Poverty Alleviation and the Millennium Development Goals in Hungary

The Center for Policy Studies hosted a public lecture by Marta Marczis, United Nations Development Program, Director of the Cserehat program.

Introduced by Andrew Cartwright, Research Fellow, Center for Policy Studies.

The Cserehát region is an impoverished and isolated region in the economically depressed eastern part of Hungary. Unemployment is almost three times the national average and many inhabitants belong to minority groups, particularly the Roma, who find it almost impossible to escape from a debilitating cycle of poverty, exclusion and discrimination. Without prospects for work, the young escape to urban areas, leaving behind a shrinking and aging population. In November 2005 the Hungarian Government and the United Nations Development Program launched the Cserehát program promising innovative methods to help raise living standards and improve the chances for excluded minority groups such as the Roma to join the economic and political mainstream. Midway through its three-year program, this presentation offered an opportunity to hear more about their work and the results.

The event was followed by a reception.