Meeting with Scholars in Budapest and Veszprém
On March 18-22, 2019 in the framework of the project "State policy on national minorities rights protection: experience of the Visegrad Group countries" (project coordinator - Director of the Institute of Humanities and Social Studies of Lviv Polytechnic National University, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor, Turchyn Ya. B.) a working visit supported by the International Visegrad Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea took place.
The members of the delegation collected and analyzed the information on the study of the state policy of the Czech Republic and Hungary on the protection of the rights of national minorities. The scholars agreed on research methodologies, analysis of regulatory and legal framework, the activities of central and local governmental structures on national minorities, and the functioning of national minority organizations.
21.03.2019. Meeting with the Head of the State Self-Government of Ukrainians of Hungary Yuriy Kravchenko and Brigitte Superak, an official representative of the Ukrainian national minority in the Hungarian Parliament. The Committee represents and protects ethnic and national minorities in Hungary, which are considered as state-building elements in accordance with the Constitution.
The President of the Ukrainian Self-government of Hungary, Yuriy Kravchenko, described the directions of activity and the normative and legal support for the functioning of the Ukrainian self-government of Hungary, and noted the role of the Ukrainian Culture Society in initiating and further activities of Ukrainian self-government. He emphasized on the significant financial support of the Ukrainian minority by the Hungarian authorities, as well as on the existence of effective state mechanisms for the protection of all 13 officially recognized minorities of the country. Alongside Ukrainians, Bulgarian, Armenian, Greek, German, Polish, Roman, Romanian, Rusyn, Serb, Slovak, Slovenian and Croatian minorities are also recognized in Hungary.
Budapest is the main center of living for Ukrainians. More than 30% of Ukrainians in Hungary have higher education. The educational level of the Ukrainian community is high and preponderate among other Hungarian minorities.
Yuriy Kravchenko and Brigitte Superak noted that, despite the fact that Hungary is a mono-state power, high attention to national minorities is elevated. The political, economic, educational and social rights of the national minorities of Hungary are guaranteed by the relevant laws and exclude any discrimination on the grounds of nationality. The legal status of the Ukrainian national minority in Hungary is determined by the Hungarian Constitution (since January 1, 2012), the laws of Hungary and the bilateral documents between Ukraine and Hungary.
22.03.2019 – working meetings with project partners in Hungary, Veszprém, University of Pannonia. Ukrainian scholars met with the Dean of the Faculty of Modern Philology, Professor Judith Navrachich and an expert on ethnolinguistic politics in Ukraine and Hungary, István Csernicskó.
They exchanged of views and data on the ethnic and linguistic situation in both countries. Information about the role of the University of Pannonia in teaching Hungarian and other languages was obtained, its role in the preparation of Hungarian and foreign scholars focused on the study and analysis of language policy in different countries was determined.
