Issue 01/2021

NOVEMBER 2021/DECEMBER 2021

ANIMALS in the Zoo are Wildlife

AMBASSADORS Miroslav Bobek, the Director of Prague Zoo

available worldwide online P hoto : A rchive

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P rague ZOO

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Dear Readers, Friends and Partners, We would like to share with you news regarding changes at our magazine.

After a very difficult time during which COVID-19 affected us negatively, as it did almost everyone and in many ways, we are back on track to remain your favorite magazine.

The Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine now has new management which will continue running the magazine founded by Mr. Benke Aikell 20 years ago.

From left: H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia and Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

10 The Czech Senate welcomed the new Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Eduard Heger 12 At the invitation of the President of the Czech Senate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Prague 14 Visit of the President of Serbia to the Senate 18 EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 62 Coaching in Women´s Leadership 76 19th annual TREBBIA International Awards  page 16

The new edition will be published before Christmas and we are preparing the next one to be published in March 2022.

We will make every effort to be your reliable partner in publishing your important events and news and help your businesses grow.

We would also like to pay tribute to Mr. Benke Aikell, Founder of the Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine, for all his effort and achievements and well deserved both the magazine's and his personal recognition and respect.

We wish you all Happy Holidays, good fortune, health and success in all your endeavors!

Eva Anderová & Meshulam Zisso Owners and Executive Editors

Winner, Entrepreneur of the Year 2020

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C ontents

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Interview with Jiří Krejča We should protect the family silver Interview with Martin Boruta The European Green Deal and energy savings in buildings will be the key topics of tomorrow Interview with Tomáš Mlýnek Personal account of the pandemic Interview with James Tang To combine the latest ICT technologies with traditional manufacturing Interview with H.E. Rastislav Káčer Our shared past is important for the future Interview with Pavel Šporcl Let’s return to live culture...

Interview with Karol Suchánek Cybersecurity - a critical point for all types of organisations Interview with Danuše Nerudová Nothing is impossible Interview with Christophe Scarfogliero Let´s not be conservative Interview with Michal Sičák Don’t settle for conventional treatment Interview with Eva Lustigová What can I hope for?

Miroslav Bobek

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Interview with Miroslav Bobek Animals in the zoo are wildlife ambassadors Interview with Jana Vohralíková Having a job as a reward Interview with H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh Promoting the UNKNOWN Interview with Vít Rakušan The young generation gives me hope Interview with David Hercky Emotional factor is the motor of everything  page 25

Culture comes to life again through “Thai Movie Night”

diplomatic events Vít Rakušan

22 The ASEAN Committee in Prague supports the fight against COVID-19 23 Culture comes to life again through “Thai Movie Night” 26 Lunch at the Thai residence

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contents

contributors 30 Viktor Kostický Risks of implementing LinkedIn Sales in large sales departments and how to overcome them (Part II) 39 Cristina Muntean Bottling or Venting?

How to handle people´s emotional overspill during the pandemic 42 Linda Štucbartová Long Covid and what now?

47 Iva Drebitko Figeac heads for the summit, the inauguration of new cellars 50 Linda Štucbartová On empowerment, self-defense, technology, and a violence-free world 51 Tereza Urbánková The power of routines 56 Alena Huberová How to communicate your value and market yourself successfully 72 James A. Cusumano I love you just the way you are

Day at the Prague ZOO

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EU matters 83 Interview with Ondřej Kovařík The European Parliament is vocal on its key priorities 86 EU matters business

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ANIMALS in the ZOO are

WILDLIFE AMBASSADORS

Interview with Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague ZOO P hoto : A rchive

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Before the times of Covid, Prague Zoo was ranked the fourth-best zoo in the world by the travel website TripAdvisor.

The number of its visitors exceeded 1.4 million people in one year. The annual turnout of all the zoos globally is over half a billion visitors. In comparison to other zoological gardens, the Prague Zoo wins with its varied topography, generous land size, and modern look.

Today, zoological gardens operate in a world where the biodiversity of natural ecosystems is under an ever-growing threat.

And it is the zoos, who have the unique opportunity of covering a comprehensive scale of conservational activities from research to protection, including the breeding of endangered species and educational activities in ex situ regime, as well as participating in in situ projects in the field. You will learn more about these program types further on in the interview.

Miroslav Bobek has been the Director of Prague Zoo since 2010. He studied zoology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Charles University in Prague, and before joining Prague Zoo he worked for the Czech Radio. He initiated the now legendary project African Odyssey, which monitored the migration of storks, and was also the author of The Revealed project, featuring gorillas from Prague Zoo. He founded the Czech Radio Online division and laid the ground for the launch of the popular-science radio station Leonardo. In less than twelve years under his leadership, Prague Zoo has managed to boost its annual turnout of visitors, increase the zoo´s financial independence, intensify its breeding successes, and deepen its efforts in the preservation of endangered species. In October 2021, Prague Zoo received the highest possible award from the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the WAZA Conservation Award. This prestigious award was received for the Return of the Wild Horses project and for its long-standing contribution to saving the Przewalski´s horse. This is only the sixth time in history that this world’s greatest honour for zoos has been awarded. Miroslav Bobek was awarded the Medal of Vojtěch Náprstek and received the Medal of Friendship from the President of Mongolia.

I met the director in his office in the functional villa facing the zoo´s main entrance, where he arrived from the construction site of the new gorilla house, which is now being completed. From the terrace, you get a beautiful view of lower Troja and Troja Château.

Without a generous donation in the form of real estate and land from a farming tycoon of that time, Alois Svoboda, we would not be sitting there. We talked about animal protection in situ (in their natural habitat) and ex situ (within the human care), about the current trends in zoological gardens operations, as well as about the ways we all can help protect nature.

We missed the animals during Covid lockdowns. Did they miss us too? And talking about the breeding of Przewalski´s horses, have you already visited their compound at the other side of Prague, at Dívčí hrady in Prague 5, which is also a part of the zoo?

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Mr Bobek, congratulations on your WAZA award that you received for the breeding of Przewalski´s horse, which has been a hundred-year long tradition in our country. When you became director, you wrote down ten points to define your priorities in office – and now, after twelve years under your leadership, Prague Zoo is winning the highest possible award.

How do you feel looking back through all these years?

Let me just specify that those ten points did not consider the general management of the zoo but specifically our approach to the socalled in situ projects, i.e., projects focusing on biodiversity conservation of the natural habitats of the species. It was about the way of choosing such species and our further approach to them. Today, this attitude seems standard, however, it was not like this back then. We introduced more rigorous control of invested funds on the spot - we prefer projects that we run or manage ourselves to those that we “just” contribute to. The portfolio of the species that we concentrate on reflects our exposition policy. To give an example, I can mention our gorilla conservation project, which, however, aspires to protect a complex natural habitat including all sorts of other species, with gorillas functioning as an umbrella species only.

Let´s just stay for a moment with the twelve-year retrospection of your term in office. You have been through floods, economic crisis, and now a pandemic…

I am interested in history, and I deal a little bit with the history of Prague Zoo too. I feel profound respect to most directors, and I try to learn as much as possible about them. Many of my predecessors were facing great challenges. Let´s start with the founder of Prague Zoo, professor Janda, who had to make a huge effort just to create it in the first place.

Then, there is a person of Colonel Vlasák who was the director during WWII. Also because of this, it is clear for me that there are not only sunny days but also cloudy ones, and that it is our task to deal with unfavorable conditions.

For you, it is the time of the current pandemic that you need to deal with. I don´t really want to write about it anymore, however, it appears that Covid-19 is going to stay with us for a bit longer.

We have approached Covid with great caution and respect since the very beginning. There are not only numerous zoologists among us, but biologists too. We have never underestimated the danger of Covid and have sometimes even had stricter precautions towards our visitors and employees than those of the government.

For example, we closed our pavilions very early on with the aim to mitigate the spread of the infection. We still respect Covid these days. My concerns about the impact of the whole situation may have been even greater than what reality has shown us so far. I am saying “so far” deliberately because we are aware it is not over yet. There are dynamics in the disease itself as well as the connected economic implications.

At the very beginning, we have implemented serious restrictions in the form of austerity measures and with time we also started reaching out to the public for help. If we thought the pandemic had finished today, we could assess that we managed it very well. Some resources were saved and in other cases our financial reserves were used, and some items were covered by the establishment or by using donations from the public. However, the pandemic is not yet over, and concerns over it are still justified. Some of our greatest business partnerships are indicating to us that funding will be limited. We are witnessing increasing costs everywhere. This interview is supposed to be timeless therefore we should avoid further discussion on energy prices. So, we are constantly focusing on reducing our operation costs. Fortunately, our investments have not been affected yet. We are prepared for the fact that the economically lean period is not over yet.

How did the animals manage the situation, did any of them suffer from Covid?

People missed the zoo, especially families with children. Did the animals miss us too?

There were some cases of Covid-19 among gorillas and felines. Fortunately, they were only

mild cases. Ill animals had runny eyes and noses, some experienced mild respiratory problems.

This could not have been prevented. The keepers maintain close contact with the animals and the delta variant proved to be highly contagious.

“Did the animals miss the people?” is a question I am often asked. The answer covers two issues.

The first is change. When people suddenly disappear, animals can feel the change. And each change causes vigilance and fear. After all, this does not apply only to animals but humans too. When you don´t have an explanation for a change, it disturbs you. The other issue is connected to the fact that for some animals, the visitors represent a welcome distraction.

Sometimes I say that the same way people observe the animals in the zoo, the animals observe the visitors too, often with the same level of interest. In such cases, the visitors function as a certain form of enrichment of animal life.

Let us go back to the funding. How successful are you these days in fundraising? In addition to the already mentioned WAZA award, the media has reported a generous inheritance being bequeathed.

First, I would like to mention adoptions or sponsoring the animals, purchasing meal tickets for them and other similar forms of support - they are not only valuable economically to us, but they also mean a great deal of encouragement for us. The inheritance of eight digits that you have mentioned represents really a prominent bequest. Partly it is cash and partly real estate. We are incredibly happy that people think of us in their final testaments. It was thanks to patronage that Prague Zoo was created in the first place. People do not know much about the bequest of Alois Svoboda, a big Troja landowner, patriot and benefactor who donated Troja Château and a large piece of land in Troja to the Czechoslovak state, where Prague Zoo and Botanical Garden were established later.

Rakos´ house for rare parrots holds the legacy of a recognised bird breeder - Stanislav Rákos enabled us to build the house, with the support of his wife. Of course, we also appreciate the above-mentioned bequest, which at the same time means a great commitment for us.

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The Czechs are considered generous donors, especially in one-time campaigns.

When helping Australia, we raised more than twenty-three million Czech Crowns.

Are you successful in facilitating a longterm cooperation with donors?

Yes, burnt koalas who became the symbol of burning Australia raised great sympathy and solidarity. In a similar way, people responded to our appeal during the pandemic, and we received help in the form of animal adoptions. During the first phase of the pandemic, we were careful about our requests for help.

Unlike the floods, when we were asking for help really intensively. With all due respect to those affected by the floods, they did not hit such a great part of the population. At the time when the Covid pandemic was just starting, it seemed like almost everybody would be in need of some help. Later, we started asking for help, however, we refrained from statements like “the animals will die if you don´t support us” - it wouldn´t have been true.

Animal adoption and sponsoring has a long tradition in our zoo. We are glad that even whole companies or classrooms also take part in this project. Czechs are sensitive and try to help. And help during a crisis is inherently more generous than continuous support.

My favourite question of recent times is: what are you looking forward to when you stop solving problems arising from Covid?

We live and work now too. When Covid is over, we will have one thing less to worry about. Let me return to the previously mentioned investments that we want to continue with. Today, I spent three hours at the new gorilla house, which is now being finished. I look forward to starting the construction of the Arctic pavilion.

I look forward to the arrival of the new animals, I rejoice in the young. I am happy when our in situ projects, which were most affected by the pandemic, work. We had to interrupt the transports of the Przewalski’s horses to Mongolia, activities in Africa slowed down. Of course, I look forward to the number of visitors returning to normal. People still visit the zoo, but we miss foreign tourists. I look forward to the end of the restrictions. And I look forward to transportation of the animals becoming easier. If we had no Covid, pangolins would have already been here. As things are currently, we can only look forward to them arriving in spring 2022.

What does a future zoo look like? In Israel, I saw a museum that has no exhibited items but multimedia and stories instead.

Famous circuses have started performing without animals, however, I can´t imagine a zoo without them.

Do you know how it is with forecasters? They tell their prognosis just to be proved completely wrong later. I am not a forecaster. I assume your question considers the next 40 – 50 years outlook. So, we can start by thinking

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about the current trends regarding relationships to animals. We try to address their needs more and more. And we also know more and more about these needs. It is the space that plays a crucial role. Demands for the breeding of big cats, apes and elephants versus the space needed for those are all substantially increasing. It means that in the future, zoological gardens will keep a lower number of animals in larger spaces. Another important feature will be acceptance of the zoos´ role in the field of biodiversity conservation and in relation to that, breeding of species with the aim to maintain the population or even return to nature.

However, this will not be their primal activity.

There are too many endangered species but too little space in the zoos.

Far more important will be the presentation of the animals, which the zoo tries to protect in nature. A typical example is the gorillas. They are wildlife ambassadors, who the visitors can see in our garden and fall in love with. Then, they are far more willing to open up to the fact that it is necessary to protect gorillas in their natural habitat, in the wilderness of Africa. This emphasis will gradually increase. I don´t want to talk about smart technologies, but since you already mentioned a museum without artefacts, for me it is important to see the in-

dividual real objects in the museum. If museums change into buildings with large screens and computer animations, then it makes me question whether I can´t just watch the film at home?

To see animals with your own eyes, experience them and sometimes smell them, to simply be there, all of that is of great value, which is irreplaceable. And it is an environmentally friendly option too. Seeing elephants in our zoo is much better from this point of view than having to travel to Sri Lanka to see them.

Prague Zoo is exceptional in many ways.

Czech visitors of the zoos in neighbouring countries are then disappointed when they find those local zoos are cramped and run down. Where do you get your inspiration from?

I get inspired by the zoos in New York and San Diego, some German zoos and others. You can find some inspiration in those older or run down gardens too, and inspiration may also be found at places with no connection to the zoos. However, what I really find important is a good knowledge of animals´ natural habitats, in Africa or Asia. We look for inspiration for our buildings at concrete locales, and I then show the architects the photos from the places we

visited. We do our best to make our buildings reflect these natural habitats as much as possible.

The last question comes from my children.

When exactly should we visit to see the animals being active? We were repeatedly unlucky with a small hippo who was active during TV coverage, but we always found him sleeping.

Animals need their comfort, and they sleep a lot. We definitely do not want to activate them artificially. Ensuring peace for the animals is ethical. Therefore, I recommend guided tours at the time of feeding. The keeper talks about the animals, and sometimes their feeding includes veterinary exercises, for example with the seals. We are back to (talking about) the educational role of zoological gardens, when it is the zoo that, through its educational and training activities, influences the general public. And thanks to the potential of live animals, the zoo can affect the views, attitude, value creation, and behaviour of its visitors.

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

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S enate

The Czech Senate welcomed the new Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Eduard Heger 15th of April 2021, Prague. In the Main Hall of the Wallenstein Palace, President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil met with the newly-appointed Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Eduard Heger, who according to established customs set off on his first foreign trip to the Czech Republic. Heger’s delegation included the Slovak Minister for Foreign Affairs Ivan Korčok, and Minister for Health Vladimír Lengvarský.

“I appreciate that you came to us in the Czech Republic in such an important group immediately after taking office; we value this tradition very much,“ said Miloš Vystrčil at the beginning of the official reception.

The Slovak delegation was also welcomed in the Senate by Jiří Růžička, 1st Vice-President of the Senate, Vice-President Jitka Seitlová, Vice-President Jiří Oberfalzer, Pavel Fischer, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, and David Smoljak, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs.

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Miloš Vystrčil first opened the joint debate on the current situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border. Both the Czech and Slovak sides unequivocally agreed that the current situation is very worrying, and Ukraine must be given as much support as possible.

“It’s a fundamental topic for us, among others because Ukraine is our immediate neighbour. It has our full support from the perspective of integrity. It is very important to help de-escalate the conflict. A joint approach is certainly more effective, so I am glad that we hold the same position on this matter,“ observed Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger.

Other topics discussed in the Senate were the impacts of the pandemic on education, the issue of the meaningful directing of regional collaboration within the Visegrád Group, and the vaccination process in both countries.

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At the invitation of the President of the Czech Senate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Prague

The Belarusian opposition politician came to the Czech Republic at the invitation of Miloš Vystrčil.

Tsikhanouskaya also met with President Miloš Zeman, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) and with Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakub Kulhánek.

The international community should not “calm the dictator” and “conduct a dialogue with him,” said Tsikhanouskaya during her speech in the Czech Senate. She called for the creation of an international tribunal to investigate the crimes committed by officials in the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

Miloš Vystrčil presents to Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya resolution supporting free Belarus

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Miloš Vystrčil during the speeches

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Tsikhanouskaya said in a speech to Czech senators on Wednesday that “the Belarusian people are facing a terror that they have not experienced in years of Stalinist repression”. In her opinion, the international tribunal should investigate crimes committed in the past and during the presidential elections in Belarus in 2020.

Pavel Fischer, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Czech Senate hosting a lunch for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

S enate

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya with Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Senate and his colleagues

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Miloš Vystrčil during the speeches

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya with Pavel Fischer, Chairman of the foreign Committee of the Senate, and his colleagues

Press conference at the Senate

Standing ovation for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the Senate

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S enate

Visit of the President of Serbia to the Senate The President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miloš Vystrčil warmly welcomed in the Senate the President of the Republic of Serbia H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić together with Jiří Růžička, 1st Vice-President of the Senate of the Parliament, Jiří Oberfalzer and Jan Horník, both the Vice-Presidents of the Senate of the Parliament, Pavel Fischer, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Jiří Dušek, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

From left: H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia and Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia and Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic during his speech

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Warm welcome of H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić by the Senate officials

Gala dinner at the Senate

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H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia admiring the seat of the Senate

H.E. Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia

S ource : S enate

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J ana V ohralíková , H ead

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She started with the revival of the YMCA in the Czech Republic, continued in state administration and a top IT company, supervised investments in the Czech University of Life Sciences, and is now modernising the Office of the Senate. When she reflects on her career, she talks of coincidences, and opportunities that couldn’t be resisted. She began her managerial career in top positions after post-Velvet Revolution maternity leave, in the non-profit sector. Not only did the reconstruction of the YMCA palace take place under her leadership; together with her team, she gradually built the Czech YMCA into an organisation whose scope of activities equalled sister organisations in countries where its operation was never interrupted by a communist regime. Another seven-year stint brought her into state administration. There she worked, among others, in the Office of the Government as the head of Prime Minister Jan Fischer’s team of advisers. And then came an offer from the owner of leading Czech IT company Anect, Mirek Řihák.

He came to her with a challenge – she should stop saving the world, and learn to do business. I got to know Jana at that time; we were brought together not only by the small number of women in top IT positions, but also that need to change the world. After she completed her tenure in Anect’s Board of Directors, she planned a break to think about her next direction. She had been on holidays for a week when a former colleague informed her about an announced selection procedure for the Quaestor of the Czech University of Life Sciences. And because there were more former subordinates there who wanted Jana as their boss, it was another offer she couldn’t refuse. What’s more, the academic environment was once again another opportunity to learn something new. At that time, the Czech University of Life Sciences realised large projects paid from European funds, so over 2 billion CZK of investment funds literally passed through Jana’s hands. She was selected for the function of Chancellor of the Senate by former President of the Senate Jaroslav Kubera. During two years, the Senate changed not only due to the unexpected and tragic departure of the former President, but also with regard to modified functioning because of the pandemic. In her position, Jana is proving that she never ceases in her efforts to build and modernise. We met for lunch in the Senate’s prestigious dining room. The royal blue, which returned to the premises after the reconstruction and for which the Senate received an award, underlined the dignity and history of this place. At the same time, however, the institution must be prepared for effective functioning in the 21st century. Enjoy our summer interview, which can be an inspiration on how to push through changes in a complex environment. We also discussed the legacies of important men, Albrecht von Wallenstein and Jaroslav Kubera. And you should certainly come and take a look at the cultural performances that are taking place in the Wallenstein Garden as part of the Senate for Culture event.

Having a job as a REWARD Jana, you’ve held the position of Chancellor of the Senate for almost two years.

Your afore-mentioned professional career proves that this position is part coincidence, and also an opportunity that cannot be refused.

With regard to the selection procedure for Chancellor of the Senate, I was contacted

by Jan Bubeník. At the time, the large projects in the Czech University of Life Sciences were completed, and I was once again thinking about the next challenge. I didn’t think I had a chance of succeeding in the position of Chancellor. But Jan convinced me that I should simply try entering the selection procedure. And I really longed to meet the then President of the Senate, Mr. Kubera, in person.

The selection procedure became one of the nicest experiences of my life, thanks to the legendary charisma of President Kubera. At the time, President Kubera asked me why I’m interested in the position. And I asked him if I should tell the truth. My reasons were to meet him, to have the opportunity to take the tram to work, and my love of historical buildings. The President laughed out loud, and pointed out that I’ll have a driver; I insisted that I’ll be taking the tram. And we laughed like this the whole time. He told me stories

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from his time as Mayor of Teplice, while I spoke of my collaboration with Mayor Miroslav Brýdl in Litomyšl, with whom I realised YMCA projects. And Mr. Kubera continued: yes, Mr. Brýdl, it was he who invented the word “inbetweeners“, which I often use. After an hour, I came out of the room and saw another candidate, who looked like a seasoned manager, waiting in the corridor. I stopped hoping that I have a chance. The last round took place before the Senate’s organisation committee, as the supreme body that coordinates all activities.

I went to try again. And the first question from the President was once again why I want to work there. And I want to hear the truth, he said. The other questions were professional.

When they were saying goodbye to me, they thanked me and informed me that I would have to wait for some time for the result of the selection procedure. I hadn‘t even had time to walk to Lesser Town Square when my phone rang. “Welcome aboard,“ President Kubera told me. Two days later, I was in his office picking out jewellery as a gift for the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, In 48 hours, my world had turned upside down.

When you started, you told everyone that the position of Chancellor is a re-

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ward after years of hard work. Do you still think so?

I don’t say it quite so lightly anymore. Much has changed. Within half a year of me taking up the position, President Kubera passed away, and then the pandemic began, which changed absolutely everything. This set of coincidences was even commented on by one senator, who noted that nothing had happened in the Senate in 22 years. And after I joined, two fundamental events took place at once. Is it my bad luck, or do I simply bring changes with me?

Let’s stay for a while with the genius loci of historical buildings. I experienced it myself when I worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Palais Toscan, and then in Škoda Auto in the premises of the Na Karmeli monastery. The Chancellor’s office is located in what used to be Wallenstein’s bedroom. You’re surrounded by prestigious premises, to which the elegant royal blue has returned thanks to a sensitive reconstruction, and the President of the Senate is the second most important constitutional official in the Czech Republic. How to take care of the legacy, while at the same time modernis

I nterview

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J ana V ohralíková , H ead

ing it? To let yourself feel obliged, but not bound?

I have great humility in relation to the work of our ancestors, whether it concerns ordinary village cottages or large palace. I think I have a great sensitivity for what it took to create, build and maintain the specific work. From the very start, I’ve been walking, or often rather running on my tiptoes here. I perceive our ancestors‘ incredible legacy, and the fact that I have the honour and opportunity to care for it for a while. I like walking through the garden in the morning when it’s open, and I realise how long the palace and garden have been standing here, and how I can move this value further while at the same time transforming it into a new era. The functioning cannot stay the same. Wallenstein’s legacy carries singlemindedness, a desire for success and his legendary great ego... When you look at this incredible complex of buildings, which spreads out below Prague Castle, it’s clear that this all represented a truly great challenge for the then monarch. Wallenstein’s large portrait also hangs in my study, directly opposite my desk. By the way, at the moment it’s loaned to the National Gallery, so I don’t get to enjoy my view of Wallenstein in the morning. A portrait of Wallenstein’s wife hangs immediately beside it. It seems to me that her gaze is slightly reproachful, while he appears very confident.

A part of my daily ritual was sitting at the writing table, looking at Wallenstein and remarking, with a smile, that a woman’s hand rules here now. And by the way, I’m glad that you noticed the sensitively realised reconstruction, for which the Czech Republic rightfully received the UNESCO award.

Let’s move on from the reconstruction to other changes. You already mentioned the premature departure of former President Kubera, and then the outbreak of the pandemic. I still remember that President Kubera’s departure affected us all.

It was an unexpected and extremely painful change. Small places of reverence, with an ashtray, an unfinished cigarette, a burning candle and a rose appeared in the palace.

Outside there was a large place of reverence; now there‘s a bench dedicated to Mr. Kubera, together with an honourable decoration he received in Taiwan, in the courtyard.

People really liked the President. I think he was one of the last politicians who used common sense. He liked people. He was often among them. People still remember how the door would suddenly open, and the President would come in and ask them how they’re doing, even though he didn’t need anything.

He looked for ways, not obstacles. The times that he received foreign delegations were an incredible experience for me. In the Protocol Department, they always prepared a speech for him for the ceremonial plaques. He would

of the

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of the

S enate

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C zech R epublic

read the first three sentences, and then close the plaques and start talking to people. And he managed to find out a lot that way. Statesmen rarely talk to one another. They usually stick to prescribed formulas. The President liked people and wanted to find out as much as possible about them; this approach opened doors for him everywhere. I miss this in politics today. It’s a duel or a fight rather than a topic and understanding.

Speaking of accessibility, from the position of the public I perceive positively the effort to leave the Senate and its premises open and accessible to the public as much as possible, obviously while taking into consideration the current epidemiological regulations. The Cultural Summer is currently taking place in the Senate, and Charles University is using the Wallenstein Garden for the traditional meeting of its alumni.

The Cultural Summer in the Senate has a long tradition; I merely inherited this project. Every senator has the opportunity to present a leading ensemble from their region, which then gets the chance to try performing in the Wallenstein Garden. It’s a specific form of national networking. This year we have the Senate for Culture programme, whose creation I participated in promoting. This project arose in response to the pandemic. Culture belonged among the sectors most affected by Covid. It was clear to us that Covid wouldn’t disappear, and at the same time that there would be a great demand for summer theatre. And so we decided to offer the sala terrena to eminent ensembles so that they could perform there. In addition to Prague theatre companies, artists from Olomouc and Jihlava will also appear there, thereby supplementing senators‘ regional programmes. The Wallenstein Garden is truly beautiful, and there is great interest in this performance. At the same time, we’re showing how state property can be used for the benefit of regions in need.

You came to the Senate with the aim of reforming its office, so that it would support the activity of lawmakers who could then do their best for the people.

Before my arrival, the functioning of the office had been almost the same for 22 years.

The senators spent a few days a month there, and the rest in the various regions, which was fine. With Covid, meetings were held much more frequently, if not every week then every second week. Strict hygienic measures were adhered to, and there was no participation by the public, but there was the option of using a remote connection. Overnight, the restructuring of not only IT but also organisational support began. I came across the ceiling faced by many employees who had been working here for many years, and all of a sudden

were expected to walk quickly. I often use this parallel, because one of the employees told me that when I run fast in the Senate, there’s a draft behind me. First I thought it was a joke, but they were serious. People who were of retirement age couldn’t manage the pace of change. Other employees left because they weren’t interested in changing approach. It’s difficult to recruit people for state administration from the outside. From my perspective, state administration has two major shortcomings. The first is remuneration according to tables and classes, and the second is the large number of state officials. If ministries and other state institutions were able to function not on the basis of remuneration according to tables, but according to actual performance and on the basis of managerial direction, everyone would be better off.

The absence of the public at meetings raised the need for active communication. A certain section of the public still isn’t convinced of the benefit of the Senate. On the other hand, trust in the Senate was strengthened by the pandemic. The Senate was seen to correct laws coming from the Chamber of Deputies.

And at the same time, with the current composition, it’s able to reach a consensus and agree on a necessary change. The Chamber of Deputies thus passed many laws in the version proposed by the Senate. There were even cases where the Chamber of Deputies itself asked the Senate to correct laws.

And we’re back to my first experience in the non-profit sector. I managed to put together an excellent team here, which sees meaning in the work we do. I manage to motivate people, because I myself am convinced of my goal and its meaning.

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

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

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EY E ntrepreneur

of the year

2020

Josef Průša, founder and owner of PRUSA RESEARCH, has become EY ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2020 Czech Republic Prague, 7th April 2021 – Josef Průša, founder and owner of Prusa Research, which belongs among the largest 3D printer and cartridge manufacturers in the world, won the prestigious title of EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Czech Republic. Father and son Lubomír and Juraj Šabatka, of the development company IDEA StatiCa s.r.o., became EY Technological Entrepreneurs of the Year 2020. The title of EY New Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 was won by brothers Dominik Herka, Jan Herka and Václav Herka of the startup Wuders s.r.o.

The duo of Jan Dobrovský and Petr Pudil, of bpd partners a.s., took home the Czech Television Award for Entrepreneurial Contribution to Culture and Art for their support of the Post Bellum project. This year, the title of EY Socially Beneficial Entrepreneur of the Year goes to Tomáš Šebek and Rudolf Ringelhán, founders of the virtual medical care platform uLékaře.cz, s.r.o. The tenth jubilee vote by readers of MF DNES and iDNES.cz for the best business story was won by Jan Vokurka from the beverage company KITL s.r.o.

Josef Průša, Owner, Prusa Research, Winner, Podnikatel roku 2020

The EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition has been held in the Czech Republic for twenty-one years.

This year’s event was dominated by technology, successful entrepreneurial duos and their socially beneficial contribution during the pandemic.

Jan Vokurka, Kitl s.r.o.

Jan Dobrovský, bpd partners a.s.

Michal Menšík, DoDo Group SE

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From left: Tomáš Šebek and Rudolf Ringelhán, uLékaře.cz

EY E ntrepreneur

of the year

2020

”My company will only be as good as my people. So we’re probably quite good. And onwards we go,” Josef Průša of Prusa Research a.s., holder of the title of EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Czech Republic, shared his immediate impressions.

“Some great personalities once again came together in the last EY Entrepreneur of the Year. It certainly must have been difficult for the jury to decide on a winner. There can only ever be one person in first place; nevertheless, in the case of this competition, even participation is a personal victory for every entrepreneur, and proof that they do what they do very well. That’s why I’d like to congratulate not only the overall winner, but also all the other participants,” stated Federico Izzo, CEO of BMW Czech Republic s.r.o.

“Thirty-one-year old Josef Průša, who won the nationwide tournament this year on the basis of a jury decision, is historically the youngest representative of the Czech Republic, and will appear on our country’s behalf at the competition’s world finals. Due to the pandemic, these will take place virtually,” explained Magdalena Souček, Managing Partner in EY in the Czech Republic, and added: ”Josef is a very valuable inspiration for everyone, not only for his outstanding business results, but also for his active approach and assistance during the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite his youth, he’s already a role model for others. I’m convinced that his story will also captivate the jury at the world finals. We’re still waiting for a winner from the region of Central and Eastern Europe. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Josef to become the first, although the competition in the battle for the title of “EY World Entrepreneur of the Year” is enormous."

From left: Dominik Herka, Jan Herka, Václav Herka, Wuders s.r.o.

Martin Hausenblas, MALFINI, a.s.

From left: Oliver Dlouhý, Founder and CEO, kiwi.com and Michal Menšík, DoDo Group SE

Apart from the winner, the finalists in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 competition were:

• Michal Menšík, DoDo Group SE • Martin Hausenblas, MALFINI, a.s.

• David Karásek, mmcité1 a.s.

• Martin Kasa, Petr Kasa, Pilulka Lékárny a.s.

From left: Martin Kasa and Petr Kasa, Pilulka Lékárny a.s.

From left: Lubomír Šabatka and Juraj Šabatka, IDEA StatiCa s.r.o.

From left: Jan Dobrovský, bpd partners a.s., Radana Waldová, Philantropist and Petr Dvořák, Director, Czech TV

From left: Lubomír Šabatka, Lucie Říhová, EY and Juraj Šabatka, IDEA StatiCa s.r.o.

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G ala

evening

Gala winners

The EY Technological Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 a EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 South Moravian Region award was won by father and son Lubomír and Juraj Šabatka of the development company IDEA StatiCa s.r.o. This family business is known in the Czech Republic to every project architect who works on building structures or bridges, and thanks to research and innovations also to a further 4,500 companies in 80 countries.

IDEA StatiCa s.r.o. has a registered office in Brno, and branches in London, Dortmund and Rotterdam. The unique patent-protected software enables structural engineers around the world to more safely design structures that they could previously only estimate.

The trophy EY New Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 was won by brothers Dominik Herka, Jan Herka and Václav Herka of the startup Wuders s.r.o., which is celebrating success by manufacturing its own designer furniture. Jan, Dominik and Václav say that they complement each another, forming a strong trio, and that helped them show customers the path to sustainable furniture, whose production supports Czech craftsmanship and tradition.

Jan Vokurka, Kitl s.r.o.

Jan Dobrovský, bpd partners a.s.

From left: Marek Eben, Moderator and Lubomír Šabatka and Juraj Šabatka, IDEA StatiCa s.r.o.

Since 2006, EY has been giving out awards for socially beneficial entrepreneurship. This year’s holder of the title of EY Socially Beneficial Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 became entrepreneurial duo and long-time friends, Tomáš Šebek and Rudolf Ringelhán of uLékaře.cz, s.r.o., which even in its early stages was already ahead of its time, and is successfully building both preventive and emergency medical care, or professional consulting, on a digital platform.

The Czech Television Award – Entrepreneurial Contribution to Culture and Art, was given out again this year, for the fifth time in the competition’s history. Its recipients were Jan Dobrovský and Petr Pudil from the investment company bpd partners a.s., which supports historical and cultural heritage via the activities of the non-profit organisation Post Bellum.

Jan Dobrovský, bpd partners a.s.

The MF DNES and iDNES.cz Readers’ Award for the Best Business Story of the Year 2020 was won by Jan Vokurka of Kitl s.r.o., who was also awarded the regional title of EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Liberec Region.

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G ala

evening

Lubomír Šabatka and Juraj Šabatka, IDEA StatiCa s.r.o.

Josef Průša, Owner, Prusa Research, Winner, Podnikatel roku 2020 and Magdalena Souček, Country Managing Partner, EY in the Czech Republic

Marek Eben, Moderator

Josef Průša, Owner, Prusa Research, Winner, Podnikatel roku 2020

Lucie Říhová, EY

Magdalena Souček, Country Managing Partner, EY in the Czech Republic and Oliver Dlouhý, Founder and CEO, kiwi.com

David Karásek, mmcité1 a.s.

Žofín Palace

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21

A sean

From left: Ms. Veronika Láchová, Director of the Czech Federation of Food Banks; H.E. Mr. Thai Xuan Dung, Ambassador of Vietnam; H.E. Ms. Phasporn Sangsubana, Ambassador of Thailand; H.E. Mrs. Kenssy D. Ekaningsih, Ambassador of Indonesia; H.E. Mr. Ombra T. Jainal, Ambassador of the Philippines; Mrs. Farashima Aini Mohd Ali, Counsellor of Malaysia; and Dr. Phone Lin Kyaing, Chargé d’affaires of Myanmar.

ASEAN Committee in Prague and members of the Working Group together with the officials from the Czech Federation of Food Banks

The ASEAN Committee in Prague supports the fight against COVID-19 H.E. Mrs. Kenssy D. Ekaningsih, Ambassador of Indonesia and Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Prague (January-June 2021)

Mr. Ondřej Kolář, Mayor of Prague 6

Ms. Veronika Láchová, Director of the Czech Federation of Food Banks

Despite the pandemic situation in the Czech Republic, the ASEAN Committee in Prague (ACP) has been actively participating with the activities of the local community to support the underprivileged and to join the fight against COVID-19. The Committee also cooperates with local authorities and the private sector on a regular basis.

On 26 April 2021, the ACP, comprising of ASEAN Ambassadors to the Czech Republic; namely, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Chargé d'affaires of Myanmar and the Counsellor of Malaysia, jointly donated food and necessary products to support the work of the Czech Federation of Food Banks to reduce hunger and malnutrition and promote the well-being of the underprivileged. Ms. Veronika Láchová, Director of the Czech Federation of Food Banks, together with Mr. Rostislav Ráček, Project Manager and Ms. Dana Růžičková, Director of the Logistics Center in Prague, welcomed the ACP and conveyed the Food Bank’s appreciation for the donation. The Czech Federation of Food Banks, established in 2005, is a non-profit organization which has an active role in helping the underprivileged such as seniors, homeless, disabled, and single fathers/mothers.

Additionally, on 11 May 2021, the ACP contributed 1,500 FFP2 respirators to support the work of the Municipality Office of Prague 6 in order to jointly fight the spread of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic. The Indonesian Ambassador, as the Chairperson of the ACP, signed on the same day the contribution agreement with Mr. Ondrej Kolár, Mayor of Prague 6, with all ASEAN Ambassadors and Chargé d'affaires presented as witnesses. According to the Chairperson of the ACP “the contribution represents Committee’s commitment to help breaking the chain of spreading the corona virus so that the pandemic could end soon”.

From left: Dr. Phone Lin Kyaing, Chargé d’affaires of Myanmar; H.E. Thai Xuan Dung, Ambassador of Vietnam; H.E. Ms. Zanariah Zainal Abidin, Ambassador of Malaysia; Mr. Ondrej Kolar, Mayor of Prague 6; H.E. Mrs. Kenssy D. Ekaningsih, Ambassador of Indonesia; H.E. Mr. Ombra T. Jainal, Ambassador of the Philippines; and H.E. Ms. Phasporn Sangsubana, Ambassador of Thailand

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The signing of the Contribution Agreement between the Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Prague and Mayor of Prague 6

Culture comes to life again through “Thai Movie Night”

H.E. Ms. Phasporn Sangasubana, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Czech Republic, delivered her opening remarks for the first Thai Movie Night Scene from the movie Manta Ray

Scene from the movie Manta Ray

Ms. Kakanang Amranand, Counsellor of the Royal Thai Embassy, interviewed Mr. Phuttipong Aroonpeng, the director of Manta Ray

To commemorate the World Refugee Day on 20th June 2021, the Royal Thai Embassy in Prague organized the “Thai Movie Night” with online screenings of “Manta Ray”, the first Thai movie to win Orizzonti Award for the Best Film at the Venice International Film Festival in 2018.

The first part of “Thai Movie Night” series took place on 17th and 19th June 2021 through the online documentary platform DAFilms. Both screenings started on at 20.00 hours with a warm welcome from H.E. Ms. Phasporn Sangasubana, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Czech Republic. Participants could also look forward to an interview with the director, Mr. Phuttiphong Aroonpheng. The movie was accessible to viewers free of charge for 24 hours, which gave the event a whole new dimension.

The Royal Thai Embassy, in view of the growing importance of integration processes in Southeast Asia, and in order to raise the profile of Thailand’s culture in the Czech Republic, originally prepared the “Thai Movie Night” as a standard festival-type project for stone cinemas. Only when the circumstances of recent times have initiated the solution of the project does the future allow us to implement and share with the audience cultural projects, regardless of the limitations.

“Manta Ray, a beautiful film, which tells a complex story about friendship between strangers with minimalistic ease, had a positive response among viewers in the Czech Republic”, said one of the organizers. According to H.E. Ms. Phasporn Sangasubana “the contemplative slow pace narrative of the movie is a one of a kind experience that the viewers had a chance to enjoy to the fullest”.

Manta Ray is Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s debut film, who also won Best Director at the Silver Pyramid Award, Cairo International Film Festival in 2018. Mr. Aroonpheng studied visual arts at Silpakorn University in Bangkok, attended the Asian Film Academy in Busan in 2009 and was honored as Asian Public Intellectual by the Nippon Foundation. His short movies have been screened at leading festivals in Busan, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Singapore, gaining worldwide recognition.

Mr. Phuttipong Aroonpeng, director of Manta Ray

Behind the scene of Manta Ray

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

23

Promoting the UNKNOWN Farewell interview with H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh

I first met H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh in June 2020 when we launched the special series dedicated to Women Ambassadors. We spoke about the first wave of Covid and looked forward to the return to the new normal.

Little did we know about the upcoming second (and subsequent third) wave and the protracted effect the pandemic will have on our further functioning and daily activities. As H.E. Chareontoh’s term is coming to an end, we met again to reflect on her posting. What was the impact of Covid-19 on the traditional type of diplomacy based on personal meetings and connections? How can you promote Thainess on-line?

And many travelers keen on visiting Thailand will be pleased to read the update about the current situation.

Mrs. Ambassador, thank you for all your work, touring the Czech Republic, and sharing your passion for Thai cuisine with the wider public.

I experienced myself that contrary to many presumptions, cooking pad thai is neither difficult nor time-consuming. And the benefit is that one can get all the ingredients here in the Czech Republic. And spicy tom yum soup with all the herbs can serve as an excellent immunity booster.

Your Excellency, appreciation also goes for the opening of the gardens of your residence to the public. I hope to meet you again. In Thailand.

“Swasdee ka”. And to everyone missing Thailand, I recommend cooking pad thai and watching the excellent movie, “The Cave”.

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We recently celebrated Chinese New Year. The traditional Thai New Year comes even later in April. What is the typical way to celebrate the Thai New Year?

“Songkran” or Thai traditional New Year is celebrated on 13 April every year, based on the solar calendar.

The title comes from Sanskrit, meaning movement or change. The celebration starts when the sun enters Aries according to the sidereal zodiac system. This is called “Maha Songkran” day. The final day marks the new solar year and is called “Wan Thaloengsok”. In the old days, our traditional New Year could be between 13-16 April. But at present, it always starts on 13 April. This tradition is shared by many other Asian countries, such as Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.

Like many other celebrations, including Christmas and Lunar New Year, it is the time of year that we will be with our family, go to temples to pray and offer food for monks. In the case of Christmas, you go to church for example. The difference from Christmas is that in traditions of Songkran and Lunar New Year, we pay respect to our ancestors as well.

For Songkran, we ask for blessings from our elderly by splashing fragrant water on their hands. However, nowadays, it turns into a fun festival that people splash or throw water at each other. As April is the hottest month in Thailand, this feels very pleasant.

You have come to the third year of posting, could you share with us your highlights?

I believe that diplomacy based on meeting new people, networking, and organizing events was one of the areas truly affected by the pandemic.

I was lucky that my term started with the official visit to Thailand of H.E. Andrej Babiš, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. It was the first official visit at the level of the Prime Minister. This visit, to me, definitely opened a new chapter in our bilateral relations.

It also provided dynamism and momentum in our cooperation. It was followed by an exchange of high-level visits, including the official visits of Radek Vondráček, the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament, Richard Brabec, Minister of Environment, Lubomír Metnar, Minister of Defense, and Antonín Staněk, Chairperson of the Czech-Thai Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group. Those visits clearly demonstrated a firm commitment and close cooperation between our two countries.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic hindered the visit of H.E. General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand last year. This was supposed to be his first official visit to the Czech Republic. We had scheduled many bilateral meetings, such as the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation, the Sub-Committee on Tourism, and the Coordinating Committee on Defense Cooperation, to name a few.

We were considering also launching a direct flight between Bangkok and Prague for the first time.

As diplomats, we are used to meeting and seeing people, organizing activities and events to promote our countries, and advancing relations with the host country. And I am certain that we all love to do it in person because it is us, as a person, that represent our country, our people, our culture, our tradition and make an impression on those who have the P hoto : J itka T omečková

opportunity to know and connect with us. But now, due to the Covid-19 situation, events and activities have to be postponed or canceled. Our meetings and gatherings have to be on-line, as we call it “digital diplomacy”. This year, the Royal Embassy will promote “Thainess” online, though I really look forward to doing “business as usual”.

However, it is the best we can do for now.

On a positive note, the Covid-19 situation has given us the opportunity to promote people-topeople relations. We are delighted to be invited to participate in the international travelling exhibition Helpful Art in Covid promoting artworks created from around the world during the pandemic, including several Thai artists. Those artworks helped people survive through this hard time and we are more than happy to be part of it. And during this difficult time, the Royal Thai Embassy in Prague together with the Tourism Authority of Thailand cooperated with local authorities and agencies, including the Mayor’s Office of Prague 1 in preparing Thai food for healthcare workers, firefighters, and volunteers, and in contributing Thai food products for those in need through the Federation of Czech Food Banks. Our contribution and support, although in a small way, reflected our thanks and strong commitment to join hands with Prague and the Czech Republic in fighting against the pandemic.

I recall our first interview when you spoke about your mission to promote other areas for cooperation next to tourism. What is the legacy you are leaving behind?

I am not sure if this should be branded as a “legacy”. But I am doing my best to promote the “unknown”, if you can recall my first interview. I have been promoting Czech potentials to Thailand and Thai potentials to the Czech Republic, rather than we know each other only as beautiful tourist destinations. I have organized the Thai Market for the first time at the Residence, which was open to the public. It was well attended by thousands of those who love Thailand.

T he

interview has been taken in

What is the current situation in Thailand?

I cannot refrain from asking, as your country is on my bucket list.

The spread of Covid-19 is more than just a global public health emergency. It turned into an unprecedented challenge facing humanity and human security. Thailand, like many other countries, has also been affected by the pandemic since the beginning of 2020. We have been closely following the World Health Organization’s Situation Reports and have aggressively implemented proactive measures to fight the pandemic by expanding contact tracing and testing to identify possible infections before they unknowingly spread the virus. The Government has decided to declare a state of emergency and implemented lockdown measures from time to time.

We are heartened by the fact that John Hopkins University’s 2019 Global Health Security Index placed Thailand as the 6th most prepared country in the world for the pandemic, while PEMANDU Association placed Thailand as the 1st in the world for the ongoing recovery effort 2020.

When looking into our economy, which is deeply integrated with the global supply chain, it has been affected by the disruption of global economic activities. However, the Thai Economy is improving gradually starting from the third quarter of last year and it is expected that the economic growth will resume by 3.5 – 4.5% this year, which is corresponding to the Czech economic recovery trend.

In terms of Tourism, 22% of Thailand’s economy relies on tourism and it generates approximately 8 million jobs. In 2019 Thailand welcomed almost 40 million tourists. Even though Thai tourism is experiencing a temporary downturn, we can expect to see a gradual recovery soon.

The Royal Thai Government has targeted both domestic and international tourists to visit the country. At present, Thailand welcomes all international tourists, however, restrictive and quarantine measures have to be strictly observed

F ebruary 2021

by all travelers. The Royal Thai Embassy in Prague has received a significant increase in tourist visa applications. For the Czech tourists, the renowned tourist attractions in Thailand, such as Pattaya, Phuket, and Krabi have always been on the top of the list.

In addition, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in collaboration with the public and private sector partners, has introduced an “Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration: SHA” certification aimed at elevating the country’s tourism industry standards and developing confidence among international and domestic tourists against the virus. I believe that with the effectiveness of the vaccination program, global travel will gradually resume in the near future.

For Thailand, we are fully prepared for the return of tourism as well as to offer visitors new tourist experiences with regards to “the new normal”.

I am not very good at saying good-bye, so I prefer to use farewell… What are your final words for the Czech and Slovak Magazine readers?

As I am leaving Prague very soon, I wish that bilateral relations between Thailand and the Czech Republic will continue to grow to a greater height. I, as Ambassador, am proud to be part of this progress and happy that I have contributed to the advancement of our bilateral relations and cooperation. I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support, cooperation, and hospitality, which has made my post here very fruitful and pleasant. I have met many wonderful people, some of them became close friends. Though in sadness, I will definitely leave the Czech Republic with fond memories. Till we meet again. Swasdee ka.

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

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

25

D iplomatic

event

Lunch

at the Thai residence

Farewell to H.E. Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand

photo :

J itka T omečková

From left: Natthaphon Sapsinsoonthon, Minister counsellor deputy head of Mission, H.E. Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand, Jitka Tomečková, Photographer, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Thai food

From left: Benke Aikel, your Publisher, Natthaphon Sapsinsoonthon, Minister counsellor deputy head of Mission, and H.E. Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand H.E. Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand

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Rezidence Thai

I nterview

with

V ít R akušan , L eader

of the

STAN

political party

The young generation GIVES ME HOPE

P hoto : A rchive

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I nterview

with

V ít R akušan , L eader

of the

STAN

political party

The Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine readers are aware of our mission to bring timeless and positive interviews.

On the occasion of the national holiday of October 28, let us step back and reflect on the period that has elapsed since then, and perhaps also bring hope for the future. The talks about the nature of the future government are still going on. For an interview, we invited the chairman of the STAN movement, Vít Rakušan whose interview we published online already in the spring. Why him? Vít Rakušan is the winner of the parliamentary elections in the number of preferential votes both in absolute figures as well as percentage. In the Central Bohemian Region, where he ran, he won more than 60,000 preferential votes.

I met Vít Rakušan in person in 2019 at the Hana Greenfield Memorial Swim in Kolín. Hana Greenfield, a native of Kolín, survived the Holocaust. There was a prosperous Jewish community in Kolín before the Second World War. Hana Greenfield regularly took swims in the Elbe with her Jewish and non-Jewish friends and neighbours. In 1943, alongside other Jews from the town, she was deported to Terezín, and then to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

T he

interview has been taken in

M arch 2021

I nterview You keep hearing that it will be hard for you…or that now, it will become apparent you can only criticize.

I would like to be answering other questions too. For instance, if we feel any doubts. Or if it is wise to enter into government at this time.

We feel doubts. It is healthy to feel doubts. But despite all doubts, it has never occurred to us that we should not enter. We know it is going to be hard. Our economics, numbers of the covidpositive, or unfortunately too harsh division of the society into those who can afford the increase in energy prices and those who will be sent to the brink of poverty or beyond by this… all these are prerequisites for the very unpopular government. However, I am feeling hopeful. Five parties declare they do not want squandering money, populism, stealing our future in broad daylight. Five parties cooperate on preparing the program that will be achievable. It will be difficult, any individual ambitions, comfort or security of parliamentary mandate must be set aside. We wanted to change the situation in this country. We wanted democracy, where it is normal to argue, but without hate or arousing fear and the bad in us.

Let’s move on to the post-pandemic period.

What are you looking forward to once you’re not dealing with matters linked to the Covid-19 crisis?

I will definitely be focusing on the education system in the Czech Republic, which is connected to a lot of things, whether in science and research or in the future of industry. At the current time, 52 % of jobs are under threat in the Czech Republic, more than in other OECD countries, because overall our workforce is cheap and involved in manufacturing. Our current education system does not reflect the fact that we are now 21 years into the 21st century. It does not prepare young people for the change in terms of competencies. Life today comes not just with rapid changes, but also with huge flows of information. Schools are not teaching critical thinking regarding information, information literacy or how to work with information. I really believe that investments in schools will be reflected in future economic parameters.

Other challenges relate to the environment and energy sustainability, and modern governance.

This crisis has shown us that the state and civil service have failed. It has shown that they operate slowly and unfavourably. At a time of boom, plenty and peace, this can be weathered in one way or another. At a time when it is literally people’s lives that are at stake, and people need to communicate quickly, efficiently and remotely with the state, it has been shown that the state cannot continue in this way. Because of the coronavirus crisis, but not just because of it, a large number of challenges have arisen.

Many people suggested you for the post of Prime Minister instead of Ivan Bartoš, leader of the Pirates party. However, you

with

V ít R akušan , L eader

are heading to the leading position at the Ministry of Interior.

I have no ambition to be Prime Minister. You mentioned in my personal profile that I focus on issues of security and military intelligence oversight. So I’m closest to the Interior Ministry.

I wouldn’t want to see this particular ministry as the Ministry of Fear, or Police. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for digitalisation, administrative procedures, a simple civil service and election legislation. There are loads of challenges where the Interior Ministry has the potential to make life more comfortable in the Czech Republic, deal with matters faster, and give us a feeling of security without engendering fear or making use of cheap populism. So if we are going to be in the government, I’m personally going to be seeking this department.

How do you perceive a situation where the police, instead of helping and protecting, crack down on our citizens? This situation pains me greatly as a participant in the 1989 demonstrations.

A year and a bit ago, I couldn’t have imagined that we were going to be looking at whether to allow travel into a neighbouring district. I repeat: the situation is grave and reduced mobility certainly does have some impact. I regret that we’ve reached the point, a year on, where measures have to be enforced in a repressive way. If I was told that I can go anywhere within a 20-kilometre radius of my home, where I can take the kids for a countryside walk, somewhere I can’t reach as someone living in the city, then I’d respect it without anyone having to check up on me. When people lose confidence, repression must ensue. Repression worsens reputation, and so also the position of the police officers or soldiers because they are taken as the enemy, and not helpers. That’s a missed opportunity in a crisis. Because in crises such as floods or other natural disasters, the reputation of the police and army has always improved. In today’s crisis, measures are perceived as repressive regardless of whether they make sense or not. I’d rather see the army deployed to hospitals. I receive very positive feedback from our regional governors on their deployment. Our male and female soldiers in particular have undertaken the hardest job under difficult circumstances, and they have been a great support for their overworked staff.

You often espouse the legacy of Václav Havel, and his portrait is displayed in your office. What is your favourite quote of our former President, and during what occasions do you remember him?

I immediately recall his maxim, “Truth and love prevail”, of course, and I’ve never considered this quote a cliché. I entered politics believing this would happen one day, and I still think it can. I appreciate Václav Havel’s humanity and the human dimension of his politics. Although he came from a particular background, he was able to talk to anybody, and he gave people

of the

STAN

political party

hope. Today we miss the moral corrective of somebody who is able to think about things in a deeper context, not just the short-term political context. We also lack a vision of where our country should be heading. And somebody who can give the people a reason to smile, and not just make threats and pass the blame on to others. A person like that is born once every 50 or 100 years. I firmly hope and believe that we will find one in the upcoming generation of politicians. We have people who grew up in a free country, often with experience living abroad. They don’t suffer from organisational blindness. I refuse to criticise the young generation. I see my role in politics as being a kind of ferryman. To try to remove the old guard and endeavour to hand the state over to people who are not deformed by the past. In my opinion, this represents the greatest hope for the Czech Republic.

And what about the legacy of the first president T. G. Masaryk?

I think we want the same thing he wanted.

A modern state, safe, thinking of the quality of education, environment, and the weakest.

The state introducing interesting solutions and acting as a reliable partner at the same time.

Finally, the state respecting its people, tradition, and history. I often think of T. G. Masaryk and and I have no doubts that regarding a state we share the same ideas.

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

Vít Rakušan Vít Rakušan, proud former mayor of Kolín, amongst other achievements worked to improve the Elbe’s water quality and was also involved in restoring its swimming tradition.

His original profession is as a secondary school teacher.

He has been a member of the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies since 2017.

He has been the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies’ Permanent Commission on Oversight over the Work of Military Intelligence, and a member of its Foreign Affairs and Security committees. Most likely, he will become the new Minister of the Interior. For many years, Vít Rakušan has promoted the idea of a modern and effective state which should serve its citizens and not impede them, and he has consistently espoused the legacy of former president Václav Havel. In 2016 he was included in a list of the 100 greatest innovators in Central and Eastern Europe by the Financial Times, the prestigious English international newspaper.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

29

Risks of implementing

LinkedIn Sales

in large sales departments and how to overcome them PART 2 P hoto : A rchive

Viktor Kosticky specializes in Sales & Leadership topics. You can find more information on his website http://www.viktorkosticky.com or his LinkedIn page. In case of any questions please send your email to viktor@viktorkosticky.com 30

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

This article is a second part of the previous issue’s edition. The first part of the article described in detail the risks you will experience while implementing LinkedIn (LI) sales in large sales departments. This second part is about exact solutions and ideas on how to overcome the obstacles. I will very simply focus on 33 points - solutions using the knowledge of change management, which I consider crucial for such a larger project. This does not mean that every point mentioned has to take place, but most have to. Also, and that’s important, it’s always necessary to adapt appropriately to your specific situation.

ADVISED SOLUTIONS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE

1. Change must be first communicated internally from the sponsor (the one who orders the project). The consultant shouldn’t communicate the change. That would increase the resistance.

2. Don’t start with LI training but start with a kick-off.

3. Kick-off is an opportunity for the consultant to show examples from other companies, his/her own experiences, etc. The goal is for sellers to capture the added value and most importantly increase their participation.

4. Kick-off should be facilitated more or less as a discussion. Many points can be by the consultant or management supposed, but they can be distorted. We need to know: a) What are the sellers’ concerns? b) What would help them to overcome them?

This information might be crucial for the following implementation. You need to verify, record, and work with the concerns.

5. Different emotions are likely to come up in the kick-off. Focus on them and watch from who they are coming from. They suggest a lot. E.g. questioning, silence, asking the same question, and other signs provide us with useful instructions on how to proceed.

6. Negative emotions are good. It would be much worse if people were just quiet. That’s a pretty bad sign.

7. Let the negative emotions be processed. It’s not good to argue, explain, and persuade immediately. Even a few minutes in the state of negative emotions helps to handle them. The role of a consultant is not to argue or to win, but to inspire. That’s important.

8. The kick-off should be led by a consultant, but the sponsor can also have his inputs. He can provide additional support and above all, help to explain them. The consultant does not have yet all the internal information to understand the whole company context and help from the sponsor is welcomed.

9. I believe people should be told the truth about all the risks and problems that await them along the way. Why? I saw the initial enthusiasm and the subsequent failure to overcome obstacles. Such cases are a great pity and lost opportunities. From the company’s point of view, you lost the additional profit that would follow.

10. Understanding the change curve. Even if people seem to agree, resistance will often surprise you at later stages. This is often forgotten. Don’t just give to a first impression, because it will probably be distorted.

messages, and appropriate follow-ups. Etc. 17. R egular and consistent consultant’s work with the involved sellers in agreed cycles.

This is an essential point. By completing the training, the change will not happen. That’s just an introduction. Group consultations address issues, successes, other perspectives, inspirations, sharing information within the group, etc. For a consultant preparation for each meeting is quite easy because, in contrast with other sales activities, the vast majority of the activities at LI are publicly visible.

11. The ideal way to eliminate many 18. S etting-up cooperation between the risks is to start working only with the sales and marketing departments. The so-called supporters. According to marketing department, or an outsourced some change management theories: external agency, is in charge of managing a) 20% - 30% of people support the change, the company’s website, the so-called b) 20% - 30% are in strong opposition, company page. It is important to look for c) the rest is deciding, which side to join. synergies to support each other. If everyone goes for themselves, the possible positive 12. Use the change ambassadors. Look impact is reduced. Still, it’s a standard for internal allies. The manager or feature in almost every company. This consultant only creates the conditions is often difficult, because usually a sales for the change, but the change has director is the one who orders the solution, to take place in the team dynamics. and the marketing department might not be willing to fully cooperate. You know the 13. Classify at least important influencers, world of big companies and inner politics. where they are on the change acceptance scale. The worst alternative is if a strong 19. T hroughout the implementation process, influencer is in strong opposition. In it is important to set-up an informationthat case, it’s necessary to work with sharing system. Simply a platform with him/her individually. Such a person discussion and information accessible can completely sabotage the whole for everyone. E.g. case studies of what management effort. But be careful, succeeded (posts, reactions, private that influencer can also be from messages, activities, cooperations...). It management. Managers due to various should be a Sharepoint but not with given reasons can also sabotage this change. examples from a consultant or someone else, but cases from the sellers involved 14.

Training is necessary but be careful of in the project. The reasoning behind is simple. We want to encourage a strong the following. It is not enough just to tendency of us people to learn and be explain and show how and what to do. influenced by others from the same That’s insufficient. People need to try it group. Also, this helps partially to save the out for themselves. Therefore, if we talk company’s investment into this activity. It’s about training for 3-4 hours, then it will understandable for a company not willing not work effectively enough. It does to pay for a consultant to the extent, that not provide time even for basic testing. he/she works individually with each seller.

15. The training must be adapted to the industry and the client’s segment. If the 20.

Small rituals celebrating success and information is identical for each company, spreading awareness across the group, it is a clear sign of poor consulting quality. detractors, and other departments are The financial segment is different from also highly welcomed in the change IT. CEO’s or sales director’s LI presence management process. E.g. first new should be different from the sellers, etc. customers’ meetings through LinkedIn, Correct adaptation is the key to success. first closed deals... On the other hand, it is important that people do not feel 16. The consultant should understand the embarrassed, which is often the case. broader context as well as the various Therefore, I recommend that you carefully hidden patterns of sales that may not be consider whether, with any success, it is visible on the LI, e.g. the importance of necessary, for example. ringing the bell, the so-called "LI ghosts" (senior managers, which may have the opposite effect we directors, and owners who regularly read LI originally wanted to achieve. Choosing content but rarely engage), LI sales synergies the right rituals and awards is best to be with other sales activities, or understanding decided by the sellers itself. The consultant can’t know the principles of acquisition emails, private

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

31

in advance about what is suitable for your company, your department, your people. I saw wine bottles, vouchers for restaurants, a photo of the seller with a CEO sent per email with some nice words to everyone in the company, etc. .

21. T he introduction of change indicators for management is another good idea. If I exaggerate a bit: “What in business is not measured, does not exist.”

E.g.: a) How many people handle the new skill already? b) What is the produced quality? c) How much it’s really used?...

22. If possible, defining what is success, is best to be done together with all participating sellers. I strongly advise you, to resist the urge to set the expectations only by management. That will bring more resistance. After that, from the defined success, which the manager or management can influence, use metrics that are tracked, and make sense for a particular company and its culture. Of course, the main goal is additional revenue, but with LI this metric can’t be measured accurately. Therefore, other metrics are more important.

23. Understand that many metrics can be easily "cheated". E.g. creating a certain number of connections. In one month, I can easily add 1000 relevant contacts without the slightest problem, but I still might ignore to do any meaningful work connected with LI sales. And other examples.

24. Use the OKRIs system (Objective - Key Results - Initiatives) for assigning longerterm objectives. It’s significantly more efficient compared to standard KPIs. 25. Consider carefully, what is the goal in the first phase? It’s easy to add revenue to the targets, but that’s a huge mistake. Of course, additional revenue is the main reason for the change, but it can be easily fooled. You can’t credibly verify it. Therefore, other truly measurable metrics are important. I know it’s annoying because as a sales director, you want clear, measurable results. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work.

Remember that LI is accompanied by a "snowball effect". If sales starts, it will increase. Therefore, it is good to look into the future and understand what will come later.

26. Throughout the process, the consultant and the sponsor purposefully look for problems. They should be searching for problems. That’s the essence of change management. There will be enough issues and only if hidden problems are revealed, we can respond to them. There’s always something new coming up.

27. When the consultant is not in the company, which is essential all the time, management and senior management must manage

32

and support the change themselves.

Meetings, communication, information sharing, tracking metrics, rituals, etc.

28.

Patience is important because LI sales results will only become apparent over a longer period. Nevertheless, a person who knows how it works can see if it is going in the right direction. There are clear indicators.

29.

Sellers may give the impression, that they are applying the knowledge, but don’t be fooled. LI sales is specific. If the work is not regular and consistent, the result won’t come. Simply said, e.g. publishing something, of no added value to your target group, on LI twice a month, is a clear indication of a future failure. However, it depends on how LI is used for sales. There are several ways.

Each suitable for a different strategy.

We’re coming back again to a proper adaption to your specific situation.

30.

It’s good to understand what are the psychological indications that the seller's activity will increase on LI. If I generalize, we humans need interaction. If we do something, we want to see the result.

But the business results will take a while.

If sellers do not interact with others for a long time and the required discussions on LI don’t come up, it’s an indication that the seller will quit with the activity. First comes the psychological involvement through increased views, interactions, likes, comments, private messages, and then gradually the real business. An exception is when LI is used primarily for direct acquisition with direct private messages. That might be appropriate in some segments, or when the seller supports several countries with different languages. Interactions with this different strategy work on different principles.

31. If you use LI for proactive acquisition and directly contact customers, the results will come sooner, but this method also has significant shortcomings. It’s necessary to correctly adapt to the situation. For some companies and segments, this makes sense, but for others, it doesn’t.

32. Ideal sellers for LI sales are people with the so-called "hunter" mindset. Those who enjoy the acquisition are usually better than the so-called "farmers", who are ideal as key account managers. Of course, this knowledge must be taken with a grain of salt. It also depends on how LI is used. Some affinity for digital technologies is also important. If someone refuses to install the application on a mobile phone, it might be a sign he/she won’t be probably as good.

33. If you have chosen an easier way to imple-

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

ment the change, with only promoters in the first phase, gradually the time will come to spread the change to others as well.

Don’t rush it. Positive examples must start to spread with your help too, in the sales department, and only then is the ideal time to move on to others. I will not discuss this phase in detail, but several common things can be used. On the other hand, you can’t avoid a new cycle of training, consultations, etc. Positive is that it should be easier because you already have the experience, on the other hand, don’t forget that the next phase involves sellers who were in opposition at the beginning.

Conclusion: More and more people and companies understand that LI sales works. Still, you need to consider whether it makes sense to you. There are several sales streams and time is limited. In my opinion, the mastery is to adapt to a specific situation, industry, segment, and use those business streams that synergistically bring the best results.

I know that in most industries and companies, LI sales is a suitable complementing strategy, but everyone has to come to that decision on their own. The fact is, however, that the development of LI sales is unstoppable. A comparison with the recent past, when people often did not even have an LI account, LI was considered just a digital resume and the term LI consultant did not exist yet, and the current situation, where LI can easily bring additional revenue is significant.

Over time, this skill will become increasingly important and quite easy to verify. All you have to do is to check the profile and activity of any seller and it will immediately be known whether he or she masters this new skill or not.

An interview for this is not required. This trend will gain momentum and those who adapt to it will gain the necessary competitive advantage.

At the very end of the article, I can’t forget to mention what I consider to be the main idea.

Delivering high-quality training or consultations that engage people and add value to them, is the easier part. Of course, it is necessary to have the experience, to be able to present, to be able to work effectively with the group, and so on.

However, it is much more difficult to achieve that the change is successful across the department.

Of course, we make changes mainly to increase revenue and the long-term competitiveness of the company. But training is just the beginning of the whole process. Implementing a change in a company, that eventually gets canceled, is an unfortunate result. Not just in terms of what the company lost. In this case, it is a clear financial loss, but also in terms of what’s the impact on the peoples’ feelings in the company. The loss of sellers' trust can’t be easily changed.

I wish you success and successful change implementation.

Viktor Kosticky

I nterview

with

D avid H ercky

EMOTIONAL FACTOR is the motor of everything

P hoto : A rchive

David Hercky’s life story could serve as a biographic chapter in the Start-Up Nation book: a story of a successful corporate manager who launched a startup while gradually becoming involved in community and societal affairs. David Hercky is the Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Southern Israel. He is also the founder and the Chairman of the Israeli-Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the vice-chairman of the Israeli Federation of Bilateral Chambers of Commerce. David Hercky is the recipient of the Gratias Agit award, given for furthering the good name of the Czech Republic and a laureate of the Trebbia International Award.

I met David Hercky five years ago and together we have accomplished many projects, notably, he supported my Women Entrepreneurial Missions to Israel. When the lockdown came, we tried to keep the Czech-Israeli relations active by providing series of webinars further highlighting the possibilities of Czech-Israeli cooperation.

David’s wide expertise covers biotechnology, food engineering, finance, and medical devices.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

33

I nterview

with

D avid H ercky

David Hercky is the founder of Curapipe Systems, a company that specializes in waterpipe diagnostics and repair. In Israel, he represents the Czech company Škoda Transportation that aims to participate in the big tender supplying the Jerusalem Light Rail project.

In the Czech Republic, he established the Jewish Community Center (JCC) to promote cultural and social aspects of Jewish life. He is married and has three adult children. His wife Vivian is the CEO of a high-tech company. David travels back and forth to the Czech Republic every month or two.

Every encounter with David is an inspiration for me, as he understands both Israeli mentality and the Czech one and sees the compatibilities and pitfalls. Like many Israelis, he is very direct. I learned to appreciate this bluntness because I know it comes from a caring perspective. David simply wants to see both nations collaborating and doing meaningful projects together. During our interview, we discussed David’s latest big project, the Jewish Community Center in Prague. Of course, we talked about innovations, Czech-Israeli affinity and future development in Czech-Israeli relations.

David, you are an Israeli citizen born in the US, but you also consider yourself a Czechoslovak. Can you tell us more about your roots?

My mother is an American and my father was a Czechoslovak citizen, born in Žilina, Slovakia. While my fathers’ parents came from Topolčany, my other grandmother was from Liberec, so I truly fulfill the Czechoslovak background origin. My father survived World War II in various camps as a child and after the war, he was sent to Israel thanks to the youth movement. He lived in a kibbutz by himself, until he finished his military service. Then he flew to the US to meet his parents. Not only did he reunite with his parents, but he also met my mother. I was born in the USA. When I was five, my parents decided to make aliyah (a term used for Jewish immigration from the diaspora to Israel – note by the author).

In the brief introduction, I mentioned that your career could serve as a chapter in the Start-Up Nation book, having the most important milestones of the Israeli entrepreneurship journey: starting in military service, experiencing corporate life, and then becoming an entrepreneur.

But how did you get back to the Czechoslovak roots?

In Israel, I grew up in Giv’Atayim near Tel Aviv.

I served in the military. First, I was on a missile ship in the navy and then I became an officer.

I finished my military career in the intelligence unit. After my military service, I studied food engineering and biotechnology at Technion in Haifa. I started working as an engineer in a factory, responsible for quality assurance.

There I lost my hand in a work accident. After my rehabilitation, I continued working. I joined a company that was building food factories in the former USSR and at one point my friend and I ended up buying the company. After we bought the company, we continued doing many projects in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, building cow farms, milk factories, oil factories, meat factories, and slaughterhouses. We also started to provide irrigation schemes. During this period, I got a proposal to join a group that started the privatization of companies in Slovakia. Later, I was invited to join a group of investors

34

and established the chain of clinics called Proctoclinic. At the same time, I was offered to join Agel as a supervisory board member.

Throughout my career, I invested in various startups that deal with medical devices and water companies that fix leaking pipes. In 2010, I founded the Israeli-Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry which cooperates closely with the Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce here.

Whenever I interview Israeli executives, I am amazed by their social and community involvement. You started the Jewish Community/Cultural Center in Prague which has become the first virtual Jewish Community Center during the pandemic.

I have been traveling to the Czech Republic for many years. Every time I come, I discover more and more empathy and sympathy for me as a Jew and as an Israeli. However, there is more to it - I find more people coming to me and telling me that they also have a Jewish background. I have a couple of nice stories to share. My colleague took me to the New Jewish Cemetery in Prague to see Kafka’s grave and she showed me her grandmother’s grave. She had never mentioned being Jewish before. One high-ranking government official also mentioned that his brother travels quite often to Israel because he has relatives there.

I responded by stating if his brother has relatives then that means he also must have relatives there…suddenly, he revealed that his mother was an Auschwitz survivor. No one knew he was Jewish. As time goes by, I believe that more and more people are recognizing or discovering their Jewish roots.

My favorite Israeli author, Hadar Galron, wrote a play called “My first Jewish Christmas” that was inspired by the same stories from the Czech Republic of people suddenly discovering their Jewish roots.

Officially, there are about 5000 Jews registered in the Czech Republic, the unofficial number might be three times higher. There are many Jews not considered Jewish by halakha (a Jewish law, meaning they do not have Jewish mother – note by the author) or people who have a Jewish grandfather and suddenly want to identify as Jewish or feel like being

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

part of the community, who have very limited means of doing that in the Czech Republic. They could learn Hebrew or take a few courses, but they did not have a place where they could be part of a group or get together in community.

I started to talk to people about this philosophy and they had sparkles in their eyes. JCC, known as Jewish Community Centre or Jewish Cultural Center, exists in every big city in Europe and the world. Prague did not have that, compared to Budapest or two centers in Poland. There is the American model of JCC and the organization JCC Global, so we registered and established Czech JCC as a part of the global organization.

We want to be there for the people where they can learn about Judaism, Jewish culture, Jewish cuisine, celebrate holidays, and feel part of the community. Our community is not a substitute to the already existing Jewish school or Jewish sports organization, but rather a complement, fulfilling the existing gap. We also plan activities for mothers and young children as well as for young adults who graduated from the Jewish school.

If you want G-d to laugh, tell him about your plans. I know the JCC Prague was established one and a half years ago, then Covid-19 came. Israel went virtual, so did JCC. Most of our activities went virtual. We launched a popular podcast on Judaism, called j-cast, which got an award in the learning and education category in the project Reimagining IsraelDiaspora Relations. We also made many Jewishthemed videos for children and organized online cooking classes. We published a cartoon book on the theme of Passover celebration, a table game with the same theme and are preparing a Jewish cookbook. However, we are looking forward to having meetings in person and eventually open a café with Tel Aviv's bubbly atmosphere. Nowdays, everything that has to do with Judaism in the Czech Republic, has to do with religion and the holocaust. Our place aims to be a fun place, full of energy. We are looking for new premises and will start another round of fundraising to fulfill our mission. We want to be open for Czech people identifying with Judaism, regardless of the origin, for Israelis living in the Czech Republic and also to serve as the hub for other JCC members who travel via Prague and the Czech Republic.

The inspirational bubbly atmosphere from Tel Aviv brings us to the issue of innovations. Czechs have been looking for inspiration from Israel for many years and many activities are going on. At the same time, we both know that the glass is only half full.

Israel was imposed into innovation, it is not that Israelis were born innovative.

Innovations were imposed on us starting from the military area. When Israel came into existence, only Czechoslovakia helped us. We had to manage on our own. We did not have the natural resources, whether it was oil, coal, or metals. From military and ammunition, the innovation continued to airplanes, electronic warfare and cybersecurity advanced military systems. The real trigger for Israel was the matter of survival, not the economic one. Such a strong trigger made us what we are today.

Today, no one remembers that the innovation was imposed on us, as current innovation is driven by economic reasons. What comes to my mind in order to understand it better is Darwin’s theory of evolution, where you need to adjusted to reality and so innovation has become part of Israeli DNA and I call it in a metaphoric way "the innovative Gene". We have had enough success stories that others try to repeat. It has become a snowball that grows bigger every day.

When we discuss the issue of the Czech Republic, we must not forget the communist regime that for decades suppressed any kind of innovative initiative. Czechoslovakia also had enough of natural resources. People did not have to be innovative. You had only the economic trigger. For economic innovation, you need to have success stories. The Czech innovation snowball is currently much smaller than the Israeli one, but it exists and keeps growing every day. You have innovation, you have high-scale success stories, and you have fields where the Czech Republic is leading in the world, such as medicine or voice recognition technologies. You need to pass the innovative genes to the next generations. Instead of young children wanting to start the same profession as their parents, you need to have a generation willing to become innovators regardless of the profession. In Israel, every hospital has a department for innovation, as doctors constantly invent and innovate their methods and approaches. What I see is that any platform promoting innovation as a constant and ubiquitous process is not widely spread in the Czech Republic, together with adjusted organizational structures inside the companies promoting innovations. The Czech innovation system will be driven by success stories. It will take time for the innovation gene to spread but it will happen. I see that Israelis and Czechs are very similar in this aspect.

Let us discuss the affinity between our two nations. Czechs love Israel and feel

close to it, Israelis admire the Czechs for the support we provide.

Israelis truly have a warm part in their heart for the Czech Republic. It is not often that Israel gets support. Whenever there is a regional crisis, the whole world attacks Israel. We are used to it. The Czech Republic is exceptional by not only not attacking us but by supporting us.

This was seen by the latest visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakub Kulhánek in Israel.

Israeli truly go bananas and get emotional about the support they have been receiving from your country.

Israelis love the Czech Republic. Before covid, 200 000 Israeli tourists were coming to Prague. Škoda Auto is the most preferred European car on the Israeli market. It is very comfortable to be an Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic to Israel.

In Israel, I have learned the word tachless, meaning “let us be direct and talk about the bottom line”. From the affinity between the two nations, let us mention some specific projects of bilateral cooperation, such as water management or covid-19.

Like with innovation, it is all about priorities and decision-making. In the Czech Republic, there is currently no serious problem with water. Your country did not experience a deep water crisis yet. When it comes to water, Israel had practicaly no water. We had to invent. We started with a drip irrigation system, continued to desalination system of factories, and then we started cleaning contaminated water. The next steps led to identifying the leakages in

water pipes and unique systems of repairment.

The first step is to admit that there is a problem and put a lot of sources into it. Israel and other countries can provide technology, but the Czechs need to make it a priority, and not only having discussions and seminars.

As you mentioned, there are many potential projects for bilateral cooperation. Together, we can create a development center for vaccinations which is a classic platform to carry out projects for two countries that are so close and friendly. However, the decision, strategy, and clear pathway need to be made from the above.

David, this is my longest interview, but I will still ask you. What are your final words for the Czech and Slovak Magazine leaders?

For me, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been second homes and I have been active in promoting political, economic, and cultural ties between the countries. More than anything, the emotional factor should not be forgotten. And it is this factor that is the motor that will strengthen anything else that can be needed, whether in the area of innovation, water management, medicine, or any other.

Once there is trust and love between the people, that will carry everything else on its step.

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

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

P hoto : M arek L ampart

and

A rchive

I nterview

with

J iří K rejča , F ounder

of

V ere P rague

We should protect the family silver I’ve been following experienced manager and leader Jiří Krejča and his career for many years, and we had discussed the possibility of doing an interview a number of times. His profile qualifies him not just as an experienced leader and expert in restructuring businesses and financial management, but also as an expert in networking and intercultural communication through his many years heading the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic. At last we met to discuss all these topics, but from a new perspective.

The pandemic is behind us. But can we really relax? A new era is upon us offering challenges related to digitalisation, robotisation and automation. It has been shown that today’s world, characterised as VUCA (an acronym which stands for Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex and Ambiguous), is placing much greater demands on company management. Even more than before, the era of so-called transformation management is upon us. Jiří Krejča has demonstrated his abilities in developing and managing Czech subsidiaries of multinational corporations such as Thomas Cook, Hapag Lloyd, Travelex and Interchange, and has worked as a transformation manager in the state enterprises Lesy České republiky (Czech Forests) and Czech Post. In 2011 he set up Vere Prague s.r.o., which is focused on crisis and transformation management, company restructuring, company modernisation and development, and acquisition and mergers. Any readers considering doing business or moving to the USA should peruse that part of the interview looking at options for acquiring US visas within the EB-5 programme.

Naturally, I also posited questions about leadership, global competitions for managers, and managing the trend for work-life blend. And why do I refer to the family silver in the title? Because the proclamation that small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the economy in the Czech Republic is not matched by the same level of support they receive in the West. So let’s treat Czech companies as we would the family silver, and think about how to take good care of them, and grow them for future generations.

The pandemic, which has had a profound impact on the economy and society in general, is behind us. How do you see the future?

If I were to choose a single fitting word, then it would be “insecure”. I wouldn’t even presume to claim the pandemic is over. Time will show us what condition companies in the sectors most affected by the pandemic are in, having been to some extent protected against certain impacts through the provision of various types of support. We anticipate that there will be larger numbers of company owners and managers having to deal with urgent matters such as company transformation, sale, restructuring or finding appropriate financing for further successful growth and development. For those who believe that every cloud has a silver lining, for those who will be ready, this is positive news. In some sectors, competition will increase and the oft-discussed war for talent will continue. Top managers will be able to choose which companies they want to link their names to. On the other hand, borders have stopped playing a role within the global economy. This pandemic has been a global one.

Czech managers must be ready to compete with those abroad who are going to want to work in areas where there is great potential to succeed.

Companies will have the opportunity to surround themselves with various types of leaders and experts. We should all be ready to help traditional Czech companies which have got into difficulty through no fault of their own, and at the same time we will be helping to ensure that our country makes a speedy recovery from the consequences of the pandemic.

I note you have experience of both crisis and transformation management. Let’s start with crisis management. How did you learn to overcome crises?

Owners don’t like to use the word “crisis” about their enterprise or company. They prefer to talk about a period and a situation which requires change and urgent solutions. For myself personally, I’ve been contending with difficult situations almost my entire professional life. But that’s my choice. At the start of my career, I was sent to Iraq in regard to investment projects during a period of ongoing war with Iran. People were nervous, deaths from battles and rocket attacks on civilian targets were mounting within families, phone lines were down, our communication with headquarters was via telex (do you still remember what telex actually was?). There were five of us in Bagh-

dad, and we were each responsible for our own agenda. I was responsible for legal and economic affairs for the Abu Ghraib project, with a budget of 110 million US dollars, in which 500 workers from Czechoslovakia were employed. Nobody else was available to do this so I had to figure it out myself, even though when I joined the project I was just 27 years old. That took four years. It was an incredible learning experience for me. I came to realise that it isn’t a good idea to rely on things just happening, by themselves. You only get results when you pull your sleeves up and put the work in. Every situation has a solution, but it is important to follow through until completed.

I’ve been following this approach for the rest of my career. In crisis management, it’s important to find a solution quickly, whether partial or complete, and to start implementing it. One more thing is fundamental. You need to understand why the problem occurred and find different solutions, not to rely on one way forward. I like to remind people that we’re working in a capitalist system, which comes from the word “capital”.

So it’s important to respect the wishes of owners when choosing the right solutions. My job is to provide enough information, alongside the different solutions.

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I nterview

38

with

J iří K rejča , F ounder

of

V ere P rague

I’d also like to mention the implementation phase. This can be a lot more difficult than the phase of looking for solutions. You can make a decision on the right solution relatively quickly. But obstacles can arise in the approval process within large corporations, and in differing interests amongst joint owners or different groups within the organisation’s management or structure. Good communication and a willingness to resolve matters are key requirements for success.

is underestimated. I myself was responsible for integrating branches of the German company Happag Lloyd and Britain’s Thomas Cook on the Czech market. Following a number of crises in relationships, we finally managed to break the ice at an informal team-building event. It wasn’t that easy, of course, but creating a relaxed atmosphere led some ardent defenders of one or the other model of operation to communicate, and this communication then continued at the Prague offices.

At the current time, many companies are in the phase of considering their future position. More opportunities for transformation managers are starting to emerge than ever before. This is an area that you are focused on.

I’d say that over the last 15 years I’ve mainly been dealing with situations where a company is close to insolvency or bankruptcy, or is dealing with how to develop or to overcome fundamental problems, and is seeking an optimal solution.

Transformation management happens when the owner or management posits the question: “Which way now?” Should we sell or restructure the company, should we find an investor or other external source of funds, or should we join up with another strong player in the sector? I’ve been part of processes which sought the right solution. And even more frequently I’ve arrived in situations where a decision on the way forward has already been made, and it’s my job to implement the changes.

The phase of implementing changes can be much more difficult than finding a solution.

It’s working with people above you, below you and around you. You can be aware of the right solution relatively early. But obstacles can appear in the form of the approval process, in the differing interests amongst different groups in the management or structure of the organisation. Only an experienced leader can motivate people within a stagnant environment to support changes. Here I think it is of benefit to consider the modern trend of diversity. It is still common that only experts from your particular sector are invited to deal with transformations, experts who have no general experience of change management. The independent perspective of an outside person can bring in new, fresh ideas. I consider myself a team player.

Any time I’ve taken on the role of transformation manager, I’ve always tried to get as many people as possible involved. Whether from the organisation itself, or from amongst clients, suppliers or even regulatory authorities if they have become involved in the process. With this breadth of input, we’ve been able to come up with better and more comprehensive solutions.

A transformation manager also has to be able to persuade others about the changes which are to take place. According to research, a third of mergers and acquisitions end in failure, and around 70-80% do not meet expectations. Why? Because the post-acquisition integration phase

At the beginning, you mentioned new trends in selecting managers. Are Czech companies ready for the fact that they’re going to be managed by foreigners?

If there are no language barriers in the company, then the best candidate should be selected.

Meaning the best in accordance with the company’s particular strategy.

I was discussing the topic of expansion abroad with one successful entrepreneur who has rejected the idea for many years, stating that there are still enough opportunities in the Czech Republic, but there is a lack of people. He would certainly take on a suitable foreigner. But I also know of a company which began successfully producing a product in the Czech Republic and then expanded to the USA, where it sent its Czech managers, and today it is the American market which really sets the pace.

In choosing an optimal manager, it is also true that the owner’s desires may not fall within modern concepts of leadership. A private owner may prefer somebody they know and trust, and that may be more important to them at that moment than finding a foreign expert with a stunning CV. We’ve already discussed diversity as a value. It’s known that you have five children.

How do you perceive intergenerational diversity?

I use discussion with my kids as a kind of reflection. It’s interesting to see how, for example, the young generation value free time. They separate work and free time more. And they’re happy to make use even of unpaid leave so they can do their leisure activities.

I’d guess the current young generation wouldn’t have wanted to work with me during the 1990s.

I was very authoritarian; you can’t be like that today. Over time I’ve become more of a mentor for my colleagues. I give people space: I want them to think; to communicate proactively. Today, team involvement, listening, and debating to find a consensus have become second nature to me. And, of course, when an employee is given the space to express an opinion on a proposed solution, they are more accepting of it during the implementation phase.

The international business environment is so familiar to you that you even decided to be its intermediary for others. Through you, people can invest, study and work in the USA under special conditions.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

I’m a globetrotter. I’ve got a huge number of contacts around the world, and I really enjoy working with various cultures and learning from them. My fondness for spending loads of time in aeroplanes and at hotels is dissipating, but I still want to get to know new people. Through my contacts in Canada, I met the charismatic owner of the American company Christian Tyler Properties, who entrusted me with exclusively representing this major investment and development group in our part of the world in the EB-5 investment visa programme. This can be used to acquire a green card or American citizenship for your entire family under a special timeframe and financial conditions.

And my final question is about how you manage your work-life balance...

In recent years, I’ve been involved in various engagements. It depends on what phase I’m currently in. At the start of a project, I always completely immerse myself in the job so I can get at the matter at hand. For the first few months I’m not at home much; I’m getting to know the company, the people and the conditions. Once I’ve got a clear picture and the phase of approval and gradual implementation begins, things can be planned better and I gradually return to my hobbies. I’ve already mentioned travel with my entire family as a passion of mine, ideally also involving gastronomy, and good wine in particular.

We do a lot of sport, we ski in winter, in summer we go mountain biking. My wife and I are on the same wavelength in this way of life; the proof is our upcoming silver wedding anniversary. I don’t have to dictate a particular work-life balance; it’s a natural phenomenon for me. I take responsibility both for my work and for my family, and so also for myself and my health. I don’t just want to live this way; I also want to bring my sons up with the same values.

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

www.vere.cz

Bottling or Venting?

How to Handle People’s Emotional Overspill During the Pandemic Recently I conducted a virtual workshop for ten female leaders. This was our second module; by now we knew each other quite well and participants felt comfortable to work with their cameras on. Even so, one of the participants chose to remain “in the dark”. When the time came for her to share a few words, she started to talk about how frustrated she felt, how much she had on her plate and how much she wanted things to be over, including our training.

As she was talking, I noticed the other participants. Even though just a few moments ago they were sharing how excited they had been and how much they looked forward to new insights, now you could see their energy going down as they were becoming more uncomfortable and jittery. So I had a decision to make.

I let the participant finish, then I asked her what would be best for her. Would it be to continue being with us in the training, or would she prefer to dedicate her focus to a different commitment that would perhaps bring her more satisfaction? I confirmed that the training was being recorded, so she wouldn’t lose anything. Then I dared to take a step further.

I reminded all participants that our training required full presence, so we can achieve some real breakthroughs. Second, I underlined that our emotions are contagious and that we, as individuals, need to be mindful of what comes into the room with us, for our emotions impact and shape the world around us. My participant stopped for a moment, reflected and she said that she would continue with us. Even though she did switch off her camera a few times, she became fully engaged in the breakout rooms and in the chat. I took a deep breath. This was one thin edge to walk – as always, in fact, when dealing with people under the influence of strong emotions.

Second, venting turns people around us into our emotional dumping ground. While we may be getting a quick sense of relief, the people we impact when venting may take over the burden of our emotions and bring it home with them without even knowing it. In the long run, venting truly doesn’t bring anything positive to anyone.

So what should we do when we are dealing with people who engage in emotional venting?

1. Recognize what’s going on First we need to recognize the process – that the person in front of us is under the influence of strong emotions and is using an unhealthy emotional coping strategy. More, they are engaging us in their emotional coping pattern.

2. Don’t let yourself pulled into the game Recognizing what is going on is only the first step. We also need to be able to master our own emotions so we can contain the process and guide the other towards a safer and healthier emotional management approach. So notice, breathe and don’t let yourself to be pulled emotionally into the other person’s whirlwind.

3. State the obvious Once you feel that you are calm enough to articulate what’s going on, state the obvious.

Describe what you are noticing. We can all learn to do this calmly and with empathy. By holding the mirror to others we are in fact giving them healthy emotional boundaries. You can also follow-up with a question to check if your observations are correct.

What was my participant actually doing in the situation above? She was venting – and we, the group, were her venting ground.

4. Master the risk of a full blowout When you confront someone and you ask them whether your observations about their emotional processes are correct, be ready to face a certain amount of pushback. Sometimes it comes as a full blowout, mainly if the person is truly emotionally immature or if they have been bottling emotions for a while. Take another breath and assess what is going on. Then…

Nowadays we are all stressed; the last year has stretched all our boundaries to the extreme. This is why most of us feel the need to vent and this is why it may also feel awkward and unsensitive to interrupt people when they vent. Venting may bring us a quick emotional relief – that’s for sure. But it comes with a price tag. On the one hand, venting keeps us revved up, with no possibility for our nervous system to rest.

5. Name the consequences Most people are not even aware that they have been bottling their emotions or using others for emotional coping purposes. That’s why we need to be ready that our mirroring reaction might take them by surprise. This is the moment to breathe and keep staying rational.

You can share the consequences of the vented emotions and their impact on you; you can give

P hoto : A rchive

examples and point at some similar situations in the past and at their outcome. Basically any factual consequences of misplaced emotions could help you at this point to build your message and to connect to the other person.

6. Suggest a healthier alternative While being compassionate about the emotional needs of the person in front of us, what we can do is to re-route their attention towards a healthier alternative. For example, they could go for a walk – or a jog. They could cook a meal or engage in a different, more satisfying activity. They could reflect on what they can do about the situation that brings them pain. A sense of personal empowerment is the best healing tool for any emotional unrest.

As for us - instead of becoming an emotional dumping ground, we can reposition ourselves as true emotional supporters, wise “coaches under cover” and enablers of empowerment with a positive orientation towards the future.

You never know – sometimes this skill may even safeguard our careers, teams, families or lives.

By Cristina Muntean české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com Cristina Muntean is a consultant, trainer, mentor and coach who specializes in personal branding, strategic communications, emotional and systemic intelligence for leadership. A former journalist with more than 12 years of experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media, she founded Media Education CEE, a communications and people development agency in Prague in May 2010. Her clients are executive level managers and entrepreneurs with Top100 companies in the Czech Republic and Central and Eastern Europe.

Cristina is also an internationally certified trainer and coach with the Enneagram, a complex system of personal development, and a facilitator of systemic dynamics in organizations. She provides services in English, Czech, French and Romanian, her mother tongue. Cristina can be reached at +420 776 574 925 or at cm@cristinamuntean.com.

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I nterview

with

M artin B oruta ,

director of the

N ational C enter

for

E nergy S avings

The European Green Deal

and energy savings in buildings will be the key topics of tomorrow The future of modern energy sources, savings programs in the buildings of towns and municipalities, new funding and complex energy technologies were the subjects of my discussion with Martin Boruta, director of the National Center for Energy Savings. The National Center for Energy Savings is a partner for the representatives of towns and municipalities, as well as companies or individuals interested in implementing state-of-the-art energy-saving solutions. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic has missed the boat with the Green Agreement for Europe, i.e., the European Green Deal, and then came the Coronavirus, and anti-EU themes overshadowed this emerging opportunity. For the CR, the Green Deal means not only the gradual cessation of coal mining, but above all a huge potential for modernization of the industry sector and the heating-generating industry, electrification of transport, options for comprehensive reconstruction of buildings, and the greening of agriculture. Moreover, the implementation of the Green Deal for Europe in practice is distributed among the various ministries. Yet another aspect to consider is the fact that, in 2022, the Czech Republic will chair the European Union and energy could be one of the priority topics.

I am glad that I was able to address one of the most competent experts on this topic. Martin Boruta has been active at the top level of the state administration for a long time at the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Finance, respectively. Since February 2020, he has been in charge of the National Center for Energy Savings.

The National Center for Energy Savings (NCEÚ) was founded 6 years ago as a strategic tool for key stakeholders aiming to promote and support energy savings and modern energy production. The founders of NCEÚ represent the sectors of crucial importance for the transformation of energy production in the CR: the Chamber of Commerce for the business sector (largest business association in the CR, 16,000 members, 60 regional chambers); the Union of Towns and Municipalities (largest association of local governments in the CR, 2,766 members representing 44% of the total number of local governments in the CR); and for the strategic energy-producing level, ČEZ, a.s., a company whose knowhow covers the entire spectrum of issues, ranging from energy production and distribution, to energy savings, to green innovations in the field. Thanks to this extremely extensive network as well as its own awareness-oriented and consulting activities, the NCEÚ maintains contact with small and medium-sized companies, large companies, small and large towns and municipalities, technological innovations, and implementation of best practices in energy savings, energy management, and the use of new low-emission energy sources.

The NCEÚ participates in strategies for the transformation of coal regions, strategies and implementations for retrofitting buildings, the development of SECAPs (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans) and local energy concepts and related projects, implementation of Positive Energy Districts, and the use of innovations in practice. It also cooperates with university research centers and innovation centers, promotes modern energy at the level of ministries and the central public administration as well as in the public sector (in the media, on social networks and at conferences), popularizes themes on energy savings, low-emission solutions and modern energy, and systematically creates tools for information sharing and enlightenment (seminars, webinars, podcasts, blogs).

I hope the interview will be inspiring not only for the mayors of smaller towns and municipalities, but also for business owners. Specific examples of good practice, projects, and the chance to see the Green Deal for Europe as an opportunity, rather than a threat to the status quo that does not help advance the Czech Republic at all.

I wish you a pleasant reading and a peaceful rest of the summer without any major climatic extremes.

Martin, do you think that this year´s climatically challenging and extreme summer will open the eyes of those who have been rejecting the climate change theory thus far?

Hopefully, there will be an increasing number

40

of those who realize that extreme climatic occurrences, where hot and dry periods are followed by torrential rains and forests are plagued by bark beetles, are all signs of the climate change in which we all have a share of blame. The Czech Republic is a country that has historically built its progress on hard work, ingenuity, innovations, and talent. As a citizen of this country, I am very sorry that we have not been able to get a better score than 5th place from the end of the EU scale in per-capita greenhouse gas emissions. We have not made any significant contribution to improving the environment in which we live or the conditions in which we do business and work.

So far, the Czech Republic has appreciated enough the European trend associated

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

with the so-called “Green Agreement for Europe”, i.e., “Green Deal”, and may even have underestimated it, even though – thanks to the EU budget – the Green Deal provides fundamental financial incentives for efforts to transform our economy and approximate the objectives that we have set out to reach by 2030.

The Czech economy underwent a very important transformation after 1989, which was inevitable due to the backwardness of the former centrally planned economy. It turns out, however, that we are still at halftime. Such issues as substantial reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, purity of water and the environment, or energy consumption of industrial production and buildings have become vitally important in the last ten years. For the Czech P hoto : A rchive

I nterview Republic, as a member of the European Union, these issues are of key importance for our functioning in the world. And it is at this level that we, along with the other member states, agreed at the end of last year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% until 2030 (from 1990 levels). To keep up with the development and progress of Europe until 2050, where we should be as a continent neutral, carbon-wise, requires considerable innovative and technological progress in the overall environment of the Czech Republic´s economy.

The National Center for Energy Savings aims to popularize and raise awareness in the field of energy and the application of modern technologies. This task takes more than savings alone, as we have become more demanding in terms of comfort, so our current lifestyle is completely different. It is therefore necessary to completely change our approach.

Energy savings are at the heart of the matter.

In order to achieve the outlined climatic objectives, which we have set in the EU and which the Czech Republic has yet to meet, we must more strongly reduce the energy consumption of buildings and increase their energy efficiency through the introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) and the use of modern technological solutions. The impact of the pandemic has shown how vulnerable our society is. Closed shops and restaurants, limited production, people working from home, teaching children online via computers, a major decline in economic performance, and revealed shortcomings in the functioning of the state administration system – all this has led to shortfalls in the budgets of towns and municipalities. In order for the society and the system to function, they need impulses and stimuli. Renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, or energy savings like building insulation and window replacement, are undoubtedly very important.

However, we at the NCEÚ are convinced that complex technological solutions, including innovative solutions with elements of sensors, measuring and control systems in buildings, companies, industrial objects and households, are the key tools. Personally, I firmly believe that this is the path to the reconstruction and modernization of the Czech economy as a whole in the next 15-20 years, or more, because energy itself permeates our lives and affects us all.

Unfortunately, in the Czech Republic, the issue of savings is often reduced to supporting renewable energy sources (RES), including the notoriously controversial photovoltaics.

I do not consider photovoltaics controversial, but the past has shown that some parameters of the support for this technology have not been very successful. At the NCEÚ, we want to support and promote the implementation of complex technological solutions in the en-

with

M artin B oruta ,

director of the

ergy sector and promulgate information about today´s options, projects, and examples of good practice that we encounter. In Czechia, there is still room for improvement in this area.

Many important aspects of modern energy have been limited to support or criticism of RES, particularly photovoltaics. I do not understand how we can argue about this at all and waste time over it. There are so many examples from other countries where it works thanks to effective support; moreover, it will now be supplemented with more funding for us from the EU. It is a clearly defined path to follow. We have to focus on how to logically and meaningfully combine things like photovoltaics, and how to link them to electro mobility or the production of green hydrogen.

You target not only the representatives of towns and municipalities, but also individuals and companies, and advise them how to implement modern energy solutions with minimal costs.

Today, towns and municipalities lack so-called “energy managers“. It is possible to hire experts from consulting companies or by contacting directly the strongest interest association of these companies, which is the Association of the Providers of Energy Services (APES). It is really no longer appropriate to proceed by intuition or good neighborly advice, as it is necessary to bet on expert assessments and consulting, which today has a high level of quality.

This will certainly help all those who are trying to figure out how to effectively combine building renovations with the implementation and installation of modern energy solutions.

In the present-day context, where towns and municipalities are short of budget funding from taxes and are beginning to curb their investment plans, Energy Performance Contracting or EPC seems to be the ideal method.

It involves the provision of energy services with a guarantee. And it is this very method of providing energy services that can now be used as a way to essentially finance the renovation of real estate owned by towns and municipalities. These can be buildings like town halls, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, nursing homes, or sports halls and swimming pools.

The EPC method has the great advantage that the investor does not, in essence, need his own funds to finance his investment plan.

Modern energy solutions and implementation of complex technologies are carried out by companies that provide energy services, i.e., an Energy Service Company (ESCO). The savings gained during the operation of the buildings and technology – thanks to a significant reduction in the operating costs of the facilities – are high enough to ensure a return on the investment within the horizon of 8-10 years, whereby the whole investment venture is funded by a subsidy from the EU. There is unprecedented flow of money – billions of Czech crowns coming our way, the key is to

N ational C enter

for

E nergy S avings

understand how to prepare for it. The option of the EU subsidy will often also help to speed up the return on the whole project. And the extra benefit? The customer will enhance the value of his property thanks to the installation of modern technologies. Personally, I believe it is an excellent opportunity for towns and municipalities and would be happy if their representatives were more interested in this method and made use of all its advantages.

It is always beneficial to combine several objects into one project, because higher savings can be achieved. The EPC service can also be effective for small municipalities numbering only a few hundred inhabitants, where the elementary school and kindergarten can be included, for example, into a project of public lighting. For a small municipality, such a project can save, say, as much as one million CZK every year.

The NCEÚ also wants to share examples of best practice in the field of energy savings. Which specific realization interested you the most?

There are many examples that demonstrate how well the advantages of the EPC method have been applied in projects involving large buildings or real estate complexes in towns and municipalities. Personally, I was most interested in the excellent EPC project implemented in 30 buildings in nine campuses of the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT), which was completed at the end of 2020 – a total savings of more than CZK 220 million in 11 years! But there are also other examples, such as schools and kindergartens in Zlín, a hospital in Jihlava, and a virtual engineering gem of energy savings involving the reconstruction of the historic building of Rudolfinum in Prague, the seat of the Czech Philharmonic. The possibilities of applying the EPC method in public and state buildings are basically endless, as this is the ideal path for the future.

I am sure this is not the last time we are discussing such an important issue. To conclude, what are your final remarks for our readers?

Designing buildings’ retrofit is a huge business opportunity. I believe there is a huge potential for both public and private sector in this area, even more so when we consider the upcoming regulations. It is important to realize that there is an unprecedented flow of money coming our way and that the key is to understand how to prepare for it. We are talking about a once in a lifetime stimulus for economic recovery.

One of major advantages of NCEÚ is that it consults only experts who deal with these topics from both government as well as private sector standpoint. If you need advice, NCEÚ is here for you.

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

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LONG COVID

and what now?

A spa, or hemp?

And can Israel be an inspiration for us once again?

Have you or one of your loved ones suffered from Covid, and still don’t feel well? And, apart from a statement from doctors or those around you that you’re suffering form so-called “long Covid“, you haven’t received any care? Then read on.

In February this year, my husband and I caught Covid-19, which led to what was probably my most open interview ever with Chaplain Major Tomáš Mlýnek. I had no idea that four months later I’d return to this topic, again from my own perspective. My husband suffered a severe case of Covid, which involved hospitalisation and connection to artificial ventilation. According to medical reports, the progress of my illness was moderate; I returned to my working life relatively soon, and I hoped that I would also return to my original condition and normal lifestyle. I began to devote myself to my favourite activity of walking again, and the scooter was replaced by a bike, because I simply couldn’t breathe well enough to run. My husband recovered more slowly, but in a stable fashion. When my recovery curve began to resemble shapes that I had previously connected with the theory of recovery from an economic recession – first V, then U and now even W, I started to take more of an interest in the phenomenon of so-called long Covid, or the long-term impacts of the infection. Among those around me, I know several cases where the patients have been declared healthy, but

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they’re far from the definition of full health, where health is more than the mere absence of illness.

Hopefully this article will help them too. And maybe it will also convince those who are still hesitant to get vaccinated, as was the case with several people close to me. Although Covid-19 doesn’t have to be fatal for everyone, do you really want to risk contending with the effects of the illness for half a year, or even a year or more?

What does long Covid actually mean?

Long Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, manifests itself in at least 10% of people who have suffered an acute case of the illness. And as my, or our, case shows, there is no direct relationship between the severity of the acute illness and the development of long-term effects. Similarly, many known risk factors affecting the severity of an acute case of Covid-19 have not been shown to increase the risk of the subsequent development of longterm health problems. Post-Covid syndrome can develop in anyone who’s affected, and affect any organ system in the human body.

How does long Covid manifest itself? I feel like a textbook example with most of the symptoms.

The worst was, and is, insomnia. Although I was exhausted, and actually constantly tired, I was only able to fall asleep for 4-5 hours. I feel shortness of breath almost every day, not only during physical activity but also due to stress. I still haven’t been

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able to return to running, even at a slow pace, and I’ll have to miss my favourite swimming memorial dedicated to Hana Greenfield in Kolín.

Everyone who knows me personally knows that swimming distances over one kilometre was my great passion. In my current condition, I simply can’t swim a kilometre. And if I do, then it’s at the cost of exhaustion, to which my immune system responds by increased temperature and an eruption of cold sores.

Mental problems, memory loss, an inability to concentrate and anxiety are other factors that make life bitter. I studied history, and names and dates were my passion and hobby. I’m a passionate networker and connector of people.

Now social events are often a miserable affair for me. Not only am I sensitive to the excessive noise and other stimuli, but sometimes I simply don’t recognise the people in question. I can‘t handle passive smoke from cigarettes in gardens, or a dusty environment. So I would like to apologise to everyone for meetings cancelled at the last minute, and sudden departures. The so-called Covid brain fog is a real and very fitting term.

Imagine that, in the middle of a meeting about a specialised topic, you forget a term, name or important fact, and you simply know that you don’t know.

The vague pains in various parts of my body remind me of a visit to New Orleans, and voodoo

dolls. Why someone is inserting needles into me, and then I feel pain in places such as under the shoulder blade, knee or big toenail, is simply a mystery. Well, and the last change isn’t directly life-threatening, but it also affected me. My hair was falling out, and my nails were breaking. My hairdresser Chris, and his art, literally saved me from voluntarily choosing the hairstyle sported

by Shira Haas in Unorthodox or Sinead O’Connor in my youth, rather than constantly looking at the balls of hair ending up in the comb.

Spa treatment Will a spa help? And how? From my own experience, I can state that definitely yes.

And I really appreciate the Czech healthcare system, because my husband and I received comprehensive spa care. My husband with regard to the difficult progress of the illness connected with hospitalisation, and I as a consequence of a diagnosis of post-Covid asthma. The spa treatment really helped us, and returned my husband to his original form. I recommend that everyone who is entitled to spa treatment use this option. I would advise others to at least avail of a discounted one-week stay in the form of the vouchers that are still available.

In the spa, we had up to six procedures a day, consisting of baths, inhalations, breathing exercises and massages. We chose the Royal Spa hotel and sanatorium, which is on a hill in Mariánské Lázně, so during regular walks we had the opportunity to verify how our respiratory and physical condition is improving. By the end of the stay, we were able to walk up the hill to the hotel several times a day without stopping.

And what then?

After returning from the spa to full-time work, my condition worsened again. My workload increased, stress and the hot summer in the city made my breathing worse again, and I began to have problems sleeping. When I discussed the problems with several acquaintances from the ranks of doctors, I heard the usual “you’re a typical case of long Covid“, while friends reassured me that I have to ease off and rest even more. Thoughts raced through my head that I might have to retreat. “The lungs are a slow organ,“ was one of the most popular catch-phrases. My response, that I’m quite accelerated so it could balance itself out somehow, was more of a bon mot. I felt that my body was in a state of permanent inflammation.

This theory was confirmed to me by my friend, doc. Eva Závadová, C.Sc, MD, immunologist.

And at the same time she told me that long Covid often doesn’t disappear by itself, as doctors pretend to patients. On the contrary, untreated problems can lead to further complications, which apart from breathing and fatigue include neurological disorders, joint and muscle damage, visual impairment, depression, changes in concentration, inflammation of the skin, intestines and cardiac muscle, and

increased blood clotting, which can have lethal consequences.

Doc. Eva Závadová has long devoted herself to immunology, both in the Czech Republic, where she teaches in a medical faculty, and abroad, having worked for many years in the USA and Austria.

She’s the author of award-winning monographs (League Against Cancer) and frequently quoted publications on the topic of immunology (e.g. The Lancet). Covid, too, is primarily about immunity.

Dr. Závadová was commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create a Czech-Israeli working group focused on supporting immunity in connection with post-Covid treatment. There is currently no recommended treatment procedure for managing long Covid in the Czech Republic or anywhere else in the world.

So Dr. Závadová travelled to Israel, where she completed internships in several university hospitals, among others in the Sheba Medical Center, which ranks among the global top ten in the area of the treatment of autoimmune diseases, a group that includes Covid. As it turns out, it’s not about the damage that the virus causes, but about the extent to which it manipulates the immune system, which produces autoantibodies that go on to settle in the blood vessels, lungs and brain, and damage them. It is therefore important to comprehensively support the immune system so that it can cope with the situation. In no case does this mean only the use of immunity-boosting drugs (e.g. Isoprinosine), which can even strengthen an inappropriate (autoimmune) response – every patient must be treated COMPREHENSIVELY. In Israel, the treatment employed by the Center for Autoimmune Diseases includes not only immunoglobulins, but also hemp, which also helps balance the immune system.

There is ongoing collaboration between Charles University and top Israeli workplaces in order to really achieve so-called evidence-based medicine. I think that the afore-mentioned spa facilities might also be interested in knowing exactly how to modify or target the therapy. An inappropriate immune response is also a cause of post-vaccination complications, so here too timely action is required.

Dr. Závadová’s team is trying to objectify the best treatment procedure. They focused on immunology, psychology, rehabilitation and nutrition. The team includes nutrition expert and Dean of health science in Ariel University, professor Birk, professor Firer, an immunologist who is an expert in specific laboratory tests demonstrating the disease’s activity, and professor Schoenfeld, who built the Center for Autoimmune Diseases in Sheba Hospital and is a world expert in immunology. Lots of patients describe the so-called Covid brain fog, which can even lead to anxiety or depressive disorders. They supplemented the treatment with regular meditation and breathing exercises, in collaboration with professor Gidron, a neuroimmuno-psychologist in the University of Haifa.

Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, which produces cortisol. The stress hormones then affect the immune system. Meditation

training, and general calming down, can help improve the immune profile. The first results in patients are very promising; a specific hemp product that’s used in therapy was even patented on their basis. Meetings are currently taking place with potential partners, in the areas of both product development and spa care. I hope that they will succeed soon, because right now there really are many post-Covid complications.

Is it OK not to be OK? I hesitated for a long time before making another personal confession. I’m not used to complaining, and I’m not used to being “out of shape“ and not putting in a performance of more than 100%. However, I became interested in the book “Unwell Women“ by Elinor Cleghorn, which deals with the phenomenon of women’s illness and its belittlement in a historical context. While the potential risk of blood clots was discussed in connection with the Covid vaccine, the much greater risk posed by regularly prescribed contraceptives leaves most of the population and the media completely at ease. By the way, some studies indicate that while acute Covid affects men more frequently, post-Covid complications are more likely to affect women. Women’s health complications are often overlooked or trivialised, evidenced among others by the case of Serena Williams, who almost died from postpartum complications in the form of a pulmonary embolism. Although she repeatedly complained of pains, the nursing staff paid her no attention and attributed the complaints to postpartum hypersensitivity. And that’s why I’m sharing the final appeal by the author of the afore-mentioned book; “Let’s allow ourselves to not be OK, and thus fight against ingrained prejudices about the female body, mind and life. We no longer have to endure these feelings in shame and silence.“ Conclusion I haven’t discovered a magic wand or a miraculous healing formula so far. I would advise everyone that’s suffering any of the symptoms of long Covid to not let themselves be rebuffed, and have their problem diagnosed and treated. The longterm problems that appear after Covid, such as asthma in my case, reduced thyroid function or neurological disorders that weaken the muscles, do not disappear by themselves.

I’m taking Dr. Eva Závadová’s recommendations about regular meditation, yoga and swimming to heart, and I think they’re suitable for everyone who needs to strengthen their immunity and calm their soul. And because at times my spa stay was more like “working from the bathtub”, I’ll try to disconnect when on holidays. Everyone who knows me will understand that this is a real challenge for me. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I wish everyone a wonderful summer!

By Linda Štucbartová

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

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I nterview

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C haplain M ajor T omáš M lýnek

P hoto : A rchive

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

The interview with Chaplain Major Tomáš Mlýnek will be my innermost contribution for a long time. It took place based on the experience of my husband, who met the chaplain after waking from an induced coma as a result of a severe case of Covid-19. Meeting the chaplain affected my husband very deeply, and helped him deal with the experience.

At the end of January, my husband’s mother died. Not of Covid, but definitely belonging among the statistics caused by Covid. The long separation from her immediate family, and the postponement of regular checkups connected with adjustments of medication, resulted in her weak heart simply being unable to cope with a relatively banal infection. Like many others, we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her in the hospital. And the red (!) handwritten inscription “Anti-epidemic system level 5, only 15 people permitted!“ in the ceremonial hall only expresses how much we’ve surrendered the basic values associated with humanity.

Three weeks later, my husband and I fell ill with Covid-19.

After a week of being sick at home, we both got a complication in the form of pneumonia. My husband was hospitalised, and after two days spent in bed on oxygen, he was put in an induced coma with lung ventilation.

He spent 10 days in this state. These days were among the most difficult of my life. How much strength the faith and prayers of those around me gave me is probably incommunicable.

Mjr. Tomáš Mlýnek, LTh, MA, has been a Roman Catholic Church clergyman since 2005. In 2009, he completed his postgraduate licentiate studies with a focus on bioethics and alternative medicine, and he also devotes himself to the issue of psychology and psychotherapy. He worked in several parishes in Moravia, in the territory of the Krnov deanship. Since 2012 he’s been Chaplain of the Army of the Czech Republic, and since October 2020 he’s worked as a military chaplain in the Central Military Hospital in Střešovice. Chaplain Mlýnek has experience from working in two foreign missions in Afghanistan. In his spare time, he has taken part in the ADRA humanitarian mission in Kenya three times.

The chaplain responded to the request for an interview literally immediately. And at the same time, he thanked me for the opportunity to be at my husband’s bedside.

Before we started with the first question, the chaplain thanked me for the chance to talk about his work. You’ll notice that, in the interview, he talked about others more often than about himself.

Note: the article was written with my husband’s permission. I dedicate it to him, and all the paramedics and medical staff who saved his life.

Personal account OF THE PANDEMIC

Mr. Chaplain, before we get to you and your work, let’s talk about solidarity with paramedics and medical staff. As an expression of gratitude, I organised a cake baking event for medical staff at Rotary Club Prague International. Other people have resumed organising collections for healthcare workers. How are medical professionals doing?

At the start of the pandemic, there was huge solidarity and people felt the need to show their sense of togetherness with healthcare workers. I understand that a year has passed, and people are tired. There is also less money. But unfortunately the solidarity has also vanished. People forgot that healthcare workers have literally been in a large-scale engagement for a year now, and there are several times as many patients as last spring. I’m not talking about finances. I’m talking about letters, pictures from children and the proverbial baking.

Medics really appreciate any expression of solidarity for their commitment and perseverance, and it helps them cope with this difficult period.

Are we at war with Covid? Soldiers who worked in foreign missions and are now helping out in hospitals said that deployment in hospitals is much more demanding than deployment in military operations.

Military deployment is different. It has a time limit. You set off on a mission, and you know you’ll return home in six months.

Because we don’t have a prognosis for the end of the pandemic, the feeling of the end is much more distant. I don’t want to talk about war, because they say that war has no winners. There are always only the defeated, due to the losses connected with the conflict. I want to believe that we’ll come out of the pandemic winners. I believe that we’ll learn. Everyone experienced some restrictions, pain and limits during the pandemic. That’s why I’d rather refer to it as a battle. And there’s another difference here.

In a war, people can close ranks against the enemy. I feel that because of the division of society, including various political and professional views, we’re not united. We’ve lost the ability to pull on one rope, which was so visible at the beginning of the pandemic. To not look for side alleys, and simply abide by the rules. To hang in there. Humans have the ability to adapt, but that goes hand-in-hand with a decrease in attention and vigilance. We get used to things, and stop perceiving danger. It is this attitude that poses the greatest threat.

How has the nature of your work changed during the pandemic?

I’m often asked this question. The amount of work has increased.

People’s health is much more at risk. In additional to normal care for patients, whether inpatient or outpatient, we provide the same amount of care for hospital staff. Not only are healthcare workers affected by problems arising from long-term pressure and exhaustion, they also face problems at home. Their own children are studying online, their partners have often lost their jobs, and they’re afraid for their loved ones. The level of pressure healthcare workers are exposed to is enormous. There is of course also a difference in the amount of regulations that must be followed, and the use of protective equipment.

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I nterview

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C haplain M ajor T omáš M lýnek

The level of pressure has surely affected you too. Patients cannot see their relatives, and visits are significantly restricted – permitted only for patients in the terminal stage of illness. Together with the staff, you form their only connection with the world.

Yes, that’s true. Family members also make use of this, when they call us and ask about the patient’s condition. We’re not authorised to disclose a diagnosis. But we pass on greetings.

We communicate how people are feeling.

I had a case of a man hospitalised in the Covid department, who was unable to make a phone call. I helped him talk to his wife. Every call can be encouraging for the patient. You’re going there not with the intention of examining the person, but of asking them how they are.

A huge misunderstanding of the essence of a chaplain’s work can be summarised in a sentence which I often hear: “I’m not dying, so I don’t need a priest.“ In a hospital, we’re all trying to help the patient recover and return home.

All care is therefore aimed at encouraging and activating the patient. For years and years we’ve been trying to change the impression that the clergy is associated only with the ritual of the last anointing, or the end of man.

We probably have an idea of what a chaplain’s work looks like. How would you briefly explain its essence?

The essence of a chaplain’s work is about the establishment of work with values and the meaning of life. It’s not missionary work, connected with spreading the faith. I am, I should be, an expert in spirituality.

When presenting our work to new doctors and healthcare workers, I work with Maslow’s pyramid of values. For many years, Maslow claimed that the last stage is self-realisation. Before the end of his life, he added one more level to the pyramid, which he called self-transcendence; figuratively, the search for the meaning of life, or spirituality. He therefore pointed out that this is the culmination of human existence, which affects all other areas.

What is the meaning of my life? What direction do I want it to take? How do I perceive values that are universal for every human being, such as friendship, forgiveness, life and death? The essence of a chaplain’s expertise is to open these values, and work with them so that the person in question addresses them. Initially, we don’t talk about faith at all. We come to it gradually. We don’t talk about religion. We talk about what the person is experiencing here and now. Literally, in the sense of what could help the person in question; what they breathe here, and what they’ll be breathing at home.

The word “chaplain“ used to refer to those starting out in the clergy. Today, it’s used in the sense of a person who is designated for a given category of people. So we have military, hospital and prison chaplains, chaplains for youth and seniors, and chaplains for people at the margins of society.

I myself am used to being addressed as chaplain.

In the army, the address Padre is used, as in the

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MASH series. We also have a female military chaplain, who they call Madre.

Let’s now move on to my husband’s experience. He was very grateful for your bedside visit after he woke up from the induced coma. In the conversation with him, you mentioned that patients who lose their breath also lose their spirituality.

The Covid disease seems very symbolic to me in that it attacks the human respiratory system. If we consider spirituality in the sense of the word spiro, or breathing, then the virus attacks that which our interior breathes through. As soon as you’re connected to a ventilator, you give up your life, because the device breathes for you, so you actually lose control of your existence. The one thing we desire is to have our life in our own hands.

And suddenly the person is very defenceless, helpless and vulnerable. And that’s what creates space for us. We visit departments where people are in an induced coma, and we pray for them. So that they can continue breathing. So that they can take control of their lives. So that the virus doesn’t win, so that their spirituality returns.

What’s happening is very figurative. When I look at our society, I feel that it has forgotten to live its own inner life. We’ve forgotten to live in the present. We’re forgotten our inner values, we’ve forgotten to breathe. What we can gain from this battle is a return to those values. And the greatest value is what we all have. It’s our lifetimes, which we pay for everything with.

I ask recovering patients: what will be your next step? What are you leaving the hospital with?

I try to encourage them to pay attention to what it is in their lives that they pay for with the one thing at their disposal. Their lifetimes.

I can confirm that. After the conversation with you, my husband called not only me but also the children. He told us all that he loves us, and wants to spend more time with us.

I’m glad to hear that. This reassessment of values often occurs after such an extreme experience.

The patient realises that value isn’t based on what I do, how well I do it or how many titles I have... the only value is in that I AM. I’m a human being.

If I manage to awaken this value in someone, and they go home with this mindset and pass it on to their loved ones, then I considered my work meaningful and justified. And I’m grateful for it.

You can see for yourself that this work has nothing to do with any religion or faith, yet it involves values that are common to us all. We come to faith gradually. I wait for the person in question to ask me about my faith.

I mentioned that many people prayed for my husband. You did too, and thank you very much for that. I also came across the opinion that some would like to pray, but they don’t know how... I think that everyone is able to pray sincerely. Or not?

Religion, faith, churches and spirituality are surrounded by much false ballast. Prayer is an

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essential element of the relationship between God and man. Everything that’s an expression of the relationship between Him and me becomes a prayer. The way you love your husband, the way you’re close to him and say something nice to him, is itself a form of prayer. Whenever I think of another person positively, whenever I relate to some entity, whenever I perceive the need to express goodness, I’m praying. Anything that’s carried by love is a prayer. It’s a natural heartto-heart dialogue. And we’re all capable of this foundation. Prayers in the form of texts are defined by ritual, for example to make easier a collective prayer, or moments when we’re lost for words... but words don’t matter. It depends on what’s in the heart, and the goal itself. If the goal is good, then it’s a prayer. That’s why I offer a blessing. In Latin, a blessing is called benedictio, or to speak well. If I wish you well, then I’m blessing you. I’m praying.

So truly anyone can pray, it’s just sometimes they don’t know what to imagine behind it. I tell people that if you work honestly, for the greater good, then you also pray through work. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re cleaning the floor, standing behind a desk or injecting people. You can live a spirituality that’s reflected in what you do when you put your heart into it.

Mother Theresa herself said: “It’s not what you do, but how much love you put into it“. Love then prevents us from falling into an extreme where work becomes our idol. There’s love for others, and self-love. And self-love should prevent us from harming ourselves. People who are fixated on performance fall into a trap, because they lose out on relationships and the experience of beautiful things. That’s no longer prayer. In that case, somewhere inside us we’re missing the mindset that a human being’s highest value is that they ARE. Without them having to do anything.

I think that the afore-mentioned words could serve as final ones. But I feel you still have something to say.

It doesn’t matter what a person is doing or where they are. It’s enough to develop the basic vocation they have. Being human. I’ll never be a completely good husband, father, lawyer or president, or a good wife or mother, if I’m not fundamentally human. Becoming human is a lifelong process. The fact that I’m born a human doesn’t mean I’m human. I spend my whole life learning to be human. Let’s not give up this learning. Let’s try to be more of who we are. In Christian anthropology, we were created in God’s image. As people. That’s the basic human vocation, and the basic dimension of spirituality. Everything else is an extension.

When the image of humanity in us is damaged, it will be reflected in everything we do, and that would be a great pity.

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

Figeac heads for the summit the inauguration of new cellars

Château Figeac 2019, Premier Grand Cru Classé B, in Saint-Émilion was voted the best wine from the entire prestigious wine-making region of Saint Émilion to the west of Bordeaux in a recent dégustation “en primeur”. As a result it outshone Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Pavie, and Angélus – all 4 top Premier Grand Crus Classé A. The unique Figeac winery therefore confirmed the quality of the 2019 vintage, and indeed the long rising standard of cultivation over the past 50 years.

A new, modern facility for the processing, maturation, storage, and distribution of wine was recently built in close proximity to the elegant château, with its 18th century façade and its perfect, refined lines. The tasteful and intelligently designed work of architecture satisfies all 3 requirements made by the owners of the estate: to create an unflamboyant and functional building of the highest standard using refined traditional materials and architecture that respects the “genius loci”. The building tastefully follows on from the original architecture of the château complex and copies the curve of the sloping terrain, without assuming the dominant position, even though it covers an area of more than 5,000 sqm.

The area of the facility had to be tripled in size to be able to satisfy the needs of precise, separate processing of grapes from different

tracts, with the terrain meaning that 2/3 of the structure is underground. Forty-eight new tanks of differing sizes were installed to order, a research laboratory, high-capacity cellars for barrels, and most of the technical facilities.

A canteen, offices, and a reception were built above-ground, together with a beautiful tasting and reception room that is entirely in keeping with Figeac’s traditional hospitality, situated with an imposing view of the vineyards through large areas of glass. The building, which cost EUR 15 million, is half visible and half inconspicuous, discreet on the surface and expansive underground, perfectly equipped and furnished, and built so as to be able to last at least another fifty years.

A bit of history The Figeac estate stands to the west of the little town of Saint-Émilion, on the edge of Pomerol. The château is surrounded by a park of 20 hectares in size, an arboretum, a bamboo grove, meadows, a pond, and woods, a unique place unmatched in the Bordeaux wine-making region. The origins of the estate stretch back to the 2nd century A.D., when the Roman family of Figeacus gave the estate its name. The estate quickly expanded and by the 19th century covered around 200 hectares. At one time, in

fact, it included around 4 hectares of vineyards now owned by Château Cheval Blanc. It also explains the fact that there are several other wines bearing the Figeac name in Saint Émilion, which was once a part of the original estate.

The development of Libourne port in the 12th century, under English occupation, opened the way for shipping, meaning that the renown of wines from the Bordeaux region could spread throughout Europe. At that time Saint Émilion provided VIPs and European monarchs with the most prestigious of wines and even back then the wines from Saint Émilion were considered

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to be wines of exceptional quality, wines with a remarkable potential for ageing. Wealth from the export of wine gave rise to numerous château residences, and it is from that time onward that Saint Émilion became home to a great many enlightened amateurs and passionate experts, all contributing to the centuries-old renown of the vineyards.

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The golden age of the great vintages of the 20th century began when Château Figeac came under the ownership of the Manoncourt family, which acquired the estate in 1892 and runs it to this day. Although it was bought in 1892 by André Villepigue, it was his grandson, Thierry Manoncourt (1917-2010), a man with a degree in agronomy, who left a fundamental mark after taking up the reins of the estate in 1947. He

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P hoto :

produced his first vintage in 1945, at the age of 28, and Château Figeac now works a total of 40 hectares of vineyards. These are remarkable for their gravel subsoil, unique in the Saint Émilion area, although there are also places with a mixed subsoil of clay and sand, playing a fundamental role in the mineral balance and water regime of the vines. If we were to compare the soil of the vineyards, it is similar in composition to places

archive of the author and of the

M anoncourt

family

such as Château Haut- Brion in the Grave region or Château Lafite-Rothschild in Médoc.

Pharaoh Thierry Manoncourt Thierry Manoncourt did not initially care for cultivating vines, instead wanting to understand the soils with all the science of a qualified agronomist. He slowly began replanting the vineyards in 1949, taking some time to evaluate the varieties. From 1950 onwards he put aside two barrels from each variety of grape to be able to study their properties. This led to him curtailing the Malbec variety and developing Cabernet Sauvignon over 1/3 of the vineyards, Cabernet Franc over 1/3, and limiting Merlot to 1/3.

This predominance of “cabernets”, absolutely unique in Saint-Émilion, remains one of the great originalities of Figeac to this day.

Thierry Manoncourt was also responsible for many of the revolutions that shaped the winery’s DNA: malo-lactique fermentation, natural fertiliser from ground vine shoots, maturation in new barrels, selection of grapes, the division of tracts, and thermoregulatory tests. He created natural drainage and changed the direction in which the plantation was set so as to perfectly expose the vines to the sun while the earth warmed in the spring.

He also facilitated the rooting of the vine for simple nourishment in the cold underground strata of clay. Manoncourt was also a pioneer in creating the concept of a second wine. In 1945 he created La Grange Neuve de Figeac, now Petit Figeac.

We owe him for the enormous cellar that opens into the vineyard and the building of underground cellars so that the juice from the grapes could circulate by gravitation alone, without the use of pumps. He was

one of the first to open his château to the public and one of the three founders of Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux. Together with his wife, Marie-France Manoncourt, he travelled the world, taking wine-makers from both banks (Médoc and St. Émilion) with him, paving the way for the export of wine for future generations. He most certainly deserved the nickname of the Pharaoh of Saint-Émilion that the region gave him!

After Thierry Manoncourt’s death in 2010, it was a major disappointment for the family that Figeac was not elevated to the absolute summit in the classification of Saint-Émilion wines: Premier Grands Crus Classé A. The classification has been modified every ten years following its establishment in 1955 (in contrast to the 1855 classification in Médoc) so as to stimulate and objectively re-evaluate all local wineries.

Marie-France Manoncourt, who at his side shared her husband’s enthusiasm and was inspired by his skills and values for more than fifty years, continues in the running of the estate together with her daughters and a top team of specialists. Over the past 10 years this team has been reaching for the summit in the field with its ever greater fund of knowledge, targeting the absolute peak of wine-making in Saint-Émilion.

“Only the desire for perfection and loyalty to our soil shape our decisions.”

Marie-France Manoncourt

By Ing. Arch. Iva Drebitko české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

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On Empowerment Self-Defense, Technology, and a Violence-Free World “Being able to defend myself is not violence. It is a human right...it is my right,” says Yehudit (Yudit) Sidikman, Founder and President of ESD Global Inc and CEO of MyPwr. Meet the woman who wants to ensure that one day everyone will know the abbreviation ESD, the way that IBM and CPR are known worldwide.

While very few people under the age of 40 can tell you the actual words for CPR, they know what it means. It means saving lives. ESD stands for Empowerment Self-Defense, both a unique concept and a global movement, incidentally one that is also about saving lives.

In addition to recognition by the Israeli Ministry of Social Equality, Yehudit Zicklin-Sidikman has been recognized by Wizo Jerusalem with the Woman of the Year Award and was counted amongst the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Israel by Nashim (Women) Magazine.

Terror at Home and the Shadow Pandemic The pandemic has taken a great toll, not only with regard to deaths linked to Covid-19. An alarming increase in the number of domestic violence incidents has been reported by non-governmental agencies around the world. This phenomenon is being called “the shadow pandemic,” and experts claim that it should receive as much attention as COVID-19. It is important to bear in mind that although domestic violence statistics were horrendous before the lockdowns, assaults on women have increased by a staggering 500%! In contrast to widespread belief, the greatest dangers come not from sexual predators in deserted parks or on poorly lit streets, but from those who are known to their targets.

According to Gentiana Susaj, a gender expert and the regional program manager for ESD Global Europe, “Worldwide, one in three women and one in five children are victims of violence.

Violence is thus by far one of the most prevalent health issues today.”

Empowerment Self-Defense “A fight not had is a fight won.” However, if you must defend yourself and fight, you should have the appropriate tools to do so. ESD is an evidence-based primary violence prevention strategy that teaches individuals how to interrupt violence by listening to their intuition, assessing their options, asserting boundaries, using de-escalation strategies, and providing tools for a range of mental, verbal, and physical responses.

ESD is the most well-researched and most effective violence prevention intervention that exists today. Prevention is the key word.

The many NGOs that work and help victims of violence deserve endless appreciation for their work. However, would you imagine that we

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would apply the same approach to the COVID-19 pandemic? Would we dare to only treat patients, without taking any precautionary measures in the forms of social distancing, contact reporting, triage, and most importantly, vaccination?

Unfortunately, this is the approach that is widely used when it comes to violence. First, we do not want to talk about it. As with many difficult issues, the widespread notion is that when you do not talk about it, it does not exist. I find it not only paradoxical but outrageous that one of the common “pearls of wisdom” widely spread is the claim that it is safer to yell “fire” than “help” in case you need help from strangers on the street.

What can ESD Bring to you?

My question is for those who have experienced neither martial arts nor self-defense classes.

Do you know how to defend yourself? Would you know how to prevent a potential threat in reality? Would you know how to use your voice? And, if necessary, would you know how to fight? I became interested in ESD after I met Yehudit. The other inspiration was my 16-year old daughter. When she started to prepare for a high-school year of living abroad, I had a feeling I missed something important in her upbringing: to develop her ability to be able to defend herself if needed. The truth is that unless you have a younger or older brother, women usually do not know how to fight efficiently. What I appreciate is that ESD teaches violence prevention tools, so that each individual can decide what is the best tool based on their specific circumstance at the moment.

Did you know that taking an ESD class can lower your risk of sexual assault by 46%? Even more astonishing, it can lower the risk of attempted sexual assault by 63% – meaning people can stop an assault even before they realize it is turning into an assault. In addition, an ESD class can help to reduce fear and anxiety and increase self-esteem, assertiveness and confidence.

Technology as a Solution Last November 25, on the symbolic date when we commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with Yehudit as my guest-speaker, I established the Czech-Israeli Women’s Accelerator at the CEVRO Institute in Prague. I believe that women should be encouraged more to use technology to address their specific challenges.

For a long time, we have used technology to predict and prevent undesirable human behavior, such as studying algorithms to spot the phenomenon of “lonely wolf terrorists.” Likewise, algorithms for fighting extremism and antisemitism on social media are already being used.

Now comes the time to use technology for the benefit of women and their security.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

In Israel, there is an app available which can predict whether you are subject to domestic violence by monitoring the use of mobile phones; there is also an app that based on audio signal processing that empowers the community to take the next steps.

Violence Against Boys and Men Did you know that boys are just as vulberable to sexual assault as girls?

As many 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused during childhood. Statistics confirm that 1 in 10 men in the US will suffer from gender-based violence.

More recent studies show that violence against men is underreported. Despite these alarming figures, there remains a lack of awarenss surrounding violence against men.

Violence Prevention Education Conference It is my honor to act as a liaison for both ESD and Violence Prevention Education Conference (VPEC) in the Czech Republic. The conference will take place virtually on October 9 and 10.

Violence is a global phenomenon that comes in many forms. The damage inflicted by violence may be physical, psychological or both and reduces the quality of life for all of society. Join dozens of renowned experts in the fields of education, psychology, social work, and Empowerment Self Defense in working together at VPEC to create and explore initiatives designed to interrupt and stop violence before it starts.

MyPwrApp to be introduced at the VPEC Conference in Prague My PwrApp, an intuitive AI based application for smartphones and tablets that will make Empowerment Self Defense and Violence Prevention programs accessible, affordable, and effective, will be introduced at the VPEC. The first target group is adult women. Think about how significantly we could change the statistics if violence prevention education were available in the palm of your hand.

Later, the app will be customized for the corporate environment, for parents to teach their kids, for teenage girls, LGBTQIA+ population, people on the move and people with disabilities.

Become Involved and Join our Efforts to Prevent Violence Contact us for more information about participation and partnership. Become part of the ESD movement. Join the VPEC conference. Do not be a bystander. The time is now!

By Linda Štucbartová

The power of ROUTINES Tereza Urbánková is a PR, communications and marketing professional with 20 years’ experience and proven success in delivering awardwinning communications programmes for multinational companies operating in industries such as hospitality, retail, IT, defence, broadcast, logistics, pharma and engineering. After having lived and worked in the UK for 12 years, she moved to Germany where she now works for Boehringer Ingelheim, a global pharmaceutical company, as Head of Global External Communication, Animal Health. Tereza is a member of the Executive Committee of the Czech British Chamber of Commerce in London. She speaks Czech, English, Spanish and Russian and can be reached through her LinkedIn profile.

‘Routine’ may sound a bit boring but believe it or not, routines or rituals and habits can contribute to more effectiveness and productivity as well as help us overcome challenging times.

There are events, big and small, that can disrupt our lives, causing insecurity and stress.

Therefore, maintaining or re-establishing our routines so that we can get the most of our day, have the needed energy and feel we accomplish something every day can be beneficial for our mental and physical health.

Particularly now as many of us are still being challenged by the COVID-19 reality but also in the future.

The consistency and individualised nature of our routines allow us to fit all of our most important things into our days. However, this does not mean we must stick with a routine when we begin feeling stuck or bored, as this can do more harm than good. Learning to adjust and build upon our routines is a necessary point of growth. Change is part of life, and we can allow our routines to evolve over time in response to it.

I have recently re-read parts of the book

by Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to find some inspiration and motivation when it comes to my routines which I periodically change depending on my workload, the season and my continuously evolving goals. It is not an instruction manual, the book provides an incremental, sequential, highly integrated approach to the development of personal and interpersonal effectiveness.

The key benefit of a routine is its regularity: if we find what works for us and then turn it into a sort of a process that requires zero thought, we free our mind for more important things.

I heard this view from a senior leader in my company some time ago. I first found it strange as we may not associate processes with creativity or something that we actually enjoy. But if a process becomes automatic, we do not think about it anymore and can dedicate our mind to other things.

Routines can also allow us to carve out time to pursue our passion every single day or take time for ourselves. How important is that when one sits in front of a laptop so many hours every day! I could work 24/7 as there is always something to do – something to read, to write, to review, to respond to, so for me sticking to some daily routine is absolutely critical to achieve work-life balance.

To establish a morning routine can also make a difference – to begin a day with a purpose and consistency can change the flow of the entire day. Routines can anchor us in daily life and may create comfort and stability. Some famous personalities are in favour of morning routines. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos swears by eight hours of sleep each night. He is a big proponent of waking up naturally, without an alarm. Oprah Winfrey also wakes up on her own. In her wellness diary, she explained how she sets her internal clock: "I have never set an alarm, I don't believe in them. They are…alarming! I put the number in my mind, and I wake up before that, usually between 6:02 and 6:20, because the dogs are trained to go out around that time.” And the

mentioned Stephen Covey also paid special attention to his mornings: “I make effort every morning to win what I call the ‘private victory’. I work out on a stationary bike while I am studying the scriptures for at least 30 minutes. Then I swim in a pool vigorously for 15 minutes, then I do yoga in a shallow part of the pool for 15 minutes."

The key is to create a routine that adds a sense of predictability to your day. Of course, your schedule may change somewhat depending on the day of the week but sticking to a basic structure for when you will get up, eat, work, do activities, exercise and sleep can help you feel less stressed out and more organised.

So how do you establish your routine? I’d recommend writing down everything you do each day over the course of a week. See what you can cut or reduce, what you can restructure if possible. Then see what you can set as a normal routine, something you do at a set time each day or week. It has to work well with your lifestyle. If you like to stay up late, getting up early as part of your routine may not work. And when you introduce a new routine, give it a little time but if your routine does not work, don’t be afraid to change it.

While it is important to get the essentials done, be sure to also find things that you can look forward to, whether it is watching a favourite television show or calling up a friend, so rewarding yourself. It may sound a bit strange but making these little rewards part of your routine can help you stay upbeat and focused when you are working on a task that you might not enjoy as much.

I must admit that a routine has kept me going since March 2020 when I started working from home. Being locked down and not being able to see my colleagues or visit my family for a long time can be frustrating at times. Now that things are opening up, I look forward to the next normal – but will definitely keep my daily routine albeit tweak it to reflect the new reality.

By Tereza Urbánková

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/ 2021

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The Czech branch of Huawei has recently undergone a change of management. The former CEO Willi Song will shift his focus to the development of three Central European countries - the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia and James Tang, who held the position of Director for CNBG and managed sales to carrier customers until the end of last year, has taken up the position responsible for the Czech Republic. At the beginning of March, James Tang celebrated 16 years at Huawei and marked his four years of working in the Czech environment.

I nterview

with

J ames T ang

To COMBINE the latest ICT technologies with traditional manufacturing

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

P hoto : A rchive

I nterview What are your plans with the Czech branch?

How strong is Huawei on the Czech market?

The Czech Republic plays an important role in our overall European strategy, and we want to be deeply integrated into Czech economic and industrial development to help the Czech digital economy lead the region. The focus of our future development is digital economy. We aim to combine the latest ICT technologies with traditional manufacturing and smart manufacturing to add value.

We want to work with partners to develop more ICT talent and collaborate with carriers to build secure and efficient network infrastructure. ICT technologies can also be used to create a more socially inclusive environment. So these four points will be our main pillars. Huawei hopes to play an important role in the development of the Czech digital economy and assume more social responsibilities.

We’ve been on the Czech market for more than 15 years, starting in the fixed networks of Český Telecom, which was then state-owned. Then, we began to build second and third-generation networks for mobile operators, then LTE networks, and now 5G networks. I can say that today we are the most important telecommunications supplier on the Czech market in terms of volume. We should also remember that Huawei solutions for optical networks are very popular amongst local and regional operators – there is a large number of them in the Czech Republic and that’s quite a unique situation, both here and worldwide. This allows for many small villages to have a fast and high-quality optical connection. We want to maintain this high standard when providing our services in the future, whether it is 5G for customers or custom-made industrial solutions for companies.

What future trends do you see in the field of telecommunications?

We anticipate that 5G networks will expand as the demands on capacity increase and the use of data is growing rapidly. There may be new operators appearing on the Czech market - judging by the results of the recent frequency auction - so it is possible that mobile data will become even more accessible, unless the state significantly restricts operators in choosing suppliers, as that would increase costs particularly for smaller Czech players.

We are also seeing an increasing level of network automation and the use of artificial intelligence elements, and there is also a trend towards the emergence of private 5G networks for the business sector. I think that, specifically, will be the most important application of 5G technologies with visible benefits for industry and service digitization. In any case, the whole process needs to be sped up, because the debate in the world is already focused on 6G and the horizon of its commercial launch is estimated at the end of this decade, around 2030.

And believe me, Huawei will be there and will play a major role.

The US embargo on technology supplies to Huawei and other Chinese companies is clearly causing problems, as you said, the company's boss Ren Zhengfei admitted this. Won't

with

J ames T ang

the "Huawei problem" be solved simply by not having enough chips? After all, Huawei's possible supply problems due to the embargo were the main reason why the company was excluded from Britain's 5G networks…

Yes, the restrictions are detrimental to us. But there is a big difference between phones that need state-of-the-art chips and equipment for mobile networks where there are no such demands. It sounds like a paradox, but it is so - networks are much more about, for example, the design of antennas and other technologies that must be extremely advanced. I am convinced that the ability of us as a supplier to continue supplying networks and guarantee the support of existing technologies must primarily be evaluated by the operator as an entity that enters into a business relationship with us for a long time and who already has a lot of experience with us. The operator is able to evaluate what risks arise from the use of this or that supplier and how to manage these risks. The government should require operators to guarantee that the networks will work. But how operators arrange this should be up to them, because they know their networks, their needs and the needs of their customers far better than the government or us.

What should the state verification of suppliers look like?

We understand the greater need for the state to take care of cybersecurity at a time when telecommunications networks and the services running on them are an increasingly important part of the lives of all citizens. Anyway, I would like to say a few things. The first is that networks are very secure throughout Europe. The European Network and Information Security Agency ENISA lists 153 security incidents in telecommunications networks across the EU in its report on security incidents in telecommunications services last year. Most of them were caused by the weather or some unfortunate event, when, for example, a telecommunication line is disrupted in an excavation. Only one incident concerns the exploitation of a vulnerability in a facility. Cyber-attacks occur predominantly at the level of application vulnerability or social engineering, i.e. manipulation of user behavior, account breaches, and unauthorized access to the system through human ignorance and naivety – for example, that’s how Czech hospitals were attacked last year. This should be reflected primarily by the state.

If the state wants to assess suppliers, it should do so transparently and objectively so that there is a fair playing field. In the long run, we think that the government should primarily leave the care of network security to the operators of these networks who understand them best and know them best. For operators, the trust of their customers is the most valuable thing and they will do their utmost to maintain it. After all, we can see this in the statements of individual operators at conferences organized by the state last year that they want essentially the same thing.

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

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

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Our shared past is IMPORTANT for the future

I’m part of the last generation to have experienced the Czechoslovak Republic (in its various forms). I look back with nostalgia at Monday evenings on television, which were reserved for Slovak productions.

One reason I can understand Slovak is because of the Slovak kid’s cartoons, fairytale films and songs I saw. Under the previous regime, as a child from smog-filled Prague I spent school field trips in Slovakia’s High Tatra mountains. And some banned authors and progressive literature, including on new technology, were only published in Slovak under the previous regime. My husband was born in Bratislava. As well as some of my family, I also have many close friends in Slovakia.

This means visiting Slovakia doesn’t mean going abroad for me. So it’s no surprise that I felt somewhat at home even in the rooms of the Residence and Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Prague.

H.E. Rastislav Káčer has had a highly successful career in both the public and the private sector. He has held the post of Ambassador in Hungary and the USA. As State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, he was responsible for Slovakia joining NATO. He is Honorary Chairman of Slovak think-tank GLOBSEC. The Ambassador and I discussed the transformation in Czech-Slovak relations, and also issues relating to security policy, co-operation at a non-governmental level and public diplomacy. I also gave him an extra copy of the Czech and Slovak Leaders magazine. It is our fervent wish that President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, should feature on the next front cover of our magazine. And what is the Ambassador most looking forward to once pandemic restrictions end? To being able to meet up again, in particular through cultural events. And Czechs in Prague can look forward to a new base for the Slovak Cultural Centre.

Mr Ambassador: you began your role in autumn last year.

You’ve said that you’re going to continue to endeavour to ensure that Czech-Slovak relations remain special.

Could you have imagined that our special relations would suddenly be cut off?

I’ve been focused on security policy issues for almost 30 years.

And from my own experience, I know that security policy experts are always somewhat paranoid and work with lots of worst-case scenarios of how things will develop. But it’s true that I hadn’t anticipated a crisis of such magnitude, considering the collapse of social contacts and the literal cutting off of personal contacts. I truly regret that. Before the pandemic, we really did hold regular meetings at governmental level. Prime Ministers, ministers, and also the highest representatives of the state, saw each other regularly. These meetings are no longer taking place. Meeting up in the virtual space simply cannot replace meeting up in person.

And as diplomats, we sense it very strongly. I can’t predict to what extent the pandemic will impact, or even cool, our mutual relations. But it remains the case that when meeting in person, important emotions are engendered which are the basis for strong and long-term relationships.

P hoto : A rchive

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

I must admit I’m not even sure what Czech-Slovak relations are currently like.

That’s understandable. The pandemic dictates much of our agenda, but it is perceived as a matter of domestic policy.

Countries are closing their borders and restricting travel even within their own territories, something we know from the ban on travelling outside one’s own district in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the ban on holiday travel abroad. The world is closing its doors to us. Personally, I think we sometimes go beyond the absolutely necessary measures. Foreign relations are no longer a visible priority. But let’s look at the problem from a different perspective to that of the pandemic. Relations within the European Union are very strong. Our leaders meet up in Brussels. Whether it involves meeting in person or online, there are important issues to resolve right now. So multilateral diplomacy is much more intensive than bilateral diplomacy.

I nterview And there’s also the regional dimension, the socalled Slavkov format, or S3 (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria), and its wider format also including Slovenia and Hungary. At this level, we’ve again been dealing with problems linked to the pandemic and travel to individual states.

Last summer demonstrated how much Czechs like Slovakia, and that they consider it a safe country. In terms of visitor numbers of Czechs, tourism in Slovakia achieved record figures. So when will we be able to see Slovakia again, whether this involves the Slovak mountains or our favourite spas?

And I must admit that I’m probably most looking forward to halušky...

Yes, last season we experienced a real renaissance of tourism in Slovakia. I’m an optimist. From the example of the UK and Israel, we can see that vaccination is the solution. The immunity rate within the population is also increasing as the number of those who had had Covid-19 rises.

I think that a combination of both these factors will allow us to return to some kind of normal state in the summer, although probably not the same as it was before the pandemic. And we’re looking forward to welcoming visitors from the Czech Republic! You know, that emotional bond between Czechs and Slovaks is still present.

I often equate it to a good divorce: we’ve stayed friends, we see each other, we sometimes go out for lunch together, we talk and we support each other. And this special emotional bond is also reflected in international surveys: the Czechs are the Slovaks’ favourite nation, and vice-versa.

Considering the recent reshuffle in the post of prime minister and certain ministers in the Slovak cabinet, I don’t want to focus on the current political situation. I’ve chosen three areas in which Slovakia could serve as a model for the Czech Republic. Those areas are communication during the pandemic, the fight against disinformation and the fight against corruption.

I personally don’t like it when somebody is given to another as a model. Let’s instead talk about mutual inspiration. Slovakia has no ambition to be a model, but we do try to do things so they are of benefit to our citizens. And if we inspire others, or we find an intersection where we can co-operate, then all the better. Of those areas you mention, let’s begin with the last one: the fight against corruption. Slovakia has made huge progress here. Like everything, this too has its upsides and downsides. The bad news is that over the last year and a half, it’s been demonstrated that levels of corruption and crime within the government, the police, public prosecutors and the courts were enormous. The good news is that we are making efforts at cleaning it up, and through this Slovakia is well on the way to success.

Let’s move on to disinformation, then, which incidentally is a security policy issue very familiar to you.

T he

interview has been taken in

with

H.E. R astislav K áčer , A mbassador

In regard to communication, whether in terms of Covid or the fight against disinformation, here I think we’re in the same situation. Slovakia has unfortunately taken the Czech Republic’s place in the grim statistic of being number one in Covid deaths per million inhabitants. Communication is a complex matter. Czechs and Slovaks have certain rebellious inclinations in terms of not respecting regulations, and in downplaying the situation. I hope that both our countries will come out of the worst of it and pull through as the rate of vaccination grows. In regard to disinformation campaigns, we’re also in a similar situation. Both our countries are the target of various types of disinformation campaign: first of all, from the Russian intelligence services, and secondly from China. We are a much more frequent target than our neighbours in Poland and Hungary. And furthermore, each disinformation campaign is different. Slovakia follows this challenge very keenly, but I cannot say whether we’ve moved forward in the struggle. We really need to seriously address this issue. We are fragile. Some very fruitful co-operation is taking place in this regard outside the government. Many nongovernmental organisations are focusing on the issue. This work involves traditional grass-roots organisation, meaning engagement from the bottom up. And I’m glad that in terms of the engagement of non-profit organisations fighting against disinformation, Czechs and Slovaks are amongst the most active in our region, with extensive co-operation bringing results. The activities of non-governmental organisations often substitute for activities which the state itself should be doing. On the other hand, this does give great credibility to these organisations and their activities. I’d also like to mention the positive role of the Police of the Slovak Republic, who are extremely active across social networks and are helping to expose various scare stories and disinformation campaigns, and working closely with the non-profit sector. I think this is an example of very effective co-operation. Within security policy and foreign policy generally, there is of course very close co-operation between non-profit organisations from both states.

You’ve said that countries should inspire each other, not compete or envy each other.

But I really do envy you for your President.

Slovakia is thriving within so-called public diplomacy. And I’d also mention another woman who is playing a huge role in Slovakia’s positive image, and that’s Petra Vlhová, fresh Crystal Globe winner.

I think it’s fine to envy us for our President (laughs). Within the traditional Central European political arena dominated by men, I consider her election as President to be somewhat of a small miracle. And she’s a fantastic President.

She was underestimated as a candidate, but she demonstrated that she has massive talent, charisma, and an ability to formulate her own position without defining herself negatively against others and offending them. I’ve been in

A pril 2021

of

S lovakia

politics for over 30 years and I’ve met many male and female politicians. Our President is one of our rare political talents, and as an ambassador I’m very proud of that fact. The English word “asset” is apt here, and our President represents a great asset for Slovakia. Particularly now during this period of pandemic, President Čaputová has been shown to have the rare talent of being able to communicate in a statesmanlike, cool and calming manner, while also giving us hope.

Petra Vlhová is also a unique phenomenon. While we voted for our President, Petra Vlhová worked her way up by herself with just the support of her family, and little support from the state. And we can be all the prouder of her for that. Everything she has achieved in her career is the result of her own discipline, perseverance and support from those around her. She is not just exceptionally charming, kind and spontaneous, but she also has rare talent. I myself am a passionate skier, so I follow all her events and I root for her. Petra Vlhová is proud of her country, and she is a superb face of Slovakia. And she has demonstrated that she can shine on the world scene.

You know, in our part of the world, we often tend to complain that the West treats us as secondclass citizens. Unfortunately, sometimes it is our people themselves who act like second-class citizens when they go out into the world. So we are partially to blame for that complex. But here too we have loads of incredible people who lead the world. Whether it’s in science, such as Pavol Českan, or in politics where our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivan Korčok, excels, or in other areas, such as art, we see loads of people who have made a name for themselves not just in Slovakia, but also abroad.

And what is your final message for Czech and Slovak Leaders readers?

Our nations lived together for 70 long years.

Despite our divorce, we still have that emotional bond from our shared past and cohabitation.

Let’s not lose it. We should do our utmost to ensure this positive emotional bond endures. The emotion and empathy it engenders are of huge value. It makes us better and stronger people.

One of my challenges is to transfer this emotional bond to the next generations who have not experienced Czechoslovakia as a shared state. So that’s why I’m really looking forward to getting our cultural events back up and running again on the ground.

Mr Ambassador, thank you so much for the interview, and on behalf of the entire editorial staff, I send many greetings to Slovakia. We would love to conduct an interview with Madam President Zuzana Čaputová and with Petra Vlhová. And we look forward to the incredible stories of Slovak entrepreneurs and other fascinating figures.

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

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

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How to communicate your value and market yourself successfully

P hoto : A rchive “No one will ever pay you what you’re worth, they will only ever pay you what they THINK you’re worth... but you CAN shape their thinking!”, said Casey Brown in her TED Talk opening statement.

What a brilliant reminder, is it not? Especially to us women! I often borrow this sentence from Casey when I hear a client say: “Oh, Alena, why should I go out there and brag about my achievements? My work will speak for itself!”

Good luck with that, I think to myself.

The story typically goes on with these kinds of complaints: “It’s so frustrating, no one seems to notice my contribution! Would you believe that I put in all these hours into getting the new client account and I didn’t even get the credit for it?!”

Yes, I would absolutely believe that!

We women often complain about not being seen, heard, or acknowledged at work and although this might be true in some cases, more often than not, YOU are actually the primary source of your frustrations.

The Problem is Threefold: We have too high expectations of our managers (or others) to notice all our contributions and achievements. Now, think about this, to what extent is your boss involved in your day-to-day activities? Do they know what you do on a daily basis? Would you want them to know and closely monitor your every move? Unless you enjoy being micromanaged, probably not. Besides, your boss is often under pressure and has tons of other stuff to worry about. So, how about this? Instead of relying on your boss’s ability to notice and applaud all your successes in real-time, why not adopt a much more effective (and elegant) approach of proactively and regularly sharing your achievements with them.

You will make their job of managing YOU a little

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easier and as a side effect, your star performance can NOT possibly go unnoticed :) We (and this is especially true for women) feel uneasy about self-promotion and so we either avoid it or we sell ourselves short.

If that sounds like you, why don’t we talk about promotion and selling for a moment? Where would any successful company be without effectively marketing their products and services?

If Apple didn’t do such an excellent job in their marketing, the latest iPhone model would never stand a chance of making it into your handbag.

At the workplace, you are THE BRAND. If you want to become a successful brand, I’m sorry to break it to you but without some promotion, this won’t be easy.

Or, do you have a job interview coming up and wonder how to best “sell yourself” without feeling uneasy about it or sounding arrogant?

Well then, here are a few tips for you. Since this is a big topic which I could talk about for a very (very!) long time, in this article I’ll focus on the most important ones. Here is a question for you:

And if that wasn’t enough, we (women) happen to be exceptionally proficient at selfdoubt! Combine this with the points above and there you have it. Many women do not have the visibility that they want and deserve. They do not proactively seek more senior job assignments or jobs that they’d really love to have (“because NO, I am not qualified enough!”). And, they do not (or not effectively) negotiate for the salary that they want. Speaking of which, it is a known fact that women are great negotiators – that is – if they negotiate on behalf of a group (their team, their community, etc…). When it comes to advocating for themselves, that’s an entirely different story!

Have you ever thought about that? If not, now is the time! Before you even attempt to “sell yourself” to others, you need to UNDERSTAND YOUR TRUE VALUE and sell yourself first to YOURSELF! Let’s start by creating your very own personal value proposition. It will not only help you prepare for the uncomfortable “money” discussions but it will also serve as a powerful reminder of how awesome you actually (already) are!

Where to start…

So, my dear friend, are you just like so many other women in business (no matter their seniority), putting off that long-overdue conversation about your salary? Because the very thought of opening up the subject with your boss sends a shiver down your spine?

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

How Much are you Worth?

And I am not talking about your net worth :) I am talking about your value - the value that you bring to the table derived from who you are and what you’re all about; what you know; what you can do for your customers; your talent, experience and expertise acquired as a result of your personal and career trajectory.

Are you familiar with the term value proposition?

Value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It’s the primary reason a “prospect” should buy from you. In a nutshell, a value proposition is a clear statement that: – explains how your product solves customers’ problems or improves their situation (relevancy), – delivers a specific set of benefits (quantified value), – tells the ideal customer why they should buy your product instead of the competition’s (unique differentiation).

We’re going to apply the same principles to YOU, THE BRAND. Ready?

Create Your Personal Value Proposition Do you prefer a Word or an Excel file? You choose!

Open a brand-new document and get ready to brainstorm some ideas. I like to split the file into different categories: 1. What makes you YOU: This is where you want to highlight your positive traits and qualities, your skills and abilities, your qualifications, what you’re good at, your interests and passions, and anything else that you have acquired through experience and practice.

2. What do you offer: That’s the easiest bit - it’s about the type of work you do. What’s your job? Do you offer services, sell products? What kind?

3. Key benefits of what you offer: This is an important extension of the two previous points. It doesn’t matter what you do, what matters is the value it adds to others. How do you make your client’s life easier? Do you solve a problem for a client or do you enable gains?

Do you help your clients look better? Feel better? Earn more money or save money? Protect your client’s business from cyber-attacks? Be as concrete as possible, and try to quantify the value (e.g. the project I led has contributed to a 15% increase of the company’s net revenues in the first year only).

4. Why do you do what you do: What is your WHY? Your reasons for doing what you’re doing (which I assume you have?). What motivates you and drives your actions? Which values form the way you live and work? Your WHY gives others more information about you and what matters to you. That can be hugely inspiring and increase the “attractiveness” of YOU, THE BRAND! 5. What makes you trustworthy and credible: How can you prove your value? Give us reasons to believe you. This is where you should list all your important successes: achievements, awards, endorsements, testimonials, publications, media appearances, intellectual property, etc.

6. Last but not least, why YOU: What’s the prime reason customers should work with/ buy from you? What is your unique skill set, your distinctive contribution? What do you do that no one else does? What makes you better qualified to serve your clients? How do you position yourself vis-à-vis your competitors? What’s your story? Remember, value comes from your differences, your unique contribution.

There you have it. The very first draft of your personal value proposition. Now that you have it all written down, how do you feel? Can you see all that you’ve accomplished up to this point in your life? Very impressive, isn’t it!

For this document to be of true value, you need to update it regularly. You might want to designate a few minutes at the end of each month to

reflect on any important milestones or successes, anything that you’re proud of, or any idea or success story that you might want to share with others when the opportunity presents itself. If you don’t keep track, it’s likely that 6 months down the line, all these stories will have evaporated from your head.

these somewhat sensitive issues? How do you share your accomplishments without sounding obnoxious? And also, HOW do you say it? I am talking about your “presence” because your presence speaks louder than your words! I hope that you have a compelling presence that represents YOUR BRAND marvellously!

So, next time doubts start creeping in: “Am I good enough to ask for this money? To say this about myself? Am I not being totally ridiculous?”; just look at this document and remind yourself that YES, you are good enough! You have value! And the more you leverage that value, the bigger your contribution in this world...

These are just a few ideas to help you discover your value and market yourself. I have tons of free resources on my website to navigate different managerial challenges and so feel free to check them out. I also have a template for the Personal Value Proposition and Branding Strategy. If you’d like me to share them with you, just drop me an email.

Market Yourself Effectively Having your personal value proposition is only the first step. What’s next? You want to think of strategies to market your value effectively.

In the same way that you prepared your value proposition, you can put together your personal branding strategy. Start by clarifying your objectives - what exactly do you want from your branding efforts? Is it higher visibility across your organisation? Building a powerful network with other experts in your industry? Career advancement? More money? Be as clear as possible.

Next, you want to think about who you wish to target with your personal branding, through which channels, and what specific initiatives or activities you want to engage in in order to support your branding efforts. Personal branding strategy is a chapter on its own but for now, let me highlight a few points.

One of the most obvious channels for our branding efforts are meetings with our management yet so many people don’t take full advantage of them.

The typical error is waiting for that big yearly review meeting with your boss (or any other key stakeholders) to talk about your achievements.

That’s too little, too late. I recommend that you make it a regular practice. Be proactive and propose regular status updates or check-ins with your management.

Regular meetings are your opportunities to share the progress of the different projects you’re involved in, ask for feedback, and to highlight any important milestones or achievements along the way. This sends a clear signal to your management that you’re serious about what you’re doing and that you want to make a contribution. And guess what, one of these regular “status update meetings” can become “THE” meeting during which you ask about advancement opportunities or your next salary review. Since you made it a regular exercise and your management has been kept up-to-date with what is going on, your request won’t come as a complete shock to them and you won’t feel as awkward bringing it up.

The next big challenge is the actual communication. WHAT do you say? How do you raise

Remember, you will only be able to market yourself effectively if you truly believe in and value yourself first. No years of experience, skills, or talents will compensate for a lack of self-worth and confidence.

If you want to know how I or my program SHELeads can help you with your growth as a person and a leader, let me know. I’ll be happy to hop on a quick exploratory call with you.

Wishing you the best of success!

By Alena Huberova Trainer I Speaker I Founder of SHELeads Helping Women Become Inspiring Leaders, Powerful & Feminine www.alenahuberova.com alena@alenahuberova.com české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

ABOUT ALENA HUBEROVA Alena has a professional background in sales, marketing and communication in a variety of sectors including IT, Travel and Tourism, Wellness and Beauty. In her work with clients, Alena combines corporate experience & professional expertise with her training in Emotional Intelligence, NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP), Coaching & Mentoring and Meditation. She lived and worked in 5 different countries across Europe and Asia.

Amongst her achievements is speaking at the TEDx UNYP 2017 conference, winning second place in the 2018 Czech National Championship of Public Speaking, and in collaboration with Presenation.com, coaching X.GLU, a team from the Czech Technical University to win the world title at the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2017 in Seattle, USA. AlenaHuberova.com

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

I nterview

with

P avel Š porcl , C zech

violin virtuoso

Let’s return to

live culture...

When were you last at a concert or in the theatre? Live... not on Zoom... Personally, I find the closing of theatres and concert halls very hard. The last concert I attended, on the 8th of October in the half-empty chamber of the Smetana Hall in the Municipal House, will stay in my memory for a long time. The already restricted capacity of the large hall, and the spectators as well the musicians arriving in masks. We escorted the protagonists out with a long standing ovation. Since then, I’ve realised how much I miss culture. Both my children sang in prestigious choirs. My son rehearses online with his choir, although it’s not ideal. Several shootings were cancelled due to the pandemic or the subsequent lack of funds. The other choir suspended its activity completely. People used to say that the Czechs are a cultural nation. Are we not treating our national heritage and wealth in a somewhat stepmotherly way? I asked Pavel Šporcl. Introducing a world-renowned Czech violin virtuoso, who belongs among the most popular Czech artists working in the field of classical music, is completely unnecessary. However, Pavel Šporcl began to perform in March not with the violin, but with the spoken word. He didn’t change his genre. He just stood up for Czech culture. Pavel Šporcl studied at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and then in the USA. He has performed on stages and at festivals around the globe, with renowned world orchestras as well as singers and bands of modern genres. He has captivated listeners with not only his informal behaviour and clothing style, but also his unique blue violin from the workshop of the best contemporary violin maker, Jan Špidlen. Almost all of his albums have gone platinum. Pavel Šporcl has participated in and supported many fund-raising projects for foundations and non-profit organisations. The following interview is therefore about his critical open letter pointing out the catastrophic situation in culture, aptly titled “After us comes the flood“.

I quote from the letter “Culture in general has ceased to exist. I’m not talking about the fact that concerts and theatre performances cannot go ahead, that exhibition halls are closed, etc. I’m talking about a situation where culture isn’t spoken or written about, where it’s sidelined or perhaps left behind completely. I don’t even remember seeing or hearing the Minister of Culture talk about culture, the need for its preservation, and psychological and financial support for artists, or the government about its importance...“ Mr. Šporcl, on the 22nd of March you sent a critical open letter to the Government of the Czech Republic pointing out the catastrophic situation in culture. The letter not only addressed the difficult situation artists are in, but also the problems connected with music education, for example in primary art schools, and appealed to the value of culture as such.

You attended many meetings and made numerous public appearances, not with a violin but in the role of interviewee. What did you realise during this period?

I realised that there are many people in our country who aren‘t indifferent to culture, and who aren’t afraid to appear in public. Just like me, many others also care about preserving our nation’s cultural character, and about what and how our children, who will continue to spread music and art around the world, will learn in this regard. Thank you very much to everyone who joined me; I appreciate your support.

I’ve been following your activities. Thank you for the Christmas concerts on the pontoon at the Smetana footbridge, and the broadcasts from your living room. You prepared new recordings. You seemed to have mastered the online world. Was a year the most that you could bear? Or

were there other reasons for your actions?

I think that the last year taught us a lot, and showed weaknesses that were already present in the area of culture, only now they rose visibly to the surface. I had been thinking about a similar event for a long time, and all the chaos and lack of conceptuality of government measures only convinced me that I must use my name and reputation, which I gained through my lifelong work, and speak up for others.

You also devote yourself to the issue of our ZUŠ [primary art schools], which used to be the envy of the world. How will the year of the pandemic manifest itself in young talents? I see great demotivation in my son, who used to sing in a boys‘ choir...

We have a unique education system in primary art schools, which is rightfully the envy of the entire world. The year for which these schools were closed has caused great damage. Both children and teachers are demotivated, parents are deregistering children, which is causing the primary art schools to lose money, and many of them are in danger of not surviving. Moreover, art subjects are fields that you can‘t teach remotely. You can’t teach anyone the violin over Skype; it’s simply not possible. I’m afraid that we’ve lost many talents who could have

spread the quality and fame of Czech art around the entire world.

Once again I quote from the letter...

“A serious culture that lifts up and enriches the nation – this isn‘t pseudo-celebrities that appear on social networks and take photos of themselves on some nice foreign beaches. Serious culture means musicians, singers, actors, painters, artists and others who toil daily on their outputs, and want to stay and better themselves. Even during a pandemic.“ One might object that things are difficult for everyone today. Self-employed people closing their companies after 30 years, single mothers and fathers, and of course healthcare workers... so what makes the artists‘ situation different?

Of course, the artists‘ situation is no different from the fate of all those damaged by the pandemic. But the art world is specific, for example, by its high number of self-employed people. The programmes for their support were badly set up, and contained a number of nonsensical conditions which prevented many people from obtaining support. For example, the condition of not interrupting self-employed activity, which of course many people did, when the pardon regarding advance social and health insurance payments ceased. Due to the

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

59

I nterview

with

P avel Š porcl , C zech

financial undervaluation of this field, a large number of people working in culture also have to have multiple forms of employment in order to feed themselves and their families, which was another obstacle. It took the government 11 months to conclude that, after advance payments are deducted, 15,000 crowns in support isn‘t enough to live on...

It used to be said that the Czechs are a cultural nation. Visits to the theatre were regular affairs, and concert subscriptions

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violin virtuoso

were passed down through families for generations. Have you experienced support from the public? How can one support artists nowadays, besides buying various e-tickets or their works?

You know, the art world is full of emotions without which we couldn’t stand up on the podium, and give the people a piece of ourselves with every concert or performance.

Moral support is also important for us, which we didn’t hear from the Minister of Culture the entire time; even when the President called

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

P hoto : A dolf Z ika , Z uzka B önisch

artists “worthless riffraff“, it was Eliška Balzerová that had to speak up...

Spectators and fans have behaved splendidly.

Just today I’ve received thousands of messages that we should hang in there, they welcomed every one of my online concerts with enthusiasm, and I got involved in lots of charitable projects. I want to ask all readers to start going to concerts, performances and exhibitions as soon as it’s possible. Restarting culture isn’t as easy as opening a restaurant.

We’ve already lost the entire summer season

of big festivals; such events are planned weeks or even months in advance, and of course organisers are afraid, because we still don’t have any system for relaxing the restrictions – with what number of infected people will cultural events open, for what number of spectators, and under what conditions. (Editor’s note: the interview took place at the end of April 2021).

The letter also criticises the reduction of the time allowance devoted to the teaching of subjects that fall under so-called arts or education because of informatics.

Meanwhile, the global trend focusing exclusively on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects was expanded to form the so-called STEAM (science, technology, engineering, ARTS and mathematics). Many doctors and scientists are lovers of classical music, because it helps them relax. On the other hand, any subjects my son dislikes in school fall under this type of “education“. In your opinion, what should ideal music education in schools look like?

It’s not for me to evaluate curricula or the education system in the field of social sciences.

But I believe that a knowledge of these subjects is an essential and integral part of a child’s education; they broaden their horizons, and teach them to perceive beauty and express emotions.

And it’s definitely part of general culture to know who Smetana, Janáček, Martinů and other Czech greats were. I think primary school should be a filter, a net that captures talented children and then directs them, for example to primary art schools. We’ve been singing our daughters folk songs from the time they were little; how many of today’s “computer“ kids would be able to sing “Blue-eyed Girl“?

It used to be said that every Czech is a musician. What can we do to ensure this still applies after the pandemic?

Let’s return to live culture!

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

in Women's Leadership

Petra Novotná, Head of brand strategy and marketing communication in Slovak Telekom. Experienced manager forming one of the biggest brands in Slovakia with passion to help people to develop their own abilities and talent so they can become successful.

Petra is leading a team of creative people who are responsible for brand strategy and marketing communication. This type of work would not be successfully developed if managed by directive leadership.

“What is crucial is not to kill what is natural in creative people. It means to trust them, let them make mistakes, not limit their freedom… “ Women are powerful agents of change, and the far-reaching benefits of diversity and gender parity in leadership and decision-making are increasingly recognized in all spheres.

A McKinsey study showed that organizations with women holding at least 30% of leadership roles were 40% more likely to have sustained, profitable growth.

Peace agreements are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years if women leaders are engaged in their creation and execution.

The skills many women brought to the workplace include the ability to build strong relationships across levels, a bias for communicating directly as opposed to up and down a chain of command, a preference for leading from the centre rather than the top, and a comfort with diverse perspectives instilled by having held outsider status.

This is not to suggest that all women — or all men — lead in the same way, but rather to recognize that the skills, attitudes, and behaviours that men and women bring to the workplace have been formed by their often very different life experiences.

Well-led organizations seek leaders who combine decisiveness with the ability to cultivate relationships broadly, motivate and inspire, collaborate and listen, communicate directly and across levels, and nurture others while excelling at their own jobs. That all reminds me one of the strongest skills – the capability to incorporate coaching in the leadership.

Today, two great women are interviewed– two ladies, who are successful at all sides of their lives. They both are working in business where

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the creativity counts more than anywhere else and where leading the teams has special requirements. And – guess what is one of the crucial experiences that made them successful?

Please, enjoy what they are sharing with us and feel free to be inspired :-) You and coaching, or, WHY coaching?

Petra Coaching saved me from burnout, as I was always working hard and a lot. As I have being working on my self-development for years, I had a few coaching sessions and that was the moment I started to think deeply about myself. Being thrown out of my comfort zone, I could easily spot many important things and became a fan of coaching immediately, even though I wasn’t in any managerial job position yet. Thanks to coaching I have taken better care of myself – setting boundaries, learning how to handle various issues, how to accept difficult situations, etc.

Only those who have treated themselves, can be treating others. One of the most important outcomes from my self-coaching is the awareness that it is ok when I make mistakes. When I see someone inspirational, I ask myself, what can I learn from them? When I see something that irritates me, I ask myself: what is it telling me about myself? And, even though it is not easy, I am also able to ask for help, and it is extremely important, particularly in a leadership position.

Miriam Coaching helps people to become aware of what they don’t need after all. I practice self-coaching oc-

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

casionally, sitting quietly and asking myself various questions – having a rendezvous with myself.

As I also work in consulting, I found out that coaching skills are a really huge advantage for a consultant. I remember well the situation, when I was asked for several consultancy sessions in a company in Ukraine. When I started to talk to the team, I was supposed to give them advice, I just got the feeling that another approach was needed. If I told them, what products were the best for them, they would just accept it. But I wanted them to like the products they were supposed to work with. So, I decided to provide them with coaching instead of consulting. And it worked perfectly for them.

Petra’s Desire for Harmony Harmony makes me happy. I am able to be assertive, critical and business goal oriented, but I work on addressing potential sources of conflict in advance, so a lot of my energy is saved. I try to have a positive influence not only on my direct reports, but also on other team members. The effort you put into employees, into their talent, will be paid back to you tenfold.

When I take part in interviewing applicants for a position in my team, I always consider if there will be harmony with the whole team. Because the expert’s knowledge is learnable within several weeks (if you are clever) but building good relationships with open-minded, creative colleagues is only possible if there is harmony between them and the current team members.

Miriam’s “Corona Coaching” When the first wave of the pandemic started, P hoto : A rchive

Miriam Kittler, Experienced manager, specialist in advertisement, strategic consultant for marketing and sales, business and life coach.

25 years of experience in media, marketing and sales business, forming and managing sales at two of the biggest radio stations in Slovakia. Passionate for self – development. In area of Coaching, earned the designation of Associate Certified Coach (ICF).

“In the advertisement and sales business, the easy solutions are the best ones.”

the panic was all around us. I started to implement coaching questions at my team meetings, and it was so helpful and successful that my people asked for the meetings, so we had it on a regular basis, every week. My people were expending all their emotional energy.

They asked questions such as what anxiety means to them, what was taken from them, what had happened, but also where they want to be at the end of the year and how to help themselves to reach it… People looked like they were lighting up with joy after being hit with a cold shower. We called these meetings “Corona Coaching” internally (smile). Inspired by this “best practice”, when I was asked for help by my clients – managers of teams or owners of small companies, I provided them with “Corona Coaching” as well and it worked, again. Impact on teams and on every single member, was fantastic.

After a half year from the moment when the pandemic expanded to Europe, one of the most common topics in the media world is how to make businesses run again. It is no wonder, as the media industry slowed down by 30% – 50%. It is just a few companies in this business where no changes had happened.

My experience is that managers are extremely tired and when they are considering whether to quit their businesses, coaching helps them both to get an answer and to be empowered.

I think there is a vacuum in the area of knowledge about “what to do now”, “where to find clients”, “how to set up procedures within new conditions” and so on.

Team Coaching is defined as the art of facilitating and challenging a team to maximize its performance and enjoyment in service of meaningful organizational goals. What is your experience with team coaching?

Miriam What I have experienced in big teams, is feedback received by questionnaires. I call it Manager’s Mirror”. I used to request my teams to fill them out twice a year. There was about 20 to 30 questions such as “how do you feel when heading to the office?”, “what do you think about your performance, about your colleagues’ performance?”, “what would you change about your manager’s approach?”, “what product would you create?”

As you see, the questions are open, stimulating people to think a lot more than usual – and that’s why it works very well. Coaching questions help people to open their hearts, to have big ideas that you can work with further.

The other benefit of team coaching is that if a manager is pigeonholing their people, he or she is better able to value them and see a more truthful and authentic view of them which allows a more collaborative environment.

Petra My first team coaching was during some big changes in our company and there was a drastic increase in the size of my team. The goal was to identify hidden problems. It was about four hours of thinking about various issues, trying out new roles – some of them had never been able to identify the problem at all.

I am sure that my role is to create the atmosphere

where my people will be blossoming and will feel good. Because when they are allowed to grow, I am growing with them, as well.

Thank you for inspiring us, Ladies.

We will have a more detailed look at team coaching as a great tool for teams and their development, in one of the next Czech and Slovak Leaders magazine issues. https://womendeliver.org/womensleadership/ https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-evolution-of-womens-leadership?gko=35543 https://connectamericas.com/content/6-featuresdefine-female-leadership-0

By Ingrid Schostoková,

Business & Life Coach from topcoach.sk

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

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

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P hoto : A rchive

CYBERSECURITY

A CRITICAL POINT FOR ALL TYPES OF ORGANISATIONS KAROL SUCHÁNEK

At 16, Karol developed his first security software program.

He completed a cybersecurity program at MIT in Boston and is one of two people in the Czech Republic to hold a NATO security clearance. He is also a court-appointed expert in cybersecurity. Over the last ten years, he has been looking after the privacy and security of companies and well-known figures around the world. He is a member of a team of cybersecurity experts at www.Shift2Cloud.eu, which improves company efficiency and security.

Organisations around the world are dealing with the challenges of this pandemic, including through rapid growth in digitalisation and new methods of remote working. On the one hand, many of us appreciate the positive impact this has had on efficiency. But on the other hand, the situation offers opportunities to cybercriminals, who continue to come up with new methods of attack. Also coming into play are dynamic events in politics and the related boom in disinformation campaigns.

The impact? There are a number of predictions.

According to the prestigious Cybersecurity Ventures research company, cybercriminality is expected to cost the global economy up to 6.1 billion US dollars this year. But cybercriminality also

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threatens the overall security of society and the reputation of organisations. Thus there are new demands on leadership, because only a strategically focused solution can secure the cyber health of organisations and the whole of society.

The era when only large enterprises were at risk is long gone. A large number of attacks are carried out generally and automatically across the internet to which we are all connected. These are made regardless of sales (or profits in general), employee numbers or type of activities of the victims. While it is true that hackers logically have a better chance at gaining a large amount of data from large companies, in general they are better secured than small and mediumsized organisations. Research undertaken by

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

experts at Shift2Cloud suggests that 60 % of small and medium-sized firms do not address security, making them easy targets. Yet 61 % of cybersecurity incidents occur within SMEs. How do attacks reflect global events?

Fraudulent messages, in particular, respond to events in society. This category, which we collectively refer to as “phishing”, involves manipulation of people’s trust through false messages across communication channels. This doesn’t involve just e-mails, with an increasing frequency of messages sent via messaging apps, fraudulent advertising on the internet, and even telephone calls. There can be various objectives, with the user typically called upon to make

a payment, provide personal or bank details, or click on a link. This can then install a malicious program such as ransomware on your device.

The attacker uses ransomware to encrypt data on your computer, requiring a ransom to be paid in order to access your data again. But paying the amount demanded is no guarantee that the hacker will let you access your data again – and certainly no guarantee that he is not already trading it on the black market. During the pandemic, many fraudulent messages working this way have offered miraculous Covid cures or vaccination registration.

As soon as a new subject appears which resonates with society, it becomes a new subject for hackers. Hackers work not just for themselves, but also for various countries’ secret services and for terrorist organisations. The Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency (Národní úřad pro kybernetickou bezpečnost – NÚKIB), for example, recently warned that the Czech Republic is at increased risk of attacks as a result of its expulsion of Russian embassy staff in response to the suspected involvement of Russian agents in the explosion of the ammunitions depot in Vrbětice.

This could involve not just attacks on critical infrastructure, but also disinformation reports which lead the user to click on links to find out more. The diversity of possible attacks is illustrated by the fact that just in connection with Vrbětice, NÚKIB has issued recommendations on its website to watch out for 23 methods of attack, along with the 17 most frequently exploited vulnerabilities.

Working from anywhere and millennials The accelerating shift to work-from-home logically carries risks. Home computers and tablets, like home networks and internet connections, may not be sufficiently secure. Often a number of family members use home devices, including children, and not just because of distance learning. It is thus entirely appropriate to ensure every employee and company software user is sufficiently familiar with security when working remotely. The gradual entry of a younger generation more familiar with modern technology may mark an easier path to cyber health. On the other hand, although young people better understand the core rules, this

fact should not be relied upon. A strategically managed system of continuous education is of the utmost importance. The advantage here is not just that education is perceived as a valuable employee benefit, but especially that there are huge costs savings from resolving security incidents. A single successful attack costs companies an average of 80 million crowns. If it also involves loss of personal data, the company could face a fine of up to 4 % of its global revenue. It doesn’t matter whether the incident occurred in the Czech Republic or elsewhere – the fine is calculated in accordance with revenue from all subsidiaries around the world.

Management, control and continuity The Achilles heel of many organisations is the fact that they do not have clear security and control mechanism standards for observing obligatory regulations (e.g. GDPR). Relying on the security of the organisation’s IT services provider or its own division may not pay off.

Like doctors, for example, IT experts also specialise in particular areas. What were the most recent proposals for increasing IT security from your IT department or supplier? Do you get regular security monitoring reports? If not, then hackers may already be in your network.

The Marriott hotel chain, for example, discovered in 2018 that somebody had been stealing customer data for a full four years through a hole in their IT infrastructure. Discuss with your IT team what their idea of cybersecurity is. Explain that you’re not criticising them, and open space for discussion on getting a cybersecurity expert involved.

Many organisations face threats to their continuous operation due to inappropriate methods of data backup – or their complete absence. Although backing up data isn’t a primary method of protecting it from theft, it does provide the option of restoring data from a safe repository.

This will be found in one of the cloud services which are available, where technological maturity plays the greatest role. In this regard, Microsoft solutions are the unquestionable leader, as consistently confirmed by Gartner analyses.

This is logical – who else would be best able to secure the backup of data from the most used operating system than its author? A number of

copies of your data are stored at geographically distant data centres which are equipped with cutting-edge protection, including against the risk of natural disasters, and managed by teams of experts. Furthermore, by using a professional cloud service you save significant costs for your own infrastructure, and greater procedural efficiency will be reflected in your revenue.

Through the cloud, all end devices – company computers and other devices connected online – are also automatically updated and continuously screened.

Security audit – the essential starting point In order that a strategic plan and proposal for optimum security architecture, processes and education can be set up, the initial situation needs to be ascertained. A basic audit can be implemented at a cost from 17 900 crowns. During an audit, it isn’t just security settings which will be checked: it is also necessary to get a clear picture of how your current security system, as well as people in your company, withstand specific hacking attempts. A simulation of real attacks is used for this. Not only is the resilience of the IT infrastructure itself tested, but methods of social engineering are also exploited. These are techniques which attackers apply directly on people in order to make them reveal certain information. Imagine, for example, that an attacker calls your company and, using systematically posited questions, ascertains whether your company has its own IT specialist, or makes use of an external company. This ostensibly banal information may, however, play a crucial role in planning an attack.

This is followed by implementation of chosen measures and the installation of cutting-edge tools for detecting advanced cyber attacks.

Another integral component is bespoke regular training for all users and your IT division.

Your company’s security is only as strong as your people are adept at using it. Regular training is essential in order to keep pace. Nobody’s perfect, and anyone can make an error which may cause an issue despite all the security you might have. Today, transferring to a cloud solution clearly offers the greatest benefits to organisations of all sizes and types. české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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Danuše Nerudová has been the Rector of Mendel University since 2018. She also serves as the Chairperson of the Commission of Fair Pensions. She devotes herself to the issues of gender equality, as well as a long-term sustainable pension system and its financing. In April, she and other economists founded the KoroNERV-20 civic initiative. At the moment, her name is often mentioned in connection with candidacy for the function of President of the Czech Republic. I had wanted to conduct an interview with Rector Nerudová for a long time; it was originally meant to be included in the section devoted to science, research and innovation. In connection with her public appearances, we‘re including her in the section that represents possible future candidates for the post of President of the Czech Republic.

The interview took place at the beginning of April. We met in my home. Just like General Petr Pavel, Rector Nerudová neither confirmed nor refuted the candidacy, so I’ll have to wait for the journalistic scoop. Nevertheless, in contrast with the current President’s actions, the interview is characterised by a timeless message, combined with deep self-reflection and humility. And I hope that the mottos that Rector Nerudová has on her FB profile will be fulfilled: “Never give up. Believe in yourself. Nothing is impossible.“ I’ll begin our interview with a question regarding your candidacy for the President of the Czech Republic. I don’t expect you to confirm the candidacy at our kitchen table, where we’re conducting this interview, although it would be the fulfilment of a journalistic dream. I’m more interested in how you’re thinking about the function, and what you’re considering in connection with a possible candidacy.

I’ve long perceived a tendency in the Czech Republic to downplay the function of President. This media shortcut arises from the fact that we don’t judge it based on the function of President as such; instead, we view it through the perspective of the person performing this

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function. We need to realise how important this function is, and what a great safeguard for the democratic system it represents. First of all, the President anchors the country geopolitically. The President has the opportunity to appoint real experts to important state institutions that provide an institutional framework and ensure the continuous functioning of our state. They appoint the Governor of the Czech National Bank. We still don’t have the Euro, the CNB still has its own monetary policy. The President also appoints the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, which represents another safeguard of democracy in our country. Another one of the President’s tasks is to hold a mirror up to politicians, and ask them to resolve problems. Particu-

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larly in times of crisis. And last but not least, the President’s task is to give people hope and comfort. To show them light at the end of the tunnel.

When we add all the afore-mentioned together, it’s a very important function that carries with it lots of responsibilities.

When you consider the function in this broader context, while at the same time receiving e-mails which mention that the Czech Republic needs a female President to follow the example of Slovakia, I reply that the Czech Republic doesn’t need a female President, it needs a male or female President who is a personality. I don’t think that the parallel between the Czech Republic and Slovakia is as straightforward as is often claimed. Therefore, I shouldn’t P hoto : A rchive

I nterview run for President merely because I feel flattered.

The candidacy represents a great commitment, not only to the citizens of this country but also to one’s own family. Every woman fights a battle in her career, because she must act in different roles, and one of these is the role of wife, mother, daughter.

In her book “Lean in“, my favourite author, Sheryl Sandberg, describes how every working mother has the invisible letter G, for guilt, written on her forehead – guilt stemming from the feeling that a working mother doesn’t pay enough attention to her family. While corporations are trying to make it easier for women to combine work and family, a similar discussion in top politics has not even begun.

I often think back to an interview with Miroslava Němcová in Deník N [N Daily]. It contains a brilliant description of the functioning of our society in politics and the public space. In it, she mentions the difficult situation of female MPs, who face the choice of whether to succeed in top politics or see their children grow up. Our ambition should be not to want to be satisfied with this functioning. Women are often discussed. But men are faced with the same choice. Do men not mind not seeing their children grow up? So let’s not be content with making statements; let’s have the strength to do something about it. I’m strengthened in this standpoint by the memoirs of Barack Obama, in which he describes how every day, with the exception of those spent on trips abroad, he had dinner with his family and thereby fulfilled his role as a father. He always knew what his adolescent daughters were doing in school, or what was bothering them. Therefore, I believe that it’s about the will to establish a proper regimen.

Even in high office, a person doesn’t have to be faced with a choice between family and career.

I’ve been following your appearances for a long time. First on social networks, then in the media. You initially declined to comment on political and controversial social topics, pointing out the fact that you, as Rector, should remain impartial. Then the year of the pandemic came, and it seemed to me that it was simply no longer possible to remain silent on certain topics...

You said that very accurately. That’s what I feel too. On the contrary, I reached the conclusion that the universities‘ task is to draw attention to specific issues in the public space, and what better time than when we’re facing such an unprecedented crisis. I was one of the first to point out that the prohibition on leaving the country last spring was in conflict with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, and therefore unconstitutional.

The role of universities during the pandemic is still undervalued. Students helped out in hospitals and social services; they prepared disinfectants when there was

with

D anuše N erudová , R ector

a shortage, and printed protective shields.

Academic research regained recognition among society at large, and the need for international collaboration became apparent. What else has the crisis shown?

Discoveries in the natural sciences are crucial, but they’re not the only thing that’s important.

I think that this crisis showed that social sciences and the humanities are also necessary for its successful management. Mathematicians can construct behavioural models, but if the behaviour changes, the formulas no longer work. We can see that the social and economic impact of the pandemic also needs to be addressed.

Sociologists could have played an important role during the compilation of effective contact tracing questionnaires, so that interviewers wouldn’t find out that the person in question didn’t meet anyone all week. The crisis also showed a large deficit in terms of collaboration between the government and the academic sector. The academic sector could have created, and often did create, high-quality outputs suitable for the executive’s decision-making. The collaboration deficit existed even before the pandemic. The government’s inability to listen to experts and translate their recommendations into specific political measures resulted in us being less successful in resolving the pandemic than, for example, neighbouring Germany or the USA, where the governments have permanent scientific advisory boards. The solution for the pandemic, based on dates and facts, was literally faulty.

Let’s stay with the communication of science and its impact on politics.

It’s often said that scientists have two tasks. The first is the so-called popularisation of science, or making its results accessible to the general public. The second task is communication directed at policy makers. This communication is sluggish. And there’s no lack of communication on the scientists‘ part; it was there for the entire time of the pandemic. I perceive a reduced ability of the government to listen to professional scientific communication.

The university environment is quite often regarded by the public as left-wing, as far as the students are concerned. On the contrary, other experts point out that the university environment with regard to the lecturers is rather conservative. So what is the situation really like in universities with regard to innovations?

I’ll share an experience from the pandemic that surprised even me. We had to switch to online teaching literally overnight. I was concerned about how this challenge would be received, particularly by the older generation of lecturers. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t a problem, and they all approached it as an opportunity to learn something new.

Mendel University implements University of the Third Age courses, and for this group of students, our live streams represented what was

of

M endel U niversity

often the only regular contact with the outside world during the long lockdown period. Openminded people will seize an opportunity, regardless of age.

We‘ve made truly incredible progress in digitisation. Previously, the implementation period would have been counted in years; now we had to deploy a solution in 14 days. The university space is characterised by long academic discussions, but there was no time or room for these.

While last spring many of my colleagues viewed online teaching as something temporary, today it’s clear that we’re moving towards a new method of functioning. The protracted crisis has convinced everyone that the setup of both systems and society will simply be different.

And what are today’s students like? There is often talk of a generation that will be hard hit by the pandemic. In my opinion, students have demonstrated incredible endurance and commitment.

I believe in the young generation, and I have high hopes for it. I’m far from the opinion that young people don’t want to work, or that they‘re lazy. This generation is very focused on doing things when it knows why it‘s doing them, and sees a clear goal. It really values its free time. The fact that it‘s addressing a work-life balance doesn’t mean a reduced willingness to work. I’m no longer impressed by someone who claims they work 18-20 hours a day.

The pandemic has shown how important a worklife balance is. Everything is transient, except family.

Students are often said to be activists. Activism is intrinsically linked to universities. It‘s thanks to student activism that we have our freedom today. Students have moved even further away from activism. They‘ve come to understand that activism by itself isn’t enough. Today’s generation of students is very aware of the problem of the environment and climate change. It’s not because they’re left-wing, but because they want to contribute to solving the problem. Young people no longer need to own a car, because they can share one. They make sure they can cycle. They sort waste, and pay attention to using recyclable packaging. I see how students think in broader contexts, and try to present topics in the public space so that they’re not regarded as activism; instead, they want to open a discussion and contribute to changing the perception of the problem. Many people from the older generation aren’t capable of this approach. And I definitely don’t consider the young generation left-wing. The environment isn’t a left-wing topic. It’s a topic for us all. We have only one planet; there’s no planet B. Let’s return to the beginning of our interview. You mentioned that the President should bring, among other things, hope.

What gives you hope?

The young generation, and my children... I like their focus and enthusiasm for the issue. I believe in them.

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

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SUPPORTING SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES

Let´s not be

CONSERVATIVE

Christophe Scarfogliero

The Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine has prepared a new section dedicated particularly to entrepreneurs from small and medium enterprises. As we have heard repeatedly over the years , the SME sector is the real backbone of the economy – but this area is often neglected in reality when it comes to governmental measures in the Czech Republic.

The pandemic heavily impacted the services industry. And, everyone was missing their hairdresser, except for the Czech minister of finance.

During the pandemic, the well-known French hairdresser Christophe Scarfogliero opened his business (and unfortunately closed it several times).

By the way, it was thanks to his art that despite the great hair loss I suffered due to long covid, as it has been dubbed, I did not have to get a hairstyle according to Shira Has from the film Unorthodox or Sinéad O’Connor from my youth.

Christophe Scarfogliero originates from a hairdresser family with a long history, he is a proud representative of the fourth generation of hairdressers in his family. Initially, he came to the Czech Republic to launch and start a chain of hair salons called “Hair City” 15 years ago. Then he decided to stay here. In the meantime, he became a popular hairdresser and instructor, cooperating with the Czech beauty contest “Česká Miss” and creating hairstyles for various fashion and hair shows (eg. cooperation with fashion designer Jana Berg, hair shows by L’Oréal).

He has also done hairstyles for many celebrities visiting to the Czech Republic, notably for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren, or Aimee Mullins.

I spoke with Christophe about how not only the education of hairdressers differs in France and the Czech Republic, but also about the position of hairdressers in both countries. I was also curious to

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know the secret of French elegance and last but not least I asked about his future business plans.

Do you also have an interesting business story? Do you want to share it? Let our editors know, we have prepared special conditions of cooperation for entrepreneurs.

Christophe, it looks like you were destined to be a hairdresser because you belong to the fourth generation of hairdressers in the family...

Yes, and the tradition of our hairdressing family even extends to Algeria! My great-grandfather was a men's hairdresser in Algiers, at a time when Algeria was part of the French Republic. My dad continued the tradition, he was not only a men's hairdresser but also a women´s. He went to hairdressing competitions in Europe, which greatly helped the reputation of the salon. And it was also the hairdresser's where my dad met my mother, who was an apprentice at grandfather’s place. After the independence of Algeria, my family settled in Toulouse, southern France. Gradually, we opened several hairdressing salons. In the meantime, my older sister had also become a hairdresser. Our salon in Toulouse was one of the larger ones at the time, we had 15 hairdressing chairs and employed seven other hairdressers. From a young age, I went to the salon for part-time jobs, I regularly spent at least one month of my holidays working there. So, my career path was very much predetermined.

How is the study of hairdressing different in France and the Czech Republic from your experience?

In France, we have an established apprenticeship system for hairdressers. Students aged 16 go to school 1.5 days a week and spend the rest of the

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week practicing. First, however, they must find a salon and a specific master hairdresser, where they will complete the training associated with the practice. They become employees of the salon and receive a reward for their work in practice. The amount is in the tens of percentages derived from the minimum wage, though it increases every year of their practice. Students receive a lesson plan from the school and the master regularly checks, at least once a month, whether the plan is fulfilled and that students really have the required knowledge and competencies. Students take this learning very seriously. And the possibility of earning extra money at this age is nice icing on the cake. They will receive a certificate of professional competence after two years of study, after another year of specialization they can receive a professional bachelor's degree.

The specialization is dedicated to dyeing or permanent waving, in short, to be able to work with various chemical preparations - hairdressers must know how to handle hair dyes and prevent possible allergic reactions. There is a possibility to extend your studies for another two years and then to obtain a full certificate of vocational training. This course includes the study of the French language, mathematics with a focus on finance and accounting, knowledge of the Labor Code, and, of course, a practical exam: the demonstration of a portfolio of hairstyles during practice. Without this diploma, the hairdresser will not be authorized to open their own salon. The state thus ensures that the newly opened salons do not fail after a short period and this limits the number of young unemployed people.

I know from my visits to France that hairdressers have a specific position in France. They are highly respected in society. And French P hoto : A rchive

SUPPORTING SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES

people enjoy a visit to the hairdressing salon far more often than in the Czech Republic. My friends had a tradition of a “Wednesday afternoon at the hairdresser's”. (Editor’s note: children in France do not have school on Wednesday afternoon and women try to take time off from work.)

In France, people usually go to the hairdresser once a week - for a brushing, hair mask, and head massage. The salons are closed on Sundays and Mondays, open on the other days of the week.

Most clients go on Fridays and Saturdays. The French generally experiment a lot, trying different colors and cuts. Hairdressing goes hand in hand with fashion, in addition to regular haute couture fashion shows, we have frequent prestigious hairdressing shows that always present new trends.

This industry has a comparable dynamic to fashion.

Otherwise, we as hairdressers would be bored and fall into a stereotype.

What else is the secret of elegant French women and men? You have already mentioned that they invest more in themselves - both in terms of time and money.

In France, there is far more competition among hairdressers, so prices are not set as high. We could say that every income group in France has its own type of hairdressing. Almost anyone can afford regular care at a hairdresser. Then you see people around you who wear a quality cut and color - and they are proud to visit the salon. Another slight difference: hairdresser’s places in France have shop windows and clients do not mind being seen. I was surprised that in the Czech Republic there is a tendency to have salons a bit hidden. It seems to me that maybe Czech women are a little shy, so they

prefer to dye their hair themselves at home.

Well-known hairdressers mention home hair coloring almost as a crime that we commit on our hair. However, the economic situation of many families has changed a lot.

Home coloring may not be as cheap as it seems.

I encounter cases where the result does not correspond to the expected ideas. Then the clients come for an adjustment after dyeing and it's too late. They often must go through more visits before they can get their hair back into acceptable shape.

What do you think Czechs should do to be as charming as the French?

I find Czechs charming already! Let's go back to the competition already mentioned. Greater competition could push down prices and a visit to a hairdresser could become affordable for most people.

In France, hairdressers are still comparing themselves to each other and trying to be the best - not just to do their job well. I also often find that colleagues in the Czech Republic are too conservative.

Long hair is popular here, even though it may not suit everyone or is not suitable for the given type of face. I often witnessed situations when the client wanted to change their cut and the hairdresser began to persuade her that it would be a shame. The hairdresser should always be able to make a proposal and leave it to the client to decide, not just regularly trim their hair ends.

How do you react to situations where clients come with a photo and want to look like a celebrity? Would you make Jennifer Aniston out of me?

It's nice to see when clients follow trends and have their own ideas. But if it's not realistic, I'll say “I'm not

Harry Potter, I can't do magic”. Often several steps are required to achieve the desired result. It is necessary to consider the density and quality of hair, it is also not possible to change the color radically.

But again, it's up to the hairdresser to make a suitable proposal for the client.

And speaking of hair quality or density, I was surprised that you sent me to a dermatologist in the spring for a special examination of hair quality. This is only common in our country at specialized private workplaces, I can't imagine that I would bother my dermatologist with it.

Yes, in France dermatologists cooperate with hairdressers. They can analyze the process of hair growth or loss. I am surprised that this is not the case in the Czech Republic.

And finally, from healthy hair to the future of healthy business. What are your next plans?

I hope there will be no more lockdowns. I would like it to be opened permanently. I actually opened the salon a year ago, but so far, I haven't been able to promote it or to do a big opening properly, because I didn't know when the business would close again. Of course, I am interested in expanding the salon and I would like to focus on the presentation of special hair cosmetics and colors that are of purely natural origin. This is now a new trend in France and many countries, and the topic of sustainability is becoming more popular in the Czech Republic as well. And if all goes well, maybe I'll open another salon :). As we say it in French - “on verra” - we'll see.

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

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Don’t settle FOR CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT

Interview with MUDr. Michal Sičák, founder of Derma Medical Clinic

I really enjoyed this interview with MUDr. Michal Sičák. We didn’t meet on Zoom or Webex, nor on Skype… I was instead invited to the residence in Krč, Prague, where Derma Medical Clinic and Altanea are based. With evident pride at having founded it, Dr Sičák gave me a tour of the clinic, which focuses not just on dermatology, but also urology and internal medicine. The word “Covid” was rarely uttered during our discussion, and when it was, it was only incidental. Because if there’s anything we should have learnt from the pandemic, it is that our health is fragile and we need to look after it. And this involves investing in our own health. Besides the welcoming environment and staff, I was impressed that the clinic brought medicine together with the latest technologies. So come with me and gain an insight into the world of new opportunities offered by lasers, cryopens, the ReduStim device, and impedance therapy using specific electrical impulses. And to the men reading this: don’t turn to the next article – both these clinics have particular treatments specifically for you.

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P hoto : J adran Š etlík

Doctor Sičák, you focus on dermatology, neurology and internal medicine at the clinic. Which project are you most proud of?

I’m proud that I managed to get the absolute cutting edge of technology into the Czech Republic, in the form of the XTRAC 308nm excimer laser, which is used to treat the most severe dermatoses. I also consider another success to be the fact that the treatment of psoriasis is now covered by general health insurance. In the West, treatment of psoriasis has long been a standard treatment, as have many laser procedures. Here, laser treatment is still considered a tool of aesthetic medicine, and not a tool used for general treatment. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease with some degree of heredity, but many factors affect its appearance, and stress is one condition which can worsen it.

We also offer a revolutionary option for treating warts and veruccas. Removal using the cryopen is gentler and more effective than traditional wart and verucca treatment, which is done using liquid nitrogen or lasers. Warts and veruccas are viral in origin, and the use of nitrogen can spread the infection. The treatment of warts on the hand can be lengthier and more laborious than that for veruccas on the foot. We often see clients who have had their warts or veruccas removed a number of times, even surgically, but they have still grown back. Cryopen treatment is effective more than 90 % of the time.

I promised we wouldn’t talk about Covid.

But there is a lot of talk that the pandemic has resulted in the public neglecting prevention and not resolving mild or common illnesses. How do you perceive the current health of your patients, whom you have not seen for some time?

I’ve noticed that certain people were very frightened. Instead of focusing on their own illnesses, they were subjected to the stress and fear that the pandemic brought with it. For psoriasis specifically, stress results in a worsening of the clinical condition. Clients whose psoriasis was in remission experienced flare-ups of the disease. Not all patients attended check-ups, and not all took the medicine they had been prescribed. We can see a clear increase in patient numbers in relation to the easing of restrictions.

We are once again in a situation where doctors are going to have to deal with an increased influx of patients.

Another unique treatment your clinic offers is in regard to so-called metabolic syndrome.

For readers, we should clarify that metabolic syndrome is a term frequently used to cover a number of risk factors such as abdominal obesity, reduced glucose uptake, disorder in lipid levels and hypertension. Patients with this syndrome have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. The danger of metabolic syndrome is mainly in the fact that you don’t feel ill, there is nothing to limit you in your everyday life, and so you don’t feel the

need or will to observe treatment measures or take medicine regularly. During the pandemic, most of the population have put on weight and have been forced to limit exercise and sport.

Here too, the latest devices play a big role.

Using the ReduStim device, which comes from France, we are able to improve parameters which have an impact on metabolic syndrome.

It isn’t a slimming device as such. You shouldn’t expect to come to us to have a lie down, and it will reduce your waist size all by itself. But if you observe a healthy lifestyle and reduce your energy intake, this device really can reduce damaging visceral fat, which is abdominal fat stores around internal organs. Diets and surgery such as liposuction will remove subcutaneous fatty tissue, but until recently we have been unable to affect levels of visceral fat. ReduStim, based on magnet therapy, is truly revolutionary in this regard, because not only can it reduce this so-called “bad fat”, but it also improves lipid levels in your blood and reduces levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. We can even show improved parameters for diabetic patients and patients with impaired glucose tolerance. And laboratory results also show improvements in liver function tests, with reductions in ALT and AST enzymes of an impressive 20 %. Again, the West is considering treatment using this unique technology through public health insurance for a particular set of patients, e.g. type 2 diabetics with a BMI of over 40. As I have already stressed, this really is a medical solution, not a matter of aesthetics. This solution is suitable for men, whose fat is often deposited in the abdomen.

We have clinical studies, including magnetic resonance images, which show the outcome of ReduStim treatment, specifically a reduction in fatty tissue of up to 20 %. You can’t get results like that just through exercise. And I’ve got good news for women too, because the device works just as well for both men and women.

Let’s stay with men, but move on to the other part of your clinic, the Altanea clinic. Here, you focus on the non-operative treatment of spinal disc disorders. You treat bulging, slipped and degenerated discs and you also treat weakened pelvic floor for men.

The devices we use at Altanea again come from the USA. We have the latest decompression table designed for non-operative and drug-free spinal decompression, which is safe and pain-free.

The entire process is operated by a computer.

Decompression therapy provides relief by gently separating vertebrae. It also stimulates the nerves so that the discs can better regenerate. I can demonstrate the effectiveness of this treatment using the example of one specific patient, one we also share on our Facebook page. The initial magnetic resonance images show a slipped disc, indicating the need for an operation. Although the patient was young, he had significant problems with movement. After half a year of treatment, his spinal canal was loosened, and the disc was pulled back into place and

strengthened. The patient now has no problems, and is able to do sport and ride a bicycle.

And now a little awareness-raising on pelvic floor dysfunction. After giving birth twice and developing severe Covid-19, I’ve come to realise just how important it is not to neglect this set of muscles.

The group of pelvic floor muscles supports the organs of the lesser pelvis: the bladder, the sex organs and the rectum. The pelvic muscles include sphincters, which are used to control the urethra and rectum. The pelvic floor muscles are also important in stabilising the spine and ensuring correct body posture, and form a component of the so-called core stability system. You are right that this is an issue often discussed in regard to women, because nobody to the present time has focused on it in regard to men. Here, we use electrical stimulation to provide rehabilitation of pre-operative conditions, since good rehabilitation prior to an operation makes it easier and speeds up treatment, and also postoperative conditions to ensure micturition and sexual function are preserved. I dare say that we are still the only clinic raising awareness of pelvic floor issues for men.

Doctor Sičák, how did you get from your original training in internal medicine to medicine based on the latest technologies?

I’ve had experience of both internal medicine and cardiology. I also went over to the pharmaceutical industry for a period, because doctors’ remuneration in the 1990s was very low.

I did well within the pharmaceutical industry, and my career was on a successful track first in the Czech Republic, and then internationally.

It looked like I wasn’t going to go back to medicine. But it was through my pharmaceutical contacts that I returned to dermatology. And upon returning to the Czech Republic, I began to focus on building my clinic. From dermatology, I gradually moved on to spinal issues, leading me to neurology and physiotherapy. While I don’t have certification in these fields, I’ve got a cuttingedge team of experts around me. I’ve always advocated a holistic approach to medicine, and anyone who wants to can find a space between individual fields. Our entire team and I endeavour to provide new and already proven methods of utilising modern medical devices.

This interview is being conducted for Leaders Magazine, at a time when the pandemic is hopefully coming to an end.

My final question is a simple one. What are your next plans?

Well, we began with one clinic, and today we have eleven sites in the Czech Republic. Now, I want to focus on developing the company and its management. And I hope that the post-Covid situation will allow us to expand the company into other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

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

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P ersonal E nlightenment

“What gets in our way is history, culture, religion, and economic conditions. They’re part of the hypnosis of our social conditioning.”

Deepak Chopra

James A. Cusumano, PhD Chairman, Chateau Mcely s.r.o.; Prague, Czech Republic

I Love You

Just The Way You Are1

Photo: Archive The Shadows In Your Life At one time or another, most of us have lashed out at someone we love or certainly care about – a spouse, partner, child, or a friend – only to experience regret moments later.

I know I have. But not to worry, this behavior can be corrected. It’s actually the result of a bigger issue. I’ll explain.

As we make our grand entry at birth into this world, a kind of cultural and social “hypnosis” begins and continues for the rest of our life (figure 1). It’s generally imbedded within us by parents, family, friends, teachers, the media, and a host of other sources. Don’t misunderstand me, some of this conditioned knowledge is necessary and useful as we find and navigate our path through life. Much of it is unwittingly, unintentionally, and certainly, unmaliciously impressed on our conscious mind by these sources, but much more often on our ego and subconscious, which means it’s programmed as a future automatic response. In certain situations this may be a good thing – but not always.

Some of those dark “shadows” impressed upon your ego and subconscious are not only ineffective, but they are, by most standards, disturbing and plain wrong – for example, men lead, and a woman’s place is in the home; children should be seen but not heard; forget her – marry your own kind; boys are better than girls at math; if your talent and passion are in the arts, you’re bound to struggle, since success is measured only by money and power – and the list goes on and on.

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Your Three Minds Neurologists, philosophers, and psychiatrists continue to debate the nature of the mind and whether it exists within or outside of the body. For our purposes, I will sidestep this debate and follow the path of Ancient Wisdom Traditions, as this fits together beautifully, scientifically, and metaphysically.

The real “you” is your consciousness and not your five-senses body which experiences your three-dimensional world. As discussed elsewhere in detail, the real you is your Personal Consciousness, Collective Consciousness, and their intimate connection with Cosmic Consciousness.1 Unlike Personal Consciousness, Collective Consciousness, and Cosmic Consciousness, which are immortal, eternal, and infinite, the mind is mortal, and is space-time bound. It resides fixed within your skull – an intimate part of your brain. We know consciousness is immortal from the millions of welldocumented and researched near-death experiences (NDE) in which individuals, who have been clinically dead for some time and then revived, were able to describe in great detail, things that were said or happened in the presence of their “dead” body.

The human mind begins to evolve shortly after conception and ceases to exist when that person physically dies. To be clear, your mind did not create your consciousness, your consciousness created your mind.

The mind can be divided into three parts, the ego, the conscious mind, and the

subconscious. The ego is the intense desire of your mind to identify with physical and emotional things, as well as thought forms.

It is the source of all dualities. It constantly reiterates, “This is me and that is you. This is mine and that is yours. We are different and not connected.”

The ego does not want you to recognize that the real you, the Self or the true “I” is your Personal Consciousness. It causes you to behave in a manner which says, “I am my car, my house, my job, my bank accounts, and all of my possessions and outward accomplishments.” It does not want you to know that duality is an illusion, for in reality all is connected. However, the ego can be controlled and changed to any desired state by your conscious mind.

Your conscious mind is analytical and judgmental. But it has limited storage capacity.

Your subconscious has huge capacity. It absorbs everything that you experience with your five senses, as well as any information which your conscious mind is unable at any given moment to process and subsequently make a meaningful and logical decision.

Your conscious mind is often not capable of absorbing lots of disconnected information, as this could lead to significant overload and mental chaos. The subconscious stores this information until your conscious mind needs it and can make sense of it.

So, your subconscious is by far the most important part of your mind. Neuroscientists believe it makes up 95 percent of your mind

Figure 1: From the moment of birth, the ego and subconscious components of your mind participate in a lifelong process of social hypnosis.

A broad spectrum of information is imprinted upon you, often by well-intended persons, including parents, teachers, family, friends, the media, and a host of other sources. Some of this information is useful–even valuable. However, some often is incompatible with finding the true Meaning of Life and following your Life Purpose as a path to personal fulfillment and making this a better world.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

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The author may be reached at www.JimTheAlchymist.com and Jim@ChateauMcely.com.

P ersonal E nlightenment

Figure 2: Your subconscious is, without question, the most important part of your mind. It has been estimated by neuroscientists to represent 95 percent of your mind. Your subconscious reasons deductively and is never concerned with the morality, ethics, truth, or falsity of premises that are imprinted upon it. It proceeds on the assumption that these premises are correct, and it seeks results and actions that are consistent with these premises.

(figure 2). It functions below self-awareness and it manifests the majority of your circumstances.

But very importantly, it is receptive to guidance from your conscious mind, otherwise it operates without any judgement. In other words, it is never discerning or objective in connecting thoughts sent to it by your conscious mind.

Right or wrong, it accepts them as fact. That’s the basis for the success behind every capable hypnotist. In a trance, he gives his subject a command to cluck like a chicken when he calls his or her name. When out of a trance, he calls the person’s name, and he or she clucks like a chicken!

Your subconscious reasons deductively and is never concerned with the morality, ethics, truth, or falsity of the premises that are imprinted upon it. It proceeds on the assumption that these premises are correct, and it seeks results and actions that are consistent with these premises. You could say that your subconscious is what you are, and your conscious mind is what you know.

So what’s the value of all this mumbo-jumbo?

Here’s the important message – conscious thoughts that you create consistently and with conviction are absorbed by your subconscious and can change the way you behave in any situation. If you want to avoid a behavior imprinted in your subconscious over the years by social hypnosis, you can do that by using your conscious mind to earnestly erase what you wish from your subconscious and reprogramming it with a behavior or response you endorse (figure 3).

Yes, it will take some time. The most effective and quickest way to get results is to focus on your desired reprogramming immediately before your meditation – even a brief 15 minutes of quiet mindfulness will do. For example, you could mentally think something like this: “When my wife says something that bothers my ego or disturbs my social hypnotic programming, but subsequently in a quiet moment, I know is not important or significant, I will smile and simply respond, “Thanks for sharing!”

The Endpoint So the next time you make a harsh comment to someone you care about, and subsequently wish you hadn’t, think about the lyrics from Billy Joel’s 1977 hit song, I love you just the way you are: Don't go changing to try and please me You never let me down before, hmmm Don't imagine you're too familiar And I don't see you anymore.

I would not leave you in times of trouble We never could have come this far, hmmm I took the good times, I'll take the bad times I'll take you just the way you are.

And if you sense that “shadow of an intruder” continues to horn its way into a relationship you care about, here’s a poem I once created for me. It’s yours to use any way you see fit!

I Love You Just The Way You Are They say from birth we carry a shadow of social hypnosis, An Intruder created and nurtured throughout our life.

Often inadvertent and almost always, without malice.

From parents, teachers, family, and friends, The media, and only God knows who.

Yes, some of that shadow is necessary and helpful, But, more often than not, it hides the real you.

In time, we often find out–not all is good for our path.

We must erase the stuff that doesn’t work anymore.

Yes, it’s easier said than done–but you can!

You see, our ego and subconscious hears and manages– Most everything we think, say, and do.

And faithfully delivers results to the letter.

So, we must reprogram this nonjudging nuisance.

Not easy to do–takes time–but it works.

A tip–Meditation’s the key!

So yes, I admit that egotistic, self-serving, self-righteous, Intruder within me doesn’t know any better– has no judgement at all!

He creates a thick fog between the real me and real you.

Sometimes all I see, hear, and feel, is his beguiling voice.

Slanting your input to make me feel sad– perhaps bad–or even mad.

But not to worry. I’m feverishly working to give him a fix.

And believe me, he’s going down–piece by piece.

Maybe not as hard as I’d like, but he’s definitely on his way out.

Hopefully, sent much further afar.

And so yes, it’s true!

I love the real you, just the way you are.

Enjoy your journey! Make a difference!

Namaste,

Chairman & Owner, Chateau Mcely

Figure 3: Fortunately, your subconscious mind can be reprogramed to be congruent with your values and modus operandi. The most effective and quickest way to get results is to focus on your desired reprogramming immediately before your meditation–even a brief 15 minutes of quiet mindfulness will work.

James A. Cusumano, Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules, Chapter 1, Waterfront Press, 2015.

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www.JimTheAlchymist.com “I Can See Clearly: Rise Of A Supernatural Hero” “Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules”

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ARE WE GOING

TO HAVE CREWMEMBER

ON SpaceX´s STARSHIP? SOME FACTS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT MR. MIRO

P hoto : A rchive

1. I was born in a village where the borders of three countries meet in the forest: Slovakia, Ukraine, and Poland.

2.

I am currently a citizen of two states, Germany and Slovakia, and I have a permanent residence in a third state – the Czech Republic.

3. I studied philosophy in Berlin and documentary film directing in Prague.

4. In 1987, I founded the MIRO Gallery.

5. In 2000, I founded the Trebbia International Award, where awards for creative activity and support of culture and art are being handed over. So far, 105 laureates from 27 countries have received the prize.

6.

The Trebbia Award is presented by a bronze statuette depicting a Guardian Angel which was sculpted by the Czech sculptor of Bulgarian origin, Stefan Milkov.

7. I would like to take a miniature version of the Guardian Angel statuette with me on my lunar trip. As a result, the Trebbia Award will be the first interplanetary space award to be held in the field of culture in the coming centuries.

8. I believe in extra-terrestrial cosmic intelligence.

9. I assume I will be the oldest member of the flight crew to the Moon.

10. Therefore I am ready to make any sacrifice for the whole team.

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As you might have heard already Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is looking for eight crewmembers for a mission to the Moon.

Maezawa, an entrepreneur, announced in March 2021 that his dear Moon project, which aims to fly the "first civilian mission to the Moon," according to the project website, is now looking for eight crewmembers to fly to and around the Moon and back on SpaceX's Starship spacecraft.

The project was announced in 2018 with the original intent to bring a crew of artists to the Moon. In this latest release, Maezawa calls for applicants to make up a crew of eight individuals from around the world for the weeklong lunar trip.

In the video announcing this call for civilian astronauts, which features heavy rock music and footage of SpaceX's Starship lifting off, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk voiced his support for the mission, stating "I think we'll make a real difference."

"I'm inviting you to join me on this mission. Eight of you from all around the world," Maezawa said in the video.

"The mission will take place two years from now, in 2023. I want people from all kinds of backgrounds to join."

Renowned Prague gallerist Miro Smolák, founder of the Trebbia International Award, took the challenge of the Japanese fashion magnate and art collector Yusaku Maezawa and signed up to fly to the Moon. There are already more than a million candidates among applicants from all over the world.

Fingers crossed to Mr. Miro!

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19TH ANNUAL TREBBIA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS Summer refectory of the Strahov Monastery in Prague October 17, 2021 & After party at the Lindner Hotel Prague Castle

The Gala Evening was held under the auspices of: Lubomír Zaorálek, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic and Natália Milanová, Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic

From left: Vladimír Lekeš, Owner and Director of the Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery presented Trebbia International Award to Ludvik Feller, Artist from Germany/Czech Republic, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for artistic achievement

From left: Eduard Kukan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic and prof. Ivan Wilhelm, former Rector of Charles University Prague presented Trebbia International Award 2021 to Jozef Leikert, Poet and Writer, Slovak Republic Robert Mikoláš, Director of the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv and Director of the Czech House Jerusalem during his laudation speech

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From left: Jitka Novotná, Czech TV Presenter; Ľubomír Bajaník, Slovak TV Presenter, and Peter Weibel, Artist from Germany, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 during his video speech

From left: H. E. Anna Azari, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Czech Republic; Tomáš Pojar, former Czech Ambassador to Israel presented Trebbia International Award 2021 to David Hercky, Businessman, Diplomat, Philanthropist and Art Collector, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021, State Israel

From left: Jan Mráček, Violist, Lobkowitz trio; Lukáš Klánský, Pianist, Lobkowitz trio; Chantal Poullain, Founder of the Archa Chantal Foundation; MUDr. Jan Martin Stránský, Member of the TREBBIA International Nomination Jury; Jan Vokáč, Cellist, Lobkowitz trio; Robert Mikoláš, Director of the Czech Centre in Tel Aviv and Director of the Czech House Jerusalem; David Hercky, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for support of culture and art; Alena Miro, Opera Singer; Tomáš Pojar, former Czech Ambassador to Israel; Jelena Silajdžić, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for contribution to the dialogue of national cultures; H.E. Martina Mlinarević, Ambassador of the Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Czech Republic; Aleš Briscein, Opera Singer; Vladimír Lekeš, Owner and Director of the Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery; Eva Blahová, Member of the TREBBIA International Jury; prof. Ivan Wilhelm, former Rector of the Charles University Prague; Ludvík Feller, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for artistic achievement; Juraj Jakubisko, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for lifetime achievement; Jozef Leikert, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for artistic achievement; Líza Urbanová, granddaughter of Antonín Jaroslav Liehm, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for contribution to the dialogue of national cultures, In memoriam; Eduard Kukan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic; Jan Kavan, former President of the UN General Assembly and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; Ľubomír Bajaník, Slovak TV Presenter; Jitka Novotná, Czech TV Presenter; H. E. Anna Azari, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Czech Republic; Miro Smolák, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation

TREBBIA Gala Evening participants via video: Václav Klaus, former President of the Czech Republic; Ivan Gašparovič, former President of the Slovak Republic; Petr Stronskiy, President of the International Academy of Culture and Art in Moscow, Russian Federation; Klaus von Trotha, former Minister of Science, Research and Culture of Baden-Württemberg, Member of the TREBBIA INJ, Germany; Peter Weibel, Curator and Artist, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for artistic achievement; Sabine Schneider, Chairman of the Berlin Artist Association, Germany; Štěpán Benda, Cinematographer and Documentary Filmmaker, son of Antonín Jaroslav Liehm (1924 - 2020), Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 for contribution to the dialogue of national cultures, in memoriam; MUDr. Oldřich Cerha with his wife PhDr. Hana Cerhová, the obtainers of the art work by Jiří Anderle at the benefit auction for CZK 100.000 in favor of the Archa Chantal Foundation and TREBBIA Foundation

From left: MUDr. Jan Martin Stránský, Member of the TREBBIA International Nomination Jury and H.E. Martina Mlinarević, Ambassador of the Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Czech Republic presented Trebbia International Award 2021 to Jelena Silajdžić, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021, Bosnia and Hercegovina

From left: Jan Kavan, former President of the UN General Assembly and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic presented Trebbia International Award 2021 in memoriam to Antonín Jaroslav Liehm; Líza Urbanová, received the International Trebbia Award 2021 on behalf of her grandfather Antonín Jaroslav Liehm Aleš Briscein, Opera Singer, Tenor

Juraj Jakubisko, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2021 received the International Trebbia Award 2021 from prof. Eva Blahová, Member of the Trebbia International Jury

Štěpán Benda during his video speech, son of Antonín Jaroslav Liehm

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Václav Klaus, former President of the Czech Republic during his video speech to Juraj Jakubisko, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2021 for lifetime achievement

Ivan Gašparovič, former President of the Slovak Republic during his video speech to Juraj Jakubisko

Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano

Petr Stronskiy, President of the International Academy of Culture and Art in Moscow during his video speech to Peter Weibel, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2021 for artistic achievement

Lenka Uhrová, the obtainer of the art work by Martin Šárovec at the benefit auction for CZK 100.000 in favor of the Archa Chantal Foundation and TREBBIA Foundation Aleš Briscein, Opera Singer with his wife

Chantal Poullain, received a benefit cheque for Archa Chantal Foundation in the amount of CZK 230.000 and Miro Smolák, Auctioneer, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation

Ulrika Poock-Feller, the obtainer of the art work by Joachim Elzmann at the benefit auction for CZK 100.000 in favor of the Archa Chantal Foundation and TREBBIA Foundation Zdeňka Sigmundová, Member of the Board of the TREBBIA Foundation; Adam Sigmund, Partner of the AK Žižlavský

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Jitka Novotná, Czech TV Presenter, Alena Miro, Soprano with the member of Lobkowitz trio Jan Mráček, Violist; Lukáš Klánský, Pianist; Jan Vokáč, Cellist

Jiří Janošík with his wife, Owners of the Janosik Company, Sponsor of the Trebbia Gala Evening and Miro Smolák, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation

Juan Carlos Sánchez-Clemente García, Patron of the arts from Spain with his business partners and Miro Smolák

From right: Vladimír Lekeš, General Partner of the Trebbia Gala Evening with his wife, daughter and business partner

Ivana Dupalová with her friend, Partner of the Trebbia Gala Evening

Eduard Kukan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic and prof. Ivan Wilhelm, former Rector of the Charles University Prague with their wives

Jan Krs and Miloš Jaro with his wife Milka, supporter of the 19th annual of the Trebbia International Awards From right: Mgr. Erika Rendlová, Art Patron and MUDr. Milana Řeháčková

From right: Leoš Svárovský, Conductor; Jozef Gáfrik, Journalist with their wives Yveta and Martina

From left: Chantal Poullain, Actress, Founder of the Archa Chantal Foundation and Helena Sterr, Manager of the Archa Chantal Foundation Viktor Jasaň, former General Director of the Slovak National Museum with his wife

Lobkowicz trio during their performance

From left: David Hercky, Laureate of the International Trebbia Award 2021 from Israel and Tomáš Pojar with journalists

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Interview with Eva Lustigová, Film Director and Executive Director, Arnošt Lustig Foundation

What can I hope for?

The Arnošt Lustig Foundation has been active for a year now. The Foundation aims to perpetuate the artistic legacy and humanistic values put into practice by one of the most prominent of Czech writers in his own life and work. The Foundation´s programme and impact will be on a global scale, just as Arnošt Lustig´s ouvre. A Foundation that provides a platform for internationally-recognized experts with a view to offering a dimension beyond the Czech Republic, reflecting the very fact that Arnošt Lustig was a citizen of the world. I met up with Arnošt Lustig´s daughter, Eva Lustigová (a former United Nations official, film director and the Executive Director of the Foundation) in Prague´s coffee-house Adria. It was really incredible how many parallels and common themes we found in our lives. It is an honour for me to facilitate the conversation with this exceptional woman for the readers of the Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine.

I also feel very honoured to have met Arnošt Lustig in person. When I was a student, I worked for the International Karlovy Vary Film Festival. In 1996, Arnošt Lustig was a member of a jury I was assisting. Even now, I remember Arnošt´s sense of humour, kindness as well as his genuine deep-seated humanity.

And because the Foundation was set up by the two siblings I asked Josef (Pepi) Lustig (a film-maker, scriptwriter and university lecturer) how he sees the Foundation´s mission. By the way, he has been asked many times what he thinks about the burden of his father´s legacy. Pepi´s answer was forthright, in many ways reminding me of Arnošt: ´A person not carrying a burden will be weak in his essence´. Pepi lives and works in the USA, so we communicated in writing. In commenting on the Foundation´s mission, he expressed himself with reference to another of the world´s titans. ´One of Arnošt´s writing ´teachers´, Hemingway (another Ernest), writes in ´A Moveable Feast´ that ´the seeds of what we will do are in all of us.´ Our Ernest converted this primarily to a moral level, drawing on his personal experience of Nazi concentration camps, familiarity with and survival of the worst imaginable events, either strengthens or weakens our humanity. Our Ernest elevates the first possibility, while attempting to comprehend the second option. He has managed to capture the wisdom stemming from his lifelong focus on this moral and potent dilemma in his writings and in his essay-based contemplations, with permeations even to the films based on his film scripts. His morally humanistic philosophy merits to be stewarded following his departure from the realm of the physically active to the eternal world of those who wanted to advance humanity a bit further. The Foundation is among the means to do this.´ Let us remind primarily the younger generations of readers, that from a journalist and editor in the Czechoslovak Radio, Arnošt Lustig became a writer and scriptwriter of world renown. He was the author of twenty-four novels, fifteen short story collections, a number of biographical essays and texts and thirteen screenplays for internationally acclaimed movies. He received the Franz Kafka Prize, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an Emmy Award for PBS News and Documentary Outstanding Individual Achievement, and nominations for the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and the Man Booker International Prize. During his lifetime, he was sentenced to death three times by the Nazis and given a custodial sentence by the communists.

For a long time he was a banned author in Czechoslovakia. Arnošt Lustig lived in Czechoslovakia, Israel, Yugoslavia and the USA. Dear Eva, Arnošt´s Foundation has been on the scene for a year now. This year we remind ourselves not only of the tenth anniversary of Arnošt´s passing but also the 95th anniversary of his birth. Covid times have been harsh but in such an era all the more we hear echoes of Arnošt´s humanistic cri de couer.

First of all, Arnošt was convinced that at a time of great chaos, which our Covid era is, 'we must protect our basic values… compassion, courtesy, courage, sincerity and the ability to love´. He´d gone through it himself. Now that I had the chance to go through something of a chaos, although incomparable to what he and my mother went through, his thinking provided me with a perspective for which I am grateful.

Secondly, I am pleased that during this past year, we were able to get the Foundation up and running based on our vision of an artistic and educational organisation contributing to a better, more just world.

We have focused inward as well as outward, put together an enthusiastic core team, built an infrastructure, developed collaborative relationships with partners and various networks, and of course, formulated a strategy with a corresponding mediumterm programme. But we also have a Hundred Year Plan because inspiration and possibilities of how to tap and grow Arnošt´s legacy abound. We have much ahead of us, hence establishing a Foundation to bring this timeless legacy under one umbrella was a priority. Also during the first year of our existence, we took the creative route and embarked on a new book called ´Arnošt Lustig´s Waves of Joy… or We Wanted a Different World´ and took Arnošt´s

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unpublished poem 'The Cantata – A Dance of the Insane' to the stage as a musical-lyrical production in the Czech and Slovak Republics. We have the great pleasure to feature leading Czech and Slovak artists - Vilma Cibulková, Jiří Lábus, Vilém Udatný, opera singer Gustáv Beláček and the Barocco sempre giovane chamber orchestra playing J.S.Bach. And through the book, published by the Euromedia Group in co-operation with Radioservis, we are delighted to bring to readers another perspective of Arnošt Lustig, journalist and humanist, in the very first collection of his unique reflections about life, the world and the arts, broadcast on the radio over a period of sixty years... With his former colleague and friend, Karel Hvížďala, we are visiting key locations and cultural events to introduce the book.

Above all, Arnošt wanted a fairer world, a world where everyone would have a fair chance. He had been integral to the Czechoslovak Film Wave and also in the nucleus that germinated in the Prague Spring of 1968. This is so fundamental that I used the interview from February 1968 with the key passage in the book´s title and the book itself. ´We wanted a different world... I´d like to start at the end of World War II when people of my age, were deeply disappointed by the world at that time. A world in the throes of struggle, a world of nationalism, a world of murders, a world of injustice. That meant not only destroying the old world but creating a new one… Over twenty years, it became clear that good will isn´t enough, and having a programme, good will and efforts to find a way to create a more just, fairer world isn´t easy. That good will must be fused with science, with scientific knowledge.´

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS II/2021

A bit of a dreamer, romantic and in love with life, he once remarked that it´d be best, if things like bread and love were for free.

You kicked off our meeting by showing me the new logo of the Arnošt Lustig Foundation.

I particularly like the smile in it, these days symbolizing awareness and humanity. Having got to know Arnošt, there´s bound to be a story behind it.

When signing his name, Arnošt sometimes drew a face. It may appear heart-shaped, but that´s not the case. He drew the particular face in the project logo for one of his students in a creative writing course, Vendulka Říhová. Vendulka very kindly turned the manuscript of more than 500 pages (the book ´Friends´) into a word-processed clean copy.

If you knew Arnošt, you also know one couldn´t turn him down. First off, he´d ask for fifty pages, then fifty pages more and so on. Vendulka was quite bowled over by it and so she managed the entire book. And when she finished, Arnošt sent her a letter of thanks and adorned it with a smiling face. It´s a typical ´lustig´, a typical Lustig (author´s note: ´lustig´ in German means merry or gay). Arnošt was a humanist, he not only possessed a head but also a heart. And he never denied it. He was not afraid to express love, he was genuine. The logo will have orange, Arnošt´s favourite. He considered it an optimistic colour.

A simple graphical arrangement provides a parallel with his work and personality. Dignity, elegance and sincerity. Arnošt adored inner and outer beauty – in people, art and nature.

P hoto : A rchive

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Interview with Eva Lustigová, Film Director and Executive Director, Arnošt Lustig Foundation 'Arnošt Lustig left two legacies. The first one, a literary one, is full of gems for the reader and is necessary to pass on and disseminate. The second legacy is Arnošt´s message of universal humanity which we must safeguard. And build like a protective dam against the spread of poison of nationalist selfishness, xenophobia of all kind, intolerance. And also against indifference… The Arnošt Lustig Foundation should serve all of that and this is why it makes sense to establish the Foundation and promote and develop its programme. It will be an honour for me to be part of this.'

Jan Fischer In many ways your Foundation is exceptional. In its ambitions, many activities and the involvement of well-known personalities.

You´ve even written a kind of Charter with the objective of introducing the Foundation through philosophical questions.

Thank you. Indeed, we are guided by several questions to communicate our why, what and how.

I must admit that I borrowed them from one of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment, the German philosopher Emmmanuel Kant. They center around our hopes, knowledge and strategy. For example, ´What do we hope for?´, ´What do we need to know?´ and ´What should we do to implement the vision and the knowledge?´. The last of these questions I added ´How?´. The answers, steeped as they are in Arnošt´s legacy, chart the Foundation´s way. But there´s a twist here. You see, given his antisemitic views, Kant would probably be surprised to see the questions he posed a long time ago in the context of his philosophical work being used to transmit the humanistic legacy of a Jewish writer. But I came up with this framework when I spoke to the Rotary Club in Brno a few months ago and the theme that evening was Kant´s birthday.

I wanted to connect to this, and so I played with his questions for the Foundation. And it worked. One more thing though – a conjecture. Somebody of Kant´s general attitude would not be likely to be an antisemite today. On top of that, some important Neo-Kantians were Jewish philosophers.

Let´s go to the first question. What does the Foundation hope for? What is your great vision? Or to use the young generation´s language, what is your Why? We hope for a more just and more humane world and the young generation´s interest in humanistic principles in the name of democracy. Here´s a quote from Charlie Chaplin´s film ´The Great Dictator´ that Arnošt Lustig identified with and adored.

'We want to live by each other’s happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone... The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed... We

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think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…'

There´s a strong resemblance to the spirit of Arnošt´s proclamation following the Czechoslovak Writers´ Congress in 1968 which I mentioned earlier.

I take on board your work with language. And I am sorry I didn´t have the opportunity to attend Arnošt´s creative writing course. I am thinking now of my grandmother, a qualified pharmacist. It seems to me that we weigh up each word like they were on a pharmacist´s scale. These days often the phrase, ´we believe…´ is used. You hope.

Yes, for me hoping is different from believing.

Arnošt hoped. He claimed that 'If humanity was a novel' and he wrote its last chapter, 'it would end with the word of hope.' He hoped to the end. At least to finish yet another paragraph. He had his typewriter next to him in the hospital.

What does the Foundation wish to know and pass on?

People always have a choice between good and evil. They must live with their conscience. Conscience allows us to sleep at night. And some people don´t actually have any conscience. It was Hitler who said that conscience was a Jewish invention.

We wish to enrich the world´s cultural heritage with topics relating to the challenges faced by people when they choose between good and evil.

Our mission is underpinned by four messages.

These were instilled in Pepi´s and my upbringing, served at every meal. The first message is remember, never forget, as ´forgetting condemns us to the next failure´. The second message is know. Knowledge empowers us to say no to injustice. And what you know, no one can take away from you. Arnošt believed that knowing what one human being is capable of doing to another arms you in a spiritual sense. The third message is learn from the experience.

One can learn from the Shoah and become all the stronger for it. And through this prism, it is possible to overcome indifference and evil and opt for what is right. And last is transmit these messages to the next generations as well as realise that we must defend our human rights because it is ´our right and our duty.´ This is how he felt: ´I cannot remain silent. It´s an invisible relay in which the dead pass on the baton to those who are still alive. Nobody has as many orphans as the Jews.´ So what will you do? You have a very successful career in an international organisation.

Let us move on then from your mission to the strategy.

Yes, we are action-oriented... Our programme rests on four pillars – the literary legacy, the film legacy, developing creativity and education. The literary legacy deals with Arnošt´s fiction as well as his nonfictional texts. Our priority is to make his collected works available, having them translated and published in foreign languages, while at the same time, finding innovative ways of presenting them and of course, bringing out unpublished texts. I´d say

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that this is the Foundation´s soul as Arnošt´s heart and soul were all about being a writer. He wrote to live and lived to write. And unfortunately, he was stopped in his tracks. We have set out our key projects. For example, in the literary arena already, an illustrated Arnošt Lustig biographical novel is currently being written by bestselling author Markéta Pilátová. Our hope is that Petr Sís (a member of our International Board of Trustees) will be involved with the illustrations. In the film area, we would like to facilitate the remake of ´A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzová´ because originally it was 'just' made as a television film, while it is clear that this big story - considered as Arnošt´s classic of hope and courage against all odds – deserves to reach audiences around the world on the big screen. Besides, he surprised us with several screenplays for feature films he left ´in the drawer´. We will do our best to make sure they don´t stay there. Furthermore, to encourage and embed creativity among youth, we are preparing a literary competition for young authors with an international dimension involving Czech schools here and abroad as well as in Germany. Our aim is not only to develop creative talent across various literary genres but also to strengthen democratic values and critical thinking. And last but not least, two educational exhibits are underway... with complementary educational workshops for kids fourteen and up, covering civic education with emphasis on democratic values, modern history and of course, literature.

And a word to finish off?

As a Foundation, we look forward to collaborating with a whole range of institutions to reach our target audience. This runs the gamut of the literary world (publishers, book fairs, book clubs, libraries) and the film and theatre industry (festivals, producers, directors and actors, cinema and theatre) as well as the sphere of education (schools and universities, museums). And of course, we would welcome collaboration with individuals who are touched by our mission, no matter where they are... Visit us on our webpage www.lustigfoundation.cz and join the well-known personalities already engaged in transmitting our vision. We are pleased that amongst them are the highly respected macroeconomist Petr Zahradník, as member of our Executive Board, and members of our International Board of Trustees such as Jan Fischer (Chairman), Petr Sís, Robert Řehák and Martin Krafl. By the end of the year we intend to approach other members from Europe, USA and Israel.

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

'In truth, I don’t only write about the Holocaust. What interests me is Man – what motivates his actions, his life, his capabilities, his status in society, and as well as why at a given moment he can be the most noble of creatures and in no time be capable of murder.'

Arnošt Lustig

Interview with Ondřej Kovařík, MEP

The European Parliament IS VOCAL ON ITS KEY PRIORITIES

Ondřej studied international trade, international politics and diplomacy at the University of Economics in Prague and later completed an international program in public administration, regional development and EU programmes at the prestigious school for civil servants, the École nationale d'administration (ENA), in Strasbourg and Paris.

His career to date has been dedicated to public service, primarily in various roles within the Czech civil service, but also in European public administration, where he worked in the European Parliament. Specifically, he has worked at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Government, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ottawa, the Czech Ministry of Defence and the European Parliament.

Since 2019 he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the Czech Republic. He is a member of several parliamentary committees, where he focuses primarily on EU economic and monetary policy such as SME funding, digital finance, tourism, transport as well as the use and development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

P hoto : A rchive

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Interview with Ondřej Kovařík, MEP point of view, what are the main areas the EU should focus on in the area of digitalization?

There are many areas in which the pandemic proved that the digital world can offer workers and the public a lot more than had been considered previously. Still, further digitalisation is needed in certain areas, such as access to services of public administration, education and eCommerce. All these will however require adequate digital infrastructure and investment as well as further building up digital skills across Europe.

In terms of finance, introducing various digital tools will play an important role for businesses, including SMEs, and their cross border activities. For citizens, initiatives such as European electronic ID can help them move around, renting a house, opening bank accounts and being able to perform many new online tasks anywhere in the EU.

Mr. Kovařík, you have working experience both from the previous legislative term of the European Parliament of 2014-2019 and the current one. Do you see any major differences between the two in terms of an overall political mindset of the Parliament?

There is a number of differences in the European Parliament comparing the previous mandate to this one. The balance has shifted with the departure of our British colleagues after Brexit. Also, the major political groups have changed in size. In the previous legislature, the two main political families managed to form a majority, while today you need at least three political groups, including our Renew Europe group, to get an agreement.

This has a significant impact on the dynamics of the parliamentary work.

On top of that, due to the European elections in 2019, about sixty per cent of the Members of the European Parliament are new. They represent a more diverse and wider political spectrum, with many young MEPs. That means the European Parliament is much more active and vocal on its key priorities, such as climate related issues. In general, the MEPs try to make sure their voice is heard among other European Union institutions.

One of the main topics in the EU right now is how to start the recovery and increase resilience of European economy. Of all the support measures provided both by the EU, which one do you find the most important?

All the support measures adopted so far are and will continue to play their part in the recovery of the European economy. From the perspective of the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, I would point out the relaxing of state aid rules, which we managed to agree on fairly quickly, as one of the most important. It enabled EU countries to intervene on a huge scale to support the economy which had completely shut down. This would not have been possible without amended state aid rules under the new temporary framework.

In terms of the public stimulus to the economy, the hundreds of billions from the Next Generation EU fund, with the Resilience and Recovery

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facility, on top of the EU’s multiannual financial framework, is a historical effort to help economies on EU level. I would also mention the SURE instrument that played an essential role in giving EU countries additional money to support jobs while the EU budget was still being discussed.

Czech Republic, which received 2 billion and Slovakia, which received 630 million euros in loans, both benefited from this instrument.

Tourism is undoubtedly one of the sectors that were hit the hardest by the current crisis. How will the EU help companies active in tourism to get back on track?

The agreement on EU digital covid certificates, which was achieved in a short amount of time should help restart tourism. At last, EU citizens will be able to rely on clear and unified rules when travelling. This will allow people to move more easily without the fear of getting stranded somewhere because of country specific rules.

The fact that European travel has been disrupted for almost a year has impacted tourism the most.

Tourists need to regain trust.

With the vaccination advancing, people will also feel safer travelling, but the EU digital covid pass also allows for non-vaccinated travellers, who can travel under the condition of having a test beforehand. This is why in the Parliament we were pushing to make tests more affordable, which resulted in a commitment from the Commission of an additional 100 million euros subsidy for tests.

Many of the horizontal recovery programs also include hospitality and transport sectors. Very often, these are small or family businesses, be it a family owned B&B, restaurant or a form of transportation; they all are included in various EU programmes, which will be essential in their recovery. In the European Parliament, we are also pushing the Commission to introduce a tourism specific budgetary line to give priority to the recovery in the tourism sector.

Digitalization is one of the top priorities of the current European Commission and the need to digitalize the society was clearly shown during the last months. From your

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As a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, you work closely also on the topic of digital finance. What will the future bring in this area? Are we at the beginning of a major change that would result in physical money becoming obsolete?

The way businesses and people are handling their finance is becoming increasingly digital.

They invest, use crowdfunding platforms, trade, make payments and use many other online services. Also, let’s not forget about the growing importance of digital assets, not only some specific crypto currencies which are at the centre of the debate. Central banks across the globe, including the ECB, are discussing the introduction of digital currencies. That could mean a very important change in the area of digital finance.

Having said that, despite these new developments and trends, I believe that cash has its role to play and will stay with us for some time. It is up to companies and consumers to decide which option they prefer and they should have this choice.

The Czech Republic belongs to one of the EU countries that still haven’t introduced the common currency. What are your predictions of when this could happen and does the Czech Republic need euro?

The potential moment of joining the euro area should be well prepared and reflect the economic situation both in the Czech Republic as well as in the Eurozone. In the current state, with the post-pandemic recession and economic uncertainty, these conditions have not yet been met and there is no consensus among the key Czech stakeholders on setting a date for changing currency to the Euro. In my view, we should take a prudent approach at this moment and focus on the recovery and economic convergence rather than fixing a timeline for the adoption of the euro in the Czech Republic.

Thank you for the interview!

By Tomas Hartman

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Czech businesses prepare for Council Presidency In the second half of 2022, the Czech Republic will hold the Presidency to the Council of the EU and to some extent, it will set the agenda for negotiations in this key institution. The founders of CEBRE prepared recommendations for the government of the Czech Republic on how to approach some important topics that will come up during the second half of next year. Although the key player during the presidency is the government and the individual ministries, the European Parliament and its members will often negotiate with the presidency. Therefore, on 16th April, CEBRE founders held an online discussion with Czech MEPs to inform them about their priorities for the Czech Presidency.

During the Presidency, dealing with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic will undoubtedly still be one of the key topics. In addition, the EU will intensively negotiate initiatives that will affect the competitiveness of European companies, such as the transition to a digital and climate-neutral economy. Companies will play a key role in the process of economic recovery and the EU must create an environment in which businesses thrive. It must be based on a strong industrial strategy that will support the growth of the competitiveness of European companies of all sizes, both in the internal market and globally. The digital area also offers great potential. "The EU must create conditions for the development of digital infrastructure, including a legal framework that will enable digital transformation and support the development of technologies, e.g. in the field of artificial intelligence," said Jaroslav Hanák, President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic.

The transition to a climate-neutral economy through the implementation of the Green Deal for Europe is and will be another key topic in the EU. However, according to CEBRE founders, this process must not jeopardize the competitiveness of the industry. The EU's climate goals will require significant investment in technology. "The EU must therefore provide a sufficient number of support programs that will take into account the costs of the transition to a climateneutral economy," stressed Vladimír Dlouhý, President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce.

Given the current crisis, many important topics are about to be discussed in the social area, where the EU should aim to promote employment, increase the skills of employees and overcome other shortcomings in the labour market. Discussions are also expected on the recently presented proposal for a directive on the minimum wage. "We are not in principle against the minimum wage, but the EU should only provide recommendations to the Member States, not impose obligations," said Jan Zikeš, Secretary General of the Confederation of Employers' and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic.

CEBRE founders consider the single market to be one of the biggest benefits of EU membership. The Czech Republic should promote measures that support the functioning of the internal market and reject protectionist solutions hindering the free movement of goods, persons, services, capital and data.

Industrial strategy must INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS of European companies On 5th May, the European Commission updated the 2020 industrial strategy in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of European industry in being dependent on global value chains as well as a strongly interconnected single market. Strategic dependence is evident especially in energy-intensive industries (raw materials), health ecosystems (pharmaceutical ingredients), but also with respect to other products important to support green and digital transformation (hydrogen, semiconductors, processors). The updated industrial strategy aims to support European industry in developing strategic capacity needs, finding alternative solutions for dependencies of supplies, but also tackling unfair practices and foreign subsidies that distort the level playing field in the single market. The updated industrial strategy was discussed by representatives of EU institutions, Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade and employers’ organizations at an online debate co-organized by CEBRE on 25th May. Speakers agreed that the EU must stay an open market because that is one of the biggest competitive advantages of the single market, and needs to focus on creating high value-added products.

There needs to be a level playing field for all companies regardless of whether they are European or not. The European Parliament wel-

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comed the updated version of the strategy and stressed that businesses will play a crucial role in the two main policies of the European Commission, which are green and digital transition. A special attention needs to be paid to small and medium-sized enterprises that were hit hard by the current crisis, and provide them with instruments to grow without overloading them with administrative burdens.

Representatives of the Ministry od Industry and Trade and the Confederation of Industry agreed that there are huge opportunities for Czech companies to get involved in the industrial alliances, for example in the area of batteries or cloud computing. Especially small and medium-sized companies should participate in the alliances in order to support their growth. The concept of the open strategic autonomy that the European Commission presented in the updated strategy will be an important one not only from the point of view of the internal market, but it will have an impact on the EU trade policy as well. Last but not least, speakers agreed that skilled workforce is an essential prerequisite for the industrial strategy to be a success.

EU

Did you know that?

Commission intensifies fight against disinformation

The European Commission issued guidelines on a code of practice to fight against disinformation, which should help Member States make effective use of this tool. E… specially, the Commission calls for greater involvement with tailored commitments, in particular from platforms, messaging services or online advertising ecosystems.

Furthermore, the Commission calls for the demonetisation of misinformation, in particular through the cooperation of platforms that should pay greater attention to disinformation ads and increase the transparency of advertising. Last but not least, the Commission calls for an increase in the scope of fact-checking, ensuring greater integrity of services and better detection of manipulative behaviour that leads to the spread of misinformation, such as the use of internet bots, the creation of fake accounts or theft of accounts.

New platform on digital skills and jobs launched

The European Commission, together with a number of partners in the Member States, launched a platform for digital skills and jobs. It will act as a single information point for digital skills news and initiatives. The platform should help increase basic digital skills that 42% of Europeans lack. In addition to best practices in enhancing digital skills, the platform will also include an overview of resources and national initiatives to support both basic and

advanced skills. The platform is funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

New plan to fight air, water and soil pollution

In mid-May, the European Commission adopted one of the key initiatives of the Green Deal for Europe, which is the Action Plan called Towards zero pollution for air, water and soil. It sets targets for 2050, according to which pollution should be reduced to such a level that it will not be harmful to humans or natural ecosystems.

One of the steps of the plan includes aligning air quality standards with current World Health Organization guidelines, reviewing water quality standards, reducing soil pollution, revising EU waste legislation, promoting zero pollution from production and consumption, and reducing health inequalities. The Commission wants to make greater use of digital tools for these purposes. The action plan also sets targets for 2030, such as a 55% reduction in premature air pollution deaths, a 50% reduction in plastic waste at sea, a 30% reduction in microplastics in nature, a 50% reduction in pesticide use, or reduction of waste production and residual municipal waste.

Updated industrial strategy focuses on recovery and resilience

The European Commission issued a new industrial strategy, building on last year's strategy and updating it in the light of the coronavirus pandemic. The priorities of the

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strategy remain the same, i.e. supporting the transition to a more sustainable, more digital, resilient and globally competitive economy.

However, the update adds some aspects that only became important in the current crisis.

These are, above all, supporting economic recovery and strengthening the resilience of the single market. The strategy contains new measures that should speed up digital and green transition, as well as a clear emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. As for the single market, the Commission proposes to introduce a single market emergency instrument to ensure its functioning in the event of further crises.

The strategy also proposes solutions to EU's strategic dependencies, especially in the areas of raw materials, health ecosystems and advanced technologies. Last but not least, the Commission wants to create a regulatory framework to meet the digital targets for 2030, the Fit for 55 initiative, strengthen services for SMEs and invest in skills and retraining.

Commission wants to create better legislation

The European Commission adopted a Communication on Better Regulation, which proposes several ways to improve the process of creating new EU legislation.

In particular, the Commission proposed removing obstacles, especially bureaucratic ones, which slow down investment and infrastructure construction, simplifying public consultations, introducing a "one in, one out" approach when drafting new legislation, promoting sustainability and digital transformation and integrating

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strategic planning into the legislative process. Some elements set out in the Communication are already operational, such as the Fit for Future platform, others are planned to be launched by the Commission this year. These include the publication of an Annual Burden Survey and the revised Better Regulation guidelines and toolbox.

Let´s talk numbers!

Council can start borrowing capital for recovery

The Council announced that it has received formal notifications from all Member States approving its own resources decision, which means that the EU can now start providing funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. In total, the instrument will have a budget of EUR 672.5 billion and is a central element of the Next Generation EU instrument to support economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic.

Member States' decisions will allow the EU to borrow up to EUR 750 billion on the capital markets, and the EU will then offer these funds to Member States on favourable terms.

Lending should start as early as June this year, and once Member States have approved national recovery plans, they will be able to request up to 13% of the total amount made available to each Member State.

21st Century, which sets out both a shortterm and a long-term vision of how public revenues will help the European economy recover. The Commission is setting several priorities, including presenting a proposal for a framework for corporate taxation in the EU by 2023, which should reduce administrative burdens, remove tax obstacles and simplify business in the internal market. In addition, the communication contains tax plans for the next two years. In particular, the Commission plans to issue proposals to ensure that some large companies active in the EU publish their tax rates and to encourage tax avoidance.

Spring Economic Forecast expects GDP growth above 4%

The European Commission published its Spring Economic Forecast 2021, which assumes that the EU economy will grow by 4.2% this year and 4.4% next year. According to the Commission forecast, euro area GDP is expected to increase by 4.3% this year and 4.4% next year. As for unemployment, the Commission expects the rate to be 7.6% this year and 7.0% next year in the EU27, while in the euro area it should reach 8.4% this year and 7.8% in 2022. The EU27 inflation rate is projected to reach 1.9% this year and 1.5% next year, while the euro area inflation should reach 1.7% in 2021 and 1.3% in 2022.

In the world!

Highest ever support to the euro

The European Commission published the results of a Eurobarometer survey, which shows that the single European currency has the highest support in history right now.

A record 80% of respondents think that the euro is good for the EU and 70% believe that it is also beneficial for their country. The survey was conducted in March this year and involved 17,700 people from 19 euro area countries. 67% of respondents would also agree to the abolition of one-cent and twocent coins.

April unemployment levels stable in month-on-month comparison

The European statistical office Eurostat stated that unemployment reached 8.0% in the euro area and 7.3% in the EU27 in April this year. As for the euro area, it is a slight decrease compared to 7.4% in March, while in the EU27 the unemployment rate is at the same level as the previous month. Of the countries for which data were available, Spain (15.4%), Italy (10.7%) and Cyprus (9.4%) registered the highest unemployment levels, while Poland (3.1%), the Czech Republic and the Netherlands (both countries 3.4%) recorded the lowest rates. In April last year, unemployment in the euro area was 7.3% and 6.7% in the whole EU.

New plan on business taxation

The European Commission issued a Communication on Business Taxation for the

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EU and Japan created Green Alliance

During the 27th EU-Japan Summit, EU and Japanese leaders signed an agreement to create a so-called Green Alliance. It is the first bilateral initiative of this type that aims to accelerate activities to protect the environment, mitigate climate change and promote sustainable and secure energy supplies. The Alliance will be built on three main pillars, namely global affairs, bilateral relations, and foreign and security policy.

In addition, the leaders discussed digital transition, global economic issues and the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement.

European Parliament condemns Chinese sanctions

The European Parliament adopted a resolution strongly condemning China's unjustified sanctions recently imposed on several European citizens and entities. These also apply to 5 members of the European Parliament and, according to the resolution, are Beijing's attack on fundamental freedoms.

According to MEPs, it is not possible to continue negotiations on completing the ratification of the comprehensive investment agreement between the EU and China, which was in principle concluded in December last year. In order for the ratification to continue, the Parliament calls for immediate lifting of sanctions by China.

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EU and India agreed on Connectivity Partnership

During the meeting between EU and Indian leaders in Porto, representatives of both parties agreed on a comprehensive Connectivity Partnership focusing on several key areas. These include cooperation in the digital, energy, transport, and peopleto-people sectors. With regard to the environment, the partnership will focus on promoting clean energy production, for example through regulatory support for the construction of floating solar, wind and offshore power plants, or on energy storage.

In the digital field, both parties want to work together to ensure protection of personal data and privacy, increase security of cross-border data flows and support development of 5G networks. In the transport sector, cooperation will focus in particular on standardization and certification, dialogue on decarbonisation and digitalisation of transport, and development of sustainable mobility.

Commission wants to address distortions caused by foreign subsidies

The European Commission issued a proposal for a new instrument aimed at addressing the possible negative effects of foreign subsidies on the EU internal market. The proposal aims to level out market conditions where subsidies to companies within the EU are strictly controlled, while subsidies to third country companies operating in the single market are not subject to control.

The instrument should therefore create a level playing field for all companies and effectively address the issue of foreign subsidies that distort the functioning of the internal market. Specifically, the Commission proposes 3 measures to investigate mergers involving financial contributions from nonEU governments, to investigate public procurement tenders involving a financial contribution from non-EU governments, and to investigate all other market situations, including smaller acquisitions and public procurement.

Blue Card will help bring skilled workers to the EU

The representatives of the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a proposal setting down the conditions for the entry and residence of highly qualified third-country nationals coming to the EU for the purpose of residence and work. The so-called Blue Card Directive aims to attract highly qualified workers from third countries to the EU, especially in sectors where the EU is suffering from shortages of employees. The EU Blue Card sets uniform criteria for admission, facilitates job mobility within the EU and simplifies recruitment procedures in general. The preliminary agreement has yet to be formally confirmed by the Parliament and the Council.

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