The Európa College in Újvidék is an integral part, a bastion of Vojvodina Hungarianness, and it made it possible for the students to live their everyday lives in a Hungarian environment - emphasized János Árpád Potápi, the State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office responsible for national policy, on Thursday in Újvidék, where he attended the reception for the first-year students of the Európa College.
First-year students could move into the Hungarian vocational college for the eighth time, the institution was opened in 2015. At Thursday's festive event, it was announced that every year more and more students apply to the College of Europe, this year 113 freshmen received a place here. There are about four hundred places in the dormitory. The goal of the Hungarian vocational college is for young Hungarians to be in a Hungarian community, to be able to educate themselves, to acquire Hungarian knowledge, and to pass this knowledge on in their homeland.
János Árpád Potápi pointed out that the college provides students with 21st-century conditions that enable everyday life and housing, but much more than that.
"The Európa College is the spiritual, scientific and artistic center of Hungarians in Novi Sad, but we can safely say that it is generally one of the most significant bastions of Hungarians in Vojvodina"
he underlined. He added that presumably those who study in Novi Sad and live in the College of Europe will later return to their own community in Voivodeship and enrich that community with their knowledge and work.
The State Secretary responsible for national policy reminded that in the last ten years, with the contribution of the Hungarian government, Hungarian education, the arenas of cultural life, church communities, the media and sports, as well as the Hungarian political institution system in the Carpathian Basin, have been strengthened.
János Árpád Potápi also mentioned that
on the first of October, a census will be held in Serbia as well, and he asked everyone to boldly accept their Hungarian identity and Hungarian nationality, because the number of Hungarian national minorities also depends on what kind of support this community can receive.
He added that there will be a national council election on November 13, and in this context he encouraged everyone to sign up for the separate voter register and go vote.
István Pásztor, the president of the Vojvodina Hungarian Association, pointed out that the growing number of students also proves that "perhaps, even if slowly, we will succeed in changing the trends, and a larger number of university students will study in the different majors of the University of Novi Sad". The College of Europe is also an exemplary institution in terms of preserving Hungarian identity, he underlined.
In recent decades, many students obtained university degrees abroad, especially in Hungary, and they only rarely returned to their homeland. István Pásztor pointed out that it is in the interest of the Vojvodina Hungarians that young people stay at home, live and prosper in their homeland.
Source: aelvidek.ma
Featured image: MTI/Tamás Szákács
