30 Years of Freedom

1989-2019.cz The year 1989 brought us freedom. Freedom of opinion and expression. Freedom to act, to choose and the freedom to be an active part of our country’s community. After November 1989, everyone gained a new responsibility: the chance to change things.

1989-2019.cz The freedom that Czech society found also opened the door wide to new opportunities including the use of technology. It didn’t take long for Czechs to harness it, and not just for earning money and in work, they also understood that innovation can help strengthen freedom in our society.

Without responsibility or respect for human rights and integrity, the application of technology for the benefit of society, is destined to fail. Thus, throughout the existence of the Vodafone Foundation, we have been supporting non-profit projects that have had a long term positive impact in the Czech Republic, thanks to their use of technology and social innovation. We want to work with those who are looking for change, change for the better and our goal is, through our projects, to continue supporting an creative, open, civil society.

Adriana Dergam, Vice-chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Vodafone Foundation

We asked our partners what 30 years of freedom, opportunities and democracy meant to them:

Filip Maleňák

creator of the Záchranka, the EMS app

Almost 10 per cent of people in the Czech Republic have it on their phones. Filip, how did the changes after 1989 result in the creation of Záchranka?

I was born only a year after the Velvet Revolution, but even so, I’m aware of the fundamental differences between society then and now. The Záchranka app was only founded because I was allowed to study freely in a professional field that didn’t exist before the Revolution. Free access to information from all over the world is the best change we could have in our personal and professional lives. And thanks to the free market, we’re able to get support from the Vodafone Foundation – without such help, the app wouldn’t be here.

Can using the Záchranka app help you pinpoint any trends showing how our society has evolved?

People in the Czech Republic are clearly embracing civil society. How else can you explain the incredible enthusiasm of Záchranka users, who are spreading awareness of first aid, and recommending the app to those around them? They’re actively helping make the work of ambulance staff easier through our app. After all, co-operation and concern for others is the cornerstone of a free democracy. We try to help people every day, and that's why we find our work fulfilling.

Zdeněk Bajtl

Head of the Digital Documents Library and Navigation Centre, SONS organisation for the visually impaired

Zdeněk, what role have technologies been playing in the lives of visually impaired people since 1989?

A visually impaired person cannot begin to imagine life today without technology. It’s an essential tool in our professional and personal lives. Thanks to computers with sound, mobile phones, and other electronic aids adapted for the visually impaired, we can communicate on an equal footing with our able-bodied counterparts. We can also get information, study, work, or make our leisure time more enjoyable. E-mails, optical character recognition (OCR), smart homes, navigation, and meters, lifts, public transport or even ATMs with audio signals or voice recordings. These are all examples of beneficial technologies that have made our daily lives much easier, especially if they take into account use by visually impaired people.

How do you see such technology in the decades to come?

As a technology fan, I’d like to try out a self-driving vehicle and fully accessible pedestrian navigation systems, both outdoors and indoors. But above all, I’d love it if, in the product design process, it was standard to consider accessibility to visually impaired people, at the outset. I’d like such projects to be discussed directly with the visually impaired, and I believe that in matters that cost money both to develop and operate, the majority in society, who are not visually impaired, will help us increasingly.

Zdena Prokopová

co-founder of the ROSA – centrum pro ženy, z.s. women’s advocacy organisation

How did 1989 change society’s attitude to domestic violence and the way it was dealt with?

Setting up and getting our organisation off the ground fundamentally depended on the opening of borders and new-found freedoms. Domestic violence, even though it existed, was taboo in socialist Czechoslovakia. For us, freedom meant the opportunity to apply experience gained from abroad and to learn how this issue was dealt with other countries. A key factor was also the free media, which began to discuss domestic violence. Foreign companies that came to the Czech Republic also played an important role. In their home countries they didn’t underestimate the importance of domestic violence, and their support remains invaluable in this country.

The ROSA organisation has been helping domestic violence victims for almost three decades. Do you think that, thanks to your work, society has changed or developed in some way?

Society‘s view of the topic is changing with more and more finding it unacceptable. Czech politicians awareness of the topic is also growing but it is doing so quite slowly. Unfortunately, many women still experience horrific abuse from their partners, however, modern technology and social networks are playing a major role in this shift of thinking. A good example of this is the Bright Sky CZ mobile app for early detection of domestic violence, which we are working on with the Vodafone Foundation.

Monika Kissová

HESTIA - Centrum pro dobrovolnictví, z.ú. volunteering organisation

After 1989, Czechs started to rediscover the importance of volunteering as one of the key aspects of active engagement in civil society. How important is technology in this development?

Technology plays an increasing role in activating civil society and thus volunteering plays an ever greater role. With access to information, communication and sharing, it acts as a means of support and encourages people to get involved in volunteering activities. On the other hand, technology such as web platforms or applications, allows us to better organise and co-ordinate volunteering activities, whether under corporate volunteer programmes or in our free time.

Over the last three years, have you noticed any volunteering trends that show how Czech society is changing?

In our programmes, we’re seeing an increasing interest in volunteering. For example, more and more people are signing up to our 5P or Kompas mentoring programmes every year. The profile of the volunteers is changing too. They’re no longer just students but also working-age people. In addition, we’re seeing more companies introducing volunteer programmes as part of their corporate social responsibility or HR policies. They’re also enabling their employees to volunteer during working hours.

Božena Jirků

Director Nadace Charty 77 organisation and director of Konto Bariéry organisation

How did the changes in 1989 contribute to what your organisation does?

The year 1989 was a completely fresh start for the non-profit sector in the Czech Republic. We had no charitable foundations before then. Ours was brought from Sweden by František Janouch, who worked there for over 10 years, so we had something to start off with. In 1990, we received CZK 100 million from donors in 10 months, through the Míša Konto fund, and we showed people what charity is. The success led us to Konto Bariéry and to helping wheelchair users. I remember that in the 1990s, František Janouch asked us where they were. People with disabilities weren’t visible in the streets because they were full of obstacles to wheelchairs. I think we changed Czech society when it comes to this issue. We’ve gained tens of thousands of regular donors, the Konto Bariéry fund has been helping for over 25 years, and people with special needs are no longer taboo.

In donations and giving, do you observe in trends that illustrate how Czech society has changed?

We live in a society completely different from that when we started in the Czech Republic. Konto Bariéry collects money for state-of-the-art equipment and aids for life, work, sport and for rehabilitation, in addition to computers and wheelchairs. Bionic prostheses are a big Konto Bariéry hit but a few years ago, could we have ever imagined “cosmic suits" for rehabilitation, for example? Not at all, but today we take them for granted.

Jiří Bárta

Executive Director of the Nadace Via Foundation

The changes of 1989 made it possible for your organisation to be established. What role does technology play in what Nadace Via does?

You’re right, before 1989 we wouldn’t have existed at all. In the early 1990s, we knew that without civic engagement, the transition to democracy wouldn’t have worked. So, we’ve focused Nadace Via’s work on two important topics – revival of community life and the development of philanthropy. We open up new opportunities for the art of living together and the art of giving. Technology certainly plays a big role in this. For example, we helped develop an online donation system through the www.Darujme.cz platform. We were inspired by similar tools in the UK and the USA, and the Vodafone Foundation's World of Difference programme was also involved right from the beginning.

Do you detect from your projects that the Czech Republic and Czech society have changed and developed?

In our themes – community development and philanthropy – Czech society is definitely moving in the right direction. People have already donated 200 million crowns through the Darujme.cz platform and another 120 million will be donated in 2019. The desire to help people is clearly growing. In financial terms, the generosity of people has increased by 60% over the last 10 years. We’re pleased that we’ve been helping in this, at least a little, for 22 years.

Justina Danišová

educational organisation Tereza

Your organisation was one of the few to have existed before the Velvet Revolution. 10 years in your case. How did the changes of 1989 affect you?

We’ve clearly opened the door to new information, research, technology and new partnerships with interesting people and organisations. Our founder, Jana Ledvinová, went to Washington at that time and knocked on the White House door. Thanks to that, the GLOBE international research programme was launched in the Czech Republic, through which NASA encourages a love of science among children and teachers. Research from abroad has helped reinforce what we knew from experience. It also showed us that some practices didn’t have a big impact in the education system and that we need to go elsewhere.

Have you noticed any trends indicating changes in Czech society in terms of behaviour towards nature and education?

Tereza is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, so this is a good chance to look back. We’ve grown considerably since starting off as small action groups, thanks to the public’s increasing interest in the post-revolutionary era, which has now grown to become broad public support in recent years. What was formerly a marginal issue in schools, companies, families, clubs and groups has become a major social discourse. More and more people, organisations and the media are interested in our environmental impact and that children are spending less time outside. This is a great motivation for us to continue what we do.

Jan Lorman

Founder of the Život 90 organisation

Your organisation was set up directly after the Velvet Revolution. What role did new technology play in its development?

Technology became part of our activities shortly after our organisation was established. We launched our “Pensioner line”, a confidential service as early as 1990. To ensure 24/7 assistance, we used pagers, which back then were a major innovation, thanks to these we managed the helpline from home. Two years later, we set up our first remote monitoring system, inspired by other international projects, which later became known as emergency care. That was a historic moment. We set up the first dispatch centre, from which we remotely monitor 950 senior citizens, who are extremely vulnerable in terms of danger to life or health. Vodafone Foundation helped us set up this service.

From the perspective of your project, what changes and developments have you observed within Czech society?

Our project plays a big role in helping seniors lead independent lives and has considerably extended the length of time that they can live in their own homes in safety. Emergency care in the next 10 years will most likely turn into an assisted living service. It will also include the tracking of health data, visual communication, e-learning, advice, and remote care for seniors living at home. Once again, technology will play a leading part in this.