Cooperation for acting communities

Hungarian Open Air Museum, the Hungarian Institute for Culture and NSZL signed a consortium agreement on June 6, 2016. The aim of the consortium is that its participants should jointly apply for support at tender invitation code No. EFOP-1.3.1-15, entitled “Acting Communities – Active Community Involvement” and published in the framework of Széchenyi 2020 program, and, in case of winning, to jointly realize goals set out in the application.

Cultural institutions started preparing for the above-mentioned EU tender as early as 2015, when in Esztergom they held a joint conference entitled “Coefficient – Community organization in museums, libraries and in the field of public education”. The aim of the conference was to get to know the characteristic features of various institution systems and to find connection points that may help to successfully coordinate the activities of and methods used by the three cultural institutions.

At the press conference accompanying the signature of the consortium agreement, head of the consortium Dr. Miklós Cseri, Director-General of Hungarian Open Air Museum said that the current initiative was quite unique in the field of culture. This is the very first time that a museum, a library and an institution in the field of public education are jointly participating in a program strengthening the social involvement of cultural institutions.

Aim of the Acting Communities program is to provide professional and methodological help, with the unique tools of the cultural institution system, for settlements and their cultural institutions and NGOs to perform activities strengthening social cohesion and developing a cultural community. With the help of this project, involved organizations will become capable of activating local cultural communities and to set up a network of volunteers.

Speaking about the society developing effects of community education, Albert Polyák, Acting Director-General of the Hungarian Institute for Culture pointed out that acting communities constituted a great deal of society and economy developing power. The three-year program, starting now, will present these results and, on top of that, it will raise the already existing professional and methodological developments to a scientific level, thus creating practices that can be applied throughout Hungary and, hopefully, beyond the borders of Hungary, too. By way of methodological development, the communities will achieve results even in a relatively short time, which will contribute to the spread of the culture of acting communities. He added that, by way of its nation-wide professional network, the Hungarian Institute for Culture had a direct access to settlements, whereby it is capable of providing methodology related to public education, a corner stone of the activities of the institution, in a wide circle.

Dr. László Tüske, Director-General of National Széchényi Library emphasized that one could not overlook global political, social and economic processes and their effects, meaning a challenge not only for the national library but also for the entire Hungarian library community, and even for the entire cultural sector. A total 4,000 libraries, to be found even in the smallest settlements, have to be given an answer how they can contribute to social and economic development. By strengthening local identity consciousness and providing their information assets, libraries can efficiently support the individual development of citizens.

By presenting good practices, the Acting Communities project will concentrate and accelerate the community building activities of libraries, placing them, at the same time, into a wider context.

Participation of National Széchényi Library, including the Hungarian Library Institute and involving Hungary’s county libraries, in the project will contribute to the catalyzation of community developing processes strengthening social cohesion, as well as to the creation of 21^st century innovative, community-centered and sustainable society and economy.

Realizing these objectives makes it possible for the there institutions of various cultural profiles to successfully cooperate and to develop the cultural and social life quality of people, as well as to provide an opportunity for professionals of these cultural fields to acquire new skills.

On June 6, 2016, the period of preparing for tender code No. EFOP-1.3.1-15, entitled “Acting Communities – Active Community Involvement” was closed by signing the consortium agreement. Application for support will shortly be submitted. The project is scheduled to start in September 2016 and end in September 2019. Budget of the project is 3 billion Hungarian forints.

Speeches delivered by the general directors were followed by the ceremonial signing of the consortium agreement.

Further information: Miklós Fehér, head of department
National Széchényi Library, Hungarian Library Institute
E-mail: feher.miklos@oszk.hu
Phone: +361 224 3882