The Czech National Trust is extremely pleased to co-operate with Prague College now Prague City University (PCU), one of the top private higher education institutions in the Czech Republic. The partnership has been constantly developing, and two new areas on which PCU students could collaborate with the Czech National Trust to the benefit of both parties have recently been identified. The Czech National Trust has been constantly growing and developing since its founding in October 2013, and is currently in need of a substantial rebranding strategy and strategic management. And this is where the PCU newly steps in.

As part of extending its partnership with the Czech National Trust further, PCU has assigned the following task to its students at the School of Art & Design: to review and improve the overall CNT strategy, while taking into consideration the use of the current online marketing tools such as videos and blogs, and to come up with new ways of improving the CNT website so that it would address the two key audience groups better: the volunteers and the donors. As an NGO, the Czech National Trust relies on volunteers who assist with CNT projects, and on donors who provide the necessary funds for these projects.

The second part of the partnership extension will be based around designing a campaign to raise the public awareness of the Czech National Trust through efficient copywriting, slogans, taglines and promo videos. It is expected that this part of the partnership will launch at the beginning of 2018.

Ondřej Fučík, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) in Graphic Design at PCU, has said the following on the topic of the PCU/Czech National Trust partnership: „Our School of Art & Design students are extremely talented and creative, and of course approach their work with fresh and modern ideas in order to ensure that their work is in compliance with the newest technology standards. This is one of the main reasons why our students are highly competitive once they enter the job market. Nonetheless, regardless of the quality of instruction at Prague College, there is nothing more beneficial than work on real projects which will help our students understand what a full time job in the field is actually like. The opportunity to work on branding and marketing projects, such as this one which is part of the Prague College/Czech National Trust Partnership, is definitely a priceless work experience for them.“

Dr. Irena Edwards, the founder and Chairman of the Czech National Trust, says „When Prague College approached us with the offer of partnership on specific projects, we immediately saw it as a great opportunity for both parties as there has already been a natural bond between the two entities. Both the CNT and Prague College are Czech entities with strong connections to Great Britain. Nonetheless, the biggest part of our synergy is the fact that both institutions are constantly working on supporting the heritage of the Czech Republic, its beautiful architecture and exceptionally talented individuals. We are looking forward to cultivating our partnership with Prague College further and in various new ways.”

*)In 2021 Prague College merged with Akcent College to become Prague City University (PCU) and as a result its programmes have Czech and British accreditation.

We had the wonderful opportunity to present the Czech National Trust, our mission, activities and projects as part of a festive evening reception which took place on May 17, 2017, at the Residence of the Austrian Ambassador to the Czech Republic in Prague. The event was opened and hosted by Alexander Grubmayr, Austrian Abassador to the Czech Republic.

As many as 80 guests have attended the evening reception, which was also a fund-raising event. The guests have made donations and pledges amounting to the total of 400 000 CZK which will be used for our pilot project in Zdislavice, for creation of a nature trail and for our Prague projects.

Among the reception guests were Jan Thompson, British Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Catherine Leonard, Secretary General of the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), and almost all our main donors and supporters: Eduard Kučera (Avast), Magdalena Součková (Ernst&Young), Milan Šimonovský (Sigma), Eliška Kaplický (Chair of the Prague Culture and Monument Care Department), and many other CNT volunteers and friends.

The Czech National Trust has made a contribution of 122 000 CZK to the rescue of the Chinese Pavilion, a construction built in the Romanticist architectural style in the 19^th century, situated in a UNESCO site called Kroměříž Castle Garden. The sum is the proceeds from a public fund-raising campaign so far which the Czech National Trust organised in cooperation with the National Heritage Institute. Donations can be made via bank transfer to the transparent account with the ČSOB bank – the account number is 270472892 / 0300. The fund-raising campaign is still up and running, as the target amount to be raised is 700 000 CZK.

Thanks to the efforts of the Czech National Trust and other donors, the Chinese Pavilion will be safe this winter. The first phase of the rescue project has just finished and it consisted of two parts: a reparation of the island banks and a basic reconstruction of the wooden and metal structures. The total cost of the first phase of the rescue project was more than 250 000 CZK. We are immensely proud that the proceeds from our fund-raising campaign have covered almost half of this cost and we would like to use this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to all our donors!