Annual Gratias Agit awards presented

The Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, has presented 17 individuals and groups with the Gratias Agit award for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic around the world. Recipients this year included film director Milos Forman, the late human rights advocate Irena Kirkland and the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Centre. The Gratias Agit award was first given in 1997.