Location: Georgetown University, Room 302-p in the ICC building, 37th and O St., N.W., Washington, DC
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/freedom-what-is-our-role-jan-palach-selfless-acts-and-the-world-stage-tickets-10607584571

The hour-long seminar will include a short documentary screening, with a statement from former Czech President Václav Havel talking about the self-sacrifice Jan Palach with footage revealing the atmosphere of the time. Students are the carriers of knowledge, the windows by which we as a society grow. They are ardent fighters to uphold a moral standard, to spurn change, to share their vision. One such selfless leader was Czech student Jan Palach.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Palach’s dramatic self-immolation, which took place in 1969 in protest of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak regime attempted to downplay Palach’s sacrifice and conceal its own brutality. We reflect upon his greatest sacrifice as well as the acts of countless students across Europe in protest of totalitarian regimes. Jan Palach was one of about twenty cases of self-immolation around Eastern Europe during that time period. Join Deputy Chief of Mission Jaroslav Zajíček as he explores the political dynamics and student leaders that uphold the values of freedom. What can we learn from such acts of bravery and selflessness? What is our role in creating a better world? What part will we play when totalitarian regimes show their face?

BIOGRAPHY
Jaroslav Zajíček was born on June 21, 1975, in Prague, Czech Republic. After graduating from the University of Economics in Prague in 1999, he joined the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). For the following four years, he was part of the European Union Accession Negotiating Team as Cabinet Secretary of the Czech Chief Negotiator. In 2003, he moved to Brussels, where he spent over six years as Head of the Ambassador’s Office, Member of Cabinet of the Czech Commissioner, and Head of Internal Market and Energy Section at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union. Between 2009 and 2011, he held the post of Director of EU Policies at the MFA in Prague. Since November 2011, he has served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C.

Sponsored by the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES), the BMW Center for German and European Studies, and the Embassy of the Czech Republic