Ethnic Factor in Educational and Cultural Policy of Ukraine and Hungary

Author

Mushketyk Lesia – a Doctor of Philology, a leading research fellow at the NASU M. Rylskyi IASFE Ukrainian and Foreign Folklore Studies Department

Ethnic Factor in Educational and Cultural Policy of Ukraine and Hungary

Abstract

The article deals with ethnopolitical and other aspects of Ukrainian­Hungarian contacts, particularly in Transcarpathia, where a large number of Hungarian communities reside, and many Hungarian schools, higher educational institutions, cultural centres, etc. operate. Nowadays, unfortunately, this situation does not contribute to forming a positive image of Ukraine in Hungary. The perception of Ukraine in Hungarian mass media is mainly negative, due partly to a shortage of information, while available facts are sometimes distorted. At the same time, there appeared some opportunities for a closer acquaintance with the neighboring country, among them – tourist trips, educational and cultural contacts. There is a large Hungarian branch at the Kyiv National Linguistic University.

On the other hand, Slavonic national minorities live In Hungary. In 1993, two separate self­governments of Rusyns and Ukrainians were established there. Rusyns are largely assimilated with Hungarians and Slovaks, living mainly in northeastern Hungary and numbering about four thousand people.

The Ukrainian community in Hungary (totalling seven thousand people) is active. There are Sunday schools, the magazine Hromada, folkloric groups; joint events and celebrations are held as well.

In resolving complex modern issues and the formation of tolerance for other peoples and communities, politicians and public organizations should take into account scientific acquirements, conclusions, experience of studying in the light of historical tradition, as well as modern transformations and globalization changes. As an example serves the cooperation between the Hungarian and Ukrainian Academies of Sciences, specifically joint projects of the Institute of Ethnographic Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Maksym Rylskyi Institute of Art Studies, Folkloristics and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on studying borderlands.

Keywords

Ukraine, Hungary, ethnopolitics, national minorities, education, Transcarpathia, separatism, scientific cooperation.

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