Holec re-elected head of Slovenian minority umbrella organisation in Hungary
Szentgotthard, 23 October - Karel Holec was re-elected president of one of the two umbrella organisations representing the Slovenian ethnic minority in Hungary as the Slovenian Self-Governing Community met for a session in Szentgotthard last Thursday. Holec identified education, language and cultural heritage as the minority's main challenges.
Szentgotthard, Hungary
The maiden session of the Slovenian Self-Governing Community, where Karel Holec was re-elected its president for his second five-year term.
Photo: Dušan Mukič
Holec, who was first elected in 2019, said the organisations will make efforts to further improve the situation of the Slovenian minority, including the educational system.
One of the key tasks in the next five years will be ensuring an adequate teaching of Slovenian among young members of the minority to preserve the language.
A way of achieving this goal would be to improve educational programmes and provide more support for schools.
To preserve Slovenian identity through language and culture, more support for business is also needed to help young people stay in the Raba River region.
It is thus key to invest in infrastructure and create jobs in the region so that young people can stay connected with their culture and community.
Optimistic, Holec is convinced that the organisation will make progress in all key areas to help preserve the Slovenian community in Hungary.
Holec was one the ethnic Slovenians whom President Nataša Pirc Musar honoured last December with the Medal of Merit for their contribution to the Slovenian culture in Hungary.
At their session last week, the Slovenian Self-Governing Community elected Peter Kondor as Holec's deputy, while also appointing three commissions.
They will be in charge of finance, education and culture, to focus on how funds are spent, on improving education policies, and on the minority's cultural development.
The Slovenian Self-Governing Community was established in 1995 and is based in the town of Felsoszolnok.
Under Hungarian law, it is responsible for protecting and supporting the ethnic community it represents.
It is part of the Hungarian administrative structures and operates at national level and, in the form of local self-government units, also at local level.