Interview with Ki Young Yun, President of Samsung Electronics Czech and Slovak

Text: Martina Hošková and M. Zisso; Photo: Archive

This is how the Czech Deputy Minister of Education Václav Velčovský, responsible for EU and international aff airs, perceives his offi ce, which he joined in 2015. And these are also the topics we have raised in this interview, focusing mainly on the Czech Republic´s presidency of the EU Council. What lies ahead of the ministry in this context? Is the role of a presiding country a solo or teamwork one? And will the war in Ukraine redefi ne our neighbourhood policy?

In one of his texts, the prominent contemporary Czech theologian and philosopher Tomáš Halík develops the idea of “what is without trembling is not solid”. In the context of my ministry, such vibrations come in the form of diff erent political assignments of various governments regarding educational and research policy. Whenever you propose a change, it will not take eff ect until a longer period afterwards, thus signifi cantly exceeding the mandate of individual governments. But the fact that our offi ce is actually the Ministry of the Future, and the Ministry of Values may stand out all the more. Since 2015, when I started work at the ministry, these values have not been jeopardised. On the contrary, in diff erent contexts their importance is far more likely to be demonstrated.

Although the ministry does not have its own acquis communautaire, it has so-called ‘soft instruments’, which are often far more eff ective than the hard ones. In the fi eld of research, our priorities are the large research infrastructures as the future of the European Research Area and the effi cient use of various sources of research funding. Education will be about digital well-being and the paths to school success. In youth policy, we emphasize the highly updated issue of intergenerational solidarity, and in sports we focus on the sustainability of sports infrastructures and professional sporters as value-holders. The last-mentioned topic gets currently new dimension. I do not have to remind you that the presidential priorities are not and must not be national priorities. It would be a mistake to look at them this way. The country holding the presidency is a consensus facilitator, not a bulldozer of its own. It means that our task is to moderate and fi nd a compromise. In this regard, our vicinity might be an added value.

Presidential priorities always make up just one part of the whole Trio agenda. In our case, we are talking about the joint program of France, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. These programs are being negotiated up to two years in advance. On one hand, it is logical that they cannot be completely fl exible, but at the same time it would be purely an alibi to avoid a fundamental issue such as the barbaric Russian aggression against Ukraine. I have already mentioned that education and research are ‘soft tools’. This allows member states to react to current developments fl exibly and individually in an informal way. It is no secret that the Czech Republic is very active in its approach to anti-Russian sanctions in these areas and support towards suff ering Ukrainians, since the Russian or the Soviet aggression of 1968 is our living memento. During the presidency, we want to off er a voice to member states during political debates. We consider this to be extremely important at this time – to be heard, have comparisons, and take action, although still within the ‘soft’ policy of particular member states.

The greatest success will be if, with such a low budget set by the previous government, the presidency can be held with honour.

The EU must strongly and undividedly react to the Russian aggression. There are sanctions against Russia, and, on the other hand, help for Ukraine. The fi rst step is helping the refugees and providing material support to the Ukrainian army. We all hope that the war ends as soon as possible. Human losses are devastating. The second phase must follow: redefi ning the neighbourhood policy with the aim to support Ukraine (if wanted) with a plan for state reconstruction. We never thought we would be directly or indirectly aff ected by war and by questioning the principles of human rights, democracy and rule of law. In this context, I am not talking about third countries only.

Two years ago, I was really enthusiastic about the proposal to almost double the Erasmus budget. It is an administratively simple (but at the same time maximally eff ective) tool that can aff ect all levels of education. I believe that internationalization is a prerequisite to a better understanding of ourselves, and Europe as a whole. This goal attempts to be and already is, greater than the so-called employability in the labour market. Employability of whom? When? Where? For what age, if we all know that the upskilling and reskilling in our lives will be necessary? You know, I‘m looking forward to the day when the concept of education will automatically include internationalization, and we will not have to explain to anyone why the understanding of the self is necessary for the understanding of ‘the other’, and that education does not end with the borders of the Czech Republic, but actually begins there.

Text: Veronika Vávrová; Edit: Martina Hošková; Photo: Kus Koláče Archive

If you walk along Korunní street, close to Perunova tram station in Prague Vinohrady, and see a long queue of people, sometimes reaching as far as the corner of the next street, you don´t have to wonder what is going on anymore. The people are waiting to buy a fresh ‘koláček’, the best in Prague, made with a lot of love and butter… Welcome to the mouth-watering world of Veronika Vávrová and her Kus Koláče bakery, where the work of skilful hands marries traditional reimagined recipes to give birth to A Piece of Cake.

is co-owner of Kus Koláče bakery at Korunní 90, Praha - Vinohrady @kuskolace

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Baking has always been a signifi cant part of my life. I would say that it is mainly because of my origin and culture. When you are born in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, baking is a type of generational activity that is part of your upbringing. I was no exception - I started to bake with my grandma and mom. I cannot imagine Christmas without baking our family recipes and sharing baked goods among family members, friends, and neighbours. The very fi rst thing I baked was a simple gingerbread cookie. I will always remember its smell, my sticky fi ngers covered in dough, the taste, and the overall atmosphere, which I can feel even at this moment when I close my eyes.

Baking is my Zen and always has been. It has a magical power to transport yourself through memories and satisfy your heart and soul at the same time. I believe it is very important to remember our traditions, origins, and roots, because I have been noticing the lack of history in our generation in the nowadays “hipster” era. Baking and the tradition of sweets as a meal were indeed unique in former Czechoslovakia. I cannot think of any other culture that would eat sweet meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Rich kolaches, sweet dumplings, yeasts poppy seed buns, and tvaroh noodles with butter are just a couple of examples of our amazing cultural treasures.

Before opening our bakery, I felt that all the traditional baked goods tasted the same, nothing tasted inspired, and it was very diffi cult to fi nd a Czechoslovak product where you would taste love infused into the pastry. And while I was baking just for fun for my friends and family, I started to realize that this could be a path I could take and improve upon and bring back to our generation - so you could not only remember your holidays with grandma baking bundt cakes, but you could also actually eat a pastry from Kus Koláče and relive at least a glimpse of that moment again.

Our bakery started out as a small production – as a supplier of baked goods to diff erent cafés in Prague. Our off er was simple but honest. Ever since we started, we have been using the most basic and natural ingredients of the highest quality. Traditional kolaches, buns, pies, strudels fi lled with poppy seeds, tvaroh, walnuts, local fruit and jams – simple recipes but reimagined, not only through our passion for baking but with care for every single ingredient chosen. We wanted to become a small neighbourhood bakery where we would establish a little extra besides the standard business-customer relationship. We were hoping to bring a piece of cake that would also connect our lives.

Nearly two years have passed since our opening, and we could not ask for a better start. It is amazing to see that a small traditional local bakery can really make a diff erence in the current modern era and in someone’s daily life. If you take the best of yourself and the best of quality ingredients available and put them into the product you off er, you can be sure that you will create a meaningful business that will succeed. I love what I do and so does every member of our amazing team. We truly believe that you can taste not only honest ingredients, such as simple butter, but also our love and passion for what we create. We are so thankful that we have managed to establish a shop where customers become a community and happiness is shared through freshly baked buttery kolaches.

Text: Martina Hošková and M. Zisso; Photo: Archive

“I can easily say that the changes I have experienced over the last two years are by far the most signifi cant since the very beginning of Neeco’s establishment,” says David Pátek, founder and CEO of Neeco, the global ICT services company operating in more than 160 countries worldwide. In this interview, he suggests the only approach that leads to success in turbulent times, reveals his love for the beautiful nature of traditional entrepreneurship and describes the multinational turn-key solutions Neeco off ers its customers. Everything seasoned with a glimpse into some of his adventures outside the ICT business.

I founded Neeco 15 years ago in Prague and our headquarters is still located here today. The diff erence is that now we are a well-established brand serving many high-profi le, international telecommunications organizations and their end customers. What remains the same is the fact that Neeco is 100% privately owned. We have never used third party capital, and I do not have any intention to change that. Let me say that I am proud to state this, as compared to current market standards where the majority of new companies are massively funded by cheap money of wealthy investors, which - at least from my perspective - is damaging many important aspects and the beautiful nature of traditional entrepreneurship.