A Laboratory of Minorities - The territory of Ticino represents a form of cultural and linguistic minority within the Swiss Confederation: as the only officially monolingual Italian-speaking canton, it embodies a condition of being at the margins of the centre, where the dominant culture is often constructed through dialogue—or tension—with the German- and French-speaking regions.

Trained as a geographer, Roland Hochstrasser heads the Office for the Analysis and Digital Cultural Heritage within the Department of Education, Culture and Sport of the Republic and Canton of Ticino. He is a member of the foundation boards of the Alpine Biology Center and Switch, and serves on the steering committees of the Memoriav Association and Swiss Cultural Capital.