Hi Zsuzsa, thanks for the interview! Could you please introduce yourself? What should we know about you?
Thank you Bálint! I studied environment research and have worked in this branch ever since, which I’m pretty proud of. On the other hand, it also starts to feel natural for me, even though it is not all around the world. From this perspective, I consider myself lucky. The opportunities keep coming and there is a nice work-flow in my life. Since I left University, my work has been about sustainability, raising awareness and communication. The best example of this is developing a curriculum.
This sounds exciting, tell us more about it…
I just did some summer camp programs for the Education Agency. These are programs of some days, for 1.-11. classes, full of activities around sustainability. Just to mention the most popular ones: ethical consumption, global outlook, eco-footprint, recycling and the waste pyramid. But you know, the best waste is the one that doesn’t even arise.
We’ve been hearing all over again for a while that the earth will run out of resources and that there is no way back from that. But still, I don’t really see that anything happens… Everyone knows about it, but hardly anyone notes it. By being one of the few, doesn’t it sometimes feel like fighting windmills?
Yes sometimes. But I can’t do anything about it. It’s like there are different forces that pull the same thing, just from different sides. Sometimes the other side is pulling too strongly. But what can I do? I get up the next day and pull even stronger than yesterday. Either I convince people to join me, or I write curriculums for children and try to raise their awareness and make them become environmental conscious people. For me, this is not just a job, but my calling.
I find it very hard to learn what I can do to make this world a better place. I read about the topic, but found very conflicting information…
Yes, unfortunately, this is reality… On the internet, many people can write many things, but if you look up the website of bigger world organizations – like the IUCN for example – then you find reliable information.
I recommend the video „Follow the Frog” from the Rainforest Alliance. It perfectly sums up, how we can contribute to this complex system as an individual and still make a difference.
Another possibility is charity work at any likeable organization. No matter which background you have, they always count on your help!
I understand that this is your calling, but there must be a point when you are tired of everything and want to switch off. What are your methods for that?
I do yoga!
There are 2 things perfect for relaxing. One of them is acro-yoga.
I started in December and feel like a child again. It feels like a new playground has opened. Every time, I can do something that I couldn’t do before. It’s a fantastic sense of achievement.
I go quite often, 3 times a week. Balance is very important in acro-yoga, it’s what we have to seek in the positions. You could also call it partner acrobatics – we do it in pairs, one has to stay in the air and we have to find our balance.
This physical balance works align with the balance of my soul. When I try to fit everything into my life, the work, private life, family, housework, sports, business networking, and friends – then it helps me a lot to find balance.
The second thing that gives me energy is spending time in nature. One of our projects also fits to that, the #NatureForAll.
We will shortly get to the end of our interview, but we already talked about curriculum development, the waste pyramid, acro-yoga… What do you think is the secret, that whatever you start, you can do 100%?
Well, everything I do, I do with passion. If I’m not enthusiastic about something, then I rather don’t do it at all or try to change something about it. I think if I don’t do things with passion, it’s completely redundant.
If you could send a note to your 5 years younger self, what would it say?
A few years ago, in a tough situation, someone told me, „This will be over one day.” May it be good or bad, nothing lasts forever. This „permanence in change” principle helps me to overcome hard moments.
