Hnutí DUHA

Hnutí DUHA, literally the Rainbow Movement, is a Czech environmental movement and nongovernmental organization focused on nature protection, climate and energy policy, sustainable resource use, and public participation in environmental decision-making. It emerged in Brno in 1989, when a group of students established the movement shortly before the collapse of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. The organization was formally registered on 28 September 1990 under the name Hnutí Duha - Přátelé Země Česká republika, meaning Rainbow Movement - Friends of the Earth Czech Republic. It joined Friends of the Earth International in 1994 and is represented through Friends of the Earth Europe alongside other national organizations. The movement developed from a grassroots protest organization into one of the most prominent environmental groups in the Czech Republic. Its work combines public campaigning, policy advocacy, legal and technical analysis, environmental-impact assessment, public education, and practical ecological advice. Hnutí DUHA has campaigned on nuclear energy, coal mining, transport infrastructure, forests, renewable energy, waste, and broader questions of sustainable economic development. It has also prepared or contributed to assessments used in environmental-impact and legislative processes, and it provides ecological information and services to individuals and municipalities. A defining feature of Hnutí DUHA is its use of campaigns directed at specific public decisions and construction projects. During the 1990s it organized a sustained campaign concerning the Temelín Nuclear Power Station. It has also opposed or sought changes to major infrastructure and extractive projects, including a proposed highway toward southern Bohemia and the expansion of lignite mining in northern Bohemia. According to descriptions of the organization, its campaigning and advocacy have contributed to the cancellation or postponement of several large projects, although individual outcomes have depended on wider political, legal, and administrative processes. Hnutí DUHA has maintained formal independence from political parties while several of its members have become associated with the Czech Green Party. Among the movement's best-known figures are co-founders Jan Beránek and Jakub Patočka, as well as environmental campaigner and public intellectual Vojtěch Kotecký. The organization does not emphasize a conventional rigid hierarchy; instead, it has historically worked through task-oriented and relatively autonomous groups. Its activities have been supported by employees, local branches, volunteers, and specialist campaign teams. Students have been an important source of volunteer participation. By 2018, the movement employed approximately 40 people across its main office in Brno and a smaller Prague office, with ten branches having been established around the country since the first branch opened in Olomouc in 1991. Its funding has included foundation support, Czech public grants, individual donations, and income from its web-based publishing activities. Historical financial information cited for the organization states that its 2005 budget was below CZK 11 million, but that figure should not be treated as a current budget. Since 2001, Hnutí DUHA has issued Sedmá generace, a journal published on a bimonthly basis. The organization remains an active Czech environmental advocacy brand rather than a commercial product company.

Hnutí DUHA was created in Brno in 1989 by a group of students during the final period of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Its foundation placed it within the wave of civic and environmental organizing that accompanied the political transformation of the country. The movement became a formally registered nongovernmental organization on 28 September 1990 under the longer legal name Hnutí Duha - Přátelé Země Česká republika. In 1994 it joined Friends of the Earth International, giving the Czech movement a place within an international federation of environmental organizations. During its first decade, Hnutí DUHA expanded beyond its original local and protest-oriented character. It developed campaigns, research, public communications, environmental-impact work, and proposals concerning legislation and public administration. It remained formally independent of political parties, although some members later became prominent in or associated with the Czech Green Party. The organization also became one of the most visible environmental movements in the Czech Republic, growing in influence relative to other national environmental groups. Nuclear energy was one of the movement's best-known early subjects. Hnutí DUHA conducted a long campaign against the Temelín Nuclear Power Station during the 1990s, using demonstrations, public communication, and policy arguments to challenge the project. Its broader approach was not limited to protest: the movement participated in assessment procedures, prepared environmental analyses, and promoted alternatives such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The organization subsequently addressed large infrastructure and extractive proposals. It opposed or sought to delay a new highway toward southern Bohemia and campaigned against the expansion of lignite mining in northern Bohemia. Descriptions of its work credit the movement with helping bring about the cancellation or postponement of several major construction projects. These outcomes were achieved within wider legal, administrative, and political processes rather than through a single organizational mechanism. Hnutí DUHA also developed a decentralized operating model. Rather than relying exclusively on a strongly hierarchical structure, it worked through task-focused and semi-independent groups. The first regional branch was established in Olomouc in 1991, and the network later reached ten branches across the Czech Republic. Volunteers, especially students, supported campaigns and public activities. By 2018, the movement reportedly employed about 40 people, with its main office in Brno and a smaller office in Prague. Its financial model has traditionally combined foundation grants, Czech government grants, individual donations, and income from publishing activity. Historical figures reported for 2005 put the budget below CZK 11 million, while also describing foundation support as the largest funding category and government grants as a smaller component. Those figures are historical and do not establish the organization's current finances. Since 2001, Hnutí DUHA has published the bimonthly journal Sedmá generace, extending its role from campaigning into environmental journalism and public education. Today, Hnutí DUHA is best understood as an active Czech environmental advocacy organization. Its scope includes climate and energy, forests and biodiversity, mining, transport, waste, sustainable production and consumption, renewable technologies, and public participation in environmental decisions. It combines local volunteering and campaigning with expert submissions, policy work, ecological advice, and cooperation through Friends of the Earth Europe and Friends of the Earth International.

• 2018

  Organization described as a national network

  [1]Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material described approximately 40 employees, offices in Brno and Prague, and ten branches across the Czech Republic.

• 2001

  Sedmá generace publication launched

  [1]Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began issuing the bimonthly environmental journal Sedmá generace.

• 1994

  Joined Friends of the Earth International

  [1]Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org

  The movement became part of the Friends of the Earth International network.

• 1991

  First regional branch established

  [1]Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org

  Hnutí DUHA established its first regional branch in Olomouc as it expanded beyond its original Brno base.

• 1990

  Formal registration

  [1]Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was formally registered on 28 September under the name Hnutí Duha - Přátelé Země Česká republika.

• 1989

  Movement founded in Brno

  [1]Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org

  A group of students in Brno established Hnutí DUHA shortly before the end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

An independent, campaign-oriented Czech environmental organization combining grassroots mobilization with policy research, public education, technical analysis, and practical ecological advice.

• Advocacy

  Environmental campaigns

  Hnutí DUHA organizes public campaigns on major environmental and infrastructure decisions. Its campaign model can include public mobilization, policy advocacy, expert analysis, media work, and participation in administrative or assessment procedures. Historical subjects have included the Temelín nuclear power station, transport infrastructure, lignite mining, forests, renewable energy, and broader sustainable-development policy.

• Research and policy

  Environmental policy and impact analysis

  The organization contributes environmental-impact estimates and analysis to assessment processes and proposed legislation. This work gives campaigns a technical and policy component, allowing the movement to comment on public projects, regulations, energy policy, resource extraction, and environmental safeguards.

• Advisory services

  Ecological advisory services

  Hnutí DUHA provides ecological information and services for individuals and municipalities. These activities complement its national campaigns by translating environmental knowledge into practical guidance and by encouraging local authorities and members of the public to adopt more sustainable approaches.

• Publication · 2001

  Sedmá generace

  Sedmá generace is an environmental journal issued by Hnutí DUHA on a bimonthly basis since 2001. It extends the organization's public-education and publishing work beyond campaign materials and provides a platform for environmental, social, and sustainability-related discussion.

• 1990Temelín Nuclear Power Station campaign

  Czech Republic

  Hnutí DUHA ran a long campaign during the 1990s opposing or challenging the Temelín Nuclear Power Station. The campaign used public protest and environmental-policy arguments and became one of the movement's most recognizable early national activities.

  Source
• Southern Bohemia highway opposition

  Czech Republic

  The movement opposed a proposed new highway toward southern Bohemia and used environmental advocacy and assessment-related work to challenge the project.

  Outcome. Reference material states that Hnutí DUHA contributed to the cancellation or delay of several large construction projects, including this highway proposal, but does not provide a specific final date or sole-causation finding.

  Source
• Northern Bohemia lignite-mining expansion opposition

  Czech Republic

  Hnutí DUHA campaigned against the expansion of lignite mining in northern Bohemia, linking local environmental impacts with wider concerns about energy policy and resource extraction.

  Outcome. The reference account credits the movement with helping cancel or delay several large projects, including mining expansion, without specifying a single definitive outcome date.

  Source

• 2001

  Expansion into recurring environmental publishingOther

  Background

  The movement sought to support environmental education and public discussion alongside its direct campaigning.

  Action taken

  Hnutí DUHA began issuing the bimonthly journal Sedmá generace.

  Aftermath

  The journal became part of the organization's publishing and public-communication activities.

  Source

• 1994

  International network affiliationStrategy

  Background

  Hnutí DUHA had developed from a Czech grassroots environmental movement into a national organization seeking broader cooperation.

  Action taken

  The organization joined Friends of the Earth International and became part of the wider Friends of the Earth environmental network.

  Aftermath

  It subsequently participated in the Friends of the Earth Europe umbrella structure while retaining its nominal independence from Czech political parties.

  Source

1. 1Hnutí DUHAen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Hnutí DUHA official websitehnutiduha.cz