Debrecen4U
October 27, 2025
Awards in Debrecen on the occasion of October 23rd
In honor of October 23, the 69th anniversary of the start of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence and the 36th anniversary of the proclamation of the Hungarian Republic, the Municipality of Debrecen organized a ceremony on October 23, 2025, at the Kölcsey Center.
Following his ceremonial speech, Mayor László Papp presented the city’s László Boncz, Csokonai, Gedeon Dóczy, Alfréd Hajós, and Hatvani awards for this year, as well as the “Cívis” Honorary Certificate of the City of Debrecen.
Mayor László Papp began his ceremonial speech by saying that the power of action is still of great importance in the lives of Hungarians today. Just as the twelve days of autumn 1956 laid the foundation for international recognition and the possibility of the country’s later democratization, preparing its development decades before the change of regime, those moments, those opportunities, can still be seized today, thanks to which the world is paying attention to us. Just as the Western world thought of Hungary during the days of the October Revolution and during the terror following the suppression of the War of Independence, when they spoke of Hungarians with awe and respect, so too today, in the period we are currently experiencing, the world is watching us.
The mayor highlighted the pride of being Hungarian, especially in the context of recent achievements, including the celebration of another Nobel laureate just two years after two previous laureates. He noted the significance of another Hungarian astronaut elevating the nation’s reputation and contributions to science. He emphasized that Hungary plays a proactive role in international political processes rather than merely being a victim. He drew parallels to the importance of recognizing Hungarian contributions today, echoing the spirit of 1956, and called attention to the immense talent, courage, and ingenuity that Hungary offers, which stands out despite its relatively small population.
His speech was followed by the presentation of the awards.
In keeping with tradition, on October 23, the Municipality of Debrecen presents awards in recognition of outstanding achievements and life’s work that have created lasting value.
The Debrecen City Council can award the László Boncz Prize in recognition of outstanding professional achievements and outstanding life’s work. The award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the areas of child protection and child welfare services, basic social services and special care, as well as basic and special health care and health promotion. The award expresses the city’s deep appreciation for those who work tirelessly to improve the well-being of the population with compassionate and expert care.
According to the decision of this year’s general meeting, the award went to Beáta Bódi, a special education teacher employed by the Debrecen Family and Child Welfare Center, for her outstanding social support activities in kindergartens and schools, as well as for her professional and methodological work. The award was also given to Katalin Gyöngyösi, head of the Debrecen Municipal Unified Kindergarten Institution, in recognition of her outstanding professional and managerial activities in the field of early childhood education and care.
Beáta Bódi works as a kindergarten and school social worker at the Family and Child Welfare Center of the City of Debrecen. In 2003, she graduated from the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Education of Eötvös Loránd University as a special education teacher, specializing in psychopedagogy. She has been working at the Family and Child Welfare Center of the City of Debrecen since 1998. Between 2000 and 2004, in cooperation with the Guardianship Office of the Hajdú-Bihar County Administrative Office, she conducted inspections of the material and personnel conditions, professional work, and legal compliance of the operators of child welfare services operating in Hajdú-Bihar County. As a member of the methodological working group, she formulated proposals for amending legislation. In 2017, she participated in the implementation of the European Union tender entitled Development of Kindergarten and School Social Assistance Activities. An important goal of the project was to provide methodological assistance to family and child welfare centers in their tasks for kindergarten and school social assistance activities, which were introduced in September 2018. Beáta Bódi launched the Bóbita “music teacher” prevention program in 2024—and leads it with all her heart and soul—which helps the harmonious development of the youngest children and deepens the parent-child relationship.
Katalin Gyöngyösi began her career in 2005 as a young child educator at the Varga Street Member Institution of the United Nursery Institution of the City of Debrecen, and in 2009 she applied for the position of head of the member institution, which she won. The professional staff of the member institution underwent a noticeable change in attitude under her leadership: they became more open towards families, and a lively cooperation developed in the relationship between families and the nursery. In 2015, she successfully applied for the position of head of the United Nursery Institution, which she is now serving in for the third term. During her leadership, the institution’s material and personal conditions have improved significantly. Thanks to the city government, the nursery buildings and their equipment have been renovated, and the infrastructure has been expanded with two newly built nurseries. Thanks to the teacher career model, the number of qualified early childhood educators has multiplied. The institution has become a regional methodological base institution, as well as a field institution hosting students from the University of Debrecen and the Debrecen Vocational Training Center. In recognition of her expert work, Katalin Gyöngyösi received the Akócsi Ágnes Award established by the Hungarian Nursery Association in May 2024, and in June 2025 she received the Nursery Award of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation.
The Csokonai Award of the City of Debrecen is awarded by the representative body of the City of Debrecen in recognition of outstanding activities and lifetime achievements in the field of cultural life, especially in the fields of public collections, public education, arts, and social sciences. Based on the decision of the general assembly, this year Dr. Endre Bakó received the Csokonai Award for his outstanding editorial, literary, and cultural history work; Dr. Gergely Tamás Fazakas, literary historian, associate professor, and Presbyterian chief clerk of the Trans-Tisza Reformed Church District, in recognition of his outstanding activity in the scientific, literary, and cultural life of Debrecen, creating lasting value; and József Tóth, bassoon artist-teacher and honorary director, in recognition of his outstanding professional, music teaching, and leadership activities in the musical life of Debrecen.
Dr. Endre Bakó, a literary historian, graduated from the Hungarian History Department of Kossuth Lajos University in 1961. In 1964, he became a staff member of the cultural section of the Hajdú-Bihari Napló, later its director, and then—after a short detour—its editor-in-chief from 1990 until his retirement in 1999. He has been publishing literary and cultural history studies since 1960. Between 1969 and 1972, he was the editor-in-chief of the Debrecen University Journal; between 1979 and 1991, he was the columnist for the journal Alföld; and from 1988 to 1990, he was the director of the newly founded Csokonai Publishing House. Since 1988, he has been the president of the Bihari Irodalmi Társaság (Bihar Literary Society). His main areas of interest are Debrecen, Oradea, and the literary history of Bihar County. He is one of the foremost experts and researchers on the literary history of Debrecen and Hajdú-Bihar County.
Dr. Gergely Tamás Fazakas is a literary historian, habilitated associate professor, and Presbyterian chief notary of the Reformed Church District of the Trans-Tisza Reformed Church District. Married, father of three children. Since 2001, he was a doctoral student and then a colleague at the Institute of Hungarian Literature and Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen, and since 2019, he has been its director. He has been a defining figure in Debrecen’s scientific and cultural life for more than two decades. His research areas—early modern Hungarian literature, autobiographies, sermon and prayer literature, and national and denominational identity constructions—are recognized not only nationally but also internationally. His work has significantly contributed to a deeper understanding of Hungarian cultural heritage and the culture of memory. In addition to his teaching and scientific activities, he takes an active role in the city’s cultural life. He regularly publishes in the journal Alföld and is the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation that publishes the journal; he publishes monographs, critical text editions, and study volumes and participates in the organization of scientific conferences. For his students, he is not only a teacher but also a role model, encouraging scientific curiosity and thoroughly reasoned interpretation, an international perspective on Hungarian literature, and value-based thinking.
József Tóth is a bassoon artist and teacher, a key figure in the musical life of Debrecen. He is a nationally recognized artist who has been engaged in outstanding musical activity at all three levels of music education for more than forty years—teaching at primary, secondary, and higher levels. His success is also marked by the results achieved by his students in national competitions, at which he received fourteen special teacher training awards in recognition of his work. In addition to his pedagogical activity, he was the head of the woodwind department at the Debrecen Music School for twenty-three years and the director of the institution for fifteen years, where he currently assists the community as an artist teacher and honorary director. Thanks to his activity, the renovation of the school building was also successfully completed. During his career as a music teacher and manager, he developed outstanding relationships with the cultural and educational institutions of Debrecen. As a member of the Kodály Philharmonic Debrecen, he has performed in over 1,500 concerts with the Kodály Choir and the symphony orchestra. In 2010, he won the Simonffy Prize; in 2013, he received the Bonis Bona—The Talents of the Nation Award; and in 2019, he received the County Prima Award and the Komlóssy Award.
The General Assembly of the Municipality of Debrecen City may award the Gedeon Dóczy Award in recognition of outstanding, dedicated teaching, pedagogical, educational, and leadership work in the field of public education or related, supporting, outstanding activities, as well as lifetime achievement. This year, in recognition of his outstanding, dedicated professional and managerial activities in the field of vocational training, Zoltán Borbély, Debrecen Vocational Training Center Baross Gábor Technical School, Vocational Training School and Dormitory; Ildikó Czeglédi, teacher at the Árpád Vezér Primary School, in recognition of her outstanding professional, methodological, and pedagogical activities; and, in recognition of her decades of high-quality, value-creating teaching and leadership work, Julianna Komáromi, Director General of Debrecen Petőfi Sándor Primary School and Elementary Art School, received the Gedeon Dóczy Award.
Zoltán Borbély is a mathematics-physics-informatics teacher and head of public education and has been a defining figure at the Debrecen Vocational Training Center Baross Gábor Technical School, Vocational School, and Dormitory since 2003. He began his career as a teacher, was deputy director from 2008, and has been managing the teaching staff, students, and school life as director since 2018. His activities as a director are defined by continuous innovation and openness to renewal. Adapting to the changing educational and economic environment, he always looks for opportunities that open up new perspectives for both students and teachers. It is of utmost importance to him that the school is a place where students enjoy going, where they find the inspiring environment necessary for their development. He always strives for the school to be a partner in meeting the expectations of the labor market. By strengthening collaborations and relationships, he builds a stable foundation that serves not only the advancement of students but also the economic development of the region.
Ildikó Czeglédi has been working as a teacher since 1992. She is constantly renewing her professional and methodological knowledge: she regularly participates in face-to-face, online, and foreign further training courses. She is happy to share her experiences with her colleagues and is also happy to mentor university students. She also shares her good practices and proven methods with the professional public beyond the institutional framework. In 2016, she achieved the master teacher degree with a developer-innovator profile. She renewed her English-language master’s program in 2020 with the title Reading—The Key to the World. She is currently preparing to defend her third program. She has participated in numerous outstanding professional tasks. She coordinated the English-language international reading competition called EngRead of the Szoboszlói Úti Elementary School four times, in which a total of 3,430 students from 25 countries from 3 continents participated. Since 2022, the Debrecen Árpád Vezér Primary School has been organizing the city competition “Home Until Death: Debrecen” every school year. It helps students prepare for the city student conference organized every two years by the Debrecen School District Center.
Julianna Komáromi began her career as a teacher at the Petőfi Sándor Primary School and Primary Art School in Debrecen, where she quickly became a recognized professional through the introduction of new educational programs, successful competitions, and school projects. In 2000, she took the public education leader exam, and in 2010, she took the talent and development teacher exam. From 1997 to 2001, she worked as a deputy director, and since 2001, she has been managing the Petőfi School as a director. She is a member of the anti-segregation working group of the Debrecen School District Center.
Under her leadership, infrastructural developments, educational innovations, and subject reforms have been implemented at the school. Since 2016, she has participated in all the school’s theme week event series every school year. Among others, she can boast several regional and national successes in the competition called Pénz7. Since the same year, the school has successfully participated in the “Határtalanul” (Without Borders), Erasmus, and Erzsébet Camp applications, as well as the National Talent Program every school year. They have been affiliated with the Active School Program for the second year, and the institution also participates in the “Move, Debrecen!” program series. Julianna Komáromi’s own good practice is the master program entitled “Petőfi’s Garden, the Garden of Petőfi Students,” and the project entitled Community Experiences, which serves the development of emotional intelligence. The school boasts the title of Eternal Experience School.
The Alfréd Hajós Award of the City of Debrecen is awarded in recognition of outstanding sports performance, outstanding physical education teachers, sports leaders, coaches, high-quality work in competitive sports, leisure sports, youth education, physical education or student sports, activities that create lasting values, and life work.
This year, in recognition of his outstanding sports professional and leadership work in the field of football in Debrecen, Balázs Makray, managing director of the DVSC Football Academy and director responsible for institutional and strategic relations of DVSC, and in recognition of his outstanding work in the field of chess teaching, Zoltán Gyula Mester, teacher of the Debrecen Fazekas Mihály Gymnasium, received the Alfréd Hajós Award.
Balázs Makray graduated from the Faculty of Humanities of the Kossuth Lajos University in 1995, majoring in English-Finnish. He then obtained a second diploma in professional diplomacy from the Budapest College of Economics and then a sports management degree in Szeged. At the beginning of his career, he worked at Hotel Aranybika and Epona Lovasklub Kft. During this period, he became closer to the world of adult sports and football, which led him to become the managing director of Debrecen VSC between 1999 and 2002. Between 2002 and 2004, he coordinated our country’s application for the 2008 European Football Championship. After that, he returned to Debrecen as the head of Főnix Rendezvényszervező Kft. (Főnix Event Organizer Ltd.). He later became the sports professional and strategic manager at Debrecen Sportcentrum, and for three years he was also the managing director of DVSC Handball Kft. Between 2019 and 2021, he also served as the director of international relations at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, during which time he played a role in organizing the partly domestic European Football Championship and the UEFA Super Cup. Until 2025, he was the managing director of DVSC Football Zrt. and currently also works as the managing director of the DVSC Football Academy. Balázs Makray is the owner of the Pro Turismo Award. Previously, he was a member of the board of the Hungarian Association of Event Organizers, the Association of Hungarian Art Festivals, and the Hungarian Football Association and headed the Fair Play, Grassroots, and Minorities Committee of the Hungarian Football Association. He has been a match inspector for UEFA and FIFA for more than twenty years.
Gyula Zoltán Mester is a Bonis Bona Award-winning talent development teacher and a FIDE Trainer awarded by the Hungarian Chess Federation who has been working with talented young chess players for more than 30 years. He is a mathematics teacher at the Fazekas Mihály High School in Debrecen, typically teaching in special mathematics classes. He also performs class teacher duties and manages the school’s chess talent center.
In addition to his active chess career, he has achieved many successes as a coach. In addition to world, European, and European Union champions, he has helped countless national champions compete successfully. He praises his work that the Fazekas Grammar School boys’ team was able to stand on the third step of the podium at the National Student Olympics in 2023, while the girls came second in 2024 and first in 2025. Based on this latter result, the international federation invited the team to the 2025 World School Chess Team Championship in Washington. Zoltán Gyula Mester is the head coach of the DEAC chess department. Since 2013, he has been assisting Balázs Máté in the Debrecen Chess Olympiad for the Hearing Impaired, who has been a member of the Hungarian national team more than 250 times, a multiple third-place finisher in the World Championship, a permanent member of the Paralympic team, and a BEK winner.
The Debrecen City Hatvani Award is awarded by the general assembly in recognition of outstanding work, scientific activity, and life’s work in the fields of natural sciences, healthcare, social work, urban planning, and urban development in the interests of the development of the city, creating lasting value that lays the foundation for the future. This year, based on the decision of the general assembly, in recognition of his research and teaching activities that have gained domestic and international professional recognition, the following are awarded: Professor Dr. László Mátyus, University Professor, Dean of the Faculty of General Medicine of the University of Debrecen; and in recognition of his outstanding scientific, research, and organizational work in the interests of environmental awareness and sustainable development, Professor Dr. Péter Nagy, University Professor, Scientific Director of the National Institute of Oncology, Chairman of the Scientific and Social Advisory Board of the Gróf Tisza István Foundation for the University of Debrecen, and Director of the Chemistry Coordination Institute of the University of Debrecen, received the Hatvani Award.
Prof. Dr. László Mátyus, professor, has been the Dean of the Faculty of General Medicine of the University of Debrecen for 12 years. He earned his medical degree in 1980—with the Weszprém Prize—at the University of Debrecen. Since then, he has been working at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Biology and has been a university professor since 2007. He is a specialist in clinical laboratory tests and a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is the founder of the Department of Biomathematics. His research area is the cell surface organization and dynamics of cell surface receptors. He is the former president of the European and Hungarian Biophysical Societies. He is a dedicated supporter of talent development. Prof. Dr. László Mátyus has held several national positions in the scientific student movement and is the elected president of the National Scientific Student Council. He is the president of the Medical and Health Sciences Committee of the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference and the Medical Education Board of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee and co-president of the University Teachers’ Board. He was elected “Teacher of the Year at the Medical School (ÁOK)” by the students four times. Recipient of the Ányos Jedlik Award and the Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit. President of the Bridges Department of the DEAC. In 2024, he won the bronze medal of the Hungarian Cup with his team.
Prof. Dr. Péter Nagy is the scientific director of the National Institute of Oncology, the chairman of the Scientific and Social Advisory Board of the Gróf Tisza István Foundation for the University of Debrecen, and the director of the Chemistry Coordination Institute of the University of Debrecen. He graduated as a chemist from the University of Debrecen and obtained his doctorate partly there and partly at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
He conducted research with postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oklahoma in the United States and the University of Otago in New Zealand. He took a leading role in the professional implementation of the Debrecen Environmental Monitoring System, established to support the sustainable development of Debrecen. As the scientific leader of the committee responsible for the implementation of the system, he contributed to Debrecen becoming a national leader in creating a new quality of environmental awareness and environmentally conscious urban management. He is the editor of nine international scientific journals in his field. He is a member of the European Academy of Oncological Sciences and a Hungarian delegate to the Scientific Council of the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer. Under his leadership, the Oncology Research Center of the National Oncology Institute received the MTA Excellent Research Site certification.
The Mayor of Debrecen awarded the City of Debrecen’s “Cívis” Certificate of Honor to Vitéz Lajos Lánczi, president of the Hajdú-Bihar County Organization of the National Association of Hungarian Political Prisoners, in recognition of his outstanding cultural and public service that preserves the memory and spirit of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence.
After the award ceremony, Mayor László Papp greeted the awardees and said, among other things, that Debrecen has always had great citizens who, with their knowledge, talent, and commitment to the city, worked not only for themselves or their families, but also for the city community.
The mayor emphasized that Debrecenism and the “cívis” values have two deeply important elements—without which there is no true cívis, no true Debrecenian: devotion to one’s vocation and love for the city. “I believe that the common difficulty that we can place on each other’s shoulders can also be embodied in the knowledge that our award winners have, being passed on to the next generations. If we manage to pass on this knowledge and this feeling to the next generations, then Debrecen will be very successful for the next 700 years as well,” concluded László Papp.
As part of the festive general meeting, the artists of the Csokonai National Theatre in Debrecen commemorated the heroes of the 1956 revolution with a literary and musical compilation. Interpreted by Márk Komlódy and Kinga Újhelyi, literary texts evoking the atmosphere of the era were performed, evoking the human resilience, the desire for freedom, and the power of faith. The program was enriched by musical interludes: the performance of 9-year-old Veronika Nóra Mispál was accompanied by Zoltán Jószai on guitar. The texts were selected, and the performance was directed by Attila Mispál, Béla Balázs award-winning director.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
