Our mission

The organization achieved acknowledgement with successfully protecting the village’s natural values from a mining firm. The number of protected or Natura 2000 areas is much higher in the Zemplén region than the country average. At the same time it is also amongst the most disadvantaged regions. The problem is the result of this duality: in spite of being protected with the potential regional development and economical values of it, the area is still overloaded and threatened by huge energy and mining investments. Based on a concrete example, this project aimed at modelling possible public solutions of conflicts in Natura 2000 areas. It also wanted to call the attention of local and national decision making bodies and NGOs to new solutions. For all this the organization strengthened their network by organizing local roundtables, preparing and disseminating professional papers about these conflicts.

The communities of eco-villages have been organizing their regular meetings twice a year for more than 10 years. The participants assess the natural, environment and social situation and the new alternatives at these occasions.

In the center of Balatonboglár on the Chapel Hill, the municipality started to create the St Elizabeth Park. With HEPF support the association could contribute to these works with cleaning up the area, tiding up the graves and planting new vegetation.

The local government embraced the idea of BAKCSÓ to declare the city’s Park as protected natural area of local importance and to create a recreation park there. The planning process was successful, 400 people indicated their intention to participate in the work. The grant was given to buy trees and gardening tools, but it also contributed to starting up broader rehabilitation works.

The "I Love Pecs" culture project promotes the cultural life of Pécs and enhances civic participation in expressing the demand for cultural life. Besides its original activity the project also started to organize the advocacy activities of civil cultural organizations, which resulted in the establishment of the Civil Cultural Roundtable of Pécs, as an informal alliance. The present program aimed at enhancing the advocacy capacity of the Roundtable and its member organizations.

The foundation’s goal is to assist the development of the small farms of the region and the spreading of organic agriculture. The specific aim of the project is to build an active partnership between NGOs and the enterprise that is operating the City Market in order to create a special market for local products. The organization will use its contacts and the networking experience of the NGO’s to help launching the market where local farmers and craftsmen can sell their produce and create direct relations to the city people.

The project aims at training multiplier groups composed of students on the one hand and people living in elderly homes on the other, who can manage a "Green Info Board", organize project days or weeks on the subject of environmental and natural protection and get interested people to work together in their community.

The members of the association that is mainly engaged with conservation issues, now renovated the castle park and a former resting place in the neighbouring forest. Besides crop planting and afforestation, they created benches and tables, too.

Through this project, the organization will conserve the biodiversity of Kék-Kálló Valley in Dél-Nyírség and its unique landscape through the development of an integrated land-use method. This method achieves results not only in nature conversation but also in agricultural economy. That is why the organization intends to increase the consciousness of local farmers about the environment and involve them in environmental decision processes.

In the frame of the Joint Project, since 2003 the Austrian Ökoinstitut, the Czech Hnutí Duha, the Energy Club, Za Matku Zem of Slovakia and since 2006 the Terra Milleniul III (Romania) and the Green Policy Institute (Bulgaria) are working together. In 2009 they focused on the recent re-activation of the nuclear lobby in our region concerning planned new-builds (e.g. Belene, Mochovce 3-4, Paks II), uranium mines and radioactive waste repositories. It is crucially important to demonstrate resistance and professional arguments against these activities. A basis of this work is raising voice about the seemingly increasing interest of expanding the nuclear capacity in the region, both to the public (media) and further on to European officials.

Since its establishment the Energy Club is playing a major role in the NGO coalition against the nuclear lobby. For several years they have been working on the transparency of the nuclear sector. This year the focus is still on the proposed new units of Paks and the decision making processes concerning the PLEX of Paks.

Through the project, HCLU would like to increase its public support with an on-line marketing campaign. They would like to create a supportive member system which functions well in practice and is able to reach the public and possible supportive members in an understandable way and at the same time provides opportunity for them to become involved and participate actively - the first system of its kind in Hungary. These methods, on-line tools (advertisement, marketing, recruitment, activity) are not very well known in Hungary, and are not really used by the civil sector. HCLU's aim is to have supportive members send faxes and e-mails to official bodies in which they are filing requests to them in cases which are important to HCLU as well as the public.

The project aims at establishing the hardware, software and human background of Civil WebTV (CWTV), as a surface which is accessible without time or space limits, is community-edited, operates along consensual civic value and extends the horizon of publicity. Through the grant, the centre will create a professional network of volunteers, build amedia contact network and develop a long-term strategy.

The project aims at spreading good governance practices with the help of community journalism, increasing the transparency of local governments as well as fighting corruption. The association will make people aware of their rights ensured by the EFOIA law and hope to increase their law-conscienciousness through strengthening the monitoring activites of NGOs and also increasing their popular social support and public attention, so as they themselves would become more transparent. To this end, the assiciation will organize tranings for selected NGOs about monitoring local governments' websites and to point out the omissions and mistakes.

The underlying idea of a community foundation is that a well-defined group of people create an institution that aims at developing the given community primarily utilizing its own resources and the active participation and involvement of its members. The project will 1) disseminate information about the community foundation concept among representatives of the public, corporate and civic sector and 2) engage the most active community actors in a planning process on how a community foundation could be established in Ferencváros. By promoting the concept of community foundations and setting up one, Civitalis would like to increase participation in public affairs, strengthen local actors' engagement in the development of their own community and provide a concrete framework for expressing social solidarity in the 9th district of Budapest.

The main goal of the project is to develop the Hungarian community radio sector and to strenghten the building of local publicity through the rural small community radios' development and professional help.

Supporting citizens' communities, the web page lmv.hu works with civic lobby groups like the Association for the Residents of Nagymező Street. Their project would provide support to groups who do not expect change to come only from those in power, through increasing cooperation amongst groups busy with local public affairs. Beside playing the watchdog-role on local governments, they will be also empowered to deal with issues, which the group members could relate to, which they could involve a wider public with.

The association elaborates a methodology to enhance participation in social urban rehabilitation, through adapting community development methods of mobilizing and involving locals so that they shape and control the process.

The objective of the project is to achieve a higher share of bicycle use in several settlements of Hungary as well as to involve locals in activities and cycling-related decisions through innovative decision-making methods.

The Hungarian branch of the international NGO aims at mobilizing volunteer forces in their work against corruption. Hungary does not enjoy a strong tradition of volunteerism within civil society and thus the project seeks to strengthen these forces by means of strategically attracting and upholding a steady base of volunteer workers. Through this they can achieve improved outreach and advocacy towards change.

In Hungary, there is no strong network representing children's rights. In order to fill this gap, the foundation aims at establishing cooperation among NGOs protecting and implementating children's rights, and at strengthening the professional level and legal capacity of cooperating NGOs. Furthermore, the project also hopes to achieve that experts of NGOs for protecting children's right obtain special postgraduate degrees in children's law studies and thus form a group of experts in children's law as well as institutionalize their activity and cooperation within an appropriate civic institution by and of the programme, the Workshop for Protection of Children's Legal Issues.

The project aims at contributing to the development of a more balanced and objective media representation of Roma people in Hungary and by this to reduce prejudice and encourage tolerance. The planned project will also help local communities to enforce an anti-discriminative approach and to promote local Roma organizations' "agenda-setting" capacity in the media.

The foundation will create a professional support system with the participation of organizations and facilitators which will provide equal opportunities in local decision-making mechanisms for disadvantaged groups, foster cooperation and dialogue between Roma and non-Roma communities, increase active citizenship and civic consciousness among Roma people. Therefore, they will train community facilitators who are able to involve Roma communities within the larger group in order to organize conflict resolution and decision-making forums.

The project aims at providing the public with an independent and comprehensive source of information on corruption. This service will help individuals to learn more about the institution of whistleblowing and break out from their political and social isolation. The monitoring of anti-corruption lawmaking will strengthen the civil control of governmental and legislative activity.

The association's goal is to achive that developments, reconstructions of municipally-owned real estate in the Buda Castle will be implemented with a wiev of the opinion of the people living in the neighboring area. To this end, local people need to be better involved in the decision-making process at different levels of public administration (national, city and local levels) and the government's decisions need to be harmonized with the interests of the local people. This would help improve the ability of individuals and NGOs to articulate their interests and opinions and improve their acitivity.

The association of citizens living near the the Ferihegy International Airport received a grant to install a civic monitoring system to supervise the noise and vibration load of the facility, which has meant a problem for a ling time.

Environmentally sustainable local/domestic composting does not require much expertise or significant investment. Current waste management practices indicate that municipalities, citizens, and even waste management experts overlook or ignore the potential of this long-known waste reduction practice in larger towns. The goal is to introduce and make people accustomed to this practice in a sample of 50 blocks of flats.

Decision makers and the society as whole are faced with the increasing challenges of ecological problems, growing poverty, unemployment and the economic crisis. A fundamental problem seems to be that decision makers do not make the relationships among the different problems, and thus they cannot provide effective answers to the root questions either. The aim of the project is to reveal the common socio-economic drivers behind social and environmental problems and to formulate holistic proposals for changing their course. The formulated proposals are to be integrated into the national decision making.

The main goal of the project is to ensure that the development of the navigation on the Hungarian Danube section conforms with the environmental directives of the EU. Another goal is that all relevant stakeholders are fully involved in the process. The river provides us with several ecological services: drinking water, ecotourism, fishing and these relate to other issues such as waste water management and good water quality. The ongoing planning only focuses on the economic aspects and does not take into consideration the above mentioned points. The NGOs shall represent the social and economic demands. This will be achieved by compiling analyses concerning the plans and the alternatives on the one hand and helping enforce environmental law in the process on the other.

The association received support to develop the capacity of their member organizations through the following activities: • create a training curriculum of 30 lessons in order to prepare the new generation of leaders for their professional tasks • prepare and publish four publications summarizing issues related to cultural heritage preservation, local customs, dance and music traditions, clothes • organize a two-day interactive workshop and experience exchange where almost every field of the heritage will be presented • provide information about regional development, about the opportunities to link to these with projects through the training and and publications.

The project aims at keeping alive and promoting the traditions of Hungarian blacksmith craft through developing the homepage of the guild and an e-learning package with films targeting primarily the young and other interested people learning farriery.

The association establishes a national training center that can meet the requirements of heritage preservation and helps providing knowledge related to new technologies and materials combined with methods applied in traditional technics that can be used in monument preservation and will try to make these methods part of the general painter training.

To work out and test a unique pedagogical pilot program which uses cultural heritage in the development of personal socialization. The pedagogical program will be applied both in the education of kindergarten children and adults.

Wekerle estate is a unique mixture of two architectural styles: folk and art noveau originally planned and built in a harmonized suburban structure but now in a bad condition. As the result of the reconstructions of the past years there are elements (mainly plastic windows) which fit neither in their environs nor in the style. That is why the main goal of the project is to prepare plans of windows and doors true to the original image and in accordance with local regulations and to work out a concept for simpler licensing processes by involving competent authorities.

The main goal is to bring the disabled and non-disabled members of society closer to one another through artistic activities. Instead of pointing out the poblem again and again, the reasons for the society's behaviour must be found in order to be able to change it. Therefore, the goal of this project is to demonstrate that social preconceptions about each group can be turned so as they consider each other as equal.

The aim of the project is to help the cooperation of the social service providers helping the same group of clients (working on the same field of attendance) in order to give the most adequate help to them. The foundation will work out, maintain and coordinate a client-centered cooperation system in the currently operating and planned social establishments at Fóti street 4., sustained by them and operated by other supporters.

The aim is to improve the social competency of children living in child-care, thus help their integration into society. The association will establish an innovative and sustainable education system called "therapeutic film-making workshop" to be used by the educators and psychologists working in child-care institutions.

The purpose of the project is to broaden the chances for equal life for disabled grown-ups, to increase their participation in the labour market, and to lessen unemployment and impoverishment by creating a new education for a social worker vocation. The foundation first prepared the terms and curriculum of this education with the help of professionals, seek for its accreditation and will carry out the first course during the projct period. Later on, it will aim at the nation-wide dissemination of the method.

The foundation was established to help chronically ill children and teens, children with disabilities and with insufficient social, health care or educational background. The main objective of their project is to develop a storytelling method and publication as well as a tale therapy program in hospitals that can help their target groups in the future.

The aassociation organizes a clud for disadvantaged young people to help form their personalities and which should also serve as a bridge between the Roma and police. Based on their earlier projects, they will provide education for 12-21 years old children about preventing victimization, contribute to group-forming, create an opportunity for out-of-school education, help adaptation to the world of work and orientation to administrative professions.

The main element of the project is a campaign to enable the social integration of foreigners residing in Hungary. The direct aim of this is to provide credible information about migrants and show the values they create in our everyday life, thus, to weaken prejudice and stereotypes that are unfortunately quite strong in Hungary.

The unarmed playmate is a violence-prevention training sequence, which allows the participants to form their social relations in an empathic and assertive way. They will also be able to solve conflicts in their everyday lives without aggression. In this project an education pack and methodology is being developed and disseminated within this theme.

It is a frequent experience of the foundation staff in the course of cancer care that the extreme strain connected to death within the family may result in it falling apart. Due to the disintegration of small local communities, we have lost most of our old rites along with the sense of togetherness - the project will contribute to alleviating this problem through school-level and broader public awareness raising activities as well as developing an accredited training methodology.

Short-term personal, economic, and social interests have dramatically reduced the genetic diversity of cultivated plants. The trade barrier regulation of native seeds is an underlying cause of the crops' genetic erosion. With the 62/2008 Directive, which establishes the framework principles of native grain and forage species for trade, a regulatory process has been launched by the European Union. With several civil partners the association initiated a dialogue with affected stakeholders about the topic, to develop an institutional environment that would support the use of native species.

The organization has undergone major internal changes over the past year. Also the social, economic and political conditions, which the association reflected in its strategy from 2005 has changed. HEPF supported the training of the staff and the development of a new organizational structure adapted to the objectives of the current goals.

HEPF supports the participation of small NGOs at the annual national gathering of green NGOs. Travel reimbursement can be claimed by organizations whose annual income is below 5 million HUF or they are registered beyond the border.

In Hungary, 53 percent of food samples were contaminated with pesticide residues in 2006, with which our country is above the EU average. Despite the protests of greens in 2008, the EU increased the level of tolerated chemicals in food. According to Greenpeace, the former limits were already a risk to human health. Thanks to civic campaigns in Western Europe several food chains have agreed to reduce the pesticides in their food. Lidl in Germany, for eg. allows only the third of the generally permitted chemical level. With random tests and campaigns the Clean Air Group aimes to convince companies in Hungary to take similar action. The campaign increases the awareness of customers about health issues connected to chemicals.

Grantee of the Year award is given to NGOs, that are delivering successful programs and use their received grants in a transparent manner. Protect the Future implemented many successful projects since its establishment, so with this award we recognized all the work that the organization did for communities and the environment.

The project aims to enforce legal instruments which have become extremely important on the field of environment protection. The Clean Air Group provides free legal advice, if necessary procedural assistance to citizens, local and national environmental NGOs with the support of HEPF. Besides, the organization also provides strategic advice or legal representation in matters precedent in nature.

With this project the Hungarian Young Greens aim at achieving to have regular weekend promenades in Budapest by letting the main routes for pedestrians to use. The campaign includes the involvement of the general public and decision makers as well as the examination of necessary communication and other tools needed to make this vision a reality.

The civil radio was founded fifteen years ago. Civic organizations focusing on social, minority, environmental and other issues have been on the agenda from the beginning. The new program called "city at eye-level" talks about everyday problems buzzing in the air of citizens.

In the past decade the application of psychological knowledge has dramatically changed in Hungary: psychological knowledge and the methods of developed therapies are used in various areas, what is more, psychological education is taught in training sessions and other forms education. This process has a positive side as it spreads the psychological knowledge and socialization, but the phenomenon also has its drawbacks. Unauthorized activities without qualification are misleading the clients. The project is an awareness-raising campaign organized to inform the public about the anomalies, faulty applications and abuse in the field of psychological services (education, training, curing).

Citizens’ Council is participatory decision-making process, in which 15-30 citizens are representing their own micro-environment. In this supported project, Cromo organized two events like that in Szentendre, designed to involve the people in local development decisions affecting direct neighbourhoods. In addition, they also organized a 4-day long session to train local people to become facilitators who can themselves run such participatory processes.

Demokracity is a special group- and role play. The participants establish a virtual party and build a city together. Through this, they start to work on a political project and become the part of political reality. With this game the players can understand personally how a democratic society needs debate and consensus and everyone’s vote is important. The organizers want to adapt, develop and disseminate the special pedagogy-theater game of the Belvue Museum in Brussels.

There are several informal neighborhood groups in downtown Budapest, which work to enhance their direct environs. They are often in conflict with local governments, protesting against large-scale investments and demanding a healthier, more human-friendly environment, while also preserving the values of their district. This work often demands special knowledge and capacity not available to their committed and good-willed volunteers. Protect the Future helps these groups by sharing its legal, communication and community skills and experience. They would also like to promote these local groups in order to involve more citizens into their activities and to start a broader discussion about the city’s future.

The foundation’s goal is to enhance the advocacy ability of refugees and migrants living in Hungary. Among several other activities they will create bilingual information materials, open and operate an "English-speaking" office and community place as well as operate a legal advisory.HEPF supported the project plan based on a revised budget after a planning and development consultation process.

The e-book is based on a manual published in 2005 with the title: “It depends on us! How to organize and represent our interests at our residence?” The electronic edition with thematic search will be freely accessible. A forum will also be set up where the questions of readers will be answered by community developers.

The "I have my opinion" program aims at strengthening the advocacy capacity of disabled people and at improving the decision-makers ability of acceptance. The organization received support from HEPF for making a film which will strengthen the communication of the network.

Haller Park was rehabilitated by the children going to the nearby school in Mester street and Óbester kindergarten and the community of Haller Square parish. The entrance of the park was separated from the traffic with hedges and decorative rocks, and the benches were repainted.

The foundation received support to create a sound hiking trail along the Danube for pedestrians, cyclists, dog walkers and horse-riders. As the route lays in a floodplain, at spring and summer the Danube may overflow on it, thus, regular management is part of the program. This task may create cohesion among those who currently use the road.

The Wekerle estate still works as a completely sealed unit and a small "island" in the capital. Due to the originally planned system several small squares developed around the big central square. As the transport and road network were changed drastically these small squares had been damaged by today. The inhabitants and the association decided to restore these fields and started to work together on the occasion of Centenary programs. Now the association builds upon this enthusiasm and initiated to rehabilitate the Bárczi Stephen's Square, too.

The project aims at helping disadvantaged families living in run-down tenements owned by local municipalities, generally struggling with backlog rent. The plan is to carry out renovations involving young volunteers and mostly unemployed locals within the framework of a „construction camp". The increase in the value of the buildings brought about by the renovations is to be credited to the tenants thus reducing their back pay. The goal is to offer local people an opportunity to shape their surroundings by working together, thus perceiving themselves as a group with common interest.

Parents of disabled children have established this association in Csongrád with the aim to create a community where their children can develop well. This project helps the integration process of handicapped children in the nursery and kindergarten and also aims at establishing a movement to support school-integration. Integrated education is important for all children as it helps mutual acceptance and understanding between disabled and non-disabled, in which both parties acquire the norms of social adaptation. The program targets the staff of the municipal government and educational institutions, as well as parents of disabled and non-disabled children, and will advocate for better local regulation of the field.

The organization aims at developing the capacity of the Civic Negotiation Forum of the Észak-Alföld Region in order to efficiently guarantee the participation of non-governmental organizations in the decision-making concerning spatial development and to involve as many NGOs as possible to the Forum's work, where they can discuss their positions to form a common advocacy policy, and finally to guarantee more active participation in the process and realization of the micro-regional and, regional development plans by also involving those NGOs which have no formal way to join the Forum's work.

The organization aims to protect the Grand Forest Parkwood Conservation Area of Debrecen, the so called "green lunge" of city. This area is also a priority nature conservation area as being part of the Natura 2000 network. The problem is that several luxury-investments are being planned in this area with probable adverse effects on forest conservation aims and public-park functions. With public cooperation, the society stepped up against those plans and developed a new complex renovation plan. Based on the agreement of local people the renovation should keep the character of the public park and enhance the green area. As a first basic step, the society also needed to take steps to enhance the advocacy capacity of local NGOs and other citizen groups.

The student self-governments of secondary schools may be important centers of public activities for young people. The campaign focused on motivating and encouraging young people to take on such activities and also on raising awareness about civic cooperation within the self-governments. As part of the campaign the organization creates a forum in the Northern-Great Plain region to represent high-school students vis-a-vis policy-makers, state and local government bodies and institutions as well as NGOs.

The quality of cooperation among the general public, NGOs and local government significantly affects the development of a town. At Derekegyház many people want to do something but they lack the support of a neutral party who would help them cooperate. The Civil Hand Information Point could fill this gap and if successful become a permanent forum for civil society in the settlement.

The organization taking an active role in the cultural life of Dévaványa now undertook the renovation of the environment around the community center. They started to collect money to match the grant and ensure the participants' commitment already in the community planning phase. HEPF supported the purchase of native trees.

The awareness raising power of civic organizations through media is very low. In today’s “tv-, video-, and internet-ruled world” civic organizations don't have a common media, where they can share pictures or videos for free, in native language, made and edited by themselves. The general aim of CivilJutub.hu Video-sharing portal is to enhance the self-awareness raising capacity of civil society by establishing a video-sharing system made for and operated by civic organizations and „civil-minded users”.

The aim of this new organization in one of the least developed areas in Hungary is to motivate and shake up the local community, and enhance the quality of life for the families living in the town and its neighborhood. During the ten-week program a sequence of family programs, excursions and environment lectures will be held. Through this, the organizers are aiming to contribute to open society by reducing social and regional disadvantages, strengthening identity, realizing equal opportunities etc.

The association was founded in Erdőkertes to operate a community radio and the local tele-house. Besides the original goals, they became active in advocacy too, and established the Civil Forum of the Veresegyház micro-region. With this project they aimed at making this Forum more effective. HEPF supported the hiring of an employee, the creation of a micro-regional knowledge-base and the realization of the Forum's marketing plan.

The association received support to develop their garden. They reinstalled the lawn, created a small fountain and bird bath, an open-air exhibition of stones and covered the trails with wood. The works have been done with the help of new volunteers who joined the association during the planning.

The settlement of Gánt lies in the Vértes landscape protection area. Besides the natural values of the mountain range, its little villages also have a unique rustic character. Although most citizens consider this as a value which is important to be maintained that a greater part of their village falls under protection, certain interest groups often frame environmentalism and landscape protection as the obstacle of development. The rustic character disappears more and more in the settlement, the lands are not cultivated, 3% of the houses are permanently for sale and 10% of them empty. At the same time, the municipality distributes new plots and greenbelts planned to be built in. To counter these trends, an answer to the “what it is possible to live on in here?” question must be sought, supplying evidence with examples taken from everyday life. HEPF provided support to set up a pilot project tackling this problem.

The Gödöllő Civil Round Table with 47 civil organization members has implemented a number of joint events during its one and a half years of operation. The organizers now aim at lobbying on the city level and to this end the forum’s effectiveness has to be increased through organizational development. This provides basis for the elaboration of a civil concept about city and successful regional civic cooperation. HEPF contributed to the program's success with supporting the organizational development process.

The project's goal is to establish a regular forum of cultural heritage preservation in the West Transdanubian region, to promote dialogue related to cultural heritage preservation, to strengthen civil participation and democratic control in the decision making process as well as to build an indicator system. For this sake, to realize a pilot project aimed at the rehabilitation of local water mills in the village of Pápateszér.

The alliance aims to strengthen the participation of Roma advocacy and representative groups (e.g. minority self-governments) in municipal decision-making, implementation and evaluation, particularly as regards the elimination of Roma colonies and the illegal waste dumps in these areas. The basis of this program is the written agreement between the alliance and the Somogy County Minority Self-government. HEPF supported the costs of an NGO management training course for their member groups.

The project will create a practical demonstration site at the ecological farm in Jákotpuszta through planning, implementing and utilizing renewable energy producing systems. The goal is to provide a complex, well-functioning system from the well-known (solar cell, sun collector, wind power generator) and the little known (Stirling engine) renewable energy producing systems, which can be presented to visitors (students, adults, farmers) in the demonstration farm, and individual parts or the whole system can be implemented everywhere. On the long run, the organizers try to reduce the eco-farm’s electricity consumption to a level where operation is safe and sustainable without the state electricity network.

The goal of the project is to preserve and present the values of the traditional stone working culture of Demjén by means of collecting and exposing the existing works and tools of the stoneworker masters and to prepare a summary publication of their activities and works in three languages; collecting the forsaken, sculptured stone tombs and creating a presentation place for them. The project also includes a two-day stone cutting camp using traditional techniques in order to present the intellectual heritage of the trade and to leave it to future generations.

By creating a park with the help of local community the organizers aimed to show how the citizens can make the most for their environment. HEPF supported their idea with the cost of native trees being planted.

The supported foundation developed the Hosszúhetény country house with a new furnace, fruit trees and herbal plants. The lodge thus renewed can provide space for programs like environmental lectures and actions of the Climate Friendly Towns. The upgrade also creates a meeting possibility and cooperation for old and new residents and different generations.

The association will develop and implement a twice three-day long training curriculum for the leaders of landscape houses. The trainings will directly reach 30 leaders, and their material will be forwarded to all institutions with an operation license (app. 200 such houses exist nationwide). Through the training they would also like to help the network of landscape houses to qualify for the UNESCO World Heritage list .

The organizers gathered ideas from the future users of the Otto Hermann Park trough questionnaires, drawings and at personal meetings. The park was renewed in April on Earth Day.

The foundation received the grant to create a community place next to the new sport center. Volunteers planted indigenous trees and plants and created public space elements and benches.

The main goal of the project is to develop eco-tourism in the socially disadvantaged Ormanság area in south Hungary in Danube-Drava National Park. Other aims are to protect the local habitat and look for new ways to slow emigration from the area, to improve the quality of life and to support the chance equality. This will be achieved through creating a strategy for a tourism information agency, an eco-camp, a bicycle and canoe rental place and also by training local people about how they can benefit from ecoturism through tourist guiding or selling local products.

Ever since its establishment in 1999 the primary goal of the association is to pass on knowledge to the younger generation about how to preserve our environment and raise people's "green" consciousness. The location of the project is at the outlet drain of the Hévíz thermal pond which thus has a unique flora and fauna. The aim is to present local species and their habitation to children from the age of 6 to 18. The organization also would like to bring the kids attention to our natural treasures and the cultureal-historical background of the territory including the environmental damages caused to Lake Hévíz and its surroundings in the past.

The main goal of the project is to establish an edible garden in the yard of the "Tree of Life" School and to raise children in healthy nutrition by being able to taste the fruits of their work, produced in the garden. This should give pupils the opportunity to obtain wide knowledge in the empirical way. During various lessons (environmental and nature studies, biology, life style) and extra activities teachers could introduce and convey curriculum in practice. The project allows children to get acquainted with conditions of gardening and to take part in activities of propagation, handling, harvest and processing the plants, gather experience in nature friendly plant protection methods as well as to develop a sense of responsibility by nursing plants.

At Kunadacs, a small village with 1600 inhabitants, after a deliberation process in 2007, a Community Advisory Board was established. The members are civic organizations, students, local institutions, the municipality and other volunteers. The goal of this project is to strengthen the Advisory Board and coach members for decision-making and preparation, advocacy, partnership and planning. To this end they start a local newsletter, and organize several programs like thematic and public meetings, trainings and study tours.

The cultural association created a public park in Lovászi by continuing the landscaping works of the local government. HEPF supported the cost of plants and grass laying.

On the estates along the Majsi Creek the risk of excess water is very high. By deepening the streambed and cleaning its area this hazard can be reduced. On the parcels along the streambed the assocation plans to grow osier and willow trees, which will be used for basketwork, as energy source and pharmaceutical raw material. The goal is to establish a sustainable and self-sustaining model that contributes to the relief of the rural environment by utilizing the out-of-use areas in a sustainable and environment-friendly way. By creating well-balanced environmental conditions the quality of rural environment will increase, and at the same time provide working possibilities and reduce social disadvantages through social cooperation.

The goal of the project is to help the local Roma people in Mera make their local neighbourhood clean and healthy. The organization would like to eliminate the illegal dump at the end of the Bercsényi street inhabited Roma. A further goal is to improve the locals' behaviour regarding on their living circumstances, in order to prevent epidemic breakouts among them.

The association will work together with and train smaller NGOs in their region to increase their level of professionalism in activities dealing with local environmental management, namely the protection of local natural values. Eventually, they will collect and document local values of the region.

The direct goal is to establish a community place based on the voluntary, communal work of the local residents, to organize programs for the communities of Pereces, Miskolc and the people of the surrounding area as well as to prepare and publish an educational publication, to organize a micro-historical research and an exhibition presenting its results.

The main goal of the project is to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the „Avas" housing estate in Miskolc by reducing of the conflicts deep-rooted in the way of living (in deep poverty) of the inhabitants newly moved in from slums in the countryside. In order to prevent the surroundings becoming a ghetto and the consequential social exclusion and segregation, during the project the foundation will generate a community development process which should result in new, local public cooperations, formal and non-formal civil organizations run efficiently by local people .

In the North-Hungarian region the citizens' demand for legal advice is growing gradually. Green Connection is reacting to this need when operating a free legal aid service. The aim of the proposal was to ensure the continuity of the service and raise the number of successful cases. In this project they received money to advertise their services, too.

The area in front of the secondary school has been transformed into a nice leisure park based on the plans of the students: besides replanting the lawn and creating an herbal garden, children and their parents also helped create an exhibition of sculptures presenting the specialties of the school.

Today in Hungary one obstacle of small-scale food production and trade is the lack of legislation about approved homestead and traditional food production methods. The association wants to help small scale food producers enter the market, thus, they prepare a good hygiene practice that guarantees an adequate level of food security. HEPF supports the strengthening of small scale food producers with this grant given for the elaboration of the good practice, lobby activities and a public campaign.

The organization will promote the the traditions, the natural and built values, the local legends of the settlement among people unfamilliar to them by collecting these, organizing programs and creating an adventure game related to Diósjenő.

The organization creates a workshop in the 14th-century Marianosztra prison where inmates may gather complementary professional knowledge necessary for the renovation, preservation and aesthetic improvement of architectural heritage. During the thrice three-day trainings and therapy the inherited walls are gradually renewed. The project will additionally provide an opportunity to participate in social (civil, heritage or monument preservation) tasks for the participants after the training, during their re-integration into society.

The association planned the landscaping works of the Nyírbátor cemetery with the help of the historic church communities. HEPF supported tree and grass planting and the soil improvement.

The organization has earlier undertook to manage a protected landscape in the Zemplén mountains through grazing and natural management. In this project, they focus on the local community in order to strengthen sustainable land use practices by connecting them to local livelihood in a region with considerable natural values. They will facilitate community organizing, encourage various farming methods and help find market for the produce.

Through this grant, the organization will further develop its greenhouse project being built from EU resources, by installing renewable energy applications, composting and natural sewage treatment. As a result, they hope to accomplish a self-supporting model for the village and the broader community based on renewable energy sources and natural values.

The center aims enhancing cooperation between the civic organizations and other public actors as well as local citizens in Nyírtelek. To this end, with HEPF support the association organizes roundtables, forums and trainings for NGOs and provides assistance in proposal writing and management.

The organization will collect and publish the whole material of knowledge about their settlement, and realize a complex project with the follwing elements: a photo album presenting the 20th century history of the settlement, a multimedia dvd about home knowledge, a village museum with a permanent exhibition and an open-air exhibition in the surroundings, a unique path of home knowledge and with information boards presenting the monumental and natural values under protection, a related publication and a virtual path (dvd and web version) as well. Thes will be achieved through interviewing local old residents, processing and publishing them on dvd and on internet as well as to creating and educational material and adapting and using it in museum-pedagogic programs and lessons.

"Our Space" association was established to create a park in the grape district of Orosháza. In this proposal they obtained support for the forestation of the area bounded by the Avar-Youth-Csongor streets.

The sport center of Palotás was rehabilitated and afforested with indigenous trees.

The conservation of nature values is often in conflict with human interest and income generation. There are several areas where nature conservation produces economic value. The strictly protected grassland of Dinnyés area is such an area. Appropriate grazing is the easiest by following the traditions, also providing possibility for preserving culture, resulting in cooperation and stronger society. The project targets to increase the area grazed by the Hungarian grey cattle and to draw the attention that anybody can make his/her choice every day by expressing preferences with conscious life style, buying local and nature-friendly products, running a small family farm. Further goal of the project is to increase the cohesion of the local society, involving people in methods of farming, like riving the herd to the pasture.

The main aim of the project is to spread environment- and energy-conscious thinking and to reduce environmental and health damages caused by traditional biomass heating with the use of low-cost renewable energy technologies. The organization would like to make everyday life easier for families stricken by energy poverty through training in the application and use of these technologies. They want to achieve that basic physiological and cultural needs are met, which means that these people no longer need to freeze or be cold in winter or be cut off the electricity supply.

The goal of the project is to develop a major rehabilitation process through a community based action program of public spaces in break off areas in the city of Pécs.

The aim of the project called 'Sanctuary' is to empower tolerance and social inclusion among young people through the means of human rights education.

The goal of the project is to establish a space for active social dialogue by the means of a direct community action which enhances solidarity; to sensitize and to raise awareness among the students and children involved about social segregation - and through them, also of their parents and families - using voluntarism as a useful and conscientious tool of active citizenship. Participating young people should gain real knowledge and own experience about poverty and exclusion. The indirect aim would be to utilise the social network, relationships and know-how of the students to tackle and solve the problems of those living in the segregation.

The 11 month-long project adapting mural painting for the first time in Hungary will come true with the help of young people, social workers and peer helpers. Underprivileged young will develop their sense of responsibility, consciousness for their fellow humans and their environment through street and indoors workshops and with forming a methodology center. An important element of the project is the development of the participating childrens’ and young persons' competences by non-formal educational methods.

With broad civic support the Green Club wants to create a recommendation for an NGO support scheme in the 3rd action Plan of the South Trans-Danubian Operative Program. The recommendation is being made in the early phase of the action plan’s preparation process when the elaboration of an independent supporting mechanism has more chance.

The organization is dealing with community-based rehabilitation, especially known for disseminating their Retextil technology and operating a rehabilitation workshop. However, in their present program they rehabilitated a "waste landscape" by the Zsolnay Mausoleum of Pécs, also relying on the strength of the community. The foundation prepared a willow-edifice, benches, waste containers, bicycle racks and planted trees from the grant.

The project aims at saving and conserving the cultural heritage of the Zengő Region in order to create a dynamic and active local rural community. These traditions formed the basis of a healthy and sustainable rural lifestyle for centuries, and through their interpretation, the organization would help their adaptation to everyday life in the 21st century, utilizing the advantage of the modern era as well as the traditional values.

The association committed to renovate a small triangular square surrounded by historical buildings in the downtown of Pécsvárad. HEPF contributed to the works with the costs of the trees and street furniture.

The goal of the program is to set up and maintain a community center to serve as a place where we the association could organize community development programmes for the local Roma and non-Roma communities. The place will include a community laundrette and be available for after-school children activities as well.

The inhabitants of Pilisszentlászló decided to build a leisure park a few minutes walk from the center. They created a pleasant environment: they cleaned up the area, planted new vegetation and preserved the native species.

The association's long-term purpose is to act up against the most exasperating problem in Hungary i.e. to overcome the social gaps by lessening the differences between rich and poor, city and country dweller, educated and uneducated, producer and consumer, Hungarian and Roma people. Therefore they organize direct consumer-producer cooperations between city and country Roma families in the framework of "Distant Producers Cooperative" method, primarily in the field of food producing, vegetables and fruit growing as well as animal breeding (poultry, pig, egg, dairy products). The aim of the cooperation is to create real producing communities despite geographic distance, in which the finance, production, consumption, responsibility and risk is common.

The Association was created for Sátoraljaújhely-Rudabányácska and to protect the region's cultural and natural heritage. With the support of HEPF a leisure park with trees and bushes was created with the help of the community.

The general goal of the project is to establish an unified educational background for all special rescue teams, increase the involvement of NGOs and promote voluntary rescue work. The specific aim is to build up an accredited course system for urban search and rescue work, meeting the highest international standards and to start training the voluntary rescue dog handlers, special rescuers and paramedics.

Traffic, noise-pollution, bad smell, increased truck traffic are making the life worse and worse at a densely populated area of Solymár in the capital’s suburb. The inhabitants expect the municipality to solve the problem, but despite their initiatives, they feel in vain. With the help of mediators and conferences the organizers want to help the conflicting parties to find a common solution, also helping them recognize and start using their own resources.

The project wishes to enable Roma children belonging to the 'beás' group in Southern Transdanubia to gather deeper knowledge about the language, the Romani traditions and trades through presentations, occupations and the camp organized within the framework of the project. Based on these activities, they can present their knowledge and experience such as songs and dances learnt to their classmates and they can improve their expressive skills by this.

The rehabilitation program of the cultural association of Somogyapáti was complemented by a number of environmental protection activities. A drawing competition and exhibition was organized for children. The rehabilitation was done in the framework of the "Adopt a piece of green" days, where the citizens cleaned target area and planted trees together.

The school’s foundation planted trees and vegetation, built resting places, a barbecue fireplace, a furnace and an outdoor classroom in the village center with the support of HEPF.

The foundation submitted an application to improve its environmental awareness raising work, reputation and membership. The eco-village in Somogyvámos is the demonstration area of the Eco-valley Program. The organization planned to show the environmental lifestyle of the 150 volunteers living here and the methods of this to those interested in ecologic lifestyle. To this end, events, lectures, exhibitions took place, supported with publications and marketing materials.

The project aims at developing the competencies of people working as a "community developers". Though the process they will learn to implement special methods for mobilizing of people, especially the youth in the small villages of Csongrád county. After the project, participants will be able to involve young people to the process of decision-making of their settlement, initialize a process of youth action plan making and generate new projects.

The aim of the program is to help children living in the Battonya SOS Children's Village integrate smoothly into society and make their conditions of living better through an innovative puppet theatre method. Principles of the SOS Children's village were taken into consideration during planning the method which includes healing tales, puppetry therapy and drawing therapy.

The community self-help system, also known as LETS is a network of people living in one place, formed in order to exchange goods and services among members by volunteer work and without the use of money. Through creating such a system, the organization will highlight and acknowledge the voluntary work of its members, which will hopefully enlarge the circle of volunteers and inform members of the available services. Through partially exchanging financial contributions for voluntary work, it will also contribute to providing equal opportunities for less well-off families, and the exchange of services among members will further encourage networking.

The program aims at disseminating the good practices and experiences of the greens to younger generations to motivate and help them join the well-working green movement. Target groups are the county student parliaments as well as the youth member groups of green NGO's.

The organization rehabilitated a neglected park between the Herman Otto and Mora Ferenc dorms by renovating the public space elements and refreshing the vegetation.

The project aims at to increasing the efficiency of the advocacy and capacity building activities of NGOs for the blind and partially sighted in Hungary. The main focus is to increase the visinility of these NGOs improve their cooperation to carrying out advocacy activities also based on the involvement of the non-blind.

The project focuses on the role of civil organizations in deliberative or discursive democracy. This is a system of political decisions based on a trade-off between direct and representative democracy that relies on citizen and civic deliberation to make sound policy. In contrast to the traditional theory of democracy, deliberative democracy theorists argue that legitimate lawmaking can arise only through public deliberation by the people. The main goal of the project is to prepare and promote among local NGOs the use of the methods of deliberative democracy. During the project cycle the association will adapt the Deliberative Polling technique to the local Hungarian circumstances. This debate oriented method is a technique which combines deliberation in small group discussions with scientific random sampling to provide public consultation for public policy and local problem solving. After the training the NGOs will organize a Deliberative project focusing on the controversial investment of King City Casino in Sukoro.

The project's main aim is to work out and apply innovative methods which may influence young consumers' buying behavior, focusing on sustainable development and environmental consciousness.

The association founded by volunteers in 2007 focuses its activities on the protection of the native forests. Last year they worked on protecting the forests of the Gemenc and the Szekszárd-hills: they took steps against harmful activities and put pressure on the authorities in order to make them take action. With the support of HEPF, they can expand their capacities and ensure their basic operation. Thus they can step up in forest protection even more efficiently. With expanding the capacity they will be able to take on other cases, too.

The project focuses on the traditional products of the craftsmen of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Ccunty (especially in the disadvantaged regions) dealing with spinning and knotting works. The organization wil help craftsmen establish social and economical relations not only in Hungary but in three microregions abroad through exchanges held in Szolnok, Eisenstadt (A), Rozsnyó (SK) and Kézdivásárhely (RO) and contribute to keeping these traditions alive through handicraft presentation, exhibition, workshop visits and educational forums (oral, printed, multimedia and internet).

The foundation’s goal is to conserve and raise the natural biodiversity and ecological value of Hungarian forests, spread and enforce the principles of sustainability in the sylviculture, including the aspects of continuity, naturalness and social monitoring. Their campaign is organized on the local, regional and national level as well.

The Old Town Recreation and School Park has been established in the little forest at Béke street in Tatabánya with the help of volunteers and in kind donations from local organizations and institutions and HEPF’s support. The organization that initiated the works, planted shrubs and vegetation that are native in the Vertes and Gerecse Mountains.

The main goal of the project is to make young people living in the region of World Heritage Tokaj realize how important it is for the whole population of Earth what they could do to protect their close environment. The organizers believe that this can be achieved best by doing active work to protect their environment to make young people feel and understand that they are an important part of our nature and society. To this end a variety of environmental education activities are organized ranging from drawing competitions, through bicycle races to concrete landscaping works.

The goal of the project is to establish the Black Stork House – a 21st century interactive museum and community center in a protected monument of Báta village.

The organization would like to unravel the folkloric architectural values of Tornabarakony in Northern Hungary and to revive them through new functions. This includes presenting the techniques of traditional, practical architecture, acquainting the young to it as well as adapting it into practice experimentally (among others by creating a modern community place by reconstructing a traditional barn).

The acronym SLAPP derives from Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, a suit that is intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. Based on its own and very recent experience, Beklen wants promote and help governmental efforts in protecting public reporting.

The alliance will develop a local model of cultural heritage and value preservation, also contributing to the protection of the environment in selected ettlements of Vas County, based on involving local enterprises in the production and sales of gastronomic, handicraft and cultural products ans services.

The Kölcsey Park has been created on the school yard that is open to everyone. Now it became an ideal place for outdoor events for the community of the village, which helped in planting the vegetation and preparing the new benches.

The association aims at informing the citizens of Veresegyhaz and its area about the environment, involving people in environmental decision making at the local level and improving their environmental awareness. To this end, they air regular programs on environment in their non-profit radio, create a public database of environmental information in the region and organize various environmental education activities.

The progam’s goal is to include ecological aspects in the management of still waters for fishing (ponds and lakes) for the sake of good ecological status. This affects 300,000 anglers, 1000 manager organizations and near the same number of waters. The “Fish-friendly Waters” label was first given in 2008 to fishing waters whose state and management served the conservation of biodiversity. The label is given by a committee of organizations representing the civil, state, for-profit and media sector. Part of the waters winning the label also receives a grant, partly from sponsors, which should be spent e.g. on conservation management and rehabilitation. HEPF supported the program with the cost of monitoring the labelled organizations.

The association takes an active role in the solution of local issues, be it health or social problems or environment. With our support a 1700 m2 big area was renovated and developed in the center of the town, among many other things with a herbal garden, too.

The organization's goal is to preserve the joint monument of the Akli Manor of Zirc and to revitalize its tourism by creating the Manor shop in the ex-milk house. They establish an informal selling, buying and heritage preservation circle of friends called the Akli Manor Friend Circle composed of the local producers, residents and tourists visiting the area.

The foundation is working to mobilize the community of Vokány village located in the disadvantaged Siklós region. As a first step they wanted to enhance their communication activities by issuing monthly or bimonthly newspaper and creating a website. Ökotárs contributed to the development of the organization by supporting these activities.

The association aims at establishing an efficient Animal Save Service, where legal steps can be made against the torture of animals, respectively against breeding them in inappropriate conditions. At the moment no such service is operated in Zalaegerszeg. In the establishment of the service, the competent authorities of the city will be involved as well as animal protection lawyers to clarify the competence of each authority. The colleagues of the local Animal Welfare Agency are working voluntarily and at their own expenses. They will be composed of colleagues of relevant organizations, which have competence in the field of animal protection, vets, as well as inhabitants of the city and the pupils of the age between 10-18.

The project creates an exemplary co-operation between an environmental and a social organization for improving the quality and standard of life for disadvantaged groups by teaching and promoting an ecological way of life among them. As a result, they will be able to experience a higher quality of life with the same financial resources, without becoming vulnerable.

The foundation wants to create and operate a professional advocacy network ni the field of grey and rainwater utilization and natural sewage treatment. The target groups of the activity are environmental and rural development organizations and decision makers of settlements and subregions across the country.

The Civil Salon of Zala was founded in 2008 as an open forum for civic organizations. Currently it is the only functioning civic initiative in the area, which avoids formalities and participants can exchange opinions on local issues in a coffeehouse atmosphere. The Salon has patron members from among the actors of public life who also join these conversations. The association now would like to further improve this good example by involving new organizations and increasing the number of future cooperations.

The local school's foundation applied to create park behind the culture house at Zsámbok. HEPF supported the project with the costs of woods and scrogs, bike stands, tables and benches.