Novi Sad, 4th October - The major renovation project of the main Magyar Szó building in Novi Sad is well under way, and today Bálint Juhász, President of the AP Vojvodina Assembly, Milan Đurić, Novi Sad Mayor, and Bálint Pásztor, Member of Parliament, visited the Hungarian pre-school institution and training centre “Vackor” - Novi Sad branch’s premises, which have been completed.
In 2023, after the Forum printing house was moved from the Magyar Szó headquarters to the new hall, work began on the reconstruction of this building, which, according to the project, will house, in addition to the editorial office of the oldest and only daily newspaper in the Hungarian language, the already completed kindergarten and children’s playground. Work is under way on the construction of a modern conference hall and gallery space, a museum of printing media and printing, and a bookstore cafe.
Noting that this project is of great importance for the Hungarian national community, Bálint Juhász, President of the APV Assembly said that by turning the Magyar Szó building into a multifunctional space, that building gained added value and broader content for a large number of people.
“Magyar Szó is not only an institution, but also a cohesive force of the Hungarian national community, and this project proves that. The lives of people living in Novi Sad and its surroundings will change for the better soon, when it is completed. There are never enough places in kindergartens and this was very well recognised, firstly, by István Pásztor, who advocated and found ways for the project to be realised, from the very beginning. This is also a proof that together we can do much more, that with joint forces and joint funding we can do great things,” President Juhász stated. 
Milan Đurić, mayor of Novi Sad, expressed his satisfaction with the visit and the fact that the city would have yet another new and very beautiful kindergarten, for nursery and preschool age.
“We will try to support the work of this new kindergarten and I would especially like to point out the excellent cooperation of the City with the National Council of the Hungarian National Minority. Together we realised significant projects, such as the renovation and furnishing of the Hungarian Cultural Centre “Petőfi Sándor” on Telep. It is very important that the Hungarian national community, like all others, have the conditions for fostering their tradition, because together we make up the recognisable colour of our city,” said Đurić, congratulating the Magyar Szó on its great jubilee i.e. 80 years of existence.
MP Bálint Pásztor pointed out that the Magyar Szó was an institution of importance for the entire AP Vojvodina and the Republic of Serbia and expressed his satisfaction that the Novi Sad mayor had the opportunity, during today’s visit, to familiarise himself with the works and the project, which would enrich the offer of the city with new contents, after their completion.
“This project is worth 4.5 million euros. Out of that amount, three quarters of the funds were provided by the Government of Hungary and the rest by AP Vojvodina. Those funds refer to the completion of the entire project and the works are proceeding quickly. This project is a very good example of the kind of cooperation between Serbs and Hungarians, two states, two governments, including local and provincial authorities,” said Pásztor.
Today’s tour was also attended by Provincial Secretary for Education, Regulations, Administration and National Minorities/National Communities, Róbert Ótott and President of the National Council of the Hungarian National Community, Árpád Fremond.
Director of the Magyar Szó, Erdődi Edvina, thanked the attendees for their support, from the initial idea to the commencement of work and the provision of funds and expressed her expectation that the kindergarten, with a maximum capacity of 80 children, would start working soon.
This project is being implemented in coordination of the Magyar Szó and the National Council of the Hungarian National Community, with the financial support of the Government of Hungary and the Provincial Government. The total amount of funds provided for the investments amounts to 581 million dinars, out of which 160 million dinars have been provided from the AP Vojvodina Budget for the construction of the conference hall.