Upon meeting Mariana that afternoon, what became immediately apparent, was her candid disposition. Indeed, it was not long before we started discussing politics, a topic scarcely discussed even between close acquaintances. Following a delightful exchange of ideas and opinions, she begun to tell me her story.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting a temporary exhibition at the Wallenstein Riding School in Malá Strana, Open the Gates of Paradise, The Benedictines in the Heart of Europe 800-1300, prepared in collaboration with the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague. This fascinating exhibit gave an amazing insight into the growth of Benedictine monasteries from the 9th century onward in Central Europe.

“Playing cowboys and Indians may have been one of our childhood games”, said Professor György Tóth, and that’s absolutely true. What we have to ask ourselves is what we know about the Native American traditions and which part of this personal knowledge is based on veritable facts.

The educational programmes presented in the exhibition were created between 2011-13 for exhibition projects of the Museum of Applied Arts in Prague and Galerie Rudolfinum in cooperation with the Art Education Department of the CU Faculty of Pedagogy through the NAKI joint research grant, awarded by the Czech Ministry of Culture. The exhibition will run until 18 March.

On November 16, the night before the Students Day and the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, notable academics and young researchers received the annual Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávka Foundation Awards. Among the guests that gathered at the Lužany Chateau were Professor Jiří Drahoš, President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Professor Václav Havlíček, Rector of the Czech Technical University, Mr. Michal Lukeš, General Director of the Czech National Museum and Professor Ivan Wilhelm, Czech government’s Commissioner for European Research and a Hlávka medal laureate. Charles University was represented by the prorector for doctoral programmes and academic qualifications, Professor Ivan Jakubec.

On Wednesday afternoon, 29 April 2015, Charles University’s Faculty of Law, hosted a lecture which questioned whether the European Court of Human Rights (EUCHR) could act as a Constitutional Court for Europe. Professor Geir Ulfstein, who lecturers at the University of Oslo at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, has massively contributed to the field of European law through his numerous academic publications. For this reason, the event was attended by numerous European legal scholars in order to hear what the Professor had to say about the possibility of supranational European Constitutional entity.

On Thursday, October 2 afternoon, the Patriotic Hall of Carolinum was bustling with various delegates, students, politicians, ambassadors and ministers. All of these actors contributed to an exciting energy that was felt before the German Minister of Finance, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, discussed the next steps for European Integration.

Student-centred and interdisciplinary, the Prague Laboratory for Experimental Social Sciences is an initiative of students of the Department of Psychology, CU FA. One of the founders, explains more in an interview with iForum.

The Czech Institute of Egyptology at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts is launching a new trademark to designate products and technologies able to tackle “extreme conditions” found at the institute’s archaeological concession in Abusir, Egypt and expeditions in Sudan.

The “Academic Lessons for Economic Policy” conference took place on May 12 in the building of the Institute of Economic Studies in Opletalova Street in Prague. Attracting great interest from students, experts and the general public, the conference also celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the Faculty of Social Sciences and 20 years of state-independent economics in the Czech Republic.

“To overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry – and the suffering they cause – through the educational use of the Institute’s visual history testimonies”. This is the mission statement of The Institute for Visual History and Education, an archive filled to the brim with stories of some from of the world’s biggest events.

On May the 15th, a lecture was held in the Faculty of Arts by Professor Robert A. Rosenstone from the California Institute of Technology, entitled “What Does the Historian Filmmaker Do (to History)? : Inventing Truth on the Movie Screen”. I must admit, before this lecture began, I had my doubts. As a historian and keen Medievalist re-enactor, I thought to myself, was he really going to try and justify Braveheart?

There is a nice tradition at Charles University faculties to hold faculty annual balls during the winter season. From the beginning of January till the end of March you can attend a number of dance evenings which are either classical balls in the Vienesse tradition or dance events with various themes. I had a pleasure to attend the 10th annual ball of Catholic Theological Faculty this February.

Who would have guessed, that in a first floor room of a hospital, tucked away only metres behind Karlovo náměstí, beautiful music would be being produced. But that is exactly the case. The room is the Charvátův sál (Charvát Hall) belonging to the campus of the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and the music is coming from the Charles University Chorus (Sbor Univerzity Karlovy). Founded in 2001 by the then Rector of the University, Professor Ivan Wilhelm, it has been conducted by Haig Utidjian since its beginning.

On the first of May, 2004, having been transformed in less than 15 years from a one party communist state into a democratic market economy, the Czech Republic was formally admitted as a member to the EU. 10 years on, academics, politicians, diplomats, students and others all gathered in the Collegium Maximum of the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague to attend a conference discussing the Czech Republic’s relationship with the EU.

On the 19th March, I went to view the Charles University Workshop production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; an evening which turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting endeavour. In looking at it visually, it was a stripped back adaptation of Shakespeare, which in some places I found rather static and flat.

Exactly 100 years ago on the 28th July 1914, World War I began to dramatically reshape the relations between the countries on a global scale, turning reality upside down for every one of its citizens.

Master Jan Hus is a person tightly linked to several places: Husinec, Constance, Bethlehem Chapel, and, to a great extent, also the Charles University. That’s why we wanted to present this important link to the public. Master Jan Hus was the rector of the university in Prague, and his bronze sculpture by Karel Lidický is therefore rightfully built in the internal yard of the Carolinum.

As part of the recently formed partnership between Charles University and Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island, United States), Dr Shiyanthi Thavapalan paid a visit to the Czech Institute of Egyptology at the Faculty of Arts. On the 26th of March she delivered a talk based around her PhD dissertation topic: “The Meaning of Colour in Ancient Mesopotamia”.

For probably the first time ever, a double amputee has been able to ski on two skis. Tests on the newly developed hydraulic prostheses was carried by the in the Italian resort of Passo Tonale in the second half of December.