A legend of Czech expeditions turns one hundred! Five years ago he inspired the creation of the Neuron Expeditions

A legend of Czech expeditions, Mr Miroslav Zikmund, celebrates a wonderful milestone today — one hundred years. Together with Jiří Hanzelka he became for many of us a symbol of freedom and of childhood dreams fulfilled when they set off the expeditions of Czechs all over the world. On their journeys they saw Nepal just a year after it opened to tourists. They persuaded head-hunters to let themselves be filmed. They experienced colonial Africa. Czech scientists are now taking up this famous era, thanks in part to the Neuron Expedition project, whose creation Mr Zikmund directly inspired five years ago. We greatly value Mr Zikmund's support and congratulate him from the bottom of our hearts on this lovely milestone.

"When Zikmund and Hanzelka set off on their first journey, the height of modern technology was the ballpoint pen. And consider what they managed to build with the equipment of the time. That is an inspiration," said Petr Horký in an interview for the programme Neuron Future; he is the screenwriter and director of the documentary The Century of Miroslav Zikmund and himself focuses on mapping those places in the world that are changing so dynamically that we will never see them in their original form again.

Miroslav Zikmund podepisuje vlajku Expedic Neuron (2014)
Miroslav Zikmund signs the flag of the Neuron Expeditions (2014)

Both Miroslav Zikmund and Petr Horký have linked their names with the Neuron Expedition project — Miroslav Zikmund was the inspiration for the creation of the project, Petr Horký has for years been a member of the jury that selects the winning projects. The main aim of the project is to support scientists on their bold journeys. "After all, Zikmund and Hanzelka set off on their second expedition under the auspices of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. At that time they were working on a scientific project in which they established how various countries function, in what ways they are different and what we could learn from them," Horký explained, adding that it still holds that we have something to learn — but the world can also learn from our scientists.

The Neuron Expeditions came into being five years ago to support the field research of our scientists around the world — because, like Zikmund and Hanzelka, we believe that discoveries lie waiting everywhere. In that time the Neuron Endowment Fund has supported 8 expeditions around the world, to a total value of CZK 2.8 million, and with wonderful discoveries! The money comes exclusively from the private contributions of the fund's patrons.