Debrecen4U May 28, 2025

The University of Debrecen’s cooperation helps research the past of Hungarians living in Canada

“Thanks to the results of an interdisciplinary research programme launched a year and a half ago, a general cooperation agreement between Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Debrecen will soon help research into the past of Hungarians living in Canada. Additional projects may also be launched through the partnership,” unideb.hu reported.

In order to better understand the history of Hungarians in Montreal and preserve their heritage, the Consulate General of Hungary in Montreal and the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen (UD), which was later joined by the Oral History and Digital Storytelling Centre of Concordia University, signed a cooperation agreement in 2023. This work is recognised and expanded by the cooperation agreement between the two universities.

There are approximately 300,000 people in Canada who identify as Hungarian, including almost 30,000 in Montreal. The aim of the cooperation is to research the past and present of the Hungarian diaspora in Montreal, to map its memories, preserve it and scientifically present it, with the coordination of the Anglo-American Institute of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen.

In addition to the Anglo-American Institute, several units of the Faculty of Humanities , such as the Department of Sociology and the Centre for International Migration Research, are also participating in the joint work.

In addition to the Montreal-Hungarian organisations, a Canadian university is also participating in the long-term joint work. The Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University joined the programme in 2024, and thanks to the planned agreement, the cooperation will soon be formalised, primarily in the field of oral history.

“This internationally recognised centre helps research work by supporting the preparation of life-course interviews primarily with their professional knowledge, local network of contacts and tools. In addition, they organised workshops for the faculty’s lecturers and PhD students for methodological preparation, and introduced colleagues to the visualisation programmes they developed that can be used to display the interviews,” Balázs Venkovits told hirek.unideb.hu portal.

The director of the Anglo-American Institute added that he is confident that broader cooperation can also give impetus to other research projects or student and faculty exchange programmes, since Concordia University is among the world’s 200 best higher education institutions in several fields.

The international scientific project has achieved numerous successes in the past year and a half. The results include publications and developments aimed at a wider audience and at the academic community, which have created a methodology, a network of collaboration and a model based on which the project can be expanded beyond research on the Hungarian diaspora in Montreal.

“We have already conducted several interviews and data collection has begun in the Hungarian community in Montreal, and the development of an interactive map has begun at the University of Debrecen, which provides an overview of Hungarian-related organisations and events of the past hundred years on a platform where visitors can tour the city and view archive photographs, documents and interview excerpts in addition to data related to the given locations,” Balázs Venkovits listed the results achieved.

In 2024, a trilingual, decorative album about the history of the Montreal St. Stephen’s Ball was published by the Debrecen University Press, and in parallel, a scientific study on the integration role of the ball was being prepared, authored by Balázs Venkovits and Éva Huszti (Department of Sociology and Social Policy).

As part of the research, the interactive map is expected to be uploaded and made public this year. In addition, the working group is working on the history of the Hungária Social Club, which will be 100 years old in 2026, similar to the St. Stephen’s Ball, which will be published in the form of a celebratory publication and scientific study.

An important element of the project is the questionnaire research covering the whole of Canada, coordinated by Éva Huszti, which is expected to be launched this summer, followed by the analysis and publication of the data in domestic and international journals.

The professional community will soon be able to learn about the results achieved so far, at a scientific forum organised in Budapest on 13 June.

Source:dehir.hu |Photo credit:Pixabay