I have observed a new upcoming tendency in Hungary, especially in our capital, Budapest. More and more people started to recognise the advantages and the power of sharing systems. We started to implement different methods of sharing into our daily life and this new phenomenon highly links/leads to environmental benefits as well. Let me elaborate how we, Budapest citizens, and our environment can profit in different scale from this socially- and environmentally-friendly way of living.

First of all, we mainly use the idea of sharing in the topic of transportation. One of the most popular ways to reach another big city in the countryside from Budapest is by using car sharing system which expanded dynamically and fast. The driver, who is usually the owner of the car, can share his/her fuel costs with the passengers.

He/she can meet new people and enjoy their company during the long driving hours. Meanwhile the passengers can travel so much cheaper than by bus or train and they don't need to possess their own car which means less car production, less non-renewable resource usage (like fuel, gas) and less CO2 emissions. All in all it shrinks our ecological footprint. Totally win-win situation both in social and environmental level. Secondly, our capital recently implemented the public bike sharing system which also helps to take cars off the road and sets a green transportation example for the citizens.

I also would like to draw attention to a great new initiative, which is called miutcank.hu, which literally means "our street". This website allows us to share what we can offer to each other, what we can loan/lend to each other near our place of residence, in our neighborhood. Here is an example. You would like to put a picture on your wall and you need to have a drill. But if you think it over, after buying a drill, you will use it all in all for maximum 15 minutes in your whole life. What a total waste... and we are surrounded by many other tools like this drill. Using the system of miutcank.hu we can easily check which nearest neighbor offers us a tool or service which we need. This system helps to evolve new relationships in the neighborhood and reduce the environmental pollutions which come from our immense waste of objects and tool collection.

I can also mention some initiatives in Budapest which are related to the greatness of sharing. I have already seen many community gardens in different spots of the capital. These hidden or central green areas with the possibility of gardening can insure the closeness of nature for citizens and can make our city a more livable place. In addition, I have already heard some stories about residential communities that created their own garden with using compost on their common roof.

We can also take into account the accommodation sharing systems like Couchsurfing.com and AirB&B which are getting more and more popular nowadays in Hungary as well. This new phenomenon can also lead to the decrease of energy and material usage in the long term which come from the building of new hotels and tourist houses.

Last, but not least I would like to present the Slow Budapest Movement whose mission is to draw attention to our accelerated and nature alienated lifestyle. Recently, they organised a campaign and programme series emphasising the importance of sharing time among us and coming back to the nature with our beloved ones.

All in all, the benefits of sharing are many. Sharing feels good, makes us grateful, increases trust, and means we are not alone. Sharing can benefit us personally, financially and environmentally, and it can make the world a much better place.

Judit
EVS volunteer