Andrea Hoffmannová (CZE)
Deputy Mayor of Ostrava
„Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. — Seneca“
Andrea Hoffmannová is a Deputy Mayor of Ostrava, where for the past six years she has been responsible for education. She began her professional career as a secondary school teacher, later working as an academic at Palacký University in Olomouc (including a stay in the USA on a Fulbright Scholarship). She has also organized workshops for teachers at universities in Czechia and abroad, as well as working in the field of adult education. She is the author of a monograph on contemporary British theatre and a series of articles and book chapters. She has directed numerous student drama performances in both Czech and English.
During her tenure as Deputy Mayor, Andrea Hoffmannová has succeeded in implementing a large number of new, highly beneficial projects, and she has presided over a substantial increase in the volume of funding provided from the city budget to organizations that are active in the field of education. Among the city’s flagship initiatives in this area are an internationally renowned project introducing the position of careers advisor at schools in Ostrava, as well as projects supporting educational specialists in schools, inclusive education, improvements to school catering, sports and physical education (the Ostrava Sports Games project), language learning, as well as other skills and forms of literacy in teaching (a school chess programme, Erasmus Plus). She has also focused the city’s attention on supporting talented young people of all ages, from nursery school level to university graduates; Ostrava can now boast a systematic and integrated system of grants, flagship school projects and talent coordinators.
How does Andrea view her own professional career? “I often remember my grandmother, who used to tell me stories from the period between the world wars, the Nazi occupation, the 1968 occupation, the Velvet Revolution, and the present day. Her wisdom and values made me the person I am today. I believe that well-educated citizens are the basis of a successful, fully functioning society. That’s why I want education to be a genuine priority in our country. It certainly is a priority here in Ostrava. Just like an actor does everything possible to deserve the audience’s applause, I want my legacy to be a job well done, and a clear desk. I want to always be able to look in the mirror and know that my life has been worth it.”