It is important to offer gestures to scattered communities where the goal is to help them remain Hungarian, Deputy Prime Minister for Hungarian communities beyond the borders Zsolt Semjén said at the opening of the preparatory week of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor and Petőfi Sándor Programmes.

Mr Semjén highlighted in his speech that the Hungarian nation is a global nation, but rather than because this was so intended, it is our history that is responsible for this state of affairs: the economic emigration around World War I, followed by multiple waves of emigration, as part of which a great many Hungarians were compelled to leave the country before and after World War II, the flood of refugees who were forced to flee the country after the fall of the 1956 revolution was another great loss of blood, and finally, the defections during the Kádár regime. As a result, Hungarian communities are present throughout the world. The underlying mission managed to forge opportunities out of historical tragedies and challenges, and to turn negative events into positive developments, he stressed.

The Deputy Prime Minister takes the view that scattered communities have, right from the beginning, always been side-lined, for multiple reasons. During the Kádár regime, Hungarian communities living in the West were persecuted by all means possible, ongoing attempts were made to prevent them from maintaining live relations with Hungary, and in general intensive efforts were made to force scattered Hungarian communities out of the fabric of the nation because they were regarded as political enemies.

He reiterated: when the change of regime took place, the development of close relations with the Hungarian communities of the “parts torn from the country” happened as a matter of course. However, scattered communities living around the world remained in the background. As it was important to offer them gestures, a Diaspora Council was set up where members of scattered Hungarian communities expressed their wish to maintain even more intensive live relations with the motherland, he said.

Mr Semjén pointed out: for historical reasons, the organisations of scattered communities were exile organisations as they were established by people who fled the country for political reasons, but after 1990 everyone was able to come back home, and it is now important to transform these exile organisations in order to help scattered communities survive.

In his view, it is the mission of the young people setting out as part of the programmes also this year to transform these organisations into formations that serve as a home for all Hungarians, including those who went to work abroad for a few years. As he said, it is imperative to also address those in whom Hungarian identity emerges as “a mere flicker” because they are members of the umpteenth generation down the line. We need inclusive organisations where the essence of the matter does not lie in politics or in historical experience, but in the representation of everyday life in Hungary, he stressed.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted: Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin and scattered around the world are closely linked together because one third of the members – or ancestors – of scattered communities originally came from territories now beyond the borders. The goal is „to create a world-wide network for the Hungarian cause”, and it is therefore necessary to bring together Hungarian organisations and the different parts of the Hungarian community because this enables the establishment of a complex network which may extend to the entire world, he pointed out.

Mr Semjén also drew the attention of the participants of the programmes to the fact that the only possible approach during the course of their work is the approach of „we love every Hungarian”. They must not let people and organisations involve them in their „internal intrigues” and conflicts, they must keep their distance, and must not under any circumstances try to tell which side is wrong or right, he took the view.

He also highlighted that the underlying objective is to involve even the umpteenth generation of emigrants in Hungarian life, and once this has been successfully achieved, to encourage them to become members of the Hungarian nation in a constitutional sense as well.

The Deputy Prime Minister finally described the activities of the participants of the programmes as „the mission of the unification of the nation”.

The State Secretariat for Nation Policy formerly reported that there was great interest in the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme designed to assist Hungarian Diaspora communities and the Petőfi Sándor Programme whose mission it is to help scattered Hungarian communities. After the closing of the applications, 692 young people submitted applications for the programmes. 92 of them solely applied for participation in the Petőfi Sándor Programme, while 202 applicants designated both. The majority of applicants preferred involvement in the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme.

The State Secretariat indicated that they would select scholarship holders in compliance with the requests of Hungarian organisations abroad. They will perform manifold responsibilities during the course of their mission: they may teach Hungarian, may organise dance courses and summer camps, may edit websites, newspapers and publications, may conduct career interviews, and may equally take part in the organisation of ceremonies and commemorations.

(Prime Minister's Office)