The European flag was flown 28/07/2016

Joensuu invited European cities, towns and municipalities to raise the European flag at every town hall or display it in some other way on 28^th July 2016. We also wished that photos of these flag flying events would be shared on participating towns’ websites and on social media.

We – our work, our joys and our sorrows – are Europe. We have developed together, getting used to visiting our twin towns freely, exploring new places, looking for best practices, collaborating and enjoying a time of peace. We have grown sharing our success and solving common problems.

Our lives together make Europe what it is, and it’s up to us all to make Europe even better.

With the spontaneous common flag flying day, we wanted to remind everyone that while the Europe we live in is far from perfect, it is the least imperfect of all the alternatives. Therefore, we invited cities and towns to join in and share the day with the people of Joensuu. This may have been a small gesture, but it was all the more meaningful for us here in this remote corner of Europe.

The purpose of the campaign was not to take any stand on EU as an institution, but to underline the notion of being European and to stress the importance of good local leadership for our people. We did not want to make any statement about the geographical definition of Europe. The European flag is the flag of the Council of Europe, which the EU has the permission to use. The council of Europe includes 47 member states.