250829 November 2012
Development policy in plain numbers – the goal of the latest campaign of the National Development Agency (NFÜ) is to bring home to the people through tangible tools how the EU grants allocated so far have been used. This summer the New Széchenyi Plan addresses the citizens in public areas, with seven space installation built in seven big cities. Veszprém gives home to the first, the one that represents the development projects implemented in the area of education. The "Owl-swing", which symbolizes the 2508 completed projects in the area of education, was unveiled by Dr. Rózsa Hoffmann, State Secretary for Education.
"We are very happy that this special swing which is loaded with symbolic meaning enriches our town. The swing is also completely suitable to entertain the children at the week-ends. Furthermore, what makes me even more proud is the fact that in Veszprém we have 192 supported projects in the value of HUF 8.8 billion, 74 of which have already been completed" – said Mária Brányi, deputy mayor of Veszprém, at the unveiling of the number.
"Developments have been realized for a total of HUF 130 billion so far in the area of education in our country" – reported Nándor Csepreghy, the communication manager of the National Development Agency, who mentioned the Pannon University and the Ihász Gábor Elementary School as examples from the Southern Transdanubia region. The communication manager mentioned that the swing in Veszprém is merely the first interesting element of the New Széchenyi Plan campaign, and he promised further surprises.
"The number 2508 indicates the number of development projects that have already been completed in the country in the area of education, in the institutions of elementary, secondary and graduate education" – clarified the meaning of the number Dr. Rózsa Hoffman, who also emphasized: "we joined forces to renovate school buildings and provide accessibility to them, replaced the old technical tools of educational institutions, and implemented energetic modernization. EU grants were also allocated to colleges and universities, and owing to this fact the students may benefit from a higher quality education. The Government utilises the New Széchenyi Plan resources more efficiently and in a more targeted way than ever, in accordance with a unified strategic viewpoint, and thus places special emphasis to those areas where institutions in need got minimum support under the previous government. The general objective of the New Széchenyi Plan tenders is to create the conditions for lifelong studying - conditions which pr
ovide high-quality, competitive knowledge that will work well in practice in the course of the actual working life -, and to create the infrastructural background for education.
The "Swing of Education" - or the giant owl-swing as it is also called - is the work of Miklós Szőke Gábor sculptor and András Huszár architect, the members of the New Direction Group (Új Irány Csoport) and Hellowood. The special feature of the installation is that the impetus necessary for the movement of the swing can only be initiated with a coordinated movement and joint effort which will teach children for team games and how to reach success together. The owl represents wisdom, and the part of the sculpture that works as a swing implies that the time spent with studying may be considered as entertainment.