Patrons

Kristína Nemčková was born in July 2001 in Prague and is the winner of the 3rd season of MasterChef Czech Republic, which she won in 2019 at the age of 17. She became the youngest winner of this competition in the world. She is the author of the cookbook #UPGRADE, which made her a Forbes 30under30 pick. The sale of the cookbook has provided her with the funds to study at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu School in London, where she will be awarded her Grand Diplôme® certification in 2021. She is currently working as Chef de Partie at the Michelin starred restaurant Story in London. She is the Education Ambassador for the Czech Gastronomic Institute, the Gastro Ambassador for the Office of the Government during the EU Presidency in the Czech Republic and actively presents Czech-inspired dishes abroad (Singapore). Kristína inspires her fans on social media on her Made by Kristína profile or shares her recipes on www.madebykristina.cz.

Zdeněk is a Czech actor whose greatest hobby is acting, singing and dancing. In 2016, he even participated in StarDance, which he managed to win. You could see him for example in the series Božena, Innocent Lies, Vyprávěj or in the films Three Brothers or The Last Aristocrat. He is also close to the DOFE programme because he himself completed a similar challenge when he travelled to northern India as part of the Brontosaurus in the Himalayas programme.

Karel Kašák is a successful presenter, you may know him mainly from the screens of Nova Television, for example from Breakfast with Nova or Weather. Thanks to his life experience, Karel is a big fan of informal education and giving every child the opportunity to work on himself/herself and improve - regardless of his/her social background. Karel is the brother of Veronika Kašáková. 

Actor, presenter, composer, singer and songwriter. Together with his two brothers he performs in the music group Bratři Ebenové. He is considered one of the best Czech presenters, and his intelligent humour is highly appreciated. He hosts not only popular TV shows, but also many charity events. He personally knew Lady Luisa Abrahams, who brought the DofE programme to the Czech Republic, and he moderates some DOFE events.

Skoro dvacet let stála v čele pobočky společnosti Google, později také maďarské, rumunské a slovenské pobočky. Je významnou ženou českého internetu. Věnuje se vzdělávání mladých talentů se zaměřením na hodnotový leadership, ale také vzdělávání dětí v rámci společnosti 4bambini, která vydává deskové hry o důležitých životních hodnotách. Dlouhodobě podporuje profesní rozvoj talentovaných žen a digitální gramotnost Čechů.

Clara has been a patron of DOFE since 2012. She has regularly moderated our ceremonial events and presented certificates at ceremonies. She hosted the first Gala evening at the Martinique Palace in Prague in 2013, was present at the visit of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, in 2015 and again hosted the Gala evening in 2017 at Prague Castle. "With her straightforward nature, she once again charmed Prince Edward and lifted him out of his chair with her whistle to calm the hall," recalls DOFE board chairman Jiří Zrůst. 

She has also been actively involved in other events, most recently in 2024 when she moderated one of our fundraising events. "She was a walking inspiration when meeting with students. I loved how she imparted to them that joie de vivre, purpose, determination, and yet a clear view that everyone must find their limit," he wrote on Facebook Ondřej Lochman, senator and former director of DOFE, who invited Klára as a patron to DOFE. "I remember many memories of Klara and the whole tragedy does not take away from the beauty of everything she did in her life for us and for the people around her," adds Jiří Zrůst. 

Thank you for being part of DOFE. 

Lejla Abbas is a presenter and founder of the Asante Kenya Foundation and Project Medela, which works to help disadvantaged children around the world. At the age of 21, she became a spokesperson for the League of Ethnic Minorities. For her humanitarian work, Lejla Abbas was awarded the Bronze Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009.

Chemist and science popularizer working at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Long-term cooperation with the Czech Television, the Ministry of Education, the British Council, the National Technical Museum and the AFO Festival. Michael is interested in inorganic chemistry and boranes. Through his work he wants to pass on his love and admiration for science to as many people as possible.

Martina is involved in martial arts, in which she is an eight-time world champion. She is also the first Czech woman to win the title of world champion in hand to hand combat (a sport of armed and special forces) and the first European to be awarded a black belt in this discipline. Forbes magazine ranked her among the 24 most outstanding personalities of the year, making her one of the extraordinary women of the year. She trains at NATO in Brussels, plus designs jewellery, shows dresses and organises charity projects. She also acts as a goodwill ambassador for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which she organises various projects for children and women together with her brother Joseph.

Currently he works as a freelance journalist and filmmaker, focusing mainly on travelling to exotic countries. His best known project is a Trabant expedition across Africa, Asia and South America. Dan is able to drive across continents, jungles and deserts in his Trabant just to prove to everyone that he can. Thus perfectly demonstrating the philosophy of the DOFE program.

Jakub Vágner is an international fishing and TV celebrity, holder of several world records in freshwater fishing and above all patron of the DOFE program. His fishing programmes are broadcast by TV stations all over the world. He is best known for his fishing show Fish Warrior, broadcast by the National Geographic Channel. For a video explaining why he supports the DOFE program, see here.

Klára Nademlýnská is a well-known Czech fashion designer. Until 1998 she worked in Paris as a designer and pattern cutter. In 1998 she founded her own brand in Prague and in the same year she opened her own boutique. Klára dresses many famous personalities.

Josef is a long-term and elite representative of the Czech Republic in martial arts. He became a four-time world champion and three-time world vice-champion in grappling. He trains in NATO in Brussels, and performs in anti-terrorist exercises. He has been awarded several times for his achievements. He is also involved in various charity projects, both at home and abroad. He organizes various courses for the blind, children and women, and runs an anti-bullying project - Bullying in the Cage, which has the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. He devotes all his free time to passing on his skills to the public.

Zuzana is an animator, illustrator, painter and designer. For several years she has been designing clothes for the Olympic Games for rowers, creating short animated films, for which she has received several awards, and exhibiting her work in the Czech Republic and abroad. Apart from art, she is also a rower, where one of her greatest achievements is the 4th place at the World Rowing Championships.

Tatiana is one of the top Czech designers. In 1995, she founded the fashion brand TATIANA, with which she also dresses well-known foreign and Czech personalities. In 2015, for example, the daughter-in-law of the British Queen Elizabeth II wore her dove grey gown to the Swedish royal wedding. She participates in Fashion Week shows and exhibits in the Czech Republic, Paris and New York.

Šárka is the most successful alpine skier in Czech and Czechoslovak history. During her career she won four medals at the World Championships and 17 times on the podium in the elite series of World Cup races. In 2017 she retired from her active sports career and devoted herself to her clinic Vo2max System of Holistic Therapy and Sport.