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“Freedom, Security, Law” 50th Anniversary of the Foundation of OKRI
– Memorial Year, 2010 – |
The National Institute of Criminology (OKRI) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation in 2010. The Institution, which has gained a considerable reputation in Hungary and abroad over half of the century, celebrated its important anniversary by looking back to the past and preparing for future challenges and tasks. In the course of the Memorial Year, events, series of activities and programmes were organised between September 2009 and 2010: these gave opportunities for Hungarian and international professionals and laymen to learn about the Institute’s activities and staff. The purpose of the events of the Memorial Year was to recall the criminologists, scientific results and innovations of the recent past, simultaneously looking for opportunities for future co-operation and ways to make progress and advance professionally.
EVENTS OF THE MEMORIAL YEAR
I.
The past, present and future of criminology in Hungary
22 September 2009 (OKRI conference hall)
“The past, present and future of criminology in Hungary” conference opened the programme dedicated to the memorial year between September 2009 and October 2010, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the foundation of OKRI. OKRI, known as the single Hungarian criminological research site and the most important international and Hungarian criminology research base, celebrated the profession and the institution on 22 September 2009 with the involvement of the most reputable criminologists and asked relevant questions about the present and future of criminology.
II.
OKRI at the Prosecution
26 October 2009 (Prosecutor General assembly hall)
It is extremely important for OKRI, i.e., one of the organisational units of the General Prosecutor’s Office, to enable Prosecution staff to learn, use and utilise the results and experiences of the research activities conducted by the Institute. The General Prosecutor’s Office specifically informs its members of staff of topics which are important and interesting for the work of prosecutors in separate recommendations and other forms of communication. The “OKRI at the Prosecution” one-day presentation series was also dedicated to presenting the latest research activities and results directly to interested prosecutors.
III.
Topic of the month
October 2009 – June 2010
The “Topic of the month” professional presentation series was a special programme in the training scheme, run by the Institute for almost three years and organised differently in view of the memorial year. The presentation series, attended by researchers from the Institute and interested university and PhD students, covers one specific topic each month, varying from environmental protection through migration to policing. The speakers, who were prominent theoretical and practical experts in the particular topic, parties applying the law and other stakeholders, guaranteed a thorough and wide-ranging presentation of the “Topic of the month” to the participants.
IV.
Scientific Tender in memory of József Gödöny
In the scientific tender named after József Gödöny, the founding director of the Institute, applications were expected from university students and drafters of the Prosecution Office in five topics, including crime prevention, penal institutions and criminal psychology. In total twenty nine entries were received, of which the evaluation committee, formed of researchers from the Institute, highlighted three.
V.
Freedom, Security, Law
23-24 September 2010 (Hotel Mercure Budapest Buda)
The “Freedom, Security, Law” conference was the closing event of the OKRI Memorial Year. The presentation series, organised with the most prominent speakers on the European and Hungarian criminology community, sought answers to currently relevant professional and social, criminal policy and criminal law issues from specific aspects of freedom, security and the law. The most important topics included terrorism and cross-border crime, risk society and criminal policy responding to it, law harmonisation between the EU and Member States and competitive values.