Events: February 2015
January 2015
March 2015
Joint Meditation
February 2, 2015, 19:00
The first meeting of Václav Havel and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, which took place at Lány on 2 February 1990, not only spelled the start of a deep friendship between the two men; it also changed the position of the Tibetan spiritual leader in the world of high politics. The meeting will be recalled by Václav Havel’s then secretary Alexandr Neuman and Stašek Slavický. Ivana Denčevová will host the evening. More
Marek Orko Vácha: Mankind’s Place in Nature
February 4, 2015, 19:00
Continuation of Marek Orko Vácha's evening about our place in nature. In its relationship to nature, contemporary Europe oscillates between two extremes... More
Alice Horáčková: Vladimíra Čerepková – Beatnik Femme Fatale
February 5, 2015, 19:00
Evening of recollections of poet Vladimíra Čerepková (1946–2013), a borstal girl and star of the Viola and the Parisian émigré scene. The evening will include the screening of a “lost” half-hour film about Čerepková made by Juraj Jakubisko in 1965. Guests: documentary maker Tomáš Škrdlant, director Juraj Jakubisko, author and journalist Ondřej Suchý, the poet’s great love Pierre Helzel, and Alice Horáčková, author of a book on Vladimíra Čerepková.
Talks Across Borders – With Michael Frank and Tomáš Kafka
February 9, 2015, 19:00
The second evening in a series following in the tradition of the “Talks on neighbourliness” on Czech-German relations initiated by Václav Havel in 1995. Solutions were found to several thorny issues, dialogue was sparked and numerous Czech-German activities got underway. More
Challenges, Paradoxes, the Plays of Václav Havel: The Pig, or Václav Havel’s Hunt for a Pig
February 11, 2015, 19:00
A text that Václav Havel wrote from one day to the next, for his own pleasure and that of guests who had gathered at Hrádeček in the summer of 1987 to celebrate Olga Havlová’s birthday. More
Panel discussion on the 25th anniversary of Václav Havel’s visit to the US and the renewal of relations between Czechoslovakia and the US
February 12, 2015, 14:00
Second from two-panels conferences about the travels of Václav Havel in 1990. The first panel moderated by Josef Jařab will focus mainly on the memories of 1990 (the circumstances, the importance of the journey), the second panel moderated by Jan Machacek will address the current relations between the Czech Republic and the USA. More
Living Souls: Current Russian Culture and its Czech Connections I
February 12, 2015, 20:00
Significant moments in the Czech reception of Russian culture.The first evening in a lecture series focused on contemporary Russian culture with Russian Studies specialist Tomáš Glanc (Universität Zürich). Does Russian culture reach the Czech milieu in a sufficient, adequate and high-quality form? More
Debate with Respekt: Are We All Charlie Hebdo?
February 13, 2015, 19:00
How are Islamists and the attack on free speech changing European society? Confirmed guests: Tomáš Halík, Bronislav Ostřanský, Emir Omič, Jacques Rupnik, Erik Tabery. Chaired by Tomáš Sacher. The discussion will be broadcasted online by ČT24.
Lety Death Camp
February 16, 2015, 19:00
The gypsy death camp at Lety near Písek is a Czech trauma of the 20th and 21st centuries. The pig farm on the site of genocide remains a burning and unanswered question. More
The Poetic Writings of Egon Bondy
February 17, 2015, 19:00
Presentation of the first part of Básnické Spisy (Poetic Writings), a selection of work by Egon Bondy, a guru of the Czech underground, idiosyncratic philosopher and poet. The book, which presents Bondy’s early poems from the years 1947–1963, is being issued by the Argo publishing house. The evening will be hosted by literary historian Martin Machovec, the publication’s editor.
Havel Through Polish Eyes
February 18, 2015, 17:00
The lecture by PhDr. Libor Martínek Ph.D. from the University of Wroclaw will focus on the reception of the personality and works of Václav Havel in Polish academic circles. More
Cabinet Havel in Brno: Can We Live Together, or at Least Side by Side?
February 18, 2015, 17:00
Us and them. How do we view foreigners and they us? Who’s in a minority here? How do we perceive difference? Sociologist and journalist Jiřina Šiklová and Czeslaw Walek have confirmed her participation. Renata Kalenská will ask the questions while Petr Oslzlý will philosophise. At the end Tereza Marečková will sing “Prayer for Marta”.
The Story of Charter 77
February 19, 2015, 19:00
Lecture by Kamila Bendová, a signatory of Charter 77 and a participant in events at that time. Charter 77 began as a civic initiative in 1976 and ceased its activities in 1992. The original Declaration of Charter 77 document was signed by 242 people, with others joining. More
A Year Without Yanukovych
February 23, 2015, 19:00
An evening mapping changes in Ukrainian society from the perspective of Ukrainians themselves on the inside and Czechs on the outside. A debate with Ukrainian activists Serhiy Prytula and Vasil Galamay. More
Torch No. 2
February 24, 2015, 19:00
An Evening of Recollections of Jan Zajíc. On 25 February 1969 Jan Zajíc, a student at a railway technical college in Šumperk, doused himself in flammable material and set himself alight in a building on Prague’s Wenceslas Square. More
The Underground Phenomenon: Vít Kremlička
February 25, 2015, 10:00
A series of lectures on the Czech underground as a social, political and historical phenomenon organised by the Historical Sociology department at Charles University’s Faculty of Humanities and the Václav Havel Library and headed by sociologist Nicolas Maslowski.
Ferdinand Peroutka Yesterday and Today
February 25, 2015, 19:00
When else to meet and recall the life and work of one of the greatest Czech journalists of the modern era, Ferdinand Peroutka, but on the day of the anniversary of “Victorious February”? The 20th century’s two totalitarian systems, Nazism and communism, had a deep impact on his life; one cast him into a concentration camp while he fled the other into exile. More
Discussion about Human Rights in China with David Kilgour and Ethan Gutmann
February 26, 2015, 20:00
Two renowned specialists on human rights in China will debate in English with the moderator Kateřina Šafaříková, mainly about the theme of human organ harvesting. More