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I completely agree with Lajos Kossuth, who said that “Count István Széchényi was the greatest Hungarian.”
I completely agree with Lajos Kossuth, who said that “Count István Széchényi was the greatest Hungarian.” He introduced multiple important things to Hungary: he founded the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, wrote his book Hitel (Credit), introduced horse racing, and supported the construction of the Chain Bridge, among many other achievements. We at the Friends of Hungary Foundation are working to follow in his footsteps.
Baron William de Gelsey KCSG
United Kingdom
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The Foundation’s yearly conference provides an opportunity for learning new information, renewing old friendships, and making new ones
While I was born in Budapest, I have lived abroad since my childhood. I am one of the numerous members of the Hungarian diaspora who are not just proud of their Hungarian roots, but who are also interested and support the advancement of our homeland. The Friends of Hungary Foundation is a wonderfully organized, welcoming community that ensures our involvement, as well as the involvement of others who are interested in Hungary’s continued success in economic, cultural, and academic fields. The Foundation’s yearly conference provides an opportunity for learning new information, renewing old friendships, and making new ones; by the end of the event, all of us were enriched by our attendance.
Katalin Kádár Lynn
United States of America
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I have very fond memories of the meet-up that was arranged in January 2014
I have very fond memories of the meet-up that was arranged in January 2014. This should be an example to others in how a conference should be organized, although it’s true that not everyone can be as kind and considerate as your team!
Egon Kiss-Borlase
Switzerland
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It’s time for Hungary to look beyond its own borders
It’s time for Hungary to look beyond its own borders, and beyond the borders of Europe; and now I’ve reached the end of all that I wanted to say, since I believe that it is you who can today do the most to help in this regard.
Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister
Hungary
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Hungary can be proud that it has friends such as these.
Hungary can be proud that it has friends such as these.
János Áder, President
Hungary
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It is very important for all of us to be able to be proud of our Hungarian heritage.
We, who make up the community of foundation members, do a lot for the communities where we currently live. It is very important for all of us to be able to be proud of our Hungarian heritage. For this, we need to work on behalf of our homeland, Hungary, as well, which is greatly strengthened by friendships. I have always strived with all my energy to ensure that the image of Hungary generated abroad is positive, or at the very least realistic. I know that in this arena there is still much to do, and I am happy to participate in this work going forward, now as a member of the Friends of Hungary Foundation.
Zoltán Maros
Canada
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I have been working hard to help create a positive, or at least realistic picture about Hungary abroad
I have been working hard to help create a positive, or at least realistic picture about Hungary abroad. I know that there is still much work to do and, as member of the Friends of Hungary Foundation, I am keen to take part in it.
Elisabeth Hollósi Pasternak
United States of America
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What was most important for me, was that all the participants were equally enthusiastic and engaged
I met up with a lot of old friends, some of whom I haven’t seen for nearly 40 years, and I got to know many new friends as well. What was most important for me, was that all the participants were equally enthusiastic and engaged, a fact which was well reflected in their participation and comments. This gives me great hope for our continuing work, that we aren’t alone, that even the gates of hell couldn’t discourage us. I wish plenty of good work to all my fellow members!
János B. Nagy
Belgium
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It was a great joy for me to join the Friends of Hungary Foundation
It was a great joy for me to join the Friends of Hungary Foundation, which happily welcomes all who hold the fate of our Hungarian homeland in their hearts, and believe that friendship and responsibility go hand in hand. To quote Saint Thomas Aquinas, “there is nothing more valuable on earth than true friendship.” This sense of friendship permeated the atmosphere of the Foundation’s wonderfully organized conference in May of 2016, in which I also participated. It’s not enough to give money; we must give our hearts as well, and we need to show the world how much our small nation has contributed to human life in areas ranging from nuclear energy to Olympic gold medals. To those who believe that all of that is of interest to no one, I would say: the world does pay attention to us! Whenever I hold a presentation about Hungary—whether the topic is music, science, dance, or language—people in attendance are extremely interested. For example, at Marist College in New York, I taught a course beginning in September (fall semester of 2016) on “The History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956,” where there was a waiting list for registration, and we couldn’t accept any more students for the class. A colossal hurray for Hungary and its friends!
Esther Odescalchi Kando
United States of America
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It was a great honor for me, when in Canada I received an invitation to join the Friends of Hungary Foundation.
It was a great honor for me, when in Canada I received an invitation to join the Friends of Hungary Foundation. I have taken part in every conference (and have written about them in three Hungarian-Canadian publications as well!), and the programs discussing the uplifting achievements of Hungary and of Hungarians were a source of spiritual refreshment for me. The conference is one of a few events that fills me with real anticipation.
John Miska
Canada
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This is not a governmental, official group; this is an independent group that respects and supports our country, Hungary.
There are many groups in the world that are successful because their work is useful for those involved. I, too, am a member of several academic associations; the role of these groups is chiefly to share and support members’ work, to recognize members, to organize newsletters and meetings, helping find jobs, scholarships, etc. There are both national and international groups of this type. Looking at local conference programs, I could list many other organizations: technical, educational, sport, groups, school clubs, and many others. What is not often seen is a group for a particular nationality (although technical groups sometimes have national subgroups). Since this is missing, it is very important that there is now a group, our group, that represents and supports a country: The Friends of Hungary Foundation. This is not a governmental, official group; this is an independent group that respects and supports our country, Hungary. The role of the Foundation, which is the result of constant discussion, is multifaceted, important, and necessary. The association is not just defensive, but information-spreading as well; it works to support Hungarian culture, as well as the country’s successes and reputation. I think that I am probably similar to most of our members. I completed my elementary, high school, and university studies in Hungary. In my Hungarian schooling, as well as in my life in Hungary, I received a lot from my teachers, friends, and older acquaintances; this is what formed me into who I am today, and for which I am gratefully and thankfully in debt. In addition, Hungarian culture strengthened my deep Hungarian roots. It isn’t well known enough, that Hungarian culture is full of very great talent; very many international important and known creatives’ efforts have been at work, both in the past and the present; artists, academics, technicians, experts, thinkers. Who formed, but also made use of, Hungarian culture and the Hungarian spirit, which have played no small role in our history, and in which Hungarian values played an important role. The country is more than 1000 years old, during that time plenty of luck, as well as plenty of difficulties and misfortune have influenced these feelings. I have had the good fortune to get to know many facets of Hungarian culture, not only through school and everyday life, but through my father’s ethnographic collections as well. In our history, there has perhaps been more misfortune, more occasions when the country was harmed or attacked, than when it was supported. Perhaps this leads to the fact that Hungarian creators and their creations have, in the past, not received the recognition that they deserve. Unfortunately, this is still the case, and I sincerely hope, that the Friends of Hungary can, to at least some degree, change this. In closing, let me acknowledge the contributions of our President, E. Sylvester Vizi. More than anyone else, he brilliantly saw the need for our group and its role; more than anyone else, he is its creator, its internal motor, and its builder. He is an outstanding example of a Hungarian creator, and an outstanding example of the fruits of Hungarian roots.
Abel Lajtha
United States of America
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Borders change with history. At the same time, the world’s Hungarians have always been a great “Brain Power.”
Borders change with history. At the same time, the world’s Hungarians have always been a great “Brain Power.” In fact, this is now spreading. We have been successful in Europe, perhaps even within a Union, to walk the path of thinking in national terms. Sylvester Vizi, my academic colleague and friend of half a century, came forward with his breakthrough idea, and in fact made it a reality: this world-class intellectual network of relationships, with meetings, which are so important for us as humans. Successes in academics, innovation, art, sport, and other ‘grey-matter’ successes (since in sports, the mind can play as decisive a factor as the body) have always woven through the world. As a researcher and as a Hungarian, I never “left.” In 1973, the only reason I went to Stanford University in Silicon Valley to develop geometrization of biology, then later to New York University as a professor, then later still back to California, was because, back home in the ‘barrack,’ no matter how happy it tried to be [during the socialist era, Hungary was nicknamed the ‘happiest barrack in the Communist camp’], it wasn’t really able to develop new computer sciences (especially when there were no computers). Today, on the other hand, a government genome computer science program is operating successfully in our homeland; this is important since, for example, curing cancer is one of the scientific world’s key practical and theoretical questions, just as atomic fission, and later atomic fusion, once were. With the help of the breakthrough system of the Friends of Hungary, today we can travel back and forth, as on Széchenyi’s bridge. Thanks to the magic and tireless work of Dr. Vizi, the country has become a world network of the Hungarian spirit. Széchenyi brought the institutions of the cultured West to Hungary, and he built the first permanent bridge. Kuno Klebelsberg convinced Albert Szentgyörgyi to come home from Oxford; not only did his research in Hungary earn him a Nobel Prize, Szentgyörgyi founded a school that has thrived into the present. Klebelsberg also brought another school-founder back to Hungary, Zoltán Bay. Sylvester Vizi, among his many other stated and accomplished goals, was president of the István Széchenyi Academy of Sciences during two very difficult periods; he then brought to life a ‘brain power’ organization that crosses both academic disciplines and international borders. He deserves our thanks! It will continue to strengthen and grow, and will serve as a lesson for generations to come. Perhaps the Friends of Hungary can do the most to ensure that there are ever more friends of Hungary in the world, be they Hungarians, or those who are not so fortunate as to be born Hungarian.
András Pellionisz
United States of America
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It was unequivocally clear to me, that Hungary deserved more.
We first lived in Hungary from 1974 to 1977, when I was sent here, with my wife and newborn daughter, to work at the British Embassy. Life in a Soviet bloc country was depressing for us, and degrading to Hungarians. It was unequivocally clear to me, that Hungary deserved more. I remember that I once tried to convince my pessimistic Hungarian neighbor that Hungary would one day cease to be a Soviet colony and become a democratic, prosperous state similar to Switzerland. When I returned as Ambassador in 1995, the drastic changes that I found here seemed to point towards the future I had predicted. Of course, there is still much to do. It is my hope, that the Friends of Hungary can, with good intentions, as well as with academic and cultural energy and resources, can contribute to the continuation of this trend.
Christopher Long
United Kingdom
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We have been sorely lacking a community such as this.
Finding our nation’s talents in the fields of culture, academics, economics, and sport, and bringing together the Friends of Hungary Foundation, has been an enormous accomplishment on the part of president E. Sylvester Vizi and the Foundation’s other trustees. We have been sorely lacking a community such as this. Its goals are, on the one hand, to strengthen our own Hungarian identities, while on the other hand to assist Hungary’s positive recognition in wider society. This year’s greatly successful fourth conference served both of these goals. The work and support of the Friends of Hungary Foundation is, and continues to be, important.
Stephan Radda
Austris
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Thanks to the Friends of Hungary Foundation, I awoke to how good a feeling it is to belong to this large family, and to be proud of my Hungarian heritage.
I was born in Geneva, the child of a Hungarian mother (Judit Farkas) and a German father (Rolf Rittelman). With my musician family, we also worked to popularize Hungarian culture and knowledge. Through a series of happy accidents, we were able to bring together a very open and creative Hungarian diaspora community. I speak five languages, and thanks to my opera career I have been able to go many places around the world. It was a great source of pride for me, that in 2014 I won two awards at the Budapest Armel Opera Festival. Thanks to the Friends of Hungary Foundation, I awoke to how good a feeling it is to belong to this large family, and to be proud of my Hungarian heritage. Today, The Friends of Hungary Foundation is the best international association bringing Hungarians together.
Richard Rittelmann
Switzerland