On September 30, the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice celebrated HHRF’s 50th anniversary on Capitol Hill with a twelve-panel jubilee exhibition and reception.

The exhibition traces five decades of advocacy for Hungarian minority communities in Central and Eastern Europe. It highlights HHRF’s partnership with human rights champion Congressman Tom Lantos and other members of Congress, showcasing what these collaborations have achieved. Following presentations at the Cluj/Kolozsvár Hungarian Days Festival and the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest this summer, Washington marked the final stop of the exhibition’s anniversary-year tour.

HHRF President Zsolt Szekeres opened the program by honoring the legacy of our founder, László Hámos, and paying tribute to Executive Director Emese Latkóczy, whose decades of leadership have prepared HHRF to meet the challenges facing a new generation.

 

 

 

 

“I know from my late father, who was so proud of his Hungarian identity and loved Hungary so much, that it was one of the things of which he was most proud, that he was able to be part of this effort and part of this movement.”

— Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett

 

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation, spoke movingly about her late father, Congressman Tom Lantos, and the Hungarian communities HHRF serves.

“There are not that many organizations that look back on the legacy of 50 years of fighting for fundamental human rights, but HHRF has now passed that extraordinary milestone,” she said.

 

 

 

Governor George E. Pataki, patron of our Reconnect Hungary Birthright Program, offered a powerful call to continue the mission: “The work isn’t done until those Hungarians living outside the boundaries have the freedoms that they deserve.”

 

 

The evening’s master of ceremonies was Anita Pfeifer, HHRF Fellow from Mukachevo/Munkács, Ukraine.

 

 

Also pictured: Emese Latkóczy, HHRF Executive Director (middle), and Gabriella Vajtay (right), Program Director of the Reconnect Hungary Birthright Program.

 

 

 

• Watch Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s message 
• Watch Congressman Dr. Andy Harris’s message

Longtime and new friends, community leaders, policy analysts, diplomats, and congressional staff came together for a warm evening of reflection, conversation, and renewed commitment.