Americans for Hungarians Foundation Celebrates its 15th Anniversary

Zuzsanna Dreisziger (C) with Attila and Luca Dolhai

 

The Americans for Hungarians Foundation, and the American-Hungarian Club celebrated the 15th Anniversary of their foundation during a gala night and conference held on October 5 in Budapest. The event was hosted by the founders-directors, Zsuzsanna Dreisziger-Stricz and Jules (Gyula) E. Balogh.

The anniversary event started with the welcome speech by the two presidents, and a presentation of the past activities and achievements of the foundation, with special focus on charity and education. They reiterated their goal, according to which the Americans for Hungarians Foundation and its American-Hungarian Club were started to bring together the best resources of America and Hungary in order to improve relations between the two countries, and to contribute to Hungary’s economic revival. Through networking, partnering, investment, cultural and knowledge exchange, they strive to be a bridge between the United States and Hungary.

Among the guests was Katalin Szili, former Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, who in her speech emphasized the importance of cooperation among the two nations. She also recalled that when Hungary joined the EU twenty years ago, we expected this membership to make our lives easier. In time, however, we realized that it is entirely up to us to fight for our national interest, as no one else will do so on our behalf. She thanked the United States for welcoming millions of Hungarians, but also pointed out the outstanding contribution of the American-Hungarian diaspora. Szili closed her remarks with a quote from Isaac Asimov that reads: “A persistent rumor circulates in the USA: There are two intelligent races living on the surface of planet Earth: the standard people and the Hungarians.”

The next speaker, István Stumpf, current President of the Friends of Hungary Foundation and Special Counsel to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, mentioned the current, pre-election situation in the United State. In his view, America is in an upheaval, people are struggling to find their place in their rapidly transforming society. The so called Pax Americana has ended, and a new world-order is in the making, said Dr. Stumpf. In this context, he suggested that smaller nations should play a mediating role between the great powers, and they should do so in a value-centric way. Closing his presentation, he warned that we are looking ahead of a very difficult period in our history, when we will need to employ both our faith, as well as our knowledge.

The program continued with a panel discussion concerning the coming US elections in November, with the participation of Prof. Tamás Magyarics, former ambassador to Ireland, and Márton Losonczi, foreign affairs journalist from the Hungarian Conservative. The discussion ranged from questions about the possible outcome of the U.S. elections, and what it would mean for Hungarian-American relations should either Donald Trump, or Kamala Harris come out as winner. The speakers also analyzed the chances of “economic neutrality” recently declared by the Hungarian government, and how it could survive in a geopolitical situation where Eastern and Western interests clash in Central Europe.

During the conference, a painting was presented to Péter Kraft, former Hungarian Ambassador to Peru and host of the monthly event for Hungarian “remigrants” (Visszidensek) for his long-term contribution to nurturing relations between Hungary and the Hungarian diaspora.

The gala event also hosted the world-renowned Rajkó Ensemble, as well as a special performance by opera singer Attila Dolhai and daughter, Luca Dolhai.

Featured Image: Hungary Today