ISU President Cao Deming and Hungarian top representatives unveiled a plaque for the newly-established Center for Hungarian Studies on the Songjiang campus of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) on October 10, marking the launch of the Hungarian language major and the start of the five-day Hungarian Cultural Week.

Cao said during the opening ceremony that SISU’s Center for Hungarian Studies would enhance Area Studies and develop research for policy advice of the “One Belt and One Road” (the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”), adding that SISU’s Hungarian language program will foster cooperation in education and cultural research between China and Hungary. He also thanked the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai for its support for establishing the Hungarian language program at SISU.

Judit Hammerstein, the State Secretary of Hungary for ministry of foreign economy and ministry of foreign affairs, appreciated SISU’s efforts in launching the Hungarian language major. She encouraged SISU students to be inter-disciplinary talents with strong skills in cross-cultural communication, which was accomplished through combining language and area studies.

In the performance session of the opening ceremony, the Hungarian artists danced and sang songs. SISU’s student chorus sang a creative song combining Hungarian folk song Spring Winds and Chinese folk song Jasmine.

Hungarian guests, accompanied by SISU officials, visited SISU’s unique classrooms of the Hungarian language major, which was designed by the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai. The Consulate General also sent a wide range books of Hungarian studies to SISU.

The newly-established Hungarian language major was one of the degee programs offered by SISU’s School of Russian and Eurasian Studies (SRES) to advance Central and East European studies.

Attendees of the ceremony also included SISU Vice-President Zhou Cheng, Levente Horvath, Hungary’s Consul General in Shanghai, Hungary’s Vice-Consul General in Shanghai, and Hungary’s Consul of Culture and Education in Shanghai.

The Hungarian Cultural Week, organized by the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai and SISU’s SRES, lasted from October 10 to 15, 2016. It had a series of activities, including photographic exhibition, cultural speeches and colored drawing exhibition.

SISU and the University of Szeged launched the Confucius Institute in Szeged, Hungary in 2012, which has expanding and deepening the communication in education, culture and economy between the two countries.