International Conference

Human rights, the activities of opposition movements
and the fall of communist regimes in Central Europe in 1989

Memorial plaque commemorating the 17 November 1989 demonstration, which started in Albertov, photo: Wikipedia.cz

Date: 28 – 29 May 2009
Place: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Národní 3, Prague 1

Main Conference Organisers:
Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Libri Prohibiti, the Library of Samizdat and Exile Literature

Preliminary Conference Programme:

Tuesday May 28, 2009
2 pm – Conference Opening
2.30 – 4 pm – Human rights, the Helsinki process and communist regimes (papers presented by academic historians)
4 – 4.15 pm – Coffee Break
4.15 – 4.45 pm – Documentary Film Screening
4.45 – 6 pm – Opposition movements and the fall of communist regimes in Central Europe (panel discussion with eyewitnesses and participants)

Wednesday May 29, 2009
9 – 11.15 am – The dissident and opposition movements in the Soviet Bloc (papers presented by academic historians)
11.15 – 11.30 am – Coffee Break
11.30 am – 1 pm - The dissident and opposition movements in Czechoslovakia (papers presented by academic historians)
1 – 2 pm – Lunch Break
2 pm – 2.30 pm – Documentary Film Screening
2.30 pm – 4 pm – ‘The Revolution Carnival’: Street protests at the end of the 1980s (panel discussion with eyewitnesses and participants)

Contact: Petr Blažek, blazek@usd.cas.cz