Palacký University had a special opportunity to present its activities in Vienna. The University was one of those invited to an annual Saint Wenceslas Celebration held by the Czech Embassy in Vienna.
Saint Wenceslas Celebration is held every year. However, this year's event was focused on the city of Olomouc, and tight ties between the Statutory City of Olomouc and Austria, the host of the event. The guests were welcomed by his eminence Jiří Šitler - Czech Ambassador in Austria - and Miroslav Žbánek - the mayor of the city of Olomouc.
Palacký University presented itself as a modern educational institution focused on international cooperation, science, and research. “Austria is one of our main partners in the field of international cooperation. Other key projects of this cooperation are AKTION, a Czechian-Austrian program supporting bilateral research and educational activities which finances exchange students, or AURORA Alliance, an international network of universities focused on know-how exchange and innovation in the fields of research and education along with sustainability and social responsibility,” said Alena Vyskočilová, the head of Welcome Office, who, together with her colleagues from International cooperation division, helped organize the event.
Josef Strobl, a professor at the Salzburg University, who has been cooperating with professor Vít Voženílek of the Faculty of Science on the project International Joint Master's Program in Geoinformatics for a long period of time, has also accepted the invitation as one of the main guests.
The celebration offered our alumni living in Austria an opportunity to meet their colleagues. “One of the Alumni who came to the event was from Brazil and took part in the Erasmus Mundus program at the Faculty of Physical Culture in 2008,” said Alena Vyskočilová.
University Press and Museum of Modern Art Olomouc prepared an exhibition Olomoučtí fotografové (Photographers of Olomouc). The exhibition presented the evolution and changes of Olomouc and its surroundings throughout the years up until the present day.
The program was further enhanced by science show from students from Fort Science where the guests could take part in various science experiments. The dominant of the garden was an inflatable model of the Earth - a symbol of Academia Film Olomouc, a science movie festival organized by the university. One of the main parts of the evening was concert of Michal Horák, student of the Faculty of Education and this year King of May.
The event was co-organised by CzechTourism and the Czech Centre in Vienna, where a press conference with Austrian journalists was held. Here, the university was presented by Lukáš Merz, the head of the American Centre of Palacký University. Representatives of the Vienna cultural scene, regional associations, the cities of Vienna, Innsbruck and Wiener Neustadt were also among the guests.
“The event was a celebration of not only Saint Wenceslas but also a showcase of the enriching and dynamic cooperation between the Czech Republic and Austria. It created space for academics, cultural representatives, Czech natives, and important people from both nations to meet. The event underlined the growing importance of international cooperation in the fields of science, education, and culture and brought further opportunities for development for the future,” added Alena Vyskočilová.
The main partners of the event were the Olomouc Region, the Olomouc Museum of Art and Palacký University. Together, these institutions contributed to a rich program which included, among other things, dulcimer music performed by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, a presentation of regional specialities such as "tvarůžky" or dance performance by the Hanáks. Guests also had the opportunity to see a presentation of the St. Wenceslas Hill and the Central European Forum project, which was provided by the Olomouc Museum of Art.
