When Transylvania visits Budapest
The S10 Academy Roundtable Discussion series continues in 2023, and our first invited guests, Szilárd Szőcs and András Deák, the creators of the 1000 Faces of Szeklerland project, treated us to a truly extraordinary evening.
Szilárd and András talked not only about the realisation of their project, but also about what it means to have perseverance, humility and moderation. Through their interviews with older people, they have brought us a slower, more value-oriented approach to life, and when we think of the trends that are taking off these days – such as mindfulness or the slow life movement – we have no idea that we are reconnecting to this authentic wisdom that our ancestors so naturally lived.
Perhaps one of the biggest lessons of the evening was that while constantly looking forward, it is sometimes worth slowing down and looking back into the past, as Uncle Berci, Aunt Juliska, or even Aunt Esztike and Uncle Pista are all among us, and carry with them the slowly forgotten knowledge that makes them all answer the question of whether they are satisfied with life:
‘yes, I have everything. Everything I asked for in life is mine.’
However, the dinner evening was not only special for the videos and the sense of tranquillity they brought from Transylvania: the dinner at the event, which was held in S10, was also inspired by Transylvania, prepared by Dr. Lajos Aáry-Tamás, Commissioner for Educational Rights, and Piroska Szabóné André, professional advisor of the Csányi Foundation.
We would like to thank Dr. Sándor Csányi, the founder of the Foundation and the patron of the S10 Academy Round Table Discussions, for his participation and for his presence to support the event, and all participants for their active contribution to the discussion with their questions and comments.