Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit
With immense joy, we wholeheartedly congratulate Erika Csányi, the Chairwoman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, on the occasion of receiving the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary (Civil Division) on August 20, 2024, in recognition of her dedicated work in developing and successfully implementing the Guidance Program, which supports and nurtures the talents of disadvantaged youth.
The Chairwoman is not only an active leader of the board and the mentors’ work but also personally knows the children and families supported by the program, being a part of their lives.
The nearly two decades of work and achievements of our Foundation best demonstrate—despite not reflecting the daily struggles—Chairwoman’s dedication and devotion. The small daily successes, such as each new graduate, a successfully obtained professional qualification, or language exam, show that the investment was worthwhile, but none of this would have been possible without Erika. We are sincerely delighted that her exemplary and humble work has been recognized on behalf of the entire nation.
To help the Esteemed Reader understand what the Foundation’s Guidance Program is about, we would like to highlight some of our achievements in a summary, which could not have been realized without Erika’s personal attention and leadership. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as every success of each supported individual is equally worth mentioning, but unfortunately, there isn’t enough paper, ink, or space on our website to accommodate such a detailed description.
Erika Csányi has been the Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Csányi Foundation since its establishment in 2005. Over the past nearly two decades, she has developed a complex Guidance Program that nurtures the talents of disadvantaged children while compensating for their social and sociocultural disadvantages, providing opportunities for 500 underprivileged talents to develop their abilities and, in most cases, to break free from generational deprivation and disadvantaged life situations.
Starting in 2005 with the support of eight children and their families in the Jászság region, the Foundation now serves 500 children and their families, totaling an average of 1,500 individuals, offering various social supports in addition to talent nurturing.
The Foundation currently supports the promising talents of more than 200 schools across 100 towns in the regions of its seven Community Centres (in order of their establishment: Jászberény, Nagybajom, Pécs, Kaposvár, Szeged, Mohács, Szentes).
Children who join the program at the age of 10 are accompanied by the Foundation for 10-14 years, all the way to the world of work. So far, young people who have completed the Guidance Program have earned over a hundred degrees, 70 professional qualifications, more than 600 language certificates, and 240 ECDL/ICDL certificates.
The number of university students supported by the Foundation has exceeded 100 for years. Graduates have obtained higher education degrees in more than 30 professions, ranging from teaching to engineering and IT, to military leadership, present in all areas.
Many who have successfully completed the program have started independent lives, founded families, and are now proud parents of nearly 40 children.
Since the Foundation’s inception, Erika Csányi has been involved in the daily lives of the children, from their selection into the program to the start of their independent lives. She considers ensuring a happy childhood as the most important prerequisite for talent development and works with her colleagues to remove obstacles that prevent talent from flourishing. The children and families see Erika as a personal acquaintance, a person committed to their cause, to whom they can directly turn with their problems and, of course, share their successes and joys.
The result of her two decades of work is that the supported individuals have formed a true community that cares for and helps each other, which is one of the main tools for overcoming the isolation that characterizes the disadvantaged.
Successful examples of community building and talent nurturing are the Foundation’s orchestras (Csányi Band, Chamber Orchestra), which not only function as friendly communities but also as talented musicians achieving success outside the Foundation, such as the Chamber Orchestra’s performance at the House of Music Hungary, and most recently, the international success of Nadin Varga, a composer student at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, in a global composition competition.
The Foundation’s Chess Team represented Hungary in the 12-team final of the international student chess tournament held during the Dubai EXPO in 2021.
The Foundation’s Lego Robotics team has been at the forefront of the FIRST LEGO League competition in Hungary for years in the field of innovation. This year, they not only received an invitation to the Asia-Pacific Open Championship held in Sydney, Australia but also won first place in the Innovation category among 53 teams from 40 countries.
The Szeged Photography Club has achieved outstanding results in national and international photography competitions for years. Their photos have been selected for the Hungary 365 exhibition, and they were also invited to the International Nature and Environmental Film Festival in Gödöllő, where they presented a workshop.
Our Foundation’s scientific projects have been supported for several years by Dr. Katalin Karikó, enabling our students to develop their talents in these fields as well.
Of particular note is our responsibility for disadvantaged children beyond the borders of Hungary, resulting in children from state care in Hargita and Covasna counties (RO) becoming part of the program and the foundation’s community for the past 15 years, further strengthening the sense of belonging to one nation among children in Hungary and across the borders.
Erika Csányi’s personal life story of continuous renewal, commitment to innovation, perseverance in problem-solving, and outstanding social sensitivity is exemplary not only for the children but also for the Foundation’s staff.
On behalf of our students, colleagues, and the entire Foundation community, we congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition!