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Founded in Geneva in 1996 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, FEDRE has always focused on cross-border regions. In 2023, it formed a partnership with Crédit Agricole next bank to study the border effect along Switzerland’s periphery in various fields, some of which go unnoticed by the general public. Following the first issue, which addressed food aid, the Founded in Geneva in 1996 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, FEDRE has always focused on cross-border regions. In 2023, it formed a partnership with Crédit Agricole next bank to study the border effect along Switzerland’s periphery in various fields, some of which escape the attention of the general public. Following Issue 1, which addressed food aid; Issue 2, which explored challenges in the healthcare sector; Issue 3, which presented a vital topic for our regions—water; Issue 4, focused on culture; Issue 5, addressing the sensitive issue of who compensates unemployed cross-border workers; Issue 6 focused on the idea of creating a cross-border resident card, Issue 7 addressed sustainable mobility in cross-border urban areas, this issue is devoted to the European aspects of cross-border cooperation, Issue 8 was devoted to the European aspects of cross-border cooperation, Issue 9 to the diversity of direct taxation systems for cross-border workers, Issue 10 to the difference between Switzerland and its neighbors in counting the unemployed, Issue 11 on sustainable transport infrastructure planning in border agglomerations; in this 12th issue, we explore the broad topic of the sharing of cultures and identities in cross-border regions.
It is often instinctively assumed that the cultures and behaviors on either side of a border are so different that there can be no real sense of shared belonging. Let us therefore start from the realistic perspective suggested by negative stereotypes—or simply indifference toward one’s neighbor—which are what we most frequently observe. But must we resign ourselves to this? Must we assume that cross-border relations will always be based solely on purely practical interests, and nothing else? If we want to challenge this pessimistic view, why not look at what needs to be done on the cultural front, the catalyst for a shared identity?
Don't confuse culture with cultural activities
There are different kinds of culture. In everyday language as well as in the language used by political and administrative authorities and organizations, “culture” has nowadays become synonymous with cultural activities, or even leisure. A region’s culture would thus be the sum of the shows, festivals, and exhibitions taking place there… In short, culture would be the consumption of free time and would boil down to what is found in the cultural calendars of the city, canton, or department. The most recent Greater Geneva Cultural Meetings, held in Châtelaine (Geneva) on November 29, 2024, largely followed this line of thinking, featuring the presentation of projects supported by the Greater Geneva Cultural Fund (created in 2023 and endowed with €200,000), the involvement of cultural circles in the ecological transition, and the launch of a cross-border cultural calendar (scheduled for 2025) via a shared online platform.
However, while these activities are part of culture, they do not sum it up.
Culture is intangible; it cannot be measured as easily as the number of visitors to a show or museum, or the level of interaction and contact that may exist among cultural actors—even though all of that is important. For what ultimately matters are the elements capable of fostering a sense of pride in living in the region, even if this means shining a spotlight on its most prestigious past: it is with this aim in mind that FEDRE hopes to give full prominence in 2028 to the250th anniversary of the passing, in the same year, of Voltaire and Rousseau.
The Role of Cultural Activities
While culture cannot be reduced to cultural activities alone, there is no doubt that, under certain conditions, such activities can play a significant role in the emergence of a shared culture within cross-border regions. These conditions include greater synergy among stakeholders and systems, engagement with the general public rather than just a few elites, and a regional dimension to cultural content rather than a purely global one, among others…
However, looking beyond mere declarations of good intentions and examining actual practices as they unfold, these conditions are far from a given. For instance, the University of Geneva is clearly more concerned with its global reach and its ranking in the Shanghai Ranking than with its regional roots. The same is true of the University of Basel, where there has been little enthusiasm for creating a master’s program in cross-border studies (which did not materialize), despite the example of the program that exists between the universities of Wallonia, Luxembourg, Saarland, and Rhineland-Palatinate. And in the tri-national region around Basel-Mulhouse, there is also a slow but steady decline in bilingualism in favor of learning English, the language of globalization. These are signs that, unfortunately, do not lie.
Culture is much like ecology: it is important for cultural actors to pay at least as much attention to what is close at hand as to what is far away. Proximity must once again become a value—a guiding principle—in people’s minds, far more so than is sometimes the case today.
Both are useful
As might have been expected, at the Greater Geneva Cultural Forum on November 29, lyrical and metaphysical phrases abounded during the presentation of the Joint Declaration: “giving concrete form to our shared destiny,” “building a collective vision,” “an extra measure of soul,” “an essential part of humanity for existence,” enveloping more day-to-day concerns, such as developing and diversifying what is called “the cultural offering,” promoting carpooling to attend performances, creating a truly cross-border cultural fund and calendar… Both aspects have their value, but they do not always clearly overlap.
And what about the fact that the Léman Council has turned its back on culture, forcing Greater Geneva—whose original mandate was less focused on this area—to do more in this field, but within a smaller territory and with more limited resources? Some political decisions are truly baffling!