Prague · Registered NGO since 1997
Where Central Europe's decision-makers speak frankly.
Promoting a global approach to business, politics and academia in Central Europe through transparent networking and off-the-record dialogue.
1997
Registered as an NGO under President Václav Havel
6
Founding nations, from Canada to New Zealand
25
Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Awards since 2000
0
Crowns of government funding accepted
“The challenge for all of us is to live in a way, to act in a way, where we make a difference to bring about a better world.”
F. W. de Klerk, Nobel laureate and statesman (in memoriam)
Inaugural Honorary Chair of the Prague Society (1999–2022) · Member of the World-Wide Advisory Board (2000–2022)
About
Rooted in dissent. Committed to dialogue.
The Prague Society grew out of the dissident movement fighting communist regimes. Some of its members were imprisoned. The Prague Society finally became a registered NGO in 1997 during the Presidency of Václav Havel. Its main aims are to promote international cooperation in Central Europe by showing leadership against corruption and abuse.
The Society was established by a diverse group from the Czech Republic, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and New Zealand. The idea developed as its founders realised that the insights they had gained individually and collectively for nearly a quarter of a century should be extended on a wider scale.
The Society believes that the perspectives of others are of particular importance to Central Europe, whose talents, skills and energy have yet to be fully realised. The countries of the region share with many contemporary societies a disappointment with the state of public life. The ambitions of the days following the collapse of communism have faded. Suspicion of innovation and of foreign influence is endemic. There is a reluctance to share information and to work towards a common goal. Private gain dominates public interest.
The Society encourages individuals to take a broader perspective through interactions that can lead to a renewed commitment to civic responsibilities. It organises off-the-record discussions which allow decision-makers to influence and act upon one another's thinking, endeavours to bring about a new generation of leaders and, most importantly, gives a voice to the unheard.
Together with the Global Panel Foundation, the Society hosts the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award, given annually since 2000, and publishes a newsletter distributed in the Czech Republic and in international publications.
Our mission
The Prague Society promotes international cooperation in Central Europe. Our aims are:
To promote a global approach to business, politics and academia.
To help decision-makers to consider the implications of their actions.
To develop a new generation of responsible, well-informed leaders and thinkers in Central Europe.
To publish unique comment from our members and guests.
We create and maintain a network of businessmen, diplomats, politicians and academics who contribute to important policy issues. Our events provide a unique opportunity for decision-makers to influence and act upon one another's thinking in an atmosphere of trust and informality.
Off the recordEvery discussion, every event
IndependentNo government funding accepted
Prague 1Old Town, since 1997
Leadership
Prof. Marc S. Ellenbogen
President, Prague Society · Chairman, Global Panel Foundation
Marc S. Ellenbogen (born 6 February 1963 in Heidelberg) is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and diplomat. He is President of the Prague Society for International Cooperation and Chairman of the Global Panel Foundation, and each year hosts the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award, named in honour of his mother, who grew up in war-torn Europe.
His main pursuit is the fight against corruption in Central and Eastern Europe. He has been active in seeking justice against former Communist officials and members of the Communist-era secret police, among them the StB (Czechoslovakia), Stasi (East Germany), KGB (Soviet Union), Securitate (Romania), ÁVO (Hungary) and SB (Poland), and has sought to honour those who stood up against communism, such as Jan Zajíc and Václav Havel. He also rescued the daughter of former Rwandan Foreign Minister François Ngarukiyintwali to Canada.
From 2004 to 2010 he was an internationally syndicated columnist for United Press International, with more than 300 columns under the title Atlantic Eye appearing in publications including the Financial Times, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Times and Die Welt. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated him to be Ambassador to Bulgaria.
- Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University (undergraduate and graduate); later at Magdalen College, University of Oxford
- Senior Associate, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Maxwell School, Syracuse
- Associate Fellow and Professor, International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics, Windsor, Canada
- Board of Directors, CERGE-EI Foundation, New York
- Adviser to and Honorary Member of the Oxford University European Affairs Society
- Patron, Henry Jackson Society · Editorial Board, The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance
- National Advisory Board, US Democratic Party (2004–2010) · Former Vice Chair and Founding Trustee, Democratic Expat Leadership Council
- Life Member, Association of the United States Army · Member, Navy League of the United States
News & Events
Public policy dinners, roundtables and embassy receptions
Upcoming events
Prague Society events are held off the record and by invitation, typically as public policy dinners, roundtables and receptions hosted at embassies in Prague. Members and partners receive invitations directly.
Selected past events
“Briefing on Ukraine” at the residence of H.S.H. Elizabeth Princess Lobkowicz, with H.E. Daan Huisinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands, and the defence attachés of Ukraine and India; Prof. Marc S. Ellenbogen and Maj. Gen. Bruce Lawlor joined online.
Members meeting with guest of honour Aleš Chmelař, State Secretary for EU Affairs at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic.
Public policy dinner at the residence of the Royal Thai Ambassador, H.E. Ureerat Chareontoh, with JUDr. Rudolf Jindrák, Director of the International Department at the Office of the President.
Comments on the European Elections: students of the University of New York in Prague with the Embassy of Greece, H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades.
HRE Citizenship Award ceremony under the patronage of the Czech National Bank, with panels on human trafficking and modern slavery, and on fake news, propaganda, corruption and organised crime.
Public policy discussion hosted by H.E. Dr. Alberts Sarkanis at the Embassy of Latvia.
HRE Citizenship Awards hosted by Lord Mayor Adriana Krnáčová at the Mayor’s Residence, Prague.
HRE Citizenship Awards at the Parliament of Slovakia, Bratislava, under the patronage of its President, Pavol Paška.
The Global Panel and the Prague Society support the call for the impeachment of President Václav Klaus.
Honouring Jan Zajíc in Vítkov.
HRE Citizenship Award presented to Adam Michnik, Polish journalist and former dissident.
Roundtable at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty with Yuri Schmidt, founder of the Committee of Russian Lawyers in Defence of Human Rights.
Roundtable at the Embassy of Romania with guest of honour Juraj Chmiel, incoming Czech Minister for European Affairs.
Roundtable and public policy dinner with Gen. Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, on energy security and missile defence.
HRE Citizenship Award presented to Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, former NATO Secretary General.
Annual award since 2000
Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
Honouring high achievement in public service to Central and Eastern Europe.
The HRE Citizenship Award is a civil decoration given annually to honour individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service. It was established in 2000 by the Prague Society and the Global Panel Foundation, and is named in honour of the mother of Prague Society President Marc S. Ellenbogen, who grew up in war-torn Europe.
Passed forward. The award carries a 150,000 CZK prize, which each laureate passes on to a young person or institution in the public realm. When the Czech Philharmonic's conducting corps won the first award in 2000, the prize went to Lukáš Vondráček, then a young pianist, who went on to win the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in 2016.
Laureates, and who they passed the prize to
2024
Cardinal Dominik Duka, Milan Kňažko, Yevgeniya Chirikova
Ceremony of 19 November 2024, marking the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Archbishop Emeritus of Prague; Slovak actor, co-founder of Public Against Violence and former Foreign Minister; Russian environmental and civil-society activist.
—
Ivo Josipović and Ma Thida
President of Croatia 2010–2015, who led Croatia into the European Union; Burmese surgeon, writer and former prisoner of conscience.
XX
Hans-Dietrich Genscher (in memoriam) and Markus Meckel
German Foreign Minister 1974–1992, received by his widow Barbara Genscher; the first democratically elected Foreign Minister of the GDR.
XIX
Ivan M. Havel and Ivan Chvatík
Dissident scientist and long-time editor of Vesmír; philosopher who saved and published the writings of Jan Patočka in samizdat.
XVIII
The Santa Marta Group and Vincent Cardinal Nichols
30 August 2018, Czech National Bank. Combating modern slavery and human trafficking. Special awards to Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová (in memoriam) and to Tom Nicholson. Passed to: the Santa Marta Group.
XVII
Zdeněk Tůma and Magda Vášáryová
5 April 2016, Mayor’s Residence, Prague. Governor of the Czech National Bank 2000–2010; actress, diplomat and Slovakia’s first female presidential candidate. Passed to: Petr Koukal; Živena.
XVI
Tony Fitzjohn (in memoriam) and Souad Mekhennet
5 April 2016. Conservationist of Mkomazi National Park, Tanzania; journalist reporting on the Muslim world. Passed to: Arthur F. Sniegon; Praunheimer Werkstätten and Weißer Ring.
XV
Iva Drápalová
9 December 2014. AP’s Prague correspondent who refused to cooperate with the StB. Passed to: Štěpán Ripka.
XIV
Věra Čáslavská (in memoriam)
9 December 2014. Seven-time Olympic gold medallist, persecuted after her 1968 protest. Passed to: a sports hall at the primary school in Černošice.
XI–XIII
Wesley Clark, Jiří Dienstbier and Andrés Pastrana
12–14 March 2013, Parliament of Slovakia, Bratislava. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander; first post-communist Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia; President of Colombia 1998–2002. Passed to: the book “Jiří Dienstbier – rozhlasový zpravodaj”.
Show awards I–X
X
Adam Michnik
25 January 2011. Editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza and former dissident. Passed to: Juliusz Kurkiewicz and Aleksandra Klich-Siewiorek.
IX
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
Nobel Peace Prize 1989. Passed to: the Slovak charity Dobrý anjel (Good Angel).
VIII
Desmond Mullan (in memoriam)
Managing Director of Volvo Auto Czech and a principal supporter of the Prague Society. A special award with no secondary nominee.
VII
Alaksandar Milinkievič
October 2007. Joint opposition candidate against Lukashenko in Belarus, 2006. Passed to: Paval Sieviaryniec.
VI
King Michael I of Romania (in memoriam)
Twice Head of State, deposed by the Communists in 1947. Passed to: Petrisor Ostafie.
V
Miloš Forman (in memoriam)
Film director. Passed to: scholarships at the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček in Písek.
IV
Lord Robertson of Port Ellen
December 2004. NATO Secretary General 1999–2003. Passed to: David Hodan.
III
Václav Havel (in memoriam)
2003. First President of free Czechoslovakia and of the Czech Republic. Passed to: Andrej Dynko, editor of Belarus’s Nasha Niva.
II
Madeleine Albright (in memoriam)
2002. 64th U.S. Secretary of State, born in Prague. Passed to: war correspondent Petra Procházková.
I
Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Conducting Corps of the Czech Philharmonic
2000. With Vladimír Válek, Sir Charles Mackerras and Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi. Passed to: pianist Lukáš Vondráček.
Members
A network of businessmen, diplomats, politicians and academics
Membership is by nomination. Members contribute to important policy issues and take part in the Society's off-the-record discussions.
Honorary Chair
Wesley K. Clark
Former SACEUR and NATO Commander, US presidential candidate
Inaugural Honorary Chair
F. W. de Klerk (in memoriam)
Nobel laureate and statesman
President
Marc S. Ellenbogen
Chairman, Global Panel Foundation
Vice-President
Jens Geitmann
Vice-President
Arthur Braun
Vice-President
Michael Stimson
Vice-President
Bert Stiers
Vice-President
Jon Wilkinson
- Hon. Vera EgermayerFounding Member, Board
- Dr. Barbara DayFounding Member, Board
- Daniel BiguineBoard Member; corporate chairman and art collector
- Elizabeth Princess LobkowiczBoard Member
- Markus H. HermannGlobal Panel Member of the Board and Treasurer; Managing Director, MAROM s.r.o.
- Jaap AardseMember
- Cornel BodaMember
- Ivan BoháčekMember; publisher and editor of Vesmír
- Sean BradleyMember
- Baroness Caroline CoxMember; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
- Burkhard DalloschMember; Deka Immobilien GmbH
- Mariella DelgadoMember
- Jiřina DienstbierováMember
- Hon. Thomas DineMember
- Hon. Abdullah EnsourMember
- Prof. Randall FilerMember; Chairman, CERGE-EI Foundation
- Hon. José Eduardo FlemingMember; former Ambassador of Argentina to the Czech Republic
- Hon. Štefan FüleMember; former European Commissioner
- Hon. Peter GottwaldMember; former Commissioner for Disarmament and Nuclear Issues, Germany
- Michele GreenMember; New Europe Media, Bucharest and Prague
- William HarterMember; former Vice-President, Procter & Gamble Europe
- Jana Baroness von HildprandtMember; Chatelaine of Blatná Castle
- Thilo Hoffmann, Esq.Member
- Jan JůnMember
- Hon. Jan KaslMember
- Hon. Jeremy KinsmanMember; former Canadian Ambassador
- MG. Rostislav KotilMember
- Mark MartinMember
- Roman MentlíkMember
- Dr. Andreas MohrMember
- Hon. Petr NečasMember
- Hon. Edvard OutrataMember
- Hon. Martin PaloušMember
- Hon. Petr PalečekMember
- Hon. Karolína PeakeMember
- Dr. Petr PolievkaMember
- Hon. Theodore SedgwickMember; former U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia
- Hon. Pavel SeifterMember; former Czech Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- George P. SchmolzMember; ARD Prague studios
- Hon. Martin StránskýMember; physician
- Hon. Cyril SvobodaMember; former Foreign Minister
- Marian ŠvejdaMember
- Hon. Jindřich TomášMember; former Deputy Defence Minister
- Hon. Magdaléna VášáryováMember; HRE laureate
No member matches that name. Try a surname.
In memoriam members
- Yossef BodanskyBoard Member
- Pavol PaškaBoard Member
- Jerry KowalskiBoard Member
- Norbert AuerbachFounding Member
- Dr. John MarksBoard Member
- Mr. Justice Vojtěch CeplFounding Member
Members emeritus
- Hon. Pavel BratinkaFounding Member Emeritus
- Peter BrodMember Emeritus; former editor, BBC Czech Service
- Hon. Martin MoulisMember Emeritus
- Hon. Koichi TakahashiMember Emeritus; former Ambassador of Japan
Prague Society staff
- Alex HuskinsonAssistant
- Anneliese ScalzoAssistant
- Kristof KrokosAssistant
krokos@praguesociety.org - Bálint TóthAssistant
- Alex MartinAssistant
martin@praguesociety.org
Jobs & internships
We are looking for dedicated, self-dependent interns. You will be involved in all aspects of organising our Public Policy Events and Meetings, Embassy Receptions and Award Ceremonies: correspondence, external relations, event registrations, team coordination, and maintaining web and social media content and the contacts database.
Requirements, benefits and how to apply
Requirements
We need you to be proactive and independent. Most importantly, we are looking for someone who is not easily intimidated in conversation or on the phone and is confident writing formal e-mails. Your written and spoken English needs to be excellent; Czech is not a requirement. We do not care so much about your grades or major, although our interns typically study humanities, politics, media or international relations.
We are highly flexible on working hours and the duration of the internship, and prefer that you are flexible too: the workload varies with events and does not always fall within office hours. We would much prefer that you stay at least until after the HRE Citizenship Award ceremony, which takes place between 15 September and 30 November.
Benefits
A meaningful function and a position with responsibility in an unconventional organisation. Depending on your dedication, you can attend Prague Society events, collect references, network and bring in your own ideas, and gain insight into politics, media and international relations.
Mentorship programme
After three months your work is evaluated and you are connected with a personal mentor from the Society’s worldwide network to support your professional development.
Send your CV and a short text about yourself, your motivations and expectations to exec@praguesociety.org.
Gallery
From the archive
Partners & Friends
Supported by partners, never by governments
The Prague Society is a non-profit organisation supported by its Partners and Friends. In order to continue our work, we must raise further funding from new Partners. The Prague Society does not accept funding from governments.
Hands on. Prague Society events are characterised by open dialogue. As a Partner or Friend you can directly impact the thinking of our guests through one-to-one, off-the-record interaction. You are not merely supporting our cause, but also generating new topics for discussion and helping to direct our future activities.
Friends who have supported the Society since its foundation
- Aero Vodochody
- American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic
- Boeing
- British Council
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic
- Center for Theoretical Studies, Charles University
- CSL
- Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Embassy of Canada
- Embassy of the Czech Republic in London
- Embassy of the Republic of Poland
- Haarmann Hemmelrath
- Hotel Praha Prague
- Hungarian Airlines
- Karel Janeček
- KLM
- LOFI, s.r.o.
- Lufthansa
- Marriott Hotel
- Mercedes-Benz
- Microsoft
- Mladá fronta DNES
- Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
- Neue Pergamon
- Preciosa
- Radio Free Europe
- The Prague Post
- United Nations Information Center, Prague
- Vesmír
Become a Partner or Friend of the Prague Society.
Contact usIn Memoriam
Members and friends we remember
- Eduard Kukan 1936–2022Foreign Minister of Slovakia
- Jan SokolDissident, philosopher and early supporter of the Prague Society
- Yossef Bodansky 1954–2021Board Member
- Larry King 1933–2021American television and radio host
- John le Carré (David Cornwell) 1931–2020Author
- Dr. Saeb Erekat 1955–2020Palestinian chief negotiator
- H.H. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah 1929–2020Emir of Kuwait
- Dr. Horst Schättle 1939–2020General Manager, Sender Freies Berlin; supporter of the Global Panel
- Hon. Richard Brodsky 1946–2020New York State Assemblyman
- Sir Roger Scruton 1944–2020Philosopher
- Ing. Antonín Dočkálek, CSc. 1939–2020
- Tanya Heidelberg-Yopp 1963–2019
- Hon. Yasuhiro Nakasone 1918–2019Prime Minister of Japan 1982–1987
- Vladimír Laštůvka 1943–2018
- Pavol Paška 1958–2018President of the Slovak National Council; Board Member
- Helmut Kohl 1930–2017Chancellor of Germany
- Frank Heath 1927–2016
- Sir Nicholas Winton 1909–2015Rescued 669 children from Czechoslovakia in 1939
- Yuri M. Schmidt 1937–2013Founder, Committee of Russian Lawyers in Defence of Human Rights
- Geraldine Mucha 1917–2012Composer
- Dr. John Marks 1934–2012Board Member
- Jack Layton 1950–2011Leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party
- Krzysztof Skubiszewski 1926–2010First post-communist Foreign Minister of Poland
- Vojtěch Cepl 1938–2009The father of the Czech Constitution; Founding Member
- Vladimir Lomeiko 1935–2009“A master of the spoken word”
- Norbert Auerbach 1922–2009Former President of United Artists; Founding Member
- Lord Richard Holme of Cheltenham 1936–2008