Czech educational project competes for the prestigious EXPO Innovation Award at the World Expo in Japan

The educational initiative Books with a Twist was created in response to the Education Strategy 2030+ and the need to transform schools into spaces where both children and teachers become co-creators of the future of education. The project systematically connects students, schools, cultural institutions, experts, and public spaces, thus fulfilling the principles that the European Union defines as key competencies for the 21st century.

Practical impact: One project – countless competencies
An example is the project Recordman René, carried out in cooperation with all schools in the city of Pelhřimov (a regional town in Czechia, editor’s note) – including a school for students with special needs. Students managed the project together with teachers and organizers, negotiating with the town hall, media, technical services, and other artists. They took part in regular meetings, set tasks, and implemented outputs – from designing the mascot to specifying materials and presenting the results to the public.

The outcome was a giant canvas nearly eight meters long depicting the official mascot of Czechia’s participation at EXPO 2025, composed of linden leaves (the linden being the Czech national tree, editor’s note), on which children wrote their wishes for a better world. The final piece holds a Czech record for the highest number of national leaves used and the collaboration of 1,121 students. This unique version of mascot René is also on display at the Czech National Pavilion at EXPO 2025.

Before the unveiling of the work in Czechia, a Czech-Japanese Cultural Day was held, where students from different schools showcased their talent and creativity to the public. Children wore traditional costumes, performed a Japanese dance, taught the audience the basics of the Japanese language, and prepared a diverse cultural program. They wrote their own scripts, hosted the event, handled sound, took photographs, and recorded videos.

Other outputs by students and experts: collective book, comics, interactive puzzles
The project also produced a trilingual book about Czechia and our national pride titled Talent and Creativity for Life. In addition, it created a series of comics dedicated to all Czechoslovak and Czech participations at World Expositions (EXPO), accompanied by digitally programmed puzzles for schools, designed to foster reading comprehension, general knowledge, and civic skills. Another outcome was the project 100 Years of Czech Literature in Japan – a collection of hand-drawn comics.

Under the guidance of teachers and experts, children created illustrations, collages, costumes, scripts, 3D visualizations, and animations. All of these outputs were developed across different school subjects, classes, and levels.

The future is not in textbooks, but in people
“The project Books with a Twist is built on the most important thing we can offer children – the chance to discover themselves, develop their strengths, experience success, and gain confidence that they are capable of doing great work. To connect with a major cultural event. It teaches them self-respect, cooperation across younger and older students, stronger and more vulnerable ones. It also gives space to students with special educational needs. In short, everyone has the opportunity to take part and find their place,” says Petra Čiháková, founder of the project and coordinator of creative education programs for Czechia’s participation at EXPO 2025.

The project does not evaluate the quality of the final product, but rather the energy and dedication students put into it, thus creating an environment of safety, trust, and natural motivation.

At a time when education is often reduced to performance and testing, this approach brings a path back to human values and to the true meaning of education. It offers a space where relationships, personal growth, shared experience, and connection are at the core.

In its nomination for the EXPO Innovation Award, the project represents Czechia as an example of educational innovation with a profound social impact – one that gives every child a chance and prepares them not only for exams but for life itself.

“I believe that when we give children the space to express themselves and develop their own talent, creativity, and inventiveness, we are preparing them not only for the challenges of tomorrow but, above all, for life itself. The project Books with a Twist perfectly reflects the main theme of Czechia’s participation at EXPO – Talent and Creativity for Life. By doing so, we are saying that the future does not necessarily emerge from textbooks, but above all from people,” says Ondřej Soška, Commissioner General of Czechia’s participation at EXPO 2025.