2023-12-21
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Tempus Public organized a Christmas event on 11 December for the students of the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme at the unique Szamos Chocolate Museum. It was a wonderful afternoon with a lot of fun in the center of Budapest
The programme started in the early afternoon at Szamos Chocolate Museum, which is one of Hungary’s oldest, traditional candy and chocolate manufacture. After arrival, the scholarship holders were divided into three groups and had the chance to take part in multiple programmes. During the interactive guided tour, they have learnt interesting facts about the history of the factory and its significance in the Hungarian culture. It was followed by a chocolate making workshop, where they have prepared their own bonbons. Last, they have watched a short movie about the journey of cocoa from the equatorial plantations to Szamos and tasted multiple sweets including ruby chocolate.
The distinguished guests included 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 – both in English and Hungarian – and wished them a wonderful time for the Holidays. Then Csilla Szabó, Director of Communications at Tempus Public Foundation held her speech and highlighted the importance of community events and cultural activities and encouraged scholarship holders to be active in the upcoming semester as well.
This year was the first time for presenting the Student Excellence Award and the Hungarian Excellence Award which were given to those scholarship holders who have achieved outstanding academic performance and contributed the most to the development of the Diaspora community. The awards were presented by Miklós Lengyel and Csilla Szabó.
After the award ceremony students were invited for dinner with various courses and had the chance to taste traditional Hungarian cakes made by Szamos. The event was a great opportunity to relax after the exams and get in the mood for the Holiday season. We are glad we had the chance to celebrate together and wish everyone a very joyous Holidays.
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