BUDAPEST PRESENTATION

The following text is an adaptation of the transcription of the audio CDs of the Conference 2005.

From Budapest there were present: Mr. Lóránd Norbert Gyenge, Youth Helper from the Kapocs Youth Help Service; Ms. Zsófia Makádi, Office- und PR-Manager of the Artemisszió Foundation; Mr. Péter Gergely, Youth Referent from the Municipal Government of Budapest - Department of Education and Ms. Anikó Molitorisz, International Relations Referent from the Municipal Government of Budapest - Department of Education.

Ms. Makádi presented the activities of the Artemisszió Foundation. These activities aim to support and encourage the interaction between cultural, ethnical and social different people. The groups that are socially and culturally marginalized should be helped integrate by attending training courses as well. One of the projects of the foundation aims to reduce youth unemployment by setting up own firms. 65 young people are involved in another project of the Artemisszió Foundation, which is orientated towards the guidelines of the program Leonardo da Vinci.

Mr. Gyenge presented subsequently the Kapocs Foundation. The most important field of activity of this organization is the work of prevention and information, which focuses on youth relevant themes like drugs, abortion, finding a job, study. Kapocs bases on the principles of solidarity and of help to self-help and is open to all young persons that can identify themselves with these guiding principles.

Ms. Molitorisz approached briefly in her presentation the situation of young people in the Hungarian capital and sketched the main problems in the fields of education, training and labour market. The Hungarian educational system has produced for example a social hierarchy. The training of teachers is no longer up to date and there is a lack of agreement between the job training and the demands of the labour market. Furthermore there are accommodation problems and drug addiction that make the future of young people uncertain.

In conclusion Ms. Molitorisz informed about a three-year-project of the city of Budapest that is being financed by the European Union. By means of EU financing two regional training centres have been equipped with modern technology. The main focus of the efforts is to pass on to the young people key competences for their professional future and to enable them the access to the labour market.

Ms. Molitorisz finally defined three main goals of the local youth policy: The youth policy should have an institutionalised framework, so that young people can be fully integrated in the social life by means of participation, information offers and voluntary activities, and also that they gain competences that are specific for their age at the same time.

Trainer: Péter Wootsch is Hungarian; he lives in Budapest and works as a freelance trainer, consultant and adviser.

Fields of possible cooperation: Participation ideas