Czech & Slovak Leaders 03/2017

Czech & Slovak Leaders III/2017

CZECH & SLOVAK

SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2017

Jiří Sven Svěrák, Regional Director, G2 server Vladimír Kvaš, CEO, G2 server CZ

International start-up corporation

available worldwide online

P hoto : V ladimír W eiss

www.czechleaders.com incl. electronic version Praha I Bratislava I Brno I Ostrava I Plzeň I Liberec I Olomouc I Hradec Králové I České Budějovice I Pardubice I Zlín I Jihlava I Karlovy Vary I Mladá Boleslav

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INTERVIEWS | EVENTS | PR | EU MATTERS

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DEAR READERS, After a great summer, in my opinion, we are now basking in the wonderful colors of autumn and I believe that quite a lot of our Readers will be heading to the forest to get as many mushrooms as possible.

I don’t know any country and its people who are so fanatic and happy about mushrooms picking!

I believe it is a great tradition and a wonderful opportunity to get away from everyday worries and hardship to find tranquility in nature. Dear Czech and Slovak people, keep doing this.

Despite the low activity during the latter part of summer we have managed to cover quite many interesting events and conducted fascinating Interviews to share with you in this issue of the Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine. To mention a few: All Czech Ambassadors traditional meeting in the Senate, innogy´s event and support to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Moroccan, Mexican and Egyptian National Day, Prague Society events, Round Table by Comenius with Minister of Finance Mr. Pilný, SAP Forum, IEC Energy Conference in Ostrava, Alumni Meeting in Bratislava, and Debate with six Political Party Leaders at Lucerna Cinema.

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State Visit President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman representing the Czech Republic 10 Senate Reception for all Czech Ambassadors at the Senate 16 innogy, the Energy of Czech Film Film festival in Karlovy Vary 22 Prague Society Luncheon at Finnish Residence Reception at the Lobkowicz Residence 34 The Grand Reception of the European Centre for Career Education 36 Prague Society A Bon Voyage  page 8 President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman representing the Czech Republic

Some of the interviews conducted were: G2 server´s Vladimír Kvaš and Jiří Sven Svěrák, Princess Elizabeth Lobkowicz, Petr Gajdušek, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jiří Hynek, President of the Defence and Security Industry Association, and candidate for the President of the Czech Republic, MUDr. Kateřina Vacková, Loono, JUDr. Martin Vychopeň, President of the Czech Bar Association, Dr. Jack Wilson, former President of UMass, USA, Zdeněk Zajíček, President of ICT Unie, Radek Dohnal, Managing Director of Top Hotel, Kateřina Bečová, Executive Director of the International Montessori School of Prague, famous Singer Richard Müller from Slovakia, Martin Herman, President, American Fund of Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies and Marta Nováková, President of the Union of Trade and Tourism.

Also, my warmest appreciation to our contributors: Mr. James A. Cusumano, Mrs. Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Eva Drebitko, Ms. Alena Huberová, Mrs. Indira Gumarova, Mr. Jan Mühlfeit, Ms. Cristina Muntean, Mrs. Tereza Urbánková, and Mr. Jonathan Wootliff.

I am also proud and happy that we are reaching to a record number of people, many from abroad via our online visibility, both our Magazine and our Newsletter. The record number of page views of our electronic version of the Magazine are, for the first half year, ca 2.200.000, webpage visits are ca 50.000 and our newsletter is sent out to 80.000 subscribers.

My fantastic team and I are also very happy that so many people from abroad can follow in English what’s going on here in the Czech and Slovak countries.

Dear Readers, I hope you will appreciate and enjoy this September issue and I wish you a great autumn. Hopefully some of you will find those hidden treasures (mushrooms) in the forest!

Yours Sincerely,

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Benke Aikell benke.aikell@czechleaders.com www.czechleaders.com

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

H.E. Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic during his speech at the China Investment Forum

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Centrum Paraple doesn´t play with handicap!

Round Table of Comenius Discussion Dinner with Ivan Pilný, Minister of Finance SAP FORUM Professional Day 2017 Viva Mexico LIONS Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador Taste of Greek Summer Nordic Chamber Chamber’s pre-election debate IEC Club 2017 Experts discuss current challenges in the energy field in Ostrava 98 ČSÚZ

C ontents

interviews

culture events

5 Interview with Vladimír Kvaš, CEO and joint founder of G2 server CZ s.r.o. and Jiří Sven Svěrák, Regional Director for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux states We’re setting up an international start-up corporation 24 Interview with Radek Dohnal, General Manager, TOP HOTEL Praha The most demanding customers push us forwards 28 Interview with Zdeněk Zajíček, President of ICT Unie We can overtake even Estonia in digitalisation 46 Interview with Jiří Hynek, President of the Defence and Security Industry Association, and candidate for the President of the Czech Republic I can win people over 48 Interview with Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz I use my talent for others 50 Interview with Martin Hermann, President, American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies 52 Interview with JUDr. Martin Vychopeň, President of the Czech Bar Association Lawyers are not born, they must become one 62 Interview with Marta Nováková, President of the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism We’re not proud enough of Czech quality 68 Interview with Petr Gazdík, Vice President of the Czech Republic Parliament´s Chamber of Deputies I am proud of the results of my political work 76 Interview with Richard Müller, Singer I try to think up something new and unconventional for my fans each year 78 Interview with Dr. Jack Wilson, former President of UMass, USA A true renaissance man 82 Interview with Kateřina Bečková, Founder and Executive Director, International Montessori School of Prague I wanted to secure the best possible education for my children 92 Interview with MUDr. Kateřina Vacková, Loono Our doctors are on a par with our Harvard colleagues 96 Interview with Petr Gajdušek, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs I have fulfilled my mission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I look forward to my next career challenge

20 Everlasting Hope Gustav Mahler and Terezín Composers 94 Exhibition Contradictions Miro Gallery Prague Everlasting Hope

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diplomatic events 30 32 41 58

Throne Day of Morocco National Day of Egypt Inauguration of the new Mexican Ambassador Tribute to H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of Morocco 65 Celebration of Italian and Czech sport Inauguration of the new Mexican Ambassador

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Interview with Richard Müller, Singer

Official photography of the President Miloš Zeman and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E. Rosaura Leonora Rueda

 page 76

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contents

contributors 15 Cristina Muntean Personal Branding: Empower Yourself, Empower Your Business 19 Tereza Urbánková Be better. Be brief.

33 Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy The New Trend - Deloitte´s new “move” to Engage Men in Gender Integration… Is it missing a key component?

38 Indira Gumarova D. C. Jazz 42 Alena Huberová Your Body = Your Story, How To Get Real Buy-in For Your Idea 60 Iva Drebitko Global Warming, a threat to the wine industry 70 Jan Mühlfeit Command genes!

72 James A. Cusumano Life is Beautiful! Part VII: The Alchemist In You 75 Jonathan Wootliff Immigrants are needed, let´s resist the politics of fear

James A. Cusumano Life is Beautiful! Part VII: The Alchemist In You

Publisher: Benke Aikell Head of Editorial: Lenka Helena Koenigsmark Office Assistant: Tatiana Fominykh Webmaster: Petra Kubernátová DTP: Šárka Krausová EU Matters: CEBRE Czech Business Representation, CESES, Europlatform

 page 72

Contributors: James A. Cusumano, Iva Drebitko, Joseph Drebitko, ELAI, Martina Hošková, Lenka Helena Koenigsmark, Jan Mühlfeit, Ivan Pilný, Linda Štucbartová, Tereza Urbánková, Jonathan Wootliff, Alena Huberová, Elisabet Dennehy, Indira Gumarova, Jan Muhlfeit, Cristina Muntean Photographers: Vladimír Weiss, Hana Brožková, runCzech, Tina Crohn, Martin Janas, Lukáš Kimlička, Hana Brožková

Figure 2: When someone makes a decision [to follow the omens], they are diving into a strong current that will carry them to places they had never dreamed of when they first made the decision.

EU matters 100 EU matters interview Interview with Ladislav Miko In 2050 we will live in a zero-carbon economy, or at least we will know the way how to get there 102 EU debate Debate on Road Package Meeting of CEBRE founders with Czech MEPs 104 EU matters business

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

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I nterview with V ladimír K vaš , CEO and joint founder of G2 server CZ s . r . o . and J iří S ven S věrák , R egional D irector for G ermany , A ustria , S witzerland and the B enelux states

We’re setting up an international start-up corporation P hoto : V ladimír W eiss

The energy and enthusiasm shown by Vladimír Kvaš and Jiří Svěrák during this interview in which they shared G2 server’s vision were like a wave of refreshment in a repressively hot Prague.

Although they are different in terms of age, professional experience and education, they are as one in terms of company expansion and cloud services provision.

Vladimír Kvaš jointly founded the company at the age of 20 after lasting exactly one semester at university. Jiří Svěrák obtained an MBA at LIGS University and is an experienced corporate player.

After a career in corporations such as Aliatel, HewlettPackard and DellEMC, he transferred this June to G2 in order to boost the company within Western markets.

G2 server was founded in 2004 and is today one of the largest cloud services providers. A turnover of around 400 million CZK is predicted in 2017, with employee numbers of 40.

The company has a subsidiary in the United Kingdom, and in autumn 2017 it is planning to expand into the Western Europe region. In September, Ondřej Vlach will boost the company’s position with his experience within VEEAM, and his task will be to expand the company within Poland and the Baltic region. But G2’s regional growth is far from ending there. Other key markets being looked at include Spain, Portugal and Russia of course. The new G2 team is breezing its way to meeting its vision of, “Becoming the Number One cloud services provider in Europe”, and for those who fly you might say at jet stream level.

Our interview did not focus just on expansion, but also the importance of building up a solid company culture, learning from your mistakes and debunking the myth that the perspectives and position of a corporation and a mediumsized enterprise are necessarily fundamentally different.

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Jiří, you’ve come to G2 server after a successful career in a number of multinational corporations, and your job is to build up a new one. So as Director for Germany and Austria you’re launching the big expansion.

We want to be a large business provider based on strong distribution and work with our partner network. It is our partners for whom we want to help build their business, and we then aim to replicate this successful model in other countries.

My role is to build up company headquarters in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We realised during planning that the logical next step is to carry out a similar step in the Benelux countries and in Liechtenstein. And then at a stroke we’ve created the Western Europe region, common within corporations. Ondřej Vlach, who is a specialist in back up, a key field for our customers, has Poland and the Baltics under his management. 2017 really is a landmark year for G2, transforming from a company mainly operating within the CzechoSlovak and British markets into one operating Europe-wide and present within key markets.

It is said of corporations and SMEs that they operate in very different worlds, often almost impenetrable. You two, however, have known each other for some time and you have already worked together successfully on many projects.

Jiří: We met seven years ago when I was working for HP. Vladimír was our customer. I’m glad that G2’s successful cloud history began on HP technologies.

Vladimír: I’m going back to 2004 when the company began. After its first year and the first million made, I had a great feeling. We’d become ‘millionaires’! At that time we were focused on low-volume services in the IT field. Over time, we began to focus on the enterprise segment, which also required the use of appropriate technologies and it was HP which supported us.

It sounds almost like a fairytale. Jiří Svěrák is known for his business and networking skills and human approach to business, but was the meeting between an enthusiastic young man and the corporate world really so smooth, dare I say idyllic?

Jiří: It was for me. I was trying to find new customer segments with my team, and the cloud was new, even for us in corporations. From today’s perspective, you might think this field is wellknown; we even back up our telephones in the cloud, but at that time it really was a new approach and we had no prior experience. At HP, we had dealt with the problem in terms of hardware, and it seemed to us that companies involved in hosting could be suitable customers. The fact that we are sitting at the same table today shows that we weren’t wrong. I got a list of 200 companies; 190 were really small, and of the 10 potential customers G2 proved to be the most interesting.

Vladimír: I can remember that Jiří’s colleague brought our first enterprise server by taxi; he was carrying it in his arms and it was a demo. He assured the worried salesman that we really would pay for it.

Jiří: Yes; I taught all salespeople that sales mean

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nothing when only invoiced and you have to wait for the money in your account. Young flexible teams can be found even in large corporations.

Vladimír, when you went to HP as a customer for G2, did you notice the difference of the corporate world, or did you tell yourself that even HP began as a company in a garage?

I’ve even been personally to look at that garage.

You’re right, it was a meeting with a different world.

I admit that there was a period when we despised HP as a company. We had been buying cheap Chinese servers and we couldn’t understand how someone could sell the same technology for two to three times the price. A number of previous meetings where HP had tried to acquire us as a customer had broken down over the price. In the end, we came to realise that although they were a little more expensive, their quality was in a different league, and that offset the price of many Chinese servers. HP employees who came to G2 regularly heard a talk on how “that corporation doesn’t know how to make sales effectively” and is too expensive.

Younger people giving their experience to older people, or David to Goliath, is a trend of today. What did G2 realise about itself through collaborating with HP? Vladimír: I’d describe it as literally a meeting of two worlds. After five years of doing business, I was 25 already and I thought I’d experienced it all… (laughs) I was convinced that we were brilliant. I looked at everything from the perspective of a small enterprise, which can equal the world at an enterprise level. But growth and revenues in this segment were limited; customers were unwilling to pay for the quality provided yet expected 110% guarantees. In 2010, we said that we no longer wanted to work for customers who want cheap Chinese servers. I wanted to work for customers who appreciated quality and were also willing to pay for it. In 2010, we undertook a kind of company restart and we cancelled contracts with almost half our customers. Targeting the enterprise segment brought us year-on-year growth of almost a hundred percent, a figure which had previously been ten percent. From a turnover of fifteen million CZK, we have reached an expected four hundred million in 2017.

Let’s go back to the beginnings of doing business. Vladimír, you started doing business right after secondary school at a time which wasn’t as favourable to young entrepreneurs as it is today. In 2004, corporations offered not just premium salaries, but also security, benefits, career growth...

Both my parents were entrepreneurs; they worked hard and from childhood I had had the opportunity to watch them. From secondary school, I wanted to be an entrepreneur, to found and manage a company. I endured just one semester at university. With hindsight, I have realised that this wasn’t entirely a great idea. I don’t mean you can’t do business at twenty, but a young age can put you at a disadvantage in negotiations with senior

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

Jiří Sven Svěrák, Regional Director of G2 server for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Lichtenstein joined the company in June 2017. His mission is to execute the business expansion to above mentioned countries and establish functional operations and business. Jiří has more than 15 years of corporate experiences from service providers segment and IT vendors as well. Jiří joined from General Manager role for Dell EMC and he worked on several managing roles at HewlettPackard before. colleagues from the corporate world. At twenty, you basically look like a child. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to look older.

Jiří, were you never attracted to running your own business?

I did try it. Following a brief experience as an entrepreneur in the educational books field, I came to the opinion that my opportunity to grow and meet with large customers and do big deals was limited. I joined Aliatel, where I was responsible for large customers including the Czech National Bank. Suddenly, my partners were two generations older than me. I also began thinking about how to look older at that time. Eventually, I acquired not just business, but also management experience and I subsequently joined HP, which at that time was one of the largest corporations in the Czech Republic. To begin with, I wasn’t sure whether they would succeed and I hoped I could last there at least a year. I was responsible for small customers, so the shock from moving to

expert in managing people instead of an expert in IT, and I had to focus on managing them, motivating them, and also shaping the work environment so that they were satisfied and had reasons to remain in the company for the longterm.

Jiří, what made you decide in the end to move to G2?

I was enthused by the opportunity for expansion, to build something from scratch and to establish completely new relations within an international environment. I’m really looking forward to the opportunities and new encounters in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium… and I’m looking forward to building G2 into a corporation.

Vladimír Kvaš, Chief Executive Officer of G2 server co-founded the entire company in 2004. Vladimír is responsible for company’s vision, mission and strategy leadership as well as for legal offices and datacenter expansion across regions. G2 server has been already marked as fastest growing cloud provider on Czech and Slovak market. Vladimír has built up a functional executive structure of directors to enable company’s business boom in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and Baltics. a corporation wasn’t so large for me. Within the small customers segment, we managed to grow from nothing to 20 million dollars, so acquiring great renown. After eight years, I left HP, having been offered the opportunity to work as EMC Country Manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Three years passed and following the merger with Dell I decided to move outside of the current corporation world and help to build up a new corporation.

Doubts in a corporation are a bit different to those in a small or medium-sized company.

Vladimír, can the owner of a medium-sized company afford to have doubts?

Definitely. I can’t say everything I have done has been absolutely the right thing. I still learn from my mistakes, but after 13 years in business their percentage is smaller. You have to learn from every mistake you make, even if that does sound like a cliché. I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning in regards to recruitment or my little experience in managing people. Suddenly I had to become an

The word corporation, however, does not have positive connotations for many people today.

Vladimír: We want to build up a start-up corporation.

Jiří: Let’s define what that word actually means.

For me personally, corporation doesn’t have a negative meaning. We’re going to build a company which will operate Europe-wide, and in future globally. If we’re going to have many times more people, then we’re also going to need certain processes to manage them. If we’re going to have tools, then these need to be described. Almost nobody in any role can avoid Excel and making tables these days. So it’s about the corporation’s company culture. And I trust that we will preserve our company culture, which is creative, enjoyable and in a certain sense homely. The environment will be more corporate in terms of the nature of communication with various nationalities, customers, employees, partners and distributors and that will require certain rules. But we do still want to build a corporation with a human face.

Let’s look specifically at people; we are always hearing in the Czech Republic about the lack of IT specialists. How can you acquire them, and how can you keep them?

Vladimír: I’d like to say that I think this frequent discourse on the labour market is not a good idea.

The fact that there are no people available on the market gives the impression that there might be qualified people sitting somewhere at a job centre, waiting for the right position. And today really is not the right time for recruiting people through internet advertising as many incorrectly believe. Today it is important to focus on HR marketing and show using specific examples in practice that despite rapid growth, the company is able to maintain its start-up spirit and keep up its distinct company culture and company spirit. And rapid growth also attracts many talented people.

What makes your company spirit different?

Vladimír: Even choosing your environment is key; we don’t want to be in a greenhouse like many other companies. We have a large terrace where we hold parties. On hot summer days ice-cream is available, while during flu epidemics in winter we have tea with honey and lemon available, along with throat pastilles and cold medicines. We endeavour to ensure people are truly happy here.

Every day they can enjoy pre-sliced fruit. It is our

experience that if you only keep fruit stored away then it goes bad. We also offer healthy breakfasts.

These might seem to be trifles; the cost of one icecream is negligible, but employees appreciate that the company tries more than is common in other companies where the first coffee is free of charge and any more have to be paid for.

I’m really surprised that neither of you are complaining about the young generation and their volatility or poor loyalty.

Vladimír: I think our particular company culture means we have a very low staff turnover. Our first colleague is leaving after five years, and only to grow their professional profile. It’s not just about salaries; people here don’t feel like they’re at work, but rather in a team of clever and friendly people. It all begins with recruitment, when you ensure nobody comes into your team who would spoil that culture. We recruit people on a similar wavelength with the same values. And then they are happy to remain with us and apply to us directly. We can choose.

Jiří: I think talent management is key here. And I’m really looking forward to building this agenda and developing it in different countries. And we really watch out for well poisoners. We will be very careful in our new countries to ensure the managers of each of our subsidiaries are right for the company. Recruitment under pressure won’t pay dividends. I am convinced that you can always find suitable people; we just have to reach them.

And we have something to offer.

Vladimír: The fact that a strong and specific company culture can attract the right people was confirmed during our expansion to Slovakia.

G2 started with the cloud, so can you tell me what is beyond the clouds?

Jiří: The cloud is a major topic, but there are many types of cloud… You can have photographs or the basic operations of a company in the cloud; you can also develop your start-up in the cloud.

At the moment, we are focusing on traditional infrastructure, but other new platforms are coming. Applications are developing quickly, and as such businesses won’t keep a single environment along with expensive experts on operation and maintenance, but will instead want to have a simple functional environment for their further business.

Vladimír: In the American market, the cloud is divided into infrastructure, platform and software.

Today we are focusing on infrastructure, but there is a lot of space for growth. As yet, the markets in Eastern Europe are not ready for the next phase. The Czech Republic is ready for platforms.

Customers are different too, and that’s a great challenge for us. As Jiří implied, growth is far from being just limited geographically.

Guys, here’s to your further excellent cloud navigation!

Good luck on behalf of Czech and Slovak Leaders editors and Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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P residential

P hoto : A rchive KPR, H ana B rožková

PRESIDENT MILOŠ ZEMAN REPRESENTING THE CZECH REPUBLIC

State visit of H.E. Alexander van der Bellen, Federal President of the Republic of Austria in the Czech Republic

State visit of H.E. Alexander van der Bellen, Federal President of the Republic of Austria in the Czech Republic

State visit of H.E. Alexander van der Bellen, Federal President of the Republic of Austria in the Czech Republic

Appointment of the Rector of the Technical University of Ostrava

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

Appointment of the Rector of the Technical University of Ostrava

P residential

H.E. Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic meeting Czech diplomatic corps

H.E. Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic during his speech at the China Investment Forum South Bohemia Region

Minister of Education appointment

Vysočina Region

Země živitelka - international agricultural fair

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diplomatic event

Reception for all Czech Ambassadors

at the Senate

On August 28th, 1st Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miluše Horská hosted a traditional meeting of senators with the heads of representative offices of the Czech Republic abroad. Mrs. Horská spoke to the diplomatic corps on the ceremonial meeting, which was held in Wallenstein Palace with the main topic about economic diplomacy.

Miluše Horská, 1st Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: Martin Klepetko, Director, Department of Asia and Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Miroslav Nenutil, Senator, Karel Kratochvíle, Senator, and Karel Šrol, Consul General, People´s Republic of China

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From left: Jaroslav Doubrava, Senator, Vice Chairman, Committee on EU Affairs and Zdeněk Musil, Secretary, Senate Chancellery

diplomatic event

From left: Pavel Pešek, Counsul General, Ukraine and H.E. Jana Reinišová, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Kateřina Šarmanová, Secretary of standing Senate Commission on Media and Karel Kratochvíle, Senator

From left: H.E. Rudolf Hykl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Malaysia, H.E. Tomáš Dub, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Japan, H.E. Miloš Sklenka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica, and Petr Bratský, Senator

Vladimír Bártl, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

From left: Martin Povejšil, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the EU and H.E. Pavel Bechený, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Peru

Václav Kolaja, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

From left: Miluše Horská, 1st Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Vladimír Bártl, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Eva Davidová, Press Secretary, Senate Chancellery, and H. E. Livia Klausová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Slovakia

From left: H.E. Václav Hubinger, Ambassador (retd,) and Ivan Jestřáb, Director of the UN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From left: Václav Hampl, Senator, Chairperson, Committee on EU Affairs and Jiří Vosecký, Senator

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diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Michala Froňková, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Lebanon, H.E. Gita Fuchsová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ghana, and H.E. Tomáš Pernický, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Georgia

From left: Pavel Stohl, Senator and H.E. Jaroslav Knot, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Norway

From left: H.E. Jiří Brodský, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Mongolia and H.E. Rudolf Hykl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Malaysia

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Eva Syková, Senator, H.E. Tomáš Dub, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Japan, and Eva Anderová, Business Consultant, Czech Leaders Magazine

From left: Miloš Janů, Vice President, Lázně Jupiter, Vladimír Bärtl, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and H.E. Petr Kubernát, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Luxembourg

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From left: H.E. Miloš Sklenka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica, H. E. Milan Hovorka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, and Eva Drdáková, Consul General, Iraq

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From left: Miloš Vystrčil, Senator and Pavel König, Advisor to Ivo Bárek, Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Vlastimil Tesař, Chargé d' Affaires a.i. to Cambodia and Václava Brabcová, Secretary, Committee on Health and Social Policy, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: Jaroslav Menčík, Advisor to the Vice President of the Senate, Lenka Burýšková, Spokesperson, Policie ČR, and Petr Kostka, Advisor to the Vice President of the Senate

From left: H.E. Josef Rychtar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Chile, Kateřina Košaříková, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and H.E.Dušan Štrauch, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Bulgaria

diplomatic event František Bublan, Senator, Chairperson, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and H. E. Marie Chatardová, Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the UN

From left: H.E. Emil Ruffer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe, Kateřina Sequensová, Director, Common Foreign and Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Jan Vyčítal, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Iraq

From left: H.E. Radek Rubeš, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Zambia, Jana Kružíková, Secretary, Committee on Public Administration, Regional Development and the Environment, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Eva Anderová, Business Consultant, Czech Leaders Magazine, and H.E. Petr Kubernát, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Luxembourg

Květa Skoupá, Secretary, Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Vít Korselt, Director, American Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Valérie Ciprová, Head of the independent protocol unit, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Bořek Lizec, Consul General, United States of America

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diplomatic event

H.E. Michal Král, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the South Africa and Jana Kružíková, Secretary, Committee on Public Administration, Regional Development and the Environment, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: Lukáš Vacík, Councellor, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Jiří Kuděla, Consul General, Germany

From left: Ivo Bárek, Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, H.E. Veronika Kuchyňová Šmiglová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Radko Martínek, Senator

From left: Jiří Dienstbier, Senator and H.E. Jan Kára, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN in Geneva, to the World Trade Organization and to the European Organization for Nuclear Research Senate terrace view

From left: Karel Kratochvíle, Senator, H. E. Milan Ekert, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Belarus, and Andrea Jůzová, Secretary, Committee on National Economy, Agriculture and Transport, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: Monika Koblerová, Acting Director, Czech Centres Headquarters and Kristina Larischová, Consul General, Germany

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

I,

the

B rand

Personal Branding:

Empower Yourself, Empower Your Business In my strategic communications consulting and coaching practice, I am often confronted with the question: if I start boosting my personal brand, does it mean that I am betraying my current company? This question, which reflects the high degree of loyalty, ethics and integrity of the people asking it, many of them corporate leaders like you, led me to a series of considerations that I’d like to share with you in the column below.

Today’s world of work is inevitably changing. We are experiencing massive transformation driven by several factors.

1. Accelerated technological innovations.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and automation - collaborative robots, electrical, flying or self-driving cars being just a few symptoms of this phenomenon - the world as we know it is ending every day. We must start admitting that it is quite impossible to grasp the features of our future business, economic and socio-political models as carved by today’s accelerated technological transformation.

2. Demographic changes. For the first time in history we are confronted with a mix of at least five generations at the workplace, each one specific in its own way. There is nothing new about people with different ages working together – this occurred in the past as well.

However, as the global market is becoming more and more employee-driven, companies find themselves compelled to deal with the different age-driven specifics and integrate age diversity as opposed to applying a more comfortable and easily manageable one-fits-all employment model as in the past.

3. Diversity challenges. Time will come when we will smile nostalgically at when dealing with gender diversity was our main headache.

The real challenge ahead of us is embracing the entire mix of diversity in terms of multitude of nationalities, cultures, religions, local and regional attachments, language endowments and levels of overall cultural maturity unleashed by globalization.

These are only a few of the challenges that are making today’s leadership models a constant quest for the North Star – that firm guide above that will

I nterview Cristina Muntean specializes in strategic communications and personal development. She has more than 12 years’ experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media. In 2010 Cristina founded Media Education CEE, a Prague-based PR advisory and training agency. Her clients are entrepreneurs and managers with Top100 companies in the Czech Republic and Central and Eastern Europe. Cristina is also the former president of the Czech PR Klub and former chairwoman of the Marketing Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic. She is an internationally certified trainer and coach with the Enneagram, a complex system of personal development. Cristina provides corporate and individual advisory, training, coaching and mentoring on topics such as Media Training, Crisis Communications, Writing for the Media, Presentation Skills, Personal Branding and Emotional Intelligence in Communications in English, Czech, French and Romanian, her mother tongue. She can be reached at +420 776 574 925 or at cm@mediaed.cz.

show us how to navigate the unclear and unknown waters ahead of us. One of the most important moments in a leader’s personal growth occurs when, unable to see the North Star, there is nothing left but to look our challenge in the eyes and admit that we don’t know. In today’s massive, overwhelmingly complex world, quick solutions drafted in septic management school rooms simply don’t work anymore.

What we need to do is to learn to embrace our own limitedness and vulnerability – our own “smallness.”

We need to learn to become comfortable with not knowing. This way we become humble and we open ourselves to viable solutions that might come from places impossible to see before. In today’s world, this is the first step towards genuine individual empowerment.

When you’re aware of your value, you cannot not communicate it What comes next is even more interesting. Individuals who know they don’t know and are able to humbly open themselves to new solutions and collaboration become somehow stronger on the inside. This inner force doesn’t allow such individuals not to act – in terms of leadership and communications alike.

When you know that the value of what you can offer to the world, of your unique gift that is needed and relevant, you cannot hold it for yourself. You cannot not communicate it.

The question is: what will companies do with such individuals? Will the company – the group, the whole – accept, allow and encourage an environment in which such conscious individualities become engines of innovation? Or will they continue to bet on scale-driven, timetested structures and processes that will allow them to make a bit more money through size and scope, yet at the expense of innovation, talent motivation, people engagement and genuine service?

This takes me back to my initial question: do people betray their companies when they want to start building their personal brands? The answer is: not at all. Yet before moving forward allow me to make one more essential distinction – between personal branding and self-promotion.

In my understanding self-promotion is the vainglorious attempt of boosting one’s visibility for narrow, individual-only benefits. In today’s socialnetwork-instant-chat-app-driven communication world self-promotion has become dangerously available and scarily potent – as the recent elections in the United States have showed. But can selfpromotion stand the test of time in terms of genuine competencies, respect and people trust?

No. My experience shows that self-promotion can only take an individual that far. On the other hand, personal branding is the complex process of finding the best in yourself and communicating it with the world consciously, compassionately and consistently for the benefit of everyone involved. This is the major difference between personal branding and selfpromotion: self-promotion is for one’s self only, personal branding is putting the best in one’s self to the service of others. A genuine strategic communications process from the insideout, personal branding cannot resist the test of time unless it is grounded in the deepest layers of one’s personality, competencies, experiences and individual wisdom. Being able to channel all those individual qualities for the benefit of others is a major sign of personal maturity – a sign of leadership. Now you tell me: which company, dealing with individuals who are aware of the best in themselves and willing to put their unique life force and gifts to the service of others, would refuse such an offer?

That’s why I strongly believe that striving to develop your personal brand is not a betrayal to your company: it is, in fact, a gift to your company. In the new world of work, which requires new models of leadership driven by mindfulness and an ability to walk the world open, vulnerable and curious, personal branding becomes the strategic empowerment tool for leadership. All it needs is a commitment to authentic, inside-out communications – for the sake of ourselves, our companies and our world.

By Cristina Muntean české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

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film festival

innogy

the Energy of Czech Film Jiří Strach won the innogy Blue Cube for his direction of the fairytale film Anděl Páně 2 (Angel of the Lord 2), in which Jiří Bartoška played the role of God

For the twenty-second year, the energy company innogy has taken on the role of a main partner of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. All festival-related communication activities were inspired by the long-term project named ‘innogy – the Energy of Czech Film’ supporting the Czech cinematography. In cooperation with the Czech Television, innogy has been the second largest co-producer of Czech films in recent years with over 60 feature movies under its belt. The most commercially successful film of all time is Anděl Páně 2 with innogy being its co-producer. This year the innogy Modrá kostka (innogy Blue Cube) award for outstanding artistic contribution was awarded to Jiří Strach, the director of this wonderful movie fairytale. The official ceremony of awarding with the symbolic cube cut from the blue semi-precious stone of lapis lazuli took place during the second Friday of the festival before a performance by Moondance Orchestra, Epoque Quartet and the legendary band Pražský výběr. innogy is also one of the three founders of FILMOVÁ NADACE (Film Foundation). As is now tradition, the foundation awarded the authors of the four best scripts having won the contest with cheques. One of these scripts is shortly to go into production. It was written by Radek Bajgar specifically for Iva Janžurová and the particular Czech comedy is to be called Teroristka (The Terrorist), probably to come out in cinemas in 2019. Alongside the Karlovy Vary festival, innogy also runs the Kino bez bariér (Barrier-free Cinema) project. This comprehensive information and assistance service helps wheelchair users fully enjoy events at the film festival. Particular attention was drawn to the experience afternoon event held in the middle of the festival week. The aim of it was for a completely healthy and mobile person to experience a challenge while being on a wheelchair, which is an everyday reality for the disabled. On the second Friday of the festival, at the open space in front of the Mill Colonnade, thousands of satisfied visitors enjoyed an afternoon of autograph signing by the well-known actors and actresses of movies co-produced by innogy, followed by an evening filled with music. This year’s 52nd Karlovy Vary festival ended successfully for the energy company, with screening of the historical road movie Křižáček, another feature movie co-produced by innogy, which was awarded with the main prize.

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innogy (formerly RWE) has been main partner to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival for over 20 years

Director Jan Svěrák at the innogy autograph signing

Director Jan Hřebejk also gave his signature in testament

Moondance Orchestra performance

Tereza Voříšková, Zdeněk Svěrák and Jan Svěrák introduce the film Po strništi bos (Barefoot)

KV IFF President Jiří Bartoška and Head of innogy Czech Republic Martin Herrmann (ANO)

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film festival Concert by Pražský výběr

Autograph signing by the stars of Kvarteto, directed

by Miroslav Krobot with innogy as co-producer

Awarding winners of the Film Foundation script writing contest – from left Radek Bajgar, Lucia Klein Svoboda, Lucie Konečná and Jaroslav Žváček

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

Film Po strništi bos (Barefoot) came about with assistance from the innogy – the Energy of Czech Film project

Director Jiří Strach with the innogy Blue Cube prize next to Martin Herrmann, Chair of the Board at innogy Czech Republic (ANO)

C ommunication

Be better.

Be brief.

Tereza Urbánková is a PR, communications and marketing professional with over 18 years’ experience and proven success in delivering award-winning communications programmes for multinational companies operating in industries such as hospitality, retail, IT, defence, broadcast, logistics and engineering. She lives and works in London, UK; currently, she is Head of Corporate Communications for Amec Foster Wheeler plc, a large international engineering and project management company. Tereza also works as a freelance communications and PR consultant. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Czech British Chamber of Commerce in the UK and a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. She speaks Czech, English, Spanish and Russian and can be reached on terezaurbankova@yahoo.com or through her LinkedIn profile.

In 2015, Microsoft Corp. carried out a study revealing that people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, a drop from 12 seconds, highlighting the effects of an increasingly digitalised lifestyle on the brain.

That means our attention span is now worse than of a gold fish. On the positive side, the report says our ability to multitask has drastically improved in the mobile age.

On a related subject, the study also confirmed generational differences for mobile use: for example, 77% of people aged 18 to 24 responded "yes" when asked, “When nothing is occupying my attention, the first thing I do is reach for my phone”, compared with only 10% of those over the age of 65. Having said that, mobile technologies have become an integral part of our lives.

I, probably like you, receive hundreds of emails every week, participate in many meetings, conference calls and other types of engagements each month. I’ve noticed, as the years have gone by, that if the messages I receive are not crisp and to the point, they totally lose me in a few seconds. In the age of information overload I find I simply can’t waste precious time on long-winded, repetitive, time-consuming emails that keep me from more pressing work that must be accomplished that day.

The title of this article comes from the book

by Joe McCormack: Brief: Make a Bigger Impact By Saying Less, who claims that the only way to survive in business today is to be a lean communicator. The unspoken expectation is that successful professionals can manage rapidly shrinking attention spans and accommodate the constant interruptions that fill their overloaded days. Opposite is true, actually. Busy executives expect you to respect and manage their time much more effectively and efficiently than ever. According to the book, an average professional receives 304 emails per week and checks his/her smartphones 36 times an hour.

Joe introduces the so-called B.R.I.E.F approach which stands for Background, Relevance, Information, Ending, and Follow up and contributes to simplifying and clarifying complex communication. B.R.I.E.F helps you summarise lengthy information, tell a short story, harness the power of infographics and videos, and turn monologue presentations into controlled conversations.

People nowadays get impatient and annoyed when they receive communication they feel doesn’t respect their time, is careless and they ‘fight back’ by unresponsiveness, decision delays, harsh feedback and even criticism. So, why do we write more than necessary? What is the cause of not being clear and concise? Is this something we can improve?

Yes, we definitely can. If you wish to deliver a tighter message, here are a few tips for you to consider:

Preparation

Think about what the story, the key message is. Make a visual outline of what you wish to say if it helps your thought process, but at the same time of what is absolutely essential. Give some consideration to your objectives, i.e. what you wish to achieve with your message – is your message a call to action? Is it only for awareness? Does it complement what you’ve already communicated?

Execution

Tell the story as a concise narrative that explains the who, what, where, when and why. Make the complex simple – if you’re having trouble distilling complex thoughts and strategies into simple and memorable terms which others can grasp and act upon, it may mean you don’t thoroughly understand it. Say what you mean in as few words as possible while keeping the message meaningful.

Revision

Cut, refine, reorder ruthlessly. Be merciless.

Never assume any communication is finished immediately after you create it. Review it, refine the point, order a core message, cut out what’s not needed, review it multiple times to ensure the message is succinct and clear, which in turn translates into ease of consumption.

Visualisation

Since 65% of people are visual learners according to the Social Science Research Network, one of the best ways to drive the message home is through visual content. Visual communication saves time and its use continues to grow. Apparently, 84 % of all marketing communication is predicted to be visual by 2018. A study by Adobe revealed that Facebook posts which include images produce 650% higher engagement than regular text posts. It may not be always possible to use visuals but where it is, for example in presentations, go for it, the impact of your delivery will be greater.

In general, my advice here is to avoid falling in love with your words as words are only good if they add meaning to your copy – remember, writing less can mean saying more without losing content quality. There is a famous quote attributed to Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician of the 17th century: “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” The quote reflects both the value and the challenges of brevity. Crafting a meaningful, accurate and concise message takes time and can be hard.

Take Twitter, for example, and how much thought you sometimes have to put into producing a coherent and meaningful tweet, although I would not recommend to try to be as brief as 140 characters in your work communication.

Brevity, clarity and focus are essential in modern communications and have now become part of the key skills in business that we need to embrace and improve to be able to make the desired impact with messages we wish to get across.

By Tereza Urbánková

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culture event

E verlasting H ope : G ustav M ahler and T erezín C omposers

Ivo Kahánek, Piano and Vojtěch Spurný, Conductor after the performance of Viktor Ullmann`s piano concert op. 25 on August 26th, 2017 in Prague

Jan Kučera conducting Pavel Haas`s - Study for String Orchestra, Terezín, on the 23rd August 2017

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From left: Daniel Kühnel, Intendant Symphoniker Hamburg and Maestro Ion Marin, Conductor

Hana Rožcová, Mayor of Terezín welcoming founding ceremony participants at the Terezín Townhall on August 25th, 2017

culture event

In August, a new musical Institute of Terezín Composers was founded and its first concerts

Czech town of Terezín as well as in Prague, supported by LOM Praha Trade a.s., PRE, a.s., and the City of Prague. There were 30 musicians composing in Terezín under the Nazi imprisonment - this year the festival focused on compositions of Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein, Hans Krása, and Viktor Ullmann. The series of the four concerts culminated with Gustav Mahler´s First Symphony at the Wallenstein Garden of the Czech Senate and the festival also hosted a two-day professional conference focused on the topic of Terezín composers. The next concert is planned for the 1st November 2017 again in Terezín. were organised in the small

Graff quartet playing Hans Krása´s trio Pasacaglia and fugue on the August 24th, 2017 in Terezín Magdeburg barracs

From left: Miroslav Hejna, Director LOM TRADE PRAHA, Jiří Polák, Chairman of the Board, Institute of Terezín Composers, and Maestro Ion Marin, Conductor of the final concert

From left: Mr. Kyslinger, Prof. Eva Kyslingerová, 1st Deputy Mayor of Prague, Vladimír Darjanin, NF Věčná naděje, and Miluše Horská, 1st Vice President, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Wallenstein Garden, Prague on the August 27th, 2017

Professor Yuval Shaked presenting, Dagmar Lieblová, Terezín Initiative and Mrs. Gaby Flatow, Hans Krása Foundation during the Ceremony in the Terezín Townhall, August 25th, 2017

Founding Deed Signing Ceremony of the Terezín Composers Institute at the Terezín townhall on August 25th, 2017 (see the list of founding members and the deed at www.vecnanadeje.cz)

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P rague S ociety In cooperation with Czech & Slovak Leaders

From left: Daniel Maffei, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission, Charles Adams, former US Ambassador to Finland and H.E. Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland From left: Marc S. Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society, Daniel Maffei, , Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission, Jan Kohout, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz, Michael Stimson, Sales Director, GIDE International and Prague Society Board Member, Charles Adams, former US Ambassador to Finland, Erik Sorensen, Executive Vice President, Prague Society, and H.E. Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland

PRAGUE Luncheon SOCIETY at Finnish Residence Friends from the Prague Society, Daniel Maffei and Charles Adams were in Prague for the Conference of the IKDP on the Cuban Question. Finnish Ambassador H.E. Helena Tuuri was more than pleased to host an intimate luncheon among friends, members and founders of the Prague Society.

From left: Michael Stimson, Sales Director, GIDE International and Prague Society Board Member, Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz, H.E. Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland, and Marc S. Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society

From left: Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz and H.E. Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland

From left: Marc S. Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society and Jan Kohout, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

PRAGUE Reception SOCIETY at the Lobkowicz Residence

Arthur Braun, Partner, bpv Braun Partners and Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz

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Pedro Fuentes-Cid, Vice President, International Platform for Human Rights in Cuba and Rosa Maria Paya Acevedo, Member of the Liberation Christian Movement Coordinating Committee of Cuba Decide

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From left: Jan Vacíř and Kryštof Vinklář, IKDP volunteers

P rague S ociety

PRAGUE SOCIETY Reception at the Lobkowicz Residence Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz kindly hosted, on behalf of the Prague Society, the reception for the speakers and the IKDP to celebrate a very fruitfull collaboration between the IKDP and all its partners as well as to express gratitude to the speakers.

Arthur Braun, Partner, bpv Braun Partners and JUDr. Markéta Filipová, KDU- ČSL

Guillermo Toledo, Puerto Rico and Martin Palouš, former Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN

Marc S. Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society and Vera Egermayer, European Association of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust

From left: Václav Malý, IPHRC,Executive Director, Miami, Fl. US, Mrs Adéla Charadová, and Santiago Alpizar, Lawyer

Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz and Pedro Fuentes-Cid, Vice President, International Platform for Human Rights in Cuba

Mr. Guillermo Toledo, Puerto Rico, and Eva Anderová, Honorary Consul to Zambia and Business Consultant to Czech and Slovak Leaders

Daniel Maffei, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission

Toten Comas-Bacardi, President, Propiedades Coba, S.A. and Mrs. Eva Svobodová

Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz and Pedro Fuentes-Cid, Vice President, International Platform for Human Rights in Cuba

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Radek Dohnal,

General Manager, TOP HOTEL Praha completed studies at the Management and Services secondary school in 1998. In 2005 he graduated from the Institute of Hospitality Management in Prague. In 2005/2006 he undertook a study placement in Great Britain focused on Law and English. Since 1999 he has worked in various roles for TOP HOTELS Group a.s., and was named General Manager of TOP HOTEL Praha in 2010.

The most demanding customers push us forwards

P hoto : A rchive

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

I nterview

with I ng .

R adek D ohnal , G eneral M anager , TOP HOTEL P raha

TOP HOTEL Praha holds a number of top spots. It is the largest congress hotel not just in Prague, but in the whole of Europe. It can host up to 5000 people for a congress, has 5 congress halls, 16 lounges and 810 hotel rooms. You will find five restaurants here. Besides congress services, the hotel also offers relaxation and wellness services, a swimming pool, tennis courts and bowling. It also boasts a unique Japanese garden with a singing fountain offering a unique venue for garden parties with a barbecue for up to 800 people possible.

The hotel is regularly voted amongst the top of the Czech 100 Best contest, and won the prestigious Best Regional Congress Hotel and Best Regional Four-Star Hotel 2017. The hotel has managed to win this prize every year since 2013.

TOP HOTEL Praha’s General Manager, Radek Dohnal, describes how TOP HOTEL Praha’s size meant it was able to hold a congress for two parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum at exactly the same time without participants ever encountering each other. To those unfamiliar with the hotel, this might seem an exaggeration; but I know that I myself stayed at TOP HOTEL Praha for a Valentine’s weekend romantic break and by chance the Czech Miss contest was taking place at the same time. My husband and I knew nothing about this event, and we only became curious about what was happening in the hotel when we happened to come across Ivana Trump in the lift on the way back from a romantic dinner.

I met Radek Dohnal in his study adorned with beautiful pictures; the hotel also serves as a gallery. During our interview, I admired Radek’s desire and enthusiasm to make continuous improvements, his sense of humour and last but not least his interesting stories from the food and hospitality world.

H all

Mr. Dohnal, you took over the management of TOP HOTEL Praha in 2010. Your father ran the hotel for many years alone. Your career path was clearly set out then. On the other hand, succession in a family company can be quite complicated. Do you think your career path was simpler, or more complicated?

You’re right; since my father ran this hotel for 12 years, I too had planned my future in the hotel to continue the family tradition. That might look like a relatively simple path. On the other hand, it can be quite difficult to continue with such a well-established hotel and in the family

tradition. My father’s experience, which I can build upon, is a benefit. I then come up with innovations, and this is followed by unavoidable conflict. But it is a conflict of ideas, not personalities and I’m glad that we have always managed to find the optimum solution. It’s all about developing the hotel; my father and I understand you can’t stay still. Sometimes my father gives way, but it’s complicated (laughs).

TOP HOTEL Praha is unique in many aspects. Not just in size, the wide range of services, the great position. You allow demanding guests who enjoy adventure

and unconventional thrills to make use of the hotel helipad for helicopters and hot air balloons. You are also known for the events you organise, and last but not least the awards you have received. How successful are you in coming up with new ideas and innovations in a hotel which is so established?

I don’t think the hotel is complete yet. There is still a lot of free space and many things need innovation. Let me give congress tourism as an example. We offer our customers better technologies and equipment, such as our audiovisual equipment. With tongue in cheek,

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

25

I nterview

with I ng .

R adek D ohnal , G eneral M anager , TOP HOTEL P raha

B ohemia TOP R estaurant let me say that nobody is going to be impressed by an old-style film projector. At the same time, we need to look after our current spaces so they remain unique for the experience of our clients.

Recently, our Japanese garden was full of cars.

Imagine cars literally scattered over the garden.

4x4s parked on the slope, sports convertibles in the upper section of the garden, and luxury saloons in the lower section of the garden. This was a unique experience for our customer and their guests.

I’ve already mentioned that you have received many awards. TOP HOTEL Praha employs 180 people. Your whole team stand behind you. Which employees are you most proud of?

I’m very proud of our kitchen. From my own experience, I know that good food is the long and short of it, and also what people most remember. Our kitchen has meant we take part in events abroad, providing catering to embassies in the Czech Republic and abroad.

I’m pleased that foreign diplomats enjoy our food, because they have truly discerning and demanding tastes. They enjoy our mini desserts in particular. I hear back from Czech ambassadors that the catering we provided them with was successful and we should count on them next year with more guests. It’s a similar story for the catering we organise for Prague Castle. Czechs enjoy our food too; we have noticed that they are a little more conservative in their taste and so we don’t experiment so much and we tune the meals to align even better to their tastes. I’ve already mentioned continuously improving our spaces, and it’s the same with our team. I like to welcome people with new innovative ideas to my team. Even our team must move forwards.

The current labour market situation is difficult for employers. How are you managing to attract new people?

It is really difficult to recruit serving staff in summer. On the other hand, it isn’t so hard with salespeople. And in contrast to our competitors, we are not looking for chefs. As I’ve mentioned, our kitchen team is very senior and stable. Our chefs have worked here for up to over twenty years. We avoid food fads and excesses; we know our customers prefer assurance and the same high quality. In terms of other positions, naturally some change after two years, such as

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P residential A partment our receptionists, some after five years, such as salespeople. And it’s good for them to get new experience elsewhere after five years.

You don’t just proclaim social responsibility; you also live it. You have supported charity projects for many years, such as Miss and Mister Deaf World. You’ve provided support for this contest worth over 120 million CZK. Which project is closest to you? Is there some event you would like to organise?

You probably won’t be surprised when I say I appreciate pretty women. The Miss Deaf World contest really is a unique event. Czechs don’t hear much about this great event (laughs). There is a prejudice that you can’t talk to the girls; our sportspeople and politicians ignore the contest.

For me, it is always incredible to see how the deaf are able to dance to music they can’t hear, but which they still feel and experience in a different way. I’m a salesperson in my heart and every event is fascinating for me. And I feel like we’ve had events and exhibitions of all types apart from aircraft exhibitions. We just don’t have the space for aeroplanes. (laughs) We’ve exhibited cars, congress equipment, shoes and jewellery. We’ve had doctors, nuclear scientists, estate agents and politicians meet up at our congresses. Perhaps the Seamstress Union hasn’t been here yet. But I don’t know whether they meet up regularly. (laughs).

I can’t think of any other unusual, unique event.

We’ve had a Reverend Moon wedding here too.

Around the world, these can be mass weddings, but here there were only 30 couples who tied the knot. We were a little worried about running this event. At the time, a sect in Japan had committed mass suicide and suddenly someone from Korea wanted to do a mass wedding here. Do you know what they say in marketing? A bad reputation is still a reputation.

Tongue in cheek, of course. The event took place without any problems. And I’m glad we have also hosted the Dalai Lama. I am personally very pleased that such fascinating people and figures meet up here. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy my work for TOP HOTEL Praha.

You have 5 restaurants in the hotel, one of which provides the opportunity to enjoy a fireside dinner while delighting in a wonderful view of Prague. What food do you prefer?

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

I like Czech cuisine, especially the unhealthy foods. There’s nothing like a traditional Czech roast duck with sauerkraut and dumplings.

I also enjoy Thai, Indian and Japanese cuisine.

When I travel, I always try out different foods.

I try to make sure my love for food is not too obvious on me. We have two chefs from India in the hotel. Indians who travel try the food of that country, but they soon miss their own food. And they can tell whether it’s a real Indian cooking, or a Czech who has learnt to cook Indian food.

We endeavour to satisfy our clients.

You also have wellness and relaxation services for weary tourists. The Japanese garden offers the ideal background to morning exercise. How do you relax when you’re not innovating?

I try to surround myself with people I trust, and then you can get a lot done. A good team is the foundation. I play golf, but I’m not great at it as yet. Cars are another of my passions.

And of course I enjoy travelling, which is in the nature of my job. I often fly to conferences and congresses earlier and try to get to know the country better. I’ve been in Shanghai a number of times, and now I’m slowly getting to know the surroundings. In contrast to Indians, Chinese customers don’t require their own chef.

Instead, the Chinese like to try out new things.

But everything has to be cooked well. It’s a great faux-pas to serve a Chinese delegation the Czech favourite steak tartar.

A final word?

If you haven’t been to TOP HOTEL Praha yet, come and see it for yourself. Often people have heard of us, but they don’t really have a specific idea of how to hold a big event here. The word “congress” is often used before a hotel offering accommodation to 100 guests in the Czech Republic. But what other hotel can provide added value to companies who decide to hold a conference here through visibility to a further 1500 accommodated guests?

And I can’t think of any final word. The hotel and services sector is always about moving forward.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION

ICT UNIE (ICTU) ICT Unie is a professional association of companies active in the field of information technology and electronic communication, as well as other areas such as business Mgr. Zdeněk Zajíček and President of the ICT UNIE education.

Its goal is to increase the awareness of the importance of adopting and making use of modern information technology in our society. This includes creating an optimal setting for the development of public electronic communication networks in the Czech Republic, as the networks‘ development is a necessary step towards establishing an information society.

The association defines, represents, supports and asserts the common and rightful interests of its members. Its goal is to create a suitable business environment that will, through respecting ethical principles of business, lead to the information society‘s long-term development. The specific aim of ICT Unie is the support and protection of the fair and open market of information technology and electronic communication in the Czech Republic.

GOALS AND PRIORITIES ICTU‘s objective is to significantly contribute to the development of the Czech Republic‘s economy so that it can gain a competitive edge by building an innovative knowledge society.

As a professional association of companies active in the field of information and communication technology, ICTU represents the Czech Republic‘s ICT industry.

ICTU asserts the effective use of ICT in all areas of life in the Czech Republic because it sees it as a necessary step towards building an innovative knowledge society.

ICTU is a co-creator of drafts of fundamental reforms and legislative and key decisions regarding the development of ICT in the Czech Republic.

ICTU is a partner of the state regulatory agencies.

ICTU is a pragmatic and effective association. It presents objective and practical concepts beneficial to not only the ICT industry ICTU by no means lobbies for its members‘ individual interests or influences public tenders.

ICT Unie undertakes an array of specialized projects and organizes various social conventions, symposiums and workshops. It also prepares and releases strategic documents, as well as standpoints and commentary on the drafts of legislative norms.

THE ASSOCIATION’S PROFILE

ICT UNIE OFFICE BUILDING FLORENTINUM Na Florenci 2116/15, 110 00 Prague 1 E-mail: ictu@ictu.cz • Website: www.ictu.cz

We can overtake even Estonia in digitalisation

The Information Technology and Telecommunication Association (ICT UNIE ICTU) is a professional association of companies in the information technology and electronic communication fields, as well as other business and educational entities whose objective is to increase the awareness of the importance of adopting and making use of modern information technology in our society, including creating the optimal conditions for developing public electronic communication networks in the Czech Republic as an essential condition for establishing an information society. ICTU has over 70 members.

ICT UNIE’s mission is to be a respected professional organisation in the ICT industry which removes barriers which slow down the development of information and communication technologies in order to benefit consumers. We want to be a partner and opponent to the Czech Republic government in projects promoting a movement towards a European information society and a government and civil service working effectively for its citizens and the business sector.

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My interview with Zdeněk Zajíček ran a little late. He is known to the public mainly as the father of “Czech Point”, a member of parliament and Deputy Interior Minister.

A detailed overview of his career, however, can serve as an excursion into history and an illustrative example of how the transformation of the Czech Republic turned out. He claims himself that opportunity has always found him.

I think in his case “Fortune favours the prepared” is a better description. See for yourself: over four years at the beginning of the 1990s, he gained experience at the city prosecutor’s office, the National Property Management Ministry, and the Land Fund. He also took his Law examinations, so during his career he smoothly transferred three times between work in politics, in the civil service and in the private sector. He was elected to the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies for the Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana – ODS) in 1996.

At the turn of the millennium, he moved to the City of Prague Council, where he began to create the foundations for Czech Point with his team. He was working in Prague Council during the flood and the period following it, which was exactly 15 years before our interview. Then from 2003 he worked for the Central Bohemian Region as a healthcare and hospital transformation advisor. Since 2006 he has successively held the roles of Deputy Interior Minister, Deputy Justice Minister, and Deputy Finance Minister.

In 2013, he left politics for the bar and to work in education.

His wife owns and runs the private International and Public Relations Grammar School in Prague. Zdeněk Zajíček spoke of his wife with admiration and appreciation, and has helped her in running the school, and this personally left a good impression on me. He didn’t stay away from public affairs for long, having headed ICT UNIE since 2016.

I don’t know whether you believe in synchronicity, but before my interview with the main proponent of civil service computerisation, I had the opportunity to see how digitalisation and data sharing is getting on in the country. The day before the interview, I had forgotten to move my public transport season ticket from one handbag to the other. I was rather annoyed at having to submit the original to the transport company’s headquarters during its inconvenient opening hours, despite the fact I have a year’s season ticket with a number issued to my name and the ticket inspector saw my ID. On the day of the interview, I went to the doctor where I had to show my health insurance card and state ID card. It might seem a trifle. But why should I when the state already has all this information? Zdeněk Zajíček and his team have calculated that the public can hold up to 260 various ID cards issued by various institutions. It is unfortunate that although the Czech Republic has one of the best registries, it is unable to use it effectively. On the day of the interview, Estonia announced its plan to implement its own, state-sanctioned cryptocurrency, the Estcoin. Zdeněk Zajíček came to the interview with a 202020 badge on his lapel, and he proudly declared that as far as digitalisation is concerned, the Czech Republic has a number of projects running which could even overtake Estonia’s proverbial digitalisation.

Mr President, during your career you’ve been in politics, the civil service and the private sector. What moments in your career have influenced you most?

I graduated in Law in 1991, and I linked my career path with the state and its reform. My first position at the city prosecutor’s office where I learnt about criminal law influenced me a lot. I considered a career as a prosecutor then.

I still have great respect for criminal law, especially its clarity, structure and intelligibility. As a fresh young legal graduate, I was then invited to the Ministry for Privatisation where I looked after agricultural privatisation, so I learnt not just about the transformation laws, but also the issue of restitution. This was shortly followed by a role within Land Fund management, where I was in charge of legal matters. After four years, I felt tired, left the civil service, did my bar examinations and became a professional lawyer from January 1996.

I wanted to exploit my knowledge of criminal law and now transformation law at the bar. However, I got the offer of running for parliament’s Chamber P hoto : A rchive

digitalisation project

of Deputies. From an unelectable 11th position, I was eventually voted in. The next focus and challenge in my career involved the opportunity to create legislation. I became a member of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee for the civil service and the environment.

As such, I was building on my prior positions and I learnt about the creation and preparation of laws and how fundamentally their creation affects their application in practice.

I endeavoured to promote my opinions, but I was just one voice in 200. I left in 1998 and returned to the bar. Following the snap election and the “Sarajevo Assassination”, the political situation was in turbulence. For me, it was a disappointment, I felt somewhat disillusioned and I went back to the bar. That lasted just under two years.

It wasn’t long before you got another offer. You worked for Prague Council from 1999, where you also experienced the flood, whose 15th anniversary we are now commemorating. Looking back, the fact that nobody lost their lives in a flood of such size in Prague seems little appreciated. How do you look back on that time?

I was born in Prague, so working for the council was a great challenge for me to take on. At that time, the council had almost 2000 employees, so in terms of size it was comparable to the largest ministries. Personally, I think my time at the council was one of the most enjoyable for me. I really enjoyed working with people.

It was at that time that I had the opportunity to reconstruct the council, give it a different structure, and create clear barriers between political and official representatives. In local administration, you are much closer to the people; every decision made is seen by the people within just weeks or months. That’s a big difference compared to my previous legislative role, where the period between adoption of a law, its acceptance by the public and its actual impact is measured in years. The period of the flood was also almost the culmination of my work in the council. I was part of the crisis team and I was able to learn more about myself and test out my stamina, while also getting to know my colleagues better. I didn’t sleep for three days; we set out to protect first peoples’ lives and then property. For the general public, public servants may seem indecisive, operating within a certain civil service elite and using worn out methods. But this crisis period showed these people were absolutely exceptional, they took on responsibility, made risks and sacrificed their everyday need for sleep and food to protect the city. I realised how important it was not to cave in to first impressions when someone at a counter or office may appear unapproachable.

Many of these people are of much greater value than we are capable of recognising.

You are known for claiming that the state can provide certain services online like private entities. It was during your time at the council

I nterview

with

Z deněk Z ajíček , P resident

that the foundations for Czech Point were being set up. What led you to implement it?

Our team was already working on computerisation, but you should take into account it was 1999 and the internet and its accessibility was nowhere near as widespread as it is today. I always looked at my projects from a user perspective. It seemed perverse that if I lived in Stodůlky and worked in Letňany then I would have to take a day off to arrange planning permission, applying at my place of residence. At that time, and still to this day, there are vehicles which travel between different authorities carrying internal post. So why couldn’t they take post to the public too?

So the idea of a single point for submitting and receiving documents came at the council.

The next project we implemented was the first register of contracts in electronic form, which allowed an overview of contracts the city had concluded to be viewed. Although this is something which crops up before every election, the option for such checks was already there in 2000.

Czech Point was implemented when you were Deputy Interior Minister. I was surprised that the whole project was launched in just seven months; in the civil service most projects take years, or even whole parliamentary terms.

It’s about the desire, the will, to change something and the energy invested in the project. Find allies and guarantee security. We managed to implement this ground-breaking idea and unique service, including system delivery, legislative changes and the training of public servants beginning 4 September 2006 when I took up the role until 28 March 2007, when the first document was issued on Teachers’ Day in Prague 13. Over subsequent years, the service has expanded not just to almost all authorities, but also to Czech Post and bank branches, and notarial and law offices. We managed to achieve something which had until then been unthinkable. Forget long queues, special forms and the stamps you needed to get the original Criminal Record Check in Pankrác, Prague. Now, you can also get Property Register extracts or the popular extract from a driver’s points register. It was fascinating to see how different authorities were afraid to share their previously exclusive powers, afraid of an abuse of the system which never occurred. And today we have moved from a physical Czech Point to a virtual Czech Point, and you can now apply for an extract using “Czech Point at home”, and it will arrive in your data mailbox.

Your next project was data mailboxes, although these have not achieved the same popularity as Czech Point did.

Unfortunately, this system was the subject of political dispute and initially had a bad name, and users were frightened off. The system doesn’t deserve that; it is one of the most accomplished systems for stateguaranteed delivery not just in Europe, but in

of

ICT U nie

the world. Many countries are jealous of us.

Data mailboxes have great potential for an expanded use between companies, but there is no will to support the system. It is the same story for the Basic Registers system, based on the principle that the state provides its data just once and the institution shares it. The system is fully functional again, but it isn’t used. As such, the state and its institutions continue to annoy citizens unnecessarily. The state could share this data further with commercial institutions, naturally with the citizen’s consent.

In 2013, you left for the private sector and you abandoned continuing digitalisation.

After an almost three-year break in the education system, you were again persuaded to return to the world of ICT at the head of ICT UNIE. Now you are working on a revolutionary project again.

It is to our own detriment when we look at IT negatively and we don’t exploit the opportunities this sector offers. Nine out of ten ICT projects have succeeded. In 2008, the Czech Republic was assessed as in 25th place in the world in e-government, but in 2016 we were in 50th place. Originally, our ambition was to be in the top five. Since joining ICT UNIE, I’ve come up with the 202020 in national colours project.

My objective was to return to the top twenty.

Not by evolution, but by revolution. Let’s forget about petty disputes, criminal complaints and political division. We’ve begun to bring various entities together under the 202020 brand. We’re endeavouring to provide positive information about e-government; we’ve had enough of critics and frustration. We’ve got support in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, and we’ve even found it in the government. We’re also endeavouring to prepare new projects for the future government. ICT UNIE is a collective member of the Chamber of Commerce. My colleague Tomáš Vrbík, whom I know from my previous work, and I have put together the PES “Právní elektronický systém pro podnikatele” (Legal Electronic System for Entrepreneurs) project. I came to realise that today nobody really knows what their obligations are. Over the last 25 years, law has expanded hugely and not even lawyers, civil servants, judges or MPs have a comprehensive knowledge of it, never mind entrepreneurs themselves. That is perverse.

Entrepreneurs should be doing business, not studying law in the evenings so they know what their obligations are in carrying out their business.

We want to create an accessible overview of obligations on the internet, based either on individual laws or fields of business, according to your current situation in life. You could enter road transport and you’d get an overview of all laws and standards. And it’ll work the same way if you want to run a fast food stand. The appropriate law is ready now. And not even Estonia has this kind of law. We have the opportunity to be the first in the world.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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Throne Day of Morocco

P hoto : D ušan Š traus

Sahar band with H. E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco

H. E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco hosted a wonderful reception during an evening of July 31st, in Hilton Hotel to celebrate the Glorious Throne Day of Morocco and the 18th anniversary of the access of HM Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco to the throne of his illoustrious ancestors. H.E. Milan Štěch, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic honored with his presence the reception and made a speech to pay a tribute to Morocco and to the Ambassador Souriya Otmani, for the work she has performed as she is preparing herself to leave the country in oder to fullfill another diplomatic assignment as Ambassador of Morocco to Canada. Some 300 personalities, VIPs and friends attended the amazing ceremony with fantastic entertainment, such as the music virtuoso Felix Slováček playing tromphet and Sahar group from Hradec Králové performing beautiful Moroccan folklore dances.

From left: H. E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Eva Syková, Senator, and H.E. Abderahman Salaheldin Abderahman, Ambassador of Egypt

From left: H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Czech Republic, Jiří Vosecký, Senator, and Meroun Sadqi, husband of H.E. Souriya Otmani

From left: H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Czech Republic, Mrs. Měšťáková, Doc. MUDr. Ondřej Měšťák, Ph. D., and Meroun Sadqi, husband of H.E. Souriya Otmani Musical duo performing national anthems of Morocco and Czech Republic with mandolina instrument

H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Czech Republic with her daughter Sara Sadqi and her husband Meroun Sadqi

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Sahar Group

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

diplomatic event

From left: Mrs. Ivana Štechová, H. E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Milan Štěch, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and Meroun Sadqi, husband of H.E. Souriya Otmani

Sahar Group surrounding H. E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco Guests

From left: H. E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Interpreter, and Milan Štěch, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

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N ational

day

N ational D ay On

of

E gypt

J uly 23 R evolution , H.E. A bderahman S alaheldin , A mbassador of the A rab R epublic of E gypt in P rague held a ceremony at the E gyptian E mbassy in P rague in the presence of M r . J an H amáček , P resident of the C zech P arliament , as a guest of honor , with the attendance of the members of E mbassy , S enior C zech officials from the M inistries of F oreign A ffairs , E ducation , C ulture , members of the diplomatic corps accredited to P rague , presidents and representatives of major C zech companies , media professionals and academics , as well as members of the E gyptian community . the anniversary of the

From right: H.E. Khaled Alattrash, Ambassador of Palestine, H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of Morocco with her husband, Mr. Merouane Sadqi, H.E. Walid Shiltagh, Ambassador of Iraq, and H.E. Israr Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan

From left: Karol Ander, former counsellor in the Office of the Government / Drug Policy International Cooperation Counsellor, H.E. Abderahman Salaheldin, Ambassador of Egypt, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From right: Jan Hamáček, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, H.E. Abderahman Salaheldin, Ambassador of Egypt with his wife Dr. Thoraya Elkhadrawy, and Brig.Gen. Ayman Taha, Egyptian Defence Attaché with his wife Mrs. Dalia Ibrahim

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From right: H.E. Walid Shiltagh, Ambassador of Iraq, H.E. Israr Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan, Marek Hrubec, Director, Centre of Global Studies in the Institute of Philosophy at the Czech Academy of Sciences, H.E. Ahmed A. Swar Eldahab, Ambassador of Sudan, and Rany Mohie Eldin Abdellatif Kenawy, Counsellor, Embassy of Egypt

From right: Jan Hamáček, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and H.E. Abderahman Salaheldin, Ambassador of Egypt

The New Trend Deloitte’s new “move” to Engage Men in Gender Integration…

Is it missing a key component?

P hoto :

archive

Deloitte announced a “bold” move in their strategy to shift the momentum regarding gender parity. They have decided to concentrate on men. “A lot of their leaders are still white men who need to be part of the conversation and advocate for women”.

So I decided to look at recent data from the Czech Republic to see if this “trend” could be applicable to the Czech context. First I looked for female presence in the workforce and found that you have a 57.2% participation of women in the workplace.

I also looked at potential cultural boundaries that impact the promotion of women in your market and this is what seems to be the overall thematic: “The most serious discrimination of women takes place on the labor market. Women are discriminated against when looking for a job and if they have small children they tend to be the first to be laid off. But the biggest and most visible type of discrimination that women face in the Czech Republic is called pay discrimination as can be seen in the gender pay gap.”

Pay parity continues to be a painful issue in the US as well. However, other cultural stereotypes such as “women aren’t interested in leadership roles, women lack the confidence to go for top positions, and there aren’t enough qualified women out there” are even bigger roadblocks. (Huffington Post Male Attitudes of Women in Business 8/1/2017).

So the timing of the Deloitte project seems to be aligned with the hard realty here in the US, as well as in the Czech Republic. Social and cultural context continue to create “emotional” obstacles that keep this issue alive. A new “mind set” is needed.

But I wonder if the new trend is missing a key element? Emphasizing the financial loss of attrition. Would this approach make a difference? Could this attract the attention of the “white men” that Deloitte is trying to engage?

Take a look at this recent article. (Huffpost High Turnover Costs way More 2/11/2016) “Doing the math, that means that for an employee salaried at $60,000 will cost the company anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 to hire and train a replacement. Other research show that the average costs could be even higher. In a study conducted by the Center for America Progress, the cost of losing an employee can cost anywhere from 16% of their salary for hourly, unsalaried employees, to 213% of the salary for a highly trained position! So if a high trained executive is making $120,000 a year, the true loss could be up to $255,600 to the company.”

Do these numbers sound reasonable to you? Should you do the math and see what your costs are? Should you use this metric (cost of attrition) as a way to move the conversation forward?

Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy President Rodriguez and Associates LLC

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

33

The Grand Reception of European Centre for Career Education

Monday, July 10th , European Centre for Career Education (ECCE) in the cooperation with Tesla Motors, Johnnie Walker and Czech China Entrepreneurs Forum organized the Grand Reception held on the occasion of opening its new summer programs.

Lucie Mádlová, Executive Director, Association of Social Responsibility and Global Compact Network Czech Republic with a cheque of 100 000 CZK raised by ECCE, Tomas Hülle, Founder of the European Centre for Career Education on the top of the stairs

Tomas Hülle, the founder of the European Centre for Career Education began the evening by introducing the vision of educational programs for the years to come, followed by the speech of Mingchao Fan, the regional Director of International Chamber of Commerce for North Asia.

During the evening ECCE donated a cheque of 100 000 CZK to Lucie Mádlová and her organization Association of Social Responsibility and Global Compact Network Czech Republic.

From left: Miroslav Dubovský, Country Managing Partner, DLA Piper, Richard Baček, General Counsel, Siemens Czechia & Romania & Slovakia, Leoš Dvořák, Head of Digitalization, Siemens Czech Republic, and Robert Němec, Managing Partner, PRK partners

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

Students of ECCE program and Luděk Hanáček, Partner, Deloitte

G ala

event

From left: Johana Ridzoňová, Regulatory Affairs and Regulatory Compliance Manager, Zentiva, Tomáš Hülle, Founder, European Centre for Career Education and President, Czech China Entrepreneurs Forum, Mingchao Fan, Regional Director, Arbitration & ADR for North Asia at International Chamber of Commerce, and Jiří Schneider, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Central Europe

From left: Shiyang Zhang, Associate, PRK partners, Pál Belényesi, International Consultant, Lecturer and European Parliament’s Independent Advisor, Farzana Yaqoob, former Minister for Social Welfare and Women's Development in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Stephen Hong, Head of Bid Management

From left: Michal Tomášek, Vice-Dean for Science, Research and Editorial Activity, Charles University, Faculty of Law and Martin Svatoš, Mediator, President of the Working Group, the ICC Czech Republic for Mediation

From left: Michal Mejstřík, Vice Chairman of the Board, Czech Gulf Business Council, Adam Vojtěch, Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, and Pavel Vepřek, Medical Director and Head, Healthcare 2.0 initiative Tesla model S

Jan Kuchař, Brand Ambassador, Johnnie Walker

From left: Tomáš Hülle, Founder, European Centre for Career Education and President, Czech China Entrepreneurs Forum and Václav Nekvapil, Managing Partner, CEC Government Relations

From left: Luboš Komárek, Cluster Manager, Nanoprogress, Jiří Schneider, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Central Europe, and Jiří Kůs, President, Czech Nanotechnology Industries Association

Ivo Gajdoš, Vice President, Czech Management Association chatting with students

Boris Dóža, Central European Operations Manager, Bird & Bird LLP and Magdalena Pater-Chylińska, HR Manager /Management Accountant, Bird & Bird

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

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37

I ndira G umarova ,

wife of

H ynek K monĂ­Ä?ek ,

the new

C zech A mbassador

to the

USA

INDIRA GUMAROVA

As a longtime New Yorker, Prazhachka and now living in Washington DC, I celebrate what I call the 3Fs: Food, Fashion and Folklore!

I seek to educate as well as entertain. My responsibility to readers is to make sure that things and places I recommend will not disappoint their cultured tastes. As a food lover, I am looking for a simple but elusive combination of good food, decent portions, reasonable prices, prompt and courteous service, a charming ambiance, and an interesting history. As a fashion blogger, I am looking for fascinating, authentic, unique pieces and whatever I can recommend that makes you look better. And in Folklore, in addition to anecdotes about interesting events and personalities, I cover tools, technology and craft traditions associated with popular culture, travel, architecture and more.

Courtesy of Tina Krohn

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Life in diplomatic circles There are 177 embassies in Washington DC. The US capital is one of the busiest, most imposing and legendary posts for diplomats. Unlike the United Nations, and unlike diplomatic life in Prague, where I got used to attending diverse cultural events and receptions hosted by countries and groups of all types, Washingtonbased ambassadors tend to isolate themselves more and focus strictly on political matters concerning to relations with Washington.

Iva Pfeiffer Fashion Show. Courtesy of Liton Agency.

D.C. Blues I consider myself a New Yorker. That is where I lived for more than a decade before I moved to Prague. And as New Yorkers do, I have spent very little time in Washington, DC. With the exception of touring museums and monuments and meeting the President there seemed actually no reason to visit the place. Finally, I arrived to DC to live there for a couple of years. Now was the time to see all the museums and monuments and the President. How am I doing with these?

During the first four months, I have seen most of the monuments, spent my time in the museums and I have met the President twice.

Whenever you see him, he is surrounded by a phalanx of Secret Service agents with dark glasses and earpieces. At last he noticed me and commented to my husband that I „look nice“. When he repeated that for the third time, my husband noticed as well. After four months in DC I realized that I would likely have better luck catching brown snakes in the Embassy garden than getting the opportunity for a longer chat with President Trump. Still, I sometimes feel I know him better than I know some members of my own family. All of us in Washington spend part of each day reading Photo Courtesy: The White House

his tweets, talking about the latest personnel dramas in the White House, and hearing wild rumors about what will President Trump do next. And he surely will.

The First Family is interesting as well. The President’s three eldest children were mostly raised by their Czech mother, who instilled in them the values and traditions of Czech culture, and even a smattering of the Czech language.

An interest I share with the President and his family is couture and designer culture. Like Ivanka and the First Lady, and indeed like the President himself, I spent a significant part of my career in the fashion industry, and it is very interesting for me to observe firsthand how this administration originates in and interacts with the celebrity and media world.

The Czech Republic and the United States are enjoying a period of warm relations built on great mutual sympathy. I am proud to play a modest role in promoting Czech diplomatic and cultural interests in the land I called home for so much of my life.

Generally speaking, it is rare to spot the Moroccan ambassador at a Chinese reception like it is normal in Prague. Most of our socializing is with American officials and EU diplomats. Engagements are based more on regional alliances than on a broad-based international outreach. That is one thing I would like to change. I think it is important for us to cultivate relations with countries outside our region. After all, our home is as much Czech and American as it is Jewish, Central Asian or Turkish at the same time.

As the spouse of the Czech ambassador, I joined a spouses’ club. This was not as simple as it sounds, because there are seven of them, not just one like in Prague, and there is fierce competition among them. However, it is quite important to belong to one and to develop relationships with the other spouses. Spouse diplomacy requires its own brand of ambassadorial wizardry and can be somethimes very effective. More often than you might imagine, diplomacy is done behind the scenes, and female hands are the driving forces. At the end, I even persuaded the Czech diplomatic protocol people to allow me to use a business card that bears the grand but slightly tongue-in-cheek title „wife of the ambassador and more.“ Armed with this calling card, I made a few friends who share a similar sense of humor and compassion.

Cultural promotion Our embassy organizes approximately 150 cultural events per year. This is the good part. The bad part is that the competition is tough in DC since we are competing with all the other cultural institutions of the city.

National and international media coverage is therefore almost impossible to get, and even invited journalists hardly ever cover Czech events beyond the events listings in the local newspaper. It is like walking in the rain through America but not getting wet.

However, for our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia, which will take place next year, we are planning some big and thrilling events that we believe will merit and receive significant attention in the press and on TV channels. I am gratified to

39

Iva Pfeiffer Fashion Show. Courtesy of Liton Agency.

have the privilege of celebrating such an important event here at the Czech embassy, and I feel it is my responsibility to generate headlines, to make it a story that has meaning for American people as well as Czech citizens.

Routine life in DC I found that DC is expensive compared to Prague or even to New York.

When we had just arrived to DC, one of the European ambassadors commented to me that after Vienna's restaurants and bars, Washington is disappointing and told me that it is better to stay in and cook home than go out. After a few months, I completely agree with him and mostly follow his advice. Cooking at home is much more rewarding than eating out, maybe with the exception of a really nice Belgian mussels bar in downtown Washington. I do plan to check out a few renowned Ethiopian restaurants here, but for the time being, if I really want to enjoy my food, I drive to New York. There is plenty of opportunity for a famous Czech chef to move here and feed people what they want and deserve!

By Indira Gumarova

TO BE CONTINUED‌ 40

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

diplomatic event H. E. Rosaura Leonora Rueda presents her respect to the Presidential Standard while listening to the national anthem

Inauguration of the new

Mexican Ambassador Accomplishing the protocol diplomatic process world-renowned, on the 8th of August 2017, H. E. Rosaura Leonora Rueda G. presented her Letter of Credence to the Honorable President Miloš Zeman by which President Enrique Peña Nieto had accredited her as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotenciary of Mexico to the Czech Republic. At the same time, she presented the Letter of Recall of her predecessor Ambassador Pablo Macedo.

Ambassador Leonora Rueda is a career member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1990 and has served as Consul of Mexico to New Orleans, La., USA; Charge d’Affairs in Vietnam; Ambassador to Jamaica concurrent to the Bahamas; Ambassador to New Zealand concurrent to Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs she worked with the Latin American Department as Director for Border Issues Mexico-USA and Advisor to the Under Secretaries of International Cooperation and Deputy Secretary for Multilateral Issues and Human Rights respectively.

Official photography of the President Miloš Zeman and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E Rosaura Leonora Rueda

Short conversation with the President Miloš Zeman and the members of his presidential office

H. E. Rosaura Leonora Rueda presents her Letter of Credence to Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic receives the Letters from H. E. Rosaura Leonora Rueda, accompanied by Miroslav Sklenář, Head of Protocol at Prague Castle

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

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P hoto A rchive

Your Body = Your Story How To Get Real Buy-in For Your Idea Have you ever finished a presentation with a bad taste in your mouth, asking yourself “What on earth happened? Why did my audience look so indifferent? Why didn’t they ask more questions?

Don’t they understand just how important this idea is to the future of this company?!”

us? My friend, I’ve been there. I’ve been the one pointing the finger at others, blaming them for not paying enough attention to my message.

It hit me one day when I looked at my own hand and realized that there were three fingers pointing back at me…

Not your fault, or is it?

It’s hard to admit it, but in most cases we are the culprits. We either fail to explain our idea in a way that is understandable and relevant to our audience.

Or, we fail to excite our audience, build rapport and credibility. Today we’ll talk about the latter.

Do you know your story? Does your story grab people’s attention or quite the contrary? If you want to have more impact, you need to understand your story and own it!

Your body = Your story

We constantly judge each other...

Puzzled? Think about it. Each and every time you walk into a room your body speaks. It tells a story about you to others. You don‘t even need to say

It sounds dreadful but it’s true. It’s not our fault! It’s our reptilian brain in action. When we meet someone for the first time, we perform an instantaneous

Blank stares from a tuned-out audience, that’s probably the worst thing that can happen to us when delivering our message. We spend endless hours preparing for our presentation, we’re excited about our idea and convinced it can change the world, yet the response is disheartening. ‘They’don't seem to care! But why? And the blame cycle starts...

Is it fair to criticize others for not supporting our ideas? Or does this have something to do with

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

a word yet everyone in the room hears your story.

Your story is so powerful that it influences how people think of you, how they treat you and how they react to you and your message. Your story determines whether people will like you, trust you and whether they will be willing to support your ideas.

scan looking for information about them. Our brain captures small cues from the way the person looks, speaks and behaves and in a matter of seconds we make a snap judgment, labeling someone a friend, an enemy, a potential sexual partner or indifferent.

When trying to convince a group of investors to invest in your business, being labeled an enemy won’t get you too far.

Yes, first impressions count. Make a great one and the door of opportunity will swing open to you. But that’s only the beginning…

People interacting with you are watching your every move and are continuously evaluating you and making their decisions about how they want to relate to you.

There are three questions on their mind: 1.

2.

3.

aggressive. You’ll see a concrete example in the section to follow.

Go and shine!

You do not know what you do not know…

We tend to be blind to our own signals and that’s a big problem. Awareness is key. Only then you can purposely adjust your signals and own your story!

How do people perceive us?

I remember working with a client, a female finance

Do you care about me?

Can I trust you?

Can you help me?

I want to believe that you do! And that you are competent, have the skills and the knowledge, and that you care! But the question is. Do they know it too? Are you sending the right signals, making people want to work with you? Are you telling the right story?

Key principles to positive influence, on and off-stage Remember, everything about you – the way you look, speak and behave - transmits powerful signals that are captured by others.

If you want to get people interested in your message, you need to make sure that a) they like you and b) they believe in you and your abilities. How? By transmitting signals of strength and warmth.

Professors Amy J.C. Cuddy, Matthew Kohut and John Neffinger studied the signals of strength and warmth and published numerous articles on the topic in the Harvard Business Review.

Their studies show that all great leaders transmit both signals and they do so at the same time. Though this may sound easy, it’s not, due to the hydraulic effect between strength and warmth.

If your signals of strength are too intense, people will perceive you as powerful and influential but they may not particularly like you because they will regard you as cold and unkind. If, on the other hand you’re perceived as overly nice and kind, people may see you as someone with no power or influence. Balancing your signals of strength and warmth is the answer. This is especially crucial for women. A lot of strength with little warmth from a man is deemed passable whereas a lot of strength with little warmth from a woman is seen as being too cold and

show them and sell them! You are extraordinary and deserve to be heard!

director of a large corporate firm. She was preparing for her presentation at the company’s annual staff briefing and she was nervous. The rumor in the air said that she wasn’t particularly liked; she was accused of being cold, rigid and unapproachable. I was surprised, that is, until after I saw her in action. I captured her performance on camera. When we looked at it together she broke down in tears. She never realized just how overpowering her signals of strength were.

Our mission was clear; to balance her strength with warmth signals. We worked on everything from body posture and gestures, getting rid of her characteristic ‘karate-chops’ and finger pointing; on her emotions to bring a smile to her face, gentle eye contact; we even chose an outfit and accessories that would make her look and feel more relaxed, open and amiable. In terms of content of her presentation, we used storytelling to create an emotional bond with her audience; we also paid extra attention to her use of words and expressions to make sure ‘warmth’ prevailed. The result was spectacular. She enjoyed her performance enormously and even more so the reactions of her peers and team members. Something profound had shifted in their relationship.

This is just an example. Everyone is different. You have to identify your own signals and then adjust the signals accordingly.

You deserve to be heard, go and shine!

I have no doubt that you have great talent, skills and experience. But your talent and uniqueness are worth nothing unless you know how to

By ALENA HUBEROVA Communications strategist, speaker and trainer

ALENA HUBEROVA Communications strategist, speaker and trainer Alena has a professional background in sales, marketing and communication in a variety of sectors including IT, travel and tourism, wellness and beauty. After more than 15 years working in corporate business and living in 5 different countries across Europe and Asia, she embarked on a quest to discover her mission. Diving into entrepreneurship, she first developed an online portal; built a team of 50 sales consultants in the beauty sector and became a star salesperson.

Working with hundreds of people and overcoming her own struggles as an entrepreneur/introvert, inspired her to start her communication business, which has turned into a lifelong passion.

Today she helps business leaders develop a powerful personal presence on and off-stage, deliver presentations that capture the hearts and minds of their audiences and inspire action. She also acts as a mentor for startups helping them design and deliver winning business pitches. Her recent successes include coaching the Czech team X.GLU which became the winner of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2017, a global competition for high tech students.

Alena is regularly asked to speak at industry events and conferences in the Czech Republic, Spain and France. She participates at The International Board of Entrepreneurs, Entreps.org, runs The Public Speakers, Trainers and Coaches Club in Prague and is an active member of Toastmasters International, regularly participating in public speaking contests.

She has an educational background in Business Administration and Languages, and is also trained in disciplines such as Emotional Intelligence, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Coaching & Mentoring, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Leadership, Negotiation, Online Marketing & Branding, the Enneagram and Instinctual Variants of the nine personality types.

She is very proud to have been certified as an Enlightened Warrior and Guerrilla Marketer!

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C harity

event

P hoto : M artin S alajka

From letf: Managing Director of Centrum Paraple David Lukeš, patron of the golf tournament Marek Eben and Head of Corporate Affairs of innogy Česká republika Martin Chalupský welcome the participants.

Traditionally, Marek Eben announces the winners

Centrum Paraple has held eight golf tournaments so far, where, by paying the entrance fee, participants support the activities of the non-profit organisation. The main partner of this year's tournament, which took place at the Golf & Spa Resort Cihelny near Karlovy Vary on August 27th, was innogy Česká republika.

In total, 44 golfers played and the final proceeds from this fundraising action reached 221 748 Kč.

"We will use these funds to finance our services provided to our clients, people with spinal cord injuries. Many thanks to all participants! I believe we spent a nice Sunday together," said Managing Director of Centrum Paraple David Lukeš regarding innogy GOLF PRO PARAPLE.

Patron of the golf tournament Marek Eben played together with Jiří Bartoška

The eighth year was held at Golf & Spa Resort Cihelny, Karlovy Vary

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Third place belongs to DB Schenker team

First place was taken by PASSERINVEST GROUP

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

Further participants from the field of culture and healthcare were prof. PaedDr. Pavel Kolář, Executive Director of KVIFF Kryštof Mucha and actress Jana Švandová

Paragolf player Pavel Bambousek has earned great admiration, by coming in second with his flight

ELAI

Record number of registration

for ELAI workshops!

This July and August, ELAI decided to launch a Clever Summer campaign. We realized that summer should not be only about relaxing and spending time by the water, but also about doing something for yourself. We encouraged everyone to use this summer time meaningfully and invest in developing their skills and capabilities. For those ready to accept our challenge, we made our workshops more accessible and we brought you even more opportunities to learn and get inspired by the top professionals on the Czech market.

Indeed, many of you accepted our challenge. Over the summer we recorded a historically unprecedented interest in ELAI training workshops. In July we celebrated 30 new registrations in one week only to record 45 requests next week!

We are running out of free spots at the workshops quickly. Therefore, for enormous interest we decided to prepare several new dates until the end of the year. Now you can register for new ELAI Workshop The Story Sells with Forbes Czech Republic Chief-Editor Petr Šimůnek as well as Petra Hrušková HR Google Manager for EMEA and her Winning People Strategy or Jan Zadak's Leadership for a Dynamic Team and many others. Do not hesitate and get more information and registration on our website www.ELAI.cz.

Petr Šimůnek during his workshop Story Sells

Daniel Franc explaining his methods at the Team 2.0 workshop

Petra Hrušková, Google HR Manager for EMEA region and her Winning People Strategy

Tomáš Sedláček at his workshop Creative Thinking

Petr Šimůnek, Chief-Editor of Czech Forbes speaking at his workshop

Tania le Moigne, CEO of Czech Google and her Leadership in Practice

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

45

I can win people over Interview with Jiří Hynek, President of the Defence and Security Industry Association, and candidate for President of the Czech Republic

For journalists, the silly season completely bypassed this summer. We have witnessed many dramatic events, abroad and domestically.

And one event has impacted on Czech and Slovak Leaders’ editorial plan. Originally I had asked for an interview with Jiří Hynek, President of the Defence and Security Industry Association, but a week later I was heading to a meeting with a man whom the media is speaking of as candidate for President of the Czech Republic on behalf of the Realists Party (Realisté).

Jiří Hynek has a diverse management career behind him. He studied at Charles University’s Faculty of Maths and Physics, and he began his career as a programmer. Beginning in 1992, he has worked in the management of a number of Czech companies such as Karlovarský porcelán, Praga and ICZ. He has been the Executive Director and President of the Defence and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic since 2011, and in this position is also the head of the Czech Republic delegation to the North Atlantic Industrial Advisory Group.

Jiří Hynek is also a member of many organisations, such as the Ministry of Defence’s Council for Applied Research, Development and Innovation and Mensa Czech Republic. In 2008, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces awarded him the Honorary Medal of Přemysl Ottokar II, the Iron and Golden King.

For the Presidential campaign, Jiří Hynek has chosen the slogan: “A Strong President for Difficult Times”. He received me warmly at the Association’s headquarters. If people expect their president to be not just resolute, but also considerate and empathetic, then Jiří Hynek proved himself, repeatedly expressing his sympathies over the conjunctivitis I was suffering from on a sunny day.

I was struck by how openly he spoke about his family and how important his family is to him. Jiří Hynek has four children. Those from his first marriage are almost grown up, and he has two pre-school age boys from his second marriage. In the end, it was his wife’s support which proved decisive in his announcing his candidacy.

The main focus of our interview, however, was much more complex. Jiří Hynek spoke very openly about national security, the danger of Islamisation in Europe, presidential qualities and Czech history, and without any political correctness, which he thinks is very dangerous.

A few days ago, you announced your candidacy for the post of President of the Czech Republic. Are you now going to answer my questions from a different perspective?

I am certainly not going to change my opinions, which have been consistent for many years, in order to attract more voters. I stand behind my opinions, especially in regard to security, and I am convinced that what I stand for is good for the Czech Republic, in particular in the longterm perspective. It seems to me that Europe is

46

committing suicide in front of our eyes, and I don’t want my children to be negatively impacted by the results. Security, then, is my main focus, but not the only one. If we don’t keep the place safe and we don’t protect our country from those that would destroy it, then there is no point in debating education or healthcare reform.

Your slogan is: “A Strong President for Difficult Times”. Is the situation really that difficult? The Czech Republic remains a safe

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

country, an inland country in the centre of the EU and NATO, our economy is growing and we are doing well overall.

Many generations have thought the same throughout history. Half a year before the First World War, few would have thought that they were on the cusp of a global conflict in which almost half of Europe would be slaughtered. It’s important to be able to interpret history. Economic growth does not prevent outbreaks of violence. If someone 15 years ago had predicted that a state of emergency

would be declared in France and that the French army would be unable to deal with attacks from individual civilians, their opinion would have been considered absurd by all. Membership of the European Union is not a guarantee of our security.

On the contrary. Whenever a civilisation becomes very rich, it neglects its own defence and security, and this has proven fatal for many civilisations.

I think the greatest security risk today is the invasion of Islamic terrorism to Europe. An imam once gave this remarkable statement: “You can never defeat us, because your desire to live is as strong as our desire to die.” This is a chilling declaration. We are facing a major conflict which may prove tragic for Europe.

What solutions do you offer in regard to Islamic terrorism?

It is important that the population is ready. It’s no longer about whether, but when an attack occurs here. I see that the President has two roles. The first arises from the Constitution, and I would not want to overstep or abuse this role and its powers. The second role takes place at the level of influence. In my opinion, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk carried out this role very well, being respected and renowned by those around him. I am a great proponent of implementing three-month compulsory military training. Although experts claim this is a short period, on the other hand it is not a major intrusion into peoples’ private lives. Three months is enough so that in the event of a deteriorating situation people can undergo further training and then be able to defend not just themselves and their families, but also make a major contribution to defending their country. This approach may also be a signal for any attacker that the country is serious about its defence. I’ll give another example of something that chills me. Citizens of other European Union countries will be able to join the Bundeswehr. I don’t think a professional army is bad; on the contrary, the soldiers are highly trained. But what kind of relationship can a professional soldier have to defending a different country? Will he only carry out his role for the money? Babylon when it was attacked by the Persians serves as a cautionary example here. There were no Babylonians in the army at the time, being comprised of foreigners only. When the “defenders” realised that the Persians were going to win, instead of defending the country they began to loot the place because they wanted to secure at least some kind of earnings. There are other dangers too. Ten years ago we would hardly have believed that Crimea would be annexed. Never before in modern history has a power appropriated territory in violation of international law.

Are you personally worried by today’s Russia?

I don’t want to frighten anyone over Russia; I don’t see the world in black and white. The situation in Ukraine is not simple. Nevertheless, international law should be respected. But it isn’t respected elsewhere either. Again I’m going to be controversial, but the dividing line between the right to self-determination and separatism is very thin, and it’s often just about the perspective which currently suits us. Western interventions in countries such as Libya, Iraq and Syria have neither been successful for them, nor for our security. We

have overthrown a number of Arab countries in trying to give them our democracy and freedom, but today the people there are living much worse lives, and we are at fault.

You’ve described Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk as your presidential model. What kind of leader are you, and how do you perceive leadership?

In numerous top management positions, I have followed the principle that respect is far more important than power. If you are respected, you understand the problem and you have a vision, it is much easier to get others onto your side. But you can never get everyone. This natural authority is much more important for me than the role stated on your business card. I have always tried to penetrate the problems of a particular field or business. You won’t get all the details, but you’ve got to know what it’s all about. As Sales Director at Praga, for example, I learnt to drive a lorry. But I had no knowledge of service details. I know a little of everything; if I step into the role of President I don’t think I’d have to learn anything in particular.

Another area is attitudes which can be learnt.

I personally consider patriotism to be important, although this has become a somewhat banal term. Patriotism is not the same as nationalism. In my positions, I have always promoted the interests of this country. I have endeavoured to support Czech manufacturers, protect the Czech internal market, generally support export, and promote Czech national interests even in situations where it put me at a disadvantage. I have even attempted to convince foreign multinational conglomerates that they should acquire local partners for collaboration. You can’t learn this attitude; you have to have it within you, in your heart.

You often present illustrations from history, you hold the Medal of Přemysl Ottokar II. Which period of Czech history is it good to base yourself on?

Ottokar II of Bohemia, known as the Iron and Golden King, is my role model and I think he is extremely unappreciated. To clarify, during his reign it was mainly silver which was mined, so his description is not entirely accurate. He was a brave man, he constructed a country which was wealthy. Ottokar II’s figure is comparable to the importance of Charles IV. He was capable, wealthy, powerful and the world wouldn’t forgive him for that. He was betrayed not just by his supporters, but his foreign partners also deceived him, using entirely unacceptable procedures at the Battle on the Marchfeld. I value the fact he did not betray his country and although he had the opportunity to escape the battlefield, he fought for his country to the end like a true knight. Charles IV is appreciated for his diplomatic abilities, but he also demonstrated his bravery many times. And, of course, the beginning of First Republic, and the enthusiasm and mistakes that went along with it. We choose not just the good from history, but also the bad so we can avoid mistakes. I’m not a historian, but I enjoy non-fiction. I was particularly struck by Vlastimil Vondruška’s book, Breviář pozitivní anarchie. This is a book written bluntly, and with no political correctness.

You, like your party, often speak out against political correctness.

Political correctness is one of the killers of our values. We’ve got to be able to call a spade a spade and then act on it. Sometimes I find myself undertaking a certain self-censorship in my expression, and it really bothers me. It reminds me of the period of socialism, when certain things were not forbidden, yet nobody ever said them.

After the 1989 revolution, I was glad we were truly able to say things the way we wanted to. I think the 1990s were an era of freedom, joy and perhaps lost opportunities. I wasn’t afraid to state my opinions fully. Today I think about what words to use so I am not termed a xenophobe, so I am not charged with insulting someone or using an inappropriate expression. There are more and more people who are afraid to speak openly. Let’s not call illegal immigrants refugees. Youths with mobiles in their hand are going to Europe to claim welfare, and they also represent a risk because they may have undergone terrorist training; they are without any documents. These people aren’t refugees. If anyone commits an attack using a lorry, then I get very angry with headlines like “Lorry crashes into people”. It wasn’t the lorry which crashed into the people; that was caused by someone who was using the lorry as a weapon. Weapons don’t kill, vehicles don’t run people over – there’s always a person behind it. We try to smooth things over so as not to fan a mood of hate. But if the people are thinking something else, then we’re really close to an explosion of emotion. In the West, democratic parties are unable to state things clearly, which can lead to radicalisation, a trend towards radical parties and a certain change in the West’s racial profile. From here it’s just one more step to civil war. Censoring authorities which term websites as true or false solve nothing. Let me go back to your question on leadership. A good boss is one who has the respect of his subordinates, a good politician is one the people trust, and a good media outlet is one the people trust is objective. If people stop believing the media, censorship won’t help.

On the contrary, it will increase demand for those servers which spread propaganda. Few realise that we are already in a hybrid war whose single focus is to influence public opinion through fake news.

Your final message for our magazine readers?

The decision to become a candidate was a very difficult one for me. I have massive respect for the office of President, I have accepted the challenge humbly, but I believe in myself. Key for me was the support of my family, and my wife in particular.

I have two small children from my second marriage and time spent with my children is precious and fills me with drive. A protective family environment is very important to me. I hope that I have learnt from the collapse of my first marriage. I’m running because I want to leave this country in better condition for my children and everyone else.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

47

An

interview with

E lisabeth L obkowicz

NOBILITY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

I Use My Talent for Others

And follow the story, since you will see that the reconciliation and forgiving will reappear on the scene again. When we met, she proudly showed me around the Middle Ages house at Sněmovní, close to the Czech Parliament and just below the Prague Castle gardens. We sat outside, the garden furniture was simple however the table was covered by a tablecloth from Provence. On the table, there were German newspapers. The European spirit of past and present was felt everywhere, underscored by the paintings of Italian and Dutch masters. We discussed not only her upbringing, the FrenchGerman reconciliation or her taste in art, but also many current issues, including united Europe and immigration as an opportunity rather than a threat.

The life and memories of Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz could easily make up several volumes of a book. However, she does not consider herself to be someone special and she prefers to stay away from media attention. In the Czech Republic, she is known as the wife of Jaroslav Lobkowicz, from the Křimic branch of the family, as well as for her work as a representative of the Christie’s Auction House. Her personal story is much more complex.

She is from the de Vienne family, who is related to the French royal family of Bourbon. Her mother from both sides, as well her father’ s mother, de Vibraye, (the owners of Chateau de Cheverny, one of the Loire Chateaux) trace their descent to King Louis IX. Through the genealogy, one can find one of the biggest enemies of Napoleon on one side and one of his generals on the other side! This is emblematic for the reconciliation and forgiving which has taken place after the French Revolution.

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You were raised in France, then you lived and worked in Germany and after the Velvet Revolution you and Jaroslav moved to Czechoslovakia. Where are your roots?

I grew up in France, in a noble family. Both of my parents came from the nobility, father from the North and my mother from the West. As both families had properties in Paris, I grew up in a private family house in the middle of Paris. In terms of the furniture of the apartment, it should be mentioned that it had not been bought but inherited. After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, many families who left the country eventually came back and started collecting old furniture at the beginning of the 19th century. Meanwhile, our furniture and paintings came mainly from 16th -18th century, before the French Revolution. This is what I saw when I was a baby, a little girl, when one does not particularly appreciate what he sees.

Because of this, I feel a connection with any piece

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

of furniture and can immediately tell if it is an original or replica. I have difficulties understanding modern art. I stopped with the impressionists.

I am happy to look at the impressionist paintings, but more contemporary pieces of art do not give me the same feeling. . Had I been able to afford buying some Modern or Contemporary pieces, I would not like to have them in my home. On Sundays, we went to the mass to the Notre Dame Cathedral and then we continued to the Louvre museum. I consider these impressions from my early childhood very important. I still remember the first time I saw the Egyptian antiquities in Louvre, I was ten years old.

Your upbringing was quite unique, one would not guess that it happened in early fifties of the last century.

We were a very close family, I was the eldest of four children. We went to Catholic private schools. On my way to school, I had to pass the Soviet embassy.

I remember that we had a young Polish girl as a servant. She woke me up one day and she said, “Stalin is dead.” I asked her who Stalin was and she explained the Polish experience with Stalin. So, besides art, I started to be confronted with high politics. Whenever we were passing the Embassy together, she being Polish and afraid of the Soviets, would cross the road and walk on the other side.

My mother remembered that after the Germans occupied Paris during World War II, they came to the Soviet Embassy and searched the garden, finding many corpses there. Another World War II story was linked to the place where my family had a castle, about 100 kilometres south of Paris. In a neighboring village, the French resistance killed

An two German soldiers. The next day, the Germans marched into the village and demanded 20 people.

They took them and shot them immediately.

A similar thing also happened at another property in Normandy. Of course, we did not have a complete overview of the occupation, but from all the incidents I knew, it was awful and it influenced the atmosphere I grew up in. Such stories were an integral part of my upbringing.

How did the French-German reconciliation, which today serves as an example in history textbooks, happen?

In 1954, my parents made the decision to take a German au-pair, as a way to reconcile with the Germans. The first German girl came to our house when I was seven years old. Prior to the German au-pair coming, I was warned by my mother not to talk with her about World War II. She said, “we want to forget it and we want to reconcile with young people.” I grew up with the idea that Europe had to be built on reconciliation and forgiveness. My parents also started to speak German to me but at that time it had little success, as I admit to being quite lazy. When I was 16 years old, I myself was sent as an au-pair to the woman who previously came to our house. She tried to be as nice to me as my parents had been to her. To me, it was a dream. I fell in love with Germany and German culture at that time.

You support both Germany and united Europe. Such attitude has become rather rare.

Based on my upbringing, I believe in Europe from a Christian perspective, based on values of reconciliation and pardon. I follow the latest developments in Europe and I am afraid that is has become a question of interests, economy, and I am missing these Christian values. If you do not know who you are and where you are, it is becoming problematic particularly in regard to growing Muslim communities. Xenophobia is the worst thing I can imagine. We must find ways to counter that. We must make others happy in our society as it is with our values. Again, my experience of being an adolescent in 1960s can serve as an example. At that time, I saw the birth of popculture. Growing up in the 1960s, coming from a strong family, I did not like it. I did not consider it Christian culture anymore. I only liked the music of that period. Coming back to your question about roots, the young terrorists have no roots these days. On one hand, they want to be a part of a new culture, on the other hand they hate it. They are in the middle and thus very easy to manipulate. I am not despairing, I am very curious about the current situation. Immigration can be a huge opportunity.

Currently, it is going the wrong way, but we are still in the middle of a journey. We see that terrorism is growing and so far, we lack the means to counter it.

Have we looked at the perspectives we are offering to these young people?

What exactly went wrong in the development of Europe?

I believe that Europe made the wrong turn in the sixties. As nobility is closely related all over Europe,

interview with

I remember being invited to Switzerland and there meeting some German second cousins who invited me to Bavaria. I went there in 1967 for the first time and the church was full. The religion was the religion of the people. I went to a very famous pilgrimage and we could not fit into the chapel as it was so full. I visited the place 15 years ago and since then I have been coming every year and it is empty.

Do you know who and what replaced the place of pilgrimage? Russians who brought their money and built their villas in the middle of nowhere.

They even placed a statue of the Bull of Wall Street in one little square. It reminds me of the famous story from the Bible when people were dancing around the golden calf. Isn’t it frightening? The place that served as a place for pilgrimage until 1960s? Instead, there is a huge casino. These people believe only in money, not eternal life. The cult of the Virgin Mary was replaced by a cult of money.

It was in Bavaria, where you met your husband, Jaroslav Lobkowicz.

Yes, it was in 1968. I was invited to a ball and I noticed a young man standing in a corner who did not know anybody. I approached him to find out that he was from Czechoslovakia.

He was the first Czechoslovakian that I saw in my life and I am still seeing him today. The only thing I knew about Czechoslovakia was that it was behind the Iron Curtain.

Let me again refer to the history textbooks, as we were taught about the special Czechoslovak-French relationship during the First Czechoslovak Republic, the Little Entente agreement or the close ties of the Czech and French artists…Nothing lasted until 1960s?

None of these things were on my mind. However, I told you that I am extremely curious. I interviewed him to find out more about him and his fate and at the end he fell in love with me. Well, you know, it might be quite dangerous to give an interview. (laugh) You two met in July 1968…The spring of that year was special not only for Czechoslovakia, but also for France.

Jaroslav mentioned at that time that he made his living repairing TV sets and that he had to return back to his country, as his clients were waiting for him. Of course, we discussed the events of Prague spring and we compared it to Paris spring. That year, many people in Paris were literally prepared to die, as we did not know whether the Americans would stick to their military engagement as the French president de Gaulle left NATO. The revolution in Paris broke out and at that time the French communist party was very strong, they got 30% of the vote in the election. There was a huge demonstration at the Place de la Concorde, close to our home and we felt it was our duty to go to the demonstration. Everybody was watching us.

So we went. The whole family. As de Gaulle left the country, we thought the demonstration was the last chance and we participated knowing that we could be shot, if the Soviets decided to intervene.

The French communists still had weapons, so it was

E lisabeth L obkowicz

truly dangerous. The surprise was that one million Parisians thought the same. Place de la Concorde full, Champs Elyséés full…Luckily, the tanks were secured by the government. Eventually, de Gaulle came back and we held a new election where de Gaulle got 80% of vote.

Jaroslav was in love, but what about you?

He returned to Czechoslovakia in July and then he left the country two days after the invasion. At that time it was still easy to cross the boarders. Even though Jaroslav was invited to live with his nobleman uncle, he did not want to just sit at the castle. So his uncle opened newspapers and found my future husband a job– he started to work in a factory next to Turks and other immigrants. He never asked for political asylum. He said that he did not want to get money from Germany and he did not want to be dependent on the decision of a civil servant. After three months, he earned enough money to attend the German language course which eventually enabled him to get a scholarship and start studying at the university. In Czechoslovakia, as a member of Lobkowicz family, he could not study. He went to school Monday to Friday and on Saturdays he kept repairing televisions. After university, he started his great career at Siemens, working at the research and development department. We had three children, we spoke German at home and we had many friends. We felt truly at home in Germany.

Let us fast forward more than twenty years, when you returned to Czechoslovakia in 1993.

I must say that I visited Czechoslovakia during communist times to visit my husband’s parents.

Since 1971, I was visiting Czechoslovakia regularly.

I remember how dark driving to Plzeň was, it felt like entering a military zone. My father in law had been subjected to many difficult and painful interrogations by the secret police, but it didn’t change him, he was very nice and kind. My impression at that time was that if the Iron Curtain did fall down, everything was so devastated that it would be almost impossible to repair it. I am so glad to have been wrong about that and I am so happy to see how well the Czech Republic is doing. The Czechs made it. Compared to East Germany, they did not have billions of Euros from outside but they have made it.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com Post scriptum: The Křimice castle in Plzeň is currently undergoing restoration under the management of Vladimír Lobkowicz, the eldest son of Jaroslav Lobkowicz. Visit it to learn not only about baroque history, but also about contemporary events, when the castles were ruined and turned into boarding schools, agricultural cooperatives or warehouses.

When the castle was returned to the Lobkowicz family, almost all of its 130 windows were broken, and its structural integrity damaged.

The park had turned into a jungle. Now, the entire complex is open for the public and being used for cultural events, serving various age groups from children to seniors.

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AMBASSADORS WITHOUT DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT

Martin Herman

President, American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies Martin Herman is the president of the American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies (AFCSLS, www.afcsls.org), a fund of Czech and Slovak Americans dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education in their old homeland. AFCSLS is a successor to the American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees founded in 1948 by Dr. Ján Papánek, the first Czechoslovak Ambassador to the United Nations. The fund helped thousands of Czechs and Slovaks escape communism and settle in the United States.

In 1976, Martin emigrated from Czechoslovakia to the United States. For twenty years he worked as an economist at the World Bank, later freelancing on projects all over the world. His experience as a teenager, a university student in Prague, and later as a student in the United States convinced him of the importance of education, especially of a solid foundation gained in primary and secondary schools. AFCSLS gave him an opportunity to make a practical contribution. Martin conceived, developed and has been managing AFCSLS education programs since 2008. In 2016 he became the president of AFCSLS, succeeding Henry Kallan, a longtime president and one of the fund’s most generous contributors. Martin studied at University of Economics in Prague and Cornell University and George Washington University in the United States.

Talent is a precondition for excellence. It tends to fizzle out without the desire, determination and discipline during formative years. Children need a system to help them develop their talent. This is the premise on which AFCSLS builds its education program. Martin brought in the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), Johns Hopkins University, a leading world authority on talent development, with the objective of establishing a CTY affiliate in Prague. This idea encountered immediate and massive local resistance. Influential experts on education labeled it “elitist, commercial and helping talented teenagers escape to prestigious universities abroad”. Martin persisted. Two years into the program, he brought in the Center for Talented Minds (CTM, www.ctm-academy.org), Prague non-profit, which has become the extended arm of AFCSLS. Only last year it has become possible with the help of CTM and RSJ foundation to secure the program for the long term.

Mr. Herman, before we get into the specifics of your program, please tell us first how you perceive today’s world?

Where do you want me to start? The whole world is confronted by massive and accelerating advances in science and technology. Yet, partly because of failing education in too many parts of the

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world, many people are ill equipped for today’s world and the future. They have difficulty to cope, to hold their jobs, to secure a worthy purpose for themselves and their families. Often, they find purpose in money, amassing worldly goods. If they fail, they tend to blame others. They are vulnerable to voices promising easy fixes. Their leaders promise

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

but fail to deliver compromised by special interest and unable to deal with mounting problems. Local and global conflicts tend to persist, fresh ones lurking around the corner. How will mankind cope with all this is in the stars. I believe knowledge, spirituality and strong ethical code bring more satisfaction than just money and consumerism. This is

why I focus on education. It gives me an opportunity to help teenagers find their purpose, develop their talent and one day possibly make the world a better place for us all.

And how do you perceive today’s Czech Republic?

Czech Republic is confronted with much the same issues as the rest of the civilized world. Moreover, it is still struggling to recover from the nightmare of communism imposed on it by Stalin and helped by local useful idiots 70 years ago. There is no doubt with Marshall Plan and as part of Western democracies, Czechoslovakia today would be one of the richest countries in the world. Instead the communists made it one of the poorest. It is now back, member of the European Union and NATO. It is becoming more prosperous as time goes by.

Still, years of communism and persistent Kremlin influence keep many confused and disoriented.

Some even equate Brussels with Kremlin, perhaps because too often people have been betrayed.

They mistrust their leaders. They tend to be suspicious of anything foreign, envious of natural talent, suspicious of success by others, and believe they have superior answers for everything.

Education is a key indicator of prosperity. Yet, education in the Czech Republic has been neglected at all levels for years. Teachers have the lowest salaries in the civilized world. Schools at all levels are stuck in the past. Boredom and disinterest prevail.

Proposals for improvement remain on paper. Still, at all levels there are pockets of excellence but rather than others learning from them these pockets become targets of envy and abuse by those less capable. I have experienced it firsthand with our program. Disgruntled parents are taking matters into their hands starting private schools for their children. Those seeking superior university education prefer to study abroad.

You also have activities in Slovakia, do you perceive the countries being same or different?

They are similar. I am happy Slovakia is independent and becoming more prosperous. The Slovaks are more decisive. The Czechs favorite decision is “maybe”. The Euro is a case in point. The Czechs would debate the Euro forever waiting for someone to decide for them. Slovakia is even more dependent on car manufacturing than the Czech Republic, a risk for both with robots taking over assembly lines and repetitive manufacturing jobs in the near future.

Education in Slovakia suffers from much the same neglect. However, Slovak teachers actually strike for better salaries. Czech teachers debate strikes.

Perhaps the biggest difference is superior university education in the Czech Republic. About 25,000 Slovaks account for about 70% of all foreign students at Czech universities.

Mr. Herman, please tell us now more about your program.

We offer Czech and Slovak children opportunities to develop their talent, to accelerate and enrich their learning with CTM Online, Discovery Satur-

Linda Štucbartová is a Partner at ATAIRU, an international leadership development company that guides leaders to activating their uniqueness through authentic leadership. As a Chief Interviewer for Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine, she has written more than fifty interviews with prominent Czech and CEE leaders. Moreover, she also occupies Board positions at Charles University Council for Commercialization and at Minerva 21, the personal development initiative. Finally, she is the author of the book Ambassadors Without a Diplomatic Passport. Previously, she held management positions in business, public administration, and academia.

days and CTM and CTY Summer. CTM Online is the most popular. It offers students 12-18 years of age online courses in English guided by experienced CTM instructors leading eventually to Advanced Placement (AP) exams of the American College Board. Students can choose from over 100 courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and many other subjects.

CTM Online is the only opportunity for students in Czech and Slovak public schools to measure their academic accomplishments directly with their peers in the rest of the world. Students find it highly motivating and rewarding. They really learn. Some schools integrated CTM Online into their school curricula. For the first time this coming school year, CTM Online will be used directly in class at three participating schools. CTM Online evolves from our long-term association with CTY to which we added Florida Virtual School Global (FLVS) and the University of Nebraska High School (UNHS); all prestigious online learning institutions, to provide effective, affordable and flexible ways to learn. Also, CTM offers its own online courses for younger students to get them used to online learning environment, technical English and instructor support. I keep scouting all the time for the best possible online content for our students.

What are the results of the program?

I cannot be happier with the results of our students.

They excel in the most popular and the most demanding courses in the AP system of the College Board. AP courses offer college-level curricula and exams. They teach critical thinking, reasoning and learning through inquiry. Students gain detailed knowledge of key subjects, substantially improve their technical English and become well prepared for AP exams. By taking AP exams, they prove their interest, ability and determination to succeed in university studies. CTM is a College Board partner for administering AP exams at Czech and Slovak schools.

CTM students rank consistently among the best in AP exams earning on average a 4.06; much superior to the global AP average of 2.89 with “5” the top grade. Every year in May, more than seven million students from all over the world take AP exams.

Over 1,000 CTM students have participated since 2011. Great results helped over 100 to scholarships and admissions to universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Johns Hopkins, NYU, MIT and others. Most students continue at Czech universities, some moving later to graduate work abroad.

Where are the biggest obstacles to achieving more support?

By now, CTM Online would be making a huge impact if most schools would be like the five we

started with in 2011. These schools have excellent directors. They have appointed effective school CTM coordinators who inform students and parents, and with the teaching staff integrate CTM Online courses into the school curricula. These schools plus a few others are the most active, some with 15-20 students every year. This school year we expect about 350 students in CTM Online.

We are immensely grateful for the support of RSJ foundation in sharing the program cost.

Our biggest obstacles are people – school directors, teachers, and some education experts (those with their superior answers). They are out of step with the times, resisting change, killing the natural interest of children to learn. We have visited most Czech and many Slovak schools; some many times over. When we come, they are excited promising to take part. After we leave, nothing happens.

From some directors we even hear: “No, we do not have any talented students here”. Some teachers tell students: “Why CTM Online? Is my class not good enough for you?” These and similar stories we hear all the time.

How do you wish to see AFCSLS and CTM in 10 years’ time? What is your vision?

We do all we can to build CTM into a force for excellent primary and secondary education in Central Europe. We are making solid progress in difficult Czech environment, in Slovakia and with occasional interest elsewhere in the region. In four years, we would like to see 800 - 1,200 students in CTM Online, maintaining AP exam scores well above the global average. This year, we start preparations for AP International Diploma, equivalent to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma but more flexible and affordable. Naturally, some education experts are suspicious of the idea. With no access to the IB program, many parents may find CTM Online ideal for their children. But first they would need to convince their school director.

Our top priority is to hire the very best CTM Online instructors with salaries equivalent to top professionals. Instructors make a huge positive difference in students’ outcomes as confirmed by responses from students and parents in CTM Online evaluation surveys.

Your final words…

We would love to do much more to help Czech and Slovak children prepare well for the future. The best possible education for all must become the top national priority. We look all the time for partners and supporters to join us in our quest.

Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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I nterview

with

JUD r . M artin V ychopeĹˆ , P resident

of the

C zech B ar A ssociation

Lawyers are not born, they must become one P hoto : A rchive

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I nterview

with

JUD r . M artin V ychopeň , P resident

of the

C zech B ar A ssociation

JUDr. Martin Vychopeň has been the President of the Czech Bar Association (ČAK – Česká advokátní komora) since 2009, before that being its Vice President for six years. He is a member of ČAK’s delegation to the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE - Conseil des barreaux européens) and also a ČAK examiner.

He works in Benešov, and is a partner at the Camrda, Premus, Vychopeň, Vachoušek, Zeman a partneři, sdružení advokátů law offices.

He acquired his legal education at Charles University’s Faculty of Law. He works at CU as a member of the Scientific Board and an external civil law teacher.

Coincidentally, JUDr. Vychopeň was the first trainee lawyer whom the Czech Bar Association entered on its list of trainee lawyers following its establishment in 1990 in line with the new Act on the Legal Profession. As a side note, there are roughly 12 000 lawyers in the Czech Republic, and 1 000 000 in the whole EU. Mr President, how do you see the current ČAK, its mission and evolution?

The Czech Bar Association is a professional organisation, a statutory body with two roles. First of all, it provides self-regulation of the legal profession and secures its independence. Second of all, it exercises its powers on departments of public administration, in particular registry, control and disciplinary powers. ČAK’s main mission is to ensure lawyers’ independence from the state, because the independence and freedom of the lawyer is an essential condition for a fair trial. It is also often said that lawyers are a wider part of justice.

The Czech Bar Association has experienced very dramatic developments in recent year in a number of areas. The number of lawyers and trainee lawyers has grown significantly – today over 12 thousand lawyers and 3.5 thousand trainee lawyers are registered. Similar dramatic developments have been seen in the ever expanding computerisation of human communication and justice itself. Nevertheless, regardless of this the mission of the legal profession remains the same: to provide high quality legal services for our clients independently of the state.

It should also be noted here that self-regulation and independence also mean economic selfregulation and independence, i.e. our activities are not funded by the state, but rather by contributions from lawyers themselves.

And how do you think the legal profession is developing? One major Czech layer has complained that the legal profession is becoming ever more of a commodity.

My colleague’s complaint is probably based on the fact that some lawyers see their work merely as a source of income. Being a lawyer is not just a career; it is a kind of mission. We mustn’t forget that the legal profession is not a business in the normal sense of the word. Lawyers work with clients, with people with problems, in a complicated status or life situation and they must use the law above all to solve their problems, something which is certainly not a standard commercial commodity. You cannot drily apply economic rules about profit and financial gain to a lawyer’s actions. Lawyers’ work also includes activities which are normally termed pro bono (legal assistance to the poor and needs). If a lawyer prioritises solely profit, then they are generally not a good lawyer.

You have said yourself that “you are not born a lawyer; you must become one. It is usually a free choice for a liberal profession.” You say the term liberal profession means taking full responsibility for what you do; it means you have to take care of absolutely everything from the office to liability insurance.

The legal profession comes across to me as

a client service with everything that entails.

What does the public not know about lawyers? What prejudices do you still face?

Probably the most widespread error the general public make is to think that lawyers make their clients’ decisions for them. What kind of suit to bring, and when to bring it, what its subject will be, whether they appeal and so on. That is a gross error. Lawyers cannot make decisions for their clients. The fundamental rule is that lawyers must carry out the client’s instructions, and in carrying out their profession they must respect the law fully and exploit all the options which the law provides the client in his position.

The public often identify lawyers with their clients.

Criminal defence lawyers in particular often find that when they work in very complex, serious or medialised cases, they are often equated with their clients. It is very hard to change this perception.

When I train lawyers or give talks to the general public, I always say that you need to look at the issue like this. We are all equal – that’s rule enshrined in the constitution. And if we’re all equal then we are all entitled to legal assistance. Legal assistance and legal services should only be provided by professionals, and these legal professionals are for the most part lawyers. Although comparisons aren’t great, let me give one by way of illustration for better understanding. Even murderers are entitled to medical assistance, and nobody equates the doctors with them. Similarly, murderers are entitled to legal assistance. Sometimes this can be hard to grasp, and it can be very difficult for the lawyers themselves to defend or represent certain clients.

You are also a ČAK examiner. How do you see the new generation of lawyers?

I wouldn’t like to give a general assessment of the new generation of lawyers en masse; I think any generalisation is a mistake. I try to avoid stereotyping generations in the sense that young lawyers are inexperienced, understand nothing and will be the ruin of the legal profession.

As ever and as in any profession, it depends on the personal and professional qualities of the individual lawyer, regardless of their age. As any young person setting out on an active life, even young lawyers show less humility in regard to human fates and to themselves, but this is something that occurs in the development of every human, and young lawyers are no different.

There is a lot spoken about mediation; what other trends are there in the legal profession?

In terms of mediation, it is still too early to be able to assess mediation in a comprehensive manner.

Furthermore, I am not the right person in this regard, because I am not involved in mediation and I am not a mediator.

As far as other trends in the legal profession, I can only put forward guesses. Certainly a major trend is the ever more widespread and growing provision of on-line legal services. ČAK is trying to accommodate this in that we are currently building a new IT system which should allow lawyers to undertake their work through websites etc. Although the Bar Association is looked on unfavourably in this regard by young lawyers in particular, the position of many lawyers is very conservative because the on-line provision of legal services can and does bring with it serious problems, such as in the event of conflicts of interest, client identification, the movement of funds, etc.

In one interview, you said that Czech justice is suffering from the closed nature of individual legal professions. In the West, it is common for lawyers to begin on the bar, or as a notary and then become a judge. In contrast, after a certain period judges become lawyers. Here, the judiciary and notaries are very closed to change. Can we expect any change? And which of our neighbouring countries do you think offers the optimal model?

Our system suffers because individual legal professions are closed off, although recently there have been intimations that a change may occur. To be honest, however, I don’t expect any fundamental change in terms of the permeability of judicial professions.

In regards to neighbouring countries, it is hard to say which offers the optimal model. Like us, our neighbouring countries have their own historic tradition from the Austro-Hungarian period in terms of the judiciary. The situation is particularly complex in Poland and Hungary at the current time. I think there is no ideal option or ideal solution; I would rather support using solution methods proven in other countries and applying them to the Czech context.

A final word…

Over more than twenty-seven years of practice, I have experienced massive booms in the fax (which today no-one uses any more), mobile telephones, computers, the internet. It is not just the legal profession which is experiencing rapid change, but the whole of society too. But in terms of the legal profession, regardless of where things develop, the legal profession must preserve, maintain and fight for its freedom, independence and self-regulation. Without that, justice will never be served.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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R ound T able

of

C omenius Discussion Dinner with Ivan Pilný, M inister of F inance TOP hotel P raha – S eptember 7, 2017

From left: Vladimír Dohnal, Owner, Top Hotels Group, Ivan Pilný, Minister of Finance, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Zdeněk Muzikář, Director, Merkuria Handels Zurich, Miloslava Procházková, Owner, Avanti, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Petr Gajdušek, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From left: Mrs. Vladimíra Kraftová, Daniel Kraft, Owner, Purum Kraft, and Stanislav Beneš, Deputy Chairman of the Board, AEZZ

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From left: Martin Chalupský, Head of Department, innogy Česká republika, Bohdan Wojnar, Member of the Board, Škoda Auto, and Pavel Dočekal, Head of Regulatory Affairs, innogy Česká republika

From left: Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Eva Anderová, Honorary Consul of Zambia and Business Consultant to Czech&Slovak Leaders Magazine, Benke Aikell, your Publisher

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From left: Petr Mrkvica, Account Manager, Huawei Technologies, Magda Teresa Partyka, Assistant Managing Director, Huawei Technologies, and Pavel Švarc, Chairman, Administration of State Material Reserves

R ound T able

September 7th, more than 70 high level business men and women gathered to participate in the ROUND TABLE OF COMENIUS – discussion dinner with the Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic. It is a tradition that dynamic debate covered a range of topics from the minister’s agenda.

The discussion was launched by Ministers´ short welcome address. The debate was traditionally concluded by the President of Comenius Karel Muzikář, who expressed his gratitude to all guests for a fulfilling debate and the Minister for his time and willingness to attend the discussion.

From left: Martina Kapiczová, Senior Account Manager, Renomia, Jiřina Nepalová, Owner, Renomia, and Jiří Šťastný, Account Manager, Renomia

Zdeněk Pelc, Owner, GZ Media

From left: Martin Malínský, Advisor, Jan Wiesner, Chairman, Konfederace zaměstnavatelských a podnikatelských svazů, Radek Muška, Commercial Director, Státní tiskárna cenin, and Hana Pavelková, Senior Specialist, Renomia

Gen. Pavel Kříž, Chief of the Military Police

From left: Ivan Pilný, Minister of Finance, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Martin Kolovratník, Chairman, Economic Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament, and Kamil Čermák, Chairman of the Board, ČEZ ESCO

From left: Jiří Uklein, Chancellor, Senate of the Parliament, Karel Černý, Executive Director, Kapsch Telematic Services, Jiřina Nepalová, Owner, Renomia, Ivan Pilný, Minister of Finance, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

Miroslaw Kastelik, Chief Financial Officer, Unipetrol

Bohdan Wojnar, Member of the Board, Škoda Auto

Jan Trojánek, Councillor, Prague 5 District

Radoslaw Kedzia, General Director, Huawei Technologies

Final applause

Round Table of Comenius

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55

SHOWED PRACTICAL USAGE OF TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDING SMART STADIUM, SOLUTIONS FOR E-SALES AND GDPR, INTELLIGENT WASTE MANAGEMENT AND MAGICAL IOT BAR

Simon Kaluža, Managing Director SAP CEE, with his opening keynote

Roman Knap, Managing Director SAP Czech Republic, talking about the complex SAP portfolio

On September 7th, SAP Czech Republic held the second part of this year’s SAP Forum conference, which was dedicated to practical examples of the impact of digital transformation on business processes and company management. The number of guests was notable – more than 700 participants , most of whom were customers and partners, arrived to the Clarion Congress Hotel Prague. Customer panel discussions, practical segments with live showcases and stands with interactive demos built from Lego kits were among the highlights of the program.

A workshop about the SAP Cloud Platform that was organized by the participants of the InnovMatch start-up competition was also part of the conference.

Simon Kaluža, Managing Director SAP CEE, kicked off the conference by describing the possibilities of digital technologies sharing the specific case of Harley Davidson: “One of our customers, Harley Davidson, suffered a massive sales decrease . We analyzed the situation together and discovered that there are potential motorbike buyers on the market but that they have specific needs and they want personalized motorbikes. Such production requires a new business model focused on the customer. Thanks to digitizing the supply chain, we shortened the production planning cycle from 21 days to 6 hours and we increased their flexibility and the possibility for individualized orders. The customer can thus ride his dream motorbike in several weeks instead of waiting long months.” Afterwards, Kathrin Haag, Head of HR SAP MEE, showcased the Digital Boardroom TV Demo and its usage in Human Resources.

Roman Knap, Managing Director SAP Czech Republic, followed the regional guests onto the stage. “At the conference we interactively demonstrated that digitization removes barriers, simplifies business and changes the way organizations communicate with their customers. At the same time, we continue celebrating a quarter of a century on the Czech market. During this time, we have grown tremendously and today we provide complex technology including Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and solutions for various fields such as finance, mobility, marketing, human resources and more. Thanks to the record-breaking 56

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

SAP customers discussing the Transition to Live Business

Libor Bouček discussing with Intel and Microsoft representatives about two-speed IT

seven hundred plus customers and partners who joined us at this year’s SAP Forum Professional Day,” said Roman Knap before introducing Markéta Bauerová, the new Sales Director for SAP Czech Republic.

The customer panel discussion that followed was dedicated to the transition to live business. Customer representatives from ŠKODA AUTO, ČSSZ (Czech Social Security Administration), Avast and EPH (Energetický a průmyslový holding) discussed with the moderator, Libor Bouček, their experience with digitization and using new technologies. Cloud storage, employee management solutions and IT development in a big holding company were among the topics. Later on,the representatives of Intel and Microsoft discussed two-speed IT on the stage and shared upcoming news for their customers.

Throughout the afternoon, guests attended practical workshops dedicated to the SAP Fiori user interface, GDPR requirements and solutions, digital HR, SRM and new challenges in purchasing, logistics planning, portfolio for Internet of Things SAP Leonardo, new generation data warehouse SAP BW/4HANA, finance digitization or optimizing logistics and other processes. There were many showcases and demonstrations at both SAP and partners’ stands, such as SAP Live Airport, SAP Smart Stadium, intelligent waste management and other smart city solutions at the Huawei Technologies stand, magical IoT bar at the Mibcon stand that showed the usage of Internet of Things in retail and many more end-to-end scenarios and digital technologies in praxis.

SAP Digital Manufacturing stand

SAP Fiori Lab Team

SUSE stand with Lego diggers controlled through SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

Atos stand showcasing education with virtual reality glasses

Ness Metasonic Touch Table stand

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57

diplomatic event

TRIBUTE TO H.E. SOURIYA OTMANI,

AMBASSADOR OF MOROCCO

From left: Markéta Šarbochová, Director of Diplomatic Protocol, H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Czech Republic and Pavel Klucký, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Czech Republic and Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Czech Republic and Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

H.E. S ouriya O tmani ,

diplomatic event

Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Czech Republic received a Special Award of the Municipal District of Prague 6 for a Foreign Personality.

H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to The awarding ceremony took place Friday the Czech Republic and Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic September 8 th, 2017, within the premises of the Prague International Hotel, in presence of Ondřej Kolář, Mayor of Prague 6, all the members of the Prague 6 City Council and many Ambassadors, guests and Prague 6 citizens.

At another occasion H.E. Souriya Otmani has been granted the silver medal of merit „in recognition for her achievements in furthering the relationship between the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Morocco„ from Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

H.E. Souriya Otmani who performs as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Czech Republic since March 2012 is about to complete her diplomatic term in Prague and to perform another one, as new Morocco’s Ambassador to Canada.

During the years she spent in the Czech Republic, she was truly involved, among other matters, in promoting cultural diplomacy and intercultural dialogue. In the remarks she made after having got the award, she stressed that: “Culture is the most powerful tool that could be used to contribute to a better understanding between people from different countries, backgrounds, traditions, faiths and societies. Culture is so urgently needed especially today when we are crossing very difficult and troubled times in various parts of the world, today when we are facing global phenomenon’s and threats which got no nationality, no identity, no faith and no race, as some forces want unfortunately to make people believe”.

Ondřej Kolář, Mayor of Prague 6 and H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Czech Republic

From left : Mrs. Vlasta March, Mr. Michael March, Ondřej Kolář, Mayor of Prague 6, H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Czech Republic with her daughter Sara Sadqi and her husband Mrouane Sadqi

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Global warming

a threat to the wine industry

Merlot vineyard at Chateau Lafleur, Pomeral, France

Vineyards at Chateau Cheval Blanc, Saint Emilion, France

Issues related to global warming are of great importance in the wine industry. In Europe, and France in particular, tens of thousands of hectares of vineyards may become unusable in the medium term, something which would have significant negative economic and social effects. So are we moving towards an unavoidable revolution in methods of growing, customs and even the very taste of wine itself?

Grapevines have already experienced warming climates during the Roman Empire and Middle Ages, but the situation today is different.

The global warming we are living through is anthropogenic (i.e. manmade) and is much quicker than previous such periods. There are fears in some areas that their grapevines will not be able to adjust to the new conditions. A number of large winemakers across the world are even preparing to move: Californian winemakers are moving to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Australia in the Southern Hemisphere is moving its vineyards south to Tasmania, while in Europe there has been a huge boom in vineyards in Great Britain, where there had been no winemakers for fifty years. There are currently four hundred vineyards in England and there are even attempts currently underway to plant vines in Scotland. Vineyards are growing up everywhere, even in places such as Poland.

The temperature in France has increased at a higher rate than the global

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Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol, France

average. There are real concerns that vineyards containing specific varieties used to a different climate and where the rootstocks are 30-60 years old may not be able to withstand the temperature shock.

Climatologist Hervé Le Treut says that Aquitaine is one of France’s regions in which the warming may be strongest. In the champagne region of Reims, the average temperature increased between 1950 and 2006 twice as much as in the rest of France. In some Burgundy wine regions, the average minimum temperature in the 35 days before harvest increased by almost 4 °C between 1973 and 2005.

Large winemakers are well aware of global warming, but small growers are less conscious of it, something of a trend because they sometimes confuse climate and weather and do not study bio-geophysical cycles in the way large growers do. They may well think that everything will get back to how it used to be and that nature will somehow sort itself out. One can still hear assertions such as: “The warmer, the better.” But that is only true to a certain extent. Currently, the climate is optimal in the Bordeaux region, and also in many regions of Italy. We can expect more frequent excellent vintages, but also smaller harvests since high temperatures go hand in hand with frequent very destructive storms and hail such as those which destroyed harvests this year and last year in many places. New varieties are now being tested out in Bordeaux

Pinot Noir , Champagne, Eperney

History of wine Museum in Bordeaux Champagne, Villedomange, Chateau Bergeronneau, September 2016

Merlot grapevines at Chateau Petrus, Pomerol, France

and Champagne because these are amongst the regions most affected by global warming.

Global warming also results in sea-level rises as a result of icebergs melting, and also a rising water table, something which may have a serious impact on regions such as Médoc where vineyards are just a few metres above the sea and may become contaminated by brackish water. The presence of salt in the water prevents the vine from growing. The growth in average air temperature is also conducive to many types of pest, such as grapevine moths (Lobesia botrana) and cochylus, but even harmless insects may come to carry diseases such as flavescence dorée. Pests which thrive in tropical and dry areas are migrating north, often faster than had been expected. Some kinds of caterpillar have already moved north ten years earlier than had been anticipated.

Vines’ current poor resistance is partially a result of a lack of biological diversity. About 80% of French vineyards grow just fifteen varieties.

There is much less diversity now than there was at the time of the Great French Wine Blight when dozens of local grape varieties were grown over small areas. In the event of disease, this is a great risk.

Corsica serves as a model here, where growers are returning to original varieties already adapted to the soil. The vines here will probably have

Degustation with Bernard Noblet at Romanée Conti cellars

to be watered more, or the vines moved to higher elevations, but it appears that Corsica may be the region least affected by warming within the whole of the Mediterranean basin.

Agricultural methods will likely also have to be changed, with growers intervening much less. Winemakers who persistently treat their vines, sometimes even just a few dozen metres from villages, are not behaving responsibly.

The question for the future, however, is not” “What wine are we going to be drinking?” but rather: “What wine will we want to drink?” Rising temperatures increase the amount of sugar in the grape juice, thus also increasing alcohol content. This may impact on the balance between tannins, sugars, acidity and salt. If we can accept that wine will change, then hope remains, because new technologies can help us grow vines. Grape vines and wine have a bright future ahead of them, at least in the coming decades. The future of viticulture is not in doubt either, as long as we want and know how to adjust.

So the message for wine lovers is: “All is not lost”.

Author: Ing. Arch. Iva Drebitko Photos: author’s archives, Sources: Valéry Laramée de Tanneberg, Yves Leers, Bernard Noblet, Aubert de Villaine

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I nterview

with

M arta N ováková , P resident

of the

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C ommerce

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P hoto : A rchive

We’re not proud enough of Czech quality 62

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M arta N ováková , P resident

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T ourism

You will be assured of the fact that Monday mornings are difficult by the many articles which will jump out at you when you enter those words into a search engine. For me, beginning the new week with an interview for our magazine has proven to be a good tactic. Inspiring people full of positive energy have transferred this positivity to me for the whole day and working week. The energy and straightforwardness, hand in hand with empathy, shown by Marta Nováková, President of the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism, were highly infectious. Marta Nováková comes from Slovakia, but you can’t tell from her Czech. She is extremely dedicated to her role as President of the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism, although it is not a paid position. She is also the owner of, and continues to run, Ostrava IT company, U & Sluno, which provides services to Czech retail chains and whose international clients include Disneyland Florida. If you get the opportunity to see Marta in action, you will see that she fully deserves the 2016 Manager of the Year award she won. Marta shatters many stereotypes about women in management which suggest they lose their femininity. She dresses extremely elegantly, and despite an unheated office she held the interview in a short-sleeved dress while I was sitting there huddled into my coat and jeans. Marta is a mother to two sons, she enjoys being a grandmother and enjoys relaxing through sport or visiting the opera. She also shatters the traditional ideas about women in business which I expressed in my interview with Kateřina Bečková, having studied Information Technology at Technical University.

Our interview touched on topics which move companies and which the media focuses on, but there’s no harm in looking at it from a different perspective, or even within the bigger picture.

What does Marta think about Industry 4.0, food quality double standards and the sharing economy? And we finished naturally enough with women and business.

The Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism is an independent voluntary partnership of associations, federations, co-operatives and companies doing retail and wholesale business in food, accommodation and other services. It represents over 6000 entrepreneurs who create up to 500 000 jobs. It is the second largest confederation of employers in the Czech Republic.

Madam, you speak a lot about Industry 4.0, or Society 4.0, and your confederation also organises a seminar on Manager 4.0. So what should a Manager 4.0 look like?

I see topics related to Industry 4.0 and Society 4.0 as mainly political, which are on the agenda in relation to the upcoming election. Society must in general reflect the development of technologies, as must entrepreneurs. Today, the tripartite council will be discussing a report from the working team assigned the Society 4.0 project. I am critical of the material produced, because it only has collected topics and tasks, about 226 in total, from individual resorts, in extent one might, with tongue in cheek, say from the Bohemian Forest to the Tatras, without categorising the individual tasks at all. The

document has no structure and no strategic vision. The reality of Czech politics means no strategy is a long-term strategy because even if a government manages to complete one whole four-year electoral term, its period of actual government is generally just two years. That really is short-lived.

In such an environment, it is impossible to implement some kind of fundamental strategy, which requires consensus across the political spectrum. Technology is going to be here, whether we speak about it or not, and management must adapt to the trend.

Today, we cannot imagine living without our smartphones. I warn of the possibility of data abuse and privacy infringements, aspects of “Big Brother”. We should think carefully about the extent we allow technologies to infringe on our private lives.

What strategic objectives are missing?

I don’t need to be specific and speak about a particular area; I’ll start with a general overview. I think that the fundamental approach to creating any kind of legislation should be reflecting how things currently are. We’ve talked about technologies, so the “digital by default” or “digital friendly” approach is relevant here. We can’t talk about the Society 4.0 concept if we are simultaneously enacting laws which ban data exchange. If parliament doesn’t accept this principle, which impacts on laws, including amendments, then there’s no longer any point in even debating the Society 4.0 concept. This schizophrenic position is a result of the fact that on the one hand we speak of the matter as a political topic, while on the other hand adopting legislation

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which directly bans the affected trends. Data sharing even within one resort is difficult.

The civil service and politicians should above all not be obstructing digitalisation!

Another current topic you are looking at in the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism is food quality double standards. How do you perceive this topic?

See, you’ve given another example of a topic which has been politicised. Europe really is two-speed. New countries are poorer, older countries are richer. That’s the reality and it is reflected in the approach to new markets.

I agree with Commissioner Věra Jourová that it is misleading consumers. If a product looks the same in Germany as here, then it should have the same ingredients. You can’t solve everything through Europe-wide standards though. Remember that there are some local peculiarities and producers do adapt to them. They use the local ingredients available, and this is environmentallyfriendly and also complies with local tastes. These products are not harmful or defective. And we can’t really say whether the quality is higher or lower. Bureaucratic restrictions won’t help. By the way, dealers began identifying different foods from 2004 when we joined the EU. And again, a little perspective. The total number of products of different quality is negligible. The average supermarket has about 12 000 items in store, of which perhaps 200 products might have different ingredients, and there are lower levels of active ingredients in just a few products. As a final point on this topic, I wonder whether Czech consumers are really willing to pay a higher price for different ingredients. But consumers should not be misled and that can occur if products look visually identical and bear the same name.

The sharing economy and new services are another new trend of our time. What is the Confederation’s position in this field, which is very polarising amongst the public?

This question goes back to Industry 4.0 and technologies. Technology is simply overtaking all regulations in force. These services exist at two levels. One is the public level; they are public providing occasional assistance and this does not involve business. The other level is about business, and this is done in order to make a profit, a level which should be subject to rules. You can’t always easily separate these two levels.

Today, business has its hands tightly bound with various rules and regulations. Look at the obligations on accommodation service providers which would take a number of

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pages to list. But if the accommodation is through airb´nb, no obligations apply.

Should the same regulations apply for assistance as for profit? And if we implement regulations, fees, reporting, inspection, etc., how long will it take before some provider comes up with a new solution? On the other hand, we shouldn’t downplay the impacts.

There has been a growth in property prices in Prague of about 24 % and Prague 1 has 22 000 places of accommodation which are not subject to any regulation. Our members are service providers who have to observe all these obligations and regulations.

What about considering whether all the regulations are relevant, and whether such a high level of regulation is necessary for everyone? Let’s look first at an analysis of all current regulations. There is a clear parallel with taxi services and Uber here. On the one hand, excessive regulation, on the other none, so it should be no surprise that physical clashes between these two groups have occurred at car parks. The civil service always loses out; it is unable to adapt to fast developments. I think it’s important to start discussing how new trends and consumer behaviour affect the economy of our country.

The new Generation Z no longer wants to own a car; they want to share one. And some economies, such as our Czech economy, are dependent on the car industry.

little pride in the Czech Republic for things that are Czech. After the revolution, we looked uncritically up to everything that was foreign and Western, and now we are trying to legislate to make customers think that anything Czech is of higher quality.

This might be true in some cases, but not always. The state does not raise awareness of Czechness amongst the public, something regulations cannot create. Regulations about what percentage of products in a shop must come from the Czech Republic, while the definition of a Czech product is constantly changing, are not a solution to the problem. I think and recommend a stance here of long-term society-wide education of the Czech citizen/customer so they can recognise and demand higher quality for themselves. We must build pride in national products in a different way than through legislation.

Why don’t companies fly Czech flags even on days which aren’t public holidays? In Switzerland, in Norway, this is common.

And we try to substitute this missing pride with various pieces of legislation, such as restricting opening hours on public holidays.

Furthermore, only for certain shops and certain holidays. This is another example of unnecessary regulations without any system, which are also very confusing and hard to understand for citizens.

Bureaucracy and its excessive burden is a constant issue at various meetings of managers and entrepreneurs; you mentioned it yourself when receiving the 2016 Manager of the Year award.

What can be done about it?

You are a successful businesswoman, you hold many awards. Is there a difference, do you think, between male and female entrepreneurs?

In the European Union, and new member states in particular, I see massive pressure from the agri-food complex on trade in general. There is an endeavour to ensure maximum trade regulation. The reasons for this go back to the period of preaccession talks with the EU, when a policy of agricultural subsidies was formulated which unfortunately did not provide appropriate support for small family farms which furthermore were not here historically – socialist farming co-operatives were partially subjected to restitution and transformed into large agricultural businesses. Not always, however, is the efficiency of large businesses comparable.

We must be cautious of “buy Czech products” and “foreign products are poor quality” campaigns. Investigations of market infringement are already taking place in Hungary and Poland, which have ordered traders to primarily purchase domestic products by law. The situation in the Czech Republic today has really escalated and it is not beneficial to producers, traders or consumers. It is our own fault that there is

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For a long time, I didn’t think there was. But my perspective was a result of my experience in IT where I am surrounded by men. I still believe that ability is key in enterprise. After taking on the role of president, I realised that the gender aspect is also important. But again, I am against regulations and directives; female enterprise and female participation in politics and the civil service in particular should be supported conceptually and on a long-term basis. So my final call will be to women: “Believe in yourself, do not underestimate personal marketing and don’t be afraid to go after things that seem impossible.”

Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

P hotos :

property of

R un C zech

diplomatic event

Celebration of Italian and Czech sport

Invited Guests

Monday, September 25th, the Italian Embassy in Prague opened its doors to celebrate the Italian-Czech friendship built on a love of sports.

“I am happy that the Italian and Czech sport worlds meet in such an event, accompanied by the presence of champions in various disciplines who have told stories, anecdotes and shared their experience they had lived in their respective countries” declared the Ambassador, H.E. Aldo Amati. “Sport remains one of the most important channels for communication and establishing relations of respect and friendship that last.”

Among the Italian guests were tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli, the Sparta Praha head coach Andrea Stramaccioni, the “Running guru” and Prague´s prominent sports marketer Carlo Capalbo and the Czech national swimming team head coach, Paolo Bossini.

The Czech notables included the three-time Grand Slam winner Jan Kodeš, football player Miloš Kubík, cyclist Luboš Lom and the Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, Kateřina Neumannová.

From left: H.E. Aldo Amati, Ambassador of Italy, Nicola Pietrangeli, former tennis player, Jan Kodeš, former tennis player - Grand Slam winner, and Kateřina Neumannová, Olympic champion in cross-country skiing

From left: Paolo Bossini, Czech National swimming team Head Coach and Andrea Stramaccioni, Sparta Praha Head Coach

From left: Andrea Stramaccioni, Sparta Praha Head Coach and Carlo Capalbo, Legendary founder of Czech Marathon and RunCzech

From left: Moderator, Paolo Bossini, Czech National swimming team Head Coach and Andrea Stramaccioni, Sparta Praha Head Coach, and Carlo Capalbo, Legendary founder of Czech Marathon and RunCzech

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D iplomatic

event

H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico giving the traditional Grito commemorating Mexican Independence

On September 15th, the Embassy of Mexico celebrated the 207th Anniversary of the Independence Movement at the Hilton Hotel Prague.

The moving ceremony was attended by public officials, members of the diplomatic corps, entrepreneurs, academics, artists, and Mexican citizens living in the Czech Republic. The audience enjoyed the Mexican and Czech national anthems, beautifully performed by the Mariachi de Praga and the Czech Choir Radost followed by speeches from the Ambassador of Mexico, Leonora Rueda, and the guest of honour, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Martin Tlapa.

In their speeches, both authorities highlighted the excellent relations existing between Mexico and Czechia, the growing trade and investment between the two economies and the strong links among the peoples of the two Nations.

The fiesta included a delicious meal prepared by Mexican Chef, Maricarmen Saenz together with refreshing margaritas featuring with tequila Don Nacho, among other spirits.

Undoubtedly, Mexico is present in Czechia just as Czechia is present in Mexico!

From left: H.E. Lubomír Hladík, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Mexico, H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico, Mrs. Hladíková and Miguel A.Vilchis, Deputy Head of Mission Chorus Radost performing the Czech Anthem

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico, and Miguel A.Vilchis, Deputy Head of Mission

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From left: H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico, Vít Korselt, Director of American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Miguel A.Vilchis, Deputy Head of Mission

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

D iplomatic

event

From left: Hermann Dietrich, CEO, CEMEX CZ, H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico, and Miguel A.Vilchis, Deputy Head of Mission

H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico delivering her speech during the celebration of the Mexican National Day

Dvorana Czech dancing group performing folklore dance from the State of Veracruz, Mexico

Guests at the Mexican National Day

Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivering his speech on the National Day of Mexico

Chef Maricarmen Saenz presenting the special buffet for the celebration of the National Day of Mexico at Hilton Hotel Prague

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I nterview

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P etr G azdík , V ice P resident

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C zech R epublic

parliament ’ s

C hamber

of

D eputies

P hoto : A rchive

Petr Gazdík is the Vice President of the Czech Republic parliament’s Chamber of Deputies, and the leader of the Mayors and Independents political party. He has been in politics for 15 years; 7 years nationally, and 8 years regionally before that. He studied Education and taught Maths and Geography at the Elementary School in Bánov for 6 years. He was the mayor of Suchá Loz for two terms, and he is proud of his ties to his village. Although he has been a member of parliament since 2010, he has avoided the usual fate of popular mayors of becoming an unpopular politician. He was re-elected in the second round of regional elections for his ward with a strong mandate of 60.5%, and he is proud of this result. Petr Gazdík is a father of four children.

We met up on a sweltering summer’s day and after a polite thrown kiss of the hand, Petr Gazdík left his jacket on in the presence of a lady. In contrast, I appreciated my summer dress that hot afternoon. He smiled during the whole interview, claiming leaders should be positive. I also appreciated his well-spoken Czech; you can still see that Gazdík was originally a teacher by profession. Our interview was not about current politics, but rather timeless matters such as relations between the capital and the regions, Czech society in 2017 and last but not least possible parallels between the teaching and political professions.

I am proud of the results of my political work 68

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P etr G azdík , V ice P resident

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We’re meeting at the end of summer. Do you feel any nostalgia at the start of the school year?

I really do feel massively nostalgic on the first of September. I have held many roles during my professional life, and I have been referred to as mayor, deputy leader, leader and councillor, but I have always thought teacher was the greatest. I was recently invited to a wedding and I met some former pupils there who still called me teacher. The profession of teacher gives me great freedom. If I decide that I no longer wish to be in politics, I am still an employee of Bánov Elementary School and I can once again start teaching Mathematics and Geography.

If you think you’re failing and you don’t have the drive then you should leave. I went into politics with a clear vision to change the financing of towns and villages to the benefit of smaller towns and villages. I was successful.

In 2012 I was able to ensure the adoption of the Act on the Budget Allocation of Taxes, which gave municipalities 34 billion crowns.

And you can see the impact of this size of investment. Two months ago, I managed to ensure adoption of an amendment to this act which moves it further forward so that next year villages and towns will receive a further 8.5 billion crowns. I trust that this funding will allow people in villages and towns to live a more satisfying and happier life.

Do you see any parallels between the teaching profession and a career in politics?

I certainly see a parallel between the role of Vice President of parliament and the role of teacher. Holding the attention of your class and managing 200 members of parliament is similar. Even the methods are the same.

You shouldn’t shout, because shouting doesn’t help. As such, I use the proven teachers’ method of lowering my voice and announcing: “We will continue once the parliament is quiet.” I was recently somewhat surprised by the response of the head of the communist MPs, Mr Kováčik, who objected that this meant we would never continue. And like when teaching, the occasional joke or use of hyperbole can provide relief from a difficult discussion or complex procedural situation.

And it certainly pays off to treat everybody the same. Like in the teaching profession, the Vice President of parliament also has to be fair. Whether you’re dealing with the cream of the class or the government party, the class strugglers or the opposition party.

Parliamentary elections take place in the Czech Republic in October. How do you perceive Czech society in 2017?

It saddens me that Czech society today, despite objectively being in the best position it ever has been in materially and economically, behaves as one of the most divided societies ever to have lived in Bohemia and Moravia. We are unhappy; Václav Havel said we were in a bad mood, but today this has transformed into an eternal anger at everything around us, the system around us in which we live. Again, despite the fact that it is this system which has allowed us to live in freedom, democracy and peace for decades. Once again, this is one of the most fortunate periods in history.

We’re rushing headfirst into a wall, and although we are receiving signals we might crash into the wall that just makes us rush into it ever faster.

I remember chalk and even wet sponges being thrown at naughty children when I went to school.

Well I may well have felt tempted to throw the bell given to the Chamber of Deputies by the Bundestag president a few times.

But in another parallel with the teaching profession, throwing anything is absolutely not allowed.

You’ve been in politics for 15 years. What do you still enjoy about politics?

Results. When I go through my village, I feel proud. Sometimes I literally swell with pride.

I tell myself that it was worth it; I influenced this; without me it might not have happened.

This is great in your village, and other things will be appreciated by the next generations.

Politics is worth it when you see the results.

There is certainly no point in doing politics because of MPs’ salary. I think I would be able to earn more elsewhere. Even after seven years at the top of politics, I think that politics should be done for specific political objectives.

What do you think the main focus of this year’s parliamentary elections will be?

The elections will be about that wall… Do we want to crash into the wall, and do we want to do so earlier or later? The elections will be about whether we become the most western part of Eastern Europe, or the most eastern part of Western Europe. Will we remain a partner to the European Union, or will we be constant troublemakers who are unsatisfied but unable to propose any positive changes?

We have become unreadable to the European Union. Mayors and Independents is one of the few parties who start their conferences with the Czech and then the European national anthems. We know that you can tell a good mayor by whether he sees further than his next term and further than the borders of his municipality. I would like the Czech Republic to act this way within the European Union; to see beyond one electoral term and beyond the borders of the Bohemian Forest, the Ore Mountains and the White Carpathians. And last but not least, the elections will be about whether we are all equal, or whether some are more equal than others.

parliament ’ s

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D eputies

Let’s look at the issue of the capital versus the regions. What is Moravia’s perception of that pejorative term for Prague intellectuals, the ‘Prague café’?

I am someone who visits the Suchá Loz pub as well as the Prague café. I don’t see a fundamental difference. Intellectual elites, the principal cultural and social currents and top business leaders gather in every capital city, and it is the place with the highest average salary. Prague is one of the most advanced regions within the whole EU. Every region has its own peculiarities but you can see everywhere that the country is doing well. It’s not just about Prague any more.

I see you still have a positive outlook.

Politicians with positive outlooks are unusual in Czech politics.

A true leader has got to be positive; they should keep negativities to themselves or their closest friends. Any leader who hasn’t been positive has been more or less a dictator.

We don’t have enough positive leaders in the Czech Republic; that’s one of the reasons for the predicament we find ourselves in. I believe that until people who have some skills join political parties, whether left or right-wing, Czech politics cannot change significantly because there simply aren’t enough quality leaders.

And now we’re stuck in a vicious circle.

Why do you think people don’t want to go into politics?

Politics is perceived negatively. I remember myself that on the day I was elected MP I turned within a few hours from a popular mayor into a hated MP. Peoples’ perception immediately changes, although you have personally not changed. But it can happen that the confines of the Chamber of Deputies can make ordinary people a little odd. It can happen to any of us. After my election, I asked about 270 people to give me a slap if I change.

I haven’t been slapped yet.

Your final word for Czech and Slovak Leaders readers?

It is my honour to be able to be a part of famous Egyptologist Professor Miroslav Bárta’s think-tank. In response to the question of what ordinary people should do to change something that makes them angry or to be better prepared for what might happen, Professor Bárta said: “The answer is simple – form a network of positive relationships.” And I would suggest that we form it together, and if we can do that then we will soon see the impact on our country.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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Command genes!

Jan Mühlfeit in cooperation with Kateřina Novotná

Every parent gives to his child genetic information that cannot be influenced. As a parent, you cannot do anything with child's appearance and talents.

But the predispositions can be influenced. The fact that someone has more talent in a particular sport because of the genes does not mean that he or she will be automatically successful in it.

Genes can be viewed as a box full of certain innate precondition that everyone gets at birth.

Someone receives bigger, someone smaller. But if the baby's brain with a small box is effectively stimulated, captured and used, it creates positive habits that make it much more successful in the area than the one who has twice as large box. The most important is to devote time to the activity, train, work, make mistakes, educate yourself and invest in yourself. Many people think that genetics is everything, but that's not true. We work with docent Radek Ptáček, one of the most eminent Czech clinical psychologists, intensively on our program. According to him the environment, our experience, how we think and live, have a crucial part on engaging and disabling our certain genes.

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The brain as a sponge Parents often long for their children to be successful as much as children of others. Their descendants are basically trophies. They often upload their own programs to them. Children should do what parents have not done themselves and have success at the same strong points of the parents. The fact is that child is not the same as the parent, is forgotten by many. Another common mistake is that parents take the child's pre-school age slightly. But the very important foundations for the future development of each individual are created during this period. The neural connections of the neurons, the so-called synapses, are created in the brain from the third trimester of pregnancy to the seventh year of the child's age. This period is also called “Window of opportunity”. It is a time during which it is very important to stimulate the brain and support it in learning new things and in building positive habits. The brain of a preschool child works on theta waves, which is a very low and slow frequency. The child is basically in hypnosis at this age. Adults mostly feel, meditate, etc at this frequency. The child absorbs everything he or she sees, does, and experiences in his or her subconscious as a sponge.

Parents think it does not mind if they chew out their child for the mistake he or she has made. They think children are not aware of it and if they do, they will forget about it. But it is not the truth. The child stores all the stimulation and patterns of behaviour. In addition, mirror neurons cause imitation of close behaviour. A parent should just watch out for what he gives to his offspring.

Impacts of negative effects often do not occur in half

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

a year, a year or three, but perhaps up to 15 or more years - at school, in relationships, in their own family or in solving work problems.

Optimum performance The human brain contains hundreds of billions of cells. These include neurons - nerve cells that are capable of receiving, conducting, processing, and responding to signals from the internal and external environment. Each nerve cell belongs to 20-1000 synapses - interconnections. Overall, our brain probably contains trillions of them. The synapses of the neurons capture everything we learn about the world around us and what we do. They arise and disappear throughout our lives.

Fifty percent of them, however, are usually created within the fifth year of birth, 75% to seventh and 95% to twelfth. That's the reason, why our aging brings with us a worsening ability to learn. At the age of twenty-five, to learn a new language is much more difficult than for a seven-year-old child.

The strength of synapses increases with repetition and training. In the brain, there is a substance called myelin and it wraps neurons if the brain is exercised. We automate some activities thanks to the repetition. The more often children train, calculate, play the piano or simply dedicate to any activity, the easier will be the performance to them.

When they start playing hockey, they first focus on skating. If they train regularly, skating becomes automatic and they can focus on handling the stick properly or playing of the opponent.

It is important to promote positive habits. It strengthens the brain and facilitates learning new things. Talent is not granted and does not mean success. Human and his talents can grow only with positive habits. The trick is that the more we use our natal talents, the more fun we have, and the myelinisation occurs faster.

The highest number of synapses increases and

Are you interested in how to work better with your child's talents?

Parents and teachers can learn how to effectively coach and mentor children with the latest findings of positive psychology at the Parent Workshop as a Positive Coach, so children are not only successful but also happy in their lives. The themes are based, among other things, on the book by Jan Mühlfeit Positive Leader, which has become one of the best-selling books in the Czech Republic. The workshop also focuses on the topics of personal development, inspiration and motivation not only in the way of self-knowledge but also in the development of our children.

In addition to the theoretical part, the seminar is also conducted in the form of practical demonstrations of various forms of coaching and interactive exercises, including model situations. Learn more about all our workshops at janmuhlfeit.com. Also watch our shows "Unlock the Potential of Your Children" and Your Talent is Unique at www.flowee.cz.

brain activates the most at the moment when a child gets into the flow - a state where she does something which she is good at, enjoys, and which makes sense for her. What circumstances are needed to get into the flow? A child cannot get into it by dealing with her weakness, but through work on her talent. And the child will know by herself what energy gives her something (talents) and what takes something (weaknesses).

Children tend to be in the flow when they play.

This is the moment when their parents can call them and they do not hear or they are not even aware of the time. In addition, they do not have any self-critic. So, when they build something with Lego, they do not think it's terribly difficult, but they take another block and ask themselves, "Where do I put it?" And so they learn. Because they are not afraid and do not perceive the time, they learn in the flow and they learn faster in comparison with when they are not in it.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been playing football since he was about three. His success is an absolutely clear result of practise. His results were studied. He and his teammate were on the pitch. The coach was to put Ronaldo in the lead and he should try to score a goal. The catch was that when the first footballer touched the ball, the light went out of the stadium. Ronaldo had ten attempts and scored ten goals. How did it happen?

His subconscious runs as a computer with a program that calculates what happens when a teammate touches the ball in certain way. He knows where to go, what rotation the ball will have and he scores. It's automatic. And he has already done it. Therefore, he is able to play 90% of the time in the flow. Whatever he does, he has already done. We can see similar situation observing Jaroslav Jágr, who almost does not move during the game. Tennis player Roger Federer runs one third less than others. And when I asked Jaroslav Svěcený when he was in the flow, he answered that he was in the flow during those songs he played a thousand times, in which he was feeling absolutely sure.

Build associations Another question is how to stimulate neurons in the best way. A number of doctors, pediatricians and psychologists do research on this topic. We were inspired, among others, by Serbian physician Rank Rajovic, who invented the unique NTC Learning System (Nicola Tesla Center Learning). His method is based on proven scientific knowledge that the efficiency of work with the capacity of children's brains increases through exercises. The essential key is to involve children's hearing, smell, sight and touch. It also includes lot of coordination, which is generally underestimated. Therefore, Rajkovic also recommends that the child daily rotates around her own axis. In addition to coordination, it develops both brain hemispheres.

If children learn about the world by the NTC method, they recognise flags of countries according to colors. The lecturers talk about typical food, music and culture that can be seen in a certain country. Three-year-old children can

remember easily the names of all metro stops or car brands, so it's good to work with this ability to build associative thinking.

Unfortunately, school often divides topic into subjects. There are lessons of Czech language, history, natural history. Mathematics often gives formula to pupils and then they apply it to the assigned examples. Teachers often use reproductive questions, which are those that require memorization - learning what a student hears from a teacher during a lesson or reads somewhere. There is usually only one correct answer to the question. Unlike the productive issues, they do not require thoughtful operations with the student. The goal of NTC Learning is precisely to bring the child into thinking.

Make them think Enigmatic puzzles work perfectly. Typical enigmatic puzzle is the numerical series with the missing ending number - there is a sequence in the row, and one has to figure out the missing number. Apparently, it seems like a series that does not make sense. The aim of the puzzle is to get people to think on the basis of information they already know from the past. For example: What is the connection between the letter M and Božena Němcová? The solution is that M is Roman 500 and Božena Němcová is depicted on Czech banknote CZK 500. When an individual is forced to come to information beyond the memory, he will remember it more easily.

The similar method is used by Professor Milan Hejný. His method of teaching mathematics is used by approximately one fifth of schools in the Czech Republic. The principle of his approach is that children receive a task and they have to solve it by themselves. They create their own way of solving the particular problem. When the solution is found by some of the children, they can tell others their procedure. This way is more effective than giving it just by the teacher.

Children can often explain things better than the best teacher in the world. They do not have the same view on the issue as children do.

Jan Amos Comenius's axiom "education through game" is still valid. When a teacher merely tells his pupils, they forget it, because they focus only on one sense - hearing. When he shows them, he involves two senses, which increases the chances of remembering. But if he involves his students in the learning process, they use all their senses, and the substance is not only understood but even fixated.

Research on different types of learning models has revealed that when a person uses more senses to solve a task and he finds solution on his own, parts of the brain involved in creativity are much more stimulated than when he applies the learned technique.

The Montessori education program also works on the same principle. The lecturers try to get children into the flow and keep them in it.

That's why lessons at Montessori school do not last 45 minutes but at least ninety. And when kids want to even longer. There they learn in a way that suits them more than at school. In addition, human creativity increases up to 400%

in flow conditions. This is obviously the reason why the majority of directors of multinational companies in Silicon Valley are graduates of Montessori schools. Their creativity was not killed in the same way as in the ordinary school system, which uses only memorizing. The brain does not develop as it can without looking for connections and enjoying one's own head.

The monkey on the leash When we are in the flow, we are always in the present moment - here and now. That's why we do not care about time. The classical case when a pupil is pulled out of the flow is when the teacher or the child himself says "ten minutes till the end of the writing". At that point, the student usually begins to panic. If he knows a number of problems he can solve in ten minutes due to training and counting, he will calm down, return to the present moment, a part of the brain in charge of logical thinking finds out what else he can do and counts further.

When the information is not recorded in the subconscious, how to deal with the situation or the task, our "monkey" takes control emotions that advise us to "run away or fight".

And it is this "monkey" that always acts first, and then begins to think about what it has done. The monkey will always be in us, and it is important to learn how to work with it.

The bottom line is to realize that this happens to all of us.

How do we discover if our behaviour is controlled by "monkeys"? Try to ask yourself: “Do I want to to behave like this?” in a certain situation. If your answer is “no” then you are controlled by your monkey.

This flare is also manifested by a tingling in the breath, redness or nervousness. You can do something to work with it: stop the activity, go for a walk, breathe, count to ten.

At the moment you start to control your breath, it gets regular and the "monkey" thinks that everything is all right. Meditation helps a lot in the long run.

And why the neurotransmitter formation and myelination are so important? When we want to deliver optimum performance, we need to get into the flow and stay in it. During flow, we are 450 % more efficient. When we are in the flow, we use so-called autopilot. In order to get to the flow, we need to have positive habits as much as possible. And you cannot get into the flow without using your talents. Parents can help their offspring to find their talents and develop them. They should not leave everything on teachers. The goal is to make the children get through the school system as easy as possible and learn as much as possible.

By Jan Mühlfeit, Global Strategist, Coach and Mentor, former Microsoft Chairman for Europe české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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P ersonal

enlightenment

Life

Is Beautiful

Part VII: The Alchemist In You1,2

James A. Cusumano, PhD Chairman Chateau Mcely s.r.o.

Prague, Czech Republic “The secrets of alchemy exist to transform mortals from a state of suffering and ignorance to a state of enlightenment and bliss.”

Deepak Chopra

One of my favorite books is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. So much so, that I have read it once each year since it was first published in English in 1993. I learn something valuable about life each time I read it. The book is written in such simple language that a child can enjoy it.

But most important, nearly every page contains a profound message on how to live a fulfilled and happy life.

The book is a fable about following your dreams. Fables, of course, are exciting tales that try to enlighten the reader about certain aspects of life. The Alchemist makes the point that everyone comes into this world with a special destiny; however, not everyone decides to reach their destiny because it involves work and what they perceive as risk.

Reaching your destiny often requires that you leave familiar surroundings and be open to a world in which you can truly make a big difference. This necessitates persistence, accepting risk and the ability to change when necessary. Coelho says you must be willing to respond to the “omens” you meet along the way. These may be associated with events that happen to you, or perhaps, people you meet.

The Alchemist follows the journey of a young

Spanish shepherd boy named Santiago, whose parents would like him to become a priest, but he chooses to travel the world and seek his destiny in a hidden treasure that appears to him repeatedly in a dream.

Santiago’s father reluctantly agrees with his plan, but tells him that he will surely return home, as that is where he will find his true destiny.

Santiago travels far from his village in southern Spain, making his way through northern Africa and the Sahara Desert to the Egyptian pyramids, after a fortuneteller tells him he will find his buried treasure there.

He learns much about life and faces great dangers along the way, but in the end he finds his treasure and destiny are at the very place from which he started his journey. However, Santiago’s travels teach him many valuable lessons about life. Through the challenges he faces along the way, he learns how to recognize and follow the omens, mysterious messages that suggest directions he must follow to reach his destiny.

An important person he meets during his journey is an alchemist who teaches him about the secrets of life, namely how to understand and use the forces of the universe to achieve his destiny and create a great life for him and for others. He tells Santiago that love is the most powerful force in the universe, the ultimate power in alchemy. It can transform people just as the Opus Magnum, or the “Great Work” of the alchemist, also based on the power of love, can transform lead into gold.

Santiago ultimately finds the buried treasure because he has had the courage to follow his dreams, and the treasure is his destiny. It creates for him a life of love, service and compassion.

He finds lasting fulfillment and happiness. His journey transforms him. He has become an alchemist.

The following are messages from this beautiful fable, followed by some personal thoughts: Consciousness Is Everything “Everything on the face of the earth has a soul, whether mineral, vegetable, or animal.

Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely

recognize that it is working on us.”

“Wherever your heart is, is where you’ll find your treasure.”

“There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the Soul of the Universe. It’s your mission on earth [Figure 1].”

“The Soul of the World is nourished by people’s happiness. To realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only real obligation. All things are one.”

“When you want something, the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

“Intuition is the sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where histories of all people are connected, and where we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there.”

Figure 1: There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the Soul of the Universe. It’s your mission on earth.

1. EDITOR’S COMMENT— This is the seventh article in a series based on the author’s book, “Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules,” Waterfront Press, Cardiff California.

2. The author may be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com.

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P ersonal

enlightenment

just no chance to succeed, they can’t afford it financially, and numerous other demotivating factors that are sometimes even supported by their closest friends and family. But true love transcends these obstacles and supports the achievement of a person’s destiny. As Coelho points out in The Alchemist, “Anyone who interferes with a person pursuing their destiny will not achieve their own destiny.”

As a young boy, I discovered my passion for science and technology. And although I had several accidents in my home laboratory, one which was nearly fatal, my parents supported my destiny for scientific achievement. Their love and encouragement were greatly responsible for my successes.

Figure 2: When someone makes a decision [to follow the omens], they are diving into a strong current that will carry them to places they had never dreamed of when they first made the decision.

We are all born with a specific destiny. It is based on our fundamental Essence, something we are good at and that we love to do. It could be in the arts, science, technology, entertainment, leadership, or any of a number of other areas.

You display elements of this skill when you are young and if you ultimately apply it to make this a better world you will find happiness and fulfillment. As you proceed along your life path, the forces around you will conspire to help you succeed because in doing so you help the physical and spiritual evolution of the Universe.

That’s our reason to be.

Follow The Omens.

“Never stop dreaming. Learn to recognize and follow the omens.”

“When someone makes a decision [following the omens], they are diving into a strong current that will carry them to places they had never dreamed of when they first made the decision [Figure 2].”

“There is no such thing as coincidence.”

When Santiago was robbed, he had to choose between thinking of himself as a poor victim of a thief, or as an adventurer in quest of his treasure.

He chose the latter because he understands the “language of the world.” It is the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired. In learning to speak and understand this “language,” we can recognize important omens in our life path.

We all encounter omens during our life journey.

My mom encouraged me to play piano, which led to a teenage career in music as a pop recording artist. My dad bought me a chemistry set, which ultimately led to a career in science and technology.

They were omens in the broadest sense, watershed events that played to my passions and interests and helped launch my destiny.

Fear of Failure “Your Personal legend [destiny] is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. As time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend.”

“The world’s greatest lie is that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.”

“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them.”

“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.”

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, fear of failure.”

Figure 3: In alchemy, the principle that governs all things is called the Soul of the World. When you want something with your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World.

It’s lways a positive force.

Too often, people feel that they are too old to follow their destiny, the risk is too great, there’s

Personal Alchemy “Alchemy is about penetrating the Soul of the World, and discovering the treasure that has been reserved for you.”

“In alchemy, the principle that governs all things is called the Soul of the World. When you want something with your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force.”

“Alchemy brings spiritual perfection to the material plane.”

Alchemy—the ancient predecessor of modern chemistry, physics, psychology, pharmacology and philosophy—is a powerful art and science that has existed for thousands of years, but has been vastly misunderstood by most people. It is not just the transformation of base metals like lead into gold and the synthesis of the Elixir of Life, the promise of which was deceptively sold by charlatans to the kings and aristocrats of old.

It is a much more spiritual endeavor. Authentic alchemists precede their work with intense meditation, which enables them to enter and access the powers of the spiritual world.

One of the best definitions I have seen is that by physicist and modern alchemist, Dr. Theresa Bullard. Alchemy is the art and science of transformation and transmutation. It has been called the “Ancient Science of the Soul,” and is a physical and spiritual technology for the evolution of humankind. It provides a means to catalyze or speed up physical and consciousness evolution. Its objective is to expand human awareness, purify and heal the self—physically, mentally and spiritually—and intentionally accelerate the evolution of Nature towards perfection.

It would seem that our modern world could use a strong dose of alchemy. Why not join the ranks of alchemists to reach your own destiny and make this a better world? You don’t need a laboratory to get started!

Sat, Chit, Ananda!

Enjoy your journey, make a difference!

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networking / charity

In cooperation with Czech & Slovak Leaders

Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador Guest of Honor: Ing. Petr Jan Kalaš, Chief Adviser to the Minister of the Environment Topic: Global trends of development – threat or opportunity?

From left: Prof. MUDr. Václav Mandys, CSc., Head of the Institute of Pathology Prague and President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Ing.Petr Jan Kalaš, Chief Adviser to the Minister of the Environment, and Prof. MUDr. Aleksi Šedo, DrSc., Dean, 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University

From left: Ing. Jiří Bříza CSc., IT Analyst, Ing. Ladislav Bouček, CSc., Entrepreneur, former Governor, LCI D122 Czech and Slovak Republic, Ing. Rudolf Kočí, Entrepreneur, and Miroslav Hříbal, Entrepreneur, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: Mgr. Jaroslav Drápal, Analyst, ČSOB and Ing.Ladislav Bouček, CSc.,Entrepreneur, former Governor, LCI D122 Czech and Slovak Republic

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Prof. MUDr. Václav Mandys, CSc., Head of the Institute of Pathology Prague and President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: Miroslav Hříbal, Entrepreneur, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and JUDr.Jaroslav Novotný, Lawyer, Chief Editor, Magazine "Český a Slovenský Lion"

From left: Ing. Aleš Haur, Entrepreneur, JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, former Governor, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, and JUDr.Jaroslav Novotný, Lawyer, Chief Editor, Magazine "Český a Slovenský Lion"

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2017

From left: Prof. MUDr. Aleksi Šedo, DrSc., Dean, 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University and Ing.Jaromír Kalfus,Entrepreneur

sustainable development

IMMIGRANTS ARE NEEDED LET’S RESIST THE POLITICS OF FEAR A former director of Greenpeace International, Jonathan Wootliff lives in Prague and works throughout the world as a sustainability consultant to business. He is Chair of the Board of Experts of the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development. He has consulted many large corporations including BP, Colgate-Palmolive, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and Whirlpool, and providing counsel to companies on the development of sustainability strategies that benefit the environment, society and business. Among his many activities, he helps companies to resolve disputes, forge productive relationships with non-governmental organizations, and build long-term sustainability strategies. A qualified journalist with a subsequent background in public relations, Jonathan commonly assists companies with their sustainability communications. He can be contacted at jonathan@wootliff.com.

Uncertainty and instability unfortunately seem to be the words which most accurately describe the current state of the world. Populism is spreading as a growing number of alarmist politicians appear willing to tout almost any unsubstantiated claims in a bid to win votes, preying on the ill-informed.

Dark skies are gathering across former communist countries from the Baltics across Central Europe down to the Balkans as exploitative politicians blame all manner of domestic woes on immigration. This is fueling xenophobia which is arguably the biggest enemy of sustainable development.

The irony is that there is almost no immigration to these countries. The plain fact is that an astonishing 15 million people have left the Baltics, Central and Eastern Europe since the collapse of communism in the late eighties. This translates to an incredible 10 percent drop in the Czech population in just 25 years.

Since joining the European Union 13 years ago, the Czech Republic has become the richest country in this part of the world, with a higher living standard than older members Portugal and Greece and the lowest unemployment in the 28-member bloc. Slovakia has also blossomed.

Families travel freely, students study abroad, and businesses thrive by exporting to other EU countries and beyond.

And yet much of the rhetoric of this year’s Czech election touts the myth that mass immigration is threatening to damage our economy. We’re hearing calls for the EU to set up immigrant detention centers and for NATO to seal the bloc’s borders to keep out immigrants.

Amid this groundswell of alarmism, it may therefore come as a shock to read why the Czech Republic, and the rest of Europe, really needs more immigrants.

If we are to maintain social benefits, the countries of the EU are going to require more workers. No place in the world has an older population than Europe. The Czech Republic's median age is now 40.3 making this nation unsustainably old. And

with fertility rates expected to hit zero by the next decade, surely the only way to combat the challenge of elderly poverty and maintain living standards is to increase immigration.

Maybe it's easier to call it a humanitarian crisis. This way, the likes of the more enlightened politicians like Angela Merkel are able to convince apolitical voters that supporting migrants is a kind thing to do. Certainly, there is an ethical argument for helping wretched people fleeing from failed states like Libya and Syria.

But there’s also a compellingly strong mathematical argument, with the truth being far more complicated that some soothsayers would have us believe. Despite the fear mongering, the Czech and Slovak Republics haven’t taken any immigrants since the refugee crisis started. So, as our populations continue to age and shrink, from where are the people needed to fill the jobs to fuel our economy going to come?

The intelligent debate about immigration is about lackluster income growth among low to medium-skilled Europeans, and how to absorb the new wave of immigrants from poor countries, who are needed to make up for our near-zero fertility rates now and in the future.

The much-heralded world population growth towards 2050 and beyond is occurring only because of the least developed regions on Earth, namely Africa. Many human rights organizations will point out how poor countries in Africa, like Ethiopia and the Congo, are taking in more refugees than the whole of Europe. That's because we are making it hard, if not impossible for them to get in, and so refugees are basically walking across African borders with everything they own on their backs. It is only the lucky ones that make it to Europe.

But in our neck of the woods, if we don’t have enough working-aged people paying taxes, there will be insufficient money to pay for social security. Either taxes must go higher to make up for that, or we will need to find a way to expand our tax base.

The mathematics points to the fact that we need all the young we can get. The demographic picture for Europe, meanwhile, with an average age of 42.7, is not looking good. Immigration is surely an important part of the solution.

Multiculturalism doesn’t have to undermine our society, it can enrich it. In spite of coming from such a different culture, the Vietnamese have certainly been successful in integrating into our communities. They have contributed hugely across many walks of Czech life. We are actively encouraging foreign companies to invest in our countries which represents the lifeblood of our economic growth.

As mature nations in the free world, we must live up to our responsibilities as global citizens in offering refuge to those in need, not only because of a moral duty, but also because it is imperative for our prosperity.

If we want a sustainable future for the Czech and Slovak Republics, it’s important that we consider the facts with cool heads. Of course, it is important for all immigrants to respect our cultures and our laws. But we cannot allow populist dogma and scaremongering to falsely persuade the public that immigration is dangerous.

On the contrary, for our economies to flourish, it needs to be understood that controlled immigration can be a major asset to our nations, and not to listen to the populist rhetoric, look at the facts and do the arithmetic. Diminished birthrates and no immigration doesn’t add up.

We cannot forget that during the dark days of communism, more than a million Czechs and Slovaks were welcomed by Western countries who were willing to offer them safe havens.

Those immigrants made significant contributions to their host nations which have been enriched by their presence. Now it’s our turn to welcome people in need, for which we will truly benefit.

For the sake of our moral and economic wellbeing, let’s not permit the politics of fear to prevail.

By Jonathan Wootliff

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I nterview

with

R ichard M üller

P hoto : L ukáš K imlička

I try to think up something new and unconventional for my fans each year I can remember when Czechoslovakia was one country. We envied our Slovak kin in many things: skiing in the Tatras, the fact that in the communist era all the progressive books and magazines were published in Slovak, and last but not least their singers. Not only did songs sound somehow more romantic and melodic in Slovak, but Slovak singers also had charisma, introduced innovations and shook up the tired old showbusiness world. When I was young, Richard Müller was my idol. I met him as a living legend with bated breath almost three decades later in Hotel Ambasador while he was promoting his latest autumn tour, “Ona a On Tour” (Her and Him Tour). Tour starts on November 20 in Ostrava, to be followed by four more concerts in other cities. Prague fans mark November 27 in your calendar.

Richard Müller is a lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is well-known for his extraordinary talent, personal charisma and unforgettable voice. Few singers have managed to stay in the musical spotlight for so long and to such a great extent. He has sold over a million records, and he plays dozens of concerts each year in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Richard Müller is one of the greatest figures in Czech and Slovak music. He has won 18 awards and seven nominations in the Aurel music contest, four awards 76

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in the Grand Prix radio contest, has been voted one of the best singers in the Slávik competition 12 times, and also holds the Krištáľové krídlo (Crystal Wing) and Album of the Year awards. Few people know that he began as a journalist and publicist while studying screenwriting in Bratislava and he wrote for music magazines. He began to focus on his solo career in 1992 and he has recorded over twenty albums on which he has cooperated with other major Czech and Slovak figures such as Jaro Filip, Peter Hapka, Michal Horáček, Milan Lasica, Ivan Tásler, Michal Pavlíček, Peter Uličný and Ondřej Gregor Brzobohatý.

He is also interested in photography, having published the Amerika a Enter photography book.

Last year he produced the Hlasy CD with the Fragile vocal group and a jubilee album for his 55th birthday, symbolically entitled “55”. The album was appreciated not just by fans, but also music critics.

Richard Müller lives with his partner Vanda Wolfová in Bratislava where they are bringing up their six-year-old son, Markus.

I nterview When I wrote the introduction to this piece, I found myself missing Czechoslovakia. Do you personally ever feel nostalgic for it?

Not at all. Although everyone assumes I had a federal, or Czecho-Slovak career, and I collaborated and still collaborate with Czech partners, I still think the split was good. Remember the constant arguments about Prague-centrism, Bratislava-centrism or use of the hyphen, and discussions over whether the President should be Slovak or Czech…?

Personally, I am happy with the current state. Of course, I would also add that my relationship with my Czech fans, friends and acquaintances has not changed in any way.

It really does look like you don’t differentiate between the Czech and Slovak republics; even the planned tour has a similar number of shows.

I’d like to know how the Czech and Slovak audience differ.

You’re right; in recent years we’ve had about 30 concerts a year in the Czech Republic. In terms of the audience, the Slovak audience is said to be more dynamic. I appreciate the Czech audience’s receptiveness. I enjoy both.

Many people, including myself, appreciate your talent and charisma.

This year, you are celebrating 33 years in the profession; so besides talent you must have needed a lot of hard work and stamina. Can one determine what is most important in achieving success?

I think I may have stalled somewhat myself. But it would seem I had enough talent to begin with for more than the first three decades. I first performed at the Bratislava lyra festival in 1984, and I won it in 1989. The ideal combination would be hard work and talent; a good example of this is Jiří Korn. For some, it’s more about talent, for some it’s more about hard work.

You can’t separate one from the other. If it’s all graft, then you lose the lightness and the oomph. Talent is spontaneous, natural.

Your latest double album, “Výberovka” celebrates your 33 years in music. I would also add you come up with something new each year.

How do you manage it?

It’s our work. I can’t imagine just taking a year off. For us, we either do a new tour or we work on a project which results in a new CD. If you make a living from music, then that rhythm seems entirely normal and spontaneous at the same time.

I don’t mind the tempo and I don’t find it at all excessive. If I sometimes do too much, then I take time out afterwards to recharge.

with

R ichard M üller

This interview is for Leaders magazine. You are surrounded by a stable team of many years. How do you choose your team members?

I don’t know whether perhaps they are choosing me. My long-term manager Adnan Hamzić is also a family member, like my other managers. It’s all about the same thing for all of us and for them they want me to be satisfied. And that’s a great feeling.

Let’s stay on leadership. Do you think there are enough leaders in politics, music or public life?

I see plenty of leaders, but the question is whether it’s worth following in their footsteps. You can always see that in music. When someone’s pushed into it, sooner or later you’ll find out whether it was just a bubble. Bubbles will burst. You won’t stay at the top for decades.

Let’s go back to the very beginning of your career. You also made a living writing and doing interviews. Do you look back on the time when you worked as a journalist?

It sounds a bit conceited to call it journalism. But from early childhood I was always fascinated by music and I loved it.

I really looked up to all musicians, although it was mainly Czechoslovak musicians I was able to meet, and I always wanted to talk to them. It seemed better to write up interviews for a music magazine than just to go up to them for a chat. When I was studying dramaturgy and screenwriting at music college I wrote for music magazines and newspapers. I still remember one particular interview. It was an interview that took place not far from where we are today, in Lucerna. At the time, jazz legend Sonny Rollins was doing a concert as part of a jazz festival. There was a two-metre tall bodyguard in front of his dressing room and he was shooing away all the journalists. I was there with my friend, who was interpreting for me. I sighed out loud that I had come all the way from Bratislava and I was leaving without an interview.

Suddenly the bodyguard said: “From Bratislava? My girlfriend’s there.” I was able to go into the dressing room and chat with Sonny for half an hour.

Besides an invitation to your new Ona a On Tour, what is your final word?

I don’t know, my life motto is Live and Let Live…

by Linda Štucbartová č eské znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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A n interview with D r . J ack W ilson C onducted by M iriam M argala

P hotos :

archive

An entrepreneur, innovator, scientist, educator and philanthropist.

A TRUE RENAISSANCE MAN. It is not easy to try to make justice describing somebody as accomplished as Dr. Wilson – a former university president who worked and interacted with congressmen, senators, governors, four US Presidents; an innovator in all his endeavors: the founder and CEO of what became a $500 million IT company, the founder of a successful online university school; a fundraiser (during his presidency, the funds raised more than doubled); an educator, mentor and philanthropist and so much more. I therefore asked for comments from some of Dr. Wilson’s closest colleagues, themselves nationally and internationally recognized educators, administrators and politicians, as the most fitting way to introduce him to our readers.

Current University of Massachusetts President and former long serving US Congressman Marty Meehan puts it very aptly when he says that “Jack is a pioneer in cultivating and catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship. His success as an academic, researcher and entrepreneur allows him to bring unique perspectives to the larger conversations around entrepreneurship.”

Dr. Jacqueline Moloney, current University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell Chancellor, the first woman ever in that role, further emphasizes Dr. Wilson’s expertise and influence when she explains that a strong “commitment to entrepreneurial thinking drives Jack Wilson. His expertise is a tremendous asset to our students, to his colleagues, to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and to the Nation.” Dr. Wilson’s vision of economic prosperity and its connection to university research is eloquently described by Associate Vice-Chancellor for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at UMass Lowell, Steve Tello, who notes that “as past Chair of the National Council for Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Jack championed the need for higher education, industry and government to work together. He understands the important role universities play in promoting innovation and economic development, and as President Emeritus of UMass, he continues to support these efforts as a teacher, researcher and entrepreneur”.

I am quite sure that Dr. Wilson’s life long curiosity and interest in anything that can possibly make a difference immediately or in the long run and his ability to get people to work with him is due to his personal charisma, enthusiasm and willingness to always listen to other people’s opinions. He feels just as comfortable talking to his undergraduate students as to influential CEOs, politicians or such luminaries as Nelson Mandela, upon whom Dr. Wilson bestowed an honorary degree (pictured).

Anything Dr. Wilson discusses is inherently infused with the underlying notion of doing good. To use the words of the former highly liked and respected UMass Lowell Provost, Dr. Don Pierson: “Jack Wilson is a tremendous asset to the expansive community he influences. He is a charismatic leader, a wise mentor, a trusted colleague, an inspiring teacher, and a generous benefactor."

Dr. Wilson, thank you very much for this opportunity to talk to you. I will open our conversation with a task for you - how would you describe yourself in a few words?

I have a phrase that I always laugh about that appears at the end of every job description: “and other duties as assigned’. Pretty much every job I’ve ever had and the way I’ve lived my life was – other duties as assigned. I like to look around for things that I believe should be done and then try to figure out how to get them done. I particularly enjoy it when I’m told that many tried and failed. That’s like waving a red cape in front of a bull – I am ready to charge. That’s how I became a scientist or an entrepreneur - scientists do not want to research something everybody understands, they will go and research something nobody understands. Entrepreneurs do the same - look around for things that should be done, could be done and haven’t been done. For example, when I did research in

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liquid crystals back in the 1970s, nobody thought it was terribly interesting or useful. But I thought it was – and my group (one of only a few) quickly discovered we could make display devices using liquid crystals. I built some of the first liquid crystals displays ever. Even though many large American companies became excited about liquid crystals, at the end, they did not have the foresight to see how this was going to change the world. However, there were plenty of people from Japan visiting my laboratory interested in liquid crystals. And today, as we all know, we buy all the liquid crystal display devices from Japanese and Korean companies that exploited that technology. I will admit that looking for things that haven’t been done but could and should be done may lead to a somewhat eclectic life.

Why do you say ‘admit’? Isn’t it good to have an eclectic life?

Oh I believe it is good to have an eclectic life but

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many of my colleagues would disagree. They prefer to focus on one thing only. Instead, I looked around for problems I could solve to make a difference.

This leads to an interesting question – the idea of a career as climbing the typical ‘career ladder’ is becoming obsolete. Instead, one should look for opportunities. You are an interesting amalgam of both. Your academic career seems to have been the typical university ladder path (professor, chair, dean, provost, president), but you have also been incredibly entrepreneurial, turning your research into a business; you ventured outside academia to take on jobs that indeed were all about solving problems as they came.

I did both, that’s true – but I was also quite lucky.

I did climb the ladder, but only because it presented interesting problems to be solved. I followed things I was curious about – and was often

I nterview

Dr. Jack Wilson with Nelson Mandela

criticized for it. When I moved away from the hardcore physics into computational physics, people said that I was abandoning my field to play with these toys called computers. But I quickly became a leading person in developing computers for complex problem solving. Eventually, I got hired as a consultant by AT&T, IBM and others. But I did not become interested in this area because I would be hired by them; I went into the field because I found it interesting. When I was still far too young, I was asked to become a department chair. I said yes because I saw it as an interesting thing. Pretty much, as I kept looking for interesting problems to be solved, every job thereafter was something that came to me through serendipity – even becoming the President of the University of Massachusetts.

Curiosity is certainly something strongly associated with you. When people are curious enough they put themselves out there and become noticed – and then things happen…

I think that’s true and I’ve tried to teach my students the same thing. Instead of planning your future in a systematic fashion, you should learn as much as you can about as many things as you can and do interesting things that make a difference.

Don’t take on problems that are easy to solve; take on hard problems, difficult to solve. Besides, it’s fun taking on harder problems and a huge joy to win on them. You don’t always win but you do get noticed. That’s how the University of Massachusetts asked me whether I’d be interested in starting their online school. I said yes. I’d realized early on, be-

fore UMass asked me, that having only the in-class model of learning meant locking the people who could not come to classes because of their jobs or families out of education. I thought – we could use technology to provide education for them.

I started developing this technology and eventually, built a successful company offering online education. So when the University of Massachusetts asked me whether I would build an online school for them, I said – when can I start? Today, UMass online enrollments reached 75,565 students. In terms of the revenue, we surpassed $100 million.

It was definitely worth it, to go and give it a try, to solve a difficult problem and make a difference.

Your eclectic career spans almost 50 years.

What drives you? What inspires you?

Seems like a long time, but I keep changing what I’m doing every few years. I still find new interesting things to do and am still able to make a difference. I am opportunistic in a sense that I don’t systematically plan ahead. When I become aware of a thing that needs to be done, should have been done a long time ago but wasn’t, people tried and failed – then that’s an opportunity for me to give it a try. A good example would be our UMass Law School. There was no law school when I became President and founding a public law school was not on the list of my priorities at all. If it hadn’t been for a young woman who recognized and approached me in a restaurant one night, asking me upfront why UMass didn’t have a public law school, I may have not paid attention to it. There are many private, expensive law schools – which

is where she got her degree and ended up with a huge debt to pay off. She wanted to make a difference and do public interest law but couldn’t because of her debt. I realized she was right. For 150 years, Massachusetts had been failing its citizens because it was not providing them this opportunity to study law at a state law school. I recognized that founding a public law school should be done.

There was a lot of negative publicity, especially from all the established private law schools. But I persevered and today, the University of Massachusetts has a public law school, fully accredited and fiscally healthy. It was a problem that was far away from how I started: a scientist, physicist, engineer, entrepreneur. But it was a problem that needed to be solved and an opportunity to make a huge difference – and that always drives and inspires me.

It seems that stepping out of your comfort zone is something you seek and enjoy; it seems to be your mode of operation.

(Laughing) Yes, that’s true. To be fair, I like to step out of my comfort zone if it allows me to do something that should be done – not just for the sake of it. But I have to admit I do enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone if it means making a difference.

I have known you professionally for a few years now and I think that “the sense of purpose” is not a cliché for you but has a strong moral and ethical value. Could you address this in more detail?

I agree with you. When you hear the phrase today, oftentimes it’s way too high minded. But there is

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I nterview a sense of purpose: I have certain skills and talents, one of which is a thick skin so I can endure things that other people perhaps could not. I certainly can take a punch. I do not like being hit of course, but I don’t mind it either if we’re getting done what needs to be done. To me, the sense of purpose means that we’re all stewards. Each of us is given about 80, 90 years and we’re going to have to use these years productively. It’s like a relay race – it’s a metaphor for life. Somebody picks up the baton and runs as fast as they can then hands it to the next person who runs as fast as they can …and so on and so forth. So in life, people hand you a baton – run! Do all that you can. Get it done!

At the end, I want to be able to say – ok, I did my part. I made some mistakes, I didn’t get everything done, but the next runner may get it done…

And that takes me to the question of leadership. Again, in your case, it means something very concrete, tangible. When you became President of the University of Massachusetts, the first thing you did was to change the old, entrenched attitude of certain defeatism since the university is part of an educational landscape where there’s far too many elite private universities (Harvard, MIT, Boston

University, etc.). You successfully and fast changed this into the sense of pride for all those who work and study at UMass. How did you get about 70,000 students and 17,000 staff to change their attitude?

Well, I don’t know how much credit I deserve, because that’s just the way I am. I don’t accept defeatism. I get most frustrated when I see uncommitted people. Frankly, it irritates me and that makes me very assertive and pushy. One of the statements I made when I felt irritated was: “the path to economic and social development in Massachusetts goes through UMass” (now an iconic and still applicable statement, MM’s note).

Of course I knew it was going to be controversial.

The truth is even my friends, Harvard, MIT and BU presidents themselves told me I was right! Naturally, the press criticized me. But I had statistics – 80% of all our workforce come from UMass! One of our medical school professors is a Nobel prize laureate. We have hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants. Our alumni work as CEOs and other high ranking officials in the biggest companies here in Massachusetts and elsewhere. We should be all excited about that! The University of Massachusetts now leads as an institution in many measured aspects of higher education.

What are the most fundamental characteristics of a successful leader?

That’s a tough question – it’s a multidimensional issue. To put it simply, you have to care and be passionate about things that are important, not yourself. True, most leaders have a strong ego; they must believe that things can get done. But you really have to have a passion for what you do. In my case, I was very eclectic about the things I cared about. It could be physics, engineering, education or entrepreneurship, which I am a great believer in.

Entrepreneurship has created great futures in many places. If you look at places that are not entrepreneurial, it’s been very tough for them. But if you encourage entrepreneurship, you see great things happen because it fosters innovative and engaged individuals for whom problems are opportunities to come up with innovative solutions. Even if they fail at the beginning, entrepreneurs do not complain but ask - why? What do we have to do differently to succeed? What did we learn from the failure? I think a great leader also has to think this way.

By Miriam Margala

TO BE CONTINUED

Dr. Jack Wilson with former US President Barack Obama

Dr. Miriam Margala enjoys a rewarding and eclectic professional career. She is a university lecturer, teaching academic writing, communication and philosophy of language. She mentors other professional women through an organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Women Accelerators, where she is a member of the Board of Directors. She also translates literature, both poetry and prose, writes academic articles, conducts interviews for various publications, presents at international conferences and is involved in international projects dealing with innovation in education and diversity in industry. She is also involved in art projects both in the United States and Europe.

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diplomatic event

T aste

of

G reek S ummer

H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece, hosted a Cocktail Reception "Taste of Greek Summer" at his Residence with guests from the Prague diplomatic community, prominent Czech and Greek business people, journalists, representatives of NGOs and state officials.

It was an excellent opportunity to celebrate the last days of summer, to enjoy a selection of fine tastes of Greek gastronomy and the high quality wines from various regions of Greece including traditional Greek distilled spirits, all together with the sounds of joyful Greek music.

From left : Marc Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society, Veselin Vačkov, Chief Editor, Lidové noviny, with his partner and H.E. Manuela Franco, Ambassador of Portugal

From left : H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece and Kyriaki Kyrezi, Kiki's Tasty Food

From left : Michael Stimson, Prague Society, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From right: Veselin Vačkov, Chief Editor, Lidové noviny with his partner

From left: Stefanos Germenis, Blatná Castle, H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece, Mrs. Meriem Bouattoura, wife of the Ambassador of Algeria, and Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz

From left: Kyriaki Kyrezi, Kiki's Tasty Food, Mrs. Tina Chirdari, Elissavet Karali, Consul, Embassy of Greece, and Mrs. Eleni Kliamenaki, IKEA PR Department

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The story of the International Montessori School of Prague brings together a number of fascinating worldwide trends. The first of these trends is globalisation – a combination of globalisation and localisation, with the American Montessori Society global accreditation creating a framework, while the school is also adjusted to the Czech environment and conditions. Kateřina Bečková, founder and executive director says: “We have to, and we want to, meet not just the American accreditation standards, but also take into account the Czech environment and its distinctiveness. Children from 27 different nationalities attend IMSP, but half of our children are from the Czech Republic. As such, our curriculum must not just accommodate the European metric system, but also the method of teaching mathematics, for example the method of multiplication and division which is specific to us.”

The second trend I would like to note is that Kateřina is an example of what one could term a “self-made female entrepreneur”. Female entrepreneurs offer something specific. In contrast to men, who focus on doing business in fields which are perceived as economically beneficial such as construction, electronics and IT, women more frequently focus on doing business in social services or small retail.

This female type of enterprise is often at a disadvantage in terms of access to funding and technologies, while it is also highly regulated by complex laws.

A third major trend is the issue of leadership and education. At the start of the new school year, the Czech Management Association published a report stating that the Czech Republic could become

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more competitive if it had more self-confident leaders. The standard Czech education system does not consider working with leaders, despite research which suggests that the key characteristics of future leaders can be developed mainly up until a child’s 10th birthday!

Kateřina Bečkova founded the private International Montessori School of Prague in 2002. The spark for doing so was an endeavour to secure high quality education for her own three children. Over 15 years, IMSP has become one of the best schools in the Czech Republic with places for 110 pupils aged from 15 months to 13 years. Today, the school employs 16 full-time teachers and 4 part-time teachers.

As well as preschool and school education, IMSP also provides after school play and other clubs. The teaching staff includes specialists in art, Spanish, drama, music, physical education and library science amongst other fields.

Kateřina put her energy, vision and herself into building the school.

When you meet her, you would hardly believe that this naturally shy woman is the director of a major educational institution and her mission is to bring an integrated and holistic approach to education to prepare children for the future.

Kateřina is one of the greatest Czech experts in education and the Montessori method, having achieved the necessary training while running the school. She originally studied economics, and subsequently completed a master’s degree in Special Education. She has completed the Montessori Leadership programme and continues to learn about leadership in the Czech Republic and abroad.

P hoto : A rchive

I nterview

with

K ateřina B ečková

Kateřina Bečková, Founder and Executive Director, International Montessori School of Prague

I wanted to secure the best possible education for my children Kateřina, IMSP celebrated its 15th birthday in spring 2017. How do you look back on this time?

I take stock. As you noted, my kids were my main drive for founding the school. But they’ve already finished school and I am pleased that they are so well prepared for further studies and for life in general. I still love working with kids, which gives me great satisfaction and I am proud of our school and the stable and professional team I have managed to build up.

I think we have achieved the optimum in terms of size and operation. I don’t plan to expand the school with additional branches, nor do I want to increase the number of pupils in our classes, or increase the number of classes.

I think we have gone through the difficult phase of building up the school, and we have constructed a solid foundation. Now, we want to focus on further increasing quality. We enjoy continuing to work on communication, focusing on increased effectiveness, and achieving sustainable results. I think that this kind of work is a great reward for me. Most recently, we have been focusing on defining a new mission, the values linked with that mission, and how to put them into practice.

What are you most proud of in relation with IMSP? Of all the accreditations we have achieved, because we are the only American Montessori Society fully accredited school in Europe.

Our most recent accreditations, both American and Czech, gave us top marks. The fact we are full to capacity demonstrates our quality and popularity. I couldn’t achieve that alone; I rely on a stable, professional team of accredited colleagues. I am also proud of our premises; our school has a large garden over 4000 m2 in size next to a wood. We have an aviary in the garden, fruit bushes and trees and a vegetable patch, and looking after our plants and animals is an integral part of our teaching.

Last but not least, we are successfully building a community of parents and school advocates who are spreading Montessori education principles further throughout Czech society.

There remains great interest in Montessori in the Czech Republic. The method is suitable not just for children, but also for older people. In July this year, Prague hosted the International Montessori Congress. For those who didn’t take part, it was a prestigious event which takes place

once every four years, with 2000 participants and more than 100 experts from around the world visiting the Prague congress. What makes Montessori different?

It’s important to realise that the Montessori method is not just about tools, but above all about the approach. One pitfall here is the fact that the Montessori method is not a copyrighted patent so, often, schools purchase the tools and immediately put “Montessori method” into their name. The Montessori method is about the philosophy and putting it into practice, about the ability of the teacher to manage to work with both the whole class and with individuals and about seeing the unique potential of each child. The tools themselves are secondary.

Another challenge is the fact that many Czechs advocate traditional educational methods and it is difficult for them to entirely trust a new approach based on free choice. There is a general prejudice that the Montessori method means chaos, but actually the opposite is true. We have to work to balance the expectations and boundaries while offering free choice.

IMSP is a leader in bringing new trends to education. Which trends do you think are fundamental?

I think there are three fundamental trends: recognising your own unique talent, the ability to cooperate and a love for education. When interacting with children, we focus on holistic child development, helping them to grasp and also express their uniqueness. We teach children not just to solve problems, but also to cooperate effectively. Today, individual development and assertion is often stressed, but without interaction and effective cooperation with other individuals you cannot do anything on your own in society. Montessori is based on the principle of “help me to do it myself” from an early age. Even the youngest children take part in cleaning and tidying and the preparation of snacks; they are much more independent in communication, and also hygiene habits and the ability to look after themselves compared to their peers. We focus on the different components of intelligence – social intelligence, emotional intelligence, bodily/kinaesthetic intelligence and moral intelligence.

We work with four key values – respect, consideration, responsibility and kindness, and we place great stress on overall integrity. Last but not least, we make appropriate use of technology which is going to play an even greater role in education.

How do you see yourself as a leader?

We use the Talent Dynamic profile tests at school, meaning we build on the natural talent of individuals, not on acquired skills. Using this approach, my profile is “Trader,” and my leadership is based on long-term relationships, care for others and building a community. My approach is to undertake individual actions together with a team. People can rely on me; my door is always open both to my team and to parents. And now I’m learning to delegate more; I want to focus more on strategic decisions and spend less time on day-to-day operations. As I said, I’m looking forward to sharing everything we have managed to build with the wider community which we are helping to build.

What advice do you have for parents of school children in relation to the start of the new school year?

I’m an advocate of good routines which can save time and energy. Take enough time to sleep and then for your morning, your breakfast, journey, so you aren’t stressed every morning. Trust your school and children and make enough time for them. Especially at the beginning, don’t just speak to your children, but also the teachers and school management. You are our partners and we are here for you.

What are your plans and vision for the future?

My mission is to bring a holistic approach to education in which every child can express their uniqueness. Specifically, I am trying to bring the above discussed Montessori methods of education to our country so that we can truly activate the uniqueness of each one of us. I have already spoken about the community of parents and advocates we are building, and we are preparing a series of educational workshops for them. We want to focus more on working with our youngest children, where we see the greatest potential. We want to provide parents with a detailed guide for creating a Montessori home environment. And, of course, we will continue to evaluate and improve all our approaches within our holistic approach to education. One of the problems of Czech education is not just its focus on knowledge, but also how rigid it is.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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Chamber’s pre-election debate

All speakers at the stage

On Tuesday September 12th, the first pre-election debate with political leaders took place in the Lucerna Cinema. The political parties were represented by Andrej Babiš (ANO), Pavel Bělobrádek (KDU-ČSL), Jiří Dolejš (KSČM), Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09), Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) and Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD). Among the guests were ambassadors of Finland, Slovakia, Sweden and United Kingdom and top managers of the biggest businesses in the Czech Republic. The debate was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce, British Chamber of Commerce, French-Czech Chamber of Commerce and Nordic Chamber of Commerce and was live-streamed.

From left: Michal Donath, Managing Director, Donath Business & Media and Erik Best, Journalist

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Miroslav Kalousek, Chairman, TOP 09 and H.E. Jan Thomson, Ambassador of the United Kingdom

Andrej Babiš, Chairman, ANO and H.E. Jan Thomson, Ambassador of the United Kingdom

From left: Pavel Bělobrádek, Chairman, KDU-ČSL, Lubomír Zaorálek, Chairman, ČSSD and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jiří Dolejš, Chairman, KSČM, Miroslav Kalousek, TOP O9, and Zbyněk Stanjura, ODS

All speakers

Miroslav Kalousek, Chairman, TOP 09 Andrej Babiš, Chairman, ANO

From left: Pavel Bělobrádek, Chairman, KDU-ČSL, Miroslav Kalousek, Chairman, TOP O9, and Zbyněk Stanjura, ODS

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From left: H.E. Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland, H.E. Viktoria Li, Ambassador of Sweden, Stefan Lager, President of Nordic Chamber, Marcela Černochová, Managing Director, BCC, H.E. Jan Thomson, Ambassador of UK, and Lukáš Ševčík, President of BCC

Guests

Jiří Dolejš, Chairman, KSČM

Lubomír Zaorálek, Chairman, ČSSD and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Guests

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I nternational E nergy C lub 2017: E xperts

discuss current challenges in the

energy field in

O strava

Participants in the IEC international conference discuss European grants and smog, the future of power engineering and smart transport solutions

Official opening in Elektra café, joint toast of the conference organisers and patrons – from left: Michal Dolana, Executive, DDeM, s.r.o., Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, innogy Czech Republic, Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, VÍTKOVICE, a.s., and Zuzana Hodková, Moderator

Representatives of the largest energy companies met up in Ostrava with leading civil service representatives as part of the eighth meeting of the International Energy Club (IEC). The specialist conference entitled Fresh Air in Energetics in the Czech Republic and the EU looked at issues related to the current state of the energy industry and linking it up effectively to the environment.

A total of ten speakers held talks. Jan Kříž, Deputy Minister for managing EU funds, financial and voluntary tools at the Ministry of the Environment, gave a talk on investing in better air, while Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, innogy Czech Republic, looked at the environment as a factor in customer decision-making.

Vladimír Outrata, Chair of the Board at the Energy Regulatory Office, looked at the future of energy from the regulator’s perspective. Libor Witassek, Chairman of the Board & CEO, VÍTKOVICE, a.s., spoke about the use of hydrogen in transport, while Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region, Ivo Vondrák, discussed smart solutions for the Moravian-Silesian Region’s energy concept.

International specialist conference, view of hall

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International specialist conference – from left: Mirek Topolánek, Chair of the Executive Board, Czech District Heating Plan Association and Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, innogy Czech Republic

International specialist conference – from left: Petr Matuszek, Director, Energetika Třinec, a.s. and Jindřich Švec, Director for Company Customers, innogy Energie, s.r.o.

International specialist conference - Evžen Tošenovský, Member of the European Parliament and Member of ITRE

Jan Zaplatílek, Director of the Gas and Liquid Fuels Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Pavel Šolc, Member of the Board of Directors of ČEZ Distribuce, Jiří Feist, Executive Director for Strategy at EP Power Europe, and Tomáš Hüner, Director of the Energy Management Division at Siemens, also took full advantage of the space for discussion.

The event also included an extensive additional programme. This included the official opening of the new innogy Czech Republic exhibition in the Science and Technology Centre, Vítkovice mining region. Guests also had the opportunity to visit the IT4Innovations Supercomputing Centre and take a guided tour of the most powerful supercomputer in the Czech Republic and related high technologies.

65 representatives of 45 companies and specialist associations took part in IEC 2017. This year’s conference was supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of the Environment, the Moravian-Silesian Region and the European Parliament. The event’s traditional patrons are Vítkovice Machinery Group and innogy Czech Republic.

The conference’s partners included Energetický a průmyslový holding, E.ON Group, ČEZ Group, Siemens, TELE DATA CONTROL and the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.

International specialist conference - Jan Zaplatílek, Director of the Gas and Liquid Fuels Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade

International specialist conference - Karel Šimeček, Secretary, SVSE - Sdružení velkých spotřebitelů energie (Large Energy Consumers Association) in the right

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International specialist conference - Pavel Šolc, Member of the Board, ČEZ Distribuce, a. s.

International specialist conference - Tomáš Bělohoubek, Executive, E.ON Česká republika, s. r. o. in the right

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International specialist conference - Jan Kříž, Deputy Minister for EU Funds, Finance and Voluntary Tools, Ministry of the Environment

Mirek Topolánek, Chair of the Executive Board, Czech District Heating Plan Association, Jan Fousek, Executive Director, Czech Association for Energy Accumulation and Batteries, and Stanislav Lepka, independent consultant

Official opening of the new innogy ČR exhibition in the Science and Technology Centre – from left: Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, VÍTKOVICE, a.s., and Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, innogy Czech Republic

International specialist conference - Vladimír Outrata, Chair of the Board, Energy Regulatory Office

International specialist conference - Libor Witassek, Chairman of the Board & CEO, VÍTKOVICE, a.s.

innogy ČR exhibition in the Science and Technology Centre, (on rear wheel) Petr Koudela, Director of the Vítkovice Mining Region Association and Lukáš Roubíček, Executive, innogy Zákaznické služby, s.r.o

Tomáš Hüner, Head of Energy Management Division, Siemens, s.r.o.

International specialist conference - Ivo Vondrák, Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region

Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, VÍTKOVICE, a.s.

Tour of the most powerful supercomputer in the Czech Republic, worth 300m CZK, in front Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, innogy Czech Republic

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P rague S ociety In cooperation with Czech & Slovak Leaders

From left: Floor Doppen, Intern, Prague Society, Pavlos Olziersky, Head of Economic Department, Greek Embassy, Erik Sorensen, Executive Vice President, Prague Society, H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada, JUDr. Thilo Hoffmann, Partner at Taylor Wessing advokati v.o.s., Jochen Wittmann, Member, Global Panel Foundation, Martin Palouš, former Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, Václav Malý, IPHRC,Executive Director, Miami, Fl. US , Guillermo Toledo, H.E. Roland Garharague, Ambassador of France, Marek Mora, CNB Bank Board Member, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Roman Mentlík, Manager - S&D Financial Services leader, IBM, Jean-Jacques Guillaudeau, Head of Economic Department, French Embassy, Michael Stimson, Sales Director, GIDE International and Prague Society Board Member, Christian, Arthur Braun, Partner, bpv Braun Partners s.r.o., Pierre Farineau, Representative, Economic Department at French Embassy, Markus Hermann, Managing Director, MAROM, s.r.o., Oskar Blažek, Intern. On chairs from left: Adina, Eleanor Hammond, External Relations Director, CERGE-EI Foundation U.S.A, Barbara Day, former Executive Director of the Jan Hus Educational Foundation, Vera Egermayer, Co- founder, European Association of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust, Princess Elisabeth Lobkowicz, Prof. Helena Válková, former Minister of Justice, H.E. Manuela Franco, Ambassador of Portugal, and Eva Anderová, Honorary Consul to Zambia and Business Consultant to Czech and Slovak Leaders

PRAGUE SOCIETY On Tuesday September 19th, French Ambassador H.E. Roland Garharague hosted a reception for Prague Society and the Czech Bankers Club in order to bring together the diplomatic, political and financial sides of Prague. Marek Mora during his speech highlighted the importance of communication between these different sectors – especially between embassies and the banking sector in order to create an efficient, productive, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

From left: H.E. Roland Garharague, Ambassador of France, Marc S. Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society, and JUDr. Thilo Hoffman, Partner at Taylor Wessing advokati v.o.s.

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P rague S ociety

Prof. Helena Válková, former Minister of Justice and Michael Stimson, Sales Director, GIDE International and Prague Society Board Member

From left: Marc S. Ellenbogen, President, Prague Society and H.E. Roland Garharague, Ambassador of France

From left: Jean-Jacques Guillaudeau, Head of Economic Department, French Embassy, Pavlos Olziersky, Head of Economic Department, Greek Embassy, and Pierre Farineau, Representative, Economic Department at French Embassy

From left: Oskar Blažek, Intern and Pierre Farineau, Representative, Economic Department at French Embassy

From left: Marek Mora, CNB Bank Board Member,Eva Anderová, Honorary Consul to Zambia and Business Consultant to Czech and Slovak Leaders, and Michael Stimson, Sales Director, GIDE International and Prague Society Board Member

From left: Michael Stimson, Sales Director, GIDE International and Prague Society Board Member, H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Roman Mentlík, Manager - S&D Financial Services leader, IBM

H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada talking to Ambassador Martin Palouš, Director, Václav Havel Initiative for Human Rights & Diplomacy

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I nterview

with

MUD r . K ateล ina V ackovรก , L oono

Our doctors are on a par with our Harvard colleagues 92

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P hoto : M artin F altejsek

Although she officially received her MUDr title at her graduation ceremony in Karolinum’s ancient Great Hall in July, Kateřina can boast of having saved 36 lives – cancer was discovered in 34 people in time through Loono’s preventive programmes, and two more people recognised they had serious heart problems on the basis of Loono’s new campaign. Kateřina founded Loono three years ago in order to promote the importance of self-examination, and awareness of and responsibility for your own health amongst the general public. She founded Loono based on her own experience as a patient, when at 22 years of age she was given that dreaded diagnosis: cancer. Kateřina set out to combat not just the disease, but also the low level of public awareness, particularly amongst the young. In 2016, Forbes nominated her amongst the “30 most talented Czechs under the age of 30”. Loono and its witty information campaign which does not frighten, but rather informs of the necessity to self-examine your breasts and testicles, drew the attention not just of young people, but also the general media. Over the whole time Kateřina was studying hard at the medical faculty, she had two jobs, one paid as a project manager and the other in Loono, unpaid until this August. During her studies, she undertook specialist placements in Austria and Portugal. Loono today comprises over 70 volunteers – educators and the main organising team made up of 10 collaborators. This year, besides completing her studies at Charles University’s First Faculty of Medicine, Kateřina also completed a placement at Harvard, undertook an inspiring trip to San Francisco and launched another campaign with the Loono team, this time focused on prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Each meeting I have with Kateřina is incredibly inspiring. I admire how much energy this beautiful and petite young lady has in her, I listen with wonder of her vision and plans and I cross my fingers for her. Kateřina calls herself a citizen of the world, and her desire to change the world is not just a proclamation, but something she is demonstrating in real life every day and in every step she takes. I first met Kateřina at a talk for Oxford and Cambridge university alumni. Speakers are often nervous in front of an audience used to high-level debate, but Kateřina didn’t show it. She began her talk with the firmly posed questions: “When did you last have a preventive examination at the doctor’s? Do you know what examinations you are entitled to? And when did you last undertake a self-examination?” One might be so bold as to claim that Kateřina looks after fitness within her own team. As the organisation name, Loono, is not subject to declension as standard Czech words are, anyone from the internal team who says it incorrectly has to do three push-ups. Luckily this only happened to me once during the interview …

Kateřina, in July you got your MUDr title.

What has changed since your graduation?

I’ll begin with the graduation. I was at the graduation ceremony, a wonderful occasion, with my whole family; it was moving and my parents were proud. Personally, I had been wondering for a while whether to do clinical practice after graduation or whether to concentrate on Loono. I think I would have felt bad not focusing on Loono. So I started in August, becoming the first person working there on a full-time basis, and now I’m enjoying spending every day dedicated to the organisation, and even in the first 14 days we have made incredible progress. We have expanded our team, we’re still recruiting, we have successfully applied for a grant and we’ve gained another sponsor.

Sponsors are really important for us right now; I’d like to be able to employ more people full-time and I would also like to expand the scope of our education, to focus not just on the general public but also to have the opportunity to educate medicine students who will then educate others. I don’t want them to have to take up part-time work in fast-food joints, but rather that they have the opportunity to acquire practice in the field they are going to be working in, while also receiving a certain remuneration to help them, e.g., in financing their student dormitories. Over the past two years when I have had the opportunity to work with medics, I have observed what experience they have gained and how this has subsequently helped them in their medical profession.

You yourself represent the emerging generation of doctors, and you have also had the opportunity during your placement to work in the hospital at Harvard University. What insights have you taken from the USA? Positive ones. I believe in us, the new generation of doctors, but I also greatly appreciate the previous generation. Healthcare is at a great standard in the Czech Republic, well organised, compared to abroad we have markedly shorter waiting times both for examinations and operations. Since healthcare here is paid for from the public health insurance system, a comparison with the USA or the UK is not always appropriate, but even compared to countries with the same funding system we come out very well. Our doctors are skilled. I would advise the upcoming generation to support two areas in particular: interest in innovation, and also communication with patients. At Harvard I saw that although our American colleagues have better equipment

and a different style of work, our qualitative medical education and approach to patients are entirely on a par.

You didn’t want to stay in the USA; you returned to complete your studies and focus fully on Loono. In the meantime, however, you also stayed in San Francisco. What did you bring back for Loono from there?

I went to San Francisco on holiday to relax and practise yoga. I enjoyed the coffee bars and galleries.

Naturally, I had loads of discussions about preventive healthcare in the USA, and I visited Silicon Valley in order to find out more about the latest projects and start-ups in the healthcare field. I received great feedback on our work and the results we have achieved despite our limited funding. Everyone around me supported my belief that we should expand Loono and its activities into other countries.

I also had the opportunity to meet with Czechs working in Silicon Valley in some great companies or start-ups. The stories of people who have decided to set out and take up work in a foreign country for large projects are always a great inspiration for me. I myself have had this experience during my placements in Austria and Portugal.

What are you most proud of about Loono?

Definitely the 34 lives saved through prevention, and also my whole team. When I was beginning, I was worried whether someone would join me, would believe in my idea and spread it to the world with me. People want to co-operate with us; Loono is now perceived as a brand others want to work for, and we are given as an example of good practice in non-profit organisation communication. I’m blushing, but I’m glad we can inspire others in how to spread your own mission effectively.

Regarding prevention, do Czechs value their health?

I wouldn’t relate this question to Czechs alone. In general I think the situation is improving. People are seeking out health information on their own, are more open to changing their habits in regards to a healthy lifestyle, very often on the basis of a personal meeting. After my stay in the USA, I consider myself a citizen of the world, so I think everyone on this planet, regardless of race, gender and nationality, deserves high quality accessible information on preventive care. And this is the mission I’m now setting out into the world for.

Loono is a leader in terms of non-profit organisation communication, this interview is for Leaders Magazine; how do you see yourself as a leader?

I personally still see myself as a junior leader. I’ve been leading Loono for under three years and I learn something new every day. Every bit of feedback I get from the team or people I work with through Loono also moves me forward. I also ask a lot of questions of older and more experienced businesspeople and mentors.

Leadership as such, for me, is about kindness and an individual approach. Only in this way can you support and motivate your team at the same time.

A strong vision is also important, and your management and actions must follow this vision, both in your working and personal life. It would be very difficult for Loono to serve as an example of a healthy positive lifestyle if I myself didn’t exercise five times a week, didn’t meditate or didn’t eat healthily.

Let’s discuss your vision more; what will Loono look like in the coming years?

It will certainly become a global organisation, though I can’t give you a precise timescale. I myself want to find out more about other countries and their cultures, and I also want to help develop people. I think everyone needs to know about prevention, regardless of their country of origin. We can open this up anywhere where there is a medical faculty, and hopefully we will then be able to even in areas without one. And there’s more! Imagine some kind of Erasmus work programme being established in Loono for students who want to try working not just in another country, but also with other specialists from other fields to aid them in preparing for their careers. Loono is not just about medics; our team includes specialists in communication, PR, marketing, social media, HR and more.

Team members can enrich each other. I want to help everyone equally, and I have great plans and also great self-confidence.

A final word?

Look after yourself in time, be active for the good of your body and for life in general. If my story and Loono’s message has touched you, then support us!

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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exhibition

CONTRADICTIONS 16. 8. – 31. 10. 2017 MIRO Gallery Prague | www.galeriemiro.cz

Karel Balcar (*1966, Czech Republic) Dino Čečo (*1953, Bosnia and Herzegovina) Jiří Georg Dokoupil (*1954, Czech Republic / Germany) Joachim Elzmann (*1953, Germany) Tim Ernst (*1977, Germany) Ludvík Feller (*1929, Czech Republic / Germany) Míla Fürstová (*1975, Czech Republic / United Kingdom) Marianna Gartner (*1963, Canada) Martin Gerboc (*1971, Slovakia)

Horst Grig (1921–2000, Germany) Otto Herbert Hajek (1927–2005, Germany) Nazar Hulyn (1970–2003, Ukraine) Milan Knížák (*1940, Czech Republic) Jiří Kornatovský (*1952, Czech Republic) Barbora Kysilková (*1983, Czech Republic / Norway) Phelan O’Hara (*1940, United Kingdom) Felix Rehfeld (*1981, Germany)

Koloman Sokol (1902–2003, Czechoslovakia / Mexico / USA) Georgi Stojanov (1961–2013, Bulgaria) Ivan Šafranko (*1931, Czechoslovakia / Slovakia) Martin Šárovec (*1977, Czech Republic) Pavel Šmíd (*1964, Czech Republic) Zdeněk Šorf (*1965, Czech Republic) Leif Trenkler (*1960, Germany) Josef Zlamal (*1983, Czech Republic) Roman Zuzuk (*1961, Ukraine / Canada)

Zdeněk Šorf Member of Parliament IV, 1993 60 x 50 cm

Jiří Kornatovský | Meditation, 2008, 195 x 215 cm

Koloman Sokol | The Philadelphian Inquirer, 1988, 60 x 45 cm

Míla Fürstová | Forest I, 2011, 55 x 85 cm

Jiří Georg Dokoupil | Silver Jesus, 2012, 81 x 100 cm

Jiří Georg Dokoupil | Untitled, 145 x 115 cm

P hoto : A rchive

There are a lot of widespread stereotypes and myths amongst the general public about the Czech civil service. From my own experience, however, I know that there are many talented, educated and hard-working individuals working there. JUDr. Petr Gajdušek, LL.M. (Cam), M.St. (Oxon), who currently holds the role of State Secretary at the MFA stands as proof. He studied at Charles University’s Faculty of Law, and he studied Political Science and International Relations at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences. He then obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the University of Cambridge, and also studied at the University of Oxford (M.St.), focusing on international law and human rights. Along with his studies at these two prestigious UK universities, he has undertaken study visits to no less prestigious universities in the USA (Georgetown) and in Bologna, Italy. He holds the Bolzano Prize for best thesis. Petr Gajdušek speaks fluent English and French.

Before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Petr worked as director of the International and Legislative Department at the Office for the Protection of Competition, and he has experience of the private sector from working in an international law office, where he focused on the energy sector.

And if you think everything always takes a long time anywhere in the civil service, Petr is your proof that there are exceptions. After two and a half years, in which he has fulfilled his mission to ratify the Foreign Service Act, he has asked to be released from his role, and as of 1 October he has been named government representative for international organisations.

Despite a busy schedule, I managed to meet Petr Gajdušek in Tuscany Palace where I myself began my work at the Diplomatic Academy 15 years ago.

I was reminded that there is no quiet summer period for diplomacy, whether because of the number of consular cases, or because of the number of strategic meetings which take place during the summer. We met shortly after his departure from his role was announced, and when new ambassadors were being approved, always a subject of much debate and speculation.

Since relations with journalists and the press have recently been very tense, to break the ice I congratulated him on his studies and invited him to a meeting of Cambridge and Oxford alumni which is being organised by OCAS (Oxford and Cambridge Alumni Society) in Prague. I myself am an Oxford alumni, so the first question was easy. His response to the question of which university he preferred was the first and last which I didn’t find entirely persuasive. Cambridge is just much more romantic being located at the river.

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I nterview

with

P etr G ajdušek , S tate S ecretary , M inistry

of

F oreign A ffairs

I have fulfilled my mission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I look forward to my next career challenge Mr Gajdušek, your study successes can serve as an example to the young generation, which in my opinion does not always value and utilise all the opportunities on offer today. You have said that graduating from both universities was a dream come true for you… Where did you get your motivation, and what recommendations do you have for today’s young university students?

I’m from Mosty u Jablunkova, a small village right in the east of the Czech Republic. I knew I wanted to spend my life doing something I enjoyed; international law and philosophy: and the only way to do so was high quality education. International law and philosophy are taught together to a high quality at Anglo Saxon universities in particular.

Since I wasn’t good at technical subjects and I’m not great manually, Třinec heavy industry wouldn’t have got me far. As such, I decided to leave my region. And as for recommendations for others, if I could give any advice, then I think humility and courage are essential. Universities abroad taught me humility; respect for people who truly know something. I met a lot of exceptionally talented colleagues who perhaps weren’t as lucky as me and didn’t get a grant or were simply born at a different time. So that made me appreciate the chance I had got even more. And courage because if you decide to take a certain path, you have to stay on it, even if it is a leap into the dark.

After work in a law office, your career up to now has been in the civil service. Were you not deterred by the many stereotypes of the rigid and slow environment?

They didn’t deter me. I think there are a lot of prejudices about the civil service. But I was lucky I was able to do what I enjoyed in my last job at the Office for the Protection of Competition; an agenda which included collaboration with international organisations such as the OECD and the World Bank, and work on new laws. In the civil service, a lot of it is about who you work with. If you’re part of a good team you have the opportunity to change a lot even within a rigid environment. A rigid environment is the result of rigid people. If you’ve got a dynamic team, rigidity won’t affect you. At the MFA, I’ve been able to surround myself with personnel staff and lawyers who have moved the department forward, in no small part due to the fact we have had many successes. I’m glad to be able to be a part of such changes.

You’re leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after two and a half years having fulfilled your mission, which mainly involved securing the independence of the civil service and adoption of the Foreign Service Act. Using sports terminology, you’re leaving at halftime; you were nominated for five years. I’d

like all state projects (especially the repair of the D1 motorway) to be similarly fast. How did your mission play out, and what specific successes did you have (from the perspective of the public)…

I joined at a time when the MFA was standing before a key fork in the road. On the one hand, the Civil Service Act did not reflect the MFA’s peculiarities, portending big problems. On the other hand, we had received a real mandate to begin to change things, so there were massive opportunities. In essence, the window of opportunity had opened – it was now or never.

I knew that if we wanted to succeed we would have to take a path which no-one before us had completed. Thanks to the team I had the honour to be a part of, we managed in a short time to get a so-called technical amendment to the Civil Service Act adopted, which amongst other things saves a few hundred million crowns from the state budget each year and allows for the basic working of the MFA. But this still didn’t solve a number of other problems which the MFA had been suffering from for a number of decades, such as the lack of health insurance, damages and little legal protection for returning employees. For this reason, following the technical amendment we immediately set to work on the Foreign Service Act. If I compare it to similar foreign amendments, the Czech act goes much further in terms of employee rights and a stress on system transparency. Now, the act needs to be interpreted to ensure actual conditions at the MFA change for the better. And that’s a human factor which no law can affect. In any case, it is a huge satisfaction for me after almost three years of work and night shifts, to have been a part of this change. And also that we have fulfilled the promises which we gave to MFA employees a few years ago.

The politicisation and depoliticisation of the civil service is a constant issue. How do you see it? Not only in your role as State Secretary, but also as a civil servant…

The quality of every person must be the decisive factor. Their professional knowledge and also their personality. I think that just as important as expertise are empathy, an ability to reach agreement, and to be able to listen. If a civil servant has these traits, it is irrelevant what party they vote for, what church they are in or with whom they spend their private life. The problem occurs when people in key positions only get the role because of who they know without having the expertise required. That is one reason that I am glad that there are absolutely strict language, security and other conditions required at the MFA to be able to hold a particular role. They are essentially stricter than in the civil service, although this is also due to the peculiarities of diplomacy work.

In your new position, you’ll be responsible for the Czech Republic’s representation in international organisations. From my own experience, I know that Poland is far more successful in filling positions in international institutions. Where are we, and what can be done to ensure Czechs are better represented?

In the middle of the last year, we were asked by the Office of the Government to begin working on a strategy to increase the number of Czechs in international organisations. This was also conditional upon the strategy not leading to an increase in the number of civil servants or an increase in the budget. Thus we first had to undertake a thorough analysis of the situation, and the figures we came up with are not positive ones. Compared to our neighbouring countries, the Czech Republic is not in a good position, despite membership in almost 500 international organisations and the high sums we pay towards their budgets. This leads to a simple correlation: there is supply from international organisations, and there is also demand from the Czech side. So we need to create a system in which supply and demand meet each other in some intelligent form.

As such, we want to create a database of suitable candidates, a list of international organisation priorities, assistance with preparing for tenders, communication across resorts, etc. But it’s a long game and we are a number of years behind some of our neighbours. We won’t be able to catch up in all the statistics in a year or even two.

What are you most proud of in your career so far? Looking at your next position, what are your career ambitions and plans in the medium-term?

In terms of the MFA, I am most proud that I was a part of the big changes to take place there, and part of an extraordinary team of people, deputies, lawyers and personnel workers. I’m glad we managed to implement all the changes within a short timeframe, something we didn’t have a choice over in any case. In terms of my further plans, first of all I’ve got to hand over my role properly, and then my superior will put me in a suitable role at MFA headquarters. The role of government representative is an honorary one, as the whole strategy is designed without any funding from the state budget. In the shortterm, I need to take the rest of my holidays, and in the medium-term I would like to focus on international law at a transnational level.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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ČSÚZ In cooperation with Czech & Slovak Leaders

Schoolchildren and teachers from the Chinese province of Zhejiang Sheng with the ambassador H. E. Ma Keqing and vice-chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and senator Ivo Valenta.

Children from the kindergarten Jarov present their artwork to the ambassador H. E. Ma Keqing

In the summer months, the members of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute were participants and in some cases even the initiators of the series of Czech-Chinese meetings.

The ambassador of the People's Republic of China in the Czech Republic H. E. Ma Keqing invited the chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Jaromír Šlápota and the senator Jiří Čunek to her residence for a working lunch in June. It was attended by the political council of Chen Jianjun. Several days before children from the kindergarten at Jarov had visited the Chinese embassy at the invitation of the ambassador too, accompanied by the director of the kindergarten, and a member

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From a working lunch at the residence of the Chinese ambassador (from left): chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Jaromír Šlápota, H. E. Ma Keqing, Senator Jiří Čunek and Charge d affaires a. i. Chen Jianjun.

of the managing board of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Hana Hlaváčková. The embassy staff prepared games, snacks and a walk around the garden of the embassy for them, the kids brought the cake and an album with photos from the spring visit, to which Mrs. Hlaváčková had invited a Chinese delegation to the kindergarten at Jarov.

The vice-chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and senator Ivo Valenta invited a group of 20 pupils and 3 teachers from the Chinese province of Zhejiang Sheng to Wallachia. They spent there, together with Czech children, a week stay full of fun, competitions and learning about different cultures than their own.

There, the children were also visited by the

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ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, H. E. Ma Keqing. She could get acquainted with the local nature, history and traditions, and together with the senator and the children tried roasting sausages. "For both sides, it was a very pleasant meeting. Myself, I can see on my own children that it is really desirable to recognize the mentality, culture, values and traditions of other nations. Despite the language barrier, Chinese and Czech children could understand each other well in the games,“ the senator Valenta commented the meeting. The ambassador was accompanied by the chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Jaromír Šlápota.

ČSÚZ The great interest of the members and friends of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute was aroused by a discussion with the president of the Czech–Israeli Chamber of Commerce JUDr. Pavel Smutný.

"Israel is a bigoted country, which arose out of the conflict and in the conflict is alive. The country is forced to be alert and constantly serving the high performance.

It has its positives and negatives“. With this characteristic, the discussion in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute was opened on 28 June by the president of the Czech-Israeli Chamber of Commerce JUDr. Pavel Smutný. The theme and the personality of an invited guest once again attracted many members and friends of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute to the

meeting. JUDr. Smutný then said that Israel is the land of start-ups, i.e., young innovative companies with strong growth potential that are testing new products and production processes. When production is burnished, the company will profitably sell. For projects that appear to be viable, the state borrows money. Then when the project is successfully implemented, the company gives the money back. As regards the mutual relations, the Czech Republic has no negative historical accounts with Israel, there is no inferiority or superiority

complexes. But according to JUDr. Smutný the Czech Republic should learn from Israel its quest for success in the world. In the present, the Czech Republic has abovestandard relationship at the government level with Israel. Regular joint sessions of the governments are carried out. Next year, for example, they will be held again in Prague.

Czech–Israeli joint chamber of commerce, which is a non-governmental organisation, is preparing documents for them.

Hebr

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99

I nterview

with

L adislav M iko , D eputy D irector -G eneral

for

F ood

safety ,

E uropean C ommission

P hoto : A rchive

In 2050 we will live in a zero-carbon economy, or at least we will know the way how to get there Ladislav Miko holds the position of the Deputy Director-General for Food Safety at the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission. He was previously the Deputy Director-General for Nature in DG Environment. In the period May-December 2009, he held the office of the Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic in the country´s caretaker government. In 2002–2005 he was the Deputy Minister and Director-General for Nature and Landscape Protection in the Ministry for Environment of the Czech Republic. He holds a doctorate in zoology and ecology. His research interests are in zoology, soil zoology and ecology and he has published widely in the scientific and popular press.

How do you perceive the debate about dual food quality? Is it justified?

From the point of view of the food safety legislation there is an obligation to indicate the real content of the product on the packaging.

This is followed practically in all declared cases - so purely from the point of our legal requirements there is no violation. Being just a technocrat, one could say that there is no problem. I think it should be more perceived as a moral rather than a legal problem. The very similar packaging with the same motive and trade mark leads consumers to believe that they are buying the same product, even

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if the content is rightly explained on the packaging. That is in consumer protection falling into definition of unfair practice and therefore Commission takes care about it.

On the other side, I have to admit that there are some cases of identical product with different quality. From 35 examples collected by the Czech government, most belonged to the category of unfair practice, only few had identical packaging and different content. In any case, if the consumer feels misled then we have to examine it carefully. The food business operators have been already approached and the issue is followed. But we should always

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remind that the consumer has the incredible power of not to buy and/or to choose another product and in such a case the companies simply will have to adapt to consumer request, otherwise they lose the market.

The EU negotiates several Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in which food safety is a hot topic. Do the Europeans really have to worry that EU food safety standards would be lowered by the FTAs? The negotiations with the third countries are exclusively on the basis of mandates given to the European Commission by the Member

I nterview

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L adislav M iko , D eputy D irector -G eneral

States and in line with the current priorities and legislation in place. We obviously do not reduce our standards. On the contrary, we try to convince the partners in international bodies to accept European standards on global level. Sometimes it is difficult, we have to be consistent. Without good reason, it is not easy to say that we do not accept the meat disinfected by chlorine, while we accept the same substance to disinfect potable water or to wash the salads. We have to explain to the partners why we are so sensitive on particular issues. This was the case during the negotiations e.g. with the Canadians or the Americans. Our argument is that we aim to keep the whole process clean and therefore we do not want just to use the chemicals at the end of the process. In fact, their processes are also very clean and they use chemical disinfection as additional assurance because society is very “microbiophobic”. It appears to me that we Europeans accept more the microbes and the Americans and the Canadians are more open to chemicals. It is perhaps given by the history and different culture. We were able to agree on accepting the use of lactic acid for washing the meat as it is a metabolite. We accepted this solution for the meat imported from the U.S., and it does not lower our standards at all.

There is another threat coming from the international trade such as the sale of food and medicines online. Are we able to control the quality of food and medicines bought online from the countries outside the EU? We probably cannot fully avoid the problems linked to the sale of food and medicine online.

The consumers have to take part of their responsibility. When buying such products online they should check whether the type of food or medicine is authorized in the EU. If it is not the case, then the consumers have to know that they run a risk. There are already some tools allowing that, developed by European operators and we are discussing the best ways to control safety of online sales. We can also rely on ever better detection methods and closer cooperation of competent authorities from the Member States.

Being too regulative would mean restriction of the freedom to sell online, which is highly demanded and appreciated by citizens.

There is a misuse in antibiotics for animals.

The EU launched an action on antimicrobial resistance. Could you please describe it?

The European Union is a global leader in this field, similarly to the sustainable use of pesticides or to restrictions in use of endocrine disrupting substances in pesticides and biocides. The new (second) strategy further develops “one health” principle - we take into account both human and veterinary use of antibiotics. Other economies focus much more or only on human health without considering a preventive or even growth-promoting use of antibiotics by animals, which is completely

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banned in the EU. Still, antibiotic use is generally growing and we have to find a suitable way how to decrease it. The majority of the countries in the world try to find new types of antibiotics but their development is very long and their resistance appears quicker than fifty years ago.

This leads us to the strict implementation of “prudent use” principle, based only on the basis of prescriptions by specialists. Our goal is to keep the position of the global leader in this field and convince other countries, for example during trade negotiations, to join our efforts. If we remain alone in this battle, the antimicrobial resistance can still grow elsewhere.

During the summer, there was the scandal with Fipronil contaminated eggs. Is it something people should be afraid of?

Fipronil case showed us how the Internal Market in food works and how our tools could be used in similar cases. As soon as the alert appeared in our system for Food and Feed Safety Alerts (RASFF), the Commission alerted and coordinated the Member States which immediately started to withdraw the eggs from the market. The Internal Market has no physical barriers therefore the eggs were sold in numerous Member States. It also showed us the challenges of RASFF, as it is obviously up to the national competent authorities to insert the information into the system after a thorough examination.

The competent body should use it if there is a potential risk of harming the human health, but if this is not confirmed, it can drastically harm the trade and business – as we saw in the case of Spanish cucumbers in German EHEC crisis two years ago. In the EU, the use of Fipronil is illegal for animals in the production of food for human consumption. Therefore, this is a case of food crime and a criminal investigation is ongoing. Analytical results showed that the level of residues in eggs was in most cases just above the detection limit, while health effects could happen in concentrations of higher magnitude. Such thresholds (0.72 mg/ kg compared to the 0.005 mg/kg detection limit) were reached only in very few cases, the eggs were obviously withdrawn from the market and destroyed.

What are the biggest threats to human health in future food?

Beside the antimicrobial resistance, the big threat can be the new and exotic diseases. With more frequent flows of people and goods in the world and with ongoing climate change, we run more risks of expansion of new diseases of viral or parasitic origin. Another more general threat may be paradoxically the small scale production of food. Our food production in the EU is probably the safest one in the world.

The present concentrated large-scale food production and even the rules for numerous small and medium sized operators allow for effective control. But if we enter in the future in a literally “domestic”, individual food production

safety ,

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and such food will be exchanged between people, it brings a lot of new challenges to the control approaches. We will perhaps have to discuss to what extent the responsibility for food safety of consumed food can be partly assumed by the consumer – something what is today not possible – what is sold, must be safe (and must be controlled). Last but not least, I am certainly not alone to perceive the threat in obesity and healthy and balanced nutrition which might be accentuated by the ageing population and financial difficulties of some consumers.

What are the limits of the circular economy?

There might be a risk in form of contamination by heavy metals or their concentration in recycling process, for instance. Nevertheless it should not be an argument not to support the circular economy. We should search the ways how to obtain the products that will be free of the contamination. The aim of the circular economy is to reduce the exploitation of (re-) sources and not to lose the outputs. We should clean and recycle as much as possible. Having said that we need more clean technologies.

Your professional life is tightly connected to nature, environmental and climate protection. What is your opinion on the decision of the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement? Does it mean the end of multilateral fight against climate change?

When trying to avoid the use of the expression that it was a not very wise decision, I have to say that it was a unilateral decision of present representation. However, the reaction within the U.S. shows that individual States do not agree with the withdrawal from the Paris agreement as they announce they will follow it. The climate threats are sensible and people are aware of the industrial negative impact.

I think the trend towards the low emission industry will not stop and in 2050 we will live in a zero-carbon economy, or at least we will know the way how to get there.

You have many hobbies. What do you like to do in your leisure time?

I am a scientist - a soil biologist and my long-lasting hobby is the soil bugs. In this field I invested a lot to join the top level experts, and I am trying not to lose it. I also try to present science to public – just now I am making a second part of the film dedicated to soil biology. I also lecture at universities and as a biologist, I like to travel around the world - not only from my position of the informal chair of the European wilderness initiative.

Last but not least, for 10 years I have been running a Czech and Slovak fun club in Brussels which is a great place for networking with friends and colleagues.

Thank you for the interview!

By Alena Mastantuono

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Debate on Road Package

From left: Vladimír Starosta, President, ČESMAD BOHEMIA, z.s., Martina Dlabajová, Member of the European Parliament, Eddy Liegeois, Head of Road Transport Unit, DG MOVE, European Commission, and David Klimeš, Head Analyst of Ekonom Weekly

Michaela Šojdrová, Member of the European Parliament

Eddy Liegeois, Head of Road Transport Unit, DG MOVE, European Commission

Vladimír Starosta, President of ČESMAD BOHEMIA, z.s. and Martina Dlabajová, Member of the European Parliament

Few initiatives of the European Commission have caused as much debate lately as the recently introduced EU mobility package. The European Commission's package published on the 31st of May 2017 focused on several areas that have troubled European hauliers, including the Czech ones, in recent months. These include, in particular, the issue of posting of workers in the road transport. The social aspects of the road transport and the new rules proposed by the mobility package were discussed by the representatives of European institutions, business organizations, hauliers’ associations and the general public at a debate organized in the European House in Prague on the 16th of June.

Participants of the debate

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Meeting of

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CEBRE founders with Czech MEPs

From left: Vladimír Dlouhý, President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Jaroslav Hanák, President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Jan Wiesner, President of the Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic, and Alena Mastantuono, Director of CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU

From left: Luděk Niedermayer, Vice-Chair of ECON Committee, European Parliament, Michaela Šojdrová, Member of CULT and FEMM Committee, European Parliament, Martina Dlabajová, Vice-Chair of CONT Committee, European Parliament, Pavel Telička, Vice-President, European Parliament, and Petr Ježek, Member of ECON and PANA Committee, European Parliament

Posting of workers in the EU internal market, clean energy package and free trade agreements of the EU with third countries – those were the topics of another meeting of founders of CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU with Czech Members of the European Parliament that took place on the 16th of June 2017 in Prague. Presidents of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Confederation of Employers' Participants of the debate and Entrepreneurs' Associations of the Czech Republic and Czech Chamber of Commerce agreed with MEPs that it is necessary to intensively discuss the future role of the Czech Republic within the EU and expressed their willingness to continue in such debates. © KZPS ČR From left: Jana Radová, Head of Brussels Office / Permanent Delegate to BusinessEurope, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Lukáš Martin, Director of International Relations Department, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Ladislav Minčič, Director of Legislation, Law and Analytics Department and Advisor to the President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, and Emanuel Šíp, Head of Transport Section, Czech Chamber of Commerce

From left: Soňa Van Deelenová, Director General, Union of Czech Production Co-operatives, Petr Hanuš Director of Social Services, Non-profit Organizations and Culture, Union of Employers’ Associations Czech Republic, Pavel Březina, Chairman of the Board of Directors, COOP, Jan Zikeš, Secretary General, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic, and Martin Pýcha, Chairman, Agricultural Association of the Czech Republic

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DID YOU KNOW THAT? Number of EU infringement cases is growing The European Commission issued is annual report on monitoring the application of EU law and a comparative overview of the results of the internal market at the end of July. The overview shows that while most barriers to free movement of people, services, goods and capital are being removed, there are certain areas where the situation is stagnating or even worsening. The report for 2016 shows a significant increase (by 21%) of infringement cases compared to the previous year, thus achieving a five-year maximum. The countries with the highest number of open cases of incorrect implementation and/or incorrect application of EU law are Germany and Spain. As for the Czech Republic, the Commission opened 27 procedures for incorrect implementation/application of EU law (the EU average is 24), half of which are environmental and transport cases.

EU funding rules need simplification Rules for managing EU funds are too complicated both for entrepreneurs and for local authorities, says a study issued by a group of independent cohesion policy experts in July. The group also presented its proposal on how the simplified framework for EU funds should look after 2020. The report follows the discussion paper published by the European Commission on 28th of June. Furthermore, the group proposed to reduce the rules for EU funds and it believes that the rules for different EU funds and instruments should be harmonized.

Access to the EU for qualified workers will be eased Coreper, the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council of the EU agreed on a negotiating mandate for the draft Blue Card Directive. The card sets the conditions for the entry of highly qualified third-country workers into the EU. The aim of the revision is to make the EU more attractive to highly qualified workers and to facilitate their mobility within the EU. The Council will now enter into negotiations with the Parliament on the basis of this agreement.

A Pan-European pension product is in the pipeline The European Commission presented a proposal to create a pan-European personal pension product, a new type of voluntary personal pension offering greater choice of how to save money for old age.

This product will be governed by the same standards throughout the EU. It will not replace existing pension schemes in the Member States but will only complement existing pension products. One of the benefits of the product is that it will be transferable between the Member States.

Cross-border insolvency procedure is easier Recently, new rules for cross-border insolvency proceedings from 2015 have begun to be applied throughout the European Union. The rules will facilitate the implementation of restructuring, increase the chances of creditors for getting their money back, and allow collective redress for crossborder debt recovery. The adopted regulation focuses on the settlement of disputes concerning jurisdiction and legislation in cross-border insolvency proceedings. Last but not least, it ensures the recognition of EU-wide insolvency lawsuits.

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LET´S TALK NUMBERS Cross-border online shopping on the rise In July, the European Commission issued its Consumer Conditions Scoreboard: Consumers at home in the Single Market 2017 edition, which shows that consumers are buying more and more online and their confidence in online shopping is increasing. This applies in particular to purchases from other EU Member States. However, retailers do not sufficiently reflect this situation and their confidence in cross-border sales is smaller. The survey shows that the proportion of Europeans who shop online increased from 29.7% in 2007 to 55% this year. However, there are still a lot of obstacles to further development, such as the rejection of card payments issued in another country, or the impossibility of cross-border delivery.

Juncker Investment Plan heading to €225 billion milestone According to the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Juncker Investment Plan should mobilize up to 225 billion EUR for investment. The information was published by the EIB following the meeting of its Board of Directors. So far, 276 projects that will benefit approximately 445,000 SMEs were approved by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Juncker Investment Plan.

Counterfeit products heading to EU on the rise According to a Report on EU customs enforcement of intellectual property rights 2016 recently released by the European Commission, over 41 million counterfeit products were seized last year by customs authorities totalling to the value of 670 million EUR. The categories represented the most were cigarettes (24%), toys (17%) and food (13%).

Compared to 2015, the total number of seized products grew by 2%. The majority of products originated from China (80%), Vietnam and Pakistan.

Production in construction slightly down According to first estimates of the Statistical Office of the European Union Eurostat, seasonally adjusted production in construction declined in May 2017 compared with the previous month by 1.1% in the EU and 0.7% in the euro area. In April 2017, there was a slight increase (0.2% both in the euro area and in the EU28). The annual comparison shows an increase of 2.5% in the EU28 and 2.6% in the euro area. Construction grew fastest in Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy.

Czech Republic has highest job vacancy rate The job vacancy rate reached 1.9% in the first quarter of 2017, both in the euro area and across the EU, according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. In the euro area, this is an increase of 0.2% compared to the previous quarter, and 0.1% in the EU-28. In the first quarter of 2017, the highest vacancy rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.1%), Belgium (2.9% in Q4 2016) and Finland with Sweden (both countries 2.7%), lowest in Spain (0.8%) and Portugal (0.9%).

IN THE WORLD! Protectionism tendencies increase The European Commission issued its report on trade and investment barriers in 2016, which states that European exporters have seen almost 10% growth

in barriers to trade. At the end of the last year, there were 372 barriers in total, of which 36 were created in 2016. The European Commission managed to eliminate 20 barriers to trade last year, mainly in the fields of agriculture and fisheries, automotive, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors and the electronics sector.

Sanctions against Russia prolonged At the end of June, the Council of the EU prolonged the economic sanctions against Russia, which were introduced on 31st of July 2014 in connection with Russian actions to support destabilization in Ukraine. The sanctions are targeted at financial, energy and defence sectors as well as dual-use items. More specifically, their aim is to limit the access of the five largest state-owned financial institutions to EU capital markets, prohibit the export and import of arms, ban the export of dualuse items for military purposes to Russia, and limit access to certain technologies and services used for production and exploration activities for oil drilling. The Council extended the sanctions until the 31st of January 2018.

Provisional application of CETA as of September The European Commission has informed that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada is provisionally applied as of the 21st of September 2017. In order for European exporters to benefit from preferential tariff treatment, they must register in the Registered Exporters System (REX). The Commission therefore invites those who have not done so yet to register as soon as possible in the system. The deadline for registration is the 31st of December 2017.

EU worried about impact of US sanctions against Russia At the end of July, the European Commission expressed its concern about the United States plan to extend sanctions against Russia, particularly from the point of preserving the EU's energy independence.

The US proposal envisages imposing sanctions on all companies that contribute to the development, maintenance, modernization and reparation of Russia's pipeline infrastructure. The EU is concerned that this measure could have a negative impact on the import of energy from Russia to Europe through Ukraine. Although the EU supports the sanction regime against Russia, it fears the potential impact on the EU. The Commission will therefore continue to monitor the situation and will be in close contact with the US party.

Preferential treatment for Ukraine The Council of the EU adopted temporary trade preferences for Ukraine at the end of July. The new measures aim to improve access of Ukrainian exporters to the EU market. They will come into force at the end of September 2017 and will be applied for three years. The measures are complementary to those already in place under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement which was provisionally applied from the 1st of January 2016 and formally came into force on the 1st of September 2017.

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