The EESC is to host a musical performance on 24 March as part of the closing ceremony of its youth event "Your Europe, Your Say!". The show will pay tribute to Ukraine's fight for democracy and freedom through songs that tell stories of ordinary heroism.

The show, entitled "Svit za ochi" (There, out of sight), will be performed by the Polish theatre company Theatre Navpaky. It will feature a compilation of nine songs telling stories of young people facing different life experiences in a setting that mirrors current events in Ukraine.

The idea behind the performance is to show that people who heroically fight for their freedom are not majestic bronze statues, but ordinary people made of flesh and blood, with their own lives, joys and dilemmas.

The songs will be performed in Ukrainian with English subtitles. The show offers a unique opportunity to non-Ukrainian viewers to experience Ukrainian culture.

It will be performed during the final session of "Your Europe, Your Say!", the EESC's annual youth event, which this year is taking place from 23 to 24 March. One hundred and five students from 35 secondary schools across the EU and the candidate countries, including Ukraine and Moldova, will come to Brussels to debate about democracy and youth participation in public life. They will use the methods of parliamentary democracy to suggest ways to improve youth participation in EU policy-making. The EESC will then ensure that their proposals reach the EU institutions and decision makers.

The show is by invitation only but a recording of the performance will be available on the EESC website.

Read YEYS' full programme. (ck/dm)