The awards are presented to outstanding Hungarians in recognition for their work in the arts or sciences each year on March 15, the anniversary of the start of the 1848-49 revolution. Recipients of the award are nominated by the prime minister.
Sólyom said the brief explanation offered with each recipient?s award failed to express the effort and discipline necessary to achieve such a prize. Rather the recipients? own biographies show better how different careers in fields from sport to art to science to economics are worthy of such recognition, he said.
There is plenty of diligence and work behind each award, but there is also good fortune, the right circumstances, and responsibility. We are all responsible for ourselves and for taking care of our individual talents, Sólyom said.
Kossuth and Széchenyi Awards were each awarded to 22 individuals this year. Kossuth Awards went to choreographer and dancer Yvette Bozsik, conductor Iván Fischer, actors Eszter Csákányi and János Kulka, and writers Gábor Görgey and György Spiró, among others. Széchenyi Awards went to immunologist András Falus, sociologist Elemér Hankiss, mathematician Zsolt Harnos, historians György Litván and György Szabad, and sociologist Iván Szelényi, among others.
Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and parliamentary speaker Katalin Szili also took part in the ceremony, congratulating the award winners alongside Sólyom.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
