The Government and its partners in civil society are organising the largest voluntary campaign ever undertaken in the country, announced Bence Rétvári, the Minister of State for Public Administration and Justice at a press conference held by Feneketlen Lake in Újbuda, Budapest.

On 21 May, tens of thousands of volunteers will help clean the country as part of the ’TeSzedd!’ campaign, jointly organised by the Ministry for Public Administration and Justice, the Ministry for Rural Development and the Volunteer Centre Foundation.

Mr. Rétvári said that those taking part in this programme are not only doing it to preserve a well-kept environment, but can also be part of a marvellous community experience. In Estonia 50,000 people have just participated in a similar campaign, and 273,000 have been involved in one in Slovenia, so this is an opportunity for Hungary to prove itself internationally, he added.

2011 is the European Year of Volunteering and also the year within which Hungary’s presidency of the EU falls, so the programme is very important for the Government, said Zoltán Illes, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs.

Support for the initiative from the Cabinet covers its launch, organisation and background infrastructure, supplemented by the work and enthusiasm of thousands of volunteers, he said. He expects the initiative to become a tradition in the future.

Fifty thousand people have already registered for the event in advance on the Teszedd.hu webpage, and through the internet people can also jointly create Hungary's first nationwide map depicting waste.

The ambassadors of the event have also introduced themselves: actress Gabriella Hámori, psychologist Györgyi Töttyös and singer Csaba Vastag. The team of ambassadors also includes actress Anikó Für, musician Szabolcs Máté and geologist Árpád Juhász. Immediately after the press conference the participants began work by cleaning the banks of Feneketlen Lake.

(kormany.hu)