The 20th anniversary of the Hungarian Regional Science Association’s conference

The 20th anniversary of the Hungarian Regional Science Association’s (MRTT) annual meeting and conference was held in Budapest. At the event, the Research Group of Cross-Border Cooperation of the National University of Public Service and CESCI organized a special section entitled State-Border-Policy, in which a total of 16 presentations took place. The Secretary General of CESCI, Gyula Ocskay, spoke about the integration processes along the Hungarian-Slovak border, while Melinda Benczi discussed the role of national minorities in economic cooperation across the Hungarian-Romanian border in the light of the Interreg projects implemented between 2007-2020.

The MRTT’s 20th anniversary meeting and conference was held in Budapest, with the participation of about 240 people. The event was hosted by the National University of Public Service. Three plenary blocks, one round table discussion and 24 thematic sections were organized, where those interested could listen to almost 200 lectures.

In keeping with tradition, the company’s general meeting took place in the morning of the first day. From the president’s report the membership was able to learn about MRTT’s previous year’s activities and future plans, while the report of the Audit Committee presented the company’s financial situation. After that, those present voted on the Regional Science Award. The central theme of the conference was the relationship between the space and the state.

The plenary lectures on Thursday morning were opened by the president of the association, presenting the challenges of Hungarian development and territorial policy. This was followed by a presentation by James W. Scott, newly elected as an honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, who presented the lessons of innovative regional cooperation in English. Zoltán Hajdú’s thought-provoking presentation focused on the question marks of nationalization processes.

In the afternoon, MRTT department heads organized nine parallel section meetings. At the afternoon plenary lecture, the audience could learn about the legal narratives of power and space, from the lectures of Ilona Pálné Kovács, István Hoffman and Tamás Kaiser. In the round table discussion, the president and secretary of the association talked with awarded professors awarded of Regional Science.

In the rest of the evening, the award ceremonies took place: László Faragó received the Regional Science Award, Réka Horeczki received the Outstanding Young Regionalist Award, and then the MTA RTB publication awards were presented.

On the morning of the second day, the presentations continued in nine more sections. Friday’s plenary lectures were opened by József Benedek, followed by Katalin Lipták and Balázs Páger, who won the Outstanding Young Regionalist Award in 2018 and 2021 who presented their latest scientific results. In the late afternoon the presentations of eight parallel sessions took place.

More information and the detailed program can be found on the conference website.