Invited paper by Pordány, László
Road to Democracy, Hungary 1987-90. The role of Intellectuals.
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
With the proposed paper the author would like to remember, remind of, and commemorate the 25th anniversary of the latest turning point in Hungarian as well as in general East-Central European history: a determination and successful effort to get rid of the occupying Soviet armies, to put on end to the communist regime and to start on the road of freedom, private property, democracy and independence.
Tentative title of the paper: Road to Democracy, Hungary 1987-90. The role of Intellectuals. A personal account.
Major points of content:
- Life and society in communist Eastern Europe including post–1956 Hungary, especially in the 1980s, the years directly preceeding the events of change.
- The general role of writers, poets and other intellectuals in Eastern European and Hungarian literature society, life and politics.
- The author’s experiences of the changes.
- The first breakthrough in the tug of war between those in power and those representing the changes: a meeting in the now legendary tent of Lakitelek.
- The birth of MDF, or Magyar Demokrata Fórum, the party that won the first free elections in Hungary in 1990, concluding the first phase of the events.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Dr. László Pordány is the Hungarian Ambassador to Canada since 2011. Previously he served in this position in South Africa (1999-2003) and in Australia and New Zealand (1990-1994). He was a founding member of the the Hungarian Democratic Forum, MDF, the party that won the first free Hungarian elections in 1989.
Dr. Pordany graduated from the University of Szeged, Hungary and conducted post-graduate studies at Indiana U. and Essex University, Colchester, UK. In 1989 he became full professor at the Szeged Teacher Training College. He lectured extensively at US and Canadian universities.
In additions to his many articles, linguistic and political, his major publications include Bevezetés a fordításba (Introduction to Translation) - University coursebook (1982) and Egy a nemzet. One Nation – Indivisible, an antology in two languages.