C O O P E R A T I O N

  Three hundred thirty-seven participants representing 186 organizations attended the weekend meetings. The participants attended lectures on the philosophical background of the green movement, the environmental influences of the economic problems of the region, and discussed major environmental issues in 21 sections, such as waste, eco-counselling, animal welfare, green media, traffic and so on.

  Through cooperative negotiation among green organizations, those with voting mandates elected the green members of the National Environmental Council and NGO representatives in parliamentary committees.

  The 15-person temporary committee of environmental NGOs and some key policymakers of the movement met on Thursday evening to finish the preparation for the elections and decisionmaking procedures that had to be done at the meeting. The movement was to name representatives for the Hungarian National Council on the Environment, several ministerial and parliamentary committees, state funding advisory boards and other bodies. High pressure debates and long discussions ensued but the procedure was finally pushed through.

  The opening speech on Friday was delivered by Ivan Gyulai, the director of the host organization, the Ecological Institute for Sustainable Development, followed by remarks from Andras Lanyi, a well-known philosopher and human-ecologist, and state secretary Karoly Kiss of the Ministry of Environment.

  Parallel workshops on Saturday covered issues from waste, traffic and energy to the problems of EU integration to environmental education and public relations. Though not long enough these sessions did provide a bit of an "energy-boost" for the participants to work on the issues. The meetings closed on Sunday with the last round of elections and decisionmaking. The green movement elected representatives to all the positions.

  As always, participants enjoyed the chance to see old friends and meet new people. The small group discussions, evening chats, dancehouse events, and meals are still the most important parts of the conference for many.