On Saturday, 2 March 2013, the Ferenc Puskás – Sir Alex Ferguson Trophy was presented for the 6^th time to the Robert Burns International Foundation’s Sponsor of the Year on the hallowed turf at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. This year, RBIF Honorary President Sir Alex Ferguson presented the trophy to Stewart Miller, a proud Scot with strong footballing traditions, and who unknowingly was the initial driving force behind the trophy itself (see interview below).

The match on 2 March was against Norwich City and was played, as usual, in front of a full house of 75,000 people. The RBIF is traditionally good mascot for the Red Devils as never has the delegation from the Foundation seen the home lose. This year was no different as a hat trick from Shinji Kagawa along with a 25-yard screamer from Wayne Rooney made sure the lucky streak continued.

Stewart, the Puskás Ferenc – Sir Alex Ferguson trophy started out as a small gift from you to Mrs Puskás after Ferenc died. What was the original thought behind the gift?

My father and grandfather were both at Hampden in 1960 to watch the Real Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt European Cup Final. Now regarded as one of the best football matches ever, Real Madrid won 7-3 and Puskas scored 4 goals. I grew up in a football family and the mens’ discussions were always about football. Ferenc Puskas was spoken about almost daily in our household. So much so that when I was a child I thought he was a relative! I assumed he was my uncle. Therefore at a very young age an emotional attachment formed between myself and the Little General. The trophy was a small token from myself and the football fans of Scotland, to let Mrs Puskas know he was very much loved in Scotland. Part of his appeal was the fact that he was not built like some Olympian Athlete. But he could certainly play football!!!

Now your name is on the trophy alongside all the previous winners, can you sum up what the day at Old Trafford meant for you?

The Old Trafford day was one of the best experiences of my life. I am very honoured to be named on this trophy, along with organisations like Diageo, Vodafone and Tesco. I thoroughly enjoyed the company I was in too. I think Hungarians and Scottish people are very similar. We share a great sense of humour. Meeting Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest football manager of all time, was also amazing. The icing on the cake was during the stadium and museum tour when I found out that my great uncle, Thomas Miller, played for Manchester United in the 1920’s. 

How important do you find the work of the RBIF in Hungary and the current intensive-care unit appeal?

Firstly it’s amazing that we have the Robert Burns International Foundation based in Hungary. Robert Burns and his works really do have global appeal. I think the work the RBIF is doing is very important and it is also a very worthwhile cause, assisting children. I think helping children in any way we can is very important, because they are our future. It is vital for children to know that there are people and organisations out with their families, who care about their health and wellbeing. Robert Burns would have been very, very proud of the work and achievements of the RBIF.

Most of the fundraising over the years so far has been Hungary-based, do you think there is scope for strengthening links between Scotland and Hungary in this area?

There is definite scope for strengthening links between Scotland and Hungary in this area. For example, recently a friend of mine was over in Budapest to launch one of his whisky books. This friend speaks at Burns Suppers all over the world. When I told him about the RBIF he was very interested, because he did not know of its existence. When he found out more he got very excited and he has asked his partners in Budapest to follow this up. This is just one small example of the potential. I now see myself as an unofficial ‘ambassador’ for the RBIF. I will try to identify some of the Scottish (and UK) companies that view Hungary as a key export market. This I think will be a sensible start for me to try to identify further potential sponsors.

The latest winner of the annual sponsor of the year title is no stranger to supporting Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) in Hungary; long a pioneer in the field, it has even created its own award to acknowledge the work of others. The 2010 Ferenc Puskás – Sir Alex Ferguson Sponsor of the Year Award goes to Vodafone Hungary.

In 2010, Vodafone gave the Marathon Effort for SOTE II appeal a huge donation (though it prefers not to say how much). And so it was that Vodafone received the award in front of a full house of some 75,000 at Old Trafford just ahead of the 3pm start of the Man Utd vs Birmingham City game on Saturday 22 January 2011.

“I am really proud of my company, the people working there and the commitment they show to CSR and sponsorship projects,” says Vodafone Hungary CEO and Chairman Dr György Beck. “In Hungary, Vodafone is heavily involved in several strategic CSR projects. We help people with disabilities, we enable individuals to work for their dream charity while being paid by us, and we encourage our own employees to take part in socially responsible programmes.”

Indeed they do. Since the British-based company entered the Hungarian market 10 years ago, it has given more than HUF 1 billion in charity and sponsorship products, Beck says. It is a main sponsor of the Sziget music festival, and has sponsored the reigning triple Olympic champions of the Hungarian men’s water polo team since 2007, as well as backing the women’s team and the rising generation. In fact, Beck himself is an active water polo player, as well as co-president of the Hungarian Water Polo Association, and President of the Water Polo Association of Cegléd.

That commitment to doing more than just working in the market reached a new height last spring.

“In March 2010, with the co-operation of the British Embassy in Budapest, we decided to recognize the most innovative organisation in the area of corporate social responsibility and our choice was the Robert Burns International Foundation,” explains Beck. And it is a relationship that is likely to continue, he says. “We find this initiative [the foundation] very good and we keep contact continuously to consolidate our common work.”

Explaining the creation of Vodafone’s own CSR award, Beck says his company

“does not consider corporate social responsibility as a mere philanthropic gesture or add-on; it is part of our core business.” He says others should move in to the field, provided they are prepared to do it right. “Corporate social responsibility is based on a complex strategy, companies who are thinking along similar lines should take into consideration that their work should not be a one-off action, it is a long-term and continuous responsibility for others.”

The good news, the CEO believes, is that CSR is getting an ever-higher profile in Hungary, and people are beginning to move away from seeing it as simply another form of PR.

“Yes, it is becoming more widespread in Hungary; it has never just been PR for Vodafone Hungary. Vodafone, as a responsible economic player, puts great emphasis on support of underprivileged people.”

By Robin Marshall

If you want a perfect example of the international scope and reach of the Budapest Burns Supper and the Robert Burns International Foundation, look no further than this year’s winner of the Sponsor of the Year award: Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

The group, whose brands include Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, among others, is represented in Budapest by Le Méridien, whose GM, Adrian Gray, is deeply involved both in the supper and the RBIF. Significantly, however, the award is going to Starwood, and not just the local hotel, because of a truly international fundraising campaign.

“In 2007, there was a Starwood conference here in Budapest, and a large number of delegates came from all over Europe,” explains Gray. The conference programme included an element of Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR), and the delegates spent some time at the Semmelweis hospital (which has always had close links with the Budapest Burns’ Supper), painting furniture and walls, and breaking ground and laying mulch for a park area in 42°C heat. But that proved to be only a beginning.

“Due to the reorganisation of the hospital system by the state, Semmelweis had taken on an oncology department, which needed complete redevelopment, and it had run out of money,” says Gray. “The shortfall amounted to EUR 20,000, and the delegates took it on themselves to go back and raise the money. Hotels from Europe, Africa and the Middle East were involved in individual fund raising projects, and eventually raised EUR 23,000. The oncology department is now operational.”

Gray himself was instrumental in helping reorganise the Burns’ Supper committee, and sits on the RBIF’s Curatorium. His hotel organises St Andrew’s and St Patrick’s balls, as well as the annual Budapest Waiters’ Race, all of which generate funds for the RBIF (the 2008 Waiters’ Race raised HUF 52,500, around EUR 200).

He gets involved with the events, which he is keen to stress are, by now, as much Hungarian- as they are expat-orientated, partly because he is a good Scot. (Interestingly, that was also one of the reasons Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United Football Club, gave for agreeing to become the RBIF’s Honorary President in January 2007.) But there are wider, deeper issues too.

“I think all the hotels here are quite heavily involved in the life of Budapest. This is a way of giving something back to some of those who wouldn’t necessarily be involved at the five-star hotel level. When we first started doing this, we were in a country that faced a lot of challenges, and here was something we could do to help.”

The award is officially known as the Ferenc Puskás – Sir Alex Ferguson Sponsor of the Year trophy, and features a football crafted from copper. It was made by a Scottish artist and presented to Erzsébet Puskás in honour of her late husband, the legendary Hungarian footballer. She, in turn, gave it to the RBIF in the hope it could be put to good use. It has.

Although, at the time of writing, the final details have still to be arranged, the Sponsor of the Year award is due to be presented in January to Gray by Sir Alex at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground. It is known, appropriately, as the Theatre of Dreams. Starwood, and other major sponsors like them, are ensuring both operating theatres and children’s dreams can become reality.

By Robin Marshall