The Human and Physical Environment in Central and Eastern Europe

June 16-July 1, 2001

Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Report by Todd Armstrong, Grinnell College

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I. General Comments and Introduction

First of all I would like to thank all those responsible for planning the seminar, and for making it a resounding success--the Global Partners Project Task Force; the administration and staff of the ACM, especially Elizabeth Hayford and Tanya Lee; our counterparts at Palacký University, especially Jitka Herynkova, Dan Marek, and Jakub Durr; David Stulik in Prague; Rafal Serafin and the staff at the Polish Partnership for the Environment in Krakow, Poland, and the seminar participants themselves. The seminar, in my mind, succeeded for several reasons: there was ample advance planning and support; the itinerary worked well and was grounded in the academic goals of the seminar; logistics were dealt with by all with patience, persistence, and good humor; the academic program itself was outstanding, with truly excellent lectures and presentations, with constant and intense discussion among the participants; the interdisciplinary interests of the group were such that each in some way contributed to the general knowledge of the group; and, finally, members of the group were engaged in the topic of the seminar, and worked hard both as a group and individually to make this a valuable cultural and intellectual experience.

II. Preplanning

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of preplanning. The Global Partners Project Task Force did excellent work in establishing the framework of the seminar, guidelines for selection and participation, and a working model for the program. The selection process itself, in my mind, which took place in December of 2000, could not have produced a better mix of disciplinary, linguistic, and other kinds of expertise, and this was a huge factor in the success of the program, since each participant was able to contribute his or her own expertise, while at the same time gaining myriad other perspectives. The predeparture meeting, planned and hosted by ACM in Chicago, was also essential; not only were the parameters of the seminar established in terms of the academic aspects of the program, participants were able to establish contact with, and get to know one another, which aided immensely in the opening days of the seminar. We also established a discussion list, on which participants introduced themselves via e-mail, stating their interests and something about their projects. This also helped "break the ice," as it were, and gave seminar participants some notion as to priorities, affinities, goals, etc. The facilitator was also fortunate in having easy and constant access to the conscientious efforts of the staff at ACM, especially Tanya Lee, who was tireless in working on the many logistical details of the program.

III. Itinerary

The itinerary of the seminar, in my mind, was effective. Below I will give a briefly annotated schedule of the program for the seminar.

Prague

We started out in Prague, spending three nights in the capital city. The seminar commenced with an opening dinner/banquet at a Prague restaurant. The intense conversation, camaraderie, and pleasant atmosphere set the tone for days to come, and I would not hesitate to emphasize the value of this kind of activity. The first full day of the seminar, when participants had all arrived (and had acclimated to the time change, etc.), began with a walking tour of the city. It was done well, though it was a more traditional tour, and was for that reason somewhat superficial. The next day, we had a city tour with David Stulik, a Charles University graduate and specialist at the East-West Institute in Prague. He was assisted by Adela Cernakova. The tour, in contrast to the day before, was highly effective because it was conducted by a young academic who had a better idea of what a group of American academics would benefit from.

That same day we enjoyed a lecture, "Czech national identity vis-à-vis the European Union," by Professor Lenka Rovna, Chair, Department of West European Studies, Charles University.

As with all lecturers, Professor Rovna gave an interesting talk, and fielded our many questions with patience and collegiality. We should look to cultivate our relationship with Professor Rovna and her colleagues at Charles University. On the final day in Prague, we were privileged to have a meeting with Senator Josef Jarab, formerly Professor and Rector of Palacký University in Olomouc, and a person who helped found and continues to promote the ACM program in Olomouc. The group thoroughly enjoyed his presentation, as well as the tour around the Czech Senate chambers. His talk was excellent--informative about the current state of Czech politics, as well as illuminating regarding his history as an important academic and political figure in the Czech Republic. That afternoon we departed for Olomouc.

Olomouc

We were met in Olomouc by Jitka Herynkova, and after settling in the hotel (the Hotel Gol--not the best accommodations, but adequate), we hosted a welcoming dinner with Palacký University colleagues.

Our academic program in Olomouc was designed in close collaboration with Professor Dan Marek, Assistant Professor of the Department of Politics and European Studies/Central European Studies Program. He coordinates many exchange programs, and his knowledge, patience, hospitality and sense of humor make him an excellent colleague. I hope that ACM will be able to work more with him and his department and program in the future. Dan also presented a lecture towards the end of the program.

In addition to Dan's lecture, we had a series of excellent lectures, which were more in the format of a seminar discussion, given the willingness of the lecturers to field questions during the lecture, and the inquisitiveness on the part of the seminar participants. The lectures presented at Palacký University were as follows:

In addition to these lectures, we also had an informal presentation and discussion with Petr Mikes, a dissident writer from Olomouc, and a presentation on the Roma situation in Olomouc by Mrs. Zdenka Jarabova, a specialist and activist in Roma issues in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. We also had a walking tour of Olomouc at the beginning of our stay, and seminar participants also explored the city on their own. We also had tours of various university offices, the newly renovated library, and the ACM space in Olomouc.

Krakow, Poland

In Poland, Mr. Rafal Serafin and the staff of the Polish Partnership for the Environment worked with us in coordinating the academic and cultural program. Our schedule was somewhat interrupted by weather, forcing us to cancel an afternoon tour of Krakow and an evening event, which also resulted in a somewhat hectic schedule later, as we tried to make up for lost time. All things considered, however, our trip to Poland was extremely successful, in my view. Upon arrival, and after settling in the hotel, the group met for dinner in "U Guliwera," a local restaurant located beneath the offices of the Polish Partnership for the Environment. Several of the people who would be part of our program joined us for the evening, which helped facilitate discussion later.

On the second day in Krakow, we began with a tour of Kazimierz, the former Jewish District of Krakow. The tour was escorted by Ms. Malgorzata Walczak, president of the Friends of Kazimierz Society. As part of the tour, we visited the Jewish Cultural Center, and viewed a historical documentary of the area. We also visited a number of Kazimierz' 5 many newly renovated synagogues. This tour was a good introduction to the issue of Poland's Jews, as well as a preliminary to our visit to the State Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau several days later. That afternoon we made up time with a city tour of the Wawel Castle and Old Town, which was conducted by an official tour guide. This tour was adequate, though somewhat lacking in academic substance.

On the third day, we had a tour of the city of Nowa Huta--a steel foundry town built after the war as one of the first major projects of the new communist regime. Our group was escorted by Mr. Krzystof Kwatera of the Polish Partnership for the Environment, a former steelworker who is now working on efforts to find new, clean, alternatives to the moribund steel industry in Nowa Huta. In addition to a bus tour around the steelworks and the planned city center of Nowa Huta, we visited the offices of the Partnership in Nowa Huta, where we had a discussion of the operations of that office. We also visited a local high school in Nowa Huta, where we viewed and discussed a chronological display of the history of the town. All participants felt that our entire visit to Nowa Huta was an important aspect of our time in Krakow.

In the afternoon of that day, we had a lecture on contemporary Polish art, by Professor Maria Hussakowska, which was quite interesting, though given our schedule, somewhat daunting, in that it gave little time for a break in the day, and the fact that we viewed slides in a darkened auditorium right after lunch was also less than desirable. Directly after the lecture, we were given a special tour of the exhibits at the Collegium Maius at Jagellonian University--an exhibit which includes Copernicus's astrollabium and a number of other important historical artifacts from the history of the second oldest European university.

We departed Krakow on the following day, and drove to the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau for a half-day tour of the concentration camp. This event, which I had experienced in fall '99, was, as should be expected, sobering, moving and overwhelming. After the tour, we departed for Olomouc.

Closing days in Olomouc

In addition to two of our Palacký University lectures, in the final days of the seminar we met for a summary discussion of the seminar, without Palacký University colleagues, in order to process much of what we had been learning, as well as to discuss individual projects. This was extremely helpful in contextualizing much of what we had experienced, as well as in framing questions for the future. Finally, Jitka Herynkova organized a wonderful closing reception in the rector's auditorium at Palacký University. Attended by the seminar participants and several colleagues from Palacký, the event was pleasant and enjoyed by all.

IV. Individual Projects

As part of the application process, each seminar participant had a specific individual project. While we spent considerable time in active discussion and on the excursions outlined above, participants were nonetheless able to make significant progress on their own work. Many had the opportunity to meet specialists in their area, or local representatives of government and business, and were able to utilize other resources in this regard. I should emphasize here the important role played by my colleagues at Palacký University in this regard. Jitka, Dan and Jakub all went the extra mile in establishing contacts, arranging (or rearranging) schedules and daily itineraries, finding translators (or acting as translators on several occasions), and in making sure that individuals' needs were met. While I will not go into detail here on each individual project, I would like to provide some examples of what worked particularly well.

V. Budget

The budget was adequate for the seminar, and no unforeseen circumstances required extra funds. I believe the final total was under the original projected sum, so in that regard the seminar worked financially.

VI. Thoughts for the future

In retrospect, there a few things that I would try to do differently in the future. First, I would add a few more days into the schedule, in order to allow participants a chance to do more exploration on their own, and to work on individual projects. In other words, while the schedule was intense, and did not allow a huge amount of time for individual work, the materials covered were invaluable, and I don't think I would want to sacrifice anything in the lecture schedule in order to make more time. This does, of course, have the potential of conflicting with the summer schedules of busy faculty. If the time were extended in a possible future seminar, then the dates would need to be set as early as possible.

Second, I would continue to find ways to plan and meet prior to the actual seminar. I would also like to see some of our Palacký University counterparts joining the predeparture discussion, perhaps here in the U.S. And as teleconferencing becomes a logistically possible alternative, it might be a good idea to set up this kind of arrangement with our colleagues in the centers abroad. This would also have implications for future collaboration.

Third, I think that we should work to obtain more advance notice of participants' interests, so that we can work to put together more meaningful individual contacts. This by and large was one of the most successful ways in which seminar participants made progress, and the more we can facilitate this, the better.

Fourth, I think that we should view the faculty development seminar as the beginning of an ongoing process. We should encourage faculty in as many ways possible to continue working on projects and ideas pursued during the seminar. To this end, I am hopeful that some of those who took part will apply for funding, either from Global Partners, if this is possible, or from their own institutions and other funding sources, to return to do more research. I am also hopeful that we can continue our collaboration with Palacký University. One aspect of this collaboration ought to be, in my opinion, a concerted effort to make our exchanges bilateral, i.e., we should work to bring Palacký University faculty, students and staff to Global Partners colleges, either as individuals, or as groups, perhaps to participate in future development seminars.

Finally, I want to express once again my gratitude to all those involved for a wonderfully enriching experience. I was extremely impressed by the group of faculty participants. I have been involved in this area of the world for some time, and was pleased to gain new insights from so many new perspectives. I was also grateful for and impressed by the work done "behind the scenes" at ACM and at Palacký University; as I have mentioned elsewhere, I could not have done it without their unflagging support. I look forward to participating in similar events in the future.

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