This year, István Kálmán Vilmos, the founder of the Újkazinci Friends Circle, which brings together local fine-aged people, and the Surikáta Foundation for Diabetic Children won the Value-Creating Communities Award.
Non-governmental organizations form a real community, they are the living fabric of society, they provide a safety net in times of trouble and they are indispensable actors of our national identity, said Miklós Panyi, State Secretary for Strategy at the Prime Minister's Office, at the awarding of the Value-Creating Communities Awards in Budapest on Friday.
The state secretary emphasized: in Hungary, when communities could live freely and flourished, one of the most destructive activities of communism was their destruction. After the system change, the opportunity opened up for people to organize themselves around useful issues again - Miklós Panyi continued, adding that communities play an indispensable role in taking on big issues, in which the state cannot act with sufficient efficiency.
That is why it is important that these communities multiply in the entire Carpathian basin, stated the state secretary. He stated: the Prime Minister's Office is working to provide them with all support.
Their importance was also enhanced by the coronavirus epidemic, which taught us that human relations, solidarity, and support for those living in difficult situations are a community experience and a real value, said Miklós Panyi.
He also recalled that "after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the whole society moved as one person, the solidarity was experienced by more than one million refugees, and this work is not over yet". The state secretary stated: "when we present an award, we also set a standard".
The state secretary said of one of this year's awardees, István Kálmán Vilmos, the founder of the Újkazinci Friends' Circle, which brings together the local fine-aged people, "she is characterized by tireless drive and creativity to renew the life of the local community". Speaking about the circle of friends, he said, "I would compete with the most creative start-ups in Hungary."
This year's awarded NGO is the Surikáta Foundation for Diabetic Children. Miklós Panyi praised the foundation: they work on an important cause to make life easier for children with diabetes and their families.
Diabetes is a common disease in our country, and Surikáta volunteers can call on specialists, go to kindergartens and schools, and help with smooth integration, explained the state secretary.
The award was accepted on behalf of the foundation by Csilla Gál Kocsisné, president of the foundation's board of trustees.
Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the Deputy State Secretary responsible for civil and social relations at the Prime Minister's Office, spoke about how the community-building work of the awardees is especially important in these difficult times. In relation to the awardees, he stated: diabetes, which affects more than one million people in Hungary, receives special attention from the government, just as the government is committed to pensioners, just as it is to "real" NGOs, support for the sector has increased more than three and a half times since 2010 .
The Prize for Value-Creating Communities can be awarded annually to one natural person and one NGO. Anyone can make a proposal based on the call published by the Prime Minister's Office. The evaluation committee headed by the deputy state secretary responsible for civil and social relations evaluates the received proposals, ranks them, and makes a proposal for the donation to the minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office.
On this occasion, 32 NGOs and 20 natural persons received nominations.
MTI
Cover image: Illustration / MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd
