In accordance with Section 1(d) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education, DAMU takes an active role in public debate on social and ethical issues, in fostering cultural diversity and mutual understanding, in shaping civil society and preparing young people for life in it. The multiplicity of life views and life experiences is seen as a crucial and beneficial quality, especially in an artistic environment. In this section we collect all current information concerning the cultivation and maintenance of ethical culture at DAMU.
The DAMU Ombudsman is an independent person who creates a space for dialogue and confidential assistance to students, staff and employees of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (hereinafter referred to as DAMU), especially in matters of ethics, workplace culture and prevention of abuse of power.
Its mission is to contribute to the creation and provision of a safe and fair learning and working environment, as well as to promote its diversity. In accordance with Section 1(d) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education, DAMU takes an active role in public debate on social and ethical issues, in fostering cultural diversity and mutual understanding, in shaping civil society and in preparing young people for life in it. The multiplicity of life views and life experiences is seen as a crucial and beneficial quality, especially in an artistic environment. That is why the Ombudsman is also intended to help create tools for reconciling family, study and working life and for the inclusion of any disadvantaged groups.
At the same time, the Ombudsman's activity is integrally linked to the structure of the DAMU, complementing the activities of other DAMU bodies, and its main mission is to act as an advisory, cultivating and mediating function.
The institute of the Ombudsman is established by Dean's Decree No. 1/2024.
E-mail: ombudsman@damu.cz
Phone: +420 605 185 815
Office hours: Monday 9am - 5pm (other days by appointment)
Room: no. T109 in the building of the AMU rectorate on Malostranské náměstí 12
Petr Polák was elected Ombudsman of DAMU in April 2022 and his term of office ends in 2027. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno. He is close to theatre art and its teaching thanks to his studies in the theory and history of theatre. His legal education is applied in the Office of the Ombudsman in Brno, where he has worked in various positions since 2007; for eight years he even headed the Equal Treatment Department. He is also an external lecturer at the Academy of European Law (ERA), was a member of the Board of Directors of the European Network of Equality Bodies Equinet until 2019 and has also lectured law at his alma mater in the past. He is a national tutor for the HELP programme of the Council of Europe and a lay judge of the Regional Court in Ostrava in criminal cases. He has authored or co-authored several publications, proceedings and articles on protection against discrimination. He is a founding member of the School Ombuds Platform (SOP), which brings together ombuds persons at Czech universities.He speaks English and Spanish. He is learning Czech sign language.
Simona Kysilková Šnajperková graduated in theatre studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University and in theatre production at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts. She speaks English, partly German and Russian. Since autumn 2019, she has been working at the DAMU Library, where she deals, among other things, with the issue of plagiarism and proper citation. At the faculty she is involved in project management in addition to library activities. Since January 2023, she has been the secretary of the DAMU Ombudsman, for whom she mainly provides educational events.
