Club / News / Program
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
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.
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
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 November 2014<>
entry-free
Stanislav Devátý outside the law
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 3, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
Continuation of a year-long series from the archives of the Václav Havel Library on the emergence and activities of civic initiatives in the breakthrough year of 1989.
Stanislav Devátý was a signatory and spokesman of Charter 77 and a member of the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted. On 16 January 1989 he laid a wreath at the grave of Jan Palach in Všetaty at a time when the cemetery was surrounded by the security forces of the communist regime. When he was picked up by the police he employed passive resistance, going on a hunger strike. In Zlín he set up the Society of Friends of the USA. In August 1989 he was sentenced to 20 months in prison. However, he evaded arrest by escaping to Poland.
The debate will be hosted by Jáchym Topol.
Photo (c) Mafra
New nationalism and separatism in Europe and the world
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 4, 2014, 18:00 – 20:00
A debate on nationalism and separatism in places such as Scotland, Catalonia, Belgium, northern Italy, Hungary, Russia and China – and more. The discussion will be chaired by Jan Macháček, journalist and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Václav Havel Library.
The invitation are accepted by Lenka Víchová, Petr Hlaváček, Michael Romacov, Edvard Outrata, Roman Joch, Jan Kysela.
Photo (c) Tabletmedia
Do we need the crisis to stimulate European identity?
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 5, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
The debate will look for answers to the questions: Has the financial crisis helped European identity? Will the current Ukrainian security crisis encourage a perception of a common European identity, and as a consequence make further integration possible at the EU level? How will it influence the policies of the European Parliament and Commission?
The invitations are accepted by Zuzana Roithová, Petr Kratochvíl, Kristina Larischová, Michael Romancov.
The debate is moderated by Jakub Janda.
In cooperation with the think tank European Values.
Havel’s Place unveiled in Oxford
- Where: Oxford, Great Britain
- When: November 6, 2014 – 24:00
Oxford is the latest city to get a Havel’s Place memorial to Václav Havel. Bořek Šípek’s piece in the form of two armchairs linked by a table with a Linden tree growing through it symbolises the democratic dialogue that was essential to Václav Havel. More information.
Debate with Respekt: Meda Mládková, Art and High Politics
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 6, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
Ondřej Kundra, the author of Meda Mládková: Můj úžasný život (Meda Mládková: My Amazing Life), will discuss, along with fellow guests Jiří Pospíšil and David Černý, Czech art, those who collect it, and politics that managed to turn everybody’s fates upside down. Chaired by Tomáš Sacher.
Who is a man… storytelling matters
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 10, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
An evening with Marek Orko Vácha
In 2005 the genome of the chimpanzee was mapped and the scientific community expected that a difference would be found when it was compared to ours – the humanity gene. The two sets of DNA are almost identical.
For Martin Buber, the question “who is a man” is the toughest there is; the answer to it determines our self-definition.
Totalitarian ideologies try to persuade people that they are not all that matters, that ideas and bright futures are what is important. In democracy, however, mankind is always above society. In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, mankind is no less than the image of God, the co-creator of the universe. “Who is a man” therefore becomes perhaps contemporary Europe’s most important question – and its future hinges on the answer.
Marek Orko Vácha is a Roman Catholic priest and writer. He publishes in numerous journals and is interested in evolutionary biology and medical and environmental ethics, among other areas.
Talks across borders – with Bernd Posselt and Kateřina Šafaříková
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 11, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
The first evening in a three-part series following in the tradition of the “Talks on neighbourliness” on Czech-German relations initiated by Václav Havel in 1995. At that time solutions were found to several thorny issues, or at least a dialogue was begun, and numerous Czech-German activities were developed.
Nevertheless, certain stereotypes persist on both sides. In the Czech Republic awareness of the contemporary picture of the country and Germany is vague, as is knowledge of events in Germany, in view of the language barrier but also the nature of the contemporary Czech media scene. These discussion evenings aim to at least in part help fill in those gaps.
Guests on the opening evening are Bernd Posselt, a German politician (CSU), journalist and spokesman for the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft, and Lidové noviny journalist Kateřina Šafaříková. Zuzana Jürgens, who has prepared the discussion series in cooperation with the VHL, will moderate.
The evening is taking place in cooperation with Artefakt Kulturmanagement and with the support of the Czech-German Fund for the Future.
Memory of dissent III: Bishop Paďour – the theatre and the church
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 12, 2014, 10:00 – 12:00
The lecture series Memory of Dissent is organised by the Historical Sociology department at Charles University’s Faculty of Humanities and the Václav Havel Library and headed by sociologist Nicolas Maslowski.
Dissent and exile … the path to November
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 12, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
What significance did figures in exile, who brought attention to events in Czechoslovakia, have for dissidents? And did they help the dissent? How did the “channels” function and how was cooperation across the Iron Curtain carried out? And how effective were the StB in thwarting contacts between the domestic “hive of Chartists” and the “diversionary centres” abroad?
Historian Petr Blažek will host a debate featuring sociologist Jiřina Šiklová, researcher Radek Schovánek (Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes), librarian Jiří Gruntorád (Libri prohibiti) and Alexandr Vondra.
Photo (c) idnes.cz
Return to Europe: Lessons from 1989 until Today in Democratic Transitions
- Where: European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
- When: November 13, 2014, 12:00 – 17:00
Conference within the frame of Václav Havel European Dialogues co-organised by the Czech Centre, the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, and the European Partnership for Democracy. More information here.
Bronislav Ostřanský: Atlas of Muslim Bogeymen
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 13, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
Interest in Islam is on the rise. However, numerous controversial phenomena, which for years have grabbed the headlines, are not to be found in guides to Islam. An unenlightened observer might have the impression that there are two Islams, the media one and the one found in libraries and universities – with very little overlap between them.
It is this gap that the book Atlas muslimských strašáků (Atlas of Muslim Bogeymen) aims to fill. It focuses on Islamic or Muslim subjects that are particularly covered in the media – and frequently lead to misunderstanding or fear on the part of non-Muslims.
In the book, the author, an academic at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, outlines selected “bogeymen” through which he aims to contribute to greater understanding of Islam and Muslims.
The book will be presented by Prof. Luboš Kropáček (Institute of Near East and African Studies, Charles University, Prague).
Organised within the frame of the festival "Nad Prahou půlměsíc".
FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM
- Where: Lucerna, Vodičkova 36 – Štěpánská 61, Prague 1
- When: November 14, 2014, 15:00 – November 17, 2014, 18:00
The Václav Havel Library in cooperation with the Lucerna Palace presents launch of exhibition, various debates and presentation of books within the frame of Festival of Freedom.
- 14. 11. / FR / 15.00 / Lucerna Passage
READING FROM MICHAEL ŽANTOVSKÝ’S BOOK HAVEL
Václav Havel from the perspective of Michael Žantovský. His former associate offers not just an “insider’s” view but also critical observations, telling Havel’s gripping life story with the utmost objectivity and human and expert erudition. A “draft”, consisting of three sample chapters, sparked unfeigned enthusiasm in the publishing world. At present the rights to the 600-page publication, originally written in English and translated into his mother tongue Czech by the author, have been sold for translation into 10 languages. It has been published by Argo in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library.
Friends of the authors and others will take part in the reading.
- 14. 11. / FR / 17.00 / Lucerna Passage
LAUNCH OF PAVEL HROCH’S PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION WITH A PASSOIN FOR FREEDOM
An exhibition of black and white photographs by Pavel Hroch from the former Czechoslovakia capturing not only the period of mass demonstrations in 1989 and the subsequent revolution but above all the first half of the 1990s, a white hot period full of political and social changes, carnivalesque festivity, celebrations, hopes and expectations.
The exhibition will last until 14. 12. 2014. The electronic version is available on Google Cultural Institute.
- 15. 11. / SA / 15.00 / Marble Hall
READING FROM EDA KRISEOVÁ’S BOOK VÁCLAV HAVEL
Václav Havel knew writer Eda Kriseová from dissident circles and she experienced alongside him the most tempestuous weeks of the revolution. She became his adviser and later director of the Complaints and Pardons department at Prague Castle. What happened at that time will never happen again: thinkers, writers and philosophers took the reins of power… admittedly without any practical experience of governing, but with the purest of intentions.
The author has written the life story of a positive hero to give people an example, an idol, after the mire that they have lived in for 14 years.
Twenty-five years after the Velvet Revolution we lack ideals and values. After the initial enthusiasm, we have become too sober. The title Od utopie k realitě (From Utopia to Reality) sums up the focus of the book. It has been issued by the Prah publishing house and, by contrast with the first edition, also maps Václav Havel’s unforgettable first two years at Prague Castle. The book will be read by Jan Kačer.
- 15. 11. / SA / 16.30 / Marble Hall
FEMALE STUDENTS REMEMBER 1989
The publication in book form of the authentic diary records and memoirs of Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová from the 1980–1989 period. Vezměte s sebou květinu! (Take Flowers with You!) is the voice of the most distinctive “girlish face” of the Velvet Revolution. At times her voice is fragile and vulnerable. At others she presents an uncompromising account of the mire of normalisation, the period of cautious political thaw and the fall of the communist regime after the events of November 1989.
Andrea Sedláčková’s book is entitled Moje pařížská revoluce (My Paris Revolution). In September 1989 there was a thaw in Poland and Hungary, 10,000 East Germans fled from the country and one unimaginable report after the other was emerging from a Soviet Union undergoing perestroika. Everything was in flux. Only in Czechoslovakia did it seem that nothing was happening. Two months before November 1989, a young FAMU student decided on a risky and fateful step. She would stay in Paris. What followed were weeks and months full of dramatic situations, uncertainties and disappointments, but also the enchantment of a new environment, a beautiful city worth living in and freedom worth breathing in.
Erika Zlamalová has put together the evening, which will feature readings from both books.
- 15. 11. / SA / 18.00 / Marble Hall
THE ACCELERATED PULSE OF HISTORY: A REAL DRAMA ABOUT 10 MEETINGS
A staged reading from authentic records of negotiations between Civic Forum and Public Against Violence and representatives of the state headed by Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec in November and December 1989. Václav Havel’s secretary Vladimír Hanzel recorded the meetings on tape. Program prepared by: Anna Freimanová, Ondřej Pavelka, Kryštof Pavelka. Staged reading: Ladislav Adamec - Jiří Štrébl, Václav Havel - Lukáš Příkazký a další.
- 16. 11. / SU / 16.00 / Marble Hall
STUDENTS AND REVOLUTION
Meeting and discussion between student leaders of the Velvet Revolution – Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová, Šimon Pánek, Jan Potměšil – and contemporary students who have lived their whole lives in democracy. How do the young generation view the events of 25 years ago? Chaired by Michal Horáček.
In cooperation with the Forum 2000 Foundation.
- 16. 11. / SU / 18.00 / Marble Hall
THEATRE AND REVOLUTION
Evening of memory and debate featuring important actors in the events of November 1989: then students from the Theatre Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts, directors, actors, dramatists and dramaturges. Authentic film footage will also be screened.
Bohemian and Moravian theatre people and the students of arts schools played a key role in November’s events. Emotional reports from students about clashes with police on Národní třídá were the immediate spark for theatre strikes around the country. The extensive network of theatres in Czechoslovakia also made their stages available for open debates, frequently replacing the non-functioning totalitarian media. People from the world of theatre were highly active in the Coordinating Centre of Civic Forum and Public Against Violence, including negotiations with government representatives. The Theatre Faculty, numerous theatres and the Theatre Institute in Prague became production centres for the revolutionary events.
The evening has been prepared by Anna Freimanová and Veronika Bednářová.
- 16. 11. / SU / 20.00 / Cinema
GALA PREMIERE OF THE FILM LIFE ACCORDING TO HAVEL
Special invitations only.
In her latest film, Andrea Sedláčková maps the life of Václav Havel exclusively using period recordings, photographs and other historical materials. Only situations that require “external” explanation are supplemented by an authorial voiceover. The first documentary to depict Havel’s life on the basis of archival material was coproduced by Czech Television, Arte, Negativ and the Václav Havel Library. The film is being simultaneously shown by the German and French TV station Arte.
- 17. 11. / MO / 17.00 / CHURCH SV. VORŠILY, NÁRODNÍ TŘÍDA
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Photo (c) Pavel Hroch
READING FROM MICHAEL ŽANTOVSKÝ’S BOOK HAVEL
- Where: Lucerna, Vodičkova 36 – Štěpánská 61, Prague 1
- When: November 14, 2014, 15:00 – 16:45
Václav Havel from the perspective of Michael Žantovský. His former associate offers not just an “insider’s” view but also critical observations, telling Havel’s gripping life story with the utmost objectivity and human and expert erudition.
A “draft”, consisting of three sample chapters, sparked unfeigned enthusiasm in the publishing world. At present the rights to the 600-page publication, originally written in English and translated into his mother tongue Czech by the author, have been sold for translation into 10 languages. It has been published by Argo in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library.
Friends of the authors and others will take part in the reading.
LAUNCH OF PAVEL HROCH’S PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION WITH A PASSOIN FOR FREEDOM
- Where: Lucerna, Vodičkova 36 – Štěpánská 61, Prague 1
- When: November 14, 2014, 17:00 – 18:00
An exhibition of black and white photographs by Pavel Hroch from the former Czechoslovakia capturing not only the period of mass demonstrations in 1989 and the subsequent revolution but above all the first half of the 1990s, a white hot period full of political and social changes, carnivalesque festivity, celebrations, hopes and expectations.
THE EXHIBITION WILL LAST UNTIL 14 DECEMBER 2014. The electronic version is available on Google Cultural Institute.
Night (of Theatres) at the Václav Havel Library
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 15, 2014, 20:30 – 24:00
We will recall Václav Havel’s dramatic work via a selection of film screenings and staged readings.
20:30 – 21:15 staged reading of Audience by Divadlo NaHraně theatre actors Martin Severýn and Ondřej Novák. 21:15 – 24:00 television recordings of productions of Václav Havel’s plays (The Increased Difficulty of Concentration, Largo Desolato) and documentary films (Citizen Havel is Rolling Barrels, And the Beggar’s Opera Again).
READING FROM EDA KRISEOVÁ’S BOOK VÁCLAV HAVEL
- Where: Marble hall, Lucerna Palace, Štěpánská 61, 116 02 Prague 1
- When: November 15, 2014, 15:00 – 16:15
Václav Havel knew writer Eda Kriseová from dissident circles and she experienced alongside him the most tempestuous weeks of the revolution. She became his adviser and later director of the Complaints and Pardons department at Prague Castle. What happened at that time will never happen again: thinkers, writers and philosophers took the reins of power… admittedly without any practical experience of governing, but with the purest of intentions.
The author has written the life story of a positive hero to give people an example, an idol, after the mire that they have lived in for 14 years.
Twenty-five years after the Velvet Revolution we lack ideals and values. After the initial enthusiasm, we have become too sober. The title Od utopie k realitě (From Utopia to Reality) sums up the focus of the book. It has been issued by the Prah publishing house and, by contrast with the first edition, also maps Václav Havel’s unforgettable first two years at Prague Castle. Reading by Hynek Tajovský.
FEMALE STUDENTS REMEMBER 1989
- Where: Marble hall, Lucerna Palace, Štěpánská 61, 116 02 Prague 1
- When: November 15, 2014, 16:30 – 17:45
Readings from two books published by Prostor, Vezměte s sebou květinu! (Take Flowers with You!) from Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová and Moje pařížská revoluce (My Paris Revolution) from Andrea Sedláčková.
The publication in book form of the authentic diary records and memoirs of Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová from the 1980–1989 period. Vezměte s sebou květinu! (Take Flowers with You!) is the voice of the most distinctive “girlish face” of the Velvet Revolution. At times her voice is fragile and vulnerable. At others she presents an uncompromising account of the mire of normalisation, the period of cautious political thaw and the fall of the communist regime after the events of November 1989.
Andrea Sedláčková’s book is entitled Moje pařížská revoluce (My Paris Revolution). In September 1989 there was a thaw in Poland and Hungary, 10,000 East Germans fled from the country and one unimaginable report after the other was emerging from a Soviet Union undergoing perestroika. Everything was in flux. Only in Czechoslovakia did it seem that nothing was happening. Two months before November 1989, a young FAMU student decided on a risky and fateful step. She would stay in Paris. What followed were weeks and months full of dramatic situations, uncertainties and disappointments, but also the enchantment of a new environment, a beautiful city worth living in and freedom worth breathing in.
Photo (c) Pavel Hroch
THE ACCELERATED PULSE OF HISTORY: VÁCLAV HAVEL - LADISLAV ADAMEC
- Where: Marble hall, Lucerna Palace, Štěpánská 61, 116 02 Prague 1
- When: November 15, 2014, 18:00 – 20:00
A staged reading from authentic records of negotiations between Civic Forum and Public Against Violence and representatives of the state headed by Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec in November and December 1989. Václav Havel’s secretary Vladimír Hanzel recorded the meetings on tape. Programme prepared by: Anna Freimanová, Ondřej Pavelka, Kryštof Pavelka. Stage reading: Ladislav Adamec - Jiří Štrébl, Václav Havel - Lukáš Příkazký. Others: Lucie Políšenská, Karel Heřmánek a Jakub Kropáček.
STUDENTS AND REVOLUTION
- Where: Marble hall, Lucerna Palace, Štěpánská 61, 116 02 Prague 1
- When: November 16, 2014, 16:00 – 17:45
Meeting and discussion between student leaders of the Velvet Revolution – Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová, Šimon Pánek, Jan Potměšil – and contemporary students - Tereza Reichlová, Robin Hendrych a Filip Jelínek -who have lived their whole lives in democracy. How do the young generation view the events of 25 years ago? Chaired by Michal Horáček.
In cooperation with the Forum 2000 Foundation.
Photo (c) Pavel Hroch
THEATRE AND REVOLUTION
- Where: Marble hall, Lucerna Palace, Štěpánská 61, 116 02 Prague 1
- When: November 16, 2014, 18:00 – 19:45
Evening of memory and debate featuring important actors in the events of November 1989: then students from the Theatre Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts, directors, actors, dramatists and dramaturges. Authentic film footage will also be screened.
Bohemian and Moravian theatre people and the students of arts schools played a key role in November’s events. Emotional reports from students about clashes with police on Národní třídá were the immediate spark for theatre strikes around the country. The extensive network of theatres in Czechoslovakia also made their stages available for open debates, frequently replacing the non-functioning totalitarian media. People from the world of theatre were highly active in the Coordinating Centre of Civic Forum and Public Against Violence, including negotiations with government representatives. The Theatre Faculty, numerous theatres and the Theatre Institute in Prague became production centres for the revolutionary events.
Confirmed Participants:
Vlasta Gallerová, dramaturgyně a pedagožka
profesor Petr Oslzlý, divadelník Ředitel Centra experimentálního divadla v Brně,
Tomáš Töpfer, herec a režisér Divadla Na vinohradech
Karel Steigerwald, dramatik, dramaturg, novinář
Jan Dušek, scénogragf a první porevoluční děkan DAMU
Pavel Lagner, herec a galerista
Jan Potměšil, herec
Anna Freimanová, Knihovna Václava Havla
The event is hosted by Veronika Bednářová
Photo (c) Karel Vidímský
GALA PREMIERE OF THE FILM VACLAV HAVEL - LIVING IN FREEDOM
- Where: Cinema Lucerna, Štěpánská 61, 116 02 Prague 1
- When: November 16, 2014, 20:00 – 22:00
Special invitations only
In her latest film, Andrea Sedláčková maps the life of Václav Havel exclusively using period recordings, photographs and other historical materials. Only situations that require “external” explanation are supplemented by an authorial voiceover.
The first documentary to depict Havel’s life on the basis of archival material was coproduced by Czech Television, Arte, Negativ and the Václav Havel Library. The film is being simultaneously shown by the German and French TV station Arte.
The Church and Revolution
- Where: St. Ursula’s church, Národní třída 8, Prague 1
- When: November 17, 2014, 17:00 – 18:00
The debate about the role of church in the events of November 1989. From at least the second half of the 1980s there was a visible coming together of official and unofficial church structures, which became abundantly clear during the Velehrad pilgrimage of 1985, and prefigured and confirmed cooperation between the church and civic dissidents.
The forum of the church provided one of the few public and collective opportunities to demonstrate opposition to the leaders of the governing regime. One example was preparations for the beatification of Agnes of Bohemia, which took place at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on 12 November 1989. The departure of over 10,000 pilgrims, who crossed the Iron Curtain to witness for themselves the canonisation ceremony, confirmed that the shaky foundations of communism were also beginning to fall apart in Czechoslovakia.
Confirmed participants: kardinál Miloslav Vlk and Jaroslav Šebek. Chaired by Marek Orko Vácha.
Photo (c) Pavel Hroch
Cabinet Havel 2014/2015
- Where: Goose on a String Theatre, Zelný Trh 9, Brno, Czech Republic
- When: November 17, 2014, 17:00 – 18:30
A loose continuation of the Cabinet Havel debate series.
The first debate subject is WITHOUT BORDERS. Guests: František Janouch, founder of the Charter 77 Foundation, and Jan Trachta, a paediatric “doctor without borders”.
Renata Kalenská will ask the questions while Petr Oslzlý will philosophise. Tereza Marečková will sing “Prayer for Marta” at the end.
Post-revolution euphoria has dissipated. Our ideals have shrunk to “doing well”. But what does that mean? We want to be happy. But is it really important? A new eight-part series of debates on the state of our society, morality in the Czech Republic 2014/2015, responsibility, ideals and the era’s ethical code organised by the Divadlo Husa na Provázku theatre and the Václav Havel Library.
Photo (c) Karel Cudlín
An evening with death
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 18, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
A debate on how we die in the Czech Republic.
One hundred and five thousand people die in the Czech Republic annually, 69% of them in hospitals or hospices. Most would like to die at home but for few does that wish come true.
There is a lack of palliative care or a system supporting carers. Hospice services are not covered by health insurance. If they decide to look after a relative, carers have no guarantee they will not lose their jobs and be capable of making a living. And doctors point out they have only 10 minutes or so to tell patients bad news, which is about as long as it takes to take out the trash… How to change this situation? And do we even want to, or have we succeeded in removing death from life?
Clergy and representatives of the Ministry of Health, insurers and hospices and palliative care specialists will take part.
The evening has been prepared in cooperation with the organisation Cesta domů (The Homecoming).
Tell me about the Revolution!
- Where: Goethe Institut, 90 Ocean Street, Woollahra, Sydney, Australia
- When: November 18, 2014, 18:00 – 20:00
A unique public talk and discussion with Jáchym Topol to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.
Student Thálie – Poetry Forum
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 19, 2014, 17:00 – 18:30
A meeting of young literati with readings from award-wining participants in the Authorial Initiative Student Thálie and poets from the national literary competitions Václav Hrabě’s Hořovice and Orten’s Kutná Hora.
Students from the grammar schools Gymnázium bratří Čapků and Gymnázium Na Zatlance will take part, as will poet Lubomír Brožek and writer Petr Koudelka. Vít Benešovský will present the programme.
Evening of Voices
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 19, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
Presentation of a new edition of the CD Hlasy (Voices), featuring readings by leading contemporary Czech poets, writers and translators. Petr Král, Lubomír Martínek, Oldřich Král and Andrej Giňa will attend and read from their works.
Pavel Zajíček and Ivo Vodseďálek will be heard in recordings. A joint project of the Bytrouška studio, the Triáda publishing house, the Martina and Martin Růžička Foundation and Ivan Arsenjev.
Robert Krumphanzl and Ivan Arsenjev will host the evening.
Ceremonial unveiling of a bust of Václav Havel at the House of Representatives
- Where: United States Capitol, East Capitol St NE & First St SE, Washington, D.C. 20004,
- When: November 19, 2014, 10:00 – 11:00
On 11 March 2014 the United States Congress, the USA’s supreme legislative body, passed resolution no. 506 honouring the life and legacy of Václav Havel.
The four-page text of the resolution lists a total of 15 reasons why US lawmakers voted for the honour, including the fact that Václav Havel was a world renowned defender of human rights and the manner in which – in both Charter 77 and the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted – he boldly stood up to communist persecution in the Cold War period and, following 1989’s Velvet Revolution, contributed significantly to the renewal of democracy in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. The resolution honouring the life and spiritual legacy of Václav Havel was approved as a decree providing for the display of a bust of Václav Havel at the House of Representatives. The bust will be installed on Wednesday 19 November 2014 on the initiative of the Václav Havel Library Foundation in New York in connection with the 25thanniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The bust is the work of Lubomír Janečka, a sculptor of Czech origin living in the US. He also created a bust of Václav Havel for the Council of Europe building in Strasbourg, which the Václav Havel Library in Prague helped realise.
More information about events accompanying the Václav Havel's bust unveiling: www.25yearsofdemocracy.org
The Maidan – a year later
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 20, 2014, 18:00 – 20:00
The Ukrainian tumult may not have been directly sparked by the Maidan, but it became its fuse and visible symbol. What led to the Maidan, how did it play out and what is its meaning today?
Journalist and analyst Ondřej Soukup (Hospodářské noviny) will present his view of the events of last year in Ukraine, which grabbed the world’s attention and still have burning repercussions.
Journalist Tomáš Brolík (Respekt) will discuss reporting from the conflict zone in Eastern Ukraine. And Eugen Kukla will recall the bloody events in Kiev through a photography projection and recollections.
Photo (c) Eugen Kukla
Talks in English: The Fall of the Iron Curtain as viewed by Jolyon Naegele
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 21, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
Another in a short series of talks in English with colleagues and friends of Václav Havel. Jolyon Naegele was Voice of America's correspondent for Central and Eastern Europe from 1984 to 1994, during which he interviewed Václav Havel on numerous occasions.
Jolyon Naegele covered Charter 77 and other independent initiatives, the demonstrations in Prague and Bratislava in 1988 and 1989 and the premieres in Vienna of some of Václav Havel's plays. He was present at Václav Havel's first three inaugurations and was among the reporters accompanying him on his first presidential trips abroad. Jolyon Naegele is currently political director at the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK.
Photo (c) Roman Sejkot / www.sejkot.com
Anne Sutherland: Gypsies – the Invisible Americans
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 24, 2014, 18:00 – 20:00
The US anthropologist presents her book portraying the customs and social structures of Romanies in a small Californian town. The traditions of free-thinking America and socialist Czechoslovakia are utterly different. However, in many ways the similarities between the Californian Romanies and contemporary Czech Olah Romanies are fascinating.
Hosted by Margita Wagner and Marta Miklušáková.
Olah Romany music will be performed.
English interpretation provided.
In cooperation with the Romano Džaniben association.
Photo (c) A.Švecová
Shared space – the creation of the city as dialogue IV
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 25, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
Another in a series of popularising events focused on the main paradigms in the creation of cities of the 21st century.
The evening is taking place in cooperation with the Prague Institute of Planning and Development.
Memory of Dissent IV: Pavel Rychetský – discrete zone
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 26, 2014, 10:00 – 12:00
The lecture series Memory of Dissent is organised by the Historical Sociology department at Charles University’s Faculty of Humanities and the Václav Havel Library and headed by sociologist Nicolas Maslowski.
The Sudeten Germans 1848–1948
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 26, 2014, 18:00 – 20:00
Presentation of Sudetští Němci 1848–1948. Dějiny jednoho nacionalismu (The Sudeten Germans 1848–1948: The History of One Nationalism) by Polish historian Piotr Maciej Majewski, which is being published in cooperation with the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk and with the support of the Czech-Polish Forum.
This monograph, originally written in Polish, is an updated translation of a multi-award-winning synthesis that focuses on the Sudeten German movement from its inception until the violent end of coexistence of Czechs and Germans in a shared state; it represents an important contribution to research in to Czech-German relations.
The author will attend the presentation while a discussion will be chaired by Adrian Portmann and Jiří Friedl from the Conditio humana civic association.
The evening is taking place in cooperation with Conditio humana.
Memories of Natalya Gorbanevskaya
- Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
- When: November 27, 2014, 19:00 – 21:00
An evening dedicated to the poet, translator and defender of human rights Natalya Gorbanevskaya.
At 17:00 Bishop Václav Malý will perform a requiem mass for Natalya at the Church of St. Vojtěch in the New Town. She will later be remembered in readings of her poetry, lyrics reminiscent of ancient Russian mysticism of resurrection through suffering. A debate on the subject of the texts and their Czech translation will follow.
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.
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.
Diary IV. 1974–1989
399,- CZK
Foolish Writing
299,- CZK
Havel to the Castle
149,- CZK
Kilián Nedory
199,- CZK
Case for a Novice Headsman
199,- CZK
I am not sad. Audience & Vernissage
129,- CZK
To the Castle and Back
249,- CZK
I am the Gypsy Baron
299,- CZK
Conferences & prizes
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.
Prague 2022Olomouc Prague 2023PragueMnichov 2020Brussels 2020Prague 2019Brussels 2019Prague 2018Brussels 2018Europe at the Crossroads (e-book)Prague 2017Brussels 2017Prague 2016Brussels 2016Prague 2015Brussels 2015Brussels 2014Berlin 2014Prague 2014 - J. GauckBruges 2014Prague 2014
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.
11th Year of the Prize (2023)10th Year of the Prize (2022)9th Year of the Prize (2021)8th Year of the Prize (2020)7th Year of the Prize (2019)6th Year of the Prize (2018)5th Year of the Prize (2017)4th Year of the Prize (2016)3rd Year of the Prize (2015)2nd Year of the Prize (2014)1st Year of the Prize (2013)History of the prize
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.
Transatlantic Dialogues 2021Transatlantic Dialogues 2022HATD 2022 Prague
Václav Havel
Educational projects
Archive / Documentation centre / Research projects
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.
- 70807 records in total
- 27736 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
- 8260 of books
- 40591of 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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.”
All about Library
Podpořte nás
We are well aware that freedom and democracy must be nurtured. Here at Ostrovní 13, but also on the audiovisual platform Havel Channel, we strive to do so through our own educational programmes, talks, discussion meetings, books, exhibitions, concerts, theatre performances. We honour Václav Havel's legacy and wish that the Library be a living organism and open to all. That is why our programme is free of charge for everyone. This would not be possible without regular financial support from our supporters. Become one of them...
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Help us expand the archive
The Vaclav Havel Library manages an archive of writings, documents, photographs, video recordings and other materials related to the life and work of Vaclav Havel. This archive is predominantly in digital form. If you or someone close to you owns any original texts, correspondence, photographs, speeches or any other work by Vaclav Havel, we would be grateful if you could contact us.
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