Events: June 2019
May 2019
July 2019
American Spring at the Václav Havel Library: Americans in Prague – What's the news?
June 3, 2019, 19:00
Interactive panel with three distinctive U. S. journalists based in the Czech Republic. Besides the lost beauty of the Nineties, we will discuss how the American media see the Czech Republic, what stories are interesting for U. S. readers, how these American journalists view contemporary Czech culture and politics, how Czechs see the American community, and how the relationship has evolved over the past three decades. More
The Tiananmen Square Massacre – 30 Years Later
June 4, 2019, 19:00
On the night of 3–4 June 1989, the Chinese People’s Army sealed off the area around Tiananmen Square and attacked crowds of students who had been gathering there since April to protest human rights violations, the denial of political rights, high levels of corruption, inflation, an outmoded approach to education and growing social divisions. To this day it is not known exactly how many protesters died during the military operation. In China there is a total information blackout regarding the Tiananmen Square massacre. More
European Poets Live
June 6, 2019, 19:00
I speak your language: Traditional readings by Czech, German, Slovak and Slovenian poets as part of the festival Stranou – European Poets Live. More
Prague Museum Night
June 8, 2019, 19:00
For this year’s edition of Prague Museum Night we have prepared a selection from an exclusive, previously unpublished interview with Václav Havel recorded by Krystyna Krauze, a Polish opposition activist and later graduate of FAMU film school and director, just days after his release from prison in May 1989. For school pupils and students in particular we are also offering short talks by YouTubers on selected events from 1989, while alongside the permanent exhibition Havel in a Nutshell we are showing designs for a new memorial to Václav Havel at Prague Airport. The programme starts with the film screening on the hour and on the half hour.
Debate with Respect: Is the State Sufficiently Supporting Parents of Small Children?
June 11, 2019, 19:00
In connection with the ongoing debate on increasing children’s allowance, the issue of how the Czech state supports parents, and whether it does so sufficiently, is again being raised. This particularly concerns mothers, who are still responsible for most of the childcare in the Czech Republic. Why are there so few places at kindergartens? And why don’t employers offer many part-time jobs? More
The Middle Class at a Crossroads
June 12, 2019, 19:00
Presentation and debate centred on an exclusive sociological study carried out by the TOPAZ think tank with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. More
The Depiction of Migration and Integration in a Polarised Society – Where Are We Now?
June 13, 2019, 17:00
Public debate and presentation of the publication Phantom Menace: The Politics and Policies of Migration in Central Europe (2018), published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. More
Václav Havel: Audience
June 17, 2019, 19:00
A legendary “Vaněk” play in its original rendition by Divadlo na tahu. Featuring Karel Beseda and Radek Bár with direction by Andrej Krob and musical accompaniment from Obří broskev. More
Several Sentences – Flyers, Demonstrations and Petitions in 1989
June 18, 2019, 19:00
The theme of this debate, held in connection with the 30th anniversary of the Several Sentences petition, will be public shows of defiance to the Communist regime in the late 1980s. More
Evening of Feminist Poetry – Whispers of the Moon
June 19, 2019, 19:00
Actress Bára Hrzánová will read from 22 poems collected in Šepoty luny (Whispers of the Moon) by the leading Czech feminist Mirek Vodrážka. She will also discuss feminist issues with the poet: Why was neither the Communist regime nor the dissent receptive to feminism? Why are Czech women afraid to build on the political message of Milada Horáková? How does the myth of female beauty make itself felt in the acting profession? Why is violence toward women growing and what dangers does it pose? How many genders are there? More
Uncovering Belarus
June 20, 2019, 19:00
Over the last 10 to 15 years Belarus has defied the stereotypes to become a hotbed of creativity and innovation with a booming IT sector, vibrant artistic and cultural scenes and an increasingly inventive independent media and civil society. This is a side of the country far removed from the "Europe’s Last Dictatorship" tropes we’ve become so accustomed to. Join our panel as they offer a window into this new and exciting Belarus. More
How to Interview Politicians
June 24, 2019, 19:00
It is increasingly difficult to prove the truth in the public arena. How much is the media to blame for this, and how much its consumers and politicians? How should fake news and disinformation be handled? What to do when proven facts are dubbed a premeditated campaign? How can politicians’ genuine opinions be coaxed out of them? More
The Comanche at the Václav Havel Library
June 25, 2019, 19:00
US novelist S.C. Gwynn’s Empire of the Summer Moon is a gripping account of the rise and crushing of the Comanche, the most powerful Native American tribe in history. It touches on the era of Spanish rule of the New World, the U.S. Civil War, the mass eradication of the bison and the advent of the railroad. It raises once again the cruel question of colonialism and genocide but does not shirk from describing the brutality of the Comanche free of any veneer of political correctness or even kitsch. The tribe were famed for their unequalled equestrian and martial skills as well as legendary fighting spirit and halted both the expansion of a Spanish empire from Mexico and the French colonisers of Louisiana. However, they were unable to withstand Anglo-Saxon settlers who were well-organised and possessed modern weaponry. More