Radio Prague International - latest articles

Some of Prague’s top festivals, including Designblok, Febiofest, Letní Letná and Prague Spring, have joined forces to organize a single, three-week event. The festival, called Praha Září, kicks off on Tuesday evening at Prague’s Výstaviště trade fair grounds.  I spoke to one of the event’s organizer, David Gaydečka, of United Islands of Prague and I first asked him how the idea for the event came about:

Nanocrystals of titanium dioxide could be used to transform carbon dioxide into fuel and help in the fight against climate change. The discovery was made with the input of Eliška Materna Mikmeková from the Czech Academy of Sciences, who has been working with a team from Rutgers University that is developing the new nanoparticles.

Jiří Menzel, one of the greatest Czech film directors, died at the weekend at the age of 82. Menzel won an Academy Award with his very first feature, Closely Observed Trains, and also helmed a number of other movies that are held in very deep affection by many Czechs.

What were the roots behind Jan Antonín Baťa’s idea to settle Czechs in South America? And, how should colonialism be taught in Czech schools? These are some of the questions we ask Charles University historian Markéta Křížová, an expert on pre-Colombian civilisations and American colonial history, in part two of our interview. We began by asking her whether it is true that Togo was considered as a possible colony by Czechs after the First World War.

Archaeologists from East Bohemia have announced a unique discovery. While surveying the site of a former Celtic oppidum in the village of České Lhotice near the town of Chrudim, they came across a number of iron artefacts, including a sword dating back to the 2nd or 1st century B.C.

Debashish Chaudhuri holds the distinction, among many other honours, of being the first Indian person ever to study at the Prague Conservatory and the second in history to bring the Martinů Czech Philharmonic Orchestra to his homeland. For nearly two decades now, he has called Bohemia his home, while working with both Czech and international orchestras, as a freelance or guest conductor. Maestro Chaudhuri also serves on the governing body of the Antonín Dvořák Music Festival.

The vast majority of foreigners studying at Czech universities are happy with their programmes, their professors and the quality of life here, according to a new report based on a survey of over 10,000 students. Happiest of all are Slovaks, along with students enrolled in Czech-language programmes, it finds, while those studying in English tend to be somewhat less satisfied with the quality of instruction.

There is now a bell ringing in St. Havel's church in Old Town for the first time since the 1940s. How the new bell  came to be is a story of crowdfunding, WWII Nazis, Youtube and so-called love locks.

The new school year has barely started and the Czech Republic is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases that could spell trouble in the weeks to come. The 650 confirmed cases of Covid- 19 registered on Wednesday is the highest daily increase registered since the infection first appeared. Moreover data suggests that the rate at which the infection is now spreading is significantly higher than in neighbour states.

The Czech Republic has nominated its Chamber of Commerce president, Vladimír Dlouhý, for the position of OECD secretary general. The former industry and trade minister, who led the country’s transition to a market economy in the 1990s and considered running for the office of Czech president in 2023, spoke to Radio Prague International ahead of his official nomination on Thursday. We began by asking him why he chose to run for the position.