Opening cultural performance
The Zsuráfszky family with children's choir - Urbán Verbunk
The Budapest Demographic Summit is the most important international strategic forum on demographic issues since 2015. This year, 60 heads of state and government, church leaders, opinion leaders, media personalities, thinkers and NGO leaders from four continents will share their thoughts on how to create a secure and predictable future for families and future generations.
Find out more! On the occasion of the 5th Budapest Demographic Summit, I welcome all family-friendly thinkers and decision-makers to Budapest, Hungary, where we believe that strong families are the fundamental guarantee of our security.
Every two years since 2015, the Budapest Demographic Summit has been the forum where politicians, church leaders, experts, the representatives of science, the corporate sector and the media discuss the most timely and important issues affecting families.
The demographic crisis continues to threaten many countries, while the war in Ukraine and the resulting economic and energy crisis pose a global challenge to the physical, financial and emotional security of families. This is why demography and security is the central theme of this year's summit.
1146 Budapest, Dózsa György út 41., Hungary
Museum of Fine Arts BudapestIn the autumn of 2023, the Budapest Demographic Summit (BDS) will put the focus on families for the fifth time. BDS – as a biannual forum – is a unique opportunity that brings together heads of state and government, policy makers, church and civic leaders, key actors of academia and the media to reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing families.
The Zsuráfszky family with children's choir - Urbán Verbunk
In the tradition of past events, the Heads of the four historical Churches of Hungary (Catholic, Reformed, Evangelical-Lutheran, Jewish) will bless the event.
In recent years, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and the economic difficulties on a global scale have shattered families’ sense of security. Physically, materially and spiritually, our communities are facing new challenges. How does the Church think about war and peace? And how does the security policy expert? What can the political decision maker do and how does the philosopher see the situation which has emerged? The session will seek answers to these questions, among others.
Demographers, researchers, the leaders of Hungarian and foreign family organisations will share their thoughts on the importance of the family in everyday life, in the growth of nations and in handing down values.
Folk dance ensemble
An inevitable prerequisite for strengthening families and protecting family values is a support model and approach that provides predictability, security and plannability for families with children and those about to start a family. Participating ministers will share good practices from their countries, their achievements in the field of demography and the challenges they face that require a solution.
Today, few topics dominate mainstream thinking more than the development of artificial intelligence and digital technologies. We must not, however, forget about the downsides of technological progress. The protection of our children, the welfare and well-being of our traditional communities is an inescapable yardstick that must be used as a fundamental consideration in all political and economic decisions. In our panel discussion, researchers, scientists, media experts will seek answers to how it is possible to find a balance between the protection and healthy development of our children and technological progress – with all its downsides and opportunities.
Keynote presentation: Maciej Świrski, President, National Broadcasting Council, Republic of Poland
Panel Discussion:Media in transformation, artificial intelligence, internet, social networking sites - faceless partners, faceless communities
Roles and members, responsibilities and opportunities in the family. Women and men, younger and older people working together in the family and at the workplace
The family is caught in the crossfire of ideological debates. There are comprehensive efforts to transcend traditional communities, to marginalise traditional values. Having children and starting a family has become a scapegoat in many cases: some blame the family for climate change, others seek to portray it as a form of the oppression of women. The distance between progressive approaches and conservative, values-based positions is becoming increasingly striking. What impact does all this have on world security? Is there a compromise, can the positions meet? This is what we seek to answer in our panel discussion
Hungary is a family-friendly country, the first in the world to proclaim that the solution to the demographic crisis affecting much of the world lies in strengthening families. In a decade, a unique and distinctive Hungarian model has been built, focusing on the protection of life (enshrined in the constitution), strengthening family values and traditional communities, supporting family formation and childbearing, and promoting a family-friendly mindset.
The "Hungarian model" has become a reference point in the world, as we have been able to prove that a family-centred approach can produce effective and real results. Childbearing and marriage rates have risen at the highest rate among EU Member States, divorce rates have fallen to a six-decade low and the number of abortions has also fallen significantly.