Friday, November 6th, 2020 What Would Václav Havel Say? A Conversation between Dr. Petr Buriánek and Prof. Barbara J. Falk

Description

Together with Dr. Buriánek, who spent eight years as an adviser to Czech President Václav Havel, Professor Falk will facilitate a conversation examining the importance of Havel’s thoughts on civil society not only for the transition from Communism but also for democratic stability. How have Havel’s values still resonate throughout Central and Eastern Europe and in what ways? And how does remembrance of Havel fit into the “politics” of memory in the Czech Republic today?

Petr Buriánek is currently Consul General of the Czech Republic in Toronto. With a doctorate in history from Charles University in Prague, Dr. Buriánek has had a distinguished diplomatic career, having served with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in several ambassadorial roles – including Croatia, Italy and Malta – as well as holding regional advisory portfolios within the Ministry’s Prague offices. Prior to entering the world of diplomacy, he served in the Office of the President of the Czech Republic as Adviser to then President Václav Havel between 1994 and 2002.

Barbara J. Falk is Professor, Department of Defence Studies at the Canadian Forces College/Royal Military College of Canada, and author of The Dilemmas of Dissidence: Citizen Intellectuals and Philosopher Kings (2003) and Political Trials: Causes and Categories (2008). Her primary research interest is political trials, particularly in the persecution and prosecution of domestic dissent. She is currently writing a book on comparative political trials across the East-West divide during the early Cold War, examining the Rajk, Slánský, Dennis and Rosenberg trials. Prior to her academic career, she worked in the both the private and public sectors in human resources, labour relations and women’s issues. For more information, see: http://www.cfc.forces.gc.ca/136/277-eng.html.