Promoting the Value of Diversity via Town Twinning

ended

Over the last 24 months, the citizens of Europe encountered enormous difficulties, hardships, financial and health insecurity. Our daily lives and habits have turned upside down. Safety has been replaced by insecurity. COVID-19 has spread around the globe in the spring of 2020; not sparing the old continent either. We have not fully recovered from the damage caused by the pandemic when the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out in February. In this trying period, we, the citizens of Europe are even more eager to harbour peaceful relations, mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and cooperation. The submitter of this application and mastermind of the event is Kostolné Kračany who aims at drawing attention to European cultural and linguistic treasures in order to promote mutual understanding, tolerance, tackle discrimination and racism, while strengthening a respectful, dynamic and diverse European identity. Maintaining awareness of common values, democracy and fundamental rights is essential. The functioning and development of Europe is based on tolerance, so it is necessary to make participants aware that differences are not contradictions – they bring values, opportunities, diversity into our lives. These European values and cultural heritage are the basis of our common future. We believe that during a 3-day twinning event related to a village day the partners (5 municipalities in 4 countries) will strengthen their relations and cooperation to implement further joint, thematic and policy-related projects. Culture will play an important role as it conveys unique European diversity through a variety of traditions. In addition to providing an artistic experience, citizens will also get to know the heterogeneity of the EU. Their sense of European citizenship can become stronger, stable and pertinent. The proposal shall also draw attention to the Chart of Fundamental Rights of the EU, rights of EU citizens, promote the culture of fundamental rights and their enforcement.