Building Bridges: How Culture Creates Community and Advances Parity.
- Women of Toledo
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
An interview with Nóra Kiss, Senior Advisor for Cultural and Community Development, 2nd District of Budapest
When Nóra Kiss first arrived in Toledo as a 16-year-old exchange student from Szeged, Hungary, she couldn't have imagined that decades later, she'd return as a seasoned community leader.
In her youth, Nóra first learned about intercultural exchange as a member of the True Church of God of the Apostolic Faith Youth Choir in Toledo. The friendships she made then are still strong today.
This summer, Nóra and Nina Corder, Executive Director of Women of Toledo, were awarded the prestigious Dave Beckwith Fellowship grant for community building, bringing Nóra back to Toledo to collaborate on bridging cultures and advancing gender equity.
Nóra's journey from teenage gospel choir member to Senior Advisor for Cultural and Community Development to the Mayor of Budapest's 2nd District illustrates the profound impact of international connections and the power of culture to create meaningful change.
Currently leading the Budapest municipality's strategy development process on culture and communities, Nóra brings extensive experience from roles at the National Confederation of Hungarian Trade Unions, the State Department of Education and Culture, and the Hungarian National Museum, along with her academic background in Pedagogy and Sociology.
Culture as a Gateway to Difficult Conversations
During her fellowship visit to Toledo this summer, Nóra met with local leaders to learn about community-building approaches. “I was especially glad to be able to draw inspiration and expand my perspective by learning more about the mission and motivations behind TolHouse from [co-founder] Angela Lucas, and to gain insight into the socially grounded community work of Jason Kucsma [Executive Director and Fiscal Officer] of Toledo Lucas County Public Library,” Nóra said. “Their efforts reaffirmed my belief in the power of culture and community to bring people together.”
Nóra’s own innovative work in Budapest has helped her discover something remarkable: culture can be the key to unlocking conversations about challenging social issues. "I believe that culture is really something that you can get involved in if you want, and you can still be entertained," she explains. "It helps us build bridges more naturally, through shared stories, experiences, and creativity.”
This insight has shaped her strategic approach to addressing gender inequality in her district. Rather than confronting these issues head-on through traditional advocacy, Nóra uses cultural events as a vehicle for change. "You can listen to a concert because of the music. And if you want to, you can pay attention to what they are singing," she notes, describing how culture allows people to engage with social issues on their own terms.
The Year of Women: A Strategic Success
Nóra's most impactful project has been the "Year of Women" initiative in Budapest's 2nd District. What began as a strategic effort to address gender inequality has evolved into something much larger. "I did not think that it would be as successful as it is," she said. "It opened so many doors, because a lot of powerful women are there to do something because they want to empower others."
The initiative was part of the larger Helló Margit! All-Arts Festival celebrating the revitalization of the Margit Quarter and highlighting women pioneers throughout history. Our Executive Director, Nina Corder, had the privilege to deliver the keynote speech on the power of community connection during the Women in Change portion of the festival.
"We had 120 programs for those four days," Nóra proudly shares, describing how the event showcased both the district's cultural diversity and women's contributions across fields.
Understanding Inequity Through Culture
Nóra believes that gender equity initiatives must be grassroots, involving people from the community as drivers for change. She acknowledges that recognizing inequity can be challenging because not everyone experiences it in the same way.
Women in Hungary experience some of the same gender inequities that women around the world experience – being treated with less respect than male colleagues, experiencing wage gaps, and struggling with access to sanitary products. But Nóra has found that culture offers a powerful pathway to understanding these realities.
"It's not a light conversation. That's why I think culture can have an impact. So if you go for a movie and start to talk about that movie, you can understand something that you could not have imagined in your own life," she explains. Films depicting hardship for marginalized people, for instance, can open viewers' eyes to experiences beyond their own.
Building Truly Inclusive Communities
For Nóra, inclusion goes far beyond acknowledging differences—it requires active engagement and energy. "To be inclusive and diverse, what you have to understand is that people are different than you, and that doesn't mean that it's not good…Inclusion takes a lot of energy, but if you don't do that work, you close yourself off from other people. You are gonna have all the same friends, all the same people, and not learn more about others or have new ideas."
She illustrates this with a simple but profound example: "Diversity and inclusion are about how you can cooperate in a community where you have differences, and you are still open. In the U.S., you don't take your shoes off at home, like in Hungary. But if you come to Hungary, I could ask you to take off your shoes, because that's our culture, and you would say, 'Oh, sure, it's no problem.'"
The Power of International Collaboration
The Dave Beckwith Fellowship exemplifies how international connections strengthen local communities. Through her collaboration with Nina and the Women of Toledo network, Nóra has gained new perspectives on community building and strategic planning, while sharing her expertise in cultural development.
“It was truly inspiring to meet people who share a deep commitment to community building,” Nóra said, reflecting on her experience in Toledo this summer. “I believe it's incredibly important to create spaces that are supportive and inclusive - places where everyone, regardless of their background, can feel they belong. Being inclusive and open often requires more energy than turning away or closing ourselves off, but it's so worth it.”
Nóra credits her parents with instilling in her an openness and curiosity. “Thanks to them, I grew up surrounded by a wide variety of people, many of whom I now count as close friends. That experience has shown me time and time again the value of inclusive communities.”
A Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Nóra envisions using culture as a "tool for resilience" in her community. Her goal is to create sustainable funding for independent cultural organizations while educating residents about their role in supporting cultural life.
Her advice for women leaders is simple but profound: "Become a mentor... Give somebody the opportunity. Give somebody your knowledge... if nobody is there after you, you didn't do anything because it was just about you and not about the women in your community."
Mentorship has been crucial to Nóra's own journey. When she and Nina met in 2022, they quickly realized they had common interests and values. "We were networking a lot and we figured that we could do things together," Nóra said. "[Nina] became my mentor, helping me prepare for projects and develop strategies." Just this summer, they were both panelists at the PINKK Live Pop-Up event on storytelling and kindness in Chicago.
Nóra's work shows us that lasting social change often happens not through direct confrontation, but through creating spaces where people can discover common ground, share stories, and imagine new possibilities together. In Budapest's 2nd District—and now through her fellowship work in Toledo—culture isn't just entertainment; it's a catalyst for building the inclusive, equitable communities we all deserve.
To learn more about Nóra's work, follow her on LinkedIn.