People in CI

Dr. Roman Joch - Director

Dr. Joch is the Executive Director of the Civic Institute in Prague. Born in present day Slovakia, Dr. Joch moved to Prague to study medicine. After obtaining his MD degree from Charles University, he worked as a Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Civic Democratic party (1994-1996).

After co-operating with the Civic Institute from its founding, he joined full-time as an analyst and writer in 1996. He soon became a well known commentator and lecturer on political philosophy, international relations, with an emphasis on US Domestic and Foreign Policies. He became Executive Director of the Institute in 2003.

Dr. Joch is frequently heard on radio and seen on TV; his articles on current issues appear in printed media almost on daily basis.

In addition, he is the author of several monographs and expert studies including: American Foreign Policies and the Role of the US in the World (Studies OI, Prague 2000), Why Iraq? Reasons and Consequences of the Conflict (Prague 2003), and (together with Frank S. Meyer) Rebellion against the Revolution of the 20th Century (Prague 2003).

Matyas Zrno

Matyas Zrno holds an M.A. in International Relations from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University in Prague. In addition to his studies in Prague, Mr. Zrno has studied in Berlin and in the United States, at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Already during his studies Mr. Zrno published regular commentaries and articles in both Czech and international media. He particularly specialises in the current political situation in the Balkans. Before joining the Civic Institute, he worked as a Foreign Desk Editor at the Czech weekly Respekt and in Czech television.

Cooperators

Mgr. Michaela Freiová

Mgr. Freiová was active in the Catholic dissident movement in communist Czech Republic. Her family was persecuted for participating in the dissemination of samizdat.

After the fall of the communist regime she was appointed a Government Commissioner for Refugees. She also served as a member of the Federal Parliament of post-communist Czechoslovakia.

A graduate of Charles University with a M. A. degree in Comparative Religion, Mgr. Freiová is a widely recognized lecturer as well as a writer on religion, family and women´s issues in the Czech and Slovak media.

In 1994 she joined the recently founded Civic Institute and ran the Family Values Program there for more than ten years. The program initiated a series of World Congresses of Families, beginning in Prague in March 1997.

In 2003 Mgr. Freiová started an internet news service, Res Claritatis, the only online news magazine in the fields of religion, society and politics in the Czech language. In 2005 it started to be published also in printed form. She continues to co-operate with the Civic Institute on a regular basis.

Dr. Jaroslav Sturma

Dr. Sturma is a full-time professor of psychology at Charles University in Prague. He is the Chairman of the Czech and Moravian Psychological Association.

He is a world renowned specialist in learning disorders, earning him a place on numerous scholarly boards including the scientific council of the Psychological Institute in the Czech Republic, the International Study Group in Great Britain for Special Education Needs, and the scientific committee in Bratislava for the analysis of children's psychology and psycho-pathology.

Dr. Sturma's personal dedication to serving those in need is best exemplified by his role as founder and Director of the children's center for mental and physical disabilities in Prague, named "Paprsek".

Jiri Fuchs

Jiri Fuchs, philosopher and musician, is a unique personality. Not permitted to teach in communist times, Mr. Fuchs sought unofficial sites, including basements and storage rooms, to continue teaching. Today, he teaches courses on Philosophy and Metaphysics at the Civic Institute and at the Dominican Convent in Prague. Mr. Fuchs is known for having worked out a systematic presentation of basic philosophical problems and the history of philosophy, based on classical realism developed in confrontation with the modern and post-modern thought. He has published several books since the fall of the communist regime including The Critical Problem of Truth, The Problem of Soul, The Problem of Personality, God of the Philosophers, and Return to Essence.

Ing. Lukas Tomko

Born in Chomutov, Northern Bohemia, Mr. Tomko came to Prague to study Economics at the University of Economics. He specialised in International Relations and Development. After graduation, Mr. Tomko worked at the Department of Family Policy at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Currently he works as an Advisor to a Member of the Czech Parliament and cooperates with the Civic Institute as researcher and lecturer especially in the field of Family Policy.

Charles De La Croix

Charles De La Croix has spent the last 15 years involved with democratic transition in the CEE region. He has spent several years in post-Communist Russia focusing on the question of religious freedom. In addition to his work on transition to democracy for the Civic Institute, De La Croix is involved with the educational programs of the Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe (www.eicee.org).

STAFF