The governor has intervened in the dispute regarding SEFO, he will be the mediator

Olomouc - The dispute regarding the construction of the Central European Forum in Olomouc (SEFO), which has recently erupted between representatives of the Museum of Art and the Minister of Culture Antonín Staněk (ČSSD), has seen the involvement of Olomouc Governor Ladislav Okleštěk (ANO) today. He will attempt to take on the role of mediator between the conflicting parties. This emerged from today’s meeting in Olomouc, as reported by museum spokesperson Tomáš Kasal to ČTK. The government recently released 600 million Czech crowns for the long-planned SEFO construction.

Staněk welcomed the governor's engagement. "It is necessary to lead a constructive dialogue and to end the media skirmishes," he stated on Twitter.

Issues surrounding SEFO were addressed today by representatives of the founding and partner institutions of the project – in addition to the museum leadership and the governor, they included Olomouc Archbishop Jan Graubner, Olomouc Mayor Miroslav Žbánek (ANO), and representatives of Palacký University. The governor intends to seek a "communication channel" in his role as mediator, working together with the museum and the ministry. "I have no doubt that we will reach an agreement. We all have a shared interest in having SEFO in Olomouc. This is a primary interest, confirmed by the government’s program statement and the allocation of financial resources; the rest, regarding what shape SEFO will take, is a technical question," remarked Okleštěk.

According to the governor, experts, not laypeople, must assess the form of SEFO. "I am only concerned about ensuring that SEFO exists in the Olomouc region and that it is created in Olomouc," he stated. He believes the contentious situation arose primarily from a misunderstanding. "It is a misunderstanding in communication from both the ministry and the Museum of Art, and we will now try to establish common ground," the governor said.

The situation surrounding the SEFO construction escalated last week when several dozen employees of the Museum of Art called for the immediate resignation of Minister of Culture and former Olomouc Mayor Antonín Staněk (ČSSD). According to them, the essence of the dispute lies in the "minister's arrogant way of communicating, ignoring other opinions, insulting the professional community, and distorting the facts," the museum describes on its website www.muo.cz. Staněk denies this, pointing to problems arising from an audit, which indicates that the museum repeatedly violated the public procurement law. The museum’s management denies this.

SEFO, which the museum has been planning for over ten years, aims to capture the post-war development of visual arts in Central Europe. The project includes the construction of a building in a gap next to the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Art has long had a project for SEFO by architect Jan Šépka; however, after taking office, Staněk decided that a competition needed to be held for the construction, against which many experts who supported Šépka’s proposal have recently protested. The competition is set to be prepared by early April. However, it is still unclear how the museum will deal with its original project in terms of legal obligations.