Programs & Events 2009
Tolerance Video Competition Awards Ceremony Attracts Overflow Crowd
Over 250 students, teachers, and representatives from the NGO and diplomatic community crowded into an auditorium at Dániel Berzsenyi High School on March 20th for the 2009 Tolerance Video Competition awards ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Embassy. Ambassador Foley spoke about the importance of embracing tolerance before awarding the top prize to Jakab Greifenstein for his imaginative video which used a Rubik Cube to convey his message. Second place was awarded to Kolos Finta and Dániel Ördög for their video “Smile,” and Kristóf Generál and Mátyás Vincze received third place for their video which communicated tolerance through interpretive dance. Roma R & B singer Andreas Csonka entertained the audience with a live performance, including his hit single, “Don’t be Ashamed of the Color of your Skin.”
The winning videos:
First place video by Jakab Greifenstein - mp4 | wmv
Second place video by Kolos Finta and Dániel Ördög - mp4 | wmv
Third place video by Kristóf Generál and Mátyás Vincze - mp4 | wmv
The competition invited Hungarian high school students to submit a one-minute video on YouTube which captured the message of tolerance in a creative and thought-provoking way. Working either individually or in groups, over 150 students from cities and towns across Hungary submitted 78 videos for the competition, each with its own unique interpretation of the tolerance message. Having harnessed the power of the internet, the impact of these videos is reaching farther and faster than would previously have been possible. As of the day of the awards ceremony, the 78 videos had already been viewed on YouTube more than 16,000 times.
The video competition is part of a broader Embassy campaign to highlight the importance of tolerance. Other tolerance campaign activities include an Embassy-sponsored youth summer camp, high school outreach, visits to Hungary by prominent American civil rights activists, and frequent public speeches on tolerance by Ambassador Foley.
