The second day of the conference was hosted by the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma. In his opening speech, Gábor Csaba, Deputy State Secretary responsible for cultural diplomacy, stated that Pannonhalma is an outstanding venue where Hungarian culture, Christian tradition, and the European spirit converge. For a thousand years, it has set an example of how the values of the past can be preserved and passed on in harmony with the challenges of the present. He encouraged cultural diplomats to embody this spirit by serving as bridges between past and future, between Hungary and the world’s cultural communities.

The annual diplomatic conference of the heads of Hungarian cultural institutes abroad, known as the Liszt Institutes and Collegium Hungaricums network, was held on July 7-8, 2025. The first day of the meeting was held at the Royal Palace of Gödöllő. Institute directors and educational and cultural diplomats from Hungarian foreign missions gathered for discussions organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Culture and Innovation. The event was inaugurated by Balázs Hankó, Minister for Culture and Innovation, and Boglárka Illés, State Secretary for Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Anita Kiss-Hegyi, State Secretary for Cultural Relations, and Gábor Csaba, Deputy State Secretary for Cultural Diplomacy, both from the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, were in attendance.

The Liszt Institute Warsaw has organized a wide array of Hungarian cultural programs across Poland. They once again arranged a tour for the Rézeleje Brass Band, who had already made a highly successful debut in Poland earlier this spring. In collaboration with the Museum of the First Piasts and other Polish partners, the Institute also co-organized an exhibition dedicated to the first crowned rulers of our two nations. As part of the Institute’s initiatives, the Borsa ensemble, led by Katica Manninger, performed at a festival held in the late medieval castle of Liw, enchanting the audience on Midsummer Night with music and dance around a traditional bonfire. In connection with the Polish translation of the diary of Olga Galló, a former prisoner of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, the Institute organized a commemorative event. As part of the program, Andrea Fullajtár, the actress and granddaughter of Olga Galló, performed excerpts from a monodrama based on the diary at the memorial site’s visitor center.

The Collegium Hungaricum Vienna hosted a diverse and rich selection of Hungarian cultural events in the heart of the Austrian capital. They co-organised the Talent's Talk conference, with Dr Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, as the event’s chief patron and guest of honor. They also staged a play about the life of Magda Szabó, which was particularly special due to the author's multiple personal connections to the institute. The Hungarian Historical Institute in Vienna, operating within the Collegium Hungaricum, together with the Institute of National Heritage (NÖRI), jointly presented a database compiling memorial sites across the Carpathian Basin. The finale of the historical TV series Hunyadi was screened alongside a public meet-and-greet event, and a guided city walk was also organized, during which participants explored Hungarian memorials in Vienna and learned about the 100-year history of the Collegium Hungaricum.

The Liszt Institute in Tallinn recently opened its exhibition “From Earth and Heart: Folk Art Nouveau Ceramics from Hungary” at two locations: the Palmse Manor and Open-Air Museum, as well as at the institute itself. In addition to the highly successful exhibition, the institute commemorated the Day of National Unity and supported the Hungarian Tritonius Guitar Trio's concerts across Estonia. At the beginning of the summer, they highlighted Hungarian gastronomy with seaside panels showcasing the history of Goulash and also screened Péter Bacsó’s film The Witness with Estonian subtitles.

The Liszt Institute Moscow organized a wide range of exciting and diverse programs in Russia over the summer. Thanks to their efforts, the Hungarian DJ Bootsie Trio gave a highly successful performance at one of Russia’s most popular pop music festivals. They also arranged for the Hungarian reconstruction group, Sons of Tugorkan, to take part in the large-scale historical reconstruction festival called Times and Epochs. On the eve of Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu’s actual launch, they hosted a special event honoring Hungarian space exploration, which notably included the participation of an active Russian cosmonaut. Additionally, in cooperation with the science and technology attaché, the Liszt Institute Moscow held the highly successful Stipendium Hungaricum Alumni Meeting for the third time.

The Liszt Institute Beijing organized a variety of diverse and popular programs in the Chinese capital. As a result of their efforts, second-year Hungarian language students at the Beijing Foreign Studies University participated in a creative writing course and a literary-focused mini-conference. They also launched their “Literary Café” program, which paid tribute to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mór Jókai. Due to great interest, the Institute plans to continue this tradition with further events. On the occasion of Midsummer Night, the Institute’s Voca-Liszt Choir performed a choral concert honoring Shakespeare, which also enjoyed tremendous popularity in China.

Tibor Zalán's drama Strangers and Acquaintances was successfully staged at seven venues as part of a network collaboration among the Liszt Institutes: Bratislava, London, Paris, Brussels, Bucharest, Istanbul, and New York. The production, staged by the Jókai Theater of Békéscsaba, was often followed by engaging post-performance discussions featuring the author and members of the creative team. In this article, we speak with Tibor Zalán, a celebrated Hungarian writer, poet, playwright, and dramaturg – recipient of the Attila József Prize and the Hungarian Laurel Wreath Award – about the tour experience and the evolution of his literary career.

The Liszt Institute Istanbul has recently organized a number of exciting Hungarian cultural events, among which the prestigious 59th Tekirdağ Cherry Festival stands out, where Hungary participated as a guest of honor. As part of the program, there was a Mikes Kelemen bay swim, a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial plaque of Ferenc II Rákóczi, and a showcase of the best of Hungarian gastronomy. Additionally, the Kerekes Band performed on the festival’s main stage. The Institute also coordinated the performance of the Hungarian National Dance Ensemble at the Antalya International Theatre Festival, provided young musicians with opportunities to present themselves at the Institute, and introduced Turkish literature enthusiasts to the works of Endre Ady and Ülkü Tamer.

The Hungarikum Days were organized by the Liszt Institute Helsinki in cooperation with the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture and its Hungarikum Department, with the aim of introducing the beauty of Hungarian traditions to the local community. The event series – which included a Hungarian-Finnish dance house, a traditional Hungarian horseman (csikós) show, folk games, and open-air cooking (bográcsozás) – placed a special emphasis on the traditional flavors of Hungarian cuisine. In addition to this large-scale program, a family festival titled Liszt Puppet Theatre Days was also held, and the artworks of Roma students from the Gandhi Secondary School in Pécs were exhibited at the institute. Visual artist Ildikó Pajor’s exhibition Sound–Color–Image for Sibelius was met with unanimous praise from attendees, as was the film screening and personal appearance of film director Mihály Schwechtje.