| Boundary value - "What's your border worth?" |
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Boundary value - »What's your border worth?» Twenty years after the wall came down, Germany reflects its awareness of borders. Other countries are dealing with ongoing border issues. In Belgium the conflict between the french-speaking Walloons and the dutch-speaking Flemings continues, Serbia is struggeling with the separation of Kosovo. With its role between orient and occident and its inner conflict between the bid for EU membership and its national sentiment, Turkey still controls the border discussions in Europe. How does Europe deal with its borders? What do they look like? Which borders has the modern media society conquered, and which has it compiled? How profound are boders? How are they defined, what are they good for and how can one overcome them? Does a Serb think differently about boders than a German? Do the shifting social boders have to do something with the hyphens that haven’t changed for centuries? Is a border a threat? Do boders only emerge as a reaction to other borders? Should one leave borders alone? Why do boders survive? Does a border change once one talks about it? What is a border worth? The term border characterizes both a geographical line between two countries and an invisible line between two social stratums, it refers to the white hyphen on parking decks as well as to restrictions of mind and art. Borders can be reached and overcome, taken down and avoided. There are natural and artificial borders, some that one respects, others that one attacks in vain and many one can’t do without. The question about the boder value is personal and at the same time political: Is a border worth reflection, effort and sacrifice? »What´s your border worth?» asks about the significance that borders have in our society. transeuropa2009 pursues the matter, researches, feels its way, looks for answers and a contemporary definition of borders. |