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SpotlightZlin - the town that Bata built
In this edition of Spotlight,we visit the south-east Moravian town of Zlin,
a city famous for its footwear and film industries as well as for its rich
heritage of folk culture and traditional music.
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Current AffairsCzech shoemakers: EU anti-dumping duties on Asian shoes will not contain cheap imports
Just like many other industries, European shoemakers are finding it hard to
compete with an influx of cheap products from Asia, and the Czech Republic,
with its great shoemaking tradition, has been affected significantly. The
EU's anti-dumping experts will be meeting on Thursday to discuss duties
recommended earlier this year by the European Trade Commissioner Peter
Mandelson. If approved, the tariffs will be imposed for five months,
starting in April, and gradually increase to some 19 percent for China and
17 percent for Vietnam. But Czech footwear producers are doubtful these
measures will help reverse the trend.
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ArtsNew British movie explores legacy of Tomas Bata
"Bata-ville: We are not afraid of the future", a road movie
exploring the legacy of the legendary Czech entrepreneur Tomas Bata, was a
big hit at the Edinburgh International Film Festival last month. The film
charts a bus journey made by former workers of two defunct Bata factories
in the British towns of East Tilbury and Maryport to the Moravian city of
Zlin, where the vast Bata shoe-making empire was first founded in 1894
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SpecialGratias Agit awards 2005
The Gratias Agit awards are presented every year to those who have helped
promote the good name of the Czech Republic around the world. Laureates
include Czechs and foreigners, individuals and institutions; this year's
recipients range from the renowned businessman Tomas Bata, to Liu Xingcan,
a Chinese translator of Czech literature.
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Current AffairsAwards presented for promotion of good name of Czech Republic around world
Gratias Agit is the name of an award presented by the Czech foreign
ministry to honour those who have promoted the good name of the Czech
Republic around the world. Among the individuals and organizations made
laureates at this year's ceremony on Thursday: the industrialist Tomas
Bata and Viktor Fischl, a poet who was a close associate of Jan Masaryk,
Foreign Minister in the Czechoslovak government in exile during World War
II.
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MailboxMailbox
This week: ABC of Czech - problems with transcription and pronunciation,
the winner of Radio Prague's February competition. Listeners quoted:
Stephani Shelton, Janice Pacl Hare, Roy Kitson, Alon Raab, Kanu Kumar
Paul, Josef C.Vyvoda, Harold Yeglin, Stephen Price, Justin McCarthy, Colin
Rose, David Rada, Annette Harris.
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SpotlightThe Bata Shoe Museum
Today's Spotlight is part of a new series of stories and reports about
Czechs in Canada airing on Radio Prague throughout the month of March. In
this edition Jan Velinger takes us to the exciting Bata Shoe Museum right
in the centre of Toronto. Among his guests: the founder of the museum
itself Sonja Bata, wife of famous Czech-born businessman Tomas Bata, whose
shoes are recognised world-wide.
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Current AffairsCzech shoe tycoon Thomas J. Bata celebrates 90th birthday
Thomas J. Bata, former head of Czech shoe giant Bata is celebrating his 90th
birthday this week. The occasion has drawn attention to this Czech success
story, which revolutionised an entire industry. Since its humble
beginnings as a family cobbler's shop in the Moravian town of Zlin, the
Bata Shoe Organisation has grown into one of the biggest footwear
companies in the world.
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Czechs in HistoryTomas Bata
106 years ago this week, a Czech man founded a business that would become one of the
world's most recognizable brand names: Bata Shoes. Over a century, Tomas Bata, his son
Tomas J. and his grandson Tomas G. created a company that would change the world of
shoes forever. In this week's edition of Czech's In History, Ita Dungan talks to Tomas J. Bata
about his father's entrepreneurial and philanthropic vision.
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