Events: June 2015
May 2015
July 2015
Prague vs. Moolah
June 2, 2015, 19:00
For a year now they have been mapping the dark side of the metropolis in a documentary series, revealing both the uncompromising world of Prague taxi drivers and the bureaucratic quirks of officialdom… The stories of both filmmakers about the difficulties of shooting and goings-on “behind the scenes” will be supplemented by the screening of key episodes.
Marek Orko Vácha: Freedom, Ethics and Responsibility
June 3, 2015, 19:00
The moment in the evolution of our kind when personal freedom emerged was perhaps the moment we can begin to speak about man. Freedom enables the emergence of ethics. It is the moment when, from a point of given instinctive behaviour, a never-ending ocean of possibilities opens up, the moment when we become aware it is possible to act differently. More
Karel Hvížďala: The Eighth Day of the Week, 52 + 1 Essays
June 4, 2015, 19:00
Presentation of the book Osmý den týdne, 52 + 1 fejeton (The Eighth Day of the Week, 52 + 1 Essays) by journalist and playwright Karel Hvížďala, which has just been issued by publishers Novela bohemica. More
God and War?
June 5, 2015, 17:00
Why does a Christian cleric decide to serve in the army? What are his experiences of working among soldiers in the Czech Republic and on foreign missions? What issues is he confronted with? How does he experience his faith among those who have to be prepared to use weapons and kill? How is he affected by the fact that religious extremists use God’s name as a shield while carrying out inhumane actions? More
Steve Crawshaw: Small Acts of Resistance
June 8, 2015, 19:00
Nonviolent change – and mischief. Those are the twin themes of Small Acts of Resistance: How Courage, Tenacity and Ingenuity Can Change the World, co-written by Steve Crawshaw and John Jackson with a preface by Vaclav Havel. More
Beatrice Landovská: Kitty
June 9, 2015, 19:00
The first presentation of texts from Beatrice Landovská’s original theatre play Koťátka (Kitty) (2015), in the form of a staged reading by actors from the LaMy theatre group. The readings have been prepared by Vanda Zaplatílková Hutařová and Kristýna Čepková. More
With my language I will break the silence
June 10, 2015, 19:00
A now traditional reading by poets from around Europe, this time Czech, Hungarian, Austrian, Slovenian, Slovak and Serb writers, as part of the eight annual festival Stranou – European Poets Live (Veronika Dianišková, Radek Fridrich, Stanka Hrastelj, Marko Kravos, Ivan Matoušek, Marián Milčák, Duško Novaković, Ana Ristović, Dušan Savić, Ivo Svetina, István Vörös, Petra Žišt). Vlaďka Kužílková will read Czech translations. More
Debate with Respekt: Politicians and School Leaving Exams – Why Education Reform Has Not Been Achieved in the Czech Republic
June 11, 2015, 19:00
A quarter of students failed school leaving exams in mathematics last year. The Ministry boasts, however, that the new system works. It is now chiefly focused on reforming school financing. But is this what Czech education needs most? More
Filip Topol: Angus Burge
June 12, 2015, 19:00
Ceremonial presentation of an album of pen drawings by Filip Topol from 1984 as part of a tribute concert. The “Knight’s Comics” Angus Burge is published by the Václav Havel Library in a limited edition of 300 copies.
Museum Night: The Hrádeček Phenomenon
13/06/15 – 14/06/15
The permanent exhibition on Václav Havel will be open the whole evening, supplemented by an audio-visual compilation put together from Václav Havel Library archival materials exploring the phenomenon of Hrádeček as a spiritual centre of the Czechoslovak dissent far exceeding the significance of a mere cottage in the Krkonoše foothills where Václav Havel often stayed.
On what values is our society based?
June 15, 2015, 19:00
Russian aggression, Islamist pressure and the strong distrust of citizens in democratic institutions places a question before our society – what values are most important to us? What are the cornerstones of our civilisation that we wish to cultivate and protect? On what values is the Czech Constitution founded, and are they still valid? The debate is organised by the European Values Initiative in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library. More
James Ragan: A View of the World from Vaclav Havel’s Balcony
June 16, 2015, 19:00
From the 1960’s, James Ragan had visited his family villages in then Czechoslovakia where he began his dissident writings against foreign occupation. As a published poet, playwright, screenwriter, and professor, he met newly- elected Czech President Vaclav Havel in 1991 in Los Angeles. More
The cat that never sleeps
June 17, 2015, 19:00
An unconventional and imaginative meeting with Jiřina Šiklová on the occasion of her 80th birthday. More
Cabinet Havel 2014/2015 or All we need is the truth
June 21, 2015, 17:00
Final debate in a series on the state of Czech society from November 2014 to June 2015. More