— Cyril Höschl,

director of the Prague Psychiatric Center, former dean of Charles University's Third Medical Faculty

"Climate change will be The Issue, both in the Czech Republic and internationally. The government and businesses are starting to take the issue really seriously, and Czech politicians will have to join them — the country is one of the worst carbon polluters in Europe. In 2007, we will also finally begin discussing what should be done to improve our recycling record. The country composts or burns the vast majority of its household waste and lags far behind progressive EU countries, wasting large amounts of resources in the process."

— Vojtěch Kotecký,

program director of Hnutí DUHA (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic)

"This year will be a very important one for the Czech education system. I doubt that it will be possible to push through a reform that would introduce some form of university tuition for Czech students. I can't imagine delaying the reform any further, and I hope that the issue of university tuition will stop being demonized. I also expect that the number of university students this year will continue increasing as will the number of available undergraduate programs."

— Petr Matějů,

sociologist specializing in education at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, deputy education minister

"I expect that tourism growth in Prague will stagnate in 2007, as more and more visitors from abroad turn their attention to the Czech Republic's regions. The number of wealthy people traveling to this country will continue to increase, and five-star hotels will continue to operate at maximum capacity. I expect that the number of visitors from Asia will continue to grow, as will the number of Russians, Poles and Americans."

— Tomio Okamura,

board member of the Association of Czech Travel Companies and Agencies, director of a travel agency