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Today in Mailbox: Interview with a Radio Prague listener, response to RP programme, monthly listeners’ competition. Listeners/readers quoted: Doug Grant, Louise Parslow, Sirajul Islam, Hans Verner Lollike, Deblina Biswas.

The general assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a meeting of around 200 heads of public television and radio stations from around 50 countries, has got underway at Prague’s National Museum on Thursday. The topic of this year’s meeting is the contribution of public media services to society. Speaking at the meeting on Thursday, Czech Radio’s General Director Peter Duhan, said the Czech broadcaster is set to launch a pilot digital radio service for Prague and its surroundings on August 6. Mr Duhan said the digital broadcasting was among Czech Radio’s strategic goals, adding that it should reach up to 17 percent of the population.

Hundreds of Czechs have taken the chance to visit Czech Radio’s main headquarters in Prague during its traditional open day on Saturday. Visitors have the opportunity to tour studios, meet presenters and journalists, and attend a series of concerts being held for the occasion. Star presenters taking part included Jiří Chum, Lucie Výborná and Jan Pokorný. The doors opened to the public at 9 am with the event running till 5 pm..

A memorial ceremony was held in front of Czech Radio on Tuesday marking the 70th anniversary of the start of the Prague Uprising. There was a fierce battle for control of the station during the insurgence, which saw thousands of Czechs take up arms against the Nazi occupiers in the dying days of the war.

Events marking the end of WW II are taking place around the country. Czech Radio, located in Prague’s Vinohrady district, played an important role in the Prague Uprising and a raging battle took place outside the radio building as citizens responded to a desperate radio appeal for them to help defend the station. On the 70th anniversary of the Battle for Czech Radio the country’s public broadcaster has organized a series of events for the public. Czech Radio’s spokesman Jiri Hošna explains what will be taking place.

Czech Radio will invest 35 million crowns to improve security at its main headquarters in Prague and regional branches around the country. The decision was made in the wake of the January attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris. After the incident intelligence services said there were some 20 dormant terrorist cells in Europe that could strike at any time. The security measures will involve tighter security at entrances, a better camera system, more efficient control of movement on the premises and better security in studios and key work places. The improved security system should be in place within three years.

Today in Mailbox: "Zed" or "zee", Radio Prague's signature tune, listeners' quiz. Listeners/readers quoted: Colin Law, Joanna Shelton, Hans Verner Lollike, Valery Lugovskiy, Mary Lou Krenek, P. Sivashanmugham, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Deblina Biswas, Dipita Chakrabarty.

The name Jan Valeška will be familiar to very long-term listeners of Radio Prague. After a stint at the station’s African service that began in the early 1970s, he returned to head the English department in the initial years after the Velvet Revolution. Valeška subsequently worked as a translator and two years ago published a huge dictionary of English phrasal verbs, as in act on, act up, act out, etc. Before we discussed the book, which was three decades in the making, I first asked him what language Radio Prague’s erstwhile African section broadcast

This week’s edition of the Sunday Music Show focuses on an up-and-coming Czech band called Wild Tides. The surf-punk trio from Prague is the fresh winner of Czeching, a competition for promising Czech musicians organized by Czech Radio. Its aim is to launch one talented Czech band a year onto the world.

In the final edition of Mailbox in 2014: Random acts of kindness in the Czech Republic, listener criticism, suggestions and other feedback, answers to last month's quiz question as well as a brand new question for January 2015. Listeners/readers quoted: Drew Kerekes, Bill Reed, Subhas Chakraborty, Hans Verner Lollike, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Dipita Chakrabarty, Colin Law, Muhammad Punhal Khoso, Valery Lugovskiy.