Ostrava: City of Education and Sports (2. strana)

REGION them opportunities to get better manual jobs. Our kindergartens participate in the project “Little Craftsman” which introduces children to tools, teaches them to use the tools and produce small objects and toys for them, their parents and grandparents. We can see how happy they are when they produce a nice ship or a robot. From the earliest age, they develop positive relations to work and craft which will pay off in the future, even if they become doctors or lawyers. At the turn of 2019/2020, Ostrava hosted the Junior World Ice-Hockey Championship. The audiences were huge: how come the people of Ostrava love sports so much and create such a fantastic atmosphere? Ostrava has a great and lasting reputation amongst sportevent promoters. Besides the traditional background of sports clubs and background in various disciplines; many excellent managers and experts work there who are capable of organizing championships of world-class qualities; and last but not least, there is the wonderful audience of sports fans who create a memorable atmosphere at a football match, a world championship in basketball as well as the world championship in para ice-hockey. I often hear the organizers of these events praise the city of Ostrava. We invest widely in sport infrastructures, including facilities for top athletes, pools and outdoor exercise facilities for seniors. Ostrava lives in sports! Our project, however, intends to improve school menus. We want to motivate cooks to make healthy, tasty and modern dishes. That is why we prepared a series of workshops with the chef David Valíček who (as you know from a famous TV show) visits school canteens and helps to make and serve the meals. We do not intend to catch anyone red-handed, we just wish to demonstrate other ways to deliver tasty and healthy dishes. With David and the cooks, we have already engaged students of gastronomic secondary schools, and introduced menus attractive for children to eat and for the cooks to make. We have received positive feedback, and I am very happy that we have succeeded in demonstrating that while keeping to all the norms, we have still managed to produce interesting, healthy and tasty dishes. We are happiest when we see how children enjoy the meals and that their parents are happy, too. We are preparing a cookbook with David to present recipes of the dishes we have made in schools. The cookbook will hopefully become an inspiration at other school kitchens. Speaking of education, it is not always necessary to be a university graduate. We seem to be missing support for manual jobs and crafts. I am not convinced that a university diploma is a prerequisite to a successful career. A single look at the job market illustrates the high demand for qualified and skilled craftsmen, who unfortunately are very rare. But there are interesting jobs for them! Our ambition is to make children more interested in working with tools and material such as wood and metal, and give Ostrava invests in many sports grounds and facilities, which also offer their capacities to businesses and their employees. What do the city companies offer? The company Sareza has renewed their wellness facilities, providing a wide range of massages and relaxation services, a well-equipped fitness centres, and high-quality facilities at swimming pools. They allow games of badminton, table tennis, mini-golf, electronic darts, football tennis, beach volleyball and other sports. Other great attractions include a climbing wall and a large in-line skating facility. All of these with conference halls and accommodation nearby. Your major competences involve education and sports. How do you relax in your free time? I myself love running. Coming from Poruba, I am very grateful for the newly-built running track at the Poruba Wood (Porubský les). I love hiking. Ostrava has many picturesque and romantic areas-just take a walk through the Turkov Nature Preserve in Martinov and Třebovice, along the charming pond Štěpán, or amazing walks in Polanka Forest (Polanecký les) and the meandering way of the Oder River. I enjoy walking in the areas of Landek with their impressive natural and geological attractions. One of the rocks shows layers of coal and sand, you can learn how our land was flooded by shallow seas and other cool things. No wonder the place has a powerful genius loci, it has been inhabited for 25,000 years. I am a keen theatregoer, too. Thank you for the interview. -editorial- Text: Ing. Vít Ruprich, Ph.D., MBA Foto: archiv Magistrát města Ostravy www.ostrava.cz POSITIV 1/2020 ǀ 33