On February 1st, at the outset of the 2026 International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit, RFI convened an evening reception at the Embassy of Hungary along with Pepperdine University and Hungary Helps Agency. The event honored Tristan Azbej, State Secretary at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade who is responsible for assisting persecuted Christians and overseeing the Hungary Helps Program. RFI President David Trimble presented the award.

In his remarks, State Secretary Azbej noted that

the United States is marking the 250th anniversary of its independence this year, and emphasized that Hungarians, through their own history, understand the struggle for freedom and religious liberty. He recalled that Hungary experienced both totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th century—Nazism and communism—which left a lasting mark on the nation’s commitment to defending fundamental freedoms.

[He also] highlighted that the core principle of the Hungary Helps Program is to deliver assistance directly to communities in need, building personal and human connections rather than operating through distant bureaucratic structures.

Trimble commented that the approach of Hungary Helps is particularly worthy of recognition in that the aid it provides goes straight to those religious communities facing persecution. This method parallels key aspects of the approach set forth in the foreign assistance provisions of H.R. 390, “Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018,” which Trimble helped to advance in Congress leading up to its passage. This statute, passed unanimously by both chambers of Congress, codified a new approach for the United States to partner with indigenous faith-based partners on the ground to participate in their own recovery.

Hungary’s Ambassador to the United States, Szabolcs Takács, served as host of the event. Ambassador Takács underscored Hungary’s past and present commitment to promoting religious freedom globally and how appropriate it was for the Hungarian Embassy to host this gathering at the outset of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit.

During the program, Trimble also presented awards to IRF Summit co-chairs, Katrina Lantos Swett, President of The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice, and Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, for their visionary leadership in launching the IRF Summit and elevating the priority of religious freedom around the world. The audience also heard from Danny DeWalt, Senior Vice President for Global Impact and Chief of Staff of Pepperdine University. DeWalt leads Pepperdine’s partnership with RFI and the university’s efforts to address religious persecution in Africa.