View source for Šimon Pánek

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{{Infobox person
| name               = Šimon Pánek
| image              = Šimon Pánek.jpg
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| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1967|12|27}}
| birth_place        =
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| nationality        = Czech
| other_names        =
| known_for          =
| occupation         = Executive Director of [[People in Need]]
}}
'''Šimon Pánek''' (born 27 December 1967) is the executive director of the Czech humanitarian organisation [[People in Need]] (Člověk v tísni), which he co-founded in 1992. He is also a former Czech student activist who was notable for his activities during the Czechoslovak [[Velvet Revolution]] in 1989.
Under Pánek's leadership, People in Need (PIN) has become the biggest non-governmental organisation in Central and Eastern Europe and works worldwide to mitigate people's suffering in times of crisis. PIN has become highly respected in the [[Czech Republic]] and abroad for its international and national efforts.<ref name=autogenerated2>[http://ec.europa.eu/development/services/events/EDD2009/participants/speakers/panek_en.htm European Development Days 2009 - PANEK Simon]</ref>
==Life==
In 1988, Šimon Pánek and [[Jaromír Štětina]] organised humanitarian assistance for [[Armenia]], collecting various materials to help people affected by the earthquake.<ref>[http://www.armeniandiaspora.com/showthread.php?2236-Simon-Panek-a-Czech-who-loves-freedom Simon Panek, a Czech who loves freedom]</ref> One year later, in 1989, Pánek became one of "student leaders" of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, where he was involved in organising anti-regime strikes and became a co-chairman of the Central Students Strike Committee.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.tol.org/client/article/20922-we-are-not-like-them.html ‘We Are Not Like Them’ - Transitions Online]</ref>
In 1992, he founded the news agency Epicentrum, which specialises in global conflict reporting.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> In 1992, Šimon Pánek co-founded ''Nadace Lidových novin'' (''The [[Lidové noviny]] Foundation''), now known as [[People in Need]] (PIN). Pánek was also a foreign policy specialist on the [[Balkan]] region and human rights issues abroad in the presidential administration of [[Václav Havel]].<ref>[http://www.epd.eu/board-of-directors/simon-panek Simon Panek | European partnership for democracy, EPD]</ref>
Since 2004, Pánek chaired the Czech NGO development platform FoRS.<ref>[http://www.ong-ngo.org/spip.php?page=fiche_pn&id_rubrique=72&lang=en FoRS - International Forum of national NGO platforms - ONG-NGO]</ref> He received the ''Czech State Medal of Merit'' in 2002 and the ''European of the Year Award'' in 2003.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
Furthermore, Šimon Pánek chaired the Board of the Open Society Fund Prague, is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, of the Board of the European Partnership for Democracy and of the Board of Eurostep.<ref>[http://www.hivos.nl/english/News/News/Simon-Panek-new-President-Alliance2015 Simon Pánek new President Alliance2015 / News / News / Home - Ontwikkelingsorganisatie Hivos]</ref>
==Publication==
With Marek Benda and Monika Pajerová, ''{{lang|cs|Studenti psali revoluci}}'' (''students wrote a revolution''), Praha. Univerzum. 1990, {{ISBN|80-85207-02-8}}
==Honours==
European of the Year in 2002 by the Reader's Digest magazine<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030421101552/http://www.time.com/time/europe/hero/panek.html TIMEeurope Magazine | Heroes 2003 - Helping Hands]</ref>
[http://www.hivos.nl/english/News/News/Simon-Panek-new-President-Alliance2015 President of Alliance 2015]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://clovekvtisni.cz/indexen.php People in Need (English version)]
* [http://www.radio.cz/en/section/one-on-one/simon-panek-a-former-student-leader-remembers-the-drama-of-november-1989 Interview with One on One/ Radio Praha]
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[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Czech democracy activists]]
[[Category:Czech human rights activists]]