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Fourth 'Hungarian Americans Together Conference' Examines Inter and Intra-Hungarian American Networking, Communications and Cooperation

Lauer Learning CEO Joins Over 30 Leaders of the Hungarian Community to Review Strategies for Effective Collaboration

CLEVELAND - September 17, 2009 - Hungarian American organizations from across the United States came together at the recent 4th Hungarian Americans Together Conference to continue efforts to strengthen Hungarian American Institutions and promote heritage, culture and mutual interests. The conference was held for the first time in the Midwest, in an effort to build momentum and extend the outreach westward.

The agenda included discussions on the progress of past conference initiatives and presentations on new and ongoing programs that need community support. Participants discussed issues relevant to the needs of both the Hungarian American community and of Hungarians living in Hungary and the surrounding countries.

Andrea Lauer Rice, the founder and CEO of Lauer Learning, updated the group on the Gulyas Pot website and Pass It On…, two programs created and currently underway through the efforts of her company, a multimedia educational firm headquartered in Roswell, Ga, that creates innovative ways to teach children about history, foreign languages and culture.

The Gulyas Pot, http://thegulyaspot.com, is a popular community website created to make information available to Hungarian Americans everywhere and give them a forum for creating content, interacting with each other and networking as a community. The Pass It On… program, is part of Lauer Learning's ongoing effort to protect cultural and ethnic connections and find ways to help pass on a strong connection to one's ethnicity from generation to generation.

Lauer Rice encouraged the group to get involved with the Gulyas Pot community. “We are seeing great participation on the site,” she told the group. “It has become an effective site for Hungarian Americans to share, inform and generally stay in touch, which was our intent. I encourage everyone to contribute to this dynamic community website”.

Other presentations covered information on cultural programs, education, scholarships and internships, and work by Hungarian cultural centers and museums. The underlying issues for all presentations included the importance of reaching out to the next generation and the new community of recent ethnic Hungarian immigrants, historical preservation, and efforts to continue to work together.

The conference was co-chaired by Gabriella Nadas (Hungarian Association), Andrea Meszaros (Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society) and Laszlo Bojtos (Honorary Consul General, HAC). Edith Lauer (HAC) was conference moderator and the William Penn Association provided financial support for the meeting. The next conference is scheduled to be held in Chicago.

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Lauer Learning is a multimedia educational company that creates interactive products to teach children about foreign language, culture and history through experiential learning. Its Pass It On… program identifies and creates new educational approaches and multimedia tools to reach the next generation to help teach about ethnicity. Phase 1 of Pass It On…”focuses on Hungarian history, specifically the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In 2006, Lauer Learning launched: FF56! a historically accurate, educational computer game for teens about the Revolution; “56 Stories”, a coffee table book comprised of personal testimonials collected through the FreedomFighter56.com oral history website and “Hungarian Freedom Fighters of '56,” a historic graphic novel about 1956. The next Pass It On… project highlights Southern Culture and will include a book of historical and cultural facts for kids 6-12, a community website, online game and Facebook application that teaches about the many cultural and historic contributions of the South. These educational products are expected to be available in the summer of 2009. All Lauer Learning products are available for purchase through the www.LauerLearning.com website.