Cross-border cooperation in French Guiana: shared challenges, dynamics under construction

On the borders of French Guiana, regional cooperation is experienced daily in a complex way: linguistic diversity, institutional gaps, lack of adequate funding, but also the willingness of local stakeholders to work together. Meeting in Cayenne on June 19 and 20, 2025, more than fifty participants – associations, elected officials, institutions, researchers and networks – drew up a lucid inventory of the challenges of cross-border cooperation and shared ideas for the future. At the heart of the discussions, one conviction stands out: We need to rethink cooperation based on the territory and its vital forces.

Cross-border cooperation in French Guiana: shared challenges, dynamics under construction

Beneath its lines of wood and steel, the House of Cultures and Memories of Guyana seems to tell the story of a territory all by itself: firmly anchored in its soil, but open by wide facades that let air, light and views circulate. It was in this place, both symbolic and architecturally unique, that the seminar organized by Guyacoop, in partnership with the Territorial Collectivity of Guyana (CTG), dedicated to regional cooperation took place on June 19 and 20, 2025. More than fifty actors took part – associations, elected officials, institutions, researchers, multi-actor networks – to jointly examine an issue that goes beyond Guyana alone: how to transform cross-border cooperation, so often hampered by institutional particularities and differences in context, into a real lever for shared development?

Cross-border cooperation: complexity and vitality

French Guiana is in a unique situation: an outermost region of the European Union, a French department, but also an Amazonian territory directly connected to Brazil and Suriname. At this crossroads of worlds, cooperation is never simply a technical exercise. It involves daily practices, human movement, and solidarity, but also concrete obstacles: language barriers, resource gaps, and shifting political timelines. These realities make the task demanding, but they also reveal a unique vitality.

CORÉOM: a lever welcomed by associations

Local engineering, access to funding, and networking with institutions are all identified challenges. But they all share the same idea: cooperation is built first by structuring an associative environment, rooted in its territories and capable of dialoguing at the regional level.

It is in this context that the program CORÉOM – Overseas Regional Cooperation was mentioned several times. Its method, based on a shared diagnosis and local support, was perceived as an appropriate response to the needs expressed. “CORÉOM is giving us tools designed for us for the first time.”, confided a participant. The program naturally fits into an ecosystem of initiatives designed to support this structuring and the local dynamics underway.

Local engineering, access to funding, and networking with institutions are all identified challenges. But they all share the same idea: cooperation is built first by structuring an associative environment, rooted in its territories and capable of dialoguing at the regional level.

An associative environment to consolidate to weigh together

Throughout the presentations, one observation came up repeatedly: without a strong, structured partnership capable of collective action, regional cooperation will remain fragile. The testimonies showed that associations and local authorities are at the forefront when it comes to initiating local ties—whether for educational, cultural, or health projects—but that they lack the administrative flexibility, recognition, and resources to sustain them over time. This was the point made by Anne-Laure Paris, representative of the MAZ—Maison de la Photographie Guyane Amazonie, who spoke during the roundtable of civil society organizations.

" We collaborate, thanks to individual efforts within our small team, but also thanks to an entire ecosystem of support. As winners of the CORÉOM program, we have benefited not only from financial support, but also from skills and organizational support. This has allowed us to open up cooperation opportunities with our neighbors, such as this wonderful project underway with the Belém photography collective, in preparation for the 2025 France-Brazil Season.
Without this institutional, associative and cultural support, we would not go very far, especially in the cultural sector, which is an essential social link. What I have discovered over the past eighteen months in French Guiana is the vitality of a unique associative network, extremely committed and bearer of precious identities. The question that remains for me is that of sustainability: how can we ensure that the seeds planted today bear fruit tomorrow, without having to start all over again?

Deep-rooted, open and sustainable cooperation

At the end of these two days, one impression prevails: cross-border cooperation in French Guiana is both fragile and powerful, hampered by real obstacles but driven by an undeniable collective energy. It is not decreed from the capitals, but is invented daily, here, through projects, meetings, and networks. The seminar showed that this dynamic does indeed exist, that it needs support and recognition, but that it relies first and foremost on the creativity and commitment of local actors.

Like the architecture of the Maison des Cultures et des Mémoires that housed it, this cooperation is built on both anchoring and openness: rooted in the territories, but reaching out towards the regional horizon. This is its strength, and perhaps also its future.