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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 February 2015<>

entry-free

Joint Meditation

Joint Meditation

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 2, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

The first meeting of Václav Havel and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, which took place at Lány on 2 February 1990, not only spelled the start of a deep friendship between the two men; it also changed the position of the Tibetan spiritual leader in the world of high politics. The meeting will be recalled by Václav Havel’s then secretary Alexandr Neuman and Stašek Slavický. Ivana Denčevová will host the evening.

Photo (c) Karel Cudlín

Marek Orko Vácha: Mankind’s Place in Nature

Marek Orko Vácha: Mankind’s Place in Nature

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 4, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

Continuation of Marek Orko Vácha's evening about our place in nature. In its relationship to nature, contemporary Europe oscillates between two extremes...

We either behave in an utterly utilitarian manner towards the landscape, following an “exploit and sell” model in which we regard the value of the earth as the value of the minerals contained within it, or we identify, even in a pantheistic manner, nature with Mother Nature and attach almost divine attributes to it. Both approaches were apparent in the film Avatar, for instance. Environmental ethics has without question a differentiated approach to nature. However in recent years biology has added a new and very serious reason to protect nature: we are discovering that we represent part of it in a far stronger sense than we have ever previously believed.

Alice Horáčková: Vladimíra Čerepková – Beatnik Femme Fatale

Alice Horáčková: Vladimíra Čerepková – Beatnik Femme Fatale

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 5, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

Evening of recollections of poet Vladimíra Čerepková (1946–2013), a borstal girl and star of the Viola and the Parisian émigré scene. The evening will include the screening of a “lost” half-hour film about Čerepková made by Juraj Jakubisko in 1965. Guests: documentary maker Tomáš Škrdlant, director Juraj Jakubisko, author and journalist Ondřej Suchý, the poet’s great love Pierre Helzel, and Alice Horáčková, author of a book on Vladimíra Čerepková.

Talks Across Borders – With Michael Frank and Tomáš Kafka

Talks Across Borders – With Michael Frank and Tomáš Kafka

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 9, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

The second evening in a series following in the tradition of the “Talks on neighbourliness” on Czech-German relations initiated by Václav Havel in 1995. Solutions were found to several thorny issues, dialogue was sparked and numerous Czech-German activities got underway.

Nevertheless, in the Czech Republic awareness of events in Germany is vague – not only because of the language barrier but also due to the nature of the contemporary Czech media scene. These discussion evenings aim to help fill in those gaps.

The evening’s guest will be Michael Frank, journalist and long-term Czech correspondent of Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Tomáš Kafka, a diplomat and poet. 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.

Challenges, Paradoxes, the Plays of Václav Havel: The Pig, or Václav Havel’s Hunt for a Pig

Challenges, Paradoxes, the Plays of Václav Havel: The Pig, or Václav Havel’s Hunt for a Pig

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 11, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

A text that Václav Havel wrote from one day to the next, for his own pleasure and that of guests who had gathered at Hrádeček in the summer of 1987 to celebrate Olga Havlová’s birthday.

The programme included a genuine country pig killing and Václav Havel was tasked with procuring the animal. The dialogue, which the writer did not even include in his selected writings, eventually made a splash: not only did The Pig enjoy success as a quirky production by the Divadlo na provázku theatre, it also made it all the way to an off-Broadway stage.

The evening, which will be attended by some of those present at the birthday celebration and the creators of the Brno staging, will consist of a collage of memories, period film clips and the original text of the “pig-killing” fictitious conversation.

This series of evenings dedicated to Václav Havel’s dramatic texts has been prepared by Anna Freimanová. This season we are presenting the author’s shorter or forgotten plays, screenplays and drafts.

Panel discussion on the 25th anniversary of Václav Havel’s visit to the US and the renewal of relations between Czechoslovakia and the US

Panel discussion on the 25th anniversary of Václav Havel’s visit to the US and the renewal of relations between Czechoslovakia and the US

  • Where: American Center U. S. Embassy Prague, Tržiště 13, Praha 1
  • When: February 12, 2015, 14:00 – 17:30

Second from two-panels conferences about the travels of Václav Havel in 1990. The first panel moderated by Josef Jařab will focus mainly on the memories of 1990 (the circumstances, the importance of the journey), the second panel moderated by Jan Machacek will address the current relations between the Czech Republic and the USA.

From 20 to 22 February 1990, Václav Havel and a large team undertook a trip to Washington and New York. He delivered a legendary speech to both Houses of Congress in which he paradoxically called on the US to help Russia on its path to democracy. The visit included meetings with George H.W. Bush at the White House and many other important politicians, as well as with Czech expatriates and students, while a celebration at which numerous well-known artists performed was organised for the Czechoslovak president at New York’s St. John the Divine Cathedral. The visit became the basis for friendly relations between the two countries that later resulted in the Czech Republic being accepted into NATO.

Program:

Introduction: H. E. Ambassador Andrew H. Shapiro, Marta Smolíková

14:00-15:30: panel about the travel to US
Alexandr Vondra
Eda Kriseová
Martin Mejstřík
Moderator: Josef Jařab

16:00-17:30: panel about current relations between US - Czech Republic and US - European Union
Jiří Pehe
Daniel Anýž
Veronika Bednářová
Raymond A Castillo, Counselor for Public Affair of the US Embassy
Moderator: Jan Macháček

The event is being held in cooperation with the American Center; Czech/English interpretation will be provided.

Part of the Our return to the map of the world series.

Living Souls: Current Russian Culture and its Czech Connections I

Living Souls: Current Russian Culture and its Czech Connections I

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 12, 2015, 20:00 – 22:00

Significant moments in the Czech reception of Russian culture.The first evening in a lecture series focused on contemporary Russian culture with Russian Studies specialist Tomáš Glanc (Universität Zürich). Does Russian culture reach the Czech milieu in a sufficient, adequate and high-quality form?

What options are open to those who don’t wish to follow goings-on in Russia culture from Russian-language sources alone but are forced to depend on critics, translators, curators and distributors acting as intermediaries?

The reception of a foreign culture is anchored in tradition. In the Czech lands this primarily concerns the start of the 20th century and the First Republic with its interest in Russian Modernism. There was also the cultural intermediation of the 1960s, correcting the import of official Soviet productions. During normalisation the relationship to Russian culture was politicised but not destroyed. What do the tendencies we have observed in the last 25 years follow on from? And how?

Debate with Respekt: Are We All Charlie Hebdo?

Debate with Respekt: Are We All Charlie Hebdo?

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 13, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

How are Islamists and the attack on free speech changing European society? Confirmed guests: Tomáš Halík, Bronislav Ostřanský, Emir Omič, Jacques Rupnik, Erik Tabery. Chaired by Tomáš Sacher. The discussion will be broadcasted online by ČT24.

Lety Death Camp

Lety Death Camp

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 16, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

The gypsy death camp at Lety near Písek is a Czech trauma of the 20th and 21st centuries. The pig farm on the site of genocide remains a burning and unanswered question.

A debate centred on the freshly published book Tábor smrti Lety (Lety Death Camp) (Antifašistická akce, 2014) by researcher Paul Polansky.

Guests: Romany antifascist Jozef Miker, Romany Studies expert Helena Sadílková, journalist Jindřich Šídlo and Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly activist Václav Trojan.

Chaired by journalist Petr Třešňák.

The Poetic Writings of Egon Bondy

The Poetic Writings of Egon Bondy

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 17, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

Presentation of the first part of Básnické Spisy (Poetic Writings), a selection of work by Egon Bondy, a guru of the Czech underground, idiosyncratic philosopher and poet. The book, which presents Bondy’s early poems from the years 1947–1963, is being issued by the Argo publishing house.

The evening will be hosted by literary historian Martin Machovec, the publication’s editor.

Havel Through Polish Eyes

Havel Through Polish Eyes

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 18, 2015, 17:00 – 19:00

The lecture by PhDr. Libor Martínek Ph.D. from the University of Wroclaw will focus on the reception of the personality and works of Václav Havel in Polish academic circles.

Václav Havel’s image as an intellectual, playwright, essayist and statesman among the Polish intelligentsia. Thanks to his positions and philosophy – and in the broader context his work as an artist – Havel was an undisputed intellectual and moral authority in Poland. Not only as symbol of the political changes in Czechoslovakia and Central Europe but above all as a thinker who sparked similar interest in intellectual circles to that generated by T.G. Masaryk in his day. How are Havel’s thoughts, particularly on Europe and Russia, viewed in today in a period of parallel crises?

Cabinet Havel in Brno: Can We Live Together, or at Least Side by Side?

Cabinet Havel in Brno: Can We Live Together, or at Least Side by Side?

  • Where: Goose on a String Theatre, Zelný Trh 9, Brno, Czech Republic
  • When: February 18, 2015, 17:00 – 19:00

Us and them. How do we view foreigners and they us? Who’s in a minority here? How do we perceive difference?

Sociologist and journalist Jiřina Šiklová and Czeslaw Walek have confirmed her participation. Renata Kalenská will ask the questions while Petr Oslzlý will philosophise. At the end Tereza Marečková will sing “Prayer for Marta”.

The Story of Charter 77

The Story of Charter 77

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 19, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

Lecture by Kamila Bendová, a signatory of Charter 77 and a participant in events at that time. Charter 77 began as a civic initiative in 1976 and ceased its activities in 1992. The original Declaration of Charter 77 document was signed by 242 people, with others joining.

In time, Charter 77 became the most important Czechoslovak civic initiative critical of the then political and state authorities, in particular over their failure to adhere to human and civil rights. The life of Charter 77 was relatively short but colourful, with its influence and scope becoming broader by the year. What were the Charter’s successes and what was role did it play in the final fall of the totalitarian regime? Did the Charter contribute to laying the foundations of democracy?

A Year Without Yanukovych

A Year Without Yanukovych

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 23, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

An evening mapping changes in Ukrainian society from the perspective of Ukrainians themselves on the inside and Czechs on the outside. A debate with Ukrainian activists Serhiy Prytula and Vasil Galamay.

Exactly a year has passed since Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia. A year that changed Ukraine and Ukrainians beyond recognition. A half-forgotten state somewhere in the east in thrall to Russian has returned to the map of Europe. What has the incredible national push for freedom, for a better future, for national pride that we saw a year ago brought Ukrainians? How has Ukrainian society changed? How have people changed? What were they like and what have they become?

Chaired by David Svoboda. The discussion will be broadcasted in live by ČT24.

Torch No. 2

Torch No. 2

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 24, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

An Evening of Recollections of Jan Zajíc.

On 25 February 1969 Jan Zajíc, a student at a railway technical college in Šumperk, doused himself in flammable material and set himself alight in a building on Prague’s Wenceslas Square.

He was following the lead of Jan Palach, who had hoped by immolating himself to shake the domestic public out of the resignation they had begun falling into less than five months after the occupation of Czechoslovakia in August. Jan Zajíc became the most significant of Palach’s followers. His life story, motives for the shocking protest and the reaction of the public and the regime will be remembered.

Chaired by Petr Blažek. In cooperation with the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.

The Underground Phenomenon: Vít Kremlička

The Underground Phenomenon: Vít Kremlička

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 25, 2015, 10:00 – 12:00

A series of lectures on the Czech underground as a social, political and historical phenomenon organised by the Historical Sociology department at Charles University’s Faculty of Humanities and the Václav Havel Library and headed by sociologist Nicolas Maslowski.

Ferdinand Peroutka Yesterday and Today

Ferdinand Peroutka Yesterday and Today

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 25, 2015, 19:00 – 21:00

When else to meet and recall the life and work of one of the greatest Czech journalists of the modern era, Ferdinand Peroutka, but on the day of the anniversary of “Victorious February”? The 20th century’s two totalitarian systems, Nazism and communism, had a deep impact on his life; one cast him into a concentration camp while he fled the other into exile.

Since 1995 a journalism prize bearing the name Ferdinand Peroutka has been conferred every year. It is presented at the start of February, on the eve of his birthday. Both of this year’s laureates have accepted invitations to the debate (Petr Třešňák and Martin Veselovský), as have Peroutka’s granddaughter Terezie Kaslová and journalist Jan Bednář, who has been exploring Peroutka’s exile journalism in particular for a long time. Martin Groman will host the evening. In cooperation with Sdružení Ferdinanda Peroutky.

The discussion will be broadcasted online by ČT24.

Discussion about Human Rights in China with David Kilgour and Ethan Gutmann

Discussion about Human Rights in China with David Kilgour and Ethan Gutmann

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: February 26, 2015, 20:00 – 22:00

Two renowned specialists on human rights in China will debate in English with the moderator Kateřina Šafaříková, mainly about the theme of human organ harvesting.

David Kilgour: Former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific who was awarded the 2009 Human Rights Prize by the International Society of Human Rights for his comprehensive investigation in this field, as well as being nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ethan Gutmann: Award-winning research journalist and author who testified before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and recently published “The Slaughter” based on his research on forced organ harvesting in China.

In cooperation with the organisation Lidská práva bez hranic (Human Rights without Borders).

Video from the evening can be found here.

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.

Illustration

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
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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!

 

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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

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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