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Ambassador Walker at the Joint Conference of Hungarian and Hungarian-American Medical Associations On August 23, 2004, Ambassador George H. Walker gave remarks at the opening ceremony of the Joint Conference of Hungarian and Hungarian-American Medical Associations, hosted by Dr. István Mikola, former Minister of Health. Founded in 1999 to encourage mutual doctor and student exchanges, as well as cooperation in the field of research and medicine, the two societies devoted this year's Conference to a discussion of Men's Health, including discussions on cardiovascular and prostate cancer concerns. After the opening, the Ambassador participated in a press conference, at which all important Hungarian media were represented.
June 29 was the First Annual Danube Day in all the Danube River countries. There were various events and celebrations in at least 13 of those countries. On Sunday, June 27, Regional Environment Officer, Karyn Posner-Mullen, and the Environmental Protection Agency's Anna Phillips, attended Hungary's kick-off celebration in Esztergom. Minister of Environment and Water, Miklós Persányi, and WWF's Hungary Director, Ferenc Márkus, lauded environmental efforts in cleaning up the Danube. And to prove how far along the River has come, the Minister released baby sturgeons into the water to great fanfare. Music, food and dancing completed the fun. Ambassador Walker and Danube Day On Danube Day itself, June 29, Ambassador George H. Walker visited the city of Vác, a charming and ancient town situated directly on the Danube River. Mayor János Bóth and Senior Advisor István Lajtai welcomed the Ambassador and presented an overview of their beautiful city. Vác, once one of the "Dirty Dozen" of environmentally unsound Hungarian cities, recently won an award for being one of the cleanest cities. In his remarks, Ambassador Walker noted this great improvement and called the Mayor an 'environmental pioneer'. The Ambassador also complimented Vác on its status as one of the most active of "Healthy Cities." Not only did Vác host the May coordinators' meeting, but also during Men's Health Week (June 14-20), Vác organized a very rich program of events to highlight men's health and the necessity of screening for heart disease and prostate cancer. The Vác Healthy Cities Coordinator, made a presentation. After exchanging official gifts, the Mayor and the Ambassador walked to the Danube and tossed beautiful wreaths of flowers to emphasize the friendship between Hungary and the United States, as well as mutual support in environmental and health endeavors. Men's Health Week, June 14-20 this year, included a number of activities designed to promote awareness of men's health problems, which include cardiovascular concerns, liver, lung and prostate cancer. Early detection via screening is the key! The U.S. Embassy, representatives from Hungary's Ministry of Health, National Health Development Institute, and the Healthy Cities Network kicked off this year's events on June 14 with a Symposium on General Men's Health Issues, co-sponsored by the Ministry and the Embassy, and opened by Minister Mihály Kökény and Ambassador George H. Walker. A press conference followed and was attended by every major media outlet in the nation. That afternoon, the Ambassador participated in a ceremony in Keszthely (a city in the western part of Hungary) that focused on Mayor József Mohácsi signing a Letter of Intent to become the country's 22nd "Healthy City." Please follow this link to view the photos of the Keszthely events. All 22 cities in the "Healthy Cities Network" scheduled numerous related activities throughout the entire week, including team sports competitions, professional symposiums, and press events emphasizing men's health issues. The Regional Environment Officer traveled to Gyula, Székesfehérvár and Zalaegerszeg, participating in the symposiums and giving interviews about the Initiative. Photo Gallery: These photos are from the June 14, 2004 Symposium on Men's Health, which took place at the Ministry of Health. The moderator was Dr. Misz Irén Irisz, and the opening remarks were by Minister of Health Mihály Kökény. Ambassador George H. Walker discussed general problems of men's health, as well as prostate cancer, specifically. The other speakers were experts on urology, cardiovascular problems, and alcoholism, including: Prof. Dr. János Metneki, Dr. József Vitrai, Prof. Dr. Sándor Sonkody, Prof. Dr. Miklós Kásler, Prof. Dr. Imre Romics and Prof. Dr. István Degrell. To highlight Men's Health Week, Ambassador Walker and Mrs. Walker traveled to the Balaton-felvidéki Nemzeti Park for a healthy walk through the hills on June 15. Please click on the link for some wonderful photos of their trip. Top of the PageBuffalo Reserve Opens
Top of the Page GLOBE in Parliament On May 3, Ambassador Walker celebrated with Minister of Education Bálint Magyar and Minister of Environment and Water Miklós Persányi in the Parliament at a "Recommitment to the GLOBE Program" ceremony, where they honored 5 successful years with this U.S. environmental science education program for high schools. Also present were a number of award-winning GLOBE students, their teachers and Hungary's GLOBE Coordinator Anikó Orgoványi.
Top of the Page Earth Day and GLOBE Go Hand-In-Hand Ambassador George H. Walker visited the Zsigmond téri Gimnázium in Buda on Earth Day, and participated in a GLOBE Environmental Science education class. He and Mrs. Walker viewed 15 student experiments, consisting of water, soil and air measurements - and helped calculate some of the results. At the end of the class, the Ambassador chose three names from a beaker. Those students will join the Ambassador, Minister of Education, Bálint Magyar, and Minister of Environment and Water, Miklós Persányi on May 3 in Parliament, where Hungary and the United States will celebrate their mutual and continuing cooperation on the GLOBE Program and in science, environment and education. It will be Hungary's first public event after EU accession on May 1.
Top of the Page U.S. Cooperation with Serbia and Montenegro on Environmental Capacity Building Around the world, environmental enforcement is gaining more and more attention as the public, governments, and industry take action to prevent and reduce the health and environmental consequences of pollution. Most environmental management strategies involve some form of legal requirements such as regulations or permits. Governments are increasingly recognizing that effective enforcement to compel and encourage compliance with these requirements is essential to the success of environmental programs. Read on to see what Serbia and Montenegro are doing to protect the environment: U.S. Cooperation with Serbia and Montenegro on Environmental Capacity Building The Serbian and Montenegrin governments in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Serbia and Montenegro, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Country Office Serbia and Montenegro are working together to help build regional capacity for environmental protection and governance for sustainable development. This workshop was the first of several training modules designed to improve environmental decision-making that will cover issues such as environmental compliance, solid waste management, risk assessment, and pollution prevention. The workshop was held February 3 - 5, 2004 on the Principles of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement and was designed to help governments worldwide create and implement environmental compliance and enforcement programs that reinforce each country's domestic laws. It was originally developed in 1991 by the U.S. EPA in cooperation with the Netherlands and Poland . It introduces participants to the various approaches different countries have found useful in developing their own enforcement programs, and it provides participants with the tools to successfully carry out this task in their unique settings. Around the world, environmental enforcement is gaining more and more attention as the public, governments, and industry take action to prevent and reduce the health and environmental consequences of pollution. Most environmental management strategies involve some form of legal requirements such as regulations or permits. Governments are increasingly recognizing that effective enforcement to compel and encourage compliance with these requirements is essential to the success of environmental programs. The course presents basic principles of environmental enforcement that have contributed to successful environmental management in the United States, the Netherlands, and other countries during the past twenty years. The cooperation between the U.S. EPA, the Serbian Ministry for Protection of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Spatial Planning of Montenegro is an example of the benefits of cooperation among organizations such as the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) and the Balkan Environmental Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Network (BERCEN). These networks create international partnerships that promote effective compliance and enforcement of domestic environmental laws and international environmental agreements through networking, capacity building, and cooperation.
Top of the Page Ambassador Walker "Tours the Region" at Szentendre's Regional Environmental Center Ambassador and Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Elizabeth Holden and Mrs. Nancy Bush Ellis visited the Regional Environmental Center (REC) in Szentendre on January 14. Executive Director, Marta Szigeti Bonifert, Senior Advisor Janos Zlinszky and Communications Director, Zsolt Bauer greeted them upon arrival. Mrs. Nancy Bush Ellis was particularly pleased about the visit. Her brother, former President George Herbert Walker Bush, had made a stirring speech at Karl Marx University in Budapest in July 1989, and had announced that the United States would support the founding of an international regional environmental center in Hungary. In the speech, he praised the Hungarians for their concern for environmental issues, promising that Congress would appropriate $5 million for the founding of such an institute. On September 6, 1990, the Regional Environmental Center (REC) began its mission, and Mrs. Bush Ellis was delighted to see just how international (16 countries with a REC office and 2 field offices) and how special an organization the REC has become. Ms. Szigeti Bonifert opened the visit with welcoming remarks and an introduction of her senior staff. The Ambassador, in turn, thanked her and the staff, and Mrs. Bush Ellis also expressed her delight at visiting the institution that had been a dream of her brother's. After a presentation from each of the senior staff about their individual projects, the group toured the compound. REC country officers, who were in Szentendre for a two-day seminar, presented their on-going plans. Margarita Mateeva, Country Director for REC Bulgaria, made the following remarks: "In Bulgaria the REC is known as the "Bush Center". Everyone remembers that President Bush supported this wonderful idea of regional environmental cooperation. And a great idea, no matter the distance, can have an extremely positive effect on many thousands of people. In Bulgaria, we would like President Bush to know this. Please send him our regards." The culmination to the wonderful day was the presentation to Ambassador Walker and Mrs. Bush Ellis of individual albums of photographs of the former President Bush during his trip to Hungary in 1989, along with his letter of congratulations at the opening of the REC in 1990.
Top of the Page Judith Ayres of the Environmental Protection Agency Visits the Regional Environmental Center In Szentendre, Hungary
Prior to the meeting, Minister of Environment Miklos Persanyi hosted a dinner for the participants at the Skanzen Ethnographic Village. Inter alia at the General Assembly meeting, new Board members were appointed and the GA's participants recognized the outgoing members. Ms. Ayres delivered remarks that emphasized the very substantive work that the REC performs, and Ms. Marta Szigeti Bonifert, the Executive Director of the REC, presented the previous year's activities. She also outlined the Work Plan for 2004 with the assistance of the REC Program Officers. The Budapest-based Regional Environment, Science, Technology, and Health HUB Office of the U.S. Embassy had the pleasure of welcoming and accompanying Ms. Ayres and Ms. Phillips during their visit. The meeting provided a good opportunity to introduce the new staff of the HUB Office to the U.S. Delegation and discuss future environmental activities in the Central and Eastern European Region. Environmentalists: A New Nobel Prize? There are newspaper accounts of a strong call for a new Nobel Prize: Sustainable Development. It seems that more than one million people and organizations from over 100 countries are behind the initiative. In fact, the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Laureate himself, has come out in support of the idea, which was presented in Stockholm on December 5 - five days before the annual award ceremonies. A Nobel Prize for Sustainable Development would very likely be a great incentive for all those who work in the environmental field, for the initiators believe that this Nobel Prize could be a very powerful tool for innovative, sustainable technologies. Top of the PageElectronic Publications Electronic Journals: The Journals examine major issues facing the United States and the international community. They provide analyses, commentary, and background information (additional reading, bibliography, useful Internet sites) on the topic. Although the Journals are published by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs, the opinions expressed in them do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government.
A monthly publication of the U.S. Missions to Poland and Hungary. It is designed mainly for younger audience.
Newsletters The Information Resource Center (IRC) of the U.S. Embassy Budapest produces newsletters on environment, health, economy and information technology. The newsletters contain various articles, U.S. think-tank publications and U.S. government documents on the related topic. For further information on the IRC newsletters please contact: infousabp@pd.state.gov Top of the Page
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 Ambassador Walker at the Joint Conference of Hungarian and Hungarian-American Medical Associations  Danube Day Men's Health Week Buffalo Reserve Opens GLOBE in Parliament Earth Day and GLOBE Go Hand-In-Hand U.S. Cooperation with Serbia and Montenegro Ambassador Walker Visits REC Judith Ayres of EPA Visits REC Environmentalists: A New Nobel Prize? Publications Newsletters 
  Last updates: 08/24/04  |
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Judith E. Ayres, Assistant Administrator for International Affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Anna Phillips, the EPA's Central and Eastern European Regional Program Manager, visited Budapest between 29 October - 2 November 2003. The main aim of their visit was to attend the Central and Eastern European Regional Environmental Center (REC) General Assembly meeting that was held on 31 October in Szentendre, a lovely town about 30 minutes from Budapest.