According to Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Hungarian communities abroad Zsolt Semjén, having a strong Hungary or a well-organized Hungarian community in the Carpathian Basin is not enough for the survival of the Hungarian nation; maintaining the Hungarian national identity of the diaspora is also crucially important.
In a speech given at the opening event of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme, Mr. Semjén said that the work of the young people participating in the programme is of vital importance for the unity of the nation, as they often arrive in the diaspora at the eleventh hour.
The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the Hungarian nation did not become a world nation because it wanted to be one – this was a result of two world wars and defeated revolutions. “If we have already become a world nation, let us not waste the positive opportunities related to this”, he stressed.
Mr. Semjén recalled that when the idea of the Hungarian Diaspora Council had originally arisen, they asked the leaders of Hungarian organisations what the most helpful solution would be, and in this way the vision for the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme came about in 2011. “The programme was a great success – which was surprising, even to me”, Mr. Semjén said, adding that while in the programme’s first year it had only fifty participants, last year and this year it was launched with the participation of one hundred young people.
He said that those travelling to the Hungarian communities this year will have the task of turning traditionally emigrant organisations into communities, where those living in a particular country and those who have just gone there for a few years to study or work can find a home.
Mr. Semjén mentioned a few innovations in this year’s programme, which were introduced based on feedback from diaspora organisations: in the Southern Hemisphere the programme will take place from May to October, while in the Northern Hemisphere it will be from August to May; the period spent abroad may be nine months; and while previously the emphasis was on overseas areas, this year EU countries will receive greater attention. He said that 16 participants will go to Canada, 21 to the US, 11 to South America and 38 to European countries; the Hungarian community of South Africa will be supported by one participant, those in Israel and New Zealand by two each and those in Australia by nine.
Mr. Semjén noted the most important wish of Hungarians abroad is to have Hungarian education.
Minister of State for Hungarian communities abroad Árpád János Potápi said that this year the programme had 372 applicants, from whom the participants were selected by two committees. Mr. Potápi expressed the hope that the programme will help to put a halt to – or even reverse – the assimilation processes in the communities concerned. He also noted that, parallel to this programme, the Petőfi Sándor Programme will be launched in August with a similar objective; the difference between the two will be that the main emphasis in the latter will be on the Carpathian Basin and the countries of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
Applicants for the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme were Hungarian citizens above the age of twenty with no criminal record, a secondary education certificate at least, and professional knowledge in fields that can be utilised by the Hungarian diaspora and/or with experience in community organising or folklore activities. New destinations for the programme this year are Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The programme has been announced for the third time, with a budget of one billion forints, and its aim is to address the Hungarian diaspora, to strengthen their national identity and to organise and further develop community and cultural life in their communities.