Ten people - among them the director Fazakas Szabolcs from Székelyudvarhely and the ceramic artist Mária Petrás from Csángó - received the Hungarian House Award, which was presented for the first time on Saturday in Budapest.
The award, founded on the occasion of the institution's 10th anniversary, was presented by János Árpád Potápi, State Secretary responsible for national policy, and Krisztina Csibi, director of the House of Hungary, at a ceremony held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA). "The awardees faithfully represent the first ten years of the institution to the outside world, which can be characterized by the double, mutually inspiring symbiosis of tradition and modernity," emphasized Krisztina Csibi in her greeting. Summarizing the first ten years of the institution, he recalled that the Magyarság Háza, which symbolizes the unity of all Hungarians, was established in 2011 with the support of the Hungarian government, within the framework of Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő Zrt. they are unchanged. The director emphasized that the House of Magyarság is the only cultural institution that specifically creates a forum for Hungarian communities living beyond the borders of the current Hungary, not only in our country, but all over the world. "The audience we should celebrate is the nearly 300,000 people who have been curious about our programs live in the last 10 years, and the more than 10 million people who have followed our events online," said the director, emphasizing , that the protagonists of the institution's first decade were the speakers and creators who appeared at their events despite all the difficulties. These 2,000 people are represented by the ten prize winners, who have shown faith in Hungarian culture and Hungarianness with their work so far.
"What Hungarians can say to themselves and to the world, they can say above all in their culture," quoted Sándort Csoóri, State Secretary for National Policy János Árpád Potápi, in his welcome speech. He said that in the past decade, the House of Magyarság played an outstanding role in nurturing the culture of all Hungarians, preserving its built and intellectual heritage, and strengthening the Hungarian identity. János Árpád Potápi said that when we talk about Hungarian culture, we are talking about an ancient culture that is thousands of years old and has given the Carpathian basin a fundamental cultural unity since Saint Stephen. He noted that the united Hungarian nation is often not a matter of origin, but of commitment, and also means a cultural community. "It is our responsibility to see if we can pass this culture on to the next generations," he added. In his welcome address, János Árpád Potápi called the House of Magyarság an outstanding cornerstone of national politics. He expressed his hope that ten years from now he will be able to talk about such a grandiose institution that will also perform its activities as an emigration center and present Hungarianness to the whole world with its events.
The recipients of the Hungarian House Award in 2021:
Gyöngy Écsi storyteller, singer, reformed minister (Highland, Slovakia), Szabolcs Fazakas, creator of the Legendarium of Székelyföld (Transylvania, Romania), filmmaker Orsolya Gazsó (Vojda, Serbia), poet József Ivaskovics (Lowland Carpathians, Ukraine), rock musician Koppány Kovács (Highland , Slovakia), conductor Szilvia Leidemann, harpsichordist, music researcher (Argentina), teacher Csaba Németh (Hungary), actor, singer, poet, composer Péter Pál (Muravidék, Slovenia), ceramicist Mária Petrás, folk singer (Moldova, Romania) and Ilonka Ruzsicska storyteller, kindergarten teacher (Drávszég, Croatia).
Source: Chronicle
Featured photo: Fazakas Szabolcs (right), after receiving the Hungarian House Award from State Secretary János Árpád Potápi and director Krisztina Csibi • Photo: MTI/Zoltán Máthé
