2019 Charles University Magazine / Full of Questions A TempleČapek: Filip Spotlight 10 the pros and cons pros the debate scientists Czech Apollo The Mars? we aimfor Or should to goback? it time Is Landing Moon / Discoveries in Egypt Hana Vymazalová: Panorama 32 /

1 4 11 – – / Czech pubs changed? Have Vinopal:Jiří Panorama 36

/ IQ isn’t a hindrance! Radek Pileček: A high Students 40 / world according to larp David F. Wagner: The Students Charles University Magazine University Charles 42 1 2019 —iforum.cuni.cz / Phenomenon The Tramping Books 50 Join us in Martin by Photo Frouz commemorating the events of Dear readers, November 17

With the new academic year of 2019/2020, we are show that with enough vision, scientific ingenuity, 1939/1989 proud to present you with the latest English lan- resources and determination, human beings can guage issue of Charles University’s Forum maga- overcome even the greatest of challenges. A sim- zine. ilar sense of purpose will no doubt be needed as We strongly believe that every scientific inquiry humans consider whether to return to the Moon starts with asking proper questions and mapping or aim for the Red Planet. The current plans and the addressed issues. Such is modern, cutting-edge achievements of Elon Musk, for instance, show research at Charles University. This edition brings quite clearly how much every and any scientific Forum 6 Forum

together numerous articles and interviews cover- success depends on visionary individuals and peo- 13/11 14/11 15/11 17/11 ing everything from groundbreaking economic re- ple that are not only leaders but also those seeing search to fascinating archaeological finds involving things differently from the majority. Czech researchers in Israel and Egypt. Also high- One of our wishes is that Charles University will Faculty Night Dissent in Economic Freedom and lighted are accomplishments by students, including continue in providing an environment for people Czechoslovakia Transformation in Democracy Day how an obscure language was saved from oblivion. who inspire others, who can see things which seem Editorial A student festival which offers Along the way, there are also warnings: the growing “invisible” and who will shape the future. There are presentations and discussions A conference at the Carolinum the Czech Republic at Albertov problem of drought and significant changes in eco- only few undisputable facts in this world such as 1 covering aspects of society at Charles University which will and Slovakia The traditional site will see stu- systems due to the drop in insect populations. As gravity, climate change, several mathematical con- and law. The main theme this recall the dissident and artistic scientists “dig” through the strata it is as essential stants, the eternal pyramids of Egypt or the magical An international conference to dents and academics deliver year is entitled Velvet Faculty, underground movement in the as ever to gauge where we stand and what the fu- nature of even numbers. We can add science as one be held at the University of Eco- speeches, and hold presenta- focusing on the transformation former Czechoslovakia. The ture could bring. of the basic preconditions of our bright future: it is nomics, Prague, which will ex- tions and discussions. At three of the former Czechoslova- conference will dovetail with an In this issue, we also look back: this July saw the not facts but real, unbiased and deep knowledge in amine the economic transfor- pm on the day, participants are kia and the Czech Republic in exhibition entitled Our Novem- 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing all fields of scientific pursuit that make our world a mation in the Czech Republic invited to take part in a student a democratic and lawful state ber’89 and a concert by the and Slovakia over the 30 years parade recalling the historic when, for first time, astronauts set foot on our ce- better place to live in. with a free market economy. famous Plastic People of the since the Velvet Revolution. events of 1989. lestial neighbour and then – as Kennedy had prom- Best wishes in the new academic year. Enjoy the Universe, and others, at Kam- The conference will also look ised – returned safely to the Earth. Some moments issue and – just so you know – there is no need to pus Hybernská. towards the future and what it were undeniably touch-and-go: even 50 years on, it wait for the hard copy: you can read all the latest could hold in store. seems incredible that, when crisis struck, Neil Arm- articles and interviews in English at Charles Uni- strong took manual control of the Apollo Lunar versity – online – all year round. Module and achieved the softest of landings. It is probably no surprise that many of us still Miroslav Bárta count the mission to the Moon among the very Vice-Rector for Public Affairs For more information see greatest of human achievements. The Apollo Pro- www.svobodnylistopad.cz, gram (and Mercury and Gemini that preceded it) FB: @svobodnylistopad

You can read the articles online too! Alumni LUKÁŠ TALPA – Youths from children’s 40 homes need positive male role models / 52 My CU 14 The children’s clinic at Karlov / 56

Life at CU Joachim Gauck was awarded the Charles IV Prize / 58 Madeleine Albright presented her book at the Faculty of Law / 59 Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at the Carolinum / 63 ContentsInterview evžen kočenda – An Economist Captivated Awards by Time / 4 Top students awarded Rector’s Prize / 64

Forum 6 Forum Forum 1/2019, Issue No. 6 6 Forum

Charles University Magazine Students Spotlight Published by RADEK PILEČEK – A high IQ isn’t FILIP ČAPEK – A temple full of questions / 10 Charles University a hindrance! / 40 Ovocný trh 5, 116 36 Prague 1 Contents The Apollo 11 Moon Landing / 14 Contents Responsible for Content DAVID FRANTÍŠEK WAGNER – The world 2 Jan Velinger 3 Editor-in-chief MARKÉTA ZANDLOVÁ – Drought: according to larp / 42 Martin Rychlík A new threat for humanity / 20 Editorial Inquiries MARTIN NEUDÖRFL – Reviving Sark +420 224 491 248 LENKA HLÁVKOVÁ – Embracing Norman: A language spoken by only four E-mail [email protected] the richness of early music / 22 people worldwide / 46 Layout and Graphic Design Filip Blažek, Eliška Kudrnovská, Designiq Science Lab Books Cover Photo NASA Image and Video Library PETR ŠÍPEK – Insect populations have fallen The Tramping Phenomenon / 50 at an alarming rate / 26 Forum is published twice a year and is KIP THORNE – We will see things free. The opinions expressed in Forum 10 are those of the contributors and we never expected / 30 not necessarily those of the Charles University. Reprinting of any articles or images from Forum without Panorama the express permission of Charles HANA VYMAZALOVÁ – Discoveries University is forbidden. in Egypt / 32 This issue was published in October 2019 Registration MK ČR E 22422 JIŘÍ VINOPAL – Have Czech pubs ISSN 1211-1732 changed? / 36 63 As an economist, you have a good sense of Economics should map out and Evžen Kočenda: what is happening on the markets. Aren’t you ever tempted to put your theoretical knowl- give recommendations on what edge into practice and simply invest? No, that does not at all appeal to me because that’s should be done through careful predicting the future. Economics should map out analysis: predicting the future is and give recommendations on what should be done through careful analysis: predicting the future not the goal. is not the goal.

Don’t friends and acquaintances come and An Economist seek advice? They do, but I don’t give any because people should be responsible for their own decisions; im- agine when things failed to work out. the two most important were the overall level of the national administration and the ability of the In your research you have often focused on state to effectively keep a check on corruption. It Captivated time series econometrics. What is an area follows that the higher the level of quality of na- you have looked into recently? tional institutions, the less impact it has on the Time sequences have interested me ever since my chances of companies surviving. In microeconom- doctoral studies at the University of Houston, Tex- ics, a similar concept is described as diminishing as. I started to teach the applied analysis of them marginal returns. Specifically that means that the after I came back to Prague. After a while, I com- best prospects for improvements in the institution- piled a book about that which is now in its third al environment are offered to firms in countries by Time edition. where the development of institutions is already Some of my latest research has combined nu- lagging. In both of the two key results, membership merical sequences and cross sections, so it’s about in the European Union and the “anchor” of its in-

Forum 6 Forum panels of data. With my colleague, Ichiro Iwasaki, stitutional rules had a positive effect. Understand- 6 Forum Economics, Impres- I was able to put together quite a substantial set ably, we came up with a lot of similar results from sionism, and plastic of data about companies in developing European this research. Nobody else before has performed markets where we followed what contributed to a such a detailed analysis of companies using Euro- fighter aircraft company’s survival or the circumstances in which pean data. they go bust. We examined this question from many

Interview models. Think they different angles. We looked at the impact of the Are some of your other analyses similarly Interview institutional framework in different countries. The unique? 4 have nothing in impact of institutions on macroeconomic devel- With a colleague from the Institute of Econom- 5 opment in individual countries has already been ic Studies, Josef Baruník, we completed an analy- common? In different studied quite a lot, but the impact at a micro level sis of how closely markets in crude oil and foreign has hardly been covered at all. This cooperation currencies were connected. Most of the world’s oil respects they are a led to an article quickly being published in a very production is billed in US dollars even though it’s well regarded magazine, the Journal of Corporate located in different places around the globe: the reflection of time and Finance. Arabian Gulf, Russia, Norway, the US, and South America. The US is the exception where it can eval- that is why economist What leads to companies going bust or – on uate the price for imported oil in its own national the other hand – contributes to their sur- currency. So there is a close relation between the Evžen Kočenda, this vival? dollar and other currencies which are dependent on It is possible to evaluate the health of a company, crude oil. Their value is very sensitive to different year’s winner of which is obviously very important, using classi- economic and political events in the world. It would the research grant cal economic indicators: examining the return on just take a suggestion that in the future they were assets or profitability, if the firm relies more on in- vulnerable, for instance as a result of unrest in Arab Donatio Universitatis ternal financial sources for financing its operations countries, and there could be wide fluctuations – or if it has to borrow. There’s nothing surprising in volatility – overtaking markets in crude oil products Carolinæ, appre- that. But we wanted to go further in defining the but also other assets including foreign currencies. influences, using not only such financial indicators In our research, we therefore analysed how vol- ciates them as much but also looking at other factors which normally atility spreads between oil and foreign currency would not be used or for which it would be difficult markets. Specifically, we examined how the overall as he does. to gather the data. volatility from this process evolves, how move- It was very interesting to determine that the ments occur, what prompts positive and negative STORY BY Lucie Kettnerová quality of institutions had a clear influence on the shocks, and how volatility develops with regard to PHOTO BY René Volfík company’s chances of survival. From all the factors the investment horizon according to different time which could characterise the quality of institutions, frames. If there was news about a crisis in Arab engulfed in thick fog. The pollution there rises 10 countries, what effect would this negative kilometres into the air and you go through that in input have on the market? the aircraft for three or four hours. Once you have Because most oil is paid for in US dollars, the pos- flown over most of China it gradually starts to fall sibility of shortages would be felt not just in terms away and disappears. of volatility in the price of oil in dollars, including The reason for the pollution is the huge amount the value of the dollar, but in the value of other of cheap production while the economy is grow- currencies. ing so quickly. Obviously, one of the factors is that An interesting finding was that investors experi- there are reduced safety standards at work, there is enced strong volatility from a European economic not even any attention given for cleaning wastewater and political event, such as the debt crisis of 2012, (or the environment generally) while wages remain for a long period of time. Europe, as one of the relatively very low. The production costs are low, so main oil consumers, still does not measure up to that local producers, unlike their competitors, can the US or China in terms of combined consump- manufacture at low prices. With such a structure of tion but is still a very important trading partner for production costs, China is able to attract significant them. And so a specific unconnected event such foreign investment. On the other hand, the invest- as a crisis in public finances in European countries ments do not go into areas where they are neces- can lead to volatility in the oil and currency mar- sary when it comes to respecting environmental and kets. safety rules.

Isn’t there a danger that some countries, How long can China continue on such a path? such as Arab countries, could try to artifi- Until people start to look not only at the price but cially manipulate and shake world markets at the quality of goods they buy. Take a look at the with information on the availability of oil? incredible amount of poor quality consumer goods I am very sceptical that Arab countries could agree that are sold here which basically no one needs Oil drilling in Pennsylvania, 1885 woodcut (akg-images) long-term on anything like that. They often agree but are purchased because they are so cheap and on measures but then some of them break the deal. colourful. If people said to themselves they didn’t

Forum 6 Forum An agreement over the manipulation of informa- need so many things but put the onus on quality 6 Forum tion is quite a sophisticated thing. News about instead, then this type of production would quickly the real situation, such as the level of oil stocks in drop. the US, is much more important, or about vari- To be fair, there are also many high quality cations. On the other hand, when I am trying to find terwards to top members of their central banks ous larger and smaller crises. A very fundamental products now coming out of China, for example, my way somewhere I can always just ask someone or both in the period before the big financial crisis impact would stem from the type of event as the computers and electronics that meet strict stand- use normal maps that you can unfold by hand. and during. We ascertained that before the crisis

Interview oil crisis of 1973 or 1976. That was an exception- ards and where foreign-owned companies have currencies reacted to various economic announce- Interview al situation. On the other hand, afterwards there transferred part or all of their production, which In the media, the question of fake news and ments about inflation, demand, industrial produc- 6 was an increased use of modern technology and is checked and monitored. Thanks to low wages different types of grapevine disinformation tion and other indictors. During the crisis, it was 7 a more effective use of oil. In this case, in Europe these products can be produced cheaper than an- often crops up… do you see that in economics? absolutely not the case. The only news of the type and America, there were various less significant re- ywhere else. And that’s perhaps why people have a Probably, yes. But I will give another example of that had any impact was about the overall state of verberations. lot more different tools and instruments than they the use of news. With Balázs Égert, a colleague the economy, which is the aggregate Gross Domes- Nonetheless, as the film Three Days of the Con- really need. from France, we tried years ago to evaluate what tic Product (GDP). Before that, the level of GDP dor showed, as long as our civilisation needs to influence macroeconomic and other news had on was not even noticed. But when problems began, travel by cars powered by fuel or diesel motors, or From that perspective, does it mean that you foreign currency values. Here it’s necessary to be the market concentrated on a single piece of news as long as we need to fly in planes, oil will contin- yourself use an antiquated brick type mobile aware of one thing: news that the markets are ex- about how the economy was faring. Concern- ue to play a fundamental role. A far bigger factor telephone? pecting is regularly released by the finance ministry ing the comments of highly-placed central bank is the current increased demand for raw materials That’s not the point. I use a mobile that phones, on or statistics office. When the news goes public, its members, it was interesting that during the period and oil from China. When that demand reach- which I can write messages and which allows me impact depends whether it is in accordance with – before the crisis nobody took any notice. During es such a level that there will be an insufficient to listen to the radio or audio books. I don’t need or diverges – from market expectations. So when the crisis though, communications from the central amount for needs to be met, it will naturally lead to it to look at images. The only thing that tempts me you look at the news you have to focus on the diver- bank began to play an important role. increased volatility. Increasing the capacity for oil sometimes to consider smart phones are map appli- gence from expectations rather than the news itself. That’s linked to another notable finding. In extraction or processing cannot be done in a single Then there is the case of news that the market 2013, the Czech National Bank (CNB) began tak- day, these need large investments and a lot of time. is not expecting and this is perhaps more interest- ing an unconventional approach in its currency ing. In our case, we followed the market reaction to policy. During this time, interest rates fell to such a China’s economic success has already news from central banks – for example an interview low level that the level of the interest rate no longer increased the price of different metals… Take a look at the incredible with a governor or a member of the bank board on had any significance for the market and could not In my opinion, the development of China is po- the television or radio. Such types of news cannot be used as an effective tool for monetary policy. tentially a big problem. I thought so more than 20 amount of poor quality consumer be prepared for or anticipated because you don’t The CNB therefore made a pledge that it would years ago and I still do. Not that long ago I came goods that are sold here which know when someone is going to say something or not allow the level of the crown to strengthen or back from a long-term research residency, I passed basically no one needs but are what they might say. fall below the level of 27 crowns to the euro. The through Shanghai and it was sad to see the mas- We focused on how specific currencies in Po- Swiss had done something similar earlier. At the sive levels of air pollution there. When the aircraft purchased because they are land, the Czech Republic, and Hungary in par- beginning, the bank had to spend quite a consider- took off, for a moment the plane was completely cheap and colourful. ticular reacted to macroeconomic news and af- able amount of money to convince the market that it was serious about limiting currency movements. Mario Draghi: in 2012 he said that he would do Which period do you like the most? Prof. Ing. Evžen Kočenda, M.A., Ph.D., DSc., is the head But later, verbal declarations were sufficient. It was everything necessary to defend the euro. That was My favourite is Impressionism because it captures of the Department of Finance and Capital Markets at no longer required to spend money when there enough. The central bank did not have to do an- the transience of the moment and the transforma- the Institute of Economic Studies of Charles Univer- was some sort of movement on the market, it was ything. All that was needed was a simple declara- tion of nature and the surroundings at the same sity’s Faculty of Social Sciences. The main fields of his research interests are, among others, international enough just to say that the bank would keep to its tion and the very next day financial markets started time. Part of my work is taken up with analysis of finance, transition economies, European integration, promise and that it was prepared for foreign cur- recovering and the overall situation began to im- time line series. Impressionist painters are masters and the performance and management and adminis- rency interventions. That is precisely in accord with prove. Words alone can be a very strong tool. at capturing the transience of the moment or evo- tration of companies. what I said and what we showed in econometric es- lution over time. I prefer Impressionism to some timations. That is to say that during a period when Do you have other interests besides eco- other periods and dislike what I consider artistic there is a degree of uncertainty verbal communi- nomics? outrages such as a piece of twisted wire or a piece cations from the central bank can be a relatively Let me put it this way: the field of economics of scrunched up paper on the ground or spilt paint effective tool. Of course, that’s only the case if the touches many different areas and when the econ- with an explanation next to it. Work where you central bank is sufficiently trustworthy. omy is not doing well, other interests that provide have to listen to a half hour explanation of what If the central bank of Zimbabwe said for ex- intellectual satisfaction are also impacted. But there the creator meant. For me this is not really art. Art ample that it was going to keep inflation under are a lot of things I am interested in. should embody something and convey the art- control, nobody would believe it, given the hyper- I like art very much and have been studying ist’s experience and be the result of an incredible inflation that the country has experienced. The paintings in galleries for around 40 years. I think amount of work. Without considerable work – and credibility of central banks can be gauged in the that painting or drawing is one of the most excep- some suffering – I’d say you cannot create art. modern era if markets react when bank representa- tionally creative activities that a person can do. You tives speak. Let’s take for example the declarations can preserve or transform reality in a way that is Are there any other activities you have to fly. I took a snap of the model and sent it to him. of the governor of the European Central Bank, never repeated. which are closely linked with time? I got back a letter in which he kindly praised the I like model aircraft because they provide a window result. Due to the age of most of these pilots, that to the Second World War. As a boy, I was devoted is something that does not happen very often. to building plastic model aircraft and that seemed to be precisely the kind of thing a small boy should How many model planes do you have? do. Everything was smudged, dirty, and not great I don’t know precisely, around 40. Among the re- looking. But much later, as an adult, I recalled how cent examples I completed is a model of the recon-

Forum 6 Forum much putting things together appealed to me and I naissance aircraft in which Antoine de Saint-Ex- 6 Forum went back to making models. upéry disappeared in the Mediterranean not far When you are able to dig up For the most part now, I try to put together the from Marseille. I made it according to precise a part of a motor of a fighter story of specific pilots and aircraft, mostly Czech specifications. When I put it in the display case, I pilots who during the Second World War made a thought that there was not any room for anything plane which crashed more significant contribution to the British, French, and else. But since then I have also squeezed in a Spit-

Interview than 70 years ago, it is quite Russian air forces. I have, for example, put together fire, the type which was flown by the exceptional Interview emotionally powerful. And a series of aircraft flown by fighter pilot František RAF pilot Otto Smik. The display case is getting 8 Fáber, who originally came from Olomouc, which very full, so I am pretty sure I will now be needing 9 to hold a piece of buckled is also my home town. a new one. metal in your hand means For me, it’s not just an enjoyable pastime: coming face to face with through the models and specific pilots you can learn and become aware of many things. Some- Time. times with friends we go to places where I know an aircraft was hit or shot down. Sometimes we are able to dig up parts of the aircraft and from period documentation, we are able to establish what sort of machine it was and who the pilot was. I enjoy studying and connecting specific events with the period because that way it is not just something abstract. When you are able to dig up a compressor from the motor of a fighter plane which crashed more than 70 years ago, it is quite emotionally pow- erful. And to hold a piece of buckled metal in your hand means coming face to face with Time. When not so long ago I was aboard a warship in The research support San Diego that was later turned into a museum, I Donatio Universita- met an older gentleman as I was examining a navy tis Carolinæ is given to Corsair fighter. We got to talking and he told me exceptional academic personalities who have he was a former pilot who flew in the same type of especially contributed aircraft during the Second World War. I told him to the expert prestige of that back home I had a box with this same model Charles University. Spitfires forming a V for Victory, 1945 aircraft in it. I copied some of his private photos (Photo Ladislav Sitenský) and made a model precisely like the planes he used Why could Tel Moca be the Biblical Obed- image of cults varied within the Kingdom of Judea Edom? depending on local traditions. It is no coincidence From a geographical point of view, it makes sense. that the Biblical texts often take note of the varied A Temple Full Tel Moca is located on the road from Kiriyat-Yea- religious practices across Israel and criticize them. rim to Jerusalem. But so far it is only speculation that needs to be supported by evidence. There are Can we tell from the findings which religion more places associated with Tel Moca. I believe was practiced in the temple, or which peo- that this site had been intentionally neglected by ples worshiped their gods there? of Questions the authors of the Biblical text. This could be re- Until the sixth century BC, cults were undoubted- lated to Hezekiah’s centralization of the cult at the ly very diverse. Temples and shrines initially served end of the eighth century BC, or to the reforms of various deities. The diverse anthropomorphic and Year after year, they go to Israel for several weeks to Josiah (Editor’s note: the king who tried to remove zoomorphic representations of various deities coex- all pagan cults in favour of Yahweh’s) a hundred isted alongside the increasingly dominant Yahwism, unveil a new bit of history going back thousands of years. years later. It can be assumed that some places had which was to become the official religion. The been deliberately omitted or renamed to destroy all manifestations of personal devotion and domestic The latest excavation site in which the team of Associate memories of places where temples or shrines once rituals often differed significantly from Yahwism. Professor Filip Čapek from the Protestant Theological stood. The statuettes that were discovered in Tel Moca show an interesting resemblance to Philistine cult Faculty of Charles University participated was the Tel Moca Because people followed all sorts of cults objects and iconography. They show us that, de- in them? In the temple complex of Tel Moca spite the Biblical interpretation, the Judaic and site with the remains of a unique temple complex. unique items were found from a period that Philistine cultures were relatively close to each oth- we cannot associate with pure monotheism, er. Perhaps that is why the Philistines are so often STORY BY Kamila Kohoutová PHOTO BY René Volfík correct? the target of many Old Testament stories. That’s right. Several statuettes were discovered in 2012 and 2013 in the courtyard of the temple. Among them is a statuette of a horse – it original- There was fantastic news making front plenty of water for farming, especially for growing ly also featured a rider, but we are left with only The basic architectural layout of the complex pages in the media that your team was able grain. On the other hand, the original Jerusalem the remains of his feet. Also, an impressive censer Forum 6 Forum in Tel Moca near Jerusalem corresponds to 6 Forum

to find the remains of Solomon’s Temple. Is it is on the border of the rainfall gradient just before (although broken) weighing approximately twelve true? the Judean Desert in less accessible terrain. Maybe kilograms was uncovered. Nowhere else have such the biblical description of Solomon’s Temple. The basic architectural layout of the complex in that’s why this place became a well-fortified Ca- cultural objects been found. This means that the But we can’t say “this is it”: it’s not that simple. Tel Moca near Jerusalem corresponds to the bib- naan city-state in the Bronze Age in the first place lical description of Solomon’s Temple. But we and then the capital of the Kingdom of Judah. Tel

Spotlight can’t say “this is it”: it’s not that simple. From Moca could have served as an administrative centre Spotlight the Bible we know what it should look like, but a for Jerusalem. Here, agricultural production for the 10 building similar to that of the biblical description capital could have been collected. In the immedi- 11 in the First Book of Kings has never been found. ate vicinity of our excavations, there was one of the In Judea, temples and shrines from the Iron Age largest Neolithic settlements in Israel, with an esti- have been preserved, but they are very diverse in mated population of about four thousand people. architectural form. Tel Moca is the only temple of Whether there was a closer link between Tel Moca the megaron type (originally a simple hall with a and Jerusalem still needs to be clarified. One thing rectangular ground plan with one entrance in one is certain, though: if nothing else, the presence of of the shorter walls), and besides the above-men- the temple confirms the importance of this site. tioned literary description which is from a very late period, it has no counterpart in the region. I Is there a mention of this place in the Bible? have to make it clear that it was not us who made Although the settlement in Tel Moca is large in- the discovery: that was the work of a previous ex- deed and the local temple is impressive, the Bible pedition in 2012–2013. Our team is involved in fur- provides only a single lead: The Book of Joshua ther uncovering and revealing construction phases says that it was the city of the tribe of Benjamin. that preceded the temple itself. Some researchers have tried to identify the locali- ty as a place in the Bible called Obed-Edom. The If it turned out that the building in Tel Moca story of the pilgrimage of the Ark of the Covenant was indeed Solomon’s Temple, would that containing the Ten Commandments tells us that mean that the city of Jerusalem was origi- the Israelites took it to battle against the Philis- nally located elsewhere? tines (a non-Semitic ethnic group, one of the main That was kind of a provocative idea put forward by enemies of Biblical Israel) to help them win. But Professor Mar- tin Prudký of the my colleague Shua Kisilevich of the University of they were defeated. The narrative then describes in Department of Old Tel Aviv, who is conducting our research togeth- detail the long journey of the Ark from Ashdod to Testament Studies er with Professor Oded Lipschits. The discovered Beth-Shemesh and further through Kiriyat-Yearim during archeo- logical research settlement in Tel Moca is much older than Jerusa- and Obed-Edom to Jerusalem. (Photo by David lem: it is a locality in the fertile Sorek Valley with Rafael Moulis) what seems to be hidden strangely meets with what with Professor Weippert, whose lectures I attend- is supposed to be a role model. This also deter- ed, but I did not have the resources for such an mines their educational goal and task for the read- expensive trip. At that time, I made the point that if er: to recognize that the good is usually given in the I could go to Israel to do archaeological research in form of an ideal from which one is usually far, far the future, I would try to involve students. Thanks away, while a mistake, expressed not only in reli- to Professor Oeming, also from Heidelberg, my gious but also ethical and social contexts, is a daily wish came true. I could take part in the excavations routine. Thus the chosen historical background re- in the Ramat Rachel area and eventually in other veals who is human and who is God. places. Finally, this year, we made it to Tel Moca, which is an ideal place for practicing research skills. How does Biblical archaeology cope with often amending the images described in the Bible? Anthropomorphic statuettes found in the remains of the temple Biblical archaeology originated in the 19th century. complex (Photo by Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority) Our discipline originally established itself as an en- deavour to confirm the Biblical message. Many of the first archaeologists, historians and ancient text experts were also theologians and priests who, with good intent and admirable personal commitment, wanted to shed more light on the so-called Bibli- cal or Israeli times. Fortunately, these labels have The Bible, however, denies such a close rela- disaster of the destruction of the First Temple and been dropped because they also carry undesirable tionship. Jerusalem in 586 BC. Based on this tragedy, Israel political undertones. However, various archaeolog- On the other hand, ongoing archaeological re- was religiously thematised in the Old Testament as ical findings now show us that not everything in search is increasingly confirming this cultural link. an eternal community of those who were to serve the Bible is historically provable. And it never was For example, Philistine ceramics, which we found one God but repeatedly failed to do so. Between the goal, because the texts are mainly a theological in Jerusalem in the middle of the City of David in the lines, Biblical texts consistently describe how message from a specific time for a particular com- previous research in 2017, were initially considered reality was meant to look, which implies that this is munity. This understanding first came to European Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

to be imported. However, as became clear based a retrospective view. and American researchers, and later also to Israeli on subsequent research, the pots were made in one archaeologists, who had a different mission in the of the many potteries in Jerusalem. Petrographic Can you give us a specific example of such an first two generations than to challenge the territo- analysis also confirmed that the material is of local interpretation? rial and historical claims of the modern state of Is- origin, not imported. The Philistines therefore had Consider King Solomon. He is first described as rael. We had to learn to read the Bible critically and

Spotlight their pottery workshops in Jerusalem, or it may a pious sovereign. Later, however, we learn that he admit that it was written with a certain purpose. Spotlight have been the production of local Jewish potters had many wives and mistresses who led him astray. Biblical archaeology or however else we call it, is 12 who adopted the practice from their Philistine Then he had a revelation that his kingdom would also and above all one of the specialized sub-divi- 13 neighbours. However, this phenomenon is not uni- disintegrate because of its deviation from Yahwism. sions of archaeology. directional, even in the Philistine material culture, The Biblical text is used as an instrument that says: especially ceramics, late-Canaan and early Juda- whoever follows the rules will end up well, or at In your work, you actually relativize the Bibli- ic influences can be traced. We do not learn much least will not be forgotten if they are able to review cal message. Isn’t that undesirable for some- about such affinity, the division of labour or trade, their actions and see their failings. The context of one who works at a theological faculty? but also some religious traditions between the Isra- these rules is defined religiously, by the belief in Quite the opposite: the cooperation of theologians, elites and the Philistines from the Bible. The expla- one God, which, in the era of Soloman (rather a historians and archaeologists is very important. We nation is related to the later deliberate self-deline- fictional than a real figure of the 10th century BC) can complement one another very well. Thanks ation of specific ethnic entities, which portray the did not seem to be practiced. to archaeology, we can imagine the lives of people others in strong contrast. who wrote the Bible much more specifically, and the findings provide important information about Are you implying that the religious life of Between the lines, Biblical their religious beliefs. Of course, we work with hy- Biblical Israelites was different from what is potheses and theories that either prove themselves written in the Old Testament? texts consistently describe over time and are further developed, or are rejected It was definitely more diverse. According to the what reality should look like, as misleading. Bible, everything was centred around Jerusalem and sacrifice in the Temple. In fact, dozens of small which implies that this is Working on excavations in Israel offers stu- Associate Professor Filip Čapek, Ph.D., teaches Biblical Archae- local and rural shrines played a large role. The cult dents of the Protestant Theological Faculty ology at the Protestant Theological Faculty at Charles University was also practiced within a household or a fami- a retrospective view. a unique professional opportunity. How did and is a researcher at the Centre for Biblical Studies of the Acad- emy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. He has been cooperating ly. For example, statuettes with prominent female you manage to start this programme? with universities in Tel Aviv and Heidelberg, including the partici- features indicating fertility had a special place in Why do the biblical texts try to conceal real- I have always wanted to participate in the excava- pation in regular interdisciplinary conferences in Prague and Tel the religion of Israel. They were objects of devotion ity and offer only its idealized form? tions in Israel, because a good knowledge of the Aviv. Since 2013, he has travelled with his students to excavation for centuries until the beginning of the sixth cen- The longer I read Biblical texts, the more I realize archaeological context is essential for studying sites in the ancient city of Tel Azeka every year and since 2016 has tury BC, when monotheism began to be purpose- how they are not only brilliantly written, but above ancient texts. When I studied in Heidelberg in the been involved in research in and around Jerusalem, including the fully promoted as a comprehensive response to the all composed into great narrative units. In them, 1990s, I had the opportunity to travel to Jordan site in Tel Moca, reopened this year. 14 Spotlight Forum 6 Aldrin Buzz Buzz

11 Apollo 11 Armstrong crew Neil A. NeilA. Michael Michael Collins

back? Orshould Landing Moon Is it time to go it timeto Is h Apollo 11 The dark seas, a sacred diskilluminating the asacred dark seas, changed years 50 ago, onJuly20, 1969. heavens, asymbol unattainable, of the of recorded history: aguiding on light of recorded its stark, cratered surface remained stark, its The Moon has fascinated has Moon The usfor most we aimfor a god. For ofexistence, human most impossibly beyondimpossibly All that reach. STORY BY Mars? Jan VelingerJan PHOTOS BY NASA, ShutterstockNASA, – 15 Spotlight Forum 6 could still go wrong at any moment. US President “Computers then weren’t what they are today: Richard M. Nixon secretly had two versions of a basically they ran pre-programmed modules which speech prepared for the Apollo 11 mission in the could not be changed but were set. As still more “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade event that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin end- alarms sounded, Armstrong did the only thing he ed up stranded on the moon’s surface left to die. could.” and to do other things, not because they are There is always danger when it comes to manned There were only seconds to take a decision and space flight, Milan Halousek says: risk can be man- those seconds meant that the lunar module over- easy but because they are hard.” aged or reduced but never 100 percent. shot its original landing site. Heading for a deep “The Saturn V rocket plus the capsule had some crater, Armstrong took over manually, with a poor — U. S. President John F. Kennedy in his famous Moon speech five million parts so even if things were minimised view of the landscape outside through one of two at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1962 and reduced as much as possible, the chances of small triangular windows. Fuel was running out something going wrong with fatal results was still quickly and the Eagle landed with less than a min- fairly high. And of course there were mistakes, there ute of fuel left. It touched down some six kilo- were failures, Apollo 1 and later Apollo 13 (which metres away from the original planned site but the suffered an explosion in the service module). crew was unharmed. “Luckily, at the most important moment, in “Armstrong had such a soft touch that although July of 1969, the Americans avoided catastrophe. the module’s legs were supposed to compress, As some 500 million people watched a live tele- itself would ultimately give the United States the But things could have gone wrong: had the motor they didn’t. That meant that the outside ladder vised broadcast (the largest ever TV audience at the edge and it was there that the Soviet Union would failed on the lift-off from the Moon’s surface when was higher off the ground than had been expect- time), the commander of the Apollo 11 mission Neil end up floundering… and fall behind.” they had no backup engine, Armstrong and Aldrin ed. When he came out, Armstrong had a moment Armstrong emerged from the Lunar Module called Back in 1962, Kennedy had stressed in his would have died.” when it looked like he was reconsidering continu- the Eagle and – in his NASA spacesuit – became speech at Rice University how much of a priori- ing, but he was actually gauging the height of the the first man in history to step onto the Moon’s ty getting to the Moon – and getting there first – Nerves of steel jump to the ground.” dusty surface. would be. On July 20th, 1969, a Sunday, at 12:52:00 UTC The words he spoke would become one of the “We mean to be a part of it, we mean to lead it,” Armstrong and Aldrin began their descent to An inspiration for all humankind most memorable quotes of the 20th century: he said. the Moon aboard the Eagle it landed at 20:17:40 The successful mission to the Moon of course “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap In the same address, the American president UTC. The descent was not without problems: “changed everything”. To this day, many remem- for mankind”. outlined the enormous costs and made clear that during landing, 1‚800 metres above the Moon’s ber exactly where they were when the Eagle landed, Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

anything less than a complete commitment would surface, the LM guidance computer sounded the either watching live on TV or when they heard the The race to the moon be unworthy of the task of putting astronauts on alarm. The situation was serious, Milan Halousek news, both in the Free World but also in countries Reaching the Moon had been a task of unprec- the moon. says: behind the Iron Curtain such as Czechoslovakia. edented proportions: financing and preparation Publicist Milan Halousek again: “Several things happened at once: the Eagle had in scientific research called for enormous dedica- “In his speech to Congress in May 1961, Ken- separated from the command module where Mi-

Spotlight tion, ingenuity and progress. Early milestones by nedy said the US should land a man on the moon chael Collins remained in orbit around the Moon. Spotlight the Soviets included the first manmade object in within a decade. It was an important and galvanis- Armstrong and Aldrin – aboard the Eagle – be- 16 orbit (Sputnik 1 in 1957, which came as a shock to ing moment: to send astronauts there and to return gan their descent and there was a final decision 17 the US), the first man in orbit Major Yuri Gagarin them safely to the Earth. There is no question that on Go-No Go to decide whether they could land. in 1961 and the first female cosmonaut in space, solving all the problems successfully – within such And that’s when the guidance computer report- Valentina Tereshkova, in 1963. a short timeframe – was a huge task: much of the ed a mistake categorised as a “1202”. It meant the The early milestones were not only a feat of sci- necessary technology did not even exist yet and computer’s systems were overloaded – and that was entific success and human bravery but also prop- would have to be invented. Then, Kennedy was a problem.” aganda coups for the Soviets. Back in 1957, when assassinated. Maybe that, however, was even more Houston reacted quickly but, in effect, experts the first attempt by the US to launch a satellite reason to push for success.” said later the landing should have been aborted. aboard the Vanguard rocket failed (it fell back to earth from the height of just a few metres and ex- Sacrifice, dedication, enormous risk ploded), the Soviet Union’s Nikita Khrushchev The American space program, says Halousek, even- boasted “America slept under a Soviet moon”. tually gained the advantage with Program Apollo Some argue that although the Americans trailed, (which followed Gemini and Mercury). The first they were not as far behind as first appeared. crewed flight within the program was Apollo 7 in Milan Halousek is a publicist and well-known October 1968. Apollo 8, the first crewed spacecraft populariser of space program history, formerly with to go beyond low Earth orbit and reach the moon, the Czech Space Office (CSU): orbit the moon and return home, was in December “The Soviets were fierce at the start and the the same year. There is always danger Americans were slower; but they were also more The space program had also pushed ahead de- careful. While the cabin in Project Mercury was spite earlier setbacks and tragedy: the deaths of when it comes to manned ready for its first human test pilot, they still opted astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger space flight, Milan to send a chimpanzee instead in January 1961 – in B. Chaffee, the crew of Apollo 1. They died when case anything went wrong. Alan Shepard could a flash fire broke out in their command module in Halousek says: risk can have flown already at that time but safety won 1967 during a pre-flight test. The tragedy under- be managed or reduced out. Technological advances and success in more lined the enormous danger of space flight – a grim complex projects like Gemini and of course Apollo reminder that despite the best planning, anything but never 100 percent. Both Armstrong and Aldrin spent a little over “There is no doubt we learned a lot: we made Saying that something is sense. Not when there are other important discov- two hours on the Moon’s surface, taking samples huge technological progress, we learned how to eries out there to be made, equally deserving of and conducting scientific tests before preparing for handle projects of enormous complexity, we devel- impossible because we funding and rigorous scientific study and attention. the return: to re-join the command module and be- oped computers and made advances we now use “Sending humans to space is expensive and be- gin the two-and-a-half day journey back to Earth. every single day. didn’t try it, is not the best cause it is expensive you have to take money from Reaching the Moon was seen by many not as “From a scientific point of view, we benefit- way forward. At least we other projects. There are great projects now being victory for the US (although it effectively ended ted enormously from having gotten people to the planned to explore the outer parts of the Solar the space race) but for all humankind, paving the Moon and their actually having taken samples on need to try and then we can System – the icy moons of Titan or Europa, which way for innovation and technology we are still ben- the ground and having been there, because it al- could host very primitive forms of life. efiting from today. Certainly, Soviet leaders were lowed us to verify our theories first-hand. They say if something is impos- “And I am just afraid that all the money will be dismayed their own space program failed to reach were able to do scientific work in the short time sible or not. pooled to pay, for example, to return people to the the Moon first or at all. The US had succeeded. they were there, to investigate the area, and that is Moon. The thing is, if we return there, I don’t think Generations since have been inspired by the incredibly worthy. Samples from the place make all it will answer new questions. original footage of Armstrong and Aldrin and what the difference. Everything else is just theory. “By contrast, if we are able to confirm life else- they and fellow crew member Michael Collins ac- “That is something we can see now when it For example, the current American President where in the solar system, that would tell us that complished. comes to exploration on Mars or exploration of Donald Trump has at times expressed support for life can exist anywhere. Of course, my field focuses It seems incredible that the US reached the other bodies in the Solar System. It is much harder missions to both the Moon and Mars… but tweets on finding suitable areas where primitive life could Moon in 1969 and would return five more times by when we see things only from orbit and we simply this year cast doubt that, at least from his perspec- exist – salty oceans under huge layers of ice. I the end of 1972 but not once since. haven’t got the necessary samples. While we can tive, going to the Moon still made sense. He tweet- would like to know if there is life elsewhere: could send robots there and rovers to investigate and get ed on June 7, 2019 that: there be microbes in seas under the ice?” What next? a lot of information, having people on the ground “For all of the money we are spending, NASA Professor Čadek reveals that a colleague from Petr Brož is a Charles University graduate and sci- makes a difference: we are basically missing ways to should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – NASA who was an esteemed guest at Charles Uni- entist at the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Depart- verify our theories.” We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused versity joked that one reason for the exploration on ment of Geophysics. His focus is volcanism across Recent years have seen renewed pledges by the on the much bigger things we are doing, including icy moons is to learn if there might be “tasty moon the Solar System with a special emphasis on Mars. US to return astronauts to the Moon or to begin Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and lobsters” under the ice. Imagine importing those! At 35, Brož was nevertheless born long after the planning for manned missions to Mars, seen by Science!” Jokes aside, there is simply a fear that there is last Apollo mission ended, but he cites the moon some as a logical steppingstone for colonisation – Which will it be? NASA is said to be currently just not enough funding to go around. Priorities landing in 1969 as a pivotal moment and huge in- one day. What is lost on no one, however, are the preparing a mission to the Moon by 2024 under need to be set for either returning to the Moon, go- Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

spiration all the same. enormous costs that would be required to reach the Artemis Program but some experts see that as ing to Mars, and other important research. But no “From my perspective, landing on the Moon the Red Planet (no doubt exceeding the cost of the optimistic. News sites have reported that the single one wants to see other highly important scientific is the single greatest achievement of humankind. original moon landings) as well the huge techno- biggest obstacle may simply be funding, noting that research scrapped as a result. I believe it was the most complex project we ever logical advances needed. the entire Apollo Program cost 25 billion dollars, set our sights to and it was great and it was very which – adjusted for inflation – would be more 50 years on

Spotlight inspiring to read about it or watch documentaries Should we return to the Moon? than 280 billion today. Fifty years ago, NASA had ambitious plans for the Spotlight about that time and I am sad I couldn’t witness it. I By appearances, the scientific community is divid- Scientist Petr Brož agrees the biggest problem future of manned travel, a space station, a base on 18 would have loved to have seen it.” ed: should humans return to the Moon first? Or will be for anyone to agree on covering the costs. the Moon – plans which went unrealised. 19 Like many fellow scientists, he says even today aim directly for Mars? Here’s what Petr Brož says: Nevertheless, he thinks we should try to achieve The last manned crew to reach the Moon was we are still feeling the benefits of advances that “Some think that we should go the Moon first reaching Mars, even though it may seem impossi- Apollo 17 in December 1972 and the last man on came out of the space program. for a number of reasons. For one, we could test ble at present. the moon was Commander Eugene “Gene” Cer- new technologies there and learn much more about “Saying that something is impossible because we nan (who had Czechoslovak roots). NASA went on surviving in such a harsh environment, it is certain- didn’t try it, is not the best way forward. At least to develop its space shuttle program and we have ly easier to reach and – in the event of problems – we need to try and then we can say if something is not been back to the Moon since. certainly easier to escape from if the need arises. impossible or not. That was exactly what Kenne- Was it a mistake not to continue? Others think we should aim for Mars straight away, dy wanted from his engineers and scientists: to try Some are optimistic we will successfully return by not waste money and go directly to Mars. The more something which seemed impossible at that time.” 2024 or perhaps by 2028 as was originally planned difficult mission, something not done before, would but Milan Halousek points out that even with to- force us to think differently to achieve such a goal. Lobsters on Titan day’s advances it will not be easy. In his view, al- Personally, I am in the camp that thinks we should Another question is whether we should even be though we have the knowledge there is a still a lot aim for Mars directly but I totally understand the aiming for either: after all, there are still plenty that will have be tested and re-learned. thinking that says we should return to the Moon.” of other important missions in various stages of “Manned space flight today still has important In his view, going to Mars would be far more in- development that also require funding and which scientific results, that’s without question. But in spiring than going back to the Moon, capable of cap- too can change how we view life, the universe, and my opinion we need to return to the Moon. Today turing the public’s attention and gaining the public’s everything in it. Such as unmanned space flights – we are capable of sending people 400 kilometres support, a dream that would fuel the imagination to- and above all robotic landers – that can reveal into orbit; 50 years ago, we sent astronauts 380‚000 day much as going to the Moon did in the 1960s. He much about our solar system. kilometres from Earth.” places a lot of stock in entrepreneur and visionary Ondřej Čadek is a professor at Charles Univer- To this day only 12 astronauts – all from the Elon Musk and Space X and others in the private sity’s Department of Geophysics at the Faculty of US – have ever walked on the Moon. Will that sector as being able to play an important role. Mathematics and Physics in Prague who remem- change? Will anyone follow in their footsteps soon? One drawback: a project of such proportions bers when the Eagle landed (he was nine) and he A stamp featuring Commander Neil cannot work without political will and strong gov- too cites it as the greatest human achievement. But Armstong on the Moon. ernment engagement. he is unsure going back to the Moon today makes But society is now reacting with a lot ca Research Institute for Landscape and Are you optimistic when it comes more sensitivity, which does not mean Ornamental Gardening and they knew to solving drought? Or should we of course that this year was dramatical- these areas and had mapped them. If be worried about the future? Drought: ly different from 2015. But drought is we wanted to know how the countryside We try not to rely just on mainstream a persistent feature. What one year was had changed over the last 100 years in information but to look at the prob- seen as an exception and the second relation to water resources – and on the lem from different angles. I personally year as an acceptable reoccurrence is basis of research to predict what would believe that the situation is very serious becoming a regular event. But it should happen over the next 50 years or so – and alarming and that we do not have A New Threat not be that way; climatologists tell us then we needed sufficient information. much time to make radical changes. It’s that it is not statistically likely to be like We had to calculate from general infor- partly about everyday changes in the that for 10 years in a row. mation the likely consequences of cli- way that individuals are behaving but With regard to the current situation, I mate change for a specific location and primarily about structural changes in for Humanity would say that when an event regularly be able to predict, for instance, if a tree the functioning of society: chiefly cut- threatens our everyday routine, it sets in standing before us would disappear in ting emissions of greenhouse gases and motion a train of events: politicians react, 50 years (under the worst possible sce- also consumption. strategies are drawn-up, you get declara- nario) or if birds would be able to nest In Europe, many people are trying to tions from commissions and politicians. in the tree and if they would have one or act ecologically by sorting plastics, re- The ministry of the environment or agri- two broods and so on. ducing car ownership and trying to use culture takes up the topic, various semi- We selected the two locations because local produce, which is certainly good. nars and conferences are held in the low- they had both been quite badly affected But these are decisions by people who er house, and the media gets involved. by drought but each had a very different are without economic worries. Many Then, later, that has repercussions on natural habitat, particularly concerning in the so-called Global South can only the actions of local administrations. The water sources. Nové Mlýny was an au- make choices about changing their dai- latest declaration by the UN Intergov- tomatic choice thanks to the fact that a ly behaviour with difficulty precisely ernmental Panel on Climate Change reservoir had been created there and we due to the existence of global inequali- underlined that the current ecological had a good overview of what had hap- ty since they are facing totally different situation is really uncertain. And when pened to the countryside as a result. The economic pressures. The US and China you match up this report with the excep- Kyjov region was totally different with are each in different situations. That’s Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

tional drought we have had, the problem fields and vineyards where we could ob- why I fear that in the short term it will starts to become even more apparent. serve, for example, soil erosion. not be possible to see the wide-scale changes that are needed. Has the fear of water shortages How did you get the opinions of the When we talk about climate change, already begun to change people’s local people? Did you go and speak there are fears that mankind will disap-

Spotlight behaviour? to them? pear in 50 years. I don’t think that will Spotlight From a Czech context there has been We spent a week in South Moravia and be the case. But nature and living con- 20 People living in underground chambers only coming out quantitative research – the last instance talked to local farmers, vineyard manag- ditions could change dramatically and 21 for example in a publication of research ers, mayors, hydrologists, basically any- in some places there will be shortages of into the open to see the burnt countryside around them: is about the relationship between Czechs one affected. We also spoke with people water and in other places islands will be and the environment by Brno social who did not live in the area but whose flooded after icebergs melt. such an apocalyptic scenario likely? Will the world of the ecologists. It showed that people perceive work was linked to it. There were, for Migrations can be expected from future be uninhabitable because of drought? Anthropol- drought as a serious problem. Qualitative example, employees of the State Prop- places where people will no longer be research about specific behaviour though erty Fund or the waterways and drains able to live to locations where it is still ogist Markéta Zandlová has some clear views about that. is still lacking. Individually, you become authority in Břeclav. possible. All of a sudden, there will be aware that people are beginning to think I see the positives from an anthropo- too many people wanting to live in hab- STORY BY Lucie Kettnerová PHOTO BY Luboš Wišniewski about how they can reduce their per- logical point of view in that it empha- itable areas and the world population is sonal water consumption. They perhaps sises the contexts of the phenomenon. already around eight billion. make some small changes, spend less It’s not possible to come to terms with I do not expect a catastrophic sce- In what way is an anthropological grandmother with a dried-up well and drought. It’s relative and, depending time in the shower, deepen their wells, or the problem by isolating it from reality nario of a few thousand people surviv- perspective on drought different fields: we need to learn what she does on the geographical area, can mean dif- re-use the water for washing vegetables and trying to dissect it – you can’t get a ing underground. But it is clear that we from that of a climatologist, natu- under such circumstances, what meas- ferent things. The web portal Intersu- to water plants in the garden. A series proper understanding that way. have to start making changes. ralist, or hydrologist? ures can be taken, what information she cho monitors anomalies in rainfall from of initiatives are also being taken at a re- From a science perspective, drought is a can access and what kind of help she long-term averages in different areas: gional level, the creation of bogs, ponds, phenomenon which is possible to meas- needs and whether she is able to raise drought in South Moravia is different windbreaks, groves of trees and so on. ure through readings and satellite imag- the issue with the local mayor. from drought in the Beskydy Moun- Mgr. et Mgr. Markéta Zandlová, Ph.D., works in the Department es through which we then estimate how tains. Your research has focused spe- of General Anthropology at the Faculty of Humanities with an emphasis on socio-cultural studies. She is the main organiser of it will develop over a matter of days, How do you define drought? cifically on the Nové Mlýny and the multidisciplinary project: Drought stories: Local Implications months, or years. For anthropologists, Drought is not an “absolute” phe- People are talking a lot about this Kyjov areas in South Moravia. Why of Extreme Climatic Phenomenon, Their Perception and the Will- the key is to study specific localities over nomenon. Naturalists say that it is subject. Has this year been so dif- did you specifically chose these ingness of Participants to be Involved, which was supported by a a series of years, speak with individu- not possible to look at tabulated data ferent from the past? places? grant from the Technological Agency of the Czech Republic. The als, and follow how this phenomenon and say that if it rains in such and We have had dry summers now since I cooperated on a grant with colleagues goal is to encourage communication between interested parties changes over time. Take for instance a such quantities then that represents a 2014, which is now more than five years. from Czech Globe and the Silva-Tarou- and to educate the public about the sustainable use of water. PhDr. Lenka Hlávková, Ph.D., Embracing is the deputy director of the Institute of Musicology at the Faculty of Arts. She specialises in the musical culture of Cen- tral Europe in the late Middle Ages. She also leads the Czech team involved in the interna- the Richness tional Sound Memories project which examines to what extent our predecessors used their collective musical legacy for of Early Music political and cultural purposes.

university scholars and – from their size and for- Researchers can mat – look like thick exercise books. At the opposite end of the spectrum we can find voluminous, richly recreate the music of decorated collections – such as the Codex Franus – a parchment manuscript from the Museum of the Middle Ages using East Bohemia in Hradec Králové which is 70 cen- timetres by 45 centimetres and weighs around 50 Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

just the surviving musical kilograms. It was commissioned by a rich draper from Hradec Králové, Jan Franus, who paid what notes. Lenka Hlávková was then the equivalent of the price of a townhouse describes the work of the for it to be made. People in the Middle Ages feared for their souls and wanted to ensure they would be Spotlight music researcher. saved during the Last Judgement: the rich there- Spotlight fore gave considerable financial amounts for the 22 STORY BY Kamila Kohoutová creation of altars, paintings, or books which could 23 be used in church for singing. PHOTO BY Luboš Wišniewski A musicologist dealing with music from an old- er era must first of all learn how to read musical This year marks 110 years since the first scores that make use of historical notes. When we professorship was offered at the Institute rewrite music into the modern form of notes so of Musicology with Zdeněk Nejedlý taking up that we can study it and use it, we are doing some- the post in 1919. How does the world of musi- thing similar to what a translator would do when cology compare today? translating text. That’s why all historical musical It continues to focus on the traditional area of scores are translated into today’s common under- older music, which was one of Zdeněk Nejedlý’s standable form. You have to, of course, carry out main interests and is still very much the focus. At the conversion into the modern form in a way that the same time, we are not just medievalists. From does not deform the original music itself. How to Ages. In the Czech Lands in the 15th century, solos began to spread, either by being heard or in writ- an historical perspective, we also focus on Europe- do that properly is a subject in itself of a whole sci- and choral renditions of religious songs were very ten form, it could easily be transformed in all sorts an music from the 18th century to today and the entific discipline: the review of musical scores or popular. Contemporary academics are surprised to of ways. Someone could add a third voice because study of contemporary musical culture, where we musical philology. learn that every student and teacher at university in two didn’t seem sufficient, someone else could use approaches from the fields of cultural analysis, the Middle Ages sang daily: their presence at daily remove the third voice because they didn’t like it, ethnology, and anthropology. What sort of music did people listen to in the prayers in the university chapel was one of their and in that manner the piece could be reworked or Middle Ages? obligations. embellished. Some types of music, especially songs, If we stick with your specialisation, music Consider that every person in the Mediaeval lis- were often very variable. from the late Middle Ages, how do you tened to music at least once a week and that was How did music spread? research music that is several hundred at Sunday Mass. But masses were held daily and if Well Europe was a lot more advanced in the Mid- Do musical creations from the Middle Ages years old? there was a church school, then the pupils would dle Ages than we imagine today. Culture, and that influence today’s music at all? Musicologists mainly work with surviving musi- have to sing at those. Basically that means it was includes music, spread freely. Borders effective- If we consider Mediaeval Christian culture in the cal manuscripts. Some of these are located in the ubiquitous: religious music then was the Latin ly did not exist and neither did authors’ rights in general sense of the word as one of the roots of private collections of compositions put together by Chant with extra voices added during the Middle today’s sense of the term. Not at all. Once a work today’s European culture, then the same holds for music. Gregorian chants have never stopped being but also those which to a large extent turned back sung in churches and that’s a direct and endur- to the past. For example the Latin hymnals of the ing link between the Middle Ages and today. The Utraquist Church show that in Bohemia in the 15th way in which rhythms are written which we use and 16th centuries compositions created before today was thought up by a French intellectual at the Hussite Wars were still popular and conscious- the Sorbonne in Paris at the start of the 14th cen- ly being sung in their traditional form and for that tury. Notes have changed visually, angular shapes the Czech lands were seen as backward in compar- have become more rounded and the whole system ison to Western Europe. We of course know today has been simplified; but in principle every child in that “modern” music was just as well known in the music school learns to think about the relation be- Czech lands but the old musical repertoire rep- tween the length of notes in the same way as in the resented a certain unquestionable value. Musical Middle Ages. When we go through historic towns culture was, and is, multi-layered and our project and walk in streets dating from the Middle Ages, seeks to take such a perspective of the late Middle we admire Romanesque and Gothic architecture or Ages and early Renaissance into account. the creative artworks from the time and we regard them as a normal part of today’s reality. Have you encountered any problems in your Performing music, of course, has a rather cooperation with foreign teams? ephemeral life and ceases to exist when the perfor- When formulating the grant application with Polish mance comes to an end. But the collections of mu- colleagues we became aware that the Iron Curtain sical compositions in themselves embrace the enor- heritage has not disappeared even 30 years after mous artistic and intellectual richness of the time the Velvet Revolution. Some colleagues from the which we can today recreate thanks to specialised West commented that we had some very interesting performers. Not just Gregorian chants, but many sources and that they should start to be researched. other types of Mediaeval music have frequently So they were indeed surprised when they realised inspired composers from the 20th and 21st centu- all the research that Czech and Polish musicolo- ries so that their own artistic creations hark back to gists had published even before 1989 and which techniques that were already several hundred years had not been the subject of international discus- 1 2 old. The well-known Christmas carol “Our Lord sion. Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

Jesus Christ was Born” was written down around We regard one of the important tasks of the 1500 but it is certainly a lot older. The Middle Ages Sound Memories project therefore as being to in- are present today in a lot more ways than we can tegrate Central Europe more into reflections about imagine. European musical history. In the Middle Ages or early Renaissance, the eastern frontier of West

Spotlight The links with the musical past are the main European culture, that is its Latin influence, was Spotlight focus of the European project, HERA Sound not East Germany or Austria as during the Cold 24 Memories in which you are participating War, but extended a lot further. We hope that the 25 alongside other European institutions… younger generation will be more open and that the The European grant programme HERA is aimed cultural differences of approach of individual teams at projects which are normally excluded from hu- will be seen as a form of mutual enrichment since manities support. The main focus is not just on borders in contemporary Europe are practically primary research but also spreading the results in non-existent. an accessible format amongst the wider public. The musicological project Sound Memories is led by Professor Karl Kügle from Utrecht with support from colleagues from Cambridge, Zurich, Warsaw, and Prague. The non-academic part includes part- ners from the field of the interpretation of old mu- sic, such as the ensemble Schola Gregoriana Pra- gensis, La Morra, Anonymous III, or Trigon, but also musicians active on the contemporary scene. The Sound Memories project covers music rang- ing from the 13th to 16th centuries which did not just follow innovative lines, which you can find out The Humanities in the European Research 3 4 about in the usual explanations of musical history, Area programme (HERA) is part of the port- folio of European grant applications spe- cifically for the support of the Humanities. You can find out more about the possibili- ties of obtaining such grants by reading the Codex Franus project web pages. The project emphasises Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové spreading research results among the pu- 1 1 The Lord’s Resurrection (illumination Janíček Zmilelý from Píšek) 2 Petrus Wilhelmi de Grudencz (1392–around 1453): duo Preformosa elegantis black minuet notation blic with cooperating partners outside the 3 and 4 Josquin Desprez (around 1455–1521): moteto Christum ducem, white minuet notation purely academic sphere. 26 Science Lab Forum 6 rate at an have fallen populations Insect alarming

cators of cators the change, specifically of populations of used to be the case. There are also indirect indi- wipe the windshield of lessoftenyour carfar than see fewer of them flyingaround and you have to insects around than in the 1980s and1990s: we populations anditisnolongerpossible to ignore. changes: there hasbeena huge decrease ininsect ulations. That said, there isevidencenow of big on ameadow hard butitis to estimatevery pop- to prove. You cancount the numberof butterflies things arewere hard butexactnumbers changing have achance, goingextinct. The task isenormous. of them may never beormay disappearbefore we andcataloguedbeen described before now. Some estimated that another5–7million which have not lations; you mentionedonemillionspeciesbut we In general, difficult itis to mapinsectvery popu- trivial. not to according drop manyAnd the indicators is largely are populations decline. insect onthe evidence world the around seeing that are studies scientific abundance, the Despite large numbers. they are present andusually almost in everywhere tion of andsaltwater marine systems; otherwise we findinsectsinmostecosystems with theexcep- most diversegroupof multi-cellularorganisms. But alizemany that thereareso areand that theythe Ordinarily, people don’t think about insectsorre- zeroes! Ten – that quintillion is10followed by 18 million one species! andabout planet on the like issomething insects There 10quintillion discussed the potential impact. Zoology at CharlesUniversity’s Faculty of Science, Dr. Petr Šípek, aspecialist of at the Department In dailylife, you can notice that there are fewer For along suspected time entomologists that STORY BY various species? insect we Are of cusp extinction onthe decades. of by 75 than dropped more over percent three populations Germanythatflying insect suggests world.the Along-term inneighbouring study andaround inEurope populations ininsect drop to analysis adramatic andmore ispointing More Jan VelingerJan PHOTOS From

Petr Šípek’s quite alot. birds.common agricultural farmland And that is a 40 percentdecrease incommonspeciesamong They discovered that since2004 there was around nithology and scientists fromCharlesUniversity. Republic conducted by the CzechSociety forOr- also suffer. There was a major studyin theCzech food sourcesdrop, their own population numbers insect feedingbirdsinecosystems. If their primary eral, including what isknown asextinction depth, but saiditcouldbe the impact ofsingle factor sev- scientists The German were notable to point to a decrease? to have to population the contributed of factorsWhat some are likely that are and the impactof that. rounding countryside so I think itreflected changes to thebroadersur- study took place at small scale nature reservations peaks and valleys butacontinuousdecrease. The long-term trend and this was notasituation with was adecrease of 2.5percentper year. This was a there were. that they couldestimate how many flyinginsects of flyinginsectscaughtperdayandaccording to they realised they couldcount the average biomass knew what was but afterthere all at first that time data. The samples were andnobody unsorted really then realised afterwards what they had in ofterms They monitored the situation over 30 and years sects and that was aside-productof their work. not setout to estimate the biomass of flyingin- The funny thing about that is that scientistsdid after inreport report. enced andisnow for decades referbiomass three insect flying for measured ments It years. 30 many 2017, whichsurveyed from develop I would inGer like study the to about ask What they uncoveredWhat they wasremarkable: that there personal archive personal - - - 27 Science Lab Forum 6 It is estimated that countryside in ways that create diversity. Because, what you have across Europe is huge agricultur- 80 percent of plant al areas and areas that are neglected – land no one takes care of. And that’s bad, especially if you con- species are pollinated by sider that all of the landscape and forestland and insects so their role is meadows have been carefully created and tended to Mgr. Petr Šípek, Ph.D., is a member of the Department for centuries. of Zoology at the Faculty of Science at Charles Univer- So the management of deserted areas can help sity in Prague. His interests include biology, ecology, massively important: if insects too. We recreated nature around us and if taxonomy, and morphology of immature stages of you lose the pollinators Cetoniinae. He also enjoys nature photography. Šípek we just abandon parts now that is a prime setting is active in popularising science and zoology for the then clearly there will for invasive species. We need to tend to areas and general public. to not let them be overrun. We have to create good be an impact on the conditions. Grass can be cut in a way that helps in- ecosystem. sects and promotes biodiversity and heterogeneity. Then, agricultural firms, forestry companies and aquaculture, need to realise they have a responsi- colony collapse disorder which has affected bees in bility too: they too are landscape engineers. They North America and also in Europe and the costs carry responsibility not only for food production can be tabulated. You cannot have production but also for an impact on how landscape functions. without pollinators, you cannot grow apples in your They need to accept that and help look for solu- orchards without them. So the impact is being felt. tions. which means it could be related to changes in the Many people on their picnic or holiday prob- When a natural predator disappears, it has an ef- landscape that took place 10 or 20 years before. ably don’t mind if there are fewer wasps or fect and producers then have to use more chemi- That makes it trickier to make clear connections. certain bugs but that doesn’t do justice to cals against destructive insects. It can be difficult to link extinction to the chang- the seriousness of the situation, does it. es but it can reflect things that happened 20 or 30 Insects may seem marginal in our eyes but you Generally-speaking, does it mean in the

Forum 6 Forum years before. have to take into consideration the enormous role future that there will be less variety in spe- 6 Forum

they play. Their role in the evolution of flowers and cies as some die out? The visible effect was staggered or delayed flowering plants, blossoms, was a joint work. It is There may be less variety and there will be a great- Yes. That is correct. And for that reason, in this estimated that 80 percent of plant species are pol- er evenness of biodiversity around the world, and study, scientists were not able to see which factors linated by insects so their role is massively impor- fewer insects that will be endemic to only some ar- had had an influence. tant: if you lose the pollinators then clearly there eas. We will lose local assemblages and the local di- That said, progress has been made: very recently will be an impact on the ecosystem. versity. The make-up of insects from ecosystem to

Science Lab there was analysis published in Biological Conser- Then you have insects that prey on other species ecosystem will be much more alike, whether we are Science Lab vation in which the authors (having surveyed or so if you lose the natural threat, pests can multiply talking about insects here, the US, or France. 28 studied some 600 long-term studies monitoring unchecked. It is about maintaining a balance: if you 29 insects but focussing most on around 80 or 90 of lose predators, new pests arrive easily and usually I guess that the big “if” now is what we can those) outlined four major causes. The first is the they are among the most adaptable. actually do to change the trend. I suppose intensification of agriculture and the conversion of The degradation of organic matter is anoth- there is a big difference between govern- land for agricultural use; the second was pollution er area where insects play a crucial role: with my ment or internationally-funded projects (either from everyday pollution or from agricultural group of students we did tests in the field where which might provide solutions and between pollution in the form of pesticides and fertilisers), we left dead mice. In the spring, these mice are small things each of us or citizen scientists the third was biological reasons (such as the impact decomposed in 50 percent of cases by burying bee- can do… of new incoming invasive species), and the fourth tles. If they are not, they are decomposed by flies; Certainly we can start with ourselves and there are was climate change. as each mouse, around 20 grams, can host around small things each of us can do to help insects. You Members of the public often think climate 70 larvae of Calliphoridae flies, which – in the next can help create microhabitats if you have a garden change is a greater culprit, and it can be, but there generation – will be able to produce 400 eggs each. or country cottage, not just insect hotels but small are cases where it paradoxically helps some species If you lose the control element of the burying ponds without fish and generally looking after our to survive. beetles, you risk in the summer and next season a much higher fly population. These are links that Normally, extinction is also part of the natu- we can now uncover bit by bit. The general role ral cycle, isn’t it? played by insects is difficult to gauge, because each That is certainly true but that is not the case here: have their place or have a different role within their this is not about natural extinction. The rates are habitat. falling too fast. Common species are vanishing and this is not really a natural process. Species can Will we humans feel the bite, for example, in of course go extinct but usually this is a very slow food production, when a key insect species process. And what we see there is an evolution disappears? from the old species. So we cannot say that what is I think so. We see it already, with the problems happening is due to natural extinction. In fact, it is faced by honeybee producers. This has an econom- the opposite. ic impact and we have seen large turmoil about mass that is about a billion times smaller than mo- is exploring the earliest moments of the universe. tion on the Earth, whether wind blowing on trees A fraction of the first second in the Universe’s life or water droplets falling to the ground, this is very and what was happening then. Kip Thorne: hard to a physicist or an engineer. It was harder than anything available at the time, so we had to Obviously we have known for a while now create new technology to make it possible. that we live in a rather quiet part of our gal- axy and a quiet part of the universe… but Within 20 years and more and more elsewhere things are very active and rather violent. We will see as the century passes, I expect We have seen a lot of violence with radio telescopes among the most interesting things particularly and X-ray telescopes more than optical that we will be doing is exploring the ones. But the particular forms of violence that we are seeing through gravitational wave detection are earliest moments of the Universe. things we have never seen before: when it comes to things we never black holes colliding, the most violent event other That was the LIGO system (now advanced than the birth of the Universe itself… there were LIGO) – a culmination of 40 or 50 years of no electromagnetic waves, no light, no X-rays, no work and involving contributions of hun- radio waves, astronomers who work with that kind dreds and hundreds of people. The date that of radiation could see nothing. Only gravitational expected made history was September 14, 2015. The waves. So we are seeing events and types of vio- amazing thing about it is that the first obser- lence that were previously unknown and previously vation of gravitational waves came just unseen. It is inspirational. It gives me confidence three days after the system went live. that over the coming years, decades and centuries Yes, that was quite amazing. The first detection we’ll be seeing things we never dreamed of. still remains one of the strongest bursts of gravita- tional waves that we have seen. On a lighter note, the popular show The Big

Forum 6 Forum Bang Theory wrapped up recently – how did 6 Forum

The waves originated in another galaxy 1.3 you enjoy being on the show? billion years ago when two massive black It was a lot of fun, I was on it with two other No- holes crashed into each other… bel Prize winners including Frances Arnold my That’s right. We have since then seen or detected colleague and friend at Caltech, and we were on other events that happened more than two billion the set just one morning and we had been given years ago, signals of which arrived over the last two the script and I had two or three lines of dialogue

Science Lab years. to say. One was “No, no.” Another was “Dr. Hof- Science Lab More than three years ago, scientists – for the stadter, I presume”. The very fact that I had lines 30 You mentioned that there is an app now avail- meant that soon after I was contacted by the 31 first time in history – directly observed gravita- able which appears to show a new event very Screen Actors Guild telling me I should join for often… three thousand dollars! Well I was not going to join tional waves using the LIGO system. The discovery We thought it would be around once a week but for three thousand dollars. But it was fun anyway. confirmed predictions Einstein made almost now it is a little more than that. We may get to the point with better detectors in the future where we a hundred years before. One of the co-founders of will pick up even more.

LIGO, the Nobel Prize winner Kip Thorne has spoken at Are those all black holes colliding or other length about the discovery and developments since. celestial events? They are black holes, collisions of neutron stars, STORY BY Jan Velinger PHOTO From Charles University archive and we think now, although we are not complete- ly sure because the signal was rather weak, that we picked up gravitational waves from what could Kip Thorne is a renowned American theoretical Speaking at Charles University in May, the theoret- quer the various forms of “noise” that such a detec- have been a black hole tearing a neutron star apart. physicist and Nobel laureate who received the Nobel ical physicist said that better detectors by the year tor would face. And understanding that although But we need a stronger signal to be sure and to be Prize in Physics in 2017 (together with Rainer Weiss 2050 could be sensitive enough to pick up waves it would be extremely difficult, there were methods able to extract enough information. and Barry C. Barish) for his contributions to the LIGO from the Big Bang – when the universe was less and steps we could take to overcome the problem. detector that led to the direct observation of gravi- than a second old. These are new tools for studying the Uni- tational waves. During his stay in Prague in 2019 – at You described such a tiny window of oppor- verse: will we will be able to go back to the the invitation of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic – Thorne gave a number of talks, including What convinced you in the late 1960s that tunity to begin with, it still seems almost moment right after the Big Bang? one at the Blue Lecture Hall as part of the “Bolzano there might be a way to one day detect gravi- impossible. Yes, these are things I am expecting we will see and Lectures”. Audiences will recall Thorne’s work as a tational waves? To an engineer or a physicist, using light to meas- hear. Not with LIGO but with other types of grav- consultant on the blockbuster film Interstellar, direct- I changed my mind after looking deeply at the ure the position of something that is smaller than itational wave detectors. Within 20 years and more ed by Christopher Nolan. The filmmakers strived to technology and at techniques that Rainer Weiss had or almost one trillionth the wavelength of light – is and more as the century passes, I expect among portray what conditions would be like near Gargan- devised. Doing deep analysis of how we could con- extremely difficult. And making measurements of a the most interesting things that we will be doing tua – a fictional black hole. of the tomb – at 23 by 19 metres – is also telling. It have any direct indication that would show what is larger than the tombs at Abusir, where Czech the connection was. He was not a direct son of the Egyptologists have been carrying out excavations king but we do know which positions and functions Discoveries for 60 years on a concession from the Egyptian he held because all his titles can be found inscribed government. The two sets of excavations at South in the decorated chamber”, Hana Vymazalová com- Saqqara and Abusir are, however, closely connect- mented on the evidence about Khuwy collected ed. Djedkare was a successor of kings buried at so far. Some of the most frequently mentioned of Abusir and his rule continued developments set in his titles are: the sole companion (of the king), the in Egypt: The Tomb motion earlier. overseer of the tenants of the Great House (i.e. One of the significant finds of the newly un- Palace), the legal official of the Great House, or the covered tomb is a large offering table in the above king’s noble. He is also described as the beloved of ground structure which bears two shen-signs his lord. linked with the kingship. “They symbolise the cy- It is also highly probable that this dignitary had clical continuity of time as well as cyclical renewal use of the royal workshops because the quality of of a Palace Official the decoration of both the chapel above ground connected with the kingship. Therefore the kings’ names used to be written in the oval forms of these and chamber underground is of the highest level. symbols. It is rare to find them in the non-royal The hieroglyphic signs, even those that are only context”, stressed Vymazalová, highlighting another two centimetres large, include many finely carved exceptional aspect of the discovery. details, such as birds’ feathers and fish scales, and a Queen’s The burial chamber contained mummified re- suggesting he must have been in contact with the mains of Khuwy’s body, which is yet another sign craftsmen who worked for the king himself. of his exceptionally elevated status because even Khuwy’s last resting place is one of the earliest the highest officials at the time were not usually known preserved tombs with a decorated under- accorded the honour of full mummification. In the ground chamber, though it obviously includes fea- Pyramid Complex third millennium BC, this right was reserved only tures that were known from other, later tombs but for the ruler and his closest relatives. “All of this also from the chapels of the time as well. “Khuwy indicates that Khuwy was clearly part of the inner- is himself portrayed in the underground chamber Forum 6 Forum Forum 6 Forum most circle around the ruling family but we don’t as deceased sitting at his offering table surrounded 6 Forum

Czech Egyptologists announced two significant finds at an April press conference in the desert sands near the 4,500-year-old pyramid of King Djedkare. The first concerned the exceptional tomb of a high palace Panorama Panorama official, Khuwy. The second, the name and titles of Panorama 32 Queen Setibhor on a column in her pyramid complex, 33 confirming that she was the owner of this monument.

STORY BY Lucie Kettnerová PHOTO BY Luboš Wišniewski

The archaeological team headed by Mohamed Hana Vymazalová on the state of the site. One fac- Megahed, a member of the Czech Institute of tor which might have contributed to the tomb’s Egyptology at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, good condition was the unconventional layout of explored Khuwy’s tomb during the spring exca- the underground chambers; instead of the usual vation season in South Saqqara. Egyptologists entrance through the shaft to the west of the chap- had already known about the tomb for some time el, the underground was accessible via a descend- because the walls were partially visible below the ing corridor leading from the northern wall. It is desert sand. Based on past experience though, they possible that potential thieves were confused and had expected the site to be damaged, with signifi- could not find the entrance to the underground cant items stolen, and without any limestone casing part of the tomb. with reliefs. “We were therefore surprised when we found Close links to the royal family the underground chamber beautifully preserved. The unconventional location of the entrance can Thieves had repeatedly penetrated into the area be seen as indirect evidence of the very close ties above ground level and taken away most of the between the dignitary Khuwy and the ruling fam- casing stones, including blocks with reliefs. But ily. An additional indication is that the tomb is underground they seem to have robbed the burial located at the royal cemetery close to Djedkare’s chamber but were not interested in still more stone pyramid complex, which has been documented in blocks”, commented fellow expedition member detail by the team of Mohamed Megahed. The size Khuwy’s decorated chamber after the first restoration work (Photo Sandro Vannini) Djedkare’s pyramid complex is located in South The site represented a great opportunity for Researchers are now investigating the outside Saqqara, a few kilometres south of Abusir (where Czech Egyptologists. They found the original de- of the queen’s complex and the area bordering the Czech Egyptologists have carried out long-term bris which gave details of how the site had evolved king’s pyramid and aim in the future to deepen excavations) and the pyramid of Djoser, which is during the hundreds and thousands of years since their knowledge of the queen. While the research- the most famous monument in the central part of the death of Djedkare. “He died during the Fifth ers now know her position, her name and official Saqqara. The excavations by the Czech expedi- Dynasty in the mid-third millennium BC and we titles, other questions about the queen remain. “We tion of Egyptologists have been headed by Dr. Mo- discovered finds which, for example, date from the are hopeful that future research will be able to give hamed Megahed with other members of the second and first millennium BC up to the Ptole- us some more answers. On the face of it, working Czech Institute of Egyptology and students taking maic and Roman Periods”, explained Vymazalová. on the queen’s complex might not appear to be so part. The project was supported by the Czech Sci- “There is evidence of development over thousands attractive but from a historical perspective it is re- ence Foundation and Neuron Benevolent Fund for of years and we can follow for instance during ally very significant”, said Vymazalová, admitting Support of Science. which periods people were buried at the royal com- at the same time that she has a soft spot for Queen plex and what part of the population this represent- Setibhor. ed. These finds will help us shed light on the de- Experts hope that they will be able to find other velopment of the society at the time and how these evidence dating from the end of the Fifth and start people perceived their own past.” of the Sixth Dynasties of the Egyptian pharaohs. It was an era which witnessed the transformation of A name at last ideas of kingship and religious beliefs, when under The most significant find was without a doubt that Djedkare’s successor, Unas, for the first time the which helped to establish the identity of the own- so-called Pyramid Texts appear on the inner walls er of this burial complex. Experts had until then of the burial chamber, and the so-called sun tem- argued whether it was Djedkare’s mother, wife, or ples were no longer built as had been the practice even whether it could be the mother of his succes- during the previous part of the Fifth Dynasty. by numerous offerings, which is a motif that does sor, Unas, and what her role had been. As Hana not appear in later decorated burial chambers‚“Vy- Vymazalová explained, the size and architecture of mazalová pointed out. Careful archaeological work at Khuwy’s underground chamber the exceptional complex clearly indicated that this The image of the dignitary is idealised – it does (Photo Hana Vymazalová) woman had immense influence during Djedkare’s Forum 6 Forum Forum 6 Forum

not portray his real appearance but shows him in reign. “Our expedition was lucky in that we found

his youth: thin and with all his strength and vital- both her name and all her titles on a column in the ity. He is in a typical pose with his head in profile Continuing in the autumn entrance area, which confirmed that this was the and shoulders from front and the arms extended The spring excavations at Khuwy’s tomb ended wife of Djedkare. Her name, Setibhor, had previ- towards the offering table where pieces of bread are and it was crucially important for the entrance to ously been unknown.” piled up. “At the moment we don’t know how old the underground to be sealed again and the site Setibhor’s pyramid complex was among the first Panorama he was when he died because the anthropological secured. In the autumn, Czech Egyptologists re- to be constructed at South Saqqara at the end of Panorama research has not been carried out yet. After that, turned to ensure that the priceless interior deco- the Fifth Egyptian dynasty. It is the largest pyramid 34 we can compare the estimated age with the image’s rations were protected. Further restoration work complex for a queen from the whole Old Kingdom. 35 appearance. Ancient Egyptian art though was not is required and, depending on time and financial Moreover, its funerary temple includes architectur- concerned with reflecting reality,” Vymazalová add- resources, more research will be conducted in parts al elements and components which until then had ed. of the tomb which have not yet been thoroughly in- been solely reserved for rulers. These factors and The whole of the east wall is lined with a list of vestigated. Researchers do not exclude the chances the title of king’s wife indicate that Setibhor prob- offerings. The western wall features a motif of two of finding a smaller tunnel or entrance leading to ably had a key role in helping Djedkare ascend to stylised palace facades, which refer to false doors another burial chamber where the remains, for ex- the Egyptian throne. through which the spirit of the deceased could ample, of Khuwy’s wife could be found. communicate and move between this world and the Last year Czech Egyptologists were already next. These false doors were originally located on working at Saqqara at a site between the royal the floor above in the chapel in front of the offering funerary complex and the queen’s pyramid. The table but did not survive. results, however, could only be revealed this year Among the relief fragments from the decorated together with news about the discovery of Khu- chapel were found personifications of funerary es- wy’s tomb. The timing of the announcements was Assoc. Prof. Hana Vymazalová, Ph.D., tates that were shown as women bringing offerings decided by the local Ministry of Antiquities, which is the department administrator of the to the dead. Agricultural produce of these estates oversees research and excavations throughout the Czech Institute of Egyptology at the Fac- constituted the offerings intended for Khuwy’s country. ulty of Arts at Charles University. She tomb. “It is interesting that images of two of these An Egyptian expedition had already investigat- specialises in the economic development funerary estates have been preserved together with ed the queen’s complex during the 1950s. But they of Ancient Egypt with a particular focus their names. These show that one of them was the only uncovered the eastern part of the funerary on the accounting documents of the Fifth estate of King Djedkare, while the second was an temple whereas the area between the king’s and Dynasty and the functioning of the royal funerary complexes in the Old Kingdom. estate of his wife, Setibhor, which for us is another queen’s pyramids remained untouched until last She is also interested in ancient Egyptian piece of evidence of his very close relationship with year. The previous expedition also did not venture science, including mathematics and medi- the royal family. These images mean that Khuwy into the burial chamber, meaning that no one had cine in Ancient Egypt, its development and received offerings from the estates of both the king entered the queen’s burial chamber since ancient practical applications in the practice of and queen”, Vymazalová explained. times. scribes. 36 Panorama Forum 6 waiters, improved. ty of foodor the beer, as well as the behaviour of lot. Overall hygiene in the bathrooms, the quali- wereper-class clientandso the services improved a pubs were designedforamore middleoreven up- cloths hadsplashes of yesterday’s soup. The new with smoky roomsandcheappubs where table- the image of Czechbeer: before, it was associated across improvedthe sector. services They changed itabit.modernize They have hadanimpactand tradition. just They wantedand totakeconcept the They are andfranchises have tried to buildon that sense? classic inthe franchise venues pubs still these Are abit. quite changed landscape the ofcoming new 10or15years franchises ago In interview one you that the mentioned Czech lifeitonce was. or 20 years: the pubisnot the dominant feature of nowThat formore hasbeenchanging than 10, 15, tions, so role.then pubsplayed more crucial afar There were fewer opportunities, fewer cultural op- es, especially in villages, where people couldmeet. under socialism when there were fewer far choic- when pubsplayed role, important a very notleast the central position itoncedid. There were periods would sayover the lastfew itnolongerholdsyears inCzechlifebutI important The pubiscertainly play what dopubs role today? So pubs Have Czech STORY BY oflife pub mayhow aspects never social same. the be Fours), knownments “čtyřky” and as colloquially (Number was reinvented, served role by the lowly classic establish life. Ininterview, our pub how Czechpub talks he the about afamous headed has survey changes mapping and inpubs Jiří University Vinopal at Charles of Sociology Department This year fifteenth isthe inarow of the head that the Jan VelingerJan PHOTO BY changed Unsplash, to bedifferent. noweries orpubsare againgoingadifferent route: of steam. People who are foundingnewminibrew- all kindof the sameandI think are themselves out itself hasnow gotten alittle tired orold. They are a similarmodel, creating akindof uniformity that inspired many andmany imitators of those stuck to hours and hours in the pub. andhours hours beer drinking was a way of lifeand who spent on the social ladder, those for but certainly whom for the heaviestdrinkers. Not necessarily the lowest cold meals. they couldnotheat orcook foodbutonlyserve For example, there inmanywas arule cases that what kinds of meals couldbeoffered on themenu. amenities suchestablishments couldhave oreven the lowest for the kindof butalso setrules prices there was nothinglower. That classification meant and were classified assuchundercommunism: pubs. On the onehand, they were the cheapest There were both goodandbad things about those Czech pubs. about ing that to iswhatpeople comes talk mindwhen “čtyřka” for of alot orNo.4. But so-called the worst was andthe ings for establishments were there different Under socialism, rat Curiously, the successof franchise pubs the first At the same time, such pubs becameamagnet Vladimír Šigut - - ? - 37 Panorama Forum 6 No. 4s were the most widespread types and peo- Establishments were rooted in their own local I stopped asking about ple from all walks of life met there. Everyone knew history, even across a city like Prague. Such histo- politics after 2004 in the these kinds of pubs, you would find them often at ries are valuable because they help us understand railway stations, for example. Paradoxically, at rail- what the Czech pub was and certainly they were survey because it became way stations pubs were officially dvojky – No. 2s – not all the same. They weren’t all dives. very clear the one thing but very often these were the same kinds of venues no one in the pub wanted as No. 4s. The clientele was largely the same. The quality of the beer under communism Because it was the dominant type of pub, there was also very different, when it came to to talk about anymore is a kind of nostalgia associated with it today. It smaller breweries around the country, was politics. became known as the typical Czech pub: not too right? clean, full of cigarette smoke, where one beer after Yes, most certainly. New technology, new ap- another was consumed. proaches and certainly much stiffer competition mean that the quality of beer itself is much, much We mentioned that all kinds of people went to higher today than it was in the past. I was too these pubs and some of them of course were young to drink beer under socialism but from what popular with the Czech intellectual under- I learned there were all kinds of factors when it ground, often heavy drinkers themselves… came to smaller brewers – poorer ingredients avail- That is absolutely the case. They were all No. 4s but able for example – which meant that some brewer- they differed based on what was being discussed: so ies around the country made really poor beer. And more underground locales you would have different they got a reputation which was hard to shake. To- discussions than pubs in some villages – and I don’t day the difference in quality is night and day. mean this pejoratively – where workers from the lo- cal JZD farming cooperative would gather to have a What would you say was the biggest takea- beer or two but stayed until closing. way or trend over the years? The disappearance of the social aspect. It is Pubs also used to be a place where politics As a teenager I travelled through commu- also connected to the beer. Nowadays more and were often discussed… nist Czechoslovakia and was surprised to more beer is sold in bottles and cans and peo- I stopped asking about politics after 2004 in the Forum 6 Forum see that there were pubs that had their ple stopped going to the pub as often. They also survey because it became very clear the one thing 6 Forum

own identity. One I saw somewhere near have many more opportunities than before and no one in the pub wanted to talk about anymore Karlštejn had murals with scenes from the so the pub itself changed and is no longer needed was politics. People who go to the pub now want to Wild West and other American icons. Cow- for regular social contact. People don’t feel the leave politics alone. They talk about other things: boys and buffalo. And it struck me that many need to go there to talk to their friends, or even personal relationships, familial problems, jobs, and of these venues had their own identities strangers, as much. That has changed the pub’s of course sports.

Panorama despite a general uniformity from above. character. Panorama Has the history of unusual pubs from those There are varying socio-economic factors I 38 days or later been mapped? It also seems that more and more people are suppose but how do you classify the unfor- 39 At one time or another I have come across books, spending time “elsewhere”: they might be tunate Czech villages that don’t have a single articles, student papers or bachelor’s theses map- there physically but their phones and social pub? That’s rather sad, isn’t it? ping such sites and it is fascinating, more the ter- apps mean they are simultaneously in an Sure some villages suffer that fate. Factors include ritory of cultural anthropology. These pubs show entirely different space online… a poor mix of local and holiday inhabitants where that even if all pubs were rated one number, they This is an aspect we haven’t looked at in the sur- a critical line is crossed and it just isn’t financial- retained specific identities often based on local vey but it is a fascinating one. It’s not only the ly viable to keep the pub open anymore. Thinking traditions. You had so-called tramping communi- pub that is affected but even something like family about why a village is missing a pub can lead to a ty pubs, firefighter pubs, football or other amateur life… There is a continuing debate about wheth- kind of micro-level analysis about individuals who PhDr. Jiří Vinopal, Ph.D., has worked as a senior sport team pubs where you would see dozens of er connections online weaken or strengthen social make a difference or are socially innovative. researcher – methodologist at the Public Opinion Research Centre at the Institute of Sociology of the trophies on display behind the counter. Fisherman ties. In the case of a small village, the situation can Czech Academy of Sciences since 2001 and since 2013 or hunters’ pubs. It’s true that it seems strange when you have a look dire but often all it takes is the effort of one has been the head of the Department of Sociology at group of people at a table and they only exchange individual who wants to make a difference. A single the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. He is a mem- a few words the whole night. Meanwhile two are person who doesn’t need to run a pub for a living, ber of a number of professional organisations includ- It’s true that is seems strange when you online and communicating with people somewhere for example, but thinks there should be one there. ing the European Social Research Association and is else, and two others at the table might be secret- One person who doesn’t care if only one other vice-chairman of the Czech Sociological Society. have a group of people at a table and they ly communicating with each other using different guy is sitting there all evening but still gets a kick only exchange a few words the whole night. platforms! It is strange that they even come to pubs out of it. There can be multiple impulses, a fire- Meanwhile two are online and communi- at all. fighter wants to revive a former meeting place and But groups of students in the hall or café at uni- goes for it. cating with people somewhere else, and versity are also doing the same. So it is a form of Villages that slip under the point of no economic two others at the table might be secretly communication they are used to, that they need, return lose their pub and that is sad but one indi- communicating with each other using yet they still have a need of course to meet in per- vidual can come along and turn things around. The son and communicate face-to-face. Even if you talk only question is: how long will the village have to different platforms! It is strange that they for only half the evening, it’s still better than noth- wait? All it needs is for the right person to turn up. even come to pubs at all. ing, I think. on how people vote – has been very in- teresting. Your neighbour can influence your decision of who you vote for far Radek Pileček: more than party ideology and fewer and fewer people are reading party pledges or manifestos nowadays. It is becoming apparent that candi- dates get more support in their district A high IQ isn’t and neighbourhood which then trans- fers to the overall movement or party. What I study is how much this is a fac- tor in party preference across different municipalities in the Czech Republic a hindrance! and I look at which candidates are most able to mobilize their voting neighbours, so to speak. He is a student at the Faculty of Science’s Department I think that the information compiled can be useful for political parties, basi- of Geography and is off the charts when it comes to cally I am already doing that for some of his IQ: 160+. First tested by Mensa CR at the age of 15, them now. Radek Pileček is not only brilliant but also funny. He To come back to your IQ – is it ever a negative? says in his field that having a high IQ has not really I wouldn’t say so but it’s true that a lot of people think that if you have a high hurt but mostly helped. IQ you are either all thumbs or have miserable social skills. Maybe there is a STORY BY Marcela Uhlíková PHOTO BY Vladimír Šigut certain connection. But there definitely Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

isn’t any connection proving that people with high IQs are incapable of having a normal life. Ok, sure, my handyman So what is it like? turnout for elections to the EU Parlia- ground up. Getting elected in munici- skills are a catastrophe, I certainly don’t It’s fine. I don’t think I have any prob- ment is of course never great, so during pal elections and then in regional ones. have perfect pitch, and I am not a very

Students lems fitting in. I understand people the two days I also had an opportunity After that, I’d see. But because of my good cook. But if I really want to learn Students and I don’t think my IQ sets me apart. to study. studies I don’t have time for politics how to do something, I can. That’s true 40 Of course, I spend a lot of time at the now and of course I spend most of my even of cooking: when my girlfriend was 41 university. The IQ… well sometimes I What did you think of the results? time in Prague. studying for her exams, I took care of Radek Pileček comes from the wonder when I see the election results! I I was surprised that the two main fac- I would also be interested in teaching her and cooked, too. small town of Bernartice in the district of Písek in the region of question how people can vote for some tions in parliament lost so many voters – Election Geography at our faculty – it is South Bohemia. After complet- of the choices out there and it makes I didn’t expect such a big shift. What a fascinating scientific field that is miss- What was the most recent meal you childhood and was apparent early on. It ing his Bachelor’s, he opted to me think I really do live apart in a social was expected were further gains by ing. I would like to pass on theoretical made? also helped that my mum worked at the continue studying geography bubble. At the same time, I wouldn’t populist parties. At the same time, the and methodological know-how as well Spaghetti Bolognese. Well ok, I admit it Cadastral Office. and to go for his Master’s at the want to live in any other country. I was a liberal democratic alliance did positive- as to work with students to analyse actu- was a premade sauce so I only warmed Faculty of Science at Charles member of our local commission, count- ly. I saw the Czech results as positive al voting results in the Czech Republic it up and forgot to add salt, but oth- She took her work home with her? University. In his Bachelor’s ing votes, so I saw up close that the overall and I think there is potential in from a geographical perspective. erwise she liked it well enough. I can No, but sometimes I would wait in her thesis, he pinpointed mistakes results were legitimate and that the ma- the future. improve. But it’s true that nobody at office and the walls were covered in made in the ballot counting jority of Czech voters opted for what we But a lot of voters unfortunately go Are there any new trends in your home ever asked me to do much with maps. They were everywhere. I drew process. As a political geogra- pher, he is most in his element have now. Whoever is unhappy with the for quick fixes and immediate bene- field that you find exciting? my hands and I guess my strengths lie my first map at the age of seven, for my during election cycles. results can take part in protests. fits: the minimum wage rise or pen- Something known as the neighbourhood elsewhere. father who was heading to Turkey to sion increases but are less interested in effect – the impact your neighbour has work there for half a year. The map was Did you follow the European elec- the state’s overall economic prosper- What got you interested in geogra- of all of the states he would be travel- tions? ity which of course has an impact on phy? As a boy did you have maps on ling through and I admit geography was I didn’t really have a chance to see a the quality of life and standard of liv- Ok, sure, my handyman your bedsheets? my passion and I found meaning in my lot of the debates and I have to admit I ing. People want to be a tiny bit better skills are a catastrophe, I No. But I did love maps: whenever I was studies. was more interested in the Ice Hockey off right away rather than a lot of better sick and cared for by my grandma we World Championship! Of course I ana- off in 15 years. certainly don’t have perfect drew maps all day as well as the flags What do you do when you want to lysed many of the polls. I am a mem- pitch, and I am not a very of different countries. I think she must relax? Do you do sports? ber of the voting commission at home Have you ever thought you might good cook. But if I really have suffered a bit: I was always testing The last two years I have really gotten in Bernartice and I enjoy doing that a get into politics yourself? her knowledge of capital cities or of into golf. I have a handicap of 37 but I lot. I enjoy talking to fellow commission I can’t rule it out completely. But I want to learn how to do Czech rivers from longest to shortest. only started taking part in tournaments members as well as voters, after. Voter would want to enter politics from the something, I can. So yes, my obsession goes back to my last year so I hope it will improve. 42 Students Forum 6 to According The World STORY BY dozen by inspired andpolitics. larps history two than more form. authored has Healone hobby art popular andoccasional increasingly at knows CU, what ortwo isan athing about DavidLARP). František Wagner, student aPhD Road. kindof This isone live play role action (or gathering like scavengers Fury Mad Max: from armour infuturistic dressed fighters can see Often at weekend the at Prague’s LetnáPark, you LARP Jan VelingerJan PHOTOS BY Petr Luba, DavidPetr František Luba, Wagner’s archive and soon. genres – frommysteries to romances andcomedies these canalso beplayed within numerousdifferent ent-day content games with alotof plotlines and battles and ern then you have orpres historical - thing. Basically, you have sci-fi,fantasy andmod- Post-Apoc as their settingand they are their own Post-Apocalyptic Battle Royales will always take larps where genre andsettingare mostly the same. They usually canbealthough there are some rate? between genre andsetting? they Are sepa To we should what degree differentiate sions youtake. ischanged by the deci- take decisionsand the story ismakingmost basicprinciples of choices. larp You it isup to you how the gameplays out. Oneof the ideas andinterpretation of is,who that person and direction,character inacertain to add your own set of Director’s Notes. You are going to steer your 15 pagesof your character’s or you memoirs geta to muchmoretle larp complex roles where you get as simple asasoldier if we are talking about abat- are in, or the whole city. ly, the location canbearoomsuchas the one we and canbefrom two to onemonth. hours Similar- your phone. The time limithere issetinadvance Go which you cancontinueanytime you pullout This isunlike otherreality gamessuchasPokémon game where you play arole inaset time andspace. If Ishoulduseadefinition, andforemost a itisfirst hobby the what down does boil to? isacompleteFor who newcomer, somebody storylines. orpolitical historical tackle more that those especially larps, of these some foundation intellectual to isastrong There and have moved things inagooddirection. think we have addedoutownto facet the hobby a question of onearea setting trends. But Ilike to isnow alotmorelarping diverse, soitisnolonger we are attracting people fromabroad. The world of different andgoingindifferent directions, and now has even reversed: we arethat are producinglarps I thinkthetrendhaveand I thinkthings changed and we copiedalotfromNordic countries. Today quite specific. Ten ago years we were quite behind The state of the hobby in the CzechRepublic is follow it Did pened? world trends? what hap onhere, caught larping Once you stilldo today. in the 1990sto re-enact arts and martial trying ters orevenhave orfencers fencingmas- stuntactors that evolved into wholly different areas: you would fencingherehistorical which popularwas but fairly There was a tradition of re-enactment of scenicor How far hobby the has come? And of course And ofyou course have arole. The roles canbe - - alone? you Did of optimism. degree that larp write War Cold of the out was and there agreat by Francis Fukuyama we when were coming 1990s andlater inthe published essay abook after isnamed EndofThe History? a famous was the ageof the oldestto sofar. person take part from the ageof 18 to around68orso. I think 69 professors, andmany anywhere lecturers others has beennobasicagespectrum. We have students, broadand audience is the lastfew very years there Charles University’s Faculty of Education. The I amonemyself, completing my at dissertation We getpeople fromall over, includingstudents, they? are who participants: the about question more allow one but me Endof The History? called We’ll alarpyou about talk ran recently just kinds of involvement at various levels. smoothly. isrunning that everything You have all overseeing andothers the begins whole projectand in andoutside the game: workshops before the larp and those people are in the gameobviously. stint within agame that unfolds over two days), randomly (thiscanbefor example, a three-hour acter roles – characters who the players encounter on-hand to non-playertake of short char- the part commodation, forfoodandsoon. are Stillothers are in the background: someoneresponsible forac- larp, you have of aproduction members team who have within the organisational team. every During It dependson rolethe gameand the particular you game? youa moderating are role, overseeing the you are When larps youin there these run have adifferent outcomeeach time. room forplayers’ interpretations. That means you ent plotlines and all kindsof choicesandlotsof You have somethinglike 54characters with differ- ty-three single time it times andevery was different. Sure. We twen called Legion - alarp have run way?same neverthat also things the playquite out have Iimagine people. other with contact likething you immersive ishere games video betweensome bigdifferences ofOne the Still others canhaveStill others roles at akindof intersect a set of Director’s Notes. a set 15 pages of your character’s or memoirs complex more much you where roles get abattle weif about talking are larpto asoldier simple as as canbe roles The - 43 Students Forum 6 I wrote my first larp Then someone invited me to a larp and I enjoyed it. Consequently, I wrote my first larp two years when I was 16. When later when I was 16. When I was 19 or 20 it became a really big part of my life and I haven’t regretted I was 19 or 20 it became it since. a really big part of my life I love stories and world-building but I appre- and I haven’t regretted it ciate that some people dislike games of any kind. Have you met with any negative reac- since. tion from anyone who came along and really disliked the experience? or not. That decision, how far to negotiate, is up to For the last five years with our group, rolling.cz, the player alone. and for 14 years through the hobby and making games, I have met thousands of players and some- And this echoes real-world situations where times there is negative feedback. But it is usual- there is backroom dealing or are secret ly that they didn’t like a particular larp, not that negotiations going on. So I suppose it allows they don’t like larps at all. By my estimate there is players to feel a little what it might be like to maybe five percent of people I met who just do not be in that kind of situation? want to play larps – which is perfectly ok! The experience is focussed on the essentials. There Quite often, though, it was more that a particu- are parts of such situations which are completely lar larp was not right for them. It can happen that discarded or taken out: there is no formalism and there is a case of awkward motivation from the of course the whole process is very simplified and start and that’s pretty bad: if someone is there only time is condensed. In real time, the game takes two to please a partner, that’s a mistake. If they don’t days which in game time represents eight years. want to be there in the first place, they will not en- One of the big takeaways for many participants is joy the game – you can’t just be a passive bystand- that things are far more complex than can first ap- er. pear. But if it is something you want to try, it is inclu- Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

It is not that simple and a lot of the feedback af- sive and anyone can do it. We have people in their terwards is that players learned that negotiating is 60s making up stories, willing to march 20 kilo- kind of hard. They often say they didn’t expect it to metres in “frozen Siberia” and we have people who be that difficult. The second thing they find, is that are 19 who work very well with everyone, there are situations can be really complicated and there are people with disabilities who are able to take part

Students NO easy solutions for a lot of stuff. If that would just fine and it all works. Larping is an interactive Students Actually, most larps are a collective effort because why some situations happened or came to a fore. be the only take-away from the game I would still medium and you have to put creative energy into it 44 you have to include many points so view; the im- Now we can go into much greater detail because be really satisfied. to enjoy it. 45 plementation of this particular larp took a year to we have a greater overview of what happened five put together. It began as a Master’s thesis as kind years ago. That brings me to the raison d’être for larp- of an experiment more than 10 years ago and so we ing, how would you describe it? Is it enter- thought why not try and make it into a game with In this kind of larp, everybody gets a position tainment? Is it art? Is it amateur theatre, rules and everything, not just for students of inter- to follow? preparation for real world situations, train- national affairs but for anyone. And it had nine or Yes and that is important. In The End of Histo- ing for a future intelligence analyst? ten runs. ry? players represent certain factions with different I’d say larping is a medium that can be applied for Based on what we learned, we then introduced measures of influence within a given state. So, for any one of these uses. We certainly strive for all improvements including new rules and new con- example, four people play delegates for Syria. They our larps to be entertainment but at the same time, David František Wagner, born tent. Based on information we compiled from the are not given personality traits or relationships like especially with content-based games we, as the au- in 1988 in Písek, South Bohe- previous experience, we were now able to go into they might have elsewhere, such as “you are mer- thors, would like to think that what we are doing mia, is a PhD student at Charles University currently com- much more detail. We built on the experience of curial and melancholic”, “you are looking for ro- approaches art. That is really what we are trying to pleting his dissertation at the five years ago and this time around were able to mantic involvement” and so on. You would get that do. Faculty of Education. The focus allow players much more freedom. More details in a game like our Legion, where relationships are At the same time it can be used for training of his thesis are Christian meant we could talk about more things. If the dis- important. or for empathy, communication, negotiation and churches in the former Czech- cussion focussed on Israeli settlements in the Go- Here, players represent a broader group, such as teamwork exercises. But I am sure there are other oslovakia during the commu- lan Heights, the discourse could be much more nu- the Sunnis, and are given the task of representing forms that are perhaps more useful – games with- nist regime (1948–1989). anced because of the increase in information and their values and goals. The aim is to sustain your out roles for example – that are better for team- Wagner has been involved better maps and so on. position or increase your influence in pursuit of building. in live action role play since his We also know more now about the numbers your goals and so on. teens and has written more than 30 larps to date. represented by Hezbollah, for example, so we were Someone else might represent the leader of an- How did you yourself get into the pastime? Larping, he says, allows par- able to put that into the game thanks to unique other delegation, for example, the Assad govern- That’s kind of a strange thing – I don’t really re- ticipants to experience some- hindsight we had gained. So the game takes place ment. They get a starting position and certain val- member now. When I was a teen I dabbled in thing new and to see the world in the time period of 2006 to 2014 and during ues too. Then it comes down to whether the player pen-and-paper dice-based RPGS, I did historical from a new perspective while some of the initial runs there was less clarity about makes compromises, for example, with the Kurds, fencing and I was interested in amateur theatre. still being FUN. 46 Students Forum 6 by Only A LanguageSpoken Sark Norman: Reviving Worldwide STORY BY school. elementary local Heeven it. revitalizing plans to teach language the ina exoticembarked this ondocumenting language and town the Krumlov, from of Český Czech student has a Neudörfl, spokenstill by Martin four just people. whichis orSarkese, Norman language,of the Sark islands’ four of one the has variations ofisland Sark have language. Norman original The their retained isthat most them about andwhat isspecial Channel located English are Islands inthe Channel The Islands administrations saying that I would like to the opportunity. Isentoff anemail to theChannel theme about spoken French. My thesis offered me this butmy Bachelor’s Degree covered adifferent went to university with the aimof specialising in was attracted to the ideaof studyingNorman. I at that time I couldspeak English andFrench, I developmentthe further of English. Sinceeven ter the Norman conquest of England influenced the ChannelIslandsand the language– which af- school inEngland. teacher mentioned Myhistory I was 16 and at the time I was studying at amiddle of island Sark? the about youDo youheard when remember first Jitka JiřičkováJitka PHOTOS BY Four People Shutterstock,

Martin Neudörfl’s personal archive personal Neudörfl’s Martin Guernsey, Jersey, and Alderney). So, it was settled. in my project(Editor’s note: the otherislandsare island of Sark, saying that they were interested very of Norman. to The first reply the nextday was the in takethe documentation part andrevitalisation proximately 400 residents permanent of Sark, four second half of the 19th century. Out of the ap- version of Norman – Auregnais – diedoutin the That’s from apart Alderney, where local the fourth islands… of all the out Norman nal fewest origi the speaking of people number for language having the to revitalised, be the was of island The Sark biggest inthe need

- 47 Students Forum 6 native people now speak Sark Norman, plus my- Did you understand the people you consulted One young girl was eventually will be derived. Before that, of course, the codifi- self. Besides these, there are many so-called “semi without any problems? able to put together four cation of written Sark Norman should be complet- speakers”, or “half speakers”, who can understand Yes. It was important to know how to work with ed, which is one of the biggest remaining tasks. I and can grasp most of what’s being talked about. people and to empathise with them. And the big- sentences on her own, one of have uncovered one surprising connection between Then there are many people I met who can say at gest help was being able to approach this foreign which included “Can you pass Sark Norman and my homeland. Every one of the least a few words or phrases. Practically everyone, community through an intermediary who was Channel Islands has a nickname for its inhabitants. though, is able to swear in Norman. respected by the local community. The people I me a piece of bread?” which she For Jersey, it’s the toads, for Guernsey the donkeys, talked to on Sark were elderly people. I spoke to remembered from her grand- and for Alderney the cows. For Sark it was original- What was involved in documenting Sark Nor- them initially in 2016. At that time I did not have father because that was what he ly the ravens – a reference to the birds that robbed man? that much information and was pleased to get grain from the cultivated fields. But after the war, Probably the most basic problem for me was com- anything that they could give me. On the second asked her as part of their daily the fields were fallow and populated by rabbits, ing to terms with the fact that I was a sort of refer- occasion, in 2018, I had to go into more detail and routine. which is the new nickname. I come from Český ee who was deciding how a word should normally discuss with them, for example, the conjugation Krumlov and we also had our own nickname – it be pronounced. French today has a big influence and declension of words. They eventually told me would be jackdaws in English – but that has dis- on the language of the native speakers due to the everything I needed to know. But the process was appeared now. And we also had our own original period when the language was intensively propa- very exhausting for them, given their advanced During your second stay on the island you language – Šumava Bavarian. I know of three peo- gated. But in the original Sark Norman the words years. gave an hour-long lesson. How did the chil- ple who are able to speak it fluently. I would also sounded different. And so it fell to me whether I dren react to you? like to document the language of my own ancestors codified the pronunciation according to the lat- What is life like on the island? I was very nervous because I was aware that Sark that is disappearing practically in front of my nose. est variation or opted for the second possibility of Originally, they were mostly fishermen and farm- Norman had last been heard in a school envi- That’s unfinished business for me. how the word would sound if there was no French ers. After the Second World War many new inhab- ronment at the start of the 1970s. Back then, the influence. I have not personally fully resolved the itants came from England and there was a reorien- children rehearsed a piece for the theatre in Sark question for myself. Younger people, who can’t tation towards tourism, which is now the biggest Norman. I told myself that now I would be happy speak Sark Norman or just understand it, are more mainstay. From a Central European perspective, at the end of the hour if they could just say “Good attracted to the old pronunciation. But the last they earn quite a lot of money. But the tourist sea- Day”. But I was completely astounded by them speakers understandably want to retain the pro- son on Sark lasts only a few months and the cost of because after a while they were able to perfectly nunciation they are used to. It has been necessary, living is very high. The islanders have to survive for pronounce and repeat everything that I said. One given their engagement in my research, to respect the whole year on the earnings from the summer young girl was eventually able to put together four Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

their wishes. But in the future both possibilities tourist season and the period when they can catch sentences on her own, one of which included “Can must be taken into consideration. lobsters. In such circumstances, they cannot save you pass me a piece of bread?” which she remem- much at all. To go into details, my three-week stay bered from her grandfather because that was what Where did you yourself learn Norman? there cost around 70‚000 Czech crowns and I cer- he asked her as part of their daily routine. I had the basics from specialist literature and even- tainly was not a big spender. In this respect, I am

Students tually taught myself on the island during my con- very grateful to Charles University’s grant agency Weren’t the adults sad that it took a Czech Students sultations. If you have been taught languages and because without support I would not have been student to come and teach their children the 48 have a feeling for foreign languages and are attract- able to continue with my research. language of their ancestors? 49 ed to the problems of spoken language, then it’s They were mainly disappointed that their parents not too difficult. Looking back, it helped a lot that I Were the local people surprised when a had not taught them Sark Norman. At first, the last had spent a lot of time on historical spoken French. Czech came along and spoke Sark Norman remaining speakers would not admit it but later French and Sark Norman belong to the same lan- better than the majority of them? when I spoke to them at length I started to under- guage branch, though Sark Norman has retained a I was very fortunate in the fact that everybody was stand what had happened. It was a classic situation lot more of what French has gradually lost over the very helpful towards me. However, in the beginning that has occurred in similar circumstances else- last centuries – particularly with regards to pronun- they were suspicious. They were not certain that where and is described in books: when the children ciation. the time they gave me would amount to anything, started to go to school they were laughed at by the as was the case with previous research carried out. others because they did not know normal Eng- The people I consulted were willing to pass on part lish and had a “bad accent”. After that experience of the linguistic heritage primarily because they they just spoke English to their children to spare believed in trying to save their native language that them embarrassment. Fortunately, they still spoke Martin Neudörfl was born in 1991 in Český was only spoken now by a handful of people. Norman with the older inhabitants and their own The people I consulted Krumlov. Until the age of 18 he divided his age group so that the following generation at least time between Great Britain, France, and were willing to pass on part And that’s the reason you decided to teach heard it. These people are now in their 50s and Japan. He studied French Philology at Sark Norman at a local elementary school? 60s – the “half speakers”. Charles University’s Faculty of Arts and of the linguistic heritage Exactly. I’d like to prepare the structure of the les- is currently a postgraduate student at primarily because they sons this year and then begin teaching the children You have succeeded in the Norman language the Department of Romance Studies. His by Skype. It’s likely to be a few hours a week. The on Sark and as part of your Doctoral thesis research has focused on the documenta- tion and codification of Sark Norman and goal is for Sark Norman to become the second lan- you are working on Sark Norman grammar. believed in trying to save since the start of it he has been a member guage after English that’s taught, and for it then to What comes next? their native language that of the Sark education society, La Société become the gateway to French. A big plus is that Thanks to the university grant I am planning two Serquaise, and is now a joint manager of was only spoken now by a not just the children but also their families and additional research visits so that I will have suf- its language section. Besides language school managers are in favour. ficient data to publish a normative-grammar and research, he also studies history including handful of people. from which modern exercise books and dictionaries the regional history of Southern Šumava. the towns and some of them just cre- ated havoc in the wild. Older campers were keen to distance themselves. These “troublemakers” were at first labelled Czech Tramping wild scouts but later on they also began during the First to be described as trampers. So against The Tramping Republic. their will and in spite of their efforts to In Czech, 244 pages protect their good name in the press, at Published by Academia in 2019 the time the older trampers, including those from Ztracená naděje, began to see tramping defined as a problem for soci- Phenomenon ety which all of a sudden set off moral alarm bells. For critics, it was linked with the disruption of bourgeois values, Nature, culture, alcohol and sex. These are things often which is an orderly and respectable life. Among the early trampers there were The advantage was that it was finan- associated with the tramping phenomenon during the In the media it began to be connected mainly young people from factories and cially within reach. Renting a campsite with everything these rowdies could do shops and students who after a week was in principle affordable and people First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938). “I was surprised in the outdoors: poaching, damaging na- of work wanted to get out into nature could get there on foot, by train, on a ture, drinking alcohol and having sex. and either be on their own or alone bike, or later by car. They did not need by the intrinsic diversity and ambiguity of the tramping At the end of the 1920s and even with friends, to enjoy the community, special clothes or expensive equipment. phenomenon”, historian Jan Randák admits. more so at the start of the 1930s though, strengthen relations, or simply relax, so tramping began to be perceived as a that after a short weekend break they What was your most interesting STORY BY Lucie Kettnerová PHOTO BY Luboš Wišniewski respectable and acceptable mass affair. could start work or studies again. Age, discovery during your research? Undoubtedly, part of this stemmed from rather than profession, probably best de- The intrinsic diversity and ambiguity the fact that it was taken up by popu- fined the first trampers. of the tramping phenomenon. I came lar culture with tramping songs and it to the research with a naive and stere- Are you involved in tramping have a grounding in research, experi- demonstrated the ambiguity of this phe- began to be associated with tourism and So what did a nature trip look like in otypical preconception that I knew a actively or just theoretically? ence in handling sources, and a critical nomenon. sport. those days? lot about tramping but there was a lot One of the co-authors, Jan Špringl, approach to the subject. In comparison The opportunity to tramp began on which came as a surprise, which we then

Forum 6 Forum took me on trips down the Střela and with the iconic Bob Hurikán, we posed When did tramping first start to What social group was mainly Saturday afternoon and finished on explored. 6 Forum Berounka rivers, for which I am grate- different questions. In his book, he gave appear here? involved? People also worked Sunday. People had to be back in town ful. We sat around a campfire and slept a short description of what tramping It’s impossible to say exactly. Already on Saturday, so those who were on Monday, at work or at school. So under the stars, but I did not really con- was and where it happened but he pri- several years before the First World employed did not really have much the tramping itself was reduced to a few

Books sider it tramping. And, to be completely marily concentrated on certain geo- War people were going on nature trips chance to leave town. hours. Books honest, it never occurred to me that I graphic locations and camping grounds. or camping. But no one described it as 50 would personally ever be involved in a We also attempted to evaluate certain tramping. The term “tramping” as an 51 project about the phenomenon. themes we regarded as crucial with re- activity started to appear in the everyday gards to tramping and the First Repub- Czech press sometime around the mid- Many Czech authors have already lic such as the relationship between poli- dle of the 1920s. We, however, already dealt with the history of tramping, tics and tramping, tramping and cultural came across the word “tramp” at the Bob Hurikán being one example. production, tramping and out of school start of the 1920s in the sense of a care- How is your perspective different? education or tramping as mass recrea- free Czech camper. It’s very likely that PhDr. Jan Randák, Ph.D., works Tramping legend Bob Hurikán was an tion and as popular culture. these people wanted to set themselves at the Institute of Czech His- tory at the Faculty of Arts at insider who drew on his own memories We looked at the tramping phenom- apart from the realities of the First Re- Charles University. He is par- when he wrote and published a history enon as historians. That’s not to say we public society, bourgeois morality, and ticularly active in the area of of tramping during the era of the First did not respect the previous works. We spoilt urban civilisation. So tramping as recollections, identification Republic in 1940. In the 1960s, Rudan did try to put some well engrained im- such was a narrowly defined activity, an and loyalty in Central Europe Noha dealt with not just tramping but pressions and stereotypes through “the attempt to escape from or defy the First and the creation of revolution- also the woodcraft movement in his factual grinder” of archival research and Republic. That was already apparent ary traditions during the era of book Odlesky táborových ohňů (Campfire from 1918. Czech Stalinism after 1948. He Reflections). He was also linked with the was the main organiser of the Unfortunately, in the first community through his own recollec- Didn’t the label have a rather nega- project Tramping in the Czech Lands 1918–1989: Subculture tions. At the beginning of the 1990s, a half of the 1920s, young tive connotation at first? and Interaction Between State very exceptional and expert work Český That’s a very interesting question. For people also started to seek and Society. tramping 1918–1945 (Czech Tramping the first campers on the Vltava and at 1918–1945) was written by Marek Waic out nature and escape the the Ztracená naděje (Lost Hope) camp- and Jiří Kössl. towns and some of them just site, tramping was a positive phenome- In contrast to these authors, our team created havoc in the wild. non, although that was purely from their This portrait was taken at had a certain distance time-wise and own perspective. Unfortunately, in the Prague’s Ethnographic Museum Older campers were keen to of the National Museum – we are trained historians, though Jan first half of the 1920s, young people also home to an exhibition entitled Pohunek is an ethnologist. We therefore distance themselves. started to seek out nature and escape A Century of Tramping. Youths from Children’s Homes Need Positive Male Role Models He went from engineering to religious ministry before he found his calling in helping youths sorely lacking familial support. Today, Lukáš Talpa is a guarantor behind the Patron

Forum 6 Forum project, which helps kids growing up in 6 Forum children’s homes.

STORY BY Kamila Kohoutová PHOTOS BY René Volfík Alumni Alumni

52 The Patron project is founded on the “Big they have plenty of those in the homes. A lot more 53 Brother” principle, where an adult accompa- useful is when a volunteer takes his charge along to nies a teenager into adulthood. How did the the auto shop and shows him how to talk with the project begin? mechanic or brings him along to the country house The League of Open Men organises developmen- where wood needs to be chopped. tal activities for men and many of them want to contribute to the community at large. They want to When the time comes, how hard is for young help, but don’t necessarily only want to be spon- people to leave the children’s home and sors. Some want to give freely of their time and begin real life? pass on things that they know. When we look at to- It’s a real shock. In children’s homes kids often day’s children’s homes there are a lot more women live as if they were upper middle class. Children’s working there than men. Youths often establish im- homes are often located in converted stately build- portant bonds with educators but relationships can ings or First Republic villas. Every year, there are be quite limited by changing work shifts and staff trips to the mountains or to the sea, and the homes turnover. Youths in children’s homes simply often are visited by celebrities. That is how we try and lack contacts with regular guys who could be role ease our consiences. I am often surprised by the models for them. That is what we want to change good clothes many of the kids wear or the expen- with the Patron project. sive mobile phones they have. I am not saying they should live in poverty in some sort of a hos- The project wants to provide regular role tel, but when many of them grow up and have to models that can have a positive influence? leave, their first experience is a cheap hostel with Exactly. Most children in such homes don’t know ordinary Formica furniture. They have trouble ad- how to handle even common errands. For exam- justing to the drop in standards. Some children’s ple, they don’t know how to go to the post office to homes now refuse expensive gifts from sponsors pay a bill. We often tell our patrons not to organise or donors precisely so that children don’t get used special programmes for children on a given day, as to a standard of living they will later be unable to maintain. If they want a certain mobile phone, then How many people have you already helped? and a stable life and both sides agree that further Were you yourself on paternity leave? the kids have to learn to save up. Over the course of the project there have been meetings would not serve any purpose and the goal Yes, but only three months and my daughter was around 100 young people but many of these are has been attained, they can decide to stop. Others already three years old. I was at home at the latter Is there any kind of transitory period before still at children’s homes. It has been shown that still meet up or keep in contact in some way. stage of my wife’s maternity leave because she had independence? it is best for them if they can stay in homes for as had a good job offer. It was really just a taste of pa- Not at the moment. A young person facing life on long as possible. If they study, they can remain un- Do other kids hear about these experiences rental leave, but worth every minute. their own for the first time is eligible for a certain til they are 26 and that’s a big difference compared and then also want their own patron? sum of money, for instance around 15‚000 crowns. to someone who has to leave at the age of 18 or a Definitely. With time, patrons earn youths’ trust. You originally studied engineering but then They have to make ends meet with just that: to pay bit later when they have so many things to sort out They are supportive and don’t judge and provide ended up at the Protestant Theological Fac- the rent and to buy food and clothes as they look and get used to. support. The boys are soon conscious of this sup- ulty. Did you have ambitions to become a for a job. Due to the fact they are not used to being In all, around 25 young people have been able to port and really appreciate it. They quickly agree pastor? independent and are often not used to managing fi- set up on their own and only around three failed to between themselves that it’s really worth it to have When I started studying theology, I had already nances, they often fall into debt. Sometimes, when get a foothold. Two we don’t know about – they fell a patron. So it’s often the case that when we per- been serving for some time as a pastor to a certain they get money from the state, they are preyed off the radar – the third ended up in prison. The suade one young man that patronage makes sense, American evangelical community. I had found be- upon by others. rest have secure jobs and places to live, thanks for word gets out and is passed on and other patrons lief already when studying engineering and worked the most part to the help of their patron. In statis- have it a lot easier. my way up from lay preacher to pastor. Afterwards The state is not able to better prevent such tical terms, we have been very successful. It may be I studied at various seminaries, in Geneva, Zurich, problems? only a drop in the ocean, but for those young peo- Do you have enough people interested in Budapest, and Berlin. But I still lacked a wider the- The issue is shared by four ministries. In such ple it was a big help. The young man in prison at being patrons? ological foundation so I came to the the faculty at circumstances it’s impossible to have any kind of the moment also still has a patron, which increases The demand for them at the moment is a lot high- CU to basically complete my training. systematic solution. Together with other organisa- his chances of integration once he is released. er than we can meet. The issue is most critical tions, we are pushing for the matter to be brought in border regions. In Prague and Brno there are So why did you choose this eventual path in together under the Ministry of Labour and Social Do patron relationships lead to lifelong enough patrons but in the Ústí region, for example, life? Did you lose your belief when studying Affairs. That would also improve the prospects for friendships? we don’t have a single one even though there are theology? legislation to be passed on social housing. Such a For some, yes. How long participation in the pro- 17 children’s homes there. Around 40 people each I did not, but I burnt out when working as a pastor. bill should take into consideration children grow- ject lasts depends on mutual agreement. If the year there attempt to set out on their own. Work in the church is incredibly demanding. As a ing up in institutional care who will need a hand as young person has been out of the children’s home In Prague, we have more patrons than are need- pastor, I did not learn how to set clear limits and young adults. for at least three years and has a job ed and for that reason some travel as far as Písek had a tendency to give myself over to everything. I or Tábor in South Bohemia. If it does not bother was not able set out what results should stem from Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

them and they are able to, they can spend around my calling – the number of sins renounced, num- three hours on the road on a trip there and back. ber of prayers, or saved souls. The results were That’s okay. But, in principle, we try to make long intangible. Over time, I realised I would have to journeys unnecessary. stop so that I would not burn out completely. I had

Alumni been a pastor for 11 years. Alumni Patron Daniela Are you a patron yourself? 54 For more than three years now, Daniela Rejnušová has she explains. “We meet up at least once a month. We I am not. I wanted to be at first but I changed my 55 spent her free time with a girl from a children’s home usually go for a coffee and a cake. Neither of us is very mind. I did not want my role as guarantor of the as one of the first female Patrons. We met her at the sporty so such collective types of activities are limit- project to be blurred. study area of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics ed. Sometimes we can go to an exhibition. My charge where she is responsible for doctoral studies. “It was a is a big ice hockey fan and she supports the local team friend who made me aware of the Patron project. Orig- from her town. Several times we went together to see How were you introduced to the project in inally it was focused exclusively on boys and young a match. For her it’s a great occasion but for me not the first place? men but when it began to be opened up to women vol- so much. My husband, who unlike me enjoys hockey, I was first of all a manager of the active fatherhood unteers there was a great deal of interest. The organ- wanted to take this responsibility off my hands. But project which encouraged fathers to take paternity isers did not count on the fact that so many women that was not possible, the relationship between the leave. The Patron project at that stage had just be- would enrol and want to help”, Daniela says. patron and charge is exclusive and cannot be trans- gun and I helped out a bit. In the end I was attract- The path from first contact with the organisation ferred”, Daniela explains. “Regular meetings are not ed to it so much so that I stayed on, though I still to first contact with a young person from a home always easy. Communication, which mostly takes help to promote active fatherhood. however is not that simple. It mostly takes at least half place these days over social sites, is difficult”, she says. a year during which the male or female patron must “It’s very difficult to come to terms with the life stories undergo training and must demonstrate a long-term that some of the children tell you. It’s hard sometimes and serious commitment to help and also moral irre- to listen to what those in a children’s home have been proachability. When those who are interested become through. We have been well-prepared for that during fully aware in the preparatory stage of everything courses, but some of these children’s life stories are that is involved in being a patron they often recon- still extremely hard”, she says. sider. But, as Daniela points out, that is preferable to Apart from regular meetings with the child charged Bc. Lukáš Talpa studied for a Bachelor’s later breaking the confidence of the person entrusted. to them, individual patrons must also attend supervi- Degree at the Czech Technical University “Young people from children’s homes are used to the sory sessions with other patrons and a psychologist. in Prague and for a Bachelor’s Degree fact that there is a never-ending turnover of adults In an emergency, they can also phone the supervi- at the Protestant Theological Faculty. that they meet in their lives. Home employees change sor at any time. When asked if she would sign up as a For several years he served as a pastor shifts, social workers change quickly and in their patron again, Daniela says she certainly would. “But at the Prague Christian Fellowship. In lives solid support is lacking in the form of a single we still have a long way to go ahead of us”, she admits. relation to the League of Open Men, he is person whom they can rely on. It is necessary for the the organiser and guarantor of the Patron patrons to diverge from these previous stereotypes”, project (www.ipatron.cz). Address: Ke Karlovu 2 Prague 2 121 09 Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

The site of the Department

My CU of Pediatrics and Adolescent My CU Medicine 56 Originally, it was a home for orphaned 57 children, then it was a children’s clin- ic where generations of exceptional The pediatricians were trained and modern paediatrics was developed. A work- place with a unique capacity for diag- nostics, especially of hereditary condi- tions and rare diseases where, thanks to cooperation between the clinic and chemists, scientists, bioinformaticians Children’s and students, more than 30 new and rare diseases have been defined at the clinical, biochemical and molecular biological levels. A rich history contrasting with today’s appearance. Clinic at prof. Ing. Stanislav Kmoch, CSc. Head of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Laboratory

Karlov × PHOTOS BY René Volfík Joachim Gauck was awarded Madeleine Albright presented her the Charles IV newest book at the Faculty of Law Prize 11/3

21/1 Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

Life at CU Life at CU at Life CU at Life

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The former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was an honoured guest and speaker at the Faculty of Law in March. Albright, who held the post of Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001, was on hand to present her new- est book, Fascism: A Warn- ing.

In January, the former president of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck, was awarded the international Charles IV Prize at Charles University. He is the seventh major public figure to have received the honour. Previous recipi- ents included personalities in the fields of philosophy, music and medicine. Rector Tomáš Zima stressed that Joachim Gauck’s contribution to economic ties and co- operation between the Czech Republic and Germany had been “nothing less than exceptional”. The university gift shop reopened

Rector’s Sports Day Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

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2/4 More than 1‚400 students and staff took part in the Rector’s Sports Day that featured some 40 different sports and disciplines. Com- petitors on the day gathered at 20 different venues in Charles University’s gift Prague and Hradec Králové. shop officially reopened for Among the different sports business at Celetná 14 in were beach volleyball, April. The shop, which had hockey, athletics, and golf; been all heavy furniture and there was even a summer dim lighting before, under- variant of biathlon in which went something of a rebirth: runners (sans country skis) historic architectural motifs used laser rifles. This year, got a new lease on life while the event was organised by new cabinet displays now the university’s Faculty of highlight gift items – from Science. pens and t-shirts to gift wines and a stylish universi- ty watch. Nobel Prize 16/5 winner Aung San Suu Kyi spoke at the Carolinum Forum 6 Forum 6 Forum

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi visited the Czech Republic in June, meeting with the prime minister and other officials before being hosted by Charles University. Myanmar’s 1st State Counsellor, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991,

Life at CU at Life spoke in a packed Patriotic Hall, where she discussed her CU at Life May saw the return of the Via Caro- country’s often difficult transition to democracy – a process 62 lina innovations fair that was held at in its fourth decade. 63 the multifunctional premises of the 3/6 Dlabačov movie theatre in Prague 6. The aim of the fair was to present new scientific projects and research by Continuing debate series took aim Charles University teams, and to show at the problem of drought their potential for application in both the commercial and public sectors. June saw the continuation of a series A day ahead of the fair, Charles Uni- of public debates organised by Charles versity also hosted the 7th National University entitled Česko a jak dál? Conference on Knowledge and Tech- (The Czech Republic – Future Direc- nology Transfer focusing on how to tions?). The fifth inception focussed connect academia and research with on the problem of drought and was the private sector. During the confer- held in the town of Jihlava in the ence, emphasis was put on how less Czech-Moravian highlands. Different traditional areas such as the Humani- aspects in the “Fight Against Drought” ties were now benefitting from knowl- were examined, among them the im- edge transfer. pact on the environment, the economy The Via Carolina and everyday life. 4/6 The series, which features different innovations fair panels of guest speakers and is hosted by Charles University Rector Tomáš Zima, resumed again in the autumn with the start of the new academic year. Top students King awarded Rector’s Wenceslas IV Prize in Patriotic Between Hall Two Ages

TEXT BY Forum Magazine PHOTO BY René Volfík

The exhibition commemorates the reign of Czech King Wenceslas IV on the 600th anniversary of his death. The monarch was particularly influential as a patron

Forum 6 Forum of the arts and holds a special place in the history of Charles University itself, as visitors will learn. Awards

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From Sept. 19 – Nov. 16 2019 Open daily from 10am to 6pm At the Carolinum Admittance is free

A special ceremony was held in the Patriotic Hall at Charles University on April 8, 2019 recognising the school’s very best students and grad- uates. Eight graduates received the prestigious Rector’s Prize from Rector Tomáš Zima himself. Also awarded on the day was the Bolzano Prize, recognising excellence in scientific research. Rector Zima ap- plauded the students as well as academics and researchers saying they had “contributed to the good name of Charles University both at home and abroad”. 2019 Charles University Magazine