Governance
of the Fondation Deutsch de la Meurthe

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND YOUR ARRIVAL AT THE CITÉ INTERNATIONALE.

I am an academic (teacher-researcher). My research has always tried to build bridges between disciplines. I was first interested in the relationship between French anthropology and aesthetic reflection. I am now working on the painter and sculptor Edgar Degas, who interests me because his images are inhabited by a cinematic imagination. I arrived at the Cité internationale via the University of Durham in Great Britain and the University of Copenhagen.

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE CITÉ INTERNATIONALE A UNIQUE CAMPUS IN THE WORLD?

Its place within the great ensemble that is Paris and its connections with the many teaching and university training centres located there. Its residents, of course, not only because of their great diversity but also because of the energy they bring to the Cité internationale’s project of living together. Finally, the fact that the Cité internationale was created on the basis of a utopian project and that this project – to work for peace by mixing cultures – remains very present and promising, perhaps more than ever.

HOW DOES LIVING IN YOUR HOUSE ALLOW RESIDENTS TO HAVE A DIFFERENT OUTLOOK ON THE WORLD AND HOW IS IT A SPRING BOARD FOR THEIR FUTURES?

The houses of the Cité internationale are places of opportunity. The Fondation Deutsch de la Meurthe, like the others, seeks to create an environment where meetings between residents can give rise to collective projects. These can be very simple, such as a shared kitchen project around various national holidays, or more complex (artistic, cultural, ecological, solidarity projects, sometimes on a campus scale).  It is by getting involved in this kind of project that everyone’s outlook is likely to change.

IF YOU HAD TO SUM UP THE CITÉ INTERNATIONALE IN ONE WORD, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

Shared space. Because it names the common good and sums up one of the key questions that everyone must ask themselves when they arrive at the Cité internationale: how can we give meaning to a place of life that is also a place for meeting and sharing?