At the local nationality festival in the southwest Hungarian city of Pécs on Saturday, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said that nationality culture can only thrive if the majority considers it to also be its own. He quoted the father of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi, saying that if we want to change the world “we must be the change”.

At a press conference about the festival, Mr. Balog announced the establishment of the Baranya County Methodological, Educational and Cultural Centre for the Roma Minority, set up to better understand nationality culture.

The project – encompassing five locations in four settlements – will be financed by a European Union grant of 844 million forints (EUR 2.7 million). One of the elements will be a digital information and creativity centre at the Gandhi Grammar School in Pécs, including an audio and video studio, a language laboratory and a 3D-technology classroom.

The Nationality House in Komló will host language courses for the German and Croat minorities, cultural events and talent fostering. The village of Alsószentmárton will have a centre for adult training and further education, while Nagynyárád will have a German nationality exhibition and adventure park for exhibitions and community events.

Mr. Balog said that the new state-of-the-art mobile stage used on this occasion in Pécs will be available on loan for all nationality events, ensuring that nationality culture can reach every corner of the country.
He said that the state will purchase a stake in the Snétberger Music Talent Centre in order to ease its financial problems and ensure that it can continue its outstanding work.

Kossuth-prizewinning guitarist Ferenc Snétberger said that the centre can simultaneously accommodate sixty pupils, and the next three-week course will be launched in October.

László Őri, Deputy Mayor of Pécs (Fidesz-KDNP) said that for centuries ten different nationalities have lived together in peace in his city, and that “Pécs has shown an example of peaceful cohabitation not only to the country, but to the world at large”.

(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)