I like surprises…

Guest blog by Foreign Policy, Justice and Home Affairs and Human Rights Attaché Levente Nyitrai

…and surprises seem to like me too as I’ve had plenty of them in the past few months. In July I found out that I’d been nominated for the British Civil Service Diversity and Equality Award in the so-called Individual Achievement category. That was a very pleasant surprise. A few weeks later I was told that I’d been shortlisted for the top sixteen then later for the top three amongst the nominees and as a result I was invited to take part in the annual award ceremony in London. Talking about nice surprises!

The ceremony was on Friday 26 October in the atrium of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The invitation was for two so I asked my mum to come along. I figured she wouldn’t mind doing some shopping in London. The event started with a reception, which was followed by the actual award ceremony. A total of six awards were handed out in different categories, individual achievement being second to the last. By then I had a chance to meet and talk to colleagues from various departments and to learn about the truly inspirational and dedicated work they do in order to better the lives of different minority or disadvantaged groups. Then came the moment when the winner in my category was announced. Blind British Paralympian Louise Simpson opened the golden envelope and started reading a name out from Braille letters. After the third letter it sounded familiar and following the fourth one it hit me. I won! Which pretty much topped all the previous surprises combined! I must admit it was a rather emotional moment. I had to fight hard not to let a tear appear in the corner of my eyes. Barely, but I was successful at it, my mum less so…

The British Embassy in Budapest no doubt has been very active in promoting equality and diversity. We’ve had a number of projects through which we aimed to tackle homophobia, improve the living conditions and help the integration of Roma people and raise the awareness of the importance of tolerance and acceptance of different minority groups.

And although the award is for individual achievement, it is really the recognition of the results of great teamwork. When the Embassy is approached with a human rights project proposal or I come up with an initiative there are multiple steps before ideas can materialise. First, Theresa (Deputy Head of Mission) approves the plans, then, if it’s an event, Helga (Digital Media Officer) designs the invitations. When the event takes place in the Embassy, the Bilateral Team (Panni and Ági) helps arranging the venue, Viktor (Transport and Security Manager) coordinates security and Jonathan (the Ambassador) joins the event to welcome guests and to give a speech (often in Hungarian). In the meantime the Public Diplomacy Team (Geory, Dani and again Helga) makes certain that the event receives wide media coverage and that information on the project, together with pictures, appears on our digital media channels.

Come to think of it, it is actually them who do all the hard work. I’d better go and surprise them with some sweets for being such good colleagues.