An award for the Hungarian Y4UW
19 December 2012
The Hungarian Ministry of Human Resources has given a certificate of merit to the Youth for a United World (Y4UW) in Hungary in recognition for their work in organizing the Genfest in Budapest.
It’s not every day that you go to a Government Ministry to receive official recognition. This is what happened to the Hungarian Y4UW after they had worked so hard, all year round, at organizing the Genfest in their own country. It was a huge event that took place from 31st August to 2nd September 2012. It drew together 12,000 young people from all over the world. Among them, there were 2,000 from Hungary. Rita and Agoston, among the key figures, shared with us all about what happened during the award ceremony that took place at the end of November.
What was the prize for? “At the beginning of October the Hungarian Ministry for Human Resources sent us a message saying: in recognition of our professionalism at the Genfest, the Focolare’s Youth for a United World were to be given a certificate of merit. We were both surprised and happy and the news spread like wild fire among the young people of the Movement. Through the acceptance of our candidature, the Minister conveyed his recognition through an award. This award ceremony took place on 20th November on the Universal Children’s Day.”
The nomination of the Youth for a United World had come from a person within the Ministry along with the State undersecretary of Ministry for Family, Miklós Soltész. Rita and Agoston continued saying: “Both of them were present at the Genfest opening ceremony and they were touched by the dynamism, enthusiasm and sense of fraternity among the young people.”
On 20th November a delegation of five young people representing the Focolare and the Y4UW went to the Ministry. “The prizes, 14 in all, were given to organizations and persons who had done something special for children and youth. Miklós Soltész emphasized how all the prize winners had become ‘examples’ in youth education and parent support through their activities, poetry and prose.”
In the official citation, the Y4UW received merit for having put on the Genfest collectively, efficiently and professionally. They pleasantly surprised, saying: “We were very pleased by the word “collectively” as this transmitted our intention to build universal brotherhood.”
After the Genfest, new prospects have emerged, especially with regards to the United World Project: “After the ceremony the Minister of State said again how, at a personal level, that international meeting had been an important experience. He said that he hoped in the future to work together with us for the good of the young people in Hungary. As a gift, we gave him a copy of Új Város [the Focolare Movement’s magazine in Hungarian] which contained articles on the Genfest.”
Rita and Agoston concluded by saying: “Now, together with many young people who have worked with us in the last few years, we want to continue building a more united world “together”, as highlighted by the award’s official citation.”
Rita and Agoston