The Vaclav Havel Civil Society Symposium

The Scholar-in-Residence program brings to the Twin Cities a well-known scholar for a week-long visit to engage students, church and community in a consideration of the importance of strong community groups in maintaining and furthering democracy, and to involve them in society building.
Activities include:

• Classroom presentations at the University of St. Thomas and adult education programs at the House of Hope Church
• Public presentations at the University of St. Thomas and the House of Hope, including a sermon at the House of Hope
• Outreach to the community suitable to the interests and experience of the scholar-in-residence
• Work with faculty involved in developing or carrying out service-learning projects

Background:

The Havel Symposium is a partnership between the University of St. Thomas and the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in cooperation with the Minnesota Czech and Slovak communities.

The Statement of Common Purpose developed by the founding organizations states that the symposium was inspired by the desire "to cultivate a sense of joint destiny and responsibility, to find unity in diversity, to find spiritual common denominators and to establish commonly held human rights."

The inaugural guest in 1999 was His Excellency Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, for whom the Symposium is named. He was followed in 2001 by the Honorable Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State: and Dr. Benjamin Barber, Professor of Civil Society at the University of Maryland in 2003. Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum visited in 2005. Ambassador Martin Palous of the Czech Republic was the guest speaker in 2006. The 2007 scholar-in-residence was Dr. Thomas Gouttierre of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The Scholar-in-Residence program seeks to build on this distinguished history by bringing scholars and practitioners to visit for a more extended period.

The Concept of Civil Society:

In a Civil Society, many groups, institutions, and processes exist and function independently of government. A vibrant civil society has a multitude of voluntary associations in which citizens come together to pursue common purposes. Strong and independent voluntary associations in a society support democracy by providing a channel through which citizens can work together to pursue policy goals and other interests. Such groups moderate conflict, teach democratic principles and enable citizens to impact government by peaceful and legitimate means, whch can be used by ordinary citizens to participate in politics and government.

Symposium Speakers

Coming October 5-12, 2008

Martin Bútora, founding and Honorary President of the Institute for Public Affairs and Program Director of 'European Integration and Transatlantic Relations' Program, has worked as a university teacher, diplomat, and Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the United States (1999-2003). Mr. Bútora was one of the founders of the political movement Public Against Violence and took part in crafting Movement's election program – Chance for Slovakia. In the period of 1990- 1992 he held a position of a Human Rights Advisor to the President of Czech and Slovak Federal Republic Václav Havel, and the post of Director of the Human Rights Section in the Office of the President. Mr. Bútora is an author of three prosaic works, several TV programs and film scripts, and translations of theatrical plays. In 1999 National Endowment for Democracy based in Washington D.C. awarded him the Democracy Service Medal; and in 2002 he was received the Celebration of Freedom Award by the American Jewish Committee. In the same year, he received the Order of Ludovít Štúr for his contribution to defense of human rights and development of civil society from the hands of the President of the Slovak Republic. Check out these websites for more information. Website #1 Website #2

Zora Bútorová has become one of the key figures in public opinion research in Slovakia. She is author of numerous studies and articles on political culture and value orientations in post-Communist Czechoslovakia and Slovakia and on people’s attitudes toward various aspects of Slovakia’s transition to democracy. Since the mid 1990s she has studied current changes in women’s lives and in gender relations. She has served as senior researcher at the FOCUS agency, resident scholar at the Institute for Public Affairs and director of its research program on political culture and public opinion. In 1998, she was one of the founders of the civic campaign of non-governmental organizations, OK '98, which contributed to free and fair parliamentary elections in Slovakia. She has been a visiting fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum for Democratic Studies in Washington, D.C. Currently she is resident scholar of the Institute for Public Affairs. Click here for more information.

Nominate a Scholar-in-Residence

The Havel Civil Society Symposium invites nominations for future Scholars-in-Residence. We are looking for individuals who can engage the campus and church communities and offer insights and inspiration for strenthening the fabric of civil society and democracy. To submit a nominee, plese fill out the form below.