What if the International Red Cross Museum in Geneva moved to the United Arab Emirates? Faced with planned cuts in federal subsidies and the financial problems facing the institution, the scenario is now being discussed.
As part of its various cost-saving measures, the Confederation wishes to cut the 1.1 million francs in subsidies allocated each year to the International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (MICR), i.e. almost a quarter of the operating budget of the Geneva museum.
The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) – and not the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) as up to now – could help the establishment, but at most to the tune of 300,000 francs.
For Pascal Hufschmid, director of the institution, the elimination of subsidies of more than one million francs would inevitably lead to the closure or a move abroad of the International Museum of the Red Cross.
>> Read also: The Red Cross Museum, emblem of international Geneva, fears having to close its doors
A “totally absurd” solution
The name of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, is already circulating informally as a possible place of relocation, information confirmed by Pascal Hufschmid on Saturday in the Switzerland at the weekend.
If this eventuality would not present a problem according to the director, the Red Cross being “at home everywhere in the world”, he believes that the solution would be surreal: “Abu Dhabi hosts other museums, like the Louvre, but this would make no sense. The Red Cross Museum tells a story born in Switzerland, it is a heritage of national importance, as the Protection of Cultural Property says. Seeing the museum leave would be totally absurd,” judges. he Saturday in the 12:30 p.m. RTS.
The institution also embodies the legacy of Henry Dunant and General Henry Dufour, co-founders of the International Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions on humanitarian law which are part of Switzerland’s DNA, underlines the official.
A means of pressure
The idea of a move to Abu Dhabi could nevertheless serve to encourage the authorities to act, admits Pascal Hufschmid, who calls on the Confederation for discussion.
“The pressure from our side to save this museum is immense. I am convinced that we will find the solution, but the situation is very dangerous,” warns the director.
Planned cuts in federal subsidies to the International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent threaten the establishment from 2027, while the Geneva museum will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2028.
Radio subject: Sandra Zimmerli
Web adaptation: again
