In many schools and other public buildings abroad, it is standard to have menstrual pads and tampons available in restrooms. This not only increases comfort for menstruators but also helps prevent period poverty, a situation where some women cannot afford adequate menstrual products due to low income. According to People in Need, up to 38,000 girls aged 12 to 18 are at risk of period poverty in the Czech Republic. In the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the USA, schools provide menstrual products for free. In the Czech Republic, there are only a few examples of good practice, such as in the second grades of elementary schools in Ostrava or at the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň. While menstrual products are taxed at 9.5% in Slovakia, 8% in Poland, 7% in Germany, and even 0% in Ireland, in the Czech Republic, they have been moved to a 21% VAT rate.
In the new Dejvice building, shared by the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Information Technology, there has been a guerrilla box with pads and tampons in the women's restrooms on the ground floor for several years, replenished by Klára Brůhová. However, this solution is ad-hoc, although it does show the current demand for menstrual products.
The workshop is intended for students of both bachelor’s and master’s programs in Design. To register, please fill out this form by September 30th (capacity is limited to 20 participants). Active participation in the workshop and submission of a design will be awarded 2 credits. A five-member jury will decide on the winning design.
The jury members are:
- MgA. Kateřina Rydlová – designer and author of the menstrual product Body Moody.
- BcA. Emma Folprechtová DiS. – graphic designer and author of the book Linda has Emma “about girl stuff.”
- Prof. Ing. arch. Irena Šestáková – architect and vice-dean for development and construction responsible, among other things, for placing changing tables in accessible restrooms at the Faculty of Architecture.
- Bc. Lucie Lu Gregorová – expert on period poverty from the non-profit organization Sola pomáhá.
Workshop schedule:
- First presentation: September 30th at 6:00 PM in the Aquarium (rooms 152 and 153) – introductory presentation on period poverty and the workshop assignment.
- Second presentation: November 4th at 6:00 PM in the Aquarium (rooms 152 and 153) – presentation of electronic designs, with submission in the required format being a condition for earning two credits.
- Third presentation: December 2nd at 6:00 PM in the NBD foyer – public presentation of prototypes and announcement of the winning design.
The coordinator of the design-build workshop is Bc. Tomáš Vojtíšek (vojtito2@fa.cvut.cz). The workshop is overseen by Prof. Akad. arch. Jan Fišer and has been developed from the start by M.A. Henrieta Nezpěváková, Ph.D., Ing. arch. Mgr. et Mgr. Klára Brůhová, Ph.D., and Mgr. Dita Jahodová. The workshop is financially supported by the Academic Grant Competition of the Faculty of Architecture, CTU.
