The Fehmarnbelt as a cultural region

However, this view has changed completely in the past few years as a result of his contact with committed people in the region. And even without the actual physical link, quite a lot has happened culturally under the aegis of STRING and Interreg. However, implementing cultural projects across national borders is a “difficult task” and very personal, according to Dr. Henningsen, Professor of Scandinavian Studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He feels that in order to have a successful cultural exchange between countries, there needs to be “more professionalism and more management” than has existed to date.

Mr. Andreasen and Dr. Henningsen were two of Dr. Birgit Stöber’s interviewees in connection with a study commissioned by Femern A/S to gather experience, opinions and ideas relating to the cultural potential of the Fehmarnbelt region. The people who were interviewed between May 2009 and January 2010 also included HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Jacob Fabricius, Director of Malmö Konsthall, Gert Haack, Head of the Culture Section of the State Chancellery of Schleswig-Holstein, and the former chairman of the Øresund committee, Birger Olofsson.

All the interviewees agreed that culture plays an important role for the people of a region and in the development of a region. Culture can play a vital part in experiencing a sense of community and in shaping a region. At the same time, the interviewees all stressed that culture cannot and must not be misunderstood as a luxury or misused as an alibi for the “Fehmarnbelt region” political project. They also agreed that the politicians in charge of (cultural) policies urgently needed to make binding promises and to follow their words with real actions.

Mobility is one of the basic prerequisites of participation in cultural activities. This mobility is also closely linked to mental and economic aspects. Only people who are interested and well informed and who have sufficient financial means are able to take part in cultural activities. People who are interested in art and culture already travel around the region and beyond it. One of the most important challenges might be to mobilize those who have barely been mobile before. According to Birger Olofsson, linking positive emotions and associations with the Fehmarnbelt region will be important to the success of the regional project. However, he warned against banking on a “common identity”. This strategy could only fail. In addition, the existing cultural differences could be interesting and enriching and no attempt should be made to eliminate them.