ExxonMobil Hungary Kft. offers retail services for petroleum products through a network of stations. The company is based in Budapest, Hungary. ExxonMobil Hungary Kft. operates as a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH.  The Simonyi Center in Pécs, Hungary facilitates the transformation of Hungarian and Eastern European economies from a post-socialist to a western capitalist approach. The Simonyi Center offers business development and assistance services to entrepreneurs and organizations in the fields of cultural arts, sciences and innovation as well as business.

The alliance between the Hungarian and American peoples stands on strong foundations, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in Parliament on Tuesday, at the opening of the Tom Lantos Institute.

“The reason we are gathered together is to further strengthen the alliance between the United States of America and Hungary [...] and to celebrate a new rampart of this alliance,” Orban said.

“The strength of our alliance is given by a single word – freedom,” the prime minister said at the official inauguration ceremony of the Tom Lantos Institute, which began in the parliament on Thursday.

The institute will be dedicated to the one-time US Congressman of Hungarian descent who championed Hungarian affairs in Washington.

The ceremony will also be addressed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her predecessor Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi and European Parliament Deputy President Laszlo Tokes.

The event is being attended by several ministers, parliamentary party leaders, MPs, ex-premier Gordon Bajnai and members of the diplomatic corps.

The institute will carry out research into human and civil rights, minorities, historical reconciliation in Central Europe and transatlantic relations.

Orban said the alliance had borne its own messengers and fighters for freedom, who had taken their message to the world, and when the “occupation and dictatorship fell in Hungary.” He said many such messengers had gone to America, and many had gone on the fight for freedom on Hungary’s behalf.

“The Hungarian people is always grateful to those messengers and fighters, one of whom was Tom Lantos,” Orban said, adding that freedom in Hungary today is partly thanks to active American-Hungarian emigrants.

Recalling his personal meetings with Tom Lantos, Orban said they had debated issues of Hungarian domestic policy, and their standpoints had diverged, but one thing they had been both committed to was freedom and serving Hungarians, which bridged all sorts of policy differences between them.

“I wish that the institute should loyally nurture the memory of Tom Lantos and advertise the work and success of the active members of the American-Hungarian emigrants,” Orban said. “In the name of the Hungarian people, I assure my and the Hungarian government’s full support for this work,” the prime minister concluded.

Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) and former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice (L) and a Ronald Reagan statue

Nations fighting for their freedom should never be left alone in the future, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in her address, at the unveiling of a statue of former US President Ronald Reagan in central Budapest’s Szabadsag Square in front of the US embassy on Wednesday.

Looking at the Reagan statue in Szabadsag (Liberty) Square, it should never be forgotten that “their cause is not defeated and that they are not alone, because we are standing by them”, said Rice.

US Ambassador to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis welcomed the former State Secretary who served in the administration of President George W Bush, as someone who, like the 40th President of the United States, had devoted her entire life to the cause of freedom. She said the statue of Ronald Reagan had found its home in Szabadsag Square.

Addressing the ceremony, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Ronald Reagan had been a testament to the possibility that “there can be complete recovery, that we can change our lives, our fate and the world if we have the courage and strength to do so.”

Orban added, “if we take the courage and draw a clear distinction between right and wrong, true and false and valuable and worthless, just as Ronald Reagan took up the task of bearing responsibility and the consequences for articulating the difference between good and bad,” then nothing lay beyond the bounds of the achievable.

Orban said that walls in Hungary today had yet to be dismantled in order to “free ourselves from the brace of our past mistakes and to become a strong, successful country which is proud of itself.”

Ronald Reagan Statue in Budapest

Come see the Simonyi Center at The ‘Hungarian Innovation TechShow’ Exhibition will be organized on 17-18 May 2011 with the collaboration of the Hungarian Ministry of National Development and the Mobility and Multimedia Cluster, Hungary’s most successful ICT innovation cluster. The innovation exhibition will feature 21 novel Hungarian high-tech solutions of the 21st century.

The week of 16-21 May 2011 will be devoted to future internet and high-tech innovation in Hungary where international experts will come together to discuss the economic and societal impacts of technological evolution and development trends in the EU member states. This week Budapest will host the Future Internet Conference and Assembly and the ICT Proposers’ Day dedicated to international networking and seeking partners to form project consortia.

The Hungarian Innovation TechShow will be a live and interactive event held under the patronage of dr. Zsolt Nyitrai President of the Telecommunications Council of the European Union and Minister of State for Infocommunications of the Hungarian Ministry of National Development.

The 21 solutions presented at the Hungarian Innovation TechShow will be selected by an independent professional jury from the entrants of the ‘Quest for the new innovators of Hungary’ national open contest. Selected contestants will present their works in the House of Future, a creative installation space, to a high-level Hungarian and international delegation on 17 May and to nearly 500 international and Hungarian professionals on the following public day on 18 May.

The former Governor of New York met Rector József Bódis

http://english.pte.hu/hirek/631

The former governor of New York State, George Pataki, who has a Hungarian roots met the
Rector of the University of Pécs, József Bódis during his visit in Hungary on 17 February
2011. They discussed the proceedings of American-Hungarian exchange programs and the
unique Simonyi Summer Consulting Program.

Károly Dán, New York Consul General, László Imre Komlósi senior vice-rector, Monica
Elling marketing professional and Gyöngyi Pozsgai, head of the International Relations Office
were present at the meeting in Pécs.
George Pataki, whose grandfather on his father’s side was Hungarian, said a few words in
Hungarian: “Sajnos csak egy kicsit beszélek magyarul” (I only speak a little bit of
Hungarian). He explained that he understands Hungarian; however, he does not often have
the chance to speak Hungarian. Pataki was the governor of New York from 1995 to 2006 in
3 terms. The politician was invited to a wine-marketing conference in Hungary, in Pécs he
visited the Kodály Centre, he met József Bódis and later on mayor Zsolt Páva.
József Bódis introduced the University of Pécs to the Hungarian-American politician, the first
university in Hungary. He emphasized that within the more than 2,000 international students
at the University of Pécs a great number of students come from the United States. The very
popular Simonyi Summer Consulting Program was presented by Zsolt Bedõ, head of the BA
Business Administration Program: “The Simonyi Summer School is a wonderful initiative
supported by Charles Simonyi, the famous Hungarian-American entrepreneur”. Vice-Rector
László Imre Komlósi introduced the American-Hungarian exchange programs for teaching
staff and researchers, while Gyöngyi Pozsgai highlighted the importance of student exchange
programs and inter-university agreements, the relatively high number of which are the proof
of the fruitful relationship between the two countries.

SIMONYI CENTER SUMMER INNOVATION PROGRAM
SIX-WEEK INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING PROGRAM
June 14 – July 22, 2011 Pecs, Hungary
What you get:

• 6 weeks of extensive consulting experience in a multicultural environment
• Exposure to a wide variety of business problems in an international setting
• Exposure to the world of innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship
• Client interaction with real businesses and entrepreneurs
• Real-world application of your business knowledge and skills in the afternoons with regional business
• The basics of business planning, feasibility studies and structuring companies for financing
• Work in teams with students from University of Pecs and the US
• A great resume building experience
• Lifelong friendships, international business contacts and references
• Fun cultural activities outside of work (international culinary festival, music festivals, short weekend trips)

What we want:
• Sophomore/Junior/ or Senior students
• Students interested in application of classroom learning to real businesses.
• Highly motivated conscientious people
• Good academic standing with their college
• Strong interest in entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization
• Positive attitude
• Hard workers who also enjoy fun
• Students that are open-minded and open to new experiences
• Students eager to get real-world business experience
• Students who want to learn about doing business in a foreign country
• Flexibility to work outside you field of interest
• No previous consulting experience required.

Application to the Program:
Students interested should send a brief email stating their interest in the program, along with a resume to INFO@simonyicenter.com immediately. Students will be selected based on criteria above and an interview with the Program Director.

The 2010 Simonyi Summer Consulting Program is officially underway in Pecs, Hungary. Every summer University of Pecs and Ohio University students convene in Pecs for a 6-week consulting program working with businesses, non-profits, and the university. Both Ohio and Pecs students receive internship credit for the experience.

The Hungarian, American, and International students are assembled into teams and assigned clients. The clients consist of high technology businesses, start-ups, local and international companies. Students need to immediately bond and creatively work together to understand these businesses, define problem(s) and then propose recommendations/solutions to the businesses.

Here are some photos from the summer:

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the relationship between Ohio University and University of Pécs. Distinguished guests from the United States and Hungary traveled to Pécs for the celebration, enjoying a lovely evening on the Mecsek at Hotel Kikelet for the banquet. The Metropol newspaper wrote an article on the celebration:

Gazdasági és kultúrmissziónak is tekinthető az az együttműködés, mely öt éve zajlik a Pécsi Tudományegyetem és a Charles Simonyi Alapítvány között. A régió vállalkozásai és az egyetemisták körében jól ismert Ohio–Simonyi Nyári Egyetem keretében idén is a térség üzleti életének feltérképezésén dolgoznak amerikai, magyar és angol hallgatók szakmai vezetők irányításával. A hathetes munka során a diákok pécsi vállalkozásoknak segítenek üzleti tervet írni, pénzügyeiket strukturálni, nemzetközi kapcsolatokat létesíteni. A képzést a híres magyar-amerikai vállalkozó, Charles Simonyi szponzorálja. A vasárnapi jubileumi ünnepségen Susan Hutchinson, a Charles Simonyi Alapítvány ügyvezető igazgatója elmondta, a kezdeményezésből mind az amerikaiak, mind a magyarok komoly szakmai tapasztalatokat szereznek.

Hangsúlyozta, az anyagi támogatással az emberekbe fektet be az alapítvány. A keresztkulturális együttműködés során az amerikai gazdasági szemléletet terjesztik a térségben, illetve a közép-európai gazdasági modelleket tanulmányozzák. Amunkájuk eredményességétmutatja, hogy évről évre egyre több cég és diák tér vissza a programhoz.

- Metropol

Here are some photos from the event:

Welcome to the newly redesigned Simonyi Center website.