The two-year project Support for Green Skills and Sustainability at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU), implemented in 2024–2025 and funded through the Czech Ministry of Education's National Recovery Plan (NPO MŠMT) grant, aimed to enhance the Academy's educational offerings and institutional approaches to sustainability and environmental responsibility.
The project's main activities included the development of new courses, the creation of a lifelong learning programme, the preparation and partial implementation of a sustainability strategy, and the strengthening of strategic partnerships. The courses Cultural Management for Regions and Thinking and Acting for the Future address pressing societal challenges such as climate change, the mental health of young people, and working conditions in the arts. The lifelong learning course Sustainability in Art, developed in collaboration with experts from the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague (VŠCHT) and the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT), connects artistic practice with environmentally responsible approaches.
The Sustainability Strategy, approved by the AVU Academic Senate, is built on four pillars:
Sustainability and Education, Community, Operations, and Social Responsibility, Inclusion and Diversity.
Sustainability and Education focuses on integrating sustainability principles into teaching, research, and artistic practice, while fostering green skills and environmentally and socially responsible thinking.
Community aims to strengthen collaboration, openness, and dialogue within AVU and with the public and partner institutions.
Operations addresses the environmentally responsible management of the Academy, including energy use, materials and waste management, building administration, procurement policies, and digitalisation.
Social Responsibility, Inclusion and Diversity seeks to create a fair, safe, and respectful environment for all members of the AVU community.
Each pillar includes specific measures and recommendations to support sustainable development in its respective area.
An Environmental Council was established from the working group involved in drafting the strategy and will continue to support the integration of sustainability issues into the Academy's everyday operations. Long-term institutional support is further ensured through the creation of a new position: Sustainability Manager.
The project strengthened the activities of the GRID department, contributed to the completion of the AVU Code of Ethics, supported the Children's Studio programme, and advanced measures promoting menstrual equity. As part of the Green Skills initiative, AVU established a Re-Use Centre in partnership with the Artmap association. A system for handling toxic waste and a comprehensive waste-sorting scheme were prepared and are scheduled for implementation in 2026.
In cooperation with the organisation NaZemi, a nonviolent communication training programme was delivered for employees. Numerous workshops were organised for students, including activities conducted with the Centre for Lifelong Learning on topics such as the use of harvested rainwater in the Main Building garden and the recycling and upcycling of ceramic clay.
AVU has also shared its experience with sustainability in higher education with the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU), the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, and technically oriented institutions such as the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague (VŠCHT), the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT), and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU).
The project involved collaboration across the entire Academy, including several studios and departments. Its implementation would not have been possible without the active cooperation of the Academy's leadership, Rectorate, Bursar's Office, and colleagues from the Economics, Grants, Projects, Technical Departments, workshops, and other units.
The project team included lead manager Olga Vlčková; administrators Mária Jančová and Tereza Kasalová; activity and strategic partnership managers Adam Elmer Železný and Eva Dittingerová. Course guarantors were Lucie Štůlová Vobořilová and Barbora Procházková. The implementation of the Sustainability Strategy was overseen by a working group consisting of Vjera Borozan, Klára Cozlová Čmolíková, Eva Dittingerová, Mária Jančová, Tamara Moyzes, Barbora Šimková, Olga Vlčková, Dominik Bon, Adam Elmer Železný, Matouš Lipus, Viktor Prokop, and Medard Zeman.
Thanks to this project, the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague has strengthened its role as an institution that not only educates but also actively and responsibly contributes to addressing contemporary environmental and social challenges.
For more information about AVU's Sustainability Strategy, see here.
