Annual report NESEHNUTÍ
Establishing collaborations and building strong partnerships are key to our activities. Through our projects, we connected both new and experienced activists from fifteen European countries and supported them in areas such as civil campaigns, climate protection, using creative tools in activism, working with the media, communication techniques for dealing with complex topics, disinformation, and hate speech.
We also advocated for our topics at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and contributed to important meetings between representatives of Ukrainian civic initiatives and members of the Czech Parliament. To war-weary Ukraine, we delivered much-needed aid for the civilian population and organized the delivery of a solar power plant to a hospital in Zhytomyr.
We also dedicated our efforts to communities in Brno, supporting both arriving newcomer families and young people who often found themselves in a new country overnight, without their families or friends from one day to the next. We cooked dishes from around the world together and explored Brno on walks together.
We continued with non-formal education for various ages and target groups. For example, we focused on gender-sensitive education, de-escalation and the resolution of social conflicts, inclusive urban planning, and incorporating more diverse plant-based meals on school menus, the latter of which was also the focus of our campaign “Colorful Canteens”.
We would like to thank everyone who supported us in 2023, as well as express our thanks to our colleagues, partners, and donors.
For an overview of the activities of each program, please continue reading.
In 2023, we made significant efforts to support civic initiatives in southern Ukraine that are working to mitigate the consequences of the ongoing Russian invasion. A total of fifteen initiatives participated in projects connected to this program, which focused on providing drinking water, caring for internally displaced persons, and supporting independent media. The total financial support for these activities exceeded one million Czech crowns.
Our support for Ukraine did not and does not end here. In 2023, we organized two advocacy trips for Ukrainian human rights defenders to the Czech Republic and a climate BarCamp, which was attended by over seventy people from the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Belarus, Moldova, and Hungary. In Lviv, we organized a training on wetland protection for nature conservationists and a ten-day study trip to the Czech Republic focusing on the conservation of valuable natural sites and the management of protected areas.
A study trip took us to the Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, which has three uranium mines, where we addressed the topic of the sustainable closure of uranium mining with the Ukrainian organization Flora. In terms of other Ukrainian initiatives, we organized several thematic trainings that focused, for example, on the use of social media.
Following the flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by the Russian Federation, we delivered 1.2 tons of disinfectant and other necessary materials to Kherson. We helped arrange the delivery of 37 generators to the area and facilitated the delivery of 2,700 pieces of clothing for internally displaced persons in Ukraine. We also secured the equipment for a shelter for survivors of domestic violence in Kherson and for the social organization Vychid in Mykolayiv.
As a result of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainian hospitals are facing power outages. Therefore, we organized the delivery of a solar power plant for a hospital in Zhytomyr from the Brno-based company SOLSOL. Thanks to the generous contributions from donors in the fundraising campaign „Sun for Ukraine,“ we were able to provide three power plants in 2023, and we plan to build two more in the following year. Our activities to support Ukraine were mentioned in 57 news reports.
We visited the border regions of Georgia, where we supported three civic initiatives. The goal was to plan campaigns and projects with a local facilitator, provide microgrants, and organize training on communication with donors.
In Georgia, we also established contact with journalists in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The journalists identified the current needs of the local communities, communicated these findings to the local leadership, and together they sought solutions to issues such as transportation infrastructure and the spread of disinformation. In Kakheti, the journalists led a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of European integration, while activists in Marneuli worked to get young people more involved in local decision-making.
In four regions of Armenia, we strengthened community groups comprised of active citizens. Activists identified the needs of the community through the use of participatory processes and subsequently organized a community planning process, implemented the created plans, and were able to achieve visible results.
In 2023, several educational and networking events took place, which provided a space for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among participants. These events fostered further collaboration and contributed to the development of community spirit and professional growth. These events, which included a seminar on media communication techniques and the use of creative tools for the implementation of civic campaigns, were attended by 25 participants from various, often remote regions of Armenia.
We also consider the BarCamp „Create, Share & Act“ to have been a success. It was attended by over 50 predominantly young participants from a number of regions in Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. The participants went through an intensive three-day program featuring workshops, presentations, lectures, and discussions focused on civic campaigns, using creative tools in activist work, media engagement, communication of sensitive topics including the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, environmental journalism, IT security, and mobilizing the public through civic campaigns.
Our goal in 2023 was to support the development of a society where people approach each other and their social surroundings without prejudices and stereotypical expectations. We believe that such a society allows for equal access to the development of skills and talents. We encourage a respectful approach and mutual listening in a society made up of a diverse range of individuals. We focused on supporting young people in developing a positive relationship with their bodies and sexuality, raising issues around violence, its power dynamics, and its impact on each of us, including the most vulnerable. We also conducted numerous workshops and public events, including a panel discussion on the anti-gender movement.
In 2023, we repeatedly met with students and other interested individuals as part of the „Gender Pofel“ series of informal events. We issued publications to spread our approach to non-formal education and to raise awareness of how young people perceive gender-based violence. We developed our lecturing skills through training sessions that were inspired by nonviolent communication approaches.
We presented our activities and visions at the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. During the Debate, not Argue project, supported by the Erasmus+ program, we organized an international meeting of participants from six European countries. We collaborated with students on ways to transform their schools and the entire educational system. At this meeting, we focused on issues of disinformation, hate speech, and fake news in the Czech context. The project also resulted in two podcast episodes, Gender Neutral Languages: DNA Talk(s) and Anti-Gender Coalitions in the Context of Czechia and Slovakia, which focus on topics initiated by young people or with their contributions.
We published the methodological material Hat of Activities for educators, which provides inspiration and concrete activities for working with youth in the context of preventing gender-based violence. Another annual edition of the Genderiada competition also took place, at the conclusion of which we published a collection of contributions from the young people awarded in the last two editions of the competition.
We led dozens of workshops for students on topics such as gender-based violence, sexual education, sexism in advertising, and how (not) to talk about gender. Thanks to the project Without Violence: On the Path to a Respectful Society, supported by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, seven workshops were held in primary and secondary schools, and attended by 138 people. In the project You*th Online: Preventing Violence (Not Only) on the Internet, eleven workshops were conducted, with a total of 182 participants.
Our podcast series Vulvgang has grown by several new episodes not only on the topic of gender-based violence. We welcomed a number of interesting guests, including expert Radka Kůřilová from the organization ReplugMe, with whom we explored the topic of Online Safety, Boundaries on Social Media, and Cyberbullying. This episode discussed how to address the risks that young people face on social media.
In 2023, we organized several community events in Czech schools that contributed to creating a respectful and safe environment for all students. Our projects helped raise awareness on gender issues and encouraged young people to more actively engage with the society around them.
This year, our focus has been directed towards climate education, activation, and self-care. We strive for the active involvement of the general population in solving environmental problems and ensure that public spaces are accessible to all groups of the population, especially those most affected by the climate crisis. Together, we are creating the wise cities of the future: cities that are in balance with both people and nature.
We participated in the Erasmus+ program Together for the Climate, where we organized an educational event Together for the Climate: Inspiration, Action, Care at the Skála community center. The event offered a day full of inspirational lectures about various climate projects. Matěj Moravanský from Deník Referendum and Universities for Climate, Monika Búřilová and Jiří Šimčík from Re-Set, INN and SdruŽeny, Petra Kalenská and Jakub Varvařovský from Many Worlds in Jilemnice, Veronika Dombrovská from Energy to the People, and Alžběta Franková from LJM shared their experiences. The presentations were followed by an open space, a method of non-formal knowledge sharing, and collective reflection on the question: How can we be active for the climate together while radically resting?
The final event of the Together for the Climate project took place in June as part of Climate Week: Take Action & Celebrate! The international gathering attracted young people from all over the world. At this event, we presented the new acttogether.eu website and a methodology designed to motivate young people to take pro-climate action. The rich two-day program included workshops, a climate tour of Brno, and a game in the streets of the city called Been There Together.
In August, we continued our efforts with the event Together for Climate: Let’s Take a Walk!, where we went on a guided walk through Brno to assess the good and poor practices in pro-climate measures. The event allowed participants to see the city from a new perspective.
In the autumn, thanks to the Erasmus+ project Young People – Essential Partners in Public Environmental Dialogue, we organized a series of field seminars titled The City Belongs to All of Us. The first seminar, A Situationist Walk through Brno, was led by Radka Krylová and Jarda Biolk, who explored public space with the participants using experimental methods. The second seminar Inclusive Urbanism… in Brno? focused on the barriers in public spaces and the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups. The seminar was led by architect Jania Šipul and social geographers Pavel Doboš and Ondřej Šerý. The third seminar Where do we sleep today? Housing on the Edge in Brno was led by architect Eva Truncová, who specializes in brownfield sites. The seminar addressed various forms of housing, the issue of homeless people, and hostile architecture.
In collaboration with the Together Towards Diversity team and under the banner of (self) care, we organized the Movement is Care – Care is Rave event, a culinary and musical gathering for women activists in need of recharging before future collective actions. The musical program was provided by young musicians, including those from the climate activist community. The theme of the program was the crisis of global capitalism that is culminating in a climate crisis.
Our activities also included a two-day workshop on participation, which we organized in collaboration with trainers from NaZemi for young engaged people from Brno-based collectives. Participants learned facilitation techniques and other skills necessary for successfully leading climate actions. Representatives from various collectives and initiatives, such as the Beautification Association of the Department of Environmental Studies, Masaryk University’s Student Unions, the Tenants‘ Initiative (INN), SdruŽeny, LESEM Summer School of Environmentalism, Dialogue for Change, Universities for Climate, and the Gulag with Wi-Fi community housing project, took part in the workshop.
In the past year, thanks to a project of the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR), we have significantly expanded our activities and achieved several important milestones. On our website moudramesta.cz [wise cities] we published six new texts that reflect the shift from presenting examples of good practices applied by cities and municipalities to bottom-up activities (initiatives arising from individuals or communities) that are carried out by engaged citizens.
In collaboration with the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University and other experts, we implemented a semester course titled „Public Participation in Sustainable Urban Planning“ within the MMR project. The course focused on engaging the public in the planning processes for students of the Department of Environmental Studies. The aim was to present participation as a part of public decision-making, demonstrate various methods of civic participation, discuss its advantages and disadvantages, familiarize students with texts from experts and the evolution of the discussion on this topic, and, last but not least, provide a theoretical foundation and practical application of participation in sustainable urban planning.
The Citizen Eye program, available through the portal obcanskeoko.cz, provides long-term advisory services to the active public. Thanks to the collaboration of our in-house legal advisor, Bernardeta Babáková, and external experts, we were able to continue to provide quality citizen’s counseling services in 2023. The services primarily focus on legal procedures for promoting sustainable development in residential areas and the protection of nature, landscape, and the climate. The advisory service addresses inquiries related to sustainable development of residential areas, climate protection, mobility, civic participation, and sustainable solutions for cities and municipalities. The service is available to the active public, associations, initiatives, and informal groups.
In 2023, we continued our integration community activities for newcomers and locals. We connected children, families, and young people, striving to create a space where they can cultivate their talents, feel safe, and accepted for who they are. We created methodological materials and a podcast, and we also organized workshops, which were attended by students and young people.
Our regular activity was the Club for children aged 6-10 years. Under the guidance of instructors, children engaged in art workshops, board games, and other activities that allowed them to practice the Czech language. The Club was inclusive and involved Czech-speaking parents and children as well. It thus helped overcome the isolation newcomer children often experience and supported them in creating friendly relationships outside the school environment.
Building on the Club, we organized a day camp for children of newcomers for the seventh time. Local children traditionally attend as well, creating an inclusive environment where participants practice Czech, learn about a variety of different cultural customs, and explore new places in Brno.
As part of the Active Tutoring program, carried out in collaboration with the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University, we coordinated over 70 tandems, where student volunteers had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in pedagogy and other fields in which they specialize. Coordinator Aleksandra Shalgunova and our volunteers did a particularly excellent job on this.
Among the community activities was the intercultural event ‚Kulinárna‘ (Culinary Workshop) —a special type of community gathering where locals and newcomers get to know each other through cooking vegan meals together. Our collaboration with the restaurant Základna Tři Ocásci helped us find ways to replace animal products and create local versions of dishes from around the world.
We continued with another buddy activity called Be Loving, formerly Be My Mate (Buď Láska, formerly Buď můj druh), focused on Ukrainian youth who fled the war-affected country. We organized informal meet-ups, community events, workshops, and trips, offering new ways to spend free time and providing a safe space for young Ukrainians to share and express their feelings. We established cooperation with Czech volunteers to facilitate and enhance the integration of newcomers.
At the same time, we are a member of the Consortium, a group of non-governmental organizations working with newcomers, where we participate in public consultations and provide comments on proposed legislation, methodologies, and strategic plans affecting our target group. We collaborate with Brno-based organizations such Vesna, the Center for Integration of Foreigners in the South Moravian Region, and the Ukrainian Initiative. We participate in the Integration Platform of the City of Brno, which is organized annually.
In collaboration with the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, we developed the Olipol project aimed at cultivating disputes in public debate. We created methodological materials titled Space for Dispute for students, especially those in pedagogical fields, offering tools for understanding and de-escalating social conflicts.
In 2023, we organized ten workshops, during which we tested the methodologies and gathered feedback directly from students and teachers. The methodologies sparked interest among teaching staff at universities in Brno and beyond. The workshops were also held at the Technical University of Liberec and Charles University in Prague.
The Olipol project focused on leading a campaign targeting both the professional and general public. Awareness-raising and popularization activities were developed in collaboration with the third stage of Brno’s Centre for Experimental Theatre, Terén, where a series of performative events and public debates on topics such as gender, Islam, and racism were held. The events were attended by experts from the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, independent public figures, minority representatives, and artists. The project also resulted in the creation of an educational website, promotional videos, popularization articles, and the podcast Space for Dispute.
Within the HORIZON program, we worked on the Cultivate project, which aimed to support food sharing among local initiative groups, to develop innovative practices for municipal authorities, to enhance collaboration between universities, and to map existing projects in the area of food sharing and strengthening solidarity-based economic processes.
We participated in 12 webinars where we learned more about our partners‘. We were particularly intrigued by ‚Zussamen leben‘ from Freiburg, Germany, which runs a community garden and café where people with disabilities and newcomers work. We found many common themes and challenges, and we plan to collaborate with the organization in the future.
We strive to increase the share of plant-based ingredients in school meals and ensure that all students have access to meals that align with their ethical beliefs and dietary needs. We aim to promote healthier and more sustainable eating habits that benefit people, animals, and the planet. Our initiative supports long-term changes in school canteens that will lead to a greater balance between plant-based and animal products.
In 2023, the Colorful Canteens campaign led to a significant shift in the school meals program. A working group led by the National Institute of Public Health is now working on an amendment to Decree No. 107/2005 Coll. on school meals, which determines among others composition of food served in virtually all kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools in the Czech Republic.
In June, we initiated the call – „Write to Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek,“ where dozens of people shared their experiences and arguments for the need to expand the availability of diverse and healthier food in educational institutions. At the end of the school year, we symbolically issued a report card to the Minister. In July, when a draft of the dietary guidelines was created, we submitted feedback on this proposal. Using expert arguments, we explained the need to provide meals in school canteens not only for people with allergies or intolerance issues to certain foods but also for those who, based on their beliefs (worldview), exclude certain or all animal products from their diets.
Throughout the year, we conducted an informational campaign on the website pestrejidelny.cz [Colorful Canteens], as well as on social media, including a new Instagram profile, za_pestrejidelny, which is primarily focused on youth. Followers participated in a photographic mini-campaign with the sign „I want equality on my plate!“ highlighting the inequalities in the availability of certain kinds of school meals.
In November, we supported the strike of the school unions. We recognize that good working conditions are an important part of the change we are striving for in the Colorful Canteens campaign. Healthier and tastier school meals, with a lower impact on the climate and the environment, available also to all children with dietary restrictions and preferences. One that includes more vegetables and legumes, as well as a diet that meets current nutritional recommendations. All of this needs to be provided by the staff in school canteens. It is essential that they are appropriately rewarded for this.
In addition to our activities on social media, we also engaged with people in person. We organized several thematic workshops at schools and presented the campaign at public events in Prague, Humpolec, Jihlava, and Brno. The Colorful Canteens campaign was featured in two podcasts, Hostina and Bílkovina.
The program For Animal Rights continues to focus on promoting plant-based meals in schools and ensuring equal conditions for all students, thereby contributing to a more compassionate and sustainable future.
Since the organization was founded in 1997, we have been working with volunteers who form an indispensable part of our teams. Together, we inspire each other to take a responsible approach toward others and the environment and strive for positive changes in the world around us.
Volunteers from Prague significantly helped the Initiative Way in hosting a study visit of Ukrainian environmentalists working in protected areas. Thanks to their commitment, the event was successful from start to finish. Based on this positive experience, another similar study tour is being planned and we hope to achieve the same success.
For the Erasmus+ project Together for the Climate, organized by the Citizen Eye program, volunteers were indispensable, especially in writing reportage articles for the website Wise Cities, which primarily focused on the bottom-up activities of young people and civic initiatives. The collaboration with volunteers also resulted in the publication and website Act Together.
Together for Diversity also works closely with volunteers. Without them, activities like the Culinary Workshops, community gatherings, clubs for children of locals and newcomers, and other programs for families would not be able to function properly. In addition, volunteers from among the students of pedagogy form tandems with newcomers in the active tutoring program. Last but not least, there is the Buddy program, which connects mainly young newcomers from Ukraine with locals so that they can spend active time together.
In F*ÉRA, the cooperation with volunteers was especially helpful in organizing GENDER POFEL*s and other workshops. Collaboration has also been of considerable benefit in projects such as DNA, which has produced the DNA Talk(s) podcast series.
To all the volunteers, interns, and trainees, we extend our heartfelt thanks for their cooperation, flexibility, and perseverance in 2023. We deeply appreciate your efforts in helping to make the world a better place, and we look forward to continuing our work together in the years to come.
We feel grateful to be surrounded by people who share the same values and support us not only morally but also financially.
In 2023, donors supported NESEHNUTÍ with donations worth 1,452,862 CZK.
Thanks to our supporters, we know that we are not alone in our quest for a fairer world. Without them, we could not implement our activities and other much needed steps towards achieving greater freedom, responsibility, and public engagement in the Czech Republic and abroad.
We greatly appreciate their help and thank everyone who offers help together with us.
We are NESEHNUTÍ (Those Who Do Not Bow).
We feel responsible for what is happening around us. We work for change towards justice and equality. We want an open and engaged society, capable of dialogue and based on respect for nature, people, and animals. We activate communities and individuals to act on the basis of ecological and social context.
We embrace responsibility as an integral part of freedom.
