Farewell

In the late 1980s, my friend Rudolf Andorka and I decided to compile a volume in Hungary that would primarily present data. At that time, several European countries were already publishing reports featuring social indicators. We invited György Vukovich, then President of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, to join us as the third editor, and we asked our authors to let the data, the facts, and their professionally sound interpretation speak for themselves in their studies. This is how the first Social Report was published in 1990, with institutional backing provided by TÁRKI, which had been founded five years earlier.

The costs of these biennial volumes were mostly covered by the ministry responsible for social policy. When official funding was denied, we turned to community-based financing to secure the necessary resources. On three occasions, we also published English-language selections of the studies and joined an international network of institutions producing similar reports.

Following the passing of Rudolf Andorka in 1998, István György Tóth played an increasingly significant role in organizing and editing the Social Report. Later, Iván Szelényi also contributed to the editing of the 2020 and 2022 volumes.

The current 18th volume of the Social Report is the first in which I am not involved as an editor. Instead, alongside István György Tóth, two younger colleagues, András Gábos and Márton Medgyesi, have taken up the mantle. However, the core mission and character of the publication remain unchanged: to present analyses based on data, reflecting the latest research on Hungary. In addition to TÁRKI researchers, our authors include a significant portion of Hungary’s sociologists and empirical social scientists.

I would like to express my gratitude to all our authors and colleagues for their contributions over the past 35 years. In January 2025, TÁRKI will celebrate its 40th anniversary as the first independent social science research institute in the region. The Social Report series stands as a testament to these four decades.