Association of Hungarians in Banja Luka
The Association of Hungarians in the Republika Srpska was established under the name “Magyar Szó” on November 13, 2003 in Banja Luka, jointly with several national minority associations. The Association is currently chaired by Irén Milivojević. Magyar Szó is a member of the Association of National Minorities in the Republika Srpska. Since 2006, Magyar Szó has been publishing a bilingual magazine with the Sarajevo HUM (the Association of Hungarians in Sarajevo) entitled Új Dobos, which was published for the 18th time in 2024, and which regularly reports – in both Hungarian and Serbian – on the most important events of the current year related to local Hungarians. The main task and goal of the Association of Hungarian Szó is to foster the Hungarian language, tradition and culture, maintain contact with associations in the motherland, and organize and implement mutual visits and programs. The Association is one of the most active organizations among minority associations in the Republika Srpska.
The Association also regularly organizes trips abroad, as part of which members visited Veszprém in the mother country in 2024. In addition, the Hungarian Evening is organized annually, where invited guests are welcomed with dinner, varied programs and live music.
For the local Hungarians – in addition to the relationships maintained with active members – the preservation of the memory of the Hungarians who lived in the former territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina also plays an important role. Within this framework, the Association’s president Irén Milivojević, board member Saša Mićin, and local historian Dario Topić from Prijedor are jointly conducting research into the former memories of the Hungarians of Vučijak in order to enable the wider public to learn about the cultural heritage of the Hungarians living here. From the successful excavation of the documents of the former Hungarian settlement, Magyar Szó concluded that the former Vučijak settlement was home to approximately 300 Hungarian families.
The Hungarian Word Association has approximately seventy active members, most of whom are Hungarians who settled here from the former Yugoslavia (Vojvodina/Southern Hungary) and their descendants.
Previously, a scholarship holder from the Petőfi Sándor Program (PSP) held regular language classes and optional programs for the members of the Association, reported on the everyday lives of local Hungarians, and assisted the leaders of the Hungarian Language Association. Currently, this task is being performed by a scholarship holder from the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program (KCSP) for ten months.
The Magyar Szó Association is provided with moral and financial support by the Government of Hungary, the Hungarian Embassy in Sarajevo, the Gábor Bethlen Foundation, the Ministry of Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Serbia, and the Municipality of Banja Luka.
Group photo in front of the Herend Porcelain Manufactory
