Scattered Hungarian communities are taking on an increasing role in the shaping of Hungary’s nation policy, Government Commissioner István Grezsa said on Wednesday in Budapest upon opening the training organised for this year’s scholarship holders of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme.

Mr Grezsa highlighted: 130 out of the 150 scholarship holders of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor and Petőfi Sándor Programmes are joining the programmes as new participants. He said: the programme is now being launched for the fourth time, and on each occasion with the hope that all scholarship holders will do their jobs well wherever they may be sent.

Upon addressing those setting out for the Southern Hemisphere, Mr Grezsa said: Hungarian communities in Australia and New-Zealand are primarily emigrant communities. At the same time, their lives have begun to be “redrawn” in the past 25 years. People set out for these territories due to the substantially better living afforded by these countries or for study purposes, he pointed out. He added: the task in hand is to forge these communities into Hungarian communities which are the same as those that exist in the Carpathian Basin. He stressed: Hungary’s nation policy looks upon Hungarian communities around the world as a single community, and scattered Hungarian communities are now taking on an increasing role in the shaping of Hungary’s nation policy.

One hundred scholarship holders are taking part in the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme which is designed to address scattered Hungarian communities and extends from May 2016 to June 2017. In Europe scholarship holders will establish contact with Hungarian communities in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey. Additionally, scholarship holders will also travel to communities in the United States, Australia, South-Africa, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and New-Zealand.

The purpose of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme is to improve the Hungarian language skills of members of scattered Hungarian communities, and to encourage more intensive activity within Hungarian communities and closer communication with Hungary: in other words, to reinforce their Hungarian identity. The organisers of the programme expected applications from young Hungarians who are committed to the nation, have experience in community organisation activities and are willing to help to achieve this goal.

As part of the programme, young Hungarians visit scattered Hungarian communities around the world, help them with the preservation of their traditions, and reinforce their ties with Hungary with their information dissemination and community building activities. At the request of Hungarian organisations beyond the borders, the terms of the programme changed in 2015: the selected applicants spend six months in countries of the Southern Hemisphere and nine months in countries of the Northern Hemisphere.

(MTI)