Šimon Pánek (born 27 December 1967) is a former Czech student activist during the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
in 1989 and today the executive director of the humanitarian organization
People in Need
People in Need (PIN) ( cz, Člověk v tísni) is a Czech nonprofit, non-governmental organisation based in Prague, Czech Republic. PIN implements humanitarian relief and long term development projects, educational programmes, and human rights pr ...
(Člověk v tísni), which he co-founded in 1992. People in Need (PIN) became the biggest non-governmental organisation in Central and Eastern Europe and works worldwide to mitigate the suffering of people in times of crisis. For its international and national effort, PIN has become highly respected in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and abroad.
[European Development Days 2009 - PANEK Simon]
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Life
In 1988, Šimon Pánek and Jaromír Štětina
Jaromír Štětina (born 6 April 1943) is a Czech journalist, writer and politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019 for the Czech Republic, representing TOP 09. He is also known as a war correspondent from t ...
were the main organizers of humanitarian assistance in Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, collecting various anecdotal material to help affected people of the earthquake. One year later, in 1989, Pánek became one of "student leaders" during the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, where he was organising anti-regime occupation strikes and became co-chairman of the Central Students Strike Committee.[‘We Are Not Like Them’ - Transitions Online]
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In 1992, he founded the news agency Epicentrum, which specializes in global conflict reporting.Lidové noviny
''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record.[People in Need
People in Need (PIN) ( cz, Člověk v tísni) is a Czech nonprofit, non-governmental organisation based in Prague, Czech Republic. PIN implements humanitarian relief and long term development projects, educational programmes, and human rights pr ...]
(PIN), and has been a foreign policy specialist on the Balkan region and human rights issues abroad in the presidential administration of Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...
.
Since 2004, Pánek chaired the Czech NGO development platform FoRS. He received the ''Czech State Medal of Merit'' in 2002 and the ''European of the Year Award'' in 2003.
Publication
With Marek Benda and Monika Pajerová, ' (''students wrote a revolution''), Praha. Univerzum. 1990,
Honours
European of the Year in 2002 by the Reader's Digest magazineTIMEeurope Magazine , Heroes 2003 - Helping Hands
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President of Alliance 2015
References
External links
People in Need (English version)
Interview with One on One/ Radio Praha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panek, Simon
1967 births
Living people
Humanitarians
Czech activists
Czech democracy activists
Czech human rights activists