Artigos de revistas sobre o tema "Czech republic, biography"

The article is dedicated to the figure of the prominent Czech cultural and political figure Vaclav Havel. The author reveals the main stages of the biography of this famous personality from childhoodto the presidency. The literary, educational, dissident, human rights and political activities of V. Havel are characterized. The author summarizes the role and influence of the personality of the Czech leaderof post-communist Czechoslovakia and subsequently of the Czech Republic in the matter of returning the country to the community of European states. The pages of V. Havel’s biography are revealed onthe background of the main processes of Czech transit to democracy, namely in connection with the successful processes of Euro-Atlantic and European integration. The importance of the figure of thefirst President of the Czech Republic in its international recognition and the establishment of international relations and the pro-European foreign policy is emphasized. The article also describes the establishment of Ukrainian-Czech dialogue.

The article analyzes the milestones of the biography of Vaclav Klaus – a highly qualified economist and prominent political figure in the Czech Republic, who influenced the course of events in his country and answered the challenges of the time. The article also features Klaus's increased activity in 2019-2021 associated with the creation of the Tricolor party in 2019 by his son Klaus Jr., the coronavirus pandemic and the Vrbetice incident. The author emphasizes Klaus's commitment to Czech national traditions, including the support for constructive Czech-Russian relations.

This paper contains a review of plays featuring Milan Rastislav Stefanik as the main character. It involves accessible examples of Slovak and Czech plays, which portray Stefanik as having features of a dramatic character. The paper concentrates on both contemporary plays and those emerging soon after his death. The staging of contemporary plays is analyzed with a focus on dramatic texts and plays that are mainly ceremonial and educational. These were performed, predominantly, in school environments or during celebrations commemorating Stefanik’s tragic death. The paper begins with a short biography of Štefánik.

The review is dedicated to the recent monograph by the Slovak historian Peter Švorc on Jurij Lažo (1867–1929). The book is a meticulously researched biography of the Rusyn national political activist set against the background of the history of the Carpathian Rusyns, Austria-Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. The author pays increased attention to the issues of national and confessional identity of the Rusyn population of the Prešov region and Subcarpathian Rus’. J. Lažo went down in history primarily as a Senator who represented the interests of Rusyn villagers in the Czechoslovak Parliament, and as a fi ghter for the conversion of Greek Catholics to the Orthodox Church. Leger acted as a consistent proponent of the “all-Russian” (all-Eastern Slavic) national-language trend and a critic of the Magyarization and later Slovakization of the Rusyns. All six chapters of the monograph differ in their originality, and are based on documents from various archives in the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Austria. Despite the remain- ing gaps in the biography of Jurij Lažo, Peter Švorc’s book is a valuable contribution to the historiography of this topic.

Professor Miroslav Papáček (1953–2019) was an eminent specialist in morphology, taxonomy, systematics, biology and ecology of aquatic and semiaquatic bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha). All his career was connected with the Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Here we provide his short biography, personal memories of his colleague, bibliography currently comprising 125 papers in zoology and 57 in didactics of biology, and an annotated list of the taxa he described, which includes one subfamily (Helotrephidae: Trephotomasinae), three genera, two subgenera and 41 species of Helotrephidae and Aphelocheiridae.

The study presents critical commentary on a biography of the Austrian violinist and Holocaust victim Alma Rosé (1906–1944) published by the Canadian musicologist Richard Newman. Alma is famous primarily for having conducted the girls’ camp orchestra at the Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. The study is mainly devoted to the period of the late 1920s and the first half of the 1930s, when Alma was the partner of the Czech violin virtuoso Váša Příhoda (1900–1960). In the study, the author’s examination of relevant sources refutes certain traditional legends that are still in circulation about Alma and her marriage to Příhoda. The study covers the history of Příhoda’s villa in Záryby and also outlines the life of Příhoda’s second wife Jindřiška, née Kreuz. The questions of A. Rosé’s Czechoslovak citizenship and Prague residency are dealt with in detail. There is a listing of Alma’s known performances in Czechoslovakia in the latter half of the 1920s and in the 1930s. At the conclusion, the study points out basic historical inaccuracies in theatrical plays about Alma Rosé, which were premiered in the Czech Republic in 2022: this involves a play by the Polish author Mariusz Urbanek titled Alma and Martina Kinská’s Czech drama Because of Alma.

Abstract Professor Pavel Štys (1933–2018) was an eminent specialist in morphology, taxonomy, systematics, biology and behaviour of Heteroptera, and the Commissioner of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. All his career was connected with the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, where he educated several generations of Czech biologists and teachers. Here we provide his short biography, personal memories of his colleagues, bibliography currently comprising 386 papers, and annotated list of the taxa he described, which includes two families (Stemmocryptidae and Medocostidae), 11 subfamilies, 4 tribes, 54 genus-group and 129 species-group names, all of them in Heteroptera, except one species and one subspecies of Syrphidae (Diptera). Within the list the grammatical gender of the genera Chauliops Scott, 1874 and Neochauliops Štys, 1963 is corrected to masculine in accordance with ICZN (1999: Article 30.1.4.3) affecting the gender agreement in the following species: Chauliops conicus Gao & Bu, 2009, Ch. lobatulus Breddin, 1907, Ch. petiolatus (Germar, 1837), Ch. quaternarius Gao & Bu, 2009, and Neochauliops laciniatus (Bergroth, 1916).

In the mid-1990s, on the initiative of Oksana Pelenska – at that time a researcher of Ukrainian emigration in the interwar Czechoslovak Republic and head of the office of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic, and now an employee of the "Ukrainian Editorial Board of Radio Svoboda" – the project "Ukrainian addresses in Prague" was launched (still active). Thus, on the map of Prague, Poděbrady , Brno, and other Czech cities, Ukrainian addresses are gradually "discovered," such as Luzhytska Street 38, apartment 1 (the place of registration of the publisher Petr Zlenka); 6 Goremyrova Street (the main estate of the Museum of the Liberation Struggle of Ukraine). Therefore, the purpose of the study is to supplement information about "Ukrainian addresses in Prague" through the prism of the biography of Mykola Antonovych Skydan. The research methodology is based on the principles of concrete-historical approach or historicism, objectivity, comprehensiveness, integrity, systematicity, as well as the use of methods of analysis, synthesis, historical-genetic, historical-comparative, historical-typological, problem-chronological. The scientific novelty lies in the publication of previously unknown information about the life and activities of the agronomist and publisher, permanent secretary of the Foreign Committee of the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries in the Czechoslovak Republic Mykola Antonovych Skydan. Conclusions. Mykola Antonovych Skydan entered the field of view of the "liberators of Prague" by accident in May-June 1945. He, like statesman Mykola Rossinevych, professor of classical languages Mykola Tymchenko, and publisher Petro Zlenko, was captured, interrogated, sent, and transported to Lukyanivska prison and later accused of anti-Soviet activities. The sentence was 10 years of correctional labor. Skydan did not live to the end of his prison term. The author of this publication is so far the only person who has inquired about the rehabilitation certificate of Mykola Antonovych Skydan.

In the article, for the first time, documents about the visit of Bishop Adam (Philipovsky) to Subcarpathian Rus in June 1926 are introduced into scientific circulation. The author was involved in the analysis of sources from several archives of different countries. Among them are the documents of the State Archives of the Transcarpathian Region, the National Archives of the Czech Republic, and the Archives of the Office of the President of the Republic in Prague. The epistolary legacy of the Czech bishop Gorazd (Pavlik), which is kept in the Archives of the Olomouc-Brno Diocese in Olomouc, is also of some interest. Periodicals also supplement documentary sources. The article uses a publication from the Uzhhorod newspaper «Novoje vremja», which was published in Latin. The text provides a brief description of the life path of Bishop Adam, and his connections with individual residents of Subcarpathian Rus are reflected. The author emphasizes that the activities of the aforementioned bishop played an essential role in the life of American Orthodoxy in the first half of the 20th century. The study of Philipovsky's biography gives grounds for asserting that his work is not sufficiently studied historiographically, and historians do not even mention the visit to Subcarpathian Rus. The author traces the development of Adam Philipovsky, his educational level, and his professional activity. It is emphasized that he was a graduate of Lviv University, engaged in journalism, and later went through all levels of the priestly career. The initiator of his ordination in 1922 was Bishop Stefan (Dzubay) of Pittsburgh, who wanted to strengthen his position in Canada in a confrontation with Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvenskyi). Bishop Adam led the communities of Carpathians who lived in several Canadian cities and then extended his jurisdiction to American parishes of the «old land» as well. Having lost to the metropolitan and received a ban from the ROCOR, the bishop left behind a significant influence and achieved recognition of his diocese by the Karlovy Vary Synod. Several documents from the SATR funds are attached to the article, which characterizes the policy of the Czechoslovak authorities towards the Orthodox Church and describes the course of the bishop's visit to Subcarpathian Rus.

The phenomenon of multiple deliveries primarily attracts the attention of physicians, who are mostly focused on the study of its physiological aspects and consequences. However, it is important to know the demographic characteristics of this phenomenon to understand development trends and patterns. The study of the features of the twins biography creates a unique opportunity to determine the causes and eff ects of human behaviour, the possibility of adaptation, development, to identify the role of the genetic factors, environment, events in human life and more. The national registers of twins are maintained in many developed countries. Unfortunately, Ukraine does not have complete statistical information about the number of twins, the age of the mother at their birth, the order of their birth, the sex and age structure of twins, triplets and quadruplets living in our country, so in our country a systematic analysis of multiple births is not carried out. The aim of this paper is to investigate the demographic characteristics of the phenomenon of multiple births. The study was conducted using methods of comparison, analysis, generalization, graphical method and based on statistical information of demographic yearbooks of the Czech Republic and Poland, which published quite detailed information on the births of multiple deliveries by sex and age of mother, and data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on the number of births with twins, triplets and more twins in diff erent types of settlements. Such studies have not been conducted in our country for the last 50 years. In Ukraine, the frequency of multiple births and births of twins has increased in the new millennium; in 2019 there were 13.6 multiple deliveries per 1,000 deliveries, or 27.1 newborn twins per 1,000 births (in 2001 respectively 6.9 and 13.8). However, in diff erent countries the trends of the frequency of multiple births may diff er signifi cantly, in particular, in the last decade in Poland index of frequency has stabilized, but in the Czech Republic it has declined quite rapidly. The example of these countries has shown that increased fertility is not necessarily accompanied by increase in the frequency of multiple births, and the highest frequency is not always characteristic of women aged 35-39 years as early research has shown. In Ukraine, the share of multiple births among all live births with the use of reproductive technologies is declining. In order to study the phenomenon of multiple births, it would be advantageous in Ukraine to introduce in statistical observations the forms of distribution of multiple births by maternal age, order of birth, to identify cases of twin births using reproductive technologies.

XVII National scientific conference “Status and biodiversity of ecosystems of Shatskyi National Nature Park and other protected areas” dedicated to the 100 birthday anniversary of Kost Tatarynov was held on 9–12 September, 2021. Zoology Department of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv traditionally organized it. 65 participants from 40 scientific and education organizations took part in the conference. They represented Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Shatsk, Ivano-Frankove, Odesa, Sumy, Uzhgorod, Zhytomyr, Brno (Czech Republic), New-Deli (India), Copenhagen (Denmark) and others. Most of the organizations belong to the Ministry of Education and Science, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Some of them represent nature protective areas of our country, animal sanctuaries and NGOs. Conference was divided into two parts: 9 September – plenary session at Biology Faculty of the University, 10–12 September – section presentations at Bio-Geographical Stationary of the University (vicinity of Shatsk, Volyn region). 29 oral reports on the actual fundamental and applied problems of zoology, ecology, hydroecology, population genetics, nature conservation, microevolution, microbiology, botany etc. were presented. At the beginning the attention was drawn to the biography of Kost Tatarynov and memories of him. One of the key conference reports was Yosyf Tsaryk’s presentation on the necessity reasons of information ecosystemology establishing as a new branch of ecology. Other reports concern global climate change and its impact on key-stone species in different ecosystems, consequences of negative anthropogenic pressure and influence of other ecological factors on biotic systems, problems and perspectives of the development of nature protected territories in Ukraine. One of the most important innovations on the conference was its mixed participation: part of the lecturers (especially those from abroad) presented their reports remotely (by Zoom), and the rest of participants did it in a traditional way. This approach gave the possibility to enlarge the list of presenters, let the organizers minimize Covid-19 risks and showed the perspective of such a conference format use for the future. Conference proceedings include 59 publications by 130 authors (https://bioweb.lnu.edu.ua/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SHatsk-2021.pdf). The conference participants emphasized on the importance of complex approach to zoological and ecological research, necessity of integrated view on the problem of biodiversity conservation. Model sites for the following biota monitoring were chosen during the program excursion around Lake Pisochne. The participants accented on the importance of the conference as a didactic measure for students and supported the idea of popularization of zoological and ecological knowledge among schoolchildren and youth. The fact of cooperation with the scientists and institutions from abroad as well as the usage of remote technologies to communicate with them was positively mentioned too. Finally, the participants expressed their gratitude for the high level of conference organization and proposed to organize the next XVIІІ one in September of 2022. Full text of the conference resolution is available on https://bioweb.lnu.edu.ua/news/xvii-naukova-konferentsiia-stan-i-bioriznomanittya-ekosystem-shatskoho-natsionalnoho-pryrodnoho-parku-ta-inshykh-pryrodookhoronnykh-terytoriy

The article depicts scientific research papers on Ravjaa (1803-1856), a prominent Mongolian writer, composer, painter, and Buddhist scholar by scientists of Mongol Studies in the world. More than 20 worldrenowned scholars from over 10 countries, including Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, have studied Danzanravjaa's biography and literary works specifically.

AbstractIn this paper the authors seek to contribute to a new ontology of an embodied, desiring subject through an exploration of their own subjectivities and of the ways in which subjectivities are produced and transformed through affective attachments to place. Using the method of collective biography (Davies, Gannon 2006) and drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts of desire and territorialization they examine their affective responses and attachments to place: Australia and the Czech Republic. As a point of departure for their analysis, the authors ask: What does it mean to be homesick for a place which is not one’s home? What does it mean to desire a place? What of the other place is inscribed in the body? In asking this, the authors show the extent to which place is a zone of immanence in which a continual play of de- and re-territorialization occurs.

Objective: To explore and introduce into scientific circulation art medals ˗ tangible historical sources studied by medal art, a section of the special historical discipline of numismatics, related to the life and work of Gregor Mendel. Place and Duration of the Study: Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, from January to April 2022. Methodology: Both general scientific (historical, logical) and special (subject-chronological, retrospective) methods were used in the work. Numismatic and biological literature, materials of international numismatic auctions, and websites of world mints have been studied. Results: Art medals of the Czech Republic, the USA, Germany, Austria, Portugal and the European Community relating to life and scientific heritage of Gregor Mendel have been studied and described. Conclusion: The study has become a new step in the development of the history of biological science, supplementing the knowledge of the artistic reflection of the origins of genetics in the art of medal. Material historical sources ˗ art medals, enabled us to capture the pages of the biography and scientific work of Gregor Mendel in a new plane, introducing the medals into scientific (biological) circulation.

The purpose of the study is to reveal Ishtvan Marton’s life creativity issue and to confirm the idea of the master’s life reflected the cultural and historical flow Zakarpattia in the 20th century. The research methodology includes a number of approaches: biographical – embracing the milestones of Ishtvan Ferentsovych’s life; culture studies – characterising the specifics of the regional artistic life; historical – interpreting the social and political events of the locus; analytical – studying scientific sources on the aforementioned issue; systemic – mastering the spiritual foundations of the region as part of nationwide daily life; theoretical generalisation – formulating the conclusions of the study. Science novelty. For the first time ever in national art studies, Ishtvan Marton’s chronicle has been interpreted from the perspective of revealing the significance of his practice for the flow of regional sociocultural processes in the 20th century. Conclusions. Ishtvan Marton’s chronicles reflected the civilizational evolvement of Zakarpattia of the 20th century. Shaping the demiurge’s personal and occupational features took place in earlier period when the territory used to be a part of the Czech Republic (1919–1939), the Hungarian Kingdom (1939–1944). The political situation contributed to the following: the master’s West European artistic focusing; domination of humanistic values; openness to the achievements of various ethnic groups. An important role in the master’s maturity was performed by family circumstances, communication with prominent local musicians, an opportunity of self-growth, active creativity practice. Late 20th century was the period of the region joining the USSR (1945–1991). The demand of the authority was to create occupational composer and performing regional schools, educational development, activating concert-performing life. Ishtvan Marton got involved in implementing the abovementioned goals: he wrote a great amount of various genre opuses, cooperated with regional groups, taught in Uzhhorod Music College, consulted amateur composers. Late period of Ishtvan Marton’s life was the time of Ukraine reviving its independence, enhancing the role of local artistic domains. The master’s creative heritage established the professional music culture of Zakarpattia within the national and West-European spiritual scope.

Dear readers,We offer you a new English issue of Envigogika which thematically focuses on case studies of regional sustainable development where social actors play specific roles in communication processes – it documents both the promotion of positive changes at regional level and/or also provide evidence to illuminate seemingly unresolvable conflicts. The concept of social learning from an educational point of view frames this thematic edition – as with any other learning process, stakeholder dialogue has a transformative aspect, the opportunity to confront and possibly change opinions and act on the basis of agreed emergent standpoints. In particular, this collection of case studies specifically tries to illuminate role of science and education in regional development, and attempts to introduce methods of analysis of diverse social relationships as well as practical ways of facilitation of communication processes.In this issue of Envigogika two types of case studies are presented – regional development and regional conflicts. Progress in both is highly dependent on the involvement of actors who shape discussions and consequently frame the issue. Analysis of social aspects is hence highly desirable and first steps undertaken here show some interesting results.The first area of interest (development issues) is a traditional focus of Actor Analysis (AA) and this method is widely used abroad in the envisioning stage and helps to facilitate negotiation processes. In the Czech context however, deliberation processes take place rather spontaneously and without a proper analytical stage, and reflections on negotiations in specific cases illustrates exactly this. A hypothesis about the need for continuous cultivation of democratic conditions in the Czech Republic, (with help of sound scientific analytical methods) specifically concerning deliberation processes, was posed as a result of a collaborative research process. This hypothesis was explored in different ways by our invited authors.To provide a brief overview of the issue:Simon Burandt, Fabienne Gralla and Beatrice John in their article Actor Analysis in Case Studies for (regional) Sustainable Development introduce the Actor Analysis analytical tool used to reflect regional (sustainable) development challenges throughout several articles in this issue. This method can be used with the aim not only of studying social capital, but also to have an impact on decision making and community choices. Its role in describing social players and their interactions, to assist in understanding regional development processes and potential conflicts, and to provide information for strategy development is demonstrated through a specific case (the Ore Mountains). The steps of an actor analysis described in the article can be read as guideline for implementing this analysis and an analytical perspective on this process is provided by this article.An outstanding Czech sustainability oriented local economy project is presented in an article by Jan Labohý, Yvonna Gaillyová and Radim Machů: A sustainability assessment of the Hostětín cider house project. The authors assess the sustainability of the project in relation to different kinds of capital using complex indicators that uncover different aspects of the production process and its local cultural characteristics; moreover, effects to the local economy are measured using the local multiplier effect indicator. From this assessment it is clear that the cider house project meets the primary goals of regional sustainable development in a long term perspective.Another – opposite, negative – case is described by Jan Skalík in the analyses the Debate about the Šumava National Park in the Czech Chamber of Deputies. The article demonstrates persisting conflict and its roots with help of the text analysis method applied to the transcripts of parliamentary debates about National Park Šumava (ŠNP) in the Chamber of Deputies between 1990 and 2013. The relationship between politicians and local people within decision-making process, which is depicted as a consequence of this conflict, is then discussed. Interesting conclusions concern the plurality of dialogue and roles of the actors within it; the influence of scientists on the solutions; and the inflammatory and emotional characteristics of recent debate.As a contrast, which serves as a counterargument to show the power of civic society, Vendula Zahumenská refers to a case in Hradec Králové where environmentalists and local developers have been in conflict concerning the development and commercial use of the Na Plachtě natural monument. This case study shows the role of public participation in environmental protection and describes the specific opportunities for influencing environmental decision-making.But there are cases in CR where declared economic interests are so strong that they eliminate dialogue with civic society – for example, as a result of brown coal mining and its associated industrial development, 106 towns and villages were obliterated in North Bohemia and its population was resettled to newly built prefabricated housing estates. A Case study analysing biographic interviews with the displaced people of Tuchomyšl is presented by Ivana Hermová. The author shows that the former Tuchomyšlers continue to identify strongly with the social space of the obliterated village, and discovers how they reflect on their forced eviction 35 years after the physical destruction of the village.That these conclusions concerning the involvement of social actors might be reflected (and used) in the practice of school education, is described by Alois Hynek, Břetislav Svozil, Jakub Trojan and Jan Trávníček. In a reflection on the Deblínsko landscape project these authors refer to the roles of stakeholders including a university, primary school and kindergarten, and also owners, users, decision-makers, shareholders and stakeholders within public administration. The project is driven by Masaryk University which applies sustainability/security concepts in practice while closely relating these activities with research and teaching. This experience shows that social learning processes can start early among children/pupils/students.A brief analytical overview of cases in this special issue, as well as an overview of information and experiences from a database of case studies from different regions of the Czech Republic and from abroad (compiled by authors beyond the scope of this issue), is provided in an article Potential for social learning in sustainable regional development: analysis of stakeholder interaction … by Jana Dlouhá and Martin Zahradník. The conditions for the success or failure of environmental or sustainable development strategies from a social point of view have been analysed here with a focus on the roles of actors in a dialogue about regional sustainability issues within cooperative or conflict situations and concern for the communication processes among actors, scientists included. As a result of this analysis, interesting hypotheses were formulated, related to the role of future visioning as a ground for discussion, communication frameworks which involve all concerned actors, and the (non)existence of facilitation practices. These findings highlight the importance of reflecting on development issues’ social aspects to help understand and promote democratic decision making processes at regional level.The case studies which follow the research section of the issue take the opportunity to provide a colourful depiction of local sustainable development conditions. The Description of old industrial regions in Europe and potential for their transformation is described by Joern Harfst and David Osebik who stress social learning as an important transformative factor. In particular the involvement of research partners may support joint learning effects and knowledge transfer between all actors. Establishment of trusting working relationships may be crucial to overcome certain reservations on all sides before innovative approaches can be pursued successfully.The Vulkanland case study case written by Michael Ober traces the first glimpses of a sustainable development vision for a border region with little hope for economic prosperity to the successful development of a new identity which has reinforced local peoples’ self-confidence. The initiators of the project first imagined a future built on different standards than the past and consequently managed to substantially transform this region within a period of 15 years. The ‘Steirisches Vulkanland’ region now includes 79 municipalities which together promote local, green, self-sustaining businesses and continue to be ambitious about their future visions including achieving energy independence.As part of the theme illustrated in this Special issue and mentioned also within the analysis of the cases is a text Discovery of a supposed extinct settlement species made at Königsmühle in the Ore Mountains (published previously in Envigogika 9/1 last year but worth republishing in English in the context of this thematic issue). Author Petr Mikšíček pays attention to footprints left in the landscape by bygone generations of inhabitants (and also to present-day footprints left by our generation) and struggles to retain this memory for future generations. Clashes with the interests of some of the actors (land owners in this case) are necessary to preserve the footprints that are on the brink of being wiped out.A brief introduction to the new publication Analysis and support for participatory decision-making processes aimed at regional sustainable development strategies through the use of actor analysis methodology which is available fully online here is presented in the Information section of the Issue.From this overview, some general conclusions can be derived:Conflict situations described in this issue emerged when traditional concepts were enforced by strong actors (without joint envisioning and planning with the others); these circumstances usually do not allow for balanced discussions about the future. However the important role of minor actors such as scientists was also revealed. Experiences with their involvement provided a chance to highlight the role of scientists in policy-making.Based on the findings of this and other related research, the role of scientists can be framed not only as providers of the (rather technical) expertise to reach the goals that were set within the environment or SD oriented decision-making, but also as entering policy negotiations providing an insight into the processes they undergo. If invited at an early stage of decision-making, they can have a considerable impact on its results (then their involvement can be described as an action research). This finding might be used in planning of similar practical and scientific projects.As we can see, several interesting ideas resulted from a comparative meta-analysis of the case studies and were outlined in this issue of Envigogika. In general, it is a social point of view that provides an insight into the nature of the examples presented from the Czech Republic and the good practices from abroad. A scientific method of description is used here to reflect policy mechanisms as well as to indicate a way forward for integrating decision making practice into very sensitive, local or regional sustainability contexts. We sincerely hope that this will precipitate a broad process of public dialogue among experts as well as other actors – beyond the realm of academic discussions only, but nevertheless with substantial academic input.We wish you an enjoyable read and a pleasant and relaxing summer!On behalf of the Envigogika editorial teamJana and Jiří DlouhýAcknowledgementResearch in several articles of this issue was supported by the following projects: Interdisciplinary network of cooperation for policy development in the field of sustainable development (Mezioborová síť spolupráce pro policy development v oblasti udržitelného rozvoje – MOSUR, 2011‑2014) CZ.1.07_2.4.00_17.0130 from the OPVK program of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; and TD020120 (TAČR), and 14/36005S (GAČR).