Iconic Places: Elsewhere – TOPOS 3 Conference at English and American Studies Institute, University of Pannonia featuring 4 Fulbright alumni: Ildikó Limpár (’02 Study of the US Institutes), Éva Federmayer (’07 University of Illinois), Tibor Glant (’00 George Washington University) and Károly Pintér (’03 Texas Christian University) on March 27-28, 2015

33rd György Ránki Hungarian Chair Conference: Transformations of Urban Social Fabric in East Central Europe, 1880 to present on March 28 -29, 2015 at Indiana University, Bloomington featuring Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi (’93 Johns Hopkins University), László Borhi (’12 Indiana University, Bloomington & ’96 Dartmouth College), Erika Szívós (’95 Boston University), Lynn Hooker (’11 Hungarian Academy of Sciences & ’95 Institute of Musicology), Robert Nemes (’94 Eötvös Loránd University) and Bence Ságvári (’14 Indiana University, Bloomington)

The Hungarian-American Fulbright Commission and Bard College Conservatory of Music are pleased to announce that they have signed an agreement to establish a jointly funded grant in Advanced Performance Studies for a student from Hungary starting in the Academic Year 2016-17. The agreement was presented in a ceremony held in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY on March 24 by Dr. Robert Martin, Director of Conservatory and Fulbright Executive Director Dr. Károly Jókay.

Hungarian music students who have completed the bachelors degree (by July, 2015) and are interested in joining the Advanced Performance Studies (APS) Program of the Bard College Conservatory of Music in September 2016 should apply to the Hungarian-American Fulbright Commission for Educational Exchange by September 1, 2015. Those accepted for the Fulbright award and by the Bard Conservatory APS Program will receive two years of financial support, the first year from Fulbright and the second year from the Bard Conservatory.

TechTea: After Digitization: Using Digital Humanities to Explore Art History at MOME – Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest with Kelly Cannon (’14 Hungarian House of Photography – Mai Manó Ház) on March 26, 2015

Ambassador H.E. Réka Szemerkényi, Embassy of Hungary in Washington DC and Fulbright Hungary co-hosted a concert, presentation and reception by and for Fulbright alumni from the US and Hungary on Friday, March 20th in Washington, D.C. About 70 Fulbrighters, family and stakeholders attended. Ambassador Szemerkényi shared a few thoughts about her own experience as a Fulbrighter studying at Johns Hopkins, and Károly Jókay, Executive Director, announced several new grants available to US applicants interested in coming to Hungary during the 2016-17 academic year.

Shelby and Daniel Sender (’10 Liszt Academy of Music) played the piano and violin to get us in the mood. Scott Campbell (’07 University of Pannonia), Brittany Carlino-Marburger (’13 Veres Pálné Gimnázium), Jozsi Jalics (’13 Wigner Research Center for Physics) and Eric Lopez (’08 Central European University) gave powerful, personal and convincing testimonials about the impact of their time spent in Hungary, and the way in which their lives have been changed by their experiences there.

All attendees enjoyed a sumptuous feast prepared by the Embassy’s chef and catering staff.

Thank you to the Ambassador and to Dávid Singer, First Secretary, Cultural Affairs for their support and organization, and to all Fulbrighters and stakeholders who joined us that evening. Kudos to Annamaria Sas for her work with past, present and future US grantees to Hungary.

For more pictures see our Flickr Album

Lisa Romain (’14 Liszt Academy of Music) performed at the Gala Concert of the 61th Annual Berlin Seminar for American Fulbright Grantees, March 15 – 19, 2015 organized by the German Fulbright Commission.

3 Fulbright alumni: Jason Wittenberg (’14 Central European University), Daniel Nyikos (’13 University of Szeged) and Megan Small (’14 National Széchényi Library) participated in the 8th America Week, March 23-26, 2015 at the University of Pannonia, Veszprém in the framework of Hungarian Days – Hungarian Diaspora in the West

The annual event dedicated to the study of American culture and the strengthening of US-Hungarian ties was initiated by Scott M. Campbell (’07 University of Pannonia) program director of the joint Pannonia-Nazareth American Studies master’s program.

New Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. Réka Szemerkényi (’93 Johns Hopkins University) presented her credentials to President Barack Obama.

U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Colleen Bradley Bell and Hungarian Ambassador-desginate and Fulbright Hungary alumna Réka Szemerkényi (’93 Johns Hopkins University) addressed a capacity crowd at ‪Amcham‬ Hungary’s Business Forum. Ambassador Bell took a moment to pose with current ‪Fulbright‬ grantees Kai Schafft and David Pitt (both ’14 Central European University), as well as with former AmCham Hungary president and Fulbright Board member William Benkő.