On Sunday evening, the sixth Forum 2000 International Award for Courage and Responsibility was presented at the Prague Congress Centre as part of the opening of the 30th Forum 2000 Conference. This year’s award was presented to the General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB), a prominent coalition of strike committees and civil society organizations in Myanmar established on March 30, 2021, in response to the military coup. The coalition brings together dozens of groups, including students, trade unionists, representatives of the Civil Disobedience Movement, and ethnic strike committees. It organizes general strikes, boycotts, and other protest actions involving citizens and workers. Also honored were Tayzar San, Nan Lin, and Htet Myat Aung, who was arrested in December 2025, tortured, and subsequently sentenced to 37 years in prison.
“Tayzar San, Nan Lin, and Htet Myat Aung, together with the General Strike Coordination Body, we deeply value your work in support of democracy and the defence of human rights. You are leaving a legacy not only as individuals, but also as builders of a network that continues to function, adapt, and inspire even under conditions of extreme repression, often in the face of the threat of arrest, torture, or imprisonment. Your work within the General Strike Coordination Body – a coalition that represents a powerful example of unity across social, ethnic, and political divides – demonstrates that organized nonviolent civic resistance can survive and flourish even under the harshest conditions. Your determination is an inspiration to thousands of others,” said Jakub Klepal, Executive Director of the Forum 2000 Foundation.
Tayzar San is a physician, librarian, and one of the most prominent figures of Myanmar’s nonviolent pro-democracy movement. He is a member of the Mandalay Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee and the General Strike Coordination Body. In February 2021, he organized the first protest against the military coup, helping to spark nationwide resistance. Nan Lin is a prominent student leader, pro-democracy activist, and co-founder of university student unions. Since the military coup in February 2021, he has been deeply involved in organizing peaceful protests against military rule in Yangon. Following the suppression of mass demonstrations, he spent several years in hiding while organizing and personally participating in courageous flash protests despite the constant threat of arrest. Htet Myat Aung is a human rights defender and former President of the Yadanarbon University Students’ Union. As a prominent figure in the protest movement in Mandalay and a member of the Mandalay Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee, he played a key role in organizing peaceful resistance in the country’s second-largest city. In December 2025, he was arrested, tortured, and subsequently sentenced to 37 years in prison.
“Tayzar San, Nan Lin, and Htet Myat Aung embody extraordinary civic courage, moral steadfastness, and an unwavering commitment to nonviolent resistance in the face of one of the world’s most repressive military regimes. From the first days of the military coup in February 2021, they acted decisively – not only participating in protests, but also shaping and leading them. Tayzar San’s mobilization for the first demonstration against the military coup helped ignite a nationwide civil disobedience movement. Together, these three individuals became key drivers of the broader Spring Revolution and inspired mass participation across Myanmar,” said Jakub Klepal.
The imprisonment of Htet Myat Aung is a stark reminder of the price of peaceful resistance in Myanmar. His 37-year sentence, imposed after torture, underscores the extraordinary personal sacrifice required of those who stand up to repression. Despite arrest warrants and serious threats to their lives, Tayzar San and Nan Lin continue their work.
The award was accepted on behalf of the recipients and the General Strike Coordinating Body by three activists from Myanmar: Chan, a founding member of Women Alliance Burma; Stan, secretary of the Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee Mandalay (AFCC) and Bhone Thit, a former political prisoner and democracy activist from University Students' Unions Alumni Force (USUAF). The award was presented by Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Hundreds of distinguished guests from dozens of countries attended the award ceremony.
This year’s conference brings together not only leading intellectuals, activists, and public figures from around the world, but also prominent political personalities, including leading representative of the Belarusian democratic opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa, and former President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė. The conference also features a number of distinguished figures from the fields of public administration, diplomacy, and security, including Commander of the Joint Operations of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic Jaroslav Míka, Minister of Health of the Czech Republic Adam Vojtěch, Political Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Veronika Stromšíková, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Lisa Curtis, Executive Director of CVC Capital Partners Jakub Čanda, and Secretary General of the Community of Democracies Mantas Adomėnas.
The 30th Forum 2000 Conference runs through October 13. Through dozens of discussions and workshops, participants are exploring ways to strengthen international democratic cooperation and renew democratic solidarity.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Forum 2000 Foundation co-founder Václav Havel, whose legacy is reflected throughout the conference in an emphasis on civic responsibility, human dignity, and the ability of individuals to stand up to oppression. His anniversary is therefore not only an opportunity to commemorate his legacy, but also to reflect on how his principles can be reinterpreted and applied in the context of today’s world.
