Dear Reader!

To honour the memory of Széchenyi, Sopron, the most loyal city, will pay its respects by inscribing one of Széchenyi’s patriotic quotes on the pedestal of his statue in Hungarian, German, Croatian, and English.

„The love of one's country – even if it is frowned upon as a childish emotion by the cold calculations of the cosmopolitan world – is a sacred flame of which we need not feel ashamed because most of the sublime deeds that were, are, or will be performed on Earth stem from it.”

(taken from a speech delivered by Széchenyi at the Acamedy’s December 1846 meeting)

In the spirit of Széchenyi, our goal is to bring the importance of patriotism to everyone’s attention through the means of our statue inscription patron program.

We all know that people are building blocks of any community or society: this sense of community in one's life, by extension is the nation and the maintaining of a nation. Human cells must work as a single entity in order to be of service to humanity. By the same token, letters are meaningless by themselves: it is when they are put together to form words that the idea they wish to express becomes meaningful.

The community of our home country has purpose if it is a fraternity where we can grasp each other's hands, come together, stand shoulder to shoulder, and serve the one, the whole, our nation, and our county in unity.

The inscription patron program is a symbolic expression of the patriotism Széchenyi espoused; just as Széchenyi himself belongs to us all, so can each inscribed letter on the statue belong to many through our inscription patron program in which all can participate and declare their patriotism and support. Individuals and groups both have the opportunity to participate in the program, thus families, organizations, collective work groups, school groups, corporations, and circles of friends can all take part in the program and share in the spirit of patriotism Széchenyi epitomizes.

The initiator of the program – the If We Are United European Cooperative - will also lend its support to the Széchenyi István High School in concordance with the statue renewal program commemorating the 225th anniversary of Széchenyi’s birth. A contest that shall encompass high schools in the entire Carpathian Basin will take place.

The public unveiling ceremony of the renewed statue complete with inscriptions will take place on September 21, 2016, the 225th anniversary of István Széchenyi’s birth.

In light of this goal we hope, ask, and await the support of all citizens both within our borders and within the entire Carpathian Basin!

Dear Reader! Become a sacred flame of patriotism by becoming a patron to one of the 870 gilded letters!

The organizers of the program