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.<\/p>\n
The distinguished guests included Mikl\u00f3s Lengyel, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who officially opened the event. He greeted the students with kind words \u2013 both in English and Hungarian \u2013 and wished them a wonderful time for the Holidays. Then Csilla Szab\u00f3, 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.<\/p>\n
This year was the first time for presenting the\u00a0Student Excellence Award<\/strong> and the Hungarian Excellence Award<\/strong>\u00a0which 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 Mikl\u00f3s Lengyel and Csilla Szab\u00f3.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Check out our gallery below:<\/p>\n\n\t\t