Václav Havel Dialogues in Brussels: Ukrainian Testimony and the Power of Personal Courage
04.12.2025 / 17:37 | Aktualizováno: 04.12.2025 / 17:39
The tenth edition of the Václav Havel European Dialogues took place in Brussels on 2 December 2025. Inspired by the writings of the dissident and later President Václav Havel, this year’s event - titled “The Power of the Powerless Today: From Ukrainian Testimony to European Action” - explored the role of personal courage and responsibility in defending human rights and democracy amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. The keynote guest was Maksym Butkevych, laureate of the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. The Brussels edition was organised by the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library, the Czech Centre Brussels and the Representation of the City of Prague to the EU. The Václav Havel Dialogues serve as an international platform for reflecting on Europe’s direction through the lens of values that shaped Havel’s political and moral legacy — including responsibility, human dignity and the strength of civil society.
This year’s Brussels edition revisited one of Havel’s most influential essays, The Power of the Powerless, which remains strikingly relevant today as Europe and Ukraine continue to face Russia’s prolonged aggression. The discussion focused on how individual stories of courage, testimony, civic engagement and lived experience from Ukraine’s wartime reality can inspire Europe and the wider international community to take meaningful political action and to uphold human rights, democracy and universal principles of international law.
The event opened with remarks by the Czech Ambassador to the EU, Vladimír Bärtl, and the Head of the Prague Delegation to the EU, Lucie Čadilová. The keynote address was delivered by Ukrainian journalist Maksym Butkevych, recognised this autumn by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and awarded with Vaclav Havel Prize for Human Rights 2025 for his long-standing human rights work, including advocacy for political prisoners such as filmmaker Oleh Sentsov. Between 2022 and 2024, Butkevych himself spent two years in Russian captivity in the Luhansk region. He now works to support the release of military and civilian prisoners of war — to whom he dedicated his award. His story remains a powerful symbol of resilience, moral integrity and the defence of human dignity under the most extreme conditions. His message underscored that individual acts of courage can form the foundation of shared European solidarity.
The discussion also featured Petra Gombalová Kyslingerová, a Czech and EU diplomat who currently leads policy coordination and the office of the Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Belén Martínez Carbonell. Petra previously led the EEAS Ukraine Division. Her remarks focused on Ukraine’s struggle for freedom — and Europe’s own — as well as the role of EU institutions in safeguarding human rights and supporting Ukraine’s relief, recovery and reconstruction on its path towards European integration.
The debate was moderated by Rostislav Valvoda, Director of the Prague Civil Society Centre.
The Václav Havel Dialogues have, in recent years, become a well-established part of Brussels’ diplomatic landscape, attracting not only representatives of the diplomatic community but also the wider public. This year’s edition once again demonstrated that Havel’s legacy — faith in the power of the individual, personal responsibility and truthful testimony — remains a guiding inspiration for European policymaking in a time of the gravest security crisis in decades.