The international photo exhibition “Inspired by Europe” was officially opened on Monday, 15 April 2024, in the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, and will be on display until 19 April. The event took place in the framework of the cultural cooperation project “20 Years of Cultural Enrichment in Reunified Europe”. The CAMINO Project marks the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement and aims to explore its impact on various cultural aspects and values of the new member states, as well as to create stronger cultural and academic bonds within CEE. It also lays a foundation for a long-term cultural cooperation network among the partner universities. The CAMINO Project consortium is formed by seven universities and a film studio from seven EU countries and King Danylo University in Ukraine is taking part in the Project as the Associated Partner. Hungary is represented in the CAMINO project by the Ludovika University of Public Service with the professional leadership of Prof. Dr Boglárka Koller.
The photo exhibition gathered the representatives of all CAMINO Project partner institutions, authors of the exhibited photographs, as well as invited guests.
In her opening address, the CAMINO Project’s creative manager, Ms Ieva Jurga, said: “Twenty years ago, ten European countries became members of the EU. Back then, it was our dream of freedom and prosperity. Today, it is our reality. To mark the 20th anniversary of the EU membership, students from eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, along with Cyprus, Malta, and Ukraine, have offered their views on today’s Europe, on their identity as Europeans, sharing with us their hopes and dreams – without stereotypes or prejudices. [..] When I look at these pictures, I see that Europe is nothing without its culture, be it architecture, philosophy, or the art of living. When I look at these pictures, I see peacefulness, freedom, and centuries of diverse cultural heritage. It makes a colourful kaleidoscope we call the European dream.”
The exhibition is the highlight of the international photo contest “Inspired by Europe” that took place this March in all ten countries that joined the EU in 2004. Ukrainian students residing in these countries were also welcomed to take part. An international jury chose 11 best photographs representing 11 countries that participated in the contest to be included in the photo exhibition. The photo contest was coordinated by Ludovika University of Public Service (LUPS) in Hungary. At the opening of the exhibition, Dr Boglarka Koller, Professor at LUPS, noted: “Europe is about beauty, and we all interpret this beauty in a different way, as we can see from these photos made by young people.”
The exhibition “Inspired by Europe” features photographs by Elena Georgiou (Cyprus), Natalie Sedlackova (the Czech Republic), Kart Soieva (Estonia), Ákos Kripkó (Hungary), Zelda Zagarina (Latvia), Gabija Matkute (Lithuania), Rodion Podruchnyi (Malta), Natalia Molenda (Poland), Felix Krupa (Slovakia), Kaja Adamek (Slovenia) and Sofiia Serdiuchenko (Ukraine). All works are presented online on the photo contest’s Instagram page @camino_inspired_by_europe. The artworks will be on public display in all CAMINO Project partner countries during Europe Day celebrations on 9 May 2024 as well.