Project Comenius 2020

Abstract

Does humanity have a future? Are we heading irreversibly to perdition or should we expect a better tomorrow? How are we doing? The year 2020 provided an opportunity to reflect on the prospects of humanity, as it was a significant anniversary year. When Jan Amos Komenský died 350 years ago, he left behind his largest unfinished work, called The General Consultation on Restoration of Human Affairs (De rerum humanarum emendatione consultatio catholica). The work is beautiful, deep, and extensive. The original manuscript included some 2000 pages of text. The translation from Latin into Czech was divided into three volumes, each over five hundred pages. It is a magnificent project indeed, a unique work, a magnum opus, a literary treasure, and one of the sources of Europeʼs spiritual heritage. We still draw inspiration from it today. After all, the deepest human questions that Comenius dealt with are still being addressed today. What are human affairs, what is wrong with them, and also the most important question – can they be reformed, restored, or improved? The Comenius 2020 project sought to popularise Comeniusʼ Consultation as well as his broader humanistic legacy.