Due to high demand, Dr. Zoltán Kramár’s bilingual publication entitled Survey of Hungarian History is available again, for the sixth time. Please contact Lucy Fueresz at 206-232-6575 to order.

Announcing the 13th Annual World Citizen Essay Contest!
 

 
Calling all Washington State Students in Grades 3-12! The 2011 World Citizen Essay Contest is Officially Underway!

Each year the World Affairs Council hosts the World Citizen Essay Contest for Washington state students in grades 3-12. The goal of the World Citizen Essay Contest is to promote discussion among students, teachers, families, and community members about the ways that individuals can effect positive change in the global community.
 
This year, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the World Affairs Council and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair, the World Affairs Council is embarking on a two-year partnership with the Seattle Center Foundation to bring you this year's contest! Students in grades 3-12 are encouraged to ponder the following question:
 
Looking back over the last 60 years, please identify a Puget Sound-based innovation that has left its mark around the world. Explain why and how this innovation had an impact beyond the United States. (This impact can be related to the arts, sports, music, popular culture, technology, civic action, global health, education, manufacturing, etc.)  Essays will be judged based on the strength and merit of their argument, organizational structure, and attention to detail (grammar, spelling, conventions). Students are encouraged to be creative in selecting their topics.
 
Essay Length: 1,000 words or less, typed and double-spaced
Deadline for Essay Submission: March 28, 2011
Eligibility: Washington state students in grades 3-12
Awards: First through third place awards will be granted in each of the following categories: grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Winners will be recognized at a celebratory Spring event.
 
First prize:      $200
Second prize:  $100
Third prize:      $50

With many thanks to the Seattle Center Foundation, all 9 prize winners will also receive a set of 4 admission tickets to the Pacific Science Center and Seattle Center Foundation Next Fifty T-shirts!
 
All essays must be submitted electronically, as a word document, to EssayContest@world-affairs.org.

***Accompanying all submitted essays, must be a completed cover form. When submitting your cover form and essay, please indicate "Essay Contest Submission" in the email subject line. Please do not include your name or school on your essay.
 
For more information on the 2011 World Citizen Essay Contest, including Cover Form, Rules Sheet, and Judging Rubric, please visit the World Affairs Council Website.

What will you offer for the annual auction?

Thanks to your support, we have achieved our goal with last year’s silent action’s $1700 revenue and did not need to raise the membership fees in the current fiscal year.  We are similarly depending on this income this year to help pay for the rental costs of the free club programs and other presentations, celebrations. We are asking each family to please donate at least one item for this year’s Election Dinner’s silent auction. A few suggestions:
• Foods and drinks were the most popular items last year, such as Záborski András’ homemade bread and honey, Gulyás Erika’s cake, the Horváth and Köves famillies’ Hungarian wines, and Alex Boldizsár’s homemade sausage. Probably the most creative idea was the Velcsov family’s Transylvanian donut party. We would welcome several similar donations this year.
• If you are a business owner, this is a great opportunity to sample your products, sevices among the Hungarian community. We also offer a free ad in the Hírek newsletter. For example, Ringbloom Bea’s Shaklee set was sold immediately.
• If you have a weekend house which is unoccupied most of the year, it would be great if you could offer a weekend for the winning bidder.
• If you have season tickets for theater or sport events and you cannot make one program, please consider it for the auction. Last year, Szabó Mihály’s Sounders tickets were very popular.
• I bet that you have one or two unopened gifts in your garage that would make someone else very happy, such as the Mayer family’s board games at the last auction.
Please deliver your items to Zsóka Jakab (jakab2@comcast.net, 425-753-0701) by May 15th. We greatly appreciate all the help you can provide.

Best regards,
Kati Gyulai
Vice President

Call for scholarship applications
Summer University: Hungarian language course – Hungarian studies

The Balassi Institute invites applications for a Hungarian State scholarship for its

SUMMER UNIVERSITY PROGRAM
(HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE – HUNGARIAN STUDIES).

The scholarship is intended for individuals of Hungarian descent living outside of Hungary (specifically: North-America, South-America, Australia, New Zealand), who wish to improve their command of Hungarian language and cultural identity.

The goal of the scholarship is to improve the Hungarian language skills and cultural knowledge of young people of Hungarian origin who are citizens and residents of other countries. The four-week long course takes place at the Balassi Institute in Budapest.

Young people of Hungarian descent, who are 18 years or older, are invited to apply. Volunteer work, references from their University, and any other activities related to the Hungarian culture are taken into consideration in the selection of the applicants.
Description of the program:
During the four-week long program the students attend 100 Hungarian language classes, and they can participate in Hungarian studies lectures and extramural activities. Outside of class they will visit museums and will have various programs where they can gain experience regarding the Hungarian culture. At the end of the program they will take an oral and a written exam. Students can gain 10 ECTS credit points for Hungarian lessons and 10 more ECTS credit points for completing assignments in Hungarian studies.

For those students who wish to apply for credits at their Universities, the Balassi Institute provides detailed course descriptions.

Program duration: 4 weeks (18 July, 2011 – 12 August, 2011)

The scholarship includes:

- Tuition fee
- Course materials
- Student residence (2-3 persons per room)
- Three meals a day
- Pass for public transportation
- Attending the cultural programs in the afternoons
- Excursion to Western Hungary

Maximum number of scholarships that can be awarded: 10

Deadline for electronic application: June 2, 2011.

The applications will be evaluated by June 5, 2011, and applicants will be notified about the results within 3 days after that.

Decisions about the applications are made by the Board. All decisions are binding.

The Balassi Institute will not consider applications that are submitted after the deadline and/or are incorrect or incomplete, or illegible.

All applications are to be submitted electronically.

As the first step, please register on http://kopi.martonaron.hu/registration. Second step - fill in the online Summer University application form on the same website (Scholarships – Nyári Egyetem Tengerentúli pályázat / Summer University 2011).
We accept only electronic applications.

Documents to be uploaded:

- Handwritten résumé (.pdf)
- An essay of about 200 words about why you would like to study in Hungary and how will you use the knowledge in your home country you will gain here (.doc)
- Copy of your passport (.pdf)
- Copies of documents, certificates of your studies (.pdf)
- Reference letter from a volunteer organization or a recognized individual in .pdf format (not mandatory, but recommended)

The applicant is responsible for the following expenses:

· Travel to and from Hungary
· Visa fee
· 2000 HUF deposit for the entrance card and for the college (to be paid at enrollment)
· The fee of Health Insurance (the student has to cover the expenses of any medical treatment that might be necessary during his/her stay; as well as the student must arrange his/her Health Insurance)

The scholarship can only be granted on one occasion.

For more information please get in contact with Bernadett Budavari at Balassi Institute, Hungarian Language Department.

Address: Budapest, I. kerület, Somlói út 51. room 234.
Telephone: +36-1-381-5146
E-mail: bernadett.budavari@bbi.hu
For more information: www.balassi-intezet.hu
All Hungarian speakers should fill in the form in Hungarian. Use the English form only in case you do not speak Hungarian.

Do you use Amazon.com, Expedia.com or any of the major shopping sites? With a few additional steps, you could make money for the association, without spending any additional amount. You can still keep on shopping at your favorite websites, just start at GoodShop.com before you get to your favorite major site. 1-5% of your purchase amount will be transferred to your favorite non-profit organization, i.e. HAAW.

For example, you could donate $10-50 to the association, if you purchased a $1000 airfare on Expedia via GoodShop with only an additional one minute time investment.

You can also choose from valuable money saving coupons. Please set up your computer now based on the few, easy steps described below to get ready for the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Thank you for your support.

This is going to be the easiest thing
we've ever asked you to do!

¨ Go to the home page of GoodShop.com

¨ Type “Hungarian American Association of Washington” in the search box on the right and then click “Get Started”

¨ You have an option to Register to track your donations, or select "continue without registration"

¨ Choose your store from 2,500 stores, browse through valuable coupons and click “Shop Now”. You will be able to see how much (%) will be donated to HAAW

¨ Save this GoodShop webpage under your Favorites

Now you are set up to donate money to HAAW anytime you do online shopping in the future if you start on GoodShop.com! With questions call 206-340-0706.