A large team of ESSRG researchers attended the ‘Degrowth: bridging green and just in Central and Eastern Europe’ conference, held from 16 to 19 June in Kraków, Poland.
It not only offered a great opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences within a shared post-socialist context, but also demonstrated how regional participation and good public transport connections can help reduce the travel-related carbon footprint of conferences. Strengthening regional networks and movements offers a major opportunity for the degrowth community and should be explored further.
ESSRG’s contributions included:
Gergő Berta and Karmen Czett presented their action case from the FairNature project, which focuses on community gardens as nature-based solutions (NbS) in Budapest’s 8th district, and on the related justice dimensions and opportunities for scaling. They are both deeply inspired by the enthusiasm of the local initiatives, so it was a rewarding experience to share their work and exchange ideas on the topic with an international audience.
They also gave a poster presentation on the Learning History Process in the DAISY project. The poster focused on the seed innovation of introducing a results-based payment scheme in the Őrség region of Hungary, and on what past experiences can teach us about strengthening future collaboration and implementation.
Orsolya Lazányi and Gergő Berta talked about their case study on water scarcity in the Sand Ridge Region within the MOSAIC project, highlighting its connection to the theory of quiet sustainability and the water guardian movement.
Barbara Mihók also participated in the conference, presenting university-based research on the role of hope and emotions in transformative education, while Zsófia Benedek focused on everyday food system practices beyond growth.
The conference featured some of the most exciting ideas emerging from degrowth debates in the region, such as endless love as a political force, alternative forms of democracy in a degrowth economy, and the recurring idea to empower Central and Eastern European voices and enable the region to contribute its own perspectives to the degrowth movement.
Moreover, we had the opportunity to explore the local landscape: visiting a nearby lake, singing in a community garden, and looking for beavers while standing knee-deep in a neighbouring swamp, where nature had reclaimed the land.
We would like to thank the organisers again for their heartfelt work – they were wonderful hosts and inspired all of us to contribute more actively to the regional degrowth movement. We hope to see many of you again soon.