Speaking at the “Magyarság Háza” building in Budapest on Monday at the launch of the education week of the Petőfi Sándor Programme to assist dispersed Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin, Minister of State for National Policy Árpád János Potápi pointed out that we must do everything possible to halt population decline in dispersed Hungarian communities, and to reverse the process.
Mr. Potápi underlined that those young people who have received preparatory training to take the journey have pledged that they shall represent Hungarians beyond the borders and do everything possible in order to assist dispersed Hungarian communities.
He pointed out that the Hungarian nation is diminishing both in absolute and relative terms in a number of places. He added that everything possible must be done to slow down, counteract, and reverse this process.
The Minister of State also said that population decline is especially noticeable in dispersed communities, which have diminished by more than seventy-five per cent in the past decades. Yet the decrease is almost imperceptible among those living in single blocks; indeed, there are places where the number of Hungarians is not decreasing at all.
He highlighted that the programme, which has been launched on the model of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme, is being extended to the territory of the former kingdom by involving Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Southern Poland. Hungarian communities whose members have moved and are resident in Hungary for family or work-related reasons will also be involved in the programme, he said.
Every location has been discussed and chosen by Hungarian representatives abroad, societal organisations, political parties and historical churches, after which it was decided how many scholarship holders should be sent to any given location.
Ministerial Commissioner for Monitoring Cross-Border Investments István Grezsa said that dispersed Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin have been “melting away” for 95 years and that, apart from halting the process, the Government would like the programme to help convey the care of the motherland. He said that the young people will experience loyalty, hope and faith at their assigned locations.
As part of the programme, fifty young Hungarians will travel abroad with a view to strengthening the Hungarian identity of those living in declining dispersed communities, and to help build community relations.
He said that eighteen of the participants are not scholarship holders from Hungary, yet another aim of the programme is for them to experience the diversity of the Carpathian Basin. He also expressed the hope that the programme will be just as successful as the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme.
Funding of HUF 350 million has been allocated to the nine-month programme, which also aims to provide educational opportunities for young people who are committed to the nation and live in dispersed communities.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
