Strasbourg, 25.03.2026 - The 50th Congress session (Strasbourg, 31 March - 2 April 2026) features a number of side events, including presentation of the Mariupol Justice project, with the participation of the Mayor of Mariupol and the Executive Director of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, to take place on Wednesday 1 April at 1.15 pm in Room 10 of the Palais de l'Europe.
Also on Wednesday 1 April, the inauguration of the exhibition "My Black-and-White Shadows: Memento Mori" by Czech Roma artist Zdeněk Daniel (Lobby of the Hemicycle, 1 pm) will mark the launch of the 2026 edition of Opre Roma! Month. The opening featuring remarks by the Congress President, senior Council of Europe officials, the Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe and Roma civil society representatives will be followed by a concert by Roma musicians Djiben (Tzigane céleste) and a reception. The exhibition serves as a forerunner to International Roma Day (8 April) and is part of a month-long series of events highlighting Roma history, culture and remembrance.
Dialogue with Russian opposition figures will be pursued further. On Tuesday 31 March, the newly elected Congress President will hold a meeting with Ilya Yashin and Ksenia Fadeeva, former municipal councillors and former political prisoners, to discuss future steps in structuring relations between the Congress and Russian democratic forces.
On Wednesday 1 April, a new Council of Europe-EU project, LORAI - Local Observatory on Reform Agendas Implementation - will be launched in the Lobby of the Hemicycle at 7pm. LORAI will support local self-government reforms in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia). The launching event will include the participation of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and local government associations from the region as project partners.
Other side events of the session include presentations of the Council of Europe Landscape Convention, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary (Wednesday 1 April, Room 8, 1.30 pm) and of the trans-European cycling route EuroVelo4, "Road to Democracy and Freedom" (Tuesday 31 March, Room 8, 1.15 pm).
