Events: March 2022
February 2022
April 2022
Jan Novák: The Million Dollar Jeep
March 2, 2022, 19:00
In March the Argo publishing house is bringing out a re-edition of Jan Novák’s famous novel Miliónový jeep (The Million Dollar Jeep), launching the publication of selected prose works by the author. Jan Novák will discuss the novel and his other books with the literary historian and critic Michael Špirit and the Argo editor and translator Petr Onufer.
Ukraine Between the West and Russia
March 7, 2022, 19:00
The geopolitical context of the so-called Ukrainian crisis More
Debate N: Public Service Media
March 8, 2022, 19:00
The role and significance of public service media is always a topical issue. The state they are in, how they fulfil their role and what awaits them, especially when new media laws are in play, will be discussed by among others the director general of Czech Radio, René Zavoral, while Deník N’s Renata Kalenská will also speak. Discussion organised by the Václav Havel Library in cooperation with Deník N.
What Will Be the European Defence Strategy in 2030?
March 9, 2022, 18:30
The French Institute in Prague in cooperation with the think tank EUROPEUM and the Václav Havel Library invites you to a debate on the future of European defence. More
Polish Reporters: The Vicious Circle of Violence
March 10, 2022, 19:00
Canadian residential schools where the children of indigenous peoples ended up despite their parents’ wishes were one of the few themes that grabbed European and public attention last year alongside the Covid-19 pandemic. The Polish journalist Joanna Gierak-Onoszko lived in Canada for two years and explored that very subject. The book The 27 Deaths of Toby Obed, which has come out in Czech translated by Tadeáš Dohňanský on the Abysnt imprint, succeeds in going far deeper than the shocking news stories. The author spoke with survivors, as she calls the children who passed through the schools, as well as historians, journalists and activists focused on family issues and violence against women. Her book of reporting is above all a study of a vicious circle: If we encounter injustice and cruelty in childhood, it is difficult not to pass it on. The subject has also been a major challenge to Canadian politicians, who have gradually sought a way to symbolically accept responsibility for past wrongs and present-day traumas. More
Meeting with Viktor Shenderovich
March 14, 2022, 19:00
At the end of last year Viktor Shenderovich, a Russian journalist, playwright, novelist and human rights defender, was included on a list of so-called “foreign agents”. Lawyers for Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is believed to be a close associate of Vladimir Putin, are seeking financial penalties and incarceration of up to two years for his criticisms of Prigozhin. At the start of this year he emigrated, saying he would fulfil his “foreign agent function” outside his homeland. While in the Czech Republic he will attend the premiere of a film based on the theatre play To See Salisbury (2018), which was shot by the Divadlo pod Palmovkou theatre, directed by Michal Lang. More
Debate with Respekt
March 15, 2022, 19:00
Discussion between editors of the weekly Respekt and their guests on a topical issue, in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library. For more details and names of guests, visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.
Magnesia Litera I
March 16, 2022, 19:00
Readings by authors nominated in this year’s edition of the Magnesia Litera book awards. Organised by the Litera association and presented by Pavel Mandys. The line-ups of individual evenings will be posted in the course of March at www.magnesia-litera.cz.
The Holy Three Kings – History and Perceptions of a Legendary Resistance Group
March 17, 2022, 19:00
“I believe in God and in my pistol” was Václav Morávek’s response to a question from Josef Mašín as to what he believed in. Eighty years ago, on 21 March 1942, the last member of a resistance group known as the Three Kings still at large fell in a shootout with the Gestapo at Prague’s Power Tower. The Gestapo gave the name Holy Three Kings (Heilige drei Könige) to the intelligence and diversionary resistance group of Lt. Col. Josef Balabán, Lt. Col. Josef Mašín and St. Cpt. Václav Morávek. The legendary trio, who referred to themselves as the Three Musketeers, were supported by many friends. They were involved in maintaining contact with London, intelligence cooperation with the Soviets, the publication of the illegal magazine V boj and various diversionary operations, including outside the Protectorate. Josef Mašín was captured by the Gestapo during a shootout on 13 May 1941. He was executed on 30 June 1941 at the Kobylisy shooting ground. Josef Balabán was shot dead at the Ruzyně barracks on 3 October 1941 and Václav Morávek, known for outlandish acts of daring, was killed in a shootout in March 1942. More
Does Sport Belong in Politics?
March 21, 2022, 19:00
Debate on sports events in undemocratic countries and what position to adopt toward them. The XXIV Winter Olympics in China’s Beijing recently ended, the football World Cup is coming up in Qatar, and motorsport also takes place in states that don’t respect human rights. In a debate with guests from the Czech Olympic Committee, the world of diplomacy and a participant in the Beijing Games, we will focus on the issue of sport and diplomacy, respectively the accent on human rights during large sporting events that may be misused for propaganda purposes by undemocratic regimes. Debate organised by the Political Science Club of Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences and the Václav Havel Library.
Magnesia Litera II
March 23, 2022, 19:00
Readings by authors nominated in this year’s edition of the Magnesia Litera book awards. Organised by the Litera association and presented by Pavel Mandys. The line-ups of individual evenings will be posted in the course of March at www.magnesia-litera.cz
Meeting with Big Book Thursday Authors
March 24, 2022, 17:00
On the spring, 21 st edition of Big Book Thursday the writers Bianca Bellová, Karin Lednická, Barbora Englischová, Ondřej Hübl, Dalibor Vácha, Petr Michálek and Ester Stará and Milan Starý will present their books in person. The writers Jean-Michel Guenassia, David Attenborough, Michio Kaku, Naomi Wood and Neil Gaiman will be introduced by their translators or associated newspaper editors. More
Echo from the Library
March 29, 2022, 19:00
Debate series with editors from the weekly Echo 24 and their guests in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library. Lenka Zlámalová will chair the discussion. For the subject and names of guests visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.
Magnesia Litera III
March 30, 2022, 19:00
Readings by authors nominated in this year’s edition of the Magnesia Litera book awards. Organised by the Litera association and presented by Pavel Mandys. The line-ups of individual evenings will be posted in the course of March at www.magnesia-litera.cz
From Time to Time: On Street Work with Viktor Mravčík
March 31, 2022, 19:00
Viktor Mravčík headed the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction for 20 years but left last year out of disagreement with the trend in Czech anti-drug policy. An internationally renowned expert, researcher, author of many specialist publications, he works with the National Institute for Mental Health and teaches at the Addictology Clinic. He is currently head of research and education at the charity Společnost Podané ruce. More