On Thursday 28 March, Support Action Ukraine (SAU), a young Strasbourg-based NGO, organised a fund-raising concert at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès that united the audience in a shared cause: support of and solidarity with the Ukrainian people. This concert was a tribute to the Ukrainian children victims of the war. It was performed by the Ukraine Youth Symphony Orchestra and directed by the internationally renowned conductor Oksana Lyniv, who shared that, to her, “culture has become one of the most important ways to heal the wounds of war”.

The event was supported by the Council of Europe and held under patronage of the Secretary General and the Chair of the Committee of Minister in honour of the organisation's 75^th anniversary. It marks the Council of Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine and its commitment to children’s rights. But beyond its symbolic significance, the main objective of the concert was to generate funds for the initiatives carried out by Support Action Ukraine, namely the purchase of a mobile operating room for the Zaporzhzhia region and the creation of psychological support centres for children affected by the conflict. The concert proved to be a success in that regard, as over 1000 people attended, and the organisers were able to raise 24 000 euros to make a significant difference in the lives of Ukrainians.

The centrepiece of the concert was a cantata by Evgeni Orkin called "Daddy's Book," inspired by the wartime diaries and children's poems of Ukrainian poet and writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, who was assassinated in 2022 near Izyum. “Daddy’s Book” tells the story of a father explaining the war to his autistic son and includes excerpts of the writer’s diary and a collection of accounts of witnesses to the Russian occupation. The piece was commissioned for its premiere in Brussels in September 2023 under the patronage of the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. It combines Vakulenko’s poetry for children with the narration of accounts from the first months of the war. The Ukraine Youth Symphony Orchestra performed the cantata along with 40 young singers from two choirs from Kyiv, three soloists, and a narrator.

The EUDEL provided financial support for this initiative in light of its continued support to Ukraine against Russia's unprovoked and unjustified aggression and because this conflict represents a top priority of the EU and the Council of Europe collaboration.

To learn more about the Ukraine Youth Symphony Orchestra, its performance in Brussels in 2023, and the Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, we invite you to watch this short ARTE documentary: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/112352-024-A/tracks-east/?fbclid=IwAR3qQaPRG1zVXnaorUeCWoGDKa7nDpXipxOYr0750tCy5n3IbXPuQY8BVV4

To learn more about the projects of the Strasbourg-based association Support Action Ukraine, please have a look at their website: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://support-action-ukraine.fr/&ved=2ahUKEwje6o_6i8qFAxXUgv0HHaTxArUQFnoECBQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3Uu0fq7rjU8PGTVDWdqdgK