Over long years, decades, we have become accustomed to our national holidays often becoming political pawns. Whether it is 15 March, 20 August or 23 October, not only the declared political events organised by political parties, but even official state events have been transformed from being places of commemoration into platforms for the transmission of topical political messages. Some political actors proclaim themselves the sole spiritual heirs of the '48 or '56 revolutionaries, or use our national symbols for party political purposes, and as a result our common history often divides rather than unites us.
But could it be otherwise? Is it natural for national holidays to become the arena of politics? Was there ever a period in Hungarian history when we could celebrate and remember together? Can we really expect politicians not to use the opportunity offered by national holidays to promote their own interests and those of their parties?
On the occasion of 15 March, our conference with historians will examine how, with what results and at what cost politics has used our national memory and symbols in its service.
Time of the event: 20th March 2025, Thursday, 5pm-6.30pm
Location: Magvető Café, 1074 Budapest, 13 Dohány Street
Programme
5pm Greeting
Gábor Horn, Republikon Institute's President of the Board of Trustees
5.05pm Expert panel
Péter Csunderlik, historian, Research Associate at the Institute of Political History
Krisztián Nyáry, communications expert, literary historian
Veronika Kövesdi, Research Associate at HUN-REN Institute of Political Science
Ágnes Patakfalvi-Czirják, sociologist and anthropologist, Associate Professor at BME Department of Sociology and Communications
Technical information
The event is open to all and is in Hungarian.
The event is free but please indicate that you want to participate on the form below. https://forms.office.com/e/qRHiMdCg4G
The event will be livestreamed on Republikon's Facebook page, the link for which will be shared in the Facebook event as well.
We look forward to seeing everyone on 20th March, Thursday at 5pm at Magvető Café!
The operation of Republikon Institute is supported by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed at the event do not necessary reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union, nor the organisation providing support can be made responsible for these.
