Trial Run

On November 9, the Heart of Hungary Cultural Initiative, registered as the youngest nonprofit organization in the Hungarian-American diaspora, held its inaugural presentation. Its founder, Dr. János Horváth, a research engineer and a young professional raised with Christian values, has never lost sight of his national and cultural identity, even in America. On the contrary, he has dedicated the opportunities afforded by his professional success to learning about and supporting Hungarian organizations in the diaspora.

Now, as the president of this new organization, he told attendees that in today's information-saturated world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate and find credible sources. Moreover, misinformation poisons human relationships. Even during his doctoral studies, he contemplated how he could contribute to strengthening human and cultural ties between Hungarians in the diaspora and those in Hungary. This led first to the idea of the Heart of Hungary website and later to the creation of a nonprofit organization that primarily undertakes tasks filling gaps in existing initiatives. Over the past two and a half years, he has worked on establishing these during his free time. During this period, he developed good relationships with most Hungarian organizations on the West Coast, volunteered extensively, and was even invited to join the advisory boards of some organizations.

This is how he connected with the founders of the Örly Museum, Ilona and Elvira, as well as its director, Éva Szabó. Through collaborative work over the years, he decided to create an award that would not only recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the community and Hungarian culture but also serve as encouragement for young people and newcomers. It quickly became clear to him that in addition to designing the website's branding, he would need communication and professional support, as well as additional volunteer labor, to ensure continuous content updates.

He successfully enlisted Éva Szabó, who had built the entire branding of the Örly Museum and was a host for the Transylvanian Hungarian Television and also served as the PR and communications director for the television during its first years.