Keynote Speakers

Borders order geography. B-SHAPES is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action scrutinizing the role of borders in shaping perceptions of European societies. Eight European universities, a research institute, a national museum, a European foundation, a political association, a platform for cultural and artistic production, and a private consultancy have joined forces to look into the importance of borders in daily life. B-SHAPES aims to discover new narratives on borders from border regions by focusing on Euroscepticism, national minorities, landscape and heritage, and by involving citizens, especially young borderlanders, civil society, art, and policymakers.

My lecture will focus on societal impact of B-SHAPES’ approach, using first field work results. Our perception of societies, but also international companies is shaped by borders. This also applies to interorganizational and territorial cooperation, which imply a difference that will be bridged (by the cooperation). This difference might only be perceived, but as borders are key factors of how humans perceive societies, the offer a simple framework for othering, for creating a difference between us (the inside) and others (the outside). Cooperation institutions, which can be territorial, political, but also newly merged companies, need to reconfigure these perceptions to be successful. B-SHAPES has a strong focus on heritage and narratives, both of which are important factors for organizational culture, teambuilding etc. Therefore, the awareness of the borders shaping our perceptions is a precondition to develop more inclusive, border-crossing narratives to succeed with territorial and interorganizational cooperation.

These will empower citizens, but also economic sectors to contribute to the creation of more inclusive visions of culture and values, and thus increasing the quality of life — not only in border regions.

Borders order geography. B-SHAPES is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action scrutinizing the role of borders in shaping perceptions of European societies. Eight European universities, a research institute, a national museum, a European foundation, a political association, a platform for cultural and artistic production, and a private consultancy have joined forces to look into the importance of borders in daily life. B-SHAPES aims to discover new narratives on borders from border regions by focusing on Euroscepticism, national minorities, landscape and heritage, and by involving citizens, especially young borderlanders, civil society, art, and policymakers.

My lecture will focus on societal impact of B-SHAPES’ approach, using first field work results. Our perception of societies, but also international companies is shaped by borders. This also applies to interorganizational and territorial cooperation, which imply a difference that will be bridged (by the cooperation). This difference might only be perceived, but as borders are key factors of how humans perceive societies, the offer a simple framework for othering, for creating a difference between us (the inside) and others (the outside). Cooperation institutions, which can be territorial, political, but also newly merged companies, need to reconfigure these perceptions to be successful. B-SHAPES has a strong focus on heritage and narratives, both of which are important factors for organizational culture, teambuilding etc. Therefore, the awareness of the borders shaping our perceptions is a precondition to develop more inclusive, border-crossing narratives to succeed with territorial and interorganizational cooperation.

These will empower citizens, but also economic sectors to contribute to the creation of more inclusive visions of culture and values, and thus increasing the quality of life — not only in border regions.

In this talk, Sara Svensson reviews impact and policy aspects of the state-of-the-art in research on borders, borderlands and crossborder cooperation, with a specific focus on the funding mechanisms of the European Union and their effect on what type of research is being produced and turned into policy. The talk is structured into three parts.

The first part gives an overview of different types of impact and policy aspects that researchers need to address in different types of projects, and what this means for social science in general and border scholars in particular. The second part reviews mechanisms of Horizon Europe, the European Union’s research and innovation funding programme 2021-2027, and illustrates how the policy implications of research on borders, borderlands and crossborder cooperation differs significantly between different parts, such as between Cluster 2 (Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society) and Cluster 3 (Civil Security for Society) within Pillar II (Global challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness).

This is illustrated with examples from ongoing research projects. In the third and final part, Sara Svensson gives her take on how to improve research uptake, policy applicability and stakeholder engagement within border studies, commenting on policy recommendations, systematic, selective and smart mapping and management of stakeholder & policy audiences, but also reflects on the importance on maintaining and promoting academic freedom and the importance of critical and independent scholarship.

The policy relevance of cultural heritage has gained significant credence in recent decades in Europe. The way cultural heritage is recognized, preserved, and employed, is seen to have a significant impact on European Union’s social and economic integration and the competitiveness of EU in the global economy. As European border regions are key sites for European Union’s regional policy and materialization of European integration today, their role is pivotal in this regard. Accordingly, cultural heritage of border regions has become an important asset for cross-border cooperation projects.

Cultural heritage is especially focal for developing border regions’ heritage and tourism industries. Border region heritage is continuously recognized and communicated through the practices of tourism promotion and destination development. However, the way border region heritage is made visible and utilized as an asset for tourism and regional development, is not a straightforward or unproblematic but complex and oftentimes contested process.

From the perspective of cultural heritage, borders and border regions create specific tourism development landscapes, characterized by various transnational, national and locally/regionally defined interests, and social relations. The formation of these relations and interests is intricate and connected with various historical and political processes of border regions. Considering the complex nature of border regions as an operational environment, inclusive processes of social capital play a key role, including resilient trust relations and shared norms between inter-territorial and -organizational actors.

To facilitate socially and economically sustainable production of diverse European border heritages in regional development and tourism in particular, more comprehensive understanding on how border and border region heritage is perceived and produced in different border regions and member states is needed. The Horizon Europe project B-SHAPES responds to this knowledge gap with the purpose of widening our understanding of what border heritage is, how it is made visible or invisible in tourism and regional development, and what it means for different actors of border regions.

This presentation, based on the initial findings of B-SHAPES border landscapes as heritage research, discusses how cross-border dimensions of heritage are embedded in tourism development and how they are recognized in development policies and destination building. The presentation will focus on the northern European border regions where tourism forms an important industry. These border regions have their unique contextual histories, but they also share many common characteristics, including a long history of cooperation and relatively free mobility across borders since the millennium. However, with few exceptions, the results indicate that although border heritage is employed in destination branding and marketing, the extent of cross-border cooperation remains relatively modest in the northern European border regions.

The presentation will elaborate on the main possibilities and challenges of cross-border cooperation with a focus on heritage as an asset for regional development and joint projects. The critical question for future development is how the border heritage can be taken as a starting point for inter-regional and inter-sectional local development in sustainable ways at European borders currently facing the heightening of nationalism and protectionism. With this regard, cross-border cooperation and trust-building at different governmental levels and between different sectors is crucial. Shared and commonly recognized and accepted cultural heritage is acknowledged to facilitate trust-building processes and it is crucial to find means to build trust-relations at regions with shared and also contested and sensitive border heritage.

Climate change is one of the most severe threats to humankind in the twenty-first century.  To address it  there is an urgent need to move towards large-scale adoption of renewable energy (RE) technologies.  Yet, the current adoption rate of RE is insufficient, creating an urgent need to accelerate the curve of RE adoption. One significant obstacle to RE adoption is that RE  is frequently either land intensive or has adverse implications on nearby stakeholders and/or the environment. As a result, one of the most pressing questions is how to identify factors that can increase the acceptability of RE sites.  However, we currently lack a comprehensive theory that can effectively examine the role of physical, social, and political conditions in shaping RE innovation and diffusion in border areas and beyond.

This presentation will examine the conditions under which political borders may become a disruptive factor for RE technologies, where they may accelerate the transition to RE.  It does so by developing a multidimensional typology that captures the various spatial options and governance mechanisms of RE in relation to borders. Next it, quantifies the extent to which borderlands are becoming a focal point for RE relative to the rest of Israel and Germany. This process involves temporal and spatial mapping of the adoption and diffusion of RE technologies across various border conditions and in regions distant from borders, which focuses on both household-level installations (e.g., rooftop solar panels) and utility-scale systems. By positioning borders as a central aspect of energy transition, the study aims to identify borders as a new variable in climate change research and thus shed light on the intricate interplay between borders, governance, and technology choices.

Human dynamics are at the heart of intercultural competence, a vital resource for managing cultural complexity. This competence involves the willingness and ability of individuals and organizations to relate to and integrate cultural differences productively. Effective cross-border cooperation requires recognizing the dynamic interplay between cultural diversity and commonality. This relational view emphasizes that successful cooperation is about creating a space where diverse cultural identities can coexist and contribute to shared goals.

Understanding the role of human dynamics in cooperation helps in reducing relational costs and expanding cooperation corridors, thereby enhancing the potential for economic and social value creation in cross-border networks. Fostering intercultural competence and embracing a relational perspective on cultural complexity and human dynamics are essential for unlocking the collaboration superpowers needed for successful cross-border cooperation. By focusing on commonalities and engaging in mutual learning, organizations can more effectively navigate the complexities of cultural diversity and achieve sustainable and productive partnerships.

One of the main characteristics of the Greater Region SaarLorLux (Germany/France/Luxemburg) is the highly integrated cross-border labour market. Over decades, the number of cross-border commuters was growing and today more than 260 000 persons cross the border every day to work in one of the neighbouring countries. In this context, also innovative forms of cross-border training were developed. This makes the cross-border region a living lab of European integration.

Over the past five years, however, new challenges have raised the question of whether the cross-border labour market needs new forms of cross-border governance. The Covid-19 pandemic, the demographic change and changing framework conditions for cross-border vocational training can be understood as crises that reveal more and more negative aspects of the strong cross-border integration – but also offer an opportunity for reorganisation.

The member regions face similar challenges but still pursue uncoordinated strategies to protect their own interests. Already today, the shortage of (skilled) labour leads to a cross-border competition for labour and it will grow. Therefore, new approaches for a cross-border governance of the common labour-market are needed. The presentation discusses ideas proposed by different actors in the Greater Region for developing a resilient cross-border labour and training market.