Exhibition was opened at the ceremony attended by Ambassador Jan Šnaidauf, University President Prof. Hamid Fadhil Al-Tamimi, Director of Foreign Relations Dept. Mr. Inad Al-Shimmari, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Mr. Ghasan Ali Mushin and numerous other dignitaries, professors and students. 

Dr. Vlasta Kálalová was born in the South Bohemian village near Tábor. During her studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Prague, in one of the lectures by Professor Jaroslav Hlava, she heard about the need to build a hospital in the Orient for the research of tropical diseases. Vlasta was enthusiastic about this idea and decided to embark on a journey that brought her to Bagdad. She indeed opened her practice with twenty beds, which eventually (with the help of her Iraqi colleagues) grew into a hospital and her reputation grown to serve many patients (including from Iraqi royal family of that time). Her life story is interesting from several angles. (1) It serves as a good example how individuals can make an impact on lives of people in other cultures and distant countries. (2) How a great dream of a humble girl can lead her through her life to achieve great results. (3) How the links between Czechs and Iraqis were made even long years before the diplomatic relations were officially established between Czechoslovakia and Iraq. We are sure more interesting angles could be derived from the story of her lifetime. 

The life and experience of Mrs. Vlasta Kalalova has been documented in a book called “The Doctor from the House of Trumpeters” written by Ilona Borská. The book is well known and popular among the readers in the Czech republic. It has been published already seven times and has been translated into many languages, including Arabic. 

The exhibition was also an opportunity for Embassy to discuss possible cooperation between Czech and Iraqi universities, student and professor exchanges. In year 2023, there were 129 iraqi students studying at the Czech Universities (35 in bachelor, 72 in master, and 21 in doctoral study programs). Five Czech universities (ČZE, Masarykova Univerzita, Mendelova Univerzita,VŠB-TUO a VUT Brno) have 10 cooperation agreements with Iraqi universities.  

Embassy would like to thank the Al-Mustansiriyah University for hosting the exhibition at its premises, and the sponsors – companies New Oil Generation and Comedeq for their generous support. 

 

Připravil: Ing. Roman Plevák, Ph.D., vedoucí oddělení obchodu a rozvojové spolupráce, Velvyslanectví ČR v Bagdádu