“Closing Conference” – twin-city meeting and conference
The closing conference of the project titled "Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Communities" took place on January 24, 2026, in the conference room of Hotel Park in Gyula. The event was realized within the framework of the SUSCOMNET (Project ID: 101138675) – Making Sustainable Communities: Network for Local Green Deals program, summarizing the results of several years of professional and scientific work based on international cooperation.
The aim of the conference was to examine sustainable urban development not merely as an infrastructural or technological issue, but to present its social, cultural, educational, and psychological dimensions as well. Biodiversity, climate adaptation, community participation, and institutional learning appeared as interconnected themes that can be transformed into tangible, practical tasks within the urban space. The program consciously built on the dialogue between scientific reflection and urban development experiences, highlighting the role of the sister city network in knowledge sharing and the formulation of local Green Deals. The structure of the conference led from general theoretical questions to specific urban strategies.
Theoretical Frameworks and Community Resources
Hajnal Edit’s opening keynote, titled "Internal Resources, Shared Future – Opportunities for Sustainable Development in Livable Communities," established the conceptual framework for the conference. She viewed sustainability not as a system of external expectations, but as a developmental process built upon the internal resources of communities. She interpreted livability through the dimensions of connection, trust, cooperation, and involvement, emphasizing that the foundation of sustainable communities is not primarily physical infrastructure, but the quality of the social fabric. Using the metaphor of the "internal canopy," she described regenerative processes that enable long-term adaptation through silence, redesign, and community resilience. The presentation of the SUSCOMNET project's results—reviewing international conferences, publications, and networking connections—was not merely a report, but a practical example of collective learning.
Dr. Fanni Dudok’s presentation, titled "Playful Paths Toward Sustainability," explored the pedagogical dimension of raising awareness. She detailed the concept of gamification, distinguishing it from simple play and emphasizing that it involves the conscious application of game elements in non-game environments. She highlighted that teaching sustainability cannot be limited to the transfer of knowledge, as personal experience is necessary to understand environmental, social, and economic interconnections. The programs presented—story-based game packages, cooperative board games, and urban nature trails—create safe decision-making situations where participants can experience the consequences of their choices. The presentation placed special emphasis on inclusivity.
Tamás Baranyai’s presentation, titled "The Language of Sustainability," examined the relationship between scientific communication and disinformation. He pointed out that scientific discourse today takes place in an information space where conspiracy theories and artificially generated content also compete for attention. He used examples to demonstrate how misinformation can weaken trust in science. The presentation also touched upon the disruption of the global ecological balance, species extinction, and the emergence of new zoonoses, emphasizing that the language of sustainability cannot be value-neutral.
Dr. Lucián Liviusz Olteanu’s presentation, titled "Climate Anxiety as a Psychological Risk for the Younger Generation," approached the issue of sustainability from the perspective of mental health. He provided a detailed analysis of the information and media environment in which Gen Z and Gen Alpha are socialized, where the constant presence of crisis narratives related to climate change can induce emotional and cognitive overload.
He presented the psychological mechanisms of climate anxiety—such as catastrophizing, "doomscrolling," and feelings of helplessness—while emphasizing that this reaction is not pathological, but rather an adaptive emotional response to a real threat. The presentation highlighted the importance of prevention and resilience-building: education, family support, and psychoeducation play a key role in ensuring that young people experience climate awareness not as paralyzing anxiety, but as a responsibility that motivates action. Mental well-being thus emerged as a fundamental prerequisite for the responsible shaping of sustainability discourse.
Péter Jelenfi’s philosophical presentation, titled "Memory, Responsibility, Sustainability," interpreted sustainability as a cultural and moral practice. His starting point was that sustainability is not merely a technical problem, but a series of value choices. He drew attention to the selective nature of memory, noting that what we preserve is always selected based on some normative decision.
Consequently, sustainability does not simply mean conserving the existing state, but rather a conscious consideration of what we deem worthy of preservation and on whose behalf we make our decisions. His presentation highlighted that responsibility toward the future is always an intergenerational and community issue; thus, the ethical dimension of sustainability is unavoidable.
Zsolt Péter Függ’s presentation, titled "Sustainability as a Social Learning Process," analyzed the gap between knowledge and action. He pointed out that the sustainability transition is not a linear development path, but a process punctuated by experimentation, errors, and corrections. Failures are not faults of the system, but parts of the learning process.
He emphasized that sustainability is a form of community learning taking place within structural frameworks, where institutional adaptation and the flexible shaping of the regulatory environment play a key role. Communities can function as low-risk learning spaces where new practices can be tested and where social innovation can become institutionalized.
Balázs Nagy-Laczkó’s presentation, titled "Magical Empathy, or Animated Trees in Our Re-primitivizing World," examined the relationship between humans and non-human entities from an anthropological and cultural perspective. In his analysis, he demonstrated how the relationship of urban communities toward trees and green spaces is changing: shifting from an object-centered, functional approach toward a more personal interpretation that carries memory and meaning. Through literary, philosophical, and artistic examples, he illustrated that empathy toward trees is not romantic nostalgia, but a new form of environmental responsibility. His presentation interpreted biodiversity not merely as an ecological phenomenon but as one carrying cultural significance, pointing out that the issue of sustainability also involves rethinking the relationship between humans and their environment.
Prof. Dr. Zsolt Nemeskéri’s presentation, titled "Board Games in the Service of Sustainable Urban Development," examined the management of global risks at the urban level. Building on the interpretation of the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report, he pointed out that environmental, economic, and social risks are concentrated in cities; therefore, systemic thinking is required during decision-making. He presented board games as modeling tools capable of making the tensions between short-term and long-term consequences visible, allowing for the testing of strategic decisions in a safe learning space. The presentation emphasized that game-based modeling is not merely an illustrative method but can also be an effective tool for community and institutional learning in planning sustainable urban transitions.
Urban strategies and local practices
Dr. Tamás Szilágyi’s presentation, titled "Where Next with Local Green Deals?", drew attention to the fact that the sustainability transition is not a linearly scalable process. A Local Green Deal is not a pre-packaged "best practice" applicable anywhere, but a learning and adaptation process built upon the social, economic, and institutional characteristics of the settlements.
He analyzed in detail the tensions between the European Union's policy framework and local autonomy. He pointed out that the key to success is not the mechanical adoption of central guidelines, but their integration into the local context. A Local Green Deal is functional only if it is based on genuine partnership, where actors—municipalities, institutions, NGOs, and economic players—jointly develop goals and tools. His presentation interpreted sustainability as an institutional learning process in which continuous feedback and correction are essential.
Dr. Szilvia Beke’s presentation, titled "Sustainable Future from a University Perspective," examined the role of higher education in urban sustainability processes. She highlighted that the university is not merely an educational institution but a community and knowledge center that actively contributes to the improvement of urban quality of life.
She emphasized the triple role of universities: as knowledge producers (research), knowledge mediators (education), and community actors (social responsibility). She pointed out that integrating sustainability into higher education cannot be limited to launching individual courses or projects; it requires strategic commitment at the institutional level. The involvement of students, partnerships established with local governments and NGOs, and applied research can all contribute to the university becoming a formative player in urban sustainability.
Her presentation emphasized that universities can form a mediating bridge between scientific reflection and practical urban development.
Dr. habil. Iván Zádori’s presentation, titled "Environmental Education and Sustainability," examined the educational dimension of sustainability through a systemic approach. His starting point was that one of the greatest obstacles to addressing environmental problems is not a lack of information, but the lack of structure and embeddedness of knowledge. He pointed out that to this day, no uniform theoretical and methodological framework has emerged in the field of environmental education, which often leads to fragmented practices and contingency.
In his presentation, he emphasized that education for sustainability does not simply mean the transfer of subject-matter knowledge, but rather an awareness-raising process that helps recognize systemic interconnections, develop cooperation skills, and encourage responsible decision-making. He highlighted the importance of complex thinking, a critical attitude, and an interdisciplinary approach, as well as the fact that the pedagogy of sustainability can only be effective if it is integrated at the institutional level.
Piotr Sujak presented the comprehensive energy transition strategy of Wągrowiec, Poland, which aims for the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels, emphasizing the key role of public involvement.
Ingrid Szabó detailed the integrated territorial investment program of Komárno, Slovakia, which manages the development of energy efficiency, green-blue infrastructure, transportation, and cultural heritage within a unified strategic framework.
Béla Bors presented the sustainable development directions of Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, while József Sztojkó shared experiences regarding specific investments implemented in Zrenjanin, Serbia—including solar energy systems, green space developments, and transportation modernizations.
The conference presentations provided a comprehensive overview of sustainability as a process of social, cultural, and institutional transformation. It became clear that a sustainable city does not merely mean "greener infrastructure," but a community environment where the timeframe of decisions, value choices, community participation, and institutional learning are intertwined.
The twin-city network functions as a genuine learning infrastructure: the Polish, Slovak, Romanian, and Serbian experiences show that sustainability does not mean applying ready-made recipes, but rather experimental and adaptive processes embedded in the local context.
The closing conference did not end the joint work but moved it into a new phase: the knowledge acquired will continue to be utilized in the future to specifically shape local sustainability transitions.
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