News
International Student’s Day on November 17
November 14, 2014
CERGE-EI is commemorating the 17th of November as International Students' Day and the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic.
On November 17th 1989 student leaders organized a mass demonstration to commemorate International Students Day in Prague and as a peaceful protest against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The event sparked a series of demonstrations from November 19 to late December. By November 20 the number of protesters assembled in Prague had swollen from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated half-million. These events heralded the downfall of the communist regime in the country.
International Students Day commemorates the November 17, 1939 anniversary of Nazi storming of the University of Prague after demonstrations against the killing of Jan Opletal and the occupation of Czechoslovakia, followed by the execution of nine student leaders, over 1200 students sent to concentration camps, and the forced closure of all Czech universities and colleges.
Exhibition “Novembers” in Karolinum
On November 17, 2014, Charles University will open the largest exhibition dedicated to this year’s anniversary of the International Student’s Day. The installation will be open to the public until February 28, 2014. More information here.
