Inventions and Improvements: Industrial Progress in the Museum / What Are Advanced Technologies Actually For?

A lecture from the series "A Year with Náprstek", held at the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in 2026 – the jubilee year marking the 200th anniversary of Vojta Náprstek's birth. The series continues the legacy of the museum's founder, who was a champion of new ideas, technologies and industrial progress. This particular lecture explores inventions and improvements in the context of industrial development and asks what advanced technologies are actually for. The Náprstek Museum, housed in the historic building "U Halánků" on Bethlehem Square in Prague 1, is the only museum institution in the Czech Republic dedicated exclusively to the material and spiritual heritage of non-European civilizations. Vojta Náprstek originally founded the Czech Industrial Museum in 1873, with a mission to promote technical progress and public education – themes that remain relevant today.