On Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 March 2024, young people participating in the current edition of the Security Academy were once again treated to a varied programme accompanied by visits to interesting places related to foreign and security policy.
At the beginning of Wednesday's programme, the participants of the Security Academy met with a group of Georgian journalists. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange experiences from both Georgia and the Czech Republic in the fight against disinformation. The conversation also focused on the topic of information literacy, as well as relations and mutual cooperation between political leaders and think tanks, and the role of independent and public media in both countries.
The second point of Wednesday's programme was a discussion meeting with Mrs. Petra Dachtler, Deputy Ambassador and Head of the Political Desk of the German Embassy in the Czech Republic. During the meeting, which was prepared directly at the German Embassy in the Czech Republic, the students got to know more about the current events in Germany, especially in the context of the current conflicts and other challenges in the field of foreign and security policy. The discussion also focused on bilateral Czech-German relations and European cooperation in support of Ukraine. The discussion was followed by a tour of the embassy premises, where we also recalled the events of 1989, when the embassy building played its historic role in the flight of East Germans through Prague to West Germany.
On Thursday 21 March the program continued with a visit to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The cooperation with this institution has been going on for the third year and the tour of the radio accompanied by a discussion with journalists has become an integral part of the Security Academy program. This time, the discussion focused on Iranian radio broadcasts and participants had the opportunity to discuss many issues related to operating in non-democratic regimes directly with the head of RFE/RL's Iranian service.
The participants spent the afternoon at the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic, where they had a debate with General Miroslav Feix and analysts about the future shape of the Czech Armed Forces in terms of technical equipment, recruitment of new soldiers, and changes in the battlefield that the army has to deal with.
