The Friday Club continues the tradition of Karel Čapek's circle of thinkers. We bring people together with leading historians, philosophers, scientists and public figures, in lectures, debates and journeys, so that we all make better decisions.
History is made by each and every one of us. It teaches us about the past and shapes our present. The more we know, the better decisions we can make.
The Friday Club was the name chosen by a small group of cultural and political figures close to the writer Karel Čapek. Its most important member was Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. He was so respected that in his absence his chair always remained empty.
From 1927 to 1938 the members met every Friday afternoon at Čapek's villa in Prague and debated over coffee about politics, literature, philosophy, science and ordinary human life. Since 1924 they had met on Thursdays. Over the years some fifty to sixty people took part in about seven hundred meetings.
The last gathering took place at the funeral of Karel Čapek, who died on 25 December 1938. Difficult times followed: the Gestapo had planned to arrest Čapek and persecuted other members of the club. Many went into exile, many were imprisoned, and some were taken to concentration camps from which most never returned.
In our memory, in our lectures and in our hearts the original Friday Club lives forever. Today's Friday Club respectfully carries its tradition forward: we teach people to think critically and to feel responsible for what happens around them.
For more than ten years we have organised hundreds of lectures, discussions, excursions and study trips with leading Czech historians, philosophers, physicians and public figures, from Petr Čornej and Petr Pithart to Daniel Kroupa, Jan Sokol and Radkin Honzák.
A community where friendships form across generations and where real dialogue is born.
We honour democratic values and work to deepen and spread them throughout society.
We are here for everyone who wishes to become a better version of themselves and to take responsibility for the world around them.
Imagine one trusted source where you can learn about astrophysics and the microbiome as easily as about democracy or history. Membership of the Friday Club gives you exactly that, for as long as you are a member.
Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.
Our lectures, academies and journeys are held in Czech. The full programme, membership and the members' area are at patecnici.cz, the Czech home of the Friday Club (Klub Pátečníků).
Whether you would like to become a member, propose a speaker, or bring the Friday Club to your organisation, we would love to hear from you.
hello@friday-club.com Czech contact page: patecnici.cz/kontakt