In each country, the carnival tradition, which borrowed from the experience of medieval European culture, has solid national roots of festive folk processions with indispensable attributes – transformations with the help of costumes and masks. In modern Europe, carnivals have become an integral part of the festive urban culture.
The Federation of European Carnival Cities (FECC) is engaged in the preservation and popularization of carnival traditions as an essential part of the cultural heritage of humanity and promoting the development of the carnival movement in hundreds of cities.
FECC was founded in 1980 by Henry Ferdinand van der Kroon in Luxembourg. This is the world’s largest association, the main activity of which is the preservation of folk festivals and parades. To this end, under one umbrella, FECC brings together member cities, organizations, and individual members to plan and conduct folk festivals and carnivals: more than 500 members and organizations representing 100 cities in 52 countries around the world. Each country has its representative in the Federation of European Carnival Cities. As part of the overall activities to promote and popularize the carnival as a cultural heritage, the Ambassadors exchange knowledge, conduct training and consulting, coordinate the activities of individual structural units, provide multifaceted work on organizing carnivals in their country meet annually at a general congress, etc.
“When appointing an honorary Ambassador, we try to choose significant people who are trusted by the people of the country, whose opinion they listen to. For example, in Ukraine, the Ambassador of the Federation is Svitlana Kyrychek. This is a well-known Ukrainian travel blogger and the most prominent member of the tourism industry in Ukraine. Svetlana has been to all seven continents, made four trips worldwide, and made about 50 cruises. It is essential for us that people trust our representative, and Hundreds of thousands of people trust Svitlana at home and in many countries of the world. And it is a great success for us that in this country, there is such an experienced representative who shares the mission and tasks of our organization actively develops the direction of the ceremonial cultural identity of the Ukrainian people. And in every country, we follow this principle of trust and active life position,” says the FECC representative. According to the expert, carnivals have a bright and prosperous future with strong, active, active, and purposeful personalities. Thanks to the Ambassadors of different countries, the activity of the Federation of European Carnival Cities was highly appreciated by the European Commission, and since 2000 FECC has been under the patronage of a member of the European Commission Committee on Education and Culture.
