Life under normalisation
What was Tuzex, what did you need to travel to the West, and how did banned books spread? Four questions, with an explanation for every mistake.
Sources: Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes · Libri prohibiti9–13 November 2026
Pauza na Samet
Five days before 17 November. Short activities on democracy, freedom and memory – and a Czechia vs Slovakia contest.
A competition for secondary schools. All you do is put up 15 QR codes; the organisers take care of the content and the results.
- Free for schools
- Nonpartisan content
- Students without names or registration
Organised by
In cooperation with
Content
Why you can trust it
Nonpartisan contentThe competition promotes no political party or politician. It gives students facts and room to form their own view.
Checked factsThe content is prepared and its facts checked by the competition's organisers: Club Alpbach Czechia & Slovakia and Díky, že můžem.
Traceable sourcesEvery activity is built on sources you can look up – archives, laws, statistics or witnesses' memories.
Playful, but with respectThe format is made for teenagers: timed quizzes, polls and challenges. The topics themselves are treated with respect.
A taste of the content
What students will see
More than 70 activities over five days: quizzes, readings, witnesses' stories, polls and tips for films, books and podcasts. About half are about the road to November 1989, the other half about democracy today – elections, the media and civil rights.
Students in November 1989
A short text about the student strike, the strike committees and the general strike of 27 November – with three comprehension questions.
Sources: Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes · Czech RadioDates of democracy
Did women vote before or after Charter 77 appeared? Students order milestones from 1920 to the first direct presidential election.
Sources: Parliament of the Czech Republic · Institute for the Study of Totalitarian RegimesA witness from where you live
The Memory of Nations map shows the stories of people from where students live – history from their own street.
Sources: Memory of Nations (Post Bellum)We wrote these sample activities for this page in the campaign's style; students meet the real questions only in the campaign.Try the app as your students see it
For teachers
A few minutes of your time
You put up 15 QR codes.
Before the competition starts, place them where students spend their breaks – corridors, the canteen, common areas.
You tell your students.
One sentence in class or on the noticeboard is enough. Students only need a phone – nothing to download, no sign-up.
Students play all week.
Every morning the content behind the codes changes. They collect points for themselves, their class and their school, and the results update as they go.
The content changes by itself and the organisers evaluate the competition. Nothing to supervise, nothing to mark.
Live
All statisticsCompetitions in numbers
LIVE
7,932
active students
353
schools taking part
43,114
activities completed
1
competitions running
Campaigns
All campaignsWhat is on and what is coming
LIVE
Pauza na Samet
9–13 November 2026
Five days before 17 November. Short activities on democracy, freedom and memory – and a Czechia vs Slovakia contest.
Czechia · SlovakiaRunning
26–30 April 2027
Five days on the Europe that shapes our lives. Short activities on the EU and our place in it – and a contest between schools in five countries.
Austria · Czechia · SlovakiaPlanned
4–8 May 2026
1st pilot 2026 — an earlier prototype of the app
CzechiaFinished
Map
Where it is played
For now, the competitions run at secondary schools in Czechia and Slovakia. Any school can take part.
352 schools in 22 regionsfewer schoolsmore schools
For teachers
Bring your school in.
A preview of the competition, a kit to print and your school's results live. Free for schools.
Ambassadors · aged 15 and over
Keep your progress.
Bring the campaign to your school, collect badges and climb the ambassador leaderboard.
Safety and data
Data in plain wordsFor parents and schools: what we know about students
Students play anonymouslyNo names, photos or chat. The school is chosen in the app.Student data protection Only totals are publicWe show numbers for classes, schools and regions — never for individuals.Age and information for parents We delete data after the campaignAnonymous data about a month after the campaign ends.Data retention and deletion Your rightsAccess, correction and erasure of your data. The controller is Arwell Works s.r.o.Make a request