II. Family Formation and the Future Conference

Across continents and political systems, societies are confronting profound questions about identity, demographic sustainability, sovereignty, and cultural continuity. The II. Family Formation and the Future Conference brings together policymakers, diplomats, scholars, and cultural leaders for two days of serious reflection and forward-looking dialogue on the foundations of a stable and flourishing civilisation.

At a time when hyper-individualism is reshaping the private sphere, when national borders and legal institutions are under pressure, and when cultural heritage is often neglected or dismissed, this conference seeks not only to identify the roots of these challenges but to articulate principled and constructive responses.

In line with Hungary’s longstanding commitment to supporting families, strengthening national sovereignty, and promoting demographic renewal through family policy rather than migration-based solutions, the conference will contribute to an important international conversation about sustainable and values-based public policy.

Over the course of the two days, discussions will move from the structural to the personal: from questions of sovereignty, borders, and the integrity of law, to the deeper cultural foundations that sustain nations across generations. Particular attention will be given to the family - the institution that connects past, present, and future, and through which culture, responsibility, and identity are transmitted.

By bringing together diverse international perspectives, the conference aims to foster thoughtful exchange on how societies can preserve what is valuable, strengthen what is fragile, and responsibly shape what comes next.

Programme may be subject to change (click here to download) 

Day One: Tuesday 31 March

Master of Ceremonies: Zsófia Rácz, Head of Communications at the Danube Institute

9.20 - 9.55 AM        Registration and Coffee

10.00 - 10.05 AM    Introduction: Master of Ceremonies

10.05 - 10.15 AM    Welcome Remarks

10.15 - 10.20 AM    Video message: Christopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of State,

Department of State, United States of America

10.20 - 10.30 AM    Keynote Speech - First things first: children or migrants?

• Hon. Tony Abbott, Former Prime Minister of Australia

10.30 - 11.55 AM    Panel 1: Conservative Visions of Heritage
A nation-state may be bounded by borders and governed by law, but the fabric of the nation itself is woven from the weft of tradition and the warp of creativity. Both are manifest, above all, in the aesthetic of a culture. Perhaps no art form in a culture is more lasting than that of the built environment - through architecture. Crucially there have over recent decades been signs in architecture that we are breaking from the past.  Indeed, we are not just neglecting the past, but seeing it as a source of shame. Why did this rupture happen?  How do we tie the past and present back together again? In other words, how do we restore the fabric of culture, repairing the national tapestries into which we are all woven?

• Tony Abbott, Former Prime Minister of Australia
• Eduard Habsburg, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute
• István Kiss, Executive Director of the Danube Institute
• Scott Yenor, Director of the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation
• Moderator: Noémi Pálfalvi, Chief Advisor at the Danube Institute

11.55 AM - 12.55 PM Lunch Break

1.00 - 2.20 PM        Panel 2: Securing Sovereignty: Perspectives on Borders and Immigration
A nation-state ends at its borders, but the border is where the problems of the contemporary West often begin. What are these problems? Why have borders become so porous? Why does this matter? Why has society been slow to recognise this?

• Antonia Sophia Baraniuk, Visiting Fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium
• Ammon Blair, Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Institute
• Deimanté Brazauskaité, Advisor
• Raymond Ibrahim, Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute
• Sayfo Omar, Head of Research at the Migration Research Institute
• Moderator: Kristóf György Veres, International Director of the Danube Institute

2.25 - 3.45 PM        Panel 3: Bringing Conservative Visions Mainstream
We are in an age where we are eliminating geographical boundaries, losing the law’s dispassion and neutrality, and creating new boundaries and ruptures with our own heritage. Conservatives know this, and argue against it.. Even where conservative arguments are common sense, they struggle to attain mainstream legitimacy. How, then, can conservatives be strategic in communication and community-building? How can they render their philosophies practical? How can conservatives ensure that their ideas move from the conference-circuit to the community?

• Hélène de Lauzun, Paris correspondent for The European Conservative
• Gladden Pappin, President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
• Gergely Szilvay, Journalist 
• Emma Webb, Writer, Broadcaster, and Presenter on GB News
• Moderator: Eric Hendriks, Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute

3.45 - 4.05 PM       Coffee Break

4.05 - 4.15 PM    Introduction of the Documentary, Future at the Gate: Gergely Dobozi, Head of Operations at the Danube Institute

4.15 - 5.00 PM        Screening of the Documentary Future at the Gate 

5.00 - 5.15 PM        Closing Remarks - Chad Pecknold, Professor at The Catholic University of America

***

Day Two: Wednesday 1 April

On Day One, we focus on the nation. On Day Two, we focus on culture. In particular, we focus on the family - the institution that links people in the present with people in the past and people in the future.

9.30 - 9.55 AM          Registration and Coffee

10.00 - 10.05 AM      Introduction: Master of Ceremonies 

10.05 - 10.25 AM      Keynote Speech:  H.E. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Former President of Croatia

10.30 - 11.50 AM      Panel 4: The Present Crisis: the State and Status of the Family Today
In recent years, it has become something of a received truth that society, and the heart of that society - the family - is in crisis. What is the crisis? How serious is it?

• Imre Bedő, Founder of the Men For All Organization and Man Woman Academy
• Edward Davies, Director of Research at the Center for Social Justice
• Waka Ikeda, Freelance Journalist
• Juraj Šúst, Chairman of the Ladislav Hanus Fellowship Program
• Matías Ignacio Quer Lagno, Director of the Master's Program in Political Studies at the University of the Andes
• Moderator: Calum Nicholson, Director of Research at the Danube Institute

11.50 - 12.55 PM       Lunch Break

1.00 - 2.20 PM           Panel 5: Love in the Time of Collapse

Delayed marriage is now the single biggest driver of falling birth rates worldwide. Dating apps, educational mismatches, economic pressures, and cultural pessimism have broken the path from young adulthood to family formation. What are the reasons for later marriage and family formation?

• Ashley Frawley, Visiting Research Fellow at MCC Brussels
• Emma Gilland, Event Coordinator at the Academy of Ideas
• Georgina Kiss-Kozma, Director of Research at the Youth Research Center
• Mikolaj Slawkowski-Rode, Visiting Fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium
• Moderator: Anna Sályi, Head of the Fellowship and Internship Programmes at the Danube Institute

2.20 - 2.40 PM        Coffee Break

2.40 - 2.55 PM        Keynote Speech - Strengthening Families for the Future of Nations

• Attila Beneda, Deputy Minister of State for Family Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Innovation, Hungary

Attila Beneda, Deputy Minister of State for Family Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary

Strengthening Families for the Future of Nations - Attila Beneda, Deputy State Secretary for Family AffairsDeputy Minister of State for Family Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Innovation, Hungary

3.00 - 4.20 PM        Panel 6: Future Visions: Family-Friendly Policy & Practice
Having described the present, and explained the past, we look to the future. What solutions would conservatives offer to address the challenges facing the family as an institution?

• Laoise de Brún BL, CEO & Founder of The Countess Foundation, Ireland
• Delano Squires, Director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing at the Heritage Foundation
• Pedro Frazão, Member of Portugal’s Assembly of the Republic
• Árpád Mészáros, Strategic Vice-President at KINCS (Mária Kopp Institute of Demography and Families)
• Judit Regős, President of the Szülők Háza Public Benefit Foundation
• Moderator: Zsófia Rácz, Head of Communications at the Danube Institute

4.20 - 4.35 PM         Closing Remarks - Wyatt Toehlke, Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States

4.35 - 4.45 PM           Closing Remarks - István Kiss, Executive Director of the Danube Institute

4.45 - 5.45 PM           Reception 

We look forward to welcoming you to this important conversation about the future we will hand to the next generation.

Details: 

Date & time: March 31-April 1, 2026, 10:00 A.M.
Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa, 1 Csónak Street, 1015 Budapest (Entrance: Aranybástya Restaurant)
Gate opens at 9:30 A.M. on both days
Language: English

Participation is free; however, due to limited seating, pre-registration is required for both days by clicking the button below.