Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across various industries, and the nonprofit sector is no exception. Nonprofit organizations, driven by their mission to address societal challenges and not private or financial gain, are increasingly searching for new ways to enhance their operations, streamline processes, and extend their reach. By harnessing the power of AI, nonprofits may be able to make a greater impact, optimize their resource allocation, and create more accessible giving experiences for a more diverse public. In this paper, we will explore how nonprofit organizations are utilizing AI software to revolutionize their practices and amplify their effectiveness as well as the usefulness and challenges of AI. Particularly we will examine the myriad ways AI can assist arts in tasks such as data analysis, report generation for board members and stakeholders, improved donor engagement, increase accessibility, assist with time consuming administrative tasks, and revitalize stagnant revenue growth. By demonstrating the benefits of AI, we aim to provide insights into how this technology can streamline processes and enhance the overall efficiency of these organizations.

This paper sets out to explore the importance of bibliotherapy in Hungary amid Covid-19. The
art of using books for therapeutic purposes precedes the pandemic, but it finds particular
application now when individuals need increasingly more support for emotional distress caused
by loss and mistrust. Social capital has declined in Hungary in recent years due to the almost
permanent state of emergency. The coronavirus has dramatically changed the way in which
people live: working and studying from home became a new norm. This shift raises important
questions about the impact of the disease on social connections. Without physical interaction,
trust is gradually lost and division is reinforced. Through the long months of the pandemic, the
hope of overcoming fear and regaining trust, meeting with loved ones, as well as travelling
freely again was a guiding light for many. Although people were confined to their homes, many
of them made epic voyages to desired places and people with the aid of an old friend, a book.
Recent research conducted in Hungary shows that the number of books published and sold in
2020 was at a record high. Reading has a positive impact on human wellbeing. Bibliotherapy,
which harnesses the meditative power of books, can teach helpful coping skills and provide
therapeutic strategies in difficult or unknown situations such as the pandemic, leading to the
creation of a healthier, high trust environment for everyone. Rebuilding social bonds, perhaps
with the help of bibliotherapy, is vital to recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

Today cultural diplomacy is not just an area of international relations but also a well-known field of academics. According to political scientist Milton Cummings, cultural diplomacy is "the exchange of ideas, information, values, systems, traditions, beliefs, and other aspects of culture, with the intention of fostering mutual understanding". Osojnik describes the concept the following way: cultural diplomacy is not used in the narrow sense of diplomacy referring to relationships between diplomats and government representatives but it describes various modes of cultural exchange.

The term cultural diplomacy may have only been defined recently but the practice of cultural diplomacy can be seen throughout history. “Explorers, travelers, traders, teachers and artists can be all considered living examples of informal ambassadors or early cultural diplomats (for example, the establishment of regular trade routes enables a frequent exchange of information and cultural gifts between traders and government representatives)”. Today any person who interacts with someone from a different culture facilitates a form of cultural exchange. The interaction of people and the sharing of language, religion, ideas, arts and traditions constantly improve relations between nations.

Cultural diplomacy can be practiced by the public sector, private sector or civil society. In my present talk, I will shed light on how cultural diplomacy is practiced in the American Corner Budapest, an information and resource center that was established in 2009 as part of the U.S. State Department’s American Corners initiative. AC Budapest is a cooperation between the U.S. Embassy in Hungary and Corvinus University of Budapest. At the beginning of the presentation, I will provide historical background of the American Corners worldwide and describe the goal and the mission of the centers. With specific examples, I will underline the importance of cultural diplomacy and introduce the types of events the American Corner Budapest is involved with, highlighting the Bicultural Bridges series with its programs that aim at connecting Hungarian and American cultures through history, people, events, exhibitions, books and films. The presentation will conclude with the importance of global intercultural dialogue, reached by respect and recognition of cultural diversity and heritage. American Corners around the world are helping nations to respect and recognize such cultural diversity.
Milton, Cummings. "Cultural Diplomacy and the United States Government: a Survey."
Cultural Diplomacy News. Institute for Cultural Diplomacy. Web. 10 Apr 2013.
.
Osojnik, Marta. “Cultural Diplomacy and the European Union: Key Characters and Historical Development.” .
Constantinescu, Emil. "What is Cultural Diplomacy." . Institute for Cultural Diplomacy. Web. 10 Apr 2013. .
US Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs, March 2006 Newsletter.

Ottokár Prohászka (1858-1927, bishop of Székesfehérvár, was an important politician in the public life of Hungary after World War I, the revolutions and the Trianon Treaty. This presentation will show his activities in the first half of the 1920s. He was one of the founders of the official ‘Christian national’ ideology of the Horthy Regime. He became a member of Parliament and for a few months he was the president of the unified governing party. Prohászka was the ‘spiritual father’ of the closed number (‘numerus clausus’) Act of 1920. He was very popular, large crowds followed his public speeches, e.g. in assemblies of different ‘Christian national’ organizations and parties. He wrote many interesting articles in right-wing newspapers, to spread widely his political and religious ideas.
In Hungary there are many debates about Prohászka’s political ideas, mainly his connection to Anti-Semitism. This presentation aimes to point out Prohászka’s place in Hungarian political history, to show his public activity in political life. In a separate chapter I will speak about Prohászka’s connections to Hungarian Catholics in the United States, with special regard to his correspondence with Rev. Francis Grosz, parish priest of Hungarian Catholics in New Jersey.

Bakos, Réka, and Anna Fenyvesi, eds. 2025. "Hungarian Roots & American Dreams: Tracing Personal and Local History" (rootStories, pp. 445) is the second collection, published in the fall of 2025, of family stories involving immigration from Hungary to the United States that explores the personal journeys of Hungarian emigrants to the United States and their descendants. In addition to presenting 58 new family stories, the present volume 2 also overviews the most important settlements in the United States where Hungarian immigrants have lived, framing the personal narratives in both space and time.

Béla Bartók (1881–1945) was one of the most compelling figures of early 20th-century pianism. However, for posterity, his pioneering compositional output has long overshadowed his fame as a pianist. His playing was regarded as magnetic, vigorous, irresistible by his contemporaries, and it is captivating for today’s listeners even when heard through the veil of his archive recordings. László Stachó’s book “A zongoraművész Bartók: Modellek és ideálok” (“Bartók the Pianist: Models and Ideals”) is the first monograph-length, in-depth analysis of Bartók’s performance practice. It aims to offer a comprehensive and critical analysis of his contemporary models and influences related to performance, drawing upon his instructive editions of the classical piano repertoire, oral history sources, reviews, contemporary treatises on performance practice, and sound recordings. Furthermore, the book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the cultural and historical context of Bartók’s formative years as a pianist, and analyzes the similarities and the differences between the performance style of Bartók and his most influential predecessors and contemporary pianists. It embraces a wide-ranging, innovative interdisciplinary approach to studying performance style, based on converging evidence from research in music history and cognitive musicology—thus the book brings together historical and present-day theoretical approaches. The book was published in 2022 by Balassi Kiadó (https://balassikiado.hu/konyveink/1307-stacho-laszlo-a-zongoramuvesz-bartok-modellek-es-idealok.html, ISBN 978-963-456-119-4). In their recent reviews, influential musicologists praised it as an innovative work, a “major contribution to Bartók literature”, adding that it is “among the most significant achievements of Hungarian musicology in the past two decades”. László Somfai, one of the most authoritative Bartók scholars of our time emphasized that the volume “is of pioneering importance by virtue of both the depth and interdisciplinary nature of the research”.

Multilingualism, as opposed to the ideology of linguistic homogenization, is at the core of the European Union’s linguistic political discourse, and instruction in minority languages is an important part of it. Although the social and ideological environment has drastically changed since the fall of the Communist regimes, the goal of achieving multilingualism, especially that of minorities reaching full bilingualism in both their mother tongue and the majority language, is facing as nearly unsurmountable obstacles. In fact, where nationalist linguistic ideology drives homogenization, the EU has been unable to implement its policy of protection of cultural diversity, with lethal consequences for the minorities’ survival as citizens equal in rights and opportunities to the members of the majority.

The six essays of the volume were written by academics from Hungary and Transylvania, all associated with the Babes-Bolyai University and/or AHEA, and deal with historical, political, educational, legal, social, and linguistic aspects of minority language survival in Transylvania: They refer specifically to the East-Central European traditions shaping language policy, to educational policy concepts, to Transylvanian public education regarding languages of instruction, to the revitalization possibilities of Hungarian in the Transylvanian diaspora, to the official register of Hungarian, and to its use in electronic media. An overview of majority-minority relations today and their governance through international covenants, and a brief review of the history of Transylvania within the history of Hungary and its minorities precedes the texts.

Cseh Tibor élete (1925–2004) szorosan összefügg a szétszórtságban élő magyarok sorsával. Ezen belül példaképe és szellemi vezetője volt a külföldre szakadt magyarságnak, főleg a magyar cserkészmozgalom és az ITT-OTT folyóirat köré csoportosult Magyar Baráti Közösségen (MBK) keresztül.
Székelyföldön született, de Csernátonról még hatéves korában áttelepült Magyarországra. Onnan D.P.-ként került Ausztriába 1948-ban, és onnan Brazíliába 1949-ben. Már Ausztriában bekapcsolódott a cserkészmunkába és szervezésébe. Brazíliában fontos szerepet vállalt az ottani magyar cserkészet létrehozásában Rio de Janeiro városában. Itt aktív mozgatója volt a magyar kulturális életnek, mind a cserkész regös mozgalomban, mind a szabadegyetem irodalmi és művészeti előadásainak megszervezésében. Ezt a munkát feleségével, Gábor Annával végezték együtt. Miután munkahelye, a Cynamid vállalata új megbízatással küldte Észak-Amerikába, New Jersey államba, ott folytatta ezt a munkát is haláláig, 2004-ig. Ez lett életének meghatározó feladata, mert minden szabad idejét a cserkészetnek és az írásnak szentelte. 1972 után pedig – a herefordi találkozó után – állandó munkatársa lett a Magyar Baráti Közösségnek.
Megjelent cikkeiből témakör alapján antológiát állítottunk össze. Így élete fél évszázadának legértékesebb termését szeretnénk megmenteni az utókor számára. Írásai a Magyar Cserkész, a Vezetők Lapja, a Transsylvania és az ITT-OTT folyóiratokban és az MBK Kalendáriumában láttak napvilágot. Így e könyv potenciális olvasóközönsége a három kontinensen szétszórt magyarság, főleg a külföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség és a Magyar Baráti Közösség tagjai. A könyv terjesztését a fenti két szervezeten kívül biztosan támogatja majd, a családi kötelékek miatt is, a Haszmann család és néprajzi múzeumuk Csernátonban.

Írásait témakör alapján többféleképpen feloszthatjuk (l. a mellékelt ismertetőt). Több kiváló nevelő szándékú írása van fiatalok, cserkészek számára a néprajz, az irodalom és a történelem témakörében. Írásaiban a külföldre szakadt magyarság lélektani állapotát is hatásosan boncolgatja. Egyik kedvenc témája a „szétszórtsági” és a „hazai” magyarság kapcsolattartása. Sokat foglalkozik szervezési kérdésekkel mind a cserkészmozgalom, mind az MBK életében. Írásait mindenkor áthatja a megmaradásért és a fejlődésért való elszántsága! Ezt mind kiváló stílussal, jó példázattal és érdekes okfejtéssel tárja az olvasó elé. Hézagpótló antológia lesz a szétszórtsági magyarok életéről.

Lovra Éva: A miskolci modernizmustól New Yorkig. Böhm Viktor építészete. Észak-Keleti Átjáró Egyesület, Miskolc, 2023. 264 p.
This research, initiated in 2020, centers around the multifaceted legacy of Viktor Böhm. The exploration spans three years, encompassing studies, research, and professional presentations, with a primary objective to not only preserve Böhm's inaugural residential creation in Miskolc but also to unearth, showcase, and contextualize his standing architectural achievements within Hungarian modernism. The focus extends to Böhm's pivotal role in the Hungarian and international architectural landscape, emphasizing the need for local protection of his works. Addressing the void of individual protection for Böhm's structures in Hungary, the study elucidates the interconnectedness of his Hungarian and American phases. While the American corpus is extensive, notably from 1940 to 1980, many of Böhm's creations face transformations or disappearance. The exception, the former Rifkin & Grannick department store in Trenton, New Jersey, not only received international acclaim during its 1940s renovation but has also endured as part of the Thomas Edison State University. The research unfolds within the framework of a Fulbright Visiting Professorship, involving a comprehensive review of the American legacy, scrutiny of Linda Böhm's personal archive, and on-site visits to Böhm's extant building in Trenton. This volume aims to encapsulate Viktor Böhm's acclaimed American architectural contributions and simultaneously analyze their profound impact on Hungarian architectural theory and history. Beyond architectural analyses, the book delves into Böhm's broader artistic spectrum, encompassing paintings, furniture, and applied arts, aiming to position his legacy within the broader narrative of Hungarian and international architectural history.

Dezső Kosztolányi
Inebriate of Dawn: Selected Poems
Translated by John M. Ridland and Peter V. Czipott
Preface by Csaba Horváth
A Collection Károli Book
Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem/Éditions L'Harmattan, Budapest/Paris, spring 2025. 164 pp.

2025 has seen the publication of Inebriate of Dawn, an extensive selection of poems by Dezső Kosztolányi translated into English by the late John Ridland, and Peter Czipott. The book, whose title points to a poem of Emily Dickinson revealing a pantheistic ardor akin to that in Kosztolányi's "Hajnali részegség", may be the first volume-length selection of Kosztolányi verse in English. Fittingly, it is published by Károli University Press and its French partner, L'Harmattan: the sole volume-length Kosztolányi verse in French was published by L'Harmattan in 2009. The presentation will introduce the volume to the audience, briefly describing the translators' aims, methods, and the selection of poems to include. The expectation is to have the author of the volume's preface, Prof. Csaba Horváth of Károli Reformed University, on hand to participate in the presentation.

I'd like to propose a book discussion of musicologist Carl Leafstedt's newly released "A Thorn in the Rosebush" ( Helena History Press 2021)

This book opens up new perspectives on the history of Béla Bartók's music in the 20th century. It joins a growing literature on music and the Cultural Cold War. It draws inspiration from a trove of historic correspondence discovered in Massachusetts in 2010, written by Béla Bartók's executor and trustee, Victor Bator. Bator, an accomplished Hungarian-American businessman, had been personally appointed in this role by the composer. Epic transcontinental legal battles dragged on for decades fending off challenges against the estate by Hungarian government attorneys eager to wrest Bartók's legacy from New York City and return it to Budapest. This is the story of one man's battle to keep the American Bartók Estate and Archives from falling into Communist hands during the Cold War.

The author introduced his research on this topic at an AHEA conference in 2016. We are pleased that at our 2022 conference we will be able to introduce this masterly piece of historical scholarship to AHEA members and the greater reading public.

In this interdisciplinary paper, utilizing cultural studies, gender studies, and media studies, Vasvári investigates the socio-political role of beauty pageants in 1920s European – and more specifically – in Hungarian culture. The article is structured as a case study of the life of Böske Simon, who in 1929 won the first Miss Hungaria competition and in the same year also the title of Miss Europa. Vasvári examines how the problematic gender representation of women in such pageants and their reception by the press and by the public interact in the broader interwar cultural sphere in post-Trianon Hungary. She also aims to place Simon’s role as Hungarian beauty queen in a broader international focus by examining from a gender perspective the international development of beauty pageants and of commercial beauty culture in the 1920s. Finally, Vasvári examines the symbolic space allotted to the concept “modern girl,’ who came to represent both the enticements and the dangers of modernity, in the interwar [re]construction of gender and national identities. A coda to the main body of the article will be devoted to Béla Zsolt’s 1932 novel, A királynő családja, a merciless critique of the pretentions of the Jewish petite bourgeoisie, based in part on Böske Simon’s pageant experiences, a connection that has not been noticed in earlier criticism.

Many cultures and languages populate contemporary classrooms in the United States of America which challenges educators to meet the needs of English language learners and overcome the cultural perceptions formed by the media and marginal textbook information. In exploring best practices for preparing new teachers to meet the challenges of the changing demographics present in contemporary classrooms, cross-cultural internship experiences emerge as an important component to teacher training curriculums (Dennis, 2003; Lane, 2003). According to Bruce, Podemski, and Anderson (1991), incorporating a global perspective into teacher education will ensure that educators have the knowledge and skills to promote the development of a global perspective in their students. In recent years the College of Education at Florida Gulf Coast University has initiated an international agreement for internship exchanges with Szent Istvan Egyetem in Hungary.
This presentation will highlight the international field experience of pre-service teachers from Florida and Hungary and their initiatives to meld cultural understanding and English Language Learning by using culture kits prepared by students in American and Hungarian early childhood and elementary classrooms.
The purpose of this presentation is to chronicle the journey of translating standards into practice by engaging pre-service teachers in experiences and environments that required them to utilize pedagogy to construct new knowledge for themselves and their students in the United States and Hungarian Laboratory Schools. It is also hoped that this presentation will motivate practicing professionals, at all levels, to explore trans-cultural opportunities within their own environments and abroad.

References:
Bruce, M. G., Podemski, R. S, & Anderson, C. M. (1991). Developing a global perspective: strategies for teacher education programs. Journal of Teacher Education, 42 (1), 21-27.

Dennis, M. (2003). Nine higher education megatrends, and how they affect you. Distance Education Report, 7 (24), 6.

Lane, K. (2003). Reports, educators call for more study-abroad programs. Black Issues in Higher Education, 20 (22), 11-12.

Throughout the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, rampant nationalism shaped the arts and the methodology of its historians. With the nationality of a composer, musicologists could situate a piece of music within a place, time, and people. Liszt, Bartók, and Kodály became synonymous with Hungary. Despite the advancements of travel, communication, and technology of the twentieth century, lingering traditions have extended the practice of labeling composers by nationality. Yet, can one term fully define a composer, his works, and their significance?

My paper will challenge and encourage scholars to explore multiple identities within historical figures. As a case study, I will focus on Frigyes Hidas, prominent composer, performer, and conductor in Budapest, Hungary, during the late twentieth century. Using research collected as part of the Fulbright student research program in 2014-2015, I will demonstrate the difficulty of constructing a musical identity and voice for a composer. Hidas was a multi-faceted musician, who created and performed in all genres. Beyond the concert stage, he was involved with music for theater, dance, radio, television, and film. Through these media, Hidas’ works shaped culture for countless Hungarians. Hidas exemplifies an evolving musician during a dynamic period of Hungarian history. As his music reaches new audiences through publication and recording, we must seek vibrant and specific words to articulate the significance of Frigyes Hidas for Hungarian, European, and Global communities.

Almost every Diaspora meeting starts with a heated debate about whether the meeting should be held in English or in Hungarian. The main reason for this dilemma is, that there are language barriers on both ends. How do we bridge the language gap? What alternative ways of communication are there to embrace individuals who have a strong connection to Hungarian language and culture but didn’t master the language? What practices does the American-Hungarian School’s Association follow to help learners, educators and parents to overcome language barriers?

British and American participation in the Summer School between 1927 and 1943 - the last event organized during the war years - seems to have been quantitatively negligible (15 Britons and 19 Americans for the whole period), especially as compared to the figures representing Germans (382) and Italians (561). The reasons for this are obvious and the explanation is to be found in the official line of Hungarian foreign policy of the time. Still, British and American presence "could be sensed in the climate" of the Summer School throughout. Examining the history of the Summer School of Debrecen in general and the British-American presence in particular, the researcher has to: 1/ identify as many persons having visited the Summer School from the UK and the US as possible; 2/ trace the role and weight of the British/American oriented part of the programme of studies; 3/ document how the (management) of the Summer School advertized itself in the English-speaking countries; 4/ present and possibly evaluate any statements - from cursory hints to direct remarks - made on British/American-Hungarian relations by local or national government representatives, university and Summer School officials and foreign visitors.
Three facts are mentioned here to corroborate the foregoing points: 1/ A government official's speech at the closing ceremony in 1937, which speculated what might have occurred in Trianon, had a young American history teacher, a certain Woodrow Wilson turned up at one of the summer courses in Debrecen;
2/ The world-famous British historian C.A. Macartney's talk in English on the nationality problem in Central Europe in the programme of the 1939 Summer School; 3/ The 1942 lecture by professor Sándor Fest, founder and then head of the English Department in Debrecen, on English-Hungarian spiritual contacts.

Drawing on new archival research, this presentation will explore who were the most important non-governmental actors in refugee aid in the UK. In addition to acknowledging the prominent role of the British Red Cross, the presentation aims to draw attention to institutional and individual actors who have received less attention in previous research, but without whom the process of relief and integration would have been much more difficult. The presentation will focus on both international INGOs and organizations that have limited their activities specifically to the UK. Among the former, the focus will be on the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam), which was set up during the Second World War to eradicate poverty but which over time expanded its charitable activities to other missions. Various women's organizations, such as the British Federation of University Women (BFUW), were also actively involved in helping Hungarian refugees, with the specific aim of supporting women intellectuals. Last but not least, attention is also drawn to social actors who, because of their high social status (in the political arena or among the aristocracy), were in a position to intervene personally on behalf of the refugees and to bring the Hungarian cause to the attention of the English elite. Through these various institutional and individual actors, the lecture aims to shed new light on the development of British reception policies and related social practices.

I propose to place this presentation in the same section as the presentations by James Niessen and Gusztáv Kecskés.

During the last 6 to 8 years, several successful Hungarian tech companies have sprung up in Budapest. Exactly what is spurring this growth? Why is there a hustling and bustling startup scene emerging in Budapest despite of the economic crisis?
This presentation will highlight parallel phenomena in the development of the Silicon Valley in the US, the Silicon Roundabout in the UK and the Budapest startup scene. It will showcase some of the most prominent companies of this new generation: Prezi, LogMeIn, UStream, Antavo. We are going to examine the links that tie these companies and places together.
Finally we will try to connect the dots and answer the question: Could Budapest be the newest tech hub in Europe or in the world?

BUDAPEST: AN AMERICAN QUEST, A Family’s Journey to 1920s Hungary, is an award-winning documentary short film of reverse migration with a twist: two Americans go back to Budapest in the 1920s, fall in love, start a family and live in Hungary from 1925-1935. The filmmaker finds a box of their romantic 16mm black and white original footage from the 1920s, and intrigued by these beautiful mysterious images, sets off on her own quest to discover her family's hidden story.

BUDAPEST: AN AMERICAN QUEST, A Family's Journey to 1920s Hungary was the Official Selection at IFFCA, the International Film Festival of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, and at the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Boston 2013. At the Berkeley Video Film Festival BUDAPEST: AN AMERICAN QUEST won the Grand Festival Award for BEST ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM.

National governments often see their respective diasporas as strategic political assets. The successive Hungarian regimes—including the country’s World War II authoritarian leadership and postwar communist dictatorship—were no exceptions. In many instances, the more underdeveloped and poverty-stricken the home country, and the more dramatic a recent regime change has been, the more likely it is that the government will place a heavy emphasis on exerting political influence over its diaspora. Countries with sizeable diaspora populations and the need to improve their fledgling regime’s image abroad make political use of their diaspora populations.

This paper explores Hungary's relationship with its diaspora population in North America during the Kádár regime, and examines how Budapest attempted to build what political scientists frequently refer to as "governmentality" within Hungarian communities in Canada and the United States.