UNICEF exhibition traces Czechia’s engagement in helping to improve children’s lives worldwide
The exhibition “UNICEF in the Czech Republic, the Czech Republic in UNICEF”, which officially opened on Prague’s Jungmann Square on Thursday, invites visitors to explore Czechia’s role in this global humanitarian organization. From the very first UNICEF postcard born in South Bohemia to present-day projects changing children’s lives worldwide. I spoke to Pavla Gomba, Executive Director of UNICEF Czech Republic, about the main message behind the exhibition.
“This exhibition has multiple objectives. We wanted to present UNICEF not as an institution, but as a chain of stories -stories of individuals, stories of visions that stand behind UNICEF. We also wanted to show how the Czech Republic has been benefiting from UNICEF's interventions, starting from the supplies received after World War II, until today, the aid to Ukrainian refugees. But at the same time, how much the country has evolved from a recipient to a net donor, to a developed country that can contribute to UNICEF programs elsewhere. And we are very proud of the story of the first UNICEF card, which originated in Czechoslovakia in 1947, but also the amazing number of contributions and individual donors that we have in the Czech Republic. For this exhibition, for the first time ever, we summed up the contributions since 2007. And the figure is amazing. It's over 1,200,000,000 Czech crowns, which is really remarkable.”
What do you see as the most pressing challenge for the Czech branch of UNICEF today?
“Well, as we see in the world today, solidarity is shrinking and there might be different priorities. We see countries switching to the defense mode and allocating their budgets to defense and to military. We represent the opposite. We believe that no child is an enemy. This has been our mission throughout the years. And this has also been our message. UNICEF works in the most difficult countries and territories in the world, places like Gaza, like Sudan, like Ukraine, like Yemen, like Haiti, some of the forgotten emergencies. And it has been increasingly difficult to sensitize our supporters and the public to that. But I think that this mission is even more important now.”
If you were to encourage someone to make even a small donation, what would you say?
“Eight crowns, which is less than the cost of a bottle of water, would buy one therapeutic feeding for a malnourished child anywhere in the world. And this is something that is so much worth it. A human life should not be worth eight crowns.”
The UNICEF panel exhibition, on display at Prague’s Jungmann Square, runs until 6 October 2025. There is also a digital version accessible via UNICEF’s web page.
First UNICEF postcard drawn by Czech girl becomes fundraising icon
The first UNICEF postcard, created in the United States in 1949, featured a painting by a seven-year-old Czech girl named Jitka Samková who had received aid from UNICEF after World War II. Her drawing of children dancing around a maypole was sent to the UNICEF office in Prague and eventually made its way to New York, where it was used for a modest fundraiser and launched UNICEF's now-famous greeting card program.
