• Organisers: Vaclav Havel Library, Prague & Charta 77 Foundation
• Partners: Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Thirty years ago, on November 9, the Berlin Wall came down, and the last remains of the communist nightmare, that held Central and Eastern Europe in its grip, came down with it. This historic change seemed to have ushered in an era of openness, tolerance and mutual respect between people, countries and cultures. Thirty years later, however, the metaphor of walls has made a comeback in more than one sense. Tolerance gave way to bigotry, distrust and polarization between political opponents, lifestyles and social groups. Openness to others, be they migrants, minorities or religions, is under attack. And respect has been replaced by vulgar attacks, hoaxes and fabrications. Fundamental human liberties, be it freedom of expression, freedom of thought and freedom of choice, are no longer taken for granted in some countries of the West and are denied to hundreds of millions of people in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The time has come for those of us who believe in the intrinsic value of human rights to paraphrase the famous appeal of Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev: “Tear down these walls.”

Programme:

12.30 - 13.00 Registration

13.00 Conference Opening 

Michael Žantovský, Director of the VAclav Havel Library (Czech Republic)

13.10 - 13.30 Keynote speech

Yik Mo Wong, Human Rights Activist, Vice Convener of Civil Human Rights Front (Hong Kong)

13.30 - 14.45 Panel I: Discussion with 2019 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize Finalists

Guests:
Enver Can, the representative of llham Tohti (China) - Uyghur Scientist and Economist, in prison since 2014, sentenced to life imprisonment
Jamshad Yorov, the brother of Buzurgmehr Yorov (Tajikistan) - Human Rights Lowyer, in prison since 2015, sentenced to 28 years
Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Balkan countries): Ivan Djuric - Program Director of YIHR Serbia

Chair: Michael Žantovský, Vaclav Havel Library (Czech Republic)

The ceremonial announcement of the laureate of this year’s prize will take place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 30 September.

14.45 - 15.00 Coffee Break

15.00 - 16.15 Panel II: Walls Old and New 

Guests: 

Bernard Guetta - Journalist (France)

Daniel Brössler - Journalist (Germany)

Mátyás Eörsi - Politician and Lawyer (Hungary)

Martin Milan Šimečka - Journalist (Slovakia)

Chair: Kateřina Šafaříková - Journalist, Respekt magazine (Czech Republic)

A new iron curtain seems to be emerging in the East. The unstable but open situation that emerged after the Russian occupation of Crimea and its support of the armed insurrection in Eastern Ukraine has been replaced by a situation which may more stable but impossible to change. Even some of the European institutions seem to give a priority to stability over change as witnessed by the return of Russia's voting rights by the Council of Europe. In this situation, hundreds of thousands of people are deprived of security, living standards and human rights. The rise of intolerance led to the reemergence of political violence and hate crimes in a number of European countries. The rising number of antisemitic attacks in France, the murders of the Slovak investigative journalist Kuciak and his girlfriend, the assassination of the mayors of Gdansk and Kassel, and even the smaller but disturbing incidents in our own country can no longer be seen as isolated incidents but as a part of an ominous trend. What can politicians do to stop it and what can the civil society do?

16.15 - 16.30 Coffee Break 

16.30 - 17.45 Panel IIl: The Invisible Walls 

Guests: 

Lyudmila Savchuk - Activist and Journalist (Russian Federation)  

Patrik Oksanen - Journalist and Editor (Sweden)

Lenka Bradáčová - Chief of the High Prosecutor’s Office (Czech Republic) 

Bob Kartous - Spokesman of Czech Elfs (Czech Republic) 

Chair: Tereza Engelová - Journalist and Presenter (Czech Republic)

In making up a mental picture of the world we increasingly depend on digital media for information, evidence and like-minded people. The right to a free access to information is one of the most important modern human rights. That right is undermined when information is increasingly replaced by propaganda, hoaxes and fabricated evidence. It is also undermined when strictures of political correctness curtail the open discourse which is the only known path to knowledge and understanding. How can the society prevent or at least reduce the damage done by the fabricators, propagandists and trolls without sacrificing the principles of free speech?

17.45 - 18.00 Closing remarks

Karel Schwarzenberg - Politician, Human Rights Defender (Czech Republic) 

18.30 - ZRNÍ – HAVEL’S CHILDREN FOR HAVEL

A concert by the Zrní band as part of the project entitled Havel’s Children to Havel (www.havlovy-deti.cz,) organised in collaboration with the Václav Havel Library on the 30th anniversary of the fall of communism.

* Admission is free on the basis of registration until capacity has been met. For registration form go to: https://bit.ly/2klOP96

Former classmates from the Vysočany Grammar School, including sculptor Martin Patřičný and writer Alexandr Popov, will discuss growing up in tough times, rebellion, conformism and the desire for love and freedom under the omnipresent supervision of the party and government.

Organised by the VHL in cooperation with publishers Galén and Nakladatelství Ondřej Fibich.

The Silent Women forum is attempting to build a platform for women searching for answers to the questions of today’s modern era. An era in which all hitherto value concepts are subject to repeated scrutiny and challenge. Our aim is to support women in their efforts to acquire their own voice and vocabulary. Not via radical experiments but through calm, substantive discussion on the role of women in this turbulent period when ancient conflicts between the genders are misused and weaponised in hybrid war and propaganda. We want to lead a meaningful discussion, find paths forward and contribute via a calm, society-wide dialogue to the resolution of the tasks before us on the verge of a new century. The issue of women must not become a battlefield of the culture wars.

Panel I: The Abuse of Socially Sensitive Issues in Hybrid Warfare and Propaganda

Guests: Magda Vášáryová, ex-diplomat, chairwoman of Živena and founder of the think tank CEW21; Alexandra Alvarová, author of the book Průmysl lži (The Lie Industry) and a specialist in hybrid war, CEW21; Jakub Janda, head of the Kremlin Watch programme and director of the think tank European Values; and Roman Máca, journalist, writer, analyst with the European Values think tank.

Panel II: Women as “Wind of Change“

Guests: Diana Kinnert, German political scientist, entrepreneur, advisor of Angela Merkel, author of the book Die Zukunft sehe ich Schwarz; Margaret Hales, president of the European Union of Women; Albana Vokshi, MP in the Albanian Parliament; Jana Ciglerová, journalist and expert on the emancipation of women; and Erica M. Umbricht, president of the Swedish section of the EUW, security policy expert.

Discussion chaired by Jana Spekhorstová.

Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi experienced countless key events in the region, including taking part in Pope John Paul II’s first visit to Poland, the establishment of independent unions in Gdansk in 1980, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the military conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. As Central and Eastern Europe correspondent of Austrian TV and radio station ORF she also experienced 1968 and the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. In 2001 Václav Havel bestowed the Order of T.G. Masaryk on her in recognition of her support for democracy and human rights.

The autobiography Home is Everywhere, which has been issued in Czech by the Vyšehrad publishing house, will be introduced by the author in person.

Interpretation from German provided.

A discussion between the sociologists Michał Łuczewski and Daniel Prokop will be moderated by Petr Vizina.

For Central European countries 1989 represented both a new starting line and an entreaty to come to terms with many internal problems. Thirty years after the fall of communism, Polish and Czech journalists and figures from public life discuss the transformations in the two countries.

This anniversary series was co-created by the Václav Havel Library and the Polish Institute in Prague. Supported by the Czech-Polish Forum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

The debate will take place in Polish and Czech. Interpretation will be provided.

Why do people get together? What do we love about one another? And why in that case do we break up? The writer, the author of an acclaimed novel about František Drtikol, Dějiny světla (The History of Light), is bringing out a new book after six years, Možnosti milostného románu (The Possibilities of the Romance Novel). This extensive text at the intersection of romance novel and essay on writing will be one of the major releases from publishers Host this autumn.

Chaired by Petr Vizina.

17.15 – 18.15 | DEMOCRACY DIALOGUES: HAVEL´S LEGACY – A VIEW FROM AFAR

Widely considered as the father of the modern Czech democracy, Havel is also seen as a thinker who believed that truth and moral conscience must prevail over lies and hatred. Havel's challenge was to become a canny politician while remaining a moral one, but he has always remained a figure of intellectual integrity with an acute sense of responsibility. Fundamentally, Havel was a man of ideas; an accomplished playwright who was pushed into the political sphere by taking his own ideas seriously and attempting to live up to them. This is what Havel termed “living in truth”. Havel was convinced that maintaining moral integrity was not a choice but a necessity. What is the philosophical and political legacy of Václav Havel 30 years after 1989? How can we understand Havel's ideas of democracy, responsibility and living in truth? What is his relevance for today's world?

Speakers:

John Keane, Author of The Life and Death of Democracy, Australia
Nyaradzo Mashayamombe, Executive Director, Tag A Life International Trust (Ta-LI), Zimbabwe
Tomáš Vrba, Chairman, Board of Directors, Forum 2000 Foundation, Czechia

Moderator: Ramin Jahanbegloo, Political Philosopher, Member, Program Council, Forum 2000 Foundation, Canada/Iran

13.00 – 14.30 | DEMOCRACY AND TRUTH

Values provide us with the motivation and means to orient our wants and decisions toward the future. If today we speak about a crisis or a breakdown of values, we understand that at risk, alongside values, are the integrity of mankind, the quality of interpersonal relationships and the achievements of civilisation. However, are we actually aware of what values are and what they are based on? Come and listen to this debate involving members of the dialogue-focused community WebDialog!

Panellists: theologian and sociologist Tomáš Halík, philosophers Miroslav Petříček and Václav Němec

Debate chair: Veronika Sedláčková

The debate is taking place in cooperation with the WebDialog Foundation.

15.00 – 16.30 | HOW TO ENGAGE THE CZECH CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION? 
During the post-socialist transition in the Czech Republic, public policies were aimed at tackling political corruption, with more or less success. However, according to various opinion polls, corruption is still cited as one of the most urgent issues that must be resolved. This demonstrates, that political corruption should be addressed beyond legal and institutional arrangements. Indeed, corruption is a relevant starting point to examine a society in terms of relationships between citizens and the state, expectations from office-holders, civil society engagement, and last but not least, evolution of societal values. What lessons can we draw from other transitioning countries such as Kosovo or Afghanistan? James Wasserstrom, currently anti-corruption officer in Afghanistan, will share his experience from these transitioning countries. From there we'll move on to a discussion about anti-corruption tools and methods where civil society can be engaged: rewarding and protecting whistleblowers, introducing innovative voting methods, or crowdfunding an online calculator that speeds up the prosecution of corrupt politicians. Finally, we would like to open a discussion about the contours of anti-corruption fight in the next 30 years. How will personal and societal values evolve, and how they will impact subjective judgements on corruption? Will we be more tolerant towards these transgressions, or on the contrary, condemnation of corrupt behaviours will get stronger? How to translate this moral condemnation into democratic practices? Can the anti-corruption endeavour unite the Czech society?

The panel will be composed of people involved in the fight against corruption: Jim Wasserstrom (USA) – anti-corruption officer at the US embassy in Kabul, Karel Janeček (CZ) – director of Institute H21, inventor of the Janecek voting method Ondřej Timčo (CZ) – researcher at Institute H21, specialist on corruption in Central and Eastern Europe Alexandre Reznikow (CZ/FR) – expert on ethics and human values at Eticia 21
Moderátor: Karel Škácha (CZ) – director of the Anticorruption Endowment

In cooperation with Anticorruption Endowment.

17.00 – 18.30 | ADAM MICHNIK: A STRANGE PERIOD

Talks between Václav Havel and Adam Michnik

They met for the first time in 1978 at a secret gathering on the peaks of the Krkonoše Mountains as enemies of the Communist regime. Less than 12 years later the playwright Václav Havel had become Czechoslovak (and later Czech) president and the journalist Adam Michnik was editor-in-chief of Poland’s biggest daily, Gazeta Wyborcza.

The illegal meeting of these two exceptional figures, linked by the idea of an effective and peaceful strategy to dismantle authoritarian regimes in Central Europe, led to a lifelong friendship. Over the two subsequent post-revolution decades they conducted a constant dialogue on how to build democracy, cultivate a free political culture and maintain their ideals in their countries. The conversations, in which Havel’s and Michnik’s views, different life experiences and humour collided, offer a penetrating testimony to a remarkable era. They are coming out in complete form, and in Czech, for the first time. Michael Žantovský will chair a talk with Adam Michnik and the book’s editor Tomáš Vrba.

13.00 – 14.30 | Between the Castle and StB Jailers: The Czech Bahá'í Community from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire Until 1989

The search for transcendence and spiritual values has always been closely associated with societal development in our lands. That was also the case in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and particularly following the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prior to the ascent of Communist dictatorship in 1948, the diversity of spiritual and religious life in our country also found external expression. One spiritual current with a firm position in that mosaic was the Bahá'í faith, which influenced many figures in Czech intellectual circles and also interested the Czechoslovak presidents Masaryk and Beneš. Like other faith groups, Bahá'í was the target of persecution by the totalitarian system following the Communist coup.

Panellists: Kristýna Pilecká, lecturer on Bahá'í and faith at Charles University; Karel Tesař, diplomat and historian; Hana Sodeyfi, Austrian Slavic Studies scholar, interpreter and translator of Czech.

In cooperation with the Bahá'í Information Centre.

16.00 – 17.30 | Education and Democracy

Václav Havel and other leading figures of the Czech struggle for a democratic future deemed education to be the foundation for democracy. Today, 30 years after the introduction of democracy to the Czech Republic and 15 years after the Czech accession to the EU, the Czech educational system provides basic education for every citizen and performs well in international testing. On the other hand, education remains underfunded by the government, the teaching workforce is aging, and the content of education is prone to emphasizing the past, both events, and institutions, over contemporary knowledge and the challenges of tomorrow. How far has the Czech education come in fostering democracy, what are the solution to current challenges and how should education respond to major issues of tomorrow?

In cooperation with Europeum

As children and young people they experienced persecution and discrimination on the part of the Communist totalitarian regime, feelings of injustice and humiliation, separation from their families and concern for the lives of their nearest and dearest and themselves. They frequently heard in their neighbourhoods and schools that they were “enemies of the state”. After 1989 their parents were rehabilitated and became national heroes. But did the events of November 1989 also provide moral, social and material recompense to the offspring of 1950s political prisoners?

These issues will be discussed by Ludmila Zouharová (daughter of Václav Švéda of the Mašín brothers group, who was shot escaping over the border, arrested and sentenced to death), Jaroslava Matoušková (daughter of Zdeněk Wünsch, a member of a Prague resistance group that planned a political coup after the Communist takeover of February 1948), František Brož (son a progressive farmer from the Jičín area who in 1951 had all his property confiscated before the family were forcibly moved to Ondrášov in North Moravia) and other children of 1950s political prisoners. The debate will be preceded by the screening of video testimonies from the group Daughters of the 1950s, who received a Gold Star in the European Commission’s Active European Remembrance programme.

Historian Jan Kalous from the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes will moderate.

Panelists: Joey Wang (Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office), Szu-chien Hsu, RoC Deputy Foreign Minister, Ketty W. Chen (Vice-President, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy), Carl Gershman (President, National Endownment for Democracy), Martin Hála (Director, Sinopsis), Michael Žantovský (Executive Director of the Václav Havel Library).

Moderator: Kateřina Procházková (Sinopsis)

Many young people, on the verge of adulthood, learned about the existence of long-haired rebels from the widespread smear campaign and soon swelled their ranks. A confrontational phase of the Cold War was reflected in an increased crackdown on the domestic opposition. At the turn of the 1980s the Communist regime launched a second drive against the underground that culminated in the nationwide operation “Satan”, targeted against the underground magazine Vokno, first published in 1979. “Satan” was preceded by the regional operation “Sabat” aimed at destroying the underground in North Bohemia, specifically its connection to the Prague centre of Charter 77. It remains little known that, apart from in Prague, the greatest number of Charter 77 signatories were actually from the underground. These people created the spine of the movement. The period 1976–1981 represents the peak, integrating phase of the Czech underground, whose spiritual leader was Ivan Martin Jirous. Other typical aspects of this period clearly include the phenomenon of “country houses”, islands of freedom where there was a vibrant cultural life, under the watchful eye of the State Security.

These and many more, often unjustly overlooked aspects will be the focus of this conference bringing together leading domestic and international experts.

Organised by the Václav Havel Library and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.

In October 1989 Václav Havel received the Peace Prize of the German Booksellers Association, which he was unable to accept in person. The speech he wrote on that occasion dedicated to the power of words and their responsible usage is no less topical today.

Can we learn from history? What kind of power do words possess?

Discussion guests: Alexander Alexejewitsch Drozdow, Hans Maier a Michael Žantovský

The evening will be introduced by  Jovanka Šotolová.

The event will include simultaneous translation from French to Czech and vice versa.

Organised by the Václav Havel Library and the Institut français in Prague in cooperation with the Franz Kafka Society and publishers Paseka.

Presidential elections will be held in the Czech Republic and Russia in, respectively, 2023 and 2024. What will the mood be in both societies at that time? Can Czech citizens break the Zeman-Babiš alliance and what route will Russia take to reinforcing Putinism? And what is the role of Putinism in the Czech Republic and the whole of Europe today?

Political scientist Alexandr Morozov and philosopher Václav Němec will take part in the debate.

Moderated by Karel Svoboda.

Interpretation into Czech provided.

The discussion will focus on the adoption of language elements from English, not just words but frequently also elements of grammar. It will explore the benefits of this influence but also its invasive or even parasitic form in an effort to determine at least roughly the line beyond which a mother tongue is no longer enriched but polluted. Last but not least, we will consider how to approach Anglicisms in literary texts, including translations.

The Václav Havel Editions build on the intellectual legacy of a philosopher, dramatics, dissident and president whose name the series bears. It presents various perspectives from leading figures from the Central European sphere in the fields of contemporary philosophy, sociology, art, culture, architecture and the latest general history.

Guests: Miroslav Petříček, Karel Hvížďala, Matěj Spurný and others.

The debate will be chaired by radio and TV presenter Jakub Železný.

Jiří Stivín will provide musical accompaniment.

Organised by the Václav Havel Library and publishers Nakladatelství Karolinum.

Via interviews and rich accompanying photographs we will follow the path to the Velvet Revolution and the dramatic events at the end of 1989, and also consider what the change brought us and what kind of world we are creating together.

Well-known names representing various generations, professions and opinions will present a multi-dimensional overview of our lived history and the responsibility we bear toward them and future generations.

Chaired by Jáchym Topol.

Organised by the Václav Havel Library in cooperation with the Karolinum publishing house.

Guests: architect Tomáš Hradečný and writer and publisher Jiří Padevět.

Historian Petr Blažek will moderate.

The book delivers the testimonies of politicians Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright, historian Timothy Snyder and singer Suzanne Vega, who knew the Czech president very well. How do they perceive the role of Václav Havel? What do they find inspirational about Havel’s philosophy? And can his ideas speak to today’s divided society? The book will be “baptised” after the panel discussion.

The debate will be moderated by Czech Radio journalist Jan Bumba.

Organised in cooperation with publishers Host and the Václav Havel Library Foundation in New York.

How are we to view the events surrounding the Velvet Revolution 30years ago? What did the direct participants experience? How did those constructing the new handle the first wave of freedom? And what do today’s young people know about things then? All of this will be discussed by our three guests.

After the revolution Miloslav Běťák put his energies into reviving the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren’s Diaconia and for 10 years headed the first and only permanent Diaconia hospice in Valašské Meziříčí. Michal Vogl was studying electrical engineering at the time of the revolution. Those events and his activism led to him also study theology and he is now an Evangelical pastor; alongside religion he has taught computers at an elementary school and publishes a regional magazine. Kristýna Drápalová wasn’t even born in 1989. Today she is a student and activist.

Moderated by Adam Šůra, editor-in-chief of the quarterly Paměť a dějiny.

Organised by the Václav Havel Library and the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren.