On a rainy November Friday in Prague hundreds of academics, politicians, diplomats and military personnel from Europe, China, Russia and beyond congregated in the National Technical Library for the 9th Prague Security Conference.

Almost four times the size of France, but with a population three times smaller than that of the city of Plzeň, Greenland is not a country that often makes the headlines. On Tuesday, the 19th November the Scandinavian Section of the Department of Germanistic Studies at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University hosted a talk with Ms Tove Sovndahl Gant, head of the Greenland Representation in Copenhagen.

With levels of youth unemployment in Europe reaching as high as 23% in 2012 , a key part of the Europe 2020 development strategy is to get Europe’s youth working. The 10 year plan to improve Europe’s economy aims towards “smart, inclusive and sustainable growth” in five key areas; Employment; Research and development; Climate change; Education; and Poverty and social justice.

I visited the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures at Betlémské náměstí, Prague, with a charming group of Czech school children who were completing a interesting programme called Searching for Sophie, created and supported by the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague.

During November, Mezipatra’s Queer Film Festival came to 10 different cities across the Czech Republic to commemorate a hundred ranking films on lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and queer themes, to celebrate the LGBT community, investigate their representation in media, and to educate, debate and spread awareness of gender studies and topics.

Prior to the day trip I was attending to Theresienstadt ghetto and concentration camp, organised by Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University, I spent some time researching current public and political opinions on war remembrance, particularly in reference to the Holocaust. To my surprise, there was substantial negativity, even during conversations with my university friends on the topic of my visiting Theresienstadt, with some of their responses being along the lines of “why would anyone wish to visit such a place”.

The Charles University Workshop Production company (also known as Shakespeare Production) performed a succession of Shakespeare’s The Tempest on November 24th-December 3rd in which I attended the first performance at the beautiful Divadlo Na Prádle theatre, their current home stage.

Israeli writer Shani Boianjiu is no ordinary 25 year old. Born in Jerusalem and raised on the Israeli-Lebanese border where, she tells us, school would often be cancelled due to conflict. Today, she possesses a bestselling novel, Harvard degree, numerous literacy recognitions, and extensive experience in the Israeli military under her belt.

As a Biology Erasmus student at Charles University, I was given the option to attend the unique course “Field Course in Fish Parasitology”. The course takes place outside of Prague, at the Field Biology Station Ruda by Veselí nad Lužnicí which is in South Bohemia. Organised and run by Dr. Libor Mikeš and Associate Professor Jan Votýpka, we were invited to watch the traditional Czech carp harvesting and then perform dissections to observe the parasites of the fish.

Český Krumlov is a Czech town which may be small in size but is nonetheless significantly important. This well-known destination, famous for being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is situated on a hilly riverside of the Vltava River, whose meanders form a typically picturesque surrounding to the scenery of Český Krumlov.

The world premiere of Czech Vigil (České Vigilie) composed by Tučapský, the previous Professor of Composition at Trinity College of Music, London was performed by The Charles University Artistic Ensemble on September 29th - 2013.

A bright Wednesday afternoon in Jinonice campus of CU welcomed the Head of Diplomatic Affairs between the Czech Republic and Italy, His Excellency Pasquale D’Avino for a topical lecture on European immigration. Loudly greeting the people with a warm “Buon giorno, Dobrý den!”, Mr. D’Avino entered a room full of interested social science academics and guests.

To mark the forty-year anniversary of the 1973 Chilean Coup d’état, the Faculty of Arts hosted expert speakers on the matter of non-democratic regimes. Perspectives from three continents were present as designed to share and discuss examples and research into non-democratic regimes.

The Patriotic Hall at Carolinum welcomed the celebration of the rename the inter-university MA programme, appropriately named after the former president Václav Havel. The special ceremony introduced a programme organised by EUROPAEUM, which intends to interconnect prestigious European universities on a single, multi-practice postgraduate scheme.

The Faculty of Arts of Charles University was graced once again by the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other experienced speakers, one of the highlights of the Societies in Transmission Forum 2000 taking place in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

On October 31, the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague hosted a lecture by Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg, Professor Emeritus at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. Professor Ginzburg's lecture, entitled 'Looking at Europe from the Orient,' opened the TEEMA Conference, which ran from October 31 to November 2 at Charles University in Prague.

This month, the entrance hall of the main building of the Faculty of the Arts has been host to the exhibition "The Archaeology of Bohemia under the Reign of the Přemyslid Dynasty." The exhibition, running from October 10 to November 5, presents a research project organised by the Department of Achaeology of the Faculty of the Arts, and led by Professor Jan Klápště.

On Sunday 17 November, members of Charles University in Prague gathered to commemorate International Students' Day. 17 November, also known as Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day, is a state holiday in the Czech Republic. It remembers two important moments in Czech history in 1939 and 1989.

Jsme velmi úspěšní, ale daří se nám stále hůře, pokud jde o to financování našich projektů. Takže já už 2 roky po sobě musím propouštět lidi, což je dost taková nešťastná věc. Ale optimistické je, že letos budeme vlastně začínat zase s výzkumy kolem prvního března a plánujeme tentokrát už doopravdy dokončit výzkum toho komplexu, o kterém jsme tady také hodně mluvili.

Prezident Miloš Zeman dnes na Pražském hradě jmenoval 12 rektorů veřejných vysokých škol. 7 z nich do funkce nastoupí poprvé, zbylých 5 pokračuje druhým funkčním obdobím. Rektoři jsou jmenovaní na čtyřleté období a svých funkcí se ujmou v únoru.