Conference on Hungary’s greatest education politician

Hungary Today 2022.10.05.

A three-day conference on the work of former Minister of Religion and Education Kuno Klebelsberg begins today, ending with an exhibition organized by the Faculty of Humanities and the Archives of the University of Pécs and the Area Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), respectively.

The University of Pécs (PTE) said in a press release that the scientific conference, titled “Klebelsberg and His Time,” will be held October 5-7 at the MTA headquarters in Pécs and will include presentations on 19th-century European and Hungarian higher education, the Klebelsberg educational system, the development of rural university towns and the relationship between politics and the university.

Speakers will include experts from the universities of Debrecen, Szeged, Pécs, ELTE (Budapest), János Kodolányi University and Mathias Corvinus College.

At the conclusion of the conference, a temporary exhibition entitled “Fünfkirchen-Debrezin-Szegedin – Kuno Klebelsberg and Hungarian Higher Education” will be opened on Friday at the downtown branch of the University Library, focusing on the influence of the educational and cultural politician on rural universities.

Fact

Count Kuno von Klebelsberg de Thumburg (1875 Magyarpécska/Petschka – 1932 Budapest) was a Hungarian politician and minister of culture. After World War I, the Treaty of Trianon, and the devastation of the Civil War, Klebelsberg assumed the post of Minister of the Interior in 1921, which he held until the following year. He then served as Minister of Culture (1922-1931), introducing numerous educational reforms throughout Hungary. Klebelsberg helped establish elementary schools in the countryside, began modernizing numerous universities, and founded the foreign-Hungarian cultural institute Collegium Hungaricum to raise awareness of Hungarian culture abroad.

Klebelsberg is also famous for introducing a progressive scholarship policy for university students.

Quotes from Kuno Klebelsberg:

“For viable nations, a catastrophe is like pruning a tree. The harder the tree is trimmed the more vigorously it sprouts new branches.”

“Many nations have gone bankrupt because of war spending, but none because of education spending.”

“It is a failure of all wisdom when the older generation has nothing but despair to counsel the younger.”

Through letters, maps, newspaper articles, speeches and cartoons, visitors can learn about Hungarian higher education in the province.

The exhibition, which will be on display until the fall of 2023, also includes a priest’s vestment and chalice made by the Minister of Culture and donated to the University Church of Pécs, according to the press release.

For the full conference program visit tab.mta.hu.

Via: Ungarn Heute ; Featured photo: Klebelsberg Memorial House in Budapest Facebook