Topic Archive Society
Amanita Design, independent Czech games developer
Amanita Design is a Brno-based, award-winning game development studio whose
creations have become a huge hit on the internet. Their games combine
elements of the technical world with nature in a way not seen before. Their
signature game, Samorost, takes you to a universe composed of rusty parts
of old, derelict machines and mossy, gnarled stumps of rotting wood. In
this edition of the Arts, we meet the studio’s founder Jakub Dvorský. More
My house is my castle: the best and worst in village architecture
You may know the feeling – you return to your native village after a long
absence and come across an eyesore – a building that screams “money,
power and influence” and sticks out like a sore thumb from its
surroundings. That is the kind of building that architect and photographer
Jan Kruml likens to a flashing gold tooth. More
Fate of education reforms unclear after week of student protests
A week of student protests against proposed reforms of the education system
culminated with mass demonstrations around the country on Wednesday. After
a night spent sleeping rough on the floor of university halls and lecture
rooms students and university staff took to the streets to show their
discontent with reforms which they claim will reduce the autonomy of
education institutions, shift the burden of funding to students and put the
academic sphere under the influence of private enterprise and politicians. More
Study: Obesity, smoking and drug abuse on the rise among Czech adolescents
Czech researchers from the University of Olomouc made a significant
contribution to the latest Health Behavior of School-Aged Children Research
Study. Sadly, its conclusions point to a worrying trend: Czech adolescents,
and their counterparts across Europe, are living an increasingly sedentary
lifestyle. As a result, obesity, drug abuse and smoking among those aged 18
and under are on the rise. We spoke to one of the Czech researchers
involved in the international study, Michal Kalman. More
Students continue protests over university reform proposals
The student protests that formed a key component of the 1989 Velvet
Revolution serve as a stark reminder, even more than twenty years later,
that the imagery of any Czech government upsetting its student population
is going to create a major headache. Recent reforms proposed by the Czech
Education Ministry under Josef Dobeš have achieved just that. Students are
crying foul, with banners draped in universities across the country
accusing the government of putting profits before education. This week,
many Czech students have taken matters a step further with a self-titled
“Week of protests” against the legislation. Tuesday sees students
attending countless workshops and debates while protests marching on the
offices of the Czech government are scheduled for Wednesday. Dominik Jůn
spoke to Charles University student Matouš Turek, one of organizers of the
protests, and began by asking Turek to explain the background behind the
controversial legislation: More
Hana Kulhánková – the director of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival
Film has played an important role in Hana Kulhanková’s life ever since
she was a teenager. Later, she studied film and worked at the Mezipatra
Queer Film Festival, which showcases gay and lesbian filmmakers. Now, Hana
Kulhánková is the director of one of Prague’s most colorful and
interesting film festivals, One World, which focuses on human rights
documentaries. Ahead of the start of this year’s edition, I spoke to her
about the festival program, human rights and what initially piqued her
interest in film. More
Varnsdorf, a north Bohemian town in the path of Buddha
A town surrounded by deep pine forests, dotted with old timbered
German-style villas and occasional Communist-era prefab houses, a town
boasting many parks, a river, two churches – and the country’s first
Buddhist temple. This is Varnsdorf, a town of 16,000 in the northernmost
part of the Czech Republic. More
Cakes for freedom – tongue-in-cheek happening to support artist facing controversial prison sentence kicks off in Prague
Activists are holding a protest happening in front of Prague’s Pankrác
prison, where Czech artist Roman Týc on Friday afternoon is starting a
one-month prison sentence for a 2007 art project that involved defacing
fifty traffic lights in Prague by changing the standard red and green
figures to show them in situations such as drinking, urinating and hanging
themselves. The artist says he chose prison time over paying a fine because
otherwise he would be renouncing the project’s message. Titled “Bábovka
pro Týce” or “A cake for Týc”, the happening is as tongue-in-cheek
as the art project itself – as a sign of their solidarity, participants
will bring cakes to the prison, an allusion to the well-known prison
cliché of a cake with a file in it. Ahead of the start at 2 p.m., we spoke
to co-organizer Magda Vídeňská about the unusual happening. More
Czech team designs computerized playground
Getting youngsters to play outside on a sunny day is an increasingly
difficult task. Most parents now find it near impossible to pry their
children away from their computers and compared to the wonders of virtual
reality kids no longer find outdoor activities as attractive. Czech
designer Pavel Tuma and his team have now unveiled a revolutionary 5-D
playground that aims to change that. More
Survey shows drinking among 16-year-olds on rise
The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) has
found that the number of 16-year-olds in the Czech Republic who drink beer
or hard liquor on a regular basis has gone up. Back in 1995, 14 percent of
the country’s sixteen-year-olds drank at least three times a month, but
last year the percentage moved up to 20. By contrast, marijuana use
dropped, if only slightly. More
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