TEDxPrague 2019

Tomáš is an independent reporter from Slovakia who spends his time pursuing conflicts and writing from different crisis regions around the world. Sometimes he hides the fact that he is a journalist, and he believes a reporter must listen to everyone.

For the past two years he has operated as the single western journalist who doesn’t work to spread Russian propaganda in the combat zone of eastern Ukraine. "In crisis regions, when analyzing their persistent armed conflict, I have come to realize that neither side wanted the situation.”

His texts are published in four different languages, he was nominated for a Czech Journalism Prize and is the holder of three Slovak Journalism Prizes.

Osamu would be a typical Czech kid had he not been born in Tokio. His happy childhood was spent in modern housing developments in both Asia and Europe, and he became an architect focusing on the creation of cities that are more habitable. Later, he headed the Czech architectural magazine ERA21 and managed reSITE, a program for international city planning conferences, for 5 years and this year he became the fifth dean of the Faculty of Arts and Architecture of the Technical University of Liberec.

Osamu believes that it makes sense for all societies to work together, in spite of our differing personal opinions. Last year, with the help of the Fulbright Scholarship, he studied the operation of the most successful architectural foundation in the world, based in the hyper-segregated American city of Chicago, in an attempt to transfer and adapt the most inspiring approaches to architectural public awareness within the Czech Republic.

Petra received her degree in art therapy but has spent a large portion of her professional life helping children and families that have experience violence in the home. She worked for more than 15 years at an undisclosed reception centre for those who have suffered violence at home. Based on her experiences in this field, Wűnschová founded, and still leads to this day, Centrum LOCIKA, the first specialized children’s centre for those who have been threatened with family violence within the Czech Republic.

Petra loves to work with pictures and her body, loving any form of movement and despising stagnancy. She chronically believes in a happy ending and thus, she searches for hope in all things, even in places that seem hopeless at first glance. Among other things, Petra's work with trauma victims has taught her a lot, proving that if children are given a safe place to live and an authentic relationship, we can stand to learn a lot from them.

They’re of Asian descent but hold Czech passports - or rather two cultures welded together inside one body. A motion étude about how two second-generation Vietnamese immigrants see themselves in the Czech Republic - Hong Nhung Dangová a Huyen Vi Tranová. Opposite of their parents, these children of Vietnamese immigrants usually consider themselves as Czechs. They were born here, they speak flawless Czech and are familiar with Czech traditions and values. However, Vietnamese blood runs through their veins, they have obvious Asian features and most of their relatives continue to live in Vietnam. Which explains why their first impulse is to see themselves as being “somewhere in between”, which inspired these authors to create their documentary-style theatre performance.

Drugs have been with us since the beginning. We've never truly had them under our control. Addictive substances are a source of both paradoxes and conflicts. In conjunction with these substances, we're left with many questions and it's not always easy to find answers.

The dilemmas and ethics questions connected to drugs leave an impact on the individual, society and how they operate. Does a positive recourse or direction exist that we could take? Michal Miovský will present his point of view on the matter.

Michal is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. During his career Michal worked as a counselor in a day care centre, a researcher at the Institute of Psychology, Czech Acedemy of Sciences. At the Department of Psychology at Palacký University in Olomouc he dedicated his time to methodology research, treatment and the prevention of problems caused by the use of addictive substances. Michal also headed the Centre for Addictology of the Psychiatric Clinic 1st LF UK in Prague. At present, he is the head of the Clinic of Addictology, and at the same time he is the vice-dean of the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague for non-medical study programs.

Are Blade Runner, the Island and War with the Newts just stuff of sci-fi movies or rather the reality of the 21st century? Does CRISP represent the holy grail of mankind? And what actually is it?

Vojtěch wanted to become an inventor since he was 6 years of age and his first invention was a spaceship. Even though his spaceship was never built, science has accompanied his entire professional life, which he dedicated to two different worlds; analytical chemistry and molecular biology. This untraditional connection has allowed him to examine the processes playing out in tumour cells. Research using modern technologies of CRISPR genome editing should reveal the method on how to suppress the progression of a tumour and distinctly increase the effectiveness of anti-tumour treatment.

Vojtěch has published more than 600 scientific works, and apart from tumour biology he is also interested in advanced nanomaterials. He is a forever dreamer and fan of both sci-fi and fantasy literature.

Simon’s life story can be described as containing ‘one twist after another’. However, he decided to solve his inner battles and conflicts and for the past few years he has been able to walk the path of self reconciliation and inner peace.

Today he uses his potential not only as the youngest member of the Government Council for Roma Affairs and as the advisor to the chairman of a senatorial club, but also as the manager of a PR agency.

Hard on the training ground, light on the battlefield…. Simon even says so himself that the first 28 years of life acted as a first-class training ground. Hard work and training helped him to find the great strength needed to change his approach in life, to overcome his inner demons and to hopefully join two seemingly divided worlds.

The world of the internet and its constant connection. The place where artificial intelligence clashes with man. We are all affected by the internet, we share data about ourselves, and whether we know about it or not, we are exposed online. A place where both good and evil can be found, and it is necessary to both defend and protect...

Does a perfect method even exist? Can man win the fight against machine? What do we know about security as “ordinary” users and why would a hacker want to prey on us and our devices?

Miloslav Lujka has dedicated 10 years of his life to the subject of Cyber Security and, among other things, has appeared on television and has written articles on this same topic. He also founded the nonprofit project ‘Digital Fortress’, which strives to fight for a more secure online world and to educate others in the area of securing the world online.

Dana is the embodiment of rational and pragmatic personalities, who likes to make up her own mind and call things as they are.

She received her degree in nuclear engineering and since graduation she was worked in evaluating and regulating the risks of nuclear technology. In 1999 she was appointed Chairwoman of the State Office for Nuclear Safety and is one of the most respected personalities for her opinions not only on this topic.

She often speaks on the importance of critical thinking, because the foundation of everything, including the relationship between mankind and nature and the rest of the world, is primarily the desire and effort put forth to understand. She considers the myths about Chernobyl to be the least intelligent thing to come from nuclear power, and she says, “Fighting rumours is a futile thing, but we must never give up. And patiently explain, time and time again. Primarily to children and young people.”

Will the topic of disharmony or nuclear physiology prevail? Come and find out.

Do you also often find yourself asking questions about the morality of what you are doing right now and after, who is going to judge if you're right or wrong? And does only one morality exist or can we look at morality with a varying perspective?

Oliver Scott Curry examines the nature, content and structure of human morality and he understands it as an aggregate of biological and cultural problem solving, problems dealing with human cooperation and conflicts that are constantly repeating within the life of human society.

Oliver is not only a researcher at Oxford University and London School of Economics, but also the managing director for the research centre Kindlab, which examines and measures the kindliness of everyday life.

Marie has worked for over 15 years in arctic regions and glaciers. She is a scientist who spends her life researching the microorganisms found in arctic landscapes, primarily those that live in ice, snow and glacier sediments. Her research specimens can only be found in some of the most extreme places on our planet, a planet that is currently dramatically transforming due to the effects of climate change.

Marie will uncover what it means to study life on and inside glaciers and what life is like on the other side of what most people believe is possible.

In Czech society, living with the acknowledgement of death and our finality remains a topic rarely spoken of. Rather, death is usually discussed from a medicinal or abstract, philosophical point of view, but in short, the everyday, “ordinary” universal human point of view is missing, as is its relationship to death. And yet death truly affects all of us, no matter your profession, IQ or personal wealth.

Soon after Kateřina had a brush with death, her internal life was turned upside down and she became aware of Zen meditation. It was here that she then set out on an adventurous journey of discovery. This journey led her to quitting her job at an IT company, to volunteering in a hospice, life in a Buddhist monastery, a walking pilgrimage and to many other significant life experiences. In 2012 Kateřina returned to the Czech Republic and founded the “Na konci dechu” (“At the Final Breath”) initiative, which accompanies the dying and bereaved and creates a space where one can further examine the questions connected with death. Since 2018 she has also been a member of the society ‘Ke kořenům’ (‘To the Roots’), which focuses on natural funeral services and the ceremony of last goodbyes with respect for both mankind and nature.

Prague Breakin School is one of the leading Break Dance groups in the Czech Republic. Members of Prague Breakin School can display many awards on their mantel from a wide range of prestigious competitions, both Czech and foreign.

Thanks to the friendly atmosphere and professional guidance during trainings, all the Bboys and Bgirls can advance their skills to the highest level.

Prague Breakin School’s main activity is providing Break Dance lessons for all age categories and skill levels, but no less important is performing impressive professional shows at events of all kinds, holding dance workshops, camps and competitions for both children and adults.

Julie has always been extremely competitive; some would even say too competitive. However...

At the age of 26, right before she was about to take her final exam at law school, she discovered that she wanted to change her life and start her own company. So, she set off to the place where she saw the most potential: China. She learned Mandarin Chinese in the process and gradually built up her own company in the travel industry.

By 28, Julie was the youngest Executive Director of all the other companies similar in size to hers (her company brought in over 700 million EUR in 2018).

And where is she today? At the age of 29, her and her team have taken the lead on the Chinese market as the third largest French airline and have opened a new flight path from Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to Peking (Jinan). She was also successful in running her first marathon and is already training for a half Ironman.

Come and get to know the woman who this year was ranked in the prestigious group of Forbes 30 under 30 for Europe.

Goethe marked the controversy between believing and not believing as the main drama of our culture. However, today it's no longer a conflict between groups of believers and nonbelievers, but instead it plays out in the mind and heart of the individual. In current post-modern theology and philosophy, religion is developing in a new direction, where faith is considered a free choice showing one's courage to step out with faith into the void of secrets and paradoxes.

For many of us, Mons. Prof. PhDr. Tomáš Halík Th.D., dr.h.c. is introducing us to the unknown.

During the communist regime he was involved in both the religious and cultural dissent and was secretly ordained a priest. In 1989 Halík went on a lecture and study tour to all 6 continents and was a visiting professor at universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard. Pope John Paul II appointed him as advisor to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with the Unbelievers and Benedict XVI the Honorary Papal Prelate.

Today he is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, he has received many prestigious international awards and is also a professor at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. Furthermore, he also dedicates his time to writing, and his books have been translated into 19 languages. And last but not least, he is president of the Czech Christian Academy and parish priest of the Academic Parish and vice president of council for research in Values ​​and Philosophy in Washington.