Crisis in Geneva
The Red Cross museum saved in extremis, an “immense relief”
Threatened with closure, the Red Cross Museum obtains unprecedented federal support which allows it to survive beyond 2027.
In Geneva, the International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (Micr) is now one of the institutions supported by the Federal Office of Culture (OFC). Photo Lucien Fortunati
TDG
After months of uncertainty, the International Museum of Red Cross and Red Crescent (MICR) is now one of the institutions supported by the Federal Office for Culture (OFC). This decision ensures the museum survival beyond 2027, despite a slight remaining deficit.
“It is an immense relief. »Thursday morning, Pascal Hufschmid, director of the Micr, welcomed a group of foreign journalists – especially Chinese and Japanese – for a visit to the museum. Before starting, he wanted to come back to an announcement that has fallen two days earlier: for the first time, the Micr is one of the 20 Swiss museums selected to benefit from the DOC support between 2027 and 2030.
Last September, the museum had however learned that its federal subsidy of 1.1 million francs – paid since 1991 by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE) – would no longer be guaranteed. A brutal decision, motivated by the budgetary economy measures of the Swiss government, and which could have led to the closure of the institution from 2027.
“The difference between considering a closure and being able to build a medium -term solution is enormous,” says Pascal Hufschmid. An intense mobilization followed: political motions, support of 76 parliamentarians, public campaign across Switzerland. This field work ended up paying off.
The Red Cross museum: more than a simple museum
“The micr is much more than a simple museum. We are anchored in a multilateral and diplomatic ecosystem. We work with schools, researchers, diplomats, tourists, journalists. Our role is to bring international humanitarian law to life, to make it accessible to everyone – from 6 -year -old children to heads of state, “recalls its director. Each year, 120,000 visitors crossed its doors, including 25,000 young people.
For Pascal Hufschmid, this national recognition represents much more than financial support: “This museum embodies humanitarian values born in Switzerland. At a time when international humanitarian law is weakened in the world, it is crucial to talk about it here in Geneva, and to make this place a living space, open to all. ” Relieved but lucid, the museum team knows that it must now stabilize its future beyond 2030.
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