2. Current cultural affairs
Hungary
Last update: July, 2016
Structural and personal changes have characterised the years since Fidesz gained 2/3 of parliamentary seats in spring 2010, ushering in the regime called the System of National Cooperation (Nemzeti Együttműködés Rendszere). The parliamentary elections in spring 2014 confirmed the absolute majority of Fidesz. Zoltán Balog remained Minister of Human Resources and Péter Hoppál became State Secretary in charge of culture. His predecessor László L. Simon administers matters of cultural heritage and major cultural investments as State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.
MMA, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, collects increasing resources and competences. Several buildings were transferred from state property into the possession of MMA, including the Műcsarnok, a representative Kunsthalle built in 1896. In addition, in 2014 the government announced the acquisition of a stately building on the elegant Andrássy út to house the offices of MMA. 244 regular and 49 "corresponding" members receive monthly allowances, from January 2016 HUF 260 000 and 190 000 respectively (about EUR 840 and EUR 610, which does not affect other earnings or pensions – the average Hungarian income is about EUR 790). New members are enrolled by co-opting. With a recommendation letter from a Hungarian or foreigner artist or art expert, anybody, including non-academic candidates, may apply for membership. In addition, MMA selects the Artists of the Nation from individuals over 65 who hold the Kossuth Prize, the highest official decoration. Artists of the Nation – 70 persons at any time – receive a monthly allowance that equals 23 times the official minimum retirement pension, in 2016 HUF 655 500 (about EUR 2 200).
"In order to strengthen national cohesion" and consider the history of the past 150 years to (re)build national historic identity, a new public research institute (Veritas Research Institute – http://www.veritasintezet.hu/en/) was set up in 2013 by the government – a challenge to the existing historiographic workshops at universities and the Academy of Science.
Although public financial cultural investments continue to be dominated by payments from the European Structural and Investment Funds, the issue of culture's role in the 2014-2020 planning period (in the Széchenyi 2020 programme, as the plan is called in Hungary) is almost absent from public discourse. The Partnership Agreement signed with the European Commission in August 2014 nevertheless foresees further investment into cultural heritage in the context of regional development, and socio-cultural services are referred to in connection to human resources development. Most of these are supposed to be financed through EFOP, the human resources development operational programme which represents over 11% of all EU financial support for Hungary in 2014-2020, in a 2:1 share from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) respectively.
Currently, the main cultural priority of the government is the regeneration of two areas in Budapest: the Castle District in Buda and the City Park. The royal castle complex has been housing cultural institutions since the 1960s, some of which—most specifically the National Gallery—will be removed to allow space for state representation and administration. A new building is to be erected in the middle of the City Park (Városliget, or Liget in short), alongside with some other new museums and an overdue overhaul of the Museum of Fine Arts. For more about these plans go to chapter 1.3.1.
Manda (see chapter 2.4) has created the concept of the National Filmhistory Park to be built in Ózd, thus reconstructing the abandoned industry zone of the town, hoping to attract tourists and provide locals with employment possibilities. The project is of high priority and its budget is nearly 1 billion HUF. The interactive exhibition will cover Hungarian and Eastern-European film history.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
Last update: July, 2016
As of 2013, analogue broadcasting of M1 public television was discontinued by a decision of the National Media and Info-communication Authority; at the same time state support is given for those "users in need" (i.e. beneficiaries of social support) who are now switching to digital broadcast by necessity.
In 2010 the former national film archive was upgraded to the Hungarian National Digital Archive and Film Institute – MaNDA, to act as the main base of the programme under the same acronym. Besides the original functions relating to cinema, MaNDA undertakes the co-ordination of the digitisation of all means of cultural expression, from printed material to museum objects (http://www.kulturkincs.hu = cultural treasure).
Plans for the MaNDA programme include the establishment of a logistical centre in the city of Ózd in former industrial premises, where most of the actual digitising is supposed to be executed in the kultúrgyár (culture factory). The costs, estimated at about HUF 9 billion (ca. EUR 30 million), come mainly from the EU Structural Funds. Source: http://www.ozd.hu/content.php?cid=cont_501807bde873c4.82657862. The first 1 billion HUF was put to tender for the establishment of a "film history entertainment park".
The Petőfi Literature Museum is in charge of the Digital Literary Academy, which keeps digitised oeuvres of contemporary writers who make their works available on the Internet by contract. Created in 1998, this unique endeavour had the works of 83 authors in 2015; 33 of members are alive, who each receive a monthly allowance four times the value of the official minimum wage.
MEK, the Hungarian Electronic Library, launched in 1994 on a private initiative, contains nearly fifteen thousand items (2016). Embedded into the National Széchényi Library, the project has maintained its community features.
The National Audiovisual Archive (NAVA) was established in 2004. NAVA acts as the legal deposit archive for the public and commercial television and radio channels that broadcast all over the country. NAVA plays the same role for electronic programmes as the National Széchényi Library does for printed publications or as MaNDA does for Hungarian films. The NAVA collection can be freely reached on-line from several hundred "NAVA points", terminals in libraries, schools, etc. registered within the framework regulated by law (http://www.fszek.hu/english/?article_hid=2027). Since 2011 NAVA is operated by an agency of the public media.
The on-going telematic development of the public library system was an important focus of attention and received significant additional resources from the EU Structural Funds during the 2007-2013 seven-year period.
Last update: July, 2016
In the major part of the cross-border programmes, the international element merely serves to broaden and diversify the content of the projects. However, especially on the alternative scene, the number of international and intercultural interactive projects is on the increase. Some genres, especially, lend themselves to such fusions, e.g. jazz and world music, in which Roma musicians play an eminent role. The government (and the National Fund) subsidise these projects without placing special emphasis on interculturalism.
Among the few Hungarian projects that go beyond the logic of bilateral exchanges, http://www.babelmatrix.org stands out, presenting specimens from literary works in 13 languages.
The Interreg V-A Hungary-Croatia Co-operation Programme 2014-2020 belongs to the European Territorial Cooperation network, “in the focus of which stands the sustainable and value-added exploitation of the region’s rich natural and cultural resources and the permanent enrichment of economic, institutional and individual relationships across the border.”
A special feature of cross-border co-operation is the lively interaction that takes place with the Hungarian artistic communities and public living across the border in the neighbouring countries – which, by definition, is not "intercultural".
Intercultural dialogue: actors, strategies, programmes
As opposed to Western-European countries, in Hungary there have been no significant migrant communities; the number of migrants and their rate within the entire population has been very low: about 2% of the entire population is of foreign origin. Hungary has not been a popular or attractive destination of migrants.
Thus the only intercultural relationship that has been an issue in today's Hungary is the one between the Roma and the majority society. Due to the large number and the geographic spread of this minority group, occasions for interaction, opportunities for exclusion, inclusion and assimilation are numerous; however, it is difficult to quote proven good practices of conscientious intercultural dialogue on the state level.
Segregation within primary and secondary school is widespread: Roma children are mostly placed special needs classes regardless of their skills. In Hejőkeresztúr, however, a successful integration project of Romani and disadvantaged children has been implemented through various innovative programmes such as group work, board games and talent care. The methodology of teaching adopted by this school is recognised as a best practice for integration in Hungary.
As in most places, in Hungary the essential players have primarily been those smaller initiatives, cultural associations or international projects that try to reflect Roma experiences, problems, cultural richness and that fight against stereotypes. Since 1990, the Romaversitas Foundation has supported Roma young people with scholarships and grants; each year 50 students are awarded grants to study at different faculties all around the country and are supported until the end of their university years – to quote one example. Quite a few projects aimed at after-school education of youngsters, or supporting women to get into the labour market, have been carried out in the framework of the "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015" (http://www.romadecade.org). The Decade Secretariat, established in 2006 in Budapest, serves as the main facilitation body of the Decade. The Roma Education Fund was created in the framework of the Decade. The DARE-Net project, financially supported by Lifelong Learning Programme – European Commission,succeeded in creating a trans-national network of Roma and non-Roma civil society and academic organisations to analyse practices and initiatives relating to Roma education and school desegregation of Roma children in Romania, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Between July 2008 and August 2009, six Romani people, among them a 5 year-old child, were killed, and 55 others injured, in a string of racist attacks in rural Hungarian villages. The tragic events inspired important works of art. Just the Wind(Csak a szél) by Bence Fliegauf won the Jury Grand Prix at the Berlin Film Festival in 2012, and Eszter Hajdú's documentary Judgement in Hungary(Ítélet Magyarországon) won three prizes at the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2014.
An increasing number of Roma have lately made progress towards public visibility, recognition and celebrity: television announcers, survival show participants, winners of amateur singing competitions etc. Half a century's efforts by east-central European Roma intellectuals have succeeded in integrating Roma artists into the contemporary art scene. The 2004 exhibition Hidden Holocaust was the first to open the gates of the Budapest Műcsarnok (Kunsthalle) for Roma artists.
The public commemoration of the Roma Holocaust proved to be key in making the Roma an integral part of Hungarian history and the political nation. In 2014 on the international day of the Roma Holocaust in Csepel (Budapest), a new Roma Historical-Cultural-Educational Centre was opened: established and funded by the Roma Civil Union without public support. Historical exhibition has been on display as well as art works of Hungarian Roma artists.
The 26 minute weekly programme "Roma Magazine" on public television M1 has been broadcast since 1992. Radio-C (C standing for cigány/gipsy), especially its music programme, used to have large non-gypsy audiences while it was on the air until 2010. (For other minority language programmes on public broadcasting see chapter 2.6)
There is another relationship that is heavily laden with historic legacy and remains a latent source of tension: that of Jews who are estimated to represent around 1% of the population. In spite of recent phenomena of displaying or reconstructing Jewish art (there are Jewish festivals, cultural centres etc.), one cannot speak of a separate Jewish culture inside the Hungarian society, with which to pursue intercultural dialogue.
Additional Resource:
Government's overall approach to intercultural dialogue
Last update: July, 2016
Intercultural education is part of the general framework curricula however no specific subject is dedicated to this issue. The main goals of intercultural education programmes are common national values and identity, world cultures, religions and traditions in general, and more specifically the Roma integration. Yet Roma culture and history are not an integrated part of the national curricula (i.e. history lessons); instead, Roma are mentioned as an "issue", a problem in separate chapters; this caused recent debates about the curricula, which has remained on the civil level (for state level text book policy see chapter 3.5.1). The Institute for Educational Research and Development (Oktatáskutató és Fejlesztő Intézet) has recently published a volume on the representation of World War I and the subsequent peace system in the History textbooks of the new independent countries of Central Europe.
Last update: July, 2016
After the 2010 elections, fundamental restructuring took place in the media. In 2013, the Prime Minister appointed the president of the National Media and Info-communication Authority for nine years. The other four members of the Media Council were also appointed for nine years in 2010 – all five members delegated by the ruling parliamentary party. The Authority combines the functions of the former National Communications Authority, the Media Council, the Duna Television Board, and the National Radio and Television Commission.
The mission and structure of public television were stipulated in the Act on Media Services and Mass Media (CLXXXV/2010). Public TV broadcasts on four channels. Public media, including the National Radio, the National Television, the Duna Television, and the Hungarian Press Agency, are governed by a body called the Public Service Public Foundation (Közszolgálati Közalapítvány).
The long term licences of the two national commercial channels were awarded by way of public tenders: the proposals included certain promises of a cultural character. Due to the relative decrease in advertising budgets, the cultural content of these media has fallen considerably. However, the new Media Law increased the share of Hungarian (minimum 33.3%) and European (minimum 50%) films; in public media they are 50% and 60%.
In 2015, according to international audience measurement methods http://www.agbnielsen.com/Uploads/Hungar/res_snapshot_2016Q1_eng.pdf, average daily television viewing was 310 minutes in Hungary. In spring 2016 the four channels of the national television (this includes a sport channel) and the two channels of state owned Duna Television attracted a combined 17% share of viewers against 23% of the two large commercial channels, the rest being divided among thematic, movie and entertainment channels. The market is led by the multinationally owned RTL Klub commercial channel.
Changes on the media market are heavily influenced by the political and ideological division in the country. On the one hand, with the rupture of a rich former ally from Fidesz his media outlets (radio, television, press, web portal) turned critical about the government; yet on the other, the major event in 2015 was the buyout of the nationwide commercial channel TV2 from its German owners by a pro-government entrepreneur with credits of a state owned bank.
From July 2014 all media entrepreneurs, including publishers and beneficiaries of open air billboards and internet adverts had to pay sharply progressive tax after their income from advertisements above 500 million HUF a year. RTL Klub made a complaint to the European Commission: while their share of the Hungarian ad market is 12-13%, they are required to pay more than 50% of the entire tax. The tenor of RTL Klub News has turned more critical about the government. As a consequence of the complaint, progressive tax was abolished and as of 2016 above 100 million HUF income 5.3% tax is to be paid.
The public media and the info-communication authority's budget for 2015 has been set at 114.3 billion HUF. Direct support of public media increased to 80.5 billion HUF, a 3.2% growth from 2014 (77.9 billion HUF), although with an allocation amounting to 0.5% of GDP, Hungary spent one of the highest amounts on public broadcasting already in 2012 (Eurostat).
Last update: July, 2016
The ethnic cleansing during and immediately after World War II, the century-old deficit in mother tongue teaching of minorities, followed by the callousness of the communist decades, the disappearance of closed communities and the growing uniformity caused by mass communication have all contributed to the process of linguistic assimilation.
In 1995 the government ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect to Croatian, German, Greek, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, and Slovene, but not to Romani (as opposed to Romania or Serbia for instance in this last respect). In fact only a minority of Roma people speak a Gypsy dialect.
In an effort to counterbalance these factors, the national public television broadcasts 4 regular weekly programmes in 7 minority languages and combined programmes for 6 more cultures - these all carry Hungarian subtitles. The average length of all these is 16 hours per month. As a unique media service, the Hungarian Radio's 4th channel (MR4) broadcasts 12 hours (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) in the same 13 minority languages each day: two hours in Croatian, German, Romanian, Serbian and Slovak, and half an hour for the rest. There is a special programme for Roma of 57 minutes every week day.
Hungary has not had an official language policy; in 2014 however the new Hungarian Language Strategy Institute was set up under the Prime Minister's Office; the institution is to follow modern European language policies such as the Finnish, Polish, Icelandic and Estonian models.
The practice of bilingual street-signs is increasing in villages of mixed ethnicity.
The structure of public support for minority cultural activities has changed several times lately. Since mid 2012 this support is handled by the Human Resource Support Management (EMET).
Last update: July, 2016
For a long time there were no programmes to promote women in culture in Hungary. This did not seem to be an issue in our society until it was disclosed that Hungary figures at the bottom of lists of representation of women in Parliament. The subsequent awareness and disputes may have an impact on cultural policies as well other areas.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
Last update: July, 2016
While Hungary is very much concerned about the fate of the 2-3 million ethnic Hungarians living in neighbouring countries, significant efforts are made to stop or slow down assimilation within its own borders.
An Act on National and Ethnic Minorities was passed in 1993 (Act LXXVII), declaring minorities to be constituent elements of the state; defining their collective and personal rights. National and ethnic minorities – or, since an amendment in 2011, "nationalities" – are defined as ethnic groups that have been living in Hungary for at least one hundred years and differ from the majority by language and culture. There are 13 recognised nationalities, including the Roma or Romanies: in spite of considered as politically incorrect, the old name of Gypsy (cigány) is still widely used, both in their community and in official documents.
The proportion of all nationalities is estimated to be as high as 6-8%. In Hungary, however, ethnicity is considered a private matter: systematically collecting data according to ethnic background is not allowed under the Personal Data Protection Law. National censuses and elections of minority governments are all based on voluntary self-identification. In the 2011 census, 6.5% of the population declared that they belong to one of the minority groups. This however is not the exact rate of minorities as 14.1% did not answer this question while on the other hand multiple identities could be declared which many people did, resulting in a 107.4% total. In 1995, Hungary was among the first to sign and ratify the framework agreement of the Council of Europe on the protection of national minorities. Hungary also takes part in discussions which raise the issue of minorities within the political principles and priorities of the European Union. The Roma constitute the largest minority group and, at the same time, pose a major challenge to social policy, with important cultural implications. During the 2011 census, 315 000 Roma were recorded, i.e. about 3.2% of the population; However, according to the 2015 estimation of the European Roma Rights Centre approximately 750 000 Roma live in Hungary today. That is 7.49 % of the population. All Hungarian Roma speak Hungarian and only 17% of them speak Hungarian as a second language. Due to the very high correlation between those with a Roma background and crucial social problems (unemployment, poverty, exclusion etc), the fate of this minority group is among the greatest challenges to Hungarian society and government. On the other hand, the greatest number of Roma with full higher education in the whole of Europe is in Hungary, both in absolute and relative terms. Among the first 24 Hungarian members of the European Parliament, two were Roma – one of whom kept her seat in the 2009 elections, and was the rapporteur for the EU strategy on Roma inclusion. Hungarian Roma artists are especially famed in music, both individually and in ensembles. On the other hand, because of the indifference of the majority society and its authorities, and partly also due to the lack of necessary coherence inside the Roma community, plans such as the establishment of a representative national Roma cultural centre have constantly been postponed for decades; many times the plans failed due to planning objections by local inhabitants.
National federations of minorities have consultative status, and often veto rights in relevant legislative matters. Their elected local government representatives in the villages and towns, and on the national level, have significant rights and growing resources – which, by nature, are to a great extent spent on culture. In spite of these endeavours – behind which sometimes manipulations connected to so-called ethno-business are suspected – assimilation is occurring and it is feared to continue. As part of the local elections in the autumn of 2014, 241 000 people, 3.1% of the total electorate, registered to vote for one of the 13 nationality lists. The Roma represented the majority with 160 000, followed by Germans, Croats and Slovaks with 41 000, 12 000, and 11 000 respectively. With the exception of the Roma, the number of votes in each minority decreased since the previous elections in 2010. The existing sociological and ethnographic traits of minorities could melt into nostalgic relics of culture.
The cultural rights and situation of the new minorities (immigrants) is a marginal issue in spite of those tens of thousands of immigrants who passed through Hungary towards Western-Europe in 2015. On the state level, there is no culture-based or culture-related project on the state level for the integration of migrants. As for inclusion policies or strategies, it is the civil sphere’s activity which worth attention here. The oldest and best known NGO for intercultural dialogue is Artemisszió Foundation, currently focusing on the migration crisis. In 2015, a new grass root activist organisation of volunteers was formed: MigSzol. Their language courses, regular gatherings include intercultural exchanges.
Immigration figures have been still very low compared to the typical destination countries of migration. Only 1.4 % of the entire population is of foreign origin. The immigration authorities recorded 140 000 foreigners living legally in Hungary in 2015, 206 000 in 2011, 171 000 in 2008. Since the overwhelming majority (70%) of the immigrants living in Hungary is ethnic Hungarians from a neighbouring state (Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia), they do not constitute a cultural minority. Asians are the most dynamically growing minority groups, the Chinese being the largest new minority community, with a population of 13-15 thousand by 2015.
As stated previously, in the Hungarian context, policies for minorities always include concern regarding Hungarians living abroad. The enforcement of the Schengen border requirements, in effect from 2008, hampers cultural co-operation between Hungarians on the two sides of the border with Ukraine and Serbia, which remain third countries for the EU, and to a smaller extent with Romania and Croatia.
Last update: July, 2016
Social cohesion has traditionally been a strategic goal of Hungarian cultural policy. Strategies to involve culture in the struggle for increased social cohesion are traditionally centred on "közművelődés": socio-cultural activities and institutions – see chapter 6.4.
In the absence of a significant number of immigrants, social cohesion is conceived in terms of poverty, unemployment, a low level of education, as well as territorial inequalities. This latter is manifested in burning issues like uneven regional development, the accumulation of employment opportunities in the capital, and income distribution inequality. Statistically, theatre, cinema and classical music attendance figures show a particular divide between the capital and the countryside. Exceptions are when habitants in the countryside benefit just as much or even more from cultural advantages, libraries and cultural community houses. Data from the Central Statistical Bureau about household expenditure clearly indicate that inhabitants of Budapest spend more on recreation and culture than inhabitants in other regions. These facts were uppermost in the decision of the government to choose a provincial city, Pécs, to be the first European Capital of Culture in Hungary for the year 2010.
The National Social Inclusion Strategy – Extreme Poverty, Child Poverty, the Roma – (2011-2020) identifies the following key elements for improvement in the life of Roma: education, employment, health, and housing. "Culture, development of cultural and sport services" makes a smaller part of the strategy. "In conjunction with education, cultural institutions, museums and libraries operate a number of programmes relevant to social inclusion which serve to reduce cultural disadvantages and school drop-out rates." The Strategy focuses more on internet and digital access than actual interpersonal cultural events and gatherings organised for Roma and non-Roma. "They (i.e. disadvantaged children and young people) should acquire and develop their digital literacy in a sophisticated IT environment in libraries and should acquaint themselves with the use of electronic databases in an informal learning environment." Furthermore, "On a micro-regional level, the objective is to create community centres, social workshops and training centres which help the Roma enter the realm of learning and work." (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/files/roma_hungary_strategy_en.pdf)
Civil organisations apply for regular funding from the National Cooperation Fund (NEA). Several large organisations, mainly connected to human rights and freedom and connected internationally, receive their basic funding from EEA Norwegian NGO Fund (https://norvegcivilalap.hu/en) for Hungary. From spring 2014 the government exerted pressure on this scheme, starting with a spectacular police raid on one of the offices. Activities of a few civil organisations operating in the socio-cultural sector have been unstable since. Some of them fight for social cohesion via cultural projects.
In 2014 the new Cultural State Secretary initiated the Round Table of "Cultural Basic Provision" (Kulturális Ellátás Kerekasztala) so that quality culture reaches the broadest possible audiences all around the country with special attention for small villages in the countryside. The Round Table entails representatives of twenty expert organisations.
The 2014-2020 EU-Hungary Partnership Agreement foresees the involvement of civil cultural organisations in rural development projects in the most underprivileged areas. The Strategy aims to improve access to good quality public services, including cultural services that help combat social inclusion.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
Last update: July, 2016
The decision taken in 2005 to nominate Pécs for the European Capital of Culture in 2010 very soon became the subject of widespread debates in the press. Key personalities of the project stepped down from their office one by one, and the main investments suffered serious delays and were modified consequently. The malaise was largely due to the disproportional role of capital investment (and the gaining of European Union resources) in the communication and in the actual planning, which has characterised preparations for Pécs 2010 almost till the end, at the expense of cultural programming. In the end, in the absence of most of the planned new infrastructure, and with an accent on the variety of offer, and the increased number of visitors to Pécs, the season is considered a relative success and satisfaction to the city (two-thirds of inhabitants of Pécs found the event successful). Studies about the assessment of the various dimensions of the impact of investments connected to 2014 Pécs European Capital of Culture were published in 2014[1].
Monitoring of culture had reasonable developments
in the last few years, especially in a specific field. Five professional
associations established a joint project for the registration of
festivals, in conjunction with the ministries in charge of culture and
tourism. In the course of the past four years over 400 – art, heritage,
folklore, gastronomy etc. festivals – entered detailed information into
the online database. Besides providing information and gaining
visibility, the intention is to offer guidance for public and private
sponsors. The next phase was to work out a complex rating scheme of
Hungarian festivals, based on visits realised by monitors. In the past
four years over 150 festivals received detailed assessment and
qualification. (A report on the rating system of Hungarian festivals is
available at http://www.budobs.org/pdf/Festrating_HU.pdf.)
The Hungarian system was one of the models for the current pilot
project of the European Festival Association (EFFE – Europe for
Festivals, Festivals for Europe).
[1] Tuka-Glied (eds): Pécs a többszintű kormányzás csapdájában (Pécs in the pitfall of multilevel governance)