On July 22, 2023, the Ukrainian community in the French city of Metz held the cultural event "Undiscovered Ukraine". The guests of the event were able to fully enjoy Ukrainian culture, music, performances and cuisine.
Every summer, the Ukrainian community of the city of Metz gathers for such a joint cultural event. This year, it was joined by local Ukrainian activists from the Lorraine-Ukraine Exchange Association, who have been promoting Ukrainian culture and developing Franco-Ukrainian cooperation for over 20 years, students studying under the Franco-Ukrainian diploma program in management, Ukrainian students from Chernivtsi University named after Yury Fedkovich, who came for an internship. The local French audience was also invited to the event in order to develop their emotional connection with Ukraine, interest and desire to support Ukraine and help until victory.
The cultural program of the event was very diverse: musicians came from the Great Region, Belgium (Banduri women's duo), Germany (singer Anastasia Lapochkina), Luxembourg (Vesna dance ensemble).
Part of the program was prepared by students of the Franco-Ukrainian diploma. In particular, the students of the first promotion of the diploma organized a driving Ukrainian party, which was attended by more than 100 people. Many of the participants were French and were very impressed by Ukrainian music. And the students of the second promotion prepared an interesting cultural performance in 10 days, which the audience liked.
During the event, there were also stands with traditional Ukrainian products, an exhibition of paintings, and master classes.
"Our community is thinking about how to use such cultural formats for fundraising. This format allows the French to see our culture and understand how original, unique and extraordinary it is. In this way, we try to keep the focus of the French's attention on Ukraine," notes Violeta Moskalu, founding president of the Lorraine-Ukraine Exchange Association.