Bakala Foundation Supports the Exceptional Educational Project “The Nineties”

Václav Havel, Karel Gott, or Michal David? How (and why) should we teach about the 1990s? This is the central theme of the unique educational project The Nineties, launched by the Václav Havel Library. The project is based on an exclusive survey conducted by STEM, revealing that 85% of young people want the 1990s to be a solid part of history education. The research was supported by the foundation as part of its long-term strategic partnership with the Václav Havel Library (VHL).

The Nineties project is built on collaboration with more than 2,000 Czech teachers, who expressed a demand for teaching materials focused on the 1990s—a formative decade for Czech society.

The survey The Nineties Through the Eyes of Young People, conducted by STEM for VHL at the end of 2024, focused on 15–20-year-olds. It showed that this topic is of interest not only to teachers but also to young people themselves. Instead of associating the era primarily with infamous criminal cases, they connect it more with political changes and key figures, especially Václav Havel. At the same time, they view it as a period linked to the rise of discotheques and fashion trends such as jeans and tracksuits. Among cultural icons, they most frequently mentioned Karel Gott, Michal David, and Michael Jackson.

For today’s youth, family memories and school education are the main sources of information about the 1990s. However, they consider school lessons on the topic to be superficial, with only a small percentage describing them as thorough. Meanwhile, 85% of young people believe the 1990s should be an integral part of history curricula, as they see the changes of that time as still influencing today’s world.

To address this need, the Václav Havel Library has created The Nineties as a comprehensive audiovisual educational tool. Now offered to schools, it provides teachers with engaging video lessons, lectures, and podcasts, created in collaboration with experts from the era. “We present the period and its society in its full breadth—from politics and state-building to ecology, technological advances, the emergence of civil society, and culture,” explains Barbora Grečnerová from the Václav Havel Library.

To mark the launch of The Nineties educational project and the release of the survey results, a roundtable discussion was held at the Václav Havel Library on Thursday, February 6. Moderated by journalist Jindřich Šídlo, the event featured key guests, including Bakala Foundation Director Václav Pecha. Together with students from Třeboň High School, they discussed what the 1990s meant for the Czech Republic and their relevance today. A portion of the debate focused on how young people envision the teaching of modern history post-1989. Teachers shared their classroom experiences, and experts contributed insights from their long-term work in education.