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Image: György Mánfai

Through our good practices developed over 1,000 years, Hungary has proved that cultures can approach each other peacefully and affect one another productively

dors of the rapprochement of cultures. It is the definite objective

of our Government to increase both the number of students

arriving in Hungary and the number going abroad, after a

temporary period of decline. Institutions of higher education

provide high-quality training, and Hungarian students need the

knowledge that can be acquired outside Hungary. This goal is

promoted by several programmes.

The programme launched in 2012, bearing the name

Campus Hungary, is based on the fundamental principles

of the European Quality Charter for Mobility; its budget of

nearly Ft5 billion (US$17 million) promises a real break-

through. One of its subprojects is supporting the mobility of

students and instructors (sending 7,000 students with scholar-

ships and instructors to 87 countries in three years), while the

other subproject is increasing the number of foreign students

in Hungary. In the framework of the Erasmus programme

40,000 Hungarian students have had the opportunity to

study abroad, and 25,000 students from around the globe

travelled to Hungary for at least three months. This year the

number of students arriving came near to the number depart-

ing from Hungary. The proportion of Asian, South American

and African students is on the rise once again and now it is

approximately 20 per cent of the total number of students. The

Government launched the Stipendium Hungaricum scholar-

ship programme for the most gifted students, wherein those

countries outside the European Union for whom Hungary

offered this option could participate.

The public opinion of Europe, and hence the rest of the

world, with an interest in Hungary saw our country as an

isolated and even exotic place (mainly due to our characteris-

tic native language). In fact, this is not true, since our culture

has been closely linked to the cultures of peoples around us, as

well as those far away, for many centuries, while maintaining

and shaping its own characteristics, living by universal human

values and creating such ideals as well. Bearing this in mind,

our state has taken an epoch-making step by founding the

public body responsible for the recognition and support of free

artistic creative work, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, which

promotes the rapprochement of cultures by attaining cultural

assets and values through the management of its institutions.

The presentation of outstanding achievements both inside

and outside Hungary was always an objective in the field of

arts. International relations are freely established and main-

tained by our contemporary artists and institutions. Foreign

singers and musicians regularly perform at our opera house

and concert halls, and at theatre and book festivals and exhibi-

tions we have artists and theatre companies, just as Hungarian

artists are welcome in institutions and events around the

world. Naturally, our cultural government takes part in

achieving the strategic goals of the country, for instance a

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