The new Czech Prime Minster Jiří Rusnok offered Radek Špicar, the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Prague to take over the Ministry of Environment. Mr. Špicar so far has not decided if he will make this move, but he said on CR1 (Czech Radio), he will evaluate every offer he receives in life and will make his decision by Monday. We would like to take this opportunity to let you know a bit more about Mr. Špicar and also the Aspen Institute in Prague.
Radek Špicar graduated from the University of Cambridge (International Relations) with distinction for his thesis focused on “Central European Ethnic Communities in the United States and Their Influence on US Foreign Policy.” After Cambridge, he spent one year as a Fulbright scholar at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. After his return to the Czech Republic, he joined the government and later became a Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs. Until recently, he worked in the Czech Republic’s largest private company, Skoda Auto (Volkswagen Group), as a Head of External Affairs. Simultaneously, he serves as Vice-President of the Federation of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.
He is also active in the non-profit sector and academia as a member of the Corporate Council of Vaclav Havel’s Forum 2000 Foundation and lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
The Aspen Institute Prague (AIP) is the Central European partner of the Aspen Institute global network. It serves as a non-partisan and non-ideological platform where political and business leaders, as well as leading artists, sportspeople and scientists, can meet and act. Our main objectives to build an open society and support young Central European leaders from various professions in their personal and values-based development.
The Aspen Institute Prague has three sets of activities: Leadership, Policy, and Public Programs. Leadership Program activities offer young professionals opportunities to enhance their knowledge and leadership skills. The Policy Program supports discussions among regional leaders and experts in various fields. Events hosted by Aspen Prague within this program serve as nonpartisan platforms for consensus building and problem solving. In order to generate productive debates, policy events are closed-door and invitation-only. The Public Program strives to give the general public an opportunity to attain new knowledge. These events are organized in conjunction with media partners in order to reach wider audience
In the effort to reach both European and global audiences, Aspen Institute Prague publishes the quarterly journal Aspen Review Central Europe www.aspeninstitute.cz/en/magazine/. Covering an extensive range of topics, wide spectrum of opinions and thought-provoking ideas, the Aspen Review Central Europe seeks to address key regional questions. The Aspen Review Central Europe’s Editor-in-Chief Aleksander Kaczorowski, a Polish journalist, is supported by editorial and advisory boards composed of renowned journalists with international backgrounds. The Aspen Review Central Europe is available for purchase in selected bookshops and online at [email protected] in three languages (Czech, English and Polish).
Lastly, Aspen Prague offers an individual paid membership in the Friends of Aspen Institute Prague. Benefits of membership include wide networking opportunities, advanced notice of Aspen events, newsletter subscription, the Aspen Review Central Europe subscription as well as recognition in the Institute’s Annual Report.
