TOPAZ is a think-tank founded by the Czech political party TOP 09 in April 2012. Its mission is to disseminate conservative ideas to the party members and the general public and to build on the activities previously coordinated by the TOP 09 Committee for Education. It aims to support discussion of nationwide social issues by engaging independent experts; to cooperate with TOP09 expert committees; to engage in fundraising; to form alternative opinions on governmental proposals; and to prepare analytical and conceptual documents examining specific issues and proposing possible solutions.
The inspiration to establish TOPAZ as an educational platform for a political party came from similar projects abroad, for instance the Political Academy of the Austrian People’s Party or the Konrad Adenauer Foundation linked to the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
TOPAZ organizes conferences, seminars and discussions between TOP 09 party members and the general public. Its activities aim at promoting discussions between leaders, experts, local citizen initiatives, and the general public, including the youth. The discussions should inform the public about the benefits of democracy and EU membership and present the values of conservative politics. They identify new perspectives, form new visions and support their application in the TOP09 policies.
President
Karel Schwarzenberg
Executive Council
Reda Ifrah – President
Helena Langšádlová
Jan Husák
Jan Chabr
Marek Ženíšek
Markéta Pekarová Adamová
Terezie Radoměřská
Academic Council
Lucie Tungul – President
Ladislav Cabada
Hynek Jeřábek
Jakub Lepš
Michael Romancov
Ondřej Schneider
Zdeněk Tůma
Miroslav Zámečník
