Events: December 2022
November 2022
January 2023
Mine Field Bread: Reportage from Ukraine
December 1, 2022, 19:00
At 5 in the morning on 24 February 2022, sirens rang out in Ukrainian cities. Russian troops had invaded the country by land, air and sea. People began erecting barricades, knitting camouflage nets and filling petrol bombs. When the president received an offer to evacuate he said that munitions, not transport out, were needed. Within the first few days of the war Ukrainians stunned the world with their courage. Leading Czech reporters, as well as a number of female Ukrainian reporters, deliver vibrant testimonies from places impacted by the war, sharing the stories of people they have encountered, as well as their own experiences from wartime Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odessa and other cities. Some also describe their visits back then to Donbas and Crimea, where the war began in 2014, as well as delving into the past in search of the roots of the Russian aggression. More
The Václav Havel Library at Bookfest
03/12/22 – 04/12/22 Participation on local events
Come and say hello and pick up a book at our stand at Bookfest, a festival of small publishing houses in Plzeň. This time it is taking place as part of Plzeň’s Design Week at the venue DEPO2015. A rich accompanying programme is also planned.
Deník N’s Book of the Year: Results of New Poll Revealed
December 6, 2022, 19:00
What have been the best books of the year gone by? And what do the survey results say about Czech literature? Debate with representatives of the Czech publishing world also attended by poll winners.
Echo from the Library
December 7, 2022, 19:00
Debate series with editors from the weekly Echo and their guests, in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library. Lenka Zlámalová will chair the discussion. For the theme and the names of guests, visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.
Václav Havel Library Essay Competition Results
December 8, 2022, 16:00
Announcement of the results of the 14th edition of the Václav Havel Library Student Essay Competition, attended by students and jurors. More
The VH Library at Winter Knihex
10/12/22 – 11/12/22 Participation on local events
The traditional pre-Christmas Knihex is this year taking place at the Institut francais. Alongside many other small publishers it will include a stand of the Václav Havel Library, packed with books and other small essentials.
Václav Havel: Protest
December 12, 2022, 19:00
To sign or not to sign? A one-act play about a complicated question and even more complicated answer, about a long-standing dilemma: To stay true to oneself, or to sell one’s soul for peace and advantages? A dialogue between Havel’s most famous character, Ferdinand Vaněk, a writer who, despite the difficulties, chooses moral principles and solidarity with an unjustly imprisoned musician, and a writer “permitted”, resp. tolerated, by the regime, who merely affects morality and is not willing to give up a life of ease. More
Debate with Respekt
December 13, 2022, 19:00
Discussion with editors from the weekly Respekt and their guests, chaired by Tomáš Brolík. For more details and the names of guests, visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.
The Historical Context of the Split of Czechoslovakia
December 14, 2022, 19:00
Thirty years ago Czechoslovakia split, giving rise to two new successor states. What led to this event? Were there other possible alternatives? How do Czech and Slovak society view Czechoslovakia today? Taking part in this debate will be historian Michal Macháček and lawyer and former Constitutional Court judge Ivana Janů. More
The Free Academy: Tomáš Sedláček
December 15, 2022, 19:00
On the body, soul and spirit of Europe. Europe was bereft of a spirit during the last decade. We worked on the economy, legislation, roaming and bureaucracy and neglected the abstract higher meaning of Europe. Now Europe is discovering its spirit and experiencing the exact opposite of an identity crisis. The front of that spiritual battle has taken physical form in Ukraine. A lecture by economist, philosopher and university teacher Tomáš Sedláček.