Reports

Awareness Raising Event in Budapest – report

Oltalom Charity Society held “Let’s sit together in class!” Awareness-raising events for an inclusive and diverse school system and society on 24 September, 2022 in Budapest. In addition to the professional programs, we also offered informative and sensitizing programs. Our aim was to show how we can turn towards disadvantaged groups and how much we can learn from each other if we are open. We focused on the situation of the Roma minority, because in Hungary they are the largest group that suffers from inequalities and prejudices at school. We planned an awareness raising event which appeals to a wide audience. In addition to our Hungarian partners, the staff of our Albanian partner, ANOA, also visited the event. We broadcasted the round-table discussion and the knowledge-sharing workshop online.

Ms. Zsuzsanna Biró program coordinator of Inclusion4Schools welcomed the guests. The roundtable discussion on school segregation and desegregation policies was moderated by Ágnes Kende (senior researcher, Inclusion4Schools). The guests were: Gábor Erőss (Education policy expert, vice-mayor of the 8th district municipality in Budapest ), Ernő Kadét (communication specialist), Péter Tibor Nagy (historian, education policy expert, Oltalom Charity Society), Fanni Székely-Trendl (assistant lecturer, University of Pécs).

In our knowledge-sharing workshop schools and NGO’s presented their good practices helping the integration of disadvantaged children, youth and their families. The knowledge-sharing workshop in Pecha Kucha style (short, colorful presentations) was a great success, we are planning to organize such events in the future. Our colleague Ms. Judit Fleischer moderated the workshop. Presentations:

Dr. Kovács Ivett Judit (Budapest 8th District Municipality): Inclusive kindergartens program
Szász Beáta (Bagázs Public Benefit Association): It doesn’t go without inclusion – the Bagázs method
Pintérné Lázok Orsolya (Primary School of the Reformed Church, Nagyharsány): – „ÉBEN” value-oriented and inclusive education
Petróczi Gabriella (Oltalom Sport Association): Football as a „common language”
Morvay Judit (Superar Music Foundation): With music for a more equal society
Szabóné Sallai Judit (Petőfi Sándor Primary School, Taktakenéz): Let’s make learning joyful!

After the lunch break Not about Family, documentary of Anna Kis was screened. After the movie András Müllner (associate professor at the Department of Media and Communication of the University of Budapest ), Edit Labos (the director of the second chance vocational highschool featured in the film) and Márton Oblath (ELTE, sociologist, filmmaker) discussed the film. The film and the discussion highlighted the complexity of teaching and helping disadvantaged students and the importance of trust relationships.

In the Lumen Café the Harmónia Folk Band held a roma dance pedagogy presentation, the participants were students of the Deák Diák Primary School. The team of the Living Library for Human Rights provided opportunity to talk with people from disadvantaged groups. In the Bura Károly Art Gallery the Escape – Art Exhibition of Roma painters was opened for the audience.

Kálmán Dráfi, Franz Liszt Prize awarded pianist held a presentation titled The influence of Roma music on classical music at the Liszt Academy. From his performance, we learned how much influence the Roma musicians had in the 18th century to other artists, from composers to poets. Liszt, Brahms, Bartók, and Debussy also incorporated Roma musical motifs into their works. The effect was mutual, the Roma musicians also used motifs from classical music.

The event was successful, people built new professional relationships. The next public event of the Inclusion4Schools project will be our international conference in Budapest, on 7-8. November, 2022.