Czech Centres Czech Centres"The Czech Centres offer you something more."
General Characteristics: Mission and GoalsThe Czech Centres are institutions actively promoting the Czech Republic abroad and establishing the exchange of information..
The Czech Centres were founded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the general goal of presenting the Czech Republic to other countries; fostering ties between the international community and the Czech Republic; and actively promoting the Czech Republic abroad. We intend to contribute to international understanding and tolerance by improving the mutual exchange of information. We seek to develop an open forum for initiatives and institutions whose goals are similar to ours.
The Czech Centres are most active in the countries neighboring the Czech Republic and in the countries of the European Union. We foresee the Czech Centres playing an important role in our efforts to integrate into the European Union on a human level, rather than on an institutional one. Nevertheless, the Czech Centres also have ambitious plans to promote the Czech Republic in more distant places such as Asia, Near East and Latin America, concentrating especially on establishing economic contacts.
The activities of the Czech Centres reflect the needs of people who use their services. We continue to improve the quality of communication with our clients and we are always open to new ideas. We don't compete with existing private sector organizations, rather, we concentrate on areas the private sector doesn't cover sufficiently. The Czech Centres are stepping out beyond their own past, managing cinemas and preparing cultural programs, and are entering the new millennium as a modern, flexible and effective organization seeking a broad scale exchange of information. The Czech Centres strive to fully exploit modern global communications and the burgeoning information networks that appear to be the domain of the next century. We fully understand that exchanging information, locating new sources of information and developing new possibilities is more important than merely duplicating and creating parallel structures.
We don't feel restricted by our past and we seek to establish broad cooperation with other institutions and organizations. We enter the year 1995 with the slogan "The Czech Centres always offer you something more."
The main goals of the Czech Centres:
The Czech Centres realizes these goals in three main areas of activity:
At the present time the Czech Centres are concentrating on the following strategic goals:
General Characteristics: Focus Overview Click here to view the Czech Centers' activities scheme...
General Characteristics: Territories and Plans for Expansion
The Czech Centres are mainly located in Europe and still reflect the inherited structure of the former Cultural and Information Centres. Modern needs require expansion into new western countries and across the borders of Europe.
Existing Czech Centres
Planned New Czech Centres (by the year 2000)
For the needs of Czech companies and in order to establish new trade contacts, the Czech Centres plan to open export support offices offering services to Czech export companies
Planned Export Support Offices:
Services OfferedThe aim of the Czech Centres is to offer an extensive information service about the Czech Republic abroad. The existing network of information is scattered and the Czech Centres will try to become a junction that will work as a mediator between information sources and people seeking information.
Working with information is a main part of the activities of the Czech Centres. They function as an intermediary that locates information sources and provides access to them after systematically analysing user needs.
The Czech Centres cater to a wide spectrum of clients:
The Czech Centres analyze information requests, locate information sources and offer information primarily in these spheres:
Information is offered in the following ways:
The aim is to offer information:
Business and EconomyA new priority of the Czech Centres providing economic and business services oriented toward Czech export companies.
Business services are specialized in the following spheres:
Contact with producers, distributors, importers, exporters, consulting firms, marketing agencies
Company reference - information about companies, about their financial liability and credibility
Crucial information for strategic decision making, economic and trade statistics, development of GDP, incomes, information about regions, statistics for marketing surveys
Regulations on starting new companies, taxes, investment, export and import
3. Presentation and Public Relations
The Czech Centres are starting points from which Czech companies can launch their journey into foreign markets through company presentations and exhibitions. For these companies, the Czech Centres can offer a number of services, starting with renting a suitable space and finding potential clients and including mailing invitations and inviting the media.
4. Business and office services
Depending on the resources of the individual Centres, the Czech Centres can offer basic
business and office services
B. Information from abroad
Contacts on producers, distributors, importers, exporters, consulting firms, marketing agencies
Company reference - information about companies, about their financial liability and credibility
Crucial information for strategic decision making, financial and trade statistics, development of GDP, incomes, information about regions, statistics for marketing surveys
Regulations on founding new companies, taxes, investment, export and import conditions
CultureCultural projects aspire to introduce our culture abroad in order to increase the general awareness about the Czech Republic.
Increasing interest in Czech culture supports the expansion of other professional interests in the Czech Republic as whole and therefore is inseparable from certain spheres like tourism, business and international relations.
The prepared projects cover all the branches of culture:
Amongst the projects we can find:
The Czech Centres use their own as well as local cultural facilities, including:
The Czech Centres are also equipped with libraries, reading rooms and film, video and audio archives.
Basic guidelines for cultural programme of the Czech Centres are prepared by the Steering
Committee consisting of significant representatives of Czech culture. The main aims of the culture departments are to:
Services Offered: TourismThe Czech Centres help people interested in traveling to the Czech Republic orient themselves and in finding the best way how to spend their stay.
The tourist services of the Czech Centres include information from these spheres:
The Czech Centres can help you obtain:
Combined projects The combined projects of the Czech Centres introduce the Czech Republic abroad in a complex way.
Combined projects incorporate more than one sphere of the Centres' activities and are not pre-specified or limited by one theme.
The planning of new projects is open to external initiative and inspiration. The Czech Centres support projects corresponding with the overall goals of the Centres, even in the case when the projects are partially or fully organized by another institution or private company.
The realization of the projects isn't limited by the location of the Czech Centres. They are presented in areas where the demand is greatest and where the impact is most profitable. The realization of these projects is also supported by the Czech authorities abroad.
Concrete examples of such projects are:
Project HERMESThe main aim of the Czech Centres is to provide information about the Czech Republic to the largest possible audience abroad. The project that should enable the Czech Centres to fulfill this mission, without relying on the physical local offices of the Czech Centers themselves, is the project HERMES.
Project HERMES uses the technology of the INTERNET - the most progressive technology for the exchange of information that has transformed computers into the instrument of communication of the next millennium. With HERMES, the Czech Republic joins the countries building a new information highway and therefore ensures that in the future it won't be left behind. An information server with up-date news items has been set up together with Czech Radio's Department of Broadcasting Abroad.
Project HERMES will provide:
Communication between the world, the Czech Centres and the Czech Republic that will be:
Information about the Czech Republic and from abroad concerning:
How to use our services The Czech Centres reflect the needs of their clients and therefore their main policy is maximum communication and openness.
Who to contact:
If you have a concrete need or proposal for a project it is best to directly contact the appropriate Czech Centre. There you can obtain needed information or negotiate a realization of a concrete project.
Should you prefer first to consult how to make the best use of the Czech Centres or should you need help with concrete defining of your project or your project includes more than one Czech Centre, you can contact the Management of the Czech Centres in Prague.
If you are connected to the INTERNET, an information service will be available for you directly at your own computer.
The prices of our services:
Basic information services and consulting are free of charge. Other projects and services are offered at prices that cover the provision of the services and that are concretely negotiated according to the extent of the project and the capabilities of the individual Centres.
How are the Czech Centres organized:
The Czech Centres are an autonomous agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. They work with their own budget and have their own personnel and conception policy. Funds for covering their financial needs are gathered from various sources. The activity of the Czech Centres is formulated according to agreements between governments. The Czech Centres cooperate with ministries, professional partners and private organizations, as, for example, Chamber of Commerce, Union of Industry and Transport, the Centre for Economic Relations - Infocentrum, the Czech Statistics Institute, CzechInvest, The Czech Travel Centre, Foundation Bohemia, The Prague School of Economics, InformKatalog, Tanger, Cesnet, Microsoft etc.
List of Addresses Country Address Telephone - Fax Director Note
Czech Hradcanske tel: +42-2- 2418 JUDr. Gita moving
Republic namesti 5 2883 Fuchsova March 1995
Headquarter 125 10 Praha 1 fax: +42-2-
24510975
e-mail: cc@czech.cz
Austria Herrengasse, 17 tel: +431-5352360 PhDr. Milan
1010 Wien Sedlacek
5352361
fax: +431-8942874
Bulgaria Rakovski, 100 tel: +3592-872629 Ing. Rudolf
Sofia Sedlacek
873734
fax: +3592-801705
Germany Leipziger tel. PhDr. Vladimir reconstructi
Strasse, 60 +4930-2082592 Koller on
1080 Berlin /101 February-Apr
17/ - 2004368 il 1995
fax:
+4930-2004415
Great ZU Londyn tel: PhDr. Michal moving
Britain 30, Kensington +44836-588078 Mares February-
Palace March 1995
Gardens +4471-2431115
London W84QY
2437982
fax:
+4471-7279589
Hungary Rozsa Ferenc, 61 tel: +361-2513266 Ing. Jozef Kollar reconstructi
Budapest VI. - on
1325589 1995
fax: +361-1425818
Netherlands ZU Paleisstrat, tel: dr. Jitka
4 - 2514 Ja Den +3170-3561477 Stavinohova
Haag fax:
3625966
Poland ul. Piotra tel: +4891-225241 PhDr. Jindrich
Skargi, 32 fax: +4891-223380 Jirasek
71 422 Szczecin
Poland ul. tel: PhDr. Irena
Marszalkowska, +4822-6215134 Krasnicka
77-79 297273
00683 Warzsawa
291140
fax: +482-6283320
Romania Strada Ion tel: +401-6159142 Ing. Milena
Ghica, 11 Petrova
Sector 4
Bucharest - 4/254
fax: +401-
3122537
Russia Juliusa Fucika, tel: Ing. Frantisek
12-14 +7095-2510541 Jemelka
123056 Moscow /-5/
2889515
fax:
+7095-2514836
Slovakia Namestie SNP 12 tel., fax: Jirina Hulkova opening
812 84 +42-7-394201 April 1995
Bratislava
USA 1109 -1111 temporary: Kristina opening
Madison Avenue Permanent Mission Zantovska March 1995
New York New York Zdenka Ehlova
+1-212-535 8814, temporary
15, 18