Movements/activism - Hungary 2012.

7/30/2019 Movements/activism - Hungary 2012.

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Hungarian Civil Activists Action inthe Making from 2010 onwards

Internationalworkshop

14-16 November, 2012

Budapest


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I. International/Europeanperspective


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Changing the paradigm?

European perspective ahead civil society

is inherent in the recent global civilmovements

They are neither simply movements ofdissatisfaction, nor purely oppositional

manifestationssome of them fundamentally question

the ruling cultural-political basis


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Instead of a centralized, representational democracy theybelieve in local participative, or deliberative democracy

Iceland citizen's assembly to discussConstitutional reform


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Many of them questioning the

development based on GROWTSH


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Sustainability? Degrowth?


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They tend to support local structures


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Social context in Hungary

The democratic transition has proved to

be much more difficult than people wereexpecting around the time of the great

turn

Today we already have a clear sense of

how fragile our democracy is and how

exposed it is to populism, manipulation,

nationalism and political extremism.


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Social context in Hungary, cont.

Following the change of regime, civil societyhas gone through considerable development

With the exception of some influential NGOs,most civil organizations have assumed apure service delivery role.- This process was inspired by the state and

development agencies,

- They made NGOs leave behind the real civilfunctions they had fulfilled around the changes.


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The real civil functions they had fulfilled around the changes:

critical reflection

demonstrating alternatives building new institutions in local communities and society

influencing and taking part in decision-making and controlprocesses

In other words:counterbalancing power through independent andfree actions organized from below

It seems that today we are witnessing a revival of thesefunctions in Hungary, and civil society appears to haveengaged in a battle against the overweight (2/3 majority)political power.


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Democracy has been hacked

said one of the persons we interviewed forthe Hungarian part of a research study

which aims to look at the interconnections

of civic movements and events in Bosnia,Hungary, Romania and Russia.


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In April 2010, a national conservative

government won a two-thirds majority inHungary, after a populist election campaign

As a result of its majority, the new

government has extensively changed

legislation and eliminated many of thechecks and balances established in

Hungarys transition to democracy.


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Main theories of democracy


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Those committed to democracy are deeply concerned about the currentgovernments efforts to centralise decision-making

to strengthen the power of the state to weaken free media and human, political and social rights The contemporary discourse is characterised by recourse to

nationalism, populism and Hungarys past

Resistance to this governments approach is growing, but

it is very difficult for ordinary people to differentiate between reality andmanipulation as a result of the lack of long-term democratic traditionand peoples desire for security and safety

This clearly shows how fragile Hungarys new democracy remains, andthe extent to which there is a danger of regression


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All of these have notgone unnoticed by

citizens


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II. Civil events, movements inHungary 2011-12


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INITIATIVESMilla movement: One Million People for the

Free Media

Some promising initiatives are encouraging that aim:

A, Fostering/strengthening civil society and the

cooperation among civil society organizations -Milla

movement: One Million People for the Free Media.

The movements root is a Facebook-page and it has

already organized 3 mass-demonstrations with 30-

100,000 people in Budapest expressing severalbasic democratic demands, and a new civil medium

is under preparation.


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Real Democracy Now Occupy

Hungary

Organizing and integrate people/movements whether

they are in the right/left, for participative

democracy/future, finding community-like, localsolutions mainly organizing successful actions,

good media-appearance - Real Democracy Now Occupy Hungary - several street actions,

demonstrations, public discussions, flash-mobs etc.following the methodology of the Spanish origin

Peoples Assemblies.


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015 Budapest


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Hungarian Solidarity Movement

Unifying oppositional movements and

opposition parties on a basic minimum:changing the power to the left organizing

Oppositions Round Table, actions, forums

and meetings - Solidarity Movement a

trade union originated movement - the namereminds people to the Polish Solidarnoscs

Movement.


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The City Belongs to Everyone

Movement

Stopping inhumane actions against thepoor/homelessness and changing wrong political

decisions - The City Belongs to EveryoneMovement street actions, demonstrations for theright of inhabitants and against new regulations andlaw on homelessness, community organizing, publicdiscussions, campaigns with some positive results,

mainly at district-level in Budapest like making localrepresentatives to change the penalty codes theyhave brought.


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Lodge is basic human right!


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HaHa Network from Students in

Higher Education Institutions

Making students active and let decision-makersknow: here we areHaHa Network from

Students in Higher Education Institutions street and occupy university actions, sit-down strikes, demonstrations against thenew law on higher education, networking and

organizing a new student interest protectionstructure, joint learning (summer university)etc.


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Occupy University


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III. Major research findings


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Issues and values

Fight for both livelihood anddemocracy

The majority of the civil movementsinvestigated have democratic, mostlyleft-wing and liberal values.


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New movements in the civic arena

So far: mainly intellectual workers

Now:

physical workers

the excluded

university students.

We are also witnessing a revival of tradeunions.


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Movement versus party

A common characteristic is that they keep adistance from the political elite.

They exclude politicians and political parties from

their events and actions.

Regarding certain fundamental issues, themovements do occasionally cooperate with

political parties.


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Breaking news


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23rd October, 2012


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You are present!


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Egytt 2014 Together 2014


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Beaking news ends, researhfindings continues


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Analysis of the situation by key

persons

Several people have referred to the emptying out ofrepresentative democracy.

The human rights aspect of democracyisviolated particularly excessively.

There has been an unjustified rigorousness against those

being at the bottom, the excluded.

Poverty is being criminalized and whatever can be punishedfor is punished for, instead of creating better conditions for

changing the situation.


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Analysis, cont.

Banksmanage virtual money, with hardlyany production behind it. Not only have they

not informed people well, they have alsocheated them.

All of a sudden, new causes have beenformulated.In reality it was served for us on

a silver platter by those in power. Things that have not been done earned a

new meaning.


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IV. Major recommendations


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How participants see their

opportunities?

The strengthening of citizen activism

The developing of skills and expertise

A collective endeavor to develop a nationalminimum

Joining forces

The strengthening of the inner structure of

movements Organizational development, community

organizing, and training courses


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How participants see their

opportunities?

cont.

Suggested measures to strengthen the field

free nationwide medium that could communicate

these ideas and good examples to the people

set up organizational points in the countryside

training/learning organizational skills and the art

of joining forces

organizational development


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V. Conclusions


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Necessary further steps for research

and action

For researchfollow up:the development of the newly emerged (October 23,

2012) coalition-building work Together 2014, established 3civil movements/association Milla, Patria and Progress andthe Hungarian Solidarity Movement

new:to evaluate the distance between professional NGOsand movements/activism

NGOs distance from activist action?

NGOs distance from political resolution and action? Movements distance from organizational and structural

development?

Etc.


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Necessary further steps for research

and action, cont.

For action

More organizations, more networks, more coalitions!

Community organizingat work The strengthening of solidarity, confidence, of people

realizing their own situation, and of citizen awareness at

local level

Community developmentat work

providing trainingcourses for the movements civil activistsand for local community activists

organizational developers, civil society trainers are atwork


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With whom?

Service providers: professional NGOs,

including the ones dealing withcommunity work and the development

of civil society

Participants: movements, formal andinformal groups as further fields ofpractice


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Finally

The research has justified that there are certain powers in Hungarian society that

understand the essence of democracy, and in desire of abetter, more livable and open society

they are ready/able to act for the cause

Besides the fiercely fighting activists, considerableexpertise has accumulated in the country which the

present political elite unwilling to utilize.These are the powers that should be put further

into motion.


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As far as I can see in mid 2012, it is not the Occupy

movement that will spark world revolution and I do not

think any movement would do. I also do not think itwould be sparked in the way the old revolutions were. Ithink instead that in the future we can say that between2011-2015 there was a process that we can call WORLDREVOLUTION. (student, man, 26, responsible for

creative artistic action for the Hungarian Real

Democracy NowOccupy movement)


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HONOUR TO BRAVES!


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Thank you for your kind attention!

Ilona Vercseg and Mt Varga

Researchers

[email protected]

[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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