We are Responsible for Each Other

In acknowledgement of his oeuvre, his outstanding social activities, Imre Makovecz, the prominent figure of Hungarian architecture, the founder of the Hungarian Academy of Art was decorated with the St. Stephen Prize. The guest of honour of the event was Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende.

Ms. Katalin Kondor, the hostess of the prize-awarding ceremony greeted the guests, among them: architect Imre Makovecz, the earlier prize-winners, furthermore H.E. Mr. Roman Kowalski the Polish Ambassador and H.E. Mr. Charbel Stephan, the Lebanese Ambassador as well as those attending from beyond the frontiers.

Mr. Hisashi Takeuchi, the General Director of the Hungarian Suzuki Corporation, and his Deputy Dr. László Urbán received the St. Stephen Prize Medallion. Then Dr. Csaba Hende greeted the celebrators, in the first place Imre Makovecz.

“We stand on the place where everything had begun", started his speech the Defence Minister, referring to our King St. Stephen, who was born, baptized on this place, and raised the cross and the flag high in order to build a nation, a kingdom. Dr. Csaba Hende stressed: the world is carried forward “by men absorbed in and devoted to their work", and the fate of the nation only then began to rise, when moral values became prominent. “Imre Makovecz is the eminent personality, the love and respect of whom gathered the celebrators together, which goes to prove, how much one can do in a lifetime, and how much we can do for each other, for the nation", continued the Minister, who appraising the creative life-work of Imre Makovecz, underlined, that the artist’s ideology, his organic, human-scale architecture propagates our unity, that we belong together. Dr. Csaba Hende spoke highly of the architect’s activity in public life, too.

After the speech of the Defence Minister, Marcell Jankovics, the Chairman of the National Cultural Fund and also of the St. Stephen Prize Advisory Board presented the honorary certificate to Imre Makovecz, and he received the Prize from Mr. Antal Bihari, the founder of the St. Stephen Medallion. Imre Makovecz stated that this ceremony is a great feast, a great honour for him from his nation from his Homeland, and a beautiful summary of his life-path.