Kryštof Eckhardt, Horní Beřkovice — 2026 elections

Main topics

01

schools and education

As a teacher, I believe good education depends on cooperation between parents, children, teachers, school staff and the school's founder, i.e. the municipality. Its active interest in how the school runs is key to good education. As a councillor, I'd like to build on how the school board has worked so far and develop it further. The board can work even more closely with our school's management, and ideally with the pupil parliament too, on the school's long-term needs, connect the school with experts not only when solving problems, and propose events that extend teaching within the ŠVP. A school board that works as a partnership, connecting parents, teachers, the founder and the school management, is one of the main tools through which our municipality can contribute to good education.

02

young people

Young people are part of villages and towns. In some European countries they can vote in municipal elections even before turning 18; Czechia is reticent about voting from 16. Thanks in part to my scouting upbringing, I believe that young people, like everyone else, can and should take an interest in the place where they live. That's why I'd like to create a “Youth Council” or “youth assembly” – a platform where they would take part in running our municipality, comment on what's happening and make proposals together with board members or councillors. But it must be created in agreement with them from the start. The first step would be to find out their interest and jointly set goals and priorities. From setting up a school parliament as a student, I know that underestimating this phase can derail the project. So I don't want to present young people with a ready-made solution, but to create it with them according to their needs.

03

schools and education

I primarily see this point as part of the “schools” point, but I think the municipal board, or rather the council, should also pay attention to general education in its work. This can take the form of supporting the public library, trying to organise an event with a local expert or, say, a traveller, etc., with the aim of raising people's awareness of a particular problem, topic or place. Such events can also connect residents and strengthen their relationship with the place where they live. After all, if we want a modern, democratic and resilient society, we have to work on educating all sections of the population.

A few words about me

My name is Kryštof Eckhardt and I'm from Prague. I've had a bond with Horní Beřkovice since childhood, when I loved spending summers here, and since 2024 I've been gradually making a home here. What I value most about it is the peace and the surrounding nature, and I take part in community events such as the masopust carnival, which help me get to know local life and residents better. I've been a scout since I was little, and among other things scouting gave me an interest in what happens where I live; that's also why I decided to run in the municipal elections. In the scout movement I learned to work in a team, look for compromises, lead debates and formulate clear goals for various plans or visions. My career as a teacher – I taught at a primary school for the first few years, and now I'm a class teacher at a secondary school – and leading a scout troop give me insight into questions of education and youth work. I consider it a big advantage that I specialise professionally in political and social geography. It's this “geographical thinking”, i.e. looking for various connections in space, that I can use in questions of spatial planning and municipal development, which in my view should be a key pillar of every well-functioning municipality.

The candidate's texts have been machine-translated from Czech.

Links and social media

@krystofeckhardt_starostove Website Facebook

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