Regional Academy of Comenius University in Bratislava

Who want to live in a sustainable society should also dress more sustainable. After all, there is some truth to the saying that fine feathers make fine birds. But can clothes make a university a more sustainable place?

Apparently, this question led the members of the student organisation Prif UK Sustainability to organise first SWAP. Students from CU were able to learn more about this initiative on the organisation's official Instagram profile. At the same time, the post was also a call to students to give a second chance to clothes which they don´t wear, but could make someone else happy. They brought such a quantity of clothes that they filled three racks.

SWAP was organised thanks to Regional Academy of CU and ENLIGHT university alliance and took place on the 11th of October 2023 at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University.

Students were welcomed with vegan cinnamon or pistachio knots and croissants from local artisan bakery. This event lasted from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. As the clothes and refreshments vanished, so did the new number of association members increase. After all, who wouldn't want to be a member of an organisation thanks to which you could find a nice scarf, trousers, or find out what sustainability tastes like.

Text: Attila Balogh

Thanks to the cooperation between the Regional Academy of CU and the Office of the Public Defender of Rights (PDOR), colleagues Martina Thominet and Nora Konrády Belíová had the opportunity to lecture at the ENLIGHT partner University in Uppsala on the topic of Violation of woman's rights during facility-based childbirth.

Besides the lecture, Martina Thominet and Nora Konrády Belíová from PDOR also met representatives from the Swedish National Center for Knowledge on Men's Violence against Women. The meeting was a great opportunity for experts from both institutions to share their experiences. The importance of that meeting is also evidenced by the letter of thanks from the Mr. Ombudsman, JUDr. Róberta Dobrovodského, PhD., LL.M., who considers such collaborations as essential for forming a united front against persistent challenges.

We are very pleased that thanks to the ENLIGHT university alliance, we have the opportunity to connect regional partners across Europe and thus bring knowledge to students on current topics in an international context using real examples from real life.

The Office of the Public Defender of Rights has been actively cooperating with the Regional Academy of CU since 2022, and PDOR brought to the CU a discussion on the violation of women's rights during giving a childbirth in two lectures. In May 2022, the Faculty of Arts held the lecture Keep talking about childbirth, and in November 2022, the students of Jessenius Faculty of Medicine had the opportunity to discuss with experts from PDOR the topic of Women's rights during giving a childbirth.

In May 2023, UK students had the opportunity to listen to a lecture by David Laco, who is a member of the management of the C. S. Lewis Bilingual High School. His lecture was focused on school climate and ways to build an appropriate school climate, specifically at C. S. Lewis. After lecture followed discussion with students.

David Laco studied psychology, business and character education at the University of Birmingham. He teaches at the C. S. Lewis Bilingual High School for eight years. Currently he is also studying in the PhD programme at the University of Birmingham.

On the  4th April 2023 students and academics from Comenius University and all ENLIGHT partner universities had the opportunity to listen to an online lecture by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Liebert, Prof. em., from University of Bremen (Germany), who is also Visiting Fellow European University Institute, School of Transnational Governance in Florence (Italy).

In this session we discussed opportunities for citizens to actively engage with EU politics that are essential for improving democratic legitimacy, equity and sustainability in decision making at the EU level.

On 12th of December 2022, CU students had the opportunity to discuss the current invasion in Ukraine with the President of the Institute for Public Affairs, Mr. Grigorij Mesežnikov.

Grigorij Mesežnikov was born in the former Soviet Union, in the city of Oriol. He studied philosophy and social and political sciences in Moscow. He is one of the founders of the Institute for Public Affairs and currently its president. He is an outspoken advocate of support for Ukraine. He has provided UK students with a comprehensive view of the war in Ukraine. The lecture was followed by a discussion during which students had the opportunity to ask questions on various topics related to the occupation.

The lecture was conducted in English, which gave CU students the opportunity to ask questions in English and at the same time  the lecture was accessible to international students at CU.

Permaculture designer Mgr. Marianna Piršelová gave a lecture on how permaculture influences our everyday life. Listeners learned more about the impact of designing their own garden or farm on the surroundings, discovered that ethical attitudes and principles of permaculture help in adapting to the upcoming climate and social changes. After the lecture, Mrs Piršelová discussed with the students the role of permaculture in landscape regeneration and the idea of how good design affects not only the life of the individual, but also the life of the whole community.