HIF provided a $260,000 grant to the Congressional Internship Program of the Hungarian American Coalition.
The Hungary Foundation provided a $260,000 grant to the Congressional Internship Program of the Hungarian American Coalition. The grant will fund the program through December 2014.
The Hungary Foundation awarded a $260,000 grant to the Hungarian American Coalition to sponsor its Congressional Internship Program. The program was established in 2005 for the purpose of bringing young Hungarian/Americans, and English-speaking Hungarians from Hungary and the neighboring countries, to gain first-hand experience at the U.S. Congress and various Washington-based institutions. Through assignments to Congressional offices, think tanks and non-government organizations, CIP participants learn about the workings of both the U.S. government and the non-profit world. Their experience helps them establish contacts in the U.S. in their chosen field, and motivates them to enter public service in their country of origin. Internship participants are also expected to complete a Coalition research project that enables them to become familiar with the Hungarian-American community.
Forty students have completed HAC’s Congressional Internship program since 2005. Host institutions have included, among others, Congressman Dennis Kucinich; Congressman Andy Harris; the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs; Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); and the German Marshall Fund of the United Sates.
“Internships programs play a fundamental part in fulfilling The Hungary Foundation’s mission of strengthening US-Hungary relations as the future of the relationship between the two nations will be shaped by new generations of young people. The Congressional Internship Program is an outstanding initiative that provides excellent opportunities to many young Hungarians and Hungarian Americans to gain valuable life and work experiences. We are excited to support the program and thus create and foster enduring professional, cultural, and personal ties between the United States and Hungary” – said HIF President/CEO Tamás Fellegi, following the HIF Board decision to approve the grant. Coalition President Maximilian Teleki welcomed the decision of HIF and said that “securing long-term financial support for CIP has always been a high-priority issue for us. The significant expansion of the program will allow many more talented students to become better prepared in their professional lives and become motivated for public service. We are deeply honored by HIF’s support”.
For more information on the program, please visit HAC’s website.