Debates on the Russian invasion filled the atrium four times
Four interesting debates with experts from the FSS took place in the atrium in March. Each week, students, academics and the general public were able to hear insights on the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the perspective of all the departments of the Faculty. Recordings of the debates are publicaly available.
The current situation in Ukraine has been raising a number of questions for more than a month. Many of them were answered by experts at four debates organized by the Faculty in March. The topics were diverse - security, economic sanctions, refugees, propaganda, disinformation, and even the long-term effects and consequences of the war were all discussed. There was always room for questions from the audience. Each of the debates was also streamed live on YouTube and the FSS Facebook page. You can still watch the recording on both of the platforms, all in czech language.
The first debate took place less than a week after the invasion began, on March 2, in the completely full atrium of the Faculty. The speakers were Mgr. Petra Kuchyňková, Ph.D. and Mgr. Vladan Hodulák, Ph.D. from the Department of International Relations and European Studies and Professors Jan Holzer and Miroslav Mareš from the Department of Political Science. The event was moderated by Jiří Svoboda, a student from the Media Studies and Journalism Department. The debate focused on the legitimacy of the attack, propaganda, and theeconomic sanctions. Over 2,500 people have already watched the debate on Facebook and it has about 11 thousand views on YouTube.
Exactly one week later, on March 9, the war was looked at more from a social and psychological point of view. Mgr. Roman Baláž, Ph.D. from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, Mgr. Zuzana Masopustová, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Jan Šerek from the Department of Psychology, and Lenka Šafránková Pavlíčková, a graduate of sociology and coordinator of intercultural work at the Department of Social Welfare of the Municipality of Brno, discussed the issues of the refugees, their situation, psychological state and possibilities of helping them. The debate was moderated by Vlasta Macháčová, a student of international relations. Around 2,000 people have already managed to catchthe debate on YouTube and Facebook.
(Dis)information, propaganda, polarisation and intelligence during the war were discussed on Tuesday, March 15. Mgr. Alena Macková, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Jan Motal from the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Mgr. Miloš Gregor, Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science and a graduate of the Department of Political Science, and Vojtěch Boháč, reporter and editor-in-chief of the Voxpot project, attracted dozens of spectators to the atrium. The discussion was moderated by Štěpán Vojtěch, a student of media studies and journalism, sociology and psychology. The debate has already attracted over 2,500 viewers on Facebook and YouTube.
Like the previous discussions, the last one was watched by hundreds of spectators - both in person on March 23 in the atrium and during the live broadcast or later from a recording. The last discussion looked a bit more into the future - for example, the energy future of the Czech Republic, the long-term effects of the war, the integration of refugees and other consequences of the war. These topics were addressed by Mgr. Zinaida Bechná, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Jan Osička from the Department of International Relations and European Studies, Associate Professor Csaba Szaló from the Department of Sociology and RNDr. Mojmír Vlašín from the Department of Environmental Studies. The discussion was watched by 825 people on Facebook and Youtube. Student Jiří Svoboda moderated both the first of the series of discussions and this last one.
We hope you enjoyed the discussions. We would also like to thank the Department of Media Studies and Journalism for their technical support.
