{"id":13725,"date":"2024-09-11T10:53:18","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T08:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/?post_type=portfolio&p=13725"},"modified":"2026-05-05T16:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T14:50:41","slug":"the-greatest-value-lies-in-the-close-knit-community-the-hook-diaspora-mentoring-program","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/news\/the-greatest-value-lies-in-the-close-knit-community-the-hook-diaspora-mentoring-program\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe greatest value lies in the close-knit community\u201d – The H\u00d6OK Diaspora Mentoring Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"

The H\u00d6OK Diaspora Mentoring Programme, launched in September 2022, aims to provide Hungarian Diaspora scholarship holders with peer support while fostering a deeper connection to Hungarian culture. It offers its members access to mentors whom they can contact at any time from September to June if they have any difficulties at the university or in daily life, such as housing, administration, or university services. It encourages students from the Hungarian diaspora to connect with their heritage<\/strong> through regular events, where participants can discover Hungarian culture, history, art, or gastronomy. These programs provide insight into Hungarian life and promote Hungarian language learning and the Scholarship Programme as well.<\/p>\n

We asked a few questions from S\u00e1ra to understand the ins and outs of the program better: learn about the program\u2019s impact, its role in helping students to adjust, and the memorable moments that make it special.<\/p>\n

How does being part of this mentor network support both the mentors and the mentees?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Being part of the H\u00d6OK Diaspora Mentoring Programme offers many benefits. There is a unique duality<\/strong> to the programme: it provides insight into an international environment and allows participants to build valuable relationships as Hungarians, regardless of language ability. Participants build lasting connections, gain professional experience, and explore Hungary\u2019s cultural and natural treasures. However, the greatest value lies in the close-knit community<\/strong> that mentors and mentees create together.<\/p>\n

Do you have a favourite moment or story from working with people in the network?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is difficult to single out just one moment, but perhaps my favourite was our semester closing event for the 2023\/24 year, which we held on a stationary boat in Budapest. This event brought together the highest number of mentors and mentees so far, and it was wonderful to see the community we had built over two years. The many familiar faces and personal conversations made the program feel even more meaningful to me.<\/p>\n

What inspired you to get involved with this mentor network? How has it been so far?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I joined the H\u00d6OK Diaspora Mentoring Programme in August 2022, so I was also somewhat involved in the program’s preparations. I was very pleased to join a workplace where we have creative freedom in organising the programs. The challenge of introducing Hungarian culture to students who, despite being Hungarian, may find certain cultural aspects new was a significant motivation for me to engage in this work.<\/p>\n

I believe that, as young Hungarians, we often overlook the cultural richness of Hungary, failing to recognize these values in our daily lives<\/strong>. As a result, it has become part of my daily routine to hunt for program opportunities that can bring Hungarian culture closer to young people as well. We often receive feedback from the scholarship holders that they had a great time at our events, which further highlights that what I\u2019m doing is valuable and forward-looking work.<\/p>\n

S\u00e1ra also noted that the network organises weekly events to help scholarship holders get to know their shared Hungarian culture, language and history better, and to cherish these memories for years to come. Experience shows that the community formed here is very important to the scholarship holders.<\/p>\n

Curious about the mentor network\u2019s events or thinking of joining the community?<\/h3>\n

You can register on their website<\/a><\/strong> and visit their Instagram<\/a><\/strong>. To stay updated on upcoming activities, browse the events calendar<\/a><\/strong>, listen to their podcast<\/a><\/strong> in Hungarian, and discover more about what’s happening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover how the H\u00d6OK Diaspora Mentoring Program supports Hungarian Diaspora students throughout their journey in Hungary. In our interview with S\u00e1ra Pallag, representative of the mentor programme, we take a closer look at the program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[23],"class_list":["post-13725","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-actual"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/13725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13725"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/13725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17203,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/13725\/revisions\/17203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13725"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=13725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}