The International Directorate of Széchenyi István University organised an educational and community-building event for its international students to mark the International Day of the Girl Child. Entitled Dreams Without Borders, the event featured speakers from ten countries who shared their personal stories and experiences with the audience. The event aimed to raise awareness of the importance of girls’ access to education, equal opportunities and the possibilities that education can open up for young people.

Széchenyi István University is committed to supporting the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, with gender equality among its key priorities. The fifth goal focuses on ensuring that women and girls have equal rights and opportunities in all areas of life. In line with this goal, the University recently organised an event to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, which is celebrated worldwide on 11 October following its establishment by the UN.

At the Dreams Without Borders event, organised by the International Directorate, nine current international and exchange students supported by either the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme or the Scholarship Programme for Christian Young People, along with a former Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder who now teaches at the University, shared their personal stories. The speakers, from Syria, El Salvador, Tunisia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Türkiye, India and Nigeria, spoke about their home countries’ cultures, their academic paths and personal aspirations. They also discussed the challenges they had faced when continuing their studies in a foreign country, far from their families and familiar surroundings.

The event’s organisers and speakers: Dr Nurullah Bektas and Dr Emese Bukor, organisers; Daria Yefimenko (Ukraine), Oguljan Durdyyeva (Turkmenistan), Elifcan Gökhan (Türkiye), Ziggy Aloega (Nigeria), Ghofrane Baazaoui (Tunisia), Dr Heba Zaher (Syria), Ann Maria Thomson (India), Alicia Diaz (El Salvador), Arooj Paul (Pakistan), Netsanet Temesgen Gebrhanaa (Ethiopia), and Sylvia Nyiri Páliné, lead organiser. (Photo: Róza Lujza Rákos)

Sylvia Nyiri Páliné, who works at the Centre for Mobility and Scholarships within the International Directorate and is the event’s lead organiser, highlighted that in many parts of the world, girls’ opportunities are still limited by social expectations, discrimination and unequal access to education. She stressed that no one should have to give up their dreams simply because they were born a girl. In her view, education provides not only knowledge and qualifications, but also self-confidence, independence and the freedom to make choices. She also highlighted how the University’s international community demonstrates the role a supportive environment can play in helping young people from different cultural backgrounds achieve their goals.

Lead organiser Sylvia Nyiri Páliné emphasised that Széchenyi István University’s international community provides a supportive environment for students to achieve their academic and personal goals. (Photo: Róza Lujza Rákos)

One of the event’s most personal stories came from Dr Heba Zaher, who is originally from Syria. She came to Hungary in 2018 as a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder and was appointed Assistant Professor at Széchenyi István University’s Kautz Gyula Faculty of Business and Economics in 2024. She was the first international Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder at the University to go on to pursue a career there as a full-time lecturer. She explained that she had experienced moments of self-doubt during her doctoral studies, but her determination and the support of those around her helped her overcome the challenges. “There were times when I felt exhausted, doubted myself and thought I wouldn’t be able to finish. But I had a dream, and I was determined to make it come true,” she recalled. She emphasised that her family, supervisor, teachers and colleagues had all played an important role in her success. She gave special thanks to Professor Dr Eszter Lukács, the University’s Vice-President for International Affairs and Strategic Relations, who had believed in her from the very beginning and supported her professional development.

Originally from Syria, Dr Heba Zaher is the first international Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder at the University to pursue a career there as a full-time lecturer. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University’s Faculty of Business and Economics. (Photo: Róza Lujza Rákos)

Ghofrane Baazaoui, a Tunesian undergraduate student of vehicle engineering from Tunisia, spoke about the particular importance of education for women in her home country. She explained that girls in Tunisia also achieve significant results in engineering and technology. Her own interest in the field emerged in childhood: rather than playing with dolls, she preferred her older brother’s toy cars and enjoyed trying to repair broken parts. This eventually led her to pursue a career in vehicle engineering. “When you are educated, you can face the whole world and make your dreams come true. And if you become a mother one day, you will be your children’s first teacher and role model,” she said.

The other speakers’ stories also showed that, although young women from different countries come from diverse backgrounds and have varied experiences, they share a commitment to learning and a belief in their ability to achieve their goals. Alongside personal achievements, the event also explored the challenges of studying abroad, the experience of discovering cultural differences and the importance of a supportive community. At the end of the presentations, participants watched a video compiled by Ghofrane Baazaoui using messages from students, which reinforced the event’s central message: education creates opportunities, and dreams know no borders. Following the event, a group of speakers also visited a local children’s home to share this message with the girls living there.

 

 

 

GALLERY from the event. (Photos: Róza Lujza Rákos)