With the new faculty, the aim was to establish a base for independent Hungarian-language higher education in Transylvania.Continue reading
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania (EMTE) is more than a “profane” secular university. Its mission is the preservation of Hungary in Transylvania (former part of Hungary, now Romania), Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said in Târgu Mures (Marosvásárhely).
The politician attended the ceremony held on the occasion of the University Day, where he was awarded the Bocskai Prize for his contribution to the foundation and development of the institution.
In his speech, he stressed that
the mother tongue is crucial for the individual to flourish and for the nation, because it is the “ultimate stronghold,” the guarantee of survival.
“World politics can tear us apart with state borders, but it cannot tear apart our thinking, our language, our consciousness,” he said. Zsolt Semjén emphasized that this is why, in addition to the use of the Hungarian vernacular, it is also important for science to have a unified Hungarian language, so that science can be conducted in Hungarian in the breakaway regions.
Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister (C), László Dávid, former Rector, President of the University Senate (L) and Márton Tonk, Rector (R). Photo via MTI/Kátai Edit
Rector Márton Tonk pointed out that
Sapientia is one of the most influential and successful projects of the Hungarian community in Transylvania and of Hungarian national policy in the Carpathian Basin.
Bishop Béla Kató, president of the Sapientia Foundation, called the university the greatest Transylvanian miracle since the regime change. He stressed that the community was not built on social roles, but on people.
The university’s building in Târgu Mures. Photo via Facebook/Sapientia EMTE, Marosvásárhely
Hunor Kelemen, President of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, underlined that Semjén represents a forward-looking viewpoint based on the past, and is one of the few people who understands trans-cultural values, trans-cultural people and the Transylvanian community. “He obviously has his family roots and traditions, but you can also break away from that. He not only did not break away from it, but strengthened it,” he said, referring to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Transylvanian origins.
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania currently has a total of around 2,200 students studying in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), Târgu Mures, Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda), and Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy).
Via MTI, Featured image via MTI/Kátai Edit