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Pavel Fara studied journalism in the Faculty of Social

Sciences at Charles University and worked in marketing

and PR. He has been with the British Chamber of

Commerce since 2016 and became Deputy Director

this year. He lives in Prague with his wife and daughter.

Mr Fara, the British Chamber of Commerce

organises events on a wide range of topics. What

do your events have in common and what makes

them distinctive?

Our primary mission is to create and reinforce

business connections and, of course, to support

British companies that have decided to enter

the Czech market or are already operating there.

In addition to educational events, we organise

meetings with representatives of the public sphere,

business breakfasts with CEO’s of multinational

companies, as well as informal meetings such as

the traditional British pub quiz. Such events are

an interesting opportunity to establish business

relationships as well. The link between most of our

Chamber events is business networking.

What does a typical Chamber member look like?

Any company can become a member of the Chamber.

These are companies that have business links in the UK

or have their headquarters there. However, it is not

a condition of membership, our members are also

Czech companies that want to establish new contacts

or perhaps share their activities through the channels

of the British Chamber of Commerce. There are various

reasons for membership and we deal with each of our

members individually.

Apart from establishing business relationships, is

there anything else that your Chamber does? How

can one imagine the functioning of the Chamber?

Our task is not just to connect companies. Our focus is on

spreading ‘British’ values such as fair play, a free and fair

environment and an emphasis on equal opportunities.

Of course, quality education and outreach is also part

of thriving business, which is why we connect with

successful people and professionals who have something

to offer in their field and can pass on their knowledge.

Business is constantly evolving and the knowledge of

The British Chamber of Commerce in

the Czech Republic was established

in 1997. Currently, it associates

almost 200 members, among which

are companies of various industries

and professional sectors. The British

Chamber of Commerce considers its

main objective to be expanding and

improving business relations between

the Czech Republic and the UK, helping

to improve the business environment

and creating opportunities for business

contacts.

modern trends is key. This is what we follow internally and

why our Equilibrium mentoring programme is successful.

Do you also operate in the regions of the Czech

Republic?

Yes, for example Equilibrium also operates in Ostrava,

Brno and other regional cities. It is a programme for

women who have the ambition to advance their

careers. The British Chamber of Commerce set up

this programme twelve years ago and over a thousand

women have participated in it since then. And many of

them are now in top management in major companies.

We are very pleased about that. Equilibrium is a project

that involves the best managers and it’s great that they

are passing on their experience.

Does the topic of environment and conservation

somehow permeate the work of the British

Chambers of Commerce?

This is a key issue for many of our members, which is why

we set up a sustainability working group last year. Just

recently we held a forum ‘Sustainability in Real Estate’

as part of it, and there was so much interest we had to

increase the capacity of the meetings. Besides the topic

of sustainable buildings, we are also working on energy

transition, circular economy and ESG reporting.

Mr Fara, thank you for the interview.

Text: redakce

Foto: archiv Britské

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