Hungarian culture is not only unique, it also very interesting and a lot of fun. Winetasting, a thermal bath visit or trying on traditional dresses were just a few highlights of the Summer University “Folktales of Hungary – SUmmer in the heart of Europe”. The event was organized by AEGEE-Budapest from 13th to 23rd July 2024.
GT: What was your SU about?
AEGEE-Budapest: Our SU was about Hungarian local culture. We tried to give the opportunity for our participants to get familiarized with our cuisine, language, folklore and overall culture. We based our workshops accordingly and especially at the European Night we had an amazing cultural exchange with our participants.
GT: How many participants and organisers did you have?
AEGEE-Budapest: We had eight organizers, that includes the two main organizers, treasurer and the responsibles for PR, logistics, incoming and social programme. Other than this, we had three assistants who were also of great help, and we can also thank our 15 helpers.
GT: What were the greatest thematic programme highlights of the SU?
AEGEE-Budapest: We tried to incorporate our theme of local culture as much as possible and this was represented in our workshops and other programme highlights. We held several workshops based on our theme, for example a “Hungarian Language and Culture Workshop” and even a “Bridges of Dialogue Workshop”, in which our speaker highlighted the Hungarian relevance of the topic. Our city tour in Budapest was accompanied by a History Workshop, which means that the leader of the tour talked about the historical backgrounds of the sights we explored together.
We visited another part of Hungary too. We went to Eger, which is the centre of one of our famous wine regions. There, we brought our participants to a wine tasting event, accompanied by typical Hungarian snacks. Moreover, we went to Egerszalók, and spent time at the famous thermal bath there with a great view over the surrounding salt hills. Going to thermal baths is a typical Hungarian leisure activity. We can positively say that that was one of the most enjoyed highlights or our SU.
We also had thematic parties, one was a Folktales Party where the participants could dress up in traditional national clothes. This was the perfect opportunity to hold our European Night as well. We had a lot of fun that evening and tried amazing drinks and snacks from many different countries.
GT: What were the funniest or most exciting moments?
AEGEE-Budapest: One of the great successes was our scary night hike in the surrounding of the campsite, where the path was lit up by candles and our organizer team tried their best to surprise the group of participants along the way. Some other funny moments were the instances when our flag and mascot was stolen by one of our international helpers, where our Hungarian team had to sing the Austro-Hungarian anthem in German. This was all accompanied by laughs and was an especially memorable moment. And this for sure was a creative punishment for getting our symbols back, so props to the person who came up with it!
GT: How was the group of participants?
AEGEE-Budapest: Our participants were always ready to have some fun, and although there were some nationalities that were present in bigger numbers, they did not shy away from mingling with others and were always welcoming towards everyone. It was an open-minded and inclusive group of people who were able to find good connections with each other easily.
GT: How successful was the SU overall?
AEGEE-Budapest: Not only did our participants make great friendships during our event, but they still keep in touch to this day in our WhatsApp group and take all the chances they can get to reunite with the others, travel to each other, and meet up. We believe this is one of the biggest signs there is to show the SU’s success. This SU definitely helped strengthen our relationship with those antennas who sent participants to our local and we are waiting to welcome any of them back with open arms.
GT: Which impact did the event have on your antenna?
AEGEE-Budapest: The team of organizers was willing to put in all the work and energy. We could be part of something much bigger than anything we’ve ever done before, which in part made us want to get even more involved in AEGEE. What shows that better than the fact that several of our organizers made it into our new, current board team?
