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Three candidates shortlisted for the 2023 Václav Havel Prize  05/09/23

The selection panel of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which rewards outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights in Europe and beyond, has today announced the shortlist for the 2023 Award. Meeting in Prague today, the panel – made up of independent figures from the world of human rights and chaired by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Tiny Kox – decided to shortlist the following three nominees, in alphabetical order: More

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Three candidates shortlisted for the 2022 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize  06/09/22

The discussion among the seven-member jury helmed by the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe centred on the importance of the issue of human rights during this tense period. The finalists include Vladimir Kara-Murza, a political prisoner and leading Russian democracy campaigner; Ukraine’s 5 AM Coalition, which gathers evidence of human rights abuses stemming from Russia’s invasion of the country; and Hungary’s Rainbow Coalition defending LGBTQIA+ rights. “This year’s selection reflects the central role that human rights play in the current European crisis,” says Michael Žantovský, jury member and executive director of the Václav Havel Library, which bestows the prize in cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Nadace Charty 77.

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The Other Europe  27/04/22

Dear Friends, After three years we have completed the international project The Other Europe, during which, in cooperation with partner institutions, we have processed and made public recordings of interviews shot in 1987 and 1988 behind the Iron Curtain, and in exile, with important representatives of the opposition and the arts, as well as random citizens. Over those three years we have prepared video, audio and text of 106 interviews in speakers’ native languages and English translation. Despite public health restrictions in the Covid period, we have jointly prepared 16 international conferences and public presentations in six Central and Eastern European states. More

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From Schuman to Havel – what next?  16/02/22

The Václav Havel Library is a proud partner of the project Beyond Robert Schuman’s Europe More

Program for March 2016<>

entry-free

How to defeat Kremlin disinformation campaign?

How to defeat Kremlin disinformation campaign?

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 1, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Russian Federation is waging hybrid warfare against European states. Its disinformation campaign aims to disintegrate the EU and NATO. How can we counter it? Panelists: Jakub Kalenský (Expert at EEAS East STRATCOM Team) and Yevhen Fedchenko (Founder of StopFake.org). Moderated by Jakub Janda, Deputy Director of European Values Think-Tank.

The discussion will be held in English without interpretation.

The event is organised in cooperation with the European Values Think-Tank.

Russia: The Curse of Empire

Russia: The Curse of Empire

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 3, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

“In the past Russia caused a great deal of suffering to many nations and ultimately to the entire world by, among other things, not knowing precisely where it began and where it ended.” Václav Havel, To the Castle and Back, 2006

What are the historical and ideological roots of the political decision-making of contemporary Russia? What was the decisive impulse in its aggression toward Ukraine? Was it an eruption of Russian nationalism and an attempt at unification and defence of the “Russian world” from outside influences? Or was it a symptom of a return of the expansive ideology of empire?

In his book Russia: The Curse of Empire, the Polish philosopher and sociologist Paweł Rojek explores in detail the traditional dilemmas of Russian thinking, in particular the religious and secular forms of the myth of the Third Rome. These historical dilemmas also have a surprisingly strong influence on Russia’s perception of itself and its role…

Rojek will discuss these issues with Ivan Preobrazhenskij.

Hosted by Ondřej Soukup from Hospodářské noviny.

Organised by the Václav Havel Library in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Prague.

Magnesia Litera I

Magnesia Litera I

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 7, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Series of readings by finalists in the 2016 edition of the Magnesia Litera literary competition.

Michael Žantovský: Václav Havel Here and Now

Michael Žantovský: Václav Havel Here and Now

  • Where: North Bohemia
  • When: March 7, 2016, 10:30 – March 8, 2016, 21:00

Are the ideas of the first post-1989 president still alive? Do they really have something to say today? How should we actually approach Václav Havel’s legacy? And what role does the Václav Havel Library play in promoting the life and work of one of the most important figures in Czech 20th century history? A serie of discussion of Michael Žantovský:

7. 3. / 10.30 / Lepař Grammar School, Jiráskova 30, Jičín

7. 3. / 14.00 / Turnov Grammar School, J. Palacha 804, Turnov

7. 3. / 18.00 / Židovská 100, Jičín

8. 3. / 10.40 / Technical University of Liberec, Univerzitní náměstí, building G, 3rd floor, Liberec

8. 3. / 14.00 / Unveiling of Václav Havel’s Place in front of Regional Science Library, Liberec

8. 3. / 16.30 / Municipal Library, Dolní nám. 1, Jablonec nad Nisou

8. 3. / 19.00 / Fryč bookshop and antiquarian bookshop, Pražská 14, Liberec

Debate with Respekt: Putin’s Agents

Debate with Respekt: Putin’s Agents

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 8, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

How Russian spies are stealing our secrets. A debate on the activities of the Russian secret services in the EU and Central Europe followed by the launch of Ondřej Kundra’s book Putinovi agenti (Putin’s Agents).

Guests: Defence Minister Martin Stropnický, former prime minister Jan Fischer, former ambassador to Moscow and Washington Petr Kolář, Ivana Smolenová from Prague Security Studies Institute and Respekt journalist Ondřej Kundra.

Chaired by Silvie Lauder.

Abnousse Shalmani: Khomeni, Sade and Me

Abnousse Shalmani: Khomeni, Sade and Me

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 9, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Author Abnousse Shalmani is visiting Prague on the occasion of the publication of the Czech edition of her book Khomeni, Sade and Me by the Garamond publishing house. Khomeni, Sade and Me is a pamphlet combining anecdotes from the writer’s life with reflections on social and political questions.

In 1980s Tehran, the six-year-old Abnousse rebels against the compulsory wearing of the veil, expressing her revolt by running naked through the school yard. She gets into trouble at school and refuses to subordinate herself to the senseless malevolence of the “beards” and “crows”, morality police that fill the streets in the wake of the Iranian revolution. To escape pressure and harassment her family flee to Paris, though what Abnousse find there is not the freedom of which she has dreamed.

However, the girl, who gradually becomes a young woman, now has a very powerful weapon: French literature. Victor Hugo, de Sade, Colette and others become her allies in the battle against repression in all its forms and in the struggle for equal rights for women.

The discussion will be chaired by Alexandre Pajon from the French Institute. Interpretation from French provided.

Organised in cooperation with Prague’s French Institute.

Mahmoud Darwish, World-Renowned Palestinian Poet

Mahmoud Darwish, World-Renowned Palestinian Poet

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 10, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Celebration of the 75th anniversary of the birth of Mahmoud Darwish, the most eminent Palestinian poet, featuring readings of his poems in several languages: Czech, English and French.

The special guest will be the renowned Syrian literary critic and expert on Darwish’s oeuvre, the Paris-based Subhi Hadidi, who will discuss the Palestinian poet’s significance in the global context. Associate Professor František Ondráš from the Institute of Near Eastern and African Studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, a seasoned specialist in Arabic literature, will discuss Darwish in the Czech context.

The poems will be read by actors Sara Arnstein, Hélène Genet, Karel Dlouhý, Jiří Šimek, Daniel Brown and others, while Monika Načeva and Marwan Alsolaiman will provide musical accompaniment.

The evening will conclude with a tasting of Levantine cuisine.

Taiwan – The Island of Freedom

Taiwan – The Island of Freedom

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 11, 2016, 18:00 – 21:30

Film evening and panel discussion: Colonial History and the Democratization Process of Taiwan.

6–7:20 PM screening: The Mountain (director: Su Hung-en, producer: Li Jia-ling, 2015, ES, 60min)
Taiwan from the point of view of an elderly aboriginal man whose personal story reflects the colonial history of the island and shows a more simple lifestyle in the Taiwanese countryside. Followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

7:30–9:20PM Godspeed Taiwan (directors: Jeff Broadway and Kai Boydell, producer: Sam Lang, 2013, ES, 50 min)

The documentary film features recent political history, attempts at a transition towards full-scale democracy and its partial failures. The main protagonist is the political activist and ex-presidential candidate Peng Ming-min, yet the film introduces other important political figures, including ex-Taiwanese presidents, the „father of democracy“ Lee Teng-hui (1988–2000), KMT president Ma Ying-jeou (2008–2016) and Tsai Ing-wen who ran for the presidental election in 2012 and was eventually elected in 2016. The film thus introduces an uncluttered mosaic of the political situation in Taiwan during the 20th and 21st centuries.

The two films are followed by a panel discussion with three Taiwanese filmmakers (Leh Chyun-lin from Public Television Service, Teling Chen from Taiwan Fim Institute and director Su Hung-en, ES) on the topic of the recent election results, democracy in Taiwan, cross-strait relations and forthcoming challenges, which is lead by expert on modern Taiwan history from the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, Niki Alsford, and sinologist Martin Hála.

The discussion is moderated by Kateřina Procházková.

TECO director mr. Lu Sheau-jung will give his welcome speech.

Discussions are held in English with Czech interpretation.

The event is supported by the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, Václav Havel Library, One World Human Rights Film Festival and Spotlight Taiwan grant programme.

For Our Freedom and Yours: Havel and Lithuania

For Our Freedom and Yours: Havel and Lithuania

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 14, 2016, 18:00 – 20:00

Lithuania independence was renewed on 11 March 1990, meaning that a quarter century has now passed since freedom and democracy changed the fates of the societies of the then Czechoslovakia and Lithuania. In the case of Lithuania, the transition to an independent state claimed human lives, sacrificed during an attack by Soviet forces on Vilnius’s television tower on 13 January 1991.

Twenty-five years after those events the words of Václav Havel are still pertinent. We are standing, he said, before the most important task in our history, to make sure “that the large and powerful will never again be able to decide on the fates of the small and less powerful.” (Speech at Vilnius University, 1996)

Direct participants in the political and civic events of that time, Alexandr Vondra (CEVRO Institut) and Almis Grybauskas (Masaryk University), will take part in the discussion, as will experts on the Baltic region Luboš Švec (Charles University). Michael Žantovský will moderate.

The event will be attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania in Prague, J. E. Edvilas Raudonikis and held in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania and the Institute of International Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University.

Magnesia Litera II

Magnesia Litera II

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 15, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Series of readings by finalists in the 2016 edition of the Magnesia Litera literary competition.

Roma Women Write Differently

Roma Women Write Differently

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 16, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Intimate meeting with four regular Václav Havel Library writers, Eva Danišová, Irena Eliášová, Jana Hejkrlíková and Iveta Kokyová, represented in the anthology Slunce zapadá už ráno (The Sun Sets in the Morning) (VHL, 2014).

Excerpts from the anthology, new work and the role of Roma women in the family and the arts.

Evening hosted by Karolína Ryvolová and Alena Scheinostová.

The Refugee Crisis in the CR and Germany

The Refugee Crisis in the CR and Germany

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 17, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Debate on the current social, political and media atmosphere and the differences between “Czech” and “German” views of the refugee crisis featuring German personalities with long connections to the Czech environment.

Confirmed guests: Hans-Jörg Schmidt, Die Welt’s correspondent in the CR, journalist Silja Schultheis, historian Thomas Oellermann (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in the CR) and architect Susanne Spurná.

Debate chaired by Tomáš Lindner.

The discussion will be in Czech and German and will be simoultaneously translated. We thank the Goethe Institut Prag for borrowing us the translation technics.

----------------


Deutsche  Persönlichkeiten, die mit Tschechien langfristig verbunden sind, diskutieren über die gegenwärtige Situation in tschechischer und deutscher Gesellschaft, Politik und Medien, und über Unterschiede zwischen beiden Auffassungen in der Flüchtlingskrise.

An der Diskussion nehmen teil: Hans-Jörg Schmidt, Journalist und Korrespondent für Die Welt, Silja Schultheis, freie Journalistin, Thomas Oellermann, Historiker (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in der Tschechischen Republik) und Architektin Susanne Spurná.

Die Moderation übernimmt Tomáš Linder, Redakteur der Zeitung Respekt.

Die Diskussion findet auf Deutsch und Tschechisch statt und wird simultan übersetzt. Mit freundlicher Unterstützung durch Goethe-Institut Prag.

Evening with Refat Chubarov

Evening with Refat Chubarov

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 18, 2016, 20:00 – 21:00

Meeting with Refat Chubarov, the current leader of the Crimean Tartars, who will dicuss the future of the Crimea and Ukraine with Volodymyr Prytula, director of the Ukrainian Service of RFE/RL’s Krym.Realii project.

Debate in Russian with Czech interpretation.

Part of the CrimeanSOS charity festival in Prague.

Magnesia Litera III

Magnesia Litera III

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 21, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Series of readings by finalists in the 2016 edition of the Magnesia Litera literary competition.

Gender, the Dissent and Socialism

Gender, the Dissent and Socialism

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 22, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

How have gender stereotypes shaped prior to 1989 influenced us to this day? And when did the word feminism become a term of abuse?

This discussion with Czech female historians and sociologists will be primarily devoted to a critical appraisal of gender relations in the dissent in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s.

In cooperation with the Charles University Feminist Society.

Is Russia Anti-Western or Not? – From the Utopia of Cybernetic Romanticism to Pjotr Pavlensky

Is Russia Anti-Western or Not? – From the Utopia of Cybernetic Romanticism to Pjotr Pavlensky

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 23, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

We think of the Soviet Union as a country cut off from the Western world by the Iron Curtain with official art of the socialist realist type and unofficial contemporary art and literature disseminated in samizdat, private studios and the kitchens of friends. However, the reality was more complicated.

The lecture will explore the paradoxical possibilities, or the impossibility, of free art in repressive conditions, then and now.

First evening in a series of lectures by Russian Studies expert Tomáš Glanc (Universität Zürich) entitled Living Souls II: Contemporary Russian Culture in Words and Images.

On the Integration of Foreigners in the Czech Republic and Europe

On the Integration of Foreigners in the Czech Republic and Europe

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 24, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

In 2015 over 1,000,000 people from the Near and Middle East reached Europe. As EU member states attempt to limit refugees’ access to their territory the question arises as to how to deal with those who are already on the continent and who have the right to international protection. The panel discussion will consider the means and purposes of integration.

What does integration mean and how does it differ from so-called assimilation? What experiences do we have of integrating such a large number of people? Is there an inverse relationship between the success of integration and the crime rate in society? And how does the integration of foreigners in the CR work?

Evening held in cooperation with the Studentské hnutí za solidaritu (Student Movement for Solidarity).

Michael Žantovský in Brno: On Václav Havel and More

Michael Žantovský in Brno: On Václav Havel and More

  • Where: Brno
  • When: March 24, 2016, 14:00 – 22:30

Series of events of Michael Žantovský in Brno.

14.00–16.00 / University Cinema, Moravské nám. 3

Discussion with Students

Debate with Michael Žantovský on Václav Havel, his biography Havel and the transformation of values in Czech society and Czech foreign policy.

Chaired by the dean of the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University, Břetislav Dančák.

Discussion open to the public.

Organised by the Student Section of the International Institute of Political Science and the Václav Havel Library.

More information.

17.00–18.45 / Knihovna Jiřího Mahena v Brně, Kobližná 4

Big Book Thursday

A spy thriller set in the near future, the title of Ochlazení (The Cooling) is not merely figurative – it concerns the cooling of relations between Russia, the European Union and NATO – but also literal. Russia ceases to supply Europe with oil and gas. The story came out in 2008 under the pseudonym Daniel Wolf but is now being published under the name of the author, Michael Žantovský. Along with fellow authors Alice Horáčková and Aleš Palán, he will discuss writing and more with Czech Television journalist Petr Vizina.

Organised by the bookshop Kosmas and Knihovna Jiřího Mahena v Brně.

More information.

19.15–20.30 / Vila Tugendhat, Černopolní 45

Václav Havel’s Legacy Today

An intimate discussion with Michael Žantovský in the inspirational setting of the Glass Room on the legacy of Václav Havel, the role of the Václav Havel Library, the book Havel and whatever interests audience members.

Registration in advance required on tel. 515 511 015 or at info@tugendhat.eu; admission CZK 50.

Organised by Vila Tugendhat and the Václav Havel Library.

More information.

21.00–22.30 / Divadlo Husa na provázku theatre, Veselá Husa club, Zelný trh 9

Cabinet Havel 2016 – Michael Žantovský in Brno!

Special evening in which Michael Žantovský will discuss his feelings from that period, sitting at a table where much has already been said. Mr. Žantovský, one of Havel’s closest associates, has consented to sit at that table once again. And we will try to articulate it again in the midst of a period when things are hotting up… Our responsibility. Our hopes. Our anxieties. Our cock-ups. Our vision.

The interview with Michael Žantovský will be conducted by Petr Oslzlý and Milan Uhde.

(Václav Havel would have celebrated his 80th birthday in six months’ time).

Organised by the Husa na provázku theatre and the Václav Havel Library.
More information.

Magnesia Litera IV

Magnesia Litera IV

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 29, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Series of readings by finalists in the 2016 edition of the Magnesia Litera literary competition.

Filip Remunda, Vít Klusák and Authorial Documentary Film

Filip Remunda, Vít Klusák and Authorial Documentary Film

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 30, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

Discussion evening with the R&K authorial duo, who, as well as delivering commentaries on excerpts from their films, will speak about their outlook on authorial documentary making, its transformation and development in recent years, Czech society, media literacy, manipulation and mystification...

Sursum Babylon

Sursum Babylon

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: March 31, 2016, 19:00 – 21:00

The publishers and supporters of the arts and society review Babylon, which has been published in Prague since 1992, will present their new internet magazine project focused on political and arts news. Babylon writers have commented on the project pithily: Twenty-five years after the fall of communism, there’s nowhere to write.

Evening featuring a range of interesting guests; surprises a distinct possibility.

Havel Channel

Havel Channel je audiovizuální projekt Knihovny Václava Havla, jehož cílem je šířit myšlenkový, literární a politický odkaz Václava Havla, bez ohledu na vzdálenost, zeměpisné hranice či nouzové stavy. Jeho páteř tvoří debaty, vzdělávací projekty a rozhovory. Velký prostor je věnován též konferencím, autorským čtením, záznamům divadelních inscenací a koncertům. Audiovizuální projekt Knihovny Václava Havla Havel Channel se uskutečňuje díky laskavé podpoře Karel Komárek Family Foundation.

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Publications / E-shop

The central focus of the Library’s publishing programme is the life and work of Václav Havel, his family and close collaborators and friends. For clarity, the programme is divided into six series: Václav Havel Library Notebooks, Václav Havel Library Editions, Student Line, Talks from Lány, Václav Havel Documents, Works of Pavel Juráček and Václav Havel Library Conferences. Titles that cannot be incorporated into any of the given series but which are nonetheless important for the Library’s publishing activities are issued independently, outside the series framework.

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Conferences & prizes

Illustration

Václav Havel European Dialogues

The Václav Havel European Dialogues is an international project that aims to initiate and stimulate a discussion about issues determining the direction of contemporary Europe while referring to the European spiritual legacy of Václav Havel. This idea takes its main inspiration from Václav Havel’s essay “Power of the Powerless”. More than other similarly focused projects, the Václav Havel European Dialogues aims to offer the “powerless” a platform to express themselves and in so doing to boost their position within Europe.

The Václav Havel European Dialogues is planned as a long-term project and involves cooperation with other organisations in various European cities. Individual meetings, which take the form of a conference, are targeted primarily at secondary and third-level students, as well as specialists and members of the public interested in European issues.

Illustration

Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation to reward outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond.

Illustration

Havel - Albright Transatlantic Dialogues

Since the first Václav Havel Transatlantic Dialogues at GLOBSEC and FORUM 2000 conferences last year, we have lost another stalwart advocate of the transatlantic bond and of the need to face threats to democracy and international order together on both sides of the Atlantic, the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In view of the close bond between Václav Havel and Madeleine Albright and, after Havel's death, between the Secretary and the Library, the Václav Havel Library, with the approval of Madeleine Albright's family, renamed and rebranded the program as The Havel-Albright Transatlantic Dialogues (HATD), after the two major figures with roots in Central Europe who have personified the bond. Together, Václav Havel and Madeleine Albright symbolize the transatlantic relationship and the fundamental values underpinning it perhaps better than any other two people in recent history. The upcoming Dialogues “The Indispensable Woman: The Legacy of Madeleine K. Albright”, at the FORUM 2000 conference on September 1, and at the “Havel and our Crisis” conference at Colby College, ME, on September 28, will thus become venues for a well-deserved tribute to the pair we all respected and admired.

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Václav Havel

Václav Havel
* 5. 10. 1936 Praha
† 18. 12. 2011 Hrádeček u Trutnova

1936
Foto
Václav Havel grew up
in a well-known, wealthy entrepreneurial
and intellectual family.
1951
Foto
Václav Havel completed primary schooling. Because
of his "bourgeois" background, options for
higher education were limited.
1951
Foto
Václav Havel worked as a chemical laboratory technician
while attending evening classes at a high school
from which he graduated in 1954.
1955
Foto
Václav Havel studied at the
Economics Faculty of the Czech
Technical University in Prague.
1960
Foto
Václav Havel began working at Prague's Theatre on
the Balustrade, first as a stagehand and later as
an assistant director and literary manager.
1963
Foto
Havel´s first play The Garden
Party was staged at Prague's
Theatre on the Balustrade.
1964
Foto
Václav Havel
married Olga
Splichalova.
1966
Foto
VH finished studies at at the
Theatre Faculty of the Academy of
Performing Arts in Prague .
1968
Foto
Václav Havel played an active role in
democratization and renewal of culture during the
era of reforms, known as Prague Spring.
1969
Foto
Havel's work were banned in Czechoslovakia. He
moved from Prague to the country, continued
his activities against the Communist regime.
1974
Foto
Václav Havel worked as a manual laborer
at a local brewery near Hrádeček in
the north of the Czech Republic.
1975
Foto
Václav Havel wrote an open
letter to President Gustav Husak,
criticizing the government.
1977
Foto
Václav Havel co-founded the Charter 77
human rights initiative and was one
of its first spokesmen.
1978
Foto
Václav Havel co-founded The
Committee for the Defense
of the Unjustly Prosecuted.
1979
Foto
Václav Havel was imprisoned several times
for his beliefs, his longest prison
term lasting from 1979 to 1983.
1989
Foto
Václav Havel emerged as one of the
leaders of the November opposition movement, also
known as the Velvet Revolution.
1990
Foto
Václav Havel is elected
President of Czechoslovakia on
December 29.
1993
Foto
Václav Havel is elected, after the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the first President
of the Czech Republic.
1996
Foto
On January
27, Olga
Havlova died.
1997
Foto
Václav Havel married Dagmar Veskrnova,
a popular and acclaimed Czech theatrical,
television and movie actress.
1999
Foto
Václav Havel enabled the entry of
the Czech Republic into the North
Atlantic Treat Organisation (NATO).
2003
Foto
Václav Havel left office after
his second term as Czech
president ended on 2 February 2003.
2004
Foto
Foundation of Václav
Havel Library in
Prague.
2004
Foto
The Czech Republic became the 35th
member State of the Council of
Europe on 30 June 1993.
2010
Foto
Václav Havel directed
a film adaptation of
his play Leaving.
2011
Foto
Václav Havel died at his
summer house Hrádeček in the
north of the Czech Republic.
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Educational projects

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Archive / Documentation centre / Research projects

Dokumentační centrum

The Václav Havel Library is gradually gathering, digitizing, and making accessible written materials, photographs, sound recordings and other materials linked to the person of Václav Havel.

  • 70200 records in total
  • 27196 of events in the VH's life
  • 2831 of VH's texts
  • 2125 of photos 
  • 403of videos
  • 568of audios
  • 6604of letters
  • 15101of texts about VH
  • 8255 of books
  • 40254of bibliography records

Access to the database of the VHL’s archives is free and possible after registering as a user. Accessing archival materials that exist in an unreadable form is only possible at the reading room of the Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, 110 00 Prague 1, every Tuesday (except state holidays) from 9:00 to 17:00, or by prior appointment.

We will be glad to answer your queries at archiv@vaclavhavel-library.org.

Illustration

Havel in a nutshell

The virtual exhibition Václav Havel in a Nutshell places the life story of Václav Havel in the broader cultural and historic context in four chronologically distinct chapters with rich visual accompaniment. The exhibition is supplemented by the interactive map Flying the World with Václav Havel, which captures in physical form Havel’s global “footprint”.

Illustration

Vladimir Hanzel's revolution

Collage of recollections, images and sound recordings from Vladimír Hanzel, President Václav Havel’s personal secretary, bringing the feverish atmosphere of the Velvet Revolution to life.

Illustration

Václav Havel Interviews

A database of all accessible interviews given to print media outlets by the dramatist, writer and political activist Václav Havel between the 1960s and 1989. The resulting collection documents the extraordinary life story of an individual, as well as capturing a specific picture of modern Czechoslovak history at a time when being a free-thinker was more likely to lead to jail than an official public post.

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Pavel Juráček Archive

The Pavel Juráček Archive arose in February 2014 when his son Marek Juráček handed over six banana boxes and a typewriter case from his father’s estate to the Václav Havel Library. Thousands of pages of manuscripts, typescripts, photographs, documents and personal and official correspondence are gradually being classified and digitalised. The result of this work should be not only to map the life and work of one of the key figures of the New Wave of Czechoslovak film in the 1960s, but also to make his literary works accessible in the book series The Works of Pavel Juráček.

The aim of the Václav Havel Library is to ensure that Pavel Juráček finds a place in the broader cultural consciousness and to notionally build on the deep friendship he shared with Václav Havel. Soon after Juráček’s death in 1989 Havel said of him: “Pavel was a friend of mine whom I liked very much. He was one of the most sensitive and gentle people I have known – that’s why I cannot write more about him.”  

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All about Library

The Václav Havel Library works to preserve the legacy of Václav Havel, literary, theatrical and also political, in particular his struggle for freedom, democracy and the defence of human rights. It supports research and education on the life, values and times of Václav Havel as well as the enduring significance of his ideas for both the present and future.

The Václav Havel Library also strives to develop civil society and active civic life, serving as a platform for discussion on issues related to the support and defence of liberty and democracy, both in the Czech Republic and internationally.

The main aims of the Václav Havel Library include

  • Organizing archival, archival-research, documentary, museum and library activities focused on the work of Vaclav Havel and documents or objects related to his activities, and carries out professional analysis of their influence on the life and self-reflection of society
  • Serving, in a suitable manner, such as through exhibitions, the purpose of education and popularisation functions, thus presenting to the public the historical significance of the fight for human rights and freedoms in the totalitarian period and the formation of civil society during the establishment of democracy
  • Organizing scientific research and publication activities in its areas of interest
Zpět na začátek

Staňte se členy Klubu přátel Knihovny Václava Havla

We believe that we are succeeding in fulfilling the vision of Václav Havel, who, when he founded the Library, declared that it only makes sense as a living organism that occupies an unmissable place in the whole of public and political life. We see this as a commitment and inspiration for the future. We would like to use the footage of our hundreds of events in our own internet TV channel, expand our publication programme, develop more e-learning series, start organising workshops for teachers... But all this will require considerable financial resources. That's why we decided to turn to our visitors and supporters for support.

Pomozte nám inspirovat své okolí i Vy!
Přijdete se k nám a staňte se členem Klubu přátel Knihovny VH!

 

Podpořte nás
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Přispět

Přítel

1000 KČ / měsíc
Přispět

Váš příspěvek nám pomůže s organizací pravidelných akcí pro veřejnost.

Patron

10000 KČ / měsíc
Přispět

Váš příspěvek nám pomůže rozvíjet náš ediční plán a publikační činnost

Partner

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pro další informace
Kontaktovat

Váš příspěvek nám pomůže s vývojem vzdělávacích miniserií, audivizuálních projektů, přípravou mezinárodních konferencí...

Support us

Financial donations

If you would like to support the work of the Václav Havel Library or its specific activities or projects by means of a financial donation you can do so via the VHL’s PayPal account

Or by bank transfer to:

ČSOB a. s., Na Poříčí 24, 115 20 Praha 1

  • Crown account number 7077 7077 / 0300 CZK
  • Euro account number 7755 7755 / 0300 EUR
  • Dollar account number 7747 7747 / 0300 USD

If an individual makes a donation of over CZK 1,000, or if a company makes a donation of over CZK 2,000, in one calendar year we will create for you a donation contract confirming the amount of the donation involved; the donor can use this to reduce their tax base in compliance with the law on taxation. For more information, contact us.

Donors with US citizenship can support us through the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation New York.

Donations and loans to the VHL archive

The Václav Havel Library administers an archive of written materials, documents, photographs, video recordings and other materials related to the life and work of Václav Havel. The archive is predominantly digital in form. If you or somebody close to you is the owner of original texts, photographs, speeches or other works produced by Václav Havel we would appreciate it greatly if you contacted us. We will oversee the digitalisation of these documents and place them in our digital archive. If you would like to keep possession of such documents or items, we will return them in perfect condition.  

If a copy or original is donated to the Václav Havel Library, the terms of donation and use will in all cases be agreed with the owner. The names of all donors or owners will be listed alongside the documentary materials in question.

Internships

We offer short and long-term internships at the Václav Havel Library to Czech and foreign students. Interns are particularly welcomed in the fields of library studies and archival science, arts management, journalism, Czech Studies and other areas of the humanities.

We welcome knowledge of English (German and French are also a plus), while knowledge of Czech is an advantage for foreign interns.

Internships range in duration from six weeks to one year, while it is possible to agree on individual duration depending on the requirements of schools. On completion of the internship, the participant receives a certificate with an appraisal. Internships take place on the basis of prior agreement with applicants and dates must be agreed around two months in advance. Václav Havel Library internships are unpaid and we do not cover transport or accommodation costs.

If you are interested in an internship at the Václav Havel Library, contact us at the email address:

Media and promotion cooperation with the VHL

The Václav Havel Library welcomes the mutual exchange of links and the publication of our banners and information about our events. For more information, contact us directly.

Volunteers

The Václav Havel Library welcomes volunteers who would like to assist in our work.  

Česká centraBakala FoundationRockefeller Brothers FundJan BartaAsiana GroupMoneta Money BankThe Vaclav Havel Library FoundationNadace Charty 77Sekyra FoudationVŠEMRicohP3chemTechsoup ČRNewton MediaHlavní město PrahaMinisterstvo kultury ČRMinisterstvo zahraničních věcí ČRUS EmbassyStátní fond kultury