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The School of Village Revitalization in Modrá The Program of Village Revitalization started in our republic in 1991 and it soon became a vast movement and driving force for the revitalization of life in villages. After many years when no private farms existed and the transmission of knowledge shared for generations was interrupted, we must look for and find new approaches based on today's conditions. We realize more and more that maintaining life in villages is important not only for us, but also for the whole country and planet. To make the Program of Village Revitalization successful and viable it must become part of common consciousness of country people, their authority and also inspiration at each level of decision making. It is necessary to spread knowledge about the method of program realization, but we must also look for the means of its development. An idea for creating a methodical educational and informative Center for Village Revitalization eventuated from the initiative of the village of Modrá (and its mayor Miroslav Kovářík) and then chairman of the Association for Village Revitalization Jan Kruml and a group of allied people. There were several first seminars held from 1995 – 1996. Thanks to grants from the Ministry for Local Development of CR dedicated to the enlightenment and education within PVR, the organization of educational seminars became the main activity of the project realization. The Municipal Office of Modrá is the founder of the School of Villages and the mayor of the village, Mr. Miroslav Kovařík, is the leader. In the building of Municipal Office there is a reserved area for the School of Villages and it is directly joined with the boardroom office. Thus smaller events can be organized directly in the centre, equipped with techniques necessary for seminars and organizing social events. All activities of the School of Villages are based on cooperation with different organizations, institutions and associations and especially on the work of individuals who consider the Czech village to have great value. Through the seminars we started to cooperate very successfully with Lower Austria, which is a good example for us and the possibility of new ideas and mutual cooperation. We started to work on developing cooperation and the School of Village should guarantee the cooperation of the Czech partner. Our main partners and collaborators are the Association for Village Revitalization, the Syndicate of Towns and Villages, the Ministry for Local Development of CR and the Ministry of Agriculture – Division for Education, the Regional Office of Zlín, the Studio of Village Revitalization Brno, Terra Project Modrá, the Moravian Museum of Brno, The Museum of Slovakia in Uherské Hradiště, the Foundation Via České Budějovice, the Foundation Partnership Brno, SAŽP Banská Bystrica, the Agency for Village Development Nitra and others. One of the most important projects realized by the School of Villages is helping with the organization of the competition "Village of the Year" and organization of the IV European Congress for Village Revitalization in 1998. The congress was held in the eastern country for the first time and it was organized in cooperation with European Labor Society for Village Development (ARGE) with headquarters in Vienna. More than 600 people from 13 countries of Europe took part in the congress. The great success of the School of Villages in 2001 was participation in the project for the Creation of Visegrád Ecomuseums Net. It was shielded by the International Visegrád Fund within the project of the Creation of Visegrád Ecomuseums Net for Protection and Preservation of Living Heritage on the Local Level in Middle Europe. There were 52 projects handed in altogether (half from the Czech Republic) from 4 countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) and our project won together with 5 other projects. After our study travels under the patronage of the Foundation Partnership, our SV was asked to organize the final International Seminar about Ecomuseums in Middle Europe. The seminar was attended not only by members of The Visegrád Four, but also by participants from Sweden. The evaluation of seminar was very positive. The SV is getting into the public eye with such actions more and more and it also enlarges the scope of topics, participants and lecturers for our seminars, as well as acquiring new contacts. Within the scope of the Program for Village Revitalization a replica of St. John the Baptist's Church from the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries was built with the help of a grant from the Ministry for Local Development. Since opening it has served as a meeting place for different religions and also for cultural and social events and exhibitions organized by the School of Villages. An important part of the activity is working with children and adolescent youths. The activity of the "Junák" organization in Modrá was re-established as early as in 1989 thanks to enthusiastic and experienced instructors. It is the main organizer of most of the children's activities and it also participates in the activities of SV (performances etc). With the help of the club "Pampeliška" SV organizes activities all over the Czech Republic develops knowledge and the interest of children who under professional leadership observe and map nature, phenomena and events in our surroundings (village history, family trees, herbaria, animals and herbal protected species in the vicinity of the village etc.) Also the association of villages in the Micro region Buchlov (which is now a voluntary association of villages) takes part in the activities. The members of the Micro region Buchlov are the villages: Břestek, Buchlovice, Hostějov, Modrá, Osvětimany, Salaš, Staré Hutě, Stříbrnice, Stupava, Velehrad, Tupesy and Zlechov. The headquarters of the Micro region is in natural centre of the whole locality – in the village of Buchlovice. Due to the position of individual micro region villages (in Chřiby and its foothills) we can say that it is one of the most attractive micro regions of all Moravia. Publishing is also one of the important activities. Several books and special publications were issued, e.g. A Place for Life (Místo pro život), What is Modrá's Color (Jakou barvu má Modrá), Rustic Architecture of South-Eatern Moravia (Lidová architektura Jihovýchodní Moravy), Serviceberry from A to Z (Oskeruše od A po Z), and in the cooperation with the Micro region Buchlov also the books Around Buchlov (Okolo Buchlova), and From the Slops below Buchlov (Ze strání pod Buchlovem) etc. Also the following brochures were published: Educational Path Modřansko (Naučná stezka Modřansko), The Village of Modrá – Traditions and Customs Renewals (Obec Modrá – obnova tradic a zvyků), Czech-Austrian Cooperation in the field of Agriculture (Česko-rakouská spolupráce v oblasti zemědělství). The School of Villages in Modrá is one of the largest and the most important educational centers within the Program of Village Revitalization in the Czech Republic. With respect to the location of the village and thus SV also plays an important role in presentations and international meeting. There is a possibility to use our experience and our base of organization for different meetings and seminars in the district of Zlín. It also has an ideal position due to the implementation of the Archeological Open-Air Museum of middle Pomoraví with examples of life in the period of Great Moravia and its crafts, etc. |
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| Design: Robert Číhal | © 2010 Archeoskanzen Modrá |
