The Thirtieth anniversary of the Students Without Boundaries program began on Thursday, July 2nd, under the direction and sponsorship of the Rákóczi Foundation, bringing together talented young people who live in minority status for three decades. Students between the ages of 15 and 18 are chosen from Transylvania in Romania, Transcarpathia in Ukraine, Slovakia and Vojvodina in Serbia to befriend one another.
The great demand for the Students Without Boundaries program is palpable: the students applied for almost twice the places available.
“Many of us came. Three more of my friends as well, and besides them I also know other people who applied,” said Kinga Németh, a participant from Csíkszereda. “I’m fortunate because Hungarians make up the majority in my region.”
The competitive application included five thematic categories candidates could choose from. The first dealt with the 350th anniversary of the birth of Francis II Rákóczi, focusing on the nobleman’s patriotism and intellectual legacy in modern times. The second observed the community-fostering qualities of sports, while underlining a healthy national pride connected with the 125th anniversary of the Hungarian Football Federation. Other themes included Hungary’s national trauma from the last century and their presence in collective memory, and also how traditions are kept alive under modern conditions. The last, fifth category commemorated the program’s anniversary, as students were required to collect thirty memorable moments, persons or ideas that had a significant impact on their lives.
The applications ensured a variety of creative solutions, and welcomed written projects as well as photos, videos and other media.
As is tradition, the Fényi Gyula Jesuit Secondary School’s dormitory acted as the first station of the program, where the young people were welcomed in a lovely, cheerful atmosphere and served a delicious meal after long hours of travelling.
The participants gratefully shared their first impressions:
“My name is Laura Nagy, I’m from a small village in Vojvodina in Serbia. I attend secondary school, and I’ve just finished my first year. The first day was actually tiring because of the journey, but the people are very kind and they pay attention to us. You can see that they really care about us, and the programs are interesting.”
The opening reflected the program’s values, mission and commitment to Hungarian youth living in minority status. The miracle that happens every year, as our leaders phrased it, couldn’t have been realised without the generosity of the sponsors.
Students were divided into the Zrínyi and Bethlen groups, and as their first task after dinner they also showed their talent in the form of a song and dance, starting to form a closer relationship.
The evening continued with fun team-building games and singing, setting a warm and welcoming tone for the rest of the camp.
