Cross-border Projects
Reinforcing International Relations and Development
Luxembourg, Greater Region and Sibiu/Hermannstadt
The events of the European Capital of Culture 2007 were conceived in a large cross-border project:
First, Luxembourg did not hold the title of ''European capital of Culture'' on its own as in 1995 but encompass the Greater Region, the ''old'' Europe:
- Belgium: The French community and the German-speaking community of Belgium
- France: The Lorraine with the departements of Moselle, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse and the Vosges
- Germany: Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saar, two major states (''Laender'') of the German Federal Republic.
Second, Luxembourg entered a partnership with Sibiu/Hermannstadt in Transylvania/Romania, which had a pending membership in the European Union.
The Saxons of Transylvania living in Sibiu, descendants of settlers who founded the city in the 12th century, actually speak a language which is very akin to Moselle Frankish as spoken in the area lying between the Moselle and the Rhine.
New Audiences
The events of Luxembourg and the Greater Region as European Capital of Culture 2007 were supposed to reach new and wider audiences:
-The people of Luxembourg, the Saar, the Rhine, Lorraine and Wallonia;
-The new non-Luxembourg citizen;
(In 2007, 140 nationalities made up 60% of the total population.)
-The cross-border commuters;
(In 2007, 116.00 employees crossed borders within the Greater Region every day.)
These people often work but haven't been involved in the cultural scene of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg ''Mobility and Migrations''
The cross-border projects were conceived under the theme of ''mobility'' and take the form of circuits, routes in the city and the countryside, industrial and modern sites, to reactivate the public sphere. The projects are referred to as part of a ''culture-hopping programme''.
Rhineland-Phalatinate
The projects of the Rhineland-Phalatinate and the city of Trier 2007 propose their programme under the banner of ''Great European Personalities'', paying tribute to Nikolaus von Kues, Robert Schuman and Karl Marx. In 1992, the Land introduced the Rhineland-Palatinate Foundation for Culture as well as hosting the ''Rhineland-Palatinate Cultural Summer''. In 2007, the Land wants to highlight the meeting between ancient and modern culture.
The projects of the Rhineland-Phalatinate and the city of Trier 2007 set the cultural focus on the following exhibitions, facilities and infrastructures:
-The castles and monasteries of Rhineland-Phalatinate (Celtic and Roman remains)
-The Roman Remains of Trier (such as the Porta Nigra and the amphitheatre)
-The World Heritage cultural landscape of the ''Middle Rhine Valley'' (cathedrals of Minz, Spire and Trier)
-Traditional plays, cabarets and concerts, Roman spectacles and medieval games organised in historic sites
-The exhibition on Constantine the Great in various museums of Trier
-The travelling musical ''The Aepostles Op.49''
Saarland
The projects of the Saarland 2007 coincided with the 50th birthday of the State, which changed nationality over 8 times in 200 years.
The projects of the Lorraine 2007 highlight the industrial heritage of coal and steel production. The cultural focus is set on the following exhibitions, facilities and infrastructures:
-The Voelklingen Ironworks (''Voelklinger Huette'') World heritage site
-The development of the 'lighthouse projects'
-The exhibition ''Erfinder und Erfindungen, die Sprengkraft der Idee'' (Inventors and Inventuions, the Explosive Force of the Idea)
-The exhibition ''More than reality'' by Duane Hanson
-The museums of the Stiftung Saarlandischer Kulturbesitz (Saarlandian Cultural Heritage Foundation)
-The exhibition on Pablo Picasso
-The project ''The Virtual Residency-a House in Europe'' (Saar Fine Arts College)
-The Music Festival
-The orchestra of the Hochschule fuer Musik Saar (Saar University of Music)
-The ''wave of sound'' in the Saarschleife
Lorraine
The projects of the Lorraine 2007 highlight the industrial heritage of glass and ceramic production. The event set the cultural focus on the following exhibitions, facilities and infrastructures:
-The Museums of Nancy
-The glass hall of Meisenthal
-The Abbey of the Premontres at Pont-a-Mousson
-The Museum of Sarreguemines
-The European archaeological site of Bliesbruck-Reinheim
-The Luneville Castle
-The Modern Music Facilities in Nancy
-''L'Autoroute du Soleil'' ( ''Motorway in the Sun'', a new video-dance work by the Osmosis Company, was performed throughout the Greater Region!
-The International Festival of Geography at Saint-Die (with Sibiu/Hermannstadt)
-The light installation at U4 Blast Furnace at Uckange
-The visual installations in symbolic border venues echoed each other's presentations in the Saar, Rhineland-Palastinate, Luxembourg and Wallonia!
The Walloon Region
The projects of the German-speaking community of Belgium 2007 set the cultural focus on the following exhibitions, facilities and infrastructures:
-The St. Vith international theatre festival
-The Irene K. dance collective on industrial wasteland
-The ''Cultural Gateway to the Greater Region''
The French-speaking community of Belgium emphasises on culture and the role of the migratory nature of work and leisure in blurring of boundaries and the reorganisation of its region. Cross-border and trans-regional networks generate new areas of development and innovation.
Fadila Laanan, Minister of Culture, Media and Youth, says ''The European arena today is an open one. Let's be nomadic. Let's open our imaginations to construct a Europe of citizens, a Europe of solidarity, a multiple Europe that is open-minded and tolerant.''