Washington hosts first-ever US Hungarian diaspora conference

Washington, DC was the venue for the first-ever Hungarian diaspora conference held in the US, and coincided with an official visit by the state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad.

At the event held at the Hungarian Embassy on Friday, Lőrinc Nacsa the Hungarian government’s aims and aspirations, as well as the various support programmmes for Hungarian communities abroad.

He called on local Hungarian communities to cooperate with each other and Hungarian organisations should arrange celebrations jointly, so the Hungarian state can support them, adding that rather than competing they should cooperate so as to “survive over time”. Nacsa told MTI that the leaders of US-Hungarian diaspora groups and communities can help to build relations US-Hungary ties, which are now on a new footing.

Diaspora conference in Washington — Illustration. 15 March commemoration in the Hungarian Embassy in Washington. Photo: FB/Lőrinc Nacsa

Szabolcs Takács, Hungary’s ambassador to the US, told MTI that diaspora meetings held across the US should become a tradition and should be held at least once a year. He said his job involved lifting red tape that burdened the lives of Hungarians in America, such as former entry restrictions introduced during the Biden administration and visa difficulties which affected the Korosi Csoma scholarship holders who help local Hungarian communities strengthen their identity. Diaspora leaders attending the Washington meeting came from Florida, Georgia, California, Cleveland and Chicago, he noted.

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