MCC Feszt returns to Esztergom from 31 July to 2 August, offering a mix of thought-provoking discussions and vibrant music performances. This year’s lineup features influential figures like Dominic Cummings and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, alongside popular Hungarian artists such as Irie Maffia and T Danny.

US Vice President JD Vance spoke at a celebratory screening for the documentary series Live Not By Lies, based on our very own Hungarian Conservative contributor Rod Dreher’s 2020 book by the same title, in Washington, DC on Tuesday. The film explores the ‘soft totalitarianism’ of the modern woke movement.

Addressing climate change requires both global strategies and individual actions, as even small efforts can have a meaningful impact, János Áder, chairman of the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation, emphasized during a lecture in Budapest. Speaking to university students, the former president of Hungary highlighted the importance of sustainability and the growing environmental challenges driven by human activity.

In his keynote address at Day 2 of the Danube Institute’s Family Formation Conference, Balázs Orbán emphasized that it is the responsibilities that we take on and our relationship with others that give meaning to our lives; and lauded the increase in marriages and decrease in abortions in Hungary since 2010. A panel discussion about crime, immigration, and the family followed.

Mr Palladino outlined the similar policies aimed at helping families by the Trump administration in the United States and the Orbán administration in Hungary. He also talked about ‘the American vibe shift’, by which he refers to how the current US administration is putting the cultural focus on families and childbearing again.

The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) is accepting applications for its Junior Training Program until 29 June. Designed for new university students, this free talent programme provides a unique opportunity for career building and personal growth, featuring exclusive mentorship and international networking.

The Danube Institute’s two-day conference on family formation and demographic decline continued with a panel discussion comparing Hungarian and American policies and perspectives on the issue. Participants agreed that the West faces a civilizational crisis but expressed hope in the Trump administration’s shift—led by Vice President JD Vance—toward a pro-family approach.

The Danube Institute’s two-day event dedicated to family formation has started with keynote addresses from Executive Director István Kiss; author and Budapest Fellow Helen Roy; Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, a descendant of the historic Habsburg family; and Minister for Culture and Innovation Balázs Hankó of Hungary.

Retired Hungarian footballer Zsolt Lőw has been appointed as the Head Coach of the German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on a temporary basis until the end of the season. There, he will be coaching two Hungarian internationals: goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and centre-back Willi Orbán.

Hungary’s rising swimming stars shone at the NCAA finals in Washington. Hubert Kós stormed to three gold medals, including a world-record-breaking swim, and helped the University of Texas secure the NCAA team title. Zalán Sárkány retained his title in the 1650-yard freestyle, while Minna Ábrahám broke her school record in the women’s 200-yard event.

‘On average, women are having one less child today than they were having in 1990…A country’s population size is being sustained when its total fertility rate reaches 2.1, but more than half of the world’s countries are below this level…In parallel with depopulation, life expectancy is on the increase, resulting in a major transformation of the age structure of societies.’

‘There were agents who tried to submit reports as meaningless as possible to avoid harming anyone, while others fully embraced their role as secret informants. “Viola” clearly belonged to the latter category—she seemed to take pleasure in reporting on her friends and acquaintances…’

‘It’s high time we tell our stories: paint them, etch them, carve them, and turn them into stained glass. The Palace of Culture in Marosvásárhely is a signal of triumph—a beautiful window into the culture of Transylvania and of Hungary. We need a shot of that cultural self-awareness and self-confidence on our side of the pond. We need some stained-glass ballads of our own…’

Szeged-based H-Vend Service Ltd has developed smart vending machines that can be managed remotely and operated contactlessly, thanks to EU funding. These high-tech machines feature touchless payments, AI-driven maintenance, and mobile integration, revolutionizing the vending industry.

The Hungarian Institute of International Affairs presented its comprehensive study on the potential consequences of fast-tracking Ukraine’s accession to the European Union at a panel discussion organized by Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Experts agreed that the EU must identify alternative means of supporting Ukraine’s stabilization and long-term development beyond full membership.

Highlights of Hungary, the initiative that honours outstanding achievements by Hungarians in all walks of life, has held a celebratory event to officially kick off its 12th season. Just like in the years prior, five famous ambassadors will nominate their candidates for the awards that will be given out at the end of the season, in October this year.

‘The Earth is likely to reach its physical, geological, and ecological limits in the near future, so the direction of the continuous human conquest of space will have to change. It must move inwards, towards a redistribution of proportions. I think it is the right attitude to be already working to recapture the human dimensions we have now lost.’

Hungary will be the guest of honour at the Annecy International Animation Festival, opening on 8 June, in celebration of 110 years of Hungarian animation. The National Film Institute unveiled the official Hungarian visual identity for the festival, designed by renowned illustrator Levente Szabó.

Between 2016 and 2023 George Soros’ Open Society Foundations spent $90 million on funding Brussels, Belgium-based NGOs, a recently published study by the Center for Fundamental Rights has found. The spending accelerated in the year before the 2024 European Parliamentary election.

Opening on 8 April, Time Machine Budapest invites visitors to experience the city’s most significant historical moments in an immersive and interactive way. The exhibition uses advanced audiovisual technology to recreate events from the 1848 revolution to life in the WWII ghetto, offering a powerful and engaging journey through time.

Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority has criticized the latest press freedom report by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, arguing that it presents a one-sided assessment of the Hungarian media landscape. The authority highlights methodological flaws and subjective claims in the report.

Released on the Lunar New Year, the Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2 has become a true success story. The film recently broke into the ranks of the global box office elite, surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is now on the verge of sinking James Cameron’s Titanic.

Óbuda University has launched a groundbreaking medical robotics project in collaboration with Stanford University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). With support from Hungary’s National Research, Development, and Innovation Office, the initiative aims to revolutionize surgical robotics and lab automation through cutting-edge AI-driven technology.

‘[Fado] was as if I had always known it, as if it had been invented for me. It wasn’t the form, it was the emotion packed into it that was so familiar. Sad and accepting: suffering is part of life. Fado takes pain to an artistic level and turns it into a blessing.’
Read Magyar Krónika’s translated interview with the first Hungarian fado singer in Lisbon below!

A Hungarian research team is pioneering a new approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases by testing drug compounds on live human brain tissue. The Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (HCEMM) announced that its researchers have secured 120 million forints in funding to advance this innovative study.

‘Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation…34 years ago, on this day, was the death of a Catholic churchman who not only helped build Christendom in the then French-speaking part of Africa, but who was also an apostle against modernism and a champion for traditional Catholicism, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.’

President Tamás Sulyok of Hungary spoke at a gala at the Gergely Csiki Theatre in Kaposvár, Hungary on the Day of Polish–Hungarian Friendship, 21 March. President Andrzej Duda of Poland also made a speech at the event celebrating the historical great relationship between the two nations.

On Monday evening an unusual glowing light streak appeared over Budapest and several other Hungarian cities, sparking curiosity and speculation. While many initially thought it was a meteor or an unidentified object, it was later confirmed to be a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage re-entering Earth’s atmosphere in a controlled descent, producing a spectacular light display.

Hungary experienced a record-breaking year in tourism in 2024, with nearly 18 million visitors staying at domestic accommodations. Of these, 9.3 million were Hungarian travelers. According to data from the National Tourism Data Supply Centre, the most active regions for domestic tourism were Pest, Győr–Moson–Sopron, and Komárom–Esztergom counties.

Walt Disney’s new live-action adaption of Snow White, starring Latina Actress Rachel Zegler, brought in just $86.1 million in revenue in its opening weekend worldwide, underperforming even the low end of projections. Given its massive production budget of $270 million, it is very likely to be a massive financial loss for the studio.