To mark the 100th anniversary of WWI a number of EBU Members asked their audiences "For Whom and For What would you give your life today?".

The question was part of global survey of 20,000 people initiated by Radio France to discover what shared values we have 100 years on from the First World War.  

Radio France, along with EBU Members in Austria (ORF), Belgium (RTBF), Germany (Dradio), Poland (Polskie Radio), Romania (ROR) and Switzerland (SSR), asked radio listeners a series of questions to establish what they care about in the 21st century and how far they would go to defend their beliefs.

EBU Associate Member CBC in Canada and Senegal Radio were also involved.

The analysis reveals that a significantly greater number of Polish respondents are more willing to “risk” or “give up” their lives, whereas the Swiss and the Germans show more reluctance towards this idea.

There were also big differences between listeners in the various countries when asked what they would risk their lives for.

Poles are much more inclined to put forward their “country” or “religion”. Germans emphasise “the family”, while the French evoke “their ideals".

When asked for their views on the core values that their fellow citizens should share, strong disparities emerged in the surveyed nations. Here, the very different national histories of each nation played a part in the responses.

The French seem to find common ground in “solidarity,” ”environment,” and “education,” whilst the Germans have a specific tendency to focus on “peace”, “freedom” and “justice.” Polish respondents would bring their “family”, “homeland” and “religious beliefs” to the foreground.

Also revealing was that the Swiss and Belgian respondents appear to share values more in common with their French counterparts.

“Respect”, “solidarity” and “environment” were the answers mostly received from Switzerland compared with the “solidarity", “respect”, and “education” preferred in Belgium, while the Canadian respondents would rather opt for “education” and “equality.”

Dr Christian Vogg, EBU Head of Radio, said: "The EBU was proud to help facilitate this fascinating project. It is just one of many that public broadcasters are engaged in to commemorate WWI and help make the events of 100 years ago relevant to their audiences today."