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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 May 2017<>

entry-free

Sergei Loiko: Airport

Sergei Loiko: Airport

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 2, 2017, 20:00 – 21:00

Presentation of Sergei Loiko’s novel and readings from the work of the author, a war reporter who witnessed cruel fighting between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine in 2014.

The book Airport, the current situation in Ukraine and more will be discussed by Jevhen Perebyjnis, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, journalist Jefim Fištejn and translator Libor Dvořák. Jáchym Topol will read excerpts from the novel.

Hosted by Rostislav Prokopjuk.

Do We Need Feminism Today?

Do We Need Feminism Today?

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 3, 2017, 17:00 – 19:00

Do we need feminism today? What does it represent? And how is feminism perceived in the Czech Republic?

Taking part in the discussion will be Silvie Lauder, a journalist with the weekly Respekt, documentarian and A2larm editor Apolena Rychlíková, Alena Orten, an expert on gender and science at the Czech Academy of Science’s Institute of Sociology and a member of the Gender Expert Chamber, and deputy ombudsman Stanislav Křeček.

Debate chaired by Andrea Procházková.

Debate with Respekt

Debate with Respekt

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 9, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

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.

Young Politicians

Young Politicians

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 10, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

There are fewer and fewer representatives of the young generation in politics, while research suggests the majority of young people today are uninterested in political goings on. Why have young people been losing interest in public affairs? And in what ways are young political organisations trying to lure them back? What does freedom mean to them?

These and other questions will be addressed by: Radek Hlaváček (chairman of the Young Social Democrats) Jan Kavalírek (chairman of TOP 09’s TOP Team), Jiří Fremr (Young Conservatives, Civic Democrats) Jan Gregor (chairman of the Young Christian Democrats) and Tomáš Křemena (chairman of the Young Greens).

Kristýna Kůlová and Oliver Adámek of Gypsilon.cz will host the event.

Philosophy, Theology and Non-Political Politics

Philosophy, Theology and Non-Political Politics

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 11, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

Debate held in connection with the ninetieth birthdays of Ladislav Hejdánek and Jakub Trojan.

Speakers will include the theologian and Evangelical minister Jakub Trojan and the philosophers Jan Sokol, Václav Němec and Tomáš Hejduk. A new short film about Ladislav Hejdánek will be screened during the evening.

On the occasion of this significant milestone in the lives of these two major figures in modern Czech history, we would like to commemorate and assess their contribution to Czech philosophical and theological thinking, as well as their roles in the Czech dissent and “non-political politics” after 1989.

Organised by the Oikumené publishing house, the Václav Havel Library and the Czechoslovak Documentation Centre.

In Václav Havel’s Footsteps

In Václav Havel’s Footsteps

  • Where: Prague 1
  • When: May 11, 2017, 18:00 – 19:30

Guided tour with historian Zdeněk Lukeš of buildings associated with the life of Václav Havel. The route runs along the embankment of the Vltava and then to the Old Town. Duration around 90 minutes. Held as part of the 2017 Book World Prague trade fair.

Just Because I Am Ivan M. Havel

Just Because I Am Ivan M. Havel

  • Where: Book World, Výstaviště, Holešovice, Prague
  • When: May 13, 2017, 15:00 – 15:50

Ceremonial presentation of a book published by the Václav Havel Library, Právě proto, že jsem (Just Because I Am), attended by both of its co-authors: Ivan M. Havel (interviewee) and film and literary historian Jan Lukeš (interviewer).

Similar but yet so different. In some respects Ivan M. Havel, the younger brother of former president Václav Havel, was almost Václav’s twin, in others his complete opposite. Like his brother, the scion of a prominent family of entrepreneurs faced the injustices of the Communist regime from his youth. However, he too found success in his own way. He studied automation and computing and in 1971 earned a doctorate in computer science at the University of Berkeley in the US. He soon found himself blacklisted under normalisation so was only able to fully develop his scientific scholarship after 1989, among other ways as the long-term director of the Centre for Theoretical Studies at Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences and as editor-in-chief of the magazine Vesmír. In addition he is a man of many interests, penetrative thought and gentle humour, which he displays to great effect in the seven chapters of this book-length biographical interview helmed by the film and literary historian Jan Lukeš. It takes the reader into a world of unconventional personal, familial, political and philosophical reflections that defies all clichés.

Václav Havel European Dialogues: Where Does Europe Begin and End?

Václav Havel European Dialogues: Where Does Europe Begin and End?

  • Where: DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
  • When: May 15, 2017, 09:00 – 17:00

The Václav Havel European Dialogues is an international project that initiates and helms discussions on issues determining the direction of contemporary Europe while referring to the European spiritual legacy of Václav Havel. The conference’s one-day format creates a forum where major European thinkers, analysts and politicians can come together and discuss topical issues facing Europe, not only among themselves but with the public.

The main theme of the fourth edition of the annual conference is the search for an answer to a question frequently posed by Václav Havel, “Where Does Europe Begin and End?”, and not only in the geographical and geo-political sense but also spiritually. As regards geography, we will focus on the now overlooked subject of the incompleteness of the European project as regards the Western Balkans, contemporary Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries. The spiritual borders of Europe encompass liberal democracy, tolerance, the universal nature of human rights and the European cultural and spiritual heritage.

The conference will take place in English and Czech, with interpretation into both languages provided.

Attendance is free of charge though registration is necessary, at www.vaclavhavel-library.org/cs/register-event

For more information and an up-to-date programme, visit: www.vaclavhavel-library.org/cs/dialog/praha_2017

Happy Birthday, Madeleine!

Happy Birthday, Madeleine!

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 16, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

Long-distance best wishes… an evening marking Madeleine Albright’s 80th birthday.

Wolfgang Bauer: Beyond the Regular Work of a War Reporter

Wolfgang Bauer: Beyond the Regular Work of a War Reporter

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 17, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

How far does a reporter have to go to provide the public with the most faithful possible picture of reality? How do journalists themselves view current reporting practice? Come along and learn what happens when reporters become part of the problem and face genuine threats.

The main guest of the evening will be Wolfgang Bauer, an award winning German journalist who regularly writes for the weekly Die Zeit and specialises in the world’s conflict zones. To research the refugee crisis he and photographer Stanislav Krupař posed as refugees from the Caucasus and undertook a journey from Egypt to Europe on a people-smugglers’ boat. Their report received numerous awards and was also published in book form as Across The Sea. During the discussion, the author will also present his second book Stolen Girls. When in 2014 the terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school it was met with horror and public interest around the world. In Nigeria Bauer spoke to girls who had managed to escape, producing intimate interviews that are a journalistic testament to the terror experienced and a touching insight into their lives. Other guests will include Petra Procházková, the respected photojournalist Stanislav Krupař and Robert Čásenský.

Dana Zlatohlávková will chair the evening.

Pavel Juráček: Diary From the Life of a Buffoon

Pavel Juráček: Diary From the Life of a Buffoon

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 18, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

Ceremonial presentation of the two books by Pavel Juráček: the first volume of the complete edition of his diary entries, Deník I. (1951–1956) (Diaries I (1951–1956), and a collection of his journalism, Ze života tajtrlíků (články, úvahy, rozhovory z let 1954 – 1978) (From the Life of a Buffoon (Articles, Reflections, Interviews, 1954 – 1978). The evening will be hosted by the editors Marie Kratochvílová and Pavel Hájek, while actor Lukáš Jůza (Kašpar theatre company) will read excerpts.

Presentation of the first volume of the monumental diary output of the eminent Czech film director. Rather than an ordinary diary it is a genuine work of literature and a unique chronicle of its time. Pavel Juráček wanted to be, and was, a writer first and foremost. He penned short stories, film stories, screenplays and this diary, capturing life in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, his subsequent exile in East Germany and return to Czechoslovakia. Juráček had a talent for drama and narrative and was a master of description, characterisation and dialogue. He handwrote his diary into 33 bound A5 notebooks. The edition gathers together all of Juráček’s diary entries – in four substantial volumes. The first contains texts written between 1948 and 1956. Editor Marie Kratochvílová will discuss preparing the volume using the author’s manuscripts.

Ze života tajtrlíků (From the Life of a Buffoon) is a joint publication of the Václav Havel Library and the National Film Archive that maps for the first time a lesser known side of Pavel Juráček, presenting him as a journalist. As an author who wasn’t just focused on his own world (as a reader of Diaries might assume) but was also interested in the state of society and its cultural and philosophical level. The impressive collection of uncovered texts follows his journey from articles published in country, municipal and student newspapers (1950s) to essays and commentaries published in renowned arts magazines (1960s) to opinions and views contained in interviews granted in various connections in the 1960s and 1970s. Many texts are being published for the first time, while a large part of the previously published work appears here in a form taken from the author’s recently discovered handwritten and typed manuscripts.

The Ten Commandments According to Dagmar

The Ten Commandments According to Dagmar

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 22, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

Staged reading from Dagmar Šimková’s book Byly jsme tam taky (We Were There Too), an interior, authentic account of Communist prisons, where the author spent 14 years. However, the recollections of Communist atrocities lack neither perspective nor inspirational and appropriate toughness of opinion.

The book has been adapted for staged reading by Blanka Fišerová, who is also one of the actors, and the performances are always improvisational in character. Excerpts from the book, engaged poetry and quotations from period documents will be heard.

Jáchym Topol: A Sensitive Man

Jáchym Topol: A Sensitive Man

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 23, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

Jáchym Topol will read from his new novel Citlivý člověk (A Sensitive Man), a classic of contemporary Czech literature. Introduced by Michael Žantovský.

Creative Africa: Havel and Mandela and Human Rights

Creative Africa: Havel and Mandela and Human Rights

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 24, 2017, 18:00 – 20:00

Václav Havel in South African literature, theatre and politics

Human rights in South African society and efforts to break down the walls of its literature and theatre will be discussed by the South African political scientist Tandeka Nkiwane, her compatriot David Peimer, a Theatre Studies expert and man of the theatre, and Otakar Hulc, a Czech Africa Studies specialist.

Debate chaired by Hana Horáková from Prague’s Metropolitan University.

In cooperation with the festival Creative Africa, or We Are All Africans, and the Czech Development Agency.

Jaroslav Machovský: The Third Resistance – A History of Rebellion

Jaroslav Machovský: The Third Resistance – A History of Rebellion

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 25, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

The historians Jan Horník and Jan Dvořák will present an Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes project capturing the recollections of the last surviving participants in the anti-Communist resistance and opposition. Employing oral history methodology and archival sources, often forgotten anti-Communist groups and the activities of individuals have been mapped.

The evening’s guest will be political prisoner Jaroslav Machovský (1932), who in 1952 joined the resistance in Bernarticko. As an alleged group leader he was sentenced to 24 years in June 1954. While in prison he passed through several uranium labour camps in the Jáchymov area. He was released during an amnesty in 1960. His father was convicted as a “village rich man” in 1952 and sentenced to four years; the family’s property was confiscated.

During a commentated projection with interview excerpts a planned digital recordings archive will also be presented.

Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Signing of the Marshall Plan: Past and Present Challenges to Transatlantic Alliance

Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Signing of the Marshall Plan: Past and Present Challenges to Transatlantic Alliance

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 26, 2017, 09:00 – 15:00

Conference held in connection with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Marshall Plan that will focus not only on the historic context of the US programme for the renewal and reconstruction of post-war Western Europe but will primarily highlight the significance of present-day transatlantic cooperation and the challenges it faces.

The keynote speaker will be Daniel S. Hamilton, director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at John Hopkins University. Other guests will include Nicolas Bouchet from the German Marshall Fund, Lukasz Kamienski from Jagiellonian University and Martin Thunert from the University of Heidelberg, while Vít Smetana from the Institute for Contemporary History and Jan Koura and Jan Hornát from Charles University are also due to deliver papers.

The conference is organised by the Institute of International Studies at Charles University and will be held in English without interpretation.

Registration is required, at the address: marshall.plan@fsv.cuni.cz
For more information visit http://ims.fsv.cuni.cz/

David Storch: Through the Labyrinth of Evolutionary Biology

David Storch: Through the Labyrinth of Evolutionary Biology

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 29, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

The knowledge that life on earth has a history, that organisms gradually develop and that we can draw on knowledge of their history in order to understand them is one of the pillars of modern science. But how do we know all of this? How is it possible to research the history of life lost in the distant past when apart from a few fossils all that remains of it are present-day organisms?

Today’s evolutionary biology isn’t a speculative discipline that merely philosophises about whether organisms are developing toward a more perfect form and whether natural selection is the sole mechanism of development. Though Darwin’s theory remains its cornerstone, evolutionary theory is far broader, more interesting and in many regards more surprising than most people think. We have an image of the evolution of biological diversity and of what is behind the origin and extinction of species. The newly published book Jak se dělá evoluce (How Evolution Works) (Dokořán/Argo 2017) presents evolutionary biology as a dynamic field of science which incorporates with ease newly discovered biological phenomena and which enables us to reconstruct and grasp the detailed history of individual groups of organisms and their unique evolutionary novelties. Though many important things remain unknown to us, we still have a unique tool for understanding living beings and ourselves.

Discussion with David Storch (1970), zoologist, director of the Centre for Theoretical Studies at Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences and professor at Charles University’s Faculty of Science. He specialises in macroecology, biodiversity and environmental theory.

The Romany Character in (Non)Romany Literature

The Romany Character in (Non)Romany Literature

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 30, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

Rural idyll, horror, memoire, literary fiction, tabloid, poetry – the forms of contemporary Romany writing will be discussed by Jana Hejkrlíková, Ilona Ferková, Jáchym Topol and Kateřina Sidonová.

Hosted by Karolína Ryvolová.
Musical accompaniment: Jiří Vidimský

Programme held within the Khamoro festival.

Petr Král: Honey Skittles

Petr Král: Honey Skittles

  • Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
  • When: May 31, 2017, 19:00 – 21:00

This time Petr Král will not read poetry but rather short prose pieces, albeit not so far removed from poetry. Many are from the book Medové kuželky (Honey Skittles), which recently sparked an extensive debate due to their slightly perfidious playfulness. The author may also read a short poem.

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.

  • 70140 records in total
  • 27137 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
  • 40246of 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
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
jednorázově
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

? Kontaktujte nás
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