The Committee of Good Will – the Olga Havel Foundation will once again present the Olga Havel Award in May. The prestigious award is intended for individuals who, despite their health disabilities, actively help others and contribute to improving life in society.
The public can nominate their candidates via an online form on the website www.cenaolgyhavlove.cz from February 1 to March 20, 2026.
The award ceremony will take place on May 18, 2026 in Prague.
“Olga Havel’s legacy is still extremely relevant after all these years. This year, we commemorate 30 years since her passing, and the values she passed on to the Committee of Good Will still guide our activities today,” says the foundation’s director, Monika Granja.
“The Olga Havel Prize is an integral part of this legacy. It was first awarded in 1995 with the aim of recognizing people with disabilities who, despite their disability, selflessly help others. At the same time, it draws attention to health diagnoses that often remain on the fringes of public and political interest, and to the challenges these people face in their everyday lives,” he adds.
The winner of the Olga Havel Prize will be decided by a jury appointed by the foundation’s board of directors. The laureate will receive the traditional bronze sculpture “Encouragement” by sculptor Olbram Zoubek. Since 2017, the award has also included the Public Prize, for which people can vote online. Like the laureate of the main prize, the winner of the Public Prize will also be presented at a gala evening to be held on May 18, 2026 at the UMPRUM Technology Center.
Last year, the Olga Havel Award was awarded to Lukáš Kroupa, who himself lives with a severe physical handicap and has dedicated his life to helping others and sports for people with disabilities. The Public Award was awarded to Hana Petrová, who inspires with her approach to life and determination to help people with visual impairments.
The nomination form is available on the website www.cenaolgyhavlove.cz, where interested parties can also find further information about the Olga Havel Award and its previous laureates.
Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation
The Committee of Good Will has been operating since 1990, when the foundation was founded by Olga Havel, the first wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. The foundation continues to build on this legacy. It helps those who cannot take care of themselves due to their adverse health and social conditions. It strives to develop education, spiritual values, human rights and other humanistic values. Thanks to the support of individual and corporate donors, the foundation contributes to health and compensation aids, supports helping organizations and students with health or social disadvantages. During its existence, the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation has already helped 32,000 organizations and individuals with an amount of more than a billion crowns.