pieces that they have played countless times. Simply put, working with them is very creative, freeing and personally satisfying.

See the rest here.

Author: Miroslav Konvalina

Farewell to the General Manager of Hilton Prague Michael Specking and Welcome to his successor, Ryan Gauci

On January 10, 2024, The Hilton Prague celebrated a memorable farewell event for its esteemed General Manager, Michael Specking, who was retiring after nearly 17 years at Hilton Prague.

The event brought together ambassadors, clients, business partners, and other special guests to bid him farewell and welcome the new General Manager, Ryan Gauci.

The evening unfolded in the mystical ambiance of “Alchemist’, filled with enchantment, time travel, and captivating performances. The highlight of the evening was the symbolic passing of the key, as Michael handed it over the Ryan.

Michael expressed his gratitude for the support and collaboration of the Hilton Prague team, guests, and partners throughout his time in Prague.

Ryan addressed the gathering with enthusiasm and gratitude. He shared his excitement about the opportunity to lead the flagship Hilton Prague into a new chapter aiming to continue the hotel’s tradition of providing exceptional services and memorable experiences.

Adding to the significance, Hilton representatives Mr Dominique Piquemal, VP Luxury Operations EMEA, and Mr. Ben Bengougam SVP HR EMEA took the stage. They expressed appreciation to Michael for his contributions and extended a warm welcome to Ryan, wishing him all the best in his new role.

Czech scientists have developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to detect shooting and the type of weapon used. In a critical situation, the acoustic detector can provide the police with essential information in a matter of seconds.

The tragic shooting at Charles University has sparked a heated debate on Czech gun ownership legislation. It has also raised the question of safety measures that could help minimize the risk and help the crisis response to such incidents in the future.

Scientists from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague are now working on a new type of acoustic gun detector. While a device of this kind has already been used for some time, their detector is the first to use neural networks to identify the type of weapon that was used to fire a shot, says Jakub Svatoš from the faculty’s Department of Measurement:

“The uniqueness of this system is the use of neural networks to identify the calibre of the weapon that fired the shot. It differs from other systems in that, in addition to detecting and locating the shooter, it can also determine with a high probability what type of weapon was fired.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Martina Mašková

Photo: Technologie hlavního města Prahy

A replica of a famous clock tower that used to stand outside Prague’s Florenc metro station for nearly four decades has returned to its former location. The original steel structure from the mid-1980s had degraded beyond repair due to extensive corrosion and had to be removed in 2020.

The clock tower, called Radio Clock, designed by academic sculptor Rudolf Svoboda in 1985, shows the time in a number of ways, including a world time board indicating time in ten world capitals, says art curator Agáta Hošnová from the Prague City Gallery:

“It’s a 12-meters-long vertical sculpture that carries a round clock of very simple design. The clock is embedded in one of the two vertical towers that are kind of reaching towards the sky.

“What I think is the most interesting element of the sculpture is situated in its lower part. It’s an old analogue flip clock that shows different real times from around the world.”

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Facebook profile Saša jede

A four-year old Czech girl called Zara made headlines earlier this month when she reportedly became the youngest female to reach the base camp of Mount Everest, along with her father and seven-year-old brother. The overall length of the expedition to and from the base camp was around 270 kilometres, with an elevation gain of more than 20,000 meters.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

In the first part of our video series on Czech Music Greats, we introduce one of the best-known names in Czech classical music – Antonín Dvořák.

Antonín Dvořák is known worldwide for his New World Symphony, but without doubt, one of his much loved works is his Symphony No. 8 in G major.

Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 is cheery and lyrical and draws inspiration from the Bohemian folk music that the composer loved.

In it, the composer kept the typical format of a symphony in four movements, but structured them in an unusual way. All movements show a remarkable variety of themes and improvisation.

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Authors: Barbora Navrátilová, Lukáš Hurník

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Iran-born Kaveh Daneshmand moved to Prague to study film a decade and a half ago and has been based in the city ever since. Alongside his own filmmaking projects, Daneshmand heads the Írán:ci festival of Iranian cinema. On the eve of this year’s edition, I asked him how his homeland manages to produce great films despite severe restrictions – and whether he could ever imagine returning to the Islamic country.

Could you please tell us something about your background? Where did you grow up?

“I grew up in Iran. I was born in Karaj, which is a city close to Teheran. When I was 10 my family moved to Teheran, so I spent most of my teenage years and then university years in Teheran.

“Then when I was 28 I moved to Prague to study filmmaking – and since then I’ve been living in Prague.”

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Vít Pohanka, Radio Prague International

Why and how did a young woman from Brno find her new home in Britain? How does this impact her sense of nationality and identity? Does she feel more British or Czech? That’s what I ask Leona Merclová who lives on a canal boat in England and works on a shore bird awarness project.

As I record this episode, we’re experiencing what we call “holomráz” in Czechia — literally translated as “bare-frost.” It’s characterized by low winter temperatures well below freezing point but with very little or no snow at all. However, looking at the pictures and videos sent by my guest today from England, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s spring. You can look them up on the Radio Prague International YouTube channel. I put a short video there where Leona Merclová introduces herself.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Amelia Mola-Schmidt, Radio Prague International

Twenty-five-year-old Raymi Britto had no intention of starting up an Instagram account that would garner thousands of followers when he first moved to Prague eight years ago. But today, the Italian native reaches audiences from local Czechs, to expats living in the country with his funny videos documenting his life and experiences as an Italian living in Czechia. He came by our studio to talk about the account, how he learned Czech, and how he’s observed Prague change since he first landed here nearly a decade ago.

I’m a big fan of your Instagram account. I’ve been following you since I first moved to Prague. I noticed two flags in your Instagram bio, one is Italian, the other I didn’t recognize. Can you tell me a bit about your background?

“It’s probably the Peruvian one you didn’t recognize! My father is Peruvian. I was born in Milan, Italy, but my father is Peruvian, my mother is Italian. I was still raised with two languages – Spanish and Italian, which luckily are quite similar. I’d say I don’t feel Peruvian, because I didn’t grow up in that world – but it’s still a part of me, so I like to represent it.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Pýchavka before the first large veterinary intervention last autumn. Photo Miroslav Bobek

I started calling her Pýchavka (Puffball). Pýchavka with y, although for a spiny animal, Píchavka would be more suggestive. (Píchavka is derived from the verb píchat, which means to prickle in English). But in the first video taken by the camera her spines were hardly noticeable, and she really reminded me more of a puffball mushroom than anything else. So – Pýchavka. Our first successfully bred short-beaked echidna puggle.

With the exception of a break of several years we have had echidnas in Prague Zoo for seventy years. They are truly remarkable animals, and although at first glance they may resemble overgrown hedgehogs, in reality they are monotremes, mammals which display many reptilian features. For example, they lay eggs. Breeding echidnas in captivity is, however, extremely difficult – and now we also have succeeded in our zoo.

Pýchavka hatched around mid-December 2022 and left her mother’s poach at the beginning of February 2023. However, I did not break the silence about her existence until New Years Eve, when she was more than a year old (counting from her hatching from the egg). There was a good reason for this. We have had an unfortunate experience with the preceding echidna puggle, which we called Vrána (Crow). It died in November 2021, when it was eight months old. As happens with echidnas in human care, it did not make the transition from mother’s milk to solid food.

After all, the same fate almost hit Pýchavka. She started losing weight during summer. In mid-June she weighed 1,319 grams, and only 1,000 at the early October. It was obvious that something was wrong. Therefore, after consultations with experts from San Diego Zoo, our colleagues put the puggle to sleep, X-rayed and examined her. Her digestive track was full of sand, and she suffered from coccidiosis. She had to be fed through a tube under anaesthesia and given antiparasitic drugs. Of course, it is easy to write it, but much harder to do it… And this extraordinarily demanding procedure had to be repeated four times! The puggle’s weight dropped as far as to 870 grams, however, step by step it was possible to get rid of the sand in her digestive track and suppress the coccidia infection. In the end – after several month without eating by herself! – her appetite came back, and she started gaining weight.

At the last weighing Pýchavka had already 1,605 grams. Her breeding was successful only thanks to an extraordinary effort of her keeper David Vala, the vet Roman Vodička and the curator Pavel Brandl. I think, they are the ones who should chose her final name.

Every year the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic organizes a traditional Gala Dinner. Is a wonderful opportunity to meet both familiar faces and new people and to network informally in the exceptional atmosphere of the Four Seasons Hotel.

Delicious food and Sicilian wines make this a truly enjoyable event and bring people together in a natural way.

This year the Gala Dinner will take place on Tuesday 20.2.2024 with a special performance by the children´s vocal group Kroky Dobra.

A baby lowland gorilla was born to a female Duna at the Prague Zoo on January 2 shortly after nine o’clock in the evening. It is the first ever baby gorilla born in the new pavilion of the Dja Reserve. If all goes well, the Prague Zoo will have one more cub in three months. The Kijivu female is also pregnant. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

More than a week after birth, the cub is thriving, Duni is proving to be a great mother, and the gorilla group is calm. Therefore, it is now possible to waive the measures where visitors could not watch the gorillas directly at the glass of the exhibition, and the use of cameras and cameras with large lenses was prohibited.

“The reason for these measures was the fact that Kisumu’s leading male sometimes reacts very negatively to cameras and cameras, and we didn’t want there to be unrest in the group,” said Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek. “Now we see no reason for these restrictions, but I appeal to visitors to respect the instructions of our staff.”

Duni allows the other females to observe the young only from a distance. The breeders explain this by saying that the bond between Duni and the other females is not as strong as, for example, in the case of the half-sisters Shinda and Kijivu, who have known each other practically all their lives – in the past, they used to borrow little Ajabu from each other already a week after his birth. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Even on these frosty days, it’s a good time to come and see Duna’s cub. The generous visitor area of the Dja Reservation offers enough space, warmth, and comfort for a long and pleasant stay. In addition, there is a new entrance directly at the Dja Reservation, where buses of line 234 from the Nádraží Holešovice stop, as well as lines 235 and 236 in the direction from Bohnice, stop.

Photo: Ondřej Wolf, Czech Radio

A 7,000-year-old well found in Czechia’s Pardubice region six years ago will soon be on display as part of an archaeological exhibition at the Museum of East Bohemia. The wooden well, which has been in the care of restorers for the last few years, is, according to analyses, the oldest wooden man-made object in the world.

The discovery of the Neolithic well on the site of a planned motorway in 2018 caused much excitement, with experts already suggesting then that it may be the oldest wooden structure ever found in Europe. This was confirmed a couple of years later by dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating analyses, which showed that the prehistoric wooden structure was not only the oldest known such object found in Europe, but indeed anywhere in the world, dating back to 5,256 or 5,255 BCE.

The well uses building techniques that archaeologists had previously assumed had only appeared later, during the Bronze Age, and the level of technical skill is impressive, says restorer Karol Bayer.

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Naďa Kubínková, Source:Český rozhlas

Vysočina, sometimes known as the Czech Highlands, lies in the very centre of the country, where Bohemia meets Moravia. The country’s fifth largest region is famous for its untouched natural beauty, clean environment and numerous historical monuments, three of which are UNESCO listed World Heritage Sites.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Magdalena Hrozínková, Radio Prague International

The sad truth is that more wild animals are kept in private ownership in Czechia than in zoos – often illegally and in very poor conditions. Until now there has been a problem finding places to put animals that are rescued from such situations, but Tábor Zoo hopes a new enclosure it is building will provide the solution.

Tigers kept in cages that are too small for them with hardly enough space to turn around in, or pumas hungry and malnourished due to a lack of appropriate food – unfortunately, this is all too often the reality for large wild animals, very often big cats, that are kept by private breeders and owners in Czechia. Caring for such animals is not easy – in addition to the space required, there are huge sums needed for food, veterinary care and enclosures, not to mention the significant amount of bureaucracy involved, as many of these animals belong to species that are endangered and therefore require special permits. Many enthusiasts therefore try to circumvent the regulations, says Evžen Korec, the head of Tábor Zoo.

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Jan Kopřiva
Source: iROZHLAS.cz

Photo: Patrik Salát, Czech Radio

This past week, Czechia has seen temperatures drop below -20 degrees in the north of the country, while Prague expects to see a low of -11 by mid-week. The extreme cold has a profound impact on vulnerable groups, specifically those who are unhoused, who turn to organizations like the Salvation Army for help during the winter months. I spoke with the director of social services at the Salvation Army, Jitka Klánová to learn more about what the organization is doing to keep people warm.

The temperatures in Prague have dropped quite suddenly in what has been a relatively mild winter. Are you seeing an increased demand at the Salvation Army for your services with this cold snap?

“Yes definitely, more and more clients are coming to use our services, especially the low threshold ones like day shelters and night shelters. The Salvation Army and other organizations are part of a winter humanitarian measures program that is provided by the municipality of Prague every winter from December to the end of March. These days, with the low temperatures, we can see an extra demand in all these extra humanitarian services that are opened for these four months of the year.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Jan Langer, Czech Television

Following the publication of my previous episode on the name “Czechia”, I received a brisk reaction from a vehement proponent of the name in international forums Professor Pavlínek who teaches goegraphy in Prague and Omaha, Nebraska. He was not happy about some of the formulations and we debate what “grinds his gears”.

In this special episode of Czechast you will be able to hear Professor Pavlínek’s reservations and objections. To provide context for our recorded conversation, which is in English, it’s worth noting that we spent about two hours in a friendly and honest discussion, conversing in both Czech and English. The following recording has been edited for brevity and clarity, but rest assured, this has not altered the tone or meaning of my questions or Professor Pavlínek’s answers.

But since professor Pavlínek divides his time between Czechia and the US, we did not talk just about the name of this country. First, I inquired about how he balances his teaching responsibilities between Prague and Omaha, Nebraska.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Sony Music

Depeche Mode, Rammstein, Ed Sheeran or Sting, these are just some of the famous names due to perform in Czechia in 2024. In this year’s first edition of Sunday Music Show, you can have a listen to some of their biggest hits.

Among the first big names to appear in Prague is the legendary Depeche Mode. They will perform at the city’s O2 Arena on February 22 and 24 as part of a tour for their new album called Memento Mori. On March 4, the British singer-songwriter James Blunt, who will perform at Prague’s Forum Karlín within the tour for his new album Who We Used to Be.

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Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

Monty Python fans around Czechia took to the streets this weekend for a bit of fun marking their 11th annual get-together.

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