On Monday, 21 January 2024, one month after the tragic incident at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, we will gather as an academic community to remember and honor those we have lost. During this time, we will be granting limited access to the main building of CU FA, allowing students and lecturers to temporarily return. From 11 am to 4 pm, there will be a programme for visitors to participate in.
The purpose of the Opening of the Faculty of Arts is to provide a respectful setting to mark the one-month anniversary of the tragic events that occurred on 21 December 2023. Additionally, we aim to facilitate a partial and temporary return to the premises of the main building, taking into account both the desire for physical return within the academic community and the advice of psychologists and experts who emphasize the importance of reestablishing the original function of the premises as a part of the healing process following the tragedy.
The building will host a programme consisting of musical performances, short twenty-five-minute lectures by our colleagues, and a book swap in Room 1. If you have a book at home that you have already read and would like to exchange it for another, please bring it to the main building on Sunday. The swap is not limited to academic literature and all genres and languages are welcome.
If you are interested in visiting the Opening of the Faculty of Arts, please register in this form. It will help us with event planning.
In case the return to the building would prove to be difficult for you, there will be psychological support present on site at the main building of CU FA and at Jan Palach Square. The support will be provided by colleagues from the Integrated Rescue System (IRS) and students from the Department of Psychology at CU FA (Peerko Student Society) trained to help with these situations.
On 21 January, the programme will also take place outside the main building of CU FA, in the neighboring UMPRUM building, and on Jan Palach Square. In the UMPRUM premises, you can participate in the processing of wax from votive candles left at the memorial sites at Carolinum and the main building. Under the guidance of UMPRUM students, there will also be a joint creation of a temporary commemorative wax sculpture at the fireplace.
There will also be Infopoint operating in one of the mobile rooms at the square every Sunday. It is primarily intended for students and academics of CU FA, providing detailed information about current measures in the field of studies, the functioning of the Dean’s Office in detached buildings, various forms of support for students, and academics in the renewal of faculty life. The Infopoint will be open from Wednesday, 17 January and on weekdays (9:00–17:00) until 30 January 2024.
During the event, a commemorative bonfire will be held at Jan Palach Square at improvised premises of CU FA. You can sign up for a two-hour fire watch at the bonfire by using this form (students in columns B and C; academic and non-academic staff in columns D and E).
Schedule 21 January 2024 (11:00–16:00)
On 21 January, between 11:00 and 16:00, students and lecturers of CU FA will be granted partial access to the main building of CU FA.
11:00–11:30:
Opening of the meeting around the commemorative bonfire on the square.
11:30–16:00:
Possibility to enter the „opened“ building of CU FA (entrances to the building may be regulated depending on capacity):
- Photojournalists and journalists will not be allowed to enter the building during this event,
- refreshments will be available in the Mezi řádky cafeteria,
- the academic programme (20-minute lectures) will take place in room 18,
- the book swap (both fiction and non-fiction) will take place in room 1,
- further programme will be specified during the following days on the website mesicprofakultu.ff.cuni.cz.
At UMPRUM, you can participate in the processing of wax from votive candles collected from the Carolinum and the main building of CU FA.
At Jan Palach Square:
- the opportunity to cast wax and create a temporary commemorative installation around the central fireplace at the square (under the guidance of UMPRUM students),
- Infopoint Services to help navigate the current conditions for studying and other matters,
- psychological counselling in improvised mobile rooms,
- facilities for students in mobile rooms.
