“The biggest obstacle is not the stairs, but the people,” says the thirtieth winner of the Olga Havel Award Doris Průšová
On May 27, 2024, Doris Průšová received the Olga Havlova Prize awarded by the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havlova Foundation (VDV) in the Fanta Hall of the Main Railway Station in Prague. The laureate received the award for her efforts to help create jobs in the mainstream labor market for people with health disabilities and break down barriers between healthy and disabled employees. The sculpture “Encouragement” by the sculptor Olbram Zoubek was presented by Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Vojtěch Sedláček, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the VDV, and Bishop Václav Malý, a member of the Board of Directors of the VDV. Michaela Linková became the winner of the Public Prize.
The Olga Havlová Award was first announced by Olga Havlová in 1995 with the aim of honoring people with a health disadvantage who, despite their handicaps, selflessly help others and are thus an inspiration to overcome obstacles for others. “The thirty-year anniversary of the Olga Havlová Prize is a celebration of all its previous laureates, who follow Olga Havlová’s legacy and make the world a better place to live. It also celebrates the courage, solidarity, and change that this award represents,” said Monika Granja, director of VDV.
This year, the jury of the Olga Havlova Award selected laureates from 19 personalities proposed by the public. Doris Průšová received the award for her efforts to contribute to the accessibility of workplaces for people with any handicap. Her personal experience with how difficult it is for a person with a handicap to find a job in the regular labor market led her to this activity. In the beginning, she encountered a lack of understanding from companies: “They thought that people with disabilities had a protected market where they could work or stay at home and receive a pension. No one has thought about the fact that work is a form of socialization and integration into society,” says Doris Průšová. The Troublegang team, which is part of the Employment Agency for people with disabilities O KROK and where Doris works, has so far managed to find employment for 80 people with disabilities.
For the eighth time, the VDV also awarded the Public Prize as part of the Olga Havlová Prize, which was won by Michaela Linková, who suffers from a rare and severe disease, systemic scleroderma. In addition, she has been fighting cancer for a long time. She works in the association Revma Liga Czech Republic, where for the past two years she has been intensively dedicated to a project that fundamentally changes the patient environment in our country. In addition, she founded the Scleroderma patient group, which provides valuable assistance to all patients with this diagnosis. He actively promotes awareness of this rare rheumatic disease.
The main media partner of the Olga Havlova Prize 2024 is Český rozhlas and Deník N. Other partners are: Správa železnik, Minet Elektro, ČSOB, Mountfield, Rückl, Copy General, Model Obaly and Radio 1.
You can find more about the Olga Havlova Prize here: www.cenaolgyhavlove .cz
