The U.S. Embassy in Budapest sponsors or facilitates a variety of international exchange programs each year in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).  These people-to-people exchanges are designed to enhance mutual understanding between the United States and other nations.  The Department of State is committed to supporting alumni of these programs by providing resources that will help them to build upon their exchange experience.

Our Goal

Our goal is to stay in contact with you, the U.S. Alumni Community in Hungary, including U.S. Government (USG) and non-USG sponsored exchange program alumni.
We would like to:

• meet you and hear what you have to say on a variety of topics, sometimes as experts or professionals in your field, sometimes just as Hungarians who have been to the USA
• include you in our Embassy programming.  Maybe there is a speaker coming from the United States that you (or perhaps your students) might want to hear.
• inform you of upcoming Alumni programs, scholarships, educational opportunities etc.
• organize activities that are of mutual benefit to the United States and Hungary

Alumni Opportunities for All Alumni

Former participants in both U.S. government-sponsored and qualifying non-USG exchange programs who are living in Hungary have a number of opportunities to be involved in post-exchange activities and to receive access to the following:

• Specialized resources:
  • • Hungarian Alumni Newsletter (open to both USG and non-USG alumni, but exchange program information needs to be verified; sign up at CulturalAffairsBudapest@state.gov)
    • U.S. Exchange Alumni – Hungary Facebook group (open to both USG and non-USG alumni, but exchange program information needs to be verified)
    • American Corners
    • EducationUSA
    • The Fulbright EducationUSA Advising Center (FEAC)
• Events such as: conferences, receptions, roundtables, and training sessions
• Other opportunities involving alumni-run initiatives (i.e., mentoring, volunteering, conferences, etc.)

Global Alumni Online Community: International Exchange Alumni

(for USG-sponsored exchange program alumni only)

International Exchange Alumni is the State Department’s official website for alumni of exchange programs sponsored or facilitated by the U.S. government.  The International Exchange Alumni online community recognizes the achievements of exchange alumni and provides them access to exclusive benefits.:

• Join over 500,000 fellow alumni in this community to connect, get empowered to build on the skills you gained during your exchange experience
• Tap into multiple grant opportunities and participate in alumni-only competitions, including the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund
• Access periodicals, scholarly journals, and articles through Gale and EBSCO’s premiere academic databases
• Get the latest alumni news, including alerts on a live, monthly series called MentorTalks and an audio podcast Voices of Exchange

Who Can Join the International Exchange Alumni?

You are considered an alumnus/alumna of a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program if you have participated in at least one of the following programs:

• International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)
• Fulbright Program
• Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program
• Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI) for Student Leaders
• Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program
• Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship Initiative
• Hungarian American Enterprise Scholarship Fund (HAESF)
• Ron Brown Fellowship
• Summer Work & Travel Program
• Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program
• Community Solutions Program
• Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative Fellowships (YTILI)
• Atlas Corps Fellowship (Professional Fellows)
• Eisenhower Fellowships Program
• Iowa International Writing Program
• OneBeat

For a full list of eligible exchange programs, please click here.

Additional Resources

Alumni associations in Hungary:

• USG-sponsored exchange program alumni:
  – Hungarian Fulbright Association
  – Fulbright Hungarian Grantees
  – HAESF Alumni
• Non-USG-sponsored exchange program alumni:
  – CTP Alumni
  – Hungarian Medical Association of America Alumni
  – Harvard Club of Hungary
  – Kellner Alumni Association

If you are an alumnus/alumna and have ideas for events or activities, or stories to share with the alumni community, we want to hear from you! Also, please let us know if your information has changed so we can be sure to keep you up-to-date.

For further information, please contact

Vera Kovács, Emerging Voices Exchanges / Alumni Coordinator
kovacsvx@state.gov