The Senate conference belonged to the invisible heroes
The Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren organized the fifth annual interdisciplinary human rights conference on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. This year, the theme was "Heroes of Dignity". The focus was primarily on those invisible people who stand out from the spotlight and who we don't read about on the front pages. But through their service or personal bravery, they help move our society forward.
The meeting was held as part of the broader initiative of the International Days Against Racism, which is being introduced to the Czech Republic by the Evangelical Church. The conference was under the patronage of the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil.
“When reading the Gospels, we repeatedly find stories and sayings in which Jesus of Nazareth pays special loving attention to people whom he describes as ‘insignificant’, ‘little’. In this way, he addresses our conscience and sharpens our sensitivity to those who are so insignificant among us today,” explains the Synodal Senior of the Evangelical Church, explaining the motivation for organizing such a seminar.
After the introductory speech and greetings of the President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil, the first morning block of lectures began. The main speakers of the conference – the Slovak bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (ECAV) Peter Mihoč and the director of the non-profit organization Život 90 Ruth Šormová – spoke at the event. The program of the fifth year of the Senate Conference also included this year's jubilee of the upper chamber of parliament, which has been one of the fundamental pillars of the state for 30 years. In his contribution, the Synodal Curator of the Evangelical Church and former diplomat Jiří Schneider spoke about the Senate as a guarantee of dignity.
ℹ️ You can also view the entire gallery at fotky.e-cirkev.cz.
This time too, the organizers included a series of so-called seven-minute presentations, which have proven successful at conferences in previous years. Each speaker first briefly introduced their field of activity, which was followed by a joint discussion. This year, the format included presentations by people who encounter “invisible heroes” in their profession or who are them themselves – among them, for example, the director of the Brno association Vesna Barbora Antonová, the foster mother of two children with Down syndrome Ivana Součková, and climate lawyer Vincenc Bouček.
A traditional part of the all-day conference at the Senate is also the announcement of the results of the student literary competition. From January to the end of February, pupils and students from all over the Czech Republic and Ukraine sent their reflections and essays, in which they also reflected on the topic of dignity.
Student Heroes: Teacher, Mother and Resistance Fighters
A total of seventy competition texts were submitted in Czech or Ukrainian. The works, which were diverse in terms of ideas and content, dealt with the theme of inconspicuous heroism - these were, for example, teachers, mothers and resistance fighters in the student works.
The expert judges selected the 14 best works, which were ceremonially announced during the conference. As in last year, the evaluators included professionals from the Albatros Media publishing house, whose foundation is a partner of the competition. People from the headquarters of the Evangelical Church also participated in the evaluation - Jiří Hofman (press spokesman), Helena Wernischová (EA school coordinator), Adéla Rozbořilová (editor-in-chief of the Czech Brother magazine) and Mikuláš Vymětal (evangelical pastor for minorities). Ukrainian reflections and essays were judged by selected coordinators working at the Kalyna community center in Pardubice, where they help Ukrainian refugees.
THE WINNERS OF THE LITERARY COMPETITION
UKRAINIAN PART:
Younger Category (age 10–15)
1. Yurii Zinchuk
2. Aurika Shandyba
3. Svitlana Pukshyn
Older Category (age 16–21)
1. Andrii Kukin
2. Yevheniia Tkachova
3. Anna Yukchymenko
CZECH PART:
Younger Category (age 10–15)
1. Vera Gotlib, Praha
2. Miriam Kapitánová, Šternberk
3. Jolana Kupsová, Roztoky u Prahy
special prize: Monika Vaňková, Kostelec na Hané
Older Category (age 16–21)
1. Anežka Vavříková, Moravský Krumlov
2. Ada Šmídová, Praha
3. Alžběta Klonfarová, Kladno
special prize: Dorota Skalková, Mořkov
Selected excerpts of Czech works and evaluation by the Czech judges
The ceremony of announcing the results of the student literary competition was moderated by the director of the church office, Martin Balcar. The awards were presented by the Chairman of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, together with representatives of the judges and competition partners. The winners received material prizes or financial rewards.
An important dimension of the conference is to offer students, especially from primary and high schools, the opportunity to gain knowledge and inspiration from interesting people involved in public life. That is why the organizers invite not only students who participated in the literary competition, but also students from some of the schools established by the Evangelical Church to the Wallenstein Palace every year. This year, approximately 40 students from the Evangelical "Zdrávka" school in Náchod arrived at the Senate.
ℹ️ Conference program available for download (PDF).
Conference recording: