Foreword by Dagmar Havlová
You are reading the Annual Report on the activities and budget management of the Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation VIZE 97 in 2008. In this Annual Report, you will find everything important that happened in the life of the VIZE 97 Foundation last year, as well as its plans for the future. In cooperation with the auditing firm KPMG and the accounting firm FASCO, we are also submitting to you detailed information on the Foundation's accounts and budget management. I would like to thank both of those firms for their help and support.
Last year, we were honoured to co-organise, together with the Czech Society of Gastroenterology and the International Digestive Cancer Alliance, an international conference on the Early Diagnosis and Prevention of Colon and Rectal Cancer, an area in which we have been involved for many years as part of our health project. One of the main organisers and a patron of the conference was Prof. Miroslav Zavoral, MD, PhD., Head of the Clinic of Internal Medicine at the 1st Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and a member of our health project. I am pleased that my husband could open this conference, whose participants we were also able to welcome at Prague Crossroads on the opening evening. Conferences like this, where experts from all over the world exchange their insights from many years of experience, may significantly help to improve prevention and save more lives.
The tenth annual Prize of the Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation VIZE 97 was awarded in 2008. The now traditional ceremony was again compered by Táňa Fischerová with her typical elegance, while the Prague Student Orchestra and the Goelan Duo saw to the music accompaniment. The setting of the Prague Crossroads lent the entire event a unique atmosphere. In one regard, however, the tenth year was exceptional – this was the first time that the Board of the VIZE 97 Prize decided to award the prize to a woman: Ms Julia Kristeva, the distinguished French writer, psychoanalyst and linguist. I am sincerely delighted that the VIZE 97 Prize was awarded to a woman, and hope that Ms Kristeva will be followed soon by other women.
We also made significant progress in the reconstruction of Prague Crossroads. Thanks to a grant from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, we were able to completely renovate the walls under the choir loft of the church and install five beautiful lattice windows with wooden shutters, which were made according to preserved historical documents. Thus we were able to move ahead with in arduous task of reconstruction, which has not been completed yet. In the long term, we are still striving to attract sponsors for the costly renovation of the church roof and facade. Another source of funding for further reconstruction and to enable us to host non-commercial events that accord with the mission of Prague Crossroads, is the occasional hiring out of the Prague Crossroads for events by commercial firms, which, for example, wish to hold their annual meetings in unusual and unique premises. Last year, in cooperation with numerous nonprofit organisations, we again held a number of splendid events, details of which can be found in subsequent chapters of this Annual Report. Let me mention one event that is currently very close to my heart: the St Nicholas Charity Bazaar, which we held at Prague Crossroads for the fourth time. The magic pre-Christmas mood, the presence of not-for-profit organisations that help people in need, alongside celebrities and a large attendance by the general public, lent last year's event an atmosphere which could have disappointed no one. I am already looking forward to this year's event, which we will hold on 5 December once again.
Among other interesting activities of the VIZE 97 Foundation held in 2008 I would mention the presentation of the fourth Award "In Recognition of Contributions to the Philosophy of Education and the Renewal of the University Idea" this time to Professor Zdeněk Neubauer. As usual, the laureate was selected by the Board of the Education Support Programme, which also helped fund the studies of seven promising Czech students at foreign universities. In addition, we also gave financial support to numerous grant applicants as part of our social project, the Fund of Understanding, and as part of the redistribution of funds from the Foundation Investment Fund.
I am very pleased that we again succeeded in delivering on our plans and objectives last year, and helping where we thought our help was most needed. I would like to thank all donors of small amounts as well as large sponsors, without whom the Foundation could not exist. We highly appreciate any donation. I would like to thank all board members, who help us and support us pro bono. I would like to thank my husband, who remits any payment he receives in connection with an award presented to him or fees he receives for his participation in conferences abroad, to the VIZE 97 Foundation, including, for example, the grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation or the prize money associated with the Jaroslav Seifert Award, bestowed on him last autumn at the Prague Crossroads. And I would also like to thank all of you who write thank-you letters to us, because these give us the greatest encouragement for our work, and reassure us that our effort is meaningful. Thank you, and I look forward to reporting to you again next year.
Yours,
Dagmar Havlová
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