Focus on Climate and art ahead of Europe Day in Australia
The European Union's Ambassador in Australia, H.E Sem Fabrizi, has been busy highlighting climate change issues in the lead-up to the Europe Day celebrations.
The European Union will be making climate change a significant issue throughout 2015 in the lead up to the climate change conference to be held in Paris in December.
The Ambassador travelled to Melbourne on May 4 where more than a 100 guests attended the documentary screening of ‘Art From a Changing Arctic’ which was part of a series of climate related art-events brought together by Climarte.
The documentary was made after a group of artists led by British artist David Buckland travelled to the Arctic on a schooner to experience the region's other-worldly terrain. This was part of the artist's Cape Farewell project which provides a cultural response to the climate challenge for more than 10 years.
The result was a range of thought-provoking works that use sound, light and ice as well as photography and movement.
Ambassador Fabrizi then returned to Canberra for the annual 'Europe Day' celebrations which also featured a strong climate-change theme at the National Arboretum in Canberra.
He launched the 'Ice Texts' exhibition put together by Mr Buckland. The exhibition includes a number of striking photographs featuring melting ice shelves complete with simple, but thought-provoking messages, about the threat of climate change to the polar region.
Ambassador Fabrizi said Europe Day provided the ideal opportunity to raise the issue of climate change.
"Every year we celebrate the famous speech of the then French Foreign Minister Schuman, who, on 9 of May 1950, offered a vision for lasting peace in Europe – a continent devastated by wars," Ambassador Fabrizi said.He said climate change was a global threat and quoted directly from Foreign Minister Schuman's speech. "World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it."
Canberra prepares for first Eurovision with Australian participation
Canberrans are invited to the ultimate Eurovision party on 24 May, 2015 at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) for a night of trivia, prizes and lots of music.
The Eurovision Final Canberra Party is presented by the NFSA, the Austrian Embassy in Canberra and SBS, with the support of Austrian Airlines, Swarovski and KTM.
The final will be held in Vienna. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, and the first time Australia has participated in the competition.
Meanwhile, the greatest, and the not so greatest, moments of the European extravaganza will be featured in the show, "Good Evening Europe, the untold story of Eurovision". Teatro Vivaldi will put on the event between the 14th to the 16th of May in Canberra that will explore six decades of European history, complete with glitter, over-enthusiastic dance moves and unforgettable songs.