NewsWhy rock ’n’ roll is the music of dictatorships April 9, 2016 Source: The Globe and Mail www.theglobeandmail.com / By Ian Buruma / After U.S. President Barack Obama’s trailblazing visit to Cuba, a free concert by the Rolling Stones in Havana might seem like a relatively minor event. Mr. Obama revived relations with Cuba after more than a half-century of deep hostility. …
NewsCreating space for civic dialogue April 4, 2016 Source: The Gazette / www.thegazette.com / By Leah Wilson / For some, the 2016 presidential election will go down in history as one of the most contentious, divisive and absurd the American people have yet endured. For others, it’s a pivotal moment in the evolution of our democracy, and the …
EventsNCSML Forum: Participating in Democracy – Havel@80 April 1, 2016 NCSML Forum: Participating in Democracy / Saturday April 2, 2016 10:30 am – 6:00 pm / A public exchange of ideas on how we shape democracy, inspired by Václav Havel, one of Time Magazine’s “Top 10 Political Prisoners,” and a freedom fighter celebrated the world over. In association with HAVEL@80 …
NewsHundreds of supporters protest Xi’s Czech visit, call for free Tibet April 1, 2016 Source: The Tibet Post International www.thetibetpost.com / By Yangchen Dolma / Prague — Hundreds of supporters rallied in central Prague”to protest against Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit, waving Tibetan national flags and they took up a number of chants including “Long live Havel,” “This isn’t Beijing,” “We don’t want a …
NewsCzech NGOs unite to highlight human rights situation in China March 31, 2016 Source: Radio Prague www.radio.cz / By Ian Willoughby / Timed to coincide with the visit of President Xi Jinping to Prague, a group of Czech NGOs – including Forum 2000, Amnesty International and Tibetan rights groups – have just launched the Information Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in China. …
NewsChinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Prague amid protests March 30, 2016 Source: DW www.dw.com / China’s President Xi Jinping is making the first visit by a Chinese head of state to the Czech Republic. He was greeted on arrival by well-wishers – but also a number of pro-Tibetan protesters.The Chinese president arrived in the Czech Republic on Monday for a historic …
EventsPanel discussion on “The Intellectual and Totalitarianism” March 23, 2016 Dear CRI Friend, Join us this Wednesday (March 23) for a panel discussion on “The Intellectual and Totalitarianism”. Guest speakers include: Dr. Monika Zgustava, Alejandro Rios, Ambassador Martin Palous and Dr. Marian Demos. The event will be in FIU’s Green Library, room 220 (GL220) at 3pm. Please help us spread …
NewsRock ‘n’ Roll vs. Tyranny March 2, 2016 Source: FrontPage Mag www.frontpagemag.com / By Spyridon Mitsotakis / What the Mullahs’ recent arrest of Iranian heavy metal band “Confess” really means. An Iranian heavy metal band called Confess was recently arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Members stand accused of “blasphemy” and writing “satanic” lyrics. Ari Lieberman of Frontpagemag reports: …
EventsHavel at 80: Reflections on his Thoughts and Legacies March 1, 2016 Event Invitation: 2016 Columbia University Vaclav Havel at 80 Panel Wednesday, March 9, 2016 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Italian Academy Teatro (2nd Floor), 1161 Amsterdam Avenue Columbia University Event Invitation: 2016 Columbia University Vaclav Havel at 80 PanelColumbia University Please join us in celebrating the legacy of Vaclav Havel, …
NewsCzech centres to mark Havel’s 80th birth anniversary worldwide February 29, 2016 Source: ČTK www.ctk.cz / Prague – The Czech Centres will stage events to mark this year’s 80th birth anniversary of former Czech president and playwright Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) all over the world, the centres’ spokeswoman Petra Jungwirthova has told CTK. “We will organise events in commemoration of ex-president Havel across …
NewsTransition from Communism: A Conversation with Wendy Luers February 27, 2016 As told to Katie Mills Giorgio by Wendy Luers / Printed with permission from the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Slovo, Winter 2015-16, www.ncsml.org. / Wendy W. Luers is the founding President of The Foundation for a Civil Society (FCS) and Co-Chair of the Project on Justice in …
NewsVaclav Havel and the Power of the Powerless February 27, 2016 Source: Counter Punch www.counterpunch.org / By Michael Welton / Nothing to learn, everything to teach the poor children In his speech to the Polish Sejm and Senate in 1990 (“The future of Central Europe,” New York Review of Books, 29 March 1990), Vaclav Havel exuded confidence that a “rich Western …
NewsVaclav Havel Library Foundation participated in Write for Rights 2015, human rights activism by Amnesty International April 15, 2016 Vaclav Havel Library Foundation is pleased that Write for Rights found such a success this year and was happy to help innocent people find justice and freedom. Every year, around Human Rights Day on December 10th, hundreds of thousands of people around the world write letters and send email messages …
NewsLecture by the Honorable Pavel Bělobrádek, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic April 6, 2016 Wednesday March 23, 2016 The Road of Freedom is the only way for all of us By Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Belobradek Good afternoon dear students, ladies and gentlemen, I am very glad, indeed, to have an opportunity to speak here in front of you today. I have accepted with …
NewsRenowned Czech artist, architect, and designer Borek Sipek passed away this morning February 13, 2016 Renowned Czech artist, architect, and designer Borek Sipek passed away this morning, after a serious illness, at the age of sixty-six. He was one of the most internationally respected Czech artists of these days. He designed several major buildings around the world, including the Opera House in Kyoto and the …