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Lauer Learning Founder Appeals to Hungarian Americans to Pass on Their Ethnicity to Younger Generations
Lauer Rice Honored with the Gold Medal Award at the 47th Annual Magyar Ball in Recognition of Her Work to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Revolution
CLEVELAND - November 23, 2007 - Hungarian Americans need to find ways to ensure that their ethnicity is passed on to future generations according to Andrea Lauer Rice, who was a guest speaker at the 47th Annual Hungarian Congress. She told participants that unless strategies are adopted to thwart the general trend of weakening ethnic identity, the Hungarian American community will gradually disappear.
In her presentation, Rice introduced her company's new “Pass it On” project that suggests effective approaches and tools that reach and educate younger generations on cultural identity. The project offers innovative solutions to help prevent the decline of many ethnic identities, specifically in the Hungarian American community.
“Research continues to show that every 10 years, fewer 2nd and 3rd generation Hungarians claim their ethnic identity,” said Lauer Rice. She is focusing on Hungary initially, because her own Hungarian ethnicity provides her with first hand knowledge. “If this rate of decline continues, we could, in fact, lose our natural born heritage altogether,” continued Rice Lauer
Lauer Rice is the founder and chief executive officer of Lauer Learning, a multimedia educational firm, headquartered in Roswell, Ga, that creates and distributes tools that teach children about culture, language and history.
“The Hungarian American community is not the only culture that is feeling this phenomenon of disappearing ethnic identity in this country,” Lauer Rice told the audience. “It is happening to many ethnic groups in the United States for a number of reasons, including intercultural marriages, a lack of direct cultural exposure, and a dwindling community infrastructure.”
“We are at a crossroads in finding ways to maintain the rich history and culture that makes up so many ethnic groups in this country,” Lauer Rice told participants. “Direct and sustained involvement is needed to strengthen the components that make up our heritage and enable us to pass it on to our kids and grandkids.”
Lauer Rice, an honored guest of the Congress organized by the Cleveland-based Hungarian Association, was presented the prestigious Arpad Academy Gold Medal at the traditional Magyar Ball Gala Dinner.
The award honors writers, artists or musicians of Hungarian decent for their achievements.
Lauer Rice was recognized for her work creating the book “56 Stories: Personal Recollections of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, A Hungarian American Perspective,” which she co-edited. The book is a collection of 56 personal stories from '56-ers who fought, participated in or observed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and was published to commemorate the 50th year anniversary of the event.
“It is exciting to receive this award from the Hungarian Association,” said Lauer Rice. “It is an honor to be among such a wonderful group of people who all made significant contributions to the 50th year commemoration of the revolution. Lauer Learning will continue its work to find innovative ways to teach the next generation about culture, history and language.”
Lauer Learning is a multimedia educational company that creates interactive products to teach children about foreign language, culture and historic events through experiential learning. FF56! a bilingual, historically accurate, educational computer game for teens about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was launched in the fall of 2006. All products, including “56 Stories”, a collection of personal testimonials collected through the FreedomFighter56.com website and “Hungarian Freedom Fighters of '56,” a historic graphic novel about 1956 are available for purchase through the www.LauerLearning.com website. |
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