50 Years EFNS - Team Hungary

Hungary joined to EFNS in 1987 (Braunlage, Harz). The story started with an occasional meeting between Leif Strömquist and Ferenc Gerely sitting together in a company of one bottle wine at a table during the annual conference of German foresters in Trier. Since then there is no gap in the participation-stream of the Hungarian team. It should be mentioned the positive and also financial support of EFNS IC to involve the first Eastern country to the EFNS family. Erwin Lauterwasser, Rudi Kynast, Leif Strömquist, Raimo Hulmi, Annie Martini were the main parent persons who assisted at the first steps.

At the end of the eighteens there was more and more opportunity for East-European citizens to travel to the “West”. There was more and more opportunity to get direct information from other countries. From the forestry media the information about EFNS was available. This was the seed and soil of Hungarian EFNS initiative, and the moment of a meeting with the first EFNS activist determined the future of Hungarian participation.

1993 was the year when Hungary organised the EFNS. The place of the event was Galyatető in the Mátra-mountains. The number of participants was around 560.

The most special and exciting fact was that in 1992-93 winter season there was general no snow in Europe including Scandinavia. The organisers got phone calls every day with questions related the snow situation and about a possible cancellation of the event. The EFNS IC decided if there will be no proper environment for skiing (there was no technical background to prepare artificial snow) cross-country running and shooting will be the competition. It was really exciting. The participants arrived into the snowless forest area and everybody was very disappointed. And at the moment of the opening ceremony a wonder happened. When Rudi Kynast the vice chairman of EFNS opened the event the snow arrived. More than 500 foresters were dancing in the snowfall on the street for an hour. Next day on the field trip (it was organised only one forestry program: visit in the National Park Bükk with ski) all the participants could enjoy their almost first season skiing. The conditions for the competition were extremely good, 50 cm snow, good temperature and sun during the week. It should be mentioned, that on Saturday during a “Volkslauf” with EFNS participants the snow was attacked by rain and disappeared for the next day. For several years colleagues asked us about the secret of the organisation, and our answer was only a glance to the Sky.

The engine of EFNS was always the human and forester factor. Anywhere you go in the World and you meet foresters you feel that you are in a good place. And this feeling is stronger when you spend some days together with your forester and sport friends. Friendship, sport and professional relation between European foresters are forming the EFNS network. EFNS for younger participants is a competition, for seniors better a meeting of people. This double aspect should be preserved for the future. In the money based society we need such islands where human values are in the foreground. This is our wish for the next 50 years of EFNS.