NATO is as strong as its members. Therefore, it is indispensable that all members take up this program and do what they must and can: both ationally and also in the context of NATO’s joint effort. This is true to Hungary, too. That’s why we think the second half of 2021, immediately after the Summit, is a good time to raise awareness of the Hungarian political class, but also the entire population what NATO 2030 means for Hungary, what we need to do not only to comply with the requirements of the new NATO approach, but also – most importantly – in order to ensure Hungary’s security, nationally and also in integration with NATO’s efforts.

 

The aim of this project is to improve the knowledge of the Hungarian interested public on NATO. This became especially important and timely as Russian provoked a conflict around Ukraine and even broadened it to an all European and North-Atlantic one, where NATO became unavoidably involved.

We prepared a simple background material that explains, based on the Washington Treaty why NATO remained important after the fall of the Soviet Union which is frequently questioned not only by the supporters of Putin – end there are plenty of them around -, but also wider parts of the public, based mainly on lack of knowledge.

With this in mind we offered during the workshops – which we had to convert from personal meetings into web conferences, due to the pandemics - a thorough analysis of the NATO Summit and a professional perspective for Hungary in strengthening national security as well as its ability to contribute significantly to European security and stability. We targeted schools, universities and NGOs across the country to promote and explain NATO to young people. We held an in-person person event in a primary and middle school, and five online events cooperating with universities and NGOs. We also conducted survey using a self-made questionnaire with more than 200 respondents and analyzed the results.

 

LIST OF EVENTS:

• 2021.11.24. - Police Cultural and Traditionalist Association, Budapest (ONLINE)

• 2021.11.30. - Sashegyi Arany Janos Primary and Secondary school, Budapest

• 2021.12.06. - Kodolányi János University, Budapest & Veszprém (online)

• 2021.12.08. - Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Eger (online)

• 2021.12.09. - Milton Friedmann University, Budapest (online)

• 2021.12.17. - University of Pécs, Pécs (online)