Hungarian Conservative

Since 2017, the increase in the number of people employed in the high-tech sector has been larger than the increase in the number of people employed, and their share has also grown. This is the period when we were propelled into the EU lead. While in 2017 we were 0.9 percentage points above the EU average, by 2021 our lead had increased to 1.6 percentage points. During this time, the number of people working in the sector increased by a third to 300,000.

Hungarian pharmaceutical corporation Richter Gedeon Nyrt is strengthening its scientific foundation to achieve further international success in its most profitable and fastest-growing focus area, neuropsychiatry.

This year’s Sziget Festival will take place from 7 to 12 August. Among the headliners announced on Wednesday is American singer Halsey, who has already received three Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award, and has been nominated for a Grammy three times. The superstar is preparing for a new album release this year.

Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy presented the new competitiveness strategy for 2024⁠–⁠2030 adopted by the government at a press conference held in Budapest on Monday. According to him, economic growth between 2 to ⁠3 per cent is expected this year.

During the programme, participants will be supported with monthly scholarships ranging from 350,000 to 500,000 forints, allowing approximately 8,000 students, educators, and researchers to gain international experience at the world’s leading universities.

New military tech test centres will be established in Hungary as part of NATO’s DIANA programme, the Hungarian Ministry of Defence has announced.

The new rules prohibit AI applications that could violate citizens’ rights. These include biometric categorization based on sensitive personal data or the creation of facial recognition databases using images downloaded from the internet or closed-circuit television networks.

MITEM and the grand theatrical Olympics have opened a new chapter in cultural diplomacy. Entering its second decade, the meeting bears witness to cohesion, mutual respect, interest, the enriching power of diversity.

One hundred programmes are being organized this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and Türkiye. The programmes of the 2024 Hungarian–Turkish cultural season will run concurrently in the two countries for one year.

Despite the surge in online streaming services, the study emphasizes, it is premature to underestimate the significance of films screened in theatres. In 2023, film distributors in Hungary reported a successful year with ticket revenues reaching nearly 22 billion forints and a total audience exceeding ten million. In Hungary, the study reveals that on an average Saturday evening between 8 and 10pm, over four million people tune in to television, with nearly three million supporting various musical talent shows.

The European Festival Awards serve as a platform to acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding contributions of festivals across Europe. From showcasing remarkable performances to fostering community engagement and promoting cultural diversity, these awards recognize the festivals that go above and beyond in creating memorable experiences for attendees.

Hungary is a hospitable land with exceptionally friendly people, a country known for welcoming millions of tourists annually. That kindness, however, shall not be mistaken for weakness, as over the course of history, Hungary has proved it is a birthplace of warriors, valiancy, and engineering ingenuity that brought about effective military technologies.

‘Based on early ticket sales, we can see a tremendous interest in the 2024 festival. Next year, Sziget will once again host major global stars,
top performers of the day, and freshly discovered, contemporary musical gems,’ Tamás Kádár, the main organizer wrote in a statement.

The two countries celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and the initiation of Hungarian-Turkish diplomatic relations with a Hungarian-Turkish cultural season starting on 18 December. On the occasion of the anniversary, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will also visit Budapest.

János Csák, the Minister Responsible for Culture and Innovation mentioned as a positive example that the Széchenyi István University has integrated into Győr’s economic life, and the new Scientific and Innovation Park strengthens cooperation in the field of research, development, and innovation.

Most universities grant additional points to applicants for language exams, advanced level exams, sports achievements, and results in academic competitions. However, in the new system, institutions are now able to award extra points for other achievements like work experience, prior qualifications, volunteer work, or the completion of preparatory courses, based on their individual decisions.

The state secretary articulated the vital goal that the number of university graduates among the Hungarian diaspora should exceed their representation within their respective countries, with universities becoming cultural hubs for Hungarian communities abroad. He called the opening of the Márton Áron College’s renovated building a defining moment in infrastructure development.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó highlighted during the inauguration of the new office of Aldi International IT Services that the establishment of the IT service centre will create fifty highly skilled jobs. The state supported the 1.2 billion HUF investment with 120 million HUF.

The most important feature of the programme announced with a five billion forint budget is that state support will reach innovative startups through incubators. Incubators support early-stage startups in bringing their products based on new technologies to the market and in acquiring the necessary additional financing.

State Secretary Balázs Hankó discussed recent efforts to strengthen international relationships, prepare for university collaborations, and launch successful applications for international funding in higher education, citing Hungarian Nobel laureates serve as outstanding examples.

An innovative continuous authentication solution of Cursor Insight, a Hungarian-founded cybersecurity firm, has been recognized as the Cyber Defence Product of the Year at the British National Cyber Awards 2023.

At the event, President of the Hungarian Research Network Balázs Gulyás spoke about how this inaugural scientific workshop aims to be the flagship of the John von Neumann Programme. The plan is to organize international conferences like this every three months.

The ambitious space expedition will involve a Hungarian astronaut as part of a four-member international team, representing a collaborative effort between Hungary and its international partners. As per the contract with Axiom Space, the launch window is scheduled from October 2024 to the beginning of 2025.

Two major NATO innovative bodies, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), are holding their conferences in Budapest, Hungary this week. To mark the occasion, the Hungarian Ministry of Defence announced the hosting of the ‘NATO Innovation Week’.

Michigan State University law professor Adam Candeub recently gave an interview to the Hungarian periodical Mandiner, in which he touched on a wide array of important issues, such as immigration, preserving cultural values, and the European Union trying to pressure Hungary into giving up its sovereignty.

The swift growth of the space industry has already begun to impact smaller nations like Hungary, making it necessary for them to address the challenge effectively. In response to the industry’s rapid rise, the government released the country’s first space strategy document in 2021.

Tamás Kádár proudly announced that the total attendance of Sziget this year was estimated at over 420,000. He added that although it is less than last year, the company cannot complain.

The Sziget Festival will last six days, until 15 August, on the Óbuda Island in Budapest. Performers from sixty-two countries will arrive at approximately forty venues, and the audience will come from over a hundred countries.

Spread across 76 hectares, this year’s festival was set up in three weeks. The maximum daily capacity is 90,000 people, including both festival staff and attendees, making Sziget the country’s tenth largest city for the six days of the festival. The main stage was constructed in ten days, with a floor area of over a thousand square metres and a six hundred square metre LED wall serving as its backdrop.

According to Professor Durodié, the EU is a fundamentally anti-democratic set of institutions that excludes the voice of the people. It is a project that lost its sense of history and therefore does no longer know where it is going to.