Publication date: 
2024/11/01
Institutions operating in Prague's Dejvice Campus have agreed to cooperate in ensuring the safety of their students and employees. After the December events at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, strengthening security became a priority for the management of the universities at Dejvice burough, the National Technical Library, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Prague 6 district. Outcome of the concern is the Memorandum on Mutual Cooperation in Dealing with Crisis Events in the Dejvice Campus Environment, which was signed jointly by the statutory representatives of the two institutions on 1 November.

The Memorandum focuses on several key areas. These include the interconnection of those responsible for security measures and crisis preparedness, and the establishment of principles for mutual information in the event of an imminent or ongoing crisis. The agreement also includes rules for the coordination of crisis staffs, the interaction of partners in rehearsing crisis situations and the regular exchange of new knowledge and experience.

"The safety of our students and staff is vital to us. At the same time, we want to preserve the friendly and free environment that is characteristic of the Dejvice Campus," says Milan Pospíšil, the rector of ICT Prague and the initiator of the cooperation. He was joined by Vojtěch Petráček, rector of Czech Technical University in Prague, Zdeněk Hostomský, deputy director of the Institute of Technical Library of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Martin Svoboda, director of the National Technical Library, and Jakub Stárek, mayor of Prague 6.

"The Prague 6 Municipal District is an integral part of the Campus and thanks to many years of excellent cooperation and friendly relations we have been able to advance the quality of operations in this space. And the safety of the students must always come first. Soon we will commemorate the sad anniversary of the tragic events at the Faculty of Arts and we must ensure that something similar cannot happen again, and not just on the campus, " says Jakub Stárek, Mayor of Prague 6.

Vojtěch Petráček, the rector of CTU, states: "Our university tried to ensure a safe environment before the attack on the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, after which we intensified and expanded security measures, and we will soon present one significant one publicly. But we all know that there is also strength in cooperation. That is why I very much welcome this declaration of joint action by all actors on the Dejvice Campus."

In parallel with the Memorandum, a Crisis Management Coordination Plan was created, in concordance with the general agreements of the Memorandum with specific information. "The Memorandum itself is a declaration of the will to cooperate, but while preparing it, we all wanted to go beyond mere pious intentions and formulations. Thus, we added an action plan to it, " concludes Rector Pospíšil.