The level of freedom of a society can be measured quite solidly by the attitude of institutions towards education. And, more specifically, towards the teaching of history. “History is written by victors”, or “history is a fable agreed upon”: these are just a couple of quotes – allegedly from Winston Churchil and Napoleon -, which show how sensitive this topic is. Indeed, political regimes want, from time to time, rewrite history. László Miklósi has been teaching history to primary school pupils in Hungary for nearly forty years. He started his career in 1985. At that time, politics dictated what should be said about certain historical events. Teachers and education were not free at all. Students would learn something about history, only if teachers dared to do their job properly. In this interview, we tell the story of László Miklósi, and ask him about what it took to defend education freedom back in the days, as well as what it means today.
“Freedom in Hungary” is a podcast series in which people from Hungary share their thoughts and visions about freedom, telling their personal stories. This Europod podcast was produced by Bulle Media in partnership with the Hungarian, Budapest-based podcast production agency, Betone Studio.
Freedom in Hungary is a podcast part of the Sphera Network, the first network of independent media in Europe which aims to reinvent the media space and paint a new picture of Europet through impactful, unbiased, raw and authentic stories. The podcast show is also available in its original language, in Hungarian, under “Éljen a magyar szabadság”. The editor in chief of Freedom in Hungary is Anita Neizer. The editors are Zsuzsanna Fazekas and Luca Lukács. The original host and narrator is András BATIZ. The selection of soundtracks and the original post-production is by Ádám Gyöngyösi. The creative producer is Balázs Román. The producer is Richárd Hampuk. Original concept by Balázs Román and Alexander Damiano Ricci. Sound editing and mixing of the English version is by Jeremy Bocquet and Thomas Kusberg, from Bulle Media podcast agency. The narrator of the English version is Alexander Damiano Ricci, Editorial director at Bulle Media – Europod.
