Founded 1949 Area served Worldwide | Type Cultural institution | |
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Product Czech cultural education Key people PhDr. Jan Závěšický, Director General | ||
Czech Centres (Czech: Česká centra) is an organization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic consisting of offices in 22 countries throughout three continents. It was established for the promotion of the Czech Republic’s history, culture, language, tourism and trade abroad. It is considered an active instrument of foreign policy of the Czech Republic through public diplomacy.
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History
The organisation dates back to its opening in 1949 as the Cultural and Information Centres (CIS) in Sofia and Warsaw. In the Eastern Bloc, further CIS offices were opened in Budapest (1953), Berlin (1955) and Bucharest (1981). In 1993, the organisation's name was changed from the Cultural and Information Centres to Czech Centres and the range of operations was expanded to encompass exports and tourism with new offices opened outside of Central and Eastern Europe.
In 2006, Czech Centres opened its first office in Asia in Tokyo, Japan. In the same year, Czech Centres became a member of EUNIC.The most recent office to open was in Seoul, South Korea in 2013.
Activities
According to its 2012-2015 Strategic Report, the Czech Centres are tasked with the following activities:
In 2015, Czech Centres enrolled 2,063 students in Czech language courses.
Events and Awards
Within these activities, the Czech Centres organises cultural and educational events in the Czech Republic and abroad, such as:
In addition to this, it organises several awards and curatorial internships for areas of Czech culture.
Locations
The Czech Centres has branches in 22 major cities:
Headquarters
In April 2006, Czech Centres opened its new headquarters in Wenceslas Square, Prague.
Galleries
Czech Centres owns and curates its own galleries in Prague that are open to the general public at Rytířská 539/31.
Czech House in Moscow
Czech Centres opened its Czech House in Moscow in 2002. Its primary ambition is to serve as a contact for Russian and Czech businesses. Czech House in Moscow is currently the largest complex owned by the Czech Republic abroad, containing 122 offices, 132 apartments, 87 hotel rooms in addition to conference rooms, a business centre, restaurant, bar, gym fitness centre and sauna, as well as other facilities.