MIHÁLY SZABÓ, Hungary: We simply can’t afford the luxury to give up!

 

1. Hi Mihály, how are you? I would kindly ask you to introduce yourself to the Bellspiration readers?

Hi Belma! And greeting to the readers! My name is Mihály Szabó and I’m from Hungary. I work as a youth policy expert and as an election consultant for several international organizations. I’m active in the field of youth work since 2015 and I worked in various levels of the youth sector during all these years. I worked on projects for the European Commission and the Council of Europe as well, therefore I had the opportunity to represent Hungary and the European Union at many high-level events.

2. You are coming from Hungary, but you also traveled a lot. What travelings mean to you? What
is your favorite city that you have visited, and why?

For me, traveling means a very essential part of self-development. I don’t think that we are really able to understand the problems in a different country/region only through the media. In nowadays technology makes communication easier, but still, the fieldwork is irreplaceable if we want to understand the everyday reality of a foreign country. During my trips, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with many different people who had various educational/cultural backgrounds. The impact of these meetings helped me to get a better understanding of the world. Thanks to the friendships/partnerships that I established during my trips all around the globe provided me the opportunity to get involved in different international projects. These projects aimed to foster collaboration between different countries/regions in specific educational/social issues.

I don’t have any favorite city because I found something nice and interesting in each country/city that I had the opportunity to visit. However, I like especially the countries outside of Europe and the not so typical tourist destinations, when I have to embrace a very different environment and get adapt to another culture. For example, this year I worked in Guyana for 2 months which is the least touristic country on the American continent. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed the hospitality and the kindness of the people even in the smallest villages. The people are incredibly opened and they asked me and my colleagues with a sincere interest in Europe. The people in Guyana are really proud of their home country and I felt all of the time that they really want to be sure that all of the visitors of the country will get positive experiences during their stay and leave with good memories. Many touristic places could learn a lot from this kind of isolated countries as Guyana from the aspect of politeness and hospitality. 

3. What do you think about youth activism in Western Balkan countries?

The civic society of the Western Balkan countries are pretty vivid and luckily many young people actively participate in various organizations. I think this is very positive and compared to East Europe in many Western Balkan countries the youth are much more active politically and engaged with some volunteer/social work in NGOs. Since the establishment of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office the Western Balkan countries also has a regional organization which is promoting reconciliation, trust, cooperation and dialogue between the member countries and bring the youth of the region together. I believe the RYCO was an important step to foster collaboration between the different youth organizations of the Western Balkan and it makes me proud that I had the opportunity to be present in Paris at the Western Balkan Summit on the 4^th of July in 2016, when the prime ministers of the 6 Western Balkan countries have signed the Agreement on the Establishment of the RYCO.

4. What motivates you in life? What is your inspiration in life to do the things you do?

Apart from the self-development, my motivation is to improve the collaboration between the different nations in the world. I believe that we are living on the same planet, therefore we must have to communicate and solve the problems together. Globalization makes this even more important because the world became much more interdependent than ever. Not only global trade but also the global problems are connecting. Here in Europe we have to work stronger to create unity and a common vision included the Western Balkan countries as well, but we can’t forget about the importance of inter-continental connections either.

5. Do you have an inspiring message for all young people around the world?

My most important message for all of the youth people in the world that we simply can’t afford the luxury to give up. If you believe in something or if you want to reach something then you have to keep trying. If something doesn’t work immediately then often we just have to change our mindset and try to find a different approach which will lead to success in the end. People often say that success needs some luck as well... which I believe is true... however, if you are not trying enough and just give up then the chance of the luck that you need in your life will also decrease a lot. 

6. Thank you for this Bellspiration interview! We believe that many will be inspired by your answers J

Thank you again!