Open Society Fund Praha

Kate Lapham: School should be a place where children learn how to live in society as citizens, to treat each other with respect, and to solve problems

7.12.2016 17:30 Kate Lapham: School should be a place where children learn how to live in society as citizens, to treat each other with respect, and to solve problems
Interview with Kate Lapham, senior Program Manager, Open Society Education Support Program

First I would like to ask you about whether there are any interesting projects in Europe that we could see as successful examples of integration under challenging circumstances?
There has been a great experience in Northern Ireland around the integration of Catholic and Protestant students. The aim is to put these two groups of students, who had previously been experiencing or still are experiencing the impacts of the conflict there within their own family, into the same school environment so they can learn together and also live together again.  full story

Czech foundation says tabloid is bolstering media hysteria about school reforms

23.2.2016 18:15 According to a survey performed for the tabloid daily Blesk in the Czech Republic by the SANEP agency, a large proportion of people are concerned about and disagree with upcoming changes that mean children with special educational needs will be educated together with other children in the same schools. According to Blesk, more than 90 % of a representative sample of more than 2 000 people believe the change will worsen the level of education in the country, while less than 10 % believe it will improve education.  full story

Czech parent group in favor of inclusion says the state's approach is the biggest obstacle

29.1.2016 20:26 In the Czech Republic, the Alliance of Parents for Inclusion (Aliance Rodiče za inkluzi) has been striving for more than a year to bolster the role played by parents in the process of including children with disabilities into mainstream schools so they can be accepted by schools as their partners. These parents are requiring that the state do all it can to fulfill their children's lawful right to a quality education and are drawing attention to the current systemic deficiencies preventing the development of inclusive education.  full story

Czech Republic: Open Society Fund explains its financial cooperation with owner of tabloid Extra.cz

27.5.2015 8:13 The Open Society Fund Prague (OSF Prague) has announced a scholarship fund to support Romani college students in collaboration with Jan Barta, the owner of the tabloid publication Extra.cz. News server Romea.cz has asked OSF Prague whether they consider it problematic to collaborate with the owner of a tabloid whose Editor-in-Chief, Pavel Novotný, makes no secret of the fact that he manipulates "Romani topics" to increase readership.  full story

International civil society welcomes EU action against Czech Republic over Roma educational segregation

Brussels/Budapest/London, 26.9.2014 22:11, (ROMEA) International civil society organizations have applauded Brussels' announcement that it is initiating infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic over its discrimination against Romani children in their access to education. The Open Society Foundations in London, the European Roma Rights Centre in Budapest, and the European Roma Information Office in Brussels all welcomed the decision.  full story