Program of National Cooperation Is Supporting Hundreds of Hungarian Communities Abroad

Nearly 2,000 organizations from abroad have been awarded funding under the call for proposals for the Program of National Cooperation to support the operation, development, equipment procurement, programs and events of Hungarian organizations abroad.

Árpád János Potápi, State Secretary for National Policy, recalled that 2024 is the “Year of the Cooperating Nation” in national policy. In this spirit, the call for proposals for Hungarian organizations abroad was announced in March this year. He stressed that the aim of the tender was to promote the prosperity of Hungarians living outside Hungary’s borders, to develop their relations with Hungary and to strengthen their sense of Hungarian national identity.

The call for applications was open to organizations carrying out activities that were of decisive importance for the well-being of Hungarians in their homeland, to support their operations, development and equipment purchases, as well as the implementation of their programs and events.

The total amount of the tender was HUF 2 billion (EUR 5 million), and the maximum amount that could be awarded per application was HUF 2 million (EUR 5,000),

the State Secretary said.

Eligible objectives included infrastructure development and the purchase of equipment, the creation of works of fine art (statues, memorials, commemorative plaques), Hungarian-language written and electronic press, publishing, educational, cultural and traditional programs, events, festivals, as well as support for programs in the diaspora, religious, ecclesiastical, youth and sports programs. The call received 2,161 applications, of which 1,922 were successful. Of the winning applications, 1,028 were from Transylvania, 453 from Slovakia, 218 from Vojvodina, 164 from Transcarpathia, 41 from Croatia and 18 from Slovenia.

Among the projects that have been awarded funding are:

• implementing the programs of the Hungarian Student Union of Cluj,
• support for the organization of the 14th Brasov Hungarian Days,
• the school bus program of the Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia,
• support for the operation of the Petőfi Sándor Hungarian Cultural Circle in Óbecse (Bečej, Serbia),
• support for the programs of the Greek Catholic Diocesan Office in Beregszász (Berehove, Ukraine) and the infrastructural development of the Beregrákos High School (in Rakoshyno, Ukraine),
• support for the purchase of equipment for the Arany János Hungarian Cultural Association in Kopács (Kopačevo, Croatia).

Árpád János Potápi stressed that

the nearly 2,000 objectives supported by the tender will help the everyday life of hundreds of Hungarian communities abroad, from the church to cultural, educational and youth programs, and sports.

The continuous and predictable support of the institutional system of Hungarians living abroad through the assistance of Hungarian civil and church organizations will remain a priority national policy goal in the future, he added.

Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Rákóczi Szövetség