As part of Francophonie Days 2026, Suzana Mistro gave a guest lecture at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek on 25 March at 12:30 p.m. In a bilingual lecture (Croatian and French), Ms Mistro introduced the audience to the geographical and cultural particularities of Valais, a Swiss canton located in the south of the country. In addition to remaining multilingual to this day – its official languages are French and German – its geographical and geopolitical position has shaped its dynamic development throughout history, both as an area crossed by important historical and trade routes and as a region with deeply rooted traditions. The specific charm of the region is still characterised by the interplay between its relative isolation and its openness to influences from outside the region.
Ms Mistro, a geography teacher by profession, has channelled her broader cultural interests into researching and promoting the rich heritage of the Valais region, which has meanwhile also become her home. She founded the Cultural Heritage Festival in Valais and distinguished herself as a collaborator on the documentary film In the Heart of the Alps – World Literature in the Swiss Alps, which was screened after the lecture. In her presentation, she referred to well-known figures from culture and politics such as John Evelyn, George Sand, Hans Christian Andersen, Katherine Mansfield, Alexandre Dumas, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, James Baldwin and others, who at some point in their lives stayed in Valais.
While the lecture introduced the audience to figures, especially writers, who left their mark on the region just as the region left its mark on them and their artistic expression, the documentary film offered breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps, charming traditional hotels rich in history, as well as other significant cultural sites such as churches and museums. The approximately 90-minute documentary is visually impressive and rich in information provided by experts from various fields, ranging from archaeologists and historians to hoteliers.
Suzana Mistro was born in Belgrade and grew up in Omiš, where she still occasionally lives today. In her youth, she moved to Switzerland, where she was educated, worked in her profession and where she still primarily resides. After the screening and a short discussion, she expressed great satisfaction at having had the opportunity to visit Osijek as well and to get to know the city and the region, as maintaining Croatian-Swiss cultural ties is particularly important to her.
Asst. Prof. Stephanie Jug, PhD