Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Washington D.C.: September 7 – December 15, 2019
Right in his first month, Márton had the chance to dive in the work of CEPA and participate in the institute’s biggest conference, the leading annual transatlantic security conference in Washington DC, the 11th CEPA Forum that took place on September 23, 2019. Márton’s responsibilities at CEPA mainly focused on research of various topics, including European CSDP (Common Defense and Security Policy); NATO’s Eastern flank; the EU’s permanent structured cooperation (PESCO), among others, as well as various administrative, organizational and creative tasks, including creating the design for the 2019 CEPA Forum’s lapel pins; creating the logo design for CEPA’s Rising Atlanticist Leaders Program, and creating the infographic ‘CEPA Flash News from Central Europe’, to name a few. Márton also assisted in the preparations for CEPA’s James S. Denton Transatlantic Fellowship that already hosted six experts from the Baltic States and Visegrád countries for 3 weeks earlier in 2019 with the goal of exchanging ideas with DC professionals to build their network and share their knowledge. Márton also had the chance to contribute to CEPA’s internal newsletter; create social media content for the organization as well as attend public hearings, and participate in several roundtable discussions or seminars. Márton also had the chance to participate in the 3rd annual Young Hungarian Leaders Program organized by the Hungary Initiatives Foundation. As for the Hungarian-American community, Márton regularly taught folk dance to the Hungarian scouts in Washington DC and performed at a Fokos concert and the annual Hungarian Christmas Bazaar, and he was also instrumental in helping the Coalition with its preparations for the annual Mikulás Dinner and its Annual and Board Meetings.
“I started to realize how much the program shaped me as a person, only after I made it back to Hungary. My personal development in both hard and soft skills, my experiences, and the can-do mentality that I acquired during the internship gave me a clear vision of what to do next in my life. I aspire to generate feasible solutions relating to the socio-economic system of Hungary. Most importantly, I applied for the Public Policy and Public Management Master’s Program at Corvinus University of Budapest. Also, I managed to finish my BA thesis entitled ‘Evaluating the European Union’s Permanent Structured Cooperation – Has the Sleeping Beauty of Lisbon awoken?’.”
Márton Zsuráfszky is an undergraduate student studying International Relations at Corvinus University Budapest (Budapest, Hungary). Márton is a member of the largest student organization of Corvinus University, called Studium Generale where he teaches history for students in the 11th and 12th grade on a weekly basis and he also organizes debate forums for his students. Márton is also a semi-professional folk-dancer and member of the Bartók Dance Ensemble of Budapest. Márton is interested in European studies, Central European affairs, international history, international political relations, and international economics. He speaks English and Spanish on an intermediate level.