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(USA) and states of the Middle East such as Egypt, Israel,

Kuwait and Lebanon. The conference discussed common

values, the problems of the freedom of religion within the

European Union, the social and religious projection of migra-

tion and issues relating to religious diversity.

Recognizing and emphasizing one of the greatest tragedies

of twentieth-century Hungarian history, the Government

of Hungary declared 2014 the Holocaust Memorial Year.

The aim was to commemorate the grievous events that

occurred 70 years ago, so that such events cannot happen

again and the peaceful coexistence of various religions and

nations can continue. In light of this, the conference of

Tihany was organized on the basis of the Vatican’s docu-

ment Nostra Ætate, by the Ministry of Human Capacities

and the Hungarian National Commission for the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) in March 2014 with the title ‘Our Shared Future

– Our Shared Responsibility’ on the coexistence of Jewish

and Christian communities in Hungary. Many ecclesiasti-

cal leaders as well as internationally renowned experts and

researchers of interreligious dialogue attended the event,

including His Eminence Péter Cardinal Erd

; Deputy Prime

Minister Dr Zsolt Semjén; Minister Zoltán Balog; President of

the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO Dr Miklós

Réthelyi; and Israeli Ambassador to Hungary, His Excellency

Ilan Mor. In the closing document the participants commit-

ted themselves to the priority of honest talk, friendship and

respect in human relationships, denounced anti-Semitism

and all forms of exclusion and negative discrimination, and

called attention to the unpredictable consequences of passive

behaviour disregarding everyday critical issues. The success

of the conference is proven by the continuation ‘Tihany 2’

meeting, which will take place in summer 2015. We have

high hopes that participants will manage to find solutions to

the most pressing current issues of interreligious dialogue,

thereby facilitating the peaceful coexistence of religions on

the basis of tolerance and mutual acceptance.

Our history proves all too well that intellectuals educated

abroad can have an important intermediary role between

cultures with a dominant influence on the development of all

peoples. Until the early twentieth century, Hungary had a rather

passive role in that respect. Then, for 40 years starting from the

middle of the century, thousands of professionals were given

education in Hungary (mainly Eastern and Central Europeans

and those from developing countries). On returning to their

homeland, these professionals became the everyday ambassa-

Image: Lajos Pers, National Institute for Culture

The Hungarian Táncház method has been recognized on UNESCO’s Register of Best Safeguarding Practices for intangible cultural heritage

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