The festival was organised by the Petra AIR Foundation, where around thirty guests gathered for a series of inspiring talks. The central theme was the support of women in aviation and cosmonautics, with equal respect for both men and women. Due to the international attendance, presentations were held in both English and Czech. This is an area for future improvement, as international guests were likely unable to fully appreciate the excellent presentation on the first Czech female pilot, Božena Gabriela Viktorie Laglerová, the update on the Digital Aviation Library, or the captivating stories from the ‘first lady’ of Czechoslovak aerobatics, Radka Máchová, as these were all delivered in Czech. Similarly, some Czech-speaking attendees may have struggled to follow the talks given in English.
The diverse programme was kicked off by aviation historian Ivo Pujman, who introduced the Digital Aviation Library project. He also authored an insightful text about B. Laglerová, read by voice coach Petra Jurečková. Joining online were Jakub Zemek (a Czech Ph.D. student at Oxford University focusing on space, who aims to become the next Czech astronaut) and Michaela Musilová (more on her in the interview below). Juraj Dudáš spoke about his path to becoming the director of the space industry business division at VZLU (Czech Aerospace Research Centre), while Petra Sováková presented the foundation’s activities. Renowned pilot Radka Máchová recounted her journey from model aircraft to top-level aerobatics. Her description of individual aerobatic manoeuvres, complete with difficulty ratings and supported by photos and videos, was particularly fascinating.
The festival was also attended by Petra AIR Foundation ambassadors Duademir Berkay from Turkey and Natalie Held from Germany.
To conclude the event, attendees watched the film The Shadow Effect, introduced by its co-producer, Petr Štěpánek. The theme connecting the film and the festival was the idea that each of us carries a ‘shadow’ that limits us. By becoming conscious of this shadow, we can uncover our greatest gifts. Working with our shadows is immensely enriching; if we ignore it, our shadow becomes a cruel master.
Petra Sováková is the driving force behind the festival, so we took the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
Petra, what are your impressions two days after the festival?
“As the person who oversaw everything and had to fix the hiccups along the way, my impressions are naturally different from a guest’s. It’s all still sinking in. When I consider the amount of time I dedicated to preparation and the ad hoc nature of the team, I’m proud of what we accomplished. Dr. Míša Musilová joined us online from the US right on schedule with a great connection, as did Jakub Zemek from Oxford—so much could have gone wrong there. A major source of stress was when our moderator fell ill, and I had to step in and host. On top of that, I was managing catering, logistics, and countless other essentials. It’s one thing to run an established project where everyone knows their role, but it’s completely different for a brand-new event like this. I’ve certainly learned a few lessons for next time. This was the first festival we organised ourselves as the Petra AIR Foundation. It follows the successful premiere of our podcast, Petra ON AIR, at Prague’s Přítomnost cinema last year. I am very grateful for the media support from Aeroweb and Flying Revue, and especially for our partners: Woodler s.r.o., Petra AIR, the Netherlands-Czech Chamber of Commerce, Jílovské Zlaté Doly, PROAVIATE s.r.o., Místona, Myšlením k Bohatství, and Bohaya.”
Attendance was lower than you originally planned. Are you disappointed by that?
“My feeling is that the people who were meant to be there, came. We had about eight cancellations on the day itself. Two people had to turn back en route; Mike Smith, an American guest, realised he didn’t have his passport, and the director of the Netherlands-Czech Chamber of Commerce gave up after spending half an hour trying to find the CATC building, even with a map. Of course, a full hall would have been wonderful, but the smaller crowd meant I had time to personally greet and chat with every attendee. There was also a training session for colleagues from India happening at the CATC, and some of them came over to see the event. I was particularly pleased that so many men attended—perhaps even more than half. This is exactly what the Petra AIR Foundation aims for: creating a platform for both women and the men who support them. So, I was delighted by the strong male presence.”
Which of the guest speakers personally impressed you the most?
“Each speaker brought something unique, and I’d dare say all of them were incredibly inspiring. Although I missed part of Radka Máchová’s talk while dealing with catering, I thought her presentation was visually outstanding. Radka is a huge role model for me, and I believe the chance to meet such a legend in person is invaluable, as was the opportunity to speak with Captain Vladislav Pružina, an airline pilot and author of Jak se létá v tajfunech (How to Fly in Typhoons). I also thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Dr. Míša Musilová. She was very open and candid, and I’m thrilled we could arrange for her to join us online. She is a Slovak astrobiologist who works with NASA and has commanded over 30 simulated missions to Mars and the Moon. She has been featured extensively in Slovak media, in major publications like Forbes, and on international networks such as CNN and the BBC.”
What feedback have you received from the attendees?
“It varies quite a bit depending on the generation. For instance, Radka Máchová praised the programme and our ability to connect people from America and Oxford. Zuzana Hrnčiříková of PROAVIATE s.r.o.—a pilot who is a great supporter of women in Slovakia and an experienced festival organiser herself—also gave us very positive feedback. On the other hand, some of the younger male volunteers felt the programme could have been more interactive.”
I noticed the language barrier was an issue at times.
“We had originally planned for the entire festival to be in English. However, hiring interpreters was an additional expense we couldn’t cover, so we opted for a bilingual Czech-English format. The result was that some Czech attendees had trouble following the English parts, while English speakers, during Radka’s presentation for example, felt they were missing out on the commentary that accompanied the stunning photos and videos.”
Did the festival meet your expectations?
“Lenka Šťastná, the founder of Business & Professional Women CR, was in attendance. For 16 years, she organised the Equal Pay Day conference in the Czech Republic, an international platform promoting equal pay. She was very impressed with our festival, and as a result, we have been invited to become a network partner for the Women Changing The World Awards. I consider that incredible feedback. If the festival hadn’t been a success, we would never have received such an offer, and I am truly grateful for it.”
