The Fulbright community in Hungary celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Global Fulbright Program and the 30th Anniversary of the Hungarian Fulbright Alumni Association on October 7-8, 2021.

2021 is the 75th Anniversary of the launch of the Fulbright Program. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed legislation into law to establish the Fulbright Program, an international academic exchange program with an ambitious goal to increase mutual understanding, and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program now operates in 160 countries and has provided over 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and in all fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to complex global challenges.

Chargé d’Affaires Marc Dillard of the US Embassy in his keynote address at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences highlighted that “the Fulbright program has continued to exchange some of the best and brightest minds, building a cultural bridge which links our two nations. The continuing collaboration between Fulbright participating institutions is a great example of how to get the most out of a Fulbright grant, how Fulbrighters can make a long-term impact, and how beneficial it can be for a larger community.”

Deputy State Secretary Balázs Nagy of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology emphasized in his keynote address that the Government of Hungary is to quadruple its annual contribution to the Fulbright Commission in three steps, reaching HUF 200 million (USD 700,000) in 2022.

See here the detailed program of the conference.

For more pictures of the festivities (by photographer Péter Szalmás), see here:

 

Visit to the Parliament

 

Prior to the conference, on October 7, 2021 MP Zsolt Németh, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee hosted 24 US Fulbright grantees of AY 2021-2022 at the Hungarian Parliament for a talk and a tour of the building.

 

Reception at the Royal Guard Café

 

In the evening the Fulbright Commission organized a reception to honor US Fulbright grantees, their Hosts and Institutional Partners at the Royal Guard Café, Buda Castle.

by Jeffrey Griffitts

Thanks to Fulbright Hungary and my time there in 2019, I have been offered a long-term position with the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE) in Gödöllő. My Hungarian colleagues and I began discussion on a few research projects in 2019 that have shown promise in preliminary work. We will begin a new collaboration that will focus on trying to better understand the effects of microplastics on the inflammatory process in a transgenic Zebrafish model. In addition to the ongoing research project, I will be teaching several courses for the international graduate college at MATE. All of this was made possible through the Fulbright program. I am so thankful for that time and experience in 2019 that has helped foster these new relationships with my Hungarian colleagues and has helped further my career. My family and I are excited to be living, long-term, in such a welcoming and beautiful country!

In late January, 7 newly arrived U.S. Fulbright students and scholars participated in a unique orientation session in Budapest. U.S. Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs James Land greeted the group virtually, stressing the value of exchange, and encouraged them to develop and strengthen personal and professional ties between Hungary and the United States. ED Karoly Jokay noted that the grantees joined the ranks of the many notable Fulbright alumni who have participated in the global program since its inception 75 years ago. The Fulbright grantees will, for example, teach English, do peer advising, read Ottoman documents, study high-level math, offer courses in Native American studies, collaborate with medical researchers, and observe MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) investigators.