Established in 1993, IFEJ congresses were previously held in Dresden, Paris, Boston, and the Philippines. The focus for the Budapest conference will be the environmental problems of the Central and Eastern European region, with a special look at problems related to the Danube basin, including the recent conflict between Hungary and Slovakia and pollution in the Black Sea, said Mihaly Hollos, a Hungarian freelance journalist and an organizer of the event. "The second main topic will be a look at global issues five years after the Rio Summit and the status of environmental journalism throughout the world," added Hollos. "Environmental issues are often considered less interesting by many editors and this is a global problem." Sessions will also be devoted to electing the IFEJ's new Board of Directors. For more information, contact Marta Sarvari at: e-mail: kut@okosz.zpok.hu or tel: (36-1) 344-3649.
The second event will be the Environmental Media Workshop, a special conference for Hungarian environmental journalists, to be held at the REC's Conference Center in Szentendre from September 11-13. Funded by USAID, and co-organized by the REC and the Center for Independent Journalism, the workshop will focus on the main environmental issues in Hungary and how to effectively report on them. The importance of discussing regional environmental issues through Hungarian media will also be stressed. Finally, resources available at both the REC and the CIJ for assisting Hungarian journalists will be presented. Journalists from both Budapest and throughout the country are encouraged to attend. For more info, contact Paul Csagoly at: e-mail: pcsagoly@rec.org or tel: (36-36) 504-000.
