The Czechia (Česko) rebrand

What do you call our country which is set in the heart of Europe? This topic has been discussed for many years by the government, language experts, international organisations, associations and the public in general. The conclusion is clear: Czechia and the Czech Republic are synonymous; in both cases they are official names. The decision on whether to use the shorter or longer version depends on the area and whether there is an obligation attached to the state designation.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the longer name, Czech Republic, must be used only in official government documents, in the names of embassies, official correspondence, powers of attorney or in contractual practice, including declarations, instruments of ratification, memoranda, etc. This is based, inter alia, on the MFA’s guidelines for embassies, the rest is summarised here.

The Czechia (Česko) brand will be used in all other cases. It is more practical and less formal. As a shorter version of our country’s marking.  It fits better, for example, on signs accompanying official meetings at the highest political level or meetings of international organisations, as well as on presentation or promotional materials such as large advertising signs at trade fairs. Czechia (Česko) also works better in informal communication and correspondence as well as in literary works, newspaper articles, etc. Non-ceremonial political speeches are more acceptable to the general public with Czechia, partly because they tend to be simply shorter and less distant. It is the same case with the jerseys and other clothing of people representing the state in culture, science, sports and other spheres. For example, the Czech Olympic Committee has already switched to the short version Česko/Czechia. In summary: The Czechia (Česko) brand will be used for press and other materials presenting domestic achievements, historical events and personalities. This applies to promotional printed materials and items as well as for private entities.

Consensus on country designations is especially important for tourism. Among other things, the MFA is convening a Commission for a unified presentation of the Czech Republic abroad. It will be attended by the representatives of relevant ministries, Czech Centres, the House of Foreign Cooperation, the Czech Olympic Committee, CzechInvest, CzechTrade, CzechTourism agencies and other agencies. It is there where the rebranding issue will be discussed and unified, especially pertaining to how the country is to be represented abroad.

The first sign of this change can be seen in the name of the Czech Tourist Board´s portal (Česká centrála cestovního ruchu) from Visit Czech Republic to Visit Czechia. This will be followed up after a mutual agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Development will be signed. The rebranding of promotional and information materials, including presentation at trade fairs will be the first sign of this change. Always keeping in mind the efficient, effective and economical use of state budget resources.

In conclusion: The shortened name of the Czech Republic, i.e. Czechia, has been part of the UN databases since 2016 (United Nations) – UNGEGN (United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names) and UNTERM (United Nations Terminology Database). And since last September, it has also been part of the European Union database. Including the language options below.