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Rakoczi Foundation is Awarded the first European Charlemagne Youth Prize for the Students Without Boundaries Program!
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Changing the course of East-Central Europe - one student at a time! Students Without Boundaries is a unique Educational Scholarship Program that brings together bright students from throughout East-Central Europe. The goal is simple: to shatter the myths and misconceptions that have caused endless strife in the area…by opening the hearts and minds of deserving young people….the very people who will be the builders of the new East-Central Europe. Students Without Boundaries is for young people between the ages of 13 and 17 who live in Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Voivodina in Yugoslavia. At present, those taking part are ethnic Hungarians for whom it is practically impossible to travel to Hungary because of the drastic economic differences between Hungary and her neighbors. These students live as minorities in their own respective countries. Students Without Boundaries is a program that emphasizes similarities rather than differences, co-existence rather than separateness, and the equality of all peoples, regardless of ethnic origin. By 2008, our seventeen day program has brought together over 2000 bright young students in Hungary to interact and discover common interests and goals in an area of the world where so much misinformation and hatred has, for decades, 'poisoned the waters.' Through meeting and interacting with other students who live in minority status elsewhere, they realize they are not alone, that there are others going through the same experiences and they learn from each other. It is wonderful to see that perceptions can be changed … and that real changes can occur to make East-Central Europe a strong, viable and stable region. That is the goal of the Students Without Boundaries. And that is in the best interest of us all. Goals in Summation - 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 does the program take place? The program takes place in Hungary each year in the first half of July. More specifically, the participants are organized into three groups of 45 (with participants from each country represented in each group). Each group spends three full days in each of the following locations: Kecskemet, Pecs, Pannonhalma (near Gyor); after the three days, there is a day together for the entire group, after which they travel to a new location. There are classroom presentations in the morning (culture, literature, history , architechture) and outings to museums, castles, historical landmarks, and other attractions in the afternoon. In addition, there are presentations on the meaning of democracy and how democratic organizations and institutions are established. At the end of the nine days the entire group travels to Budapest, where they spend the last four days together. |
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How can I help?
Please consider sponsoring a student for a day or
part of the seventeen day duration.
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