Via’s Community Alphabet program connects active residents across Europe
Did you know that Via Foundation supports community builders across Central, Southern and other parts of Europe who are building bridges between people with different life experiences and views, and thus strengthening democratic values? Through the Community Alphabet program, Via Foundation connects these active individuals and shares community building approaches, tools and practical examples. “Our…
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Connecting with local history through community projects
Four local associations in different parts of the Karlovy Vary and Pilsen regions illustrate what can emerge when contemporary community initiatives take on history. With the support of Via Foundation, groups are bringing long-forgotten places back to life in these regions. In the Slavkov Forest, local residents are commemorating a former church; in Hory Matky…
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An unpaved path: landscape stewards in South Moravia are restoring field paths and biodiversity
Five restored paths, nearly 300 newly planted trees and shrubs, and three and a half kilometers of grass-seeded paths. That is just a fraction of what the Letorost association – a group of landscape and environmental stewards located in the small wine-growing village of Boleradice in South Moravia – has achieved since 2021. How have…
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Czech President recognized young changemakers
Over 60 young people from different parts of the Czech Republic gathered on Tuesday, July 15, in the garden of the Czech presidential castle in Lány. They were invited by President Petr Pavel and First Lady Eva Pavlová, who thanked them for their courage and desire to improve the world around them. It was an…
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Changing objections to positive action
Pavel Rek has been the mayor of the village of Ratenice in Central Bohemia for over three years. Yet it was not his own political ambitions that led him to his position at the town hall. Pavel had had a history of organizing various community activities in the village, some of them supported by grants…
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Nuns on tractors: “We’re transforming a barren plain into an oasis”
If you have any preconceived notions about nuns, an encounter with the sisters of the Carmelite Convent in Drasty in Central Bohemia may change your view. These women drive tractors, use front loaders and work with weed eaters on a daily basis. For the past seven years, they have been renovating – largely on their own – a farmyard…
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Via’s Community Academy showed me I’m not alone
“I started out by wanting to do something for my family, but before I knew it, I was organizing events for the whole community,” says Žaneta Strohová of the Žížala na Terase (“Earthworm Terrace”) Association in the city of Ústí nad Labem in North Bohemia. Many residents who take an active part in community life have a similar…