Students Without Boundaries (SWB) is a unique Educational Scholarship Program bringing together bright students from throughout East-Central Europe. Our goal: to shatter the myths and misconceptions that have caused endless strife in the area…by opening the hearts and minds of deserving students, the individuals who will be the builders of the new East-Central Europe. SWB is for young people between ages of 13 - 17 who live in Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, etc. Those taking part are ethnic Hungarians for whom it is practically impossible to travel to Hungary because drastic economic reasons. These students live as minorities in their own respective countries.
SWB is a program that emphasizes similarities over differences, co-existence over separateness, the equality of all peoples, regardless of ethnic origin. By 2010, our seventeen day program has brought together over 2200 bright students in Hungary to interact, discover common interests and goals in an area of the world where much misinformation and hatred has, for decades, 'poisoned the waters.' While meeting and interacting with other students who live in minority circumstances, realizing they are not alone, that there are others going through the same experiences -- they learn from each other. It is wonderful to see that perceptions can be changed ... that real changes can occur to make East-Central Europe a strong, viable and stable region. And that is in the BEST interest of us all.
Goals :
- To build bridges of understanding in the next generation of young people who will be the architects of change in East-Central Europe.
- To broaden horizons, so that despite economic hardships, the barriers of isolation and misinformation will NOT succeed in poisoning the relationships between nationalities in the region as it has in the past.
Where and When?
The program takes place in Hungary yearly, in early July. Students are organized into three groups of 45 (with participants from each country represented in each group). Groups spend 3 days in each of the following locations: Kecskemet, Pecs, Pannonhalma (near Gyor) after which they travel to a new location. The program includes classroom presentations in the morning (culture, literature, history, and architecture), trips to museums, castles, historical landmarks, and other attractions in the afternoon. There are also presentations on the meaning of democracy; how democratic organizations and institutions are established. Nine days later the entire group travels to Budapest, where they spend the last four days together.
How can I help?
Please consider sponsoring a student for a day or part of 17 days.
Sponsors
Your donation will mean opportunities of a lifetime for a student. For your donation, you will receive a tax deductible receipt and a letter of thanks from the participants. The cost of sponsoring a student for the seventeen day program is $500 CDN or $500 USD. (The actual cost is $850 dollars per person, subsidized by the Rakoczi Foundation in Canada (capital funds) and II Rakoczi Ferenc Foundation, Budapest).
Donors of over $1,000 will be listed as BENEFACTORS in all printed material regarding the program.
Gifts of any amount will be gratefully acknowledged!
Donations in Canada:
Rakoczi Foundation
80 Carlton Street
Toronto, Ontario M5B IL6
Tel. (416) 413-1300
Fax: (416) 413-1620
Donations in U.S.A.:
United Hungarian Fund USA
P.O. Box 16142
Cleveland, Ohio 44116-0142
info@studentswithoutboundaries.org
lukacs@studentswithoutboundaries.org
rakoczi@studentswithoutboundaries.org
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Rakoczi Foundation’s History
The Rakoczi Association, founded in 1953 as an organization dedicated to maintain Hungarian cultural traditions in Canada and helping the Hungarian-Canadian community establish roots in their new adopted homeland. The first President and founder Miklos Korponay was dedicated to build the foundation into a strong representative and charitable organization for the Hungarian community in Canada.
In 1976, the association officially became the Rakoczi Foundation. The Foundation since became a pillar of the community in its commitment to students through scholarships and grants to organize conferences at the University of Toronto and other Canadian educational institutions.
The Rakoczi Foundation has published books on Hungarian culture, history and biographies of well-known Canadians of Hungarian origin.
The Foundation provides assistance to maintain Hungarian cultural and language programs at high-schools and universities in Canada. The Foundation’s humanitarian work reaches many of those in need: flood relief in Manitoba, ice storm assistance in Quebec, to victims of natural disasters in East-Central Europe. 1000+ donors from around the world support the work of the Foundation.
The Foundation’s principal fund-raiser is the Rakoczi Gala Ball, held each year in January.
The organizers of the SWB Program with a Statue of Rakoczi Ferenc
