Ve Františkánské zahradě v centru Prahy se po devíti měsících příprav otevřelo první muzeum filmu v České republice.Nevšední interaktivní expozice přibližuje fascinující svět filmu a nabízí zážitek pro děti i dospělé.

Na připomínku významného činu Jana Palacha uspořádala ve dnech 16. a 17. ledna Univerzita Karlova společně s dalšími institucemi a Studentskou radou FF UK sérii akcí nazvanou Jan Palach – naše svědomí. Její součástí byl také tradiční pietní akt u pamětní desky na hlavní budově Filozofické fakulty UK a večerní panelová diskuse ve stejné budově. Univerzita Karlova se stala i spolupořadatelem mezinárodní konference Jan Palach a další živé pochodně v sovětském bloku za účasti zástupců států, v nichž se obětovaly další „živé pochodně“.

Darja Poliščuk studuje švédštinu na Filozofické fakultě UK a na sever se v rámci programu Erasmus vydala hned dvakrát – do Kodaně a do Stockholmu.

Karolinum je díky promocím a imatrikulacím údajně nejfotografovanější stavbou druhé poloviny 20. století u nás. Jeho současnou podobu určil architekt Jaroslav Fragner, obnova Karolina byla dokončena až v roce 1969. Kalendář redakce Forum připomíná, že letos uplyne od této skutečnosti právě 50 let. Redakce Fora vydala svůj vlastní kalendář už potřetí.

Akademickým mistrovstvím republiky v halové atletice byla v pondělí 7. ledna zahájena na pražském Strahově halová atletická sezóna. V celkem jedenácti disciplínách zde závodily dvě stovky sportovců z 36 vysokých škol a fakult z celé republiky. Šampionát připravili pořadatelé z katedry atletiky FTVS UK a pro domácí atlety byl více než úspěšný.

There are three institutes dedicated to the study of Archaeology at Charles University in Prague; all a member of the Faculty of Arts. The Czech Institute of Egyptology is world-famous due to its numerous important discoveries in Egypt and Sudan, whilst the Institute of (Prehistoric and Medieval) Archaeology is the most active of the three when speaking of the excavations running in the Czech Republic itself.

This year marks the 25th year of the American semester – an annual exchange program between Charles University's Faculty of Science and one of the most prestigious American universities, Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, USA). Roughly halfway through the program, on May 3rd – 4th, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the program with a number of events for faculty and the general public.

There have been few times in my life where I have felt a single talk, lecture, or presentation has drastically changed my worldview. The lecture, “Syria, What’s Going On?” by Alejandro Gutierrez had this effect on me, and I believe many other students in attendance.

Each year, the section of Geopolitical Studies of the Institute of Political Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University hosts a conference that brings together experts in Geopolitics from around the world to discuss current issues in the field.

The time of Advent at Charles University is traditionally celebrated by numerous Christmas concerts and other festive meetings of CU employees and students. The employees usually have a gathering within the institute or faculty they are working for; the latter mostly meet in one of the favourite student cafés or pubs close to their faculty building (as Czechs are lovers of beer, a pub is actually more likely than a café). 

Did the Exodus really happen?  Was there ever another homeland? Does a historical claim through theology carry any weight? Are Jews who support Israel without exception hypocritical?

Many of you may recall the news coverage of the Russian annexation of parts of the Ukraine last year. This week on the 19th October the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University hosted a lecture given by Mr Steven Pifer, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine, regarding Russia’s aggressive policies, which saw Russia act in an aggressive manner not seen since the years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Within the cloister of Karolinum, the main seat of “Universitas Carolina” in the heart of Prague’s Old Town, hangs a large yet modest, heavy grey curtain. Behind it sits a wonderous trove of paintings, engravings, chronicles, reliquaries and treasures of a bygone age. Huge canvases adorn the walls, depicting ancient battles and gatherings, all with a central, noble figure: Charles IV.

Remembrance Day, also known informally as Poppy Day, is a day of memorial in the Commonwealth of Nations. The day was inaugurated by the British King George V in the year 1919 and is also a day of remembrance for many non-Commonwealth countries. The 11th of November is the day most countries recall the end of the hostilities of World War One in 1918.

If, like me, you are interested in history but not passionate enough that you want to spend hours in exhibitions reading reels of facts and information, then the present Alois Musil exhibition "Alois Musil – Czech Lawrence of Arabia" in the Faculty of Arts provides the perfect middle ground.

What is modern day diplomacy? Is it simply governmental actors pushing agendas? Or it is bigger than that? French professor and researcher Christian Lequesne (Sciences Po, Paris) visited Charles University, the Faculty of Social Sciences, on October 23rd, 2015 to present these issues and discuss his conceptualization of the various forms of diplomacy.

In a spectacular new venue at Hybernská 4, Prague 1, Prague Microfestival is staging its biggest ever cultural showcase in nine years of running. 24 writers from 12 countries will read over 4 days, 18-21 May.

In early September 1347, the Roman King Charles of Luxembourg and his first wife, the French Princess Blanche de Valois, participated in the lengthy ceremony to become King and Queen of Bohemia.

The temporary exhibition ‘Between Aswan and Khartoum: Czech Archaeological Explorations between the Nile Cataracts’ (13.10.2015 – 11.11.2015; Carolinum, Ovocný trh 3, Praha 1; open daily 10am – 6pm, FREE entrance) focuses on the Czech and Czechoslovakian excavations in the area of Nubia, located in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt along the river Nile.

This article is a submission for the "30 years of the Erasmus Programme" competition organised by the European Office of Charles University. It was written by Melis Omalar, a Political Science student from Brunel University London, currently hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. The formatting of the piece is on purpose.