A travelling exhibition titled "Czech Republic's Provincial Reconstruction Team in Logar, Afghanistan" coordinated by the Ministry of Defence and the University of Defence has been opened to visit in the entrance hall of Faculty of Economics and Management building in44, Kounicova Street since 12 January 2010.
The exhibition shows photographs, information panels and artefacts documenting the engagement of Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT Logar) in Afghanistan in 2008. It presents the effort of team members and promote the contribution to country reconstruction project done by the Czech military personnel and civilian experts. The exhibited photographs were taken by Marek Štys (People in Need humanitarian organisation), Michal Novotný ("Lidové noviny" newspaper), Jan Rybář ("Mladá fronta DNES" newspaper), Roman Pekař (externally "Česká televize" television, "Lidové noviny" newspaper) or free-lance photographer Iva Zímová.
The exhibition consists of seventeen roll-up panels while it places stress on the photographs part (some of them are taken from the last year Czech Press Photo contest winning series of "Report" category – "ISAF in Afghanistan" photo series by Michal Novotny). It provides with the basic facts of Afghanistan, of the historical relations that had lead to the current situation in the country, of the international assistance and Czech involvement in stabilisation process, of the provincial reconstruction teams as well as particular people in the Czech PRT in Afghanistan.
An integral part of the exhibition contains daily use items in Afghanistan, such as bicycle, artefacts relating to PRT Logar operation and several individual large scale photographs by Michal Novotny and an ACR personnel Sabina Introvicova.
The exhibition travels. It was previewed during the Cesky Krumlov 2008 military film festival in Krumlov chateau Mint. The first official installation in the Czech Parliament lower chamber corridors (December 2008) was attended by the Czech Ministry of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs on the day the Parliament was discussing Czech engagement in overseas military missions for 2009.
The exhibition has already been installed in several towns in the Czech Republic from which the stationed units contributed to the Logar PRT (Prostějov, Hranice na Moravě a others), and at IDET 2009 exhibition in Brno or NATO Days 2009 in Ostrava.
The exhibition at the University of Defence will last till 26 February 2010 being accessed to public on week days from 8 AM to 6 PM.
Text: Pavel Pazdera