OTPF Fáy Educational Innovation Award
In October 2022, the OTP Fáy Foundation celebrated the 30th anniversary of its establishment. On this occasion, Dr. Sándor Csányi, Chairman and CEO of OTP Bank, initiated the creation of the OTP Fáy Educational Innovation Award. This annually announced award aims to recognize, support, and promote outstanding practices, innovative solutions, and initiatives in the field of educational tools and methodologies that positively impact teaching quality, enhance learning effectiveness, and facilitate the acquisition of 21st-century competencies. Both individuals and organizations (schools, educational and other institutions, companies) can apply for the award, either individually or in groups.
For the 2024 OTP Fáy Educational Innovation Award, nearly 270 applications were received across the three announced categories. The results were revealed, and the prizes were awarded at the prestigious award ceremony held on October 17, 2024.
Based on the jury’s decision, the following project won the Silver Award in the upper primary school category:
ATLAS RISE KFT. and the CSÁNYI FOUNDATION
Universal Communication for the Blind
The Universal Communication for the Blind (V.U.K.) innovation project is a collaborative effort between students of the Csányi Foundation and volunteers from Atlas Rise Kft. It is a digital assistive program for blind and visually impaired students, helping users perceive and imagine artworks through sound. This makes art more accessible and enjoyable for them. The use of touchscreens is fundamental in creating tactile experiences, allowing users to interact with the artwork through technology. They can explore and understand different parts of the artwork at their own pace, aided by narration and sound effects. The program is not only useful and enjoyable for students with disabilities but also for the general student population, as it allows them to experience art from a different perspective, fostering empathy.
“On October 17, 2024, we attended the OTP Fáy Educational Innovation Award 2024 ceremony with the Jász-Stones team, held at the RAM-Art Theater in Budapest. It was a prestigious event. The ceremony was opened by Mr. Sándor Csányi, Chairman of the Board, followed by Tamás Freund, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. After that, Finance Minister Mihály Varga gave a keynote speech. The highlight of the evening was the performance by the Attraction Shadow Theater. The troupe, which won Britain’s Got Talent in 2013, gave another stunning performance, and their junior group, who reached the live shows of America’s Got Talent 2024, also performed a spectacular show. This event was especially memorable for us because our team won 2nd place in the upper primary school category with our innovation, the Universal Communication for the Blind. We plan to use the prize money to bring our innovation to various institutions for the blind and visually impaired so that everyone can enjoy visual art. It was a great honor to participate in this event, and we also attended a reception afterward. We would like to thank Atlas Rise Kft. for their tremendous help, the Csányi Foundation for their support, and our volunteers. We are thrilled that so many people believed in us, and we were able to achieve such great results. There were fantastic educational inventions and developments awarded, some of which we were already familiar with. Congratulations to the other winners!” — Maja Sas, Jászság Group 4
“Today, we attended the announcement of the results for the OTP Fáy Foundation Educational Innovation Award competition. It was a great joy and honor for me to be part of the evening, sitting in the front rows and watching such a prestigious event showcasing excellent creative educational developments and the award ceremonies. I had the privilege of representing the Foundation and our team—the Jász-Stones—alongside Maja Sas when it was announced that we had won the Silver Award. The congratulations we received felt amazing. One of the biggest moments for me was speaking with Chairman Sándor Csányi and Finance Minister Mihály Varga during the reception. These are experiences I will cherish from today’s event. I would personally like to thank the Foundation for all their support and the Atlas Rise Kft. team for their tremendous help!” — Márk Kaptás, Jászság Group 1
