Successful Head of Czech Centres Dismissed After Change of Foreign Minister

Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists party) has removed Jitka Panek Jurková from her post as director of the Czech Centres network — just three years into the job and only seven weeks after she gave birth. The minister did not disclose the reasons for her dismissal, saying only that he has his own vision for the centres' development and wants to carry it out with someone new.

Former Czech ambassador to Egypt, Ivan Jukl, has been appointed as the network's new head.

How a Czech Woman Won Over Brussels

The 38-year-old Panek Jurková, repeatedly named by Forbes among the most influential women in Czechia, spent more than five years heading the Czech Centre in Brussels before 2023. Like the entire network of Czech cultural institutes abroad, the Brussels branch chronically struggled with underfunding.

Despite the modest budget, under her leadership (2017–2023) Czechia organised a whole series of notable cultural initiatives in Brussels — from a successful mission by leading Czech video game developers to Belgium, the birthplace of the comic strip, to an extensive programme of events during Czechia's 2022 presidency of the Council of the EU.

Brussels Shop Windows Told the Story of Czechia

The most memorable project was the 2018 exhibition "100 x Czech," marking the centenary of Czech graphic design. Rather than staging a traditional exhibition in one of Brussels' palaces, Panek Jurková and two colleagues persuaded shop, business and café owners in the popular Ixelles district to display Czech design objects in their windows free of charge.

As a result, a funeral parlour showcased Czech Cubist tableware, a famous bulbous rubber boot by designer Maxim Velčovský "peered out" at passers-by from a flower shop, and a Botas sneaker took pride of place in the window of a well-known bookshop. In total, around 40 items were displayed in shop windows across the city. The project was discussed in Belgian media for weeks — locals not only bought up Czech footwear but even managed to negotiate a supply contract with a Czech manufacturer of the famous orange toy Tatra trucks through one of the toy shops involved.

Panek Jurková, who studied cultural diplomacy, later gained further recognition for her podcast series "Jazzman vs. Spies," about how countries used art as a tool of soft power in politics during the 20th century.

Her dismissal is formally lawful, and she will certainly not be left without work. Yet many see the case as a telling example of how the current Czech government is pushing out experienced and effective officials from key positions.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz