New cooperation between Hungary and Germany

The necessary documents were exchanged by representatives of the two institutions, the director Katalina Varga and Dr Robert Maier, in a ceremony which was held during an international conference. The event took place in one of the rooms of an impressive Art Nouveau building which once housed a secondary school. The MR 4 radio station broadcast two interviews on its German-language service on 2 and 5 April 2010 in a programme called ‘<media 6311>Morning Meeting Place</media>’ (Treffpunkt am Vormittag).

The OPKM aims to provide Hungarian textbook research with an institutional backing. It draws support from the considerable holdings of the Hungarian National Textbook Collection, and is connected with the Hungarian Institute for the Research and Development of Teaching on a personal basis since Ms Varga directs both institutions. The OPKM houses collections not only of Hungarian textbooks, but also those of neighbouring central European countries, and thereby both encourages the internationalisation of research and facilitates binational textbook negotiations. It is in this area that the OPKM aims to collaborate with the GEI, whose expert advice is also welcome (as evident from the discussion and the interviews on the radio) in relation to the way in which national minorities are handled in textbooks. The GEI responded favourably towards the new centre’s efforts to collect textbooks and provide support for young researchers. It is for this reason that the OPKM will also be an interesting partner when applying for third-party funds.