The athletic stadium of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Charles University was alive with dozens of participants of different age categories who took part in another year of the charity run Motion Brings Me Joy and Warmth. The seventh edition of the event was part of the nationwide Run and Help project organized by Konto Bariéry.
The event was kicked off by Miroslav Petr, Dean of the Charles University's Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Markéta Martínková, Vice-Rector of Charles University, Gabriela Švagrová, Chief Operating Officer of the Charter 77 Foundation, Heřman Volf from the Journey to the Dream organization and Olympic champion Kateřina Neumannová. The aim of the run was not only to stir up the public, but above all to support a good cause - through the entry fee and voluntary contributions to help finance sports prostheses for three young athletes. "It warms my heart to see how many people are willing to combine sport and help. Movement has the power to connect, inspire and change lives - not only of those who run, but also of those for whom we run," said Miroslav Petr, Dean of FTVS UK.
The event was also attended by students of FTVS UK who represented the Czech Republic at the Winter Universiade in Turin - for example, members of the golden hockey team Natálie Brichová and Lucie Eignerová, hockey player David Jindra, skier Marek Müller, ski mountaineer Michal Strejc, speed skater Radek Fajkus. Furthermore, a member of the Paralympic national team, athlete Tereza Jakschová, took part. Their presence brought strong motivation and positive energy to the runners.
The participants symbolically set off for Stockholm - a city 1273 kilometres away from Prague, where the Charter 77 Foundation was founded in 1978. In the end, thanks to the active involvement of more than 350 participants, they managed to cover an impressive 2,060 kilometres, a new record from the previous years. Anička and Roman also contributed to the relaxed atmosphere with their musical accompaniment - both students of Applied Physical Education and Sport for Persons with Specific Needs (APA). In addition to running and walking on the oval, visitors could also try out the physical rehabilitation trainers operated by the Journey to a Dream project.
This year's event also included the Sport Connects student project, which was initiated by Youth Connect for Ukraine under the auspices of the British Council. Participants in the project had been collecting their mileage over the previous 20 days on the Strava app, with 104 participants joining. Together they covered an impressive 4214 km, significantly surpassing the symbolic route from London via Prague to Kiev. Each kilometre was supported with 10 CZK to support Ukraine through People in Need.
Last but not least, we represented the SUPPORTER project in the Horizon programme, of which we are a part. At our stand, we highlighted the importance of gender equality in sport and presented the activities we are implementing at our faculty within this project, especially the upcoming output, which is the Gender Equality Plan tailored to the needs of our faculty. In addition to the information received, visitors tried interactive activities in the mentimeter and shared their ideas with us on a flipchart. We also invited everyone to the final conference, Advancing Gender+ Equality in Widening Higher Education Institutions, on June 4 and 5, 2025. You can register here.
A big thank you also goes to the partners of the event - the Czech Paralympic Committee, Journey to a Dream, DECATHLON, KPMG and MATTONI, without whose support it would not have been possible to organize the event on such a large scale. The Motion Brings me Joy and Warmth movement has once again shown that sport has a great power to connect people across generations and borders - and that even a small step can make a big difference. In the spirit of the motto of the FTVS UK "Motion is our passion", hundreds of participants joined together for a good cause and helped those who need it most with their commitment.
