The Embassy of the Czech Republic, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Czech Centre, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation invite for a ceremony during which a symbolic tree of Good Will will be planted in memory of Olga Havel. Afterwards, the documentary “Olga,” directed by Miroslav Janek, will be screened (Czech Republic, 2014, 87’).
Directly after the ceremony, we invite you for a glass of wine and the screening: Wojciech Krukowski Hall inside the Laboratory Building in the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art.
In 1993, Olga Havel, the legend of the Czechoslovak democratic opposition and the distinguished civil activist after the fall of communism, planted a tree of Good Will in one of the Czech cities. In memory of 85th birthday which Olga would celebrate this year, Olga Havel Foundation decided to plant 85 trees in Czech Republic. Other partners have joined the action abroad, and now Olga Havel’s tree will grow in Warsaw as well.
Olga Havel was not only the First Lady of Czechoslovakia and later of Czech Republic, but also an active supporter of democratic opposition. After the arrest of Václav Havel, Olga engaged in underground publishing of independent literature “Edice Expedice,” she was also a co-founder of the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted. In this period, Havel cooperated with the film association Originální videožurnál, documenting the dissident activity in Czechoslovakia. In 1990 she founded the Committee of Good Will, supporting people with disabilities, orphans and elderly.
