Are you curious about what it is like to swap Ostrava classrooms for volunteering in the heart of Africa? Do you want to learn how traditional Rwandan craft changes people’s lives? And how exactly is the University of Ostrava involved in cooperation with Rwanda?

The Rwanda Festival, which will take place on June 23 at the UO City Campus, will offer answers to these questions. The program will bring together yoga, inspiring lectures, stories of volunteering, and support for women from the non-profit organization Talking Through Art.

You can join the festival for the whole afternoon or pick only the parts of the program that appeal to you the most. The entire program will be interpreted into English, so it is open to international students, employees, and guests of the University as well.

Rwanda Festival Program

16:00–17:00 | Charity Yoga with a View of Ostrava
The event will kick off with a bit of movement. The session will be led by Adéla Hašková, a student at the UO Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, a yoga instructor at Jóga na OSU, and a volunteer who has personally traveled to Rwanda to help.

The session will take place on the roof of the City Campus. In case of bad weather, it will move to the Aerobics Hall. Admission is 150 CZK, and all proceeds will go to support Rwandan women from the Talking Through Art organization. Payment will be possible on site in cash or via QR code.

Registration for the session is required via this form. The number of mats is limited, so please bring your own yoga mat.

17:30–17:40 | Ostrava’s Footprint in the Heart of Africa: How We Cooperate with Rwanda
In this short block at the City Campus auditorium, we will show that the connection between the University of Ostrava and Rwanda runs much deeper than it might seem at first glance.

Cooperation takes place on several levels – from Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility projects, thanks to which the University of Ostrava has hosted groups of Rwandan students in Ostrava, through the opportunity to spend a semester at a Rwandan university under the VIA Exchange program, to volunteering under the umbrella of the OU AID program.

17:40–18:30 | How Baskets Changed the Lives of Rwandan Women
The main highlight of the program will be a lecture by Petr Kočnar, founder of the non-profit organization Talking Through Art. Petr Kočnar will share the story of the organization and explain how art, design, and traditional craft help women in Rwanda gain greater self-reliance and dignity.

What is Talking Through Art (TTA)? The organization was founded in early 2015 by Czech artist and designer Petr Kočnar. TTA is dedicated to supporting and empowering women with disabilities in Rwanda by providing them with meaningful employment. Currently, it employs more than 100 women who hand-weave traditional baskets and sew custom mosquito nets, thereby gaining financial independence. TTA’s mission is to restore women’s self-confidence and prove that “disability does not mean inability.” TTA also supports education – thanks to its donors, it sends 30 children of the employed women to school, covering their tuition fees and school supplies. The products are mainly sold in local Rwandan hotels, reaching both local and international tourists.

18:30–19:00 | Book Launch of basket with a story
The conclusion of the official program in the auditorium will belong to the launch of the book basket with a story, created for Talking Through Art by Adéla Hašková from the UO Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.

In 2024, Adéla spent a month volunteering at Talking Through Art through the OU AID program and remained in close contact with the organization after returning. As a book design student, she designed and produced a book that maps the story of the organization and showcases its craft products. Adéla will launch the book together with TTA founder Petr Kočnar.

Support the Women of Talking Through Art

Throughout the festival, a stall featuring original products from the Talking Through Art workshop will be available at the UO City Campus. By purchasing a traditional basket, visitors will not only take home a beautiful design piece with a story, but most importantly, they will directly support Rwandan women on their journey toward self-reliance.

The organization can also be supported financially via QR code. Contributions help cover, for example, health insurance for the employed women, basket-weaving materials, school supplies for children, lunches for the women, as well as the running costs of the Talking Through Art facilities.

Your help makes a concrete impact:

• 200 CZK per month helps provide a hot lunch for 10 women.
• 500 CZK per month covers basket-weaving materials for one woman for an entire month.
• 1,000 CZK per month contributes to health insurance for three employed women.

Come to the Rwanda Festival and draw inspiration from projects that connect people across continents and bring help where it is needed. We look forward to seeing you!