On March 18, 2025, the coordinating beneficiary of the LIFE IP HungAIRy project, HungaroMet Hungarian Meteorological Service Nonprofit Ltd., organized a workshop for municipal employees. The professional event titled “Best Practices for Improving Air Quality” focused on the project’s objectives, activities, achievements to date, and showcased other successful national and international examples. The aim of the workshop was to provide participants with practical tools to support the planning of air quality protection measures in their own municipalities.

The LIFE IP HungAIRy project, titled “Improving Air Quality in 8 Regions by Supporting the Implementation of Air Quality Plans”, targets the enhancement of air quality across 10 municipalities in 8 Hungarian regions. The project achieves this through various actions such as the installation and operation of air pollution monitoring stations, reviewing urban air quality plans, developing and operating public bike-sharing systems, implementing smart parking solutions, and planting protective green belts. Additionally, each city involved in the project has its own eco-managers, who promote awareness and share key information about air quality improvement with both adults and children.

In her welcome speech, Dr. Anikó Raisz, State Secretary for Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Energy, emphasized that clean air significantly influences quality of life. She highlighted several governmental actions that help reduce air pollution, including the Green Bus Program, the National Air Pollution Reduction Program, and the 2011 government resolution on the cross-sectoral action plan to reduce PM10 levels.

The State Secretary also underlined the importance of environmental education and awareness-raising, mentioning the impact of the HungAIRy project’s campaigns such as the successful 2023 "TekAIRd körbe!" initiative. She concluded by encouraging collaboration and collective effort, noting that tangible results can only be achieved by working together.

Gábor Gyula Szanka, CEO of HungaroMet Nonprofit Ltd., welcomed the attendees and presented the company’s wide-ranging activities. He emphasized that air quality is not only a local concern but a cross-border issue. He also spoke about the typically higher levels of air pollution during the winter months, as well as other influencing factors such as volcanic eruptions and Saharan dust.

The CEO stressed the importance of individual responsibility and the need for both local and global action. He emphasized that we must do everything possible to ensure a cleaner, more livable future with better air quality.

Barbara Bezegh, project manager of the LIFE IP HungAIRy project, delivered a detailed presentation titled “Improving Air Quality in 8 Regions by Supporting the Implementation of Air Quality Plans”. She provided an in-depth overview of the LIFE IP HungAIRy project, now beyond its halfway point, and discussed several national pilot activities. Highlights included the monitoring stations in Békéscsaba and Kaposvár, the sensor-based air quality station in Tatabánya, afforestation projects in Debrecen, energy efficiency upgrades to buildings in Pécs, the smart traffic management system in Szolnok, and Pécs’s smart parking solution.

Dr. Tamás Szigeti, the project’s scientific lead, focused his presentation on air pollution and its health impacts. He highlighted the most vulnerable population groups and outlined both the short- and long-term health effects. Domestic research, in alignment with international studies, has found that in Hungary, air pollution causes the premature death of approximately 8,000 to 12,000 people each year.

Ildikó Babcsány, head of the Eco-Manager Knowledge Centre, presented the roles and responsibilities of the 21 professionals working in the eco-manager network. These experts primarily serve as liaisons between local governments and the public, facilitating information exchange, coordinating the implementation and review of local air quality plans, and delivering awareness-raising presentations in educational institutions. They also engage directly with residents at public events.

Later in the program, further presentations were held by project partners and professionals from the coordinating beneficiary.