EUNIC Strasbourg celebrated first anniversary with jazz concert at Apollonia

EUNIC Strasbourg Group photo (In the front row [from left to right]: Alexander Wojda [Austrian Consul General in Strasbourg and outgoing founding President of EUNIC Strasbourg], Dénia Bahadir Ben El Habbes [Director of the Alliance Française Strasbourg Europe and new President of EUNIC Strasbourg], Patrick Engelberg [Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the Council of Europe, Consul General of Luxembourg in Strasbourg and new Vice President of EUNIC Strasbourg]). Copyright EUNIC Strasbourg.

On 30 June 2022 EUNIC Strasbourg celebrated its first anniversary with a jazz concert at Apollonia, European Art Exchanges with artists from EUNIC member states - including France, Italy and Austria –, as well as Ukraine. The event also offered the opportunity to discover the exhibition "Identities. Aspects of Contemporary Photography in Ukraine", featuring the works of 30 Ukrainian photographers. The exhibition is supported by EUNIC Strasbourg, Alliance Française, the EU Delegation and the Austrian Consulate General in Strasbourg.

The event also celebrated the handover of the annual presidency of EUNIC Strasbourg. Since 28 June last year, the network had been chaired by Alexander Wojda, Consul General of Austria in Strasbourg. For the coming twelve months, leadership of the network will be taken over by Dénia Bahadir Ben El Habbes, Director of the Alliance Française Strasbourg Europe. The vice-presidency will be held by the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the Council of Europe and Consul General of Luxembourg in Strasbourg, Patrick Engelberg.

Davide Petrillo (Piano, Italy), Nathan Adenot (Contrabass, France), Théophile Bourgoin (Drums, France), Yuliia Vydowska (Voice, Ukraine), Yvonne Moriel (Saxophone, Austria). Copyright EU Delegation to the Council of Europe.

EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) is the European network of organisations involved in cultural relations. Its aim is to strengthen cultural links and build trust and understanding within the EU and beyond, to advocate for the integration of cultural cooperation in international relations and to provide a platform for pooling, coordinating and strengthening resources for better cultural cooperation.

Since the establishment of EUNIC Strasbourg, several projects have already been carried out successfully. In the framework of the "Rendez-vous du cinéma européen des droits de l'homme”, a series of films on human rights related topics – from migration to social inclusion and freedom from violence – coming from each of the EUNIC members at the time,  were presented to the local public in Strasbourg in the period November 2021-April 2022: Amour, Ma mère et autres loufoques de la famille, By the Grace of God, Journey to Portugal and Io sto bene.

Photo of permanent representatives to the Council of Europe and EUNIC members (Gilberto Jerónimo [Permanent Representative of Portugal to the Council of Europe], Alexander Wojda [Austrian Consul General in Strasbourg and outgoing founding President of EUNIC Strasbourg], Léopold Stefanini [Permanent Representation of France to the Council of Europe], Sophie Kammerer [EU Delegation to the Council of Europe]). Copyright EUNIC Strasbourg.

On 2 May 2022, the conference "Reshaping democracy and the public space in Europe: What place for young journalists and new media?” was organised by the EU Delegation in Strasbourg and the Council of Europe Youth Department in partnership with EUNIC. This event brought together young journalists and policy makers in a dynamic dialogue on the place of media, and in particular young journalists and emerging forms of journalism and media, in today's European democracies.

The conference also provided the opportunity to launch the photo exhibition "There's something about youth" by Pascal Bastien. Currently, the exhibition can be visited until the end of 2022 outside the building of the EU Delegation in Strasbourg and digitally, on the website and social media of the EU Delegation. This operation, jointly organised by EUNIC Strasbourg, the EU Delegation and Alliance Française Strasbourg Europe, strives to promote the objectives of the European Year of Youth.

Our Delegation and EUNIC Strasbourg are already working on a new series of ambitious projects and events for our public to start in the autumn. All updates will be published on our website and social media.

Photo from the conference "Reshaping democracy and public space in Europe: What place for young journalists and new media?” (In the photo [from left to right]: Ms Alice Lojić, Mr Matjaž Gruden, Ambassador Meglena Kuneva). Copyright EU Delegation to the Council of Europe.