© Pascal Bastien

Our event aimed to contribute to the objectives of the European Year of Youth and the World Forum for Democracy of the Council of Europe, thus striving to engage young people in our activities and make them reflect on European democracy and current challenges to our founding values. This year’s edition of the Forum focused on the subject “Democracy: A New Hope?”, thus looking into innovative ideas on how to ensure the safeguarding and renewal of democracy in the face of rising threats.

© Pascal Bastien

Topics such as the decline of democracy, inequality and discrimination, distrust in democratic institutions and processes were extensively discussed during the sessions of the Forum. Our poetry slam further built on these topics and laid the groundwork for an ongoing reflection on the present and the future of democracy along a cultural and participatory angle. The war in Ukraine was also highly prominent among the themes of the slam, with one of the artists reciting from his journalistic experience in documenting the humanitarian crisis from the frontline.

© Pascal Bastien

 After a poetry slam happening in the Strasbourg tram going to the European institutions, we moved to the Hemicycle of the Council of Europe where we contributed to the artistic programme marking the end of the second day of the Forum. This unique multilingual artistic experience was addressed to a young, dynamic and geographically diverse audience of young delegates and civil society representatives.

© Pascal Bastien

The show proposed three live performances by artists from different European countries.Philippe Schockweiler, Rachelle Deguara and Alice Neto de Sousa represented Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal respectively, and were preceded bya video contribution of a fourth artist, Léo Cario from France.

© EU Delegation to the Council of Europe

The last part of our event proposed a concert by the same artists at the art gallery Philippe Decorde, followed by an open-mic session where the public had the chance to share its own poetry or music work, existing or improvised. This three-part initiative allowed us to showcase the exceptional skill, talent and creative power of artists who embody the cultural richness of Europe. It also served to reinforce a strong message in support of democracy before a widely diverse public ranging from the Forum’s youth delegates and activists coming from all over the world to art lovers, students, young people and the general local public.

 © Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the Council of Europe

The recording of the event in the hemicycle of the Council of Europe can be accessed here.

 © Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the Council of Europe

This event was organised in the framework of the local EUNIC network in Strasbourg. EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) is the European network of organisations involved in cultural relations. Its aim is to strengthen cultural links, build trust and understanding in the EU’s external relations and advocate for the integration of cultural cooperation in international relations.

 © EU Delegation to the Council of Europe