P r a g u e – A surprise for Prague’s International Baptist Theological Seminary on St. Nicholas Day (6 December): The Czech Prime Minister Miroslav Toplanek and the new Education Minister Ondrej Liska, who had been appointed only two days previous, stopped by for a visit. The occasion was a plenary session of the Czech Conference of Rectors being held on campus. Both politicians greeted the 47 rectors. Liska, a member of the Czech Green Party, promised a period of stability in the Education Ministry. Both were presented with the IBTS Environment Calendar for 2008 and a new IBTS environmentally-friendly cloth bag. IBTS has been active in environmental protection for years.

During the gathering, the representatives from state and private universities were introduced to the IBTS course offerings and they discussed current academic challenges in Europe. Amongst those present was Professor Vaclav Hampl, Rector of the historic Charles University in Prague. IBTS

has cooperation agreements with three Faculties at Charles University: the Philosophical, Protestant and Hussite Faculties. The Secretary-General of the Czech Rectors’ Conference, Dr. Marie Fojtikova (Brno), expressed enthusiasm regarding the campus: “This has been a perfect location for our plenary meeting.”

IBTS was founded in Rüschlikon/Switzerland in 1949. It was relocated to Prague in 1997.