The organisation dates back to its opening in 1949 as the Cultural and Information Centres in Sofia and Warsaw. In the Eastern Bloc, further CIS offices were opened in Budapest, Berlin and Bucharest. In 1993, the organisation's name was changed from the Cultural and Information Centres to Czech Centres and the range of operations was expanded to encompass exports and tourism with new offices opened outside of Central and Eastern Europe. In 2006, Czech Centres opened its first office in Asia in Tokyo, Japan. In the same year, Czech Centres became a member of EUNIC.The most recent office to open was in Seoul, South Korea in 2013. In April 2017, the organisation's Director General Jan Závěšický was removed by the Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek due to 'serious managerial errors'.
Activities
According to its 2012-2015 Strategic Report, the Czech Centres are tasked with the following activities:
Promoting the Czech Republic abroad in cooperation with diplomatic missions.
Facilitating participation in foreign projects for Czech entities and the development of international cooperation.
Promoting Czech culture.
Providing support for external economic relations and developing Czech export opportunities.
Cooperating with universities and institutions of education, science, research and innovation to promote the success of Czech research and development.
Supporting teaching the Czech language abroad by running certified Czech language courses and exams.
Promoting the Czech Republic as a tourist destination with a focus on regional presentations abroad.
In 2015, Czech Centres enrolled 2,063 students in Czech language courses.
Events and awards
Within these activities, the Czech Centres organises cultural and educational events in the Czech Republic and abroad, such as:
Czech Centres owns and curates its own galleries in Prague that are open to the general public at Rytířská 539/31.
Czech House in Moscow
Czech Centres opened its Czech House in Moscow in 2002. Its primary ambition is to serve as a contact for Russian and Czech businesses. Czech House in Moscow is currently the largest complex owned by the Czech Republic abroad, containing 122 offices, 132 apartments, 87 hotel rooms in addition to conference rooms, a business centre, restaurant, bar, gym fitness centre and sauna, as well as other facilities.
