Czech Republic/ 3.4 International cultural co-operation  

3.4.6 Other relevant issues

The government of the Czech Republic (CR) also provides support to its compatriots especially in the field of education and culture. The government adopted a legal framework for another period of supporting Czech compatriot communities abroad with its decrees from 2005 and 2008 for "Support of Czech Cultural Heritage Abroad 2006–2010". The programme was extended in April 2010 to run in 2011-2015. The full text of the Programme of Support and Rules for Making Financial Donations Abroad can be found (in Czech) at http://www.mzv.cz/krajane.

According to this programme, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports focuses on programmes that promote the preservation of knowledge of the Czech language among compatriots. The Ministry annually provides scholarship study residences at public universities in the CR, courses in the methodology of Czech language teaching and pedagogy studies at high schools in the CR. Compatriot studies are focused on Czech for foreigners, teaching the Czech language and literature, history, ethnology, art history or theology; language courses help maintain and expand the knowledge of the Czech Republic and cultural awareness. The Ministry supports the adoption and preservation of the Czech language among members of regional communities. Czech teachers are sent to compatriot communities in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, Romania, Russia, the Ukraine, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, especially those compatriot communities that are interested in maintaining their Czech identity. Teachers also get involved in other activities like helping folklore companies, working with local teachers, helping compatriots to maintain contact with contemporary events in the CR, helping to organise cultural and sport events, libraries etc.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) supports co-operation with Czech associations all around the world in many different ways, e.g. providing grants for cultural projects, sending textbooks, books and video-cassettes, issuing certificates for membership of Czech diaspora communities and last but not least, it organises a Czech language course for in Dobruška, CR. Grants are provided for maintenance and repair of diaspora schools, cultural facilities and small monuments. An information service is also provided for Czech associations around the world along with the international magazine ÄŒeské listy. The Ministry also collaborates with the Standing Senate Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad and the Subcommittee on Compatriots of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies, in the Parliament of the CR. The MFA finances the broadcasting of Radio Praha abroad. Radio Praha has functioned since 1936 and has a particular focus on the compatriot community. The goal is to provide qualified and objective information on political, economic, cultural and society-wide development in the Czech Republic. Daily broadcasts take place in English, German, French, Spanish, Czech and Russian. More information available at: http://www.radio.cz.

The Ministry of the Interior (MI) oversees the integration of Czech compatriots resettling in the CR and provides financial support in this area. The first stage in the resettlement of compatriots took place in 1946-1947 under the administration of the then Ministry of Labour and Social Care. At that time ten thousand compatriots from Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Hungary, and also France, Austria, and Germany resettled in the country. Most compatriots were resettled in the border regions and Sudeten region, where numerous residences were vacated after the expulsion of the Germans. A second wave took place in 1991-1993 under the administration of the then Ministry of Economic Policy and Development. During this wave the state resettled approximately 2000 compatriots for humanitarian reasons from Ukraine and Belarus from regions affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. These compatriots were settled in a number of locations, many of their residences were built out of reconstructed residences vacated with the departure of the Soviet army. The third wave occurred in 1995-2001 under the administration of the MI. During this period compatriots from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova were resettled with state assistance. The fourth wave, "Conclusion of Resettlement", took place in 2007 under the administration of the MI. This activity involved the resettlement of compatriots from Kazakhstan who for various reasons had not taken advantage of this opportunity in the past. The cultural activities of these compatriot communities in the CR are also supported out of various sources.

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