I met Janos in 1998 within the Phare LIEN Basic Adult Education as a Path Back Into Society project. Later, we occasionally met within projects and on occasion, when he cooperated with the SIAE. I considered him to be a complex person, who perceives current problems and responds to them, and on the other hand, as a person with whom one can have an interesting conversation and exchange different views. But even though the debates with him were sometimes very heated, he was able to shake hands and had a drink with everyone. In this respect, I assent the thought that someone posted on his obituary on Facebook – Janos loved democracy. I think he identified himself with the value of democracy most deeply. He believed in political and any kind of dialogue and was committed to inclusive society through activities within adult education.He was a highly ambitious and hard-working person. He had high expectations of his colleagues, mostly of Martha, who was his right hand, and I believe that he was deeply grateful and devoted to her for that until his last breath. He was a born leader and a good organizer; he knew intuitively to whom to assign the task, who should be won over and with whom links should be established. He always found time for fun after a long, hard working day. That is why we liked to work with him although it was demanding and hard. We were always looking forward to new gatherings. Adult education should be carried out in a relaxed environment; adults should be intellectually engaged, but above all, they should be interconnected and intrigued. It seemed that Janos was well aware of and committed to this goal.
Rest in peace, dear friend.
Natalija Žalec, MAEd (UK) (natalija.zalec@acs.si), SIAE
