Crisis management: rationality, dialogue, solidarity

In an interview appearing in the daily newspaper Népszava, Ferenc Glatz spoke about the forming of the new government in Hungary, his nomination for the Prime Minister’s office, the work of the Reform Alliance, the unfolding financial and economic crises, and the shift in values in a global context.

Thoughts on the political system change and the role of civil society

Ferenc Glatz was invited to the early morning broadcasting programme of the Hungarian radio station Klubrádió. He spoke about the major development tendencies to be observed after the transformation of the political system, the current crisis of the Hungarian government and the importance of civil society.

Global crisis – from a historical perspective

Accepting the invitation of the civic club of the Association for Local History and Town Improvement of the town Komló, Ferenc Glatz gave a speech on the changing relationship of the individual and the community. In the light of the present financial crisis it becomes apparent that the mentality placing the interest of the individual prior to that of the community has failed and the self-governing, consumption-oriented market economy is about to collapse. We witness a world system change, implying an environmental crisis (2007), energy (2008) and food crisis (2007), and since November 2008 a financial crisis, as well.

Nature, farming, ethnic diversity and governance in the Carpathian Basin

Ferenc Glatz presented a lecture entitled „Past and Future of the Peoples of the Carpathian Basin” for the PhD students of the Regional Policy and Management Programme of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Pécs. In order to be able understand the history of peoples residing in the Carpathian Basin in the past eight thousand years, we have to know the geographical characteristics of the region, its farming potential, the value and marketability of material and spiritual goods of this area in both regional and global markets.

The legacy of Hungarian Middle Ages Research

Ferenc Glatz’s article „Pál Engel: The Admiration of Middle Ages” was published in the 2009/2 issue of the historical periodical História. The author detects Pál Engel’s (1938-2001) professional carrier as a historian, also providing a historiographic overview of the Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where the acknowledged middle ages researcher played a leading role in the 1980s and 1990s.

Reform Alliance – establishing a social policy workgroup

The social policy workgroup of the Reform Alliance was established under the leadership of Ferenc Glatz. The main objective of the initiative is to provide a diagnosis and elaborate a prognosis on the financial perspectives of the present social, health care and cultural supply systems under the currently given conditions. The workgroup also wishes to investigate the anomalies that are to be detected in the system and the presumable impact of the emerging financial and economic crisis on them, as well as the new values appearing worldwide, to which these upper systems should be adjusted.

Sustainable development in rural areas

In the March session of the National Council on Sustainable Development Ferenc Glatz participated as invited speaker. In his speech he examined the current situation and perspectives of rural development in European dimensions. He outlined the conditions under which the Hungarian National Rural Network was established, and the structure and potential role of the network itself. He drew attention to the fact that the presidency of the network elected on 2 December 2009 might become a crucial inter-ministerial advisory body, treating rural areas in their complexity and elaborating solutions for problems affecting people living in the countryside. The Hungarian National Rural Network and the National Council on Sustainable Development intend to organise a joint conference in the second half of this year with the working title „Sustainable Rural Areas”.

Modern nation policy: the complex of various fields of policy-making

The volume entitled „Pro minoritate Europae. Minorities of Europe Unite!” (edited by MEP Csaba Tabajdi) was published in Brussels. The English version of the book includes a study by Ferenc Glatz The Policy of the Republic of Hungary vis-á-vis the Hungarian minorities living beyond its borders – a European approach.

Sustainable development in rural areas

Ferenc Glatz met Erzsébet Schmuck, the secretary of the Hungarian National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) in the building of the Hungarian Parliament. The aim of the meeting was to define the possible areas of cooperation between NCSD and the Hungarian National Rural Network, to draft a respective agreement of cooperation, and to appoint the representatives of the partners. The two organizations plan to organize a joint conference to be held in the second half of the year entitled ’Sustainability and Regionality’.

Yesterday and today: people of various approaches need to think together

As an honorary citizen of the town Szigetszentmiklós, Ferenc Glatz delivered a festive speech on the local celebration commemorating the 1848-49 Hungarian revolution and freedom fight. He pointed out that we tend to forget about the way ordinary people experienced the changes of the surrounding world brought about by the revolutionary events in 1848/49 and the institutional reforms of the 1840s, among others the establishment of the election-based Hungarian civic state. In 1848 the alliance of the political leadership, intellectuals and civil society was born in order to achieve a common goal. Talking about past events, Ferenc Glatz also drew conclusions for the present and the future: the political layer that has contributed to the creation of the currently prevailing system in the past 18 years should also take shared responsibility instead of blaming each other – in close cooperation with intellectuals.