The Event Coordination and Alumni Center (RAK) and the University and National Library of the University of Debrecen (DEENK) are looking for participants to recreate a contemporary photographic document under the motto 2026 – Taking Our Place.
On October 23, 1956, students and professors gathered in front of the Main Building of the University of Debrecen (then Lajos Kossuth University), marking the beginning of one of the country's first revolutionary movements. Today, a memorial plaque marks the location of these historical events.
"... the day's events preceded those in Budapest in several respects. Their demonstration, during which they marched first to the county party committee building and then to the Vehicle Repair Shop, which was the most significant factory in Debrecen at the time, started earlier than the procession in Budapest. But the weapons of the authorities also claimed their victims sooner than in the capital. The demands of the youth were primarily aimed at renewing national politics, but their flyers also included the restoration of university autonomy, the authorization of an independent organization and an independent weekly newspaper for university youth, optional language learning, and the shortening of ideological education," recalls the volume titled The History of the University of Debrecen 1912-2012, edited by István Orosz and János Barta Jr.
Two remarkable photographs of all this, taken from the university's Main Building, have survived.
"Seventy years later, we are attempting to recreate the moment preserved in the photographs at the exact same location, with contemporary participants. We do not want to act out 1956, nor do we want to impersonate the former participants; we simply want to stand in their place to evoke the past. To occupy, for a few minutes, the same points in space that others occupied on the day the revolution broke out, symbolically connecting the university community of 1956 with that of today," Mónika Rőfi told the hirek.unideb.hu portal.
The director of UD RAK emphasized that as part of an art project, the event will be recorded on photo and video. These recordings may be featured at the institutional commemoration on October 23, as well as on the university's communication platforms, in documentation related to the project, in social media content, and during fine art presentations and exhibitions.
Participation Information:
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Date and Time: Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 9:45 AM – 12:00 PM
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Meeting Point: 9:45 AM in front of the Main Building of the University of Debrecen.
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Certificate: The Event Coordination and Alumni Center will issue a certificate of participation.
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Dress Code: No period clothing or special attire is required – an important aspect of the project is that participants appear at the site of the 1956 photographs as contemporary university citizens.
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Process: Following brief instructions on-site, participants will jointly form the crowd formation seen in the two archival photographs. Organizers ask that only those apply who can participate in the performance for the entire duration of the recording.
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Note: Registration also constitutes consent for the aforementioned use of the resulting images.
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Registration: https://regisztracio.unideb.hu/19562026-helyunkre-allni-ujrajatszas-debreceni-egyetemen
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