Proposed themes

• East-West relations- The EU enlargement process
• The European ideal
• Youth policy
• Marketing and public relations
• Interculturalism
• Negotiating with central Europeans

Dr Gabor Racz

A graduate of Budapest Technical University, Gábor Rácz speaks English, Russian and Spanish in addition to his native Hungarian. As the only professional in Hungary who has written a doctor's thesis on crisis management and communications, he is particularly well qualified to talk on these and related topics.

After graduating from university where he also worked as assistant professor, Gábor Rácz moved into the field of international relations, specialising in official youth policy. Between 1989 and 1994 he represented the Government of Hungary on these issues at the Council of Europe. This work also brought him into close contact with the worlds of sports and science.

In 1994 Gábor Rácz moved to the private sector where he worked as the public relations manager of a major international corporation. In this capacity he developed high-level and substantive relations with the media, politicians and other key players in the Hungarian economy. He has also been a frequent visitor to Brussels, where he has participated in the process of securing his country's accession to the European Union.

For four years Gábor Rácz was a member of the presidential committee of the Hungarian PR Association. He has also been on the managing bodies of the Hungarian Food Industry Association and the Hungarian Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).

Gábor Rácz lectures at a number of universities, where he contributes to the development of teaching materials, curricula and examinations, and also runs training courses in the field of crisis management and communications.