Launching #WomenEd Hungary

"I went to the event not really knowing what to expect, but I came out with the satisfactory feeling of time well spent. I met interesting people and felt inspired."  #WomenEd Hungary Launch Event Attendee

We held our @WomenEdHUN launch event on 8th Feb 2023 and, after the initial panic that no one would turn up, it was a great success!

As part of the @WomenEdCzech team it was my hope when I left Prague that I would be able to join or build a new #WomenEd community. Two years into my new life in Hungary, with Covid waning and work becoming more manageable, it finally seemed possible, so I set out to get a team together. Our organising team consists of five women, the majority of whom are new to the #WomenEd movement. It was exciting to find like-minded women and introduce them to the network. Chloe, one of the members of our team, recalls initially becoming interested in the #WomenEd organisation after witnessing protests firsthand in Budapest demanding improvements in the Hungarian education system. Upon learning about the mission of #WomenEd, she was hooked and felt that it would be an immediate, applicable benefit to the local community. Therefore, at our initial meeting in November we decided that we wanted to launch #WomenEd Hungary in the new year with a networking event that would allow us to meet other women in education in Budapest.

The evening started with an anxious wait to see if anyone would show up, so imagine our excitement when the room began to fill! People introduced themselves and began to network. At the midpoint of the evening, we officially launched #WomenEd Hungary.

We started by introducing the #WomenEd values and their importance and relevance to us as a network. There was a lively discussion about being #10PercentBraver and #GenderedCheese especially! And, of course, there was mention of the old boys' club and how women miss out on making those connections and the hope that #WomenEd can help to bridge that gap and allow us to connect with each other and collaborate rather than compete (as some international schools seem to encourage).

Then we discussed the future of @WomenEdHUN and what we hope to achieve as we move forward.

This led into a discussion of how we hope to engage with the local teaching community and not just be a group for international schools. There are lots of issues in education here, from the government bemoaning that education is becoming too "pink" to the lack of resources and extremely poor wages (average take home pay is about 600 euros a month and teachers have to work 17 years before a pay rise!).

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