In the past 12 years, a unique construction project has taken place in Europe: kindergartens, schools, cultural institutions, sports facilities, churches, church community spaces have been built or renovated in the Carpathian Basin, said State Secretary János Árpád Potápi on Monday, at the announcement of the results of the "We are building the future" competition, in the Castle Garden In the bazaar.
The State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office responsible for national policy added at the award ceremony of the tender recognizing the architects of the exemplary kindergarten facilities and buildings built with the support of the Hungarian government since 2010 in the Carpathian Basin: in these new or renovated buildings, tradition meets 21st century technology and expectations.
As he said, there was an example of such a renewal only at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
"We will not settle for anything else", only loyalty to the past in the present, responsibility for the future and demandingness"
- he said, emphasizing that renovated or new buildings reflect Hungarian quality.
János Árpád Potápi put it this way: "Let's be proud of the fact that today there is Hungarian quality." Expressing pride in Hungarian quality is also expressing respect for the exactingness of our ancestors, he noted.
He reminded us that 2022 is the year of the acting nation. "We are members of an active nation: in the past 12 years we have strengthened Hungarian institutions, we take care of our communities from small children to the elderly, we have made our homeland sustainable," he added, emphasizing that there is not a settlement in the Carpathian Basin that has not been reached in the past 12 years government subsidies.
The State Secretary thanked the architects who designed nurseries and kindergartens, who with their outstanding work make the buildings more homely and comfortable for the future generation, and fill them with messages of national unity, past, present and future.
As he said, about 900 kindergartens and nurseries were built and renovated abroad in the Carpathian Basin nursery and kindergarten development program. Thanks to the support provided in the program, the number of children participating in Hungarian kindergarten education has increased in several regions, in the Highlands and Transcarpathia, and in the Hungarian regions abroad, more than 100,000 young children can be entrusted by their parents to well-trained teachers, he listed.
"The exactingness of our ancestors obliges us" even in the present to "not give in" to disruption, to those who turn against each other, to anti-family and anti-national ideologies, he said, adding that "we can only defend the results together".
The state secretary asked everyone to take action on April 3, for the Hungarian nation, "for our children and grandchildren."
The originator of the tender, Anikó Lévai , the Prime Minister's wife, spoke about the fact that approximately three thousand children's institutions were built in recent years not only from state but also from church or company donations. He noted that many Hungarian families and young Hungarian-speaking children found a second home in them, where they studied, played and wrote in their native language.
He emphasized the importance of early childhood development, the importance of the first thousand days. As he said, crèches and kindergartens are not only buildings, bricks and mortar, concrete and tiles, but also communities, pledges for the survival of Hungarian families.
Anikó Lévai also spoke about how she would like to encourage the building of many similar children's institutions, so that if it is possible to achieve that every desired child can be born, then the mother does not have to choose between the child and work. The country needs families, families need children, and children need kindergartens, he said.
He highlighted the kindergarten teachers, nannies, assistants, "cooks and cleaners" who bring life within the walls of the buildings, because they are all part of the first few years, which will be decisive in children's lives.
In February, the State Secretariat for National Policy announced the We Build the Future call, to which architects from Hungary and abroad could apply. The purpose of the competition was to reward and make it known to the public. The jury awarded six prizes and 22 grand prizes. The winning applications were awarded cash prizes in the amount of between five hundred thousand and two million forints.
MTI
Cover image: Illustration / László Varga, the bishop of the Diocese of Kaposvár, presents the Holy Mass in the renovated Cathedral of Our Lady of Kaposvár on the day of its dedication, March 25, 2022.
MTI/György Varga
