Celebration of the Day of Europe in 20 towns and villages of Ukraine took place under the slogan “I share European values” within the campaign of the same name
In 2011, celebration of the Day of Europe in 20 towns and villages of Ukraine took place under the slogan “I share European values” within the nationwide campaign of the same name. The campaign was initiated by the European Information Centers Network of Ukraine under the support of the European Program of the International Renaissance Foundation. Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine was an information partner of the campaign.
The campaign united residents of Vinnytsia, village of Hannivka in Dobropilsky Region of Donetsk Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kanev, Kremenchuk, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Rovenki in Luhansk Oblast, Okhtyrka of Sumy Oblast, Sambir of Lviv Oblast, Simferopol, Sumy, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkassy, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv around European values that include respect to human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, respect to human rights, in particular, respect to the rights of minorities.
Residents of those populated places participated in informative and entertainment events that took place in “European quarters” and tent camps on central squares and parks in their towns and villages. Participants of the celebration had an opportunity to do the following: find out more about countries of Europe, particular interesting things of their populated places and European educational opportunities for Ukrainians; see and vote for works, submitted to the contest of paintings and photographs “Format: European Values”; become ‘a live canvas’ for painting European symbols; receive elementary knowledge of popular European languages; participate in language games and contests; find out and think over such topics as “What is a value?”, “What are European values like and what do they mean in everyday life?”, “Will European values become Ukrainian ones some day?”, etc.
Theater performances in six cities of Ukraine expanded and developed the theme of European values. Students of senior classes from secondary schools and students from colleges and universities of Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Kirovohrad, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia and Cherkassy saw and discussed three theater performances, each of which presented a certain European value. After that the participants took part in the discussion regarding proclaimed values and drew the symbol of tightly-held hands on art objects. This symbol is the official logo of the nationwide campaign “I share European values”.
Besides having common elements of celebration for all 20 towns and villages, each populated place added its own specifics. Village communities joined the celebration in Luhansk. They presented uniqueness of the Ukrainian village in combination with the current European direction of development. In Zaporizhia, students of the law department of Zaporizhia National University provided free legal counsel to anyone who wanted to obtain it. Diplomats from various countries and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Ukraine, Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira visited the festive events in the city of Mykolaiv. In Vinnytsia, an interactive street performance “Discover Europe through Volunteerism” became the main element of the celebration. During the performance students demonstrated how millions of people on the planet do good things.
More than 100 participants of a flashmob formed the word “Europe” and the banner of the European Union on the square in the city of Sambir in Lviv Oblast. In the city of Okhtyrka in Sumy oblast, more than fifteen hundred participants voted with the help of imprints of their palms on the forty-five meter canvas “I share European values!”. An excursion “European values: an imprint on the body of my city”, which was conducted by representatives of Kirovohrad Center of European Information, had a big success.
A round table “I share European values” in Kanev was attended by official delegations from Viersen (Germany), Lambersart (France), Człuchów (Poland), Viru (Estonia), Kobryn (Belarus), civil society and mass media representatives. The participants of the celebration in Chernihiv had an opportunity to have a good time and compete in a contest called “Creating the map of the European Union” from a specially made jigsaw puzzle. A real rock concert was organized in the village of Gurzuf; six rock bands from Sevastopol, Yalta, Partenit, and Gurzuf performed in front of the spectators. Volunteers of “EVS” from Romania, Denmark, Latvia and Germany were the guests at the celebration in the village of Hannivka in Dobropilsky Region of Donetsk Oblast.
More information on events in Luhansk can be found here.
More information on events in Vinnytsia can be found here.
More information on events in Zaporizhia can be found here.
More information on events in Ivano-Frankivsk can be found here.
More information on events in Kirovohrad can be found here.
More information on events in Mykolaiv can be found here.
More information on events in Sambir of Lviv Oblast can be found here and here.
More information on events in Simferopol can be found here.
More information on events in Khmelnytsky can be found here.
More information on events in Chernivtsi can be found here.
More information on events in Chernihiv can be found here.
The content of the campaign “I share European values” was developed during a methodological training on elaboration of the format for conducting the Day of Europe. The training took place in Luhansk in January this year and it was carried out for Ukraine’s European Information Centers Network and partner organizations.
Contact information: European Information Centers Network, ukrcei@gmail.com
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The goal of the European Program is to promote Ukraine’s European integration by providing financial and expert support to relevant civil society initiatives.
