2. Current cultural affairs
Hungary
Last update: November, 2021
A fundamental overhaul of the cultural sector has been created by Act XVI of 2021 (and its accompanying decree) by creating The Foundation for Hungarian Culture “for the purpose of supporting the financing of cultural strategy activities, the predictable operations of institutions in this avail, as well as the plannable future of the beneficiaries of cultural strategy supports”. The format of “Public Interest Foundations Performing Public Functions”, constituted by the Parliament on the same day, allows for their distance also from future governments. Besides 600 million HUF seed money, the law donated to the Foundation three existing nonprofit limited companies, active in managing governmental cultural policies, as well as 20 real estate objects. These include a large castle and valuable brown field terrain in Budapest where an enormous new cultural hub is planned to be erected.
Most of the state universities have been transformed into the same public interest foundations, foundations equipped with important endowments (usually stocks of state enterprises) with boards appointed for a longer period. Among art universities this affects the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, the Hungarian Dance University, and the University of Theatre and Film Arts (Színház- és Filmművészeti Egyetem, SZFE). The management, faculty and the students of SZFE deemed the process a limitation of academic autonomy and carried on a sit in for months at the academy campus; some of them opted for an independent secession academy of theatre and film studies: Free SZFE.
A feature of the current cultural policy is the key role of some personalities who fulfil multiple tasks:
- László Baán is director of the now combined Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery. He manages the Budapest City Park Project (involving the erection of several new cultural institutions) as well as the renovation of the Opera House.
- Csaba Káel is CEO of the Müpa art centre, the director of the new Bartók and Liszt Festivals, and is Government Commissioner for the National Film Institute and the Eszterháza Palace and Cultural Centre.
- László L. Simon, newly appointed director of the National Museum, has been commissioned to undertake an integrated development programme of public museums, including the fusion of the National Museum and the Natural History Museum, and possibly with the Museum of Applied Arts.
- Szabolcs Demeter is Director of the Petőfi Literary Museum and the subsidiary Petőfi Cultural Agency, the anchor of the gigantic endowment destined to serve the newly created Foundation for Hungarian Culture. Furthermore he is preparing the erection of the House of the Hungarian Language, including the venue of the National Library, and he is ministerial commissioner for the integrated development of libraries and of the renewal of the rock scene.
Last update: November, 2021
The principles of rights and equal treatment are fully included in the relevant documents of the Constitution, and the respective institutions and officials are in place. These guarantee, among others, the right of information and communication with the media in focus as well as the right to association. These two areas are the subject of constant political debate. The government keeps referring to the above-mentioned legal guarantees and presents documented arguments about their fulfilment in practice. National and international critics cite numerous instances and indicators on the limitation of the media and on the biased attitude of the government to NGOs. The civic organisations that consistently monitor the decisions of the government are labelled as Soros agencies regardless if they have had relationship to the Hungarian born philanthropist.
Hungary is party to all relevant international agreements, except the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence which the government refused to ratify. The government has been promoting the Minority SafePack initiative in the European Union, which effort enjoys broad support in society.
Particularly important issues in the rights and ethics area relate to minorities and to sexual orientation which are discussed in the relevant chapters below.
Last update: November, 2021
In the communist times, artists were considered a privileged group. A large network of holiday resorts and artists’ residences served the members of the official professional associations. Their professions were held in official esteem and the system promoted the work of the most eminent. Many of today’s awards and fellowship grants originate from the communist era. Dissidents and those whom the power kept alien to the communist conception of culture were excluded from such favours.
The current NER System of National Cooperation has returned to placing special emphasis on individuals. The number of artists and cultural professionals who are entitled to lifelong annual annuities above the age of 65 is well above a thousand, and those having reached this age threshold and drawing the monthly annuities total a few hundred people at any time. The various groups and their annuities are listed in chapter 4.1.3.
In addition to the above-mentioned provisions for older artists and the impressive array of public art fellowships, the recently established Térey Grants offer existential backing to 45 middle-aged writers (see chapter 7.2.3).
These signals of the recognition of the role of artists in society are in contrast to the modest conditions and indeed precarity of the greater number of employees in cultural institutions and the artists with self-employed status. Beyond financial hardships, most of the independent art groups complain about signs of demonstrative neglect on the part of the cultural administration of the state.
Last update: November, 2021
Based on the National Info-communication Strategy, conceived in line with EU principles, the government launched the National Digital Development Programme in 2014. Government decisions 1404/2017 and 1175/2018 constituted the Digitising Strategy for Public Collections 2017-2025 (Közgyűjteményi Digitalizálási Stratégia - KDS), earmarking 15.2 billion HUF (ca. 50 million EUR) for the first four years. The text of the strategy is available at KDS portal (https://kds.gov.hu/). It discusses all aspects of the issue, including preceding and related projects, relevant EU measures, foreign samples, and a detailed design of the procedures to follow. An additional White Book elaborates on the standards and technicalities of digitisation. The portal displays the progression of the programme in detail. In August 2021, there were 5 033 801 documents accessible in the programme. Beyond museum, library, and archival items, there are 27 virtual exhibitions and 23 films of various character and length included.
The Petőfi Literature Museum runs the Digital Literary Academy, which keeps digitised oeuvres of contemporary writers who make their works available on the Internet by contract. Created in 1998, this unique endeavour has between 30 and 40 members at any time. New members are co-opted by old members once a year to replace those who are deceased. The full oeuvre of new members is digitised, put on free display, and their authors receive a monthly allowance four times the value of the official minimum wage. In 2021 the programme hosts the works of 101 past and current members. In addition, the works of earlier writers are digitised: their numbers are close to those of past and present members.
The Hungaricana project of the Library of Parliament aims at sharing Hungarian cultural heritage amassed in various collections. Its special features are historical maps and postcards. This is a free service unlike the huge digital collections of Arcanum Ltd. This private enterprise specialises in Hungarian language periodicals and books, but also features a variety of maps.
Last update: November, 2021
Intercultural dialogue is not a priority of cultural policies in Hungary. There are no specific state programmes to support intercultural dialogue.
On the cultural arena, especially on the alternative scene, there are ample international and intercultural interactive projects. Some genres lend themselves to such fusions, e.g., jazz and world music, in which Roma musicians play an eminent role. The government (and the National Fund) subsidise these projects without placing special emphasis on interculturalism.
A special feature of cross-border co-operation is the lively interaction that takes place with the ethnic Hungarian artistic communities and public living across the border in the neighbouring countries – which, by definition, is not "intercultural".
In Hungary there have been no significant migrant communities; the number of migrants and their rate within the entire population has been very low: about 2% of the entire population is of foreign origin. Hungary has not been a popular or attractive destination for migrants.
Due to the rapid processes of assimilation of those minorities (Germans, Slovaks, Croats, Serbs etc.) that remained after various forms of cleansing, their culture has not developed greatly beyond folkloric nostalgia acts. The only intercultural relationship that has been an issue in today's Hungary is the one between the Roma and the majority society. The large number and the geographic spread of this minority group produces occasions for interaction and opportunities for exclusion, inclusion, and assimilation; however, it is difficult to quote proven good practices of conscientious intercultural dialogue on the state level.
There is another relationship that is heavily laden with historical legacy and remains a latent source of tension: that of Jews who are estimated to represent around 1% of the population. Regardless of the recent phenomena of displaying or reconstructing Jewish art (there are Jewish festivals, cultural centres etc.), one cannot speak of a separate Jewish culture inside Hungarian society, with which to pursue intercultural dialogue.
Last update: November, 2021
Intercultural education is part of the general framework curricula however no specific subject is dedicated to this issue. The main goals of intercultural education programmes are common national values and identity, world cultures, religions, and traditions in general, and more specifically the Roma integration. Yet Roma culture and history are not an integrated part of the national curricula (i.e. history lessons); instead, Roma are mentioned as a challenge in separate chapters; this caused recent debates about the curricula, which has remained on the civil level.
Last update: November, 2021
Media pluralism is at the centre of political controversy, receiving international attention. The ruling power asserts that all constitutional and European norms are observed and claims there is a balanced offer. As to critics, some of the main arguments are as follows:
- All five members of the top authority Media Council are selected by Fidesz, the ruling party, and are appointed for nine years
- Important independent media outlets have been liquidated or coerced into serving the government
- Public service media allow minimum space to voices other than the government
- Most advertisements by the state and its enterprises are placed with pro-government media
- Government advertisements absorb an exceptionally high share of the budget, and their content is propaganda rather than information, creating an air of permanent campaign for the ruling party
Some of these critical points are touched upon in the 2021 Rule of Law Report of the European Commission.
The legal fundament of the media is the Act on Media Services and Mass Media (CLXXXV/2010). The highest-level competence is embodied in the Media Council. Its chairperson is the CEO of the National Media and Info-communication Authority which carries out the regulation and supervision of public and private media in the country.
Public media, including the National Radio, the National Television, the Duna Television, and the Hungarian Press Agency, are governed by a body called the Public Service Public Foundation (Közszolgálati Közalapítvány).
Public TV broadcasts on four channels, while public radio uses three channels. Their main source is the state budget. According to Eurostat-Cofog data, with 0.3% of the GDP, in 2018 and 2019 Hungary spent one of the highest shares on public media in Europe.
The long-term licences of private – commercial and community – channels are awarded by way of public tenders; submissions are evaluated and decided by the Media Council. All media service providers must abide by the programme quotas in the Media Act.
Linear audio-visual media (television) must broadcast European works in over 50%, and Hungarian works in over 33% of their time, and at least 10% of European and at least 8% of Hungarian works must be ordered from independent producers. On-demand media has a minimum quota of 25% European and 10% Hungarian works. Public media must broadcast European works in over 60% and Hungarian works in over 50% of their air time and at least 15% of these works must be ordered from independent producers.
Radio stations must broadcast Hungarian musical works at least 35% of time, of which at least 25% should be less than 5 years old.
Complementing the above measures that protect Hungarian culture, at one point the Media Act promotes cultural diversity: “Linear media service providers with significant market power shall ensure that at least one quarter of the cinematographic works and film series originally produced in a language other than Hungarian, broadcast between 7 pm and 11 pm, shall be available in their original language, with Hungarian subtitles.”
Despite the advances of the Internet, about half of Hungarians still regularly watch television, especially the two leading commercial channels. The four channels of the national television network (this includes a sports channel) and a variety of thematic, movie and entertainment channels are lagging behind.
Last update: November, 2021
The population relocations, during and immediately after World War II, accelerated the process of linguistic assimilation of cultural minorities. This homogenisation culminated the century-old deficit in mother tongue teaching of minorities, the disappearance of closed communities and the growing uniformity caused by mass communication.
In 1995 the government ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect to Croatian, German, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, and Slovene, but not to Romani (as opposed to at least 11 countries in this last respect). In fact, only a minority of Roma people speak a Gypsy dialect.
To counterbalance these factors, the Hungarian Radio's 4thchannel (MR4) broadcasts 12 hours (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) in the same 13 minority languages each day: two hours in Croatian, German, Romanian, Serbian and Slovak, and half an hour for Slovene, Polish, Greek, Armenian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Gypsy (Romani and Boyash), and Ruthenian. There is a 57-minute special programme for Roma every weekday—all Roma in the country speak Hungarian and only 17% of them speak Hungarian as a second language.
The national public television broadcasts 4 regular weekly programmes for Croatian, German, Romanian, Serbian and Slovak minorities, one more for the Roma, and a combined programme for 6 more cultures – these all carry Hungarian subtitles. The average length of all these is 16 hours per month.
Since 2019, an entertainment channel on Roma culture (Dikh Tv) has been broadcasting, partly using the Romani language.
Hungary has not had an official language policy or strategy. In 2014 the new Hungarian Language Strategy Institute was set up, which currently operates as a division of the Institute for Hungarian Studies.
The practice of bilingual street-signs is increasing in villages of mixed ethnicity.
Last update: November, 2021
In the past couple of years “gender” has been at the very centre of Hungarian politics and media attention in various connotations.
The word itself irritates the government, often reduced to representing atypical sexual behaviour. Gender studies have officially been removed from higher education curricula.
Regarding equality of chances, the current government has a double faced record. While the 11% share of women in Parliament is the lowest in the EU, and the parliamentary Subcommittee on Women’s Dignity has been inactive for years, two of the most prominent ministers are women.
Despite frequent divorces and scandals linked to prominent members of the governing elite, the conventional family pattern is proactively promoted: the 9th amendment of the constitution establishes that “the mother is a woman, the father is a man”. A change of sex is legally forbidden and same sex marriages are not allowed in Hungary. A law on paedophilia was in the last round combined with restrictions on sexual education stigmatised as propagating and popularising homosexuality and other diversions.
This last legislation piece has a direct bearing on culture. Without details of its implementation, theatres, film-makers, cinemas, publishers, booksellers etc. are kept in uncertainty about possible punishment for violations.
The me-too phenomenon erupted a few years ago with theatres at the centre; cases of harassment and abuse came to light together with stage directors’ bullying behaviour, often in the angle of the bitter political division of the society.
The listed turbulences do not affect the status that women have over the past century achieved in culture and related fields in our society. The outstanding performance of Hungarian women is acknowledged within and outwith the borders in filmmaking, fine arts, literature, theatre, and other cultural areas, including science and sports.
Last update: November, 2021
The obligations enabling access and availability for people with disabilities connected to the development projects of the European Union have had direct and indirect effects in the cultural arena and beyond. They have accelerated the processes whereby physical and info-communication accessibility is the norm in construction, programmes, and design.
Nevertheless, in the cultural field, no significant regulation, guidelines, or campaigns have emerged regarding disabilities in the past period.
Last update: November, 2021
An Act on National and Ethnic Minorities was passed in 1993 (Act LXXVII), declaring minorities to be constituent elements of the state, defining their collective and personal rights. National and ethnic minorities – or, since an amendment in 2011, "nationalities" – are defined as ethnic groups that have been living in Hungary for at least one hundred years and differ from the majority in language and culture. There are 13 recognised nationalities. In Hungary ethnicity is considered a private matter: systematically collecting data according to ethnic background is not allowed under the Personal Data Protection Law. National censuses and elections of minority governments are all based on voluntary self-identification. In the 2011 census, 6.5% of the population declared that they belong to one of the minority groups. This however is not the exact rate of minorities as 14.1% did not answer this question, while on the other hand multiple identities could be declared, which many people did, resulting in a 107.4% total.
As was discussed above, nurturing the cultural and language requirements of the rapidly dwindling percentage of ethnic minorities is a priority. Its function is the opposite of inclusion, the aim being to reduce the pace of assimilation. To a certain extent this serves to justify the country’s involvement in the protection of the Hungarian minorities over the border. This is also why Hungary was among the first to sign and ratify the framework agreement of the Council of Europe on the protection of national minorities. Hungary also takes part in discussions that raise the issue of minorities within the political principles and priorities of the European Union.
In 2020, 200 000 foreigners lived in Hungary, making up about 2% of the population (KSH). Their overwhelming majority (70%) are ethnic Hungarians from a neighbouring state (Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia), who do not constitute a cultural minority. Asians are the most dynamically growing minority group, with 19 700 being double the figure for 2012.
In a society where the current ethnic homogeneity is politically a stated asset, it is no wonder that cultural inclusion of immigrants is out of the agenda. NGOs active in intercultural activities feel the stigma of Soros agents upon them.
The official slogan is of a work-based society, which encourages the population to work instead of relying on aid and subsidies. Taking up work is the most favoured process of the inclusion of those who are socially deprived.
The issues of social deprivation and cultural inclusion overlap regarding the Roma or Romanies, one of the 13 recognised minorities. Although considered as politically incorrect, the old name of Gypsy (cigány) is still widely used, both in their own community and in official documents. The inclusion of the Roma population is a fundamental challenge in Hungary. During the 2011 census, 315 000 Roma were recorded, i.e., about 3.2% of the population. However, according to the 2015 estimation of the European Roma Rights Centre, approximately 750 000 Roma live in Hungary today. That is 7.5% of the population, many of them living in poverty and exclusion. On the other hand, the greatest number of Roma with full higher education in the whole of Europe is in Hungary, both in absolute and relative terms. Among the first 24 Hungarian members of the European Parliament, two were Roma: one of whom kept her seat in the 2009 elections and was the rapporteur for the EU strategy on Roma Inclusion. Hungarian Roma artists are especially famed in music, both individually and in ensembles.
National federations of minorities have consultative status, and often veto rights in relevant legislative matters. Their elected local government representatives in the villages and towns, and on the national level, have significant rights and growing resources – which, by nature, are to a great extent spent on culture.
As part of the local elections in the autumn of 2019, 318 000 people, making up 4% of the total electorate, registered to vote for one of the 13 nationality lists. The Roma represented the majority with 211 000, about a third more than in 2014. They were followed by Germans, Slovaks, and Croats with 55 000; 12 000; and 11 000 respectively. Since one can choose multiple identities, the total of the votes is beyond 100%. Under the conditions of rapid assimilation, a considerable share of these votes is cast next to the Hungarian identification, as a tribute of one’s ancestors’ culture. In the 3 177 settlements altogether 2 188 minority local governments were elected. In hundreds of smaller places there are none, while especially in larger cities more than one minority has elected bodies – in Budapest all 13 are represented.
Last update: November, 2021
Between 1990 and 2010, official cultural policies emphasised the instrumental value of culture in various areas of society and the economy and operators in the field felt obliged to attribute similar roles to their cultural endeavours. When Pécs was European Capital of Culture, the national competition for the title was a declared competition for advantages in urban development and investment. Under the current government less direct and more spiritual impacts are expected from culture. Tourism is one exception, a sector where the contribution of culture is acknowledged.
Last update: November, 2021
The aspect of cultural sustainability was seldom manifested until recently, when a series of decisions were made with the aim to cement the legal and financial sustainability of selected cultural institutions. The most important is the case of the new Foundation for Hungarian Culture, but also the elevated budgetary resources for the representative national institutions “of strategic significance” planned for the following five years. These developments were discussed in chapter 1.3.3.
Likewise, the generous endowments with which eleven universities were transferred into the new format of public interest foundations, including three art academies, are also guarantees of sustainability (and continuity of management).
As well as assuring structural and financial stability of the institutions involved, the positions of the managers and supervisors in charge have been secured for the foreseeable future. This could create and awkward situation if the parliamentary elections due in spring 2020 bring about a change of government
The sustainability of MMA, the Hungarian Arts Academy, was resolved at the outset, as it was written in the new constitution in 2011.
Last update: November, 2021
Cultural politics is in a flux, bringing about unpredicted important developments at any moment.