Dr. Drabek has given a great deal of his time in support of protection of historical monuments and the promotion of civic movements. He was for many years on the Advisory Board for the Preservation of Historical Sites in Czechoslovakia under the auspices of the World Monument Fund and Prince Charles Foundation (Prague Heritage Fund). He was also Member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the establishment of the Institute of Architects with specialization in historical preservation. He was President of Foundation for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Southern Moravia (Czech Republic) and provided pro bono services to the Prague Society of Architects. This work principally addressed the enormous shortage of funding for numerous and, throughout the communist era neglected castles, chateaux, stately homes and other architectural jewels of Bohemia and Moravia. As part of his fundraising activities, Dr. Drabek organized together with the foundation an annual festival of baroque opera and orchestral music and modern dance at Valtice Castle.
He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Charter Seventy Seven Foundation, New York, of the Board of Directors of the Civic Forum Foundation and their activities in support of handicapped children. Charter Seventy Foundation was established during the communist period in support of cooperation with dissidents in the former Czechoslovakia. After the political changes in 1989/90 the foundation turned into supporting social causes, especially the needs of the greatly abused medical sector.
As a young man and active sportsman, he was a Swiss champion in basketball (1972) and represented Czechoslovakia in inter-club matches. He was a captain of Cambridge and Oxford university basketball teams.