2021-11-05
On 28 October the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Tempus Public Foundation officially welcomed the first students of the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme on the Ludwig cruise boat on the River Danube. It was a wonderful evening with a lot of fun in the beautiful nightlights of Budapest.
As you know, the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship was founded by the Hungarian Government in 2020, and it gives an exceptional chance for the applicants to fulfil their professional goals and to discover their Hungarian heritage. In the first, 2021/2022 academic year 58 applicants from more than 15 countries worldwide could start their studies at a Hungarian higher education institution both in the capital city of Budapest and in other cities of the country. The welcome event was a great opportunity for the scholarship holders to meet in person, and to discover the gorgeous capital of Hungary.
The programme started in the early afternoon with a guided city tour in Budapest, where students could visit many iconic places of the inner city under the bright autumn sunshine. The tour arrived at the Ludwig cruise ship, where the welcome event took place. As members of the Hungarian diaspora, many students already speak Hungarian fluently, so the conversations varied between Hungarian and English.
The distinguished guests included His Excellency, Miklós Lengyel, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who officially opened the event. He greeted the students with kind words and wished them a wonderful time for their Hungarian studies and journey.
After the opening speech, the guests had a delicious dinner with various courses for all needs. During dinner, the ship departed and started its cruise on the River Danube in the sunset. Many photos captured these nice moments and the joy of the participants. During the boat trip, students gave interviews where they had the opportunity to share their feelings and expectations about their Hungarian studies and stay.
A bit later the new scholarship holders were invited to participate in a fun quiz where they could test their knowledge of Hungary. Quizmaster, Álmos challenged the participants with many interesting questions about Hungarian culture, history, customs and tradition. The game was really fun, everyone had a lot of laughs and a good time. The cruise ship meanwhile passed by many famous spots of the capital, including the spectacular building of the Parliament and the Buda Castle.
Before the boat returned, participants still had some time to chat, and to get to know each other a little bit more. Most scholarship holders arrived in Hungary only a month ago, so they were all full of new experiences and excitement. It was wonderful to share all these feelings and be part of a great community. By the time the ship docked, and the event finished, everyone was filled up with joy and many nice moments to remember.
We would like to thank all guests and participants to make this event so unique and memorable, and we wish all the new Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship holders to have a wonderful time and study experience in Hungary. Enjoy your stay, make new friends, and discover your bonds here! See you soon!
Check out the photo gallery and the official video of the Welcome Event below!
Photo credit: Tamás Lékó
