The name of the 11+1 project refers to the twelve Belarusians who were arrested on 12. 11. 2020 and later sentenced to two and a half years in penal camps. They have become a symbol of the repression directed against the academic sphere in Belarus. These are eight female students, three male students and a female professor. As part of the manifesto, a case with their portraits ventures from university to university through the hands of the students. With each of them, a student of a given university is photographed, thus "adopting" one of the prisoners. Before the photo is taken, he/she signs her/his portrait and writes a note to her/him; so does the professor. The higher the rank, the better for symbolic support. On behalf of CTU, the vice-rector Gabriela Achtenová took part in the project. "CTU announced tough sanctions against Russia and Belarus, which was the only correct step. At the same time, we must not forget the victims of the Russian and Belarusian regimes directly from among the citizens of these two countries, and I consider it a moral obligation to support colleagues from the academic sphere," said the vice-rector.
The International Student Club CTU became the coordinator of the project. Its president Pavel Kříž commented on the event: “At first I saw this as an opportunity to help someone like me, i.e. students. Over time, and especially with the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, I fully understood the importance of such activities as the fight against oppression and non-freedom.” Students across CTU faculties were approached. “Since we selected them from the acquaintances of our ISC club, which is active at the whole CTU, we practically choosed them from all the faculties,” explains Kříž.
The relay has arrived at CTU from Institute of Chemical Technology, our students will pass it further in Bratislava, Slovakia. It will start its second round of the journey through Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. In the third stage, the relay should pass through Switzerland, Germany, Poland and Lithuania. After that, the portraits with messages should wait to be handed over to their rightful owners.
ISC, as well as the whole Czech Technical University, is also involved in supporting Ukraine. “Today, Thursday, 3 March, we are participating in the Students Against War event. And we are preparing a permanent collection at the Dejvice campus in cooperation with the Rector's Office of the CTU and the Silicon Hill Club in Strahov,” concludes the President of the International Student Club, Pavel Kříž.