Friendship, culture and giving back: Diplomats raise CZK 1.3 million for Czech causes
Diplomats' spouses, ambassadors, charity representatives, and government officials gathered at Prague's historic Czernin Palace on 12 June, as the Diplomatic Spouses Association (DSA) awarded more than CZK 1.3 million to 16 Czech charities.
Held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the annual DSA Charity Awards celebrated nearly three decades of cooperation between Prague's international diplomatic community and Czech civil society. The grants, funded through proceeds from the DSA's International Charity Market, supports projects ranging from senior care groups and youth integration programmes to palliative care and assistance for victims of domestic violence.
Opening the ceremony, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka made a short speech to highlight the importance of charitable engagement.
"The best way to get to know Czechia is not through official reports, but through its people, culture, and charity," he said, praising the association's contribution to strengthening ties between the diplomatic corps and Czech society.
For Jana Muranská, President of the DSA and wife of the Slovak Ambassador to Czechia, the diversity of the projects supported reflects the organisation's broader mission.
"Among the projects that were supported are initiatives for disadvantaged children, palliative care, organisations helping the elderly, socially excluded people, and victims of domestic violence. There is one charity that works with children on the autism spectrum. Since I am also a mother of a child with autism, it is a very important issue for me. We should participate in spreading awareness about autism and helping those on the spectrum to be accepted."
Muranská emphasised that many of the organisations receiving support address needs that cannot always be fully met through public funding.
Among this year's recipients was the Centre for Integration of Children and Youth, an organisation that helps young people navigate social and health-related challenges. These children even gave a heart-warming performance at the event.
The director of the centre, Marie Petrželová has been working for the charity for over 35 years.
"We try to provide real, practical help. The group of children who performed here today includes both healthy children and children facing social or health difficulties, including some with autism. We work especially hard to help them integrate and ensure that other children accept them as part of the group."
The ceremony also showed a growing emphasis on autism support services. Representatives from Za Sklem, an organisation supporting people on the autism spectrum, described how their grant would be utilised.
"We are a social service organisation that helps people on the autism spectrum: children, adolescents, and adults. With this funding, we will be able to purchase essential sensory equipment and motor skills training aids."
For Sonia Shehryar, wife of Pakistan's Ambassador to Czechia and head of the DSA's charity committee, one of the most rewarding aspects of the programme is learning about Czech society through the organisations themselves.
One charity highlighted by Shehryar was Charita Nový Hrozenkov, which provides palliative care in remote areas of the Wallachian mountains.
"They help people who want to die with dignity in their own homes in a very remote region, That was something that really touched my heart."
Beyond the practical impact of the grants, Shehryar shares how the association gives diplomatic spouses a meaningful way to engage with their host country.
"It gives meaning to diplomatic spouses. It gives us a purpose and a way to contribute significantly to the host country. It brings us all together in the diplomatic community and by giving all that donation money to causes within our host country, it brings us culturally closer, and teaches us a lot about the country. It helps us to interact with people that we would never have normally met if we only kept to ourselves.
“These charities are the people who are doing the actual work. So I feel more proud and honoured to be able to support them and to learn more about the Czech Republic. Through this organization, I have learned that they care about each other.”
That spirit of community was echoed by Marie Marešová a representative of Mezi Námi, an organisation promoting connections between generations. They have an inter-generational centre in Prague providing social care and activities for the elderly as well as people of all ages.
“We are very grateful that we've received this money, we already received it last year and we used it for our inter-generational centre here in Prague, in Pankrác. We usually have some yoga classes, we have crafts, we have some beautiful lectures, plus we have VR ‑ VR glasses with travel programs so they can just go to New Zealand and they're very happy about it.”
The DSA itself is a model of international cooperation. Its leadership team includes representatives from Slovakia, Sweden, Pakistan, and the United States, bringing together a diverse group in support of a common goal.
Catharina Jevrell, Vice-President of the DSA and spouse of Sweden's Ambassador to Czechia praised her time in Prague as a member of the association.
"It's all about friendship and culture and giving back. But the friendship is fantastic. It's amazing, actually, because then you get to know the culture quickly. You get to meet interesting people. So it's a great connection between your country and the country you're living in or working for. It's such a privilege for all of us diplomats to be here in Prague in the Czech Republic. It's such a beautiful country. It has so much history, so much culture and such lovely people. So it's a true pleasure to be here. And I think all of us diplomats feel that.”
While the awards ceremony celebrated the distribution of this year's grants, organisers are already looking ahead to their largest fundraising event of the year: the International Charity Market. Scheduled for 21 November at the Hilton Prague Atrium, the event will once again bring together diplomatic missions from around the world to showcase their cultures, cuisines, and traditions while raising money for Czech charitable causes. Last year's market featured representatives from 46 countries.
For nearly thirty years, the Diplomatic Spouses Association has demonstrated that charity can be a powerful form of diplomacy in building an international community that engages with and gives back to Czech society.
