Current State of Civil Society in Cuba

March 26, 2012, Prague
March 29, 2012, Hradec Králové

The Forum 2000 Foundation in cooperation with Czech universities prepared a series of lectures on the “Current State of Civil Society in Cuba” with the participation of Cuban dissident Rolando Jiménez Pozada. Lectures were held in March 2012 at the Charles University in Prague and at the University of Hradec Králové.

Rolando Jiménez Pozada

Rolando Jiménez Pozada is a lawyer, a leading representative of civil society in Cuba and a former political prisoner. Mr. Pozada was one of the 75 dissidents arrested in 2003 after a major crackdown against Cuban opposition during the so called “Black Spring”. He was released together with 51 other dissidents in 2010 following an agreement among the Cuban government, the Catholic Church and Spain, on the condition that he leaves the country. He and his family were the first Cuban citizens to be granted political asylum in the Czech Republic.

Lecture and Discussion Topic

The lecture was dedicated to the current situation in Cuba and the role of civil society in this country. It focused on the problems of civil society, as well as on the problems of activists for democracy and human rights. The lecture was followed by an open discussion.
 
This event was intended for students and professors from partner universities. Mr. Pozada was speaking Spanish and was consecutively interpreted into Czech. The lecture was introduced by Carlos González, the analyst of the Forum 2000 Foundation focusing on Latin America. The participants received an up‑to‑date study paper about the state of civil society in Cuba.
 
The lectures were part of the project financed by the Government of the Czech Republic.

Outcomes

Study Paper

Czech

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