Charles University marks 671st anniversary












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            * Charles University marks 671st anniversary of founding
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            University representatives as well as numerous dignitaries and invited guests marked the 6

            of the founding of Charles University at the school’s historic heart, the Carolinum, on Th
            Esteemed guests included the Speaker of the lower house of Parliament Radek Vondráček, Dep
            the Senate Miluše Horská, and the Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic Charles Daniel Ba

            Per tradition, the ceremony was held in the Great Hall was and saw speeches by the school’
            Zima and Vice Rector Jan Royt (who moderated the event, providing insight into the univers
            history, referring, among other things, to rare documents pertaining to the university’s f

            were acquired last year).
            Rector Tomáš Zima spoke about the university’s duty to honour and uphold academic freedoms

            need for civic engagement, and (drawing upon the legacy of Jan Hus) the need to speak abou
            by society openly and without fear. In his speech, he emphasised the importance of clear t
            coherent stances on issues, saying those were just as important on university grounds as p

            scientific activity.
            The guest of honour on Thursday, was Prof. Pierre Allan (Dean Emeritus and Professor of Ec
            Sciences at the University of Geneva and currently a visiting professor at Charles Univers

            In a lecture entitled “The Czech Republic: 'Back' in Europe for 30 (15) Years”, Professor 
            sources such as the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, the hugely influential figure of the
            revival historian Frantíšek Palácký, Czechoslovakia’s first president T.G. Masaryk and oth

            the pillars and values encapsulated in the European project adopted by Western Europe afte
            destruction of the World War II.
            Dramatic turns in the professor’s own life (as the son of Czech parents who fled Czechoslo

            the communist putsch of 1948 before eventually settling in Switzerland) echoed broader Cze
            political tragedy and upheaval. Delivering his lecture in Czech, Professor Allan spoke of 
            safeguarding learning and freedom for future generations.

            States could rise and fall, he maintained, but universities and the essential role they se
            steadfast and constant.