3.1K
Downloads
51
Episodes
The Czech Centre London actively promotes the Czech Republic by showcasing Czech culture, innovations and creativity in the UK.
Episodes
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
ABOUT IVANA
Ivana Kottasová is a journalist covering international news, conflict and human rights. As a senior producer at CNN International in London, she focuses on breaking news across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Most recently, she traveled to Israel and the West Bank to report on the October 7 terror attack by Hamas, and the subsequent ground invasion by Israel Defence forces in Gaza. In 2022, she covered the build-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the battle for Kyiv and she continues to report regularly on the war and the human impacts of the ongoing conflict. She was part of CNN reporting teams awarded, among others, a duPont-Columbia Award, a Foreign Press Association Award and an Emmy. Ivana Kottasová began her career in the Czech Republic, working for various Czech newspapers and magazines, and the Czech Radio.
Talk and Q&A took place on THU 25 JAN 2024 19:00 at the Czech Centre at the Czech Embassy Cinema.
More information about upcoming events:
https://london.czechcentres.cz/en/program
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
The winner of two Magnesia Litera Awards Marek Šindelka, the book´s co-editor Jan Zikmund and writer Veronika Bendová launched an anthology of short stories by the ten of city´s most famous writers, including the illustrious Bohumil Hrabal, that present Prague in a completely new light. Away from the Old Town Square, these stories take us into less-visited corners of Prague: from the steep streets of the proudly edgy Žižkov neighbourhood, to the flood-ravished suburb of Karlín, from the tensions experienced by the city’s Romani community to the dehumanising post-war redevelopment of areas like Libeň proving that there are always sides to a city’s character you would never have imagined. A discussion chaired by Ra Page, editor in chief of Comma Press.
The Book of Prague
A City in Short Fiction
Edited by Ivana Myšková & Jan Zikmund
Published by: Comma Press
The book was published through the instigation and support of the Czech Literary Centre
Featuring: Bohumil Hrabal , Michal Ajvaz, Irena Dousková , Simona Bohatá , Jan Zábrana , Petr Borkovec , Marek Šindelka, Patrik Banga , Veronika Bendová & Marie Stryjová
Format: Paperback
Book type: Anthology
ISBN-13: 9781912697786
Published: 05 Oct 2023
https://commapress.co.uk/books/the-book-of-prague
About our guests
Veronika Bendová (1974) was born in Prague and has spent her whole life there. She studied film screenwriting and dramaturgy at the FAMU film academy in the city and has devoted most of her adult life to raising her five children. She made her literary debut in 2012 with the novel Nonstop Eufrat, which has been translated into Spanish. She followed this in 2019 with Vytěženej kraj (A Depleted Land), which was shortlisted for the prose category of the Magnesia Litera Award. She also occasionally publishes short stories. She currently works as an editor at the Twentieth Century Memorial Museum, an institution documenting and preserving the memory of regimes and events in the former Czechoslovakia.
Marek Šindelka (1984) studied Cultural Studies at Charles University in Prague and screenwriting at the FAMU film academy. His debut poetry collection, Strychnin a jiné básně (Strychnine and Other Poems, 2005), won the Jiří Orten Award for writers under thirty. His novels and short story collections have been translated into several languages, including English, French and Dutch, and have won two Magnesia Litera awards. The short story “Realities” featured in this book comes from his collection of interlinked short stories Mapa Anny (A Map of Anna, 2014).
Paul Kaye (1969) was born in Bolton in the UK, and after studying biology and French at university, moved to Bratislava, Slovakia, shortly after the break-up of Czechoslovakia. While teaching English he began picking up the local languages, later moving into radio journalism and translation. He then worked for a decade as an environment policy journalist in Brussels, where he lives and now works as a translator for the European Union.
Jan Zikmund (1992) works for the Czech Literary Centre where he is primarily responsible for the promotion of Czech literature in English-speaking countries. He is also an editor of the English-language literary magazine B O D Y. He is currently a member of the jury of the Magnesia Litera Award for Poetry, the most prestigious Czech literary award.
Ra Page (1972) is the CEO and Founder of Comma Press. He has edited over 20 anthologies, including The City Life Book of Manchester Short Stories (Penguin, 1999), The New Uncanny (winner of the Shirley Jackson Award, 2008), and most recently Resist: Stories of Uprising (2019). He has coordinated a number of publisher development initiatives, including Literature Northwest (2004-2013), and the Northern Fiction Alliance (2016-present). He is a former journalist and has also worked as a producer and director on a number of short films. He read Physics at Balliol College, Oxford and has an MA in English from the University of Manchester. Ra has been recognised by the h100 Awards for the last two years running (2019/2020) for his contribution to the Publishing & Writing industry in the UK, and was included in The Bookseller 150 list in 2020, their annual guide to the book trade's most influential figures.
Organised in collaboration with the Czech Literary Centre
More info about upcoming events:
https://london.czechcentres.cz/en/program
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Thursday Sep 28, 2023
Our popular Women in Focus series is set to continue after the summer with a talk by the world-renowned, Czech-born architect Eva Jiřičná. During the talk Ms Jiřičná, who is best known for her shop interiors and residential projects, will discuss her signature glass staircases and the limits of structural engineering as well as her most recent projects and the need for sustainable architecture.
Furthermore, the talk will touch on the topics such as the importance of public spaces, green living and regeneration of city suburbs. Using her 50+ years experience in the field, Ms Jiřičná will compare how various challenges are approached in different parts of the world and she will give a brief overview of the changing tasks architects have faced in the last 40-50 years.
The final part of the evening will allow enough time for questions from the audience to open a lively discussion on architecture, urbanism, and beyond.
The event was chaired by Deyan Sudjic, writer and broadcaster specialising in design and architecture and former director of the Design Museum, London.
About Eva Jiřičná
Eva Jiřičná, a Czech born architect based in London since 1968, completed her architectural education at The Technical University in Prague where she qualified with a title of an Engineer-Architect and later on at The Academy of Fine Arts where she completed her Masters degree. After the Russian Invasion she remained in England - she worked on the Brighton Marina project and on Lloyd’s Building and started her own practice in 1982.
Eva became well known for the interiors of shops and residential projects and mainly glass staircases but also for her work at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Canada Water Bus Station, Leicester Library, Orangery at Prague’s Castle and many others. She opened with a Czech partner Petr Vágner another practice AI DESIGN in Prague in 1999, and completed many projects there including hotels, University buildings, Multipurpose Auditorium amongst others.
Eva has been appointed Professor and has a long teaching experience. She is a member of Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Designer for Industry, and an honorary member of the Royal Society of Arts. She has been awarded by CBE and received 11 honorary doctorates. Recently she has been awarded the Ambassador of the Czech Republic by the Czech Top 100 and Lifetime Achievement Medal by the London Design Festival.
More information about Czech Centre London events:
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
The Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic jointly invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic on August 20 and 21, 1968. The invasion ended Alexander Dubek's Prague Spring liberalization initiatives and reinforced the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia's authoritarian side.
In July this year we screened Reconstruction of Occupation, a masterful cinematic adventure of a truly forensic nature that uses newly-discovered footage to provide a unique perspective on the 1968 military invasion of Czechoslovakia and its aftermath.
We hope you'll enjoy this short reminder of consequences and historical insight by Czech Centre London director Přemysl Pela and Dr Thomas Lorman as they introduced screening of the documentary Reconstruction of Occupation on 17th July 2023 at the Czech Embassy Cinema, London.
Thomas Lorman is a lecturer (teaching) in central european history at UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) where he has been teaching and researching since 2010. His most recent publications are The Making of the Slovak People’s Party. Religion, Nationalism and the Culture War in Early 20th-Century Europe (Bloomsbury, 2020) and A History of the Hungarian Constitution: Law, Government and Political Culture in Central Europe (Bloomsbury, 2020) which he co-edited with Ferenc Hörcher. He also serves as editor of the journal Central Europe.
More information about Czech Centre London events:
Tuesday May 30, 2023
Tuesday May 30, 2023
The event took place on THU 25 MAY 2023 at the Czech Centre, Czech Embassy Cinema, Notting Hill, London
Kateřina Svitková, attacking midfielder playing for Chelsea FC, the top English FA WSL club, has made a remarkable international football career. She started at Slavia Prague, where she scored an impressive 188 goals in 177 appearances. She was top scorer in the Czech First Division in both the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons and has been named Czech Footballer of the Year a remarkable four times. As a 17 years old teenager, Kateřina made her senior debut for the Czech Republic national team and since then she has scored more than 40 goals in various competitions and qualifiers. In 2020 she moved to the Women's Super League when she signed for West Ham and then two years later for Chelsea. Kateřina will discuss the peaks of her amazing football career, how to deal with pressure in sport, and give aspiring footballers lots of tips and inspiration.
Followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
ABOUT KATEŘINA
Although Kateřina’s dog Buffon has not yet got used to the new place, Kateřina Svitková is very happy. She’s playing for Chelsea FC. The legendary club she's been a fan of since she was a little girl. In the realm of the European champions, where women's football is at its peak.
When Kateřina joined West Ham she performed a song by the famous Czech singer Marek Ztracený to introduce herself and to greet her new teammates. In Chelsea, she chose the everlasting anthem Wonderwall by Oasis. She wanted her teammates to join in and start with good vibes before the first training day. The Czech Republic international joined the Blues in July 2022 and scored her first goal for the club during their 8-0 win over Vllaznia in the Champions League group stages in October.
The discussion will be chaired by Miroslava Fousková
Miroslava Fousková is a professional football agent working under Sport Invest, the biggest agency in the Czech Republic. She held the role of team manager for seven years at SK Slavia Praha women and one year at the women's A team. Additionally, she has seven years of experience with the men's A team of SK Slavia Praha, and a single year as general secretary of the FK Jablonec men's team.
"Kateřina has developed really well over the past two years at West Ham. We've been watching her for some time and knew she'd offer the team a lot of quality in midfield and also wing-back too. She's really versatile and extremely driven and has a real love for Chelsea.’’ Emma Hayes (manager Chelsea F.C. Women)
"I am living my dream! I have wanted to play for this club my whole life having supported the team since childhood and I really appreciate this exciting opportunity.‘‘ Kateřina Svitková about Chelsea F.C. Women