At the invitation of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the National Cultural Council held its founding meeting at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Bertalan Havasi, the Deputy State Secretary heading the Press Office of the Prime Minister informed the government portal kormany.hu.

The body – whose members include the President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts and the heads of 17 so-called strategic institutions operating in the field of culture – was called to life by a law promulgated by Parliament last December.

According to the legislative act, Hungary takes responsibility for preserving national culture and strengthening national identity, as part of which it guarantees access with equal opportunities to and the preservation for future generations of national culture and cultural values.

The council will offer professional foundations for the standard strategic management of cultural sectors by the government, will make recommendations to the government with respect to the government’s cultural strategy, and will review and coordinate development plans in the cultural sector. It is accountable to the government regarding its activities once annually.

Strategic institutions in the field of culture in Hungary include the following: National Theatre, Hungarian State Opera, Budapest Operetta, the National Centre for Acrobatic, Performing and Circus Arts, the Palace of Arts, the Honvéd Ensemble, the Petőfi Literary Museum, the Hungarian National Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Széchenyi Library, the Hungarian National Archives, the Institute for Hungarian Studies, the House of Traditions, the Museum of Ethnography, the Open Air Museum of Ethnography, the National Institute for Education, and the National Film Institute.

(MTI)