Vaclav Havel Library

Jáchym Topol to commemorate Václav Havel's thoughts and work in Taiwan
During his visit, together with the President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil and the mayor of Taipei Chiang Wan, he will unveil a new Václav Havel bench in Daan Park in the center of Taipei on June 3rd. It will become another place commemorating Havel and the values associated with his name – freedom, dialogue, and civic responsibility.

Part of the program will also be the exhibition Václav Havel: Known and Unknown from the production of the Václav Havel Library, which Jáchym Topol will introduce to the ceremony visitors. He will also be a speaker at The Václav Havel Dialogues: Human Rights and Responsibility in a Changing World conference.

Foto(c) Petr Kalaš

In honor of the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth, his legacy will also be commemorated in Paris.

The Czech Centre in Paris is hosting "The Havel Generation," an evening bringing together international figures from the fields of culture, literature, human rights, and social sciences. The programme features a discussion dedicated to Havel’s concept of "living in truth," a short reading, and a panel focused on women’s artistic dissent. The event will feature guest speakers Azadeh Kangarani, Katia Hala, Jacques Rupnik, Bill Shipsey, Brenda A. Flanagan, Hana Waisserová, Eda Kriseová, and Anna Kareninová.

More information about the programme and speakers can be found here:
👉https://paris.czechcentres.cz/fr/programme/evening-salon-the-havel-generation

Alexandra Brocková won the 2026 Tom Stoppard Prize for her essay “Ships, Seas, Harbors.”

This year’s jury praised the text for “combining cultural erudition with existential depth” and, through the symbolism of the sea, sailing, and shipwreck, raising questions about human direction, responsibility, and the limits of one’s own life.

Alexandra Brocková writes poetry, essays, and scholarly texts; she focuses on philosophy, and her debut poetry collection Lurking in the Moss was nominated this year for the Magnesia Litera Award for Debut of the Year.

Since 2021, the Václav Havel Library has awarded the Tom Stoppard Prize for an original, unpublished essay in the Czech language that makes an exceptional contribution to understanding the contemporary world.

Photo (c) Michal Ewald Wernisch-Murrer

⚠️ The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2026 Václav Havel International Prize for Human Rights has been extended to June 30.

The Prize will be awarded for the fourteenth time in memory of Václav Havel—playwright, fighter against totalitarianism, leader of the Velvet Revolution in 1989, President of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, and a symbol of vigilance against any abuse of power.

Individuals, non-governmental organizations, and institutions working to protect human rights may be nominated. In addition to a diploma and a plaque, the winner of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize will receive an award of 60,000 euros.

The award ceremony will take place on September 28 during a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. A conference in honor of the laureate will follow in Prague on September 30.

Nominations must be submitted via the nomination form in English or French to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by email at [email protected].

For more information, visit: https://pace.coe.int/en/pages/havelprize

Foto(c) Oldřich Škácha

🎭🎫The Bricolage Production Company is currently hosting a unique theatrical series titled Samizdat in Pittsburgh, featuring three one-act plays by Václav Havel. These immersive performances take place in secret locations throughout the city, which are revealed only to ticket holders to recreate the atmosphere of underground dissident meetings in former Czechoslovakia.

The series kicked off in March with Audience and continues this week, from April 30 to May 3, with the play The Unveiling. The cycle will conclude in early June with a production of Protest. Through these works, the project explores themes of moral integrity, survival under pressure, and the subtle ways authoritarian regimes influence human conscience.

Anna Freimanová and Barbora Grečnerová from the Václav Havel Library gave a lecture at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, on the life and work of Václav Havel. Meeting the Czech Studies students, who expressed immense interest in Czech culture and literature, led to a lively discussion about Havel’s legacy. The lecture took place as part of the year-long HAVEL90 project, through which we are commemorating what would have been Václav Havel’s 90th birthday.

We are grateful for the invitation and appreciate the participation of the Czech Ambassador Břetislav Dančák.

Thirty years ago, on March 27th 1996, Her Majesty Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, visited the Czech Republic. It was one of the most significant, prestigious, and long-anticipated visits to our country, accompanied by an exceptionally strict protocol.

The Queen was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, and their programme included encounters with Czech traditions, including a tasting of traditional Czech cuisine.
However, these strict rules did not apply to the spontaneous and enthusiastic welcome in the streets or to the unforgettable atmosphere in Brno.

Details of their programme can be found in the presidential calendar at kalendarvh.cz.
Photo: Alan Pajer

Sign up for the Visegrad Summer School 🎓🏫

The Václav Havel Library is a partner of the Visegrad Summer School which is intended for young professionals, researchers, doctoral students, and representatives of non-governmental organizations, think tanks, media, public administration, and cultural institutions interested in democracy, international relations, media, new technologies, and contemporary information challenges.

The Visegrad Summer School is looking for participants who are professionally and socially engaged, motivated to deepen their expertise, strengthen their analytical skills, and build meaningful international networks across the V4 region, the Western Balkans, and the Eastern Partnership countries.
👉 Application information:

Visegrad Summer School Applications for the 24th Visegrad Summer School are coming in and we’re already excited about the inspiring submissions we’ve received. Thank you to everyone who has applied so far - we truly appreciate your interest and can’t wait to read more.