News from ECMI InfoChannel

After the release of our first thematic bundle Minorities in the Digital Age four weeks ago, the second thematic bundle Non-Territorial Autonomy and the third thematic bundle Self-Determination and Secession are now publicly accessible as well.

On 16 September, a new panel discussion will be held at the Schackenborg Castle in Tønder, Denmark. Following last year’s celebrations of the 100^th anniversary of the Danish-German border region’s plebiscites, this panel discussion will focus on the future of the region. The geopolitical challenges which lie ahead of Germany and Denmark, their cooperation prospects and possible risks will be among the issues to discuss. Under the promising title “German and Danish Challenges – in European perspective”, the organisers have invited renowned discussants and experts.

In December, the ECMI will have been opened for incredible twenty-five years. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the ECMI commissioned an analysis of its entire publication collection, aiming to identify key analytical areas, where the ECMI’s publications have had the most impact. The analysis singled out 10 themes which will be presented in thematic bundles every other week. The first thematic bundle 'Minorities in the Digital Age' follows this year Summer School's topic.

The Annual Summer School on National Minorities in Border Regions enters its 11th edition this year. Regarding the current Covid-19 pandemic and the rising use of online tools, this year´s topic ‘National Minorities and the New Digital Paradigm’ could not be more up to date

On Tuesday, 17 August, the ECMI was honoured to welcome the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters Related to Ethnic German Resettlers and National Minorities Dr. Bernd Fabritius at its headquarters.

The upcoming Special Issue of the Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE) intends to focus on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on minority language media (MLM). We therefore invite scholars to submit articles tackling particular issues or highlighting best practices concerning MLM during the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns.

Sharing knowledge and providing training in minority rights related issues is one of the main core activities of the ECMI. On 23-24 June the ECMI organised a training workshop for the minority organisations represented in the Minority Council (Minderheitenrat) in Germany. The workshop idea stemmed from the cooperation between the ECMI and the Minority Council (Minderheitenrat).

In spite of the fact that a significant number of academic events have been postponed or cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, our researchers do not just sit back and rest on their laurels. The research at the ECMI is still alive and shared with the interested audience during many online events such as online conferences, online talks, or online teaching modules. Networking and building partnerships, an inseparable part of the ECMI everyday life, has also moved to the online sphere and the ECMI keeps its presence at important high-level meetings where minority rights are discussed.

One of the more neglected dimensions in the study of minority protection, and human rights more broadly, relates to the contribution of social movements in bringing about legal and social change to minority protection norms and mechanisms. To respond to this gap, ECMI hosted an expert online workshop on 20-21 May 2021, convened by the Cluster on Culture and Diversity discussing the connections, actors and legal approaches connecting minority rights standards and local activism based on ethno-cultural identity claims.

The next online talk aims to explore potentials of non-territorial autonomy, core practical challenges, and prospects for better practical outreach (both widening and deepening) of the concept. It is structured around four main topics: the nexus/tension between the territorial and personal principles in the minority protection; labeling the concept as “autonomy”; membership; and competences: NTA institutions as minority agents.

The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) invites applications for the position of Senior Researcher and Head of Cluster within the field of “Conflict and Security”.

On 21 April, the ECMI Cluster Justice & Governance organised a closed workshop on exploring possibilities for monitoring and evaluation of performance (functionality and/or impact) of the national minority councils in five countries: Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. The workshop reflects the Cluster’s continuous work on institutional setups for minority participation in public affairs, and complements the Cluster’s activities in two projects: COST Action ENTAN and the “Autonomy Arrangements in the World”.

We are inviting you to join our distinguished international panel of experts discussing securitisation of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on minorities and diversity from an interdisciplinary perspective.