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1. Intercontinental youth work cooperation

2. Development cooperation activities

Intercontinental youth work cooperation

Hungary's involvement in intercontinental youth work is primarily channelled through the Hungary Helps Program and specific EU-funded volunteering schemes. These initiatives facilitate cooperation between Hungarian youth work actors and partners in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Hungary Helps Programme

According to Act LXXXIX of 2023 on the Hungary Helps Programme (2023. évi LXXXIX. törvény a Hungary Helps Programról), the initiative provides a comprehensive legal framework for Hungary's international humanitarian aid and development cooperation. The programme is implemented by the Hungary Helps Agency.

The aims of the programme are to provide direct aid in humanitarian catastrophes and areas of need; to address the root causes of migration by supporting the local population to stay in their homelands; to protect human rights, with a primary focus on religious freedom and persecuted Christian minorities.

The programme may be supported, inter alia, by volunteering. The Hungarian Government supports the programme each year with an average amount of HUF 3 billion (about EUR 7.5 million). The programme provides opportunities for the young generation to develop their attitudes, to strengthen the role of volunteering and to develop global responsibility.

During its 2024–2025 activities, the Hungary Helps Agency implemented extensive international educational and humanitarian programmes. With the cooperation of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Secretariat of Catholic Schools in Lebanon, more than 4 300 students from the Middle East received support. Furthermore, nearly 400 young people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America studied at Hungarian universities under the Scholarship Programme for Christian Young People. Since the program began, 323 students have graduated in Hungary (8 of whom have earned PhD degrees), and currently, more than 160 scholarship recipients are studying at 14 Hungarian higher education institutions. 

Youth mobility was also strengthened by the European Solidarity Corps volunteer program (4–4 people per year). An international solidarity was also reinforced by the Erzsébet camps organised in Hungary for Armenian children from Nagorno-Karabakh, in which a total of 220 children participated over two years.

Development cooperation activities

Hungary's approach to development cooperation for young people follows a triple focus: global (humanitarian aid), regional (bilateral relations), and diaspora (community development).

As far as global development is concerned, the above-mentioned Hungary Helps Programme, the activities of HAND Association (HAND Szövetség) and the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship programme are worth mentioning. 

HAND Association

While the government provides the framework, the HAND Association (HAND Szövetség) (a platform for NGOs active in international development) is a key partner in reaching young people through non-formal education. Their aim is to raise awareness about global inequalities and the importance of development cooperation. They organise workshops, 'Global Days' and university lectures funded by both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and EU development funds. They have annual thematic focuses.

Stipendium Hungaricum

Though the Stipendium Hungaricum is a scholarship programme, it functions as a key development cooperation tool by training the future elite of developing nations in Hungary. The Tempus Public Foundation manages the programme. As of 2026, thousands of students from over 90 partner countries have been studying in Hungary. This fosters a unique 'reversed' development cooperation where Hungarian students interact with peers from the global south, creating professional networks that facilitate future intercontinental development projects.

Waclaw Felczak Foundation

The regional cooperation is mainly implemented through the activities of Wacław Felczak Foundation. Their aim is primarily to enhance Hungarian-Polish friendship and cooperation and to preserve the cultural heritage. It also aims to involve young people in activities and programmes that can promote and strengthen the contacts between Hungarian and Polish youth and professionals.

The foundation is funded by the Government. In 2024, 15 calls for proposals were launched in two rounds, resulting in nearly 150 applications. The Board of Trustees supported 91 projects worth more than HUF 106 million (about 265 000 EUR). In 2026, a general call for proposals is launched where anyone can apply with a project and other calls for legal entities.

Kőrösi-Csoma Sándor programme

The aims of the programme are to reach out to the Hungarians of the diaspora; to provide support for organising the community and cultural life in these areas and to develop and maintain their Hungarian language skills with the offering of a scholarship programme. ('A Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program')

From the start of the programme (2016) hundreds of young people participated in the programme (there is no exact number on the website, only the winners of the programme are listed per year). The Prime Minister's Office (Miniszterelnökség) provides the funds for the programme and in 2023 and 2024, the winners could apply for a one-time funding of about gross HUF 300 000 (about EUR 769) for the preparation and the closing of the programme such as for the time of the education, and about gross HUF 600 000 per month (about EUR 1 538) for the time spent abroad. This amount was HUF 730 000 (about EUR 1 825) in 2026.