# Transcript: We are the future generation

## Description

Who is Bára Stárek



Bára Stárek is the chairwoman of the organization Díky, že můžem, which she has transformed under her leadership from a student association into a nationwide platform with 16 projects focused on educating and engaging young people in the areas of freedom, democracy, and human rights. Her organization is behind Korzem Národní, the largest celebration of November 17th in the Czech Republic, and brings topics like disinformation and climate change into school curricula. She is the only Czech selected for the prestigious Obama Foundation Leaders program. Bára is also an expert on mental health and inclusion in the workplace, helping companies create an open and supportive culture with an emphasis on humanity and burnout prevention.

## Transcript

**[00:00:00]** Hello and good day.

**[00:00:29]** My name is Honza Mašek and welcome to another classic Brain and Breakfast.

**[00:00:34]** Welcome to everyone who made the trip here to the Magenta Experience Center.

**[00:00:39]** Welcome to everyone watching us live,

**[00:00:42]** whether from libraries, schools, or coworking spaces.

**[00:00:45]** And today a special shout-out goes to Zonentor in Čejkovice,

**[00:00:48]** where the second Red Button team is, so we're just waving virtually from afar.

**[00:00:52]** So greetings to all.

**[00:00:54]** The breakfast split some time ago into classic and business editions.

**[00:00:59]** This is about the classic part.

**[00:01:01]** And I want to thank the partners right away.

**[00:01:05]** The main one is the Magenta Experience Center,

**[00:01:08]** which is hosting us here, many thanks, it's great.

**[00:01:11]** There will be more joint events with them.

**[00:01:14]** Frutissimo, and those of you watching live,

**[00:01:17]** you might not appreciate it much, but there is a delicious breakfast here,

**[00:01:20]** so many thanks, partners.

**[00:01:23]** And with Frutissimo and Slajdu, the partner is Interactivity,

**[00:01:26]** because the breakfast is interactive.

**[00:01:28]** Slowly start taking out your mobile phones,

**[00:01:31]** with which you can scan this QR code,

**[00:01:34]** which will appear several times during the broadcast,

**[00:01:38]** or you can simply access it,

**[00:01:41]** because it will take you to a newsletter,

**[00:01:44]** called Shortcut.

**[00:01:46]** It's a newsletter of the Red Button network,

**[00:01:48]** which is behind all this,

**[00:01:50]** everything Red Button does.

**[00:01:53]** So keep your phone in hand,

**[00:01:55]** here's another QR code,

**[00:01:57]** so it's very quick,

**[00:01:59]** and it will take you to Slajdu.

**[00:02:03]** Because we want to interact with you,

**[00:02:05]** because we want you to have the chance

**[00:02:07]** to ask questions, whether you're in Frýdek,

**[00:02:09]** Místek, in a library,

**[00:02:11]** or here with us in Magenta.

**[00:02:13]** Every voice and every question is welcome,

**[00:02:16]** so we'll be glad.

**[00:02:18]** Enter www.slajdu.com, hashtag Brain,

**[00:02:21]** Scan this QR code.

**[00:02:23]** If you're watching us live

**[00:02:25]** on the Red Button Edu platform,

**[00:02:27]** the Slajdu window is right under this broadcast,

**[00:02:29]** so you don't have to look for it.

**[00:02:31]** Well, as is tradition,

**[00:02:35]** I'll try to ask,

**[00:02:37]** who of you is here for breakfast for the first time.

**[00:02:39]** So please vote for us.

**[00:02:43]** Okay, it's visible now.

**[00:02:52]** That's a good result.

**[00:02:55]** I like that.

**[00:02:57]** I'm always happy

**[00:02:59]** when 'no' wins.

**[00:03:01]** I'm here for breakfast for the first time,

**[00:03:03]** because that means

**[00:03:05]** we're bursting those bubbles

**[00:03:07]** and moving further and further ahead,

**[00:03:09]** and that's exactly what we need.

**[00:03:11]** Enough introductions and my speeches,

**[00:03:13]** because today you're not here for me,

**[00:03:15]** but for our guest

**[00:03:17]** and especially the topic.

**[00:03:19]** I welcome Bára Starek here.

**[00:03:21]** Bára, hi, come join us.

**[00:03:23]** Hi.

**[00:03:25]** Hi.

**[00:03:27]** Thank you.

**[00:03:29]** I was really looking forward to this topic.

**[00:03:31]** I have lots of questions,

**[00:03:33]** so I hope you'll answer them,

**[00:03:35]** but first I'll have you explain

**[00:03:37]** what the future generation is

**[00:03:40]** and all sorts of things.

**[00:03:42]** Start those meetings, it's your thing.

**[00:03:44]** Thanks a lot, I'm looking forward to it.

**[00:03:46]** Thank you very much.

**[00:03:48]** A beautiful good day to everyone.

**[00:03:50]** Thank you very much for the invitation, Honza.

**[00:03:52]** Thank you for doing these things

**[00:03:54]** and you're popping bubble wrap,

**[00:03:56]** because I think that nowadays

**[00:03:58]** this is extremely important.

**[00:04:00]** My name is Bára Starek

**[00:04:02]** and thank you very much for having me here today.

**[00:04:04]** Today, we will talk about

**[00:04:06]** the future generation.

**[00:04:08]** It's a young generation, but also all the people

**[00:04:10]** who are looking into the future.

**[00:04:12]** But the reason I'm here today

**[00:04:14]** is because I grew up in an environment

**[00:04:16]** that wasn't very active.

**[00:04:18]** I'm from Prague, and in high school

**[00:04:20]** I wasn't a very active student,

**[00:04:22]** which goes against what

**[00:04:24]** I'm talking about today,

**[00:04:26]** or what I really talk about.

**[00:04:28]** So today, we'll look together

**[00:04:30]** at trends, facts about the young generation

**[00:04:32]** as such, but also at the myths about them,

**[00:04:34]** and I'll try in some way

**[00:04:36]** to either debunk or confirm them,

**[00:04:38]** so that we all understand each other,

**[00:04:41]** which goes against what I talk about today

**[00:04:43]** or what I generally discuss in public.

**[00:04:45]** I was in high school

**[00:04:47]** and I wasn't really interested in things like

**[00:04:49]** politics or democracy,

**[00:04:51]** being active. I did some sports,

**[00:04:53]** I had some hobbies,

**[00:04:55]** but I saw huge negativity

**[00:04:57]** in Czech society,

**[00:04:59]** and that brought me

**[00:05:01]** to a certain frustration

**[00:05:03]** because I didn't think

**[00:05:05]** it made sense to be able to do anything,

**[00:05:07]** and I wasn't sure what direction I would take.

**[00:05:10]** And I was very desperate with myself,

**[00:05:12]** so at one point I said,

**[00:05:14]** hey, I'm not happy in the Czech Republic,

**[00:05:16]** I don't like many people here, they all seem

**[00:05:18]** very negative because they don't look

**[00:05:20]** positively at how we can change things,

**[00:05:22]** so I'd rather run away. So my first step was,

**[00:05:24]** I gathered myself, went to the Netherlands,

**[00:05:26]** and studied European studies there.

**[00:05:28]** My perspective changed a lot there,

**[00:05:38]** they showed me what it looks like in their countries,

**[00:05:41]** what kind of environment they come from,

**[00:05:43]** why they do the things they do.

**[00:05:45]** And I realized a lot at that time,

**[00:05:47]** that it's up to each of us, including me.

**[00:05:49]** So when I said the Czech Republic

**[00:05:51]** is rubbish and I ran away, that was actually

**[00:05:53]** exactly the paradox I hated.

**[00:05:56]** And I did exactly what I didn't want

**[00:06:00]** and went to the Netherlands.

**[00:06:08]** Thanks to Díky můžem in our organization.

**[00:06:10]** I have been following Díky můžem since 2014,

**[00:06:13]** when they held the first November 17 celebrations.

**[00:06:15]** November 17 was actually a concept in my family.

**[00:06:18]** It was something we often talked about,

**[00:06:20]** and I often went there to light a candle.

**[00:06:22]** And in 2014 I was very lucky

**[00:06:25]** to come to the street

**[00:06:27]** that looked completely different than before.

**[00:06:29]** Suddenly the street was closed, things were happening there,

**[00:06:31]** and I found out it was organized by young people

**[00:06:33]** who really see the meaning in

**[00:06:35]** every voice, every action they take

**[00:06:37]** can change something.

**[00:06:39]** And I thought, this is great,

**[00:06:41]** I want to join, I want to meet these people.

**[00:06:43]** And I realized that who we surround ourselves with

**[00:06:45]** shapes us as people to a large extent.

**[00:06:47]** And since then, I've been here in the Díky můžem organization.

**[00:06:50]** And I decided to somehow fight

**[00:06:53]** or care for what I fear losing,

**[00:06:55]** democracy, freedom

**[00:06:57]** and gradually about young people as such,

**[00:06:59]** because I was increasingly realizing,

**[00:07:01]** that being a young person in this pond

**[00:07:03]** is not exactly easy.

**[00:07:05]** And I wanted that when I was in high school,

**[00:07:07]** I had some kind of organization,

**[00:07:09]** that would help with that.

**[00:07:11]** Who is díky, že můžem

**[00:07:13]** is, in my opinion, an important part of

**[00:07:15]** who I am, so I would like to tell you

**[00:07:17]** about díky, že můžem

**[00:07:19]** as an organization,

**[00:07:21]** which is truly based on young people

**[00:07:23]** and students, we are currently about

**[00:07:25]** 70 people, average age around 23.

**[00:07:27]** The youngest member is

**[00:07:29]** a 16-year-old person and the oldest

**[00:07:31]** is practically me in my 30s,

**[00:07:33]** so in our organization

**[00:07:35]** I am somewhat considered a dinosaur

**[00:07:37]** like that. And why this is

**[00:07:39]** a huge advantage is that

**[00:07:41]** from the start, when we began organizing celebrations

**[00:07:43]** on November 17th, our main goal

**[00:07:45]** was to return the holiday

**[00:07:47]** to the young generation and explain

**[00:07:49]** to the young, or rather, explain to the young generation,

**[00:07:51]** to get the young generation to understand that democracy

**[00:07:53]** is part of each of us and that each of us must care for it.

**[00:07:55]** And we knew that because it is the most

**[00:07:57]** modern holiday, it is the closest holiday

**[00:07:59]** we can bring to young people, also because it comes

**[00:08:01]** from those young people. But gradually,

**[00:08:03]** we often realized that if

**[00:08:05]** we want to bring the topic

**[00:08:07]** of democracy and freedom closer to young people, we can't do it

**[00:08:09]** just one day a year, on November 17th,

**[00:08:11]** but we have to try every day.

**[00:08:13]** So in the last five years,

**[00:08:15]** that I have been in the organization, we have become

**[00:08:17]** an organization that currently has

**[00:08:19]** 16 projects.

**[00:08:21]** And those 16 projects

**[00:08:23]** we are actually creating right now

**[00:08:25]** according to this table,

**[00:08:27]** which you see here.

**[00:08:29]** We found that there are several levels

**[00:08:31]** of engagement, how people view

**[00:08:33]** democracy or want to be part of

**[00:08:35]** the system as such, and based on that we create

**[00:08:37]** our projects. We try to start

**[00:08:39]** from the very base, from people who

**[00:08:41]** really don't trust the system at all, don't trust

**[00:08:43]** other people, aren't interested in

**[00:08:45]** democracy topics as such,

**[00:08:47]** and for them we simply try

**[00:08:49]** to talk about freedom and democracy, what it

**[00:08:51]** means for us, what it means in everyday life.

**[00:08:53]** Gradually, however, these people

**[00:08:55]** can reach a point where they have shown

**[00:08:57]** interest, but they don't understand the topics well.

**[00:08:59]** At that point, we mainly try

**[00:09:01]** to popularize the topic, what it

**[00:09:03]** brings, what it means for each of us

**[00:09:05]** in daily life.

**[00:09:07]** Then often a group appears

**[00:09:09]** that is interested in the topic, often

**[00:09:11]** high school students,

**[00:09:13]** who want to learn more, so at that point

**[00:09:15]** we work more with education. It's no longer just

**[00:09:17]** popularizing simple topics, but we go a bit

**[00:09:19]** deeper, discussing what it exactly means.

**[00:09:21]** Then often

**[00:09:23]** from this engagement, people reach the point,

**[00:09:25]** I really like this, I want to do it,

**[00:09:27]** I want to be engaged, socially responsible,

**[00:09:29]** I want to support democracy, but I don't quite

**[00:09:31]** know how. At that point, we try

**[00:09:33]** to create projects where

**[00:09:35]** these young or any other people can join,

**[00:09:37]** to get activated, to show their voice

**[00:09:39]** and find their own way to keep working.

**[00:09:41]** And last but not least, we have

**[00:09:43]** long seen that in the Czech Republic

**[00:09:45]** it’s not very visible,

**[00:09:47]** not very visible

**[00:09:49]** active young people who are doing something.

**[00:09:51]** Often, I felt it too,

**[00:09:53]** when I was younger, finding an inspiring role model

**[00:09:55]** at our age is really

**[00:09:57]** a hard thing. We often only see actors,

**[00:09:59]** singers.

**[00:10:00]** Actresses, singers. I always knew I wouldn’t be an actress or singer.

**[00:10:04]** But I didn’t know what I would be, and I didn’t have many inspiring role models ahead of me,

**[00:10:08]** from whom I could take something and learn.

**[00:10:11]** So for us, an important part is to find these young people

**[00:10:16]** and give them some space, give them a voice so they can be seen

**[00:10:19]** and become inspiring role models for others.

**[00:10:22]** Lastly, one of the most important parts for us is connecting.

**[00:10:26]** Connecting across generations, across regions, connecting anyone

**[00:10:30]** who wouldn’t understand each other, as Honza said at the start,

**[00:10:33]** breaking those bubbles and finding where we can work together,

**[00:10:36]** all of us, to do bigger work and have a bigger impact overall.

**[00:10:40]** This is how we run all our projects today, there are 16 of them.

**[00:10:44]** And if I had to say specifically what we do,

**[00:10:47]** we are best known for organizing the November 17th celebrations on Korzo Národní.

**[00:10:51]** This year will be the 12th edition, which is quite a long time.

**[00:10:56]** I wasn’t really involved at the very beginning, mostly just as a volunteer.

**[00:10:59]** Thanks to us, we are now considered

**[00:11:03]** a kind of third generation that took it over.

**[00:11:06]** And Korzo Národní is still our biggest November 17th celebration,

**[00:11:10]** with over 100,000 people on the street every year,

**[00:11:14]** and over 100 program points. We put great care into

**[00:11:18]** bringing people from both the regions and Prague.

**[00:11:22]** We try to adapt it every year to how we feel

**[00:11:25]** the current situation is. We never wanted

**[00:11:28]** November 17th to remain frozen only in history,

**[00:11:32]** so you’ll find over 30% historical program,

**[00:11:36]** roughly rounded to 40%. The rest we try

**[00:11:40]** to keep very topical, connecting history

**[00:11:44]** about the future, history with the present, and managed to bring people there,

**[00:11:48]** who not only want to remember November 17th and maybe light a candle sometimes,

**[00:11:52]** but also people who are interested in current events, and through that remember

**[00:11:56]** November 17th. I think what we are most proud of is,

**[00:12:00]** that a really large part of the young generation comes to us on November 17th,

**[00:12:04]** 25%. I'm very glad to be sitting here today in magenta because we know this

**[00:12:08]** only thanks to our partners T-Mobile, who count this for us every year.

**[00:12:12]** And note, people under 18 are not counted yet, because they are not actually

**[00:12:16]** in the table, so there are probably even more of them. And that is our goal,

**[00:12:20]** to actually bring November 17th back to the young generation as such.

**[00:12:24]** When we organized November 17th, we found out that at Národní třída

**[00:12:28]** there is a limited number of spots, a limited number of programs. We have over 350 partners and organizations

**[00:12:32]** and individuals working with us on Národní třída.

**[00:12:36]** But over the last five years, interest has been growing and growing,

**[00:12:40]** so we decided to create another project for November 17th, called Freedom Week,

**[00:12:44]** which actually extends the celebrations from November 17th to rather

**[00:12:48]** November 11th through November 17th. And we try to teach

**[00:12:54]** our partners and organizations to somehow include in their programs

**[00:12:58]** the fact that November 17th is coming. It's not about everyone

**[00:13:02]** creating a completely special program about November 17th itself,

**[00:13:06]** on the contrary, it's about teaching institutions that they have many programs

**[00:13:10]** which they can somehow link to this moment,

**[00:13:13]** so that we actually bring in the thread of November 17th.

**[00:13:16]** It's basically the same as the event at Národní třída right now,

**[00:13:19]** it's not only focused on the historical aspect, but also on the current one,

**[00:13:23]** covering topics like freedom,

**[00:13:27]** democracy, human rights. This year there will be a big change

**[00:13:32]** in Freedom Week, because until now it was a pilot project,

**[00:13:35]** where we mostly explored how it works, how much interest there is,

**[00:13:38]** and the interest is huge. This year we will expand it

**[00:13:42]** to every region and we would like more and more

**[00:13:45]** organizers across the Czech Republic to get involved. What is important to say here?

**[00:13:48]** We, thanks to the fact that we can, primarily organize the National event,

**[00:13:52]** we do not organize any celebrations in the regions as such.

**[00:13:56]** Thanks to that, we are part of the Festival of Freedom platform,

**[00:13:59]** where together with other partners we try to support the regions

**[00:14:03]** to organize their own celebrations, but it never felt right to us

**[00:14:06]** to come from Prague to another city and say, hey, this is how you should do it,

**[00:14:09]** because every celebration should be unique in some way.

**[00:14:12]** I think that is the most beautiful thing about November 17th.

**[00:14:15]** Korzonárodní is a very culturally educational program as such.

**[00:14:19]** Then we have Václavá, which is more culturally focused,

**[00:14:22]** it's more about music. Then we have Albertov, which on the other hand

**[00:14:25]** is more university-oriented, and I think that's the biggest

**[00:14:28]** magic of November 17th. To find the core for the target audience there

**[00:14:32]** and actually bring in the themes you feel,

**[00:14:35]** which might still be missing at that moment,

**[00:14:38]** so that's basically our goal on November 17th.

**[00:14:41]** A big part of our organization as such started to be

**[00:14:44]** marketing communication, because we realized

**[00:14:47]** that if we want to bring the topic of democracy

**[00:14:50]** and freedom to young people, we have to do it through new media

**[00:14:54]** and we have to do it as cool as possible, although honestly,

**[00:14:58]** now that I said the word cool, I know most of my team

**[00:15:01]** didn't really like it, because cool isn't a word they use,

**[00:15:04]** but what we aim for is to bring the themes of freedom,

**[00:15:08]** democracy, and human rights closer throughout the year,

**[00:15:11]** through our marketing communication as such. We run many campaigns

**[00:15:14]** focused on topics that are currently

**[00:15:17]** being discussed in the public space,

**[00:15:20]** so we have done campaigns for marriage equality,

**[00:15:23]** now we are doing campaigns for elections and we try

**[00:15:26]** to bring these topics closer to those who are on social media.

**[00:15:29]** When I said we are non-national,

**[00:15:33]** long-term experience has shown us that we can't stay non-national,

**[00:15:36]** we have to do this all year round, everywhere,

**[00:15:39]** and we can't just stay with November 17th, so at this

**[00:15:42]** moment our big goal is to take our themes beyond the national event,

**[00:15:45]** to bring democracy and freedom into other spaces,

**[00:15:48]** where there might not be so many people who would directly

**[00:15:51]** come to the program, so now we are connecting with many festivals

**[00:15:54]** to either have a debate or some program there

**[00:15:57]** and talk about democracy, freedom, human rights,

**[00:16:00]** but also about young people who are somehow actively

**[00:16:03]** in the public space and try to fight for these themes,

**[00:16:07]** so recently we were at Rock for People,

**[00:16:10]** and this year you will see us with a new podcast series

**[00:16:13]** with Radio Wave, we will be at the Summer Film School,

**[00:16:17]** we will be at Nevermore, and other such festivals,

**[00:16:23]** so if you are interested in anything, we will be discussing these topics there

**[00:16:26]** young people, whom I will continue to talk about today.

**[00:16:29]** So, one of the important changes in our organization over the last five years

**[00:16:34]** was that I think it was often difficult for us

**[00:16:38]** with various great things to find commercial partners

**[00:16:42]** and work with them on how we can move our activities forward,

**[00:16:46]** because we often heard that at that moment we were overusing

**[00:16:49]** November 17th, which was never our goal.

**[00:16:52]** But we also realized that November 17th is somewhat stuck

**[00:16:56]** in the same bubble and we need to break out of that bubble,

**[00:16:59]** so we need new partners and a new target group

**[00:17:02]** to work with. And campaigns with companies showed us exactly this,

**[00:17:06]** that it can be one of the best options.

**[00:17:09]** This year, for November 17th, we ran the very first campaign

**[00:17:13]** called Svoboda nás spojuje, connected with companies,

**[00:17:16]** where 17 companies joined us, deciding

**[00:17:19]** to stand behind the themes of democracy, freedom, and human rights,

**[00:17:22]** and behind November 17th. We created one of the biggest campaigns

**[00:17:25]** linking business and the non-governmental sector,

**[00:17:28]** which talked about why freedom is important for all of us

**[00:17:31]** and why it should unite us rather than divide us.

**[00:17:34]** This year, we have planned smaller campaigns with individuals,

**[00:17:37]** so maybe soon you'll hear about what

**[00:17:40]** we will be doing and hopefully we'll come up with something else

**[00:17:43]** with T-Mobile as well. But I think this is one

**[00:17:46]** of our most interesting projects we've done,

**[00:17:49]** because we see it works completely differently

**[00:17:52]** than any projects we had done before.

**[00:17:55]** Last but not least, this year we are running a big project

**[00:17:59]** called Generation F. It builds on last year,

**[00:18:03]** when there were elections to the European Parliament, and just before the elections,

**[00:18:07]** or about six months before the European Parliament elections,

**[00:18:11]** we gradually realized that no one was really preparing

**[00:18:15]** a campaign aimed at young people

**[00:18:18]** to encourage them to vote in the European Parliament elections. And generally, we have long seen

**[00:18:21]** that European Parliament elections are not a very

**[00:18:24]** popular topic and don't motivate many people to vote.

**[00:18:27]** What we did know was that the young generation as such

**[00:18:30]** is hugely invested in the European Union, with one of the highest

**[00:18:34]** levels of trust and support, because most

**[00:18:37]** young people are very well aware,

**[00:18:40]** that these freedoms and how we live today in the 21st century come

**[00:18:44]** also thanks to the fact that we are in the European Union. So we decided

**[00:18:47]** to create an activation campaign for the European Parliament elections.

**[00:18:51]** We joined forces with 27 other organizations that planned something similar

**[00:18:54]** and made one of the largest supported campaigns like this,

**[00:18:57]** and actually one of the few campaigns for the European elections

**[00:19:00]** that did not come from political parties as such.

**[00:19:04]** And I'm not saying it was because of us, but I believe we

**[00:19:07]** helped in some way, because last year for the first time in the history

**[00:19:11]** of the Czech Republic, the young generation voted above average

**[00:19:16]** compared to the overall population, it was 38%.

**[00:19:20]** And we think this is one of the most important things, and we realized

**[00:19:23]** that this is one of the most important things we can do for the future,

**[00:19:26]** because we believe that if we teach the young generation to vote now

**[00:19:29]** and to show their voice, it will gradually show

**[00:19:32]** in later ages as well and it won't just stay

**[00:19:35]** that they only vote at that time, but they will learn it.

**[00:19:38]** So that's why this year we also created the platform Generation F,

**[00:19:42]** which is based a lot on what we felt last year.

**[00:19:45]** And that is, we felt that there is a certain loss of hope,

**[00:19:48]** there is some trivialization of young people's opinions,

**[00:19:51]** which I will get to later,

**[00:19:54]** and we decided to create a platform that would connect

**[00:19:57]** experts, young people, but anyone in the population,

**[00:20:00]** who cares about the future, and that's why Generation Future.

**[00:20:03]** Because it's not just for young people, but for everyone

**[00:20:05]** who is a bit worried about what will happen.

**[00:20:07]** They would like to get involved somehow,

**[00:20:09]** and we try to find ways to get involved.

**[00:20:12]** Experts are there for one simple reason,

**[00:20:14]** which is that we know there are many topics

**[00:20:16]** that concern the young generation and need experts

**[00:20:19]** to show that solutions exist

**[00:20:21]** and that solutions need to be implemented.

**[00:20:23]** So this is actually our project now

**[00:20:25]** for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies,

**[00:20:27]** which we face at the beginning of October.

**[00:20:30]** Last but not least, we have long been addressing

**[00:20:32]** that if we want to educate the young generation

**[00:20:35]** about the topics of democracy and freedom,

**[00:20:37]** so we have to do it through the education system

**[00:20:39]** and that's why we started the project Samet at Schools,

**[00:20:41]** which has two simple tasks.

**[00:20:43]** One is that we put together educational materials

**[00:20:46]** from various nonprofit organizations

**[00:20:49]** and decided to send them to schools,

**[00:20:51]** to principals, teachers,

**[00:20:53]** because long-term data showed us

**[00:20:55]** that if something is desperately missing in schools,

**[00:20:57]** it's the teaching of modern history,

**[00:20:59]** but also teaching current topics.

**[00:21:01]** So Samet at Schools is not focused only

**[00:21:03]** on modern history, but covers

**[00:21:05]** a wide range of topics related to

**[00:21:07]** freedom, democracy, human rights.

**[00:21:09]** And schools can order any educational material,

**[00:21:12]** lesson, or workshop from organizations,

**[00:21:16]** free of charge to their school.

**[00:21:18]** But the important part for us

**[00:21:20]** is not just cooperation with principals and teachers,

**[00:21:22]** but rather activating the students,

**[00:21:25]** because thanks to that, something emerged

**[00:21:27]** in the field of the Budějovice Majáles,

**[00:21:29]** with active high school students

**[00:21:31]** who organized the Budějovice Majáles.

**[00:21:33]** And we always felt that if a person

**[00:21:35]** gets involved in projects like these,

**[00:21:37]** these personal initiatives already in high school,

**[00:21:39]** it usually stays with them for life

**[00:21:41]** and they want to do something in society

**[00:21:43]** and want to make a change.

**[00:21:44]** That's why we decided to start helping

**[00:21:46]** with festivals Samet at Schools,

**[00:21:48]** and right now we have about 800 active students

**[00:21:50]** and 200 festivals across the Czech Republic,

**[00:21:53]** which are really organized by students at those schools.

**[00:21:56]** They do it for their classmates.

**[00:21:59]** Each festival looks completely different,

**[00:22:01]** and what we try to do is mentor them a bit,

**[00:22:03]** show them how to do marketing, how to do fundraising,

**[00:22:06]** how to organize such an event,

**[00:22:08]** how to talk with teachers and principals,

**[00:22:10]** because that's often one of the biggest obstacles at the school

**[00:22:12]** and we help them actually get into these topics as such.

**[00:22:15]** We also work long-term with influencers,

**[00:22:18]** because we know the voice of young people here is simply

**[00:22:21]** very audible through influencers

**[00:22:23]** and we have amazing people we collaborate with,

**[00:22:26]** there are currently up to 40 of them,

**[00:22:28]** who help us bring these topics into a wide space.

**[00:22:31]** When we talked about the level of engagement,

**[00:22:33]** this is exactly an amazing tool for us,

**[00:22:35]** an amazing collaboration for

**[00:22:37]** how to work with them

**[00:22:39]** and how to work with a generation

**[00:22:41]** that really doesn't care about these topics at all.

**[00:22:44]** And I think for us, for everyone,

**[00:22:46]** we see it in any marketing,

**[00:22:48]** also in nonprofit as such,

**[00:22:50]** influencers are currently one of the most successful channels,

**[00:22:54]** that actually exist right now.

**[00:22:56]** We are very lucky that thanks to them,

**[00:22:58]** it's a big love brand and all the

**[00:23:00]** people we work with do it because

**[00:23:02]** it's truly their heart, they really enjoy it

**[00:23:04]** and want to spread these things further,

**[00:23:06]** so I can only give them huge thanks for that.

**[00:23:09]** Our second educational project followed SAMET at schools,

**[00:23:12]** and that is the academy Thanks for letting us.

**[00:23:14]** The academy itself was created among our high school students

**[00:23:18]** from SAMET at schools, who were sad

**[00:23:20]** that they could only collaborate with us once a year

**[00:23:22]** specifically for that underground event, and we thought,

**[00:23:24]** that it's a pity and that we actually want to

**[00:23:26]** help each of them find their groove,

**[00:23:28]** find what excites that particular person

**[00:23:31]** and how they can help society with it.

**[00:23:33]** And that's exactly what we did with the academy Thanks for letting us,

**[00:23:36]** which became a year-round project,

**[00:23:39]** where high school students from all over the Czech Republic

**[00:23:41]** They meet five weekends a year

**[00:23:44]** and each weekend they tackle a different topic together.

**[00:23:50]** So we start with some kind of project management,

**[00:23:52]** then we move more into democracy, into entrepreneurship as such,

**[00:23:56]** and at the end, with the help of mentors and others, we discuss

**[00:23:59]** what the individual has learned about themselves

**[00:24:01]** and how they can use that to help society.

**[00:24:04]** There is huge interest in it.

**[00:24:05]** We actually just had the launch of the pilot year,

**[00:24:08]** with 60 students participating throughout the year,

**[00:24:11]** and another 60 students joined each academy session.

**[00:24:14]** Thanks to that, we decided to open a second regional academy in Brno.

**[00:24:18]** Our goal is to open one every year

**[00:24:20]** and at least one regional academy in another region.

**[00:24:23]** For example, this year, with 120 year-long students,

**[00:24:27]** over 270 students applied,

**[00:24:29]** so I believe this is one of the biggest potentials,

**[00:24:32]** because it shows there are really many high school students

**[00:24:36]** who want to use their voice in some way,

**[00:24:38]** but don't yet know how, and this project should help them with that.

**[00:24:42]** One of the latest projects we have there

**[00:24:45]** is somehow defending or caring for democracy as such,

**[00:24:50]** where the media law amendment was discussed,

**[00:24:53]** and we decided we wanted to take a stand,

**[00:24:57]** because it was around November 17th and at that time we felt

**[00:25:00]** that the only voice being heard

**[00:25:02]** was the one opposing the media law amendment itself.

**[00:25:06]** And as an organization, we decided

**[00:25:09]** that on November 17th it was important to speak out in defense of public media,

**[00:25:13]** because we know it is one of the most important pillars

**[00:25:16]** of a stable democracy as such.

**[00:25:18]** The biggest surprise for us was that

**[00:25:20]** when we brought this up, about 250 organizations

**[00:25:23]** from all over the Czech Republic joined in.

**[00:25:25]** These are organizations from the Olympic Committee to the National Theaters,

**[00:25:28]** really every organization you can imagine,

**[00:25:31]** not only democratic ones, but truly all such NGOs.

**[00:25:34]** Also many from the business sector, who said exactly,

**[00:25:37]** this is important to us, it's important for the Czech Republic,

**[00:25:40]** it's important for democracy and we want to show that.

**[00:25:43]** We are glad that this has passed at this moment

**[00:25:46]** and that we could somehow be at least a little part of it.

**[00:25:49]** For November 17th, we also organize the Jan Opletal awards

**[00:25:52]** and it was exactly about what I mentioned at the start,

**[00:25:55]** showing role models of young, talented people who are engaged,

**[00:25:59]** who want to change things in the Czech Republic.

**[00:26:02]** And it's not just the publicly known personalities,

**[00:26:05]** so we award three student prizes: for high school,

**[00:26:08]** university, and under 30, showcasing inspiring role models

**[00:26:12]** of young people who are active in the public space.

**[00:26:15]** We look forward to it happening again this year,

**[00:26:18]** on November 11th, we’d be happy if you come and see us.

**[00:26:21]** This year we also joined other language organizations

**[00:26:24]** and held a joint meeting for Ukraine,

**[00:26:27]** because we wanted to show that even after three years of war,

**[00:26:30]** the war is still ongoing and we stand with them and need to meet.

**[00:26:33]** It’s a huge surprise for us that in Czech society,

**[00:26:36]** even though we see the trends and numbers going down,

**[00:26:39]** there is still a large part of Czech society

**[00:26:42]** that supports it. And the most important part for us was

**[00:26:45]** that the young generation is the strongest supporter

**[00:26:49]** that Ukraine should win the war and that we must support them somehow.

**[00:26:54]** That’s why we wanted to be there too. It’s not a project, but our organization,

**[00:26:59]** yet for me it still feels like a project,

**[00:27:02]** because we are a group of young people learning as we go

**[00:27:08]** and figuring out how to do things better.

**[00:27:11]** And I think that’s why it’s somehow a project.

**[00:27:14]** As I said, we have about a thousand volunteers throughout the year,

**[00:27:18]** but we also have many people, like you today and others,

**[00:27:21]** who collaborate with us and help us every day.

**[00:27:24]** And that’s also why we are grateful to stand here

**[00:27:27]** and talk about young people and democracy.

**[00:27:30]** So maybe it’s not exactly a project, but for me it always will be.

**[00:27:36]** What will we talk about today? I mainly want to look at

**[00:27:44]** and maybe dispel some of these myths.

**[00:27:47]** I found a few of my favorite studies and quotes

**[00:27:53]** that circulate in the public space.

**[00:27:56]** It’s exactly that half of society thinks

**[00:27:58]** that young people only care about their own comfort and don’t want to help.

**[00:28:01]** Up to 80% of society says young people would rather just sit at the computer,

**[00:28:05]** They played games and were on social media.

**[00:28:08]** And the fact that almost everyone in this society thinks,

**[00:28:12]** that young people often only engage in entertainment.

**[00:28:15]** Here you see a very interesting thing, which is that 98%,

**[00:28:19]** meaning that young people are included in this thinking.

**[00:28:21]** And this is one of the most ironic things we've started to see

**[00:28:24]** in the numbers, and that is often

**[00:28:26]** the hate towards the young generation doesn't come only from older people.

**[00:28:30]** That hate often comes from us as well,

**[00:28:32]** because we don't want to be part of this generation,

**[00:28:35]** since there is a big stigma around it.

**[00:28:38]** Here are some other selected quotes,

**[00:28:41]** which I found and that we will discuss today.

**[00:28:44]** They are often sentences I've heard somewhere,

**[00:28:47]** or that people declare in the media,

**[00:28:49]** which are often in people's minds as such.

**[00:28:52]** It's about young people not caring about politics at all,

**[00:28:54]** about us not wanting to work, that we are snowflakes,

**[00:28:57]** who can't endure anything, that we get everything for free

**[00:28:59]** and don't appreciate it, that we only care about ourselves,

**[00:29:02]** that we are mentally weak, dealing with nonsense.

**[00:29:05]** It is also often said that we are eco-fascists,

**[00:29:07]** who don't address real problems at all,

**[00:29:09]** that we are ungrateful and that we vote for extremists.

**[00:29:12]** Today we will look at each of these myths a bit

**[00:29:15]** and see whether they are true or not,

**[00:29:18]** and we will see how it all turns out.

**[00:29:21]** I would start by somewhat debunking the things at the beginning,

**[00:29:24]** and that is that only 30% of young people said they play games,

**[00:29:27]** but also create creatively.

**[00:29:30]** So the 79% mentioned earlier

**[00:29:32]** is not entirely accurate in this regard.

**[00:29:34]** What is important to say about the young generation,

**[00:29:36]** is that we are one of the most educated generations right now.

**[00:29:39]** Many young people from this generation have not yet finished

**[00:29:42]** their university studies,

**[00:29:44]** so the number is not final yet.

**[00:29:46]** But at this moment, the trend and assumption is

**[00:29:48]** that we will be the most educated generation,

**[00:29:50]** both globally and in the Czech Republic.

**[00:29:52]** The young generation from 18 to 29 years old makes up almost 16% of the Czech population.

**[00:29:58]** And if we look at those numbers...

**[00:30:00]** 0 to 29, really as young people,

**[00:30:03]** that number is more than double in this case.

**[00:30:06]** It's really a large part of our population.

**[00:30:08]** And that's why it's important to talk about it,

**[00:30:10]** because it's a big part of this population as a whole.

**[00:30:14]** Why are we different?

**[00:30:15]** Because I think it's important to say,

**[00:30:17]** that our generation as such is different.

**[00:30:19]** That's not a myth, it's just a fact.

**[00:30:21]** And what's important to say is that every one of our generations is different.

**[00:30:25]** It's different, mainly because of the background,

**[00:30:27]** in what we grew up in, where we are now, and who we are.

**[00:30:30]** And this young generation as such is definitely different.

**[00:30:33]** And today we'll mainly look at why,

**[00:30:35]** and we'll look at the factors that influence it.

**[00:30:38]** Why our background makes us

**[00:30:41]** the generation we are today.

**[00:30:43]** But why it's especially important to understand that background.

**[00:30:45]** Why it's important to understand each of those factors.

**[00:30:48]** Because without understanding it,

**[00:30:50]** we will always see it as something wrong.

**[00:30:52]** Because it's different from all of us others.

**[00:30:54]** But the background itself influences us incredibly.

**[00:30:57]** We'll go through all of them step by step now,

**[00:30:59]** but these are things you definitely know well,

**[00:31:02]** and we'll see if we find something you don't know.

**[00:31:05]** I called this 21st Century Issues,

**[00:31:07]** because there are many diverse things there.

**[00:31:10]** It's what is happening now in the 21st century,

**[00:31:12]** whether it happens in the Czech Republic itself,

**[00:31:14]** or globally.

**[00:31:16]** And now I'd like to ask you,

**[00:31:18]** what do you think are the biggest problems

**[00:31:21]** and topics for the young generation, before we look at it.

**[00:31:28]** For that generation as such.

**[00:31:30]** For that generation as such.

**[00:31:32]** What do you think the young generation,

**[00:31:34]** or what does the young generation say,

**[00:31:36]** What is their biggest topic or problem?

**[00:31:47]** Housing comes up several times.

**[00:31:49]** We have mental health and psychological problems,

**[00:31:52]** environmentalism, uncertainty as such,

**[00:31:55]** social connections, work.

**[00:31:57]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:00]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:03]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:06]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:09]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:12]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:15]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:18]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:21]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:24]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:27]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:30]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:33]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:36]** Uncertainty as such, social connections, work.

**[00:32:40]** Beautiful.

**[00:32:43]** So let's take a look,

**[00:32:46]** at what it actually looks like.

**[00:32:49]** Here you see a huge beautiful graph,

**[00:32:52]** showing the strongest problems

**[00:32:55]** of the young generation. Maybe I should have given you

**[00:32:58]** a bit of a heads-up about the graphs, there will be a lot,

**[00:33:01]** so I apologize in advance if you don't like numbers,

**[00:33:04]** but I really, I love numbers very much,

**[00:33:07]** so we'll be looking at the numbers closely. The main question was,

**[00:33:10]** please state how important these are for our country as a whole

**[00:33:13]** and how society should address them.

**[00:33:16]** First, the truly inaccessible

**[00:33:19]** and expensive housing itself showed up. It's as high as 86%.

**[00:33:22]** Here you see that all the numbers are very high.

**[00:33:25]** It's important to say that young people could choose multiple priorities.

**[00:33:28]** It wasn't just to pick one,

**[00:33:31]** so all of them actually score quite high.

**[00:33:34]** And you see others like high prices,

**[00:33:37]** high living costs, national debt.

**[00:33:40]** There is also corruption in politics or a stagnating economy.

**[00:33:43]** But when we then asked what the source of their worries was,

**[00:33:46]** what they fear the most, what could happen,

**[00:33:49]** we ended up with exactly the same two things.

**[00:33:52]** These are the costs of living and acquiring their own housing.

**[00:33:55]** It's very important to say here that for young people,

**[00:33:58]** the problems that stand out the most are everyday life issues.

**[00:34:01]** These are problems they deal with every single day,

**[00:34:04]** so topics like equality or polarization

**[00:34:09]** usually take a backseat, because each of us needs

**[00:34:13]** to first find stability in our own lives,

**[00:34:16]** before we start addressing these bigger problems,

**[00:34:19]** which are more societal and out of reach at that moment.

**[00:34:22]** It's important to say that for each generation as such,

**[00:34:26]** the problems and topics are very similar.

**[00:34:29]** This is one of those things that goes against the common myth

**[00:34:34]** that the young generation is completely different from us, that the young generation

**[00:34:37]** only cares about the environment and equality.

**[00:34:40]** The young generation, like all other generations,

**[00:34:46]** whether we can afford to live there,

**[00:34:48]** whether the country we live in is safe,

**[00:34:50]** or whether war might come,

**[00:34:53]** what the problems of the Czech economy are.

**[00:34:55]** And in this, the generations are very similar to each other.

**[00:34:57]** What we then see as differences are somewhat minor,

**[00:35:01]** these are various differences that I will get to later,

**[00:35:05]** but we summarized these differences into seven main points,

**[00:35:09]** which we opened through the Generace F platform.

**[00:35:12]** It's the economic development. Whether it's national debt or inflation.

**[00:35:15]** It's whether they can afford their housing costs.

**[00:35:19]** It's the inaccessibility of housing itself,

**[00:35:21]** because with inaccessible housing it really shows

**[00:35:24]** that young people are living in a different time now,

**[00:35:27]** than the generation before them.

**[00:35:29]** And the costs now are unbelievable.

**[00:35:32]** Costs have increased by 50% in the last five years.

**[00:35:35]** And for a young person right now,

**[00:35:37]** whether to afford their own housing, to buy it,

**[00:35:39]** or to pay rent is extremely difficult.

**[00:35:41]** Young people earn about 60% of the average salary.

**[00:35:45]** And on top of that, 40% of these housing costs apply.

**[00:35:50]** Which is a huge number.

**[00:35:52]** It's no longer just in Prague; it concerns all major cities now.

**[00:35:55]** And the problem is deepening and deepening

**[00:35:57]** and will likely only get worse.

**[00:35:59]** What's also interesting about this is,

**[00:36:01]** we have a big pressure of our own,

**[00:36:03]** which we sometimes create in our heads,

**[00:36:05]** but older generations contribute to it too.

**[00:36:07]** And that is the idea that we must buy a home.

**[00:36:09]** That's the goal of our life,

**[00:36:11]** to have our own housing.

**[00:36:13]** And this pressure, which we partly create in our heads,

**[00:36:15]** doesn't help the situation at all.

**[00:36:17]** Of course, there's the issue of security,

**[00:36:19]** which we've mentioned many times.

**[00:36:21]** It's about what's happening around us.

**[00:36:23]** I can't speak here.

**[00:36:25]** The young generation as such is really not unified.

**[00:36:27]** So there's also fear of some migration.

**[00:36:29]** There's also fear of some refugees.

**[00:36:31]** Because this resonates in Czech society,

**[00:36:33]** and it's important to look at it and explain

**[00:36:35]** what the reality really is.

**[00:36:37]** There's fear about healthcare, which among young people

**[00:36:39]** often concerns mental health,

**[00:36:41]** which we will return to later.

**[00:36:43]** For young people, the topic of education

**[00:36:45]** is really important.

**[00:36:47]** Because they are often still in the education system

**[00:36:49]** or have recently left it.

**[00:36:51]** And they all feel that the education system

**[00:36:53]** is completely unprepared for real life.

**[00:36:55]** Environmental protection is obviously important,

**[00:36:58]** but a huge change in values is also very important to them.

**[00:37:01]** How the Czech Republic actually looks today,

**[00:37:03]** whether there is any polarization in society,

**[00:37:05]** whether we are divided as a whole.

**[00:37:07]** Here I just highlighted where the bigger differences are.

**[00:37:12]** And that is exactly that housing availability and price

**[00:37:15]** For the young generation, it's more important than for anyone else,

**[00:37:18]** because we are the ones currently dealing with it.

**[00:37:21]** The next generation doesn't really worry about it as much.

**[00:37:24]** It's about protecting nature and the climate,

**[00:37:26]** and also about the unequal status of LGBTQ people.

**[00:37:28]** For the older generation as a whole, topics like

**[00:37:31]** corruption in politics are much more important.

**[00:37:34]** It's illegal migration, pension system reform,

**[00:37:37]** and also bureaucracy as such,

**[00:37:39]** which young people simply don't face yet.

**[00:37:41]** So there are indeed differences among the young.

**[00:37:44]** Another topic influencing

**[00:37:47]** what the young generation is like and why it might differ

**[00:37:53]** from the rest of society, and why myths about it exist,

**[00:37:56]** is freedom and democracy.

**[00:37:58]** And the fact that freedom and democracy give us an incredible,

**[00:38:02]** unlimited access to basically anything,

**[00:38:04]** but with that comes huge pressure.

**[00:38:07]** I'm very lucky to grow up as a generation

**[00:38:10]** that can truly do anything.

**[00:38:12]** I can choose any university,

**[00:38:14]** I can do any job I want.

**[00:38:16]** I have all these options.

**[00:38:18]** But these endless possibilities are also mentally demanding,

**[00:38:21]** because when there was one clear path,

**[00:38:25]** you couldn't deviate and it was just set.

**[00:38:27]** But now, when we can do absolutely everything,

**[00:38:29]** it's very hard to decide what to actually do

**[00:38:31]** and what is best.

**[00:38:32]** And that pressure is definitely there.

**[00:38:34]** And it's important to remember that.

**[00:38:36]** I'd like to ask you,

**[00:38:38]** which generation supports democracy the most in your opinion.

**[00:38:42]** It can be a quick question, or not.

**[00:38:54]** I know there's a bit of a contest going on,

**[00:39:12]** but we're gradually reaching the finale.

**[00:39:16]** Thank you very much for your answers.

**[00:39:18]** So what we get from this is,

**[00:39:20]** that according to you, the generation that supports democracy the most

**[00:39:23]** would be the millennial generation, aged 30 to 44.

**[00:39:27]** So let's take a look at it

**[00:39:29]** and add a different background to it.

**[00:39:32]** It's really important to see

**[00:39:34]** how each generation approaches whether

**[00:39:37]** the current regime is better than the previous one.

**[00:39:40]** This is one of the common myths

**[00:39:42]** that I hear around here.

**[00:39:43]** It’s about how young people supposedly don’t realize

**[00:39:47]** what kind of luck we have growing up today,

**[00:39:49]** because they didn’t live through that time.

**[00:39:51]** I think this is also a common thing our organizations hear,

**[00:39:54]** because we are an organization that organizes events on November 17th,

**[00:39:57]** and people often ask us why we do it when we didn’t even live through it.

**[00:40:00]** This is exactly the reason, because it’s clear that the young generation,

**[00:40:05]** even though we didn’t live through that time, realizes that it’s something

**[00:40:09]** we don’t want to experience. We want to live in democracy and freedom,

**[00:40:13]** and they realize the previous regime was worse. Here you can see a bit

**[00:40:18]** of a hint to your question, which is how millennials respond,

**[00:40:22]** who are a bit worse off, but the most interesting thing, also based on how you voted,

**[00:40:27]** is that millennials are not the biggest supporters

**[00:40:32]** of democracy itself; it’s really the younger generation. We asked this question

**[00:40:39]** using stories, so people’s stories about how they talk about democracy,

**[00:40:43]** and everyone could imagine how they would feel as that person.

**[00:40:47]** With the young generation, it’s wonderful to see that they are the generation that supports

**[00:40:51]** democracy the most, almost half of that generation,

**[00:40:55]** but this graph actually shows one thing: that there is also a large part

**[00:41:00]** of the young generation and other generations who see democracy as such.

**[00:41:05]** It’s fine, they don’t want anything else, but it has huge flaws and they’re not

**[00:41:09]** very sure if democracy itself can survive or manage as it is.

**[00:41:13]** This gives us all a big warning that even though

**[00:41:16]** a large part of the population supports democracy,

**[00:41:20]** it’s not the strongest current. Looking at the overall average,

**[00:41:24]** the strongest current is actually the lukewarm supporters, those who see

**[00:41:28]** many flaws and somewhat think democracy might not be the best system,

**[00:41:32]** but they’re not completely against it yet.

**[00:41:36]** The second thing is how we look at the functioning of democracy. Here you have exactly that,

**[00:41:42]** 71% of young people, this is an older survey done on young people,

**[00:41:46]** said democracy is the best political system.

**[00:41:50]** They were asked to say if it was the best or the worst.

**[00:41:54]** But 57% of young people are satisfied with how it functions. The reason I say this is

**[00:41:58]** because it's important to be satisfied with the system itself,

**[00:42:02]** but the question is then how the system works, as I said before.

**[00:42:06]** And you can actually see that in this graph here.

**[00:42:10]** We see that a huge number of people are really dissatisfied with how democracy functions.

**[00:42:14]** Among young people, it's only 43%, but for the majority of the population, it's 60%.

**[00:42:20]** Young people are generally more positive. We'll see that today

**[00:42:24]** throughout the entire presentation. Young people are a positive generation,

**[00:42:28]** more idealistic, because we often haven't been burned yet.

**[00:42:32]** Not so many people have lied to us yet, there haven't been as many elections,

**[00:42:36]** that ended catastrophically, so we're still hopeful.

**[00:42:40]** It's important to say, this is generally said about any young generation.

**[00:42:44]** Whether that young generation was 50 years ago or will be 50 years from now,

**[00:42:48]** young people are generally more idealistically oriented. And I think that's great,

**[00:42:52]** because positivity is needed in society. And this is purely my subjective opinion,

**[00:42:56]** I want to share this with you. It's not factually based.

**[00:43:00]** Democracy and how it functions is closely linked with politics.

**[00:43:04]** And it's important to look at it from this perspective as well.

**[00:43:07]** A huge number of young people, 65%, feel they have no control

**[00:43:11]** over political decisions, that they don't understand politics, and that their opinions

**[00:43:15]** go unnoticed. This is a large part of the population,

**[00:43:19]** which really leads to the belief that anything they do will make no sense.

**[00:43:23]** If they feel this way, they will give up any activity. And in my opinion, this is the biggest threat

**[00:43:27]** our democracy faces, because democracy as a system itself

**[00:43:35]** And if we don't get involved, democracy as such

**[00:43:39]** simply has no future. We also see that 65% of young people

**[00:43:43]** don't trust political parties, that 62% of respondents don't think

**[00:43:47]** they address their problems, and only 25% trust them.

**[00:43:51]** That's one thing, whether democracy as such works and we believe in it,

**[00:43:55]** but when it comes to how it functions, when it comes to political parties,

**[00:43:59]** which are the main carriers of it, that distrust is huge.

**[00:44:03]** And now the question is whether we can bring back the potential for the young generation

**[00:44:07]** to actually change these things. What we also see

**[00:44:11]** is that before elections, and it's always important, the young generation

**[00:44:15]** hasn't experienced much yet, they don't have fully formed opinions

**[00:44:19]** on who they should actually vote for. And it's a huge group

**[00:44:23]** of voters who can influence how the elections turn out.

**[00:44:27]** According to Dan Prokop and Pax Research, the last elections to the Chamber of Deputies

**[00:44:31]** were really influenced, or the results were finalized, by young people as such,

**[00:44:39]** who came out to vote above average compared to what was expected,

**[00:44:43]** and it turned out according to this kind of result.

**[00:44:47]** Here we have a completely fragmented young population as such.

**[00:44:51]** And what I want to show with this is that the young population, again, goes a bit

**[00:44:55]** against the myths that all young people do this or that. The young population is not

**[00:44:59]** exactly one homogeneous group as such; it is many different groups.

**[00:45:03]** There are always tendencies, today we talk more about tendencies, which is why there are

**[00:45:07]** also those numbers, but here I just wanted to show the difference in how people vote.

**[00:45:11]** Here we see exactly first-time voters, and 56% of them are undecided,

**[00:45:16]** they have no idea how it will turn out. They will probably decide a week,

**[00:45:20]** 14 days before the elections as such. And then it changes; the older we get,

**[00:45:24]** the more we solidify our opinions and the fewer undecided voters there are.

**[00:45:27]** But you can't apply all of this entirely to the young generation as such.

**[00:45:31]** I also wanted to tell you the main reasons for not participating in elections.

**[00:45:35]** And these are these five. One reason is that they are not interested in politics at all.

**[00:45:40]** This goes back a lot to our educational system as such,

**[00:45:43]** because in schools we are very afraid to talk about politics,

**[00:45:46]** because we see it more as an ideological topic than as a democratic overarching topic.

**[00:45:50]** And then we talk about it mostly only with friends, with whom we are a bit afraid,

**[00:45:54]** or we take a lot of our parents' voices.

**[00:45:58]** And this exactly goes back to the numbers we talked about,

**[00:46:01]** that 25% of people only trust political parties and the rest simply do not trust them.

**[00:46:05]** This also relates to number three. Number four is that in politics I miss young people

**[00:46:10]** with whom I could identify. For me, this is one of the most important things

**[00:46:14]** that we see long-term. And the fifth is actually the part

**[00:46:18]** that unfortunately has already caused frustration.

**[00:46:22]** It is the part that knows and thinks that their vote, their voice,

**[00:46:26]** won't change anything happening around us.

**[00:46:30]** So, I would like to ask you, do you think young people are represented in politics?

**[00:46:34]** Does this relate to one of those questions?

**[00:46:52]** So, later, at one point, I will have a number that shows

**[00:46:56]** how the young generation and the older population as such see it,

**[00:47:00]** and we can compare the results. And thank you for this voting.

**[00:47:04]** Here you have two charts showing what the representation is like.

**[00:47:08]** In the Chamber of Deputies in the last elections,

**[00:47:12]** the results show what the representation is like.

**[00:47:16]** In the Chamber of Deputies in the last elections,

**[00:47:20]** three people under thirty were elected.

**[00:47:24]** At this moment, none of them are under thirty anymore, it's important to say.

**[00:47:28]** And in the population up to 29 years old, there are about 35% young people.

**[00:47:32]** The colors correspond to the age and what is there.

**[00:47:36]** Why is this important? Because I often hear the sentence,

**[00:47:40]** why should young people go into politics, since they haven't experienced anything,

**[00:47:44]** they have no experience, no expertise, so what would they actually do there.

**[00:47:48]** I think young people have the expertise they have.

**[00:47:50]** I meet a lot of young people who really understand their field

**[00:47:54]** and do it, but one thing they understand is the young generation

**[00:47:56]** and they can speak very well for it. The young generation is a huge part

**[00:47:59]** of this society and must be represented.

**[00:48:01]** Right now, it doesn't have to be represented only by young people,

**[00:48:05]** but it's important that politicians start appearing who will represent those interests.

**[00:48:08]** Because what often happens, and we have this confirmed by sociologists,

**[00:48:11]** is that the Chamber of Deputies reflects the problems.

**[00:48:14]** The groups sitting there at the moment, so you see that the group

**[00:48:17]** that sits there the most is the 50 to 59 age group,

**[00:48:20]** according to our surveys, the most important topics for them there are

**[00:48:23]** tax reduction as such and pension reform.

**[00:48:28]** And that's what we've heard most about in recent years,

**[00:48:30]** that these are the main issues discussed in the Chamber of Deputies.

**[00:48:32]** Here I just want to show this and not take the hard stance that

**[00:48:36]** there must be young people there, but there must be people who fight

**[00:48:39]** for young people and bring up the topics that are important to them.

**[00:48:42]** Housing, education reform, the cost of living,

**[00:48:45]** which for young people right now is really unbelievable.

**[00:48:50]** I'll just quickly go through this, and this is how young people vote,

**[00:48:52]** because one of the common mysteries and myths I hear is

**[00:48:56]** that young people always vote like this and that, and that's just how it is.

**[00:48:59]** Among young people, it obviously shifts a lot, which is important to say.

**[00:49:02]** This is a summary graph from the entire last year.

**[00:49:06]** Things have changed a lot, so unfortunately this is not current, I apologize.

**[00:49:10]** But last year there was actually a myth, and that was,

**[00:49:12]** that in the European Parliament elections, all the media wrote

**[00:49:16]** that young people were the ones who got motorists into the European Parliament.

**[00:49:19]** That was basically the main sentence everywhere.

**[00:49:22]** It's important to say, young people did vote for motorists, definitely,

**[00:49:24]** but the biggest target group that voted for them was 31 to 46.

**[00:49:28]** Then the question is, are they young? I consider myself young, I'm 30,

**[00:49:31]** but we just have to call things by their proper names.

**[00:49:35]** We have to say it as it is so everyone understands,

**[00:49:38]** because these myths really lead to...

**[00:49:40]** that we don't talk about young people quite as we should.

**[00:49:43]** Actually, I'll skip this part because it's all old data.

**[00:49:47]** I just noted here that among young people, over time,

**[00:49:51]** voter engagement is increasing.

**[00:49:55]** It's no longer that young people are the most inactive,

**[00:49:57]** they still are the most inactive,

**[00:50:00]** but we know the numbers are rising and should stay that way.

**[00:50:03]** So according to all sociologists, this suggests

**[00:50:06]** that young people want to vote and will likely vote more,

**[00:50:09]** and that this generation is changing a bit.

**[00:50:11]** They are more active than previous generations were.

**[00:50:14]** But there is one important myth,

**[00:50:16]** which this definitely confirms, and that is

**[00:50:18]** that interest in politics is low.

**[00:50:20]** Interest is low, and we don't understand political events well,

**[00:50:24]** compared to other generations.

**[00:50:26]** But it's very interesting to see

**[00:50:28]** that this is exactly the same for the 17 to 29 age group

**[00:50:31]** as for the millennial group aged 30 to 34.

**[00:50:33]** So in this regard, we are very similar.

**[00:50:36]** Because for a long time it was said

**[00:50:38]** that for young generations, it's due to their unexperienced conditions,

**[00:50:41]** being in the education system,

**[00:50:43]** from which they primarily get information,

**[00:50:45]** but the information and information flows are changing.

**[00:50:47]** This generation gets most of their information from social media,

**[00:50:50]** just like the millennial group, so it is assumed

**[00:50:53]** that these groups are currently equally matched

**[00:50:56]** in their understanding of political events as such.

**[00:51:00]** Another factor that greatly influences

**[00:51:02]** what today's young generation is like and how it will develop,

**[00:51:08]** is the search for our own identity in the digital world.

**[00:51:11]** The sources are changing, and so is our approach

**[00:51:15]** to how we view it.

**[00:51:17]** It's very interesting to know that young people build two identities.

**[00:51:20]** One is what we present outwardly when we go out and talk,

**[00:51:24]** and the other is the identity on social media.

**[00:51:26]** This creates somewhat split personalities in terms of

**[00:51:30]** who we really are and what identities we constantly see

**[00:51:33]** on social media and what appears there.

**[00:51:35]** We are the first generation to truly grow up with the internet,

**[00:51:39]** which was already available to everyone.

**[00:51:42]** It opened globally in '95, which is roughly the year

**[00:51:46]** when Generation Z begins.

**[00:51:48]** And this influences who we are.

**[00:51:50]** We grew up with the internet; it's simply our daily bread.

**[00:51:53]** What we see there is somewhat different for us,

**[00:51:56]** and it's our main source of information.

**[00:52:00]** Two-thirds of young people check social media several times a day.

**[00:52:04]** It's our key source of information.

**[00:52:08]** Two-thirds also follow online news and portals several times a week,

**[00:52:12]** while just over half watch TV.

**[00:52:17]** This is the exact opposite of older generations,

**[00:52:20]** where two-thirds watch TV,

**[00:52:22]** and about half are on social media.

**[00:52:26]** What’s important about these sources,

**[00:52:28]** is that it’s not just internet-based,

**[00:52:31]** but heavily influenced by our friends and family,

**[00:52:34]** and also by podcasts.

**[00:52:38]** We are totally a podcast generation,

**[00:52:40]** and what we listen to on podcasts

**[00:52:42]** is very important to us, covering up to 20%

**[00:52:44]** of the young population.

**[00:52:47]** Another factor influencing our education

**[00:52:50]** and entering the workforce is our engagement

**[00:52:53]** in these two processes.

**[00:52:57]** So, do you think young people have unrealistic expectations

**[00:53:00]** from school or work?

**[00:53:03]** In the sense that they want too much,

**[00:53:06]** and that it’s a bit unrealistic,

**[00:53:09]** because it can’t really be that way?

**[00:53:13]** Well, most of us here see

**[00:53:16]** that young people really do have unrealistic expectations

**[00:53:19]** from school or work.

**[00:53:22]** And this might be something

**[00:53:25]** that can be explained,

**[00:53:28]** when young people expect from school,

**[00:53:31]** when young people expect from work,

**[00:53:34]** when young people expect from school,

**[00:53:37]** when young people expect from work.

**[00:53:41]** And that can be in some way,

**[00:53:44]** that's definitely your perspective and you honestly have the right to it.

**[00:53:48]** I see one very important thing in this,

**[00:53:52]** which is that our expectations change with the world

**[00:53:55]** we grew up in as such.

**[00:53:58]** Our expectations are also shaped by our family,

**[00:54:01]** our friends, our colleagues,

**[00:54:04]** and we want to have the best life we can.

**[00:54:07]** Whether that's unrealistic, I think the younger generation will always be

**[00:54:10]** idealistic in looking at things, wanting them better,

**[00:54:13]** wanting them to be a bit more functional,

**[00:54:16]** and whether that's wrong is a question for the future.

**[00:54:19]** 52 students consider the practical use of what they learn in real life

**[00:54:22]** the main reason for dissatisfaction with school.

**[00:54:25]** Education is very important to us,

**[00:54:28]** and it's clear that school doesn't fully meet the expectations

**[00:54:31]** we should have. Mainly because

**[00:54:34]** the practical use is supposed to be there, but we keep cramming the same data,

**[00:54:37]** the same sentences, and we just feel

**[00:54:40]** that it doesn't help us at all for the future as such.

**[00:54:43]** And young people are incredibly aware of this.

**[00:54:46]** It's great to see from all studies that young people would like

**[00:54:49]** more history classes at school because they believe

**[00:54:52]** that history can help them understand

**[00:54:55]** what is happening today. Even people

**[00:54:58]** from technical schools and vocational schools want this, which would be

**[00:55:01]** something most people wouldn't expect, and that the young generation

**[00:55:04]** really expects school to help them more to navigate

**[00:55:07]** the world that will come after they finish school.

**[00:55:10]** Why we need education to improve somehow is this trend. We know that the young generation

**[00:55:13]** will change their profession five to seven times in their life.

**[00:55:16]** When I say profession, I mean a real profession, because that doesn't mean

**[00:55:20]** just, for example, a teacher moving to another school,

**[00:55:23]** but it means a teacher might become a marketer,

**[00:55:26]** and a marketer might then move to something else.

**[00:55:29]** Because times are changing a lot and professions are changing a lot now,

**[00:55:32]** and we need the young generation, which will be 58% of the workforce in 2030,

**[00:55:35]** to be able to adapt to the fact

**[00:55:38]** that professions change and they have to adapt to that.

**[00:55:47]** What simply doesn't happen here is that education is seen as something

**[00:55:50]** I finish and that's it. I don't need anything else.

**[00:55:53]** But with the younger generation, you can see the desire

**[00:55:56]** to want to learn throughout their whole life, and that's why we have to

**[00:55:59]** adjust the labor market and what

**[00:56:02]** employers offer as such,

**[00:56:05]** because young people want to learn, they want to change things,

**[00:56:08]** they want to get ahead of others so it can work like this.

**[00:56:13]** Thanks to our context as Generation Z and Generation Alpha,

**[00:56:16]** we have different demands from work and from our lives as such.

**[00:56:19]** That's a completely realistic thing.

**[00:56:22]** We always want a little more,

**[00:56:25]** and I think it's important to talk about it together,

**[00:56:28]** because it shouldn't be that the young generation

**[00:56:31]** is just saying something, but to find out

**[00:56:34]** what we can do better together so that work as such functions,

**[00:56:37]** so that education as such works and improves

**[00:56:40]** society as a whole. We have long seen

**[00:56:43]** that Generation Z wants to see meaning in their work,

**[00:56:46]** that they want to see that the effort and work they do

**[00:56:49]** has some impact, that it has a positive effect,

**[00:56:52]** that they are not doing it just for the money, but that it brings change.

**[00:56:55]** And it's very important to remember this,

**[00:56:58]** that if they see that change, they can work incredibly well.

**[00:57:01]** If they don't see the impact, then at that moment we can't

**[00:57:04]** fully expect them to engage with everything they have.

**[00:57:07]** It's very important to connect work and education

**[00:57:10]** to activity and engagement as such,

**[00:57:13]** because, as I said at the beginning, if it seems to us

**[00:57:16]** that students and young people are not active, and if they are not active,

**[00:57:19]** then we can't expect them to be fully involved in all these things.

**[00:57:23]** At secondary schools,

**[00:57:26]** up to 90% of students declare themselves as inactive,

**[00:57:29]** as those who really don't think that anything they can do

**[00:57:32]** can change anything. But what is changing now is

**[00:57:35]** that young people believe their step can make a difference.

**[00:57:38]** This has changed from secondary school to the age of 17 to 29 years,

**[00:57:41]** and up to 36% of young people believe that their active

**[00:57:44]** we can't expect them to be fully involved in these things,

**[00:57:47]** from age 17 to 29, up to 36% of young people believe,

**[00:57:50]** that through their activity they can contribute to some solution

**[00:57:53]** whether in their local areas or in the Czech Republic as a whole.

**[00:57:56]** So there is great potential in young people who want to change something,

**[00:57:59]** who want to take action. As we see in the graph,

**[00:58:02]** it gradually decreases, and this is exactly where

**[00:58:05]** the argument comes in that we start to feel more exhausted,

**[00:58:08]** things don't happen, something didn't work out for us,

**[00:58:11]** the mistakes that happened, we probably have to somewhat swallow them,

**[00:58:14]** and we actually stop being active, which is the biggest shame,

**[00:58:17]** that could happen, because if each of us somehow

**[00:58:20]** engages in the system, I believe society as a whole

**[00:58:23]** could look better to us as well.

**[00:58:26]** So, what is also important to say is that as such,

**[00:58:29]** the young generation compared to the EU average is more active,

**[00:58:33]** we vote more, we sign petitions more often,

**[00:58:36]** and according to our own opinion, we are less exposed to misinformation,

**[00:58:39]** which probably does not correspond to reality at all, it's important to say.

**[00:58:42]** The reason for low engagement is very similar

**[00:58:45]** to why we don't vote. We don't have enough time,

**[00:58:48]** we have extremely little information, we are disillusioned with politics,

**[00:58:51]** we are afraid someone will mock us, and we lack role models

**[00:58:54]** and authorities again and again.

**[00:58:57]** Why we are somewhat a different generation is

**[00:59:00]** because of the values we hold and how society is set up.

**[00:59:03]** Young Czechs, the most in the entire EU, say that the most important value for us is

**[00:59:06]** the protection of human rights, democracy, and peace.

**[00:59:09]** It's really like that number, it's incredibly differently positioned.

**[00:59:12]** This generation grew up with democracy here,

**[00:59:15]** and in the Czech Republic, democracy really holds great weight,

**[00:59:18]** whether due to some historical events

**[00:59:22]** we went through, or because parents excellently instilled it

**[00:59:25]** into the children as such, but the young generation here is

**[00:59:28]** incredibly value-driven by human rights

**[00:59:31]** and democracy as such.

**[00:59:34]** The rest of the European Union actually has one of the stronger values as

**[00:59:37]** the fight against discrimination and protection of minorities,

**[00:59:40]** and for us, that is the least important value.

**[00:59:43]** This is the least important value for us when we look

**[00:59:46]** at the European average as such, and that is often because

**[00:59:51]** we don't feel like we are such a complex society

**[00:59:54]** and we feel that everything is mostly fine here.

**[00:59:57]** There is always a part that says it's not,

**[01:00:00]** but the majority is in this case.

**[01:00:00]** Another factor that influences us a lot, and I spoke with them about it at the start,

**[01:00:07]** is the uncertainty of the future itself. When we ask anyone,

**[01:00:12]** if they are satisfied with their own life, we see that the overall numbers

**[01:00:16]** are huge. Among young people, it's 84%. They are the most satisfied

**[01:00:20]** with the life they have. But even in all the other age groups,

**[01:00:23]** as you can see, everyone is very satisfied with their personal life,

**[01:00:27]** the things that concern only us. But when we look a bit more closely

**[01:00:32]** at whether we think the Czech Republic is developing in the right

**[01:00:35]** or wrong direction, we start to become negative. We actually feel

**[01:00:39]** that it's not really good, and I think here, if we calculate it,

**[01:00:42]** 83% see that it either goes nowhere or in the wrong direction.

**[01:00:48]** Here we explain it exactly by what we said. When it comes to our everyday life,

**[01:00:52]** what we influence ourselves, that's something we actually feel is okay.

**[01:00:56]** We manage it all, even though we know housing is unaffordable,

**[01:00:59]** we are satisfied with how we are doing. But when we look at the bigger picture,

**[01:01:03]** at what the future holds, who influences our future,

**[01:01:06]** it's often institutions, authorities, political parties,

**[01:01:09]** often people we can't reach, or institutions

**[01:01:12]** we can't reach and can't fully influence.

**[01:01:15]** Each of us, as individuals, has great confidence in ourselves,

**[01:01:18]** but trust in others is very low.

**[01:01:21]** That's why we look at the future itself

**[01:01:25]** not very positively. And here we see exactly

**[01:01:28]** whether we are more pessimists or optimists.

**[01:01:31]** There are still many optimists, but it's clear

**[01:01:34]** that the uncertain future is huge, especially among the young.

**[01:01:37]** They really fear whether housing will be solved,

**[01:01:40]** whether costs will rise further, what their situation will look like.

**[01:01:43]** And it's largely due to the trust we have in institutions

**[01:01:46]** and society as a whole.

**[01:01:49]** Almost one of the last factors is mental health and pressure to perform.

**[01:01:54]** We see in today's young generation that mental health is truly a topic

**[01:01:58]** that deeply concerns us and affects us every day.

**[01:02:03]** And often the reason mental health is poor

**[01:02:06]** is because of the reasons we've discussed so far.

**[01:02:09]** It's social media, uncertainty about the future,

**[01:02:12]** climate crisis, loneliness,

**[01:02:15]** that we feel in the digital world.

**[01:02:18]** And the numbers among young people right now are truly unbelievable.

**[01:02:22]** Here we see that a third of young people say,

**[01:02:25]** they have experienced a mental illness.

**[01:02:28]** This year we have the highest number of young people suicides ever recorded.

**[01:02:31]** Right now, we are at the same number

**[01:02:35]** as the entire last year.

**[01:02:38]** 54% of young people spoke about mental health issues with their family and friends over the whole year.

**[01:02:41]** Here, I think we are addressing the snowflake myth,

**[01:02:44]** which I personally dislike on a pure emotional level,

**[01:02:48]** because I believe the greatest strength of our generation is

**[01:02:52]** that we can open up about these things.

**[01:02:55]** That this topic itself is no longer taboo, as it was in previous years,

**[01:02:58]** because many experts, when asked,

**[01:03:01]** whether the young generation really has more mental health problems now,

**[01:03:04]** often respond that yes, they do.

**[01:03:07]** But it is always a question of whether this is just because

**[01:03:10]** the topic was an incredible taboo before.

**[01:03:13]** So the numbers themselves are clearly not distorted,

**[01:03:16]** but we have nothing to compare them to, because we never talked about it before.

**[01:03:19]** And it's wonderful to see here that really half of young people

**[01:03:22]** talk about these issues with their closest circle,

**[01:03:25]** because that is the most important thing,

**[01:03:28]** to open up about these topics.

**[01:03:31]** The catalysts are exactly what I mentioned at the beginning,

**[01:03:34]** everything we've just discussed, but these five are strong,

**[01:03:37]** and what you mentioned, which also appeared in your answers, is the pandemic.

**[01:03:40]** The pandemic really changed the lives of young people

**[01:03:43]** and affected this generation the most of all,

**[01:03:46]** because school is the moment when we start socializing.

**[01:03:49]** We are in that environment, forming our opinions,

**[01:03:52]** and removing someone from school for such a long time

**[01:03:55]** is something that causes an incredible impact on life,

**[01:03:58]** not just for the moment, but also for the future.

**[01:04:01]** This is one of the biggest reasons why it led to mental health problems.

**[01:04:04]** I wanted to mention the term democratic anxiety here,

**[01:04:08]** which I have been discussing a lot lately,

**[01:04:13]** because it is one of the things we often hear about the young generation,

**[01:04:16]** but we never named it. I named it this way for myself,

**[01:04:22]** because I myself realized that I started having anxiety about the situation,

**[01:04:25]** which I see happening both in the Czech Republic and worldwide.

**[01:04:28]** For the first time in my life, I experienced some mental health issues,

**[01:04:31]** specifically anxiety, some kind of panic attack.

**[01:04:34]** And I realized that it is closely linked to what I hear around me.

**[01:04:37]** The more we talked about it now, about the future as such,

**[01:04:40]** about what young people feel, what is happening around the world,

**[01:04:43]** this is exactly what they often don't directly name as democratic anxiety,

**[01:04:47]** but they call it being overwhelmed, they are just really overwhelmed

**[01:04:50]** by what is happening in today's world and don't see a solid point

**[01:04:53]** to hold on to. And I think this is something we need to

**[01:04:56]** talk about openly, because one of the biggest things we found is

**[01:04:59]** that social networks have a huge impact, what we see

**[01:05:02]** with all the disasters around us. And also the fact that media nowadays

**[01:05:06]** tend to write more negative news than positive,

**[01:05:10]** so we are incredibly overwhelmed every day.

**[01:05:14]** I wanted to ask you if you also feel some kind of anxiety,

**[01:05:18]** if it is something that stresses you in today's times,

**[01:05:23]** and if you think it already resembles some mental health problem.

**[01:05:27]** Thank you very much for voting so openly.

**[01:05:31]** I am very glad it is anonymous, because I think

**[01:05:35]** it's not easy to talk about these things openly without anonymity.

**[01:05:39]** And for those who say they feel it somehow,

**[01:05:43]** please be exactly open about it with the people around you,

**[01:05:47]** talk about it, whether it's your children, your family,

**[01:05:51]** but it is all for you.

**[01:05:55]** But let's talk about it, because this is one of the things

**[01:05:59]** that can move us forward as a society.

**[01:06:03]** I myself am not the most open person and often don't talk

**[01:06:07]** about my problems, and I found that when I open up

**[01:06:11]** whether with my colleagues or family, it really is

**[01:06:15]** a huge way to get rid of the weight of it,

**[01:06:19]** that it affects me somehow.

**[01:06:23]** Young people tend to support democracy more

**[01:06:27]** than the rest of the population. We see increasing frustration,

**[01:06:31]** a growing bad mood not only among young people. Unfortunately,

**[01:06:35]** it is among everyone. Fear for the future is rising

**[01:06:39]** again and again. This concerns all of us,

**[01:06:43]** not just the younger generation. But what is great to see,

**[01:06:47]** is that youth voter turnout is increasing, that they do care

**[01:06:51]** such. We see global trends here, and we haven't really touched on them today,

**[01:06:55]** that support for extreme and populist parties is increasing. I only showed,

**[01:06:59]** how it was in some other elections, but here we see that this trend exists worldwide,

**[01:07:03]** this trend exists in Europe. It's important to say, this trend

**[01:07:07]** has not fully manifested in the Czech Republic yet. If you're interested,

**[01:07:11]** you can ask me later. Insufficient representation of young people in the public space.

**[01:07:15]** When each of us recalls at least one debate we've been in, where we talked

**[01:07:19]** about the future and young people, often unfortunately the young person,

**[01:07:23]** who would share their opinion, is not there. And last but not least, we must always keep in mind

**[01:07:27]** that social media are the main source. And it's mainly because,

**[01:07:31]** we grew up with them. Unfortunately, there are no regulations or restrictions

**[01:07:35]** that would help us fight this. Here are many of them,

**[01:07:39]** so maybe I'll leave it at that. And last but not least, I want to say,

**[01:07:43]** why it's important to talk with young people and not just about them.

**[01:07:47]** What I've told you today are some factors

**[01:07:51]** why today's generation is somewhat different from others or in some ways exactly the same,

**[01:07:55]** in some ways confirming or debunking myths. We won't know this,

**[01:07:59]** if we don't talk with these people, but this is not just about young people.

**[01:08:03]** This is about every bubble we ever discuss. It's very important,

**[01:08:07]** before we judge someone, before we apply any prejudices

**[01:08:11]** or myths, to talk directly with that group as such

**[01:08:15]** and discuss why they think this way, where it comes from,

**[01:08:19]** and try to understand it. Because if we want to move forward as a society,

**[01:08:23]** without openly talking and trying to understand

**[01:08:27]** the other person, we won't get anywhere. Here's the last thing, and it's one of my favorite graphics,

**[01:08:32]** that all generations really think that the representation of young people

**[01:08:36]** in politics is insufficient, and it's not just young people themselves,

**[01:08:41]** and we hope that in the long term we will achieve

**[01:08:45]** getting young people into politics, so they can express their voice and be there.

**[01:08:49]** Don't forget all these catalysts, all these factors,

**[01:08:53]** that influence young people but also influence each of us

**[01:08:56]** in any group, and let's try to understand together,

**[01:08:59]** because I believe that's how we can get the farthest.

**[01:09:02]** Thank you very much for being here with me today, I hope you enjoyed it,

**[01:09:06]** and I look forward to your questions now.

**[01:09:09]** Applause

**[01:09:17]** Thanks a lot for the great insight.

**[01:09:22]** Before I go to the questions, I'll try.

**[01:09:28]** We always tend to, and for example Eliška Rameševa talks about this often,

**[01:09:32]** say, well, but it's not like that.

**[01:09:35]** But you start advising, but now this and that.

**[01:09:38]** So let's just try to think about it a little today,

**[01:09:43]** to absorb it and just take it in for a moment,

**[01:09:48]** those two or three seconds before we want to explain something about it,

**[01:09:51]** and just let it affect us.

**[01:09:53]** Maybe I'll ask about the research you did,

**[01:09:57]** because it's all backed by numbers.

**[01:10:00]** By facts, you worked a lot on it, so how did this process go?

**[01:10:04]** So the important start came from

**[01:10:08]** our work with young people, where we had some hypotheses,

**[01:10:12]** some of our own ideas that we had.

**[01:10:16]** There were three main ideas. One was that

**[01:10:20]** we really felt the loss of hope that young people

**[01:10:24]** are afraid of what the future holds, that they are really scared that they

**[01:10:28]** won't save enough for their own housing, that there will be war. And that was point one.

**[01:10:32]** Point two was that we often heard young people who lost hope

**[01:10:36]** that someone listens, that someone cares what they think.

**[01:10:40]** And that the frustration just grows.

**[01:10:44]** And the third point was what we've been fighting for a long time,

**[01:10:48]** which is to show that young people are incredibly active

**[01:10:52]** and that their potential is great for any work we do.

**[01:10:56]** So we wanted to confirm this, the survey confirmed it for us

**[01:11:00]** and it showed us well that when there are numbers,

**[01:11:04]** it's often easier to have the conversation around it.

**[01:11:08]** It's really hard to talk about young people regarding,

**[01:11:12]** for example, global data, because this happens a lot here in the Czech Republic.

**[01:11:16]** We use global data, European data, but they can't fully apply

**[01:11:20]** to local matters. I think when I talk about this with Pavlína Louženská,

**[01:11:24]** we are about five to ten years behind global trends,

**[01:11:28]** so when we talk about something now, it can't fully apply

**[01:11:32]** to the Czech Republic as such. And from that, a lot of

**[01:11:36]** negative opinions arise. It's clear that many people,

**[01:11:40]** whom I talk to from business or nonprofit sectors,

**[01:11:48]** but they use the opposite approach than I do,

**[01:11:52]** because I try to show them positively how great they are

**[01:11:56]** and how much potential there is. And they tend to do it a bit

**[01:12:00]** like in school, saying, you're bad, it should be better,

**[01:12:04]** and you have to do something, which is a school approach we know,

**[01:12:08]** that if I give you a C, we hope you'll get an A next time.

**[01:12:12]** And I try to show the young ones that a positive attitude makes things better,

**[01:12:16]** that young people have to make mistakes and that not everything can be perfect.

**[01:12:20]** So these numbers actually serve that purpose for us.

**[01:12:24]** It actually seems like an incredible source and inspiration of possibilities,

**[01:12:28]** which are good to explore. The good companies, and I don't know,

**[01:12:32]** we can mention Spoška, for example, which just has young people around it and so on,

**[01:12:36]** but even some investor firms intentionally invite young people,

**[01:12:40]** so they tell them the trends and so they know what to invest in, and so on.

**[01:12:44]** Either we stop this here and say, okay, we are just old-fashioned,

**[01:12:48]** and it will never be different, or we simply invite them into the discussion.

**[01:12:52]** And for me, it’s really a very nice source. I actually never,

**[01:12:56]** saw the data like this all together. When we started talking about it and you sent it to me,

**[01:13:00]** I still have a lot to study there.

**[01:13:04]** Let's move on to the questions, of which there are tons.

**[01:13:08]** What word does the young generation use instead of cool?

**[01:13:12]** I'm terrible, I have no idea. I really have no idea.

**[01:13:16]** I have a lot of young people in my organization and I often don't understand them.

**[01:13:20]** Yesterday or the day before, they taught me some word used for when you go out, for me it was fillet or chillet,

**[01:13:26]** and now there is some new one.

**[01:13:32]** And I don't even remember it because I really don't know.

**[01:13:36]** I think the important thing here is to say that I believe most of my organizations

**[01:13:40]** have a very awkward person. And I'm not ashamed of that at all.

**[01:13:43]** I often have daddy jokes. I'm very myself, I don't want to limit that.

**[01:13:48]** And the great thing is they usually laugh at me, but then they laugh with me too.

**[01:13:52]** So stay yourself, that's the most important thing in my opinion, and I really don't know the word instead of cool.

**[01:13:56]** Yeah, yeah, the language is quite hard and I have the same with my sons,

**[01:14:00]** when they come up with something, it's good.

**[01:14:04]** Two years ago, when I tried to talk about young people,

**[01:14:07]** I really wanted to be the kind of person who really radiates that,

**[01:14:11]** that I'm Gen Z. And then I realized I actually don't want to do that at all.

**[01:14:14]** That’s exactly the pretending of things as they are. It's the most dangerous.

**[01:14:18]** So if you put on a hoodie of some unnamed politician that says Sigma and Alpha, then...

**[01:14:23]** I just don't want to do that. I want to be who I am at that moment

**[01:14:27]** and talk about them whether I’m there or not.

**[01:14:30]** That question is there, but let's try the ones with the most likes first.

**[01:14:34]** Is there a long-term dialogue between your organization and the state apparatus?

**[01:14:37]** How does it work? Or what prevents this dialogue?

**[01:14:40]** Thank you for this question. It probably depends exactly on what we mean by the state apparatus,

**[01:14:45]** because long-term, for example, we handle the November 17th celebrations mainly with the Prague city council

**[01:14:50]** and Prague 1, where the dialogue is great with all sides involved.

**[01:14:55]** Because we've been here for 12 years, so we've gone through some political changes,

**[01:14:58]** which is very important for us, because after all, we're organizing a celebration

**[01:15:01]** both for people from Prague and for the whole Czech Republic.

**[01:15:05]** I'm really glad now that the Ministry of Culture has become more involved as such,

**[01:15:09]** and we're already dealing with them because 33% of our visitors come from the regions,

**[01:15:13]** so it's truly a nationwide matter.

**[01:15:16]** As for the rest, we've finally been talking with the Ministry of Education for the last two years.

**[01:15:21]** There are amazing people there who have started to really engage in making sure

**[01:15:24]** young people are heard; they created their own advisory board for the Minister of Youth,

**[01:15:28]** which I understand works really well and they are very enthusiastic about it.

**[01:15:32]** And now, in the long term, we're starting to discuss other issues,

**[01:15:36]** like human rights, democracy, freedom, young people, but it's still a long road ahead.

**[01:15:40]** I think this is the most beautiful thing about the non-governmental sector,

**[01:15:44]** because I always try to support more

**[01:15:48]** the connection between business, the non-governmental sector, and the government sector as such,

**[01:15:52]** so that we can cooperate and solve problems together, and I always explain it with this example,

**[01:15:56]** that many people don't really understand what non-governmental organizations do,

**[01:16:00]** so I always try to explain that government organizations or the government, the state as such,

**[01:16:04]** the public sector, makes the rules.

**[01:16:08]** When a problem arises, they can't react quickly,

**[01:16:12]** because the apparatus itself is incredibly slow.

**[01:16:16]** What is a huge advantage of the non-governmental sector is that we are on the ground,

**[01:16:20]** we hear the people, we see the problems, and we can solve them the fastest in the moment.

**[01:16:24]** So it's important that when problems are named, they are then addressed within the system

**[01:16:28]** and not just dealt with on their own wave. So in this regard, it seems to me,

**[01:16:32]** we are still young people and not yet perceived as fully relevant players,

**[01:16:36]** but I think that will gradually change.

**[01:16:38]** Great. Here's a question I'm very happy about,

**[01:16:42]** because I would have asked it anyway, as it's a big topic.

**[01:16:46]** I call it the anger of young men.

**[01:16:50]** How do you view current role models like Andrew Tate, Adam Kajumi, Filip Turek,

**[01:16:54]** and others, these unchanged alpha male entrepreneurs for young guys?

**[01:16:58]** Or is it presented as too much of a cult of personality?

**[01:17:02]** What about the manosphere and these kinds of things, do you see it somehow,

**[01:17:06]** in your research?

**[01:17:08]** Well, I would actually go back to what I mentioned at the end just now,

**[01:17:12]** that I haven't talked about yet, which is again the global trends

**[01:17:16]** and global numbers compared to the numbers we see now in the Czech Republic.

**[01:17:20]** The question that often comes up here is whether we see

**[01:17:23]** that young men are more conservative and not more liberal,

**[01:17:27]** We don't know if it's declension, but there is some kind of declension there.

**[01:17:31]** Thank you.

**[01:17:33]** We don't see it in the numbers. We see it very slightly in the numbers,

**[01:17:36]** it's not statistically significant in this case, so it doesn't really

**[01:17:39]** happen in the Czech Republic, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.

**[01:17:43]** It's very important to say. It will probably happen,

**[01:17:46]** because it’s gaining more popularity on social networks.

**[01:17:53]** When I talked about it with sociologists, these aspects

**[01:17:59]** have always been here, but probably didn't have the space

**[01:18:02]** and people weren't as visible from the outside. What is happening now

**[01:18:05]** is that these opinions are multiplying and becoming more visible.

**[01:18:08]** And Polina Rychlíková recently wrote that the amazing, or actually did

**[01:18:11]** an investigative dive into the depths of Discord.

**[01:18:13]** Discord and now also Kayu Mihono's.

**[01:18:15]** Exactly, into these things, and I think the question still remains

**[01:18:18]** how much of this was here before and we just didn't see it.

**[01:18:21]** And whether it has increased. And I'm afraid

**[01:18:24]** no one will ever have the answer, so we can't say

**[01:18:26]** if it has grown, but the problem is here and must be addressed.

**[01:18:29]** And it must be somehow managed.

**[01:18:32]** So I definitely can't look at it positively,

**[01:18:35]** because it scares me that a group

**[01:18:38]** of young men is actually forming here who come across as desperate. To me, it seems

**[01:18:41]** terrible. That they have nothing to hold on to

**[01:18:44]** and they grab the worst thing men have, which is

**[01:18:47]** extremism, violence, and hate.

**[01:18:50]** For me, that's the worst thing happening here, and I think

**[01:18:53]** it's a symptom of loneliness itself.

**[01:18:56]** The more people feel lonely, the more they feel

**[01:18:59]** unrecognized and unheard, the more they tend

**[01:19:02]** to shout and lash out. And as a society, we need to

**[01:19:05]** open up more and try to talk to these people about why they feel this way

**[01:19:08]** and how it really is.

**[01:19:11]** That's why I really like the activities you do.

**[01:19:14]** Even that you want to go out to the regions, etc. I know that now

**[01:19:17]** Milion Chvilek is doing regional events again for young people.

**[01:19:20]** Something is happening or a lot is happening in this area,

**[01:19:23]** so I'm glad. A question directly for you.

**[01:19:26]** Freedom, Baro, definitely great what you do,

**[01:19:29]** freedom, but also about taking responsibility in everything you do.

**[01:19:32]** What does freedom mean to you personally?

**[01:19:35]** What does it mean?

**[01:19:38]** Sorry, I'll take it like this.

**[01:19:41]** This is freedom to me.

**[01:19:44]** So, what is freedom to you?

**[01:19:47]** For me, freedom,

**[01:19:50]** right now, freedom is my whole life.

**[01:19:53]** I have found that for me, freedom always changes depending on

**[01:19:56]** what I am doing at the moment, what I am dealing with right now.

**[01:20:00]** I don't even have a fixed identity to name myself every day,

**[01:20:04]** as if I were the same person, and I really feel that everything happening to me doesn't define me.

**[01:20:08]** I know what freedom is not for me and what I fight against; for me, freedom is not a given.

**[01:20:13]** And that is actually the most important thing about it for me.

**[01:20:15]** I prefer to define it by what it is not, rather than what it is.

**[01:20:18]** For me, freedom should be responsibility for each of us.

**[01:20:21]** It shouldn't be taken as something fixed and given,

**[01:20:26]** because I think that's exactly the path to some kind of downfall,

**[01:20:29]** if we think that we don't have to give anything back to the system,

**[01:20:33]** when the system gives us freedom.

**[01:20:34]** And I think that's not a proper, socially responsible approach.

**[01:20:41]** For me, freedom is entrepreneurship and a path to a better society.

**[01:20:47]** How does the future generation approach entrepreneurship?

**[01:20:49]** What are they afraid of?

**[01:20:50]** Again, a lot about entrepreneurship.

**[01:20:52]** Dalibor Pulkert wrote a book for young people.

**[01:20:55]** You can run a business, go to school, and so on.

**[01:20:57]** This is known, many activities are happening, but what are they afraid of?

**[01:21:00]** And how does the young generation approach entrepreneurship?

**[01:21:03]** Right now, I am on a kind of special level regarding entrepreneurship,

**[01:21:07]** because I have recently come across various numbers

**[01:21:11]** that somewhat contradict each other.

**[01:21:12]** So about a month ago, I would have spoken very positively about it,

**[01:21:19]** the number of people who want to start a business or have started one among young people is rising.

**[01:21:23]** It was clear that this was the first time in a very long time

**[01:21:26]** that this number finally started to increase.

**[01:21:28]** I think this is exactly thanks to the work I do,

**[01:21:31]** like 'you can start a business' and more,

**[01:21:32]** because now schools are finally introducing more programs

**[01:21:35]** about entrepreneurship, showing that it really is a path.

**[01:21:38]** But then I have, for example, Radek Špicar,

**[01:21:39]** who recently sent me an article that I haven't had time to read yet,

**[01:21:42]** which goes a bit in a different direction.

**[01:21:44]** So I haven't read up on this enough

**[01:21:47]** to respond relevantly,

**[01:21:49]** but I think from my subjective perspective

**[01:21:52]** and from the numbers I see,

**[01:21:54]** it seems to me that the young generation generally has an interest in entrepreneurship.

**[01:21:57]** The question is whether they are enterprising,

**[01:21:59]** because I would also say they are enterprising.

**[01:22:01]** And they are interested in entrepreneurship as such,

**[01:22:03]** but they won't be interested if we don't help them with it.

**[01:22:06]** And I think that's the most important part to say,

**[01:22:08]** that the awareness of how to do business

**[01:22:10]** is generally very low,

**[01:22:12]** and if you don't have parents who run a business,

**[01:22:14]** if you don't have friends who start businesses,

**[01:22:16]** then school won't provide it for you.

**[01:22:18]** And it has to be NGOs

**[01:22:20]** or some business that brings it there,

**[01:22:22]** and it's really necessary to do this.

**[01:22:24]** Actually, even the second economic transformation,

**[01:22:26]** which is dedicated to this here.

**[01:22:28]** So I'll ask him too.

**[01:22:30]** Can the young generation even compare

**[01:22:32]** and seek truth in politics,

**[01:22:34]** amid digital clutter,

**[01:22:36]** fake information and sources,

**[01:22:38]** when they have no basis for comparison,

**[01:22:40]** haven't connected yet?

**[01:22:42]** We know that often, and I heard somewhere,

**[01:22:44]** that up to a third of people get information from TikTok and such.

**[01:22:46]** How does it work there?

**[01:22:48]** Well, that's an excellent question.

**[01:22:50]** The first answer would be,

**[01:22:52]** that even though we spend

**[01:22:54]** the most time on social networks,

**[01:22:56]** the numbers show

**[01:22:58]** that young people have the greatest know-how

**[01:23:00]** to detect disinformation.

**[01:23:02]** Because we've spent

**[01:23:04]** a whole life.

**[01:23:06]** It's actually quite simply explainable.

**[01:23:08]** Which doesn't mean,

**[01:23:10]** that everyone does it, or that it's always the case.

**[01:23:12]** And honestly, misinformation now with AI

**[01:23:14]** and everything around it is becoming very hard to recognize.

**[01:23:16]** And here again, I think the question is,

**[01:23:18]** whether young people can or cannot do it.

**[01:23:20]** I think we need to think about

**[01:23:22]** how we can help with this systemically.

**[01:23:24]** Because for me, the biggest surprise so far

**[01:23:26]** is that despite such a strong upheaval

**[01:23:28]** around social networks,

**[01:23:30]** which really distort perspectives,

**[01:23:32]** trap us in algorithm bubbles unbelievably,

**[01:23:34]** and now with AI distorting reality even more,

**[01:23:36]** there is actually no system

**[01:23:38]** that somehow

**[01:23:40]** goes against it, regulates it, or solves it.

**[01:23:42]** Because when cars were invented,

**[01:23:44]** sidewalks were invented,

**[01:23:46]** traffic lights were invented,

**[01:23:48]** crosswalks were invented.

**[01:23:50]** We have something here that really,

**[01:23:52]** I'm not saying it kills people,

**[01:23:54]** but it really changes reality as such,

**[01:23:56]** and we have no tools at all

**[01:23:58]** to deal with it.

**[01:24:00]** And for me, that's the scariest thing about this.

**[01:24:02]** We have to work on having more critical thinking in schools.

**[01:24:04]** We can't do it just by showing things,

**[01:24:06]** but we need to support young people

**[01:24:08]** to develop strong critical thinking

**[01:24:10]** that can process changing information

**[01:24:12]** and that encourages them to keep searching further and further.

**[01:24:14]** But honestly, in this, it's exactly the same mess

**[01:24:24]** any other generation.

**[01:24:26]** It's not just with the young.

**[01:24:28]** I think we really need to work on making sure

**[01:24:30]** 100% of the population understands

**[01:24:32]** the advantages and disadvantages,

**[01:24:34]** and that each of us works with it in some way.

**[01:24:36]** And it's easy to blame the young,

**[01:24:38]** because they're the only ones we can kind of blame,

**[01:24:40]** but this is something everyone needs.

**[01:24:42]** That's right, we're all

**[01:24:44]** starting from the same starting line.

**[01:24:46]** I especially feel that people, whether they're my friends,

**[01:24:48]** who are a bit older, my parents,

**[01:24:50]** or older people in general,

**[01:24:52]** we all really struggle with this,

**[01:24:54]** just at different levels.

**[01:24:56]** Everyone is concerned about something slightly different.

**[01:24:58]** One issue is disinformation, but another is

**[01:25:00]** the scams happening right now.

**[01:25:02]** We all need this like salt.

**[01:25:04]** Yeah, a big topic.

**[01:25:06]** Many Brain&Breakfast sessions have been dedicated to this.

**[01:25:08]** Recently, Choda Klasi and I published AI for Children

**[01:25:10]** with Fčová Nečasová, so

**[01:25:12]** if anyone wants to dive in, they can.

**[01:25:14]** Before I ask the next question,

**[01:25:16]** which is highly hyped,

**[01:25:18]** I'll take a step back.

**[01:25:20]** Martin Haak asks,

**[01:25:22]** and it's a good question, how do you

**[01:25:24]** actually maintain,

**[01:25:26]** or manage to keep

**[01:25:28]** the topic of democracy separate from politics?

**[01:25:30]** Because then we start

**[01:25:32]** talking about specific political parties,

**[01:25:34]** and there are a few questions like that,

**[01:25:36]** but for me, that separation is important, right?

**[01:25:38]** For us, it has always been important

**[01:25:40]** especially because of the November 17 celebrations,

**[01:25:42]** where we started, because,

**[01:25:44]** to put it simply,

**[01:25:46]** it's a political holiday.

**[01:25:48]** We started out a lot with the idea

**[01:25:50]** that we were apolitical and said it out loud,

**[01:25:52]** that we are apolitical, that we just do November 17th,

**[01:25:54]** but we are apolitical. Gradually, we transformed it

**[01:25:56]** to being non-partisan,

**[01:25:58]** because now we promote that

**[01:26:00]** democracy is politics, politics is democracy,

**[01:26:02]** and if we want to address democracy here,

**[01:26:04]** we sometimes have to touch

**[01:26:08]** so now we are non-partisan.

**[01:26:10]** At the national level, it's really

**[01:26:12]** quite simple,

**[01:26:14]** because if someone writes to us

**[01:26:16]** that they want to speak there,

**[01:26:18]** and if they have any party affiliation,

**[01:26:20]** thank you, that's the word,

**[01:26:22]** and hold any elected position,

**[01:26:24]** then at that moment we definitely can't

**[01:26:26]** let them speak on any stage, debate, podcast,

**[01:26:28]** or anything, but of course we write to everyone,

**[01:26:30]** go light a candle,

**[01:26:32]** do whatever you want there,

**[01:26:34]** but we won't be involved in that,

**[01:26:36]** and you can't be in the official program,

**[01:26:38]** because if we let one in,

**[01:26:40]** we would never be able to exclude anyone again,

**[01:26:42]** and we don't want to be partisan in this.

**[01:26:44]** We also carefully watch

**[01:26:46]** what role people have when we talk to them,

**[01:26:48]** because we know it's tricky

**[01:26:50]** and we want to stay non-partisan.

**[01:26:52]** Who will take a selfie with whom?

**[01:26:54]** Because they can't take photos with politicians,

**[01:26:56]** since they wear badges,

**[01:26:58]** which helps us, and we really have to be careful.

**[01:27:00]** We want everyone, of course, to go vote

**[01:27:04]** Sure, let them be politically active,

**[01:27:06]** we don't mind when people do internships with us

**[01:27:08]** from the mayor or anyone else.

**[01:27:10]** That's great, we support that,

**[01:27:12]** but it must not interfere with the work on that particular day,

**[01:27:14]** that's really important to us.

**[01:27:16]** Right now we're doing the activity

**[01:27:18]** for the parliamentary elections,

**[01:27:20]** and it's a whole different league than what we've done before,

**[01:27:22]** but also the media amendment,

**[01:27:24]** which was a completely different league.

**[01:27:26]** And we really keep saying,

**[01:27:28]** that we are non-partisan, we are here for all

**[01:27:30]** young people, we never tell anyone who to vote for.

**[01:27:32]** We only say, vote for people who support

**[01:27:34]** democracy, that's the most important thing for us,

**[01:27:36]** not extremism, but democracy.

**[01:27:38]** And that's what we want to say, that's what

**[01:27:40]** we want to educate about and talk about, that's

**[01:27:42]** our boundary. If someone calls us

**[01:27:44]** not non-partisan,

**[01:27:46]** they have the right to do so, that's freedom,

**[01:27:48]** but we know very well that we are non-partisan.

**[01:27:50]** Which political party currently supports young people the most?

**[01:27:52]** That's a great question,

**[01:27:54]** because honestly, as a member

**[01:27:56]** of a non-partisan organization, I have to say I can't

**[01:27:58]** talk about political parties and say,

**[01:28:00]** which party does well, which doesn't.

**[01:28:02]** And it's important to say that

**[01:28:04]** we have to look at what I can talk about,

**[01:28:06]** and that's exactly it. Marketing and some

**[01:28:08]** reality as such.

**[01:28:10]** One thing is, I think literally all parties

**[01:28:12]** have now started marketing

**[01:28:14]** to young people and divided up

**[01:28:16]** TikToks, Instagrams, whatever,

**[01:28:18]** everything, and they're going after the young.

**[01:28:20]** And that's some...

**[01:28:24]** And you can see that it's simply now

**[01:28:26]** a marketing campaign, but I really

**[01:28:28]** hope that just like it's being divided now,

**[01:28:30]** that it's a lot of money, a lot of work,

**[01:28:32]** that this will then be maintained and they'll do it in reality

**[01:28:34]** and it won't just be marketing, that it will go into those

**[01:28:36]** real events as such.

**[01:28:38]** That they won't just choose

**[01:28:40]** the marketing approach,

**[01:28:42]** but that it will actually then turn

**[01:28:44]** into action as such, and we here

**[01:28:46]** want to be involved and want to make sure it actually turns into action

**[01:28:48]** and it's not just talking

**[01:28:50]** about everything we want to do and sending signals.

**[01:28:54]** How is

**[01:28:56]** the young generation exposed to signals

**[01:28:58]** from information campaigns and how do they face that pressure,

**[01:29:00]** when they get rid of that marketing?

**[01:29:02]** We know that for

**[01:29:04]** seniors, many bad emails work,

**[01:29:06]** we know how these things work.

**[01:29:08]** For example, is there something specific for the young generation?

**[01:29:12]** Yes, unfortunately, I'll say it again,

**[01:29:14]** I'm not a marketing expert, so I couldn't

**[01:29:16]** say this, it's not really my area.

**[01:29:18]** Maybe it's the influencers.

**[01:29:20]** Yes, that's what I was thinking,

**[01:29:22]** that for me the only thing would be

**[01:29:24]** the transmission of information from influencers,

**[01:29:26]** because many of them sell

**[01:29:28]** products, do some promotions

**[01:29:30]** for something they don't always

**[01:29:32]** understand or see clearly.

**[01:29:34]** Luke Fry and Mikýř just showed us that

**[01:29:36]** what happens on social networks with those

**[01:29:38]** influencers isn't always

**[01:29:40]** great.

**[01:29:42]** In this regard. And I think

**[01:29:44]** that's the biggest window into this era.

**[01:29:48]** That we need to start by saying who we follow,

**[01:29:50]** who we follow and what information we take from them,

**[01:29:52]** who our children follow as such,

**[01:29:54]** who their impact is.

**[01:29:56]** And that's why I think we need to push more

**[01:29:58]** inspirational role models here, who are not just

**[01:30:00]** simply people who make money from their marketing as such,

**[01:30:04]** but people who do something else alongside that.

**[01:30:07]** Baro, there are a ton of questions.

**[01:30:10]** I'll stop it here for today.

**[01:30:13]** I really wanted to thank you.

**[01:30:14]** Thanks a lot for the great overview. Thank you.

**[01:30:18]** Thank you.

**[01:30:21]** So.

**[01:30:23]** I'll quickly skip through this.

**[01:30:25]** Thanks a lot for giving us feedback on how you liked it today.

**[01:30:28]** If you add the one word that somehow came to your mind,

**[01:30:33]** while listening to this lecture or breakfast,

**[01:30:36]** we would really appreciate it.

**[01:30:39]** As I said, try to do a little reflection circle.

**[01:30:42]** At home, with people from the office, in the library, whoever sits next to you,

**[01:30:46]** just talk about it.

**[01:30:47]** I think it will do good.

**[01:30:50]** What surprised you, if you want some guiding questions,

**[01:30:53]** you can find them either on redbutner.edu or on the website,

**[01:30:56]** there is this little form here.

**[01:31:00]** We're not finished.

**[01:31:01]** I think we'd like to discuss this further.

**[01:31:05]** We'll meet on July 15th.

**[01:31:08]** I'll invite a few more people.

**[01:31:09]** If you want to be there,

**[01:31:10]** want to chat, go deeper,

**[01:31:13]** this is exactly the moment.

**[01:31:16]** Brain&Breakfast Digestive with Bara and others.

**[01:31:19]** And we'll keep going.

**[01:31:22]** Business breakfasts continue too.

**[01:31:24]** We'll talk a lot about changes.

**[01:31:26]** That means Drojo 7 with Luboš Malý,

**[01:31:28]** how to navigate changes, how to manage them.

**[01:31:30]** School of life continues too.

**[01:31:33]** Slow World value of time 25.6.

**[01:31:37]** Book of the month led by Captain Pavel Pumperla

**[01:31:43]** and his book Club has a new edition,

**[01:31:46]** so definitely stay tuned.

**[01:31:47]** Don't forget, if you need anything,

**[01:31:49]** just press the red button

**[01:31:51]** and next time, and this is important,

**[01:31:53]** we'll meet on 24.7.,

**[01:31:57]** but we'll be in Brno.

**[01:32:00]** So if you come to Brno to see us

**[01:32:03]** or if you're watching from around Brno,

**[01:32:05]** make sure to register and join us live

**[01:32:08]** at Brno's Magenta.

**[01:32:11]** Our guest will be Brňa Sobotka and we might talk about

**[01:32:14]** why Czechs struggle with English,

**[01:32:18]** what's going on so far, and also the story of a boy

**[01:32:20]** who went from dyslexia and dysgraphia

**[01:32:23]** to the top league of teaching here.

**[01:32:28]** Looking forward to seeing you, thanks so much for your support,

**[01:32:30]** take care, Bára, thanks again.

**[01:32:33]** Bye and see you soon.

**[01:32:34]** Thank you very much.

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