masterwork
Municipal Economy in Szentgotthárd
The aim of my masterwork is to establish a local government-owned workplace based on the focal points outlined in the thesis. The focus will be on integrating the working-age population in need of public employment into the community, promoting social appreciation, and providing supplementary programmes to facilitate their integration into the primary labor market. In addition to the more complex supplementary functions that support the social situation, the main focus is on producing for the social sphere, independently of the competitive market. Taking advantage of the proximity of the local government and the nearby social institutions, I envisioned an internal food supply structure that leaves a small ecological footprint with its minimal logistical radius. Learning from the operational shortcomings of the currently functioning Hungarian social cooperatives that exist as sub-sectors of public employment, I designed a municipal farm that would utilise part of the former Szentgotthárd Kaszagyár (Scythe Factory) premises in Szentgotthárd for the designated purpose. The programme also includes an element that is connected to plant cultivation and public space maintenance, aligning with the city's vision of land use. This involves advocating for the placement of high-quality tourism facilities, cultural institutions, and local government offices within the designated area. The resulting park-like 'new city quarter' can serve as a social, urban governance, and cultural district, catering to a small town due to its proximity to public transportation hubs and institutions.
thesis
Workforce Reintegration and Green Farming at the Municipal Level
The topic of my thesis is the public employment aspect of employment policy interventions following the end of communism in Hungary, which, despite various reforms, changes in government, and manpower growth, has failed to adequately alleviate unemployment. Only an extremely low percentage of participants entered the primary labour market. The social cooperative branch of public employment, specifically as a food production framework, is unsuitable for the proper and legal distribution of support funds to enable labour market integration due to its uncertain market acquisition position and governance challenges. Resulting in an operation that neglected the complex living conditions of the target group, the programme only aggravated the uncertainty surrounding the participants' employment and social situations. Based on my research findings, I use my thesis as the conceptual background for my masterwork, in which I plan to create an alternative agricultural unit integrated into a municipally owned producer cooperative. This unit aims to address the identified shortcomings to provide a secure livelihood for a diverse group of people in need of public employment, scaling to local conditions and the needs defined by the small town social institutional network.
