Andris
Andras Szirko | age: 27 years old | city: Budapest (HUN) | activity: President of Babel Hungary Association.
I speak: hun and also rus,eng,fre
Who am I?
My contributions and my activities
BLOG / budapest
2012-02-10 11:06:27
Nikola Djukic: „Bosznia akár 2022-ig is várhat az EU-tagságra”
Horvátország lakossága január 21-én meggyőző többséggel megszavazta az uniós csatlakozást. Közben szomszédja, Bosznia-Hercegovina, még a tagjelölti státuszt sem szerezte meg. A cafebabel.com Bosznia-Hercegovina magyarországi nagykövetével beszélgetett arról, hogy mit jelenthet a horvát tagság, és hogy miben más Bosznia helyzete. cafebabel.com: Nikola, hogyan befolyásolja az európai pénzügyi válság Bosznia-Hercegovina integrációját az EU-ba? Nikola Djukic: Rövid távon nincs sok jelentősége, mert el kell még végeznünk néhány „házi feladatot”. Sajnos a hosszú távú hatásai komolyabbak lehetnek, ugyanis 2013 után, Horvátország teljes jogú taggá válását követően várhatóan lesz egy hosszabb szünet [az EU bővítésében]. Nehéz megmondani, hogy hány évet kell majd várnunk. Lehet, hogy akár tízet is. Országok egész sora vár az EU-csatlakozásra. On the blog budapest.
INTERVIEW
2012-02-09 18:48:55
BLOG / budapest
2012-02-07 22:49:10
Készülőben az Orient Express Reporter 2
A cafebabel.com online magazin 11. születésnapjának előestéjén, 2012. január 27-28-án, hat bábeles helyi szerkesztőség és a párizsi központ képviselői találkoztak Bécsben, hogy megalapozzák az idei év egyik legfontosabb projektjét, az Orient Express Reporter 2-t, a tavalyi, nagy sikerrel zárult Orient Express Reporter folytatását. A találkozó keretében jó hangulatú megbeszéléseken az egyes viták időpontjainak, a szervezés folyamatának és különböző formai követelményeinek egyeztetésére kérült sor. A bécsi találkozó résztvevői a projekt tervezésén kívül megtapasztalhatták hogyan működik a nemzetközi együttműködés a szerkesztőségek között, és a közös munka során megismerkedhettek a különböző nemzetek bábeleseivel. On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2012-01-09 16:01:21
Red sludge still threatens
Greenpeace: the reservoir of Almásfüzitő leaks More than one year had passed since the red sludge catastrophe in Kolontár. On the 4th of October 2010 the dike of the red sludge reservoir between Kolontár and Ajka ruptured and more than half a million cubic metres of toxic waste spread across the area. The highly alkaline, corrosive liquid caused serious damages in three villages: Kolontár, Devecser and Somlóvásárhely. Since then new houses have been built but the environment is still not recovered from the contamination. The media and certain NGOs started to deal with the case of the red sludge reservoir of Almásfüzitő and the risks it poses after the tragedy in Ajka. We asked Gergely Simon the chemicals expert of Greenpeace Hungary about the problems and dangers of the reservoir. Cafebabel: First we should talk about what happened in Kolontár. What has changed over the last year? Is the red sludge completely transferred? Gergely Simon: The contamination is mostly removed. Few months ago when Greenpeace carried out measurements there, we found some the toxic metals in the soil which can be the consequence of the red sludge contamination, but they were below the threshold limit value. The current problem is that the factory lets out the liquid that used to be on top of the reservoir. Although it is neutralized, its salt content is still high. Furthermore its molybdenum content is also very high and every now and then it contains other toxic materials too. The problem is that instead of obliging them to pay an indemnity, the authorities raise the threshold limit values so that the recorded values can not be regarded as contamination. It is not good either when the contaminating material is let out on occasional permissions, nor is it better when cement is mixed with the red sludge, mainly because it is a bit inexperienced method and threatens to pose more risks. On the whole, we can say that the cleaning of the area has been carried out properly but the spending of the 15 billion Hungarian Forints meant to cover the restoration raises another issue. Even the Members of the Parliament would like to know that in detail. On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2011-12-21 16:48:12
Kétes eredményű a klímacsúcs
December elején ért véget az idei klímacsúcs, sajnos érdemi megállapodás nélkül. Az évente megrendezett esemény fő célja a legégetőbb környezetvédelmi problémák (globális felmelegedés, légszennyezettség, esőerdőirtás, üvegházhatás, stb.) orvoslása. A csúcs 2011-ben Durbanban, a Dél-Afrikai Köztársaság egyik legnagyobb városában kapott helyet. Ez a vidék a globális felmelegedés hatásai által leginkább sújtott területek közé tartozik. A találkozón az egyetlen elért eredmény az egyes országok szén-dioxid kibocsátásáról rendelkező kiotói egyezmény meghosszabbítása volt, azonban ez is csak látszólagos: éveket szabtak meg különböző határidőknek, ráadásul Kanada visszalépett a kötelezettségvállalástól. A klímaváltozás továbbra is égető probléma, azonban olyan mintha elvesztette volna fontosságát. Ez valahol érthető is, hiszen a gazdasági problémák sokkal közvetlenebb, érezhetőbb hatással vannak az emberekre. A helyzetet jól jellemezte, hogy az év végi gazdasági hajrában a klímacsúcs minimális sajtóvisszhangot kapott. On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2011-12-13 12:37:27
The e-book business: who will profit?
Although in Hungary the technology is still in its infancy and the legal background not clarified, the emergence of digital texts and e-readers along with the fall of printed book turnover is a phenomenon which is experienced throughout the world. So the question comes up: what’s next? Give me the latest version of the iPad and Kindle or leave me alone with all this stuff because I’m a bibliophile? Experts who were invited to the topic-related presentation of the fifth MEDIA Conference in Budapest were searching for answers together with students to the issues of copyright and content-sharing problems as well as to questions connected to publishers’ and distributors’ strategies. Among the guests were Eszter Gyuricza, head of Hungary’s leading publisher and bookstore Alexandra; dr. Balázs Bodó economist, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics; and Péter Weiler, managing director of eBook Hungary Ltd . First of all, the presenters made it clear that having different ideas about technological innovations comes naturally to the youth because they grew up in a digital world. According to Péter Weiler, eBook Hungary started with an approach which aimed at preparing readers for a new world where digital texts succeed traditional books, which is already well-known in the Western countries. Whether books are really going to disappear or not is a controversial point because, despite preliminary expectations, the radio was also not abolished by television, but the market is definitely undergoing a change. The company invests its faith not in technology, but in people who may love digital reading in the future. On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2011-11-30 17:42:55
In the wake of Hope
The eighth International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival called Verzió came to the end. As usual, it has attracted a lot of national as well as foreign visitors. The event was hosted in Budapest by Toldi cinema, the Cirko-Gejzír, the Odeon-Lyod and the OSA Archives. Those who were able to adjust within the labyrinth of the program guide overcrowded with titles and the screening timetable in four different halls could participate in the public vote after watching the movies. Accordingly, the audience award went to the documentary film Autumn Gold directed by Jan Tenhaven, a story about five elderly but still competitive athletes. The special award for films received the most votes was given to Wonderful Gladiators by Zsofia Kabarcz, the film about the unique Hungarian Balthazar theatre company employing mentally injured people as actors. . There was a wide variety of films on offer; we could see creative and innovative documentaries from all over the world. We could get to know the 26-year-old Jesus telling us about his past trauma about being molested by a catholic priest at his age of 11 and what psychological consequences he had to face after that (Agnus Dei: Lamb of God). We could also follow up the mormon youth who were raised within the strict rules and then escaped from their homes (Sons of Perdition) and we could also experience really shocking, real-life scenes like the trial of Adolf Eichmann who was one of the top leaders of the German Nazi Party (The Specialist). On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2011-11-24 21:29:15
Wondering what Brussels will say
The Hungarian Higher Education Act is attacked at international level, too We have already reported about new developments in the Hungarian higher education. The scary draft of the new law on higher education did not leave any other choice for students than marching to the streets and protesting for their rights. Probably most of them did not even think that people beyond our borders share their outrage – but this was proved wrong by Allan Päll, president of European Students’ Union and Stephan Stainbach, advisor of International Bureau of Austrian Student Union who both attended the demonstration on 27th October and made speeches before the crowd of around ten thousand, beside their Hungarian counterparts. Although the jokes referring to Rózsa [Rose] Hoffmann and the rose metaphor were quite lame, the transparents at the demonstration were actually a lot more creative. According to the organizers, approximately ten thousand people came together in front of the building of the Ministry of National Resources in Budapest (housing the State Secretariat of Education) to express their discontent about the controversial points of the new law on higher education, such as the obligation to work in Hungary, the (hidden) tuition fees and limitations on student self-government. Students’ dissatisfaction appeared on a national level, which was shown by the participation of representatives from universities and colleges from around the country. The importance of the case is highlighted by the fact that student governments from abroad provided their understanding and support for Hungarian youth on international level. On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2011-11-21 16:48:32
In Brussels it is greener but in Hungary it is easier
Young Hungarians are seeking a better life in Brussels For the adult generation which grew up after Hungary joined the European Union, there are no material, sociological or educational barriers to make livelihood or a new life abroad. Although among the country's population, Hungarians’ willingness for mobility is only 22 per cent and still below the EU average, almost 100.000 people have moved away from their homeland in the past few years. But what motivates youth to leave behind their past lives even without a plan? Do the general stereotypes like 'The grass is always greener on the other side' or 'West is the land of milk and honey' give them power? We asked approximately fifty young Hungarians living in Brussels, what made them go to that city and what keeps them there. On the blog budapest.
BLOG / budapest
2011-11-03 22:06:40
Hungarian youth goes to the street instead of university
Ever since the draft of the new law on higher education came to light, we can meet displeased youth everywhere from Pécs to Sopron and Debrecen, not to mention Budapest: during this autumn the students give voice to their dissatisfaction at several demonstrations organized in the capital and other university towns. While students in Szeged went on a three-day long hunger strike, the grass-roots movement called Student Network (HaHa) joined the anti-government mass demonstration in Budapest called “Don’t Like the System?” on 23 October, followed by a demonstration of the National Conference of Student Unions (HÖOK), an organization representing the student unions in all higher education institutions in Hungary, on 27 October, also in the capital. The two main government proposal deemed unacceptable by students are the following: the restriction of the free higher education, and the contracts that would bind the students to seek employment exclusively in Hungary after obtaining their degree. The students made some provocative posters: this one calls for “Demonstration!” obviously against the state secretary for education (pictured) who wants to bury higher education (Source: HÖOK) On the blog budapest.
