CZELO officially starts a new period of its activity

Czech Liaison Office for Education and Research was opened in Brussels, with Robert Plaga and Dana Petrova as special guests.

Robert Plaga
CZELO was opened by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports - Robert Plaga, in the Prague House in Brussels

Czech Liaison Office for Education and Research (CZELO) officially started a new period of its activity yesterday. The CZELO office has been active in the Belgian metropolis since 2005, becoming a part of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS) in 2021. Apart from supporting the Czech Republic’s international cooperation in research and development, the CZELO office will now also focus on supporting international cooperation in education. The innovated concept of CZELO activities has been implemented since early 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the related hygienic measures, the official launch of the new stage of its activity was postponed to the autumn of 2021.  

V Pražském domě měli hosté možnost shlédnout panelovou výstavu Čeští vědci a vědkyně, kterou si CZELO zapůjčilo od Akademie věd České republiky
The guests of Prague House had the opportunity to see the exhibition Czech Men and Women of Science, which was lent to CZELO by the Czech Academy of Sciences.

The open day was a part of the official opening of CZELO, during which the visitors had the opportunity to see the interiors of the office that are available to Czech educational and research institutions for their work meetings and other related activities in Brussels and, at the same time, meet the office employees, who can provide them with professional support with the realisation of their projects in Brussels. The office was visited during the day by a number of Czech representatives of various EU institutions, foreign liaison offices and Czech universities. The Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Robert Plaga arrived accompanied by the director of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research Dana Petrova. The evening was completed by a festive reception in the Prague House.

Lenka Procházková
The head of the CZELO office Lenka Procházková during the official opening in the Prague House in Brussels.

The CZELO office is situated in Brussels, Rue Montoyer 23, within walking distance from all key European institutions. It offers to its clients from educational and research organisations of the Czech Republic information, consulting and advisory services and supports organizations of meetings, workshops, seminars, conferences, congress and other international gatherings in Brussels. The goal of the CZELO office is to present and promote the educational and research system of the Czech Republic in Brussels and share our achievements in this field with the stakeholders in Brussels. Last but not least, CZELO also provides logistic support to central state administration bodies of the Czech Republic, and together with the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU in Brussels, assists them in fulfilling the main goals of the Czech educational, research and innovative politics.

„Our aim, we resolved, together with the CZELO team, is to help to achieve intensive involvement of Czech educational and research institutions in European community programmes. Therefore, CZELO activities will develop to provide Czech stakeholders with the best possible information service and logistic support for enhancing the prestige of Czech education and research in Brussels. Not only employees of all levels of Czech educational system, the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, but also private research organizations and connected resorts are very welcome to use the services of CZELO. We are convinced that CZELO will be widely attended and will make a significant contribution to the development of Czech scientific diplomacy. Our integration into European educational space, respectively European research space, is essential for strengthening the international competitiveness of Czech economics and prosperity of Czech society. We have no doubt that CZELO’s role will contribute to this goal,” adds Dana Petrova, director of DZS.

Oběd CZELO a MŠMT
Representatives of DZS, MŠMT and ZEK met on the occasion of the opening of the CZELO office in Brussels. From the right: Michal Uhl, deputy director of DZS, Dana Petrova, director DZS, Robert Plaga, the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Jaroslav Zajíček, ambassador of Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU. With his back to us sits deputy of MŠMT, Pavel Doleček.

More photos are available on CZELO facebook page.