Don't let Brno suprise you! (photo by Alberto Fernandez)

As far as I understand the press release filled with buzzwords, the centre offers free consulting for anyone who wants to move, is moving or has moved to work in Brno. So if you want to set up a bank account, health insurance or find a school for your kids, feel free ask Brno Expat Centre.

Contact

• Don Sparling (cool guy, btw!)
• 9 Veveří st., office open every Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and every Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m
• (+420) 541 128 998
• sparling@brnopolis.eu

A non-profit Brnopolis has prepared an interesting event for the foreigners living in Brno: Brnopolis Expat Meeting. It takes place in the atrium of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Masaryk University, 10 Joštova st. on Thursday, June 10, from 5 p.m.

Don Sparling will shortly introduce the Brno International Club vision and its services that should help you to overcome the usual difficulties. You will be able to exchange experience & contacts with your peers and representatives of both as international companies as the local institutions. The meeting will also mark the opening of the Brnopolis photo exhibition Brno through the eyes of expats & award the contest winners and Lukáš Morávek (the first Czech employee in Google and a Masaryk University graduate) will share his story of how he was an expat in Dublin. Last, but not least, don’t forget to taste delicious Moravian wine and buffet :)

If you want to take a part in the meeting, you have to register by sending a pure e-mail with your name, nationality and profession at events@brnopolis.eu.

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Logo of the contest

Non-profit Brnopolis is running an interesting photo contest for expats living in Brno:

We are opening a contest for the best photographs displaying the city of Brno seen through the eyes of our expats.

There is no strict limit in terms of genres. Take pictures of architecture, nature, people, events or anything else, make it arranged or documentary, just think of the relevance to Brno (each picture needs to be described by a short text specifying the place) and be creative. The photos will be judged by the jury consisting of three professional photographers: Rostislav Košťál, Roman Franc and Monika Tomášková.

The prizes are not known at this moment but as I’ve seen the soirées organised by Brnopolis I guess the awards will be delicious :)

"The OpenCoffee Club was started to encourage entrepreneurs, developers and investors to organise real-world informal meetups to chat, network and grow."

Another OpenCofee — informal networking event — will be held on Wednesday, September 30th from 9 a.m. in Ventana Cafe at 2 Božetěchova st.

Put simply: this time you have an opportunity to discuss all the problems expats may have in Brno. You can even share your ideas with local politicans.

Join us at another informal Brnopolis OpenCoffee meeting to discuss what Brno needs for more frequent cooperation with foreign partners and what services can be provided in the International center (whatever it means for you now).

This time we invited influencers involved in the topics above. We expect representatives of the City Council (and other public responsible institutions), of international companies and also expatriates living in Brno.

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"The OpenCoffee Club was started to encourage entrepreneurs, developers and investors to organise real-world informal meetups to chat, network and grow."

Another OpenCoffee, a clever and funny networking event, will be held in Kartuzi.Café on Thursday, June 11, since 9 a.m.

This time, OpenCoffee will be focused on financing startups and similar topics.

There will be three special guests: vencure capital investor Ondřej Bartoš, script editor of an investing reality show “Den D” Jan Souček and Anna Putnová, new dean of the Faculty of Business and Management at Brno University of Technology.

According to Brnopolis, the event will be expat-friendly: You don’t need to speak Czech if you are interested to meet the Brnopolis community and discuss your business idea or look for a partner. Join us on June 11.

I’ll be there, at least if i can get out of my freelancer’s bed and ride to the other corner of the town so early in the morning :) So if you want to chat about Brno Now or other issues, meet me at OpenCoffee!

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There go my nominations for the informal, but very interesting prize of the weblog Brnopolis:

I am sure that the move with the biggest contribution to the city attractiveness for people in creative professions is the ongoing development of the university quarter in Bohunice. In 2008, the place finally became more similar to a town than to a construction site – that is why I believe this is the right time to say: Well done, Masaryk university (and other developers)!

Not only the new quarter gives a required “living space” to people involved in many different science projects; it is a symbol of the “2000s and 2010s Brno” as a town of education and research.

The project also helps to transform a desolated place with an überugly large bulding of hospital into a pretty, swinging quarter. I hope it will also stop the decay of nearby quarters Bohunice and Nový Lískovec.

What about the “long-term benefit award”? The Faculty of social studies celebrated the 10th anniversary last year. For 10 years, it has been preventing talented, creative and high-flying young people from leaving Brno and making other great minds relocate to the town. That is quite a contribution!

Weblog Brnopolis is encouraging its readers (no matter if they prefer Czech or English) to pick a move of the year.

Brnopolis is looking for an original move, event or action that contributed most to the city attractiveness for people in creative professions in 2008. It might happen in culture, gastronomy, business, science, media, public administration, sport or other activities.

You can also suggest an individual or organisation for the long-term benefit award. The nomination deadline is February 6th.