Educational Institute for Democracy and Civil Society in Eastern Ukraine

In 2009, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported a long-term CDK project in Eastern Ukraine. The main goal of the project was to establish an educational centre for democracy, civil society, and EU integration issues.

The project had two main outputs in 2009:

Launching of the educational field of study "Democracy and Civil Society"

In 2009, the educational field of study "Democracy and Civil Society" was prepared for accreditation. It was composed of ten blocks of lectures (once a month from Friday till Sunday) with eleven classes.

The first four blocks were between September and December 2009. The project was designed for 50 participants, but by October 2009 the project had attracted 124 participants.

The field of study is accredited by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport as a lifelong educational programme (the accreditation holder is the International Institute for Political Science, Masaryk University). All participants who attended at least 80 % of the lectures and scored at least 50 % correct on the tests obtained the certificate.

Lecture Titles

• Democracy and Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe (September 2009)
• European Political History from the End Of WWII to the Fall of Communism (October 2009)
• The Theory and Experience of Democratic Transition (November 2009)
• EU: History, Institutions, Politics (December 2009)
• Enlargement of the EU: the Czech Experience (January 2010)
• Economic Transformation, Markets, and Economic Crisis (February 2010)
• Security Policy, Extremism, Radicalism, and Religious Fundamentalism (March 2010)
• International Relations and the Law: the Concept of Public Administration Control (April 2010)
• Political Parties, Elections, and Electoral Systems (May 2010)
• The Civil Society and Its Importance for Democracy, Interest Groups, and the Czech Political Experience (June 2010)

Lecturers

• Stanislav Balík, executive director of CDK, head of the Political Science Department, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
• Petr Fiala, chair of CDK, rector of Masaryk University
• Vít Hloušek, associate professor of the International Relations and European Studies Department, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
• Jan Holzer, subdean of the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
• Mojmír Jeřábek, head of the international relations department, City of Brno
• Lubomír Kopeček, associate professor of the Political Science Department, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
• Kateřina Kopečková, assistant to the Supreme Administrative Court judge
• Oldřich Krpec, director of the International Institute of Political Science, Masaryk University
• Ondřej Krutílek, CDK analyst
• Zdeněk Kříž, associate professor of the International Relations and European Studies Department, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
• Petra Kuchyňková, CDK analyst
• Marek Loužek, director of the publishing department of the Centre for Economics and Politics
• Miroslav Mareš, associate professor of the Political Science Department, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
• František Mikš, director of the CDK Institute for Politic and Culture
• Josef Mlejnek, Faculty of Social Science, Charles University
• Ivo Pospíšil, head of the analytical department of the Czech Constitutional Court
• Maciej Szymanowski, director of the Polish Institute in Prague

Publication of "Successful Journey: Democracy, Civil Society, Transformation, and European Integration"

CDK initiated the publication of an interesting book focused on democratic transition and civil society in Central European countries. It has ten chapters focused on different issues of political and social life, each written by a different expert. The publication was produced in an electronic format on CD. The Kharkiv National University of Economics plans a paper edition in 2011. The contents of the book reflect the structure of the field of study "Democracy and Civil Society".

Partners

• City of Brno
• International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University
• Kharkiv City Council
• Kharkiv National University of Economics
• Polish Institute in Prague
• General Consulate of the Czech Republic in Donetsk