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On May 9, 2024, as part of the Camino-20 Years of Cultural Enrichment in Reunified Europe project, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our accession to the European Union at the EUROPE in Action event. The host of the event was the Faculty of Water Sciences of LUPS at Baja.
The event was opened by László Mrekva, head of the Dean's Office, followed by an inspiring speech from Ms Klára Nyirati, the mayor, highlighting the benefits of EU membership to nearly a hundred high school students attending the event.
Next, Professor Dr Boglárka Koller, department head and Jean Monnet Chair, who is also the professional lead of the Camino project, emphasised that "on Europe Day, we commemorate the day when the Schuman Plan was adopted. The essence of the plan was to prevent war by organising the French and German coal and steel industries under a single joint authority. Although the founding fathers envisioned a supranational construction, it is important to note that nations were the basic units of European unity for them. Robert Schuman expressed that "supranationalism will be based on national foundations." Therefore, Robert Schuman believed in the ideal of supranationalism, but not in a way that would replace existing national ties or identities, but rather in a way that would create solidarity beyond nations among member states. Then, the department head continued as follows: "We are in 2024, 74 years since the start of European integration and 20 years since Hungary's EU accession. It's a long time in human terms, but in historical terms, it's rather short. We must ask the question. Is there anything to celebrate?"
From the concluding sentence of Boglárka Koller's speech, the answer is clear: Yes, there is! Every year, on May 9, we celebrate the birth of the European Union, and the Camino project aims to celebrate this during its one-year implementation period.
This was discussed by Annamária Kitta, head of the International Office and manager of the Camino project. She briefly summarised how an international consortium was formed to implement an EU project and presented the highly successful Inspired by Europe photo contest and its winning photos, which were exhibited in the Baja Campus lobby.
One of the highlights of the event was the screening of a joint flash mob created by the consortium countries, which was simultaneously shared by all participants on their respective social media platforms. This symbolically represented a metaphorical bridge connecting participants, linking countries, and connecting Europe.
Watch the flash mob here!