EMN Czech Republic National Conference
Integration of Migrants as a Precondition for Building a Cohesive and Secure Society
Thursday, 23 October 2025, 09.00 – 15.45
Prague, Czech Republic
Rationale and Aims
The EU is undergoing rapid developments in the area of migration and therefore, changes in approach are also taking place in the field of integration. Topics such as a sense of security, the need for a stronger coordination structure, the role of the host society, and integration not only as an option but also as a more firmly grasped objective are coming to the fore. In these turbulent times, the introduction of a basic conceptual material on integration in the Czech Republic is being considered. Within this framework, it will be necessary not only to reflect on the history of integration in the Czech Republic, which began a quarter of a century ago with the adoption of the first Concept for the Integration of Immigrants in 2000, but above all to define a new long-term vision and roles of actors. The conference, supported by exchange of international experience and views, should be a major contribution to this.
Practical Information
Venue
- Grandium Hotel Prague (Politických vězňů 913/12, 110 00 Nové Město)
Date and Time
- 23 October 2025, 09:30 – 15:45 (registration starts at 9:00)
Form
- in person
Accreditation
- registration via the form sent to the email address
Language
- CZ/EN, interpretation available on site
Catering
- refreshments will be provided on site in the form of a buffet.
The following guests will speak at the conference
Pavla Novotná
Pavla Novotná serves as the Director of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy at the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. Before taking on her current role in 2017, she held several positions at the Ministry, starting in the Department of International Relations and Country of Origin Information. She later served as Head of the Immigration Legislation and Administrative Procedures Unit, the Concepts and Analysis Unit, and as Acting Director of the Department of International Cooperation and EU Affairs.
Jan Paďourek
Vít Novotný
Vít Novotnýis an expert for migration, asylum, border control, migrant integration, and religion at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. His previous activities at the Centre included the creation of centre-right policy narratives through edited volumes, in cooperation with the Centre’s member foundations.
His previous experience was in the education, private, public and non-profit sectors in the UK (2004-10). In 1991-93 and 2001-03 he worked as a pharmacist and sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry in Czechia. His education includes undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical pharmacy, European studies, public administration and politics from universities in Czechia, the US and the UK.
In 1992, he ran for the Czech Parliament on the list of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA). In 1989 he was active, as a student, in the citizen movement that overthrew the Czechoslovak Communist regime. He has published widely on politics and current issues in Czech and English-language press. He speaks Czech, English, conversational Russian and is learning German and French.
Martin Hofmann
Meghan Benton
Vincent Catot
Anna Lukešová
Jelena Silajdžić
Jiří Vesecký
Petr Syrový
Alena Krejčí
Moderators
Kateřina Kopečná
Tomáš Urubek