Petőfi Circle (2016)

This series of six debates, organized in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences at ELTE University and the Göncz Árpád Foundation, sought to discuss, in the full glare of publicity, fundamental issues that determine our political culture, society, success, human dignity as well as our daily lives and in relation to which, unfortunately, there had been no public dialogue.

On the sixtieth anniversary of the first meeting of the Petőfi Circle in 1956, this series of events, held from March 17, 2016, to November 4, 1956, aimed to revive and relaunch this public discourse. The guest speakers, debate partners, and participants in the public debate dealt with issues that are fundamental for people in a democracy, discussing tangible examples that affect all of us (such as freedom, justice, patriotism, etc.).

The project was part of the Archivum’s “The Revolution is Not the Past!” program, which is supported by Donald Blinken, former US Ambassador to Hungary, and his wife Vera Blinken.