“Society – Economy – Nature: Synergies in Sustainable Development” was the title of the traditional international scientific conference held on 3 November 2022 by the Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics at the University of Sopron on the occasion of Hungarian Science Festival.

The Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics and For the Higher Education at Sopron Foundation jointly organised an international scientific conference on Hungarian Science Day, joining the Hungarian Academy of Sciences national program series – this year marked the 19th time.

Like last year, we organised a hybrid conference again, which allowed attendees to participate in person or online.

As the conference name suggests, the central theme of this year’s conference was sustainability/sustainable development, and it was in this spirit that we invited the plenary speakers.

Including co-authors, this year's conference attracted nearly 150 participants from home and abroad. This year the conference featured speakers from Germany, Spain, Albania, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, Vietnam and Indonesia. A total of 110 scientific papers were presented and discussed.

Prof. Dr. Zsuzsanna SZÉLES, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, opened the conference and welcomed the participants as the conference chair. In her welcome speech, she emphasized that the University of Sopron and the Faculty of Economics are committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly operations, which the university supports in the subjects taught and the research conducted. The dissemination of sustainability principles and the development of solutions for sustainability are also crucial tasks to which we wanted our conference to contribute.

After the opening and welcoming speeches, the participants had the opportunity to listen to three plenary presentations in English.

In his presentation “Status and Development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)”, Prof. Dr. Clemens JÄGER – Dean of the FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management (FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH) in Germany – highlighted the many questions that will arise in 2022 regarding economic sustainability. One of these questions is the intensive research and possible introduction of central bank digital currencies. The topic is vital and is a core project of many central banks today. A central bank digital currency is a currency controlled by the central bank of a country, and several countries have already introduced it. Moreover, over a hundred other countries are researching and developing the possibility of introducing digital currencies via central banks. Even though introducing digital currencies will be crucial for the EU economy, Dr. Jäger stressed the lack of publicity the topic receives. He analysed the function of money, with particular reference to digital money, the medium of exchange, the accumulation instrument and the unit of account. He also mentioned the possible “competitors” of the euro as a digital central bank currency.

Dr. Tekla SZÉP, Associate Professor at the Institute of World and Regional Economics, University of Miskolc presented “Contradictions and Challenges in the Energy Policy of the European Union and Hungary – is the Sustainable Energy Transition Possible?” Dr. Szép noted that the European Union has successfully met the 20-20-20 climate and energy targets but that reducing emissions, increasing the share of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency remain priorities for the 2030 and 2050 commitments. In his presentation, he also stressed the significant relationship between human development and energy consumption in the household sector, with some Member States still consuming well below the saturation point. The key to a sustainable energy transition lies firstly in improving energy efficiency and, secondly, in increasing the share of renewable energy sources. For the latter, prioritising modern renewable energy sources and avoiding the firewood trap are paramount.

Dr habil. Árpád Ferenc PAPP-VÁRY, a Senior Research Fellow at the Lámfalussy Research Centre of the Alexandre Lámfalussy Faculty of Economics, University of Sopron, started his presentation “Towards a Sustainable Country Branding Model” by saying that the concept of country branding first appeared in the literature more than a quarter of a century ago. However, after twenty-five years, few countries have succeeded. Of course, some places have managed to create great tourism campaigns that have attracted more tourists, at least in the short term. Some countries have also become popular investment destinations. In some cases, products and brands from a country have significantly strengthened the country’s brand. However, examples where this has been achieved in all areas at once – in a conscious and coordinated way – are few. The presentation summarised these lessons.

After the lunch break, the afternoon sessions continued in parallel form with in-person sessions in the classrooms and online session via Teams.

Based on the applications, 11 thematic sessions were organised: 6 sessions were in-person, 4 were online, and 1 session presented posters submitted to the conference. Sessions were conducted in English and Hungarian.

After the presentations, there was an opportunity for questions, comments and professional debate. The conference also provides an excellent opportunity to present the latest research results and exchange experiences, thus helping to establish and implement new personal and institutional collaborations.

The abstracts of the presentations was published in an electronic publication (abstract booklet) on the day of the conference.

Submitted papers (conference proceedings) will be published in an electronic publication, after peer review, in February of next year.

The authors of the most outstanding papers will have the opportunity to be published in either the “Economy and Society” or “E-conom” journals following peer review.

We thank our plenary speakers and all participants for choosing our event as a venue to present their scientific work. We also thank all interested parties who honoured our conference with their personal or online participation. Thank you to all the colleagues and students who contributed to the success of our conference.

We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s conference!

Prof. Dr. Zsuzsanna SZÉLES Dean,
Professor Conference Chairperson

Dr. Richárd RESPERGER Assistant Professor,
Chairperson of the Conference Organising Committee

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University of Sopron Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics provided a full-day protocol and etiquette course with the help of the Hungarian Protocol Association on the 12th of May 2023. The course was held by Mr. Zsolt Bóta MSc former professional career diplomat of Hungary, member of the Association. Participating students studying international business economics could get knowledge about various topics of protocol and etiquette.

In the first part of the course, students got familiar with the function of protocol, diplomatic protocol and general rules of conduct. After came the rules of international business etiquette. In the afternoon, they became acquainted with protocol relationships, how to establish them and how to maintain contacts in business life and diplomacy. The last two topics were business and diplomatic events and table manners. The seven topics comprised a total of ten teaching units.

We had the opportunity to cooperate with the Hungarian Protocol Association for the first time, but we hope that we will have the opportunity to provide high-standard courses to our students with the assistance of the Association and Mr. Zsolt Bóta in the future too.

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16 countries were presented by more than 30 students, who participated in the organization as well. The participants were able to gain an insight into our students’ own culture or the culture of their choice through lectures and well-decorated stands. Some teams also presented the traditional food of their country, which the participants and invited quests could taste.

The purpose of the presentation was not only to learn about the visible part of cultures, but also to deepen the professional knowledge about beliefs and attitudes that can be observed only if we live longer in another culture. The presentations had compulsory elements but beyond that, it was the students’ choice what they present from the culture.

Participants and guests could choose one culture which presentation was the best according to their opinion. The organizer awarded the winner with a gift package. The winning team presented the culture of Nigeria. We congratulate them!

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In March, they had the opportunity to see the awakening nature and this time, they could admire the autumn landscape and migrating birds. The park was introduced to students by environmental education specialist Krisztina Mészáros and nature conservation specialist Anikó Kurali. After a short walk we arrived to the spot of bird ringing where everything was prepared by the park staff and the students could admire the process and get information about the its aim. While the experts were ringing the birds, student could hear a presentation about the fauna of the park, the species and habits of migratory birds and last but not least about the difficulties caused by the drought.

Returning to the visitor centre in Lászlómajor, they saw an interactive exhibition, the purpose of which is to introduce the living world to visitors and after that, they walked around the paddocks to meet some farm animals up close.

Although the weather was not favourable, the trip was still a real experience for the students.

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