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A Word for Christmas from the Rector of Charles University

Dear Colleagues, Students and Friends,

In just a few days we will celebrate Christmas, which is traditionally regarded as a time for the family, a time we spend with our loved ones, when we can pause and think about that which is most important in our lives – how important are the things that we often consider everyday or take for granted, or how valuable it is to embrace those that we love, to thank them that we can be together.

And, because I consider Charles University to be, in its way, a family, albeit a very broad, numerous one, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for everything that we have achieved together this year. I appreciate the work you do for Charles University because I know that our University and its achievements are shaped by people and their daily effort, ideas and enthusiasm. The year 2023 was a very turbulent one – one that was full of events that had a fundamental impact on the world, and therefore, on our lives, too. In the global reality of today there is nothing so distant or foreign that it does not, in some way, affect us – be it the ongoing war in Ukraine, Israel’s war against the terrorists of Hamas, or climate change and its consequences. While the current situation is a difficult one to bear for many of us, I consider it vitally important to create and find pleasant moments in our lives.

I wish you all the best for the Christmas season and many moments of joy, closeness and comfort. I firmly believe that you will have the chance to enjoy your days off to rest and recharge your batteries for the new year. And now I can talk about some things we can look forward to next year. The University will have the honour of hosting a concert in the Prague Spring festival of music, which for the first time will take place in the in the Carolinum building. We will mark the 20th anni-versary of the Czech Republic’s accession to the European Union and the centenary of the birth Radim Palouš, Emeritus Rector of our University. A further significant event will be the elections to the European Parliament. Obviously, these are only a few of the many major events that await us in 2024. I, personally, am looking forward to smaller-scale events across the whole of the University, because it is those events that give us the opportunity for exchange.

Dear colleagues, students and friends: on behalf of the whole management of the University I wish you and your loved ones good health, personal joy and professional success for the new year. And I wish for all of us to keep up our good spirits and for our University to continue to be an inspirational, creative environment in which we are glad to meet and communicate with each other.