Check out the Budapest Program video

Casey, my hardest working and very talented student assistant, filmed and edited this wonderful short VIDEO about the program. I hope you'll enjoy watching it. It is a summary of all the great things we've seen and done this past summer.

We had a successful Study Abroad Fair today. A big Thank You goes out to the amazing team at Tech's Office of International Education (Tara, Lorie, Amy and all) who worked so hard to put this fair together.

We had more than 35 students stop by our table to hear about the program. I realize some were mostly interested in the Hungarian candy we had for grab, but who came blame them - Hungarian sweets, just like everything else Hungarian, is hard not to like.

Many thanks to Chelsea as well for coming to the fair and telling students about her experiences this past summer.

To those of you out there thinking about doing something great next summer, check out our website and go ahead and apply!

Gearing Up for Next Year

Michael's award-winning shot of the beautiful Danube at night

Dear Friends,

It's been a while since we posted on this blog - we all got busy after we returned from Hungary.

The success of our inaugural program resonated with a lot of people both in Atlanta, and back in Hungary, so Bob Thomas and I are excited to continue our work, and we are already preparing for next year's adventure.

We have the dates in place: May 14 through June 28, and we will offer the same three management courses for a total of 9 credits.

The widely popular experiential learning component - a project with a social enterprise on the ground in Budapest - will also be offered, and two of the three courses (approval pending on the third) qualify for the Leadership Minor and/or the Entrepreneurship Certificate.

The Program Fee stayed the same, but this year we are excited to offer scholarships sponsored by the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship. You can find more details about that and all the important info about next year's program on our website.

Tomorrow is the annual Study Abroad Fair at Tech: 10am - 2pm at the Student Center, so if you are in the area come and see us - we'll have Hungarian candy and lots of enthusiasm :)

More updates about next year's program to follow, and if you are ready to join us on the program, go ahead and fill out the application on the OIE website.

The Final Session

On Wednesday the 13th of July our little group concluded the Budapest 2011 program with our final presentations... After six weeks of diligent, challenging, and fulfilling work we found ourselves out of time. It has been so insanely, unquestionably fun, and we were all sad to see it come to an end. However, before we all bid our farewells as we each went our separate ways, we had one last round of presentations. Joined by our two gracious guests, Aron of Fruit of Care, Daniel of Stanford (yes that Stanford), and Mr. Sandor Koles, we each preceded to give our presentations regarding what work we had accomplished for our respective internships.


After working for Fruit of Care for the past six weeks, Michael and Jordan give their final thoughts and recommendations concerning the path that Fruit of Care should take in the future. Met with great enthusiasm by their guest, their suggestions were nothing short of highly informed and full of potential. They had not only done their job, but with the help of the knowledge gained through the program, they had done their job well.


Next up was our very own Chelsea Bailey. She did an incredible job presenting her work on the Rural Workshop Foundation to not only the class but also to the very attentive Mr. Sandor Koles. Her diligent task of translating the website for the organization was nothing short of daunting but was completed in both a timely and impressive manner. Another point for the students of Budapest 2011.



Next stop was Ms. Sarah Chang. After weeks of working with CEE Web, her recommendations on how exactly to make the organization more efficient were profound in the very least. After a short time explaining the role of the organization in today's world, it became clear to all those listening just how important the work of this organization was to the future of biodiversity and to that of the environment as a whole. Another point for the students.


Last but certainly not least was Mr. Daniel Jakus presenting his findings and recommendations for Habitat for Humanity Hungary. Wearing a fantastic suit and rocking a great attitude, Mr. Jakus saw too it that the program had a fitting conclusion as he talked about all the great work Habitat has done and continues to do. One of the best endings the Budapest program could have had? Maybe... But yest it was probably the best way to end it...


After a quick shopping spree for the products of Fruit of Care, it was time for our farewell dinner. It was now time for one last goodbye (even though we a reflection class in the morning)... It had been tremendously fun. We had met so many terrific people. And we had learned more than we ever thought possible. We had made new friends and acquaintances. It had only been six weeks, but we had done so much... Thank you for following us for the duration of this program. We appreciate your support and you interest! Spread the word about his program! It deserves it!!!

Sincerely yours,

The Breakfast Club (Budapest 2011)

Open Garden at Gödöllő

Today we made a site visit to Open Garden in Gödöllő. Matthew Hayes told us the history of the farm. It began as a university project about community supported agriculture, an agricultural model where the community and the farmers both share the risks of production. The farm would grow crops and the community would pay for the crops they would receive ahead of time, so that the farm would have enough capital to move forward. The advantages of having a small, community garden are that it is better for the environment and better for the local economy. A downside, though, is that the consumer gets less choice about what he or she will receive. This contrasted greatly with Hungary’s trend towards many consumer choices following the democratic transition. This CSA project grew well, but did not turn out to be as successful as intended because of inadequate business planning.

The farm then became an open garden. It worked in a similar fashion, but people had more choices in what produce they could purchase because of partnerships with other gardens. It was interesting to hear about the role this garden played in making community. It provided a place for people to volunteer, to have festivals, and to share recipes.

The garden had also always been used for practical education in agriculture for Saint Stephen University. In recent years, it transitioned to functioning primarily for this purpose, as the open garden project’s scope had become too large. Many of the players had been worn out by the many demanding projects the garden had taken on, and so they decided to focus in on a few key activities. We hear a lot about scaling up, but this was an interesting perspective into why a social enterprise might want to scale down.

The food produced is organic, and the farm vies for financial and environmental sustainability. They keep chickens on the farm to provide manure, and as a byproduct, they also get eggs. They do, however, have to devote a portion of the farm to growing food for the chickens. They get much of their heating in the winter by burning wood, some from the property.

What I found most interesting about this presentation was learning about the progression of the farm through the years. It was clear that as they were acting, they were learning a lot. As they learned, they tried to make changes to best adapt to their environment. I admired this ability to adapt. It was clear that the context of a community plays a big role in the success of a social venture. While the open garden model had been very successful in the UK and Western Europe, certain cultural differences in Hungary made it less effective.

We all felt very honored the rest of the afternoon as we had a delicious Hungarian lunch, met the vice-mayor of Gödöllő, rang the town’s ceremonial peace gong, and got to visit the palace there. It was interesting to learn that the mayor and vice-mayor are not aligned with a particular political party, but are part of a civic group, formed to represent the needs of the town. Gödöllő has been in the spotlight lately because parts of Hungary’s EU Presidency took place here. Gödöllő was a very pretty town, and it was a lovely visit.

On the left is Dr. Terry Blum, Director of the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, visiting our program.

The Final Speakers

Guest Speaker Paola Greiner on Venture Philanthropy

On Thursday we were fortunate enough to have two speaker presentations. The first was with Paola Greiner who currently works for the EU. Paola has a degree in Social Entrepreneurship from the London school of Economics and is very involved in the non-profit sector. The presentation she gave was focused on Venture Philanthropy in Europe. Venture Philanthropy is not an easy topic to discuss or learn. According to Wikipedia, Venture Philanthropy is defined as "Taking concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and high technology business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals." Paola described Venture Philanthropy in Europe as philanthropic giving to social purpose organizations with an emphasis on performance and a combination of expertise and financial support. In Europe Venture Philanthropy is focused at the organizational level because it is seen as a more rewarding style of giving. During her presentation, Paola also spent a few minutes to discuss the European venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) with us. The EVPA has 31 current full members and many more supporters. The organizations involved with EVPA tend to support social welfare initiatives while focusing on expansion and replication. The EVPA is set up in order to help finance small non-profit groups that need funding. The funding is mostly provided through grants, however some agencies do provide loans. The EVPA is not only a financial based organization. Alongside their financial initiatives, the EVPA also provides business plan development, management training, and other programs necessary to running a successful Non-Profit. In total, Paola's presentation was very helpful to myself and the others in the group because until now Venture Philanthropy has been difficult to grasp the general concept of.

Conversation With Student Social Entrepreneurs of The Volunteer Construction Camp

Here is a link with some background on the student Organization I will be discussing below.

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=102178413186846

The second presentation on Thursday was by a small student organization from the college for advanced studies in Social theory. The student organization consisted of board members and other members in charge of running the Social Housing Reconstruction Camps in Hungary. The Social Housing Reconstruction Camps is a program based in Hungary which focuses on helping poor families reduce their rent in exchange for growth in the value of government properties. The program focuses on getting small local governments to agree that if the poor community work to improve the status of their government provided housing, they can in turn reduce their rent. The program believes that the main outcomes of the program will be that those involved in the re modification of the housing projects will gain a sense of pride in where they live and they will also learn to basic working skills. The main project that the group has been working on is focused on a slum community called Ligetvaros which is in the city of Nagykanizsa. Ligetvaros is a slum of 110 council flats which were originally built as military hospital barracks. Sewage and plumbing was added to the community in 1989 and there has been no reconstruction since. Because of thee help of the Social Housing Reconstruction Camps, the Ligetvaros has been able to improve the condition of their community and almost 70 community members have been able to reduce their rent and completely eliminate their debt. The success of the Social Housing Reconstruction Camps is reliant on a lot of outside help. Through the cooperation of many corporate sponsors such as Dewalt and other tool, and home improvement companies, The SHRC is provided with the tools necessary for housing reconstruction. The SHRC is also partnered with habitat for Humanity which provides them with volunteers and supplies in order to further their accomplishments. Along with tool donations and other essential supplies the SHRC also receives funding from Norwegian Grants. While the program is very new, the student group emphasized that they have already learned many valuable lessons about how to run a successful charity organization. The SHRC is currently waiting to hear back from local government if their application to become an officially registered Non-Profit has been approved or not. The meeting ended with a round of Q&A and then we were finished. In all I was able to tell that the SHRC has the ambition needed to become a great organization and I speak for myself and my colleagues when I wish them the best of luck in the future.

Harskut Center for Renewable Energy

Another early morning. Another group of students with bright and shiny faces. With one of our group members under the weather, the group took off with an additional guest, Mr. Joel Cowan. As you may know he has done everything that anyone could possibly do including the founding of a city (Peachtree City to be exact). The group was off for a 2 hour bus ride to Harskut, Hungary and a day of unexpected and intense learning and fun...

After 2 hours of sleeping, conversation, and stories from Mr. Cowan himself, the group arrived at Harskut to meet our host Mr. Willy Benko. As the co-founder of the Center for Renewable Energy, Mr. Benko, who speaks both English and Hungarian absolutely flawlessly, graciously took us on a tour of his property in Harskut and showed the group all the interesting and sophisticated steps his organization is taking to further the sustainably of our natural resources through solar and wind power. Through his farm, Mr. Benko is striving to provide a working model that other individuals can visit, see, and hopefully copy as a feasible and environmentally sustainable way of living. After seeing multiple high tech devices contrasted by traditional Hungarian fire places, it was time to explore the rest of the extensive and gorgeous property.

After loading the entire group into a single truck (with 6 of us sitting in the back), we journeyed deep into the property to learn about the horses, the sheep, and the overall day to day life of how things were done. And yes, the animals were all just as cute as you would expect.




After a short period of petting adorable horses and sheep, and after an exciting time of off roading all over a farm which some of us found quite enjoyable and others found terrifying (Dori), we arrived at a grove of cherries. The cherry trees surrounded the remains of a building which had unfortunately been ravaged by fire not too long before. Regardless of this tragedy, the cherries were delicious as well as some other unusual berries which grew on some bushes not too far from the grove (they weren't poisonous don't worry). However, it was now time to depart and make our way back to the main building. After another adventurous journey off roading in the truck and a quick stop at a wood chipper (the wood chips are used as a sustainable fuel source), we headed into town for a very delicious lunch.

Sadly, with this lunch came the departure of our host, Willy Benko, and our special guest, Mr. Joel Cowan. However, the day was far from over. After a visit to the Herend Porcelain Factory as mentioned earlier, we went on a very quick and rainy excursion to Lake Balaton. While we only had a short while to this lake which is in fact he largest in Eastern Europe, we still had plenty of time for smiles, laughter and wet shoes. As you can see, some of us (the extraordinarily brave and handsome ones as featured in the corresponding picture) were able to test the waters personally. Speaking first hand, they were quite pleasant and most certainly worth a return trip (with sunshine of course).


After a long day of learning, off roading, and valiantly exploring the deep and warm waters of Lake Balaton, the group was headed back to Budapest. A 2 hour return trip filled with sleeping and more sleeping, the group had yet another great day exploring all that Hungary and the field of social entrepreneurship has to offer.

Herend (Herendi Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt.)

As part of cultural enrichment of our program, our lovely program director took us to Herend, near the city of Veszprém, less than 20 km away from Lake Balaton. Herend is known for its quality porcelain manufacturing and we allocated a rainy afternoon to observe the handworkings of beautiful Herend porcelain wares.

We went to the Herend Porcelanium (cool word), which is the porcelain manufacture factories and museum. We had a short guided tour of how the dedicated artists create the ceramic wares with intricate details and how they painted them with beautiful colors.

The particular clay they used was a very pure Kaolinite (an aluminosilicate clay!), which is imported from the Czech Republic since its not found in Hungary. Herend manufactures particular pieces such as plates and cups, but also a few well known "artsy" wares such as horses or bears or roses.

Much of the classic pieces are created from molds that usually take 20 minutes to dry and pop out. Intricate details and actual modeling may take from 4 hours up to 8 hours for one piece.

Realistic roses were made quickly right before our eyes!

Their specialization in porcelain and their pride in tradition keeps their products consistent and of very high quality. They were known for being the go-to porcelain for the Hapsburg as well as the aristocracy throughout Europe. More recently, Hungary's wedding gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton were special hand-painted pieces of Herend Porcelain.

NIOK

Our Social Entrepreneurship studies led us to the next site visit among many to the organization NIOK, located near what used to be Moskva Ter, but is now Szell Kalman Ter (some noname). We duly arrived to the site and sat down with Zsuzsanna Pikó who works as the Programme Director of NIOK. NIOK is a Nonprofit Information, Training and Service Center, which exists to help NGOs with various administrative duties and similar to NESsT, offers services such as consulting, advisory, training and mentoring. But unlike NESsT, NIOK also caters to NGOs not by offering grants, but by offering services, for a small fee, in which they can have access to the center for workshops or meetings or other administrative services, in addition to the others they provide. NIOK also keeps an up-to-date NGO database and as a civil service center they have day to day contact with clients helping with fundraising, capacity training and use of infrastructure. NIOK serves to offer connective services to the civil center and to act as a portal for the sharing of information, proposals, and tenders and allow government contact to NGOs. They help those who have great ideas to set up NGOs and allows access to volunteers and thus possibilities to start projects. This is similar to the NGO service center we met with in Eger which also offers services including internet access, copying and printing services, in addition.

After giving a brief introduction of what NIOK does, our speaker allowed us to input what it was we wanted to learn from her, and knowing that NIOK has been working hard in the recent weeks with the new legislation concerning re-registration of NGOs, we asked her to discuss more and delve more information about the new law and simply trying to gain more insight.

Over the past few weeks, we have met with so many speakers and organizations and heard many differing views concerning the new law that there are so many opinions it was difficult to really get a grasp of what the law entailed and the details as to how it really affects the NGO sector. The new legislation had been broken down to basically dictate how NGOs are established and how they are operated. Our discussions and questions were geared more towards Public Benefit Organizations, which are technically just a status for a foundation or association. Definitively, it means that an organization is more transparent than other organizations and more active on the field in whatever cause the organization is fighting for.

We learned today that many of the qualms with the new legislation is due to the question of why it is needed in the first place. With a focus on Public Benefit Organizations, Zsuzsa explained that there was never anything wrong with the existing law in the first place; in fact, the existing law was very good. The only problem was the implementation and application of the law that was the problem. The current law defines PBOs as organizations which are fully transparent in everything they do (with few exceptions) and that they do not deal with politics. The problem arises when organizations are not adhering to the rules and not upholding their transparency, for example, filing this annual public benefit report and presenting it in a public forum.

At first look, it seemed that the misconception I had was that this law was an attempt to alleviate that problem and try to keep an up-to-date data base on the NGOs that exist and to really try to administer this transparency better. But lack of attention on the side of policy makers and feelings that the new law and re-registration is completely unnecessary has thus brought a lot of controversy and dissatisfaction with the new government especially. However, like all things in life, Zsuzsa had finished off her presentation conveying that this is not so much a problem, but moreso a challenge that the sector must learn to overcome.

Parliament & Katalin Ertsey

Today we had the honor of meeting with Katalin Ertsey, an MP with the Green Party. On top of being able to learn from such an influential woman, the meeting was held in Parliament. How cool is that?! We were blown away by the beautiful neo-gothic architecture and design, and felt like tiny fish in a really big sea. Katalin discussed her path from the nonprofit sector, to the profit sector, and finally to politics. In each sector Katalin has worked to make a social difference, seeing much success throughout her career. These success have definitely not come without opposition and setbacks. The most trying time of her career seems to be her current position in politics. Not only is it hard from within Parliament, but it's also hard to gain the trust of the Hungarian people. Hungarians have a huge amount of trust issues when it comes to government and politicians. Katalin said that she used to be respected and thought highly of as a professional, but that attitudes have changed now that she is part of government. It is also extremely hard within government because of the large majority party that sits on Parliament. It's especially hard with 2/3rds vote in place, giving the majority party the capacity to pass whatever they please. It seems like Katalin has to fight especially hard just to get one idea heard. Most people would probably give up and say it's not worth it, but Katalin's passion and determination keep her fighting for what she believes in. Just to get into Parliament was a huge success, so it will be exciting to see how much she will do.

NESsT

Our site visit for today was at NESsT and met and talked with Peter Varga who is the Senior Manager of the Central and Eastern European division of the organization. NESsT stands for Non-profit Enterprise and Self-sustainability Team which does not support a single cause, but instead helps and supports a variety of organizations with a tantamount cause diversity. They combine venture philanthropy with consulting services and training workshops through their NESsT Venture Fund, Consulting and University services.

This was an interesting organization because unlike the others which we visited, their support of other organizations means that their mission is much different and as such, Peter offered a very different viewpoint in terms of Social Enterprise and the NGO sector. Similarly, we had a guest speaker, Scsaurszki Tamás, who came in to talk to us about 2 weeks back and he was a freelance consultant. It was quite interesting to learn about his work because one of the first thoughts that popped into my mind as we started learning more about the NGO sector was whether or not there were NGO consultants since a lot of the reasons why good ideas go under is because there is so much that these people who have creative ideas don't know about keeping an organization sustainable and moving forward from it just being a hobby.

NESsT and Tamás are similar in that they work with various NGOs in different countries, gaining context and using information to act as a catalyst. With Scsaurszki Tamás, we were introduced to NGO work in the corporate sector and the idea of "Social Economy", which tries to combine social and financial groups. (Think financial institutions in the social community), as well as the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in terms of corporations, often used for reasons which are not altruistic.

Of course, Tamás only worked with smaller organizations and only in Hungary and Poland. NESsT focuses on organizations in emerging market countries including Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia as well as countries in South America including Chile and Brasil. The organization aims for helping the fresh, young civil society with undeveloped local philanthropy and it divides its venture philanthropy into Financial, Intellectual, and Social divisions. Financial includes multi-year financial support by keeping the organization sustainable and straying away from dependence of donors but through other outlets. Intellectual refers to mentoring, advisory and coaching for social enterprise. NESsT contributes to this through many different mediums, such as workshops as mentioned earlier, but also through conferences and forums, such as the Social Enterprise day they hold annually. Finally, Social refers to networking both among organizations and other parties such as pro-bono advisers.

Peter ran through much of the philosophy, mission and portfolio of the organization and focused a lot on how they choose what organizations to help and how they contribute to the development and expansion (if desired) of those organizations. They try to find organizations which are stable in many aspects such as leadership, structure and management, and of course, have a great idea, generating a commercial product which helps contribute to diversify their portfolio.

It was most interesting to hear from him because many of our other speakers and site visits often showcased people who were passionate in a specific cause, whether its helping disabled or disadvantaged children, or helping a discriminated against minority to integrate and have a higher quality of life in the current society, NESsT and Peter were passionate about helping organizations help others.

Eger Day 2 and 3

Eger Day two started off with a traditional Hungarian breakfast at out hotel and then we headed off into the countryside. The main goal of Day 2 was to focus on the ROMA communities and learn more about the Carpathian Foundations mission to remove them from stone cellars, and integrate them into the community. Throughout the course of the day we visited with many Non-Profits all of which focused on trying to help the ROMA people. We ate lunch at one of the traditional cellar houses, now owned by the Association for the Roma People of Szomolya. At lunch we were hosted by a ROMA family who was kind enough to cook us a traditional Hungarian Meal. The meal was amazing and afterwards we went to visit more cellar houses. The cellar houses that we visited were mainly in decay. None of them had running water, electricity, or even a solid floor. It was truly amazing to see the condition that the ROMA people endured for so long.

This is a traditional Cellar which is now in ruins. The cellar in the picture is a very high quality one. Most of the cellars that we saw were just large enough for a current family of 4, yet families of as many as 10 would live in these conditions. After a day full of site visits and touring cellar developments we returned to Eger and enjoyed a traditional Hungarian Dinner with the Carpathian Foundation and reflected on the days events.

Day 3

Eger Day three began the same as day two. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and were once again off to visit with Non-Profits involved in helping the ROMA people. The organization we visited on Day 3 was located just on the outskirts of Eger, in Felnemet, and was not only there to help the ROMA. The organization, called SZETA which stands for The Eger Foundation for Support of the Poor Fund, also doubled as a Foster Home for local children. The home was set up to house as many as 12 children at any time. The Organization was also focused on helping the local ROMA population which was mainly located two minutes away by foot. The community we saw was not only living in a high level of poverty but they were living with high amounts of people in each home. The community has been updated greatly in the past few years due to the groups efforts. Roads have been added, water has become more accessible, and basic electricity has become available to those homes that can afford it. It was a great experience to see the actual community that was being helped by the foundation. Dr. Zsuzsa Farkas, the leader of SZETA, was a great example of the passion it takes to be successful in the non-profit sector. She has been involved in the civil society since before the revolution of 1989 and has fought to keep her organize alive and to build it. When she was first starting the foundation she had to campaign in order to get even the smallest things done. It isn't easy to accomplish something when the community you are trying to help is even against you. It was great to see how passionate she was about he work and how she overcame all of the struggles of the past in order to be as successful as she is today.

Here is a list of the websites of the organizations we visited while in Eger.

CF www.karpatokalapitvany.hu; www.cfoundation.org;

Eger Castle Friend Circle: www.egrivar.hu

Életfa Környezetvédő Szövetség, Egri Civil Ház: www.eletfa.org.hu ; eck.hu;

Szomolyai Romákért Egyesület:

szomolyairoma.freewb.hu

Kaptárkő Egyesület: www.kaptarko.hu

SZETA: www.szetaeger.hu

Farkaskő Cave Art Association: www.pocem.hu

Eger: Day 1

Eger, Hungary. The site of a three day site visit most graciously hosted by the Carpathian Foundation (www.karpatokalapitvany.hu, www.cfoundation.org). Eger, most famously known for its red and white wines as well as the Castle of Eger, boasts a very gorgeous downtown in addition to the fact that it's located next to the "Valley of the beautiful women." The perfect place to explore the nonprofit sector while enjoying some of the many wonderful things that Hungary has to offer.

Monday morning. 6:30 A.M. Full of flawless smiles and laughter, our little group proceeded to head to the train station to catch a 7:00 A.M. train to Eger from Budapest. A two hour train ride, our group spent the majority of the trip learning new Hungarian words and planning how the next few days would unravel. There may have also been some sleeping involved... Finally, we had arrived and were greeted with some amazing views...


As we walked off of the train we were met by a member of the Carpathian Foundation in Eger. Mrs. Boglarka Bata, or Bogi as she preferred to be called, gave us an extraordinarily warm welcome and along with her very kind husband brought us to the headquarters of the Foundation there in Eger. After a brief introduction between the members of our little group and the Carpathian crew(Aniko Magyar and Norbert Havasi), we were headed to tour the city.

Our first stop was the Castle of Eger. Perhaps one of the most famous castles in all of Hungary and home to over 400,000 visitors annually, the Castle of Eger gains its reputation as a symbol of Hungarian independence due to its role in the historically significant Siege of Eger. On our guided tour which included a private tour of the castle's museum we learned a great many things regarding the history of the castle and the history of Eger as a region. When the Ottoman Turks invaded Eger in 1552 a small army of 2,000 defenders from all parts of the Eger region were able to hold off an invasion force of over 40,000. After over a month of constant cannon fire, the Turks withdrew from Eger marking October 17th as a day of pride and celebration in the nation of Hungary. Concluded by a presentation
concerning the castle and its supporting projects (Friend Circle of Castle of Eger) which center on bringing together local nonprofits, we were ready to move on.

After a quick stroll through the center of the city we all sat down for lunch. After having a delicious meal and getting to know the members of the Carpathian Foundation a bit more we continued our tour of the city which included a quick visit to the Eger Minorite Church. Soon after this, the group visited the Civic House in order to further understand the role the Carpathian Foundation plays in helping local groups, organizations, and people. The Foundation is the member of the Carpathian Network operating within Romania, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia. The Network was founded in 1995 to support the growth and stability of the Euroregion. The Carpathian Foundation–Hungary’s mission is to improve the quality of life of the communities living in the Carpathian region, preserving and utilizing the social, economic, ethnic, cultural and environmental values of the Hungarian part of the Carpathian region.

This meeting was followed by a quick tour of one of the many wine cellars of the region. Located directly outside the Cathedral, this particular wine cellar included a linguistically talented tour guide and an atmosphere that can be described as highly reminiscent of the Chamber of Secrets. Many Harry Potter jokes were made during this wine cellar tour...


After a long day of touring and learning, the members of the Budapest group 2011 and the members of the Carpathian Foundation, now lifelong friends, sat down together for a nice dinner in the Nice Women's Valley. The long day was now winding down, but this was still only day 1...