On August 20-29, 2022, the Mirabel Plum Festival was held in the French city of Metz. Every year, this festival brings together visitors from all over France and neighboring countries, who have the opportunity to visit the fair, listen to live music concerts, see exhibitions and flower parades, as well as choose Queen Mirabelle and Vice-Miss.
In light of the long-standing cooperation with the city hall of Metz and more than 20 years of work on the promotion of Ukraine, the “Exchanges Lorraine Ukraine” Association was actively involved in the organization of the Festival. Activists of the community invited Ukrainian artists to perform on the French stage. In particular, on August 20, the Chernivtsi band Girls in jazz and the Franco-Ukrainian dance group "Marusya" performed at the grand opening.
The participation of the Ukrainian community included a charitable component. From August 26 to 28, there was a stand with Ukrainian handmade products on the Place de la République, where visitors could buy traditional clothes and decorative products. All funds received from the sale of goods were transferred to the purchase of medical bags for in Ukraine.
On August 28, Ukrainians joined the sea parade during the closing of the Mirabel Plum Festival. Activists of the Association created a floating platform in the shape of a pigeon, which represented Ukraine: in blue and yellow colors and with a shot through the heart as a reminder of the war that has been tearing Ukraine apart for 6 months, Olena Panko noted on Facebook.
"This year, our “Exchanges Lorraine Ukraine” Association was involved in the organization of various events during the festival. Ukrainian bands performed before the coronation. Also during the parade on the water, one of the boats carried a pigeon in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Such broad participation of our community was the result of many years of work of our organization," said Oksana Kantaruk-Pierre, vice-president of the “Exchanges Lorraine Ukraine” Association.
This year, the cooperation between the Association and the city of Metz was marked by an important event. On April 22, 2022, a twinning agreement was signed between French Metz and Ukrainian Chernivtsi, which became possible thanks to the work of the Association. The mayor of Metz, Francois Grosdidier, personally came to Chernivtsi to sign the agreement.
"This agreement between Metz and Chernivtsi is one of the greatest achievements of our Association, which we have been consistently working towards for more than 15 years. Now we are very happy that we managed to implement it," adds Oksana Kanturk-Pierre.
The first and very important result of this agreement is the creation of a Franco-Ukrainian diploma in the specialty "International Management and Trade", which can be obtained by Ukrainian students. Studies at the IAE Metz School of Management will begin for Ukrainian students on October 1, 2022.
The project was implemented by the joint efforts of the "Echanges Lorraine Ukraine" Association, the Global Ukraine Foundation in partnership with Yuri Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University, Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, the Ukrainian Leadership Academy, the Embassy of France in Ukraine, the Embassy of Ukraine in France, Eurometropole Metz, Ville de Metz, Region Grand Est and IAE School of Management.
"The long-term work of the Ukrainian community in Metz played a key role in the signing of the twinning agreement between Metz and Chernivtsi. This example of the community's successful work inspires and encourages the leaders of the Global Ukrainians network to develop their activities in the direction of establishing cooperation between the local self-government bodies of Ukraine and the country of residence. This is an important part of work in the perspective of attracting the support of European municipalities for the reconstruction of Ukrainian communities affected by the aggressor's actions, and also for accelerating the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU," comments Dr. Violeta Moskalu, president of the Global Ukraine Foundation.
The Global Ukraine team is ready to share experience and help network leaders develop effective and efficient twinning mechanisms. If you have any questions or need advice on establishing twinning agreements, please contact pr@global-ukraine.org.
