Stefania Kapronczay
2024-2025 Columbia University Scholar
Hungary
Director of Strategy, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
Fostering a more resilient democracy through strengthening narratives about the power of rights and enabling citizens to participate in the democratic decision-making process.
Stefania Kapronczay is the director of strategy at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and has spent over a decade as a human rights defender working to advance lasting democratic change. Under her leadership, the organization grew from a legal aid service that focused on litigation to a social change organization that supports grassroots movements with the aim of inspiring hope in democracy for the Hungarian public. Every year, they provide individual legal advice in more than 4,000 cases and representation in 120 cases, and nearly half a million people read their know-your-rights materials. They work to reduce exclusionary practices by public organizations, especially for poor, disabled, and Roma people. In a context where its citizens have lower participation in public life and low trust in institutions, Stefania sees the importance of expanding her organization’s rural outreach to promote positive messages of active citizenship. She plans to use her time in the Scholars program to increase her organization’s capacity to build consensus across lines of difference and leverage storytelling tools to bring about a belief in the possibility of change in Hungary and across the world.
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