Panorama | All stories

Just as the town of Plzen is associated with great beer and the town of Pardubice with gingerbread, the town of Pelhřimov brings to mind amazing feats, records and curiosities. The town got its reputation thanks to the Good Day Agency which is behind the annual Pelhřimov –Town of Records Festival and the Museum of Records and Curiosities which both attract thousands of visitors. I spoke to Vláďa Donát, who closely cooperates with the Good Day Agency, about how it all began.

For two years now the Salvation Army has been operating a project unique in the Czech Republic –a farm that gives close to two dozen unemployed people work satisfaction and a sense of belonging. The farm in Strahovice, close to the Czech-Polish border, is in a region where unemployment is traditionally high and for many it presents a stepping stone on the way back to a normal life. I asked Pavla Vopelaková of the Czech Salvation Army how the idea of running a farm emerged.

Quirky market stalls have been appearing and disappearing during Christmas and Easter in spots like the Old Town Square for a number of years. But recently, they have become a far more permanent feature at a number of locations across Prague and the Czech Republic. The main appeal of these farmers’ markets is that they can offer customers the kind of produce one can’t and won’t find in supermarkets. The large chains require guaranteed volumes of bulk goods and of a standard quality. Farmers’ markets offer the opposite: local goods from small producers

Zoos in a number of European countries burned rhino horns on Sunday on the eve of World Rhino Day, in order to highlight the plight of the endangered species. Dvůr Králové Zoo, which has for years spearheaded international efforts to save the northern white rhino from extinction was among them. I spoke to Jan Stejskal, in situ projects coordinator at Dvůr Králové Zoo, about the zoo’s conservation efforts and the chances of saving a species on the brink of extinction.

As of this week the Czech Republic has a third dark skies reserve in the Manětín region, in western Bohemia. Its opening on Monday attracted amateur astronomers from around the country as well as the mayors of the ten villages located in the area. I spoke to one of the country’s leading astrophysicists Jiří Grygar about why this particular region was chosen and what has put the Czech Republic at the head of this trend on the European and world scale.

The NGO Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors Without Borders this week denounced international inaction in Ebola-stricken African countries, saying developed states must deploy specialized medical assets without delay if the situation is to be brought under control. Doctors Without Borders Czech Republic sent an open letter to Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka outlining several priority areas. I spoke to the organization’s director Pavel Gruber about what is needed.

In 2011 three young women from Moravia met up to share a dream – to visit India and Nepal. It was a journey of discovery that made the three strangers fast friends and radically changed their lives. Soon after they set up their own NGO Shanti which supports the villagers of Pancha Kochi at the foot of the Annapurna mountain range. Every summer they go back to a place that has become their second home and where they know the villagers by name. While they raise money for the poorest of the poor, they say that what they are receiving from them is infinitely

Intensive negotiations are underway to try to cushion the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on Czech exporters. The Agriculture Ministry has estimated this year’s loses at around 300 million crowns while the Confederation of Industry is talking about billion crown losses due to disappearing contracts, problematic funding and heightened competition from Asian exporters on the Russian market. One of the officials attending the government-led anti-crisis talks is Radek Špicar, vice-president of the Czech Confederation of Industry. I asked him for his

Each summer the small eastern Bohemian town of Dobruška becomes a home to dozens of people from around the world who come to reconnect with the language and customs of their Czech ancestors. The summer programme, organized by Prague’s Charles University and supported by the Czech government, offers intensive language courses as well as an insight into Czech culture and way of life.

The signs of climate change that Europe has been witnessing in the spring and summer of this year have severely impacted some of the country’s bird species. Persistent rain during the spring months, storms and heavy floods decimated the young population of white storks in an unprecedented measure. Many of the newly hatched young died in their nests, elsewhere nests remained completely empty. In this edition of Panorama I talk to ornithologist Petr Voříšek about the fate of this and other endangered bird species in connection with the ongoing environmental