Hungarian American Coalition News, 1996 (5. évfolyam, 2-3. szám)
1996 / 2. szám
Hungarian American Coalition The Hungarian American Coalition Board of Directors held its first West Coast Board Meeting at Bartholomew Vineyard in Sonoma Valley, California, on Sunday, June 2,19%. The site of the meeting was a the beautiful villa originally built by Cotint Ágoston Haraszthy, the Hungarian founder of the California wine industry in the middle of the nineteenth century. In the afternoon leaders of local Hungarian American organizations, including former Congressman Ernest Könnyű, joined the Board at a reception organized to discuss matters of interest to the Hungarian American community at large. During its Board Meeting the Coalition adopted a position to express concern about declaring English the official language of the United States. The Board also reaffirmed its continuing support of The White House Internship by Ameritech program, which presently sponsors three Hungarian American interns at the White House. In an effort to improve communication between the Coalition and its members it was decided that the Coalition will begin to publish a bi-monthly Newsletter. The Board expressed its appreciation to Helen Szablya, for offering a percentage of the sale of her book, The Fall of the Red Star, to benefit the Coalition and will continue to assist her in arranging visits to various Hungarian American communities. Members voted to partially fund and assist the fall visit to the U.S. of József Halzl of Hungaiy and Árpád Duka Zólyomi of Slovakia. In addition, it was decided to purchase and disseminate copies of the Nationalities Papers’ special issue on Hungarian minorities, edited by András Ludányi. The Coalition approved the membership and welcomed two new organizations: American Express Hungary Ltd., and the National Committee of Hungarians from Slovakia. Finally, the Board decided to hold its 1996 Annual Meeting and traditional Mikulás Dinner in Washington, D.C., on the weekend of December 5-7,1996. Hungarian American Coalition Holds its Seventh Annual Human Rights Workshop and West Coast Board Meeting in California Edith Lauer, Professor Andrew Ludányi, and Géza Kádár, Jr., discuss plans for the Human Rights Workshop with University of Berkeley International House Program Director, Liliane Koziol, Berkeley, California. The Seventh Annual Human Rights Workshop was held on May 30 through June 1, 19%, at the International House, University of California, Berkeley, with a large number of participants. The Workshop was organized by the Hungarian American Coalition, the Hungarian Communion of Friends, International House, U.C. Berkeley, and the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation. Co-sponsors included the Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council, the National Committee for Hungarian in Slovakia, and the San Francisco Area Hungarian American Chamber of Commerce. On Thursday, May 30, the Workshop held a Public Forum on the topic of “Human Rights and Minority Rights in a World of Change and Conflict.” Speakers included Eric Stover, Director, Human Rights Program, Townsend Center for the Humanities, U.C. Berkeley, who spoke about accountability and criminal justice for Balkan war crimes; and Beverly Smrha, Executive, Pacific Central District of the Unitarian Universalist Association, who reported on Project Harvest Hope, a project designed by the First Unitarian Church of Oakland to assist Hungarian villages in Rumania. Finally, László Hámos, President of the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation (HHRF), provided an overview of “The Special Concerns of Hungarian Communities in East Central Europe,” including Rumania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine. The two-day Workshop also featured lectures and discussions of 20th Centuiy Hungarian history, with a focus on Hungarian minorities, planning strategies, and effective methods of communications with the general public, media, and Washington decision-makers. (continued on page 2)
