Hungarian Conservative

During a roundtable discussion organized by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) on Thursday in Budapest, experts dissected Hungary’s role and opportunities within the EU. They agreed that one of the key topics during Hungary’s EU presidency should be the integration of the Western Balkans. They also discussed the war in Ukraine, the Eastern opening, and the bureaucracy in Brussels, among other topics.

Programme participants can choose from e-learning courses that run for four or eight weeks, covering subjects like modern history, economics, psychology, law, literature, and international relations. There is also a Hungarian and English language writing skills development course. The programme’s goal is to educate and nurture secondary school students for the long term.

The conservative education policy advocated by the Hungarian government has faced substantial criticism from the left recently. Responding to the accusations from the left, János Setényi, Director of the Learning Institute of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) gave a brief interview to Hungarian Conservative.

The International Network for Immigration Research has been just inaugurated by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. The network will allow research centres across multiple countries to coordinate research and share findings with each other on the contentious issue of immigration. Four experts on the subject held an insightful discussion at the MCC Campus in Budapest, Hungary to mark the occasion.

The Mathias Corvinus Collegium, in collaboration with the Migration Research Institute and the Wacław Felczak Institute of Polish-Hungarian Cooperation, held a conference in Budapest, in which renowned experts discussed one of Europe’s most pressing issues of the time: migration.

Fundamental rights and their supplementary responsibilities are essential parts of our culture and heritage, the speakers at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium’s (MCC) conference on human rights agreed. The event examined the process of the distortion of the idea of human rights as well as the vital role of sovereignty and subsidiarity in enforcing them.

‘The goal of the MCC is for young people’s education to depend not on their financial situation but solely on their abilities and motivation,’ and to allow talented Hungarian students to utilise their enhanced knowledge acquired during foreign studies responsibly for the benefit of their country and local communities, Mathias Corvinus Collegium said in a statement calling for applications to their programmes.

The goal of the MCC Plus programme is to make the unique talent development programmes of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium available to a wide range of individuals. It allows talented students who cannot take advantage of the residential dormitory option due to their university and other commitments, but have performed exceptionally well in the entrance exam, access to MCC’s training programmes.

Peter Maurer, former president of the International Committee of the Red Cross was invited to a discussion in Budapest by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. He shared some highlights of the ten years of his presidency and the challenges he faced during his tenure.

Gergely Gulyás spoke at a conference organised by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and stated that Hungary’s dependence on the EU is not due to its 1.4 per cent contribution to the Hungarian GDP, but rather because Hungary is a part of a unified Europe and Schengen area, and the common market is essential for Hungary’s economy.

On 9 February, Mathias Corvinus Collegium organised a discussion with Henri Vanhanen, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The Finnish expert offered some valuable insights into why Finland wants to join NATO now, and how the thought process in that direction evolved over the years.

The junior classes at Mathias Corvinus Collegium received a record number of applicants this year, the highest figure for the faculty in 26 years.

Mathias Corvinus Collegium held a two-day summit in Budapest, hosting distinguished scholars and professors, well-known journalists and authors, activists and experts to have gripping discussions On the Values We Teach Our Children. 

‘The systematic method Tóth uses really contributes to our understanding of ideology and ideological thinking. To mention a few substantial arguments that are derived from the plot of Darkness at Noon: ideological thinking is not necessarily concerned with objective reality; it naturally leads to radicalism; and—somewhat paradoxically—seems to replace its ideological nature with neo-Machiavellian pragmatism when the question of power politics emerges.’

Fabrice Leggeri, the ‘guest of honour’ at the event, who served as the director of Frontex from 2015 to 2022 opined that the European Union as a rule attempts to dissuade member states from defending their own borders.

A new world order, European security, shifting geopolitics and the nuances of energy security were discussed by renowned experts at a conference at the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest.

In a February episode of the Reflections from Budapest podcast the Director-General of the Tikvah Fund highlighted the neo-Marxist narrative in the West which holds that ‘weak is just’, and since the Palestinians are presented as weak, Israel is portrayed as their oppressor.

‘Like many, I still cannot believe that Wilders could become prime minister, given his years of demagogic outbursts and his abysmal reputation among the parts of the nation that ‘matter’. He shocked polite society with condescending statements about Dutch Muslims and unworkable, discriminatory policy proposals.’

‘For our children, the mother tongue is a means and an opportunity for fulfilment and self-fulfilment. In the words of György Bessenyei: “Every nation becomes a scholar in its own language, but never in a foreign one.”’ Read Luke Larson’s interview with Hungarian-language school principal Berta Katona-Mironova on the situation of Hungarian-language education in Ukraine.

‘Why did the left-wing oligarchy (a political-administrative and academic-media apparatus) mobilize its militant wing against a conference of a few hundred conservatives? Did it fear that its political opponents would win too many hearts, minds, and Euros? No. Canceling the original, sought-after venue was a naked exercise of its power. Réseau Ades warned that the agitation efforts will persist until NatCon Brussels 2024 is entirely aborted.’

The launch of the book titled Fate Shapers – Stories of Successful Roma Men was held at the Mária Kopp Institute on Wednesday. The book presents the life stories of twelve successful Hungarian Roma men, serving as an inspiring example for the younger Roma generation.

‘In the Hungarian leader, the EU faces a new type of Eurosceptic, one who doesn’t want to leave the bloc but instead shape it, putting his stamp on policies from support to Ukraine to the fight against climate change to migration,’ POLITICO wrote in their recently published analysis about PM Orbán’s foreign policy approach to the Brussels leadership.

The one-year programme starting in the autumn begins with intensive preparation, focusing on imparting basic competencies and knowledge, followed by a six-month period during which students gain deeper insights into the essence of leadership.

‘I was outraged to learn that the Erasmus opportunity is being denied to Hungarian students and researchers. As a former Erasmus student, this particularly upsets me. In the meantime, it turns out that the EU has awarded funds of almost two million euros to the Islamic University of Gaza, which is connected to the terrorist organization Hamas. This is absolutely insane,’ philosopher and political scientist Leonardo Orlando told Hungarian Conservative.

The high-profile conference on education continued with its second day at the MCC Budapest campus, with another slew of illustrious expert guests sharing their knowledge and opinions regarding the role of family versus the role of a school in a child’s education, the role of philosophy in education, and the current state of print books.

The event featured insightful and fascinating discussions on the possible revival of classical education, the dangers of political activism in the classroom, and the perils of the use of artificial intelligence in teaching.

With the signature of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine has legalized the use of cannabis-based medicines and preparations. The decision could have serious consequences for Hungary and the European Union due to the chaos caused by the war in Ukraine.

According to MCC Brussels Director Frank Füredi, it is crucial to intellectually empower children, and if the quality of teaching does not improve in classrooms, the future of education itself is at risk.

The MCC University Programme is unique in Europe, offering small-group, personalized training covering multiple disciplines, complementing traditional higher education in Hungary. Many young people participating in the programme enrol in MCC training already in primary school, becoming part of a cohesive community.

Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes, or dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants, is a phrase first used by the twelfth-century French philosopher Bernard de Chartres. It has been chosen as the motto of the Barna Horváth Hungary Law and Liberty Circle, calling for a balance between healthy ambition and intellectual humility and respect for previous generations.