24.05.2010

From May 21 - 23, 2010, in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, the first international “Europe Day” festival took place, which turned the city into a European and Russian center of culture, where everyone got the chance to “open their own Europe”.

The organizers of the event were the governments of the European Union and Russia, together with the Southern Federal University, and embassies and cultural centers of member-states of the EU.

The festival was attended by the head of the EU Delegation in Russia, Fernando Valenzuela. Among the other guests were representatives of several European countries, who came together in Rostov-on-Don to share their traditions and particular features of cultural life, and to showcase the educational system of Europe. They took part in the opening of the festival, presentations of films, debates and master-classes. True to tradition, Europe Day took place at several locations simultaneously.

On the first day, May 21, the “Mayaki Evropi” (Beacon of Europe) photo exhibition was held that showed works of the famous photographer Konstantine Leyfer, former photo-editor of the Moscow bureau of the France Presse agency (1990 - 1992) and of Reuters (1992-1997), and also a former manager of the photo-service of the Russian edition of Paris Match (which later became the Russian edition of the magazine Vogue. The Beacon of Europe exhibition, which was ordered on the instructions the EU Government, included 20 works of the photo-artist, on all of which were printed beacons positioned in different locations of Europe - in Ostend, Binik, Altenbruch, Boulogne-sur-Mer and others.

Also, from May 21 to 25, in the building of the state public library a festival of European cinema took place. A great many famous films – winners of various international film-festival awards – were shown, from Denmark, Spain, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and other countries.

Between May 21 and 23, in a chain of restaurants in Rostov-on-Don a gastronomical event took place entitled “European Menu”, where Rostov locals got the chance to sample the best dishes of European cuisine.

On May 22, in the conference hall of the Southern Federal University the ceremonial opening of “Europe Day in Rostov-on-Don” was held, after which hot debates took place with the participation of European experts on the theme “Migration and Identity”. Free-of-charge lessons in European languages were also given - in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Basque, Swedish, Portuguese and Greek.

On May 23, the official closing ceremony of the Europe Day in Rostov-on-Don took place, together with the awards ceremony for the winners of the competitions. The Spanish dance troupe Rosa de los Vientos also gave a special Flamenco performance.

It was with a degree of sadness that Rostov-on-Don said farewell to this year’s Europe Day. The city’s inhabitants were left with a memorable impression of all the different events that took place throughout the festival, after the end of which in the southern capital of Russia a jubilee Russia-European Union summit is to take place.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition “The lighthouses of Europe” introduced by the famous photographer Konstantin Leifer.

Press-conference “Europe Day in Rostov-on-Don” in the “Interfax-South” news agency. Denis Daniilidis, the Head of press and information section of the Delegation of the European Union to Russia and Sergey Duzhikov, Vice-Rector for International Relations of Southern federal university