The Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association (KMPSZ) has once again organized the Transcarpathian Kölcsey Summer Pedagogical Academy
The Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association (KMPSZ) has once again organized the Transcarpathian Kölcsey Summer Pedagogical Academy, hosted as always by the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College.
The 30-hour professional development course takes place between August 10 and 13.
This year, participants at the academy will attend lectures and practical training workshops covering the following topics:
minority native-language education,
digital childhood,
Competence – Education – Balance – Perspective,
the Hungarian folk dance heritage of Transcarpathia.
The attendees were welcomed by Éva Fodor, head of the KMPSZ Methodological Office, who then introduced the honored guests.
“First and foremost, I sincerely congratulate the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Association on this milestone anniversary. I believe that the initiative launched in 2002 has fulfilled the hopes placed in it, contributing to the strengthening of Hungarian-language public education in Transcarpathia, the service of Hungarian culture, and the continuous updating of the knowledge of Transcarpathian Hungarian educators”
— emphasized László Vida, Consul General of the Consulate of Hungary in Berehove, highlighting that among overseas Hungarian communities, the one in Transcarpathia is in the most distressed situation; however, the new Hungarian government remains committed to supporting the Transcarpathian Hungarian community, pledging financial, moral, and political solidarity, which continues to serve as the solid foundation of national policy.
“What is the educator’s job? It is to lead the generation entrusted to us—the children—and create for them the kind of childhood they deserve, so they can live their lives without the surrounding world breaking their spirits,”
— stressed Ildikó Orosz, President of the KMPSZ and the Rákóczi Institute. She added that while summer refresher courses have been organized under the name Kölcsey Summer Academy for twenty-five years, it has been thirty years since the music and singing camp in Tiszapéterfalva was launched by the Pál family, which also serves as a professional development camp.
“My motto, which could also be the motto of every educator, is Sándor Kányádi’s four-line verse: ‘He who understands and makes understood, keeps a nation alive,’”
— she concluded.
Following the opening remarks, a series of presentations took place. First, István Csernicskó, Rector of the Rákóczi Institute, presented The Development of Legal Regulations for Minority Native-Language Education in Transcarpathia: From the 1868 Public School Act to the 2026 Hungarian–Ukrainian Agreement. He was followed by Milán Konstantin, Director of Professional and Educational Affairs at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, who spoke about the dilemmas facing the schools of tomorrow. Next, Szilvia Mudriné Resku, Director of the Tündérkert Kindergarten and Creche in Demecser, delivered a presentation entitled Tradition Is Not the Past, But the Foundation of the Future: How Can Public Education Be Both Value-Preserving and Innovative?.
The first day of the Transcarpathian Kölcsey Summer Pedagogical Academy concludes with a film screening.
Kurmay Anita
