The second edition of the Czech Future Conference took place on the second day of October.Each year, inspiring individuals and representatives of organisations that contribute significantly to innovation and positive change in the Czech Republic are nominated. Nominations include technology leaders as well as social entrepreneurs, teachers and young talents. We ourselves nominated four names in the "Teacher of the Year" and "Top Student of the Czech Republic" categories that deserve recognition.
Petra Brukováas a woman of almost innumerable different skills, she certainly couldn't be missing in the Teacher of the Year category. A teacher who has long been dedicated to developing key competencies in her students within the DofE programme, which is significantly reflected in the number of successful DofE students. At her high school in Třinec, Petra has also introduced the "Little and Big" project, where students help out at a nearby kindergarten and regularly organise various events for children. "The DofE programme is about endless possibilities, dreams coming true, but also about the amount of energy and time you put into it. So if you still have the desire and time to pursue something meaningful with your workload, DofE is the place to be. For me, as a coordinator and leader, the DofE has also offered me lots of opportunities to try something new. Working with ten trained colleagues and 80 students involved, I am constantly improving my organisational and communication skills. I have learned to make my own dried food. So I am actually fulfilling the ideas and agenda of the DofE just like our participants. I also appreciate the whole community of leaders who think alike and are always willing to help, whatever you need. It's been an enriching experience over the last four years and I look forward to many more," adds Petra.
We have nominated the following students for the Top Student of the Czech Republic category Eliska Křížková. Eliška started her journey in the DofE by volunteering in an educational institute, now she works as a mentor, international promoter of the programme, trainer and as a presenter she has tried her hand at moderating a ceremony with Prince Edward. In addition, she works as a leader at camps for children with Down syndrome and plays in the orchestra Music Helps, which raises funds for children with disabilities.
We have nominated another student Solomyia Strelbytska, who co-founded the first Ukrainian Scout Centre in the Moravian-Silesian Region, where she works with Ukrainian children. She graduated from the DofE gold level and represented the programme at the European Youth Forum in Brussels. As an ambassador for DofE and UNICEF's 'Stand by me' project, she met Prince Edward at the British Embassy. She speaks five languages and her aim is to show how people from different parts of the world can enrich their local environment and become a contributing part of Czech society, despite all difficulties and prejudices.
In the nominations we have not forgotten about Helen Lorenc. Helena is a graduate of all levels of the DofE programme, and acts as an ambassador and mentor. Among her
Helena's most important achievements include the establishment of the Be Active project, the largest database of extracurricular activities for students in the Czech Republic. Helena regularly speaks at educational conferences and fairs and leads courses for seniors and youth. She is also involved in career counselling.
However, Eliska, Petra, Solomyia and Helena are not the only DofE faces to appear on the list of nominees. We were delighted to see DofE students, teachers and principals from different parts of the Czech Republic. Congratulations to Tomas Čermák, Tereza Przeczek, Richard Pavlikán, Sona Kleiner and Martin Tobias for being nominated.
