According to the 2011 census almost 20% of Hungarians from Transylvania lived in big cities in diaspora environment. Also, due to negative demographic developments and accelerated assimilation many of them were living in so called „island villages”. Although one of the focuses of the Hungarian national policy and the Transylvanian Hungarian elite is the revitalization of these regions, in the past 25 years no public policy concerning the diaspora was developed. Speeches published in the field essentialize the linguistic and national border or approach the topic from a pathetic nationalistic concern.
The goal of the Bálványos Institute is to focus on the problem form a public policy point of view, emphasizing good practices, and to analyze critically the current support programs, proposing alternatives in resolving the situation.