The inaugural Global Awareness Collaborative Colloquium offered the GVSU community ten activities that focused on Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic. The intent of the Colloquium is to focus attention on our economic, cultural, societal, and political relationship with one specific corner of the world. In doing so, we also want to bring together people from different corners of CECI and GVSU who do not normally interact.The following is a recap of our activities, some lessons learned, and the challenges as we plan for Winter.  Dr. Salvatore Alaimo from CECI’s School of Community Leadership and Development, Dr. Marlen Vavrikova from CLAS’s Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and Mark Hoffman, Associate Dean, were the organizing committee for the Fall GACC. In addition to CECI, we received monetary support from the Padnos International Center and the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

Keynote Presentations

The Fall Colloquium was anchored by two academic presentations. Dr. Alaimo shared his Fulbright experience at the University of Ostrava, where he researched and lectured on philanthropy. Dr. Vavrikova shared her sabbatical research on Czech composer Vladimir Werner. Both events featured Czech food prepared by GVSU’s Food Service based on recipes submitted by Dr. Vavrikova. Chefs Will Jachim, Justin Wendt, and Alexis Brown prepared these custom requests for the same per person charge as orders off the menu.

"Moravian Rhapsody" a presentation by Salvatore Alaimo. Monday, November 6, noon-12:50pm, DeVos Center University Club (Pew Campus).

"Moravian Music" a presentation by Marlen Vavrikova. Friday, November 10, 12-12:50, Haas Center for Performing Arts, room 1515 (Allendale).

Trivia Contest

Following Dr. Alaimo’s presentation was a more jovial activity: “Win Sal Alaimo’s Candy.” This was a series of trivia games that were inspired by the early 2000s Comedy Central TV game show “Win Ben Stein’s Money.” Christopher Kierkus from the Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies served as Quizmaster and Lynda Bykerk-Rupke from Educational Leadership and Counseling served as the judge. Prizes were candy bars from Czechia. Trivia questions were at least remotely related to Czechia or Czech-Americans. One trivia game had all answers containing the sound “chek,” such as “check out,” “Chekov,” and “raincheck.”

Win Sal Alaimo's Candy! Monday, November 6, 1:00-1:50pm, DeVos Center University Club (Pew Campus). Hello, I'm Sal Alaimo, and today, I'm going to make confectionary history. I have an amazing stash of delicious Czech candy that I collected on Halloween. And I am putting it all on the line in a grueling test of knowledge. But be warned! I will defend every piece of my delicious candy to the best of my full and bright abilities. So, if you're smart enough, fast enough, and lucky enough, you can win Sal Alaimo’s candy!

Study Abroad Recap

Study Abroad in the Czech Republic. Thursday, September 28 at 6pm, Haas Center for Performing Arts Room 1410 (Allendale). The first group of students to participated in the new study abroad program in Austria and the Czech Republic shared stories and photos from trips, concerts, lectures, and workshops in  Prague and Ostrava.

Film and Pastry

Our first movie and pastry night screened the 2016 film “Anthropoid,” based on the WW2 mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the “Butcher of Prague.” The post-movie discussion was led by a panel of Dr. Brian Johnson (a WW2 buff) from Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies, Farid Hassanzadah from Political Science, and Mark Hoffman from the CECI Dean's Office. Unintentionally, the Saturday screening time resulted in most of the audience being families and community members. For this screening, we were able to secure some bottles of Kofola, a coffee-derived soft drink produced and distributed in Czechia and Slovakia that dates to the era when Coke and Pepsi were unavailable or very expensive in Communist-block Europe.

"Anthropoid" film screening and discussion. Saturday, November 11, 4-6 pm, DeVos Center Room DEV 201D.

Music

US Premiere of Oboe Concerto by Vladimir Werner. Wednesday November 15, 7:30pm. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Louis Armstrong Theatre (Allendale). the Grand Valley Orchestra, with Dr. Vavrikova as soloist, performed the U.S. premier of the Oboe Concerto by Vladimir Werner. We sponsored the reception after the concert, which featured Kolache (round Czech pastries).  Dr. Joel Schut, conductor of the GVSU Symphony Orchestra, has offered to partner with future GACCs, finding musical pieces suitable to our themes.

Food

Dr. Vavrikova also Czech provided some recipes prepared by students in HTM 250 (Food Production and Kitchen Management). Under the supervision of co-instructor and chef Kirsten Rydzewski, students prepared Shopska salad and Klevela (Plum Compote), which waswere used as a toppings for humus and blintzes, respectively.

Webinars

Four Czech-related webinars were offered that dealt with music and politics, disinformation and elections, internationalization in higher education and the evolution of NGOs. Four of the six speakers were Czech. One was Polish, Wojciech Solak, an alumnus of our MPA, currently in a doctoral program on Disinformation at King’s College London. Other than the guests and hosts, eighty-two people attended at least one of the webinars. Three quarters of these attendees were from GVSU. Sixteen were faculty, staff or students from other US and European universities. Forty-eight GVSU students attended, most from programs outside of CECI, including 16 students in a Political Science 339 (Democracy and the Authoritarian Challenge) taught by Dr. Heather Tafel. This gave us the opportunity to promote CECI graduate programs. All the webinars were managed through Zoom Events, using a license held by the School of Social Work. Rui Niu-Cooper from Literacy, Educational Foundations, and Technology, Kel Nemetz from the Office of Certification and Accreditation, and Suprith Son Dubba, a Dean’s Office student assistant, helped with webinar set-ups and rehearsals. Recordings of the webinars can still be viewed by registering for the events.

"Music and Politics: Postcard from New York-Trio from Terezin" presentation by Michael Beckerman. Monday, November 20, 11-11:50am Webinar.  Michael Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Music at New York University. His diverse areas of research include Czech and Eastern European music; musical form and meaning; film music; music of the Roma; music and war; music in the concentration camps; Jewish music, and music and disability.

 "The Challenge Posed by Disinformation and  Conspiracy Theories" a conversation with Jonas Syrovatka and Wojciech Solak. Monday, November 27 at 3pm EST, Webinar. Jonas Syrovatka is a doctoral student at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, whose research deals with the influence of disinformation, propaganda and conspiracy theories on the political processes, especially elections and election campaigns. Wojciech Solak is a doctoral the student at Kings College London, whose research deals with Russian disinformation efforts.

"The Importance of Internationalization of Education," a discussion with Dalibor Mikuláš and Renáta Tomášková. Wednesday, November 29, 10-10:50 EST, Webinar. Dalibor Mikuláš is Vice President and COO of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Renáta Tomášková is Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Ostrava, in the Czech Republic.

"When you say 'NGO' in Czechia," a presentation by Jakub Pejcal. Friday, December 1, noon-1pm EST, Webinar.  Jakub Pejcal is an Assistant Professor at Masaryk University in Brno.