Festival of Democracy at the Václav Havel Library
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: October 13, 2019, 17:15 – 18:15
Come to the fourth edition of the Festival of Democracy. You will be celebrating with us civic activity as a fundamental pillar of freedom and democracy while also supporting public discussion across generations and the entire society. A society that 30 years ago unlocked the door to freedom and is today afraid of losing it. As this year we are recalling the events of 1989, we wish to revive the legacy of the Velvet Revolution, its values and aspirations. At the same time, however, we hope in this context to devote space to challenges to the common future that we hold in our hands – because we feel responsibility for the world in which we live. Organised by the Václav Havel Library in cooperation with Forum 2000. The event will take place in Czech and English; interpretation will not be provided.
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