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The jubilee 10th international conference 2023 Václav Havel European Dialogues
Europe in a clash of two worlds

  • Date: April 19 and May 11, 2023
  • Venue: Olomouc, Prague 
  • Organizers: The Václav Havel Library in cooperation with the Department of Politics and European Studies, Faculty of Arts, Palacký University Olomouc, Polish Institute in Prague
  • Partner of the Project: Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic

Throughout his life Václav Havel was in the habit of asking awkward questions. One of them concerned where Europe began and ended. Linked to this was also the question of where Russia began and ended. Instead of gradually moving closer to democratic and European norms, Russia has taken the opposite path, causing bloodshed on Europe’s eastern borders that threatens the results of more than 75 years of largely peaceful development. “European values” and the “Russian world” have found themselves in irreconcilable opposition. The future of the entire continent
depends on the outcome of this conflict, which concerns more than the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Like all conflicts, this one has also drawn in other like-minded entities and/or goals on both sides. An initially local and now continental conflict could easily escalate into a global one, with the “democratic West” on one side and the “autocratic East” – represented by Russia, Iran, China and North Korea – on the other. The potential impact of such a conflict would have catastrophic consequences for both sides, even if it were not armed in nature.
It is therefore necessary to immediately start looking for ways to restore dialogue and share common values once Putin’s aggressive adventure is defeated.

Conference Programme Olomouc

  • Date: Wednesday April 19, 2023, 14.00–16.00
  • Venue: Václav Havel Room, Department of Politics and European Studies, Palacký University, Křížkovského 12

13.30–14.00 REGISTRATION
 
14.00–14.15 OPENING

Jiří Stavovčík – Vice-Rector for International Relations of Palacký University
Josef Suchánek – Governor of the Olomouc Region
Jan Stejskal – Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University
Michael Žantovský – Director of the Václav Havel Library
Monika Ladmanová – Head of the EC’s Representation in the Czech Rep.

special guest Bijan Sabet, Ambassador of the United States to the Czech Republic

14.15–15.55 DEBATE
Alexej Kelin
– historian, descendant of Don Cossacks and Russian anti-Communist immigrants from the time of the Great October Socialist Revolution
Valeria Korablyova – Ukrainian sociologist and political theorist, head of the Research Center “Ukraine in a Changing Europe” at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University
Tomáš Sedláček – university lecturer and media commentator on philosophy of economics
Chair: Jiří Lach, historian, Department of Politics and European Studies Professor, Palacký University

15.55–16.00 CLOSING ADDRESS
Michael Žantovský – Director of the Václav Havel Library

* The programme will take place in English and Czech with simultaneous interpretation into both languages. Free admission until the capacity of the hall is reached. 

Conference Programme Prague

  • Date: Thursday May 11, 2023, 18.00 – 20.00
  • Venue: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague

18.00–18.10 OPENING 
Martin Palouš
– Diplomat and human rights advocate
Monika Ladmanová – Head of the EC’s Representation in the Czech Republic

18.10–19.40 DEBATE 
Łukasz Adamski
– Polish historian and political scientist
Michael Romancov – political geographer and university lecturer
Andrej Zubov – Russian historian and political scientist

Investigative journalist Jan Moláček will chair the discussion.

19.40–19.45 CLOSING REMARKS
Martin Palouš – Diplomat and human rights advocate

* The programme will take place in Russian and Czech with simultaneous interpretation into both languages. Free admission until the capacity of the hall is reached.

The event will also be streamed live online on www.havelchannel.cz

Media partner of the debate is Deník N.