We were reborn at the Restart Festival!
THIS IS WHAT THE RESTART FESTIVAL WAS LIKE
For three days, the entire spectrum of domestic nature conservation gathered at the foot of the Szent György Hill.
At the RESTART Festival, which celebrated the seventh birthday of the 10 Million Trees initiative as a renewal, civil organizations, researchers, artists, community organizers, and an interested audience came together to discuss how to move forward with green issues in a renewing Hungary, where environmental protection is once again receiving independent ministerial-level attention.
SEVENTH YEAR: ANNIVERSARY OF REBIRTH
As is customary, we celebrated our birthday in early July in Kisapáti. This time, we organized a three-day meeting titled “RESTART in Nature Conservation” at the Vulkán Kert.
The festival served as a professional forum, a community celebration, and a cultural event: roundtable discussions, presentations, film screenings, readings, concerts, and children’s programs alternated throughout the event.
Several national and local outlets reported on the event: Thüringer Barbara, a journalist from Telex, covered the social base-building and water management discussions that took place at the festival.
SEVEN YEARS – 700,000 TREES
Over seven years, the 10 Million Trees initiative has grown into the largest community tree-planting network in the country, having planted more than 700,000 trees to date. From the beginning, we have said: we plant not only trees but also ideas! The RESTART Festival was the largest milestone in this work so far.
In the shady, walnut-tree-filled Vulkán Kert, professionals and communities working in the fields of nature conservation, climate adaptation, forestry, water, urban greening, civil community building, and cultural awareness met.
Among those who spoke at the festival were Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, Iván András Bojár, Réka Aszalós, Balázs Szendőfi, Zoltán Bajor, László Gálhidy, Ákos Éger, Péter Dezsényi, and Balázs Bozzay, as well as representatives from several domestic green and professional organizations.
ANNIVERSARY SURPRISE
The festival’s surprise guest was Péter Geszti, with whom the host Iván András Bojár had an impromptu conversation about the communication necessary to create a broad social fabric, which is essential for achieving new meaningful impacts. How to reach and engage those who today feel indifferent or distant from the cause of nature conservation.
THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING IS WATER
One of the festival’s most resonant discussions was the roundtable titled “The Foundation of Everything: Water”, which Telex reported on in detail
During the conversation, members of the Water Coalition, the Water Separator Movement, and the Water Guardians discussed the need to fundamentally rethink Hungary’s relationship with water.
In the discussion, Balázs Szendőfi mentioned that as a nature filmmaker, he increasingly has to work among isolated pieces of nature that have remained like reserves, while wetland areas have dramatically diminished in the Carpathian Basin. The central message of the conversation was that instead of draining water, retaining it, reintroducing it into the landscape, and cooperating with natural systems could be one of the keys to the future.
MIYAWAKI MINI-FORESTS – THE GREEN OASES OF CITIES
As part of the program, essentially a continuation of the 10 Million Trees Miyawaki conference held in Budapest in March, a separate discussion focused on Miyawaki mini-forests: the “Miyawaki – The Green Oases of Cities” roundtable explored practical issues related to urban heat islands, biodiversity, and community greening. The discussion titled “Expertise and Decision-Making: Will There Be a Meeting Point?” sought to answer how scientific and professional knowledge can have a real impact on public policy decisions.
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Environment and Sustainability, and their social practices in India and among local Roma communities, was the topic of a conversation between Erika Varga, founder of Romani Design, and Júlia Perczel, a researcher at the University of Manchester.
RAIN DANCE ON THE ST. GEORGE STAGE
Alongside professional programs, the festival was rich in community moments: during the breaks between presentations, participants introduced a new ritual by performing a rain dance on the St. George stage.
The roundtable discussion titled “Challenges of Building a Social Base Yesterday and Today”, with representatives from green civil and other organizations, explored how civil organizations can remain strong, credible, and widely based in the changed socio-political environment. According to the speakers, the task of civil nature conservation does not cease because certain issues receive greater state attention; on the contrary, professional credibility, critical thinking, strengthening the social base, and the ability to cooperate become even more important.
BIRTHDAY SURPRISE: PÉTER GESZTI’S VISIT
At the festival, surprise guest Péter Geszti engaged in an impromptu conversation with host Iván András Bojár about the communication necessary to create a broad social fabric, which is essential for achieving new substantive impact. How can we reach and engage those who today feel indifferent or distant from the cause of nature conservation?
The RESTART Festival featured professional discussions addressing often serious topics, enriched by cultural programs, demonstrating that nature conservation is not a narrow policy issue but also encompasses culture, community, storytelling, and identity. The program included Márton Kállai’s photo exhibition “Methuselahs,”
Géza Röhrig, Tibor Weiner Sennyey, Iván András Bojár, and Zsófi Kemény also read their works, along with Zsolt Prieger’s evening dedicated to Antal Szerb. Concerts, pajtamozi, children’s programs, and community meetings awaited those interested.
NEW CONQUEST
Iván András Bojár, who launched the 10 Million Trees community seven years ago with a social media post, spoke about the changes awaiting civil society alongside political changes in his presentation titled “New Conquest,” proposing a greater social collaboration than ever before to preserve the livability of the Hungarian landscape:
“We do not need to conquer new territories, but to make the country we inherited livable again.”
“Where there is water, there is forest. Where there is forest, there is water. Where there is water and forest, there is life.”
The name of the RESTART Festival, held on St. George’s Hill, simultaneously refers to a new beginning, rethinking, and new connections. The 10 Million Trees initiative continues its work, seeking collaborations that can provide real answers to the challenges of the climate and ecological crisis.
HUGE THANKS!
We thank all our speakers, performers, volunteers, and helpers who contributed to the creation of the RESTART Festival.
We also thank the audience for thinking, questioning, paying attention, and connecting with us.
Réka Aszalós forest ecologist, expert at 10 Million Trees; HUN-REN Ecological Research Center
Zoltán Aszalós economist, host of 10 Million Trees
Levente Bagdán – Mecsekerdő
Zoltán Bajor – Hungarian Birdlife Association; BKM Főkert; moderator
János Bárth – performing artist, singer, guitarist, linguist
Iván András Bojár – leader of 10 Million Trees
Balázs Bozzay – forestry expert, ambassador of 10 Million Trees and Climate Pact
Caitanya Das Krishna Valley
Hajnalka Cserna – chief gardener at BKM Főkert
Balázs Csury – Liget Workshop
Péter Dezsényi – director general of BKM Főkert Division
Attila Dobrovitz – Hatvan Seedling Garden
Dr. Péter Csépányi – Pilis Park Forest
Ákos Éger – president of MTVSZ
József Fidlóczky – Life4OAKS
László Gálhidy – WWF
Áron Gauder film director / creator
Balázs Gerencsér NIOK
Péter Geszti surprise guest
Mihály Haraszti landscape architect, 10 Million Trees; moderator
David Hervai playlist
Franciska Hervai chief coordinator of 10 Million Trees; moderator
Zsombor Hibbey Water Divide Movement
András Kádár Jane Goodall Institute
Márton Kállai photographer
Zsófi Kemény poet, author; reader
Ákos Klein Owl Protection Foundation; speaker
Péter Koncz HUN-REN
Kinga Korényi moderator of 10 mF
Emese Kovács-Bagoly human ecologist, 10 Million Trees; moderator
Körner Olga Planet
Kulcsár László Green Guerrilla
Lajtmann Csaba Reflex Environmental Protection Association and European Climate Pact
Magyar Bori speaker
Magyar-Ábel Ágnes Water Coalition
Németh András Water Guardians
Perczel Júlia social scientist, art historian
Porhajas Gábor Urbavis Urban Development Research Institute / Hungarian Urban Planning Society / Climate-Friendly Municipalities Association
Prieger Zsolt speaker
Réthy Katalin biologist, agroecologist, founder of Szezon Kert
Révai Mátyás organizer of international ecological camps
Rózsahegyi Péter municipal representative, Rákosliget
Röhrig Géza writer, author; reader
Szendőfi Balázs nature filmmaker
Szirtes Edina Mókus musician; live music accompaniment
Takács-Sánta András human ecologist, university lecturer, ELTE
Teveli-Horváth Dorka Urbavis Urban Development Research Institute / Hungarian Urban Planning Society / Climate-Friendly Municipalities Association
Trilla Manó fairy tale play
Ürge-Vorsatz Diána climate expert / climate researcher
Varga Erika Romani Design
Varga Helena speaker; concert / stencil workshop
Vers József Balaton Highlands NP
Viczián Zsófi author; reading and screening
Weiner-Sennyey Tibor beekeeper-poet-writer
Zakar András landscape architect
