"The government has raised the level of engagement with Hungarians in the diaspora to the level they deserve", said the Secretary of State for National Policy.Continue reading
Árpád János Potápi, State Secretary for National Policy, told MTI news agency about his visits to Australia and New Zealand.
In New Zealand, the state secretary was in Christchurch and Auckland last week, where he met with leaders and members of local Hungarian organizations and gave lectures. There are about 4,000-5,000 Hungarians living in New Zealand, including some who settled in 1956, with the larger communities living in Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington, MTI noted.
Potápi stressed how well organized the young Hungarians in Auckland are: many have families and are striving to pass on their Hungarian identity to their children.
Regarding support for the diaspora, he said that the Sándor Kőrösi Csoma program could affect local Hungarian communities, and applications are already open for the Diaspora Program, which brings a thousand young people from abroad to Hungary every year from all over the world.
He added that he had also met people in Australia and New Zealand who had already taken part in the program, which is coordinated by the Rákóczi Association.
Speaking over the phone at the end of his week-and-a-half visit to Australia and New Zealand, Potápi said:
all Hungarians matter, whether they live in Hungary, the Carpathian Basin or in the diaspora.”
The number of Hungarians is not so large that the government can afford to give up on anyone, the state secretary explained, adding that in Australia he visited Sydney and attended the Gold Coast’s 17th Australian Hungarian Cultural Meeting.
Featured photo via Facebook/Potápi Árpád János