Archive: Society | Human rights Human rights
ADRA Czech Republic celebrates its 20th anniversary
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency ADRA is marking its 20th
birthday in the Czech Republic. The Czech branch, set up in 1992, now
provides aid both at home and abroad as well as organizing
awareness-raising programs among primary school children. Dagmar
Goldmannova, head of the Department for International Projects and
Development Education, visited Radio Prague’s studio this week to talk
about the agency’s achievements and plans for the future. More
Students in survey perceive Roma to be biggest ‘problem’
A study conducted by the non-governmental organisation People in Need,
together with Millward Brown, gauging how Czech secondary school students
view Czech society and the world around them, has produced some worrying
results. Along with the ‘usual’ dissatisfaction over issues such as
poor governance (highlighted in a previous study in 2009) the majority of
1,100 students queried now perceived the number one issue as problems with
the Roma minority – citing an alleged unwillingness on their part to
work, improve in their studies and so on. More
Dragon boats race for charity on the Vltava river
Symbolically in the year of the Dragon, the third Dragon Boat Charity
Challenge took place last Saturday on the Vltava river. The race is an
annual event organized by Rotary Club Prague International as a fundraiser
for charity. More
Bikes for Africa project attracts hundreds of donors in first four months
Organisers in the Czech Republic have launched a project similar to Great
Britain’s Jolly Riders Foundation, whereby anyone can donate an old
bicycle to a child in Africa. Although in operation only briefly, Kola pro
Afriku (Bikes for Africa) has already taken off and is attracting broad
interest. More
Petr Lom – an academic who left his job to pursue his dream of working as a documentary film maker
Independent documentary director and producer Petr Lom was born in
Czechoslovakia but spent most of his life abroad – in Canada and the U.S.
His latest film, “Back to the Square” was selected as the opening film
at this year’s edition of the One World International Film Festival,
where he is also on the jury. Before becoming a film maker, Petr Lom was
actually an academic – until one day he quit his job and never looked
back. I asked him about his films, which focus on countries such as Iran
and Egypt, his connection to One World and his big career change. More
“Radioactivists” – a documentary at the One World festival explores Japanese protests in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster
As part of this year’s edition of the One World International Human
Rights Film Festival, which is currently on in Prague, the German-produced
independent documentary Radioactivists – Protest in Japan provides a rare
and up-close look at Japanese protests in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear
disaster. It is being shown in the Youth Quake category, which features
films that portray young people’s struggle for change in countries around
the world. I asked co-director Clarissa Seidel, who made the film together
with her good friend Julia Leser, about Japanese protest culture and
whether she was at all interested in the country prior to the film project. More
Protest, rebellion, revolt – Arab Spring takes center stage at the One World International Human Rights Film Festival 2012
The One World International Human Rights Film Festival has just started in
Prague. This year’s edition brings over a hundred films from 72 countries
to the Czech capital, where documentary lovers can visit special festival
screenings until March 15. With such an abundance of interesting
documentaries, it’s something difficult to determine what to see first
– we asked program director Kateřina Bartošová about her highlights
and about the theme of this year’s main category. More
Hana Kulhánková – the director of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival
Film has played an important role in Hana Kulhanková’s life ever since
she was a teenager. Later, she studied film and worked at the Mezipatra
Queer Film Festival, which showcases gay and lesbian filmmakers. Now, Hana
Kulhánková is the director of one of Prague’s most colorful and
interesting film festivals, One World, which focuses on human rights
documentaries. Ahead of the start of this year’s edition, I spoke to her
about the festival program, human rights and what initially piqued her
interest in film. More
Icy temperatures pose threat to Prague homeless, Czech capital opens tent shelter
With temperatures in Prague expected to drop as low as minus 20 degrees in
the coming days, the Czech capital’s homeless are at high risk. Due to
the harsh weather, homeless shelters are already close to operating at full
capacity. To help battle deaths from exposure city hall officials have
arranged for a large heated tent to be put up for those with no roof over
their heads. More
Prague court delivers landmark ruling in home births advocates’ battle with the state
A ruling on Thursday by a Prague court might lead to a breakthrough in the
ongoing Czech debate about home births. While state officials and health
care providers have consistently opposed the practice over safety concerns,
the court decided that mothers indeed have the right to choose the place of
their child’s delivery, and the state has to provide all necessary
assistance. More
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