Events: May 2018
April 2018
June 2018
China, Christians, Exodus and Czech Society
May 3, 2018, 19:00
The speakers in this discussion will place the modern phenomenon of the search for a new homeland and flight for religious reasons from one’s original homeland within the framework of contemporary Czech society. People whose own lives have been deeply impacted by this subject have also agreed to take part on condition of anonymity. More
Debate with Respekt
May 9, 2018, 19:00
Discussion with Respekt editors and their guests on a topical issue. More information will be posted at least one week before the event at www.vaclavhavel-library.org
Zmicer Daškievič: The Worm?
May 10, 2018, 19:00
How can one resist totalitarianism? More
The Václav Havel Library at Book World Prague
10/05/18 – 13/05/18 Participation on local events
VH Library editors and special guests will introduce the English-language edition of Zdeněk Lukeš’s Praha Václava Havla, entitled Václav Havel’s Prague, Jiří Křižan’s freshly-discovered novel Stín (The Shadow) and an e-anthology of the legendary radio programmes Talks from Lány.
Soeuf Elbadawi: Europe’s Border in the Indian Ocean – The Tragedy the World Doesn’t See
May 11, 2018, 19:00
One of the most respected African intellectuals today, the writer, documentarian, journalist and civic activist Soeuf Elbadawi, will speak about the humanitarian disaster taking place in the Indian Ocean, human rights, the shunga tradition, cultural and religious co-existence on the Comoro Islands and art experiments. More
Václav Havel European Dialogues: The Czech Republic at the European Crossroads
May 14, 2018, 10:00 Conferences
What has 14 years of membership of the European Union brought us? What advantages have we enjoyed thanks to it? Or have we, by contrast, lost something? Why is there increasing scepticism about the EU? Are there perhaps other alternatives? What does the EU represent for the future of our country? And what do we represent for its future? These and similar questions will be explored in the fifth edition of the Václav Havel European Dialogues. For registration please fill out our form. More
Referenda – A Challenge for Democracy or a Backwards Step?
May 15, 2018, 19:00
Are referenda a guarantee of better democracy? Do they enable citizens to take part in the decision-making process? Or are they a once tried, now abandoned path? More
Leaving a Children’s Home: How Old Were You When You Left Home?
May 16, 2018, 19:00
Around a thousand young people leave children’s homes every year at the age of 18, or, if they study, at 26. How difficult for them is this phase of their lives? What challenges and pitfalls do they encounter on that path? Are they prepared enough for such a step? Is there a support system? Or aid organisations? How does it actually work? How does it differ from the situation when you left home? More
Kaiser Kuo – In the Heart of the Chinese Underground
May 17, 2018, 19:00
In 1988, Kaiser Kuo graduated from college and headed to Beijing determined to discover, and to participate in, the rock music scene he was certain was then nascent in China. Early the next year, he had co-founded the band Tang Dynasty, which emerged as the first and still the best-known heavy metal band in China. More
50 Years of the Prague Spring and Resolve for Freedom
May 18, 2018, 11:00
A discussion with noteworthy speakers and eye witnesses on the situation of citizens in totalitarian regimes and their resolve to fight for freedom, using the example of the 1968 Prague Spring. The state of the rule of law and democracy today will be discussed by figures from public life and Czech and German politicians (including Hans-Peter Friedrich, Helena Válková and Michael Žantovský). More
An Uncertain Nation?
May 21, 2018, 19:00
Czechs and Their Search for a Politics. More
The Killing of a Communist Functionary
May 22, 2018, 19:00
A discussion focused on the book Smrt bez spravedlnosti (Death Without Justice) in which we will attempt to answer the question of whether the murder of the Communist functionary Anna Kvašová, committed in January 1952, was pre-meditated or a spur-of-the-moment excess on the part of the culprit, and whether it actually sped up collectivisation in the Kutná Hora area, as was commonly claimed. More
Beatrice Landovská: An Evening of Poetry
May 24, 2018, 19:00
The 1980s poems of Beatrice Landovská are a relatively little known part of Czech written poetry of the totalitarian era. The writer published her verse on duplicated editions intended for a circle of friends and acquaintances in the unofficial arts community of the dissent and underground. The dominant themes are existential hardships and erotic adventures, which were in no short supply in the courageous life. Under totalitarianism, poetry isn’t for the yellow-bellied – when you feel alien and excluded, you have to bear troublesome brutes, communicate with those who are trying to restrict you or even lie right in your face and weave brutal intrigues behind your back, to stand up to the hatred of all kinds of jealous idiots and at the same time maintain your own integrity against the backdrop of malignant despotism… More
The Urban Liberal’s Dilemma: Last One Turns Out the Light?
May 28, 2018, 19:00
The triumvirate of democratic centrist parities the Christian Democrats, the Mayors and Independents and TOP 09 did not enter the elections in good shape and their support is falling further in the new Chamber of Deputies. By contrast, attracting ANO are winning more voters. Do these developments spell the end of a pro-European political centre in the Czech Republic? More
The Birth of an Activist With a Realistic Philosophy – Václav Havel as a Political Person
May 29, 2018, 19:00
Václav Havel experienced the events of the Prague Spring just as intensely as many of his peers. However, unlike others he remained unmoved by official rhetoric, catchy slogans or utopian visions of socialism with a human face. He approached the tumultuous developments cautiously, with a degree of scepticism and realism. More
Evenings with Polish Reporters: The Journalist in the Midst of War
May 30, 2018, 19:00
War reporters encounter death, violence and the suffering of individuals on a daily basis. At the same time, their job is to send home reports from frequently distant and incomprehensible conflicts as impartial observers. A discussion between Piotr Górecki, a former war correspondent for Polish TV, and journalist Markéta Kutilová, who has been documenting the war against Islamic state in Syria and Iraq for several years. More
Pavel Hroch: Faces of Resistance
May 31, 2018, 19:00
A series of photographs by Pavel Hroch. More